Piracy on the Sundering Sea (Part 3)
Vendola - The character and umpire reports
Vendola Inhabitant’s Accounts
Werden Son of Whelk
Startday 1st of the Fourth Moon 70ATN In the Torre dei Nani
I was still in bed when I
heard the triangle ring from the roof above. I immediately arose to check with
those up there. Sergeant Moohlag was on duty with one of the Cog’s crew. He kept
ringing the triangle as we could now see three Lymphads gliding past into the
harbour. I was too late to see the first but the second and third two flew the
Thentian flag. More of my dwarves were coming up as we went into battle
stations. “Hold your fire, Varadh is not at war with Thentis and I hope to keep
it that way! They may only be coming in to trade!” Alerted by our noise, we
could hear the triangle on the Torre del Porto ringing out though they may not
actually have seen the arrivals the fog was so dense. The three Lymphads were
followed by a cog flying the Faraese flag. Then we heard the alarm trumpet
blasts from the Torre Grande. “They will be calling out the militia just as a
precaution. This may be an entirely innocent visitation.” I said.
“Hope that it is not a visitation such
as we had at Tikjolit, said the cog’s Captain Regand.
“There Orange son of Oke,
after some exchanges of missiles, made a deal with the Thentians. However he had
many good horses to trade.”
“Bikon preserve us, it is like that
these people have a grudge against those Nef’s. They should be part of the
Azeladian fleet but were on the losing side. It may be that there will be
bloodshed on the other side. If so we will have to live here after the Thentians
have left! We must fire on them as they attempt to leave!”
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Then two more Lymphads came
out of the mist! This seemed to be clearing a little and the wind veered to from
the SSW. I decided that we had better take an active part. “Fire at will
dwarves!”
Soon our mangonel achieved
a fine hit on the waterline of a black hulled lymphad. It must have holed her as
we then saw water being bailed out over the side. The improved visibility meant
we could see that missiles were
being fired from the Torre del Porto as well. I guessed that the enemy were
intent on attacking the Nef Lamtotir in a continuation of the Azeladian civil
war.
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We fired the mangonel a
couple more times but then the vessels disappeared into the murk. Then a felucca
appeared being rowed towards us. On it was Consigliore Peter with half a dozen
militia spearmen. According to him the raiders were overwhelming the port. They
had scores of expert archers shooting everything that moves and he was lucky to
escape! Later when the mist fully cleared, we could see the Azeladian nef on
fire but the hostile vessels had sailed on up the Ven.
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Donna Spia Legnati, report written for the Consiglio of Vendola
On
the 27th of the Third Moon my lookout on the
Torreta Cima (top turret) reported
that there was a ship near the horizon to the ESE. I went up to confirm this and
we guessed after a while, that it was not moving. I told my husband the
Comandare about this and he thought it might be an Elysian fishing vessel.
On
the 28th of the Third Moon the vessel was still in position near the
horizon. Don Tecnico thought that it was a cog rather than a warship. Capitano
Uccello suggested that it might be a scout vessel set to report on the vessels
coming and going from the Port, the Nefs in particular! He suggested that
Maestro Tagliarto take the guard boat out to challenge it!
My
husband (The Comandare) thought that it would be too far out for the crew to
row! However he deemed it a suspicious happening and passed the word to the crew
of the Nef Lamtotir and the Commanders of the Militia squads. The vessel was
still there at dusk of the 28th. Early
on the morning of Startday 1st of the Fourth Moon we were awakened by
the triangle being sounded from the
Torreta Cima. The Comandare suggested that I rise and find out why it was
being sounded. I ascended to the roof and the Abigail Flora told me that both of
the harbour entrance towers had been sounding their triangles. Nothing could be
seen as there was a thick fog, common at this time of year when the wind was
from the south. I could hear that those triangles were still ringing so to be on
the safe side I ordered Flora to bring up the trumpeter Toni. I then ordered the
maid on the turret to light the flambeaux. She had it lit by the time that Toni
arrived and could blow the alarm call. I knew that as soon as that was heard, my
husband and all the others would start to put their armour on. All the militia
squads would be called out.
