Ready to raid...

I'm writing this while sailing to our final destination. We have just left the island of Orkneys. Our ship is now full with all the supplies we will need to fulfill our mission. I must admit that up until this point, the journey has been quite long. Bad weather, rough seas, and for a small period of time a shortage of food, have all made me physically drained and mentally exhausted. But at this moment the the sun is shining and moral is high. I can tell that a lot of the crew is getting anxious. I have met many new faces on this voyage; one in particular I like very much. His name is Banki from our neighboring village Vattern. He is a farmer like me with two sons. We share many of the same interests and he strikes me as a very wise man. Over the course of the past two days he has told me stories about dozens of raids, all of which were successful. It is comforting to know that I have friends who have previous experience in these matters and who I can trust when we are on the front lines. I will write again after our mission is complete.