The museum is most pleased to have intact and for display this only correspondence to the Freemage Academy in Niole Dra, the finest school of all O’erth. With this one letter he cemented his legacy forever.
For the Vice Chancellor Countess Alina Elowyn
Lady, I Sir Kildare S. Redding, Knight Magoi of the Principality of Ulek in humble service to His High Serene Highness, Prince Olinstaad Corond humbly invites thee to grace my humble estate with the blessings of your wisdom. I have penned the first draft of a modern set of law for the institute of freemagery in the Principality and have included with this letter a copy for your agents to review and comment on prior to formal presentation to the Prince. Of far greater interest to you my lady, is a collection of recently discovered pre-cataclysm manuscripts in a terrible state of decomposition. I believe these are of Suelii origin, from beyond the Suel Imperium. These documents are beyond my humble grasp of true magic or language and perhaps beyond any, but with your vast learning and careful treatment of the documents, our world might benefit from even a small return of true magic into the hands of the good people of the Old Kingdoms Domains. The artifacts are in the care of my staff in Gryax, awaiting shipment to a more secure facility near Kaska, we will be at my estate in Havenhill should you chose to travel after the low summer festival, upon the conclusion of which we shall depart Gryax for the hill country estate. We have other artifacts as well, recovered from an ancient Shnai Jarl crypt, believed to be of the same period as the stone and brass manuscripts.
Blessed be,
Sir Kildare S. Redding
Knight Magoi of Kaska, Steward of Nornreddingkragg, High Spring Clan and Harbor I-Shnaihung
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Two stray log entries
Captains Log [date omitted]
Lordship of the Isle’s Patrol Intercepts Voyager to perform routine inspection. Brief scuffle occurs below decks as three men are identified as outlaws wanted by the lordship. Hooligan officers demand a bribe suggesting they’ll sink us if we don’t pay up. They take what they want, including the three scofflaws and depart.
We sail on Skirting the Spindrift to the East, the Lordship officers having informed us of open fighting in the sound. Planned next land fall at Kalport Bay in the corrupt formerly Great Kingdom. The thought of making landfall there sickens me, but I have no choice. We might not have enough supplies remaining aboard to make it that far, the eastward detour around the Spindrift Sound will take time and there are few ports I would consider friendly, and I expect no harbor here will honor requirements for courtesy to a diplomatic envoy.
Captain’s log [date omitted]
After the difficulties with the eastward bypass, we have found ourselves run aground. A mistake I fully accept as my own has put us on a shoal. The crew is working hard to drag Voyager off but it is back breaking work. The men complain loudly and so I’ve doubled rations for all hands hoping this will safely free out bottom before the spine cracks under her weight and an ebbing tide.
Lordship of the Isle’s Patrol Intercepts Voyager to perform routine inspection. Brief scuffle occurs below decks as three men are identified as outlaws wanted by the lordship. Hooligan officers demand a bribe suggesting they’ll sink us if we don’t pay up. They take what they want, including the three scofflaws and depart.
We sail on Skirting the Spindrift to the East, the Lordship officers having informed us of open fighting in the sound. Planned next land fall at Kalport Bay in the corrupt formerly Great Kingdom. The thought of making landfall there sickens me, but I have no choice. We might not have enough supplies remaining aboard to make it that far, the eastward detour around the Spindrift Sound will take time and there are few ports I would consider friendly, and I expect no harbor here will honor requirements for courtesy to a diplomatic envoy.
Captain’s log [date omitted]
After the difficulties with the eastward bypass, we have found ourselves run aground. A mistake I fully accept as my own has put us on a shoal. The crew is working hard to drag Voyager off but it is back breaking work. The men complain loudly and so I’ve doubled rations for all hands hoping this will safely free out bottom before the spine cracks under her weight and an ebbing tide.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Contiguous Log.
The only contiguous sectoin of log entries from this voyage are compiled here for you. It illustrates the very real dangers and harships sailors faced during the Navigator's era. Though mundane compared to rampaging monsters and witches, the threat of plague which can strike invisibly and is little understood in Kildare's time was quite terrifying.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Plague has broken out.
3 men buried at sea:
S. Barhoss.
I. Maestro
Joseph H. Woken.
12 men ill, quarantined below decks. Ships surgeon has no treatment. For safety, at his urging bride relocated to Cape, under quarantine there, with Gallon. Upon sighting Talbot we signaled for Nastia to be transferred to help seek a cure. She arrived to report that two officers have died, and at least ten are ill.
The news spreads, the crew is restless, and all discipline has broken down. I recommend replacing the crew at next landfall.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Fire aboard Voyager, one crewman attacked another with a torch during the evening meal. One of the men escaped from quarantine, strangled the other man to death even as he was being struck with the torch. Perry dispatched the attacker and warns the fellow may have been a ghoul. Rumor spreads and several more men fall ill, though no more perish. All are quarantined. The suspected Ghoul is treated by Perry and buried at sea. [The man’s name is erased from all logs and manifests]
The fire destroyed a number of spare spars and 23 yards of sail, and several caches of spare misc. rigging and lines. Two men injured in the fire, treated and returned to duty.
The Cape reports no illness, so far she is the only clean vessel. Nastia and Perry suggest exorcising the ship and the pair set about the task. The priest gains a number of converts who flock to him out of desperation and fear.
