A Complicated Take on Simple Events

Our return to Mythgulch was tinged with concern. Our victory over the sunken captain was worthy of celebration, but the discovery of his vampiric bride was a cause for concern. Vampires are something that I have read about in isolation, but to be faced with one in a practical scenario is something far different. This, doubled with the curse which has been placed on our ship, soured the mood for obvious reasons. Our employer seemed somewhat apathetic towards the arrival of a bloodthirsty undead on their shores, but I suppose that if my life was as dull as hers I wouldn't mind getting my blood drained and dying. She followed up on the agreement that she, and the captain had made and informed us that this "Eddie" had some modifications made to his ship that allow for the transportation of people in a discreet manner. This is very interesting, and the captain was caught surprised by it. It would seem to me that this "Eddie" had a need for discression and was doing something related to people smuggling. Perhaps he is a slave trader. Even more interesting than the information was the captain's reaction, I haven't spoken closely with her on our travels, except for the few times that she has asked me if I want to leave this island so that I may arrive in Narves; a question that seems somewhat flavored by her own desire to depart, but I decided it would be a good time to ask her about her connection to "Eddie." Her response was that he was a friend, though she doubted herself greatly when she said it. Her doubts stem from her lack of knowledge about the man himself, and I imagine that hearing this most recent piece of news has definitely reinforced that. Personally I find that you rarely know anything about the people that you're friends with, I recall a great many social circles of mine where I haven't known much about any of them. Although that may be due to the fact that they were incredibly dull people, but I'm digressing. The captain didn't seem very comforted by my words, but I had lost a lot of blood and my mood was sour so I can understand why I may not have been at my best.
 
After a long time at see I felt that it would be a wise decision to sleep somewhere comfortable as opposed to the cramped hold of the Tortoise, which is too reminiscent of my residence in The Regencies. We had also been informed of an inn that serves the upper classes, though in Mythgulch that isn't saying much. Bo complained about poor footing on the way there and I offered him a ride on the broom, initially it was just a means of offering him kindness and then snatching it away but then I decided to ask what he would be willing to give in return, and that is where my interest was piqued. He offered me a bracelet in exchange, which I found to be quite a curious offer. He is willing to pay for a basic kindness, this potentially tells me a number of things. He didn't try to appeal to my humanity which means that he doesn't believe that I have any, or he has been let down so many times that he can only see kindness as a service, perhaps both. I allowed him onto the broom in exchange for this bracelet because I want to see the kind of quality he can produce, and whether or not he will try to cheat me.
 
The Inn was called Stilts, or "Zancos" for those more familiar with the lingua franca of the north, which I found mildly amusing, although my companions did not share the feeling. A tool that allows one to be above others being the name of an inn that serivices those that believe that they are had a wonderful lack of self-awareness that I just couldn't help but notice. Bo merely complained about the rich, which is odd given that ownership of a pearl of power, a fully functional mithril prosthetic arm, and a magical rapier is something that even some rich people don't have. Perhaps he just has a very skewed perception of wealth, but I am travelling with a group of 3 people who have two ships all to themselves, are beholden to no-one and have a great deal of wealth both in terms of assets and actual coin, but one of their number despises the wealthy; it seems that the theme of the evening was poor self-awareness. I also discovered that Bo travels to find something, but he doesn't know what this "something" is.
 
The inn was exactly as I expected filled with overt demonstrations of formality and odd glances from the regular clientele. Something that I did find somewhat relaxing was that they weren't specifically at me, which is a new sensation. Back in The Regencies going out for a meal with the Furtado family was an exercise in being judged by everyone else for not fitting in. Here it is the group that collectively fails to fit the common expectation. The food was lovely but despite that fact Grim decided to only eat the bread, which was confusing because he told us to "keep our strength up" but felt that he was not subject to that same need. Odd that he would display his hypocrisies so blatantly, and with out the ability to defend then when he is called out on them.
 
The next morning was where my plan began. I needed funds so that I could pay for a pair of gloves of thievery plus any markup that may occur. This was a simple task, make the request seem like it is in the interest of the group and then work from there. I was able to achieve it with minimal effort, and we made our way into the city to perform our respective tasks. The notice board had some new information on it too. It would seem that the pirates have finally overstepped and now their heads have a price attached. All except one of them sound fearsome; "The Harpy" as they are known seems to fit far less with the common modus operandi of the other pirates, although I do hope that we avoid them.
 
The rest of the day involved the killing of a vampire, which was endlessly amusing to me given Bo's reaction to the rapid collapse in to dust that occured. I was able to exchange a use of my cleansing stone for another bracelet too, which should be interesting to see completed. If things continue to follow this trend then I believe that Bo will become an excellent craftsman with a specialisation in bracelets.
 
Bo seems to occupy my thoughts a lot at the moment. Something about him just triggers a great degree of critical thought. It feels like he is a thinking exercise that was dreamt up by an aging professer for a lecture on nonsense, but one thing that I did notice today that I slightly admired despite the ridiculously foolish nature of it was that when Grim leapt from a cliffside into the unforgiving waves below, with all of the grace and finesse of a dying hippo, Bo followed him, without a second thought. It reminds me of the old saying "If X jumped off a bridge would you do it." which people would often ask children to deconstruct their excuses, evidently there is at least one person who would.
 
"We're all adrift together."