The convoy from the mainland has arrived more or less on schedule.
The Queen saw fit to provide less than half the soldiers I requested and most of them are greener than my mother's arse. We will get them up to speed and they will help bolster Haven's defences to an acceptable standard, unfortunately I'm still going to have to rely on mercenaries to do any significant scouting and exploration.
One vessel was lost to Morcantia's whim, a second was damaged during the raid - fortunately the majority of the passengers and crew survived and made it onto other vessels; Lucian will be holding a memorial for those that did not.
As for the raid itself, I've debriefed Captain Jonas of the Lumina Pente and verified his information with a few of the other Captains.
The enemy is a humanoid species, ranging from 4' to 6' in height (with the majority being at the bottom end of that scale). They are clearly suited to an aquatic environment and appear to be able to breath sea water and move rapidly through the water - that said they also appear to use sharks in the same way that we would use horses on land. One individual exhibited the ability to utilise magic and was able to create a sizable magical barrier that remained in effect until he was dispatched. This individual was presumably a leader as the other attackers rapidly fled once he was taken out of action.
A prisoner was taken who, for lack of a better option, I have named Finnegan. It is clearly speaking a language but not a familiar one, Larissa is doing what she can to help but linguistics is not her area of expertise; I also tried to organise a meeting with Finkle to see if he could determine anything further but he failed to actually turn up - need to follow up with him. For now we're keeping Finnegan in one of the cells along with a large bath filled with sea water, he seems to be healthy if not happy.
The Captain's report also identified a few new arrivals that may be worth keeping an eye on.
Ottis Flender is one of my new soldiers, apparently he proved himself a competent if somewhat hesitant fighter and showed initiative in circumventing the magical barrier. He has requested permission to go on "adventures" in his down time; I've pointed him in the direction of The Stout Dwarf and the adventurers that congregate there, perhaps it will help him develop his skills and if nothing else it wouldn't hurt to have a foot in the door with the freelancers that are turning up in Haven.
Aric is our first Elven resident and apparently skilled with both sword and magic, I'm not sure what his reasons for travelling to Haven are but he seemed willing to get his hands dirty to protect the crew and passengers so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. I'll keep an eye on him but I feel that having more skilled warriors arriving in Haven is a good thing.
There was mention of a kobold going by Twig, apparently it dealt with a few of the enemy using a quarterstaff and tended to the injuries of Miss Polidori. Most people underestimate kobolds but I've known enough of them growing up to know they can be cunning and clever, they just have a different way of looking at things. I'll be interested to find out what has brought it to Haven.
And apparently one of Finkle's students, Taran, also proved himself useful in a supporting capacity and was able to help neutralise the threat of the enemy magic user. I'm well aware of the potential advantages of having a combat capable wizard around but I confess that the idea of having to deal with another Finkle in Haven is mildly terrifying.
Oh, one of the sailors mentioned the kobold riding a shark? The captain put it down to alcohol, concussion or both.