In Which Danger Appears on the High Seas

Admiral Henks Gooley of Seaward to King Davin of Bentlefay, by special messenger:

Your majesty,

I regret to inform you that the patrol ship Vigilant was engaged in battle and sunk three days ago by an enemy vessel bearing Norhammer flags. The captain went down with the ship, and two men died afterward of wounds received during the battle, but all other hands were taken aboard the Dawn Runner and the Alvarade, which came upon the wreckage a day later in the course of their own patrol.

The survivors of the attack are convalescing here in Seaward under strict supervision. The ship’s mate was among them, and has reported to me fully, as set forth below.

The mate assures me that the attack was unexpected and unprovoked. The Vigilant was sailing well within international waters very close to the Bentlefay side, and in any case, the nearest territory would have been Abliki, not Norhammer.

The attack occurred just before dawn, and the night being moonless, the enemy vessel was able to get almost within bowshot before the Vigilant was aware of it. There has been some controversy as to whether the watch was remiss in failing to see the attack coming sooner, but as the watch was not among the survivors, the question would appear to be moot.

It is uncontested that once the watch did see the enemy vessel and give the warning, the response from below decks was swift. Unfortunately by the time the situation could be assessed, the vessel was within bowshot and loosing arrows, and while the crew returned vigorously, their opponents were using burning arrows, and the sails quickly caught fire and became a liability.

The mate gave the order to abandon ship, the captain having fallen early in the battle, and the white flag was run up. The survivors took to boats, and were apprehensive of their exposure since it was by no means certain that Norhammer would recognize and observe the white flag protocol. But the attack ceased, and as they pulled away from the wreckage of the Vigilant in the early light of dawn, they saw the figure of the enemy captain at his rail, bathed in a ray of light.

The mate is not ordinarily an imaginative man, but he waxed poetic on the subject of his enemy. He was apparently fair with the beauty of devils, and dressed in the brightly colored Norhammer uniform and outlined in a nimbus of sunlight, he appears to have made a powerful impression. He raised a megaphone and called to them in the heavy northern accent.

“You have fought well, and it is an honor to have defeated you,” he said. “We of Norhammer salute you; we will honor your fallen; and we will aid you in bringing the story of our triumph home to your people.”

He waved a hand to his men, who lowered a cask on a rope and pushed it out to the boats. “Here are provisions for three days, including fresh water. Never let it be said that Norhammer would doom an honorably defeated foe.

“You will also find a scroll – a message to your king. Preserve it well, and bring it to him.”

He paused and then laughed. “Tell him, it is a message from an old friend.”

The ship remained until the mate had taken up the cask and verified its contents, then the enemy crew saluted the boats and raised sails. They were last seen disappearing over the horizon to the northwest of the battle, presumably bound for Norhammer.

I enclose the scroll, still sealed, for your attention. All ships in the fleet will henceforth go under the strictest guard, prepared for war.

With respect, your majesty, I remain,
Admiral Henks Gooley, R.N.B.

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Mortimer Bleake, Royal Advisor to King Stanislaus of Norhammer, to King Davin and Queen Christina of Bentlefay

Your majesties,

As you see, my threat was not an empty one. I do hope you had not been disinclined to take it seriously. I believe you will agree that I have chosen my allies more wisely this time. Norhammer’s rulers are in every way more intelligent, more courageous and more ruthless than the idiot-kings of Marshweather.

Pursuant to which, I believe young Hugo has recently been enjoying your hospitality. You have my sympathy – deeply as you have wronged me, young Hugo is not a houseguest I would wish upon my worst enemy. If he is still there, tell him from me that I never intended him to inherit that throne, and his subjects will probably have wished it so after a few years of his management.

Ah well, all of that is gone into history – as will Bentlefay, if my plans mature. You may take this message, as you will already have taken the attack if I have your measure, as a declaration of war. Norhammer is a nation which has gone undefeated on land and sea for its entire history, and is accustomed to view any land upon which it sets its sights to be its rightful property. Their motivation is conquest, but mine is purely personal.

In anticipation of our next meeting,
Mortimer Bleake, H.M.R.A., O.H.M.