BMV Tiderunner Sank Off Coast of Jhelom! Citizens In a Panic!

[Vivian Fellows]

News from Jhelom. The BMV Tiderunner was intercepted and sank by an unknown band of pirates off the coast of the largest Valorian Isle in plain sight of the citizenry. Sailors contracted by the Vesper Shipping Co. to return the previously impounded ship to Vesper were overwhelmed by cannon fire and arrows. Wounded and facing superior firepower, they retreated from the ship to the shore and into the city. Cheers sprang from the pirates as no other ship showed to challenge them. They eagerly plundered what was left in the hold before the ship went down.
One of the contractors, his identity obscured by his hood, demanded double payment for what was considered a death trap. With the crew claiming injuries, the representative for the company was forced into providing hazard pay because of the conflict with the pirates and a payout of 200,000 gold each was distributed to the contractors to settle all disputes and possible court action.
We caught up with Thomas, now a former representative of the Vesper Shipping Co. who gave this statement:
Since I am no longer with the shipping company I am not bound to keep quiet. This mission was originally supposed to be a simple return to origin of the seized vessel. Any captain is wise enough to avoid a route around the pirate infested southern seas and rather head towards Verity Isle. Then the plans were changed at the last moment. I received word that the non perishable cargo for Jhelom and Trinsic were to be delivered. I was also told not to make the Governor or Port Authority of Skara Brae aware of this. The tensions in the area are not lost on anyone, our ship was shadowed by a fishing vessel from Skara Brae until we were closer to the Valorian Seas. From this moment on, I agree, this mission was a death wish. The fact all aboard managed to survive in the end is a blessing of the virtues.
We also interviewed a local who watched the entire battle unfold from the shore.
It was a horrific, and at the same time amazing, sight. At first we saw the Tiderunner appear on the horizon. She appeared to be slightly damaged, it looked like grapeshot had shot much of her sails. We thought she was alone and making for the harbor for repairs. Then we saw her, another ship closing fast behind her. She was close to shore when she came into range of the pursuer's guns. The Tiderunner gave as good as she got, but she was already damaged and obviously taking on water with how low she was riding. In the end, the battle got close enough to us that I could hear the captain give the call to abandon ship. The crew swam ashore and many were visibly wounded. In anger, many scrambled after the captain into the city. The pirates seemed to get a large deal of the cargo before she went down. This is getting out of control. Pirates are getting bold enough to attack right off our shore and no ship from our King's royal navy dares to respond. I've already heard of some citizen relocating from the outer isles to the main isle. Some of the main islanders have already fled through the moongate leaving considerable holdings unguarded.
With issues spiraling out of control in the region, let us hope either the King or Council intervenes soon.