As I said, Eveka is a good place to hide. There's much trade happening over there, not all of it legal in Vairaya, and a good place to find some rare goods. I've heard the same of Jiaport, but I have not visited it.

[He pauses, wishing he had his cigarette paper and tobacco on hand.]

Shousal doesn't do magic, Czilia is magic-friendly. I've found myself appreciating Vairaya cities more than any others; people have been more welcoming there - maybe it's because I'm a man.

[Another pause, and Charles scratches at his growing stubble.]

Nobody can save a man who has lost too much blood, and we don't take wenches aboard. The men all have their favourite whores in different harbors. You'd be surprised how little they like to share with each other.

[Leaning back, he looked straight into her eyes, squinting at a beam of sunlight coming through the window.]

I used to sail with a woman - she scared the rest of the crew shitless. She was incomparable with a sword, and not afraid to use it, which is all you need to sail most of the time.

[With a smile, he sits back up, the wound on his side feeling cold and numbed now under the drying paste Alysia made for him.]

You have added skills; you can patch up people, and help ferret out better returns from cargo - we know nothing about the value of these herbs you seem to cherish, but you do, and these are being transported between Vairaya and Czilia all the time.

[He raises an eyebrow.] You'd see a lot more of the world.