The Rock of Bral

'All things come to those who wait, and especially to those who wait upon the Rock of Bral,' or so the elven saying has it. The merchants and traders of a dozen spheres meet at the Rock to exchange their wares, and none return home without a tidy profit. With the markets of a hundred worlds to choose from, it's hard not to find someone who is willing to buy almost anything. Metal poor worlds trade silks and rare spices for steel and iron. Dwarven miners purchase food and wood by the shipload. Mind flayers buy the wretched and broken of a dozen lands for cattle. There is a buyer for anything on the Rock of Bral.   Of course, where there are buyers, there are bound to be sellers. If you can't find what you want on the Rock, you can always find out where to get it. Free trade dominates the city, and everything has its price.   It is hard to say whether the Rock of Bral thrives because of the trade that comes to it, or if the trade flourishes because the Rock of Bral is there. Whichever is true, money is power in the asteroid city. Just 100 years ago the city was a pirate haven, a backwater of the spaceways. Now it is one of the greatest mercantile centers and known to any number of races. Perhaps its diversity and the simple policy of "check your vendettas at the docks" have made the Rock as successful as it is.   Certainly, you don't find many places where illithids, dwarves, beholders, and elves all rub shoulders with each other. On the Rock of Bral they have an opportunity to set aside their differences and profit from each other—a rare thing for ancient foes.   Courtesy is king in the city of Bral. Mo matter what wrongs a spacefarer may believe he has theright to redress, he will not pursue his hatreds and vengeance in Bral. If you have always wanted to talk to a mind flayer, go ahead! Unless you do something very stupid, it won't eat your brain. You may want to find something of import to discuss, since most illithids consider being bothered for trivial conversation a very stupid act.    Life on the Rock is a matter of the survival of the fittest. If a person, of any race or background, observes some common sense guidelines and can turn a profit, he, she, or it can stay as long as they desire and do whatever they wish. On the other hand, anyone—prince or pauper, beholder or gnome—who cannot live under the Rock's rules is not welcome in Bral.   So, keep your hands off your sword hilts, don't poke around in dark alleys, and get ready to meet the Rock!