[Myself and Dak are on the trail of the Black Mirror and have arrived in Waterdeep. While waiting for the ship to come in, we had just finished clearing out a dungeon of undead and other nasties.]
DAY 565 (19th Eleint) (September) cont ...
When we left Roge Gelnne's house we had quite a lot of treasure in our bags that had come from the dungeons he had wanted cleared. Such is the way of things, and it felt like we had earned every gold piece of it considering what we had taken on.
He was happy enough, and could sleep easy in his bed again, safe in the knowledge that there was nothing dangerous down there any more. The cleaning crews would be sent in, I assumed, and he'd have a new wine cellar, or whatever he fancied.
Anyway, we relocated to the Singing Sword and had a small celebration, a slap up feast and drinks all round for the room. It was quite late at night when I finally got to my bed.
DAY 566 (20th Eleint) (September)
Late in the morning, with more than a slight hangover I went down to the docks to check for the Black Mirror. She was easy to find, a xebec has a distinctive shape and there she was, as bold as brass at the Seaswealth Dock. Me and Dak sat down at some tavern tables that were set up in the street and while drinking tea we watched the ship.
We saw that there were eight crewmembers. They must have arrived near dawn as they were already taking on supplies. Crates and barrels were being delivered and lowered into the hold.
It looked like the tall half-elf was the captain, while a half-orc was the first mate. The rest of the crew consisted of two more half-orcs, three humans and one dwarf.
Later on, one of the humans and a dwarf left and headed to the Selune's Smile off Fishgut Court. I was disguised as a sailor, Dak, as always, was is standard half-orc self.
We went to the bar and watched them for a while, but then I went to talk to them, bringing some drinks over. I introduced myself as Jack Blackbird.
I said:
'You part of the crew of the Black Mirror? I bring warnings of the Annubus and the Reaper.'
The dwarf gave me a side-eyed look. I went on:
'Did you not know? The Annubus was lost. Crew pulled apart by wild animals. That's what I heard. Reaper too. And you are a sister ship right?'
Dak gave the dwarf a hearty slap on the shoulder.
They were puzzled and evasive, but since I was willing to pay for the drinks they accepted our company. Glenn was the name of the dwarf and Bryen was the name of the human.
I asked questions, trying to gauge their strength, their defences and such. I don't think they had heard anything about the other two xebecs and as such they were going about their business as usual.
Their stories were much the same as the two we had captured before when we had dealt with the reaper. They started out as sailors and were now mercenaries and occasional pirates, they did not say so in such clear terms, but it was obvious.
'Don't you worry, that your misdeeds will come back to you? A family member of one of your victims seeking revenge for instance?'
'Oh you know,' said Bryen. 'You take a job. A quest. Or whatever. Sometimes people die, its not personal. I'm not going to lose any sleep about it.'
'Well,' I replied. 'I'm sure your pragmatism will be a comfort to you as are you are being ripped apart by wild animals.'
'What about you?' he asked of me. 'You are so pure? A gentleman of fortune like yourself must have a few enemies.'
'That's true I do,' I accepted. 'And as a consequence I take a great deal of care to make sure I am safe from them!'
'Huh,' he grunted. 'I'll take your advice onboard. Now please bugger off. Me and Glenn have private business to conduct.'
Me and Dak returned to the bar and drank. The two sailors sat and whispered together.
The barman was starting to get cross with Dak, who was treating him to some inane blather about Jibby-Jibby.
While Dak visited the privy I told the barman, 'you should humour him, he is incredibly wealthy!'
Dak returned and continued to describe his favourite drink. The barman said he would see what he could do and sent out for some things.
Half an hour later he had Dak's drink. 'It's not the same sir, but as best as I can manage from your description. I call it jobbly-jobbly.'
Dak thanked him and took the bottle over to the pirates. He poured them each a drink, but they would not touch it until he had some himself.
Dak did so, then Glenn who had a coughing fit and Bryen who went very red in the eyes.
I went over and tried some. It tasted like cheap spirits with parsley in it.
I returned to the bar and paid the barman one gold to tell me what it was.
'Just rotgut and parsley, sir.'
'Well he seems to like it anyway,' I observed.
I then did my best to describe jibby-jibby. 'It's like liquid sunshine going down, it leaves a glow in the belly. It tastes nice, smooth but strong. I think it is made from desert plants like agave or aloe. It has a sweet aroma, like berries. It hits you like a warhammer to he forehead though.'
'That's it!' declared Dak who had joined us. 'Fifty gold if you bring me that!'
A hour later the barman returned with something that looked like jibby-jibby. It was fruity and strong, not really the same but pretty tasty in its own right. We took it over to the pirates and they drank as much as they could get off us. I suppose they knew quality brandy when they tasted it!
Glenn managed to survive, but Bryen was flat on his arse. I managed to get some more information from them though. Glen had been crew on the Black Mirror for six to eight months, while Bryen had been onboard for a year. This meant that they had very likely been part of the raid on the Lost Refuge.
DAY 567 (21th Eleint) (September)
This is a very nice room I have in the Singing Sword I must say. The bed is very clean and comfortable. The furnishings are tasteful and well made. The desk I sit at to write this was made by a master craftsman, ornately carved and with a leather top. I should get one just like it for the keep when it is completed.
Anyway, to record the events of the day.
We went and ate breakfast at our usual table beside the dockside tavern we now frequented and watched the Black Mirror as they went about their business.
They could see us plainly, we made no secret of our presence but we were not approached. In the evening two human crew members disembarked and headed for the Selune's Smile. We followed and as with the night before Dak splashed out on another bottle of expensive brandy that had been relabeled as 'Jibby Jibby.'
We carried out much the same performance and learned that these two were called Myce and Robert. They had been with the crew 18 months and 2 years respectively.
When I asked about the captain I was informed that - 'the captain's business is his own. He is not a man to cross!'
This provoked much mirth from Dak as he joked 'Is he then a manti-core?' He made much of this jest for the rest of the night.
The only other thing we learned was that the Black Mirror was due to sail in two or three days.
I am the worse for drink again so I will now blow out the candle.
DAY 568 (22th Eleint) (September)
Today was similar to the previous two. We watched the ship, the tailed the captain and the first mate to the Selune's Smile.
Here, either by habit or to elude us, they hired a private room. I paid the barman to keep his ears open as he served them, but we learned only that they were not concerned about me and Dak at all.
Although we had pestered their crew the last two nights it was assumed it had been a different set of drunks on each occasion.
It appeared that the crew of the Black Mirror did not gossip much between themselves which was good news for us.
DAY 569 (23rd Eleint) (September)
The forth day of our vigil was the day the Black Mirror set sail from Waterdeep Harbour. We watched them leave with the tide, heading out through the deep water harbour. As they headed out to sea we left the city through the South Gate and in a quiet spot I turned into a giant owl and with Dak on my back took to the air.
We located the ship and followed it from the air. This time the plan would be simpler.
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