Luxury Cruise part 1

Lady Goldtusk

We all tease Cookie about his cooking, but with the understanding that the boy does have talent. On this occasion, his talent won us a cruise, a prize for a cooking contest Cookie entered.

10 days aboard the Stella Serenity, a tall ship in white with gold trim, with between 70 and 100 other guests.

We had one extra ticket, so Wurmring joined us. I think there is a romantic connection between her and Cookie. I approve. She’s a good person and will make a strong partner for Cookie, who (as you know) needs a firm hand and some direction.

OOC: Karl let on that Cookie was a virgin. We all started plotting how to get Cookie laid or married or something similar.

We were greeted by Captain Selene Nightshade, an elegant elvish lady.

The activities and amenities offered included:

• The Observatory – guided tours are available

• The Elemental Atrium – a secluded place with lots of magical flora

• The Enchanted Ballroom – several balls are scheduled

• A small airship and lots of tiny flying vessels available for guests to use

• Gaming, Drinking, Eating, Smoking

The cruise organisers have booked Cookie for a tour and lessons in the galley. Later in the cruise he will be preparing a meal for the rest of the guests.

First event – drinks at 4:00pm in the Celestial Lounge.

We were approached by Lord Blackthorne, a human dressed in dark-coloured robes. As you know, he made his money selling nasty things to nasty people. He knew of us and hinted that he knew of the Dread Pearl. We deflected his questions.

Next event – dinner.

There was a commotion. A drunk aaracokra in a brown trench coat and a slouch hat. He burst into the room, messily grabbed food and drink, and left. We questioned guests and learned he was Captain Victor Stormrider. He has a long-running feud with the Nightshade family, involving an event where a spelljammer blew up. I will endeavour to learn more for my next report.

Next event – a midnight séance.

Run by Madame Sabrina Starbright, a gnome lady. Mme Starbright ran a very good event, with all the expected showmanship executed with skill. Many attendees appeared to be into the event, so we of course did not spoil it for anyone.

The show ended with a tealeaf reading. Mme Starbright screamed and dropped the cup, which shattered, exclaiming, “The mark! The mark! The captain, oh no! Selene Nightshade, she is going to die! I can do no more this evening, you need to go.”

In the corridor outside, an owlin, Lady Genevieve Silverleaf, burst into laughter. She told us that Mme Starbright always ended the show like this. Lady Silverleaf invited us to join her in having a nightcap. We accepted. She is a veritable font of rumour. We exchanged rumours, telling her many of our adventures (with one exception, of course).

Second day, breakfast.

Breakfast was excellent, right up to the point when the breakfast bar exploded as Reginald entered the room! In the wreckage of the pancakes stood a very confused dwarvish man. His name was Ignatius, Cookie’s adopted father!

He told us he was trying a ritual to summon pancakes and it went wrong, teleporting him to our pancake table.

Captain Nightshade’s first order was to put Ignatius in the brig. This upset Cookie so I negotiated for Ignatius to be confined to Cookie’s room, which the Captain agreed to. Ignatius, Cookie, and Reginald (who as you know trained under Ignatius) retired to the room to catch up.

The rest of us went to the pool.

There was a stereotypical emo teenager at the pool. You know the type, Lady Goldtusk, black clothing, black hair, black-covered book, putting a lot of effort into not enjoying herself. We left her alone.

Maurice did cast detect thoughts on her. Surprisingly, it did not blow up in his face. Sadly, we did not learn anything.