July 19th, 1012
Jubilee, Viridian Coast, Realm of Kiria
Hg. Hs. De Reyger, C Flottielje, Koloniale Vloot

The whaleboat bumped against the pier, the engine petering out as Hendriks cut the power, allowing Setiawan to toss a line to Visser who already waited on the dock, having flown over to allow them to tie off. The three sailors tugged the boat in until it was snug and secure without risk of damage if the tide changed while they were ashore. That done, Kapitein-luitenant ter zee De Groot stepped over the gap, nodding in approval as she did so.

“Well done zeelieden,” she said, giving a short gesture for the rest of the shore party to accompany her onto the dock. The shore party was a mixed bag of sailors and marines, equal parts zebras who were native to the isles and griffon colonials. The Feathisian Zebrides had a little of everything as a result of their location and nature as a trading hub scattered across several islands, but the overwhelming majority of the population were the zebras, who incidentally also comprised much of the Vloot’s lower enlisted and the Koloniale division’s fighting strength being delivered to assist the Kaiserreich in their war with Aquileia, so far from home. For some time since the Revolution, the Feathisian colonies had enjoyed their nominal independence, but when the Vaderland had come calling for them they had all returned to the colors. Ironic when, so far away, they had been loyal where the exiles of Nova Griffonia had refused.

“Stay with the boat, keep an eye on it,” De Groot ordered Seitiawan and Hendriks. The zebra and griffon nodded, both armed with Imperial-made Kralle rifles, fixed with bayonets. If someone tried to steal the whaleboat, they’d have a good 30 cm reason to regret that choice. The other sailors and the two marines accompanied the Kapitein-luitenant as she set off down the pier.

The city of Jubilee had existed as a trade port for a long time. Ships plying the far east Zebrican coast had to stop over at the Kirin harbors for coal and food to stock up. Even after oil began taking the place of steam, kirin merchants were vital to maintaining the flow of trade to lands such as the Feathisian Zebrides (and through them, Zuid-Zebrikaansche), the Kingdom of Sambovato and the twin powers of the Ancient Pact, Gargiloya and Senturya. When the Silence had fallen across the Realm, it had certainly hurt their ability to sell goods effectively. What had once been large businesses and profitable merchant clans were reduced to local businessrins forced to turn to foreigners to conduct such affairs on their behalf. Now, however, with the entire country caught up in the frantic affair of Premier Autumn Blaze’s ambitious 3 ½ Year Plan and its chaotic aftereffects, just down the river from the industrial hub of Rhapsody it was inevitable that things would pick back up in Jubilee again. What had once been a thoroughly depopulated and dejected urban area on the verge of being abandoned had new life breathed back into it, and the harbor reflected the city’s renewed wealth. This rapid development had resulted in a mashing of sights and sounds both from the last century as well as the new one. Alongside classic kirin junks and smaller fishing boats that may as well have come from the 800s were massive steamships and modern cargo trawlers from across the world. As the sailors watched, a barge flying the banner of the Gryphus Südkontinent-Gesellschaft -also known simply as the ‘Gryps-Süd GmbH’ or ‘Die Kompanie’- was loading up with large cargo pallets being set onto it with the aid of a crane, likely outbound to the freighter flying the blue and white banner of the Gryphussian corporate entity that had a lock on Empire sponsored trade across most of Zebrica, making it the direct rival of Zebridesian shipping firms. The only reason the ship hadn’t pulled into harbor likely had to do with the other vessels from the Kasa Free State, Ost-Griffonia, Hindia, the Riverlands, Aris, even as far away as Equestria. At times, kirin wearing hakka bamboo hats would paddle out to ships where the crews were waiting with riverboats and rafts full to bursting with fish, crops, alcohol, baubles like toys and jewelry and sweets and they’d call up to the crews aboard, creatures of all kinds that they offered their goods to, accepting a dozen different kinds of currency because they knew they could easily turn it around in town to foreign vendors or in exchange to other crews.

