Voyages at sea

Capuchin 9, day 100 at sea

Life at sea has not gotten any easier for me and my comrades. I feel as though every time we set out to sea, we are putting our lives on the line. And yet, none of us can say no to this life. Our guild, the RedWings, has become well known across many towns on the ocean. No one has mapped as much water as we have. I thank Marle for her expertise on sailing - I no longer regret letting a pirate join my team.

Today sailing went well, fishing was a success. We caught a handful of Flying Fish, and a few Lantern Squid had floated into our nets as well. Hopefully this will net us enough money to buy more Xian Yu fish. Our rations have been running low, and the biscuits and sheep cheese have gone bad. I won't say this up front, but I have suspicions that Rahil has been sneaking food when the rest of us aren't looking. Speaking little English, it can be hard to get across to the Wildlings, but I knew having someone with the power to connect with nature would be helpful in the caves.

Capuchin 10, day 101 at sea

An unfortunate day for the RedWings. As we were sailing the southern seas, Nate spotted something gleaming in the water. Unsure of whether to investigate, the five of us stared into the water as we slowly passed by. Staring at whatever that may have been was our undoing, as we were sailing straight towards a whirlpool! I was struck with fear, but luckily Nate and Marle were no strangers to whirlpools, and with much strength and wits, navigated the ship right past the danger. Hopefully one day Nate will tell more about his voyages on his old ship.

Continued sailing took us north once again, ever closer to uncharted territories. There was a reason why most ships avoided this region. Seaweed clusters and reefs were bad enough, but there are many tales of ghost ships. Stories tell of a ship which appears out of thin air, and wrecks all ships that dare to pass. I personally believed that these are all folk tales, and that captains won't admit to their clumsy sailing around the reefs.

But lo and behold, as we were dragging our net for fish, Rahil started hollering and pointing to the north. We had no idea what he was trying to say, but instantly understood his gibbered English as the fabled ghost ship sailed into view. Not wanting to end up like the other sailors, I quickly jumped to the wheel and steered us away. But outrunning a ship of that size was futile. It quickly overtook us, and something rocked the boat. The Epoch had suffered severe damages, and we knew it was best to call it quits for now, and head back to the marina. As we looked back towards the passing Ghost Ship, it slowly disappeared back to nothingness. Had we been rammed by the ship, or was it my fault and had hit the reef below us? We had little time to think, with a pirate ship full of laughing pirates heading straight towards us. We knew to get away before they overtook us. One day...one day I'll be able to fight those damned pirates!

Capuchin 15, day 106 at sea

Our ship is done with repairs, and my crew is ready to set out to sea. While repairing the ship, I decided to spend a little of our spare money to buy a stronger hull. The workmen told me that this hull could withstand the pounding of the reefs. The northern waters would no longer be slow and delicate sailing. I also found a cannon at port yesterday, and really wanted to bring it along, to blast those pirates out of the water. Unfortunately, I had to choose between food or the cannon, and my crew would not let me leave the food behind. *sigh* I suppose they're right, food can be important. And lately Lucca's "spectacular" fishing abilities have not kept us full during our recent voyages.

We set out north, towards where we had found the Ghost Ship. All the men at the taverns laughed at our story, but I want to prove them wrong. And this time, the reefs would not be a potential downfall, with my stronger hull. As we sailed towards the same spot, a different view came across us: pirates. I was about to turn away from the hooting and hollering pirates, when Marle stopped me. She explained that during the past few days at port, she had learned the ways of the Ninjas, and could slyly outmaneuver the other ship. I had no idea what she was talking about, but as with all my crew members, I had learned to trust her instincts. We sailed this way and that, getting the pirates to follow our every movement. While they did indeed follow our movements, they had followed them too closely. In one last mad dash, we zipped by the laughing pirates. The wind took our sails, and the pirates had little chance of catching us with their tattered sails. I couldn't believe my eyes, but we came across uncharted waters!

Rations were running low at this point, but none of us were ready to turn back just yet. We sailed and sailed, what seemed like hours, without any sign of land or fish. I began to question the value of new waters when I spotted a gleaming light in the sky. I had only seen this once in my voyages, and I knew it to be true: a new portal! Feeling the day had come to a semi-successful close, we pulled into the new-found third portal, and whisked back to port.

