Madina (Realm)/Start
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| There where the sun guides ye,
Awaits the land of the lights in the sea. | |
The Lands of Madina
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The Isle
Aye sailors, 'n welcome to the Isle of Madina! Make your self comfortable in our small yet prosperous city. We sell lots of goods 'n such o' course, 'specially fish down at the markets near the docks. If you fancy getting awfully drunk then follow me to the Taverns, you might like our 'special' rum! Aye! It's one of the finest in town! Oh! 'n don't mind the men at the docks, there just playing with ye, but be careful with the bearded one. Whenever you're in trouble, show some teeth 'n ye'll be alright.
The Republic
The Republic? Ah yes, the Republic... I'll tell ye about our Republic! If ye have something to say, ye scream!
The narrator starts laughing, coughing, and spewing for almost half a minute, but after a while he comes back to his senses.
Don't mind me, that's the rum I told ye about just a few moments ago.
Now, what was I talking about? Ah yes, politics! To introduce you to the Madinian way of politics I'll have to tell ye a little story...
History
Once upon a time, there was a crew of a few dozen men 'n 'his merchant captain. They were on a simple mission, sell the regular goods, fancy some rum (hehe), 'n move on. Nothin' worth of a good yarn ye'd think, eh? But it hasn't even started yet! The Captain was a greedy man, very bad, very greedy keeping all of the money 'n most of the rum for himself. Yes, we know, it were terrible...
So one day, his men had enough of it; led by a brave lad called Abbot, his men mutinied and quickly took a hold of the ship, 'n threw the damn captain back in his cabin and locked him there. The Rum 'n the gold were equally divided 'n all voices were equally respected. The celebrations kept on throughout the night, 'n soon every man fell on his ol' drunken exhausted behind. The ship sailed onwards 'n when the men woke up with heads like stone they had the scare of their life. A storm was thunderin' ahead 'n there was nothin' they could do but let down the sails 'n steer upon the waves, hoping for the best. Hours 'n hours passed 'n many men fell, but brave, old Abbot kept on pushin' the rudder 'n supporting his shipmates. When the masts broke, many gave up their fights 'n took there last gulps of rum. The storm kept on for many days, but while some died, many also survived. When Abbot 'n his men checked the captain's hut, there wasn't much left of the captain nor his hut, all there was left was a broken compass constantly pointing to the west. 'n so the crew sailed onwards, 'n for weeks they drifted along the sea. Strangely enough, the water which surrounded them was filled with fishies; never were they left without food. After a long 'n exhausting expedition without any sign of hope, they were surprised by the presence of sea gulls! Aye! the blessed creatures of the shores welcomed them showing up from the west 'n so Abbot turned their rudder and hoped for the best. After much cursing, just before sunset, the men finally rejoiced at the sight of a beautiful, tropical shore. They were blessed indeed, blessed with a wonderful land free of friends or foes, all for themselves to rule. Of course, the brave Abbot was chosen to lead them upon these shores towards a new future, the establishment of the Republic!
Culture
If that wasn't a good story for ye, I'll eat me bottle! I was one of those crew members; yes, 'n I survived the whole thing! It's a beautiful story which still reflects our culture 'n folklore.
The narrator stops for a moment, and you look around and watch the drunken sailors fall from their feet right into the muddy waters while loudly and filthily laughing at each other just a few feet from where you stand. You turn back to the narrator and ask him what he understands about 'culture'.
Ha! Culture, well, as you can see we're not as 'civilized' or 'noble' as where you come from. We are proud bastards without any claim of noble blood and we love to drink like wildmen. We are known for our extraordinary wit 'n charm 'n feeling for trade; we sure know how to do business! We have just recently seeded the lands north of us in order to brew our own drinks, we have learned the art of brewing from a few strangers that recently appeared on our shores. Suddenly a small man with funny walk, a big hat, and a bird on his shoulder bursts out of a building nearby, laughing; the narrator looks in his direction and continues.
Aye! there he is, Abbot the Acelet, our Captain!
"Aye ye 'ol rats! Follow me to the tavern! It's Joker time!"
A lot of noise could be heard all around them; a few men come from several ships while others seem to be bathing in the sea water next to them. The whole bunch move in the Captain's direction and follow him into the tavern.
Ahhh, Joker! I almost forgot! Joker is a simple card game in which you place bet on every round you play. It's nearly impossible to get the good card combination so you must lie your way through the game, but be careful! At the end of the game the two last players must show their cards, unless everyone passes the last round of course. I would take you with us, but unfortunately, this game is not suitable for boys like you. This is a game for real men!
The narrator laughs and coughs his way to the Tavern, leaving you alone to observe the deserted evening dock...
You now have two options available: you either find a quiet place to rent a room, or you follow your guide into the Tavern.
What do you do?
A. You sneak into the Tavern
B. You look for a Room
