"What emperor would that be?" Deader says, a little surprised.
So the idea of a man forcibly conscripted to a crew is more palatable than one who is explicitly owned by another... despite them both being pretty close to the same thing. Make nonsense?
In this particular case - Rickety Squibs is all free-men, so there's a definite negative reaction. Some of the larger cities like Port Peril would have slave traders - and the use of them would mark a vessel in a particular light.
Deader visibly relaxes. "Oh, that kind of emperor. Alright then." he said with a shrug.
"Definitely not. And I'm really glad that you didn't either. I'm not really an advocate of emperors in general, but If I had to pick one, I guess that one doesn't sound too worisome."
The night passes quietly and so does the day that follows... and so the days begin to blend together. Progress is made, though it seems overslow to a jaundiced eye becalmed in the heat and drought that the area Rickety Squibs sits in is enduring. The locals seem personable enough, but also happy with their lot and unmoved by any exhortation to join the free merchant marine once more.
Cedrick's letters are bound and sent, though the postmaster wards him against expecting easy reply. "Mebbe they'll get word through to ye in Port Peril."
Six days into the refit, the settlement is beset by a swarm of oversized wasps driven from the nearby jungle. Rising to the defence of the town and people, you are able to help drive off the beasts before suddenly, someone shouts an alarm and people once more scatter for cover.
A Chelish galleon can be seen anchored in the cove and an armed party is clambering onto the docks from their launch. Given the distraction, the lookout must have missed them and they came through on a jolly boat to make landing at the dock.
A man in a captain's hat and eight sea-hardened and battle-ready sailors form up in a defensive semi-circle at the end of the dock. The Captain nervously passes eyes from the Promise being squibbed, to his own ship before looking out upon the faces at Rickety Squibs...
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Know Local
Perception
Sense Motive
"Captain you're a long way from home for a Chelish naval vessel, and this is a strange port o' call for a merchantman. Have you come to parley, restock amongst brothers, or is one of us set on getting a new ship this morning?" Cedrick smiles in only the way a Pirate Captain can.
With Shadow circling far overhead, Obi watches the Chelish forces, her hatred for those who sold her into slavery many years earlier clearly showing in her expression.
Perception:
Sense Motive:
_________
Seeing the Chelish forces, Obi moves over next to Cedrick and quietly speaks to him:
Those do not appear to be Chelish marine uniforms. Also, they look to be in a purely defensive posture with no intention of any type of offensive action.
Deader noticed the Chellish sailors but, even though they were formed up with weapons drawn, he ignored them. It didn't register to him that the tension and potential violence in the air was something he should be concerned about. He continued happily collecting wasp corpses.
The captain puts a hand on the burlier of the sailor's shoulders and the marines relax somewhat. Casting an eye back to the Chelish galleon, he shrugs before smiling and gesturing to your own ship "Glad to know that you've found god yourself. I'd heard word on the waves that Harrigan had brought down the heathen merchantship" winking rakishly "But seems as though they were ultimately mistaken."
He walks steadily forward one side sound and the other stumping on peg-leg and with hand extended "Captain Merrill Pegsworthy..." eyes smiling, but still looking upon Cedrick for a flicker of recognition.
You recognize the name as one of the Free Captains of the Shackles. Looking closer upon his jacket, you can also see faded insignia of Chelish origin... perhaps once he sailed in Chelish colours amid the navy before seeing the piratical light.
Great, bloody lookout spies us, but not this one. At least they don't appear to mean any trouble. Unsure of exactly who Captain Pegsworthy would be, Nachni waits for Cedrick to speak before joining in.
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"Didn't have much choice in the matter to be fair, and you heard right, Harrigan did bring down a heathen ship, but would you believe it, the officers he put aboard seemed to have their own ideas about their fate on the high sea and set to a little freebootin' of their own and taking it as theirs, suppose it is fair to say that we took it off them in return, so on my reckoning Harrigan lost it when he mistook the obedience of Scourge and Plugg as loyalty"
"Captain Cedrick Dragonne, I suppose, formerly of Taldor... in the same way you may have been from Cheliax?" Cedrick questions slightly as his eyes narrow enquiringly upon the Chelish embellishments.