Add to this chaos the Kolonial Vloot, C Flottielje. Waiting out of harbor, the dozen warships and cluster of convoy transports hadn’t been able to enter the port because of both the lack of dock space and international maritime law against ships at war being sheltered in a neutral port longer than twenty-four hours. Instead, the admiral had ordered a shore party from the Hg. Hs. De Reyger to go into port representing not only the Zava class light cruiser but the flotilla as a whole. Having departed Beakavia on the mission to deliver troops both from the Zebrides and the Zuid-Zebrikaansche Vrystaat (and ever indignant Talonsvaal) it was time now to fill the coal bunkers, the fuel tanks, the food stores and a dozen other items of supply that they needed to proceed onwards towards Thymíaustadt. This being the first time the Kolonial government had sent a military mission along this route, they did not have the business arrangements with the Realm established. New business deals would have to be made, though they had plenty of currency to purchase what they needed.

This pier in particular played host to three smaller tramp freighters, a dozen smaller fishing vessels and several stands where kirin merchants offered fish, vegetables, knick knacks and who knows what else to passersby. While De Groot and the two marines refused to acknowledge these small time salesrin, Adelborst Visser nudged Adelborst Zahya.

“Look, Berkah,” she said to her friend. “Do you think that’s real jade?” The formel glanced up to the kirin who was already grinning eagerly in anticipation. “Do you take Zuididols? Duōshǎo?”

Ysolde Visser knew only the smallest of kirin speech, and even that was pigeon speak from merchants on the water she had met and salesrin from Kirintown. Before the dragon-horse could reply to whatever cludging question she had asked, a firm snap from one of the marines sent her scurrying to catch up, and she retook her position next to Berkah Zahya, possibly her best friend in the Koloniale Vloot. The zebra stallion shook his head at her foolishness. While he was only a year or two older than her, he had lived his entire life out on the shore as the youngest son of a fishing family while she came from inner city life. He knew better than to engage the portside hawkers.

“Temanku, you cannot give these swindlers the upper hoof. Besides, we are here on orders. I don’t think we’ll be granted shore liberty.”

“All the more reason to grab -something- while we’re here!” Visser replied, hastily dropping a clawful of coins at another stand and hurrying along with a paper full of plump dumplings, already digging into one. “Mmm, that’s good! Flavor’s strong, but it’s tasty!” She held one out to him as she chewed happily, a bit of mess on her beak. “Want some?”

Zahya could smell the fish inside the dough, vegetables and spices and shook his head to turn it down. His family may have caught fish to sell to their colonial overlords, but as zebras they were still herbivores themselves. Visser merely shrugged, taking another bite as she worked to stay close to the formation as it pressed into the streets.

The avenues of Jubilee were just as packed as the waterfront. Here, kirin haggled and argued, pressed into each other on the tight flagstone avenues. Again, that same clash of antiquated and modern resonated all around them, with narrow roads obviously meant for carts and pedestrians having to share the same space with the occasional car or truck that went rumbling by. Paper lanterns hung on strings over their heads while electric streetlights illuminated intersections and streetlights coordinated traffic at the same time that local constabulary regulated the lanes with whistles and cloven hoof held signs. The Koloniale shore party pressed ever onwards, the Kapitein-luitenant searching for some destination or other. From what the sailors had been told, they had a list of merchants to visit, warehouses and shippers who would have the supplies they needed for the Vloot. There was no reason they couldn’t appreciate the view on the way, with high arches leading off into other packed market squares, jade decorated plazas and districts of other buildings that told of who knew what purpose. The buildings were bizarre in architecture, so different from the Feathisian style buildings of Beakavia. Roofs with thick aqua or brown tiles were set at all levels and sharp angles, many doors were circular instead of square and quite a few of the buildings were some garish levels of color; it almost made the eyes hurt. Gold and silver filigree covered almost everything, even in areas that look like they should be poor or less wealthy. Fire motifs were everywhere, and once she figured out where to look Visser kept pointing to Zahya to indicate all the emblems of Concord, the kirin’s primary spiritual deity. Dragons also took a place of emphasis, though instead of the dragons that could be found in Equestria and Griffonia these dragons looked more like maned serpents, almost more like sea serpents than the winged monsters griffons were familiar with.

