Julius 27, 1669
(Unfinished Entry)

I suppose this is where the final showdown begins. 

I have just dished out the largest spanking to l’Empereur in the history of Theah. He has become the laughingstock of the world & rather nonplussed by that fact, I now have a price on my head that impresses even me. What’s worse, he has increased his stranglehold on the poor citizens & I can’t imagine how much more they can take! I’m sure I will get into the details later on, but suffice to say that I am officially on my way to Montaigne to overthrow that tyrant once & for all. It’s him or me now. I still don’t have a plan entirely flushed out, but I’ll have plenty of time to think about it. Figuring that the Montaigne would never expect pirates to arrive by land, Erik, McKrimmon, Dupré, Serpente & I are traveling on foot through Eisen. I will be leaving Gottskirken after breakfast to head for the mountains. 

Well, as one might imagine, the whole adventure began in Carleon, seated by the tree in front of the palace. It had been six months since I was last in Theah, so my first order of business was to get back in touch with the news. I had picked up a copy of “The Chareuse Sun” & began reading leisurely once my last journal entry was complete. Not much had changed, but a few news stories caught my attention. One especially would affect me a great deal, & in a way I certainly didn’t like! It seems that, in order to deal with the “problem of piracy”, the major nobles of Montaigne had licensed their shipping rights to Vendel. From here on, any ships worth taking are under the protection of a nation I truly don’t want as my enemy.  

In further news, General Montague had begun his trek back from Ussura, to discover that “Ussurans” had burned his ships at Odysse. From there, he crossed over the mountains into Eisen, intending to ride back to Montaigne. However, he passed into Fauner Posen’s territory, was attacked by her men & has not been heard from since. He is presumed dead, but I believe I know better.  

The next story, unbeknownst to me at the time, would change the course of my life.

L’Empereur had levied a new tax to pay for his upcoming birthday party. Supposedly, in order to lessen the load on the “common people”, most of this tax was to be charged primarily to nobles. Of course, those nobles would make up for their loss by charging it to the commoners, which would mean more oppression, more starvation... Nothing new.  

The news of Montague had me concerned & I determined to sail at once for Eisen. I had Mr. McKrimmon send for my men & while I waited, I found my dear Miss Molly for drinks. On deck, I had my men called forward for a short ceremony in which I gave Mr. Edstrum the bonus money & the designation of Midshipman. Afterward, I joined them all below decks for drinks & song. I must have stayed up too late & enjoyed far too much rum, as the morning found me stumbling out my cabin with a bit of a headache...

The rest of this entry has been lost to time.