Log

Hauer had a small dhow, the Inconvenience Hornet, with a crew. Lork and I boarded and Hauer introduced me to his first mate, Wymouth, who seemed a bit more... well, seasoned, than himself. We set sail for Innsmouth, the port where the shipments were supposed to be received. We followed the coast north and made Innsmouth shortly before nightfall. We turned east, and then anchored for the night.

The crew bedded down and Hauer, Lork, and I took watch. As we chatted around the helm, Lork noticed something at the bow -- a Lizardfolk warrior. Before we knew it, the deck was swarming with Lizardfolk. They must have spotted us traveling up the coast and seen an opportunity. All they got was pain.

When the fight turned against them, a couple of them went over the side, and we subdued the rest of them and bound them to the mast. In the battle, Lork was badly hurt, but Hauer had some "consumables" with magical properties that revived him. Unfortunately, there was no shared language, and we were unable to question them. It was also impractical for us to hold them until they could be turned over to the authorities -- we were about to go into battle. We let them go and they went over the side to join their comrades.

In the morning, we continued our path East, towards the Shire, and before long we spotted a ship flying a blue flag with a white diamond: The Eleven Seas. It was big -- a carrack. Hauer said, "I didn't think we were tracking a carrack. That's a much taller ship than the Inconvenienced Hornet." As we got closer, we could see hobbits armed with spears and bows standing on the castles. Hauer, not exactly one for planning, scratched his head. It was okay. What Hauer lacked in brains, he made up for in heart.

Lork had a thought, though. He and I would stand at the top of the mast, and as we came alongside, we would run across the spar and jump onto the aft castle. That would be enough of a distraction that Hauer's crew could ascend from our deck to theirs.