As scribed by Stephen Fox in accordance with the Charter of the Company of the Winged Fox.

Officially picking up from where Blackhawk left off:

We decided to dine at the local tavern as the fare was sure to be better than that offered on our ship. Not that the cook is bad, but stored provisions do not have the same flavor of freshly prepared cuisine. We were not disappointed.

On the contrary, the food was delightfully excellent. Amongst all of us, we tasted nearly all that was available. There was not a bad dish to be had. Late into the meal, Blackhawk and Jaden were clamoring for potent spirits to sample. It was at this point that the locals produced an elixir by the name of "Water of Gold". The name is certainly well suited. It's color is golden and it's bouquet is tantalizing. Due to a lingering paranoia and distrust, born of the intracacies of an Ardanian upbringing, I decided not to imbibe this beverage. I did, however, watch with interest for the affects on Blackhawk and Jaden. They both commented on it's fiery composition, or more accurately, they did not comment immediately. The potency of this liquor is also worthy of it's name! Jaden was badly affected. In fact, he was still trying to recover well into the next day. Blackhawk was not as adversly affected. In retrospect, this should not have been too surprising. After all, Jaden spent considerably less time in the Book Wyrm than Blackhawk and I.

I spent some time discussing the local music tastes as was treated to some impromptu lessons in their particular styles of music. The guitar is popular in Tholos and they use a form that I am unfamiliar with. They mix some underlying rythyms in an unusual manner. I am sure that many of the folks back home would take an immediate dislike to the style, but I can see how it would become comfortable with exposure. I shall have to take an extended stay here at some point so I can learn their music and integrate into my repretoire.

Before we returned to the ship, we went to the end of the dock and studied the enormous statue there. It is quite an impressive piece of workmanship. The figure itself is plainly a representation of Death. The stone has been carved from the same stone that is to be found all over the island. While it is not as finely crafted as the pyramid, it is still extremely well done. Standing at the end of the pier, in the dark, it is easy to imagine that the robe is really billowing out across the water and that the beckoning hand is inviting all of us to our dooms. Though we were not able to read the inscription in the dark, the local guides were quite eager to inform us that the statue is a memorial to all of those that died while attempting to pass the Veil.

Once we returned to the ship, I stayed awake for a while on the forecastle. Jaden, with all the energy he could muster, positioned himself strategically on the poop deck. Every once in a while, I could hear the sounds of his retching. Clearly "Water of Gold" is not to be taken lightly. Towards midnight, we all heard the sounds of another ship coming into port. Raven and Blackhawk were awakened and we were all on deck as the Seafox came into port. Blackhawk spoke with the Bosun and traded accounts of their journey. They saw a ship that appeared to be shadowing them as well. However, they were not able to determine if it had red sails. Shortly afterwards, we all bedded down until morning.

As dawn broke, we were preparing to leave port. The locals were at the docks selling one of their fruits. We had not seen this the previous night and decided to buy some to sample. It is delicious! They called it pine-apple. The ship had been reprovisioned and had brought in plenty of fresh water. We also picked up some Rum and suger for trade goods in the Isles. Everything was looking great until it started raining. The locals had kept commenting that the weather was unusually cold as we arrived at Tholos. Apparently, there was a lot more where it had come from. We experienced bouts of rain, rain, and rain! It warmed up on the 15th, only to rain almost all day on the 16th. This slowed down towards dark. But, the cloud cover was very heavy and dark.

We should have known that this was a bad portent. During Jaden's deck watch, the ship was beset by sea creatures. As we came up from below deck, I peered out the door and saw some sort of creature that looked like a nasty little devil or demon. I figured that these things wouldn't like clean light, so the first thing I did was to use a minor magic I picked up to light up our immediate area. The rest of the company prepared as best they could. It was bad luck that McGyver was too embattled with sickness to even make it on deck to assist. As we were preparing for the fray, it came to our attention that Paules was in the forecastle. Unfortunately, a few of the deckhands were also in positions of vulnerability. Five of these creatures (we later found out that they are called Sahaugin by the Sages back in Seagate) had already climbed aboard. Many others had thrown grappling hooks over the sides and were beginning to climb aboard. Each was armed with a nasty looking trident and a particularly large one, down near the forecastle, was also armed with a wicked looking crossbow. We immediately identified this one as our worst threat. Especially given his proximity to Paules.