"So Captain Pegsworthy, what now?"
"Do you have a second boat of Marines here somewhere, seems the Lookout missed you and so my mind begins to wonder why." No accusation evident in his voice.
Pegsworthy looks a tad confused at Cedric's words before responding "I ain't for looking down on anyone that managed to get one over Barnabus Harrigan, so I thought a shake of my hand might congratulate and greet beside?" smiling still, though clearly expecting the decorum of a shaken hand. "I'm here for the same reason you are... just seems you got here first. Chelish colours are nice and all, but I'd prefer something more becoming afore I sailed back out."
Gesturing with chin to the deceased wasps behind you he ventures "Seems you were a tad busy to notice us a coming, what with the visitors you had. We made no shot at sailing in quiet."
Assuming that the standoff begins to dissolve, he replies to Cedrick's venture on his colours "Aye, I sailed under the devils once... but I'm finding sailing against them a mite more profitable."
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And with that Cedrick returns a firm handshake.
"Seems we understand each other well enough after all, though in many ways I am returning to my colours in a manner of speaking, she will look Taldane enough for my liking before long, and no doubt her crew will be cut to the fine standard I expect... perhaps we might even obtain a letter of marque one day, Privateers, Revenge might become as legitimate a fighting vessel as any other." Cedrick almost loses himself in the dream.
"Reckon by keeping a bit of decorum about us we might still find ourselves with a pretty penny, but we will need better lookouts than what was obviously posted aloft this morning, distractions notwithstanding"
"What distractions?" Deader asked the rest of the crew as he finally gave up trying to roll the pony-sized bodies of the wasps around and listened to the tail end of the captain's conversation.
"Want me to check their guts?"
Deader nodded and looked for a wasp that died in a place that was sufficiently hidden from view and gutted it.
Deader's investigation of viscera yields no clues as to what was eaten or not. Mayhap he'd have better luck at the lookout proper.
Pegsworthy nods guardedly at Cedrick's words before responding "Well as long as you're a freeman I'll wave hello as we pass... but iffin ye turn privateer for the Taldans I'll needs be a bit warier of ye." the situtation easing significantly and no tension of combat remaining.
"At any rate, I'll needs be coming back when the dry docks open... but if ye like I can stick around to christen her as she goes back in the blue?"
Cedrick would be aware that it's considered good luck in these parts to have either another Captain or a virgin fair christen a vessel as it's first put to water... and there doesn't seem to be an overabundance of fair maidens.
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"We'd all be appreciative of your christening Captain Pegsworthy, perhaps we can share some tall tales and taller ales in the tavern later?" Cedrick closes, friendly and polite.
"Shall we go look out for the lookout?" Cedrick jests to his friends. He whilstles once loudly, and off outside the town a roar replies.
The Captain nods, before turning back to his sailors and exchanging quick words. Most of them clamber back down to the longship, which the Captain and two others move off in search of the tavern.
You move off out to the lookout and find the man collapsed at the base of the structure - skin blackened and stretched tight. A pile of puke at his feet and the rictus of pain on his dead face betray the poisoning he's succumbed to. Next to his body is a well made though rust patched morningstar.
The morningstar has some chitin and ichor upon it, but feeling it in hand Cedrick gives it an experimental swing or two. The balance is exceptional.
Seeing Cedrick examining the morningstar, Obi casts Detect Magic to see if there is anything of note about it.
Fish follows Obi's lead, examining the morningstar for magic.
Between the two soggy spellcasters you are able to determine that it bears a minor enchantment upon it.
