<strong>Ivette</strong><br/><br/>True to his word, her employer had arranged for her to be quickly received. A well-dressed man holding a sign reading 'Ivette.' was waiting for her after she stepped off from the creaky iron ladders laid down between the dock and the ship to allow the passengers to depart. He was a handsome man, elven it seemed, or at least part-elven with young features upon his face. He may have been less than a century old by her reckoning if he was pure-blooded, and a third of that if a half-breed. His hair was bound backwards into a bun and he wore an exotic sort of dress, more like a robe than anything else.<br/><br/>When she eagerly approached him, he quickly realized that he had found who he was looking for. "Come. We should discuss our business in private." He said as he turned away and began steadily walking down the docks, "I am afraid my home is quite some distance from here." There weren't very many people up on the docks, but her elevated view above the city offered a vantage point into the crowded streets below. They descended down a large spiral staircase, wide enough for four people to stand side-by-side. In the distance, she could see taller buildings, up on a hill apparently. The skydock seemed to be part of the lower-class part of town.<br/><br/>On the lowest level of the city, the elven man summoned a carriage and politely opened the door for her. "My name is Sellowyn, and I hope Luan is to your liking." He said once they were inside, "I must confess that I am not fond of the decision to put the skyport in the... seedier part of town. It is a shame that our visitors from Aeune cannot be treated to the palacial gardens as they depart from their long journey."<br/><br/><strong>Dexter</strong><br/><br/>"So you're an Archivist, eh? Isn't that supposed to make you like some sort of powerful mage?" A dark bandana-wearing woman in a floofy white shirt said as she scrutinized the young man, Dexter Astrapi. It had been the first time she talked to him personally since their voyage on the high seas had began, "A bit young, inne'?" She asked her comrade, an eye-patched woman in a loose red striped shirt and form-fitting leggings. She returned to the wheel, squinting over into the distance as fog began to roll in.<br/><br/>The dark-skinned woman, a former pirate, was the captain of their humble vessal. Though it was her ship, Dexter was in charge of this expedition. He was the subject matter expert here... They were travelling to the sunken cities of Ongwyn, just south of the Theocratic Union. Apparently an archaic tower was seen poking out of the sea by a pair of goblin fishermen recently. It was not long before a scholar hired Dexter to conduct an exploration of the ruins.<br/><br/>"How'd the little green bastards see anything in this fog, anyways?" A blonde crew-member complained as she rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. His employer never told him that his bodyguards would all be former pirates, much less an all-female band of them. Maybe he didn't know, the 'Crimson Cutlass Mercenary Band' doesn't exactly indicate much of the organization's structure beyond an apparent fondness for bladed weapons.<br/><br/>But the fog was getting worse. It was a common complaint around these parts, and mostly what had dissuaded exploration in the past. "Good thing I'm being paid by the day." The captain said as she let go of the wheel and turned to her first mate, "We're staying put for now.