Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginnings End (Present)

A renegade ray of sunlight slowly made its way across Darvin's face. The half-elf stirred and tried to roll over. Minutes later the sunlight had found his face again. Darvin slowly opened his eyes and stared at the walls of his tent. As he transitioned from sleep to wakefulness he thought about all that had brought him to this tent in this muddy field.

The repair and refurbishing of the Lady Narath had been one of the happiest moments of Darvin's life. When the ship and its crew had set sail for Waterdeep some 20 months ago, he felt like the young man who had ventured out from Secomber those many years ago. The happiness was short lived.

After three years in a drunken stupor, Darvin had no idea how badly the waters around the Sword Coast had become. From the beginning, their voyage had been fraught with one setback after another. First, it had been a storm that damaged their main mast just two days out of Baldur's Gate. They were able to repair it at sea but it was only a temporary fix. Just a few days after that, the Lady Narath came across her first undead pirate vessel. Darvin, being inexperienced and impetuous, ordered the crew to engage in combat. That first sea battle with the undead left a mark on the half-elf that would never leave. The battle was long, it seemed that no matter what the Lady Narath threw at the undead ship it just came back stronger. With every volley crew members dropped and Darvin eventually had to make the decision to outrun the undead ship and head for Waterdeep.

The crew that was lost that day haunted Darvin. He saw their faces in his dreams. He should have been more cautious and willing to get his sea legs back underneath him before rushing into a battle that he had no way of winning.

Once at the staging ground near the ruins of Waterdeep, the Lady Narath did find a role patrolling and protecting the camp. In the confined space of the makeshift harbor, the ship could hold it's own and fight off any undead vessels that tried to approach. This went on for over a year but about four months ago the number of undead ships had become so large that defending the harbor was becoming a seemingly impossible task. So, hesitantly and painfully, Darvin left his beloved Lady Narath sitting in the harbor and retreated to the army camp with what was left of his crew.

"Mornin' captain," said Guybrush as he climbed out of his small cot, "Thinking about Miss Shandri again, sir?"

And then there was Shandri, if there was a more perfect woman, Darvin would not believe it. She had made the trip to Waterdeep and survived the battle with the undead but as he had become more tortured with his decision and his inability to clear the shipping lanes for her father, it became harder for him to talk to her. He had tremendous feelings for her but on the day she came and informed him she needed to go back to Baldur's Gate he didn't stop her. He understood why. All that he asked was that she let him know that she had arrived home safely. She sent the letter when she got to Baldur's Gate. There had been no other letters. That was months ago. He thought of her often. He ached for her. He hoped that one day he could get his act together and see her again.

"Always," Darvin replied to his monkey companion.

However, seeing Shandri again was the last of his current priorities. This day just had one simple goal. Survive.