On the night of the 28th of Autumn I travelled to the Darshak outpost on Ash Island with some associates to see the ship pictured above. Apologies for the poor quality of the sketch, as it was drawn at night. There were two ships present, both of the same class.

These ships have rather odd rigging--similar to a normal Human ship, but the aft mast has square rigging. This would make the ship a bit faster when running before the wind, but less maneuverable the rest of the time. I think such rigging would be useful if the Darshak require the greatest possible speed along a course where the wind is relatively steady.

The ship carries six rather large ship's boats. This suggests that the ship is either a troop transport or a whaler. Given the appearance of elite Darshak troops in recent invasions (and the absence of whales in local waters), I think it's more likely a troop ship.

On the side visible there are ten gunports, so there are most likely ten on the other side as well. Chasers, if any, are not visible. This is noteworthy because 20 guns is a light armament for a ship, being more typical of a sloop or a brig. Since I wasn't able to board the ship, there was no way to tell exactly what is behind the gunports. Perhaps the Darshak use weapons that are larger than a typical ship's cannon? Or perhaps the ship carries so many troops that it only has room for minimal defensive armament.

Both ships had full sails, as seen in the sketch. This is very unusual indeed for a ship that's not actually going anywhere. I didn't see any mooring lines holding the ships to the docks, so they must be kept in place by anchors. Why anyone would do this is beyond me.

I am not a sailor, so my knowledge is limited. Hopefully there are exiles in Puddleby who know more on the subject than I do.