Asindo looked over the deck of his ship and took a deep breath. He loved the smell of the sea, and the call of the sea birds. He had left the port of Partus a day earlier on a mission of exploration for the Lord Ergeitz. His hope was to secure new trading opportunities for Partus. The morning sun glistened on the Gulf of Enchantment and the water looked as magical as its name. As he sailed west along the coast he soon came to a hilly land with good stone. He and his crew took the boat ashore and surveyed the land. They found shale in the hills and decided this location would be ideal for a fort. That took most of the morning.
In the afternoon they sailed further west until the shore curved up to the north. There was a small bay with deep water that Asindo thought would make a good port about 75 miles west of Partus. Eventually this was to become New Partus, then just Partus as the old Partus fell to ruins.
After a short distance to the north the shore grew marshy, the sea grew shallow, and the wind disappeared. Asindo and his men had to row the ship. Just before sunset a break in the mists revealed a structure some distance from the shore. A black tower glinted momentarily as a beam of sunlight pierced the mist. In a window in the black tower stood a tall, thin, woman with a long black gown and long straight black hair and dark eyes. Asindo felt as if she were looking directly into his eyes even at this great distance. A moment later mists closed again like a curtain hiding the ruined tower.
The ship shuddered suddenly as if it had struck some object in the fog. Then the sluggish see roiled and churned with black ooze. When Asindo looked out he saw the ship grounded on a mound of black sludge. Not only that but the mound became a ridge that led towards the shore.
