Krakens. Always bloody Krakens.

So, we decided to betray the slavers.

Not surprising really, but we probably should have had a better plan than 'Sneak up on them'. As it was, they snuck up on us. This was not a huge problem at first, but quickly escalated as after I moved to engage some of the men Carlton informed us were sneaking up on us there was a huge gust of wind behind me. Just like my own bursts. It seems they had their own wind mage - which is terribly derivative of them, but I suppose I cannot pretend to be the only wind mage in caribdus.

Having dispatched the men I was near, I turned and realised the true evil of this news - it was a Kraken. Those foul, duplicitious, twisted, squid-based immoral beasts. As a side note, they were also trying to kill Helene and doing a good job of it.

I charged forward, I could hear cannon being fired off in the direction of the beach - but I assumed the Captain would either be winning or napping by now, so I'm sure he was fine. I 'threw' bursts in front of me, trying to knock the Kraken down. Finally, on the second burst I pegged him and then, as I closed in to feel the satisfying crunch of his neck beneath my pincer....I heard a bang and saw the kraken fall down dead. Carlton had stolen the satisfaction from me. I turned and ran at him.

I was not sure if I intended to hit him or save him, but by the time I got there it turned out I had to save him. I buried my warhammer into one opponent - clearly I do not know my own strength - and the others were dispatched. Surveying the after effects we marched out of the forest to see who was left alive. The captain, helpfully, was. And I got my 100 pieces of eight back. So all in all it turned out quite well. Though I'm not sure if anyone will pay bounty for all these corpses. Still, captain's problem and all that.

The Grandpa's Revenge

Sira Saran: The plan to turn everything around and how that turned out

The only thing I got from it was that the Grandpa's Revenge would be anchoring just of the beach so that the crew would have a nice target range and a second group should get behind the slavers to catch them.

Sounds like a real plan this time and maybe it would work.

From the ship all seemed really nice till somehow the slavers noticed our group in the jungle. Shots fired from the jungle announced the end of the hide and seek part of our plan. Time to set the beach under fire with our eightpounder cannons and some really aimed musketshots.

At least these guys had it coming a long way.

It remembered me of my time in the Kieran Navy... there has always been some problems with tribes on the north coast of Torath Ka and that one day that the Navy decided to end a dispute with superior firepower. We were told there is a village of savages on the north coast full of pirates, smugglers and slavers, that attacked merchant ships without any mercy, killing passengers or selling them to the tribes and burning the ships.
Our two ships entered the bay by night and started shooting canister after canister into that so called village of slavers and pirates. At dawn the whole beach looked like a battlefield, smoldering ruins of huts and fishingboats. A large contingent of soldiers was brought to shore and we heard shots from time to time. This was no pirate hideout it was only a small village of fishermen and their families. In the next harbor I decided that I didn't want to be a part of such a "noble" navy, that killed innocents and jumped ship.

We will see how the plan to get the slavers to justice works out.

Carlton Grey and the Dangers of Hiding in Bushes

After a brief discussion, we decided to do the Right Thing, which apparently meant taking the money for slave trading but also kidnapping the slavers for bounty. The captain delivered a nice speech towards the slave-convicts, to get them to help us at the exchange. I also advised them not to do mind controlling anymore, as it tends to upset people.

We decided to set a clever trap on the beach we were supposed to meet the slave traders. A few of us hid in the bushes, wanting to ambush them from there. Unfortunately hiding in bushes was sort of like pirating, and we did not have much experience with it and were noticed. Luckily though, the enemy was also bad at this, so at least we all spotted each other, and we could start the shooting part.

Things were going well, but then it turned out that there was at least one guy who was really good at hiding, and he was also a kraken and a mage. Maybe they play a lot of hide and seek underwater or he just had a natural talent for it, and wanted to show it off to the others.
Anyway, he surprised us, and started casting spells. I was okay, but poor Mongrel and the doreen guy weren’t so lucky. Heléne and Krastus also got injured, so I had to shoot the hide-and-seek squid quickly. After I did it, Krastus got annoyed with me for some reason. Maybe this was another one of his many estranged lovers. 

I could not dwell on it for long though, because we wanted to rush to help the captain on the beach, but it turned out that he was okay.  Serrene and Sira helped him by shooting the bad guys with their musket and cannon respectively.
He even captured the slaver leader, and only one guy escaped so our mission was a success, which was a whole new experience in itself. We also got a lot of money, and I briefly got the money I won in Jumba Town, but then the captain wanted it again, so I gave it back to him.
Hopefully this will prevent long and boring discussions about trading, or paying the crew or buying food. They tend to take up valuable time from visiting zoos, the theatre or taverns.