Two days from land.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Land sighted, one man J. Falco is unaccounted for, presumed lost overboard. One infected man has taken his own life by hanging. No new cases or fatalities beyond the suicide. [Suicide also stricken from the logs-something superstitious sailors commonly did].
We anchor outside Dullstrode [Ahlissa] and assemble the remaining officers and crew. Talbot pronounces the plague and bad fortune over but offers to release any man with full pay for the voyage here. Everyone accepts the offer, and sign a pledge to not speak of the misfortune on the voyage thus far. This will not contain the tale I know, but my brother is hopeful. Unlike him, I’d have expected him to cajole or threaten the men with violence; instead he gives each a small bonus of eight silver coins apiece.
I am reunited with my bride, who is happy to see me it seems, I make the best of this rare good mood of hers and waste some time ashore with her. Talbot sets about recruiting new crews, three weeks for recruiting, refit and repairs. Nastia and Perry wish to further research the plague ashore. I warn them the people here may be strange to them, and ask them to exercise extreme discretion as they do this. They make some friendly contacts with good people who need some help and I join them while my wife who is advancing in her pregnancy, takes advantage of the opportunity to gorge herself on fresh food, cakes and chocolates. The ships surgeon tends to her with Gallon while I assist Perry and Nastia with the Cuthbertines ashore.
Captain’s Log [date unintelligible]
Fire aboard the Cape, 25 souls lost, and ship burnt to the waterline, a total loss. Damage to the mission of some thirty two hundred gold.
Talbot orders us to put to sea immediately; he suspects the townspeople were after his ship, or the Voyager, seeking to destroy the source of the plague after reports of similar outbreak in the harbor. We are safely away, Perry, Nastia, Gallon and the bride safe with me. No new master has been hired for Voyager so I spend more time on the bridge while Nastia works on the research I had left unfinished, she is close to a breakthrough I can feel it.
As to my brother and his state of mind, Nastia I fear is right – something is amiss. I wish my brother no ill so I request Perry to examine this matter by way of augury. I keep his findings in strictest confidence alerting only my body guard. I move into the larger captain’s cabin and move my family, Nastia, Perry and Gallon into my quarters. It’s cramped but quite rewarding to see all getting along so well.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Plague has broken out.
3 men buried at sea:
S. Barhoss.
I. Maestro
Joseph H. Woken.
12 men ill, quarantined below decks. Ships surgeon has no treatment. For safety, at his urging bride relocated to Cape, under quarantine there, with Gallon. Upon sighting Talbot we signaled for Nastia to be transferred to help seek a cure. She arrived to report that two officers have died, and at least ten are ill.
The news spreads, the crew is restless, and all discipline has broken down. I recommend replacing the crew at next landfall.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Fire aboard Voyager, one crewman attacked another with a torch during the evening meal. One of the men escaped from quarantine, strangled the other man to death even as he was being struck with the torch. Perry dispatched the attacker and warns the fellow may have been a ghoul. Rumor spreads and several more men fall ill, though no more perish. All are quarantined. The suspected Ghoul is treated by Perry and buried at sea. [The man’s name is erased from all logs and manifests]
The fire destroyed a number of spare spars and 23 yards of sail, and several caches of spare misc. rigging and lines. Two men injured in the fire, treated and returned to duty.
The Cape reports no illness, so far she is the only clean vessel. Nastia and Perry suggest exorcising the ship and the pair set about the task. The priest gains a number of converts who flock to him out of desperation and fear.
Two days from land.
Navigator’s Log [date unintelligible]
Land sighted, one man J. Falco is unaccounted for, presumed lost overboard. One infected man has taken his own life by hanging. No new cases or fatalities beyond the suicide. [Suicide also stricken from the logs-something superstitious sailors commonly did].
We anchor outside Dullstrode [Ahlissa] and assemble the remaining officers and crew. Talbot pronounces the plague and bad fortune over but offers to release any man with full pay for the voyage here. Everyone accepts the offer, and sign a pledge to not speak of the misfortune on the voyage thus far. This will not contain the tale I know, but my brother is hopeful. Unlike him, I’d have expected him to cajole or threaten the men with violence; instead he gives each a small bonus of eight silver coins apiece.
I am reunited with my bride, who is happy to see me it seems, I make the best of this rare good mood of hers and waste some time ashore with her. Talbot sets about recruiting new crews, three weeks for recruiting, refit and repairs. Nastia and Perry wish to further research the plague ashore. I warn them the people here may be strange to them, and ask them to exercise extreme discretion as they do this. They make some friendly contacts with good people who need some help and I join them while my wife who is advancing in her pregnancy, takes advantage of the opportunity to gorge herself on fresh food, cakes and chocolates. The ships surgeon tends to her with Gallon while I assist Perry and Nastia with the Cuthbertines ashore.
Captain’s Log [date unintelligible]
Fire aboard the Cape, 25 souls lost, and ship burnt to the waterline, a total loss. Damage to the mission of some thirty two hundred gold.
Talbot orders us to put to sea immediately; he suspects the townspeople were after his ship, or the Voyager, seeking to destroy the source of the plague after reports of similar outbreak in the harbor. We are safely away, Perry, Nastia, Gallon and the bride safe with me. No new master has been hired for Voyager so I spend more time on the bridge while Nastia works on the research I had left unfinished, she is close to a breakthrough I can feel it.
