Open The Docks Unsmudgables Where the Wind Carries Us

[Bibby Stout]

Among the meadows of the Mahsterious Sathern Continent, where a narrow tributary winds its way toward the Largestream, stands the lively settlement of the Stout Clan. Within the compound, wooden huts cluster together within its timber walls, smoke curling from chimneys while the sound of hammering tools echoes from the docks along the stream. Ferries and riverboats come and go for provisioning and repairs, their crews stopping to barter, rest, and trade stories before continuing down the Largestream toward the wider world.
Stoutstead is not a quiet place.

The Stouts have lived there for generations, ever since their ancestors arrived from distant lands across the sea. Over time they became known throughout the Mahsterious Sathern Continent for their rivercraft, clever paws, and stubborn determination.

The clan has a saying.

“A Stout paw always finds a way.”

Bibby Stout took that saying very seriously. Even among a clan known for curiosity and wandering hearts, Bibby stood out. She climbed higher, wandered further, and listened more eagerly than most whenever travelers tied up at the Stout docks with stories of distant places.

To Bibby, the Largestream was not just a river. It was a road to freedom and adventure...And roads were meant to be followed.

That restless curiosity was what first brought her to the wandering otter named Marlow Tiderush. Marlow had appeared one season with a small coastal sloop and a grin that suggested trouble was rarely far behind, seeking repairs for the tattered little craft. The boat itself looked weathered but stubbornly seaworthy, its patched sails and mismatched rigging speaking of many hurried repairs.

Painted proudly across the stern were the words:

Legitimate Salvage

The name, according to Marlow, was entirely accurate. They had discovered the vessel drifting off the Mahsterious Sathern Continent coast months earlier after it had broken free from its moorings during a violent storm. Marlow had swum out to investigate, towed the battered craft ashore, and waited nearly three weeks for someone - anyone - to come claim it.

But no beast ever did.

Eventually the otter decided that waiting any longer seemed unreasonable. They patched the sails, repaired the lines, and the abandoned boat was given a new name.

Captain Marlow Tiderush was born that day.

The Stout Clan took the story with varying degrees of skepticism.

Bibby, however, thought it was wonderful.

Before long she began joining Marlow on short coastal runs, learning the rigging, helping with sails, and listening to every scrap of rumor the wandering otter gathered in distant ports.

Among those rumors was a strange one: Certain sailors spoke of a northern harbor beyond the sea, a place so vast and lively it seemed more legend than reality. A land where beasts who would be enemies elsewhere lived beneath the same banner, where ships from every corner of the world crowded the docks.

Marlow called it the Vulperium.

Neither of them knew if such a place truly existed, but the stories refused to leave their minds.

The idea finally took hold one quiet night along the Mahsterious Sathern Continent coast. A small fire burned low on the sand while the tide crept slowly inland. Above them the stars stretched endlessly across the sky while Legitimate Salvage rested quietly offshore.

Bibby and Marlow traded stories as they often did.

Rumors of distant ports. Strange beasts seen in faraway harbors. And once again, the mysterious northern land.

At some point in the conversation Marlow mentioned something else.

Every year a steady wind blew north along the coast for several weeks, bringing calm seas and clear skies. Sailors knew the pattern well and timed long voyages around it.

North.

Exactly the direction the stories pointed.

The realization grew slowly between them, like a spark catching dry tinder.

If the stories were true…That wind might carry them straight there!

By the time the fire burned down to glowing coals, a pact had been formed between the two friends. They would find the place themselves.

Bibby’s departure from Stoutstead was met with celebration and concern in equal measure. The clan did not entirely trust Marlow or the suspiciously named boat, and more than a few Stouts questioned the wisdom of chasing a rumor across the sea.

But tradition held strong. Every Stout must one day follow their own path.

So instead of forbidding the journey, the clan held a farewell feast. They filled the boat with supplies, offered advice both helpful and otherwise, and wished Bibby safe winds.

Soon afterward Legitimate Salvage slipped away from the Stout docks. The little sloop drifted down the quiet side stream, joined the wide current of the Largestream, and followed the river to the sea.

When the northern wind arrived, they raised their patched sails and followed it.

Their passage went surprisingly smooth despite the Legitimate Salvage's modest size. Only weeks later, the small vessel had glided quietly into the towering harbor of Vulpinsula.

