We sailed with Captain Luca Blackwell,
A boss, a fighter, a father,
The proud owner of a caravel,
A good man and gentle lover.
His caravel was called The Walrus —
‘Twas there that Luca introduced us.
Six mercenaries Luca hired.
First came the goblin named Gritgoz
He joked a lot and owns a spider.
Then Ernodal who I think was:
Some sort of magical messiah
Just like our wizard Jerimiah.
Then came one with feathers of a hawk
She was a human named Celeste.
Then there was Throkk — a stoic orc
He spent his time in the crow’s nest.
Lastly me — an elven orator,
Meet Tulip — your humble narrator.
We sailed for distant Vicetina.
Why? Captain Blackwell would not say.
In the current political arena
Many things were certainly at play.
A voice rang from the upper deck
“In the sea — what’s that strange dark speck?”
We ran to the upper deck and saw
Tentacles rising from the waves
Deep beneath the waves – a gaping maw
So big that it could swallow whales.
“This monster is a thing of stories,”
Gritgoz announced “This is a Korwyn.”
“Forsooth, get thee to the lifeboats fast!”
The captain yelled “Don’t try be brave!”
Like a stick, the Korwyn snapped the mast
Sending Throkk to his salty grave.
The crew, we all gave up our posts
And scrambled to the two lifeboats
The Walrus was a noble ship
It sailed with Captain Luca Blackwell.
The tentacles — oh how they griped
And snapped the Walrus like a clamshell.
We watched, while rowing out of reach
And made it to a sandy beach.
We followed a path along the shore —
It was one of desolation.
We passed three derelict ships of war —
Cut by jagged bifurcations.
We passed a dead goat, his blood still damp.
We passed a brutal, massacred camp.
We wondered: “who has caused all this?”
For what did Namburg send those boats?
Do Judges rise from the abyss?
Do the Godbutchers butcher goats?
A figure approached along the path —
Perhaps it was he who caused this wrath?
We hailed him “Did you cause this gloom?”
“Are you the murderer of goats?”
Did you lead warships to their doom?
Did you destroy those wooden boats?”
The stranger lifted his hood and replied
“Nay, these accusations I deny.”
“I am a mere student of mapping —
A cartographer of sorts.
Well met, dear travellers. I’d be happy
For us to exchange maps and words”
And thus having a map between us,
Again we trekked to Vicetina