Saturday, May 29, 2004
Major Richard Skelton's Journal, Issue 3
2nd of June, 1814 A.D.
We set sail today to return to the crystal reef to collect more crystal for sale in Kiera. En route, we spotted sails on the horizon...when we got closer, they gave chase - pirates. A short sea battle was followed by a boarding action, in which the rogues were easily dispatched - although their captain, a real nasty fellow, almost killed two of us in the process. But once the scoundrel was slain, the rest of his pirate crew threw down their arms. Intelligent folk.
It was a french vessel turned pirate, it seems. Called "the Invincible", although it failed to live up to its name. There was a man in a cage aboard decks, a Frenchman named Mary Bow. He claimed to be the rightful captain of the ship, and that his crew had mutinied against him. He may just be crazy. Suffice to say, although we are unsure about whether or not to believe his claim about the ship, Blackpowder Pete seemed to think the man knew his way around a ship, and thus we tenatively accepted him into the officer corps of the ship. The pirates also agreed to lay aside their live of illegal pillage and plunder, and instead work for legal pillage and plunder with us.
"We have uniforms...and equipment...and you have to follow commands."
"Uh..okay! We thought you were going to ask us to bathe!"
3rd of June
We arrived at the crystal reef, and began loading crystal. It was thought that other ships must have fallen prey to the mermaids over time, and so Aquillikae and Ash were dispatched to search the ocean floor for plunder. It seems they found it - but also found Octopons. I am unsure of the details, but it seems the battle went against our comrades, although they did enough harm to the Octopons that the Octopons were willing to let our comrades flee on the condition that they not return. A shame - both for the wounds inflicted upon our friends, and that the plunder was not retrieved! All this talk of plunder is making me feel less like an officer and a gentleman, but I can not help but to admit that the prospect of treasure is a pleasant thing.
4th of June
We decided to wait until our fellow officers had healed somewhat before setting sail once more. It turned out to be an unfortunate choice. The Octopon Magus that Aquillikae had negotiated with apparantly included our ship in the "leave here and never return" command. He can up beneath the invincible and sunk it with magic. There was a short skirmish, but then we set sail and left with all due haste. I believe, if Aquillikae has his wish, this will not be the last we see of those Octopons.
5th of June
Today we returned to Kiera. Safe in port once more, with my feet on solid earth. It feels good. I'd almost forgotten that I don't like sailing...until that damn Octopon blew up the other boat yesterday... We'll heal up here, and then decide where to go to next. We must be sure to remember that time is of the essence if we are to save this world...
We set sail today to return to the crystal reef to collect more crystal for sale in Kiera. En route, we spotted sails on the horizon...when we got closer, they gave chase - pirates. A short sea battle was followed by a boarding action, in which the rogues were easily dispatched - although their captain, a real nasty fellow, almost killed two of us in the process. But once the scoundrel was slain, the rest of his pirate crew threw down their arms. Intelligent folk.
It was a french vessel turned pirate, it seems. Called "the Invincible", although it failed to live up to its name. There was a man in a cage aboard decks, a Frenchman named Mary Bow. He claimed to be the rightful captain of the ship, and that his crew had mutinied against him. He may just be crazy. Suffice to say, although we are unsure about whether or not to believe his claim about the ship, Blackpowder Pete seemed to think the man knew his way around a ship, and thus we tenatively accepted him into the officer corps of the ship. The pirates also agreed to lay aside their live of illegal pillage and plunder, and instead work for legal pillage and plunder with us.
"We have uniforms...and equipment...and you have to follow commands."
"Uh..okay! We thought you were going to ask us to bathe!"
3rd of June
We arrived at the crystal reef, and began loading crystal. It was thought that other ships must have fallen prey to the mermaids over time, and so Aquillikae and Ash were dispatched to search the ocean floor for plunder. It seems they found it - but also found Octopons. I am unsure of the details, but it seems the battle went against our comrades, although they did enough harm to the Octopons that the Octopons were willing to let our comrades flee on the condition that they not return. A shame - both for the wounds inflicted upon our friends, and that the plunder was not retrieved! All this talk of plunder is making me feel less like an officer and a gentleman, but I can not help but to admit that the prospect of treasure is a pleasant thing.
4th of June
We decided to wait until our fellow officers had healed somewhat before setting sail once more. It turned out to be an unfortunate choice. The Octopon Magus that Aquillikae had negotiated with apparantly included our ship in the "leave here and never return" command. He can up beneath the invincible and sunk it with magic. There was a short skirmish, but then we set sail and left with all due haste. I believe, if Aquillikae has his wish, this will not be the last we see of those Octopons.
