“‘Ay there, laddy! Would you care to come aboard? We’re need help with some hard labor. Would you care to lend us gals your muscle?”

An hour later…

“Those boys were just as gullible as the last! Pass me another bottle!”

---

The Medial Sea and the rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes that it connects to are a prime source of transportation for many denizens of the Ring. Traveling by boat is much less expensive than hailing a Darter to get around, plus boats are better suited to hauling heavy cargo. Many of the most prosperous city states in the Ring have their own port and the largest have navies as well. Together, all of these ships on the water act as a kindling, which, when it met with the spark of human greed, led to the rise of piracy across the Ring.

Pirates are not uncommon on the water. They tend to lurk in the rivers and tributaries on the outskirts of the Medial Sea, where they can easily hide their ships. Then, when the time is right, they will attack their targets and flee just as quickly as they arrived. Naval ships are not often used to pursue pirates but are merely a deterrence to keep the pirates from coming too close to civilization. Deploying multiple ships could leave a city-state at risk, while deploying a single ship could result in state-funded piracy, depending on the competency of the crew. For these reasons, the naval ships typically do not pursue pirates onto the open sea.

Pirates typically operate as independent groups from one another and the Misty Marionettes are no exception here, even though the group itself is exceptional and noteworthy. A group consisting entirely of lady pirates, they are known for their daring and ingenious heists as well as their lavish tastes. Worth noting, the Misty Marionettes will typically not kill their victims, although they’ve been known to rough up and even maim a man or two, given the right circumstances. With all of their success on the open seas, they have managed to cultivate quite a hideout on Piano Island. This island lies to the east of Lanta City and holds the ruins of what was seemingly a castle long ago. Since the Marionettes moved in, it has since been repaired and outfitted to capture some of its long lost splendor.

The Misty Marionettes are not without their leader. Maura the Mist is the Captain aboard this ship. She is a small woman, sleight of frame, with short, dark, wavy hair and chestnut brown eyes. It is rumored that Maura is a Disruption user with the power to call forth a heavy fog on open waters, hence her nickname, ‘Mist’. Not much is known to the public about Maura to the public though.