These people, places, things etc. (except for Gingi, Tuscona, the red-head twins and such) belong to Justin Somper.

Lorcan stepped off the ship's gangplank and onto the rickety dock of Tuscona's (Tusk-on-a) harbor. He'd just stepped off the ship and already he hated this place. It smelled like rotten fish, mold and river mud. The dock looked ready to fall apart at any moment, along with many of the ships, if you could call them that, in the harbor itself. The town on the shore was shrouded in darkness, and not just because rain clouds were obscuring the moon. The place looked dark and hopeless, the kind of place thieves and murderers hung out.

As he turned from the town, he saw a thick layer of fog had already hidden The Nocturne from his sight. Well, there was no going back now. He turned back to the town and started making his way off the dock. He hadn't gone more than a few feet when a large chunk of wood fell out from underneath his feet, almost taking him with it. He jumped forward and spun around, looking down at the large hole in the dock, listening to the dull splash the wood made as it hit the water.

Shivering, he hurried along the dock, relaxing only when the bottom of his boots met solid ground. The town of Tuscona looked even worse up close. There was very little light and what there was streamed through the dirty or broken windows of bars. He hadn't thought anything could smell worse than rotten fish, mold and river mud, but apparently he was wrong.

He paused to pull out a piece of paper with the Captain's directions on it. Ok. First, he had to find a bar called Mariner's Paradise. Looking around, he somehow doubted that it lived up to its name. Pocketing the bit of paper, he continued on, doing his best to ignore the jingle of the coins in the small, leather bag strapped to his belt. The Captain had insisted on taking some money, but why? If these guys owed him a favor, why should he have to pay?

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Lorcan continued on. He searched through the town, finally spotting the bar after twenty minutes of looking. He had been right. This place didn't look nearly as run-down as other bars, but it certainly didn't look like any five-star restaurant either. The windows were unbroken but stained gold –perhaps on purpose?- and the door wasn't broken or hanging off its hinges. The wood didn't seem to be falling apart and the sign, old as it seemed, was still clinging to the chains from which it hung above the door.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped up and pushed open the door, peering inside. His senses got assaulted by the smell of alcohol and cigarettes, some kind of mix of shanty and rock pounded his ears. But, for all its flaws, it was surprisingly dimly lit, which came as a relief to him.

Stepping into the bar, he closed the door behind him, trying not make a face at the stench. He walked along the shadows and took a seat in the corner. The bar was filled with tough looking men covered in tattoos, shirts missing their sleeves, and women who would have practically been naked if they had been wearing any less. Then again, there were always exceptions. Some of the women looked like their male counterparts, only slimmer and slighter in size.

Some of the people were playing cards, poker most likely, while others played pool. He was so focused on his surroundings, he didn't even notice the skimpy clothed blond walk up to him. "Hey baby," she said in a voice far too innocent for her attire. "Lookin' for a good time?" He turned his gaze to her and immediately felt embarrassed. She was wearing, by far, the smallest shirt he'd ever seen. It was a deep red that appeared to be just barely holding in her breasts and came up to just below them. She was also wearing a short denim skirt that seemed like it would ride up enough to reveal her undergarments if she so much as bent over too far. Her skin was pale, though not nearly as pale as his own. Her blond hair stopped at the middle of her back and her sharp ice blue eyes made him silently gulp.

"Uh, a-actually, I was looking for someone," he told her. Ok. What had the Captain said next? "Oh! A woman by the name of… um Bobbie Handerson?"

"When I'm on the job I go by Gingi." Oh great. Just his luck. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, uh, Gingi, I was … I was…" Lorcan averted his gaze as she leaned forward expectantly, giving him even more of a view than he'd already had, if that was possible. He cleared his throat and dug the paper from his pocket. Mariner's Paradise, Bobbie Handerson, Under-room. Under-room? "Um, I guess I'm looking for… an under-room? Or a place called Under-room?

Gingi tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "Under-room? Yeah, I know where that place is," she said, stepping closer.

He faked a smile and scooted back only to a hit a wall while Miss "Gingi" kept prowling closer. "Really? Uh, great. Would you mind giving me directions?" he asked quickly.

She smiled and slid her arms over his shoulders. His eyes widened as she slid onto his lap. His breath hitched as one of her arms slid around both of his shoulders, her free hand sliding down to his chest. "Depends," she said as she unbuttoned the middle button of his shirt.

"Depends on what?" he asked, praying to God that she wouldn't notice how cold his body was.

She slid her free hand into his shirt, her warm hand sliding over his stone cold chest. A quiet gasp escaped from him. She must have leaned forward because when she spoke again, it was in a whisper, and her lips brushed against his ear with every word. "Depends on if you tip well enough."

That was more than enough for him. He shot out of the seat with such a speed that Gingi fell directly into the seat he had previously occupied.

"Thank you Miss Handerson," he said, his breath shaking as he rebuttoned his shirt.

Before she could say anything, he turned and bolted out the door. He only started to slow down after he was a few blocks away. He slowed to a halt, resting a hand against the wall of the building beside him, taking a minute to catch his breath. Well, that was a waste of time, he thought. Now what?

After he caught his breath, he straightened up. Now what was he going to do? He hadn't gotten directions from Gingi so now he'd have to talk to another completely random stranger in a dump of a town. Preferably not a stripper this time. But, after searching for a while, he managed to find someone that was willing to give him directions. As he talked to the suspicious looking person in the bar doorway, he felt a slight jerk as his belt.

Looking down, he saw a young red-headed boy who couldn't have been more then eleven. He was holding a knife and… "Hey!" The boy took off with his money, Lorcan chasing after him. The boy was fast, he'd give him that. But he was faster. Just as he was about to grab the boy, the child threw the bag of money to another person Lorcan hadn't noticed before. The other was the boy's mirror image. Twins. He swerved and went after the other boy who took off. The boys kept tossing the money back and forth, getting further and further from Lorcan with each toss until they were out of sight.

The boys nowhere to be seen, Lorcan stopped running, breathing heavily. Great, just great. He was alone in a pathetic excuse of a town with no money and no directions. But, with no actual hope of succeeding in getting his money back, he slowly followed where he had last seen the two boys.

The town had fallen strangely silent over the past few minutes so the only sound to be heard was that of his own footsteps and the sound of water dripping somewhere. Before long, after several minutes and many turns, he heard the sound of hushed voices. Peering around a corner, he spotted the two boys, crouched over small piles of his gold coins. Though, before he could do anything else, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, then nothing.

Author's Note: I hope you loved reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it. Anyway, I've been away for a week so I haven't been able to writing the next chapter. Hopefully, I will have it up soon.