A captain’s nightmare. Sailing up to Rivenrake—already a “cursed” destination according to many of the more superstitious among us. Sending out a longboat to take six passengers ashore for a little sightseeing. Fair enough—it’s their coin paying for the little side trip, and many are curious to see the island that is the source of so many rumors and ghost stories. But as the crew watched in horror, the passengers murdered the crew who rowed them ashore, leaving their bodies as they disappeared inland. Knowing that a mutiny would ensue if more crew were sent to that beach, the captain abandoned their bodies and the longboat to return to port in Magnimar.

That was the tale I was told by the captain of the Lordim Racer. As much as I wish that were just a tall tale told around a campfire, it actually happened. And here I am, at the scene of the crime. This time I have brought my friends to this place. On the trail, whether intentionally or not, of those killers. They have faced worse, from all their stories. But still, I will worry until they are back safely aboard Tyalee’s Whim. Who knows what dangers lurk in that cursed mountain? Just looking up at that giant face carved into its peak is disconcerting.

Oh, Tyalee, my dearest, my love.

At times like this I wonder where you have gone, what you’re up to… if you’re safe…

Every time I sail over mother’s grave these thoughts hit me, but now, as I sit at anchor within sight of Hollow Mountain, my new friends risking life and limb for their mission, my mind is dwelling on these morbid thoughts.

And I miss your carefree, unpredictable nature, your love for life. Perhaps Ashava can guide my mind back to still waters. How ironic that the Elf maiden who introduced me to the worship of the True Spark, who helped me overcome my despair as our love dashed on the rocks and we went our separate paths, couldn’t overcome her own pain and sadness about her own past?

Until last week, at least. I am happy for her newfound joy and peace, as much as every time I think of you, my Tyalee, full of hope that somewhere you are flitting from island to island out there exulting in every random moment of your life. I know I had to choose… couldn’t follow you on the path you had to take. But I still scan every dock of every port on the chance that perhaps you are there too. Straining to see your familiar form standing in the sunlight, your hair blowing in the breeze.

But alas, I need to keep my mind here on the present situation. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll send a crew to collect the longboat abandoned by the Racer. I hope they are not too afraid of any kind of taint of cursing on it for being at the scene of the murders or even just for being on the Old Man’s Launch which they say is haunted.

Tyalee’s Whim is docked at last in her familiar berth in the Ordellia district. This has certainly been a more eventful voyage than I thought it would be at first. Storms are always a risk every captain understands will strike where they may, and this trip was no exception. We were hit at midnight mid-journey with a bad one. At one point or two we surely would have had lost a crew member overboard if not for the quick actions of our daring and capable passengers. They certainly more than paid for their passage with their assistance in times of need such as that.

But as fate would have it, they were on hand to prevent an even worse catastrophe. Another of the passengers, the alchemist Beckwood Roos, had snuck a dangerous creature aboard under the pretense it was a crate of equipment. It broke out during the voyage and doubtless would have eaten the cargo of cattle and as many of the crew as it could have before we’d have stopped it. As I have learned, it apparently grows larger as it feeds, so that would be a problem that would make itself worse the longer it goes on. Due to the quick work on the part of this adventuring party, however, it was dispatched without much incident.

The other big trouble came from another pair of the passengers. I had been quite pleased to be carrying the renowned Viralane Barvisai. She was pleasant, personable, and while I thought her doting halfling assistant Corla was a little too devoted which to be honest I found somewhat cringeworthy, nothing seemed to me to be amiss about them. Imagine my shock and dismay to find that as we neared our destination at Magnimar, Viralane assaulted one of my passengers, Remi, and attempted to steal from her. While thankfully no one was seriously injured, the party subdued the pair although Viralane managed to escape through magical means.

I have now turned over Corla and Roos to a pair of Hellknights who had paused their patrol to watch as we discussed the prisoners with the harbormaster’s agent. They stepped up and promised to deliver the pair to justice, which visibly drained the blood from the faces of both of them. I have always regarded these “peacekeeping forces” with mixed feelings at best. I couldn’t honestly say if they meant they would deliver them into the hands of the city guard, magistrates, or to mete out justice themselves as they saw fit. I might care more to intervene except for the ways each of them endangered my crew and passengers. And for that I feel little need to show them extra mercy. No one messes with my people, not on my ship or off of it.

My crew has offloaded the cows and begun a thorough cleaning of the hold and lower deck. I know my new friends are expecting to continue on to Rivenrake Island so they can carry out some mission they have with the mountain there. I will wait until I hear back from them before agreeing to take on any other passengers or cargo. I owe them at least that much, I think. But on that point, I have heard enough other sailors in port talk about recent interest in Rivenrake to make me think there is more going on there than one party’s lone trip there for a secret mission. I should see what else I can discover that will be useful for them to know going in there.

As I was getting ready for dinner tonight, I got a visit from Audrahni. I have never seen my old friend so calm and at peace as long as I’ve known her. She told me about what happened earlier and the peace she found after putting Ilsynor’s spirit to rest. From what she said about his involvement with the Skinsaw Cult before she killed him, I don’t blame her at all for the murder, however much it tortured her for years after. But sending him to his final rest has allowed her the peace I see in her now, and perhaps will eventually be reconciled with Ashava. I would love to see her restored as a full cleric again at last. I know that would make her happiest.

For now, I will oversee the refits and final repairs we didn’t have time for in Sandpoint and ready Tyalee’s Whim for another voyage soon.