Under the cover of night, the five warriors – Kalkar, Shalimo, Rokar, Nisari, and Tavok – approached the enemy camp. The night was in and Itiah masked their approach… by battering her storms against the Akinimod peninsula. Lumkalak over on the Sarootnoh Peninsula was likely spared (this time), but Snehta and Kuru were drowning in rain. It was a curse, but also a blessing. No light of stars or moon could betray them, and the torrent falling upon the world hid their steps. But still, they did not wear their bamboo-clad capes or their bamboo slat shirts, and they left their bows and spears behind. Out of an abundance of caution, they wore only their war-crowns and goggles, and carried only their axes and their knives.

“How much farther is it?” Shalimo whispered as loud as he could. The flood of rain was a curse as well as a blessing and seemed to be getting worse.

“It can’t be too much farther!” said Kalkar. He was the eldest and most experienced warrior – his goggles were made of Keshurot bronze, and his crown made of whalebone and scrimshanded with the many feats he achieved in the service of Chief Kaletan.

“Then quiet! Quiet!” said Rokar, the most cautious of the crew. This was her first mission, and she did not intend to die.

They trudged through the woods, until a pair of guards marched through. They were wearing their bamboo capes, and had spearthrowers and darts at the ready. The group halted their march, and dared not make a sound. Shalimo unsheathed his knife, but Kalkar stopped him: undue death would give away their presence, and Chief Jiyedi alone had a clan rumors said boasted over 50 able bodies. And a Sasnak-ra village elder had told them that Jiyedi’s clan been joined by other clans that owed their loyalties, ultimately, to the city of Kuru and its foul coalition. Two mere soldiers wouldn’t be missed.

Eventually, the guards moved on, and the corps pressed on. Eventually, they came to where a camp had been made: houseboats, two dozen of them, perhaps, moored to the shore and lateen sails rigged up to wait out the storm. They likely were cooking and eating inside, getting ready for battle when the storm cleared.

“This isn’t good,” said Nisari, to the huddled crew.

“No, it isn’t,” said Rokar.

“We’ll make do,” said Kalkar, “Tavok, climb a tree and see what you can see.”

Tavok nodded, but did not speak. He slinked off, barechested as he was wont to do, his dark skin and dark hair blending into the dark. Eventually, he came upon a palm, and carefully slithered up. Then he looked out.

Two dozen was a conservative estimate, but there were probably no more than two clans here. But their ships were large. Big families, probably. Grandparents and cousins all on one ship – a bit cramped, but more economical for most. Tavok had to stop himself from scoffing. He had managed to put together his own ship when he and his wife had their first child. He didn’t have to rely on his parents for more than was proper. Though he would have liked a big ship like those.

Idle thoughts. He had a mission.

He peered out as best as he could – there was some glow coming off the ships, but it was masked under the fore and aft tents. He could maybe make out some shadows against their cloth walls, but not enough for a count. He would have to get closer.

He slid down the tree, quietly as he could. He would get closer.

Kalkar would not approve of what he was about to do.

Slowly, Tavok crept out of the tree line onto the sand. He wanted to make sure it was going to be worth it, and to do that he would have to pass two other smaller ones. He was on his belly, shimmying through the sand like an alligator. He felt an itch in his neck – his friends’ eyes, or a foe-man’s? He curled around.

No eyes.

Nobody there.

That he knew of.

He went back to crawling on his belly, and made it past the first ship. Then the second. No guards to be seen yet, and suddenly we was pressed against the hull of his target, waiting to make his move. He pressed his ear against the hull. It was desperate, but the voices were muddled. There was definitely a meeting going on in there, above and below deck. Whose ship was this?

Tovak had to know.

He crept up to the front of the ship to have a look at the prow. It was carved and well maintained, but not lacquered, and he did not recognize any of the stories on the prow. Perhaps Samahab once graced its base, but it was unlikely. This was no chief’s ship, but no pauper’s ship either.

Those carvings would make for nice handholds in the rain.

Tovak made his decision. One hand, then another, perhaps half an armspan from the ground and half from the deck before it dawned on him to have a look for guards. No guards, but oh. There were his friends. They had come closer. And they were gobsmacked at his audacity – though they would likely call it insanity. Even from this distance Tovak could see that Kalkar’s axe was out and his jaw clenched.

