The waves crashed against the small bow of the rowing boat, rocking it and tilting it as it drifted towards the shore. The ore slipped out of its holder and sunk towards the eerie depths of the sea, never to be found again. A seagull flew over head and swooped down towards the seas surface to pluck an innocent fish from its underwater home. The sun was just rising over the horizon and burned a deep and rich red. The boat floated softly and slowly now, as the waves were getting thinner and less ferocious. It glided with ease and went unnoticed towards the sandy shores. It washed into the sand and gradually stopped moving. The dock was only half a mile away, bustling with activity. But here by the shore, tucked away by trees and bushes it was quite the opposite, with the low rustling of the grass and the soft swaying of the sea.

The boat was not empty.

Inside the boat was a man with long black hair and a matching beard who was not young, but his life was not over yet. He had a black eye patch and a shining hook which looked slightly comical for his profession. However, there was a long story behind how he got them, which would take days to explain so that tale can be put the side for the mean time. The man was fast asleep with a half full bottle of rum in his hand which had been drunk recently. A seagull landed on top of the man’s chest and attempted to eat some of the many crumbs which had been imbedded in the man’s beard. The seagull succeeded and the man continued to sleep.

Some time later, Captain Johnny Flint awoke to come face to face the blazing afternoon sun. He squinted around his surroundings and scratched his hairy chin. “Where the hell am I?!” He mumbled to himself as he raised his bottle of rum to his lips. Taking a deep swig, he staggered up to his feat and stepped into the salty water. It was pleasantly warm and was well heated by the sun. His feet sunk into the sand below them as he trudged his way onto dry land. He couldn’t recognize where he was, and had a pounding headache. Most likely all would be revealed in the very near future.

He pulled off his hat and stuffed it under his jacket. Pirates were not wanted in most places, and until he realised where he was, he thought it safer to hide it away. He staggered across the sand and could make out a crowded dock surrounded by ships. “Ah! Port Adúnë!” He muttered to himself as he made his way towards it. He loved this place as it was stuffed to the brim with idiots. He had pulled off plenty of scams here, big and small and today could be the day to pull another.

As he leapt onto the wooden rickets of the dock, he contemplated who his victims could be. He was very tempted to pull the ‘pied piper’ trick again, but that had got him into too much trouble… He decided to pull a better trick which was simpler and easier. He pushed his way through the crowd and spotted a vessel tied up to a small post. It looked abandoned, He walked across the plank which was connecting it to the dock and peaked inside. It was empty as far as he could see. Perfect.

“ROLL UP, ROLL UP! Get yer money over here, and take a trip around the bay! Only 10 gold a person!” He shouted into the crowd, catching most of their attention. Several people lined up by the boat and paid their money. “Thank you, thank you! Go inside and take a seat!” He said pushing them inside. After a couple of minutes he had already generated a lot of money and the vessel was filled with a lot of people. Some poor man had questioned his ownership of the boat. Unfortunately he slipped into the water before Johnny got to answer him.

With everyone in the boat and eager to see the bay, the pirate cut kicked the plank connecting the ship and the dock into the water below and cut the rope which held the ship in place. The boat began floating away and he waved as it’s angry passengers shouted out in anger. He looked down into his bag of gold and estimated how much he had. “About 200 gold here! This is enough for a decent ship at the least.” He spoke aloud. He made his way off into the city of Lómëdor not looking back, smiling as he walked.

"Well, you see, my fine sir-"

"Get outta here!"

Evinnian was suddenly jerked by his shoulder and shoved out of the boat rental into the crowd that frequented the dock.

"Ahh.." Evinnian sighed as he turned and began to walk away. He was truly growing bored of this place. The people were always so worried about money. Money for this, money for that. What ever happened to good old-fashioned generosity? Evinnian chuckled at the thought. "Out the window." he said quietly to himself. All he had wanted was a boat to sail out into the sea. He was growing terribly bored with hanging around this city, and there seemed to be no way for him to make money. In no way would he ever be a hired ship hand; no, that kind of life wasn't for him. Evinnian just wanted some booze, a few pretty ladies, and a nice, quiet, peaceful room. Was that too much to ask?

Evinnian looked out to the sun, and paused for a moment. It certainly was beautiful at this time of day. Despite being in the company of such disgruntled brutes and ill-mannered peasants, the sun always seemed to be smiling; happy to be shining its light upon the world.

