Yesterday I was accosted by two pirates and was asked for a fee for "protection" as Haven was supposedly under the guardianship of pirates. Obviously, as I was armored and armed, sense would dictate that I was in no need of their protection. I stated to them that I was tired, and not in the mood for such silly business, and insisted I be on my way, noting that being the supreme power in the seas did not extend to the land. Perhaps this gave impetus to their foul behavior as it came off rather sarcastically, and they called another pirate who looked to be quite seasoned over to the scene. At this point they issued an ultimatum of 10 seconds for their payment, and out of sheer principle I denied them their request. I searched for backup from fellow Torms, but nobody was within earshot. They began to count down from ten and my anger at this sheer injustice grew, perhaps clouding my better judgment. The countdown came to one, and I dashed ahead, targeting their strongest fighter, but unfortunately, three to one odds are never that great, so I was knocked unconscious just outside the city gates. This turn of events begs the question of how we are to proceed with this gross violation of our freedom of movement, and the disgusting extortion that was obviously their reason for a fight. Further orders?

"Salutations,

I found your report to be accurate. There is much we need to do. The TormTars should be able to react instantly and even if some will be on sentry duty we should always have a strike force ready.

This also reminds me about the reason each of our Paladins always has a shadow nearby... protection, surprise attack and backup... I hope you find your shadow... fast.

The pirates are establishing themselves in New Haven... the last time we had a clash the outcome was much different... with Mathena, Caliver and Kall (catlord) taking the hits and being able to withstand the attack... and when we were outnumbered... from the shadows... Gilbert put some of the pirates down... making the battlefield even.

We are also spread thin... some are in the Church of TORM, some in the core of the Gentle Rest Inn, others, from the Military Order of the Holy FURY learning what they can about Factions and last, many of our paladins are outlaws... they fight in Felluca but Law and Order have little meaning there so they were forced to take many lives to make our path safe and sound... the Dreaded Innmates.

All of this Chaos has a purpose... makes us hard to understand, hard to predict... hard to counter...

So you see the method in our madness... young paladins and archers are found and trained by the Magik Academy, a Wing of the Gentle Rest Inn... once they become battle ready they start their Quests... and once they become Enforcers, they are ready to join the Church of Torm... there, they learn basic tactics and field warfare... they also learn to stand still and shoot and attack everything that is in range... once the training is done and the first clash is absorbed the path becomes clear... and we have an extra challenge... join the True Brittains and the FURY of Torm... and finally we'll bring Justice to all of Sosaria.

Regarding leadership... we follow a system called Meritocracy... some know how to hunt, some know how to fight... and depending on the context we'll have different field leaders... usually the most experienced paladin takes over... last time Caliver led us to a great victory versus the pirates... his tactics and previous training made us win the day...

Thank you for your report and I hope you receive my own...

Your Friend, Pitr"

* carefully places the report in an old leather case, leaves it in plain sight next to the War Board... *