As to my brother and his state of mind, Nastia I fear is right – something is amiss. I wish my brother no ill so I request Perry to examine this matter by way of augury. I keep his findings in strictest confidence alerting only my body guard. I move into the larger captain’s cabin and move my family, Nastia, Perry and Gallon into my quarters. It’s cramped but quite rewarding to see all getting along so well.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Captain's Log One
Kildare begins a new log during his time at sea, few of the writings survive but this one has been restored for your viewing. The note from Ms. Leipzig has not survived the ravishes of the elements.
Three weeks at sea, we make our first land fall for fresh water at a small, little known island free of any national claims and kept secret by the various seaman who visit it for several reasons. It’s too small to fortify or defend, and it is really more an atoll than an island, it’s pure water spring and abundant fish, unique life that abounds here and soft sandy stretch of sand on the inside of the horseshoe shaped section of the island. We take on water and the three captains take a meal together on the beach. During our break my brother finally reveals the meaning of the poem, he says that it was a poem I had penned to him in a letter meant to convey that everything was well, despite the somber tone of the text. It was concealed in the manner that it was to make sure I knew it was from my brother, the same way I had taught him to conceal messages so long ago. A simple enough explanation but I can’t recall ever writing anything remotely poetic; perhaps I borrowed it from a shipmate?
As we broke from our meal Nastia slipped a note into my pocket – I would not have mentioned it or even noticed except that my dear wife had noted it and after we were back aboard Voyager, she decided to pull it from my pocket and read it aloud to me. The noted explained, in sparse detail that Ms. Leipzig had reason to believe my brother to be quite mad and asked for me to come up with some excuse for her to join me aboard Voyager for the next leg of our journey. I know my brother to be quite mad indeed and thought little of it, I planned then to reassure my friend that she was simply attracted to that kind of fellow it seemed, and she should not worry so much. Still her judgment and council are wise so I mull over her note now. My wife was disappointed not to see any secret affections or longing expressed, I assured her as best I know how that there would never be such a declaration from any woman. Probably not even my own wife.
I have ample free time aboard Voyager, the 1st mate was the master and commander prior to my arrival and so I let him handle the day to day chores, he knows the men and the vessel. This allows me to conduct some research and so I will, if she likes, extend an invite to my apprentice to join me. My wife will not join me in my laboratory and fears my cat statuette as well as many of my books and tools. You’d think I had a candelabrum made of human skulls and bones in my office. I think too she had discerned the secret bond between me and my cat and she has gone to considerable length to keep him at bay, wearing some warding charm against him, which of course he has just the other day stolen and I believe eaten.
Three weeks at sea, we make our first land fall for fresh water at a small, little known island free of any national claims and kept secret by the various seaman who visit it for several reasons. It’s too small to fortify or defend, and it is really more an atoll than an island, it’s pure water spring and abundant fish, unique life that abounds here and soft sandy stretch of sand on the inside of the horseshoe shaped section of the island. We take on water and the three captains take a meal together on the beach. During our break my brother finally reveals the meaning of the poem, he says that it was a poem I had penned to him in a letter meant to convey that everything was well, despite the somber tone of the text. It was concealed in the manner that it was to make sure I knew it was from my brother, the same way I had taught him to conceal messages so long ago. A simple enough explanation but I can’t recall ever writing anything remotely poetic; perhaps I borrowed it from a shipmate?
As we broke from our meal Nastia slipped a note into my pocket – I would not have mentioned it or even noticed except that my dear wife had noted it and after we were back aboard Voyager, she decided to pull it from my pocket and read it aloud to me. The noted explained, in sparse detail that Ms. Leipzig had reason to believe my brother to be quite mad and asked for me to come up with some excuse for her to join me aboard Voyager for the next leg of our journey. I know my brother to be quite mad indeed and thought little of it, I planned then to reassure my friend that she was simply attracted to that kind of fellow it seemed, and she should not worry so much. Still her judgment and council are wise so I mull over her note now. My wife was disappointed not to see any secret affections or longing expressed, I assured her as best I know how that there would never be such a declaration from any woman. Probably not even my own wife.
I have ample free time aboard Voyager, the 1st mate was the master and commander prior to my arrival and so I let him handle the day to day chores, he knows the men and the vessel. This allows me to conduct some research and so I will, if she likes, extend an invite to my apprentice to join me. My wife will not join me in my laboratory and fears my cat statuette as well as many of my books and tools. You’d think I had a candelabrum made of human skulls and bones in my office. I think too she had discerned the secret bond between me and my cat and she has gone to considerable length to keep him at bay, wearing some warding charm against him, which of course he has just the other day stolen and I believe eaten.
First Journal Concludes
This is the first time the navigator eludes to an heir arriving soon, it has been suggested that his bride was his apprentice and this authenticated document hasn't been able to put specualtion in that direction to rest, later documents never manage to put the idea of a trist between Kildare and his apprentice to rest though his bride is discussed as a wholy separate person, at odds even with Ms. Leipzig who is considered by scholars to be his first true apprentice.
And so I conclude this journal as it had begun, in my tiny cabin awaiting the tide shift so we can put to sea. There is for once no urgent matter before me, no cries for attention to some crucial matter from my friends or the state. Only the gentle lapping of the sea against the sides of Voyager, the creek of lines under load, and the foot falls of sailors on deck securing supplies for the journey. Naturally I make use of this time to reflect on the past few months’ activities that have brought me to this point while enjoying some rare pipe leaf brought by my brother from the Urnst highland.