5th of June
Today we returned to Kiera. Safe in port once more, with my feet on solid earth. It feels good. I'd almost forgotten that I don't like sailing...until that damn Octopon blew up the other boat yesterday... We'll heal up here, and then decide where to go to next. We must be sure to remember that time is of the essence if we are to save this world...
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Major Richard Skelton's Journal, issue 2
1st of May, 1814 A.D.
Sharks have begun trailing our ship as we sail along the coast of Torath Ka. We have an injured and tired crew, and we simply hope to reach Azy Cay before we run short of provisions.
2nd of May
We left behind the coast of Torath Ka today... The open sea is before us, and with luck we shall reach Azy Cay where we can reprovision shortly.
4th of May
Azy Cay, finally! We began the process of reprovisioning the ship, and preparing ourselves to journey back to the Teeth to retrieve the magical sails we failed to retrieve last time. Tomorrow we shall set sail for Torath Ka once again.
5th of May
Good weather and calm seas, or so says the captain, as we set sail for Torath Ka once more. We intercepted a sloop today, boarded and searched it to check for smuggling activities, but they were just fishermen. Bizarre accents, though.
8th of May
Today we reached the coast of Torath Ka once again - the Savage Land. It is a sight that is become far to familiar, I believe.
16th of May
We reached the teeth today. We managed to make it past the sharks this time(or, rather, Aquilikae and Ash did) and we now have magical sails for our ship. They appear to be made out of one large piece of skin from an enormous shark! Now we set sail to look for this Thomas D'Oringo, a privateer in the Grey Isles. So it is for Kiera we head now...
18th of May
Caught sight of sails on the horizon. It turned out to be a Kieran cutter, which we evaded.
22nd of May
Yet another Kieran cutter which we attempted to evade. This one almost caught us, but with skill and luck on Blackpowder Pete's side, we managed to escape after a long chase.
25th of May
Now amidst the Kieran isles, we sailed past an armed compound or fortress of some type. We docked our boat in harbour at Kiera, and proceeded to ask around about this Thomas D'Oringo. Negotiations with the harbourmaster were less than successful, but after some inquiries we discovered that Thomas was serving aboard the Valiant, which was privateering in the channel.
28th of May
We set sail looking for the Valiant in the channel. We shall patrol, I think, until we find it.
29th of May
Instead of finding the Valiant, we instead found a giant eagle - a Roc. It moved in to attack our ship, and was killed by myself and Aquilikae, but we had the bad luck of the blasted thing landing on our boat, inflicting some damage. On the upside, we now have many large feathers as souvenirs.
30th of May
We decided that since we were in the area, we would follow the directions Fomona had given us in Kiera, and take a look into these supposed Mermaids in the crystal reef. We navigated a maze of rocks before almost splitting our hull open on the near invisible crystal reef. And then we say the mermaids - creatures of surpassing beauty - or so it seemed at first. I believe we all fell prey to their song, much to my shame. It was a haunting but alluring melody that seemed to resonate with the crystal all around us, artificially enhancing its power. We began to jump into the water to be with them. Thankfully, myself and Karn roused ourselves quickly from our trance, and realized how hideous the creatures actually were - with claws, and mouths like sharks! Karn leapt back aboard the boat, and helped me up as well, and we began trying to save our comrades and destroy the mermaids. Aquilikae shook himself loose from his trance, and instead of trying to save himself by fending off his attackers, he unleashed his magic on the crystal reef below. Shockwaves rippled through the water, stunning the mermaids and allowing us brief respite. I believe we still would have succumbed, had not our trusty ship's super, Equius, loaded up the ship's cannon, which we then fired at the reef, shattering it and killing the mermaids still in the water. We all almost died, an event that I fear is becoming far too common for even my tastes. All the officers survived, but most of the crew was killed.
On the upside, we did have some profit from the venture. Karn has scooped up one of the mermaids and put it on deck before the reef was shattered, meaning we had a live prisoner to return to Kiera. We also filled our holds with the shattered crystal - I expect it could fetch a fair price. Hardly worth the lives of our fallen comrades, but certainly enough to pay for a few rounds drunk in their honour back at port.
31st of May
Today we sail back to Kiera. Thankfully, the seas were calm and we encountered no foes - I am unsure if we could survive much combat with our ship so badly undermanned.
