The port town of Anfaigh was an exotic market town on the Northern coastline of the Ruby Empire, bordering a great jungle to the Southwest and a wasteland to the East.  The bustling city was full of unsavory figures, including the local authority, mercenaries serving a sorcerer king that lords over the region in the name of the Emperor. Trade while flourishing was questionable at best, as many of the goods are likely stolen or looted from jungle or wasteland ruins or corpses of their previous seller. From what new wares arrived, quality goods were almost immediately bought by the upper class, favored lackeys or relatives to the magus Mord Jalazar.<br/>Like everywhere else, those with power and wealth could get anything they wanted, including the people living below them, working for barely enough to survive, their only hopes of improving their lives was by either selling their daughters as slaves or trying to marry them to men of some rank.<br/>For the women, fate here offered little besides life as a slave, a dancer, a whore or some combination thereof. The reason they didn't flee was as simple as the dangers of the wilderness outside Mord Jalazar's realm, as well as the considerable discounts the womenfolk get on lodging and food. In fact, living expenses are almost nonexistent, and if one is willing to do as they are told, the women are kept safe inside the city, only having to suffer the lusts of their protectors.<br/><br/><div class="floatright"><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Drake</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7f/9f/65/7f9f652a4c2e28de0943827c828b2a6f--pulp-art-fantasy-art.jpg)</div></div></div>Some of this was evident the moment the adventurers set foot in this town, the rest was explained by their friend, Drake Stormgale after finding him that evening, drinking and playing cards at a crowded, seedy local tavern that housed a number of travelers, though there were plenty of drunks lying around in the corners, and off-duty soldiers drinking their pay away or toying with scantly-clad whores or busty serving girls.<br/>After cursing his bad luck and letting the other players leave with their winnings, Drake quickly cleared the table and made room for his companions. All of them were women, brave, beautiful women of strength, skill and cunning, the kind that was usually beheld with envy and lust in a world where their place would be under their masters.<br/><br/>"I must say, more of came than I expected. Maybe my luck's turning after all. Never mind that just now, I'm glad to see you here. Well, not sure about the here part, but still good to see you." he spoke, ordering a round of drinks, cheap wine for everyone. "Though some introductions might be in order, fear not that you are among friends. I fought side by side with you all at one point, risked my life and received the same in return from you. We were comrades, partners, companions." In some cases perhaps that was true in more than one way, after all in a life of adventure, the next day was never granted and Drake has learned what he encouraged in others as well, to live the moment. He adjusted his chainmail, the armor in a much worse shape now than when the girls last saw it. His trusty longsword was at his side as always, leaned against the table in its sheath, a shorter blade, his backup was still on his belt. His helmet that he wore over his shoulder length dark hair was missing, as were several accessories he used to wear, though physically he still looked as fit and strong as always, an imposing powerful figure complete with sunkissed, bronze colored complexion.<br/>"Hope you like the wine, it's the last that my horse got me." he said jokingly, though with slight bitterness. "Not sure you'll like this town though, but opportunities rise where you'd least expect them."<br/><br/>He gave the quick rundown of town then started explaining a bit of this opportunity he used to bring the four beauties here.<br/>"Word is that the sorcerer who governs this part of the land is looking for something. I may have stumbled upon the means of it not too long ago. While it'd be easy to let him know what I got and get a few gems and maybe wine and women for a night, there's a smarter way of going about this. One man couldn't quite manage it but a team of seasoned adventurers, a company of heroes, sure. These sorcerer kings are appointed to govern the lands by the Grand Vizier himself. Getting on the good side of one means position, power, riches and secrets at the least. More importantly, it's a way into the Royal Capital where honor and glory await." he explained. While dealing with wizards wasn't easy, it was true that someone in such a high position could open a lot of doors.<br/><br/>Drake picked up some of the cards lying around and pushed them to the middle of the table, each one painted with the picture of a royal looking woman holding an object, corresponding to the four suites in the deck, just like the four women around the table were from different background and skills.<br/><br/>(http://www.altacarta.com/pictures/RiderWaite-D.jpg)<br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Welcome to the start of our grand game! Opening aside, we'll be jumping into the first adventure in just a little bit. First of all I would like each of the players to describe their characters, their arrival and introduction to the others. If you like and the character would have divulged such a story they can share how they know the warrior and what adventure they had in the past. Going forward we will assume that introductions and some sharing of backstories happen here on the opening night, Drake doing his best to ease any tensions and create the foundation of trust for when the adventuring begins! Quipping, remarks and referencing character backgrounds during exploration will also be encouraged!<br/><br/>As long as your RP deepens the character, adds to the world in some way (just think more hyborian age than high fantasy), you can get <em>inspiration</em> to save you the next time those nasty dice rolls ruin your moment.<br/><br/>Speaking of dice rolls, DM rolls will not be public but the results of the rolls will be in an OOC box. A pet peeve of mine is that I do not trust online dice rollers so I am going to use my physical dice to make rolls. You are allowed to do the same, I won't require links for online dice rolls and I leave it to your honour not to fake the rolls. <br/></div></div>