[Route du Rhum - Cat E] Journey’s End and New Beginnings

[_Salamander_]

“Captain Petrik Voss” the stranger announced, extending his hand before adding “sorry for me manner earlier - I bear ye no ill will, but there be all manner of marauders round these parts so it pays to be cautious. Any ship ferrying booze is no threat to me.”

“Understandable. Welcome aboard The Golden Frog, Captain Voss… I’m Corliss Freeman - Captain - and this is my first mate, Jacqueline Morel-Benoîte. Sadly we’re… well, a little lost. Again.”

“Ye say ye be bound for Hellion; I reckon I can be helping ye - in return for passage, of course”

“Passage?” 

“Aye, for me an’ me crew. We been stranded here for some months now, and I’d be liking to put this rotten isle astern. We have maps and charts, but no means o’ makin’ sail.”

“We’d like to help, but as you can see The Golden Frog is… compact. I doubt we could accommodate your whole crew. I saw no wrecks around here… tell me, how did you come to be stranded?”

Voss inhaled through his teeth. “Ah, a rare misfortune for sure. I chartered a party raft for me crew, so as we might celebrate the anniversary of our first voyage with some drinkin’ and bein’ merry out on the water - but a sudden storm arose an’ we had to lash the sail for shelter. After the storm, the sail were all but destroyed an’ we were left adrift, ‘til we made land here.”

“Does the raft still float?” Jacqueline asked.

Voss cast her a sideways glance, “I reckon so. Seems a hardy thing. We hid it for safety.”

“I was just thinking, Corliss,” Jacqueline continued, “that we could spare a sail or two.”

…

Voss’ crew retrieved the party raft from its hiding place, and after several hours of enthusiastic carpentry, The Golden Frog’s studding sails had been removed and repurposed, rendering the party raft seaworthy once more.

“Captain Voss, it would be my pleasure to escort you to Hellion” shouted Corliss. 

And with that, the party raft set out into the waves, leading The Golden Frog on its way.

…

The atmosphere in Hellion was jubilant, with Oktoberfest well underway. 

The Octan Tanker had already arrived, of course, and the crew were busy extolling the virtues of something called ‘Phlogiston’ to any and all who would listen.

Having organised the supply of beer and sausages for the event, the renowned Dr. Thaum could be found at the centre of the festivities, congratulating the crews who had completed the run. 

Minor celebrities such as Pirate influencer Findus R. Swagg could also be seen pushing their latest collab deals. Oktoberfest maybe wasn’t the best pitch for the Portable Parallel Parrot Perch (compatible with all major Psittacines), and sales pleas fell on disinterested ears. 

For his part though, Corliss enjoyed some success in finding buyers for his tavern’s ales (Oktoberfest being a decidedly good market for this sort of trade) and was able to strike a number of supply deals, with his ‚Weiß Not?‘ wheat beer proving particularly popular. Once the selling was done, he and Jacqueline joined in with the celebrations. 

Many hours and many drinks later, they returned to The Golden Frog. 

“You know Jacqui… *hic*… with all these supply deals we’ve struck… *hic*… we’re gonna need a bigger boat…”

___________________________________________________

The final entry into The Route du Rhum from me.  
It’s late, and the challenge has ended… but I’ve built it, so I’ll post it!
Thanks for looking!