Masts rose like a forest against the sky. Dockworkers shouted across crowded piers while gulls wheeled overhead and ships of every imaginable shape crowded the water.

For two beasts who had crossed the sea chasing a rumor, the sight was utterly unbelievable. The mysterious harbor was real!

Bibby was over the rail before the mooring line had even finished tightening around the dock post.

Her boots hit the planks with a solid clack as she turned slowly in a circle, wide eyes taking in everything at once. Ships towered overhead like floating buildings. Sailors shouted in half a dozen accents. The smell of tar, fish, spice, and smoke mingled in the cool harbor air while gulls wheeled overhead screaming their approval of the chaos.

Her tail twitched with excitement.

"Oh Marlow!" she called back toward the boat with a bright laugh. "Look at this place! It's wonderful!"

Behind her, the otter was already busy securing the last line and hauling a small satchel over one shoulder.

"I'll look once the boat's not drifting away," Marlow replied dryly.

The pair soon found themselves inside the nearby dock office, where a weathered harbor clerk ferret squinted suspiciously at the paperwork Marlow had slid across the counter.

The clerk’s brow furrowed deeper with every line.

“Port of origin… Stoutstead Docks… M.S.C.?” he muttered.

Marlow nodded.

“Aye, That’s the one.”

The clerk looked up slowly.

“That’s across the sea.”

Marlow nodded again.

“Aye. That’s also the direction we came from.”

The dockmaster leaned back in his chair, clearly unconvinced, while Bibby stood off to the side trying very hard not to grin too widely at the exchange.

“You expect me to believe,” the clerk continued slowly, “that this little coastal sloop sailed here from the Mahsterious Sathern Continent?”

Marlow spread their paws in an easy shrug.

“Wind was good.”

The dockmaster gave the raccoon and otter a long look before shaking his head.

“Well, you picked a fortunate time... Either you’re telling the truth, or you’re the boldest liars I’ve seen all week.”

While the negotiation shifted toward weekly mooring rates and dock fees, Bibby drifted a few steps aside to wait patiently.

Or as patiently as she could manage... She rocked lightly on her heels, glancing around the busy office and occasionally rolling her eyes toward Marlow as the otter began haggling over copper coins like a seasoned merchant.

That was when a voice nearby spoke.

“Well now… that was quite a voyage.”

Bibby turned.

A well-dressed fox stood a short distance away, watching her with open curiosity and a friendly smile.

"Oh!" Bibby said brightly. "Hello there!"

“I could not help overhearing,” the stranger continued, nodding toward the counter where Marlow and the dockmaster were still deep in negotiation. “Did the two of you truly cross the sea in that little sloop?”

Bibby’s grin returned immediately.

"We did!"

The stranger blinked once, clearly impressed.

“And you intend to stay in the Imperium?”

"Oh absolutely," Bibby replied without hesitation. "We didn’t sail all this way here just to turn back 'round again!"

The stranger’s smile widened.

“Well then, Miss…?”

Bibby straightened slightly.

"Bibby Stout!"

“A pleasure,” the stranger said warmly, shaking her paw. “You may find that the Imperium has use for beasts with such… initiative.”

Bibby tilted her head curiously.

"Oh?"

“The Ministry of Niceties maintains a faction known as the Unsmudgables,” the stranger began. “We are always interested in meeting beasts who—”

“Bibby.”

Marlow had appeared beside them, arms crossed and eyes narrowed slightly at the stranger.

The otter glanced between the two.

“Everything alright here?”

Bibby nodded cheerfully.

"Oh yes! This gentlebeast was just telling me about some group called the Unsmud—"

The stranger raised both paws calmly.

“I assure you, Captain Tiderush, this is no swindle.”

Marlow blinked.

“How…How'd you know my name.”

The stranger gestured lightly toward the dock office counter.

“One tends to overhear things in a harbor.”

The otter studied the stranger for a moment longer, their scowl deepening.

“Well, go on then.”

The recruiter nodded politely.

“The Unsmudgables serve the Ministry of Niceties. Diplomacy, charity, cultural protection… and occasionally a bit of adventurous work on behalf of the Imperium. We regularly scout the docks looking for beasts who catch our attention.”

Bibby’s ears perked immediately.

