The group, now including the crew of the ill-fated Unsinkable II, flees through the dark jungle. They know dawn is close, but it is still nearly impossible to see. Quill tries to help the party by lighting their path.
“Let the jungle drown in light – I shall be its dawn, a living flame to carve the path of glory!”
She instantly lights herself on fire, becoming a beacon, helping the party navigate, but at the same time, potentially assisting the pursuers in tracking them. Gaia takes to the skies to seek out a place to go, seeing a cove far in the distance to the south. Hoping that they might find escape, they head in that direction. Quill casts mists behind her, attempting to hide their path, while Raenerys tries to create false tracks that can throw off their pursuers.
After a while they come across a small stream, and so they take some time to fill up their waterskins and drink some water, having run non-stop since the escape. Lizeer is having a hard time running due to the massive gash in her arm, so Gaia pours some water on it, using some of her innate magic of the sea to knit the wound together, allowing Lizeer to run with renewed vigour. Miryks, still in wolf-form, runs ahead to try to find any scent of something that might aid, surprisingly noticing the smell of blood and tar. She leads the party in the general direction, while Quill lights a torch for Gaia, who heads in another direction to lead the natives on a merry chase, before doubling back.
The group runs towards the ocean, and find themselves in a hidden cove, clearly having been used for smuggling or as a base for someone at one point, considering the scattered boxes and torn down sheds. In the cove, a large brigantine named The Fair Maiden, long since forgotten, lies in wait. Max and the crew immediately jump into the water, swimming to the ship to make it seaworthy. Gaia and Miryks try to help out by pushing the ship, while Raenerys and Quill stand watch. Suddenly, they all hear the natives have found them, and are running their way.
Quill, thinking quickly, sets fire to the forest, running around lighting the trees, forcing the natives to go through a narrow passageway, giving them a better chance. A big gnoll walks among them, clearly the leader, and points at them.
“You cannot be allowed to leave. You are our offerings to our gods.”
The party tries to hold off the tribe as the crew prepares the ship, slowly getting it turned around so that they can sail out of the cove. The tribes are many, but the burning forest funnels them into the path of the party. The lizardfolk shaman they saw earlier curses Raenerys, but luckily, this only helps her, as her patron uses the curse to fuel her magic, making her stronger. Miryks does notice however that for a brief second, Raenerys’ hair turns pale white, before she covers it with a hood, apparently taking a stamina potion. Miryks jumps out of the water, trying to drag one of the gnolls into the water to drown them, but they’re too strong. Gaia flies in to attack the leader, but another gnoll jumps up and grabs her, letting the leader wound her greatly. Quill comes to her aid, burning the one who held her, giving Gaia the opening she needs to kill the leader. One of the other gnolls proclaims themselves the new alpha, but is met with ridicule when they fail to attack Quill.
The crew finally manages to turn the ship around, throwing out ropes for the party to hold onto. Gaia picks up Raenerys, flying her to the ship, while Quill, still on fire, and Miryks in octopus form swims towards the ship. Safely aboard, they wave goodbye to the natives, who can only stare at them as their prey disappears into the ocean, and out of reach of their archers.
𐡸
Safely aboard the ship, everyone finally has a moment to rest and relax. The crew tells them about what happened after the party blacked out and Spire was eaten. The ship was smashed, igniting the barrels of gunpowder below, and then the kraken came straight towards their dinghy, but suddenly several bolts of lightning from nowhere were flung into the kraken, forcing it to retreat. Max and the rest of the crew also heard the kraken say “Destroy. Evil.” inside their minds.
After a bit of discussion about the ownership of the vessel, which Max has already renamed The Unsinkable III by painting over the back, Max agrees to let the party search the ship and claim any treasure, as long as she gets to keep the ship itself, as replacement for the destroyed vessel. They agree, roaming through the ship, finding a few handfuls of gold and a box of Varik Leaves, which Miryks distributes amongst the party.
Max approaches Gaia, asking her to remain with the crew, but Gaia feels her journey is ahead of her, and wishes to leave with the rest of the party, feeling a kinship with them. Gaia asks her where she came from, how she was forges, with Max telling her that her father found an old log in the forests near Smoulderharbor bearing a face, which he carved into the image of his mother, Rohesia van Es, another crewmember of the Unsinkable II. Quill thinks there might be some unresolved issues if her father made a “sexy” image of his mother as the figurehead, but Max waves it away. In either case, they realize that Gaia might have been carved from an ent, explaining her memories and knowledge.
