Mali Bay, Scottish Sea.
After twelve days of continuous sailing, the three-manned Attis Beauty crossed the mouth of the crystal-clear River Spey and finally arrived at the black port of Elgin in north-central Scotland.
Elgin is a black port known to all.
It's not really a good idea to refer to her as Black Harbor, because proper Elgin isn't a port at all, but is home to the capital of the County of Mary under the Kingdom of Scotland.
However Scotland was in a slump and the County of Mary built a port at Lossiemouth which failed to generate a profit for the county.
Having learned their lesson, the Scots built a new harbor on the east side of Lossiemouth, where the burghers received the black merchants. They also gave the Black Harbor the name of Elgin, and since then the County of Marys has really flourished.
However this had a side effect.
Because of the Scottish accent, the merchants who traveled to and from the city were not distinguishable from their gold roots, and over time, Elgin was pronounced Elgin, and the inland capital of Mali shifted to a strange black port on the edge of Lossiemouth that claimed to be in order, and laughed in the face of the world.
Lorraine's first stop was chosen here, partly in admiration of the beauty of her order, and partly because the Scots were economically strapped, and inferior spices, which were hard to come by in England, had a good market here.
The Attis Beauty half-sailed to shore.
From a distance, Hina, standing on the lookout, shouted excitedly, "I see the harbor! Due south!"
Lorraine smiled, "Hina, change hands! Pierce, untie the bowsprit and lower the sails another three nautical miles!"
"Aye! Mr. Captain!"
The water in Elgin Harbor was deep and calm, and the Artis Beauty, with sails lowered, sailed smoothly toward the dock, constantly adjusting her direction with the bowsprit as she eased in, showing the crew's excellent ship-handling skills.
There were two flags, red and white, waving alternately on the pier, guiding the Beauty to berth into the nearest Pier No. 7 and drop anchor close to shore.
This was no difficulty for Lorraine.
In a moment, the Beauty's bow gently struck the bank, Pierce let go of the anchor plate, and the shiny iron anchor clattered to the bottom.
"Haina stay aboard, Pierce, go to the stern cabin and pick out a fine set of china and visit the local gentlemen with me."
Lorraine tied up the bowsprit and snapped off the boards.
He greeted the pilot with the precise flag order with a grin, and with a snap of his fingers a silver glittering shilling flew up.
"Beautiful chess language, sir."
The pilot reached for the shilling and tucked it into his pocket with a joyful smile, "Nice maneuvering of the sails, sir."
The flower sedan chair was carried by everyone, and with that compliment, the next handshake became natural.
"Sir, this is our first time doing business in Elgin, is there anything we should be aware of?"
The pilot frowned for a moment.
"First of all, you have to respect Scottish habits and familiarize yourself with and obey Scottish laws. This is a black harbor, but an orderly black harbor."
Lorraine shrugged, "Don't I need to call on the MC?"
"That's the other thing." The pilot chuckled softly, "To have the laws of Black Harbor protect you and your crew, you must be licensed by the MC before trading. Of course, the main reason for doing so is to receive a tax tag, that's for filing taxes with the Port Authority."
"Where do I go to get a tax license for Black Harbor ... that requires a tax return?"
"17 Flourish Street, this is the office of the MC. There are three gentlemen who take turns sitting on the MC in Blackport, and this month it's Carl. Mr. Piddick."
"A million thanks for your advice." Lorraine waved her hand in a gentleman's salute, and seeing Piers disembarking with a fine little case, offered another shilling, "Does Mr. Piddick like china?"
"And who doesn't like china in the British Isles?"