"You...You're offering us a job!?"

The recruiter fox nodded with a smile.

Her grin widened.

"That sounds perfect!"

Marlow looked toward her, face twisted in skepticism and intrigue.

“You sure, Bibby? We just got here...”

Bibby shrugged happily.

"I sailed across the sea looking for something new. Seems rude not to try it! Besides, I'd be needin' to find work anyway!"

The otter chuckled softly and shook their head.

“...Fair enough. Just don't do anything you'll regret!”

Then Marlow looked back toward the recruiter.

“It ain't for me though,” they added. “I plan to keep doing what I’ve always done. Odd jobs, coastal runs, maybe a little trading if the winds are kind.”

The recruiter inclined their head.

“An honorable profession.”

Privately, though, he looked mildly relieved as he turned back to Bibby.

“In that case, Miss Stout, you should report to immigration just beyond the Harbor Square. Inform them you are interested in joining the Unsmudgables.”

Bibby blinked.

"Just like that?"

“Just like that.”

The recruiter smiled knowingly.

“I suspect they will process your paperwork rather quickly. Oh and do mention that you were sent my me, Corvin Thistledown.”

Bibby glanced toward Marlow, barely containing her excitement.

"Eee! Oh Marlow, looks like I found work before we even finished docking!"

Marlow laughed, though their face still carried a hint of skeptical amusement.

"Hah! Aye, not bad for your first day in a new country, I suppose."

Bibby bounced lightly on her heels, tail swishing with barely contained enthusiasm.

"Come on then!" she said, already turning toward the door. "No point keepin' them waiting!"

Marlow slung their satchel over one shoulder and gave the recruiter a brief nod.

"Take care of her, will you?"

Thistledown’s smile returned easily.

“I believe the Imperium may find that she takes care of herself quite well.”

Bibby had already stepped out onto the busy street beyond the dock office, staring wide-eyed at the sprawling harbor district before them.

Carts rattled past. Sailors shouted from nearby piers. Somewhere down the street a bell rang over the noise of the market.

What adventure!

She turned back toward Marlow with a grin that could have lit the whole harbor.

"Immigration office, right?"

Thistledown jerked a thumb down the road.

"Harbor Square. Big stone building. Can't miss it."

Bibby clapped her paws together once in excitement.

"Right then! Let's go become official Imperium beasts!"

And with that, the raccoon and the wandering otter stepped out into the streets of Bully Harbor, heading toward whatever waited for them next.

 

[Vaianna Vskihyi]

In all her years, she still hadn't found a worthy equal to the energy at the Bouillabaisse Harbour docks. The movement of beasts, the smell of salt, and the livelihood inherent in it; it all thrummed in the very air, contagious to behold. Beasts of all kinds came together to trade, live, and make merry—and who wouldn't want to share in that dream? The dream of an Imperium where Vermin and Woodlanders thrived together against the odds and the tides. It hadn't always been that way, mind, but this was for the better.

Today Vaianna Vshihyi perched on the tiled ridge of the dock office, the browns and blacks of her cloak blending in with the roof line as it spilled over the edge, and tracked the newcomers with a rapt interest. Ears twitched and swiveled to catch the snippets of conversation down below, the stump of her tail flicking forward and back in excitement.

She had watched, just as instructed, as they'd sailed into the mouth of Bully and were swallowed up by the larger crafts and many masts. Whisperings of woodlanders making their way from the Mahsterious Sahthern Cahntinent in naught but a sloop, surviving against all odds to make their way to this hub of Beastkind. The otter and the racoon; Marlow Tiderush and Bibby Stout.

The company of gulls, as it turned out, was well worth having in a spy network.

Dilated pupils took in the sight, wide and round to take in everything that was necessary—and all of it was necessary. For after all, in all her years in the Imperium, she'd never seen a racoon.

They were... fluffier than she'd expected. More expressive, too, and with the most interesting of paws. Not to mention that glorious tail!

And, after a brief chat with her diplomatic counterpart, heading in the direction of the Immigration Office.

She'd need to be quick; it was taller and without any close buildings to bridge the gap—unless going on foot was the better option? Ears swiveling forward, she grinned down at the backs of the two Woodlanders, taking one brief look at her options for descent... before launching herself over the edge of the building.