Miryks spends the next days tinkering with whatever needs repairing, and tells the rest of the crew about what happened to Phillip, greatly disturbing the crew who couldn’t imagine him wanting to hurt anyone. Quill tries to socialize with Raenerys, teaching her to fish with a couple of fishing poles she found below deck, much to the annoyance of Raenerys. Something that is very curious is the fact that Raenerys still has no tan, so Quill puts her hand to her head, while Miryks examines her hair, wanting to take a closer look. Quill feels her warm skin, with Raenerys pushing them away, wanting them to stop touching her.
Eventually, the ship sees the mainland of Krawdoth, and soon, the tower of Goldenworth is seen creeping over the horizon. They have finally reached their destination.
𐡸
The party leaves the ship, being helped down by Lizeer, getting a proper sendoff from Max and the rest of the crew. Apparently they will be docked for a few days to transfer ownership and fix the ship, before heading back towards Rexendell for new assignments. Walking through the streets, the group doesn’t know where to go, so they decide to go look for some clothes for Gaia, finding a quaint little shop in the northeastern part of the city called The Free Tax, run by a courteous halfling woman named Glenda. She helps Gaia get some used clothes in earthly colors, while also providing Raenerys with some new shoes that are functionable and stylish.
As they exit the shop they notice that a man is observing them, and having seen the same guy at the docks earlier it’s clear that he is following them. Quill wastes no time, wanting to see where this goes, and walks straight up to him. He observes them as they approach, and when Quill asks why he’s following them, he scoffs, saying that not many people can spot him. He gestures for them to follow, leading them to a back alley a bit further away.
Out of nowhere, six other people, big and burly, surround them, as a shadow from above drops to the street. A stern looking simiah woman, who asks where the last member of the group is, and who the new person is, nodding towards Gaia. They tell the woman, who calls herself Korra, that Spire was eaten by a kraken, but Gaia is part of the group now, to the concerned look of Gaia who wonders what she has gotten herself into.
Korra nods to the man who led them to the back alley, who takes out four vials, giving one to each, telling them to “drink this, and don’t ask questions.” Raenerys and Gaia smell the contents, finding it to be a sedative, not poisonous. Raenerys wants to know why they can’t just do the exchange here and now, but Korra tells her that’s not how it works, since their business is with Draakos directly. Quill, very intrigued by the prospect of seeing where this leads, downs the bottle, immediately collapsing to the ground, unconscious. Miryks follows suit, with Raenerys and Gaia reluctantly following suit.
𐡸
The group wakes up, one by one, and find themselves in a cold and dark chamber, each of them sitting in a comfortable padded chair. Their weapons have been taken from them, but otherwise they still have all their belongings, even the box. There is a single door, through which they hear a heated discussion, but can’t make out what they’re talking about. Raenerys examines the door, finding no lock, so she turns the handle, opening it. Beyond they face what looks like an underground tavern, with several tables, some filled with more gang members playing cards. Korra sits in a booth, reading a book, while a lone gang member stands behind a bar, washing a wooden tankard.
Korra sees them entering, nodding towards a hallway, from where they hear the heated discussion. Apparently they are talking about an agreement, with a dark voice not wanting someone to impose their will on “his” territory. The other voice, calmer and lighter, begs him to calm down and that he will bring the proposal to his master. As the party turns the corner they see a giant goliath standing behind a desk, looking down at a red infernis. When the goliath notices the party, he ends his conversation with the infernis, who happily departs. As he leaves the hideout, Korra yells out “See you later Raam!”
The goliath, Draakos, gestures for the party to sit on the chairs in front of his desk, welcoming them to his city. Quill, who has the box they were supposed to deliver, is worried about the reaction of the giant man if he sees the seal is broken. The others tries to distract him by asking about his tattoos, knowing that goliaths are very firm in their beliefs that their natural markings tells their destinies. Draakos explains that he was born without marks, and cast out from his tribe, forcing him to make his own future, hence, he tattoos his markings on him to visualize this, but some still call him “The Markless”. Quill reaches into her bag, and while Draakos is talking, creates an illusion of the seal being intact, then hands it to the goliath.
