To Port Peril!

The journey north will not get a day by day playback, but nor will it be skipped entirely. Emrys is planning on going to Port Peril, the Capital, and Varossa agrees that they should head in that general direction. One of the big questions is how he will avoid getting preyed upon by other ships.

Go without flags from any lord. This is risky but allows him to stay totally independent long enough to declare himself a free captain at Port Peril.

Fly the flags of The Master of Gales. These were technically issued to this ship, but even if Emrys has magically swept the theft under the rug, the implicit contract connected to those flags was not with him.

Pick up Quent flags through Cog’s connections. This will make him somewhat beholden to Tessa Fairwind, lord of Quent; he will need to pay her back with a favor. Not too bad if he’s planning on aligning himself with a prominent politician.

Have some Heslandaena flags made. I mean, it’s not a lie; that is his home port from a certain point of view. The big problem here (beyond the obvious “family drama”) is that even among the high society types that know Heslandaenq exists, no one knows where it is or how much of a threat is baked into their flag.

Fly the Jolly Roger of Besmara, blessed by Sandara. This is substantially less of a deterrent than one might think, as by Besmara’s code any Besmaran priest or cleric may waive Besmara’s protection, and even when they don’t Besmara is a fickle goddess who only rarely takes horrific vengeance upon less-pious pirates. It has good optics, though.

Find a branch office of the Slipcove trading company at the nearest non-Goatshead port, and purchase the protection of Jolis Raffles. He’s a decent sort, well liked by the Halfling community, but not the most intimidating to the average pirate. We have a Halfling officer, so we might get a small discount.

Take the main trading route. It’s constantly patrolled by pirates (and merchants who moonlight as pirates) who would be happy to smack around anyone not flying flags. This is just asking for at least a few fights if he doesn’t have solid flags, but he might be able to make a name as a fighting captain that way.

Hug the coast. This is slower and dangerous in its own way, between reefs and weather, but makes it easier to resupply. He won’t see as many Shackles ships, and any that he does see will probably be busy with their own clandestine business.

Stop in the nearest “legit” port, Ngozu, and pay a token 1000 gp for 1 month flags at what amounts to the local DMV.