Arrival at the Island Town

After traveling the seas for a while, captain Maris and her first crew member Rafferty finally reach the Island Town.
As the name might suggest, it's a single town built onto multiple mostly rather small islands.

The islands are connected by bridges.
A few islands in the center seem especially populated.
And a bunch of these islands are also just empty hills of grass, especially the ones further away from the center.
It seems like a small variant of the whole known world to Maris.

Maris decides to leave her ship at one of these islands.
It should be less dangerous if the ship is a little hidden.
Besides that, she doesn't want to serch for a proper port between all these islands.
The port is probably somewhere in the center, and navigating through so many islands might be difficult, even if the distance between most of them is pretty huge.

So Maris docks her ship at one of the grass islands and leaves her ship together with Rafferty.

Maris doesn't know much about the actual town, but this is a pretty nice place already.
It's a relaxing meadow with a few small dirt paths showing them common routes which Maris and Rafferty gladly use.
It's a good change after being in such a crowded place as the Pirate Island before.

Oh, I really missed nature.
I didn't expect this when visiting one of the towns.

Yeah, it's really nice. But it's not like the Island Town is the only town related to nature.
Did you never read about the Garden Town before?
Each house there has a huge garden.
I've never been there, though. I heard they have some weird rules about ownership there...

I heard about that place. But not a lot.
It's not reachable by sea after all, so why would I care?

Maris wouldn't be surprised if somebody like him ended up in different parts of the world some day.
But she doesn't want to start a discussion and just agrees.

Soon the path leads them toward a long bridge.
The island on the other side already is full of buildings.
So they get on the bridge and keep walking.

I'm really looking forward to explore more of this place.
I hope we'll find a new member for our crew there.

Yeah, that would be nice.
Being part of a huge crew sounds fun.
I heard the people at this place are very spiritual here.

Sounds like you know a lot.
But what exactly does this mean? How could they be helpful to us?

I think they are very aware.
They have a deep understanding of themselves and their environment.

So they have a lot of knowledge?

I don't think, that's really it.
They are rather calm and very disciplined.
They only act when necessary.
So you probably could call them smart in some way.

So basically the opposite of you.

Maris laughs as she realizes what this would mean to her relationship to her next crew member, especially when thinking about one specific aspect.

I'm also smart! Just in a different way.
I'm sure they aren't as clever as me.

At least they wouldn't steal if it would cause problems I guess.

No need to hold this against me...
I've learned from my mistake...

Soon they reach the other side of the bridge and enter the actual town.
Despite a few larger buildings, the overall atmosphere remains decidedly rural.

The expansive streets are a pleasant sight for Maris.
She really likes this place.

Despite the bustling presence of merchants, fishermen, and craftsmen walking around, the overall atmosphere is rather rural.

As they keep walking, Maris and Rafferty are greeted by a different sounds and smells.
Soon they notice they're approaching a marketplace.

That smells delicious. Let's go there!

Didn't you eat something just before we left?

That was only one little snack.

It shouldn't hurt to take a look.

As they quickly walk through the marketplace, they see merchants selling exotic fruits, colorful textiles, and powerful weapons, mostly swords.

Some of the food looks pretty good, too.
But it's not cheap. Maris still has enough on the ship, so she doesn't want to waste her money.

That's enough for now.
Let's not forget our goal.

Already?!?

Yeah, we won't get to know a crew member here.
But we can come back later.

Okay, fine...
Merchants really wouldn't be that useful for our crew.

They leave the market place and cross a small bridge, where it's getting a little more silent again.
At every corner there are people sitting around, most of them meditating.

As they continue to explore the town, Maris notices that some of the inhabitants have swords with them.
And now that she pays attention, she realizes that almost every man has a sword with him, even if it's just a small one or hidden below his cloak.

Did you see this? They all have swords.
Maybe we could buy one for us?
I think this would especially be fitting for your role in the crew.

Uhm...
I never actually used a sword.
And I don't think I'd be skillful enough.
If we find some crew members here, they'll probably be better sword fighters than me.

Yeah, we should probably look for some sword fighters.

Maris suddenly approaches some guy with a sword walking by.

Hey, you!

Hello, young lady. How can I assist you?

Why is everybody so obsessed with swords at this place?

Well, dear child, this town is quite famous for its skilled sword fighters.
The best of the best from all around the world call this place their home.

Oh, that's fascinating.
I've spent most of my life on a small island, so I don't know that much about this world.

Maris hesitates to admit that she already skimmed through the books about the Island Town but has never taken the time to actually read them in detail.
She mostly got informed about places accessible by sea.
And her knowledge about these places is usually limited to the bare fundamentals.

You should at least educate yourself about the places you're visiting.
Don't make the same mistake again. There's a grand library on the neighboring island where you can learn more about this place and its culture.
You can also read a lot about various cultures in case you plan to visit more foreign places.
It's quite impolite to visit a new location without understanding its customs.

Yeah, I'm sorry.
I just started my journey a few days ago and didn't even expect to stop at this place.
But I'll take your advise seriously.

The man smiles warmly but sincerely at Maris.
He is proud to have imparted wisdom to the young traveler.

Maris and Rafferty keep going.

Why didn't you ask him where to meet these great sword fighters?

I was a little intimidated. I think it's best if we just go to the library as he suggested.

Oh, books are for losers.
I know enough about all the cultures.
I've been around a lot already.

Oh, then why didn't you tell me that they are known for sword fighting?

I thought, it's not that important. They are known for many things.
Especially for their books and their craftsmanship.
But we don't need writers or craftsmen in our crew.

Craftsmen would be helpful for our ship.

No, mechanicans would be helpful for our ship.
Craftsmen only build furniture. But the ones here mostly craft decoration, which is even more useless.
Would you like to have wooden statues and trash like that in evrey corner of the ship?

If it looks good, why not?
But you're right, this doesn't really seem helpful.

Exactly!

An artist would be nice, though.
I'd really like to have some art about our journey.

Really...?

But you're just trying to distract me.
Don't you think, a swordsman would be helpful to our crew?

Actually I thought, they wouldn't be that helpful.
Why would you want swordsmen?
I mean they are cool. But how are they of any use if we just can get better weapons?
We can just get bombs or pistols.
They even have very powerful laser guns in the city.

Laser guns probably won't work where we are going.
They use the same energy as the Light of Cian.
That's why it also has less technological ways to use it.

Okay, and what about pistols and bombs?

That's actually a good idea.
Would you like to use them yourself?
Maybe you can be our expert for this stuff?
It probably fits you better than swords at least.

Yeah, I know a bit about guns and bombs.
And I've used them before.
But I doubt, we'll be able to buy some here.
The Merchant Watres shouldn't be far from here, though.
Let's go there next.

Yeah, I also thought about this.
But I doubt we'll find new crew members there.

Yeah...
As I said before, Merchants wouldn't be that useful for our crew.
But it's still worth it to go there.
I also need some proper clothes.

Maris stops.

So, we're there. This must be the library.

They are standing in front of a huge building.
The signs imply this is a library.

Do you really want to go in there?
That's going to be boring...
I can't even read.

Maris is surprised. She didn't expect there are still people around who can't read.
Especially so close to the center of the known world...

I want to get in there.
It's important to get properly informed about the places here, so we can plan our next goals properly.
Maybe you can help me with that.

Okay, that actually sounds reasonable.
I'll come with you.

And so Maris and Rafferty enter the library together.