72. Lake Makuahine

* Under cover of Sunwane 10's dark night, *the Drunken Dragon* slipped away from the city of New Baronae and, with hope, from Halcyon Cill's fiendish pursuers. They set a course for the ancestral home of the Reefbeards, Lake Makuahine, otherwise known as the Coral Blue.
	+ The artificer Cill and his frontman and bookkeeper changeling Lockjaw were very grateful to the party and their crew. By way of saying thanks and offering some compensation, they gave over a few of the magic items they'd made and were able to get away with during their hasty flight. Lockjaw, apparently with a keen eye for people, offered items much to the individual party members' tastes despite the small amount of time he'd known them.
		- To Wilfred they gave a spool of Shiftweave Thread, an iridescent material that Lockjaw explained would allow a competent tailor to fashion a Suit of Shiftweave, clothes capable of swapping between up to five different outfits. Needless to say, the gnome was overjoyed. Lockjaw and Cill also warned that the Rumidians weren't overly keen on people getting hold of the stuff - apparently it makes for good spying and espionage.
		- To Clwyd, sensing an interest in violence, they presented a Potion of Overchannelling. It would allow her to deal maximum damage with a spell cast soon after quaffing it. Again they warned that the Rumidians liked to regulate the stuff quite heavily. The goblin too was quite pleased with her gift.
		- To Aerendyl, having seen some primal magic mastery, they gave over Horseshoes of Speed, originally commissioned for one of the margrave's son's horses. Cill was fairly confident he could refashion the things into a set of four bands to go around wrist and ankle, which would then boost Aerendyl's speed significantly when he was *wildshaped* into a quadrupedal form.
		- For Pyt, Lockjaw was somewhat apologetic in that he didn't have much to offer. The changeling handed over a 1-foot rod that could turn into a 10-foot-long fishing pole, complete with reel, line, and tackle, hoping it would placate the bard. Quickly the group decided that the rod was great, but that it was more the sort of thing that would benefit everyone on the ship. So Cill sweetened the deal by having Pyt leave his armour with the old gnome, telling him that he'd been working on a new design for some magical augmentations that should boost the defending capabilities of such a thing.
		- Finally, Lockjaw affixed a Decanter of Endless Water above the ship's bath, so they could now draw water to fill it as much as they want. To the shock and delight of the Changeling and the artificer, when the plug in the bath was pulled, the water drained away - to somewhere somewhat unidentifiable. Yet another mystery and delight of this extraordinary bigger-on-the-inside deck cabin.
	+ Pyt goes out on deck in his undergarments, keen to use the new fishing pole. After a brief, fruitless attempt at fishing with no bait, he gets Cill to make him a magical lure, complete with chum smell. With Garret egging him on and Taylor interested despite himself, Pyt lands a modest tuna in the dead of night. He quickly mocks it to death, then takes it to Wilfred to preserve with a *gentle repose* spell, beaming with pride all the while.
	+ Cill spends his evening pulling apart the old hat Cormorant had given him. It had come from Oleantis, the island the party wished to head to next. All Cill and Lockjaw knew for sure was that it was somewhere in Lake Makuahine, but with the lake being so massive -- several thousand miles and tens of thousands in circumference -- they'd need a log pin to get there. Cill intended to use the reeds of the hat to form the sympathetic connection necessary for the log, but there was always some degree of uncertainty when making a log pin to a new place.
	+ With the new people on-board, Poop the Brownie had gone into hiding. Wilfred gets Aerendyl to find him with a *locate creature* spell, revealing that the brownie had sequestered himself in the inner pocket of Wilfred's warm winter clothes, a place he'd spent a lot of time in while the party explored the Roof of the World. Wilfred asked him if he'd be ok with using the Shiftweave Thread to make some clothes and of course the brownie said 'sure thing, Wilfred!'
	+ Cill ends up falling asleep in Aerendyl's bed since Clwyd's room doesn't have one. After a brief and failed attempt to move the gnome, Aerendyl decides to spend his evening in the crew quarters.
	+ Aerendyl, Clwyd, Poppy, Taylor, and Garret end up playing a dice game called Pips long into the night. With the luck of the hin behind her, Poppy ends up winning big.
	+ The next morning Pyt wakes up to Mennick peering over him. Mennick had been waiting for him to wake up so he could apologise and also thank Pyt for saving his life against the canine things. Mennick reveals that he's not very good at moderation. Pyt, of course, is not shocked to hear this. But then Mennick does surprise him, by asking Pyt to tell him when he should stop working on decoding the book each day.
	+ After that, Pyt gets his armour back, now augmented with a nice artificer infusion thanks to Cill's work.
	+ The crew handle the sailing on these easy days, the heading from New Baronae a simple one to follow. This frees up the party to pursue their own interests a little.
	+ Clwyd approaches Cill, asking if she can help with his artificery. He sets her to work holding things in place for him and the like, and she quietly enjoys the nostalgia she feels in the role.