Decades worth of training kicked in, making the movement second nature. Quick paws latched onto the edge of a structural corner beam, claws digging in only deep enough to secure her grip as she scaled down the building's corner and into the closest alleyway; a flicker of darkness moving in the dappled shadow of a cloud. After a short descent, landing and settling her cloak with the double-motion of a roll, she made out of the alley at a brisk walking pace, knocking shoulders with her land-bound counterpart.

"Good work." She purred, tapping Corvin's jaw affectionately as she brushed past. "I'll take it from here."

And so, the little shadow of a wildcat walked in the wake of the woodlanders, wondering what welcome they might find for themselves in the beautiful Bouillabaisse Harbour.

 

[Marlow Tiderush]

Harbor Square opened before them like the inside of a fevered sailor’s dream.

Broad stone streets spread out from the docks in a crisscross of traffic and noise, packed with handcarts, shouting vendors, panting laborers, smartly dressed clerks, and beasts of more shapes and species than Marlow could count at a glance. Gulls wheeled overhead and screamed at one another from rooftop to rooftop. Somewhere nearby, a bell was ringing. Somewhere else, a beast was arguing loudly about turnip prices. The whole place smelled of tar, hot food, sea salt, smoke, damp stone, and coin changing paws.

It was real.

The Vulperium, or whatever the place was truly called, had not been some half-drunk campfire tale after all.

Marlow felt the realization land in their chest a moment before Bibby’s delighted voice rang out beside them.

"Oh Marlow, it's wonderful! It's so much bigger than any of the stories claim!"

"Aye! It's..." Marlow began, only for the raccoon to surge ahead another few paces into the square. "Bibs... slow down!"

Bibby spun as she walked backward, tail swishing with excitement, her eyes bright enough to rival the harbor itself.

"I can't believe it's actually real! We're here!"

Marlow could hardly believe it themselves. The square, the harbor, the sheer press of life in every direction... it was enough to leave even an old drifter briefly speechless.

Briefly.

"Can 'ardly believe it meself, mate! But slow down! You've got that look."

"What look?"

"The one that means I'm about to lose you to the marketplace."

"Well then keep up, River Rogue."

She turned again before they could answer, already drinking in the sights with hopeless enthusiasm. "Oh look! A street performer! And kabobs! Oh, can we get some, Marlow? I'm famished!"

Marlow followed her gaze just in time to catch sight of a fox balancing on a barrel while juggling knives for a laughing semicircle of onlookers. Beyond him, a row of food carts smoked and sizzled, skewers turning over coals while some enterprising beast shouted the virtues of heavily spiced meat to every passing customer.

Tempting.

Dangerously so.

"We barely have coin, Bibs! 'Old off fer a moment 'till we at least get our papers and gold exchanged!"

Bibby threw her paws wide as though the whole harbor itself were making her case for her.

"We're in paradise, and you're worried about coin like a dozy old merchant? Live a little!"

"I am! I am!" Marlow shot back, dodging neatly around a handcart piled with sacks of grain and dimentional lumber. "But stars above, the mooring fees we paid an' the premium fer foreign coin were criminal! We barely have anything left!"

That much, at least, remained a sore point. Every few steps Marlow’s mind kept circling back to the cost of the berth, the cost of lodging, the cost of food, the cost of existing in a city apparently determined to charge for the privilege of being dazzled by it.

Then again...

Bibby had somehow come off the boat and immediately found herself the promise of a position in a Ministry faction before sunset.

That had to count for something.

Bibby, apparently reaching the same conclusion, gave them a grin so smug it could have floated a boat.

"Well good news is that one of us already found work! And before sunset! We're thriving already!"

"Don't count your ducks before they hatch now..." Marlow muttered, though the edge had gone out of their complaint.

They were still planning furiously beneath the surface. Learn the harbor. Learn the rates. Find which piers paid honest coin and which captains lied. Figure out who needed a hand on coastal runs, who needed a courier, who needed cargo moved quietly but not too quietly. The work would be there somewhere. A port this size always had work for a beast with a boat.

Bibby was already talking again before they could finish the thought.

"You'll find work easy, too! Beasts always need boats!"

"Aye..." Marlow said, glancing down one broad street where a forest of masts crowded the skyline between warehouse roofs. "May have to start payin' beasts in fish..."

Bibby snorted.

