Valkor

Valkor (continuing story from previously):

"Well, as can be expected, nothing ever is as easy as it seems. One day, while reading my books, I was dragged out to meet with the captain. Apparently, the captain had a change of heart, and was going to take up piracy. I couldn't tell if he was affected by some sort of enchantment or not, but I suspect that the convict Barris had something to do with it. They didn't believe me when I said that I was going to be tried in Mota for larceny, so I just told the truth. After all, if they're going to be outlaws, it wasn't as if word would get out to the judges. They didn't like what I had to say, so they told me that I was going to be dropped off at the next island. That certainly worked for me, because if they wanted to play pirates, I couldn't care less."

"But of course, the words of these barbarians are not to be trusted (I should have known when they didn't understand the word 'larceny'!). Soon after I was brought into my cell, I was taken out again, and the guard promptly tried to kill me. Fortunately, my cellmate Leshrac saved me, shattering the guard's staff with an utterance. I quickly used the opportunity to lock the guard in the cell, and free Leshrac. Just as I was doing this, a terrible wave must have struck the ship, and I heard the upper decks suddenly break out in combat. I moved up the stairs and saw Barris, and he came at me with a dagger. I cast a spell that conjured up a glob of grease from the kitchens in hopes of slipping him up. Just then, I saw a huge wave approaching the ship, so I quickly conjured myself into a room, and sealed the door shut."

"When the fighting died down, I opened the door, and looked out. Barris was no where to be found, so he must have been swept overboard. Just as well, since he was the obviously cause of all these problems. I spent some time fishing some of the others out of the water, and we took stock of the situation: there were 15 of us left, out of maybe the 30 to 40 that came aboard. The mast was broken, the captain dead, and we were drifting off into a nearby island. Some of the crew knew that the island was surrounded by a reef, so we took measures to prevent ourselves from hitting it. I waterproofed my books and prepared several spells to help me swim to shore."

"By some luck, we actually avoided the reefs, and beached ourselves near a lighthouse. But by some unluck, we actually beached ourselves near a group of pirates who quickly attacked and took out our scout. After a brief but furious fight (in which I was nicked again by a cutlass), we managed to defeat and capture them all. I doubt we'll get much information out of these savages, but at least they might know the island somewhat. Bringing them to authorities might be worth a reward as well."

"All in all, it was quite an exciting day, though what really piqued my interest was Leshrac. He obviously had some arcane magical talent. But though his abilities were similar to what I may cast, he drew his power from demonic sources as far as I could tell. I reminded myself that I would have to study his kind some more when I got the chance to do so."