Ashton
The sun was well into midday by the time Ashton stirred awake. Her mother was long gone by this time of day, off to one of her many jobs trying to support her three children. She has been taking the jobs that most people wouldn’t degrade themselves in order just to get a small handful of pocket change. She takes any job she can, working during the nights and in the mornings. Ashton’s family is nowhere near nobility. They had to sell their house after selling most of their belongings a few months ago, keeping most of it to pay for food and necessities, but a small portion was spent on the small one room apartment they currently rent. Ashton works from noon until midnight at Rafiki’s Place, spending her mornings catching up on sleep and taking care of her youngest brother, Sebastian, while her mother and twelve year old brother, James, are gone. James works down by the docks unloading and loading shipments for his contribution to the family funds. He always gets up early in the morning and returns around evening time to take care of Sebastian during the night.
Ashton swung her feet over the side of the bed and slowly stood up and began gathering her clothes together. Suddenly she realized she slept too late. She grabbed her shoes and ran out the door, heading to Rafiki’s Place.
Cade
“Good so little Rafiki has left the shop.” Cade slapped on his thick leather armor and donned a tunic over the top. He began to dig out his sword from under his bed but thought better of it, planning on being a little more discreet than a broad sword strapped to his back would allow. Cade grabbed his bag and headed out the back door.
Rafiki
Down by the docks sailors and passengers alike crowded the streets bustling around loading and unloading the mammoth ships that were resting in the huge docks waiting to be pampered after its long and hard journey. While passengers were gathering their items, whether grabbing a few carryon possessions or organizing groups of workers to begin unloading their huge stock of whatever they think that they are going to sell in the coming festival, the sailors were busy carrying out orders from the captains of the ship. The salty air and crowded atmosphere made Rafiki feel a bit on edge. She had never gone out to sea and the whole idea made her uncomfortable. In comparison, the crowd gave of a sense of excitement and wonder. Most of the passengers had never been to Olympus and the sheer size of the ports set into the west coast was multiple times larger than the ones further east. Rafiki couldn’t help but wonder at the amount of ships. Most of the ports were occupied and even still ships were still arriving, some far on the horizon, others setting anchor waiting for a spot to open so they too can unload.
As Rafiki traveled closer to the shore, the crowd thickened with sailors searching about for a drink, passengers wandering around trying to figure out where to go get a bed, and servants dashing about carrying boxes after boxes of merchandise. A few knights passed by in their usual stuck up manner, creating a big ruckus about how important they are and how everyone should move so they can go and do important stuff. To Rafiki, it seemed like it was all just a charade, a ruse for them to finally feel important and lord it over everyone else.