And the people! Kirin were everywhere, in all colors and dress. The Zebrides had a small minority of kirin so the sights and sounds around the sailors were not completely alien to them, but to see so many of the draconic equines in one place was like a panoply of color and sound. Visser remembered reading about pony nations, and how they too came in all colors and sizes. This had to be a good comparative, with silk tunics right next to old linen coats, grandly feathered and plumed headdresses besides rather boring Griffonian style suits. At one point, they passed a Hindian elephant with a howdah on its back transporting a score of kirin, obviously some kind of shuttle service, and the next a bus rolled by with several kirin workers on their way out of the city. The smell of exotic food rolled out of nearby restaurants and outdoor cooking grills where strange pieces of culinary curiosity were seen roasting and frying. With some satisfaction, Visser noted she wasn’t the only one who quickly dropped some coins down at a stand they passed for a quick snack.

After a time of walking through the district, they finally reached wherever it was the Kapitein-luitenant was searching for, according to the list she carried of possible merchants willing to sell to them in bulk. The building was like the others, a vivid bright red with a circular door to enter and strange local characters written on the wall next to the door. A stone wall extended out past the building to the right, encompassing some sort of yard which they could see through an iron gate was busy with kirin and deer laborers hauling around pallets of cargo to load onto trucks or elephant drawn carts before trundling out towards parts of the city unknown. Kapitein-luitenant De Groot nodded in affirmation as she looked at the sign, though neither Visser nor Zahya could understand the intricate letters sketched there. To them, it looked more like someone’s idea of an interpretive art piece than letters in an alphabet, but apparently De Groot could read them.

“Stay here,” she told the two marines, gesturing to a small bench next to the door where they could keep an eye out for troublemakers before jerking her head to Visser and Zahya. “You two, with me.”

Without argument, the sailors in blue moved to respond, the two marines casually unslinging their rifles as they settled in for what they clearly assumed would be a long watch, though at least they had received permission to sit and relax. The zebra of the two tugged out a cigarette, while the griffon extracted some small book and turned to a dogeared page. De Groot and her two escorts pushed the circular door open.

Visser wasn’t sure what to expect inside, but the interior was pretty similar to any shipping office or warehouse in Beakavia. Wooden planks and beams made up the construction of the room, with parcels and packages neatly stacked to one side. Windows could be seen allowing light into the room, though instead of electric bulbs this office still used oil lamps and in the warm July (this close to the Equator, the North Kirin Sea pulled the heat down south where most of the continent was experiencing a rather mild winter) only half of them were lit. Small, ornate tapestries and something like cloth posters decorated the walls with more of those curious kirin letters, a few with elaborate pictograms and, surprisingly, a photograph or two of grinning workers in and around the warehouse. A counter stretched across the honestly rather small office, with a sign hanging on the front in three languages. None of those was Feathisian, so Visser and Zahya couldn’t read it, but De Groot stepped forward confidently. The air was sickly sweet with some kind of fragrant smoke, likely from the still lit burner on the counter that was slowly consuming incense sticks. Behind the counter, a kirin with a blue-gray coat of both fur and scales with a red, curly mane sat and scribbled away at some kind of ledger, only glancing up when De Groot and the two sailors approached.

“Nǐ hǎo, měihǎo de yītiān. Wǒmen shì lái cǎigòu dàzōng shāngpǐn de,” De Groot said, confident in her tone and cadence if not her pronunciation, fumbling a few words as she tried to work through the unfamiliar tongue. Fortunately, the kirin clerk seemed to understand her predicament, as he smiled (a male, even though he had similar small, slender features like the mares of ponies and zebras) and replied in fluent if still hitched and formal Feathisian.

“Perhaps we can talk in your language? I presume it is. Welcome to the White Lotus Shipping Company. I am the one known as Calm Breeze. May I assist you this day?”

With visible relief on her face, De Groot extracted another sheet of paper and held it delicately in her talons, extending it to the clerk.