Tovak hauled himself quickly and quietly the rest of the way before the deck, and peeked over. Fortunately (or unfortunately), this side of the tent was closed. Nobody would see him. And there was the lateen’s yard, tied by means of an armspan of rope at the most to the prow. He could climb rope. He could climb a lateen. That would make an excellent vantage.

So he did.

Higher and higher he climbed the heights of insanity. And this lateen of this rich man’s ship. He found himself near where the mast met the yard, and decided that was as good a place as any. He lowered himself into the bamboo fibre of the sail as if it were a hammock, made sure he wasn’t going to fall, and peered out.

Now that he was in the middle of the ship, he could see into both the foretent and afttent – perhaps eight or ten people in each? And they didn’t all look to be related. No, too many people of the same age, and none were children. This ship didn’t exactly look to have living arrangements. No planter boxes of herbs and alliums, no duck coops – space for what had once been those, of course, but they had been removed. No, it looked more like a rich man had volunteered his home to be turned into a floating Sasnak-ra armoury. There were spears and bows and armor ready, and men and women eating and discussing. Tovak couldn’t hear any of it, but between this and the conversations he heard below decks, there were possibly thirty or forty fighters on the ship – more than Chief Kaletan had to muster!

And this was not the only ship!

Kuru must have gotten a war chief. Maybe it was Jiyedi, maybe it wasn’t. But this was a more organized force than Tovak had ever seen before. Most battles would take place on the shore, a volley of arrows and darts and spear charges, but with three or four ships like this they had no chance in a normal battle. Tovak had to get out and warn the others. Their only hope was to muster all of Chief Kaletan’s fighters, and sneak in under the cover of a rainstorm like this one. Do the raiders in quickly and quietly, and cause a costly defeat for Kuru. Yes, that would be it. A victory like this! Snehta would reward Kaletan well, and Kaletan would reward Tovak well! He needed to return to the others.

Tovak began to lift himself from his impromptu hammock. He had to be careful. The trickiest part of getting out of a hammock was always getting in and out!

His hand slipped.

Tovak flailed.

And he saw the deck of the ship hurtling towards him.

---

Few things happening in this post:

1. Here’s a map of the Sasnak Crowned Cities and their general coalitions. Naturally it’s a lot less rigidly defined than this map implies, but that’s as good as it gets.
2. So previously Sasnak Ships would contain usually only couple and their children/wards, with the couple only moving to their own ship once they have a ward of their own. However, now that ships are getting bigger and more difficult to make and manage, we start to see people living on their previous ship across multiple generations.
3. Kaletan and Jiyedi are both Sasnak Chiefs who are effectively mercenaries for Snehta and Kuru respectively. Snehta and Kuru are crowned cities, meaning they lead a coalition/confederacy, and are rivals (though pretty much all Crowned Cities are rivals of each other). Kaletan and Jiyedi may or may not have a preference or ties to a specific city and/or crowned city, but they’re mostly doing this under the presumption of being rewarded by the appropriate king.
4. Jiyedi has been put under the control of a War-chief. Sasnak-ra cities of Kuru, Snehta, and Lumkalak have power much more centralized in the hands of the kings of their cities than in Taa-Rokna and Nacah-Itoyet, but still they don’t have direct control over Sasnak raiders. Instead, they may assign a war-chief who is a temporary leader of multiple clan forces. In previous years, Sasnak warfare were largely an exchange of raids. Nowadays, when cities are throwing Sasnak at eachother, they may be tasked with hunting down Sasnak groups. And also doing raids.
5. The armor described is of multiple pieces: a cape, a cuirass, pads, a crown, and war goggles.
   1. The Cape, Cuirass, and Pads are interlocking slats of bamboo that are sown together in a manner resembling modern corrugated metal. These are sown between two layers of fabric (usually bamboo fiber) and fitted to the person. The cuirass protects the chest and waist but leaves the shoulders and neck to be protected by the cape.
   2. Pads are used as arm-guards and leg-guards. Naturally, this is all very bulky, which is why this stealth mission chose to forgo this.
   3. War Crowns are effectively slats of bamboo made into a tall crown shape that rises above the head. These are always worn, and potentially made of sturdier or more high-profile materials like bronze or bone.
   4. War Goggles may also be attached to the helm and look fabulous.
6. Tovak and the others do not live through this.