This note is found in the Korvan Plateau, near the entrance to the Crawling Nest.
Day - 23
Until today, our journey has been an exercise in the mundane. I have lost track of time as I watch the ship's crew go about their routine day in and day out. I feel more than a bit useless but the captain has explained, a number of times, that our involvement will only make his crew less efficient. So I sit, read, watch the clouds pass overhead and review my notes over and over again.
That all changed this morning shortly after dawn when I was violently awoken by the sound of cannon fire. The shattering boom gave me such a start that I fell out of my hammock. When I rushed above deck the scene was somewhere between utter chaos and military precision. Before I could determine what was happening the captain ordered Roderick and I below deck.
Later when the fracas had subsided, I had a chance to speak with him. Evidently, the dawn watchman spotted another ship with no colors flying; a sure sign of piracy, the Captain said. Instead of risking an attack he decided to go on the offensive and begin firing as soon as the ship was in range. Whatever he did, it worked and the other ship fled. However, it appears this is a common tactic among pirates of the region. They follow ships and attempt an attack at night when the crew is less alert. I shudder to think that our expedition could have come to such a grisly end before we even reached the barren shores.
Day - 27
The captain tells me we're nearing our destination, no more than a day's sailing left and then an indeterminate number of days searching the desert for the lost city.
The retinue of babysitters sent by our investors have been asking a number of peculiar questions about the burial habits of the Korvan people, and about the types of objects we might hope to find there; none of which I have answers to. I caught one of them reading an ancient-looking text of some sort the other day. Aurenial Arcanum, the name read. It is a volume I am unfamiliar with, though if I didn't know better I'd say it was exactly the kind of thing that could attract Luminari attention. He snatched the book closed and hid it in his jacket when I asked what he was reading. His scowl said it all.
Peculiar indeed.
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