09. A Crew Formed

In Longreach's drinking hall, most of the party decided to keep sailing together under Driscoll's flag. Elio, however, had stormed out - unhappy with the discussion, the party, and Driscoll's way of doing things in general. Outside, the monk had a confrontation with the pirate lord, who was stood at the shoreline making effigies for the crew members he'd lost running through Shandy's fleet. At the end of the heated debate, Driscoll said Elio wasn't being kept hostage and was free to leave whenever he wanted. The monk left Longreach in a rowboat, intent on carrying on his mission of destroying evil, alone.

Throughout the rowdy evening, a number of interesting developments came up. Malak was invited by King to join the genasi's crew of misfits. The triton was flattered but ultimately declined. Simon was morose, lamenting that 'it was about time' for everything to come back full circle. The party tried cheering him up but he wasn't keen to talk on the details. The drake also revealed that he felt like Wilfred was the only one of the party who had been kind to him, with everyone else effectively treating him like a pet rather than a sapient, 70-year-old creature that just happened to be small. He mentioned Vic petting him like a house cat, Malak saying he was as useful as Spice in the sahuagin fight, and Pyt frequently condescending to offer him life advice as if he knew the details of the drake's situation. The party moved on to bullying Wilfred a little for the frequency with which he would hide within his illusions during fights. He retorted that his webs had constantly been of aid the party but eventually stormed out when he was called a cuck.

Vic was able to catch up with Icke, her old captain, as well as some of *the Ramshod's*crew. The halfling was happy to see that during Vic's short time off his ship, she had come out of her shell like he'd hoped she would. Icke told her that he'd worried they messed up somewhere along the way with how they raised her - she was always so quiet and standoffish - but it all seemed to be working out now. The conversation took a turn when Icke explained that they had always wanted to protect Vic, and that this was what led them to ally with Driscoll and gain the protection of his flag. However, *the Ramshod's* side of that deal meant they were now to stay in Longreach and fight whatever Shandy would start throwing towards Driscoll's territory in her rage. Icke took a moment to whisper to Vic that this didn't have to be her fight if she didn't want it to be. She could just leave it all behind her and run with the new mates she'd made. Run away from it all and be free.

After this, Vic spent a good portion of the night running around Longreach's drinking hall to say goodbye to all of her old crew. Some were curt, some were friendly. One whistled at the sight of her new armour and told her to be careful with it; he'd seen people killed over far less in these wild seas. Finally, Vic went outside and found Arriety on the beach, the woman who had taught her to fight. They had a quick, fierce sparring match on the sand and in the water. Arriety was impressed with how much Vic had improved, but still found enough mistakes to warrant a lecture, even as she was slapping Vic here and there with the flat of her cutlass. When they were done, the pair hugged and shared a tender moment on the beach, panting and sweating all the while. Arriety said she hoped Vic can live a free life that makes her happy. Vic asked if they'd ever see each other again, and Arriety mused that it was probably more up Vic than *the Ramshod's* crew at this point. Before Vic took her leave, Arriety gifted her the cutlass she'd used in the spar - it was too short for the woman, suggesting she'd had it made especially for Vic.

Quinn, the half-orc captain of *the Fortunate Fool,* presented the folding boat to the party again. She said that she didn't really care much for how Driscoll said they owe her for the boat. Quinn hoped the party saw the ship as one of their comrades like they view each other, and explained that she'd like them to attract a klabauter - a sea spirit - to live in the ship if they could. Before she left, the half-orc told the party to keep their eyes out for someone named Ingela, a woman who sailed with Quinn for a short time about a decade past. She was apparently a frightfully good gambler, so much so that everyone called her 'Lady Luck.'

With all the rooms in Longreach full beyond capacity, Pyt manifested some new magic in his desire to get a great night's sleep. He conjured a magical, drum-shaped, tiny hut, complete with wall decorations, adjustable lighting, shag carpet, blankets, and an inexplicable dooby he was smoking as some of the others joined him in the building.

