36. The Rolling Blue

* The party buy provisions in Bisquay then push off, setting course for Freetown in the Pirate Republic.
	+ In the space of a day and a half, they leave the relatively calm waters of the Merchant Strait.
	+ Once they've passed through the reef shelf that marks the Strait off and grows into the Chelonii Atoll, the waves that give the wide ocean known as the Rolling Blue its name started picking up.
* One day early on, as the group was passing in line with the place now dubbed Loudwater, the space of sea between Driscoll's old territory and Shandy's Night Isles, Clwyd noticed in the waves the traces of a storm in that direction.
	+ Pyt and Wilfred think they hear the battle roar of King the Leviathan as they go to sleep that night, if only faintly.
	+ The pair briefly talk about the experience, wondering what a genasi's 'dying wish' really entails and enables. Wilfred doesn't think that King or whatever will he's left behind in Loudwater would hold any grudge against the party.
	+ As they part ways for the evening, Pyt gives Wilfred back Hidenori's dragonchess piece, saying the gnome has far more use for it than he does on this trip. Wilfred tells him the gesture means more to him than Pyt knows!
* The first five days of sailing are relatively easy going, with the swells gradually rising as the party move further and further from any landmasses.
	+ Wven so, the little group has only four sailors, and the Drunken Dragon requires two sailors - one on the steering oar and one on the sail rigging. They split into a day shift and a night shift, working 12-hour days each.
	+ Pyt does his best to help ease the party's burdens since he doesn't know how to sail. Jeremy and other unseen servants provide massages; prestidigitation keeps clothes and the deck cabin relatively clean; and bardic inspiration helps lighten the load of the long shifts, if only a little.
	+ The sailors are drinking 2 gallons of water a day, which is the full amount produced by Clwyd's alchemy jug - the lifeblood of the party. This leaves Pyt to drink a gallon of the thin sailing beer every day, meaning he has a constant buzz on, and eventually has a near constant headache and sense of queasiness.
	+ When the waves start getting choppier, Clwyd's seasickness and Wilfred's fear of open water rear their ugly heads, making the going even harder for them both.
	+ As the extent of this battle against the ocean becomes apparent, Aerendyl shifts to wearing his autumn season.
	+ By the end of that first week, Wilfred and Cormorant had picked up a level of exhaustion each.
	+ The group adjust their shifts, with Cormorant and Clwyd taking the daytime and Aerendyl and Wilfred handling the night.
* Pushing into the second week of sailing, the waves of the Rolling Blue have picked up to the point that the boat is experiencing near constant climbs and falls between 40 and 50 degrees, save for the occasional calmer evening.
	+ On one particularly calm night, Wilfred tries to catch some much needed sleep, only to be roused by an excited Aerendyl.
	+ The elf had caught a whisper on the wind and waves, written into them in the language of nature, Druidic. The message had carried the meaning, 'travelling with calm waters; we mean no harm.'
	+ Not long after, a pod of whales, each as large as *the Drunken Dragon*, can cut across the ship's path, each of the animals eagerly inspecting the boat and those aboard it as if they were curious. The waters around whales glowed with a faint blue light as they swam past.
	+ Aerendyl had never seen whales before, but he told Wilfred what he'd heard of them: that they had a sentience, but their way of thinking was very different to humanoids; that some of them can manipulate the weave through the means of nature magic; and that the greatest of those magical whales go on to become Sea Kings.
	+ As they passed, Wilfred felt himself relax and his constantly agitated nerves release the tension he didn't even realise he'd been holding. It was only later that he recognised the effects of a *calm emotions* spell that had been placed on him by the creatures.
	+ At the end of the second week, Clwyd and Aerendyl had picked up a level of exhaustion, and Wilfred had picked up his second.
* With the third week, came the slow creeping madness of seeing nothing but featureless blue in all directions.
	+ Cormorant succeeds in jerry-rigging a fix for Clwyd's seasickness from some of the materials in his healer's kit. It doesn't abet the queasiness completely, but she can at least keep her lunch down now.
	+ Aerendyl devotes the majority of his daily spell slots to casting enhance ability on Wilfred, just to help the tired, agitated gnome out a little.
	+ Everyone is sick of everything being wet all the time.
	+ At least once per day, the *destroy water* is cast just to clear the ship's bilge and keep them afloat.
	+ At the end of the week, everyone had picked up another level of exhaustion: putting Wilfred on 3; Aerendyl, Clwyd, and Cormorant on 2; and Pyt on 1.
* If they'd made good time, Cormorant had estimated that their trip across the Rolling Blue could have been as short as three weeks, give or take a little. As it turned out, they had another full week of sailing in store for them - made progressively worse by the fact that they didn't know how much further they had to go; the log pin frustratingly only giving them the direction.
	+ Cormorant again makes a remedy for Clwyd's seasickness.
	+ Aerendyl switches to casting *enhance ability* on himself, considering Wilfred a little bit of a lost cause at this point.