I have decided to relocate to the coast, full time and to only retain an office at the Tower built for the defense of Kaska and the road along the frontier. The incursion that I feared would rekindle the hateful wars seems to have stalled indefinitely, the Thunderbloods having rolled back some enemy forces with vigor. Kaska to be sure has benefitted greatly from the traffic, mostly to the north from Haven Hill and points beyond, to the Ironhelm area where enemy activity continues to be reported. Hopefully the lack of returning traffic past my study window is not due to combat losses. My invitation to artisans and craftsmen to place their business on the increasingly busy path has seen a great expansion in the services available to Kaska, and enriched the town fathers while providing me a simple means by which to ensure the Prince receives his annual taxes without taxing my own income.
A new druid has arrived and has ensured us that the spring which feeds the Keep can be maintained quite easily; however she has expressed a number of troubling opinions about the arrangement of the orchards. While expensive and complex, I’ve decided to defer completely to her judgments about horticultural and agricultural matters. She has taken on two apprentices in Kaska and made fork grove her home where she instructs them. I try not to bother her too much, she is very forceful and I’ve had enough forceful strong willed women this summer to last a lifetime. Food production and variety have been increased and the fungus that plagued my own apple trees has been eradicated so I must thank her for that even if I dislike the cross breeding she insists on to prevent future outbreaks; I dislike the tart flesh of the hybrid fruit though she assures me I will prefer it baked in pastry. Again, I decided it best not to argue.
The women in my life continue to take increasing control. My former apprentice of course has helped to drive off another woman, a refugee with designs on my fortune, as expected but my own wife has proven quite impossible to contain. It is in no small part due to her urging in the form of thrown flatware, that I agreed to travel with my brother to the Thorillian on his diplomatic mission. And so my first heir is due shortly, hopefully not before our arrival at her family’s home along our path. I think I have managed a balance between them where their own rivalry over my various interests and attention intersect in such a manner as to preclude any focus on me – my bride is hopelessly jealous of Ms. Leipzig though less violently so than at their first meeting. And Ms. Leipzig is spending most of her time in the company of my handsome elder brother Talbot and so my wife treats her with increasingly cool civility worried she might plot with Talbot to steal my inheritance or something. It’s all quite annoying really, if not for the child on the way, I’d be alone or perhaps enjoying a short cruise aboard Escape with some dear friends.
The refugees have all been resettled and provided nicely for so they will survive the winter, including Tamara who is also serving as my personal archivist to my delight, she is patient, skilled and respectful of my holdings. I wish I could do more for them; in part that is the purpose of this mission -treasure. Several have settled at Kaska, and many in Gryax. Only a few opted to remain in Haven hill which bore little resemblance I have been told, to their original homes. Kaska’s people have been very welcoming and hospitable and more closely resembles many of their original settlements, and Gryax more so for obvious reasons. Two of the refugees have written me petitioning to be apprenticed. I have interviewed both of them and determined that while they are capable they haven’t enough foundational knowledge to begin the training. I set before them a simple task: spend a year under Cromwell’s care, at their own expense, with all their spare time in study. Cromwell is not a professional wizard trainer, but he knows how to open and prepare a mind certainly – and he probably knows more about wizardry than I am allowed to say I suspect.
On that subject I am happy to report the Council of Nobles has relented in opposing my position and title, for now. I think they have warmed to the idea of having a friendly wizard at their disposal with so few available in the principality and our kind being able to so quickly turn the tide of any battle, campaign or war. They likely have dispatched spies into my home, and I welcome them, to report on my activities as at least one noble has loudly declared he believes me to be an agent of T Mak and no ally of the dwur. I protested of course, citing my families own proud Keoish roots, my father having retired from the Navy after losing his foot, and my grandfather who perished in battle on the bridge of his own ship defending a young nobles barge from attack, a young noble who would then go on to become queen and mother of old Skotti himself. Most of the council was unaware of my ties to this land or my service to the crown in the Navy and after my name was recently cleared in the Tempest mutiny, I suspect even that loud mouth will come around and accept me as one of their most devoted defenders.
I have just received a wedding gift from Le Toux, it’s late and I had not expected one at all. A fine scarlet coat, with matching hat he insists in a note will be all the rage next season, with a dare to bravely be the first to sport it out in town. The buttons and braids are far less flamboyant than I had come to expect on a Le Toux selection, very tasteful and elegant antiqued pewter that compliments the scarlet nicely. Many pockets are included and so I will switch out of last season’s blue and gold though I am not quite sold on the hat – lost at sea I’m afraid. There is a purse with some jewels he had been saving and a bottle of special reserve single malt he says is for the baby and a pearl necklace for the wife. It’s quite stunning and clearly not something my ruffian bride would normally choose and so I will insist she wear it prominently and always, never revealing the humorous spirit in which it is given.
My brother has signaled just now to set the sea and anchor detail and so we are about to get underway. I close this journal on that happy thought, and with this one; Talbot has been able to confirm that father yet lives, and is safely away from his cell. I chose to believe he is correct and fully expect to see father upon our return trip which will include a stop in to Hardby. He has yet to explain the meaning of the secret poem in his letter but I expect that will come in due time.
And so I conclude this journal as it had begun, in my tiny cabin awaiting the tide shift so we can put to sea. There is for once no urgent matter before me, no cries for attention to some crucial matter from my friends or the state. Only the gentle lapping of the sea against the sides of Voyager, the creek of lines under load, and the foot falls of sailors on deck securing supplies for the journey. Naturally I make use of this time to reflect on the past few months’ activities that have brought me to this point while enjoying some rare pipe leaf brought by my brother from the Urnst highland.
