Ruim rolled out of his hammock with practiced ease, his boots hitting the wooden boards of the lower deck. Above him a bell rang and feet ran across the small sailing ship with rhythmic thumps while muffled voices called out orders. With a stretch, Ruim climbed the stairs and was greeted with a crisp salty wind that whipped his dark curls around his darkly tanned cheeks. His hands reached up the secure the tangle with a leather tie as he joined the rest of the sailors at the railing who were pointing and shouting at the ridge rising on the horizon.

It had been nearly a month since they departed the last small island where friendly villagers had filled their crates with fragrant fruits and shown them how best to cook the armored grouper that swam in their bays. It had been three times that long since their ship had departed from the continent that most of these men called home. Sight of the continent Leuclumoth, if they had followed the charts correctly, had everyone excited. At the very least, they looked forward to the prospect of sleeping on dry land with a proper fire to keep them warm.

The air on the ship filled with stories the sailors had heard about Leuclumoth, a massive continent home to several independent kingdoms and vast wilderness. Creatures unheard of would be hunted by their bows, and treasures of both riches and technology would fill their pockets. A voice of reason tethered their dreams to reality as the officer reminded the crew that they must first find port on this new continent before coin could be made.

As the afternoon waned, sharp eyes kept their focus on the coastline for signs of a bay or sufficient inlet where the ship could anchor. The charts had little to offer as few people ever left the continent and those who had confirmed that it did not have much in the way of hospitable docking for ships. Most of the coastline before them appeared to be harsh rocky shores and cliffs without even the lights of a coastal town. A consensus was taken amongst the officers and it was agreed they would anchor the ship near an estuary where there was a small strip of pebbled beach that would allow the lifeboats to be rowed to shore.

The sunlight was fading when Ruim climbed down the ladder into the dingy with his travel pack slung over his shoulder. The waves were choppy, but manageable as they rowed to shore and a sliver of golden sunset glinted against the rocks as his boots made contact. Someone had already started a fire while others were busy setting up tents on the edge a dark forest. Ruim looked at the trees, familiar yet alien as he recognized the family but not the exact species of these towering giants. The flickering lights from camp illuminated nothing past the wall of peeling bark and sparse underbrush and he knew tomorrow a new adventure would begin.