	+ At the end of this fourth week of sailing, everyone again picks up a level of exhaustion: putting Wilfred on 4; Aerendyl, Clwyd, and Cormorant on 3; and Pyt on 2.
* One of these days, in his delirium, Wilfred recounts his final conversation with his old mentor and guardian, Lyra au Leones. The rest of the group aboard the ship heard one side of the conversation.
	+ Lyra was quizzing him on herbology, and so Wilfred listed uses for various plants, roots, and herbs, as well as the consequences of various mixtures being used in specific circumstances.
	+ He then went on to defend his positions on various topics regarding the nature of magic and the duties of wizards, as was always Lyra's teaching method.
	+ He spoke on having recently mastered some cantrips and first level spells; how it is the duty of a wizard to cultivate within themselves a full and complete body of knowledge, not merely a catalogue of spells; he agreed that the existence of Enchantment magic made it difficult to imagine a legal system that could do without magic to determine truth and law - and all the while, he was stroking and playing with Nemea, Lyra's lion cub familiar.
	+ Wilfred mused about which of the Rumidian Margraviates he'd like to go to, eventually deciding on the Western Margrave.
	+ Eventually, he was talking to himself about finding out the truth of what happened to his parents.
* It's on the morning of the 29th day since they set off from Bisquay that Cormorant spots the jagged claw-like rocks that mark the Sawtooth Basin and the Pirate Republic within it.
	+ The old pirate is able to puzzle out which opening in the basin they're heading towards.
	+ He points it out to the group on their map, and they all decide to head straight in, towards the islands called the Cherries and Many Apples.
	+ It's about 2pm when they cross into the basin and the calm waters within, the mountainous peaks of the volcanic islands rising up to the sky all over the horizon.
* A galleon flying a pirate flag heads straight towards them - a small ship flying no flag and coming in from the Rolling Blue, appearing to any onlooker to be easy pickings.
	+ Aerendyl takes the form of an owl and goes to scout out the ship as it pulls up broadside. He's immediately shot down into the water by a hail of crossbow bolts, the pirates taking no chances with approaching birds in these parts.
	+ Captain Dogtooth demands they yield their ship and jump overboard, sending another volley of bolts at *the Drunken Dragon*.
	+ Cormorant steers their ship into flight, heading for the deeper regions of the basin, while Aerendyl whips up a whirlpool with *control water* to harass the attacking galleon.
	+ Pyt *dimension doors* into the galleon's bilge, briefly tries to breach the ship's hull with his adamantine handaxe, but gives up when it's clear that he's far too weak to do any real damage, even from the inside. He looks through Jolene's eyes to see where *the Drunken Dragon* is in the water now, and then *dimension doors* back.
	+ Wilfred decimates the galleon's ranks with two successive walls of fire across their deck rail, immolating crossbow-wielding pirates, igniting sails and rigging, and leaving their ship at the full mercy of Aerendyl's whirlpool.
	+ Dogtooth's ship is left keeled over and smouldering in the water.
* Once their escape and the destruction of Dogtooth's galleon was clear, the group relaxed, briefly thought about turning around to loot the ship, and then spotted the five griffons flying towards them from Many Apples.
	+ Three of the griffons went to deal with the survivors of Dogtooth's ship.
	+ Another circled in the air above *the Drunken Dragon*, a large boulder clutched in its talons.
	+ And the last flew down to within talking distance, its rider a man in half-plate, with Rumidian olive skin, his lance held vertically, and a rose in his mouth.
	+ He enjoyed the moment a little, then awkwardly spat the rose out and spoke to the group, telling them that if his lance falls, the griffon above drops its rock and their ship becomes something for Gold-Eater to deal with.
	+ He gives them two options: with him to Many Apples and the chains that await there, or to the sea floor here and now. Pyt opts for chains.
	+ The Drunken Dragon is escorted to the shores of Many Apples by the five griffons - three carrying stones, two with riders.
	+ They dock in a deep bay, the wall of which has been constructed artificially. They leave *the Drunken Dragon* there - not revealing it to be a folding boat - with Zaratan the tortoiseshell cat aboard.
	+ Clwyd uses *sending* to update Nix on their situation, telling him they've reached the Pirate Republic but are currently going to be put in chains. Nix tells her that if she gets herself killed its really her own business.
	+ The second he steps off the boat, Wilfred's equilibrium is rocked and he feels dizzy and ill. He has land sickness.
	+ Their hands and feet are manacled by short chains, and they're walked up the grassy hill to a fort.
	+ Within, they're walked to a large tower, made to climb a lot of stairs, and emerge in a mess hall and meeting place of sorts at the top.
	+ The Rumidian whose been escorting them walks past and sits in a large chair at the room's far end, while his entourage fill the tables of the room and start enjoying themselves.
* The griffon rider introduces himself as Rascal au Rio, member of the Council of Nine and the person in charge of Many Apples.