Draakos immediately opens the box, apparently not noticing that the seal was broken, and stares at the contents within, smiling. He thanks the party, taking out a chest of gold for them to share, as promised. The party asks him what it is, but he is not willing to share, not yet at least, but if they can prove themselves to be trusted, he might let them in on it eventually.
Quill asks if there is anything else they can do for him, much to the parties surprise, and Draakos considers their proposal, telling them to rest for the night on his dime, handing them a small pouch of gold, and that he will call upon them the next day to see if they can do a job for him. They convince him to allow them to leave without being sedated, something Draakos allows, since they will be returning. He gestures for them to follow Korra, who is still reading her book.
Korra holds up a finger, wanting to finish the page, before putting in a bookmark and laying the book, “Tusk Love”, on the table. He tells the rest of the gang that anyone who touches her book will lose a finger. They are then given back their weapons. She leads them to the entrance, a heavy metal door which can only be opened from within, and teaches them the secret hand signal to unlock it. They walk through the sewers, eventually emerging from a grate near the docks. Korra tells them to lay low and wait for further instructions, returning to the hideout. They learned earlier during the day that most taverns are filled up, but the Dragons Rest Inn in the village north of the city might have room, so they head in that direction.
𐡸
They walk through the city, through the gates, seeing that there is a toll to enter, but are let out with no issue. Across the river they see a very idyllic village with fields and trees, people walking around doing their daily business, smiling and greeting them as they pass. They find the inn along the road and step inside, being warmly greeted by the innkeeper who noticed their coming. He introduces himself as Andrex Daardendrian, and helps them get settled by finding a room for them. Raenerys desperately wants a bath, and with the bathhouse just next door, that should be no issue. Quill asks to maybe regale the patrons with some stories for the evening, something Andrex is more than happy to accommodate, offering a free meal from the deliciously smelling stew in payment.
Having settled in, the party heads next door to the bathhouse, each of them taking a tub, being helped by an attendant, apart from Raenerys who asks for a private room to be alone. Quill relaxes by having the attendants see to her hair, something that requires two people, while Gaia is given a massage, before being oiled with a nice smelling pine oil. Miryks relaxes in the bath, getting a massage, but does not linger. Raenerys emerges after a short while, looking and smelling like a new person, just as Miryks finishes, so they head to the tavern again to eat, followed shortly by Quill and Gaia.
Andrex provides the stew along with some delicious fresh baked bread and butter, and afterwards, Quill takes a seat in front of the hearth to regale the patrons with her tales, embellishing and bragging about their escape from the scary natives of a dangerous island. Raenerys feels out of place, wanting to be alone, so she heads up to their room, spending the rest of the night looking out at the travelers on the road from the windowsill. Miryks soon joins her, followed by Gaia, who offers to talk to her if she needs, sensing her inner turmoil. Raenerys thanks for the offer, but doesn’t take her up on it.
Quill takes her time telling her tales, before eventually getting a moment alone with Andrex, asking his story. He is cryptic, but tells her that his story would probably shock and spook her, giving her a wink. Quill wants to know where he’s from, learning his last home was in Bridgevault, in what is now the Bridgeheart Kingdom. Quill figures that he is much older than he looks, at least a century, considering how familiarly he speaks of Satine Bouchard, the last queen of the Bouchard-dynasty, who died almost eighty years ago. He smiles, saying that it’s true, but would appreciate it if she didn’t advertise it, as he would prefer not to move again. Quill asks if he will allow her to cast a spell, which he does, and so Quill tries to see through any illusions. Surprising both him and her, he is veiled somehow, but she cannot see his true form. Andrex congratulates her on her proficiency in magic, not something one sees a lot since the sundering, telling her that she’s the first in a long time that have seen through his disguise.
Quill eventually retires to the bed, finding Raenerys still awake and watching. Quill, wondering about what's up with the elf, asks to see her ring. She finds it to be beautiful, with swirling colors of red, black and white when one is not looking directly at it. She asks if she can cast a spell on it, one that will reveal illusions, but Raenerys would prefer if she didn’t. Quill respects this, finding her way to bed, falling asleep within a minute.
Raenerys sits on the windowsill still, looking out at the waxing moonlight, notices that the spell, which she has maintained for weeks, fails again. It’s happening sooner each time, and she realizes that she doesn’t have much time left. She casts it again, then goes to sleep.