Ter'aquit, Mercantile Capital of the West

I led the triop to a curtained-off corner of the shop. Pulling out a small, temporary transit card, I swiped the nearby crystal. Instantly, the curtain parted for us, revealing a wide hallway with a dozen unlabeled arches.

Actually, at this point, two arches were currently labelled: Sutin’eli and Ter’aquit.

After reassuring the triop that the travel method was safe, I led the group onto the large floor-mounted platform beyond the Ter’aquit archway. With a second of waiting, the sigil etched into the stone dais flared a pale blue before instantly transporting us.

One moment, I had been in the brightly lit space of Phyllis’ shoppe, and he next thing I knew, I was in a musky, dimly lit basement.

“Welcome to Ter’aquit.” The attendant to the side spoke lazily from behind a book. Running a hand through his greasy, slicked-back hair, he motioned to the side. “Please exit the sigil promptly and take the door to the left.”

“Thanks,” I said, looking to the others before motioning to the exit. “Shall we?”

I forgot that the Ter’aquit Magosdrome was a bit sketchy. The other group of Phyllis employees had to grease a few palms to get the necessary approval in this economic hub city. Some of those included working with the local Thieves Guild and installing the Magosdrome at one of their sanctioned locations.

Making a hasty departure, I stepped up the stone stairs and emerged onto a pier. The sudden blast of fresh ocean air and cacophony of a busy thoroughfare confused my senses.

We were officially in Ter’aquit, the merchant city of western Moal’aw. A city with architecture designed to resemble an Arabian Venice. Breathtakingly beautiful mosaics hung on stone and stucco structures, with the occasional gold or lapis lazuli dome-topped towers breaking up the horizon. Crystal clear canals, wide enough for multiple dinghies to pass each other, allowed access to eighty percent of the oceanside city, with major waterways on the outskirts situated for larger ships, like galleons, to move easily to any of the numerous wharfs.

I marvelled at the scenery before looking at my companions, expecting the same level of interest. But I was disappointed to see that they were completely uninterested and instead appeared to be gathering their bearings.

“Isn’t this place cool?” I asked them.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Rionriv said as she gripped her bottomless bag tightly. “Hold onto your possessions. Thieves in this part of the city are usually pretty bad. Why would they set up a Magosdrome here?”

“Have you been here before?”

“Yeah. Last summer.” Aesandoral replied, giving a cautionary nod towards Rionriv.

Ah, they stopped here at some point along their failed mission. No wonder they couldn't care less about the place. They probably see it as foreboding to be here. Maybe we should skip the free day exploring the city that I had planned. I can just come back by myself another time.

“Hmm, why don’t we just hail a ferry to the North-East Shipmasters Ward? That would probably be the safest route.”

“Probably,” Rionriv agreed as she raised a hand and waved to a small passing gondola. “Hey, looking for passage!”

Loading in quickly, I watched as Rionriv paid the gondolier a single gold coin before asking him to drop us off in the northeast. He nodded with a smile, quickly pocketing the overpaid fare without question and moving out.

As we passed through the canals, our boat drifted under stone walkways and vibrant tarps that shielded us from the harsh sun. Moving alongside bigger and smaller boats alike, I marvelled at the wonder of the inner city before eventually rounding the southernmost inlet where massive galleons came and went in a coordinated flow.

The efficiency of the hundreds of ships coming and going every day was only accomplished thanks to the Ter’aquit Master Lighthouse. The grand tower, over three hundred feet in height, functioned as the city’s vessel traffic system, where local maritime Magilancers directed the flow of ships.

Remaining close to the edge of the inner city, we passed a narrow patch of vendors reaching out over the water as they peddled their wares. With the flick of a silver piece, they handed over fresh citrus, which I marvelled over. Distributing them to my companions, I reached into my bag for something else I had purchased in secret back in the shop.

“Hey, so I also bought these for this mission.”

I handed out three thin discs with a simple rune etched over their surface. Holding the fourth relatively minor magic item between my thumb and index finger, I placed it flush to my temple. Immediately, a momentary icy sensation flowed through my mind as magic pooled at that spot before comfortably warming back to my normal body temperature.

“You shouldn’t have,” Aes remarked, taking the device and inspecting it. “What is it?”

“It’s so we can talk to each other if we get separated,” I explained and tapped the item. “With this, even when we’re out of eyesight, we can tap it and keep each other informed of sudden threats or windfalls.”

“Like this?” Sharzin spoke softly, her finger pressed to her temple.

Like this? Her voice echoed in the back of my mind. A chill charged down my spine at the new voice whispering in my head.

“Oy, that’s a weird sensation, but yes.”

The other two quickly followed our lead, affixing the magical jewelry and testing them out. By the time we had explored the group and private messaging features of the items, we had reached the northeastern shore.

Disembarking, I glanced behind us at the massive shipyard as a large vessel slipped out from the warehouse and into the water. Running at a standard pace, each of the three shipyards across the bay from us produced a new mercantile galleon once every three days. It was an impressive display of manufacturing that all but guaranteed Ter’aquit as the mercantile hub of the new world.

Shifting my gaze before us, I stared at the steady incline to the cliffside agricultural districts and the breadbasket territory of Moal’aw beyond that. The same direction as our first real-world adventure together.