Dear Captain Shalloon

"Dear Captain Shalloon,

I've been battlin some demons lately and regret to inform you that I will not be rejoinin tha crew. I've been thinkin a lot. I met these new people and realized that maybe we were wrong about tha world. I'm startin to think that maybe those tall-folk we despised so much... don't actually care that much about our height. This new group I've met... don't look down on me, but rather down at me. Perhaps tha great disdain tha world has for people like us is entirely within our own minds. They respected me and my discoveries, instead of dismissin me for bein a dwarf. Those tall-folk pirates who took advantage of us back at Shantung, maybe THEY are tha ones to blame, not tall-folk broadly. Perhaps tha great negative attention our island faced after tha discovery of Gamgee Fiber was due to that damned scientist abandonin us for his own gain, and not because tha world hated us. I've been thinkin a lot about this new group and their progress tryin to free, not just themselves, but quite a few occupants at tha casino. They have connections all over tha place. Friends they wish to help and are eager to help 'em. Meanwhile, I have been all on my own with no help or comfort outside that one Magidrone, Clay Steel, who I still can never thank enough for his help and compassion. My loneliness had embittered me, but hearin that they had, not only spoken with my mum, but set out to find me on her behalf, it broke through tha tough stone wall around my heart. When they messaged me with their magic, I was frightened by 'em. I wasn't sure if I could trust anyone, especially tall-folk. But after tha second message, I gave in. Told 'em to meet me at tha break room later. Apparently before me, they messaged another accomplice they have on tha outside, confirmin tha casino has some kind of magical time distortion. Tha three months we have been in this casino have been nearly two years on tha outside. After tha message, I decided to tail 'em from tha front office and see if they are trustworthy. They went to tha darts lounge and met up with another ally of theirs, a boy named Cypress. I had seen him around but never spoken with him. They played darts extremely well, scorin maybe tha highest game of darts I've ever seen. Perhaps they could really help me escape from this accursed place. Lord knows they have made more progress as a group than I have alone. After winnin a hefty bet of 10 thousand chips from tha darts tournament, they progressed to tha fortune teller. I had decided, after seein 'em compete in darts, that workin together would be far more beneficial than alone. I headed in my magidrone disguise back into tha break room to gather some of my things from Clay's room. As I was leavin, and as a testament to their skills, they discovered me. Tha horned one said somethin about my disguise bein identical to tha magidrone I had a run in with at tha slots hall. They had that loudmouth Yuuta Oshiro with 'em. I lead 'em into tha janitorial and requested that tha captain wait outside. Now safe inside, I dropped my disguise and confronted 'em. I explained tha situation and to my surprise, they were able to understand and had been experiencin some strange phenomena I had not, due to my earmuffs. I knew those creatures were controllin people, but not to this extent. They are unable to even speak of leavin in tha creatures' presence. Tha words seem to vanish from their minds, except those who have broken through tha barrier of this affect. What even are they? Right as we were gettin to tha crux of tha issue, that boy Cypress from earlier, burst into tha room in great distress. He exclaimed that his brother had fallen ill with tha same illness that ended his mum. The group split their focus between tha objective of gatherin the materials for Gamgee Thread, and the goal of curin tha young boy's illness. I redonned my magidrone disguise and crept back to tha break room to continue my quest. Perhaps I can still lead others to tha realization about this cursed place. But I will keep an eye on this group. While I still don't fully trust 'em, they may be my only choice.

I hope you are able to understand my current choice and resignation,

Twilliam Weft"