 A threatening ransom note  Tarkin wasn't easy to locate | The Fellowship had gathered for a meeting in the guildtower when Sinoval noticed a message of some sort laying on the ground outside. Upon closer examination, it seemed to be a ransom note addressed to a "Tarkin of Britain" from a band of pirates led by a corsair named Meriwether. It demanded 100,000 gold pieces be placed in a barrel on the Buc's Den docks the following day or Tarkin's daughter, Ambelyne, would be found in several barrels the day after. The assembled Knights, Shen, Sinoval and Shainsung, set out at once for Britain to find Tarkin and deliver the message.
After searching the city, they finally found the elderly man at the West Britain Bank. He was asking nearly any passerby if they had seen his daughter Ambelyne who was overdue after booking passage on a ship from Skara Brae to come visit him for his birthday, which was that day.
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 Captain Burnrock of Jhelom | Arriving in Jhelom, the group now had to find Captain Burnrock. After cruising all the local alehouses and bars, he was located stumbling about the docks. At first, he refused to even talk to the group but after a few goodwill gifts of the alehouse's finest brew, his tongue began to loosen. He finally admitted to knowing of Meriwether, but would only give the group some info in return for doing some dirty work for him.
Apparently, he often met up with illegal shipments of goods on that far side of the island in the middle of the night, far from the eyes of tax collectors and import duties inspectors who ran the docks. Part of the peril in this operation were the frequent attacks by giant serpents looking for a midnight snack, namely Captain Burnrock himself. He charged the group with slaying a fair number of these creatures and bringing back their hides as proof. He also constantly poked fun at Sinoval's wardrobe to the amusement of everyone(except Sinoval). | ||
 Burnrock's tongue loosens |
When the hides had been collected and brought back to Burnrock, he was still reluctant to trust them and finally challenged them to a drinking contest. Sinoval, with his known affinity for copious consumption of distilled spirits, accepted on behalf of the group. Two lines of ale were set out, 10 bottles for each person. The first to drink their way to the finish line was the winner. Of course, Burnrock cheated and started first, hoping to just get some free booze out of this, but Sinoval had years of tavern experience and was no slouch either. His drinking prowess perhaps exceeding his combat skills, he managed to drink ahead of Captain Burnrock and won by one bottle!
Captain Burnrock kept his word this time and told them the name of Meritwether's ship, Mistress of the Surf, and that it had been last seen sailing along the coast, southwest of Trinsic. The group left behind the staggering pirate to search for the ship and find Meriwether. | ||
 The ship's logbook | The group began searching the coastline by first sailing on a ship, but soon found they covered ground faster on horseback, riding through the verdant jungles of the south seas. After some time, they finally came upon a deserted ship, adrift and deserted, southwest of Trinsic. Reading the transom, it was indeed the Mistress of the Surf, Meriwether's ship. Boarding the silent vessel, the group found the deck strewn with all sorts of weapons and pieces of armor, perhaps the scene of some ferocious battle. In the cargo hold, they found the ship's logbook, written by none other than the elusive Meriwether.
The pages of the logbook described how Meriwether had heard of a ship coming south from Skara, bound for Britain, laden with goods of all sorts that would make for easy plundering. After waiting for a few days, the pirates finally found and captured the ship and took a young lady hostage. Meriwether's log then described how they had sent a ransom note to her father, Tarkin, and were anxiously waiting his reply while they sat at anchor in a bay, hidden from other passing ships. The final log entry said the ship had been set upon and surrounded by a group of savages in small boats from a tribe known to live in a village north of Delucia and that there was no escape. Meriwether wrote that he was going to try to offer the girl to them in exchange for safe passage out of the bay for he and his crew but doubted the savages would keep their word. From the look of things on the ship, it certainly seemed like Meriwether's doubts about the savages had not been unfounded and they had all likely been slaughtered even after giving the girl Ambelyne to the savages. The group was now hot on the trail of rescuing Ambelyne and set out at once for the savage village north of Delucia. | ||
 Savages attack |
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 Back in Delucia |
Once regrouped some distance from the village, bandages were applied and wounds healed as the group set out for the safety of Delucia. Upon arriving, Ambelyne procured some clothes and thanked the Knights profusely for rescuing her and asked the favor of having them tell her father that she would be joining him shortly after she had rested a bit.
Upon hearing the news from the group, now arrived in Britain, Tarkin was overjoyed and greatly relieved. He thanked the group and gave them some gold and his most heartfelt gratitude. He sweetly sobbed now that he knew that his daughter was safe and that he would be seeing her soon, his birthday wish, now come true. | ||
 A Father's Wish... Fulfilled | |||