"Would fish be so bad?"

"Only after the third barrel!"

That finally earned the laugh Marlow had been hoping for.

They had nearly reached the far side of Harbor Square now, where the press of stalls and food carts began to thin just enough for larger official-looking buildings to loom into view. Stone replaced timber. Signs became less colorful and more purposeful The shouting of merchants gave way, little by little, to the clipped pace of clerks and functionaries.

Ahead, broad steps led up to a large stone building whose whole posture seemed to suggest stuffy ledger beasts, and ink stained paws.

Immigration, most like.

Bibby, of course, was still finding distractions.

"Oh look! Health elixirs!"

She had already turned half aside toward a painted cart crowded with tiny glass bottles in jewel-like colors.

Marlow stopped dead.

"BIBBY!"

 

[Levin the ermine]

A few leaps down the street, a white-furred stoat stepped out of a bookshop carrying a great collection of books. A good amount of them were in a bag he was carrying, but many couldn't fit in it and the little ermine had to carry them in both his paws. He slowly made his way down the street, trying his best to not knock over the tower of books he was carrying. he clearly didn't like the attention he got from beasts passing by, he especially felt embarrassed when they would look at the book on the top of his stack, "Tizzi poof and the missing blanket". "They don't know the professor wants to critically examine it, to fight the demons it summons", Levin didn't say out loud, as if worried that the force of his voice would knock the stack over.

Despite his best efforts, the tower would lean and would collapse loudly onto the pavement in front of him. He let out a kittish yelp and quickly bent down to begin picking up his cargo, his face blushing red.

"Sorry, sorry, apologies, I will be on my way, quick...", Levin said, but he already felt discouraged. He hadn't even taken two dozen steps without all the books falling over, how was he going to get all the way to the barracks?

 

[Bibby Stout]

They had not made it halfway across the square before the world once again obliged Bibby with something new to marvel at.

The collapse came with a sharp, papery crack as a tower of books gave way and spilled across the stone in a scattered fan of covers and loose pages. A few slid dangerously close to the wheels of a passing cart before the driver swerved with a muttered curse.

Bibby was already moving.

"Oh! Careful—!"

She dropped into a crouch without hesitation, paws already gathering up the nearest volumes before they could be trampled. The little white-furred stoat at the center of the disaster was apologizing faster than the books had fallen, his voice tight with embarrassment.

“Sorry, sorry—apologies—I’ll just—”

"You're alright!" Bibby chirped, bright and reassuring as she stacked a few into a neater pile. "Here, I've got these—no harm done!"

Marlow arrived a heartbeat later, slowing with the kind of long-suffering awareness that said they had seen this exact moment coming from several paces away.

"Aye…" they muttered, crouching anyway to scoop up a pair of books before a passerby’s boot could find them. "Wouldn’t be a proper welcome without somethin’ toppin’ over."

Bibby, meanwhile, had already picked up one that had landed cover-up. She paused.

Tilted her head.

Her eyes lit up.

"…Oh! You’ve got stories!"

She turned it slightly, reading with delighted interest as if they were not currently kneeling in the middle of a busy thoroughfare. "‘Tizzi Poof and the Missing Blanket’—oh, that sounds adorable!"

Marlow snorted softly under their breath, setting the last of the scattered books into Bibby’s growing pile before glancing up toward the looming stone buildings ahead.

"Bibs," they said, low but firm. "Papers. Official citizens. Remember?"

"We can be helpful and official!" Bibby shot back cheerfully, rising to her feet and offering the now much more stable stack back toward the flustered stoat.

"There! All accounted for!"

Marlow stood as well, brushing their paws off with a small huff before jerking their chin toward the far end of the square.

"Right," they said. "Now, before anything else distracts you."

Bibby beamed, entirely unrepentant.

"Lead the way, River Rogue!"

((Levin is absolutely welcomed to tag along and offer additional dialogue <3 ))

 

[Levin the ermine]

Levin looked at the two beasts who came to his help. He saw otters before, but never up close. This one looked big large, and just a little annoyed or bothered. He felt like he should say something to him, but he also wanted to acknowledge his companion. Levin never saw a raccoon before. He thought at first she was a strange kind of weasel or fox, but so many details didn't fit any species he knew. This mystery didn't bother Levin, whatever she was she clearly wanted to help and be nice to him.

