Journal Entry of Marcus Muddywater
By James Scotland
Journal Entry 114
I returned to the ship to chaos. As usual, Kai is at the epicentre of the maelstrom. Kai has released one of the slaves from the prison stones. Of course she has chosen to break the crystal which contains an uncontrollable 9 foot, 500 lb. sharkman whose weapon of choice is an unconscious mermaid.
Our newly acquired motley crew of scum and villainy are not pleased. They have drawn their weapons and are starting to circle the sharkman. The sharkman is ready to fight, mermaid in hand. Kai stands between the aggressors shouting, “Don’t go breaking my shark!” Nobody listens to Kai. The dwarf, Elre, and I step forward to assist.
We are unable to reason with our pirate crew; they are unreasonable. It is at this point in time that I realized that they are not ‘our’ pirate crew but ‘the’ pirate crew. Deciding to involve India is beginning to seem like a terrible idea. She already has control of the ship and she is yet to step foot on it.
The dwarf, Elre, and I approach the shark with our weapons drawn. The plan is to maim the shark, throw it into the brig, and then heal it later. It’s a good plan. We attack. Within a minute, the mermaid is no longer being used as a flail. Elre has incapacitated one of the shark’s arms, I have incapacitated one of its legs, Kai has shot it in the chest, and the dwarf has stunned it with his mace. As the shark collapses, it takes one final lunge towards me, its mouth agape. Its teeth bite down hard into the wooden deck. Although the shark is defeated, the pirate crew are not satisfied. They are still approaching with violence in their eyes.
We cannot reason with the pirate crew; they are unreasonable. One of the crew shoots the unconscious shark in the head. This is not acceptable. Soon, weapons clash. Kai lets loose a stun arrow. As the arrow hits the deck, the air ripples from its impact. Most of the people on the deck lose consciousness and collapse, including Kai. The dwarf, I, and a couple of pirates remain. The fight continues. The dwarf hits a pirate from behind with his mace. I guess that the pirate just didn’t see him coming, which is understandable as the dwarf is less than 4 foot tall.
The pirate who shot the shark in the head is unconsciousness. I see an opportunity. Into the man goes Karak. As I wait for Karak to do his work, I watch the dwarf fight the remaining pirate. I had hoped to observe a combat masterclass from the dwarf. I was to be disappointed. Within seconds, the pirate has disarmed the dwarf and fooled him with another feint of his weapon. The dwarf needs help; I step forward. As I cleave the pirate’s head clean off, I whisper, “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Then, I glance to my right as the dwarf is making a bungled attempt to jump over the ship’s guard rail and into the water. The body of the dwarf jolts upwards as his shield explodes in mid-air. Dwarves are not very aerodynamic. I am the only person left standing.
I work quickly. Soon the possibly dead sharkman is safely secured and Elre has been given the gift of a mermaid. Eventually, Elre will have enough women to open his own establishment. I also order the silver guard to throw all of the unruly pirates into the brig, including the headless pirate. His beheading will be a lesson to them. Men of violence respect power. A few minutes later, India walks up the gangplank; she is accompanied by many more pirates. Soon more eyes blazing with violent intent gaze upon me. Why did Kai have to release daddy shark? I attempt to negotiate with India.
The good news is that we are soon near the Isle of Marr. The bad news is that I am confined to a crow’s age which is swinging from the ship’s main-yard and my comrades are now in the brig. As I contemplate my misfortune of running into India in the tavern, I spot a ship approaching from NNE. The ship looks familiar. It’s an interdiction ship. We are crossing the blockade line. This is going to be a problem. And our motley crew of scum and villainy are not going to be pleased once they find out where we are.
No, actually this is not going to be a problem; Vallen has summoned another 90-foot Kraken. He has managed to bend the beast to his will and it goes to do his bidding. The horizon is soon aglow with an orange and black flame; smoke rises high into the sky. One day, the summoning of the Kraken will not work out. One day but not today, India placates her crew with more false promises and we sail on towards our fate.
Captain’s Log of India Milina Tyde
By William A. Thorn
Captain’s Log, Meridius, 5-1427
(Translated from Aamanau, a minor language in the Scattered Isles)
Poor Felix. To think that but two days ago, our fortunes were so perfectly opposite—I, a slaveling harlot in that wretched whore’s den in Botany Bay, and he, the wide-eyed freeman who became my unwitting savior. Now, I am captain of his former vessel, and he is swinging in a cage off the main mast for murdering fellow crew mates and threatening mutiny. It seems Fortuna’s blessing upon me hasn’t waned after all.
Understandably, the crew demanded he be properly gibbeted, and being the new captain, I had to show my strength of office. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to allow it—notwithstanding the fact that doing so would have likely induced his comrades into a proper mutiny—but how could I mar that face? No, no. It was a tad challenging, but the crew was finally appeased with swinging in the cage for a few days, leaving me to enjoy the irony of the situation. After all, it was the promise of this ship, The Young Lady, as payment that House Ordos used to bait me into doing that last run for them, only to be betrayed, captured, and sold to slavers. I can easily imagine their dumfounded, jaw-dropped mugs were I to sail boldly into the Scattered Isles with one of their pretty boys hanging from the main mast of this fine ship. ‘Twould be a victorious sight.
Poor Felix, though. He looks unnerved, as would a child witnessing the harsh reality of the world for the first time. I think I’ll have Dale secret him some chocolate, a delicacy I discovered in a small shop in Botany Bay. ’Twas Felix’s coin that purchased it, anyhow, so it seems only proper he have a share.