Would be fisherman or devious sabatouer?

[Dante Asunder]

Sunrise on the third brightening of the fifth cycle of the month of Kalendryas, in the Season of Winter, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum

Dante walked the docks of Demios and breathed in the pleasant sea air. The weather changed so rapidly here that Dante let his wings hang through the slits he made in the back of his robe. He would occasionally fan his wings when it was warm to cool himself off or keep them tucked to warm himself up. Either way he was enjoying a leisurely stroll down the docks. He hadn't seen any other dracons on his walk so he sent out the call to detect if any were around, more out of habit than anything. Dante didn't look armed, but one could be sure that he had a dagger up his sleeve.

[Whisper]

Sunrise always meant that the docks in any city--especially Demios--were busy. As ships docked and laid anchor, sailors hurried to unload cargo, check travel schedules, and make for the nearest pub. Workers hammered away at the old and worn buildings on the dock, constantly under construction. The morning's catch was being hauled away from fishing boats in droves, the still-struggling creatures slick and salty.

In the hustle and bustle of the docks, Dante was just another passerby. Granted, he was a scaly black passerby with wings and a tail... but many sailors had seen stranger.

In fact, one particular man, watching the struggling batch of fish with a pipe hanging out the corner of his mouth, acknowledged Dante with nothing more than a simple, "Oy."

[Dante Asunder]

Dante grinned at the acknowledgment. He approached the sailor watching the batch of struggling fish. "Serale, that's quite a catch. You need any help?" Dante asked in a friendly tone. He was agile and strong so he shouldn't have too much trouble helping with a fish net, but he acknowledged that it may be more difficult than it looks. He waited for the sailor to answer before either pitching in or posing a follow up question, "What kind of fish are those?"

[Whisper]

The man nodded nonchalantly. He carried a clipboard and several sheafs of paper under his arm, and he seemed less like a dock worker and more like a supervisor. He continued to watch the men who were loading the fish into crates. They seemed to have the situation under control.

"Codfish," he replied. "You can tell by the sort of brown and grey leopard spots." Taking the pipe from his mouth, he pointed at a nearby fish which had wriggled free of its captor's grasping hands. It had flopped closer to where the man and Dante stood, and in the early brightening's sunlight, the spots could clearly be seen. "Half are going to The Leap of Faith restaurant; the other half, to private buyers. People who dry fish, sell them from carts...

"You got an interest in fish?" the man asked, glancing at the dracon curiously.

[Dante Asunder]

"Yes Sir," Dante replied politely. "I am interested in starting my own fishing enterprise. I have already spoken to the Aedile about property and to the dock master about a vessel. I like the idea of freedom that being on the open sea entails so I figured it would be the perfect job for me, but admittedly I know very little about it other than it's wares are delectible to the palet." Dante gave the supervisor a friendly smile. "So do all the fish come through your facility here, or does your organization have it's own fleet?"

[Whisper]

"Hm! Fishing enterprise!" the man chuckled. Dante certainly made this business seem grand. "Well, Demios is an interesting place to bring your dreams. What with the unpredictable weather, we're lucky that we got us a catch today at all. It's not the best business, but men of the sea have to take what we can get where she puts us, eh?"

Replacing the pipe in his mouth, the man extended one hand towards Dante. He wasn't sure if dracons shook hands--or claws--but hey, it was worth a try. "Phineas Capreen," he said, by way of introduction. "Supervisor of the Demios docks.

"Yes, all fish and merchandise go through me. This is just one ship from one fleet. Perhaps the rest ran into a storm a while back, or they're still hauling their loads over. When they do come in, the captain of each ship reports to me how much of everything was caught or shipped over, then they have clearance to deliver and sell."

[Dante Asunder]

Not the best business Dante thought to himself.

Dante extended his claw and gave Phineas Capreen a firm hand shake. "A pleasure sir. So the weather is what causes this particular industry to be unprofitable in Demios? How does one get around that then?"

"So they must report their catch to you, then they are taxed on what they bring in? Or it is simply for bookkeeping purposes?"

