"All welcome to the ancient city of Delphinus!" shouted the men atop the skeletal parapets jutting out from solid rock of the dormant volcano. The man looked precariously balanced, as if a gust of wind would send him plunging into the dark waters below. He shouted his greeting again as another ship passed below him into the gaping maw of the man made cave. The precipitous opening was large enough to allow entrance to even the tallest of ships sailing the blue, and small enough to be dwarfed by the looming rock above.
"This is simply amazing!" the awed merchant said with his mouth fully open. He was staring at the intricate designs carved into the rock, relaying a smattering of messages in all sorts of languages to everyone. Some of the runs sent greetings, others interpreted laws, and still other were signs of protection to ward off evil water spirits and other such deep sea menaces.
The merchant, Mathas, was of medium height with a very slim build. (he was always told he had a body of an elf) His thin blonde hair hung limply at his shoulders as his"sea-green eyes took in the details of his surroundings. He was not a wealthy man (yet), so his clothes did not resemble the rich butterfly silks that most noblemen of his island wore. Rather, he was fitted in the light woolen llama vest and cotton pantaloons most middle-class traders of his homeland preferred.
"I'm here and I still can't believe what I'm seeing." Mathas said to anyone willing to listen. He was staring at the inside of the volcano now. "Its huge. Its incredibly huge! There must be nothing larger in all the blue."
"Um, sir, Excuse me, but who exactly are you talking to?" The voice startled Mathas into sudden silence but he quickly regained his composure.
"Well, since you seem to be listening, I would guess I'm talking to you my good man." Mathas answered. He practiced, honeyed voice was meant to soothe the frugal Mind and relieve a patron the extra burden of a heavy purse. The man he was talking to was young, about mid-twenties, and physically fit from a few years at sea tugging on ropes, hoisting sails, and swabbing decks. He also had sun-weathered skin and hardchiseled features that seem to jump off his face.
"You must be new here." he said. After a nod from Mathas he continued, "for a very small fee I could give you a guided tour of the city and keep you out of trouble."
"Ahh, good sir, it sorrows me so to tell you that I would much rather take my chances alone than part with the meager funds at my disposal. Maybe next time." Mathas did his best to sound most regretful.
"In that case you are many times the wiser than I first made you out to be. A man who is too willing to part with his coin is often the one who ends up poor and homeless in this city. May you fare well and bargain even better." The sailor then walked off to secure the lines to the docks that they were now closing upon. "Delphinus, City of Illusion, here I come." Mathas whispered to himself as he departed the ship.
The docks were built of Tagha wood and darkly stained with rich whale oils to preserve and strengthen them. Although they were finely built, the docks were nothing spectacular. It was the area beyond the amazed Mathas most. On other islands Mathas had visited the docks were built to the edge of the land and stopped there. Here, being inside a volcano, there wasn't enough land to go around, so they built more "land" by creating large areas of wooden walkways.
Mathas walked straight up to a husky man sitting behind a desk made of the same wood as the planks. The man wore a brocaded yellow vest covering a white woolen shirt, both having stains in various places. His short beard was braided with a multi-colored beads and other baubles and his hair was balding at the top.
State your name, point of origin, and business." he said in a bored and tedious tone. "I am called Mathas, of the Isle of Foghar, and I am here to invest my time in opening new markets for all to profit in." Mathas bowed with a flourish. As he did he noticed irregular groves in the Tagha wood floor. Mathas looked back up quickly so the clerk in front of him would not suspect his observation.
"You have three days to finish your task." the large man droned on. "After which you will report back to me and state any further intentions you have regarding our fine city. If you do not arrive on this very spot by noon of the third day you will be sought out, arrested, and then deported, never to return on pain of eternal imprisonment or, if suitable at the time, death. Do you understand?" While stating these words in all their tediousness the clerk was busy writing out a pass for Mathas to keep on his person while here. Mathas knew that losing the pass would probably be very inconvenient for the man in front of him. And in all likelihood the clerk would probably forget that Mathas was even here within the next few minutes and without the pass Mathas wouldn't be able to buy passage to leave the city. "No pass, no passage" is how the saying went.
"Yes, thank you very much. Your dedication to duty inspires me to no end. May you find fortune on the blue." Mathas cheerily jibed as he quickly moved away from the trap door beneath his feet.
As he walked along the edge of the docks, Mathas came into sight of the first of many tall, stone statues. These statues ran along the walkway to both sides of the bay which-was the center of the city. The figures were an imposing twelve feet tall and resembled armored warriors. ready for battle. Most curious about them was they all had a reflective surface on their round shields casting light into the far corners of the dark insides of the mountain. The glare blinded Mathas when he looked directly into them. He did think though that the design was truly ingenious.
The merchant continued into the heart of the city looking for a specific place where he would find a man named Vardak. The place was a tavern called The White Foam, and Vardak was its proprietor. He was told to go there by his childhood friend and business partner Kay. She said Vardak can tell you anything you want to know about the city of Delphinus, and anything you might not want to know as well.
"I wish you were here now, Kay." Mathas thought and he found himself in yet another dead end street. "This city is like an elven reef with no water inside." Mathas was of course referring to the ancient elven race that dwelt beneath the waves. The beautiful, slender demi- humans made their homes in many of the coral reefs that surrounded some of the southern isles. The elves used a special technique to grow the coral into whatever .shape that was suitable to make their homes. Human seafarers have been trying for centuries trying to master this strange method of growth control but never have discovered its closely guarded secret.
Mathas peered around another corner to see a wooden sign hanging with a painting of a large mug of ale with cresting waves pouring over the sides. Breathing a sigh of relief at finally finding his destination, Mathas pushed through the louvered swinging doors and scanned the main room of this low-class sailor hangout. The barroom was sparsely occupied. In a corner a couple of dock workers on lunch talked about the hardships of their job. A young boy swept the cobwebs off of the windowsills and two old wrinkled men were sipping a brew at the counter. Mathas walked over to the opposite side of the bar and chose a stool without many slivers to sit on.
The bartender, who was missing before, made his way out of the back room with a half-keg labeled "Vardak's Special".
"I'll have some of that." Mathas pointed. The bartender rolled the keg into a special stand just made for this purpose. "Will ya now lad? And who might ya be? I don't give me special brew ta just any bloke that swaggers in here ya know."
"My name is Mathas. I'm a friend of Kay's." Mathas said, slightly taken back by the bartender's crude speech.
"Are ya now? Well, any friend of Kay's is a friend of mine. It's nice to meet ya lad. The name's Vardak if it be pleasin' ya. Welcome to The White Foam." "Home of the finest ale in town if n I don't mind saying so myself " Vardak came right over and shook Mathas' hand as if Mathas were a long lost friend, come back from a six month voyage on the blue. "So what are ya doing on this rock Mathas?" Vardak asked while sliding over a dripping mug of ale.
"I'm looking to drum up a little business." Mathas said. While sipping on the ale Mathas took the time to savor the bittersweet flavor of the ale. "I need something new and different so I can capitalize on an initial market without worrying about instant competition. The problem is my resources are limited. The only thing we have back home is llama wool and tagha wood, and there are certainly enough traders dealing with that around here."
"I don't be knowing of this'll help ya or not but I know this fella who works for the government. He helps run that new water system they gots going here. Really good for that brewing business I tell ya." Mathas thanked the man and paid for a room to stay the night and get a fresh start tomorrow.
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