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This is the position on the table, move 1 at
dawn 0530 12” visibility (D/L)
Wind South speed 8” You will be dicing
each move with a D20 for the fog to thin out.
The Abigail Signorina Flora Decenza
Shortly after my sainted mistress wrote the above, a column of enemy ships
arrived and she was slain by an arrow in her throat. I went to her to see if
there was anything I could do with the first aid satchel in her charge but she
was dead. I had been assisting with reloading the trebuchet but Don Mecanico who
took over command of the top of the Torre ordered me to continue her account. I
also took charge of the first aid kit. Meanwhile Don Mecanico ordered the
trumpeter Toni to stop blowing the alarm. He thought that everyone would have
heard it by now. He could make himself useful by throwing stones at the enemy.
Also the Don called to the maid Almiera, who was on the lookout turret, to raise
the Elysian Banner and then come down to take my place on the trebuchet. Down
below Comandare Alfonso ordered the Capitano to sortie out to assist the crew of
the nef who were now arriving on the Comandare’s Quay. Against this were now
three enemy lymphads although only the first was fully alongside due to a
Felucca and a rowboat already being moored there. By now the fog had cleared
significantly and we could see that there was a cog and two more Lymphads coming
to support the first three. Krosus
preserve us all!
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Poor Pia who joined Toni throwing stones by throwing stone standing on top of
the wall fell over it and Toni fell back with an arrow in his thigh. I
immediately pulled it out and bandaged it but he was still in great pain.
Signora Cuoca and Maria took their places and soon I had to pull an arrow out of
Maria’s chest. Luigi the crossbowman then called out
“Prete’s Dinelux and Elano are both down
and their men are running!”
Sergente Piume added “Sergente Paludo and the watch are running too! I can see
the Capitano lying dead!”
Signora Cuoca jumped back behind the wall “The Militia and the ship’s crew are
all fleeing too. Those that can, for there are many bodies lying there!”
The
cross bow men sheltered back, so Don Tecnico ordered us to stop firing. “It may
be that these people only wish to deal with the pirates! If we cease hostile
action, they may leave this Torre and the town alone?”
And
so it proved! The enemy set fire to the nef, capturing the women who were still
aboard and then sailed inland up the Ven distributary. They stole the Felucca
and rowing boats that were the Comandare’s personal property! The Comandare came
up from below to find his beloved wife dead. He ordered me to make a count of
our casualties.
Dead in from the Torre Grande were Donna Spia, Capitano Uccello, the maid Pia
with Trumpeter Toni and the maid Maria wounded. The Militias lost Prete Dinelux,
Construttore Elemo and eleven men dead, with Prete Elano sore wounded.
According to the Mate Bluebad the Nef lost, Comander Victor FizValente, Captain
Mardel, Don Scouro, Wizard Wazim and eleven men dead. Four women including
Signora Jazan the wife of Wizard Wazim were captured. We also found a sorely
wounded Dabbric spearman left lying on the quay. That makes thirty one dead,
four known wounded and four women captured.
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Signora Jazan wife of the Wizard Wazim
After the fight where our bow was stove in, the men plugged the hole with a sail
and escorted by the Evasofah we limped to Vendola, a port friendly to everyone.
There the nef was heaved up onto rollers to be repaired. Because it was the bow
that had been stove in this would be a long job. The crew filled up the sailors
hostel but we women and the officers stayed aboard the ship. The Sklavis
Innkeepers Pedro and Perdita had made a fortune spying for Conte Colombo and
wanted to retire somewhere. Finding no opportunities in Vendola, they hired a
passage on a cog going to Sumeer. They were expecting
to better themselves there. Hearing that it would take more than a week to
repair the Lamtotir, Commander Giacomo
Estori of the Evasofah said there was no point in him remaining as well. So he
took his nef out to sea on the 19th hoping to intercept more ships
travelling to and from Azelad. Naturally after so long blockading Sklavis our
crew went wild roistering in the town.