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"Now there;s irony for you, we spent an age roaming about with the back end out of our pants and then we find more wealth than we could have dreamed of back then lying about on a dead old pirate on a scummy island" Cedricks laughs at their good fortune in a pleasant and happy manner.
"Back to Squibbs I suppose, perhaps he needs one of Deaders watchers eh?"
Nachni shakes her head sadly at the dead lookout. "Poor fellow. Not much more to be done here though. Let's get back to Squibs and see about some drinks with Pegsworthy. Maybe he has news of the seas he can share before we head back out."
Nachni's right. We need something to raid, and he probably has a few ideas.
"Hard to raid anything with our ship in dry dock, unless you're thinking about signing on with someone else to split the haul."
"That might work, actually. Captain Pegsworthy did mention he was in line after us. Maybe we could enter into a venture with him to kill time while Revenge is being patched up?"
Finishing up you move back to the tavern and spend an evening in cups with Pegsworthy. He seems an amiable enough fellow, though as a Free-Captain he sees himself at present sitting higher on the roll of infamy than you do. You'll need to build up some reputation on the waves before he starts seeing you as a true equal.
Thought of putting out to sea with him are hampered by the fact that the work up Revenge will be completed relatively soon, and he's got crew enough without needing to share with ones he barely knows. His suggestion for the moment is to keep to the South of the isles of the Shackles and away from the best shipping lanes. Lest the Revenge come under the attention of other Free-Captains less amiable and kind.
One interesting point that Captain Pegsworthy passes on is the story of Tidewater Rock. It refers to a castle called Tidewater Rock that commands a small, protected harbor on a remote island south of Motaku Isle. It is said that anyone who can claim Tidewater Rock as her own will have good luck, as the castle makes a strategic watch point from which one can strike the nearby shipping lanes.
The Captain himself has juicier prey to aim for Northwards in more dangerous waters - but suggests that a new pirate captain looking to make name for himself would find purchase with the claim to have been the one to “crack the Rock.”
"I always wanted a fortress. At least I think I did. Suppose it doesn't matter, even if I didn't used to, I do now."
Nachni listens with interest to the tale of the Rock, finding an opportunity to learn a bit more about the area she is still getting to know. She thinks back for a moment about her time on the Wormwood and whether she heard anything about Tidewater Rock during downtime or rigging work.
Obi listens to the discussion of shipping and piracy and taking the Tidewater Rock. While it all sounds interesting, she loses interest quickly and begins to wonder about the seas around Tidewater and what treasures might be found within.
Looking to see what Cedrick thinks of the idea, A safe lair is never a bad thing, least in my experience.
While the sailors and squibbers you speak with know of Tidewater Rock, it seems that most of them are fairly short on anything that could be known as details. You get a good reckoning on it's location East and out at the outskirts of the Shackles Isles with open sea to it's side. Apparently it's occupied, but no-one knows who the laird is either.
The last of the squibbing takes a few days and Pegsworthy stays in port with a couple of his mates at his side. The Chelish warship he liberated standing sentinel just beyond the inlet. Soon enough the work is done and the night before the christening is due to take place Rickety takes Cedrick and any other interested in quick tour of what was managed.
The man does good work, having blunted the facade and changed the lay of sails enough that you'd only reckon her as Rahadoumi at very close quarters. She looks like any of the number of feature blending ships of the Shackles... at least till ye get her a name of her own to be said in hushed tones. Finishing up Rickety takes you atop and wrings his hands "So whats your reckoning? Well worth the visit like?"
Fish accompanies Cedrck for the tour, noting the differences, but keeping fairly quiet.
Nachni looks the ship up and down, "Remarkable. You do quick exceptional work Rickety. Even having sailed her, I don't think I'd know her from afar. Perhaps we'll see you again with some others in the future."
Rickety nods and smiles "Aye, glad ye like it... now as to the coins..." winking and looking for the last of his recompense be paid before you put out. "We'll float her off come morning eh?"