Recent.events.        

To understand Ardt's current situation, the past two years are the most important to consider. Before then he has been outside of Bree-land only a few times, having lived in Combe. But two years ago, after a change in his financial situation when he caused an accident that crippled his son - thus losing a helping hand - he was desperate enough for work to take Ergaric's lucrative offer to join his ship's crew. So he decided to apply his carpentry on the sea instead of at home and leave his family there, only to be sent coin from Ardt's travels. Ardt's guilt about his son, combined with his evasive nature, assisted that decision to leave. 

However, it worked out. Ardt ended up making more than double the money, as well as fathering three more children. He still did not send home as much as expected by his wife, as he could easily attribute the deliberately missed payments to courier complications - keeping some excess coin to frivol away. His role on the ship was mainly to fix what needed fixing and instruct crewmen when necessary. Due to the loose organization and ranking on the ship, he ended up fulfilling a lot of quartermaster tasks as well. Overall there were 16 crewmen on the one-masted ship. Notably the captain Ergaric, his cousin Aiona, Bredt, Aelirann and her late husband Bill.

The crew's work along the coasts of Belegaer consisted mainly of paid transportation, trade and work ashore and later also robbery on shore. The latter they learned in the Bay of Belfalas where they earned most of their coin during that time. There they were hired to assist the corsairs of Umbar in coastal raids and occasional naval combat. However, the captain, trying to maintain some moral standards for his crew's actions, regularly got into confrontations with the Men of Umbar. Eventually, they had to leave the Bay again and kept their business in Belegaer.

That business went south soon after returning when they attacked a merchant. To do so they allied with another group that scudded when things got heated. In the end, they were overpowered and their ship destroyed. 15 crewmen managed to escape in two boats, though the two groups quickly lost each other. By the time they arrived in Bree, only five people remained. Bree was picked as a place of recollection because two of the five are local Bree-landers (Ardt and Bredt) and the captain and his cousin knew the place from when they picked up Ardt two years ago, having made some friends in the town.

The crew's current objective is to acquire another ship and get back on the sea. However, since more existential needs are pressing them, they are settling in Bree for now, simply looking to get by and eventually earn enough coin for the next departure, as promised by their captain.