However when their money was mostly spent they quietened down. Repairs to our
nef were taking longer than expected. Then on a foggy dawn the alarm trumpet was
sounded on the big tower. Our men and the two Taziz female guards went up on
deck but we women were ordered to stay below.in the cabin. We could watch out of
the glazed cabin windows. These were a luxury purchased from the elves. Soon our
drum began to beat, summoning our men from the Sailor’s hostel. Then a lymphad
moored very close to us and missiles from it killed Commander Victor and my
husband Wazim. Militia men from the port swarmed up with our crew but many were
falling to the enemy fire. Some boarded a felucca and sought to assail the
Lymphad on its port side. {Improperly it had moored its starboard side to the
quay!} But they were driven off in a panic. Heading towards the Torre Dei Nani,
they were rammed by another lymphad and I saw two men thrown into the water.
Then all the men on the Quay started to run away so ours on deck did as well. We
were left with half a dozen militia led by a priest. However when these realised
that no-one else was fighting they abandoned us too!
The
enemy now had a cog in support of the lymphad and men with great bundles of
straw were coming and placing them around the nef. So I led out Salome and the
two maids to surrender to a knight Sir Francis Delacroix, brother of the Duke of
Wardour who was leading the raiders.
Raid on Vendola Raider’s Accounts
Duke Pietro of Rathen
With the repairs to the St.
Gilbert accelerated, we were ready to sail on the 24th of the Third
Moon. In the meanwhile we constructed six ladders and six rams, one for each
ship. Those that had been made for Tikjolit and then used at Tikhar, had been
taken with the armies to Mirimaz. Our fleet arrived off Vendola at the dusk of
the 26th. Captain Redmond recognised the tall turret that stands on
top of the Torre Grande keep there. Since the plan was for a dawn attack, we
drew further out to sea and anchored. The
waters near to the Arwyn delta tend to be shallow enough. In the morning the
wind was from the East and very strong. The captain said it was too
strong and would stop us sailing out again. So we remained anchored except for
the Cog Elizabeth. At daybreak I ordered it to sail to within sight of the port
and anchor. It could then help us head in the right direction for the dawn
attack. It was said that fishing cogs were sometimes seen in this area. However
the wind was near as bad on Restday the 28th. So we stayed anchored
all another day. Fortunately we did not sight any other vessels. That night the
wind dropped and backed to the South. In the small hours I hoisted the red
lantern to indicate that we were to make the attempt for the coming dawn. So we
hauled up the anchors and headed for the Elizabeth. She too hauled up her anchor
and sailed towards our goal. After an hour she hove to, so that we caught up
with her.
Sir Maulfrey called out,
“There is a great bank of fog ahead Your Grace!”
“It often happens here Sire! When the
Southerly winds bring up warm air it meets the Arwyn waters, cold from the snow
melt up in the mountains!” quoth Captain Redmond.
I asked, “Sir Maulfrey can
you still lead us to the port?”
“It lieth somewhere on the
starboard bow Your Grace!”
“Then let us all head due west! We shall
surely reach the land and then follow it northwards until we hit the port!”
“But Sire, there are rocks on that part
of the coast!” protested Captain Redmond.
“Then let us proceed at half speed and
keep a good lookout! Sir Maulfrey do you follow us now! Captain how long
is the fog likely to last?”
“Sometimes it clears if it be sunny
above, otherwise it might last all day!”
So we led the fleet into
the fog with the sails reefed. Sure enough in time we did see rocks ahead and
tooting a trumpet blast, veered to starboard. Since the wind was now full behind
us we speeded up, keeping the shore just within sight. Somehow the ship behind
us was now the Saint Melania, but we could not see who was behind her. “A tower
to port!” shouted someone on the fore castle. That must be the Dwarves Tower! So
you whispered “Veer to port into the harbour and speed up!” to Captain Redmond.
