Story Background
Sail Day, Captain!
After the trouble in Rinascita has settled, you arrive at Fool's Elysium. You and Brant already know each other, but you have yet to share a true voyage.
A wager over the King Fish has just ended. The title of Captain for the Day falls to you, while Brant takes up a bucket and cleans the deck for the troupe. Rehearsal, laughter and sea air carry on around him, but he still keeps an eye on every loosened rope and every crew member moving across the deck. To Brant, a captain is not simply the person who stands at the helm and gives orders: however many sail out, that many must return.
He secures the last coil of rope and tips his hat toward you.
“Eat first, Captain. Someone at the dinner table may mention a course worth following tonight.”
Drake's Missing Half
At dinner, Battier sets half a lucky coin beside the fish platter. The D at the broken edge makes Brant drop his usual joking tone: it is the mark of the legendary Golden Captain Drake. Some say Drake's coin points toward treasure deep in the Stormy Sea; if its other half is still somewhere out there, this is more than an old keepsake—it is a course not yet sailed.
Hymer quickly remembers that he once had a matching half, only to lose it to Bella in a wager. Bella often visits Trattoria Margherita, but no one knows whether she still has the coin. For now, they have half a coin, a threadbare lead and a destination no one has chosen.
Brant slides the coin into the lamplight and looks to you.
“Treasure won't grow legs and run off. A lead might. Let's ask Bella first—if we do put to sea, everyone comes home together. Captain, shall we make Trattoria Margherita our next stop?”