	+ Lockjaw goes to Pyt and explains his long desire to perform a one-man play where he turned into the different characters as he voiced them - something only possible for him in a scenario where people knew he was a changeling. He asks Pyt if maybe he'd do the musical accompaniment, perhaps with some illusions to provide background and scenery. Pyt says he's keen and they get to work.
* They reach the edge of Lake Makuahine on Sunwane 13. The great expanse of coral reef systems stretches out to the horizon beyond them, and to countless more horizons beyond that one. Shallows dotted with plunge pools pock the beautiful reef clusters they can see through crystal clear waters, and as they pass through the barrier corals, the waves lose any chop they had. Their ship moves slower here, having to weave through and around so much reef, but the weather is fine -- sub-tropical and getting warmer as they go -- and the sailing fair.
	+ Just before they disappear all the way into the Lake, they catch sight of some heavy merchant traffic skirting around the Rumidian side of the coral shelf in the distance -- perhaps a sign of the conflict ramping up to the south.
	+ As the days slip by, they catch a great showing of Lake Makuahine's wildlife. Hippogriffs range from small sandy islands, seeming to gallop on top of the water as they rush out to take flight, fish of all sorts dart about the reefs, fed upon by eels, reef sharks, octopuses, and vibrant, floating jellyfish.
	+ And the fish were also preyed upon by Pyt. For the bard was fishing constantly now. Their ration stores soon ran out, but the fish supply was ample here, and with Garret and Poppy supporting him, they managed to keep their stocks full with all manner of tuna, barracuda, snappers, and bonito.
	+ Aerendyl takes a moment to talk to Clwyd, Pyt, and Wilfred regarding the crew. The elf is concerned that they aren't really paying them and he doesn't want to lose any of them to something they could easily fix like that. After some discussion, the group decide to talk to the crew about it sometime over dinner, and to hold regular meetings of that sort with the crew present more often.
* On the day of Sunwane 19, the ship anchors, resting for the day. Because it's Pyt's birthday!
	+ Pyt wakes up to Mennick looking at him again. Mennick wishes him well in an offhanded way and then hands Pyt a small bundle. Viol strings. Mennick says he didn't have much on him to give, but Pyt's happy enough and he restrings his instrument straight away.
	+ They all eat a lot of fish for breakfast.
	+ Then Lockjaw and Pyt put on their show, playing out one story each from four of the Great Twelve, each selected because it works fairly well in the one-man format.
		- By Robert the Widower, they do 'Good Man; Bad Husband,' the tale of an unfortunate soul who married several fey creatures in his life, only for each one to end tragically.
		- They then followed up with 'To Live' by Zato the Blind, the story of an unappreciated man who finds purpose in helping an injured sprite recover at the end of his life.
		- After a brief intermission, they do 'Enough for Two' by Crowfoot, the tale of two people that drift together and then apart, again and again, through the course of their lives.
		- Finally, they do 'Long Locks' by Ghillie Greenbottle, selected as the finishing piece because its subject matter is pertinent to their destination. The story speaks of a bald stone giant native to Faerie. He was always cold, and so he had some long hair fashioned for himself by master crafts-fey. So enamoured was he with the wonderful hair that the giant insisted on sharing it with his children. But he didn't have any children! So, as stone giants do, he made some! Except he didn't have enough hair to share out with them if they were full sized like himself, and so he made them much smaller - '....though still far larger than you or I,' says Ghillie's narration in the play. And this then was the beginning of the firbolg peoples, connected to nature through their birth in the land of Faerie, connected to the giants from their father, and never cold, thanks to their generous, long locks.
		- Ghillie Greenbottle, ever popular with hin-folk, gained a loud cheer from Poppy and even the usually stoic Poe clapped happily.
	+ Lockjaw ended the performance by having Cill announce the good news: he believed he'd succeeded in making a log pin to Oleanitis! Now there was still a small chance it might actually point to somewhere halfway around the world seemingly unrelated to their desired destination, but Cill appeared optimistic. So they had their heading, even if they didn't know how far away it was.
	+ After that, Clwyd proposed the group have a competition to race out away from the ship as far as they could go and then return again, all within 1 minute. Wilfred plays along and then leaves the goblin frantically teleporting across the water again and again while he and the others stay on the boat.
	+ On her solo race, Clwyd is soon surrounded by happy, playful merfolk. All bronze skinned, beautiful beyond belief, and more graceful than dolphins in the water. They started jumping out the water around her, swirling around in formation, laughing all the while, beseeching her to play with them. Clwyd being Clwyd, she all but ignored the merfolk while completing her race, but ended up leading them back to *the Drunken Dragon* anyway.
	+ With the insistence of dozens of beautiful, naked creatures beckoning them to play in the water, Aerendyl, Clwyd, Pyt, Poppy, and Alric all have fun swimming with them - with Aerendyl having cast *waterbreathing* on them all to help them out. Cill and Lockjaw was on happily from the edge of the boat, while Wilfred and Garret, neither keen to get in the water when it isn't necessary, start drinking heavily instead.
