4 Ches, 1502 D.R.
Is there any such thing as a straightforward mission? To date, I have not been on one that was what it seemed.
Myself, Jax, Shev, Sylthas, and Bri were chosen for a mission to Waterdeep. There we met an old friend of Thrax's, who enlisted us as muscle against the eventuality of pirates. From the beginning, the mission was a little bit different from what was implied: the impression I gained from the initial letter was that we were sent to protect a merchant ship against the possibility of pirates, but the captain of the Cutlass soon informed us that, no, the Cutlass was in fact a warship disguised as a merchant ship, intended to lure forth a particular pirate ship and disable it, then -- having looted it -- destroy it.
We each learned a little about the workings of a ship, a series of painful lessons in our own ineptitude for the task. I am, perhaps, being too harsh; we are all of us first-timers before the mast, and there was much to learn, so mistakes are inevitable. Still, it seemed as if misfortune dogged our steps. But we did manage to learn the ropes, as it were, and for the sake of practice -- and to lure out our quarry -- we destroyed an old wreck that had been blocking a trade route.
As intended, the noise of the destruction practically summoned the pirates we sought. They unleashed a hail of cannonfire upon us, but they did not expect us to respond in kind. When we did, and they learned the hard way that our ship was armed, they attempted to flee. We pursued, and were the faster. After a short second exchange of cannonfire, I rammed the ship and thereby crippled it. As the crew began to abandon ship, we boarded and stood to battle.
That battle went fairly well. The captain was troublesome -- his pistols nearly struck Jax down -- but between the lot of us we began systematically wiping out those able to fight. Things took a great turn, however, when Bri knocked one of them into the water. That pirate was immediately devoured by a giant shark -- and then, as if summoned by the blood in the water, a second giant shark flew -- yes, flew -- out of the water, ridden by an armored elemental who refused to answer my entreaty for peace.
Needless to say, the battle became more complicated. The shark was a formidable threat, and the rider was no small challenge, either. Bri and Shev both nearly perished in the fight before we laid the creature low. At that, the elemental fled to the depths and was not seen again. It is worth noting, however, that the elemental and shark were not neutral in the battle, and entirely took the part of the pirates.
With all combatants defeated, we looted the ship and, and the direction of the captain of the Cutlass, sank her, bringing the job to a successful close.
-- Yashir adh Rumahr
