The night following the coup was a quiet and eerie one. From a distance, the city remained dark and unassuming throughout the night, giving no indication that anything out of the ordinary had happened once the final wisps of smoke dissipated from the extinguished fire. Double guard duties were posted across the main deck of the Gaping Maw, and the crew was informed before turning in for the night that full time duty would resume at first light.
There were various small but open spaces spread about the crew quarters that served as gathering areas and recreational spaces. Once such space was beside Eli's hammock, where it appeared two pairs of extra hammocks had been removed to make room for a few buckets to sit around a clearing on the floor, likely for rolling dice. Iris and her party -- plus Cameron and Killup -- were gathered here, discussing the events that had transpired.
"Does anyone else feel like they don't know what the fuck is going on anymore?" Eli asked from his seat on a bucket, after wiping his hands down his face and curling them into fists to prop up his chin.
"I've been adventuring for about three years," Cameron said, "that feeling's been around for most of it. There's always powers beyond our understanding playing games we can't even see, it's nothing new."
"It feels awfully new," Victoria remarked, "Morose is supposed to be the kind of god you don't even know is involved in something until long after it's already happened."
"Encountering their agents at all is rare, I'll give you that," Cameron's eyes lingered on Iris as he spoke, "in any case, it's good that we're getting out of this mess before it escalates even more."
Autumn nodded, "word around the ship is that we’ll be spending tomorrow preparing to sail. The captain plans to address the crew at dawn, and we'll spend one more night in the bay after that before departing."
"Anyone else get their assignments yet?" Eli asked, "I was told I'll be posted in the crow's nest for lookout training."
"The cannons will be my main focus," Cameron said, "but my matter abilities can do more than just make things explode, I imagine I'll be drafted to help with last minute repairs and ship maintenance."
"I'll probably stay busy in the infirmary," Titus said, "these guys get hurt a lot. The average recklessness of a pirate on this ship is somewhere between an Iris and an Autumn."
"Hey!" Iris and Autumn said in unison.
"Vic?" Eli asked, cutting off an argument before it could start.
"No idea," she shook her head, "no one's said anything yet, so I was planning to just float around and figure out where I can help."
"Same here," Iris said, "hopefully they don't make me swab the decks."
"What is swabbing, anyway?" Autumn asked.
"I dunno," Iris shrugged.
The crew quarters were growing quiet as more and more of the crew settled in to their hammocks. Spirits were low after everyone finished sharing stories and rumors about the day's events, and there was little appetite left for gambling or fighting compared to most nights aboard the Gaping Maw. The loudest sounds -- save for the occasional snoring -- were the ever creaking boards of the ship and the perpetual sloshing of the distant waves below.
"We should turn in for the night," Eli said, "it sounds like a big day tomorrow."
The others murmured agreement, and said their goodnights as they rose from their seats.
Iris lingered as the others departed for their hammocks, "Eli, Vic, can I talk to you for a second?"
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"What's up?" Victoria asked, pausing to lean against a hammock post.
"I know I shouldn't go back into the city, but I need to say goodbye to Milo before we leave."
Eli's expression was hard to read, but he crossed his arms and leaned against the inner hull before replying, "you leaving this ship is out of the question, we have no idea if Morose's agents are still after you. I'm open to other ideas, though."
"Can we bring him here?" she asked, "I know it's way too dangerous for him to come with us, but a few minutes,..." she trailed off for a moment to hold back her emotions, "whatever I can get, as long as I can say goodbye."
"We could fly him here on Glimmer?" Victoria suggested to Eli.
"I don't think the captain would like that," Eli sighed, "but it's the only option I can see. Autumn's the only one of us who can get close to the captain, maybe she can swing it somehow."
"We'll say it's a last minute delivery of spices," Iris suggested with excitement, "I bet he won't think anything of it."
"So we're lying to the captain before we even set sail?" Eli criticized.
"To be fair," Victoria said, "lying to the captain is kind of how we got on this boat in the first place."
Eli eye's brow rose slightly as he glanced at Victoria, and Iris realized no one had completely explained to him the first half their scheme to get aboard the ship.
"Nevermind that," Iris said hurriedly, "it sounds like we have a plan. We just need to get word to Milo somehow."
"I'll take care of that," Victoria said, "I don't expect trouble I can’t handle if I float through the city, and I have some business to take care of tonight anyway."
"Business?" Eli asked.
"I'll fill you in later."
Eli looked unhappy, but nodded. Victoria stepped up to the hull beside him, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, and shifted into her spectral form and slipped through the solid planks of the hull.
"How come no one ever calls her reckless?" Iris complained.
"Because she's good," Eli countered.
Iris harrumphed and started to leave.
"I'm proud of you," Eli said suddenly, causing Iris to stop in her tracks, "for coming to us about this instead of running off in the middle of the night or something."
"My options for getting to shore are pretty limited," Iris admitted with a shrug, feeling awkward about the topic, "but I-- I am trying to do better."
"Good," Eli nodded.
She nodded back, and blipped away.
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The Gaping Maw shrunk away behind Victoria as she raced through the sky towards the city. She didn't know where Milo lived, and hadn't bothered to ask because it had slipped her mind, but that wasn't a concern. Even in crisis, a city's newspaper could be counted on to keep running day after day, and she had been to the Giantrock City Badger building before.
The city was quiet and still, even the bar district on the far side appeared dark and empty from a distance. As she floated high above the streets, she saw the occasional faint and barely discernible aura of an invisible agent of Morose on a rooftop, but otherwise their presence in the city was as discrete as ever. She guessed they had probably maintained a constant presence on the rooftops all along, and simply avoided her perception amongst the usually bustling city.
She floated down and through the roof of the Giantrock City Badger and into Milo's workshop on the upper floors. Every table was a mess of papers, tools and mechanical parts, but she found one table with a chair pulled up to it in front of a slightly less messy area. She foraged for a blank scrap of paper and a quill, and jotted down a simple note for Milo to find.
After departing the Badger she drifted out over the walls of the city towards the forest. She looked back and spotted two agents of Morose stationed in front of the almost-closed gates to the city. It was unclear if they were allowing passage in and out of the gates, but they either didn't notice or didn't care that she was flying over the walls.
A short while later, she approached a lone tent pitched in the dark, spider infested woods. It was shrouded by thick trunks from most angles, and dense webbing hid it from view at every other angle. To the naked eye, the webbing was indiscernible from that of the many spiders that called the area home, but Victoria could see the faint glow of aura flowing through them. These webs were spun by the Dreamweaver herself, and would stick to and bind her even in her spectral form, so she dropped to the ground in her physical form and approached the tent on foot. She knew there to be a narrow, winding passage through the walls of web, which she delicately traversed until she stepped out into the clearing within.
The dense woods felt like a cavern, with their oppressively thick canopy and barren, root covered floor. This little pocket within the webs felt more like a small cave, and though the aura that permeated it would be foreboding and threatening to most, it was welcoming and comforting to Victoria. Despite the dark and dreary atmosphere, it almost felt to her like she was stepping into the garden of a cozy forest cottage.
The Dreamweaver was waiting for her inside, wearing a thin purple gown and lounging in a padded chair as she sipped dark liquor from a small glass.
"Welcome back, disciple," she smiled.