Travel Record of
Tenria ShimaCaptain of the Privateering Ship
InnocenceA premonition of bad luck, I presumed. Having a dead passenger on the ship you're leading was not something that I would have expected, especially when that person was someone so important for your client. I was in the middle of my voyage delivering this man, or rather the thing he brought along with him, to an eccentric figure in a distant land, quite far from my hometown. Died of sickness was probably something usual or familiar for commoners, but as a captain of a sailing ship, such news had to be followed by lot of works.
My quartermaster had expected my visit upon the storage on the lower compartment. The supply was enough for another week of sailing. there were no signs of molds or diseased foods down here. My first mate reported about the health condition of my crews. The doctor helped the inspection and found no symptoms of any contagious diseases or others that might be suffered from lack of sustenance. The case of death was isolated. Unfortunately, I had to command my crews to let the dead body dropped onto the sea in the middle of our voyage. I could not risk the spread of his disease or any complication following his death. Though from that, the doctor could never determine the cause of his death. Worries filled my heart of a possible assassination. My chief guardsman understood this and responded so well, providing me with a tighter shift hours which somehow relaxed me a bit.
The navigator told me that we should be able to reach the port of Sarlano soon enough. I brought this news to my ever-vigilant helmsman and I could see the happiness in his face, a feeling of confirming that a duty would be fulfilled soon. The carpenter said that the ship might need a little repair and the weapon master reported some rusts had appeared on the javelins for the ballistae. Of course, my secretary would be the one being occupied for such administration. I wanted her to make sure that the overall cost must not exceed the ship savings so that my personal stash would remain intact.
My secretary also reminded me about the mission of the dead man. An acquaintance of that man agreed to carry his mission on. From the passenger manifest, the man who would carry the unfinished task was a monk bearing the name Jun Lao. Myself, of course, had to make sure that the treasure was to be successfully delivered to the client. My secretary suggested me to take some crews, but I believed that it was not necessary. I called my first mate and briefed him of what needed to be done if somehow I could not manage to go back to the ship.
The following morning...
My trusted rapier gleamed as I took it from its pedestal, as if it anticipated the incoming adventure. My fancy mantle, a present of my late father, felt so warm as I wrapped it upon my knotted short shirt. The ship's deck had always been heated enough that I needed some surfaces of my skin cooled by the flowing air, but I expected the land-dwelling locals of Sarlano to not have any good regards on any woman who flaunted her navel around. I reflected myself for a moment as I looked at the scar down here in the middle of my stomach, cut by a sword back then when I had been so blinded with my confidence, unaware of the lacking experience. I felt so lucky that I was able to survive from the wound.
"Captain, that monk carrying the treasure has already left the ship, you should hurry!" My first mate warned me. I jumped onto the main deck, immediately searched for the man carrying the dragon's egg. Then I saw him there, down on the port. My feet rushed to chase him. Just in time, a person wearing thawb attire approached that man as I stood close by behind the monk. That person greeted the monk, then me, and then wondered if we somehow had any question. The monk ignored me and asked about the presence of any strangers with similar feature like him. I, myself, needed to be rather swift in my business.
"Well, more like an explanation rather than a question... this man is with me, and I'm looking for Lady Itylara."
Guardian Angel Haruki,
Cao the Exiled,
FourtyTwo,
ColdAtlas,
Tim the Yeti,
Izurich,
threetoads,
Hari,
ThatLostDude,
Fish of Oblivion