I have decided to relocate to the coast, full time and to only retain an office at the Tower built for the defense of Kaska and the road along the frontier. The incursion that I feared would rekindle the hateful wars seems to have stalled indefinitely, the Thunderbloods having rolled back some enemy forces with vigor. Kaska to be sure has benefitted greatly from the traffic, mostly to the north from Haven Hill and points beyond, to the Ironhelm area where enemy activity continues to be reported. Hopefully the lack of returning traffic past my study window is not due to combat losses. My invitation to artisans and craftsmen to place their business on the increasingly busy path has seen a great expansion in the services available to Kaska, and enriched the town fathers while providing me a simple means by which to ensure the Prince receives his annual taxes without taxing my own income.
A new druid has arrived and has ensured us that the spring which feeds the Keep can be maintained quite easily; however she has expressed a number of troubling opinions about the arrangement of the orchards. While expensive and complex, I’ve decided to defer completely to her judgments about horticultural and agricultural matters. She has taken on two apprentices in Kaska and made fork grove her home where she instructs them. I try not to bother her too much, she is very forceful and I’ve had enough forceful strong willed women this summer to last a lifetime. Food production and variety have been increased and the fungus that plagued my own apple trees has been eradicated so I must thank her for that even if I dislike the cross breeding she insists on to prevent future outbreaks; I dislike the tart flesh of the hybrid fruit though she assures me I will prefer it baked in pastry. Again, I decided it best not to argue.
The women in my life continue to take increasing control. My former apprentice of course has helped to drive off another woman, a refugee with designs on my fortune, as expected but my own wife has proven quite impossible to contain. It is in no small part due to her urging in the form of thrown flatware, that I agreed to travel with my brother to the Thorillian on his diplomatic mission. And so my first heir is due shortly, hopefully not before our arrival at her family’s home along our path. I think I have managed a balance between them where their own rivalry over my various interests and attention intersect in such a manner as to preclude any focus on me – my bride is hopelessly jealous of Ms. Leipzig though less violently so than at their first meeting. And Ms. Leipzig is spending most of her time in the company of my handsome elder brother Talbot and so my wife treats her with increasingly cool civility worried she might plot with Talbot to steal my inheritance or something. It’s all quite annoying really, if not for the child on the way, I’d be alone or perhaps enjoying a short cruise aboard Escape with some dear friends.
The refugees have all been resettled and provided nicely for so they will survive the winter, including Tamara who is also serving as my personal archivist to my delight, she is patient, skilled and respectful of my holdings. I wish I could do more for them; in part that is the purpose of this mission -treasure. Several have settled at Kaska, and many in Gryax. Only a few opted to remain in Haven hill which bore little resemblance I have been told, to their original homes. Kaska’s people have been very welcoming and hospitable and more closely resembles many of their original settlements, and Gryax more so for obvious reasons. Two of the refugees have written me petitioning to be apprenticed. I have interviewed both of them and determined that while they are capable they haven’t enough foundational knowledge to begin the training. I set before them a simple task: spend a year under Cromwell’s care, at their own expense, with all their spare time in study. Cromwell is not a professional wizard trainer, but he knows how to open and prepare a mind certainly – and he probably knows more about wizardry than I am allowed to say I suspect.
On that subject I am happy to report the Council of Nobles has relented in opposing my position and title, for now. I think they have warmed to the idea of having a friendly wizard at their disposal with so few available in the principality and our kind being able to so quickly turn the tide of any battle, campaign or war. They likely have dispatched spies into my home, and I welcome them, to report on my activities as at least one noble has loudly declared he believes me to be an agent of T Mak and no ally of the dwur. I protested of course, citing my families own proud Keoish roots, my father having retired from the Navy after losing his foot, and my grandfather who perished in battle on the bridge of his own ship defending a young nobles barge from attack, a young noble who would then go on to become queen and mother of old Skotti himself. Most of the council was unaware of my ties to this land or my service to the crown in the Navy and after my name was recently cleared in the Tempest mutiny, I suspect even that loud mouth will come around and accept me as one of their most devoted defenders.
I have just received a wedding gift from Le Toux, it’s late and I had not expected one at all. A fine scarlet coat, with matching hat he insists in a note will be all the rage next season, with a dare to bravely be the first to sport it out in town. The buttons and braids are far less flamboyant than I had come to expect on a Le Toux selection, very tasteful and elegant antiqued pewter that compliments the scarlet nicely. Many pockets are included and so I will switch out of last season’s blue and gold though I am not quite sold on the hat – lost at sea I’m afraid. There is a purse with some jewels he had been saving and a bottle of special reserve single malt he says is for the baby and a pearl necklace for the wife. It’s quite stunning and clearly not something my ruffian bride would normally choose and so I will insist she wear it prominently and always, never revealing the humorous spirit in which it is given.
