sounds good.
You bundle of Lucy, unarmed and armored, to the front stairs. The guards take her to a room.
A little while later, the door opens again, and one of the guards steps back out.
"I am Sergeant Royster McCleagh."
"You may bring five of your crew with you. Keep your weapons, but be warned that any sign of hostility will result in the summary execution of your captive crew mate."
"I'll be honest mate, I'm starting to wish we'd asked for reciprocity from you with the collateral...ah well. Lead on."
"No need - I have enchantments placed upon myself to unleash a deadly fiend to slay all who would betray me in the event that I am betrayed - or give the command word."
Royster gives you a tight smile.
"So be it. We can at least make sure such a conclusion wouldn't be palatable to either of us."
"You two." he says, addressing his guardsman.
"Relay word to the others. In event of attack, I want all of our archers to focus their fire on that man there."
"Ehh, just treat her nice, alright?"
"Right then. Ace, Jrahk, Ixrul, Nute and Sandara-on me. The rest, stay back."
Nute unsummons Gru and joins you.
McCleagh leads you to the dining hall, where he takes up a place just beside Lady Smythee's chair.
She stands to greet you.
"Be welcome in my home, and may we come to peaceful accord." she says, with the air of someone reciting an oft used formality.
"Please, be seated." she says, and sits herself down. She claps her hand and calls out "Albers, Birney! It's time.".
A short time later several servants come out, bearing covered trays, which they promptly set down and uncover. Through the billows of steam a scrumptious meal soon becomes apparent, boiled crab making up the centerpiece, accompanied by buttered-simmered sturgeon, goat cheese, and a freshly baked loaf of a hard brown bread, ale and rum flowing freely at your request.
Through tremendous willpower, Jrahk refrains from grabbing huge fistfuls of food and stuffing them in his mouth.
Instead, he watches how the others use their utensils, and does his best to replicate the actions.
To him it seems like the most impractical method of eating ever conceived, but he decides he has no choice but to play along for the time being.
"Good meal," he says between sips of ale.
"Thank you mister...?" Smythee says, speaking for her chefs.
"So tell us, how did you get in a tiff with Harrington in the first place?"
"Terribly sorry, I don't believe we ever introduced ourselves. I'm Cyrdic Forthill, captain of the Devil's Pallor. The Orc is Jrahk, this is Ace, and over there is Ixrul and Nute. Ace and I met onboard Harrigan's ship after we were press-ganged. After we took over another ship, we were sent as part of the skeleton crew, which was captained by a few of Harrigan's flunkies. We erm...took the ship over and have been making our own way ever since. We picked up Ixrul, Nute and Jrahk along the way."
"Pleased to meet you Captain Cyrdic, and all the rest."
"As for how I came to be on the outs with Harrigan...honestly I thought it was common knowledge around the Inner Sea. My husband was the late Iron Burt Smythee. A hard man, but fair, and I loved him. He got in a fight with that treacherous b+*@! Carola Antiochus. He gave her a pounding, and sank her flagship, despite the fact that she'd led him straight into the Eye, but before he could escape that bastard Harrigan comes from nowhere. Apparently Antiochus hired him, and he came cheap since he was just starting out at the time. Word came back a few weeks later that Burt had met his end on the Eye, screaming his defiance to the last."
"I had the pleasure of witnessing him in action once, ma'am. It was quite a sight to see."
She arches her eyebrows in interest.
"Really now? This I must hear about."
"Well, he had to negotiate with the captain of a ship which I had been injustly imprisoned on - something about them having captured his navigator."
"The captain of the ship made the foolish mistake of stepping a mite too close to your husband after having just threatened the life of the navigator. Burt understandably viewed it as a bit of an act of war, and next thing anyone heard was a quick crack."
Shaking his head with nostalgic wonder, Ixrul says "I'm an elf, and I have mighty sharp eyes. But he was too quick - even when wearing his iron shirt - for me to properly track what he was doing. He took the other captain's saber off of his corpse - I think Burt had broke the man's neck, but didn't get to check - and basically single-handedly defeated the crew of my captor."
With a grin, Ixrul continues, "I was in no mood to stick around, however, and found it best to fly away. I despise being imprisoned."
Lady Smythee smiles, lost in thought for a moment.
"That does sound like Burt. He was a man of many facets, ruthless and cruel at one moment, kind and loyal at another, sometimes back to back."
"Well, ma'am, I reckon it's time to talk business."
With a vicious gleam in his eye - thankfully concealed by his stone mask - Ixrul leans forward and interlaces his fingers. "In my expert opinion, it would be best for everyone involved, economically speaking, if you ceded control of this island to us."
(Plus any bonus thinking it's good for her would entail)
Smythee leans in as well, a predatory gleam in her eyes as well.
"Best for everyone? Maybe. But I'm afraid I can't just give up the island. I've invested too much into it. I have nowhere else to go, and nothing else to do should I cede full control of the Rock over to you."
"However, there is a way for us to both get something out of this, if you're open to hearing it?"
"I propose a marriage, under Shackles Law."
A Shackles Marriage is an outdated, but still sometimes used practice of two powerful individuals entering into a marriage contract for mutual benefit.
The two parties agree to a marriage relationship for a set period of time. During that period, they are considered married by all right and law, including the other party's resources as a spouse.
Once the agreed upon time period is up, the marriage may be dissolved at any time simply by either party stating that it has ended ("I want a divorce!" being a common way to say it). The two parties then separate, amicably, though of course the period can be renewed or turned into a more binding marriage at any time should both parties agree.
This is particularly beneficial to pirates, especially Free Captains, who can marry a rival to cement an alliance for a set period. Should love or infatuation develop, the relationship can be continued indefinitely, but it retains an "escape clause" should things go sour at each designated interval.
"Ah. With our captain, I presume?"
"Your Captain bores me. He's barely said anything since you've been here. YOU on the other hand...you're bold. I like bold.
Jrahk, knowing nothing of Shackles Marriages, silently questions Smythee's taste in men.
"What exactly would a marriage between you two entail then, in terms of control of the Rock?"
"Your crew, through Ixrul, would get access to all of Tidewater Rock's resources. A defensible base of operations, my guard, any aid we can reasonably give, and, of course," she looks at Ixrul, arches an eyebrow, and winks "My bed."
"in return, I get a stake in your operations. Your success is my success. I'm content to let you operate as you have been, though I may take a cut her and there, see if I can spruce up the place and return it to its former glory. I'm not particularly interested in your business, but I stand to gain a few things as well, much more than I would by keeping hold of the Rock with a tight fist, or fighting you over it."
Lady Smythee looks at you expectantly.
Jrahk gives Ixrul a slight nod.
"Well... you see... I'm already married." Ixrul hurries on, saying "Even if this is a more, ah, casual arrangement, marriage is especially sacred among elves do to our long lifespan. Which raises the second issue: I do not like to risk attachment. Should I become... emotionally involved... well, I cause unnecessary suffering to everyone involved as, well, you grow old and die while I live on."
"I'm single" Ace points out.