Captain's log

Captain's log for the Amuanda

Day 69, Elinud

Hatred has set in for the guide and the foreign royal family he was hired to escort. I should never have agreed to give them passage. They've meant endless trouble from the moment we pulled out of Val, and all indications are that plenty more awaits ahead. The foreign royals' bizarre behavior does nothing to help - the crew calls them barbarians behind their backs and mutters about the expedition being cursed. The guide said he had been hired to take them to Beauclair - perhaps such strange customs will accord with those at Anna Henrietta's court, but first we must reach the Continent safely. Yet ever since we lost sight of our sister ship, I've had a bad feeling about our chances of doing so.

Day 73, Elinud

I might have known there would be trouble when the guide explained these royals were fleeing a coup that knocked them off their throne on their home island. I hear the woman speak to the child in that strange tongue of theirs. She spits out words whose very sound is so filled with hatred and contempt I need not guess at their exact meaning, for they are sure to be curses aimed at the usurper. She scans the horizon constantly, the dread plain on her face, no doubt fearing assassins have been sent after her.

Day 78, Elinud

My worries have been confirmed - our passengers will be our doom. The ship will soon sink. May our gods and theirs watch over us.