Cortez: A plan executed to success...

...if not perfection.

We set out from Jumba Town after having avoided getting in further debt to try to set a trap for slavers. This plan was... somewhat good. But it turns out that many of my crew are terrible at hiding. They were discovered before any negotiations could be made and a battle was upon us almost instantly.

William Potter and I were targeted by a smaller group while a larger group engaged my crew in the forest. I do not know if the slavers planned on betraying us. They may have. But either way, the battle went poorly for them after a while. Krastus, I'm told, killed a number of them. Sira managed to fire the cannons and send them fleeing. I ran the leader down and tackled him after a well placed shot stunned him. So we now have a ship full of newly freed slaves and the bodies of slavers, along with their living leader. We shall see what this nets us.

I wonder if any of the slaves will join us. They did watch us fight for them. Though I suspect most of them will not be very trusting after we kept them locked below. At least we didn't put them in boxes as the slavers suggested.

Hélène: A plan set in motion

The Captain had decided to heed my concerns and not resort to business deals with slavers. Instead, we would devise a plan to apprehend the scoundrels in the act, capture them and deliver them to the authorities in hopes of a reward. If all went well, we could recover the payment they had us expect for our "passengers". Not the most truthful thing to do, perhaps, but certainly preferable to completing the deal.

In the meantime, a group of persons from town had approached our ship and crossed the gangplank, comprising a woman who was their leader, a scurillian and four guards. They demanded to see the Captain, in order to finalise some business they had allegedly agreed on. The Captain, however, stated that no deal had been sealed previously, due to the other party's unwillingness to commit without seeing our ship's documentation, and he had all rights to outright cancel negotiations at this point. The woman was enraged by this turn of events and threatened that she would use her considerable influence to impair our success both in Jomba Town and abroad. Whether these were hollow threads, I could not ascertain, but it seemed prudent to be watchful regardless.

With that settled, we decided to cast off immediately. This prevented us to conduct further trade with town, and we would have to sell our commodities elsewhere. Not staying longer was probably the safer course of action, all things considered.

After leaving port, I was given the honour of informing our passengers of our decision. I told them, as agreed with the Captain, that we would attempt to subdue their would-be purchasers, and if successful, they would be set free immediately and given the choice of whether to sail with us as regularly paid crewmembers, or be dropped off in a nearby friendly port. We found that their spirits had been broken by their previous ordeal, and they did not rejoice, or otherwise react much, but rather stare at us incredulously, or avert their eyes in deference. The Captain emphasised that to ensure their freedom, they were to do nothing that would alert the slavers of our intention.

That said and done, we still had to devise a plan. We expected to meet the slavers in a shallow cove, and to prevent their retreat, it was planned that a small group of specialists be set ashore in a suitable distance, and approach the cove on foot through the inland jungle. This task fell to Carlton, Master Krastus, myself, and our kehana-doreen duo.

Meanwhile, the Captain himself would go ashore in a dinghy, accompanied by crewman Potter, set up the deal, and then send Potter back to the ship to fetch the merchandise. On the frigate, Serene would take interim command, the slaves were to display themselves prominently on deck, Sira would keep the cannons ready to strafe the beach, and Equias would be showing herself as well, lest the slavers be alarmed by the lack of scurillian aboard.

It was agreed that as soon as the Captain removed his hat, this would serve a signal to set the plan in motion. Our ship would hoist the monkey flag, and we would then hurry to intervene and encircle the slavers on the beach.

With this plan established in theory, we set out to execute it. Indeed, we found a suitable spot to go ashore, and snuck ahead, through the jungle. Just as we arrived in the vicinity of the cove, however, we found that the slavers themselves had a similar idea. Carlton was alarmed by the sounds of others moving through the undergrowth, and without further ado, our small band got assaulted by half a dozen slavers.

In addition, there was a kraken with them, a wind mage obviously, who had approached us invisibly and appeared right next to me with little warning, attacking our band from a vantage point with the same spells of blasting gale that Master Krastus was so fond of conjuring up. Both Mongrel and I, walking furthest in the back, got pelted by a mixture of wind, branches, rocks and other debris, and while I could barely stand upright under the assault, my kehana friend got thrown to the ground, lying motionless.