My brother has signaled just now to set the sea and anchor detail and so we are about to get underway. I close this journal on that happy thought, and with this one; Talbot has been able to confirm that father yet lives, and is safely away from his cell. I chose to believe he is correct and fully expect to see father upon our return trip which will include a stop in to Hardby. He has yet to explain the meaning of the secret poem in his letter but I expect that will come in due time.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Harvest Festival
There has been some question as to the veracity of this journal entry, it appears almost completely isolated from the collection of letters referenced and had been found in a private collection far removed from the provinces but it is featured for the first time in this collection for the benefit of researchers who might wish to debate it. If it is real, it shows a growing affection towards Nastia. One of the key reasons this letter is questioned is that the navigator's first heir is born soon after and there is no mention of an expectant mother to be, or the coming child, something historians agree the navigator would not have been able to resist writing about. This is one of the primary reasons the letter has been questioned, if it is real then it casts doubts on the claims of his kin to his fortune and lands, though there are other reasons a student of his writings would find to question its authenticity.
This year’s harvest festival arrived far too soon I had felt. There were so many things I wished to accomplish but had not been able to achieve this year. Curiously the enemy was quiet, the thrust I had expected had not come, and the Prince launched no great counter-offensive. The nobles bicker, and though I have attended only two gatherings, I have been kept abreast of developments by my thunderblood allies in the council. This year it seems the monsters of the pom were content to lick their wounds or too busy perhaps fending off Drazil's brethren who have waged successful harassment and infiltration campaigns against them. My own home remains unfinished, habitable and cozy but quite unfinished.
If not for the sweet companionship of Ms Leipzig I would be quite dour this week. She has seen to it that my new butler Dalton, newly acquired from her own staff, has been acquainted with the local markets and so he has been able to prepare a weak of feasts fit for a king of the thunderbloods, and so I an rejuvenated and quite happy despite my lack of production and the tiring summer labors we have endured.
Tonight I was enjoying a bit of fun with Nastia when she asked me why I kept an eye patch in my war kit. I teased her that I had once lost my eye in battle and was forced to sprout a new one. One of the thunderbloods who was in the feast hall and had lost his eye in battle then challenged me to show him how I had done this. I convinced him to go through the most ridiculous process of balancing a salt cube on his nose while standing on one foot and blowing into his thumb. I chanted over him and Nastia mouthed the words trying to pick up the incantation then, as I had expected the dwarf fell over, unconscious. The room erupted in laughter and poor Nastia realized that she too had been the butt of a joke. She slapped me of course and demanded the real story.
Once we were certain our one eyed dwur friend was alright, I told the hall why most pirates carry an eye patch in their kit. Of course this reminded me of the findings I had in researching werelight. I decided to finish that work this winter, and asked Nastia to remind me about that, she agreed if only I would not ask her to test the eye patch explanation. I relented of course, and asked Dalton to have one sized for my dear lady friend. The next evening, I was pleased to present her with her own appropriately decorated, blue silk and silver lace eye patch with a trio of tiny pearls studs. Churchill caught her in the stairwell trying to test it, and without the benefit of depth perception she enjoyed mixed results judging from Churchill’s sense of amusement.
Later I caught up with her again, as I counted out coins lost in a wager to Cade who I suspect cheated me yet again, I’ll catch him one day. Nastia had asked about a stack of letters beside me. Most I told her were routine matters, receipts for work done on the keep shell (which is now complete) and suggested plan revisions for the internal spaces resulting from the burgeoning village inside the shell.
There was one letter in particular she was curious about, one with particularly heavy leather wrapping. It was from my brother Talbot, it was cryptically brief “I’m setting sail to Gryax to see you in a fortnight, expect me to be no more than a moon behind this letter” and it hardly seemed worth the trouble to send she asked to inspect it accusing me of being overly crafty and having influenced her unduly. She held the paper to moon light and fire and found indeed my brother was hiding another message with the ink of a lime. I marveled at her clever intuition and let her read the contents. The content of the hidden message shed little light on the matter; it was a poem only that itself might hold some additional meaning. Nastia thought it might be a part of a spell, or a riddle and I dared her to solve it, she disappeared into her quarters taking a bottle of wine and a bowl of fruit with her.
I found another letter I had not opened, one that had arrived only a few days ago, sent by guild courier. It seems my insurance claim for my tools lost two years ago aboard Tempest had finally been paid, and the guild was holding 200 gold coins in trust for me to obtain new tools. I had to laugh, I was just at the guild a week ago and now I would have to travel again to claim the cash, which I needed desperately. I could send an agent but the road is dangerous now, several recently used monsters camps have been found and missing person reports are on the rise. I would have to make the trip myself. Even better, my name had been officially cleared of any wrong doing by the admiralty and for the first time, I was addressed by the Uleki court in written correspondence as Sir Redding. I read on, and learned a Tempest passenger had be found alive and appeared before the court to make a claim against the shipping company and its mutinous crew. The passenger’s identity was not noted but I decided to rush off first thing in the morning in hopes of thanking him for his testimony.
The other events of the summer that should be noted include the loss of dear Sam, who was a frequent sailing companion without him I might have become a land lubber long ago. When old friends are lost, new ones might appear. In this instance I have found another Cuthbert priest, this one a woman named Evelyn who is quite lovely, and the miscreant Igraine whose perfume lingers in some of my kit, as I suspect she planned in order to drive Nastia to madness. It would be a lie to say that I was not amused when I see her suddenly alert searching for her nemesis after fetching an item from my haversack. Le Toux’s grim work and detached lack of empathy might be driving a wedge between us, I haven’t spent enough time with working with him this year and what I was able to do I fear disappointed him. Gallon and I have been drawn closer however; at least as I am able to better engage in dialectic with him on matters of faith and conscience. I think he holds out hope I will see the error of my ways not realizing that error, is a part of my way, which I cannot hope or care to explain to him. I like him just as he is.
