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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ExDis" data-source="post: 888686" data-attributes="member: 10799">Adventures Beyond the Edge - Ithian's JournalIthian's Journal - Entry OneDear Father-I know not when I will be able to have this missive delivered to you, for at the time of this writing, I am in the middle of the waste, far to the west, and have no idea when, or if, I will regain proper civilization. I’m sure that by now, word will have reached you of the loss of the vessel which was supposed to have carried me to Prompeldia, and I can only hope that I can cause word to reach you before I am presumed dead.Our ship was attacked in a most unnatural storm, fired upon and rammed, even, by some force apparently looking for something, or someone, in particular. I know not what or who, because in the confusion of the attack, the good captain forced me aboard a small lifeboat with a pair of merchants and a pair of sailors, and we made our escape. I can only hope that the captain managed to escape, as well, but I fear he may have decided to go the way of the romantic sea-captains of my childhood stories, and gone down with his ship.As we began our flight from the ship, I happened to notice a woman in the water, who was struggling to keep hold to a shattered spar, so I convinced a pair of rather reticent sailors to bring the boat about and pull the young woman in. From the scars around her wrists as I took her hand to help her aboard, it was obvious that she had been one of the slaves being held in the hold. When the attack first began, I had tried to convince the first mate that leaving the slaves in the hold was wrong, and that they should at least be set free to attempt to swim to safety, as unlikely as that was. I was almost laughed at, if you can believe it…laughed at! And then manhandled into the lifeboat as if I needed to be saved from myself. I think they thought I would try to free them myself. In truth, I considered it.I know that the tenets of our faith preach acceptance of the events in one’s life, Father, but leaving a person to drown while chained in a ship’s hold, however deserving of the fate of slavery he is, cannot be acceptable. When I saw the woman floating in the water, I knew that she would never survive, and so felt the need to act. As it turns out, there were a number of the ex-slaves clinging to the flotsam and jetsam in the water. Most of them played the drowned rat until their ragtag collection of barrels were secured to the lifeboat, at which time they “revived”. I believe that in their desperation, they meant to try to overtake my small vessel whatever the cost. I may have perhaps saved my own life and the lives of those with me through my own beneficence. I would not have blamed them, had they executed their plan. One must do extreme things, in times where survival is at stake.While it seemed that I’d earned the slaves favor by saving them, I didn’t trust them for a moment, and so I made sure that the sailors did the rowing, and most of the slaves were forced to expend their energy clinging to the barrels of their makeshift raft, while I conserved my energy, and my swordarm, for the likely confrontation which would occur when we reached land. Well that I did, because within minutes of making land, one of the slaves attempted to strangle one of the sailors with his chains, but my sword persuaded him otherwise. Of all of us, it appeared that only myself and the two sailors were armed, but I felt that until we figured out where we were, and how far to civilization, and whether or not that civilization would be friendly, it was important to find a way to keep peace amongst our ragged band.Tyran, the chain-wielding would-be assassin, calmed down when I convinced him that the sailor was not among the men who had handled the slaves, and was but a hired sailor for a ship on which the slavers had booked passage. He seemed mollified, but I am sure that if I hadn’t stepped in, he would have killed the sailor, if only for his sword. Again, men will do extreme things when survival is at stake, but I had gotten my lesson. These people were not to be trusted, regardless of whether or not the appeared grateful for their lives.We all settled into an uneasy truce, with the sailors watching them all as if they would be attacked at any moment, and the two merchants, grossly overweight and still obviously retaining a fair amount of wealth in personal jewelry and their once-fine clothing, both jumped at shadows, and knew it was likely that they would be robbed, and possibly left for dead, by this band, if not for my intercession. I would not them be harmed, but aside from the few gold and silver coins in my belt pouch, and my backpack, which I had managed to get my hands on before we abandoned ship, we were penniless and had no equipment. The merchants’ jewelry would be sold at the first town we found to buy equipment, and hopefully passage to some friendly destination. I saw no need to burden the merchants with this knowledge, however, as they were carrying our wealth for us, and they would be far less tractable if they knew for sure they were going to be robbed.I spent some time watching the members of our unlikely band, and wondered which would cause dissension, and which would work with me to get us all to safety. Tyran, I suspected, would be one who would be difficult. He seemed a bloodthirsty sort, and I wondered at the reasons he was made a slave. He would never have been a good slave, I think, because he is not the type to be broken to another man’s will. I am surprised that whomever he crossed to end up in chains didn’t kill him outright. That one, I think, isn’t one to let go of a grudge willingly.Lady Mikayla, a rather fetching lass, is no lady at all, I think. She pretends at affected speech, but the way she bears herself speaks more of the swagger of a man-at-arms, than a noble lady. Indeed, she was quick to anger and did not act the meek damsel in distress at all. The halfling woman who clung to Mikayla’s coattails calls herself Marigold, and is obviously lowborn. Her speech and manner show her to be uneducated, but I think her clever. Perhaps pretending to be slow and out of her element, better to have those around her underestimate her. I will keep an eye on that one. Sometimes she moves to well to be a simple halfling woman.Azoi, a Brandobian, like Tyran, is clearly a learned man, though quiet, and seems to follow Tryan’s lead more often than not, though I d not think that they knew one another before their captivity. He may be following Tryan simply because they are fellow countrymen, or possibly because he has some reason to feat Tyran, and feels it is best to curry his favor.Jaresh…he is an enigma. A Dejy by look, he moves with a strange grace…almost catlike. I have no doubt that he is a dangerous man, and also seems to take his queues from Tyran. I will have to be careful about the three of them. Even with a sword, three might overwhelm me if taken unawares.Over the next day, we collected a number of casks and boxes from the ship wreckage which floated ashore, including rope, some well-preserved food, though not much, and a number of odd useful pieces of equipment, foremost of which was a tome of some obviously arcane nature, and it was immediately claimed by Azoi. So that answers that riddle. I’ll definitely have to be wary of the three.</blockquote>

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