The Logbooks

by Olya P

This is a collection of ten volumes bound in dark leather and numbered in golden ink from II to XII on their spine. Each volume has a leather strip attached to the backcover that can be wrapped around the tome to bind it close, a leftover of their origin as navigation journals.
These slender volumes narrate the adventures of Yarik as a pirate on board of The Ferret. They are briefly prefaced by the account of their voyage on board of the slave ship from which he was freed.
The majority of their content is made up by dry accounts of ship routes, booties distributions and crew lists, but interspersed amongst them there are some personal reflections and longer narrations of events and discoveries.
Of particular interest is the insertion of single pages dedicated to each crew member detailing any hints about character disposition, potential problematic traits and ideas on the best way to manage them, starting from some time before Yarik formally took the role of Quartermaster of the Ferret.

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The Logbooks

"... 5th month of the year
We lost sight of the land the day after leaving Fern Bay and steered towards the south-west, having variable winds the first week with much thunderstorms and rain. The remainder of this passage the winds were favourably and steadily blowing between the north and east. There were almost every day great numbers of painted gulls, coral petrels, and other oceanic birds following us; but I observed that if the wind came from the south, the birds generally left us, and their presence again was the forerunner of a northerly wind.
Day 18.
At noon on this day we were scudding on only a closereefed main topsail, the wind blowing strong from the east. An hour after the gale increased and blew with so much violence that the ship was almost capsized before we could take in the salis.
Day 19.
In the afternoon the sea ran so high that it became very unsafe to stand on: we brought to the wind again, and remained lying to all night without accident with the exception of the man at the wheel who was thrown about and much bruised.
Day 20.
Towards noon the violence of the storm abated and we resumed navigation as normal. In the afternoon we saw a small group of dark finned whales passing us by to the west.
We continued running westward, it being our intention to make the island of Bada by the end of the month to replenish our stock of food and fresh water...

... From the hold of the Roebuck we've recovered:

7 rolls of fine silk

45 pieces of fine clothing

2 casks of tcha leaves

1 cask of widow's root

1 cask of gold stain powder

1 gallon of purple ink

20 small gold ingots

5 casks of rhum

7 casks of red wine

5 casks of oat

4 casks of barley

4 casks of apples

The food and beverage has been added to our own stock.
The crew received 2 units of extra rhum each and the officers got their personal flasks replenished from the acquired booty.
The clothes has been divided among the crew, those who didn't receive clothes got 2 lenghts of silk instead.
A bag of tcha leaves was distributed to each crew member and the ink well of all those who can write was replenished.
We plan to sell the rest at Kitanda City and further divide the gains...

... Thefri Precu
The man has been in the crew for the past two months and so far caused no troubles. He displays a quiet and mellow character and is prone to follow orders without complaints.
Despite this I noticed a proclivity to heavy gambling and when under the effect of alchool seems to express some resentment towards the Captain and other women of the crew.
In one such occasion he stated that the command should be given to the "strongest among the men" rather than to the most capable and knowledgeable person.
I will make sure he's shadowed by one of our trusted male crewmen who can show him the respect Etha gained among them, before she decides to take the matters in her own hands.

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• Yarik