The Sunken Ballot
From a tavern tip
A tip bought in a tavern for 22 silver.
“A fleet purser says the brig Fair Dealing wrecked two years ago carrying a sealed ballot box—whose votes would have unseated Commodore Ansel Varrow.”
5 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Fair Dealing
Sail to The Wreck of the Fair Dealing (2–5 passages away)1 Find the wreck of the Fair Dealing and recover her sealed ballot box.
Dismasted on a fog-shrouded rock shelf lies the wreck of the Fair Dealing. Under the Free Captains' Articles, every crew elects its squadron commander, and she was carrying the voting tokens of six warship crews when she went down. Something heavy shifts inside her dark cargo hold.
- Board the wreck and fight your way into the forward hold.Landfall: The Fair Dealing
- [Vulpine] Send crewmate silently through the stern cabin windows to grab the box.Crew: Vulpinecrewmate slips through the broken stern windows without waking the beast in the hold, returning with the iron-bound ballot box and twenty-five silver from the purser's safe.+25 silver
- Leave it for now.You pull back as the fog rolls over the two-year-old wreck.
The Lost Vote
Right away2 Decide what to do with the recovered ballot box.
Prying open the watertight iron ballot box, your crew count the black and white wooden tokens twice: Commodore Ansel Varrow actually lost the election by forty votes! Yet for the past two years he has commanded the squadron capably, and his flagship is anchored just ahead.
- Bring the ballot box to the fleet assembly to announce the true vote.Word of your find races ahead of you toward the anchorage, and a crew steward from one of the six ships rows out to hand you twenty-five silver to ensure the box arrives safely.+25 silver
- Deliver the ballot box privately to Commodore Varrow aboard his flagship.You set course directly for Varrow's flagship to confront the commodore in private.
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate inspect the voting tokens closely before deciding.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate dumps the tokens onto the chart table and notices something odd: eleven of the white pro-Varrow tokens are carved from fresh, unweathered wood.
The Fleet Assembly
At a port3 Present the ballot box to the Free Muster fleet at the anchorage.
Forty Free Muster warships ride at anchor around Varrow's flagship. Crew stewards from the six ships wait on the pier, and a boatswain offers you the main capstan head of the largest brig to read the tally aloud.
- Announce the true vote aloud to the entire fleet.When you read the forty-vote defeat aloud, Varrow lowers his commodore's pennant without protest. In gratitude, the six crews upgrade your Drive before sailing under a newly elected commander.Upgrade: Drive+1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
- [Free Captains +1] Quietly hand the box to the six crew stewards to hold a private revote.The Free Captains standing 1+Avoiding a public scandal, the stewards hold a quiet revote below decks. After two years of strong leadership, Varrow wins the new vote by nine hands—and both Varrow and the stewards reward you by upgrading your Drive and reinforcing your hull.Upgrade: Drive+2 max hullThe questline ends here.
- Expose both the lost vote and the eleven counterfeit tokens to the fleet.When you display the eleven fake tokens alongside the tally, the outraged fleet calls an immediate open election. Both factions reward your honesty, upgrading your Drive and paying you fifty silver.Upgrade: Drive+50 silver+2 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
The Commodore's Cabin
At a port4 Deliver the ballot box privately to Commodore Varrow at the anchorage.
In his stern cabin, Commodore Varrow counts the tokens twice across his battle charts. After a long silence, he looks up. "Lost by forty hands. I always suspected." He meets your eyes. "What is your price for bringing this to me instead of the fleet, Captain?"
- Ask for nothing—leave the box in his hands to handle as he sees fit.Respecting your discretion, Varrow drops the ballot box out his stern window into the clouds, then has his purser pay you thirty silver and his gunners mount a spare cannon on your deck.Weapon: a random weapon+30 silverThe questline ends here.
- Demand 120 silver in hush money to keep the vote secret.He pays a hundred and twenty silver from his personal sea chest without a word, drops the ballot box overboard, and dismisses you coldly from his flagship.+120 silver−1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
- Show him the eleven counterfeit tokens someone used to stuff the box for him.Horrified that someone cheated in his name, Varrow immediately summons the crew stewards and calls an open revote. His honest gesture wins him the new election by sixty hands—and his grateful flagship upgrades your Drive and gifts you a ship's cannon.Upgrade: DriveWeapon: a random weapon+1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
The Stuffed Ballot
Right away5 Decide whom to show the eleven forged voting tokens.
White tokens were votes to retain Varrow. Someone stuffed eleven counterfeit white tokens into the box before the ship sank, and Varrow still lost by forty. Without the fakes, he lost by fifty-one votes!
- Present both the true count and the counterfeit tokens to the fleet assembly.You pack the eleven counterfeit tokens separately in a biscuit tin, and a crew steward rows out with twenty-five silver to escort you to the fleet anchorage.+25 silver
- Bring both the ballot box and the counterfeit tokens privately to Commodore Varrow.You pack the eleven counterfeit tokens separately so Commodore Varrow can see them with his own eyes.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord