Day 15 I arrived in Albiele Town to find the Grand Casino closed by Raphael Sabersrike. How many times must I build up this guild? I will build it even stronger this time.
Day 27 Larry Diamond has been arrested along with Trogdor and Hermedhie, word has arrived from the Herald of the New Dark God that Kareem and Duke Nightmare where solving the problem. I will bide my time and see what happens.
Day 42 Raphael Saberstrike has started a great purge moving lots of soldiers and political positions around. With my forces secured in the Mieres, I think it is time for the Jack and Jill to branch out to every port city along the Straits of Aerele.
Day 65 Word from Kareem that Raphael Saberstrike is dead; Sedrie Bellamie will be running the Southlands, and the dragon Skiesbane has relocated. I will call for the Jack and Jill to have as many members of their clan join the Southland government in any fashion possible along with a handful of my own sailors who will join the Southland Navy.
Day 72 Under magical ruse, a false Raphael Saberstrike would surrender the Sword of Enlien back to Ruornil’s Celestial Spell for safe keeping as the Southlands where now protected. What a joke, the Southlands belongs to us and anyone not wanting to work for the Southlands wants to work for the Royal Flush Gang. The number of new recruits is massive everyday, I must secure more ships.
Day 77 I struck upon a brilliant idea; I must secure the other pirates and fight a false war with the Southlands but only pirate ships from other nations. Word is that pirates have turned the isle of Caelcorwynn into a safe haven, it its time to show the rabble how safe it really is.
Day 85 I will strike upon Caelcorwynn tomorrow, my spies have told me that four pirates lay in port. Word has also come that a terrible monster of death must dwell in the forests of Caelcorwynn; fore the people cling to the rocks and do not venture into the woods.
Day 87 What a fierce battle that was, we had to sink a ship and catch another on fire. One ship escaped us, Faelen’s Pride of the Gods Blood Clan. The ships that were sank were from the Sea Wraiths, I am sure they will come seeking revenge. One ship did join, Wild Owen with his ship the Sea Horse where useful but not well trained. I will maneuver around the island and lay in wait for the pirate clans to come to me.
Day 93 Larry Diamond has helped acquire four new ships and equip them with sailors and marines. These new recruits will be moved to the site of the future Naval Academy. I need to assign someone to survey the land and draft up building proposals. A new wave of initiations are required for the Royal Flush Gang to prosper: I am thinking of adding hundreds of new pawns, this reminds me of a plan that Kareem had for laying out a spy network with theme names based on the pieces of a chessboard. I need the Mystery Man to scour out the ranks looking for spies and lose ends but the Mystery Man is still abroad in Brechtur. With the aid of the New Dark God I will call upon the Church of All to supply me with several hundred loyal followers and place them around my units until such time that I can establish my own secret service.
Day 107 In the last few weeks several rogue pirates have aligned with my cause: Wild Owen has proved useful, Ibrahim the Bold and his old dhoua “My Lady’s Favor” have joined my forces in Caelcorwynn, and the pirate clan the Sea Wraiths have decided to join and not fight. The independent pirates are small fish but must not be overlooked as to not create a weakness. The pirate clans are another story; they do not know the extent of my power. The two remaining pirate clans, God’s Blood and Storm’s Heart, are the targets now and it will be do or die against them. I will tap my contacts with the Wizard’s Cabal to secure massive spells and wizards for individual ships.
Day 124 The pirate clans are massing in the harbors of Baerghos Isles now that everyone knows that the Seadrake has killed by Skiesbane. (But what of the loot, dear reader, you might ask? Well dear reader; the answer the most simple is usually the most accurate: Atriums Thief of Tartarus.) Soon all of the Straits of Aerele will belong to us. The rulers of the west coast do not want to participate in any pirate conflict, but what of Prince Avanil? I think the prince will not want to weaken any part of the Avanil military fore that would give the advantage to Duke Trogdor. What I worry about is someone thinking they can wipeout all the pirates at one time, the intervention by a major power.
Day 133 I have lost my victory, I might as take my loot and retire. What am I saying? What do I have to complain about? I needed a win, I got a win. A big win. Right when I had the captains picked, marines trained, and a target ready for a whopping the Lich steps in and says that the New Dark God commands that I follow the Lich’s orders. Word came that I am to take my fleet and sail for the Baerghos Isles. I am told that the pirate clans are defeated and their ships will be sitting empty of their crew. I am to order my men to not set foot on the land and wait for the clerics of the Church of All to bless the pirate clan ships before boarding.
Day 136 It is hard to believe, I play it up for the troops. The loot we get is incredible, thousands of pieces of gold, sliver, and gems. Treasures from a dozen cultures. And best of all, twenty ships. The breakdown is thus: four galleons, one zebec, one roundship, two knars, two dhoua, six caravels, and four tiny coasters. I can only imagine that the Berghaus Isles are now home to roughly two thousand undead pirates. What horror did the Lich unleash upon the pirate clans to wipe them out but keep the ships and the loot intact? Some might lose sleep over it and I expect dozens of my men to go mad. I must change some of my tactics to match with the power I am dealing with. I must enact a plan like I did before in Mieres, a plan that will deprive a powerful person of their station, treasure, and blood.
Day 158 Construction of the Naval Academy is coming along nicely and plans to expand from four buildings into six are underway as well. A few skirmishes have not gone well clashing with the Prince of Avanil. I have to concede a few of the shipping lanes to allow for the natural flow of traffic but all the short routes belong to me and along with all the ports now having their own branch of the Royal Flush Gang I have great position to start several ventures. The Brothers Investment Groupe has expanded to Mieres and is experiencing a boom in trade despite operating in pirate invested waters. I am working with Larry Diamond to secure even more ways to make profit and expand the Royal Flush Gang’s influence in the government of the Southlands. I will take loyal members with the cleanest records and have them enter the Southlands Navy and Army. I have heard that Church of All members have been encouraged to enter into civil service for the Southlands.
Day 165 Looking over my vast loot I noticed the ring I acquired from defeating the Rake: a ring bearing the state seal of Brosengae. The ruler is Eriene Mierelen, a half elf of questionable background. Eriene came to the throne after her grandfather died two hundred years ago. Now traditionally the family Mierelen carried a taint of elvish blood past down when the Brosengae tribe first settled the region before the times of the Empire. The story goes that the ancient king of Brosengae married an elven madden signifying their claim to the land. Now anyone who has ever set foot in Brosengae will tell you that no elf would ever claim rain-swept hilly region as theirs. So the rumor goes is that Eriene has a true elf as one of her parents and the rumor goes further that her parent elf is related to Rhoubehe Manslayer or even the Elf himself. The Brosengae Royal Guild controls a sizable portion of the market and her merchant fleets are well protected. What I notice is that in the two hundred years of rulership; Eriene has never sired an heir. Now the rumors go that Eriene has had so many lovers that some think she must be a vampire and is feeding going through so many lovers so quickly. But I believe that Eriene would not want to be bogged down by the problems that motherhood brings: mainly the time it would take to even birth a child. I will have to look into this more.
Day 207 So it must be soul for a soul! Every agent that was sent into Brosengae has died. I issued an order to terminate any and all Brosengae agents abroad.
Day 211 More deaths than would be considered tolerable have occurred in Mieres but so far there has been no overt response from Mhistecai government; She must understand who is being killed.
Day 256 The contest of power between me and Eriene has reached a high water mark, the first report from a field agent about the holdings of the Brosengae Royal Guild. I have dried up the labor force by hiring away all the dockworkers, miners, foresters, and mercenaries. I have planted my own people in Brosengae and where quickly hired by the government. The Church of All has also been busy influencing the local population.
Day 288 Things turned out more disastrous than could have been anticipated. I was summoned to the Underground Forest by Duke Nightmare, and that is never good. When I arrived it was to odd company. The Lich was in court sitting on Duke Nightmare’s thrown, Duke Nightmare himself was with Eriene Mierelen. Now what came next I could not anticipate. Eriene had figured out the connections between the Royal Flush Gang, the Church of All, and the Kingdom of the Southlands and came to strike a deal. And the deal we all struck was odd indeed. I seem to keeping getting windfalls when in the presence of the Lich. I wanted to control myself but the deals seemed so good that I was caught up in the furor that I did not even care that I lost hundreds of men and thousands of pieces of gold in a war with Eriene. Eriene has ruled Brosengae for hundreds of years and wants to keep it that way but must have an heir to keep the family line going. Who would think that Salim Shpaga Karamazov would rise from a mere bandit along the Zhange River would father the heir to one of the Twelve Duchies of Anuire?