Evinnian was startled by a shove from an impatient woman who was also trying to make her way through the crowd. Evinnian did not want to be in the way, so he looked to his right, down a small alley between two little shops. He turned to walk down the alley, scanning the area. On the left, there was a box. On the right, there were two boxes stacked on top of each other. Evinnian wasted no time, for the sun would not wait. He got a running start and jumped onto the edge of the first box, pushing off to jump onto the other two. He pushed off of the stacked two boxes, and sent himself high into the air. Finally, he landed on the roof of the boat rental.

"Beautiful." Evinnian said as he walked forward, having a much better view of the sun. However, his attention was short-lived as heard a man yelling in the crowd. Something was odd about him, and Evinnian watched him. He paid close attention as the events of the man's plot unfolded, ending with angry floating passengers and a happy man with quite a bit of gold. Evinnian chuckled a bit. Not because he found what the man had done to be funny, for in fact Evinnian dissaproved. However, he now had a way to buy himself a way out of this place.

Evinnian jumped from the roof back into the alleyway, and quickly made his way back into the crowd. He caught sight of bearded schemer, and kept a distance as he followed the man into the city.

The man planned on visiting a few friends in Lómëdor before setting sail for the big blue again. He strode happily through the docks inhaling the fish scented air and the salty sea aromas. He loved this smell and it kept him busy discovering all the different flavors the ocean air had to offer. He picked up a freshly caught fish from a barrel and stuffed it in his belt. "It'll save us a dubloon or two!" he grinned as he continued along the port.

The Dock was crowded today, more than usual at any rate, meaning that there were plenty of targets for him to pickpocket. His fingers were as fast as panthers and hopped in and out of pockets with ease (and gold). He was a very rich man by the time he had finally reached Lómëdor and had a huge grin slapped across his face. He gave a dodgy bow of politeness to the guard protecting the main
gates and watched his motionless visage change into angered mug. He knew all about Flint's trickery and tendancy to break the law, but there had so far not been enough evidence to hang him. The guard opened the gates whilst giving Johnny a look which could kill. "Ta." Flint muttered as he stepped through them and into the hectic and tireless city.

He loved this place as no-one ever gave anyone a second glance. Checking that the guard was nowhere in site, he pulled out his favoured Pirates hat and shoved it on his head. He patted the fish in his belt and strode past the many shops and stalls. He spotted 'The creeping spider' insect and bugs shop and decided to pay it's owner a visit. He pushed open the broken wooden door and glanced around to check he wasn't being followed. He couldn't see anyone in particular so decided to risk it and enter.

"Gambo! Pleasure to be meeting you, ya old seadog you!" Johnny boomed as he sauntered up to the counter. The shopkeeper, who was infact called peter and had used Gambo as a fake name for security reasons replied happily, "Dave! Likewise, Likewise." Clearly Johnny had done the same thing.

He looked around the shop and spotted various different species of bugs, most of them kept in glass jars. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "Come on Gambo, you ain't gonna make no money sellin' spiders! Why don't you join me on ma ship again? Just like old times!" He watched, his smile fading as 'Gambo' shook his head sadly and pointed to a small picture on the wall. There, drawn in incredible detail was Flint's face with wanted stamped in big bold letters above it. Flabbergasted, he backed away from the shopkeeper and turned to run out of the shop. He had been betrayed! The cheek! So long had they been working side by side and now this. He opened the door and ran out of the shop, and collided into a fairly tall, brown haired elf. He was dressed very exotically and looked like he could cause a lot of trouble if not treated with respect. "Pardon me, I'm too busy to look where I'm headed!"

Evinnian didn't walk too closely to the man. Not that he could, anyhow. It seemed as though most of the crowd in the docks was walking in the opposite direction, and it was certainly difficult for the elf to get through them. Still, he continued to be amused by the bearded man. Yes, a pick-pocket definitely required skill, and Evinnian could see that this old man had been in the business for a while; at least, that's the way it appeared.

As Evinnian continued to follow the man, a feeling for him seemed to make itself known. It seemed to be a feeling of familiarity. Evinnian, for a moment, wondered if he had met the bearded man before. In his many years, he had met many people, and had nearly forgotten the people he had known from childhood. However, Evinnian disregarded the thought, for there was other business at hand, and he needed to concentrate on not losing sight of the man.

