Esteemed patron:
Good fortune visit you.
I set pen to parchment as soon as we had reached the waters of the Dalelands, to alert you to the fact that we shall be on our way to your port by the time you have received this letter. Barring poor fortune or weather, the sails of the Princess Gildenglade shall hit your horizon in two days. Assuming you looked over this letter before truly giving your mind to its content, you may at this point note that I have not only disposed of DiCiprione, but also the Brinecove Maiden of that title. I made use of a process more democratic than the crew mates were used to, but especially due to the variety of names suggested, I told them all that I would not have them wincing and suffering with a name that any of them might be embarrassed to pronounce in a good tavern. I assure you that Princess Gildenglade was the second to least tawdry of the lot- and in the process of its selection, I discovered that my crew has quite a unique sense of humor. It is a quality in their natures at which I find myself pleasantly and exceptionally surprised.
I must admit, your nature is of great interest to me. The very act of seeking me out merely to make an utterly mundane and legal request for food, has piqued my interest. It gives rise to the idea that you are either in the acquaintance of the four captives that were briefly aboard this ship, that you have some business with the pirates that we unknowingly saved out of the hands of the Urmlaspyr guard (whether your business be with the pirates or the guard), or that you are the intended recipient of the terinav root. I cannot by this recent contact judge which of these situations may fit you, if indeed there is only one that does, but any combination of the final two would leave me in a position of debtor before you. Further, I found it most curious, upon my arrival here, that I should be brought fruit and preserved meat by a small private boat, and as no one but you and my crew could have suspected our change of course, I believe I must thank you for your consideration. Unless you are intending to deduct the cost of these delicacies from your named price, I may be two times over in your debt. If I have unknowingly cost you some time or money, I must make amends, and I am further compelled- whether otherwise owing or not- to settle the want of thanks for the cargo of that private boat.
As it touches monetary debt, however, I find that mere words rarely suffice. I would readily welcome the chance to give you a more tactile form of thanks and apology, but it is proffered only on one condition: that I might upon the safety of this vessel receive you as a guest. You may, for your own safety and comfort, make use of two armed escorts, so long as they remain out of my cabin. If they wish to enter, they must abandon their arms outside. I mean you no treachery, and shall so long as you are without arms, be so myself. In your physical presence, I shall be pleased to speak about the opportunities to which you alluded in your first missive.
If you have no care to do this, then farewell; you shall have to rely upon others to serve future needs, for I have other matters to which I might lend my attention, and I shall not be made a ghost's errand boy. Yet I perceive, by the style and tenor of your writing, that your wit is sharp; thus I assume you will naturally want me for a friend instead of a competitor. As I have great confidence in the keen of your intelligence, I shall make preparations to receive you and your escort in two days.
With all courtesies and honors due you as our patron,
Jackal
and the crew of the Princess Gildenglade
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