So he un-reefed the sail and we glided blind to where the Torre Grande should
be! {4” speed -1”} Behind us there was the noise of an iron item being beaten on
the Dwarf Tower, to be joined by another to starboard. Then a clarion trumpet
call came from ahead!
This is the position on the table, move 1 at
dawn 0530 12” visibility (D/L)
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We headed for where the
trumpet sound seemed to be coming from. Then first a quay and then a great tower
behind it loomed up. There were two boats moored along the quay but we passed
them and saw the blue nef up on rollers on top of the quay. We moored and poured
fire on those on the nef and the many foes swarming towards us across the quay.
Some even boarded a felucca and sought to assail us on our port side. We drove
them off and they rowed away for all they were worth speeding of towards the
Dwarf Tower. To our right we saw troops sortie out of the big tower but their
knight was shot down and soon they started to run. This panicked those on the
quay in front of us and they and those on the nef also fled. The fire from the
big tower also ceased so Sir Francis led our men carrying the bails of straw to
lay them around the nef. Seeing this, four women emerged from the nef’s cabin
and asked for quarter. They were led by a Signora Jazan the wife of a Dabbric
Wizard whom we had slain. Meanwhile the Saint Fabiola and the Saint Lioba had
joined us but I waved them on upstream. Doubtless we would be able to emerge
from some other distributary of the Arwyn. I ordered the Saints Melania and
Amadour to follow them. The Saint Melania collected a rowing boat that was
moored by the quay and the St Amador did the same with a felucca. The cog
Elizabeth had moored beyond the Nef in support but I ordered her to follow the
rest. Sure that the nef was well ablaze we rowed out and raised the sails to
take us upriver. Perhaps we might have burned Risenstar’s Palazzo but at what
cost. We knew Risenstar had been killed at Elar and the Larete Balokha had
suffered many other blows recently. Was it worth it? The enemy militias might
have rallied and who knew what forces might yet be called up to oppose us.
Having captured one nef and now destroyed the other we had proved that piracy
was a dangerous game! I trusted that the Consigliori of Vendola would take good
note of that!
Checking through the fleet
I discovered that our casualties had been light. Only the Prioress Temperance
two crossbowmen and a sailor were dead. Only the woman warrior Miss likely and
two soldiers had been wounded. The Saint Fabiola had two small leaks due to
mangonel hits but nothing serious.
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Lady Ethel Tangent
To Lady Megan Tangent at Pordoro Bridge
Written this 1st of the Fourth Moon 707ATN
Dearest Mama,
I write to you again regarding our latest action against the pirates of
the Arwyn Delta. Back in Sklavis we were joined by a Lymphad the St. Lioba and a
cog the Elizabeth from our own beloved Fara. They were commanded by Conte
Calzone Zippoli. He with Duke Pietro and Lady Margeuritte decided that we should
go and destroy the damaged nef in Vendola harbour! So when the St. Gilbert was
repaired we sailed out into the Sundering Sea once more. We encountered very
strong easterly winds that we dared not go too close to the shore. On the third
day of waiting the wind dropped and changed to be from the south. So we were
ordered to try and attack around dawn. In the event there was a dense mist and
somewhere we lost the St. Fabiola and the St. Lioba. However our other four
ships managed to find the port entrance and creep in. The left hand tower did
not fire on us as we passed but we heard ringing sounds and then from ahead the
blast of a trumpet. There was a river current against us and the wind changed to
the SSW which impeded our progress. Our Saint Amadour was third in line as the
great tower guarding the port came into view. The enemy’s fire went mostly
against the vessels ahead, drawing alongside the quay. There was a felucca
between it and us and we could see soldiers coming along towards us. I fired my
springald at a man in red but the ship rocked with a wave and I missed! My
second shot brought him down however! We could see masses of enemies surging
towards the St. Gilbert in particular and more came out of the door at the
bottom of the big tower. They were led by a knight in plate armour, so I shot
him! The ones on the Quay to the right had crossbowmen, who fired at us. They
had another man dressed in red, so
I shot him too. That made his men run away and it affected the others. Soon
there was no-one left in sight and no more missiles came from the big tower. Men
from the St. Gilbert then brought out hay bales and set fire to the nef. Duke
Pietro signalled that we were all to proceed upriver. So Lady Margeuritte
ordered our people to set a tow rope to the Felucca, so we could take it with
us. The St. Melania did the same with a rowboat that was moored there. As we
sailed off we could see that the nef was now a mass of flames. So that is the
second pirate ship that will not be a problem in future!
