Author. Ofelia Dumont.
Participants. Ofelia Dumont, 'Bosun', Callan Ancaire, Grydda Kinhhalt.
Source. Firsthand with secondhand reports.
Location. Spire-Town, Southern Reach.
Topics. The Covetous Campaign.
Date of Incident(s). 3 Firstide 1641 C.E. through 12 Firstide 1641 C.E.
Account Begin
Firstide the 3rd.
On the 3rd of Firstide, just after sundown, the first mate of the wrecked ship 'Alimony's Due' rallied patrons of The Full Cask to help fish a trunk out of the wreckage. Some 20 citizens went to his aid, and upon arrival at the site South of town, assisted in saving drowning sailors and recovering bodies. Ten dead remained in the water, fourteen alive on land. The crew showed some hostility and claimed not to recognize the first mate, despite him knowing their names. Among them, he noted Pasquale, Eric, Lidia, and the deceased Captain Stilwater. The Siren's blessed, Callan Ancaire, recovered the trunk, and the patrons returned to the city.
Back in the tavern, the first mate explained that his crew found the iron trunk in a Valkian town "stomped by something bigger than any ship" and that "the things inside it will draw that same ruin [to] wherever we go." These items can not physically be destroyed or hidden; even if sunk to the lowest parts of the sea, they would be found. He elaborated that the Alimony's Due crashed while trying to escape from the pirates of the Requital, and when prompted, stated that some know of the chest's contents and capability to cause ruin, while others only see it as a treasure to be hunted.
And, unrelated to the chest in any capacity, the first mate (by the name of Hamish, but often referred to by his title of the 'Bosun') alluded to a curse of immortality brokered with a portent, "to be able to rise to the occasion in certain death, but the songs will never remember [him]." In essence, whenever he would die, all memories of him would be lost instead. When asked how long he had been alive, he simply answered "too long," and when asked how long he would stay, answered "as long as it takes."
Firstide the 5th.
A confrontation broke out between Callan and a member of the crew, Pasquale (in contemporary readings, I had heard the name oft paired with the title of 'The Squallsword,' although he is known to have impersonators), who demanded the chest from her. She obviously did not have it, as the trunk had been passed between many hands at this point. He was seemingly smote by Lucian and an arc of red lightning, although later, Harwyn expressed smelling lightning on Pasquale and noting lightning marks on his hat prior to his 'death.'
Following the fight, Bosun arrived at the scene to tend to wounds. When asked why he was still in the spire and what he was waiting for, he answered that he was waiting for the storm to pass and scouting for a crew to leave with the trunk for open seas.
Firstide the 11th.
Callan arrived at the sparring pit to inform of a hostage, Naia (also known by her stage name 'Shanty'), taken by the aforementioned pirates of the Requital onto a ship named the 'Vice and Velvet.' Allegedly, they demanded to know the name of whoever had the chest and requested it in the form of "a message in a bottle," which Callan elaborated upon in saying that they were not ordinary pirates, but could control the waves, likely in connection with the Siren Serene. Callan reported the pirates being armed as a reason for her getting on the ship in the first place, which she called abnormal.
Bosun suggested turning himself in, for as a stranger to the town, he would give the pirates less leverage than a known captive. He suggested that the town turn him in, as he has the information they want, and secretly deal with the chest while he is held captive. The gathering at the sparring pit seemed to come to a general agreement with this idea.
Councilwoman Vyra held an impromptu interview in the Town Hall, in which Bosun summarized the situation with brevity. A full transcription can be found below, though most of it summarizes what is already written.
When prompted, Bosun thoroughly explained the chest's contents. Quote,
"The chest is full of treasure from a levelled seaport.
Dismantled like a child's toys and dashed by waves before we could find bodies.
There is reason to believe the thing that made it happen is in that chest.
[. . .]
There is some manner of curse held in the chest, spreading about everything else inside.
I don't know what it sources from, but I've heard madmen speak of seeing it in the seas at night.
[. . .]
Whatever it is caused a great deal of death to everyone in proximity.
Much of what we collected still had hands holding it in a death grip.
I know not what it was that did it—
if something cast a spell, or commands the tides, or hits harder than we may fathom, it left a wake of death in a town whose name is washed away.
And when last I found someone looking, everything within was coated in barnacles.
Kelp.
Coral, maybe.
And it crept up the first hand to touch it until we cut it off."
Firstide the 12th.
Following this public interview, I conducted my own privately.
How long ago was the Valkian city destroyed?
“Not more than days.”
What, specifically, was it that destroyed the city? A tsunami?
“Unclear.
Something striking, battering over scenery.
Not winds.
Something physical.
Not tides.
Something intentional.”
What do the items look like?
“Covered in glowing veins and barnacles in the colours of red, gold, and blue.”
What happens when you try to destroy the items?
“They simply do not.
We could not remove the strange appearance from the original items either.”
