Loopshard

The hull upgrade to the Creaking Madam seemed to be the same as what they’d gotten from Captain Drew during Adam’s fourth loop, and he remembered how much stronger it’d made their airship back then, allowing Maalia and the others to travel far despite serious damage to the ship.

So far, no one seems to have mutiny in mind, Adam mused in relief.

They had taken a bit longer to get back to the airship because Jabari had reminded them all about their patron quests, so they’d just barely set foot in the forest only to turn around and head back to the settlement. They had gone around and asked the various people inside Morgan’s Rest, though nobody except Lasse had any luck. One of the Golden Fortress pirates inside had known about someone who referred to themselves as ‘The Judge’, and he apparently headed a band of unaffiliated pirates that roamed to the north.

“How am I even supposed to find the Half Mimic?” Jabari wondered as they finally stepped back onto their airship. “He’d be able to blend in anywhere, right? Mimics can do that after all, so I’m sure he’d have that power too.”

“You should hear whispers if we get close,” Adam said. Before anyone could ask how he knew that, he added, “Someone in my last group heard whispers right before we were attacked by a mimic.”

“So that’s what they were…” Jabari realised. “I heard them twice, once before the mimic appeared and the other time when we got to the ritual room with my quest object inside.”

“I can’t believe how upset they got when I asked about my quest,” Ellen commented. She’d been complaining about it the entire return trip through the forest, and Adam could tell from her melody that she was genuinely frustrated.

He’d been keeping his mouth shut until a look from Julie made him realise she was going to do something if he didn’t.

“It sounds like your patron wants you to summon a monster,” Adam said. “They’re rightfully scared of that.”