The rest of the watch was relatively uneventful. I briefly caught sight of the ship that was following us. Or at least I thought I did. Shadows moving among clouds at night made me uncertain but it did set me to thinking. Why would any ship follow us through known bandit territory and into a war zone?

It didn’t make sense. Even if they were lost, they could flash a message, or sidle along side of us. Unless they weren’t sure of our status. Did they think we were pirates? How long had they been following us? Did they witness the battle?

We needed answers. I resolved to ask Firus what we could do about it in the morning.

I didn’t share any of those thoughts with Bertram. Instead, I listened to stories about women he had known. He taught me the chorus to a drinking song that had been passed down through his family. He was supposed to add his own verse to uphold tradition but he hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Thankfully, by the time Ryan Rorcester and Albert Borheil came to relieve us, Betram had sobered up.