Trade Winds

It was a Sunday when we set sail from the harbor abroad the ‘Agnes’ Nine’ . The familiar winds over the Adriatic blew us over the towns and villages surrounding the city of Nwa Carthegu. At afternoon I woke up from my after meal nap , got some bread , cheese and garlic from the pantry and sat down beside the the window pane gazing down at the canals and farmhouses below .

This ship was commanded by captain Dido , the widow of a trade tycoon from Tier. Her husband was murdered by a rival trading guild . Having lost her dear one she took up the business of exporting purple dye from this city and importing food stuff. Along with the goods , the ship kept a small crew , if you were to travel , you would have to signup as a crew. Dido often called for us and gave us orders .

The ship was about 50 feet long . It had 2 masts attached to a number of sails at the bottom . Three generators kept pumping the air tank that made the whole ship airbound . The ventilators at the top of the ship left column of smoke coming trailing for miles. The ship could land using the heavy chains at the bottom of the ship . Although landing such a big airship was not a good idea , most of the times smaller supply ships would be sent down for the missions .

We flew through the Flying Jade Islands . We chopped down some trees to collect wood for engine fodder. Water was precious and had to be collected from selected sources only . When me met any local ship , the hard part of barter system started , the Estrucians had queer practices to settle prices for dye , one of which included defeating the opponent in a chess battle . Dido was a chess grandmaster as I later found out .