Gerrard:

Stunned by the exchange, Gerrard tries to figure out what is going on…

Insight:  4

Otherwise he follows Peri’s lead, as Captain Fenwader seems to have some…history…with this individual.

Qivys watches the exchange from about 15 ft. away. 
Seeing butter's response or lack there of makes him suspicious but, he does not make a move yet.
"It's more likely he's workin' fer tha Sea Princes." Qivys says passively. "Though we can say fer sure he is part of tha pirate and slavin' group that runs these waters." 
Qivys looks down when he is saying this, looking back up in the middle of his statement. He wants to gauge Butter's reaction.
Insight: 8

Boko walks up to Peri. "You are saying Farbern, the military leader of this town, is is league with two hostile groups, and the way he chooses to effect a sudden-yet-inevitable betrayal is... through personnel decisions with which you disagree? And thereby cause you to become angry and thus sabotage the mission?"

She looks at Gerrard, and Kei, and then briefly at Qivys, her hands on her hips, and then throws her hands wide, rolls her eyes, blows her hair out of her face, and hops over the gunwale to make herself useful to prepare for departure. She makes sure she's got a spear, an insulated shirt, and a light crossbow on her person.

Peri:

Peri stares, speechless, at where Boko went over the side. How dare she! Makin' it out like I'm just throwin' a fit cuz I didn't get my way! He leans over and shouts down at her, unsure whether she'll even hear him but unable to accept such effrontery. "The last time Farbern saddled us with this tool he showed up so drunk he could barely stay on a horse, nearly shot one of our own, and topped it off by killin' an already-surrendered witness we needed to question! And Farbern didn't care!" He stomps over to the gear and pulls out the smallest shirt and glares at Butter. "You even look hard at one of them crossbows and I'll pound you for seven bells! I'm not gonna survive pokin' around the eels' nest just to get shot by YOU!"

Peri stomps to the far end of the ship, muttering black curses the whole way. He fixes his footwear situation, donning the other slipper, and tries on the shirt. Just what IS Farbern playin' at? He knows I nearly walked the last time he foisted this fool on us; is he tryin' to scuttle his whole thing?

Gerrard:

Unsure what to make of this display, Gerrard finds an out-of -the-way location to settle in on the ship and prepares to depart.  He does, however, resolve to keep an eye on this ‘Butters’ fellow.

Neither Gerrard nor Qivys is able to pick up on any body language or demeanor that gives anything further away.

Butter remains silent, ignoring everyone and maintaining his work, but you can tell by the color and hardness of his face that his self-control is being sorely tested.

"Butter won't be handling weapons unless our vessel is attacked, and only under my command," declares Tom.

Unless anyone has any further business here, you push off.

The winds are fair and favorable, the weather cold and overcast. It's a very fine and well-maintained vessel – the best you've seen in Saltmarsh. You couldn't ask for a better boat for this mission – a modified keelboat that is small and fast and maneuverable in all but the heaviest seas. It has a single ballista. 

The party departs. Butter is silent, as is Oceanus. Tom occasionally makes remarks about the winds, the currents, and the sights. As you leave the bay, you still see a handful of crude drawings on the rocks that make you think of Dwal. Boko thinks too, here, of Luca. You pass around the head of land at the end of the bay, past Ursa's lighthouse, and within sight of the sheer cliffs of Abbey Isle, which looks wild and uninhabited from this distance. You wonder if Farbern sent anyone to let Bayleaf and his cultist charge out of the kitchen yet. A few hours pass looking at the monotonous wild shore where some of you were once ambushed by bullywugs. Then you come in sight of the tidal marshes marking the mouth of the Dunwater River, where the Lizardfolk now live. You see no obvious signs of Lizardfolk, but expect they could be watching you nonetheless. 

And then you pass into seas which only Boko and Peri have ever sailed, although long ago and much further from shore than your current heading.
(Encounter roll: 11)

Gerrard:

During the voyage, Gerrard disappears into the cabin for a short while.  When he emerges, the noble's clothes are traded in for the insulated shirt and functional underpadding for his mariner's studded leather.  Very little of his gear is visible, as it appears he has packed most of it away in his bag of holding.  Moving to the prow and looking out over the seas ahead, the young noble says little, an inscrutable expression on his face as the breeze of their passing sweeps his lengthened hair back.  Gerrard is girded for war.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Light fades. Tom anchors the vessel well offshore from a swampy headland, but you can still smell the fetid bog to the north whenever the wind shifts. Ghostly lights occasionally drift at a great distance inland. The party takes turns keeping watch and sleeping in the tiny cabin. The wind remains light, the swells small.

"We should make the fortress by noon tomorrow," announces Tom.