Tomorrow then I will depart to the coast once more, leaving Dalton in charge which has displeased Cade enough that he has said he might leave, despite coming no further along on our joint crusade to repair his ear. I think he’s beginning to accept that that will simply never happen and the appearance of daring do and dashing bravado the near miss provides him. The tale has been worth more than one free drink, and I wish him well of course, if he would only limit himself to what he alone can pilfer when he leaves.
This year’s harvest festival arrived far too soon I had felt. There were so many things I wished to accomplish but had not been able to achieve this year. Curiously the enemy was quiet, the thrust I had expected had not come, and the Prince launched no great counter-offensive. The nobles bicker, and though I have attended only two gatherings, I have been kept abreast of developments by my thunderblood allies in the council. This year it seems the monsters of the pom were content to lick their wounds or too busy perhaps fending off Drazil's brethren who have waged successful harassment and infiltration campaigns against them. My own home remains unfinished, habitable and cozy but quite unfinished.
If not for the sweet companionship of Ms Leipzig I would be quite dour this week. She has seen to it that my new butler Dalton, newly acquired from her own staff, has been acquainted with the local markets and so he has been able to prepare a weak of feasts fit for a king of the thunderbloods, and so I an rejuvenated and quite happy despite my lack of production and the tiring summer labors we have endured.
Tonight I was enjoying a bit of fun with Nastia when she asked me why I kept an eye patch in my war kit. I teased her that I had once lost my eye in battle and was forced to sprout a new one. One of the thunderbloods who was in the feast hall and had lost his eye in battle then challenged me to show him how I had done this. I convinced him to go through the most ridiculous process of balancing a salt cube on his nose while standing on one foot and blowing into his thumb. I chanted over him and Nastia mouthed the words trying to pick up the incantation then, as I had expected the dwarf fell over, unconscious. The room erupted in laughter and poor Nastia realized that she too had been the butt of a joke. She slapped me of course and demanded the real story.
Once we were certain our one eyed dwur friend was alright, I told the hall why most pirates carry an eye patch in their kit. Of course this reminded me of the findings I had in researching werelight. I decided to finish that work this winter, and asked Nastia to remind me about that, she agreed if only I would not ask her to test the eye patch explanation. I relented of course, and asked Dalton to have one sized for my dear lady friend. The next evening, I was pleased to present her with her own appropriately decorated, blue silk and silver lace eye patch with a trio of tiny pearls studs. Churchill caught her in the stairwell trying to test it, and without the benefit of depth perception she enjoyed mixed results judging from Churchill’s sense of amusement.
Later I caught up with her again, as I counted out coins lost in a wager to Cade who I suspect cheated me yet again, I’ll catch him one day. Nastia had asked about a stack of letters beside me. Most I told her were routine matters, receipts for work done on the keep shell (which is now complete) and suggested plan revisions for the internal spaces resulting from the burgeoning village inside the shell.
There was one letter in particular she was curious about, one with particularly heavy leather wrapping. It was from my brother Talbot, it was cryptically brief “I’m setting sail to Gryax to see you in a fortnight, expect me to be no more than a moon behind this letter” and it hardly seemed worth the trouble to send she asked to inspect it accusing me of being overly crafty and having influenced her unduly. She held the paper to moon light and fire and found indeed my brother was hiding another message with the ink of a lime. I marveled at her clever intuition and let her read the contents. The content of the hidden message shed little light on the matter; it was a poem only that itself might hold some additional meaning. Nastia thought it might be a part of a spell, or a riddle and I dared her to solve it, she disappeared into her quarters taking a bottle of wine and a bowl of fruit with her.
I found another letter I had not opened, one that had arrived only a few days ago, sent by guild courier. It seems my insurance claim for my tools lost two years ago aboard Tempest had finally been paid, and the guild was holding 200 gold coins in trust for me to obtain new tools. I had to laugh, I was just at the guild a week ago and now I would have to travel again to claim the cash, which I needed desperately. I could send an agent but the road is dangerous now, several recently used monsters camps have been found and missing person reports are on the rise. I would have to make the trip myself. Even better, my name had been officially cleared of any wrong doing by the admiralty and for the first time, I was addressed by the Uleki court in written correspondence as Sir Redding. I read on, and learned a Tempest passenger had be found alive and appeared before the court to make a claim against the shipping company and its mutinous crew. The passenger’s identity was not noted but I decided to rush off first thing in the morning in hopes of thanking him for his testimony.
The other events of the summer that should be noted include the loss of dear Sam, who was a frequent sailing companion without him I might have become a land lubber long ago. When old friends are lost, new ones might appear. In this instance I have found another Cuthbert priest, this one a woman named Evelyn who is quite lovely, and the miscreant Igraine whose perfume lingers in some of my kit, as I suspect she planned in order to drive Nastia to madness. It would be a lie to say that I was not amused when I see her suddenly alert searching for her nemesis after fetching an item from my haversack. Le Toux’s grim work and detached lack of empathy might be driving a wedge between us, I haven’t spent enough time with working with him this year and what I was able to do I fear disappointed him. Gallon and I have been drawn closer however; at least as I am able to better engage in dialectic with him on matters of faith and conscience. I think he holds out hope I will see the error of my ways not realizing that error, is a part of my way, which I cannot hope or care to explain to him. I like him just as he is.
