The Kinstrife

Part 1

In which a merchant prince sends his youngest son to investigate the loss of a merchantman carrying a special cargo; by coincidence, another father in Bozisha Dar has sent his daughter to report on the political situation in Pelargir; Captain Neithan proves a hero; ambush on the return.

Ragnor is sent in to the Ethir Anduin from Pelargir by his father to retrieve a cargo lost to pirates.

The cargo is special: Queen Mûrabeth has collected cash donations from the Lebennin and Morthond nobility. She asked Olthador of House Miruvor, her cousin, to ship the money to her father, Telemnar, in Umbar. She did not tell her husband, the usurper, Castimir.

The treasure ship vanished in the Ethir Anduin. Neithan, the Captain of the Ethir, told Olthador that it had been attacked by outlaws hiding in the Ethir salt marshes and all the money was stolen.

With Ragnor went his Quenya tutor, Brand, and Bauglir, a port official from Pelargir, on the Maid of Hyarpende captained by Mate Elfhild (a woman) and crewed by Brego, Haldir and Duilin, the ship's drunk.

We arrived March 3^rd at the Ethir Garrison to find Neithan absent, in action against the pirate stronghold of Fenuilond but he returned late the next day with a sizeable portion of the stolen treasure. He also captured Conath, one of the leading pirates.

While waiting for Neithan, Ragnor discovered that Bauglir had clandestine contacts in the Ethir, someone whom he claimed was a kinswoman but it seems he's not above spying, though for whom is unknown.

When Ragnor met Neithan, with him was Aerin, a woman of noble, though mixed, descent from Umbar. Neithan asked her to be his factotum in Pelargir.

Ragnor arranged for the trip back to be delayed so he could send word to his father. While waiting, Brand and Aerin spent a pleasant day picking medicinal flowers but a more adventurous excursion to some allegedly haunted ruins must be postponed to another day.

On the trip back, pirates laid an ambush, seeking to free the captive, but they were beaten off without too much trouble (Brand conducting himself very well indeed) and we even captured one of the boarders.

Conath proved fairly untalkative but the little he did say confirmed that the pirates had advanced warning of the treasure shipment and that King Castamir is aware of it, despite the Queen's deviousness.

We arrived back in Pelargir March 23^rd after a brief stop to collect confirmation from Ragnor's father that it was right to proceed. The captive pirates were handed over to the authorities and Ragnor escorted Aerin to her new residence in Neithan's town house before heading up the hill to converse with his father.

There is more to the theft of this treasure than meets the eye. Someone tipped off the pirates and only a handful of people knew of its true value. Obviously Olthador (Ragnor's father) chose a trustworthy captain but perhaps this treasure was meant to be stolen all along?