69 Days

Excerpts from the diary of Jack Presser, Captain of all the Oceans Deep.

Mad Jack they called me. Because I dared to say that a sea route might be found from Eastrun to Westrun by sailing toward the rising sun. First the kings of Westrun and their learned fools cast me from their courts. Then the princes of the Free Provinces laughed in my face. Finally, the emperors of Eastrun threatened to jail me. Finally, destitute and nearly hopeless, I found myself in the court of the baroness Mai Fung Lee of Shu, begging for ships and a chance to prove my theories.



She has the last outpost of that empire on the shores of the Seas of Certain Death. Her reputation is well earned as a mistress of ships, but even in the court of her misfit traders and merchantmen I found no hearing. Until Brumbar, a knight errant with a rare gift for violence, begged her leave to return to the land of his birth. As it turned out, she also had pressing matters that needed attending to, so she sent him forth with one of her minions and allowed him to pursue whatever route he chose.

In their company was a woman of uncommon beauty – I think I have found my wife!

*****
Brumbar took little convincing. With utmost confidence in me, he helped to sway the minion. The minion was so distracted that he scarcely noticed our point of sail. We were two days East of Shu with both ships before the question even came up.

“Why East?” the minion protested.

“We’re adventurers!” Brumbar reminded him.

*****
The winds favor and we are making excellent time. To stoke their imaginations and to keep them watchful, I offered 500 Westrun gold to whomever spotted land first. To temper their expectations, I also determined to fake my log entries to misrepresent our travel at only 75% of actual distance.

*****
We fought a giant crustacean today. My love, she who was too shy to ever express her true feelings for me perished in the attack. I had the crew sew her body into a sail and Brumbar made a gift of an ornate box (contents unknown). We committed her to the deep.

I shall never love again.

*****
We have discovered a vast island, hundreds of miles square and covered in a lush and steamy jungle. Upon it are fantastical creatures too large to be natural. They are like stories beasts from an ancient time. We re-provisioned and left with all due haste. It is customary to name such a place. As its discoverer, I will call it Mai’s Bush Island.

*****
We have found the Mother of Storms! She is a great whirlpool in the midst of the deep. All things for scores of miles come rushing into her great and toothy maw until her hunger is satiated.

We too found there was not enough wind to arrest our headlong rush. Thinking quickly, Brumbar and the minion sent evacuated the Dhow and set it aflame, allowing that one ship to crash into the mouth. We barely escaped.

*****
We ran aground on a coral atoll. Then swarmed and attacked by 50 sea devils. Our armed parties repelled them handily. We also managed to cut the ropes to which they had latched several sea anchors. The battle was only six or seven minutes long, but it was harrowing. We escaped with our lives.