|Encounter|

"The beginning light has appeared, time for the market to open!"

A magic amplified voice echoed throughout the dock.

A man in a sailors uniform walked out of his lodging. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight peering over the horizon.

"The gates are about to open," He muttered to himself, "I hope the merchants bring some interesting wares. Things are starting to become a little boring. Especially since that recent scare. Almost all of the establishments in the entertainment districts closed their doors."

The sailor soon joined in with the others who have started cleaning up and organizing the harbor.

"The opening bell will be ringing soon!" The harbor master announced to the harbor. "Finish your final checks and get ready to welcome the merchant ships."

With this call, the harbor soon descended into organized chaos, with men running around like a well oiled machine.

Half an hour later, a distant bell chime could be heard, ringing out three times from the old cathedral.

The ancient mechanisms started rumbling, the river gate soon parted ways, allowing the fleet of ships to enter the city.

At the harbor, a group of sailors were soon joined by the city's garrison to help with documenting and inspecting the docking ships.

Many old merchant fleets were given priority due to their reputation and power, it wasn't until just after midday that the independent and wandering merchants were able to dock and unload their goods.

Soon a very exotic looking merchant fleet attracted much attention, due to the foreign people manning the fleet, as well as their heavy accented common that they spoke. Moreover a accent never heard before.

As soon as they docked, a whole squad of garrison troops as well as a large detachment of sailors welcomed them, much to their horror and concern.

"Just what is the meaning of this welcoming party?" The captain of the fleet complained to the garrison head.

"Standard procedures!" He yelled back, "We have never seen your ships here before! We don't know what to expect with your ships, thus such a large team has been assembled!"

"Most independent merchants don't sail with this many ships. If you want to dock and sell your wares, you must comply with this inspection or be sunk for suspicious activity!"

Grimacing, the captain fell into thought before releasing a defeated sigh before acquiescing to their demands.

"We welcome your men onboard, but my men will be keeping an eye on them." The captain responded, before ordering his men to lower the boarding ramps and proceeding with the inspection.

----------

"Can you explain what this object does?"

"That is a writing utensil. It has ink embedded within itself so a ink jar is no longer needed to scribe."

"I don't believe that! How can such a tiny object be used to scribe with? The finest feather pens and ink bottles take up a good portion of the desk, and those are just the required tools!"

"If you don't believe me, I would be happy to show you it's ability to scribe, I can even let you test it out."

"Good God it actually scribes! Just how in the world is it able to do so!?"

"Unfortunately, I only know how to use it. I have no idea how it's made nor the mechanisms behind it. All I know is the captain managed to get a whole crate of this stuff."

Conversations like this took place amongst many of the sailors and inspectors across the whole fleet.

As the head inspector received constant updates from his men, he turned to question the captain.

"Quite the cargo I must say Captain..."

"You can call me Captain Jack, head inspector."

"Yes... Captain... Jack." The inspector replied, unfamiliar with the pronunciation of the name. "Do tell, where in the world did you acquire such cargo?"

"Ho ho ho!" Captain Jack laughed aloud. "I'm afraid I can't answer that inspector. A merchants source is his bloodline. You can get it over our dead body."

"He he, It is just a jest Captain." The inspector laughed back. "Just trying to make conversation with you. There is still much unknown about your fleet Captain."

"Unknown we are Inspector. If you have questions, ask away, but let me inform you ahead of time, I might not be able to answer them all to your satisfaction."

"No worries. Let me start off with 'What is your fleets affiliation?'" The inspector started off.

"We are affiliated with ourselves, inspector. We are all castaways who have been collected by a benevolent sponsor." The captain answered, immersed in nostalgia as he thought back to his beginnings.

"Understandable, many of the independent merchants here are in the same boat. A loss of identity in an attempt to escape their circumstance. Can I ask, what is a... Sponsor?" Another unfamiliar term caused the inspector to ask for clarification.

"A sponsor is a person or family that takes interest in the potential of a individual and seeks to invest in them in hopes of a massive payout in the near or far future."

"Ah, that makes more sense. So they are basically a patron for you."

"Not quite but close enough." The captain chuckled to himself. "Anymore questions?"

"A few more." The inspector said as he wrote down the new word.

As the inspector conversed with Captain Jack, a crewmate came and informed him that all goods have been unloaded and ready to be moved into the market. 

"Well then inspector, are we allowed to sell our wares here?" Captain Jack asked as he dismissed the crewmate.

"Oh my, go right ahead, my apologies. Got too intrigued in the conversation." The inspector hastily replied, before taking one last look and disembarking the strange ship.

"I would love to invite you for a drink at one of the taverns. I have a feeling that many folk here would love to hear the stories you have."

"I shall take up that invitation." Captain Jack happily responded. "But at a later time. I have to make sure my men don't cause mayhem and misplace any of the goods."

"Understandable Captain." The inspector replied, just using his title since pronouncing his name was still hard on the tongue. "May the golden anchor bless your fleet!"