Today we are back at sea, two days out from Carleon. A small gale has set in and the day is as gloomy as the mood of the crew, or at least the officers. But I get ahead of myself, so let me tell you of the events that transpired two nights back.

As I wrote previously, the day following the one I spoke of in the last letter was a complete mess. It all started out okay I guess, but that was only the first half of the day. Once night was upon us Legion pulled his strings and made us dance for his entertainment. Enrique had ordered our boson to have the crew change our name plate to that of the Castillian equivalent of the Errant Venture. It was very similar in spelling but the placement was different and the Castillian letters were much more aesthetic in appearance. Anyway that is only a minor matter so let me begin with the evening at the start of the dinners.

The first guests arrived, and as I was informed they were the Castillian representatives. What I was not ready for were the persons whom comprised the party. Remember the bastard who wanted to duel William, and in turn tried to kill me for ruining his duel? Well, it was the Legion spawn himself, a man that I now know as Pablo. Anyway I diverge from the tale. I had prepared an excellent Castillian steak dinner for our guests. It was served with and sautéed in a beef broth with onions and peppers. A salad and other appetizers proceeded it, and the wine served was of course a rich Castillian vintage.

Every one was impressed with the dinner and were quite satisfied, however Enrique was a little angered at me for my actions. At the start of the meal I showed very little respect for our guest Pablo. My insolence and disrespect perturbed Pablo for I was a mere cook, and could not understand why they kept me on. That is until he tasted my cooking and then he agreed that I had some qualities that were admirable in a cook.

The bastard did not even remember who I was, even when I showed him my scars that he gave me less than a month ago. A glint of recognition struck him only after I informed him that I was the one who disrupted his playtime at the duel. To my surprise the rest of the dinner went on as planned, save one thing: time! Being pompous Castillians and all full of themselves, the dinner ran on longer than we could have wished. It was past 8:00 and our next guest had arrived. That's when it all started to turn bad.

You see we had to tell the Castillians that Enrique was the captain so that we could get the letter we sought. When the representative of the Avalons came to the ship he called for permission to come aboard and speak with the captain. He did this for it is the proper protocol when you board a ship. Well, the walls of the ship are not that thick and our first guests could hear of his arrival. They were a little suspicious when William excused himself to deal with the new arrival.

While William was out talking to the gentleman, the Castillians said their goodnights and started to leave. Although William had tried to get our second guest clear of the decks he was unsuccessful in his endeavor. The two parties met.

At that point I was sure that the masquerade was blown for they knew each other, and it turns out that they did not like one another at all. Both Sir Winters, a knight of the Avalon royal court it turns out, and the Castillians started putting on their airs. It was all we could do just to let it play itself out and go on from there. It would seem that a bit o` luck was on our side and the charade was not totally blown. They were too eager to depart each others company that they had not spoken enough to blow our little act completely.

After the departure of our first guests, we continued on with our second dinner. The third guest arrived again while we were still in discussions with the second. This however was not a problem, for Sir Winters had no problems with the Explorer's Society.

It turns out however, that our troubles would not be over with the events of this evening. The Castillians wanted us to go to Castille and run the blockade that the Montaigne navy has set up around San Augustine. They needed Pablo and his friend to be delivered there along with some cargo. In turn it was also the reason Winters was there for somehow they new of the wishes of the Castillians and he wanted to accompany us upon this voyage, and also that he would be treated as one of the officers.

The gentleman from the Explorer's Society informed us that Reginald Coleson, a mutual friend of ours had come up missing and they feared the worse if we did not go to Vodacce and find him. It appears that a powerful and none to pleasant a man also sought him and if he found him first it would not be good for all of Theus. So it would seem that the grand mess that I believed would occur was small in comparison to the one we now find ourselves in. But let me continue for that is only half the troubles of that dark night.

Remember that I told you of the two Vodacce seeking to find a church? Well, it turns out that they both found the same church and were both to meet someone from the church at midnight. I do not know all the facts of the meeting, only this: That the man they met was none other than the group's most hated enemy, Fellhand. I was informed that at this meeting Sabene, who as I was not familiar with the man, was not prepared for what happened.

Sabene was the first to arrive and was not forth coming with the information we needed to know of the night's happenings. She was in a state of shock and only told us that she thinks she murdered a priest. This was the first time that anyone had seen this side of her. She seemed so lost and confused and even though she would not say as much, I believe that she was in great need of comfort. With our past history of being at odds with each other I did not try to comfort her in fear that she would take offense. Instead I took her to my smuggler's hold and hid her their until we knew what to do.

Well, I guess I got to use the damned thing after all. Anyway as I was saying, shortly after that Reynaldo returned and told us the rest of the events that transpired. It was not Sabene but Fellhand who had killed the priest. He had taken Sabene by the arm and used her hand to thrust the sword into the priest. He also told us that Fellhand said that he would kill one of our party that night, and that we would not know who until it happened.

This is what brought about the events that had carried us to this point, back at sea and on our way to Castille, on this gloomy day. May Theus have mercy on our souls. The reason that the Castillians needed our ship was to take Pablo and some cargo to San Augustine, as I spoke of before. Pablo and his friend would return in the morning, but that evening we were to retrieve a crate from the embassy. Enrique and Jenner, and Lia took four of our men out to get the Legion-cursed crate, departing before Sabene's return. William and Reynaldo went out at once to head them off, and warn them.

But as fate would have it they arrived too late. Fellhand had struck! He had ambushed Enrique, Lia and Jenner in the mist enshrouded streets. He first killed two of our men and then caught Jenner by himself while seeking a better roost for his archery. Enrique found his body hanging from the very window in which he sought to use for a better vantagepoint to see Fellhand in the mist. Reynaldo and William arrived in time to help dispatch the horrifying zombie forms of our fallen friends. I suspect Fellhand used them to cover his escape. William and the rest returned shortly after that point and informed us in the demise of Jenner and our crewmen. We all agreed that we should stay aboard ship and depart as soon as our guests all arrived.

That is what brings us to the point in which I am writing to you. I did not know Jenner for long, but I believe he was a good man and a kindred spirit. He shall truly be missed by all. And to tell you the truth I for one will never look at the mist the same way. I cannot help but wonder if a similar fate awaits us all.

I must go for now and will put down this quill with a heavy heart. For not only have I just lost a new friend, but also his death stings true and brings back the death of Nigel, and is a reminder that you and I are not together. I wish that you wore here now so that we could hold each other and remind one another of the one truth in life. That all shall meet their death in time and that it is all we can do to continue on with our lives and bring honor to the memory of our lost loved ones. I must go but will write again soon.

Love,

Patrik