“I’m Kapitein-luitenant ter zee De Groot, here on behalf of Admiral Andrejmaan of the Koloniale Vloot. I have it on good authority you can sell us some of these supplies in bulk so we can keep sailing.”

Calm Breeze extended a cloven hoof, politely taking the sheet of paper and studying it, his eyes squinting as he attempted to read. Zahhya got the impression that, while fluent in Feathisian, the kirin stallion likely didn’t use it too much. Fair enough, trade shipments from the islands had slumped off in the past few decades, not to mention the Realm’s own policies had strictly limited the number of city dwellers until changes had been made the past few years. After a minute or two, his smile returned and he nodded slowly in polite agreement.

“I can handle much of this. Mostly the foodstuffs. But for things like coal and firewood, you will have to see the one known as Hungry Blaze. She operates an industrial yard on the west side, out of the harbor. I will write you the address.”

This simple statement seemed to throw the three colonials, who blinked in confusion as the kirin happily wrote the name and address of another business down on the slip of paper before looking back up, his smile never faltering.

“Is something wrong?”

“You’d just recommend us to a rival company? Just like that?” Visser asked, completely forgetting military decorum in her utter shock. In all of the Empire and its cast off partner territories, ruthless capitalism dominated the market, and there was little love lost between different businesses, even those of other specialties. “What about lost profit?”

The kirin seemed confused as well, tiling his head as the smile faltered slightly, brow tugging down as he tried to process the question. Finally, he asked a question back.

“What profit is lost? I do not possess some of the goods you need. As such, I would not be making profit even if I did not tell you where to go next. This way, I help you find what you need much faster. Better for you. I do not understand.”

“That’s alright, Meneer Breeze,” De Groot suddenly cut in, surging back to retake control of the situation. “We will take what you have for us. Do you accept Zuididols?”

A few minutes of casual haggling later, and Breeze was accepting the first payment on what was to be a very large delivery of goods for the fleet. Despite the exchange, Breeze never let his temper rise, and that calm and accepting smile remained in place the whole time. He even let the goods go at a price that De Groot thought was quite charitable. Had this been a griffon or deer port, the bartering would have descended into near violence as the merchant tried to exploit the large military coffers to their sheer edge. But Breeze never pushed too hard, merely trying to cover cost and make a small profit regardless. After leaving on good terms, the shore party collected themselves up and made their way west out of the harbor, looking to find this industrial yard and get their coal for the older style ships.

It was then that Kapitein-luitenant ter zee De Groot finally realized just what was so strange and foreign about this city. She was familiar with aspects of kirin culture, after all Beakavia had its own kirintown district, but it didn’t hold a candle to Jubilee. It wasn’t the clashing architecture and technology, not the strange language everywhere or the exotic decorations, not the new food and drink and smells that roiled out of the hundreds of small stands, shops and market plazas that seemed to be around every corner.

No, what smacked her as so strange was that everyone was so damn -happy-. Everywhere you turned, smiles on kirin muzzles everywhere. Even arguments that would have devolved into fierce brawls back in the isles seemed to only provoke energetic debates. Music was calm and non confrontational, incidents and accidents appeared few and far between. They even passed a small coterie of scholar-monks, passing by in their fire emblazoned robes as they moved in complete silence down the middle of the street, unconcerned with their surroundings and quite serene in temperament.

It was downright unnerving. A few clusters of creatures being this happy she could stomach. Everyone had that right. But a whole city?

De Groot shook her head in amazement. Kirin were strange and inscrutable creatures, just as hard to decipher as ponies from Equestria. Best they get their supplies and sail on, before they accidentally found out just what it would take to upset these people…and its consequences.

Author's Note

Soooo...as I'm certain you all have realized, I do not know a single word myself of Chinese, Dutch or Indonesian. However, I am a fair dab hand at Google. Though I do wish to offer my formal apologies to any natural speakers of these three languages.

Kiria and the Kirin may not be fully in the mod yet, but they fascinate me for many, many reasons. I can't wait to see what gets done with them.