Dante bent down and picked up the Codfish that had flopped near the two men. He gave the fish a sniff. "Hmm, this fish is tasty? Is it the best kind or should I try to catch something else?" He tossed the fish back into the net from where it escaped. Codfish. Dante had seen the spots and would remember the fish if he saw it again.

[Whisper]

Phineas nodded. "You know, they say that dragons are responsible for it. I'm not inclined to say either way... But most fishermen are prepared to face storms in winter and clear weather in summer and spring. We just have to live brightening to brightening, taking the weather as it comes. There's no real way of getting around it, and as a former captain myself, I must say that it's rather exciting, not knowing whether you'll get snow one brightening and boiling sun the next.

"It's for both taxing and bookkeeping. We need to keep track of what's being caught for our records. One era it was nothing but tuna! I suspect that was the work of the dragons too." Phineas chortled. "Each fleet is considered a separate business, and they pay taxes every era based on our records."

The dock supervisor grinned and puffed his pipe as Dante inspected the fish. "It's one of the city's most popular, certainly. A common fish, often fried. We also get tuna, salmon, shrimp, crab, and lobster. You get a little bit of everything out in this ocean, but those are what I see coming in most of the time.

"Captain Maddock's fleet has the cod trade virtually covered, though there are no laws saying that only one fleet may bring in a certain type of fish. But he already has good connections with The Leap of Faith and local vendors, so it might be hard to squeeze into that market.

"You know what I'd recommend, though..." Phineas said, peering at the paperwork on his clipboard. "A fleet just retired--Captain Sargam's fleet. Got tired of the weather, moved to Port Alyxandrya. It's a shame, too, because that fleet brought in the most crab I've ever seen."

He glanced up at Dante. "You say you have a ship ready? It's a bit small for a fleet, but it'll do for now. If you can bring back a good amount of crab, I'd say you'd be in business!

"Of course, that's entirely up to you. You could go after whatever you please. It's your fishing enterprise."

[Dante Asunder]

Dante laughed at the mention of Dragons. "Ha, dragons indeed. As if they would have the inclination to involve themselves in the type of fish being caught!"

Dante rubbed his chin as Phineas explained further. "So that's how it works. You tax every year based on your records, very interesting."

"A captain you say? Impressive. So would you be willing to give me any advice on crew hiring, ship maintenance and equipment purchasing?" Dante looked at Phineas for a moment before continuing, "You must be doing pretty well for yourself as dock supervisor to give up being Captain of an ocean going vessel, yeah?"

He continued to listen to Phineas' council. "Captain Sargam you say? In Alyxandrya? Any idea of where he went to find his crab? Did any of his crew decide to stay in Demios?"

Dante paid close attention as Phineas answered his questions. This was valuable information and all of it needed to be passed on to his employer.

[Whisper]

Phineas grinned. "I absolutely would. It's in Demios' economic interest to see the fishing industry do well. I'd have no reason not to. Do you have any sailing experience? Do you intend to captain the ship yourself?

"Let's see, Sargam's fleet..." Phineas looked at his clipboard and flipped to a map of Carmelyn Province. His finger traced the path from Demios north to the waters between Terenshire and Trysvale. "Right there.

"And as for Sargam's crew, aye, they stayed. All of them, in fact. Been drinking themselves to death in The Leap of Faith ever since they've been out of jobs. You'd be sure to find 'em there."

[Dante Asunder]

Dante grinned at Phineas, "I would like to, captain the ship that is. I am not fool hardy enough to believe that someone can simply jump in a boat, call himself captain, then know everything about sailing. Do you know anyone reliable who would be willing to teach me the in and outs of navigation, sailing, etc.? I'd be willing to pay, I'll even pay you to do it if your interested."

Dante memorized the location of the rich crab waters, according to Phineas. He would confirm with the out of work sailors at the Leap of Faith, but it worked for now.

"You've been very helpful Phineas. If I have any other questions can I come and ask you? Because once I get my enterprise going I think I would like to break out into other fish types, understand?" Dante extended a claw to Phineas. "The next time your in the Leap of Faith the first drinks on me, Dante offered to his new friend."