	+ Rascal gives the group something of an interrogation, though he admits to be fucking with them at times.
	+ The room full of knightly soldiers are loving the show, openly howling with laughter as Rascal berates with and talks to the group.
	+ Rascal decides he doesn't like Clwyd or Aerendyl.
	+ The party - mostly through Cormorant - tell Rascal that they were in the Wine Side of the Merchant Strait, but then made some trouble with the Scars of Mir, and also with Mother Shandy, and so they'd headed to the Pirate Republic to start their lives afresh. Currently, he said, they were heading to Freetown.
	+ Rascal says that it's clear the party are strong, since they sunk Dogtooth's galleon in the time it took him and his griffons to arrive. Thus, the manacles. He doesn't like taking too many chances when it comes to magic types. However, what one needs in the Pirate Republic is friends, and so Rascal wants to extend to them his hospitality - food and beds, for the time being, though the manacles stay on.
	+ He sends Clwyd (who's been magically disguised as a halfling since their first conversation with Rascal) with three of his guys - Colin, Eremon, and Felix - to go fetch food from the kitchens. They're pretty chill, tell her not to mind Rascal and his strange demeanour too much - 'you learn to tolerate it' - and say she has a 'hairy pair' when she tells them she and the party crossed the Rolling Blue in such a small boat with so few deck hands.
* The party partake of Rascal's hospitality.
	+ They're given a table and left to talk among themselves while they eat.
	+ Rascal eventually comes to join them and they ask him some questions, revealing that they know practically nothing about the political make-up of the Pirate Republic other than the fact that a Council of Nine exists.
	+ He tells them that the Council is in charge of the tributes to the witches of the basin - June the Maiden, the Night Mother, and Old Mackerel. Often these tributes are people, though the party probably shouldn't get squeamish at the thought, he says, since they sank a galleon and killed most of its crew within their first few minutes in the Republic.
	+ When Cormorant reveals that he was in the company of Old Mackerel for about half a year, Rascal asks if they rutted and howls with laughter when Cormorant can't deny it. The Rumidian screams the information to the rest of the room, sending up a chorus of disgusted laughs, mugs and hands banging on tables all around the room.
	+ Rascal tells them all the identities of all the current Council of Nine: Mary, the Jack, Gaia Gold-Eater, Shortshanks, the Dark Doctor, the Butcher, Feverfletch, and himself. He struggles with the last one, then remembers: the Inferno!
	+ He also tells them that if the Council and the Pirate Republic were a true united force then maybe they could directly square up against the great powers of the world. As it stands though, there's a lot of ego and very few of them are interested in working for any of the others, Rascal included.
	+ Other information they gleamed from the conversation:
		- Gaia Gold-Eater is a 'fish person' and claims the Republic's sea floor as her domain.
		- Mary is in Freetown.
		- Gold-Eater is the one that gives the tribute to June the Maiden. The Jack handles giving the tribute to the Night Mother. The Council used to take turns handing the tribute for Old Mackerel, though nobody liked it since she's creepy and 'it's a lot of rowing.' Now, the new guy, a 'little goblin shit', says he's fine with handling it.
	+ Rascal has one of his guys, Alonso, a casual psychopath, take the group to one of the fort's small houses and give them rooms.
* The party are locked in a small building until the morning.
	+ They briefly collect their thoughts before going to sleep.
	+ They wonder what Rascal's interest in them is. Wilfred recalls that the Rio are not an obscure family, several having earned acclaim in the Knights of the Crown, including one of the current Royal Guard. Some of the group think Rascal is a Rumidian agent in the Republic.
	+ They also talk about what exactly it is they plan on doing in the Republic. They know Madog is here now, and so they might be able to scout him out. They can also try looking into the situation with the witches and consider dealing with them if it seems feasible.
	+ Cormorant thinks the Council of Nine are not going to be pleased if they catch wind that the party want to kill the witches, since the agreement they have is what keeps the Republic safe from the threat of Rumidians and the Pirate Lords: the witches promise protection in exchange for the tributes they receive.
	+ The group sleeps. Wilfred doesn't gain the benefits of a long rest because of his land sickness. The rest recover one level of exhaustion each. Aerendyl switches his season back to spring.
* The next morning, the party briefly speak on a game plan for how they'll communicate with Rascal.
	+ They mention again that they think Rascal is allied with Rumidia.
	+ Aerendyl says he thinks they should just kill Rascal and take his seat on the Council. Cormorant tells him that the political arrangement is a little more complicated than that; they might not just get the guy's seat by killing him.
	+ They mention again their intention to take down the witches of the basin if they can.
	+ At that, Rascal reveals that he's been listening in from outside the door. He enters the room and tells the group, 'if you're to kill the witches, I'm on board.'

**Final Exhaustion count: Aerendyl 2, Clwyd 2, Cormorant 2, Pyt 1, Wilfred 4**