Peri:

Peri spends the first half hour or so of the trip seething at the bow of the ship. Then the hangover starts to really settle in and he finds a shady spot to catch some sleep. When he eventually awakens he's starving and tears into a ration packet. He spends a bit of time fiddling with the insulated shirt, trying to get it to fit him in a way that allows him to still move effectively. The combination of boredom and unpleasant anticipation drives him to look for someone to talk to. He spots Boko on deck and is still a bit peeved, but now that his hangover is ebbing he can appreciate that she had no idea of his history with Butter. Still, you'd think I'd've earned the benefit of the doubt! 'Course the wrong shoes and smellin' like bilgewater do undermine one's credibility... He wanders over to talk to her.

"Went off to speak to a mentor eh? You coulda stayed in town; Saltmarsh has their very own druid livin' over by the edge of the swamps. Nuttier than squirrel turds though. Not sure he'd have a lot of wisdom for you. Or maybe it was just over my head. I had a teacher once tell me I couldn't find enlightenment with both hands and a lantern. I asked if those were important to findin' enlightenment but he just muttered and walked away."

Kei 

The waves crash against the hull as the well balanced keelboat carves across the waters surface. Kei contemplates adding some music to the rhythm of the waves. He gazes at the despondent crew and decides there'd be no point. Everyone seems caught up in their own thoughts. 

Not sensing the speed at which they are travelling, it's only when they reach the stretch of water near Abbey Isle that he glances over the gunwale. A sudden searing pain strikes the back of his neck. He rubs at it furiously without relief. The pain only subsides once the rocky island disappears from sight.

He spends the remainder of the journey fitting himself into an insulated shirt that seems one size too small. Damn halfling, grabbed the wrong shirt. He stows some gear below deck and prepares for the day to come.

Boko casts water breathing before departing, on anyone who may want it, Tom and Butter included. She assumes Oceanus doesn’t need it. She will cast it every 24 hours as a ritual.

On the voyage, she makes herself useful without saying anything, falling again into old habits, and watching Tom and even Butter for places she can be helpful without getting in their way. It’s second nature for her - she couldn’t stop it if she tried. Once or twice she hops overboard and swims alongside the boat, trying out the insulated shirt, before wildshaping into either a shark or a giant octopus, circling the boat like an underwater sheepdog, inspecting the hull from below and also keeping an eye out for anything following or noticing their passage. When they get closer to the Abbey Isle and Peleg’s sunken seamount, her eyes can’t help but scan the depths to see if anything of the horror they unleashed stirs below.

But she’s back up on deck more often than not and grabbing a short rest. To Peri, she allows a bit of a smile. “Squirrel turds, mmm? They are nutty. Good for sunflowers though. I am not sure I know this druid in town. I did not spend much time there once Luca taught me more about the world around us. Luca is.., solitary, but knows so much. It was a good day yesterday, to check in, and receive some wisdom. Perhaps nutty, but wisdom all the same. I did not mean to minimize your feelings back at the dock. I meant to suggest context, and perspective. It is easy to see, through our two eyes, the world in a way that focuses on our own shadows, and miss that there are many, many, many others flitting about, often taking no notice of our own. You, sir, certainly create your own wake of influence and chaos and importance, but not everything, I find, is perceptible through two eyes. I often need many more to understand things. Perhaps I should have used shoes as a metaphor there. You certainly know about walking the world in different shoes. And… shirts? Perhaps that would fit Kei better…”

There’s another almost half smile and she busies herself with some rigging that doesn’t need any adjustment.

Later, she tries talking with Oceanus and any others who wish to participate to begin strategizing. She’s happy to take point and wildshape into something small when they arrive. They’ll want to leave the boat in a place out of sight, or perhaps just pretend to be a passing ship and fall off the opposite side and swim through the water toward the sunken fortress, counting on the ship to return after a certain time. Boko has a spell that allows the group to pass without much trace, but it takes up a lot of her concentration and prevents her from summoning animals (and the group has to stay close to her to benefit). She has a way of befriending some beasts, should they use one to guard. She also has ways of moving water around and obscuring it should that come in handy. She’s curious what others have up their sleeves in the effort to stay unseen.

Qivys doesn't rush to try on the insulated attire. "Plenty of time fer that once we get in range." he thinks to himself.

As for Butter, Qivys keeps an eye on the criminal from as far away as he can, though the halfling's tantrum could have consequences, especially this far out at sea, Qivys won't worry about it too much.

Qivys will busy himself as best he can.

Peri:

"Could be you're right. For all I know that druid in Saltmarsh's Grove is maintainin' powerful magics, and he's the only thing holdin' the swamp critters back from overrunnin' the town. Or he's just a crazy old Hin with a pet frog. Either way amounts to much the same for me, and I've learned to focus on the practical; not much head for philosophizin'."