Tomorrow then I will depart to the coast once more, leaving Dalton in charge which has displeased Cade enough that he has said he might leave, despite coming no further along on our joint crusade to repair his ear. I think he’s beginning to accept that that will simply never happen and the appearance of daring do and dashing bravado the near miss provides him. The tale has been worth more than one free drink, and I wish him well of course, if he would only limit himself to what he alone can pilfer when he leaves.
Monday, October 24, 2011
A rare letter to Perry
There is a conspicuous absence of correspondence and writings by the navigator during the remainder of the summer and early fall until this letter to Kildare’s priest. The letter is almost sortid and gossipy, possibly explaining his later run in with the rogue Igraine.
Honorable Brother Perry,
I wish first to apologize for departing without much detail and for taking Gallon from your mission to attend me on this summer’s expedition. Regrettably we were unsuccessful on many fronts, and I do hope you have fared better. I am again away from Havenhill on the morrow, and have missed you again. I hope you will trust that I have not forgotten my pledge to assist you in restoring the chapel we found ruined during last year’s incursion. It is amazing to me to think that it has already been a year passed, and another winter is drawing near –where has the time gone?
As I had said, I am traveling again, this time with a small group of the refugees [presumed to be from Ironhelm, Prinzfeld or Oakenburg] who wish to resettle in the capitol. Amongst them is a particularly curious young lady who apparently believes I have forgotten her. Her name is Igraine la fey, be wary of her if she should cross your path. I am not one given to gossip but in this case the consequences of mistaking this beauty for an ally could be grave. She is quite fetching, with a bright golden tresses and brilliant eyes that reflect a hint of sadness. She is of slight build with a peculiar identifying mark; her olven heritage has given her slender and sharp ears but they point downward, and the tips turn inward close to her head making them difficult to notice. She was a necromancy student at the Bar Harbor academy during my brief enrollment there. She was implicated in the disappearance of another student and was known to have seduced an instructor which eventually led to his own dismissal. She continued on at the school only briefly after that and then vanished into the underworld of the south district.
I cannot say how she came to be amongst the group of refugees but I know that she is shunned by more than a few of them. She is precisely the callous, cynical, and calculating woman that gives so many a bad names; she is of a type I can’t quite name or explain but that I cannot tolerate.
Today she has presented herself asking to join the venture to the capitol but I suspect she may return to Havenhill seeking to curry favor of Cromwell or other gentlemen known for susceptibility to the charms of an alluring young woman that might show them interest and a hint of lusty titillation. She might travel between the two cities carrying on illicit activities and you should be aware that she could harm your parishioners. I am sure she will not harm me, for she is aware of who and what I am, and while she believes I am clueless about her, I know at worst she will pilfer a few components or coins, of which I have few.
When I arrive at Gryax, Nastia will assuredly defend her territory and drive the would-be seductress away; possibly back towards you. Do not tolerate her wickedness; drive her from your sight she will not be turned to the narrow path of the wise fool.
Best wishes for all successes dear friend,
The Magoi Sir Kildare Redding
Honorable Brother Perry,
I wish first to apologize for departing without much detail and for taking Gallon from your mission to attend me on this summer’s expedition. Regrettably we were unsuccessful on many fronts, and I do hope you have fared better. I am again away from Havenhill on the morrow, and have missed you again. I hope you will trust that I have not forgotten my pledge to assist you in restoring the chapel we found ruined during last year’s incursion. It is amazing to me to think that it has already been a year passed, and another winter is drawing near –where has the time gone?
As I had said, I am traveling again, this time with a small group of the refugees [presumed to be from Ironhelm, Prinzfeld or Oakenburg] who wish to resettle in the capitol. Amongst them is a particularly curious young lady who apparently believes I have forgotten her. Her name is Igraine la fey, be wary of her if she should cross your path. I am not one given to gossip but in this case the consequences of mistaking this beauty for an ally could be grave. She is quite fetching, with a bright golden tresses and brilliant eyes that reflect a hint of sadness. She is of slight build with a peculiar identifying mark; her olven heritage has given her slender and sharp ears but they point downward, and the tips turn inward close to her head making them difficult to notice. She was a necromancy student at the Bar Harbor academy during my brief enrollment there. She was implicated in the disappearance of another student and was known to have seduced an instructor which eventually led to his own dismissal. She continued on at the school only briefly after that and then vanished into the underworld of the south district.
I cannot say how she came to be amongst the group of refugees but I know that she is shunned by more than a few of them. She is precisely the callous, cynical, and calculating woman that gives so many a bad names; she is of a type I can’t quite name or explain but that I cannot tolerate.
Today she has presented herself asking to join the venture to the capitol but I suspect she may return to Havenhill seeking to curry favor of Cromwell or other gentlemen known for susceptibility to the charms of an alluring young woman that might show them interest and a hint of lusty titillation. She might travel between the two cities carrying on illicit activities and you should be aware that she could harm your parishioners. I am sure she will not harm me, for she is aware of who and what I am, and while she believes I am clueless about her, I know at worst she will pilfer a few components or coins, of which I have few.
When I arrive at Gryax, Nastia will assuredly defend her territory and drive the would-be seductress away; possibly back towards you. Do not tolerate her wickedness; drive her from your sight she will not be turned to the narrow path of the wise fool.
Best wishes for all successes dear friend,
The Magoi Sir Kildare Redding
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)