[center][h3]MISSION START: SEA OF GHOSTS[/h3]
[i]Morning, 22nd Sun’s Height, Bthamz[/i][/center]
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The transit was two days, hardly a stretch considering the calm waters. The [i]Kyne's Tear[/i] was similar in to the [i]Courtesan[/i], both being twin-masted cargo vessels with well-built figureheads (a blued eagle on [i]Kyne's Tear[/i]). Unlike the Courtesan, Gustav's choice of captain and first mate did not appear synergized. At the helm was Karena Wave-Rider, a middle-aged Nord woman who made no efforts to hide her dishonest sailings. She claimed to have transported "liberty goods", clearly contraband, between High Rock and Skyrim. Karena also said he knew another man called Farid, one that bore striking resemblance to the one buried in Dawnstar and was apparently, a pirate. She gladly theorized that the pirate Farid could very well have fathered the younger Farid. Leading a promiscuous life even in his late forties, Karena told the listeners, pirate Farid supposedly left an infamous trail of orphans. Hargjorn Thrice-Battered, the first mate, stayed out of these conversations. He grumbled every time his ship or Karena was mentioned. According to him, he spent his life saving and a great deal of loans to purchase the [i]Kyne's Tear[/i]. The maiden voyage was supposed to a grand adventure of discovery and profit circumventing the continent. That adventure never got far, because as soon as he hit the Black Marsh coasts, Hargjorn was robbed blind by Sharee, the Terror of the Padomaic. A long list of debts forced the Thrice-Battered to turn his beloved ship to Gustav, who in turn, demoted him under Karena. Now, Hargjorn called Karena the "Pirate-Bitch". Karena referred to Hargjorn as "Potato-Head"; a surprisingly accurate description.

There wasn't much to say about the weather. It was a mix of cloudy overcast and bright sunshine; no precipitation or high waves at all. Before disembarking, Ariane told Ashav that she suspected three possible sources for the Winterhold incident. From interviewing college mages, studying Armiger documents and reviewing town records, Ariane declared it was unlikely the Kamal stood behind the storm. It could have been rogue mages, or some secret weapon belonging to the Nerevarine, but the most terrifying prospect was the Tsaesci, Akaviri vampire snake-men rumored to have weather control magic. Ashav didn't think much into it, he couldn't think much into it. He was a dud when it comes to magic, and so was the majority of the company. That suited him just fine, after all, he just couldn't bring himself to trust mages after the fiasco with Glen, Iron-Pumper and the necromancer. Edith still hurts thinking about it, Dumhuvud would get angry and Daelin, well, he would just cover it up by working himself to exhaustion. Ariane only got in because Gustav put her in, but now, Ashav wanted Fontaine to be on this boat. Before they left port, both the [i]Kyne's Tear[/i] and its companion ship (simply called [i]Ship Two[/i]), got loaded with arcane equipment. There was a set of crystals that can transmit voice over a short distance, the Winterhold enchanters named it the "walkie-takie", and they say it would be commonplace in the fifth era. Some of the other goodies included a life-detecting telescope (that no one figured out how to use yet), an enhanced compass and adhesive compounds made from horse jism. Of course, how could one forget the arcane charges? These bombs had the reputation of being the only effective weapon against Kamal ships. Coincidentally, the two person that field tested them are on board as well. For the two days at sea, sailors would flock to Roze and Sagax to hear their suicide bombing adventure.

Bthamz wasn't much to look at on the outside. It was a circular rock with the tip of a Dwemer structure jutting out of the middle. The were smaller rocks around it that formed a sort of miniature island chain. With a sheet of mist on the 21[sup]st[/sup] morning, Karena declared it was unsafe to guide the [i]Kyne's Tear[/i] any closer. So she sent two dinghies under the guidance of Hargjorn, in addition to giving him and Ashav each a voice-transmission crystal for communication. Having put a good amount of sea between himself and his boss, the first mate went on a tirade explaining how he would have ran things differently, and more efficiently. His talks were mostly harmless nonsense until he noticed Do'Karth zoning out.

"Quit daydreaming." Hargjorn shook the dazed Khajiit. "You look like you're gonna throw up. Get it over with, just don't fall off."

Thankfully, Do'Karth did not fall off; no one did, not even Madura. Most people tend forget the journalist when he wasn't being a nuisance, and quite frankly, he wasn't one at all. Madura stayed primarily in a enlarged closet, plunking his cot down and going to work on one of his reports. A couple of mercenaries were surprised to see Madura hopping into a dinghy, awkward iron helmet still on his messy hair. However, the journalist did his share of rowing and kept his mouth shut. To the veterans of Winterhold, the rowing was suspenseful but otherwise untroubled. When the dinghies found a suitable outcropping of rock to tie up, Ashav, Madura and Hargjorn decided to circle around while Edith received a "walkie-talkie" so she could lead the rest to the dwarven structure. What Edith found was small tower leaning slightly to one side, a dwarven double door half broken and several wooden beams and barrels strewn about. Hargjorn told everyone that smugglers frequent this place during summer, so a few left behind items were no major concern. Still, as they went down a short flight of stairs into an elevator, Edith cautioned everyone to have their weapon ready.

Her caution turned out for the better. As soon as the elevator came to a grinding halt, thick steam prevented anyone from seeing, hearing or venturing ahead. The vapors cleared seconds later, putting a medium-sized room into sight. Stone walls and shelves formed the edge of the two-storey tall chamber. Several stone tables and chairs formed a semi-circle along the outer reaches. A large hanging light provided the main source of illumination with its blue glowing crystal. Only the center opening was well lit, as the Dwemer furniture and shelves further away were steeped in shadow. However, the middle was not empty. The dead bodies of two raggedly armored Dunmers lay lacerated and filled with bolts, beside a snuffed out campfire and contemporary camping supplies. One sword, a pickaxe and a handbook scattered around the corpses.  

Any comments Edith prepared were cut short by the sound of grinding gears. Out of tubes from the sides crawled out at least eight dwarven spiders. From an entrance opposing the elevator, four dwarven spheres entered with blades and crossbows aimed towards the mercenaries. "Move, spread out!" Edith shouted. The elevator cramped everyone together in a tiny space, making ballista hits extremely easy. "Shields up front!" She shouted again, strapping her steel targe to her arm and ducking a bolt that could have gone through her skull. In truth, Edith was hesitant to block supposedly armor-piercing projectiles. For now, she'll have to make due with whatever at hand and worry about tactics when they get out alive. With her sword in hand, Edith managed to chop apart the nearest spider. Another bolt whizzed past Edith's torso and found Elmera behind her, impaling itself into the Dunmer's right thigh. The sphere responsible for the shot quickly rolled in blade buzzing, intended to cut Elmera's head off. Not far away, two spiders knocked Leif off his feet, they then went to work zapping his face and chomping down on his arms.