The next day, Longreach's bells rang early in the morning, and several of the crews on the island scrambled to their boats, ready to meet some of Shandy's ships that had been sent by the raging pirate lord. The party went to see Driscoll, Laylin, and Duster. The party told them that they'd decided to accept the offer to sail under Driscoll's flag and in turn they learned about the state of the world. They heard about the Fifth Lord's War, the Brothers' Feud, and the fact that one crew that fought for Dancer until the end was still around, somewhere. The party were then outfitted with Log Pins for Crab Claw, Bisquay, Agnor, and Yeddow. With these and some notes from the map Driscoll's crew had with them, the party were now capable of navigating all of Driscoll's territory. They also received a sending stone, a magical item that each of Driscoll's captains carried, with Duster looking after the corresponding stones.

Driscoll was still keen for the party to try and uncover the Rumidian informant in his ranks. Badger and Nemmonis's crews were the prime suspects - though Driscoll stressed that the party weren't to let on that this was the case. His forces couldn't withstand the instability that his lack of trust would bring, even if circumstances did mean that he couldn't trust either of them at the moment. Nemmonis had never done wrong under Driscoll's flag, but she was ex-Rumidian and he couldn't just overlook that. Badger, however, had always been a bit of a snake, and he was the one who had gotten the information on the Rumidian scout ship in the first place. The fact that Duster could no longer read his mind, suggesting he'd sought out Dancer's old ring, was also suspicious.

Laylin explained that they needed to get *the Matricide*repaired and the only place they could do that was the Verdant Groves. Their first stop was going to be Bisquay, so they could sell the loot from Shandy's sunken ships - money was starting to get a bit tight for Driscoll's forces. The party agreed to sail with them to the port town. In Bisquay, Driscoll was immediately accosted by some of the local aldermen who were inquiring about murders that took place in the Mud Skip Tavern during *the Matricide's* last stint in port. Driscoll immediately pieced together that the party were likely involved. He covered for them, even getting angry at the man. All the same, he was dragged off to have meetings with the aldermen of the merchant town while some of his crew went about selling their loot.

The party discovered that Simon was cursed. As soon as he stepped back onto Bisquay, other people were able to see him again - nobody had taken notice of the drake other than the party since he'd left Bisquay with them. Simon was bound to the island, apparently doomed to return no matter how often he left, and immediately forgettable to all but the crew that took him off the island. Simon was sad to have returned, but appeared resigned to the fact. He asked the party if they'd be up for finding the place where the brandy he'd been drinking was being produced, just for one last drink. They agreed, and the group set off looking for a tavern called the Fine Vine.

What they found was the distraught owner, Derrick, stood outside his dingy establishment screaming for help. They heard a lot of commotion in the basement and rushed down to find a number of rum gremlins doing battle with a goblin woman who was hurling vials of acid around. The goblin was apparently very relieved that some help had arrived, and she even aided the party during the scuffle. Clark was banged up pretty badly, but the gremlins were eventually dealt with. However, the fight resulted in a significant amount of both fire and water damage to the Fine Vine's basement and its stock. Derrick was livid, scared, and sad all at the same time. He blamed everything on Clwyd, the female goblin, who he'd apparently been harbouring in the basement - their arrangement involved him keeping her hidden at the cost that she kept distilling wine into more profitable brandy. Clwyd was kicked out, with Derrick shouting a number of anti-goblin slurs as he did so. The goblin was pleased to learn that the party were from Driscoll's forces as she had something to discuss with someone from *the Matricide* - preferably someone who wouldn't kill a goblin on sight. While Clwyd was packing to leave, Pyt used a *suggestion* spell on Derrick to make him walk through Bisquay naked - punishment for his racism and his attitude. Clwyd emerged wearing a strange, very busy outfit - a cap on her head, a cloak on her shoulders, and a large satchel over her shoulder. She was also magically disguised as a halfling.

Clwyd was able to have a brief conversation with Laylin aboard *the Matricide*, but it was mostly fruitless to her cause. She wanted someone to go and deal with some goblin warlord she had a vendetta against, but Laylin explained that she and her crew were busy fighting their own war at the moment, and besides, *the Matricide* never took new crew members anyway. Clwyd left Driscoll's flagship and returned to the party. The group went aboard *the Drunken Dragon* for a little privacy, Driscoll's flag flying high on the little folding boat in the port. The group debated the pros and cons of harbouring a goblin while sailing under Driscoll's flag. Clwyd explained that she could be useful: she could make things - magical things. A deal was struck to take her with them for a little while, and in the mean time she would either prove herself useful or have a chance to find another crew to sail with. Intent to prove her worth, she immediately got to duplicating a magic ring she'd made herself so Pyt could have one too.

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