The Windward Serpent
Black markets can be found in various locales across Temshai, most often in the underbelly of Temshai's large cities. The Ebon Bazaar offered a more neutral location, with the drawback of being in a less convenient location to access. The advent of air travel opened a new possibility for bringing Temshai's most dubious residents together in one place.
The Windward Serpent is a large airship, surprisingly swift for its size. It provides residential quarters for over 500 guests plus crew, and boasts a black market, casino, and a number of bars that, while they don't rival the best on land, have a greatly reduced risk to patrons wishing to avoid capture thanks to the non-detection charms maintained tirelessly over the vehicle. Passengers must be referred by existing clientele and then pass a careful screening process, ensuring to Talienne, the owner, and her staff, that prospectives can be trusted and bear no allegiance to The Ebon Axes or to law enforcement agencies.
Chosen passengers are given a golden poker chip, with a serpent on one side and an airship on the other, which serves as a magical means of teleportation onto the airship. Select clientele are given a special chip which allows them to notify the Serpent staff that they are boarding, reserving them a room, while the others can only teleport into the entrance, on the port side of the casino. The airship remains in constant motion to further avoid detection. Below decks, the crew quarters, cargo holds, and engine and maintenance chambers occupy the length of the ship.
The main deck of the ship is dominated by the casino area. To the port, a lavish entrance area sports marble floors with a large mosaic depicting a serpent flying through the clouds in a cerulean sky. To the starboard, the Serpent staff have offices, as well as jail cells to hold those who make trouble. The casino itself has a large bar in the center with card tables throughout. Near to the entrance, a bank of slot machines tempts new arrivals. Occasional tropical plants in brass planters add some color. To the stern, the Serpent's Slither table hosts periodic snake races, as five snakes are let out of cages and must race around an obstacle-laden track to the finish line, with viewers betting on their favourite. In the very stern of the ship lies a more boisterous, lower-class pub. At the opposite end of the casino, a quieter, classier restaurant has many private rooms, allowing clientele the venue to make deals over dinner. Through the restaurant to the other side is the ship's Black Market, consisting of numerous stalls with periodic doorways to private meeting rooms.
From the casino floor, a grand staircase rises twenty feet to the second level. A balcony with more card tables surrounds the railing, giving clients a view down through the magical chandeliers to the ground floor. The Serpent's hotel area forms an outer ring around the balcony, occupying the bow and stern areas of the second floor as well, and boasts many suites as well as individual rooms.
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