For a moment, in the ensuing silence, I heard yelling and gunshots from the beach, then the focused gale rose again, and I found myself surrounded my no less than three of the slavers. I tried to retaliate with my own, far less spectacular magic, buying myself precious moments, but time as a whole was not with me, for when the storm assaulted me a third time, I lost my footing and slipped to the ground, bruised and battered, while the slavers lifted their cutlasses to strike me.

Fortunately Master Krastus had remained rather unchecked by the assailants and had positioned himself to unleash a storm of his own. With surgical precision, two of the slavers were lifted off their feet by the onslaught and disappeared, limply hurling, into the nearby foliage. This drew the kraken's attention towards him, and they locked eyes, preparing for a lethal duel of Mages that was cut short when an aimed shot of Carlton's whizzed by, missing me by mere inches, and struck the kraken into its tentacled visage, squarely and terminally.

The remaining slaver was dumbstruck with horror, but Master Krastus, unprepared to be denied his victory, galloped at him and with a single terrible blow from his hammer, sent him lifeless to the ground. The jungle fell silent once more, and coming to my senses, I looked around to see both Mongrel and the doreen lying about, gravely injured but alive. My other comrades were still ready for battle, and stepped out of the jungle, surveying the beach.

There, a more lopsided battle had occurred. The slaver leader and four of his companions had prepared to meet with the Captain's party, but upon hearing the sounds of combat from inland, they had decided to shoot first. Crewman Potter was killed instantly, and the Captain gravely wounded by their initial musket volley, but on the frigate, Sira and the others retaliated in kind. Before the slavers could disperse, fragments of cannon shot pelted them, and as they ran to cover, they were picked off, one by one, by cannon and musket fire. Their leader attempted to flee, but the Captain defiantly chased after him, dragging him to the ground and overpowering him.

In the end, only one slaver from the beach group had escaped unscathed, the rest were all dead but the leader, who we captured. In a way, our plan had failed; We had been detected much too early, and we paid dearly for it. With crewman Potter, we lost one good life in the fight as a consequence. Still, we could obtain most of the promised payment from the captured slaver, and we had a live prisoner and the bodies of his accomplices to serve as proof of our endeavour. The prisoner himself, once informed he could anticipate delivery to New Madrid, suggested that we hand him over directly to the Jomban authorities. The Captain, certain that these slavers had lots of strings to pull in that town, refused emphatically, and the crew, who had assembled back on the frigate, awaited his decision where to head next.

The Killer Chorus Band

So, after weeks trotting around Shark Bay and its environs....we left without even stepping foot on the trail for the treasure. I do not understand these humans - the captain moans about losing the sword we got him, and now suddenly he doesn't want to pursue a new sword /and gold/. Odd people.

Still, we left and headed North - and came across a ship. One that needed repairing. So we offered and went aboard - naturally such a superior carpenter as me can't refuse to aid silly lost humans. This was unfortuantely not actually the case - but sneaky pirates who were intent on taking things. Having tricked me into falling asleep with some magic - nice trick, must be sure to learn it - they must have done well as they took the rest of our crew that were on their ship.

Now, the crew often say I'm a loose cannon, but Sira bloody well fires them - and straight at the ship we are on! I am all for not negotiating with pirates but not when what we are negotiating for is my life. Thankfully sense was seen and I was restored to my full dignity on the ship. Full dignity and no blasted money as I had to hand it all over so we could re-supply in the next port. Still, I have an IOU - and I must remember to remind the captain about it. They are forgetful people.

After a stop in Tulago, we headed up to Baltimus - we needed a money lender and fast. So the captain could pay me the IOU. And also to upkeep the ship and what not - those humans always wanting money.

At Baltimus the Captain got an offer from an odd man, to take slaves north. Now, I have some strong feelings on slavery - though mostly when it involves me - but the captain wanted money and we took it. Everyone had been on me to follow orders, so I would. I took charge of our people, we told the others they were prisoners, and we loaded them up and shipped off. The singing was...unfortunate. Songs about work and such like. Not songs about raping and murdering, which would really have helped. Still. I told the girls they were a killer band of chorus people. They seemed to buy this. Helene wanted to know why they were all black - so racist of her to notice. All the humans are the same to me - inferior.

Still, having bribed our way into our destination we now have a dilemma - do we continue with slaving, or do we use the slaves to catch slavers and turn them over? Less reward, but perhaps Sira won't jab a dagger in Captain Cortes' eye socket. I suspect I want to avoid that - he hasn't paid off my IOU.

