A warm breeze blew through the open doors and windows of the Lecherous Parrot. The breeze carried the bitter smells of Khosinga's Port through the tavern, but there were also the always present sweet undertones of the tropical flowers blooming farther up the hills towards the west of town. The spring, such as it was on the island, always brought with it the colorful and pleasant flowers of the myriad of plants. The rains would soon begin in earnest, and outside, to the west beyond the low summit of Khosinga's Peak, the high clouds were already graying with the promise of rains to come.

As Khiyara walked happily towards the door of the captain's house, she started making her mental list of supplies and gear they'd need for the Wind. She stepped out into the bright afternoon light and nearly choked when she saw who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Porto Vicenza sprawled ahead of the Sky Wind. The outer markers of the city's vast harbor were already behind the diminutive ship: lighthouses built on rocky islands that looked for all the world like massive crumbled columns marked the city's outer harbor extents, several miles from the city proper. Few ships were anchored in the outer harbor, save for a few old naval ships that were parked at sea.

There were forty minutes left before the Sky Wind was scheduled to depart. Haraldur and Enzo had been very efficient and quick in procuring what was needed for the next leg of the trip, and they had been back on board for some time. The crew had worked hard and had loaded the ship in about half the time they had estimated. The charts were ready for the next leg of their journey, there was absolutely nothing left to be done beyond maintenance tasks. The crew was mending sails and nets as they sat waiting.

Brallian's harbor was filled with dozens of deep-sea vessels at anchor. Smaller boats, some as large as the Sky Wind, darted between the larger merchants, ferrying men and goods to shore or to ship. The sky above was a friendly, brilliant blue with only a few wisps of clouds. A warm early spring day greeted the crew of the Sky Wind as the small ship approached Brallian's harbor.

Heading out from Kelpie's Saddle, Marius traversed the streets quickly, retracing his journey back to where he originally saw the girl outside the inn. She had said that a bar by the name of the Drunkard's Sigil was nearby. Stopping to ask for directions, he was quickly pointed down the street were he was a small wooden sign hanging from an outstretched pole that said, "The Drunkard's Sig". As he approached he noticed that the last few letters had been weathered out, and nobody had bothered to replace them.

Over the last two days of travel, Iain had spoken little. He spent much of the day riding in the back of one of the wagons, staring out over the broad River Tagellin as it flowed south past the wagons, back towards Brallian, and the evenings he spent alone in his chambers at the inns the wagons stopped at. The warm, cheery spring weather had little effect on his mood, and even the intermittent ribbing from Captain Hadeel had not affected him. The dark rings under his eyes suggested that his nights were no better than his days.