Session Report 51 - Bhorg-Back Business
General Summary
"If Locke needs a title, The King of Gambits fits him best."
-Gunther
A Very Bad Steering Job
Leaving the Isle of Storms, the recently renamed Driftwood sets a course due northeast heading for another isle and planning to circle around The Isles of Plenty and enter them heading west. However, this is not to be. Locke messes up his steering majorly and somehow manages to put the ship in a course directly to The Isles of Plenty instead of hitting the couple of islands to the north first. He pretends this was intentional to the crew, but Ramone knows the secret.Bhorg-Back Town
Sailing through the isles a little bit, the crew gains a few glimpses of native Bodari villages and other less direct evidence of bodari life on quite a few of the isles. It seems that these are not the trading or sailing kinds of bodari, the group elects not to bother the tribal folk, concluding they'd likely prefer to be left alone. Between two isles in the archipelago, Ramone spots something moving - something larger than probably should be moving. The group tries to follow at a distance, and, after a couple of hours of trying to catch the thing again amidst the isles, find a massive turtle with an Androchian village built upon its back. The village is peaceful, and the turtle stops to let them anchor by the dock on its port side - once, that is, The Drifters have assured the villagers they aren't out for piracy on this day.The Drifters trade some of their extra cannons, gained from Lazzo, for some twice-foraged titanium, which Locke sees as a good material for use in prosthetics. Alongside some gemstones from Lazzo's horde, all that's left is the blood of a fey, and the arm is ready to be made.
Gunther, Grahm, and Finny all get a warm welcome with the gnomes, dwarves, and gnorves of the small town (no more than at most 70 in population). The remainder are welcomed all the same, though other dwarves are more exciting for the local Androchians. Laire and Gunther go hunting for rumours, being invited into one amiable fellow's kitchen and told snippets about a few isles in the area, as well as the fact that he caught a glimpse of a large ship about the central southeast of the Isles of Plenty a few weeks ago, though knows little more about it. They thank him for his time, and Gunther insists he accept coin for his information, which the kindly stranger accepts after a bit of resistance to the idea.
King of Gambits
The crew gathers and discusses that Locke needs a title. Many are thrown into the air; "The Arcane Trickster", "Locke of The Sea", "Master of Illusions", and other such titles. However, one sticks more than the others; The King of Gambits. Ultimately, how well it sticks with the public is to be seen, but the crew likes it - as does Locke. Nora warns him not to do anything too stupid, lest he end up with a title worse than Old Drowned William.Isle of 100 Virgins
The next day, The Drifters set off to the isle they had originally planned to go. They were warned that the people here were friendly, but there was a reason they did not have friends themselves. The crew finds this to good reason. Salimstinians often come to this place, since it is referenced in a myth as a place where one is rewarded with 100 virgins for living a noble life of charity. It's true that the island has 100 virgins, but most Salmistinians leave distraught, feeling they are misled, as these are not the good kind of virgins. These are overweight, pimply, 20-30-year-old men who for sure have never had a normal conversation with a woman in their lives. The Drifters make a swift retreat. Not here.Peridot Pig
The Drifters return to The Isles of Plenty, hoping to follow the lead on the large ship while on the way to their next destination. After a bit of scouting, Sloth spots something from the crow's nest - a well-hidden mast of another ship, sheltered behind the high cliffs of one of the larger isles on the archipelago. The Drifters approach, entering to a small sheltered bay with only a single path out to the ocean. Inside the bay, they find a ship - a Fluyt, whose name is scratched out. With some magic, Laire manages to restore the name, finding the ship to be The Peridot Pig - clearly a member (or former member) of Deryll Beaufort's Fleet.Seeing the isle as clearly of note, the group decides to head inland, but not without using Ramone's telescope Spygleam first. Ramone detects three people spying upon the bay - one from behind a waterfall, one from the far end of the bay, and one from the forest closer to them. The group decides to confront the mysterious person stalking the woods, and once on land they quickly find themselves under assault. The camouflaged individual shoots at them with poisoned blowdarts, concealing their presence, Ramone is quite hurt by these darts, but the group does manage to determine where they came from and finds a well-disguised bodari lurking atop a tree. The battle is a wash, with the five skilled pirates taking down the sentinel in relatively short order. As he is near defeat, the sentinel visibly bites down on something in his mouth, and soon goes limp, only avoiding falling from the tree to likely death thanks to Grov holding him tight. Seeing that he was trying to kill himself to avoid giving information, the group heals him and tries to make him speak. They tell him they are friends of Beaufort, but the bodari plays dumb. With no better option, Laire probes his mind, finding better news than he might have hoped for - Beaufort is on this isle, and he knows a safe path.
Beaufort Appears...
With the guard strung over Grov's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the group walks the mile or so inland in order to reach Beaufort. The forest parts to reveal a small and beautiful lake, surrounded by beaches on most sides and with a few spots of palms to provide nice shade. Three individuals sit by one such palm cluster, two folks who are clearly friends or allies of Beaufort, and the man himself. He is visibly burned on much of the right half of his body, and his left hand is well bandaged. He has not regained all his weight yet. But aside from the physical injuries (and the crutch he now walks with), he seems to be in good spirits, carrying a colourful drink and enjoying a seemingly peaceful retirement. He is surprised to see Locke and the group, and somewhat disappointed to see his system of guards failed, but more than that he's happy to get to see them again - provided that they're not imposters and they haven't turned on him, which he can rely on magic to determine. He invites the group for a chat, and perhaps a fruity drink.
Report Date
24 Jun 2023
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