Hélène: Decisions and Consequences

Once our crew had recuperated from the ordeal, the Captain decided we would prepare to leave Shark Bay immediately. The opportunity for our treasure hunt had gone by, now that the ugok tribes were on high alert. This meant, however, that Sira and I could not pursue our plan of liberating the slave girls from the compound any further. The Captain had made his priorities clear, and his concerns over the safety of vessel and crew were certainly valid. Not wanting to be stranded in this ghastly town without a ship, we acquiesced. And by morning we were out on the seas again, sailing a northwesterly course towards the island of Cuwayo.

After two good days of travel, we reached the northern end of Perck, and in the sound between the islands we spotted a ship in the distance, a frigate, adrift with torn sails. We decided to approach, to ascertain if we can render aid. Going alongside, we saw that the ship was jointly captained by two ladies who reported that their ship had been disabled by a French pirate's galleon. They appeared elated that we came to help. Our Captain suggested that as an experienced ship's carpenter, Master Krastus would go over to ascertain the damage, while I would be seeing their injured.

I was then guided below deck by one of the ladies, into a small bunk where several human shapes lay in hammocks, motionless as if sleeping. The hatch was closed behind us, and when I turned around to a suspicious sound, I saw that she had pointed her two pistols at me. She stated her crew were reasonable people, and if we cooperated and handed over our ship's cargo and coffers, we could then part without further altercation. She would have to constrain me below deck, of course, until an agreement was reached.

I pondered. Pistol shots would alarm my companions outside, but that would be of little immediate help to me. Even discounting the fact that the odds were rather pitted against me, I was not fond of instigating a duel with this woman. In the end, I gave in and let her cuff me, and sitting in this barely lit bunk, awaited further developments.

For a long while, there was nothing but silence; Surprisingly, Master Krastus, having undoubtedly been led into a similar trap, had not yet lost his composure and wrecked the ship. But then the ship was rocked by a single, massive impact, and a short volley of cannon fire. I heard shouts from deck, possibly from Sira and the captains, and then there was silence again. In the end, the hatch opened up again to the glaring sunlight, and I was led back upstairs. There was slight damage to the other vessel, as if a massive projectile had rebounded from deck, but other than that, the situation was tense, yet conspicuously calm.

While our crew watched with a variety of dissatisfied expressions, the contents of our ship's safe, which we had mostly inherited from Serena and the Kierans, were carried over, along with boxes of supplies. Searching the officers' cabins, they also took the map we purchased earlier, and Master Krastus' spellbook with them. But true to their word, they left without inflicting further damage to our ship and honour.

After determining what they had left us, we pooled the meagre amounts of money we still had on our persons, and counting our leftover provisions, set a course for the closeby settlement of Tulago. There, we would take first steps to once again rebuild our fortunes from scratch.

Tulago itself was an inviting settlement, the local citizens were jolly and helpful, and quite welcoming to visitors like us, allowing us to spend a night of relaxation and solace. In the morning, we purchased the local surplus stock of food, in order to sell it at a higher price in the city of Baltimus, our next target, and then cast off.

After a rather uneventful travel, we approached Baltimus, undeniably the capital of this island, a rather imposing settlement. We docked and paid our harbour dues, then dispersed around town to go about our business. Equias and I went to the market to find a buyer for our cargo, and purchase some locally produced goods that I expected to be in demand in the nearby villages. Upon our return to the ship, Carlton told me that he intended to visit a local theatre production with his sweetheart, and invited us to come along. Sira and I jumped at the opportunity, while the Captain and Master Krastus had some other business to attend to.

So we were treated to a performance of Macbeth, an enjoyable performance, but obviously not very popular, as there were at most two dozen visitors in total. Most remarkable of those was a man in lavish clothing, who had arrived in an luxurious, ornate coach. Allegedly this was the city founder's son, Bruno Baltimus.

When we returned to the ship, after the play, we saw movement on the docks. About twenty dark-skinned, shackled persons, both men and women, were guided up the gangplank onto our ship, and then below deck. When we inquired what was afoot, the Captain informed us that these were convicted felons, and that he had negotiated a contract to transport them to Jomba Town. As they were more dangerous than their appearance would convey, all crew were ordered to avoid contact with them.

That also meant that our next destination was clear. We cast off the next morning, and sailed north along the coast, and then crossed the sound towards Taralos island. During the voyage, we were treated to spirited choir performances of our "passengers" below. Listening closer to the many voices singing in harmony, their songs told of the plight of the unfree, work at the farm, and similar topics. The situation was telling.

