A gust of wind tussled Caleb’s hair as he stepped onto the quarterdeck. It smelled fresh and full of sea foam. Clouds had blown in from the east, breaking up the lapis of the sky with splotches of gray.

Donal half-turned from his spot at the helm, a smile on his bandaged face.

“Aye, the wind’s picked up,” he said. “Enough to be givin’ us the whitecap at the bow.”

“That’s good news,” Caleb replied.

Curious, he checked to see if any of his spells were still running. A couple of quick flicks brought up the one spell that he’d invoked earlier on deck.

Wind Cast, Minor

One more flip of his hand brought up his Vital Statistics Window. All three horizontal bars in gleamed back at him. The green health bar was still a quarter low, his blue physical stamina bar had crept to just over one-half.

The previously full yellow magical energy bar was down by a fifth. He pursed his lips at that and mentally cancelled the existing spell. The wind slackened slightly, but the sloop plowed on through the waves.

I’m going to have to watch that, Caleb thought. Apparently I can let some spells run their course, but it drains my energy the way leaving a power switch on can drain a battery.

“Grimshaw arrived back on deck just after you returned to your cabin,” Donal added. “He said that he searched over the horizon in all directions, and we’re in the clear for now.”

“He did?” Caleb looked over the main deck. “Where is he, then?”

“Our high-spirited drake is in the forecastle mess, being attended to by Evie O’Breen. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that he’s takin’ on some belly ballast.”

“Yes, I can see why he and Evie get along so well. Shaw likes to eat, and our ship’s cook likes being appreciated.”

“Prayer’s up, that’s the truth. I’d venture that a griffin’s love of food is nearly as legendary as their aptitude for fighting.”

Legendary, hm? Caleb thought on that for a bit as he glanced back at his Quest Window. The latest screen still hovered there, as if taunting him with its challenge.

Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Now that the mystery of what caused the crew disturbance has been revealed, determine the best way to prevent any new outbreak of unrest. XP Value of the next quest completed shall be increased by 10% if this can be done without Charisma Enhancement or Threat of Physical Punishment. STATUS: ONGOING.

The world of Avalon certainly had enough of its own myths and legends, and the Arrenmar were part of that fabric. It sparked an idea on how he might salvage the situation with Daffodil.

That might work. It has to work. I just hope that I don’t alienate Tavia, Shaw, nor any of my officers over this. But I don’t have much choice in the matter.

He turned to call up to the afterdeck.

“Ahoy the quartermaster!” he called. In a moment, Sienna appeared at the railing.

“Orders, Captain?” she asked. “It’s been calm for the past few minutes, everyone’s down below.”

“I’ll need you to call them up in a few. But first, I need to discuss a few points about mythology with you and Donal.”

She gave him a Yezzir. Then she gave orders to Ferris and Rory to stay at their posts before descending the steps to the quarterdeck. Donal threw a puzzled look in Caleb’s direction.

“Mythology? You have me kerfuzzled at that one, Captain. Why would you ask about that?”

“I’m on that same ship,” Sienna agreed, as she joined them. “What on all of Avalon would you want to know about that, especially right now?”

“Because I’m still a stranger to a good chunk of this world’s lore,” Caleb answered. “I never knew about Lir, Danu, or Myr before arriving here. Neither did I know about creatures like splashcats, or legends like the Burning Star or Captain Vayne.”

“Breena may be a wee beastie,” Donal chuckled, “But you seem to be learning her ways quite well.”

“Or she’s learning mine,” Caleb said. “She’s certainly laid claim to one of my pillows. But I need to know if there’s something in Arrenmar mythos that’s similar to a gremlin.”

Sienna traded looks with Donal. “Gremlin? Sounds evil, that one. Fit to throw the jinx on someone or something.”

“Not evil,” Caleb informed her. “Mischievous. Gremlins were little creatures that helped explain away glitches in machines. Or people who got, ah, kerfuzzled when doing what should’ve been a simple task.”

His quartermaster rubbed her chin in thought. Donal considered for a moment, and then snapped his fingers.

“Aye, I have one for you,” he said. “Your gremlin sounds like what we’d call a lutin.”

“That’s the one,” Sienna agreed. “Lutins are little sprites that like to play pranks on the unwary. They’re the ones who tangle your hair up when you sleep, or hide the thing you’re looking for at the worst time.”

“I’ve heard some say that they look like a pixie. One that’s only as tall as a crab apple,” Donal added, “but they usually stay invisible. Sometimes they play nice pranks, like putting gifts under your pillow if you leave a baby’s tooth out for them. But mostly they’re not all that nice. They’ll steal coins out of your purse.”

Caleb pounced on that. “You said that they’ll steal coins?”

“Oh, aye. That’s how they got their name. As the saying goes, Lootin’s done by lutins.”

“All right, that’s what I need right now. A lutin.” Before either of his friends could do more than stare at him in a kerfuzzled way, he leaned close and spoke quietly. “I found out what took our silver, and ‘replaced’ it with gold. Or maybe I should say who. But I want to keep that between the officers only for now. Can I trust you to go along with this plan?”

Donal nodded at once. Sienna chewed it over a little longer.

