Week 1

Taken from the final log entries of Captain J. Ultrich 

We set sail later this afternoon. Months of preparation are finally coming together on this day and it is hard to believe that all my hard work is starting to pay off. I am keeping these logs so I may be ascribed into the scrolls of history as the captain that saved the great Jorwain empire from collapse. Perhaps I shall give a brief summary of these last few months of my life, preparing for this undertaking. On the eightieth day of the fourth season I received an invitation sealed with the stamp of the monarchy. It was in light of my services to the crown in the transportation of those djemi creatures to Silver City, as that project was entirely my undertaking. Imagine my surprise when the queen herself takes me aside after the second course and confides in me her worries. She tells me with the addition of the djemi to our population and how more and more nobles are requesting djemi servants, she is afraid that the islands may soon become vastly crowded and there won't be enough food for the people. That was when she told me of my new project, I was to take a single ship from the djemi relocation project and claim land for colonization. Gladly I accepted and I began to hand pick the crew. The best sailors and most notable cartographers in the entire Jorwain fleet were assigned to my ship solely on my request. It is now the first day of second season and the djemi are being loaded and chained to the oars, we have taken on enough provisions to last us right until mid-third season and we are ready to chart the uncharted water so beautiful Jorwain can grow. I personally take great pride in my mission and I promise my queen I will not fail you.

We have been at sea for two days now and we will be passing the western most borders of Jorwain later tonight. After that we have the speckled archipelago to look forward to and after that, well that is when the cartographers come in very handy. Never has the Jorwain fleet needed to sail past the speckled archipelago before but after our return there will be countless ships following our trail. The djemi are making excellent time. We knew they were strong when we found them but to go from Silver City to the western border in two days is unheard of. You would never think just by looking at these thin little bastards that they are even half as powerful as they are but I guess they make up for in strength what they lack in brain power.There is one however that has a bit of an attitude, nothing a quick lash doesn't fix but he has acted up twice already. The boys in the crew have taken to calling him Lash, mainly because he gets the whip so often. So far Lash is an outlier and none of the other djemi have followed his example, this is a very good thing if they revolted we would have no way of defending ourselves. The damn creatures are far to simple to figure this out though. They are completely docile in nature and best as I can see they are not much smarter than a child of two cycles. Even as I write this I can hear the boys calling, It sounds like Lash has thrown down his oar again. I can hear the whip falling from my cabin. Tomorrow I shall have to order Lashes chains tightened.

Three days at sea and we are at the heart of the speckled archipelago! this journey would take a week with even the fastest of men at the oars. The djemi are easily the greatest discovery of my lifetime and our sons are going to be hard pressed to  beat this one. Lash has been completely docile today since they gave him five licks last night. I do not know how he managed to row all day with his injuries but he has. I think he may be the strongest of the djemi we have on board. Tomorrow those cartographers will demonstrate their worth, I doubt they've ever been pushed to map and chart so fast in their lives. There is so much more time on a human rowed ship. I catch myself chuckling thinking about how quickly those ink pots will be draining. If we catch a good wind out in the open I do not doubt that we would be able to clear the great emptiness of the seas in almost no time. I hope that Lash has learned his lesson, I would hate to lose such a good rower due to a simple attitude problem.

Today I went below deck to see how the djemi were fairing. Five days with almost no sleep and they are still rowing hard. I was unnerved by the little noises they made. Almost like a mix of clicks and grunts. They are pulling through well enough though I think I might give them every seventh day off to sleep. I won't unchain them but there are much stronger winds out in the vast emptiness and we are already very much ahead of schedule. I will seem a hero to those creatures, if they even understand what is happening. Lash has behaved himself since his licks. I dare to hope that my troubles with him are over. I can't imagine it will be less than twenty days before we find any land at the rate these creatures row. I need them to be at their best. The queen will be very happy if we can return before the end second season. Once I thought that was a fools hope but now I'm not so sure. I heard one of the officers who worked below deck today complaining that Lash was watching him all day. I think five days working below deck is starting to effect him, I think tomorrow I shall switch his duties with one of the officers on deck, some sunlight might straighten him out a little bit.

I gave the order to have the oars brought up today, those beautiful bastards deserved a break according to the cartographers we are almost seven days ahead of schedule. I went to check on Shipman Buyers today, to see if Lash was still watching him. We have a long voyage at our heads and I need all my men at they're best if we are to lead Jorwain into a new land. I was able to see what he meant though, Lash and a few other's watched me the entire time I was below deck. I believe they were only attracted to the badge on my coat it was freshly polished and had a very nice gleam to it. I doubt these creatures had seen such beauty before in their lives.Their almond eyes were haunting however and it was easy to understand why the Shipman needed time in the sunlight to be set himself straight. the djemi that did sleep today were almost as unnerving as those that didn't. They covered their faces with their hands and would just sit stone still on the benches. I think I now understand why back on land djemi would always sleep face down. Poor creatures just need their eyes covered to sleep. I wonder how this information will benefit us on the boat but I will figure out some way. I think it is time I retire for the evening, The knots in my cabin walls are beginning to remind me of the djemi and those almond eyes. I feel like I can even hear their clicks beneath my skin. next week I think I may take the day off as well. Surely I have earned it as much as those creatures have.