Wildsea: PIPES

Back into the Wildsea! Splash! Or rather, um, rustlerustlearrrghthecrezzerin. Here's last time.

The crew of the Heart of the Seeker got into a barfight last time, and kinda got their butts kicked a bit. They figure, however, that they're aren't in any particular danger on their ship at the Tart docks - sure, Zeku and his friends might hold a little grudge, but it's not likely they're going to raise a posse and hunt anyone down. They take the night to rest and recover - Rozek mixes up a poultice of honey and vinegar to treat her cuts, Jakesta and Chambersson start practicing fighting so that this won't happen next time, and Kazera breaks up a rusted cup she found to replenish the chunks of metal in her rivet swarm.

In the morning, they consider their options. They talk about taking on some cargo to sell, but they don't really have much to trade with to get cargo. They do, however, have a line on a ship to salvage - the Sanguine Dress, the ship Clanksburg was on when it went down. They decide to go find that thing, since they have a map to it, and spend the morning getting ready to go. 

Rozek goes to visit Lightrime, the ironbound chef, and asks if, when they return, she might come back for another lesson. Lightrime says they'd be happy to do that, and Rozek asks if there's anything the Heart might bring back for them. They tell her that if they happen to stop by the big ol honey-tree (which the crew passed on the way into town), and they can do so safely, maybe get some honeycomb? Lightrime has honey, but wants the wax.

Chambersson and Jakesta go to the wordbearer post in Tart. Most towns have these, places where people take letters and packages they want delivered, and a wordbearer eventually comes through, takes them, swears the oath (This Will Be Delivered), and goes about it. There are a bunch of letters and packages in the post, and Chambersson, not wanting to overload himself, picks up a letter and what looks like a blank canvas in a wooden frame. 

Jakesta notes that there's a gau here dropping off a package, and says that she's looking for someone - maybe he could help? The gau looks uncertain, but then Jakesta describes the person that she saw last night in the bar who said (whilst leaving) that he knew how Jakesta died. The gau says, from the description, that it sounds like Ippet, an ardent who used to be a wildsailor but now lives here in Tart. Noting that Jakesta is with Chambersson, the gau asks that Chambersson take on his package as well - a small, rectangular box. Chambersson agrees ("this will be delivered"), and they head back to the ship.

And back on the ship, Kazera is directing the undercrew in preparations to ship out. She hears an "ahoy there!" from the dock, and sees an ardent man, short in stature but very wide and with a big potbelly and huge bushy beard, calling up to her. He asks if they're shipping out and if they might consider taking on a passenger. Kazera invites him up and notes that he has tools for working metal and wood on his belt. He says that he's happy to trade his skills for passage, and Kazera says that she's willing, but needs to talk to the others first. The man, Rokko, takes up residence in a cabin to wait.

The others return and Kazera explains the situation, and the others agree. Rokko wants to go to the spit he grew up on (if it's still there), but he's not in a hurry. The crew agrees, and they set out, making their destination the wreck of the Sanguine Dress! 

They zip across the thrash out of sight of Tart, and then Kazera (on watch) and Rozek (on weather-watch) spot a storm coming, But as they peer closer at it, they see what look like tentacles in the clouds and hear voices in the thunder. They've all heard tales of living storms, and they have no desire to meet one up close. 

Jakesta tries to steer them away from the storm, but misjudges where it is and actually steers closer. But she does find the wreck of the Dress - they can see parts of it in the thrash, and every so often a gout of steam jets up (Clanksburg said it was steam-powered). The living storm is still distant (though closer than they'd like), and the crew considers whether they should explore the wreck or come back later. They also, however, notice another ship approaching. Jakesta peers through the spy-glass, and sees that the hull is painted with stormclouds and the crew has tattoos and face painting depicting lighting. The captain, too, is wearing big rectangular sheets of metal, but their face is obscured. 

The crew asks their passenger, Rokko, if he has any idea what's happening here, and he says he's heard stories of the "Storm Hive", a tzelicrae who captains a crew - or a cult - or storm-worshippers. The crew wonder how these folks will respond to their ship, which rides on voltaic runners. 

Rozek snorts a big handful of bloompollen and lets the visions take her. She sees - feels - pressure, from the oncoming storm, from the storm-chasers, and from the wreck itself - and knows that if the pressure isn't relieved, something will explode. She feels that if they don't salvage the wreck soon, it might not be here tomorrow. The crew decide to take their chances with the storm-chasers, and lower Chambersson on the magnet crane to scout out the wreck.

He sees a big hole in the hull, and pipes running all along in the inside of the ship. Every so often one bursts open and spews steam, and he realizes that the pipes are rattling - attracted by the magnet! He yells to the others to turn it off, and then returns to the ship and opines that maybe Kazera should go down (she's a screw, and is therefore more conversant with metal).

Kazera and Jakesta lower down on the crane, and start working on relieving the pressure so they can safely remove the pipes. They spot a valve that looks important, but it's hard to reach. Kazera takes a different tactic, she talks to the ship itself, and the ship howls in pain - the pressure is too much! It tells her that in the captain's room, the pressure can be relieved, and Kazera and Jakesta start picking their way through the ship.

Meanwhile, on deck, the storm-chaser ship glides close and Rozek and Chambersson see them pointing at the runners and the rail cannon. They take the initiative and use the shutter-lamps to signal "everything's fine, no assistance needed" and the ship signals back "acknowledged, see you soon, storm-runners" and pass them by. 

Down in the ship, they reach the captain's room, and it's full of valve that are, for the most part, unlabeled. (They also find a Captain's Log, but that's no help.)  Kazera asks the ship again, but it doesn't know which valve does what, and it's not sure about concepts like "color" or "see." Kazera instead touches the valves and lets the ship guide her to the right ones, and little by little lets out the steam in the ship, averting the possibility of explosion. The ship sighs in relief, and Kazera and Jakesta get to work ripping out pipes. They check the cargo hold, but it's full of serpents in a big pile, and although the serpents pose no threat to them, they aren't interested in disturbing them.

They retrieve a bunch of pipes and raise them up with the magnet. Kazera also notes a strange blue substance on the hole in the hull, maybe residue from whatever the ship hit. She takes a sample to give to Rozek, and the crew gets underway.

They want to go back to Tart at some point, but they also want to go to Stonebark, the spit that Rokko called home (if it's still there). They decide to do that first, and to take a roundabout way there and see what they see in the meanwhile. Jakesta goes on watch while Chambersson takes them helm. Kazera goes on weather-watch and sees nothing but clear skies and moonlight!

Chambersson finds the canvas he took on to deliver and asks Rokko if there's a way to protect it or secure it; Rokko says he'll build a better box for it. Chambersson also notes that in moonlight, images appear. He sees the Conflagration in the background, a ship moving across the thrash away from it in the foreground, and a person standing on the deck holding what looks like a small flame. "Well, that's not a good omen," murmurs Chambersson.

Jakesta, on watch, spots a land mass (using Captain's Log + The Past Abides in Stone to make a discovery, if you're interested) and figures that must be what the Dress hit. Chambersson decides to drop anchor for the night, and in the morning, they'll explore this tiny spit. He dreams of the stone, descending down into the trees, past the sink and into the drown, and at the bottom, into a deep, deep pool of icy water. He knows that this lake was man-made, not natural, and that those who made it also made it cold on purpose. He also knows that it has changed the stone somehow.

Next time, perhaps we'll find out what that means!