Evinnian watched as the man went through the gates of Lómëdor, and as he did, Evinnian went to the gate himself. At first, the guard looked as if he was going to ask something, but Evinnian put on his most humble face, and smiled faintly.

"Eh.. " The guard grunted as he let Evinnian through.

Now, Evinnian thought. Where are you?

Pausing at the gate had caused him to lose sight of the man. Evinnian's brows furrowed as he strained to find the man, but it was almost as if he had disappeared. Evinnian sighed heavily and shook his head as he continued down the streets. He was disappointed, for his chances to leave this town by way of sea were gone. Blackmailing the man was now out of the question, for now Evinnian couldn't even find him. Evinnian sighed again as he looked up.

Well, the elf thought. It was a good plan.

Evinnian walked slowly through the streets, and was very surprised to feel a large body bump into him. Evinnian looked at the person, and his eyes widened as he realized that it was the bearded man he had been previously following.

"Pardon me, I'm too busy to look where I'm headed!" the man said.

Evinnian smiled weakly, "Don't worry about it." he said in response, proceeding into the bug shop the man had just come out of. He planned to step in just long enough for the man to walk away, and then continue following him.

Evinnian opened the door of the shop, and almost magically his eyes were first drawn to a sign on the wall. The sign was a wanted sign with the bearded man's face on it. Evinnian shut the door and wheeled around;

"But!" Evinnian yelled as he took a few steps back in the direction of the man. "I do have some business with you." Evinnian gave the man a sly smile as he got right to the point, "I know what you have been doing at the docks. " Evinnian quickly continued, "Hand me the money you've collected, and we'll have no problems." Evinnian wanted to leave it at that in the hopes that the man would easily cooperate, but something in him told him that 'easy' wouldn't be the case.

"Spare change?" the woman quietly asked the passing crowd while she sat against the wall of a building that apparently sold spiders and insects. She was dressed in clothes that were tattered and covered in dirt, with her hair tied in a loose bun but her bangs still hanging over her face. Her gaze was sad and pleading, but with a hint of effort applied to trying to conceal it and appear emotionally stronger than most Lomedor homeless were. Once in awhile someone would drop a gold coin or two next to the woman, in which she'd hastily pick it up and put it in a small leather sack. When the homemade container became exceptionally heavy, the woman made a smug grin and slunk away into a nearby alley between The Creeping Spider and The Pasture, the horse shop just next door.

The alley was dusty and covered in dirt, but it was of enough seclusion for the woman, whose expression turned from smug to malevolent, or both. Her deep blue eyes seemed to reflect a certain malice that couldn't be compared to any mortal. And, in truth, she wasn't a mortal at all. Not even homeless or poor, at that. A brief display of magic caused her to turn into her true form: that of a hulking, red, armored lupine. A polished skull helmet graced its head and top jaw, and a long black cape lightly brushed the ground's surface. Ita, formerly disguised, chuckled as she counted her collected money. It's not to make money, she thought, it's so other people have less. And they thought they donated it to a good cause! That should teach them to never give things to poverty.

After counting the money, Ita held the coins in her paw took a deep breath, inhaling a long stream of blue fire straight at the currency. It melted together and formed a solid mass of useless metal. The lupine tossed it aside and shook the hand that held it, which was still burning. The fur had blackened but hadn't completely burned off yet. Ita disregarded the pain and proceeded to shapeshift into the form of a Celestial, with long robes and two towering white wings.

Emerging from the alley, Ita the Celestial looked around the port. It was still busy as ever, with boats coming in and out of the docks and crowds on foot moving in and out of the buildings lining the shore. She smiled to herself. Her humanoid spell, Alter Self, enabled her to shapeshift without having to give away her colors, which were becoming widely known the more she used them. Animals with her color scheme were starting to be seized by cults and burned alive. Too bad I can't be killed by burning alone. Oh well, I don't mind more animals dead these days. Like Garath Parradon.

Ita the Celestial looked around the corner and spotted two men talking. Due to their closeness in relation to the angel, she politely walked over and waited for a good time to come into the conversation.
"Apologies for interjecting, but do any of you by any chance know which general direction the Sanctuary of Angels is from here?" she asked as nicely as she could muster. One of them was an exotically-dressed elf, the other an old-looking human with a scruffy black beard. An odd pair to be talking to one another, in Ita's opinion. But she didn't care. She was looking forward to laughing hysterically when an angel attacks the Sanctuary of the Angels. It would cause much confusion and lots of chaos.