	+ They while away the late summer afternoon in that manner, all those in the water held in the arms of various merfolk as they swim at incredible speeds about the nearby reefs. But when the sun began to set and the merfolk said they needed to go, they all held on tight and implored everyone to come with them, to come live on the sea floor and live happily forever, where they could enjoy all the merfolks' treasure and make fry with them and be happy.
	+ Through various teleport spells and the like, everyone in the water managed to get back to the ship without issue. And as the sun set, the merfolks retreated, leaving them all alone. Pyt concluded that it was fun 'until they got a bit drown-ee.'
	+ As the dark of night sets in, the party continues. They get what drinks they have lying around out onto the deck and Wilfred and Clwyd put on an impromptu fireworks display on the canvas of the black night sky through a zealous overuse of their powerful magical abilities.
* From there, it was 31 days' sailing, and though the settings were idyllic, monotony was beginning to set in when at last their log pin's needle starting swinging more dramatically, indicating the island it pointed to was close. Sure enough, on the evening of Harvestide 5, the massive, round-ish island of Oleantis appeared on their horizons, all beautiful beachy shores, cascading rivers, babbling brooks, and bamboo forests.
	+ They anchor for the evening and it comes out that Lockjaw worked for Elise at one point, back in his and Cill's golden years when they were running about the newly formed Pirate Republic. When the party prodded a bit, they learned that Elise had been part of the first generation of the Council of Nine, but she eventually left it and ended up robbing Cill along the way, taking 'the Vermillion that floated.' This was the end of Lockjaw's time with the woman, him choosing his friendship with Cill instead.
	+ The next morning they put in on the shore of Oleantis, pulling *the Drunken Dragon* up onto a sandy beach.
	+ All the while, they saw thousands upon thousands of small white birds, sea swallows, sunning their wings on the beach in the early morning light. Eventually the birds started to take to the sky, and with each wing beat, they sent sparkling diamond dust down off their wings. With thousands of them moving at once, it looked like a curtain of jewels falling as they flew. From the air, the birds took to diving into the waters to fish, and each of them left a streak of ice in their wake as they did. Wilfred had never seen anything like it.
	+ As the last of the sea swallows leaves the beach, the party spot a single, incongruous bird still there: sleek black with a long neck and yellow-orange eyes, a cormorant. It fans its wings a bit, takes to the air, circles above them once, and then heads to the treeline where it lands and looks back at them.
	+ All the party except Pyt think it's significant. They decide to follow it, leaving their crew to watch the ship and amuse themselves.
	+ And so for the next few hours, Aerendyl, Clwyd, Pyt, Wilfred, Cill, and Lockjaw all followed the cormorant, which would fly off into the distance, then land and wait for them before going again. They trekked over streams and forded rivers, moving through vast bamboo forests teaming with the sounds of life, and eventually they came out at the mouth of a river, where a small hut had been made of the island's bamboo near the shore.
	+ The cormorant landed a handful of paces from the hut, scratched the ground a few times with its feet, and then flew off in earnest.
	+ Wilfred, Pyt, and Clwyd went to the spot the bird had marked. The gnome cast his *pliable summons* spell, formed it into a shovel, and started digging.
	+ Meanwhile, Aerendyl and the duo went to the hut and knocked on the door. Eventually, the door swung open and they were greeted by a very tall, very hairy, very old firbolg woman. She said she thought there might be visitors after the island got its new arrival, so the party weren't too much of a surprise for her. She'd kept the hut cleaned and maintained for years, for the memories, she said. 'In many ways, memories are all that we are.' At every thank you the party levelled on her for doing right by their friend Cormorant, she thanked them in turn. She left the hut to stand at the shore and leave them to their exploration.
	+ The building was humble, everything hand built. A single room upstairs was dominated by a double bed, but also featured a crib in the corner. Cill set the thing rocking a little and let out a melancholy sigh.
	+ Meanwhile, Wilfred had succeeded in digging up a small, ornate wooden chest. It was locked. He hesitated, not sure if opening it would be disrespecting his friend's memory or something like that. The firbolg woman told him that when he was on the island last, he left it suddenly, with sadness and anger ruling him, after the woman had left before him, again ruled by those feelings. If Cormorant had grown to be the kind of man that could leave his wishes behind in any form, it should surely be no disrespect to acknowledge that growth and honour those wishes.
	+ In his will, Cormorant had said Wilfred could have the contents of the box he'd left here, and so Wilfred cast the *knock* spell and unlocked the box.
* Inside the locked and buried box was a ring -- no more than a simple black band -- and a folded piece of paper. Wilfred opened up the paper and read the letter written on it:

