PIRATES' LAIR

Hook: Ashamite pirates entered the Misty Bay area 20 years ago. They raid The Road, coming up the sloughs of the eastern marshes to do so. It doesn't happen often, mostly in the summer, and not when Amira is on the island. They also come and stay at the inn, if the mood strikes them, looking for supplies, help, or even trouble. The guard is tripled at The Sleeping Knight (even if the extra help is militia), and warnings given to passing travelers. Summer is known as Ashamite Season, or Pirate Season. They never stay longer than the summer. At times, their Princess, Amira, has come in with them. Her people are much more composed, when she does. Otherwise, it's her steward, Marís, in charge. He is a wild man of dangerous disposition and opportunistic tendencies. They come dressed in their white, flowing clothes, shining bangles, dark eyes and dark skin, fierce ways, curved swords, and heavy drinking and strange drugs from the south. There is often much to repair, the next day, when that happens. They will often leave a bag of gold with the innkeeper to cover the costs and inconvenience, if this occurs. The pirates are slightly evil. More apt to harm than help, steal than give, etc. But, they are honourable, and keep their word, when it has been given (which is rare). They are still an unwelcome element in the area, and they don't like people bothering them where they live, so all involved give each other a wide berth, and inn patrons cinch up their coin pouches, lock up their homes, where possible, and hide their valuables, when the pirates visit. However, despite this unspoken accord, it is not uncommon for the youths and foolish in the area to dare the island as a bet... When this happens, few return... Some have been carried off into lives of adventure or slavery, others killed and returned to the inn with a passing caravan instructed to deliver the body.

Details: The pirates of Asham are a wild and, though not always evil, strictly chaotic lot indignant toward authority, except for their own loose pecking order, which they respect, even among other pirate tribes. These pirates belong to the Anka (which means 'calamity', or 'trouble', because they are known to be able to get out of it with their shrewd thinking and uncanny luck through cleverness) pirates commanded by the princess Amira. They have settled an island in the Misty Bay area, far from the Sun Sea, to avoid attention and harassment from the lawful princes of Asham. They are dangerous and mysterious people, these pirates, and Amira Black-Eyes is a shrewd and powerful woman of skill and deadly aim. She brooks no fools and thinks clearly. A hallmark of her tribe, whose symbol is the fierce, large, Simür Hawk, a magical phoenix-like hawk of the southern lands of Íopa and Mezok. She has left her steward, Marís the Dagger, to watch over her stores, here, and repair any ships she might need fixed. She leaves her vessels at the island to be mended if damaged in conflicts at sea, if she can bring them. She'll have them patched up and sail them north and west to The Misty Bay. There is a chance one of her damaged ships, in any particular state of (dis)repair, may be present. They never sail it in the Bay, but, instead, rely on the smaller craft they keep up in the camp to sail and visit the lands north, if needed.