Blackhawk stepped up with his bow, aimed and loosed. After that, the battle was joined in earnest. The one with the crossbow shot me deeply in the thigh almost immediately, so my recollections of the actual battle are pretty much a blur. I remember that Paules summoned up enough wind to get the ship moving very rapidly.

This prevented more of these terrors from boarding the ship. I limped over and tried to lunge at the nearest Sahaugin, but missed badly. I also started singing to try lifting my companions spirits. They hardly needed it, but after taking such a severe wound, I badly needed my spirits roused. I remember that Jaden hurled some magical missiles at the crossbow wielder and Raven used an orison to temporarly blind him. At least he dropped the crossbow. The crew members on deck bravely rushed in to engage these things in battle. I know that the ship lurched violently and Raven fell. I was stabbed a few times with a trident before I managed to disengage and heal myself somewhat. Raven enchanted her spear with light as well and threw it down to the forecastle. The creatures did not like that at all. One of the creatures began to climb up to the forecastle and was suddenly struck down by a lightning bolt. I guess Paules took care of him as everyone else looked as awed as I felt. Jaden was jumping down from the poop deck like some sort of madman and suddenly, it was over. The last of the creatures was dead and two of the deck hands were down. Raven had just finished stablizing one of them and Blackhawk was working with the other.

We had driven them off. The crew began coming up from below deck to congratulate us and clean up. I can't blame them for staying below during the fighting. If they had come up, it would have been so crowded that we wouldn't have been able to move as effectively. Anyway, Raven was able to patch everyone back together so that nobody took the permanent voyage and we didn't need to worry about running with a lighter crew than before. I'm glad my cousins are capable combatants. Their valor helped keep us all alive.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to improve the weather. We had more rain on the 17th!. The 18th was so overcast that we couldn't even see the full moon. Finally, on the 19th, it started snowing. This lasted through part of the 20th, when the snow broke so it could rain on us some more. Everyone was miserable all around. Finally, on the 21st, it cleared up some.

Strangely enough, we saw the ship with the red sails behind us again. It is quite odd. In theory, nobody else has an ocean going ship because only the navigators guild knows how to pass the veil. Nobody has any concrete ideas on what it might mean, but Raven is concerned that it could be the Church of Ardania. I briefly wondered if it were possible, but dismissed these thoughts as adverse paranoia.

That night, we encountered the first protective magics for the Veil. Disquieting dreams for everyone on board. If it hadn't been for Uncle Max's letters, things might have gone worse. I got up and went above deck to play my Bodhran. I just wanted to provide enough of a background rythym to help everyone sleep easier. Raven soon joined me. Towards dawn, I compiled all of my notes onto this parchment. I expect that the actual passing of the Veil will not be conducive to expansive logging. Depending on how badly damaged the Moonwind is in the passing, I may not have the opportunity to finish compiling all of my notes until we reach Bliss.

[The following are quickly jotted notes. Not Stephen's wordy writings that you are all too familiar with.]

Next night: We have encountered the ghost ship. I am not sure what to think of it. Is it illusion, or is it really the dead come to haunt us? Either way, it has a negative affect on everyone's moods. If it weren't for that, it would be strangely beautiful. I can barely describe it well enough to do it justice. I am tired and have a heaviness to my heart. Possibly some of the after affects of the ghost ship. After it had shadowed us for a while I got to where I could not blindly accept the oppresive air. I took out my pipes and played. This lightened the air around me and seemed to have a positive affect on the crew. I played until the ship disappeared at dawn. I'm jotting these notes down while the crew prepares for the passing of the Veil. Looks like I might not get much sleep today.

Late Afternoon: The captain has just passed control of the ship to Skellius. Paules has warned us that we can look above deck, but not to go on deck. If we interrupt the summonings, we may all die. A feast is being prepared down in the mess and I am going to play for a while. Hopefully, I will be able to bring everyone's spirits back up.

[The following is in badly scrawled writing and there are water stains on the parchment.] We have been betrayed. I do not know if we will live. If you find this record, tell the Navigators Guild that Skellius and Paules are dead. So is the crew of the Moonwind. Raven was right. The Church of Ardania was in the crew. The cook and his brothers. We did for two of them. Nathaniel got away. If we live, I swear that I will make them pay for this.