Dante politely excused himself and headed for the Leap of Faith. Once there he scanned the crowd for trouble as he moved to the bar. "Serale Helgga, how are things?" Dante gave the large blonde woman a nod. "So tell me, which group of these gentlemen are from Sargam's crew?" Dante tossed her a crown to encourage her to help him out.

[Whisper]

"A wise decision. I'd teach you, but I don't own a ship anymore, and I have little time off as it is. I'll tell you where you can get sailings lessons, though: The Ivory Wings Universitas. The price is fair and you're sure to get a quality lesson there."

As Dante made to leave, Phineas gladly shook the dracon's claw. "Certainly, my friend. I'm out here every brightening, and I'll make a note of your offer. Best of luck!"

The Leap of Faith was crowded for the usual rosyun rush. Plates of pancakes and toast were on almost every table. A few men were at the bar, but it wasn't as rowdy as darkenings usually were. Helgga manned the front desk, as usual, catching Dante's golden crown in her pudgy hands. She made a derogatory sound pointed with a single finger to the table in the back left corner.

Well, it was two tables, actually, that had been pushed together. A group of nine scraggly-looking men crowded around a veritable treasury of glasses and pint mugs, laughing heartily among themselves. In fact, it seemed that they were making enough noise to fill the entire dining room. They were pounding the table, slapping each other on the back, and spilling ale--good ale--all over themselves.

"And then-- and then, I says to 'im," shouted one sailor in particular, who was wearing his hat crooked, "'What's that on your 'ead, Charlie?' And he says, 'What, where?'" He gestured theatrically as he yelled, slopping his ale over a nearby customer. "Up he puts his 'and, and there goes Charlie runnin', crabs on his fingers and and cryin' like a baby!"

The crew roared with laughter, playfully punching the man who appeared to be Charlie. He was sitting at the head of the table, and he laughed louder than any of them.

"Here's to the good ol' days of crab fishin'," he announced, raising his tankard in the air. The rest of the men followed suit with a hearty "AYE!" and downed their drinks.

[Dante Asunder]

Dante made his way to the table, trying to avoid the flying portions of Ale as the rowdy men waved their mugs about. "Serale Gentlemen," Dante stated as he approached, "allow me to buy you all a round." Dante called to the serving girl and motioned for a round of drinks. "Mind if I join you?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," Dante stated as he extended his claw to each man in turn. "I am Dante, new to Demios. I have recently invested in a small ship so as to make a go in the crab fishing industry. I am looking for a crew for crab fishing, among other things, and I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Tell me, do you know where I could find some quality sailors, in particular a few with unique knowledge of fertile crab fishing grounds?"

Dante looked at each man in turn, to see if they understood what he was saying.

[Whisper]

The men hardly cared who Dante was or why he had come; all they knew was that more alcohol was forthcoming. They cheered to Dante and happily pulled him out a seat at the table, shaking his claw heartily.

"Welcome to Demios, Dante," said Charlie, leading the men in yet another toast and guzzle of ale. "Helgga tipped you onto us, didn't she? Aye, we're Sargam's crab fishing crew, and we're the best crab fishers you'll find around here." He introduced everyone around the table: included were Keran and Meran, twins; Olio, Deritz, and Charlie himself, who had been Captain Sargam's first mate. It turned out that the other men had simply joined the crew of five for a drink.

"As for knowledge 'bout the grounds," hiccupped Olio, who had told the story about Charlie earlier, "I was Sargam's navigator, so I'd say I know best of anyone." Though the crew certainly had been drinking for several candlemarks, they seemed to have sobered up at the idea of a job.

[Dante Asunder]

Dante looked at each of Sargam's old crew in turn. "I have a 6 man fishing vessel that I am planning on using for crab fishing. You will have other duties besides crab fishing, but I will go into more detail regarding those in the future. For those of you who are interested, sober up and meet me at the 'Hatorania' at first brightening tomorrow." Dante shook all their hands again and headed out the door.

Just before sunrise at the next brightening Dante was at the docks in front of the Hatorania conversing with Old Beard. "Well Mr. OldBeard if they are interested they will be here any moment."