> *Cameron*
>
>

> *This island, you, me, this baby to be. I really think I might be happier than I've ever been. And I'm honestly so scared that I'll ruin it sooner or later. But I've ran from so many things for such a long time. I don't feel like running from this just yet.*
>
>

> *I've been holding onto this gift for a long time, but it's yours now. I won't promise that I'll stay by your side forever, Cameron, but this should help you catch me next time I'm away. Try to keep up, won't you. And I'll wear the matching ring, just to make it a bit harder for you in any case.*
>
>

> *That's as close as you'll ever get to my hand in marriage, Fisher Bird.*
>
>

> *I hope that it's enough.*
>
>

> *Love,*
>
>

> *Your Elise*
>
>

* Wilfred goes to the firbolg woman and gives her the silver bullet with Cormorant's name on it, thinking for some reason that it felt right to give it to her. In turn, she takes out a feather earring and puts it in the gnome's palm.
* Afterwards, Cill approaches her and asks if she knows what they might do in this situation, what might feel right. She confesses that she doesn't know, since her way of doing things would not be to regret the passing but to instead remember those who move on by the whispers on the breeze or the touch of leaves on one's skin. She doesn't expect Cill to take solace in such things though, so offers instead that maybe a light rain might suit their sombre moods a little. When the gnome agrees she closes her eyes and assumes a look of concentration, planting her staff firmly in the ground and leaning heavily on it. And soon enough, clouds begin to form above them to darken the sky and let down a light drizzle, as she casts a spell supposedly beyond the powers of any mere mortal: *control weather*.