To whoever receives this,

My name is Cae of house Venox, of the illustrious Venox merchant clan. Our vessel has run aground, a treacherous series of storms blew us off course, much of the trade fleet was lost at sea. Our vessel the wailing shrike along with its sister the soaring fury managed to pull away from the wrathful seas. We believed ourselves blessed upon discovering the shores off in the distance, dwindling food supplies, and empty freshwater reserves had made us impatient, desperate.

In our haste, we pressed forward, unaware of the danger that lay below. We were lucky, the hull of the shrike grazed the rocky shoals but ended up trapped upon them. The fury was not bestowed the same luck, her hull smashed hard upon the rocks, fracturing from the impact. Wood and men were flung into the dark waters below, high winds and rain whipping at us as we watched the tragedy unfold.

There was nothing we could do, we were trapped, the rocks had torn into our hull. However, unlike the fury, they had ended up lodged inside, now acting as an anchor and plug to keep the shrike from taking on water. It was enough that the crew could continue removing the water from the ship, but we noticed the wood around the site is beginning to crack, when it does, we will sink.

Now if you are reading this, then you may be asking why we do not simply depart the ship, that there is land not far from us. This is true and is also where this tale takes a turn for the worse. My ship running aground and stranding us here is not our main problem, the main problem is what is lurking outside.

Three of my men, mutinous gits the lot of them, stole the only lifeboat, rowing away towards land while abandoning the rest of us onboard. I suspect they knew the distance was far enough that it would be difficult to swim. We also could not abandon what little cargo remained aboard the vessel, the wealth on board the flagship could at the very least ensure the expedition did not end in complete loss.

We would not make a profit, but the items on board were the most expensive and together were enough to balance out all the losses incurred. The most likely outcome was that those three would find others, probably bandits or raiders and return after myself and the crew had weakened from exposure and hunger.

My fears would be on what would happen on their return, and possibly from the other crew members after a day or two without supplies. None of those thoughts mattered when it appeared, the storm resulted in poor visibility, but I have spent too long at sea to not notice something like that.

The mutineers were oblivious to the monstrous shadow cutting through the waves towards them, unaware of the creature heading in their direction. Whatever it was, it was large, the dark shadow around the same length, maybe larger than the rowboat.

More of the crew appeared on deck beside me at that point, their focus was on the traitors, cursing them. Some of the more hawk-eyed crewmen soon switched their concern from the rowboat to something else, the fear visible in their eyes. I could only assume it was a similar expression that one we would see upon my own face.

The sea devil did not wait long, its scaled snout emerged from the dark waters, the men had little time to scream as the massive jaws closed shut. Their boat snapped in half, like one would to a stray twig, with one of the men disappearing below the waves in the mouth of the gargantuan beast. Blood quickly spread, permeating that area in a dark crimson hue.

Both other men could be heard screaming in the distance, frantically swimming in our direction. They had not gone too far, but they were still enough of a distance that they could not cover quickly, at least not quicker than the beast. That one man was unlikely to be enough to satiate the large creature, of that, I was sure.

My intuition was proven correct, as moments later the beast reappeared. Once again, the man had little chance, his frantic yells barely exiting his lips before the jaws closed around his lower half, shearing him in two.

Panic, fear, and the abject specter of death was obvious in the expression of the last survivor. He swam like a man possessed, swinging his arms in big motions as fast as possible in his attempt to reach the shrike. Somehow, whether luck, or simply the beast being content with its meal, the man made it to the side of the ship, begging for someone to throw down a rope as he desperately attempted to climb up the sides of the vessel.

I will be honest with you, at first both myself and the crew were unwilling to assist him, he had attempted to betray us, was this not considered punishment from the pantheon of elemental lords. Why should we interfere with the world’s judgement? If the tables were reversed, would he save any of us? No, they were ready to abandon us and return to finish the job when we became too weak to fight back.

However, I simply could not leave him to such a fate, no matter how much I may have disliked him.

We did end up throwing the rope down, letting the man grab hold and pulling him up towards the deck of the vessel. The man never made it on board.

Just as we pulled him out of the water, his feet dangling over the roiling seas, I saw it. The shadow was there, watching, waiting, as if it understood what was happening, and this was all just a game. As the man’s hopes rose, no one else noticed the danger, it was already too late to do anything, but I finally had managed to get a good view of the hunter.

It was around fourteen or fifteen feet in length, about a third or half as wide, with tough scaled skin covering the entire length of its body. The underbelly appeared devoid of these same protections, but there was little to no chance of ever injuring it in the water. Also judging by the four short and stout fore and hind limbs, the reptilian creature was probably capable of travel by both land and sea. The final and most noticeable point were the jaws, these had to be a quarter of the creature’s total length and lined with teeth as long as an adult’s forearm.

I watched in horror as the jaws closed shut, those same teeth ripping into the man’s flesh. He let out one involuntary scream as the vice snapped shut, before dragging him into the depths below. The crew had quickly released their hold on the rope, the weight and power of the creature threatening to pull them overboard.

Two days have passed since our initial stranding, the beast has always remained nearby, feasting on the remains of the fury. We have remained here in terror, trapped within the confines of our ship. We have no conceivable way of escape, no means of calling for help, and no strength to brave the calm waters below.

What little food and water we had been able to scrounge together had been depleted yesterday. It is currently taking all my strength to simply write in this journal, a final log to chronicle the last journey of the shrike and her crew. We all fear that as the bodies from the fury run out, the beast will turn its attention here. I am under no illusion as to the strength of the shrike, if that beast bites down upon the hull it might shatter like an egg.

My wish is for my crew and I to make it out of this alive, we will wait at most another two days. At that point we will have no strength to do anything, possibly dead from lack of food and water. We have decided to commit mass suicide at that time, as it will be preferable to allowing that monster to eat us alive.

Signed,

Cae Venox.