How is it that the iron trunk remains unaffected by the curse?
“It likely has spread along the inside by now.
Not yet reaching beyond, hopefully.”
How are those seeking the trunk continually able to find it?
“Whether they follow me or have some method of locating it, I cannot say with certainty.
All I know is that they know.”
For what reason is the Requital seeking the trunk?
“Power.
They believe it would have the strength to reestablish a kingdom.”
Where is the key that would open the chest?
“With me.”
Will we forget your warnings when our memories of you are lost?
“I believe you will forget me.
Memories of me explaining may go with. Better to write it all down.”
How will you appear in our minds?
“I was told once, by a wife who fell for me twice, that the man she remembered was merely different from who she saw.
That she did not have a love like she felt now—
that it did not feel like she had said it before.
When I died again, I did not torment her with further falls.”
Full Transcription of the Public Town Hall Interview.
"The trunk is from the wreck of the Alimony's Due.
Helmed by myself and Captain Stilwater.
She was sent overboard during the storm that saw the vessel beached up the coast.
Callan is the one that managed to retrieve it.
The strongest swimmer we had there.
The crew was drowning, the rest were focused on saving them—
though I had brought the town specifically to find it.
[. . .]
When we brought it to town, it was asked that someone not myself watch over it—
[Redacted] was trusted with as much.
[. . .]
Drenmir, another of your council, was spoken to about it.
I am unsure where they have taken the trunk.
The ship that took that hostage—
Vice and Velvet—
is a part of the Requital.
Aristocrats.
They were pursuing us through the storm, we lost them in it.
It wouldn't be long before they found us again, so I was keen to put together a crew and leave with the trunk for the open seas again.
It seems we are not afforded the time.
One of a few cabals out there.
The treasure in the trunk is from Valk land, and they consider themselves to have claim to it.
As will others tied to the sea, or believers in the siren, or any amount of claimants.
There is some manner of curse held in the chest, spreading about everything else inside.
I don't know what it sources from, but I've heard madmen speak of seeing it in the seas at night.
[. . .]
Whatever it is [. . .] caused a great deal of death to everyone in proximity.
Much of what we collected still had hands holding it in a deathgrip.
I know not what it was that did it—
if something cast a spell or commands the tides or hits harder than we may fathom, it left a wake of death in a town whose name is washed away.
And when last I found someone looking, everything within was coated in barnacles.
Kelp.
Coral, maybe.
And it crept up the first hand to touch it until we cut it off."
When asked if it seemed a bad idea to run away with something so dangerous.
"I have had the argument a good many times, but I believe it is best /sealed/ away.
Which is not as easily done as being buried on the beach or dropped in the ocean."
When asked why he had it.
"To keep it from anyone else.
I was keen to leave with it when I could, but now it is costing your townsfolk."
When asked if it can be destroyed.
"Not from what we have seen.
A witch and I tried a good deal of different things.
I believe it may be a weapon already.
I need to trust you to try and keep it from the step of failure.
Plan that part without me.
When I turn myself over I want to know as little as possible."
Regarding his curse.
"This next part, I must say, is important—
so listen close.
When I am turned over, should they kill me, all memory of me will cease to be.
This is not related to the trunk or anything else.
I will be a stranger in your memory, if even that.
The product of a deal with a portent witch.
Gone from your mind will any sense of me be.
I had a duel that I feared I would not last, and I sought a witch to see my fate.
She offered that I would survive the fight, but never be in the stories.
Any instance that I should die, I do not, but all memory of me does.
Which is why I urge you to write it down. Circulate it.
This group has slain me before.
They do not know as much, but they have.
They strung me up by noose, to die and die and die again, and forgot even why they did it after the first.
And yet.
Tell as many as you may."
When asked if he had an estimate for the size of the pirate's fleet.
"Unfortunately, no.
I haven't a clue how they commune either, if they do."
- Report and transcriptions written by Scholar Ofelia Dumont.
Trunk Report.
The chest remains in the possession of [Redacted], who had also been warned by Hamish to keep it secured and sealed away from prying eyes. Fellow scholar Tamerlane, Adrian, I, and a handful of others were able to perform tests and observations through skillful deduction and spells.
I was able to figure out that the chest is of Valkain craftsmanship, as confirmed by recent discoveries. Forged from iron about two inches thick with visible rust, it shows clear signs of age, possibly centuries old, and long-term exposure to the elements out at sea. A maker's mark is present, the name "Thorne".
The lid is kept shut with a single keyhole, peering through it reveals light shining within in colors of blue, red, and gold. A metallurgy spell revealed nothing unusual about the interior, which is square-shaped, lacking any fastenings. An Aqueous Arcane Crystal does not appear to react while in its vicinity.
In summary, the chest itself does not appear inherently magical; however, the contents contained within remain concerning.
- Report provided by Field Researcher Grydda.
