LUGNET News : ~271/IsleofMist/Chaptrer1


Cale Leiphart / IsleofMist / Chaptrer1

“Land Ho” The word rang from outside. “Its about time” Joshua thought to himself. “We should have made land yesterday morning.” It was late in the afternoon and Joshua had been siting in his cabin going over his charts. He was tall and gruff looking and although only thirty-five his beard had already started to gray. Probably from years of adventuring. He was the kind of man who could never stay in one place. He lived his life always looking for that next big adventure. When the Order of the Dragon came looking for a captain to help lead an expedition to the fabled Isle of Mist he couldn’t refuse. Giving him a brand new airship only sweetened the deal. “Land Ho” The words rang out again. “I suppose I should see what’s up” Joshua muttered to himself as he poked his head out the door.

Conor Adair a ranger and Joshua’s long time friend had been sitting in the crows nest scanning the horizon for any sight of land. “Are you sure it’s the Isle of Mist” Joshua called out from bellow. “Positive,” the excitement in Conor’s voice was evident. “I can see a peninsula jutting out of a dense bank of fog.” “Now get out here or your going to miss it.” Joshua stepped out and climbed the ladder up to the bridge where Catherine and David were waiting. David was manning the ships wheel while Catherine was consulting a map. “So our captain has decided to join us” Catherine said with a grin. “Well, I wasn’t going to let you have all the fun. So where are we supposed to meet these friends of yours. Catherine handed the map over to Joshua and pointed to the area. “They should have landed on South 5 West 2 two days ago.” Joshua looked at the map f for a moment. Well, as luck would have it I believe that’s area we’re coming up on. We should arrive some time after nightfall. Catherine seemed relieved. “Good, Cedrick and Celine should have already found a suitable clearing where we can land, and should have a signal fire going.”

As they drew closer to the island Joshua stood by the front of the ship and took in the view. He looked down at a brass plaque attached to the mast that read H.M.S. Andrea Gale “To race the wind.” “To race the wind. That’s an appropriate description” he thought. After all the Gale is one of the fastest airships to come out of the Mercator shipyards. Sleek and light she was designed to cover a lot of ground in short time. But why go to the expense of building such a ship for a simple expedition? Why wouldn’t the Dragons use one of the ships already in their fleet? Perhaps Catherine had something to do with it. From the moment Joshua met her she seemed eager to get to the island, as if she was looking for something more than simple adventure. Until now Joshua hadn’t given it much thought, but soon they would be landing and he wondered just what he was getting into.

It was getting late by the time the Gale crossed over land. They were heading towards the signal fire Conor had spotted to the Northeast. Through the fading light they could see the jungle bellow. It seemed ordinary enough, but the dense canopy obscured the floor bellow. The mist off to the North was just as impenetrable. The island it seemed was not going give up its secrets all at once.

By the time the Gale was over the clearing it was dark. David’s expert hand guided the ship into position and set her down as smooth as possible. Joshua and Catherine were climbing down off the ship when two figures stepped out of the darkness. The first was a young man dressed in full armor and carrying a spear. The other was a beautiful women with red hair wearing a black hooded cape. She spoke first. “Welcome my friends. I am Celine from the Order of the Dragon, and this is my companion Cedrick. You must be captain Joshua Windjammer.” Joshua nodded “its an honor to meet you” then turned to Cedrick. “Well, your a bit young to be protecting a great mage.” Although his comment was made in jest Cedrick Seemed unamused. Catherine broke the silence “It’s good to see you again Celine, and under much better circumstances this time. Tell me what have you found out about the island so far.” “Not much yet I’m afraid.” Celine then turned and pointed toward the mist. All magic appears to be negated within proximity to the mist. Machines probably don’t react well to it either so I would advise against flying into it.” Joshua broke in “Its getting late. I suggest we get a good nights rest. We can talk more in the morning.

Later on that night while everyone else was sleeping Catherine found herself awake and restless. She looked across the cabin and saw Joshua was not in his bed. “He’s probably out on the deck again staring at the sky” she thought. Catherine didn’t know why but Joshua would frequently go outside to fall asleep under the stars. Finally curiosity got the better of her so she decided to find out. She stepped outside and as predicted Joshua was lying on the deck with his gaze fixed to the heavens. She sat down beside him. “Tell me Joshua, what is it your looking at.” Joshua waited a moment before answering. “Give me a tall ship and a star to sail her by.” Catherine looked perplexed. “When I look up there I wonder, if I followed that star where would it take me. What adventures are waiting out there. I’ve spent my whole life traveling from one place to another. Following the stars where ever they would take me.” “Sounds exciting,” Catherine’s gaze was fixed on the stars now as well. “Tell me about yourself Joshua. I’ve known you for a couple of weeks now, yet I don’t know much about you.” Joshua paused again before answering. “My life’s story isn’t as exciting as you think. I was born in Mercator. My mother ran a local inn and my father was a merchant ship captain. I lived with my mother until the age of five when died of pneumonia. My father then decided to take me onboard his ship. I saw the world from the deck of that ship and my father taught me all there is to know about sailing. At nineteen I took command of my first ship. We were rounding a cape when we cam up on a small island. Some pirates had stopped there and had only left a skeleton crew on board their ship. My father hated pirates and made trouble for them whenever he could. We decided it might be fun to relieve them of their ship. I can still hear them cursing us from the beach as we made off with their ticket home. For a while I used it to escort other merchant ships through known pirate territories. After I got board with that I did some adventuring and the occasional privateering job, worked my way though a series of ships. Just before I met you I was privateering for King Syril when an enemy fleet caught up with us. I had sank one of their ships two days before and they weren’t to happy about it. They fired on us and didn’t stop until my ship was slipping beneath the waves. When you found me I was sitting in that tavern without a ship trying to decide where to go next. But enough about me, tell me about yourself.” Catherine was surprised by his interest. “I came from nobility. My father and mother were both high members in Syril’s court. They naturally had big plans to raise me as a proper lady. I didn’t live up to their expectations. I was a tomboy and from an early age I somehow knew my destiny laid in knighthood. At sixteen I persuaded a local knight to take me on as his squire. One day I was running an errand for him in the market when I heard some commotion coming from a nearby stand. The king’s tax collector was harassing an old woman. Everyone suspected he was corrupt, but he knew too many people in high places. They were hesitant to act for fear of retribution. The old woman claimed she had no money to give, but the collector wasn’t satisfied and called on two guards to help him. Just then from out of the crowd a knight from the Order of the Dragon stepped forward to help the women out. The guards drew their swords and demanded he stay out of the matter. The knight wasn’t about to back down though. Three against one didn’t seem like fair odds so I jumped in to help out. It was a fierce fight but we soon sent the guards running and exposed the tax collector. I was impressed by the knight’s courage. He thanked me for my help and left before I could ask him his name. The next day he showed up at my door and asked me to join the Dragons. I accepted his offer and the rest is history.” Catherine yawned. “Well, I’m getting tired. I think I’ll go back to bed.” As Catherine was walking away Joshua asked another question. “Tell me, why did you want to come on this expedition?” Catherine turned to answer. “I’m here on behalf of the Dragons to explore the island.” Joshua not satisfied with her answer rephrased his question. “That’s why your here officially, but I sense there’s something else?” “I have my reasons.” Catherine turned towards the door. “Let’s just leave it at that.” Joshua still wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but decided not to press the issue further that night.

Primary content in this document is © Cale Leiphart. All other text, images, or trademarks in this document are the intellectual property of their respective owners.