"Sure. I'm here to take over the ship."

The captain is unmoved by your casual declaration. He allows your words to hang in the air while he nonchalantly takes another bite of his dinner. Then, only after dutifully chewing, savoring the flavor, swallowing, and setting down his eating utensils does he offer you a reply: “Delusions of grandeur have no place at sea, Mr. Reynolds. See that you forget whatever motive inspired them and return to your duties at once.” With that, he’s on to another bite of fish, as if he thinks telling you to run away with your tail between your legs has sufficiently settled the matter. It has not. As he is about to learn.

“Since this morning,” you say, “the third member of my party has been disabling the anti-magic enchantments on the hull of the ship.” This gets Witterel to raise an eyebrow, but he shows no other sign of distress. This guy is super calm under pressure, I’ll give him that, you think. No captain wants to lose their ship, though. And no merchant wants to lose their life. Put those things in danger, and he should be willing to cooperate. “It’d be a shame if someone cast a fireball spell while those enchantments aren’t functioning.”

“What a preposterous bluff. You expect me to believe that you would destroy my ship if I do not yield to you?”

“Yes.”

Your confidence shakes him, if only enough to give him pause. “And why is that?” he asks.

“Because I’ve done it before,” you say with a sly smile.

“You were very kind to ‘rescue’ us back then,” Blythe chimes in, wearing an equally mischievous grin herself. Her lips then sink into a frown, and she says, “If only you had led us to the Elemental; then things would not have had to come to this.”

Blythe’s words take time to sink into the ship captain’s brain. Her plan to turn the trial’s built-in shipwreck backstory on its head is risky. If the captain believes that you were responsible for the wreck that he rescued your party from, then he’ll be more likely to believe you’d do it again. If the captain doesn’t believe it, then the whole plan could fall apart here. It all comes down to how much knowledge the Witterel NPC has about that pre-trial event. Did the Ishelle happen upon a random shipwreck with survivors, or did it witness what caused the ship to sink? Was the wrecked ship known to Witterel, as another vessel traveling the same waters, or was it an unknown vessel with an unknown crew? Was the destruction of the wrecked ship something that could be accomplished by three people, or something only natural causes could produce? If he’s as in the dark as you are, he’ll be more likely to believe whatever you tell him. In this case, you’re trying to play the role of unhinged hunters who are willing to burn as many ships as you have to in order to find the Elemental.

“It seems I gravely misjudged the three of you,” says the captain after a long pause. Leaving his half-eaten meal, he stands and steps away from the dining table. You and Blythe stand as well, quickly placing yourselves between the elven captain and any exits through which he might call for help. He watches you both carefully, then proceeds to step over to his desk at the center of the room. “Mr. Evan Reynolds,” Witterel reads from one of the documents on the desk, “is an outstanding mage and a man of good character. In our crew’s time of need, he agreed to step in as acting doctor, and has done work well-deserving of compensation from the Company.” He sets that sheet of paper aside and quickly finds another. “Eye witnesses credit Ms. Lia of Evris as the heroine of our vessel’s encounter with the vengeful spirits of the damned. Her bravery is an excellent example to be followed.” Witterel then pulls a third paper out of one of the drawers of the desk, and reads, “Ms. Blythe Nesimilia has a brilliant intellect, and has shown remarkable dedication to assisting me in my duties. Any captain would be lucky to have her as a first mate.”

Captain Witterel gathers the three documents together and lifts them from the desk. “If you truly caused the sundering of your previous ship, then these words can no longer bear my signature.” He makes a show of methodically tearing up the pages and casting the pieces into a waste bin. You’re sure the gesture would hurt if you cared about how the elf thinks of you. Seeing as you don’t care, however, the act makes you feel nothing at all. He then takes his seat at the desk and temples his fingers over his mouth. For a moment, nobody moves, and all you hear is the churning of the waves outside. “In order to protect the lives of my crew, I hereby swear to cooperate with your demands until our voyage is complete. Will that be sufficient, Captain Reynolds?”

“Yes,” you say. “Yes, I think it will.”

With Witterel admitting defeat, you and Blythe go on to explain the new course of action. The Ishelle has enough supplies to avoid making port for another ten days, and you intend to use all of that time. The new route will zigzag across the ocean, covering as much open water as you possibly can while actively searching for other entities like the {if@ fight_option > 0}sea serpent{elseif fight_option < 0}kraken{endif}. You’ve sat on your ass and waited long enough for the Elemental to come to you. Now it’s time for you to start hunting it down.

…

Several hours after your hostile takeover, you, Blythe, and Lia all sleep in shifts in your party’s private room. The danger to each of your lives, now that you’ve made enemies all over the ship, is so high that you don’t dare separate from one another. Even with the door locked, there’s a chance that Witterel will order it broken down the moment he thinks you’re all asleep. As you sit at the desk taking the first watch, you think about all the better ways this day could have gone. Sure, you got what you wanted in the end, and Blythe seemed very happy while playing the villain, but you had to use the entire crew as hostages to do it. Ruling through fear is, historically, not a sound tactic for any regime that plans to last for a while. How long will it take you to find the Elemental? How long will it take Witterel to secretly patch up all the damage Lia did to the hull?

How much longer until the angel’s forces come to kill you?

These questions plague your mind until it’s time for Lia to take over the watch.