“Before today, I’d have fought you on that, Captain,” she admitted. “But after seein’ what happened earlier over a few damned coins of silver, I think we’d best wind our necks in, keep things quiet.”

“Good. Call the crew on deck, I’ll be giving them the news.”

Sienna nodded and made her way forward. In the twinkling of an eye, she vanished down the aft stairway below decks. Caleb called Ferris and Rory to the afterdeck rail.

“This concerned the both of you,” Caleb called. “So just remain on station, I want everyone to see you up there.”

He got a couple of Yezzirs at that.

In a few minutes, Sienna had the crew assembled on deck. Tavia stood by the steerboard rail, watching the crowd with her usual equine curiosity. Shaw emerged from the forecastle, his tongue darting out and cleaning his beak of the remains of lunch.

Sienna came up to stand next to Caleb on the quarterdeck. As the crew quieted down, he quickly pulled up a single line from his Character Sheet with a flick of a finger. He noted that he had plenty of XP in store.

Unspent XP: 925

Once confirmed, he reached inside himself, invoking two of his Corsair Sub-Specialties.

Charisma Boost Bluff Assist

One word whispered inside: Burn. He invoked the two Sub-Specialties once more. He felt a dull warmth as something inside boosted his words once again. Caleb’s mind flashed upon one sentence under Bluff Assist’s description.

The possibility of a bluff succeeding is improved when it is in alignment with the subject’s beliefs.

That’s what I’m counting on, he thought. After all, lootin’s done by lutins.

“I’ve called you all together,” Caleb began, “because as one crew, you need to know what I’ve decided. And what challenges we face. First off, Rory Murray and Ferris Pender are innocent of stealing coins or hoarding treasure.”

That got a mixture of reactions from those assembled. Most were sounds of relief, mixed in with a few grumbles.

“They’re innocent, because I have discovered the culprit: We have a lutin on board. Maybe even more than one.” Bewildered grumbles followed, until Caleb raised his voice. “I’m going to assume that you know all about these creatures already.”

“That we do, Captain.” one woman called back. “But they’re supposed to be land creatures, ain’t they?”

“So are unicorns,” Caleb pointed out, “And my first mate is doing perfectly fine, as you can well see.”

Tavia’s ears flicked, embarrassed, as the crowd turned to look over at her. Her coat gleamed its usual palomino brilliance, and her mane hung as luxuriously as it normally did. The mare cleared her throat as she spoke.

“Yes, as you can plainly see, I remain hale and hearty.”

Sure enough, those assembled had to agree that she looked as fine as ever.

“Lutins are invisible little creatures that steal coins,” Caleb continued. “And they’re known to play pranks, both good and bad. Apparently, our seagoing lutins have decided to cancel out their thefts by leaving a lump of gold out for someone to find.”

Another crew member, a man with a heavy beard, spoke up next.

“Have any of us seen these creatures?”

Caleb let out a sigh. “Of course not, and neither will any of you. They’re invisible.”

The man considered. “Aye, you have a good point there, Captain.”

The murmurs from around him indicated general agreement.

“Going forward, here’s what we’ll do,” Caleb said. “Make no mistake, I’ll be punishing anyone who filches coins or withholds treasure. But anything that lutin’s taken from those chests still has to be on board ship. I’ll award those coins taken to anyone who can find them.”

His words sent a wave of surprised and appreciative whispers went through those assembled. They got even more excited as Caleb went on.

“Furthermore, if anyone else finds a lump of pure gold that’s been, ah, dropped behind their bunk, they’re turn it in to me immediately. I’ll compensate the finder with the piece’s weight in silver, plus an extra two hundred silver coins as a finder’s fee!”

A roar of approval rose from those assembled.

“All right, I need my officers on the quarterdeck. For the rest of you, if you’re not on duty, I want that missing silver found, and any gold discovered brought up to me! Two hundred silver alone will buy a hell of a lot of rum, so get to it!”

“Crew dismissed!” Sienna called.

Caleb shut down both his Corsair skills and the burning of his XP. He glanced appreciatively at the new screen in his Quest Window.

Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Now that the mystery of what caused the crew disturbance has been revealed, determine the best way to prevent any new outbreak of unrest. Bonus XP was not granted due to the use of Charisma Enhancement. STATUS: COMPLETE.

That's all right. I can pass on the bonus. I needed my crew to move on from this, and put their minds on something else. Like looking for non-existent missing coins.

The crowd dispersed, with a large contingent hurrying downstairs to look behind every sea chest and under every hammock. Once they’d cleared the deck, Shaw and Tavia made their way up to the quarterdeck.

“That was interesting,” Tavia observed. “Once again, your knowledge of the human psyche astounds me. I expected you to appeal to their better nature. Their shared heritage as Arrenmar again.”

Caleb shrugged. “Appealing to a human’s better nature is fine, but appealing to their self-interest gives you a lot more leverage.”

“Thou still hast me confused,” Shaw admitted. “How can one know if a creature exists, shouldst it be invisible?”

“I’ll show you,” Caleb promised, as he went to open the door to his great cabin. “There’s someone I need you to meet.”