Day Seventy-three

Today has seen the return of the behemoth and it has been a day of violence and death. It was at the striking of the last bell before midday that the vast creature rose from the depths and took up station in the midst of the Fleet. The seas were rough and a stiff wind was blowing across the line of our path to the north. In the swell and spray the creature seemed oblivious to our presence, content to rise and fall upon the surface of the dark waters. Many of our number came to watch the display and marvel at the size of the beast. Its smooth dark-grey body slipped in and out of the water with ease, maintaining a station in the centre of the Fleet.

As a precaution Captain Duschet ordered the Fleet to disperse, and called the bolt-crews once again to their stations, mindful of the possibility that the behemoth might decide to cause the same damage amongst us that it had caused to the dwarvendim. The ships of the Fleet had no time to find a safe distance before it did so.

As if on a whim the huge beast dived in the depths of the sea and then rose again at great speed. I do not believe it was a malicious act, more an expression of some great joy that it felt in its existence but for us the results were catastrophic. Out of the water it rose, its sleek dark body lifting high into the air before falling back upon the sea. It hit no ship on its descent but the force of its fall rose up a swell of spreading water that came at the nearest ships as a wall travelling at great speed. Without time to run or take hold those that were on deck watching the creature were hit with the full force of its breaching. From the vantage I held I could see what was coming and braced for the impact, those on the mid-deck were not so fortunate. The Dromannion heeled deep into the water as the wave hit and most of the spectators on deck were swept into the sea.

Immediately those ships that were close began firing upon the behemoth. From the Dromannion and the Allahard a rain of explosive bolts descended onto the creature, detonating into its side, tearing large pieces of flesh from its body. In an attempt to drive the behemoth away we succeeded quickly in angering it further and again it descended into the depths. This time however it breached directly beneath a ship named the Tau'neru. In a sickening crash of splintering timbers the ship exploded, throwing its human contents into the waters. Again the Dromannion and the Allahard responded, throwing their bolts straight at the creature as it hit the water once again. This time they detonated against something sensitive. In a series of explosions the bolts found their marks and the creature writhed within the waves before disappearing. I cannot conceive that we have killed it, but it has been injured enough that it then left us alone.

We had only moments to recover from the shock of the assault. People were in the water and survivors of the Tau'neru clung desperately to anything that was still floating. In desperation those that could swim jumped over the side and quickly lifeboats were lowered into the heaving swell. Lookouts called directions as dozens of small boats tried to pick up those that had been swept overboard. It was a time of great anxiety but in the end those that could be saved were taken back aboard. Many however could not be recovered.

The behemoth has not come back.

Maps of the Voyage
The Chronicles of Arborell
A Glossary of Terms