City of Sinister Angles

Shadows On A Cave Wall

A very reliable trade wind blew from Thule to Sham-I-Bala each year in the summer, and back again in the fall. This made for a very lucrative and, consequently, dangerous trade route. Years of piracy and opportunism had given the trade winds a bloody reputation and a name to match: the Red Winds.

It was in exactly these sort of dog eat dog conditions where House Totenkopf thrived, the fattest of the carrion crows. The Red Winds is where the Totenkopfs plundered the treasure necessary to buy their way into high society, and they continued to throttle every last pfenning from the route.

It was reckless to ply such a trade route in as vulnerable a position as House Oberon found itself, but recklessness was the last option open to the disgraced merchant house. Now legally pirates in their home country, with the pirate who ruined them taking their place in the seats of power, the Oberons would need to be daring to have any chance at reclaiming their rightful place among the Great Houses.

Daring, but not suicidal. The flotilla of Oberon Merchantmen was protected by the pride of the Oberon Navy, the symbol of the wealth and power of House Oberon, the legendary Princess Fairy.

The Princess Fairy was 180 feet long and boasted 47 heavy cannons and 151 light cannons. 60 gunners and more than 300 sailors from the most loyal and competent Oberon vassal families manned the vessel. Her coral-colored sails and butterfly-woman masthead represented terror to the foes of House Oberon for more than a generation.

With the protection of the Princess Fairy, the Oberon Council of Directors were willing to risk the Red Winds.

* * *

The crew of the Princess Fairy ran back and forth across the deck, pulling hard on lines as salty water crashed around them, struggling desperately against the wind to bring the ship around.

A pack of three Totenkopf privateers had formed a line with their broadsides aimed at the Princess Fairy's bow. The Fairy could easily destroy the smaller ships, if she could just aim her cannons at them.

Another volley of cannonballs tore through several decks of the Princess Fairy, splintering the floorboards and causing several rigging lines to snap. One of the sails spun around and the spar knocked a sailor overboard. Almost no one noticed.

The sailor's name was Bartram Digsby.

* * *

Bartram woke up vomiting sea water on a beach. He coughed and sputtered before stumbling to his feet.

His clothes were soaked through, frayed, and the side he had been lying on covered with a thin layer of sand. Bartram tried unsuccessfully to brush some of this off.

He seemed to have washed up on an island.

It took Bartram a moment to gather his wits, but he soon began to form a plan. He would need to build a fire as quickly as possible to attract the attention of any passing ship, with any luck the Fairy herself.