Steep rocky clifs mixed with a few small sandy beaches. At least that is how the landscape appeared to be at a small distance away from the harbour. After spending all morning at the market, Kitty had wandered off towards the seashore, attracted by its endless panoramic views. It was the first time ever in her entire life she saw such a stretched surface, such an immense rippling blanket of jewel-blue. Squabbling seagulls flew overhead and made their way towards the port where they probably hoped to catch some of the waste left behind on the streets after the market had finished packing up. Beneath her bare feet the world seemed dipped in earthshine-gold and in the distance the horizon seemed hemmed in fish scale-silver. Small, whispering waves cascaded gently onto the shore and over her toes. The sound of it was alien to her, but kinda soothing nonetheless.
It was all so refreshing and so completely different from the green world where she had been able to hide like… everywhere. Here, the only place where one could hide seemed between those cliffs or… out there, under water. Kitty shivered a moment though by the thought of being out there all alone in the open, with no place to hide, with no land -let alone a tree- in sight. She concluded to herself she liked the sea... watching it from the landside.
She started to make her way back in the direction of the port again. Soon the ground below her feet turned into a rocky shore consisting of rocky ledges with pools of salty water, small boulders and pebbles. She assumed when perceiving the horizontal color variations on the rocks that the water from time to time got way higher, submerging for varying lengths of time a large part of the land that was now visible to her.
Water mixed with sand swept glently over her toes and suddenly, during a moment when she wasn’t paying any attention where she was placing her feet, a burning feeling shot up from her left foot through her leg. Kitty stopped and turned her foot over. It appeared she had cut her foot on something sharp, probably a rock or shell. She muttered softly under her breath and decided to get out of the water. After putting her boots on, the white haired girl made her way over the rocks effortlessly towards the road up ahead. Less than an hour later she entered Neverwinter again. She looked around. It was obvious people didn’t sleep out in the open here, so she figured she needed to search for a place to stay. Going back to the forest that was called the Neverwinter Woods would just take her too long.
“Uhm, Mister!? Excuse me!” Kitty ran over to a man carrying a large bag of grain, and who stopped to answer the girl.
“Arrr, what be happenin', lassie?”
Kitty blushed when she noticed the man turning to her was quite… colossal, with a bundle of muscles at a display on the arm supporting the bag. But, he appeared to be rather friendly and she assumed he was some sort of sailor.
“Hi… uhm… I won’t keep you up for long. But could you please tell me where I could find a place to stay for the night? I’m… I’m kinda new around.”
The man shifted the bag to adjust the weight and rolled his shoulder before he said,“ Aye lassie, then ye have t’ be at them Golden Apple. ‘tis jist below th’ road on th’ left … a fair maiden Diga serves th’ rum ‘n ale. Be tellin' her Rick sent ye. But he has some jobs t’ complete , so if ye don’ mind.” His face was still friendly but it was obvious that even to a man of his calibre the bag was getting kinda heavy.
Kitty nodded,” Apple..? Oh?” She giggled,” Uhm… sure sure, thanks alot! Good luck mister Rick with the deliveries!” And she dashed off.
The man shook his head and resumed his path mumbling under his breath,” Kookoo bananas…”
A few minutes later Kitty found herself standing before a building in a clean alley that formed a connection between the docks and one of the main roads leading deeper into the city. The facade featuring a bronze apple above the entrance seemed old yet behind it was the bustle of a well-kept, authentic sailor tavern offering a wide range of to Kitty unidentifiable drinks. Inside, the brick bar on the side and its towering shelves with hundreds of bottles was really an eye catcher. The furniture used was rather crude. The tables seemed to be a more permanent part of the structure, probably because they had been knocked over in the past one too many times. Much light came from the fire in the hearth located at the centre of the inn, but there were also some tallow candles and grease lamps all around the place and bright enough to relieve the darkness of the room.
Kitty looked around and could see this was a place where stories were told as well as teeth were lost. The front part of the inn appeared to be the place for drinking, chatting and perhaps an occasional brawling, while in the back food seemed to be served. The place happened to be fairly empty however except for a small group of sailors dicing over some coin in the left corner of the taproom.
When one of them caught sight of Kitty, he poked one of his fellow players and stroked over his greasy hair in order get it lie flat. He stomped on the wooden floor in order to get her attention and waved at her.
“Ey, pretty missy! Like ta join us t’day? Ye get ‘em free drink from Ol’ Dirk!”
Kitty looked over at the group and saw the man who had called for her. The man had a tanned, leathery skin that went for the years on deck of a ship. He wore a white, loose cotton shirt, barely hiding a strong and muscular torso. His hair was blond, his eyes were as blue as the ocean she had seen before, and in his left ear he had a set of golden earrings. When he widened his grin, she could see he was missing at least one tooth at the corner of his mouth. On his side was a fine long blade which Kitty identified as a rapier, and with its hilt gleaming in the low light of the candles on the ceiling, there was evidence enough that it was being used extensively. Around his neck he wore golden adornments and to Kitty he certainly looked successful and… kinda attractive. She estimated him to be early thirties.
Curiously she walked over and approached the table with men looking up at her. Dirk, or whatever his name was grinned widely and stretched his arm to her.
“That be right, lil lass, ye c’ming ta see Ol’ Dirk now then ey?” He scratched his three-day beard,” What Dirk be ta wondering is how much ye ask fer... a nice screw!”
Suddenly everything happened really fast. The man moved quickly and grabbed Kitty by the wrist in order to pull her close against him. But at the same time a rotating blinking blade splitting air passed her ear and thunked in the wooden beam next to the sailor’s left arm.
A female voice from behind her sounded,“ Ya cin choose, Dirk. Or ye cin leave th' lass alone, or ye cin start trainin’ yer other hand fer yer personal needs.”
That provoked loud guffaws from the other men at the table, their feet stomping on the floor and their fists banging on the table. It seemed as if they were hoping for a nice confrontation.
Dirk let go off Kitty’s wrist and turned his eyes to the bar where an exotic looking woman blindly juggled a second razor sharp knife.
“Ye should learn t’ mind yer own bloody bus’ness,... Diga…” he said with a low voice.
The man’s eyes widened in terror and threw his head to the left as the other blade was hurled in his direction, hitting the wood just above his right shoulder.
“'n ye should learn ta sit still before me make ye bleed. And fer ye information..., 'tis be mine feckin' business… at least tha last hour me checked!” the woman said in a reprimanding tone.
The men’s guffawing erupted into an ear-piercing laughing fit that they could not stop.
Never before Kitty had met such a fierce lady. The woman’s skin was kissed by the sun, she had long black curly hair and her eyes were dark as rum.
Dirk grumbled and took a seat again,” One day ye’ll be sailin’ t’ yer doom, Diga.”
“Yea sure, 'n ye gunna be th' one on th' rowin' benches wit' me whip on yer back.”
The men chuckled loudly, but Kitty overheard one saying,” Careful now Dirk, ye be knowin’ who she belongs to.”
Dirk shrugged and glanced a moment at the white haired girl who was called over to the bar.
“Lassie, ye really learn to be knowin' th’ four seas 'til ye draw ye dyin' breath. Ye were lookin’ for settin’ sails, no?”
“Uhm what? Yes, no? I’m… not going anywhere,... I just arriv…”
The woman shook her head and interrupted her,” Diga be knowin’ lass, cin gift ye somethin’ to do aroun’ here. Keeps ye out 'o trouble fer th' the hour bein'. I be needin' someone to make th' beds . What ye shout?”
“Shout? Uhmm... “
