All contact has been lost with Kosmas Mavrozomis (Zim). The scouts fear the worst.

The roads were still clear due to the terror Kosmas' landing made on the local populous. Vartholomaios Ksiros (Rowan) took advantage of this and marched south quickly and easily. He is deep in Egyptian territory and his small army is heavily outnumbered. However, his excellent marched allowed him to reach a strategic bridge crossing outside Cairo. If he is attacked, he will at least have the advantage of a strong defensive position.

Vissarionas ek Lesvou (Ramses II CP) could not wait to reach dry land. When the shore came into view, he ordered his men to begin tearing the ships apart, even while they were still sailing. All non-essential equipment was stripped, and this allowed the entire fleet to be deconstructed in record time. With the remaining movement left, he was able to move to the nearby roadway.

Stavros ek Amarinthou (Knights_of_Palma) and Methodios Tagaris (Tristan de Castelreng) both reached dry land, but by different methods. Stavros' sails were beyond repair, and the crew had to string their own hammocks up in the masts to make any headway whatsoever. Their movement was agonizingly slow, but eventually the shore came close enough for the launches to begin ferrying the army and stores. When it was done, Stavros' army collapsed, tired and drained, on the beach.

Methodios Tagaris did what he could for Annios Solomon's fleet. Extra lumber was provided so that the damaged rudder could be repaired, and then Methodios sailed for Egypt. The storm had cleared and the weather was fine and his fleet made excellent progress. Their long and tiring voyage is at last over.

Annios Solomon (woad&fangs) is cursed, but not by God. With the saboteur dead, the crew bent their back to repairing the rudder. Yet, no sooner had Methodios Tagaris' fleet disappeared over the horizon than the donated lumber mysteriously disappeared. A quick search revealed is disappearing over the horizon, having been thrown overboard by an unknown person. The quartermaster's mate was obviously not the only villain onboard. Fortunately, more Byzantine sails appeared on the horizon soon. As they came closer, the crew began waving wildly, requesting aid. As Efstathios Laskaris (Ibn-Khaldun) sailed by, his men only laughed and taunted the disabled crew. Efstathios will certainly make land next year, but at the current rate Annios may never live to see land again.

--------------

Added 4700 to treasury for Crusade upkeep.

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1122-6.zip