Editing The Shores of Hell

{{TErow| 1 | Day 1-1| It was loud and dimly lit in the Black Mark, a smelly little hole of a tavern. Bidley sat in the corner drinking cheap beer. He hated this place with all his heart, but couldn't break his old tradition.<p>The door opened, and a man in a garish jacket walked in. He bore a striking resemblance to Bidley, though shorter and slighter, and he was followed by a gorgeously dressed and attractive woman. The man approached Bidley and shouted merrily:<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}:  “Aha, you old dog! Long time no see! Where have you been?”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: Bidley rose and hugged his brother.<p>“You haven't changed a bit--the same young drunkard I used to know. What's going on?”<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “Ah, it's nothing,” Jeremy said with a wave of his hand as he sat down next to his female companion. “By the way, this is Casmetra, the High Hydromancer.”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Bidley, Captain Bidley,” he replied.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “A pleasure to meet you, Captain. I've heard plenty about you,” said Casmetra.<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Oh, really? And what have you been told so far?” grinned Bidley, taking a sip of his foul drink.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “I heard that you saved Xanthor, Catherine's archmage.”<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: Jeremy gave a whistle. “Shiver my soul! You started working for Erathians, brother?”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “How could I possibly have known that Xanthor was sitting in that cell?” grumbled Bidley. “He was a waste of time, on top of being an ungrateful bastard. Now there's a rumor going around that I work for the queen! ‘Her Majesty's corsair...'”<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “He was ungrateful?” Casmetra asked in surprise.<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Well, not completely. He told me a legend about something called the Horn of the Abyss....”<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “Impossible!” exclaimed the priestess, and both pirates gave her a surprised look.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “What's so special about it?” asked Jeremy.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “Have you ever heard of Armageddon's Blade, or the Cloak of the Undead King?” Casmetra asked excitedly. “These are legendary artifacts, of exceptional power and completely unique! The Horn of the Abyss is one of them. It's said that it lies complete and unbroken on the bottom of the sea somewhere. The one who finds it will rule the seas--he'll become the living representation of the Water Lord!”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Interesting,” Bidley murmured. “Xanthor told me exactly where the Horn lies. If it wasn't a lie, of course.”<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “You can't imagine the importance of this knowledge,” whispered Casmetra, pressing one elegant hand to her cheek.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “Well, then, let's go look for the Horn of the Abyss!” exclaimed Jeremy.<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “No, it's too risky: we don't have enough men, ships, or resources. We're just two captains with a handful of sea dogs on board,” Jeremy's brother replied.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “You also have me, the High Hydromancer, and my apprentices,” added Casmetra. “And I know how to get everything we need. We'll have to put some effort into it, though.”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “By the way, Jeremy,” Bidley suddenly remembered. “I heard you've had some difficulties. How is the Black Unicorn doing?”<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “It drowned,” answered Jeremy, leaning back in his chair.</p>}}

{{TErow| 1 | Day 1-2| {{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Eeofol's shore,” Bidley commented from his position on the wall of the new fort. Far ahead he could see the shimmering heat and smoke rising from the ashy black terrain, like a festering boil on Erathia's body. Somewhere over there swarmed legions of terrible creatures who marched through the scorched lands toward the lands of men.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “Those beasts have plenty of everything,” said Casmetra. “They're too preoccupied with the war against Erathia and its allies to notice us. We'll be able to gather the riches we need to afford the Cornucopia.”<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “Excuse me, what?” asked Jeremy.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “The Cornucopia,” repeated the priestess. “We'll need to hire craftsmen to make the necessary elements of the artifact, and then we'll use the Cornucopia to hire an army and prepare our fleet. However, this artifact has one flaw: it depletes itself over time and eventually breaks. Nobody can say for sure for how long it will serve us.”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “How do you know all this about the Cornucopia?” Bidley asked.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “They say [[Archibald Ironfist]] had such an artifact. It supplied all his armies during the war in Enroth. One of the reasons for his defeat was that the Cornucopia stopped working,” Casmetra replied.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “By the deep, woman,” grinned Jeremy, “where did you learn all that about Archibald? I thought you'd been sitting on that rock in the sea your whole life.”<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “Never mind that,” Casmetra answered grimly. “Gentlemen, we have matters to attend to.”</p>}}

{{TErow| 4 | Day 4| A group of frightened crewmen rushed into the room. “Cap'n! Giant crocodile-people just walked ashore!”<p>Without hesitation Bidley grabbed his sabre and run to see.<p>Indeed, two great scaly creatures, a bit like lizardmen, were lying on the shore, breathing heavily.<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Shiver me timbers!” exclaimed Bidley as he knelt beside them. “What are these creatures?”<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “Those are nix,” Casmetra told him, approaching from behind. “An ancient sea race of intelligent reptiles. They were thought extinct. Long ago, their kingdom was somewhere around here. Something must have made them emerge again onto the surface. I'm sure we'll see more of them.”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “I hope they have good intentions,” Bidley replied.</p>}}

{{TErow| 9 | Day 9| Casmetra called a meeting between herself, Bidley, and Jeremy.<p>{{Hn|Casmetra|0=}}: “I have grim news. My spies report that the Kreegans think Catherine hired the pirates to flank and backstab their forces, so they're moving some of their rearguard forces to the seashore. They'll soon attempt to kick us out of here. The faster we gather the Cornucopia, the better,” she informed them.<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “Blood and thunder! That'll do wonders for my reputation,” muttered Bidley dispiritedly. “Every damn sea dog will think I'm working for Erathia, just because I saved that mage.”<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “But isn't that a good thing, brother?” asked Jeremy. “Discounts at taverns, free entrance to the largest ports in the kingdom! The only thing I'm worried about is how to find enough money to pay these artifact-making thieves.”<p>{{Hn|Bidley|0=}}: “We can slaughter the Kreegans and pillage them. We are pirates, after all!” exclaimed Bidley, and Jeremy agreed with a grin.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “Call up the boys! We're gonna be turning fire demons into sea demons soon.”</p>}}

{{TErow| 15 | Day 15| {{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: I was in the hold having a quarrel with a bottle of rum when Patris appeared.<p>[[Patris]]: “Cap'n, I'd like to talk to you about what's going on,” he said.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “All right, I'm listening,” I nodded.<p>[[Patris]]: “I don't like that this woman is dragging you into all this trouble. Why are you risking your neck going after that artifact? We're losing good men fighting those demons,” my first mate said seriously.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: “It was our own decision,” I replied, “no one was dragging us. The life of an honorable pirate is one of constant risk--you know that. And by the way, we'll have a new ship soon, a beautiful one--a frigate! All those bigmouths in Regna will swallow their tongues.”<p>[[Patris]]: “All right, Cap'n. You're the boss,” agreed Patris and left me be.<p>{{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: I couldn't understand why he disliked Casmetra so much.</p>}}

{{TErow| 30 | Day 30| {{Hn|Jeremy|0=}}: It should be taken into the account that the more we delay, the more forces the Kreegans will be able to gather. They'll be a deadly threat very soon. We need to attack the enemy as soon as possible!}}

{{SorQrow|guard=1|loc=91, 0, 0|quest=Be:<br>{{teal}} player</br>|prop=The guards here say they will only let those who fly the teal flag pass.|prog=The guards here will only let those who fly the teal flag pass.|comp=The guards note your teal flag and offer to let you pass.  Do you accept?}}