Capuchin 19, day 110 at sea

Things have been looking up for my crew. With each new discovery of land in the northern seas, the men at the tavern come to respect us more and more. Many have been asking questions, curious to what we've found. The older sailors have always told their stories of trading with the northern cities, but the younger men have always just laughed. But now that another ship has crossed into northern territories, they have started listening intently. Were there really more cities to the north to trade with?

The seas are much more expansive in the north, so I've had quite a bit of time to hone my weapon skills. Having been raised my entire life by a family of Hoplites, all I've come to know is defending. My team continually praises me for my courage to stand on the front line, defending them from as many attacks as possible. But holding a shield has become boring, so I've been using this time to learn some sword skills. Nate has been teaching me these skills, revealing to me that earlier in his life he was a Gladiator with a different guild. Every time I bring up the topic of why he switched from being a front row Gladiator to a back row Arbalist, he becomes angry and stomps off. I've noticed that during these times of anger, he likes to hide in corners of the ship practicing the arts of Zodiac magic, especially conjuring up ice. I'm worried the water is getting to him.

Capuchin 20, day 111 at sea

Success! The stories were true, and we have found humanity in the northern seas. More ships have started to chart the waters in this area, especially traders, using one ship as bait for the pirates as another ship slips by. None of the ships will go where we go however. Even my crew has begged me to turn back, fearing for their lives as we dare the waters around us. Lucca balls up near the railing crying each time, and even Marle will have nothing to do with the sailing. I'm not sure what's causing the disruptions in the waters, but each way we turn there are rapids, whirlpools and reefs. One slight miscalculation and the ship is pulled into the rapids, all leading to one whirlpool or another.

As I said before, trust is important with my guild, and my comrades gave in and let me sail the waters, giving me one chance to get through. We don't have the money to repair the ship again, though Lucca found some rare Silver Saury and Stonefish in her nets. That money gave us enough to buy some Salted Meat, enough food to last longer voyages. My crew was thankful as we passed the last of the whirlpools, and was amazed as we came across a windmill near some patches of seaweed. Being the first sign of humanity, we approached the men cautiously, but they seemed happy to see us. We laughed and rejoiced at the two sides of the seas coming together, and took part in a feast around the windmill. But the night ended too soon, especially with Nate getting sick on the rum. We left before the men caught wind of the mess. We headed back to port, but kept in mind what the men had told us. There were more cities to find out in the water.

Capuchin 21, day 112 at sea

We set out once again with a full stock of Salted Meat, meaning well to pass the windmill and find the cities. We passes the windmill as the men waved at us, and set out into the expansive waters. We sailed and sailed, the whole day and night, but found nothing but more water and seaweed. We got our hopes up many times at the few spottings of land, but nothing was found there. Were the men lying to us? But then why would they give us a feast? There must be more places to find out here.

Capuchin 22, day 113 at sea

Today we decided to spend some time fishing, needing to make some more money. My crew is complaining that their armor is beginning to rust from the water and salt in the air. A good thing I handle the money too, or else it'd be spent on weapons for the fighters, and necklaces and chokers for Lucca. Some Monk she is!

As we rounded a corner near an island, we came across a small straight. Having no luck with the fish, we decided to take to chance and explore this path. We carefully navigated some reefs and many rapids - most likely leading to more whirlpools - and eventually came across more land. One piece of land stood out from the rest, with a large orange rock jutting out from its center. Immediately upon seeing in, Rahil jumped up and started hooting and hollering, pointed ferociously at it. We armed our weapons as we sailed towards it, ready for a fight. We hadn't fought in quite some time, so it was about time. But then we noticed that Rahil had a smile on his face, and as we approached the island, the men looked just like him! Finding nothing to fear once again, we put away our weapons and pulled up to the island, and disembarked to greet the people.

What we came across was actually a large clan of Wildlings, just like Rahil. We couldn't understand most of them, but luckily a few of them spoke enough English to explain to us the joy of the occasion. It turns out that not only do they know Rahil, but he's a Prince! A Prince! The rest of the party stared with bewilderment as the tribes started giving Rahil plenty of food, and praising him for becoming a strong warrior. We spent the rest of the day and night on the island, and watched closely as an elder lady taught Rahil the ways of Princedom, including healing abilties. Supposedly there is more to being a Prince than just ordering people around!