June 1st
We arrived safely back in Kiera, and began selling our crystal and our mermaid. Much profit made. Repairs will need to be done to our ship, and new crew hired...but we decided we wanted to get the rest of that crystal before anyone else did first...
Sharks have begun trailing our ship as we sail along the coast of Torath Ka. We have an injured and tired crew, and we simply hope to reach Azy Cay before we run short of provisions.
2nd of May
We left behind the coast of Torath Ka today... The open sea is before us, and with luck we shall reach Azy Cay where we can reprovision shortly.
4th of May
Azy Cay, finally! We began the process of reprovisioning the ship, and preparing ourselves to journey back to the Teeth to retrieve the magical sails we failed to retrieve last time. Tomorrow we shall set sail for Torath Ka once again.
5th of May
Good weather and calm seas, or so says the captain, as we set sail for Torath Ka once more. We intercepted a sloop today, boarded and searched it to check for smuggling activities, but they were just fishermen. Bizarre accents, though.
8th of May
Today we reached the coast of Torath Ka once again - the Savage Land. It is a sight that is become far to familiar, I believe.
16th of May
We reached the teeth today. We managed to make it past the sharks this time(or, rather, Aquilikae and Ash did) and we now have magical sails for our ship. They appear to be made out of one large piece of skin from an enormous shark! Now we set sail to look for this Thomas D'Oringo, a privateer in the Grey Isles. So it is for Kiera we head now...
18th of May
Caught sight of sails on the horizon. It turned out to be a Kieran cutter, which we evaded.
22nd of May
Yet another Kieran cutter which we attempted to evade. This one almost caught us, but with skill and luck on Blackpowder Pete's side, we managed to escape after a long chase.
25th of May
Now amidst the Kieran isles, we sailed past an armed compound or fortress of some type. We docked our boat in harbour at Kiera, and proceeded to ask around about this Thomas D'Oringo. Negotiations with the harbourmaster were less than successful, but after some inquiries we discovered that Thomas was serving aboard the Valiant, which was privateering in the channel.
28th of May
We set sail looking for the Valiant in the channel. We shall patrol, I think, until we find it.
29th of May
Instead of finding the Valiant, we instead found a giant eagle - a Roc. It moved in to attack our ship, and was killed by myself and Aquilikae, but we had the bad luck of the blasted thing landing on our boat, inflicting some damage. On the upside, we now have many large feathers as souvenirs.
30th of May
We decided that since we were in the area, we would follow the directions Fomona had given us in Kiera, and take a look into these supposed Mermaids in the crystal reef. We navigated a maze of rocks before almost splitting our hull open on the near invisible crystal reef. And then we say the mermaids - creatures of surpassing beauty - or so it seemed at first. I believe we all fell prey to their song, much to my shame. It was a haunting but alluring melody that seemed to resonate with the crystal all around us, artificially enhancing its power. We began to jump into the water to be with them. Thankfully, myself and Karn roused ourselves quickly from our trance, and realized how hideous the creatures actually were - with claws, and mouths like sharks! Karn leapt back aboard the boat, and helped me up as well, and we began trying to save our comrades and destroy the mermaids. Aquilikae shook himself loose from his trance, and instead of trying to save himself by fending off his attackers, he unleashed his magic on the crystal reef below. Shockwaves rippled through the water, stunning the mermaids and allowing us brief respite. I believe we still would have succumbed, had not our trusty ship's super, Equius, loaded up the ship's cannon, which we then fired at the reef, shattering it and killing the mermaids still in the water. We all almost died, an event that I fear is becoming far too common for even my tastes. All the officers survived, but most of the crew was killed.
On the upside, we did have some profit from the venture. Karn has scooped up one of the mermaids and put it on deck before the reef was shattered, meaning we had a live prisoner to return to Kiera. We also filled our holds with the shattered crystal - I expect it could fetch a fair price. Hardly worth the lives of our fallen comrades, but certainly enough to pay for a few rounds drunk in their honour back at port.
31st of May
Today we sail back to Kiera. Thankfully, the seas were calm and we encountered no foes - I am unsure if we could survive much combat with our ship so badly undermanned.
June 1st
We arrived safely back in Kiera, and began selling our crystal and our mermaid. Much profit made. Repairs will need to be done to our ship, and new crew hired...but we decided we wanted to get the rest of that crystal before anyone else did first...