"Uh, no, that book is terrible, Professor Dowganosyv wants to investigate it and find a way to rid the imperium of their corrupting influence.", Levin explained, holding his stack again. It was more stable, but the little stoat still struggled to hold them, and it would shift around more and more with every step.

"Uh, I'm sorry...I know you're busy, but can you help me carry these? Or...if you know some other way...I can't carry them all the way to the barracks myself..."

Levin hid his face behind the tower of books, his ears drooping in embarrassment.

"You can do it after whatever you need to do...of course..."

 

[Marlow Tiderush]

Bibby was already shifting, her posture softening as she crouched a little lower, making herself smaller, and less looming in the middle of the busy street. But as Levin mentioned the nature of the book, her smile flickered, just a touch.

"Oh… I thought it looked cute. It's a bad thing?"

Marlow leaned in before the stoat could fully spiral again, plucking the offending title from the pile with a skeptical squint.

"Aye, can't trust anythin' these days. Most o’ what you've read is prolly woodlander propaganda, Bibs."

"Hey!"

Bibby reached up and promptly took the book back from them, hugging it briefly to the rest of the stack as if defending it on principle.

"It's all so much…" she admitted, her voice softening as her eyes flicked out across the square to the noise, the motion, and the sheer everything of the place pressing in all at once. "Can't say that I'm not a little overwhelmed."

Marlow’s expression eased, just a fraction.

"Aye," they said, quieter now. "But you'll be alright."

The moment barely had time to settle before the books shifted again in Levin’s grasp, threatening another collapse.

Bibby was already moving.

"Oh! Careful!"

She stepped in close, scooping up another small armful of books before they could slip free, adding them to her growing bundle with practiced care.

That was when Levin asked for their additional help.

Bibby didn’t even let him finish.

"Yes!"

It came bright and immediate, her tail giving a happy little flick behind her as if the answer had been waiting all along. "We can help. Easy!"

Levin’s attempt to backpedal and delay only earned a gentle shake of her head.

"Aw, it's alright! We can help you now. It shouldn't take long, right Cap'n?"

That, finally, drew Marlow’s full attention. They glanced toward the immigration building, then back to Bibby.

Then to the increasingly unstable tower of books.

A long, suffering breath slipped out through their nose.

"…Aye. Right."

Marlow took another look at Bibby, shaking off a look of defeat.

"Fine."

They reached in and lifted a heavier portion of the stack from Levin’s arms with practiced ease.

"But if you find it fit to reward Bibby there with one o’ those kabobs over yonder fer the service, that’d be mighty kind o’ you."

Bibby perked instantly.

"Oh! I wouldn’t say no to that!"

And just like that, the three of them were reorganized—books redistributed, balance restored, and momentum reclaimed.

Marlow adjusted their grip, already turning their steps back toward the far side of the square.

"We’re still headin’ the same direction, aye?"

Bibby fell in beside them without missing a beat, her gaze already drifting down toward the titles in her arms with renewed interest.

"So are all of these corrupt, then?"

And with that, the little procession set off once more through the busy heart of the harbor, angling now toward the Barracks instead of the immigration office.

 

[Levin the ermine]

"Thank you, really thank you, you are so wonderful"

Levin bowed his head to each beast before leading them down the street.

"I know the way, it's 19 Vladimir Ullyanov street, apartment lucky 7."

That wasn't the first time the stoat said those words, his voice twinkled every time as if he was talking about some magical place made of butter and sap. It didn't live up to those standards, but Levin liked it none the less, even if it was very restrictive.

"Oh, of course I can buy her something! Well, if the professor gives me enough gilders, I am afraid I spent all that I had on the books..."

He bowed his head in embarrassment. He didn't want to discourage them any further, but he wasn't very confident Dowganosyv was going to give them gilders. He was very picky about the way he spent money, that's why he was always given the minimum. He was so glad when Bibbie asked about the books, a far nicer subject.

"Well, not all of them, one of them is very useful, a who is who of the Vulpine Imperium! It has all the famous beasts, a painting of them, description, ranks, it's just the most useful book one can buy! And, honestly, I don't think the book about star beasts are all that bad, but Professor Dowganosyv hasn't studied them yet, nor have I, but I hope to do so soon"