Capuchin 25, day 116 at sea

The past few days we have took to sailing the same small straight once again, knowing full well there were not only more fish but more land to explore as well. We had all but given up hope on Lucca's fishing abilities until we stumbled upon a small house on a beach yesterday. The home was empty, and all the food had gone bad, but as we boarded back on the boat Marle tripped over something on the beach, hitting her head on a shell. As Lucca kneeled down to heal the gash on Marle's forehead, she noticed that what Marle tripped over was actually a large fishing net. We spent quite a while digging it up, but it was well worth it, turning out to be a fishing net much larger than the one we had. Fortune smiled upon us that day.

Today we sailed past the island of Wildlings, smiling to them as we passed. A few hours later, the most bizzare thing happened. The clouds became dark as if they came out of nowhere, we prepared for a storm, but none came. Instead, a man cloaked in white rose up out of the water, slowly approaching the ship. Rahil started to hoot and quickly became scared, trying to convince us to move the ship away. But the rest of us couldn't take our eyes away from what appeared to be an old man, standing out on the sea. We stared for what seeming like hours, as the man moved around the boat, but never directly approaching us. What we didn't notice is that while we were staring at the man, a storm had grew around us. By the time we guided the ship to safety, the man had disappeared, along with the storm.

Unsure of what to make with what just happened, we continued sailing. Eventually we saw a giant tower at the edge of the horizon. Knowing that our money depended on us finding more towns, we pushed towards it. We're not sure how long it took, but we eventually reached the tower, with dark clouds circling the upper levels. We creeped towards it after we landed, and even entered it to see if anyone was living there. All we found was dust, spiderwebs, and many stairs leading up. Being extremely tired from the days events, we decided to leave and come back another time.

Our day was not yet over, and we still had a little bit of food left in the storage. We continued sailing, this time turning south again, hopefully finding a route to the southern seas. Any new trade routes would earn us quite a bit of en, and we needed it badly right now. For hours all we found were more rapids and whirlpools, and even another pirate ship. Luckily the pirates did not see us, and we made for a different direction just in time.

What we found was even better than a new trade route. We had found yet another portal! Who would have thought that us, the RedWings, would be the first to find all these portals across the ocean? We could see it gleaming on the horizon, and we all hugged each other, happy as can be that our day was looking up. However, Nate pointed out that our rations were running dangerously low, and that there was a good chance that we wouldn't have enough food to make it to the portal. After spending time calculating the distance, rations, and weather, I deemed Nate to be correct. It was sad having found another portal, but not being able to reach it. We turned back towards port, hoping that one day the Epoch could reach that portal. Fortune was not with us that day.

Capuchin 26, day 117 at sea

Lucca, Marle and Rahil all continue to urge me to sail towards the portal, but Nate and I continue to point out that we cannot make it. They don't understand our math and how we just don't have enough rations or a good enough sail. The owner of the marina is pleased with our findings, and promises and new and larger sail, but it's just a promise. Even if it is true, I've seen in the past how it can take months to gain new equipment for my boat. Best to continue on, finding more discoveries during the time I wait.

Today we took the path towards the giant red tower that we had found yesterday, but instead of heading south, we pointed west. We found many more pieces of land, but of course all were bare. A familiar sight approached and passed us, with rapids gliding beside our ship. But unlike other rapids we've seen, these one seemed to stretch on and on for what seemed like eternity. And the most unusual part was that they were only about as wide as the ship, with calm waters on the other side. I don't dare try to pass, knowing full well that we'd get stuck sailing down the rapids, most likely into a whirlpool. But we followed the rapids, hoping to find either a break or the end. After many hours, we did find the end: a whirlpool. Strangely enough, the rapids continued into the whirlpool coming from the other direction, just as thin as before. It was almost as if the rapids were purposefully surrounding something, guarding it. I instinctively took out my telescope and peered past the rapids into the distance, and found something beyond my wildest dreams. I couldn't believe my eyes, so I passes the telescope around, and everyone agreed on what they saw without telling anyone else. We had all seen an island floating in the sky. Was this a mirage? And why was it being guarded? Our rations were running low, so we decided to turn back. I will come back some day, and I will find out if the island is real.