Journal Entry Ten:
Death and defeat. Today we lost the first member of our fellowship. We have suffered our first defeat. Ironically enough, it was not at the hands of the Montaigne, but rather a dumb animal. Animal. If you can call it such. Beast. Demon. Legion spawn. These are probably more appropriate. In fact, it was a river serpent. The beast was huge, at least fifty feet. Maybe larger. It's bite radius had to have been six or seven feet as it could easily swallow a man whole. Sorrow. Poor Reynaldo. No man deserves to die like that. No dog deserves to die like that.
It had only been a few days since the last "incident" of which I will not name. Things were tense between myself and the others. I performed my duties aboard ship in silence, avoiding the others. On the third day, disaster. Crash! The ship struck something. Commotion. Shouts and screams as the topman fell into the river. More screams and blood. Blood in the water. Crash. We've been struck again. Motion. The serpent is spotted. Shouts continue as the captain issues orders. Shots ring out as a few sailors attempt to hit the beast.
A long boat is being prepared. The captain asks for volunteers to lead the beast away from the ship. Several holes have already been punched through the hull and we need to ground her or lose everything. William of course steps forward as does Reynaldo. Crash! A scream. Lia has gone overboard. Reacting rather than thinking I dive in.
Splash! I see her, forty yards. The beast hit her and the waves carried her away from the ship. Swimming. She is struggling. Urgency. I hear more shots and shouts from the crew. Motion. I feel the beast swim by, but so far he has not taken notice of myself or Lia. Finally I reach her. Gurgle. The water is filthy and tastes foul. If she would stop struggling we would make better progress. A crate. Must have washed out from the hold. Push Lia up and take hold of the side.
Exhaustion. My thoughts are broken by a blood curdling scream. Looking up I see the beast clamp its mouth shut over Reynaldo. William, who was riding the beast's back loses his grip and falls in the river. Incredible, did Reynaldo leap into its mouth. No! Even he is not that stupid. He must have attempted to join William on the creatures back and mistimed his jump. Poor Reynaldo.
Calm. As quickly as it began, it is over. Looking up, I see the Mist Wind, or what's left of her. The first mate managed to beach her. She's a total loss. Casualties are high. Fifteen sailors, including the captain. Reynaldo, poor Reynaldo. No man deserves to die like that.
Our spirits are broken. Looking about the camp, I see devastation in every man and woman's eyes. William, is in shock. He and Reynaldo were close. Lia, also in shock. She lost many friends and comrades today. The scholar Colesun. He seems more concerned about his precious cargo. I spent hours dredging the river for that ancient junk and not a word of thanks. He lost most of it.
"Reynaldo da Ricci." The Vodacce dog. We had exchanged so many words, yet still managed to fight alongside each other. You were a good swordsman and deserved better. Goodbye my friend.
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