He seems out Kei and finds him stuffed into a comically undersized shirt. But after some comparing they figure out that Peri's shirt is indeed the smaller, by a good bit. It's just absurdly big for someone 3'1" tall. 

He decides he should get accustomed to being underwater, so he ties off a line and slips over the side, into the sea. The cold water fills his shirt, making him doubt its usefulness, but sure enough the water trapped in the shirt begins to warm and the ocean's cold affects him less. It takes several tries, and some breathing exercises to quell the panic, but he forces himself to take a breath underwater. The sensation is strange, hard to describe, but he finds himself adjusting to it. After a bit of mucking about he climbs back aboard.

He hangs his shirt to dry, then spends the rest of the day fishing off the stern. When the ship lays to for the night, he stands watch all night, not wanting the sea devils to surprise them like they had aboard the Winter.

Gerrard:

Responding to Boko’s discussion, Gerrard says, “With my rapier and Mariner’s armor, I can swim and fight effectively up close.  With your spell, Mistress Boko, I can breathe underwater, and with the crossbow and insulated shirt I can stay below longer and be effective from range.”

“I do expect the tunnels to be dark, though, and my rapier gives off just enough light to see close by…vision underwater is probably where I need help the most,” he concludes.

Seeing Peri settle in to take the first watch, Gerrard says, “Wake me up for second watch, Master Fenwader.”

The night passes without incident. The morning is dark, the wind a little gustier than yesterday. Everyone benefits from Boko's water breathing spell and some of you begin to experiment with it. The water is bitter cold, but the insulated shirts will allow you to stay submerged for an hour or two without ill effects. The water is deep here, and empty of life. Tom has a small, smokeless stove on board to cook and stay warm with. Butter sets sail again, and you continue your journey.

Around noon, you spy your destination – a tiny islet just offshore the far side of a wide river mouth, with a 200-foot causeway leading from a headland to an entrance into the steep rocky island. You are perhaps a mile distant.

The lizardfolk in Saltmarsh had recommended a daylight landing at the mouth of the Javan River. In any event, Tom announces that the keelboat will not come ashore or drop anchor anywhere near the island. There is a rowboat stowed aboard that you may use to get to shore, or you can swim. Tom and Butter will sail the keelboat well out of view of the fortress for the duration of your mission. At a predetermined signal or after some period of time, the keelboat will return to see if the party is ready to be collected.

"It's time," announces Tom. "Are you swimming or taking the rowboat? I should come about and get out of sight. This is as close as I dare bring you without attracting attention."

"When and where do you want me to pick you up?" he adds.

Qivys takes this time to don the insulated shirt.

"If this is a stealth mission, my armor ain't gonna help." he says as he collects his weapons. 

"We're just going in then out yes?" Qivys asks. "Just ta get enough ta give tha main force a good landing?" 

Qivy's pauses for a moment then says.
"If we're just doing a recon then you best steer close and watch tha entrance. We may need as fast as an extraction as ya can muster."

Peri:

As soon as the sun is up, Peri goes to bed for a few hours. He's awakened by the captain announcing their destination. Qivys's point about this being a stealthy reconnoitering is a good one. He puts most of his gear in his backpack and asks the captain to keep an eye on it for him, keeping only what he thinks may be useful. Gathering with his team he says, "We took these two potions offa Xondros. One's a little speed boost for combat -- probably good for either Gerrard or myself, but if someone else has a need for it you're welcome to it. The other's supposed to make you resistant to damage for one minute. Dunno who'd most benefit from that one. I picked up some antitoxin back in Seaton too. I'll hang onto one, so there's two more for you to pass around. I don't know for sure the Eelies use poison, but seems likely enough. I also threw a coupla things in our little magic boat, which I'm now callin' The Homewrecker -- that's a kind of 'double intender' on account of the cottage and -- well, you get it. Anyhow, that's the equipment part of things. Now what's the plan?"

"Not much plannin' left." Qivys remarks. "just tha doin'"
Qivys thinks for a moment. 
"This mission ain't about us raidin' some poor sods dwellin'. It's fer a larger force so a few questions come ta mind." he says.
"First, if'n we get spotted an' it looks like a fight do we battle or disengage an' move ta a safer place?"
"Are we doin' our best ta travel in single file so as ta not give 'em any idea how many we are, on dry land I am referring ta?"
"If'n one of us get captured, what then? Do we mount a rescue or leave 'em there and carry on with tha mission?"
"How are we keepin' notes on what we find? There some magical dew-hicky we be using or are we relyin' on tha old noodle?"
Qivys points to his head with that last question.