Your ever dutiful daughter Ethel
Vendola Games Master’s Account
Vendola first appeared in a
Convention Game played at ‘Claymore’ in 1985. It was only our third outing and
it was really too long and complicated for a Convention Game. In fact we had to
finish the game back in Bathgate. Titled Isuelt’s Curse, the players had to
solve the mystery of how the Grand Duchess Consort of Fara had been afflicted
with madness and boils. The Sage Bue Kherrin magically divined that the source
was the evil witch Mirziam, based in Vendola. She had attended the same
Lucrecian Convent as Isuelt as Mirabelle Fitzscifon and hated the virtuous and
beautiful Grand Duchess to be. Expelled for writing poison pen letters, she
became the apprentice of a Wizard devotee of
Balyell the Magho of dirty tricks.
From Vendola, Mirziam now Lady Vatheck, escaped, moving to the City of Sumeer.
There she and her empty headed wastrel husband built up a vice empire. She later
disappeared but a century later her bones were discovered in the Quercial Forest
by Dame Morgana Lefey. That was last year in 706ATN in Morval Earth chronology.
Alas I could only find the paperwork for Isuelt’s Curse III which took place in
Sumeer. The first and second adventures were missing. All I could remember was
that a blue sheet was used for the water, my basic keep tower and that I made
two of the six oared guard boats for it. With this action taking a century later
of course, there were bound to be changes. Needing a lot of quayside pieces, I
decided to make new ones. For years I have been using the Grey ones used for
quays on the River Arwyn. I have also the larger cobble topped ones made for the
Victorian London Docks and which I used for Tikjolit. So I used some timber
offcuts, all around 18mm thick. Thinking that in the delta brick might be
commoner than stone I painted them brown with grey stone kerbs. I scribed the
slabs with biro in the same way as I do the roofs of buildings. I drafted out
the wind possibilities but when we diced for them they were too strong for
Alan’s taste. He being afraid that his ships would not be able to leave, hence
the two days delay. The fog also was as a result of the dicing. Not thought
about was the possibility of sailing up into the Arwyn Delta and leaving by
another distributary! However in the event that is what he did. Alan had
exceptionally good luck in this action with his missile fire successfully
picking off Officers and routing the enemy who did little damage in return. The
melees also were wholly one sided and the defenders magic failed apart from
changing the wind direction! He decided against attacking the Larete Balokha
stronghold but the way things went he would have succeeded there too. Alas
Richard has to leave for a while so I had to play his part on the third evening.
One could not help noticing how effective the fleets springald fire was. The one
on the St. Gilbert manned by ordinary engineers fired on the stern castle of the
nef which was packed with Officers and accounted for Commander Victor, the
Wizard Wazim and Captain Leon with those hit diced for in proportion. The one on
the Ste Amadour was aimed by the crack-shot lady Ethel, who as an officer could
choose her targets. Her picking off the two Priests leading the D Squad of
militia triggered the rout which spread to most of the defending forces. She
also killed Capitano Uccello, who sortied out leading the watch troops from the
Torre Grande. Taken with her exploits in the second Sundering Sea action I feel
she must be due to be dubbed a Dame. This reveals some of the differences in
rankings in different Morval Earth states. Lady Ethel is a Faraese of Edini
descent worshipping Eru and at
present there are no Dames in Fara! Lady Margeuritte is rated higher than the
fighting Dames in her crew because of her political clout as a representative of
the Alpenais region attached to Thentis.