The Church of All would be allowed entry into Brosengae. Eriene would be given the honorary title of Queen of Diamonds and her spy network would be shuffled into the Royal Flush Gang. The Royal Brosengae Guild was a tricky spot but of course the offer from Duke Nightmare was too good to refuse. Eriene’s guild interests will be incorporated into the Brother’s Investment Groupe with Eriene getting a share.
Day 315 el-Hadid remains one of the few sore spots in the Straits. Every major port but a few along the strait are in my hands: the Imperial City, Ilien, and Sonwyn. I should put more focus on the assets in Stormpoint. One of Prince Avanil’s allies has changed sides; the Royal Flush Gang should lay the ground work for the New Dark God to challenge another.
Day 327 Word has come that a pirate fleet from the Great North is waging a war in the Bay of Tael Firth. I have sent orders to assemble a strike force and within a week I will set sail for the Sea of Storms. I sent word to the Underground Forest and I see this as another possible great victory.
Day 331 In no subtle display, Duke Nightmare arrived amongst my armada to communicate with me. The crews of a dozen ships went into war-mode at the sight of a flying horse of death. Duke Nightmare just played it off saying what is the good of having a pirate fleet if one cannot display one’s true power. Duke Nightmare seemed bitter about the situation and left me with an odd warning. I estimate that in another three days we should enter the Bay of Tael Firth.
Day 335 The ship that we spotted yesterday that got away must have given warning to the Boeruine Navy because we have been trying to out maneuver seven ships for the better part of the day.
Day 336 The Anuirean style ships are out of sight but we have been drive West and North, I will have to wait for night to calculate our position. I do not want to drift to West and end up near Dantier Island. The men are on edge, they understand that everyone is out to get us and we are the strangers in the strange land. The warning from Duke Nightmare keeps ringing in my ear, “You have nothing to fear from the other pirates but everything to fear from everything else.”
Day 337 Now that is how it should be done, Duke Nightmare might have an elaborate entrance, the Mystery Man reappeared in an elegant manor. I called for my cabin boy to bring hot water and I did not even notice who handed me the pail. The cabin boy asked if I needed anything else, I said no but the cabin boy asked if I wanted information about the other pirates. And that is when I noticed the cabin boy was the Ace of Spades. The Mystery Man had obtained the title of Master Thief in Brechtur and then stole a whole fleet and sailed it half way around the continent. Our fleets will merge and sail for the Southlands.
Day 339 The celebration was glorious, Pirates from Bechtur drinking with Anuireans. The Mystery Man had hired every Rjurik mercenary, marine, and sailor and bought anything that could float. The Mystery Man had even befriended a band of goblin thieves that had build an improvised flotilla and have kept adding to it to keep it afloat. Men from many races drank for a day and a night. I think the sound of their singing kept the Boeruine Navy away. The Royal Flush Gang now has a fleet of ships to be feared.
Day 345 I was not sure what to do with the goblins. I did not think it fair to the creatures to turn them over to Duke Nightmare but I did not want goblins amongst the navy. I can use the better thieves in the spy network but the flotilla is laterally their whole clan. So with that in mind I have ordered the goblin clan to seize the Baerghos Island. I am going to make sure the flotilla makes land and leave them with a sizable amount of food, lumber, and other supplies. I will also give the goblins all prisoners of war and any men under discipline as slaves.
Day 351 The combined fleet of the Royal Flush Gang has surely sent shockwaves up and down Anuire and now I will sit back and watch what happens. With the return of the Mystery Man I now have nothing to worry about and soon all my enemies will either be dead or bent to the will of the New Dark God.
Day 377 Nothing really went the way I planned it this year but everything turned out in my favor. Maybe the joke was on me the whole time.
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