When we arrived at Jomba Town, there was a harbour official requesting to inspect the vessel, and several of the crew sprung into action. Apparently, a large bribe was offered to let us off the hook for now, and those in the know quickly rushed into town, to conduct their secret business, and returned after about an hour, while Master Krastus stayed aboard and kept watch over the prisoners.

I had, by circumstance, been drawn into violence and piracy, but it appeared that we had by now become slavers, and I felt the line had to be drawn somewhere. Our Mage was either in denial about the situation, or more probably, the instigator, and a bad liar as well, so I decided to question Captain Cortés directly. The Captain appeared torn, and elucidated his decision. His responsibility was towards crew and ship foremost, and as the crew's monthly pay was due soon, he was seemingly desperate to raise the funds the crew deserved for their dangerous work.

The Captain felt he had to follow through with this plan, for the sake of his crew. Others, especially Captain Serene and myself, had a different opinion, preferring to turn against the slavers and stop them from inflicting further suffering. Would we find an agreeable solution to this dilemma?

Carlton Grey and the Journey with the Suspicious Singing Convicts

After our horrid journey through the wilderness of the Perck, we spent a few days recuperating in Shark Bay. It would have been boring, but I was worried the whole time about whether or not Sira will be able to repair Grandpa. In the end, she did, and now I am eternally grateful to her! She really is a master gunsmith! In the honor of her great deed, we decided to name our semi-new ship “Grandpa’s revenge”
Leaving the bay behind, the captain told us about his plans of continuing our studies in piracy. I am really not sure about this, someone could get hurt while we pirate from them, especially since we are still so unexperienced at it. I would not like that. Maybe we should find some book on how to do pirating without hurting people first.  Héléne was also opposed to the idea, but we could not convince the captain.

We did not pirate anyone however, since the first ship we saw escaped, and the second one was another pirate, and already in trouble. I thought that would just make pirating easier, but apparently you are not supposed to do it like that. Pirating is much more complex than I thought.
Anyway the captain of the ship was a pretty lady, who asked for help and so we sent over Krastus to repair their ship, and Héléne to heal their wounded, and the captain so Krastus would not kill anyone.
This was a big mistake, since it was a trap! Sira noticed it first, she is really good at sniffing these things out. She wanted to fight them, but they held the captain hostage, so we had to comply. Thankfully they did not take anything valuable, just our money and cargo.

We continued our journey, and arrived at the port of Tulago. Here it dawned on me just how cruel these lady pirates were. I had to sit through a discussion about getting money again. It was so boring, that in the end, I just walked out, and went gambling. I got some money I gave to the others, but more importantly I had fun. The captain started to see the wisdom of my ways, so I had to repeat this again in Baltimus. I did it, and so we were able to go to the theatre. I was really excited about it, since it was written by one of our very own people, Shakespeare, so I invited Serrene. Sira and Héléne were also interested, and in the end all four of us went together, while the captain and Krastus had to go to some boring business meeting.

When we got back, there were a lot of black people in shackles on the ship. Apparently they were prisoners we were supposed to transport to Jomba Town for some reason. The whole thing was a bit weird, but the captain told me I should not ask them about it, since they were mind control murderers or something like that.
They actually seemed quite inoffensive and peaceful, and they kept singing songs about working on some farm. I thought back to recent events about people who seemed really friendly, and decided that this must mean that they were up to no good at all.

Thankfully we had no trouble at arriving at Jomba Town, but then some administrator wanted to see our cargo hold, and the captain did not want him to. At first I didn’t understand why, I mean this was official prisoner transporting business, but then I remembered about the mind control.

Even without mind control, things got confusing again. We had to bribe the administrator, and we needed money for that so we went into town. It turns out, that the contact point for the convict transports is outside town, and that we cannot get paid before we go there, so now we needed to find a moneylender.
The captain found one, and then he asked me to find another. I did not understand why, but I did, and then no one was there when I got back. I was confused about this, and the moneylender lady wanted me to sign something but I was not sure if I should so I did not. Then the administrator arrived, and wanted to play a game of dice. We did, and I won, so in the end we did not have to borrow money after all. I must remember to get some money sometimes, if it helps us making the boring and confusing parts of this adventure go away faster.

We returned to the ship to a horrible revelation. It turns out, that the evil mind control convicts might be innocent slaves after all. I can see how the captain has fallen for that, it is a very believable lie. Although I guess it is also possible that the whole thing is just a trick of these cunning murderers. In any case, I need to keep my eyes open!