Nico thinks to himself, following along and wondering what the hell is going on?
He is too old for you!!! Royster McCleagh, He is a gruff old campaigner with a handlebar moustache and salt and pepper hair, and is rarely seen without his arms and armor.
He will be cordial, but not friendly. He speaks to you "The lady would like to invite you to dinner with one priviso, that one of you act as a hostage. He will be well treated, but she can take no chances."
Wanna get tied up Emmy?
I'll go. Kaliban's delivery is flat, as he shrugs.
Wanna get tied up Emmy?
Agreed?]
Good luck, Kaliban.
"Agreed?"
"Sure' Nico shrugs. Kaliban probably had his own way of dealing with escaping if needed. Sitting in a room under guard wasn't Nico's idea of a pleasant time anyway.
She promises the hostage will be well treated as long as the PCs’ intentions remain peaceful. The hostage must be left on the doorstep of the keep, unarmed and unarmored, and everyone else must move back at least 100 feet. Sergeant McCleagh and two guards then open the main door and usher the hostage inside before quickly shutting and securing the door behind him.
Kaliban gives Manny anything that can be thought of as a weapon then steps up and awaits his fate.
Sergeant McCleagh and two guards then open the main door and usher the hostage inside before quickly shutting and securing the door
behind him. They search the hostage and confiscate anything other than normal clothing (including jewelry).
Kaliban is given food and water and locked in a cabin with a guard on the door.
As soon as these conditions are met, McCleagh opens the main door and allows up to five of you to enter at any one time. You are allowed to
keep their arms, but the castle occupants do so as well, and are warned that the hostage will be executed at the first sign of hostility. Sergeant McCleagh escorts you to the hall on the top floor where Lady Smythee is waiting. McCleagh and at least four guards are always present while the Siggses serve the meal—a feast of boiled crab, butter-simmered
sturgeon, goat cheese, and hard bread, washed down with copious amounts of ale and rum.
Lady Smythee inquires, "What be your proposal Captain?"
"If I may, Ci Ci Barchetta," she says, placing a self-identifying hand on her chest. "On behalf of Captain Capricia and the rest of the crew, we feel that there is a mutually beneficial arrangement today. You hold Tidewater Rock, a neigh unassailable fortress, and we have a daring crew of fearsome buccaneers willing to range the Shackles and the Fever Sea and bring back plentiful plunder for all!"
"An alliance," Capricia replies matter-of-factly. "We've heard tales about this place--actually been dared to 'crack the Rock' by other captains and inhabitants of this region--and, as a relatively new ship and crew in these waters, realized that doing so would almost certainly boost our reputation. But we don't operate the way most pirates do: kill first then take whatever you want. No--we'll kill when we must and without any qualms...when such a course of action is warranted. But you've done nothing to me or any of my crew, so we have no quarrel or blood feud with you or your people. Still, I can't deny that Tidewater Rock is a base I'd treasure and would make our course forward toward becoming free brothers and sisters of the Shackles a lot easier. You'd offer us use of Tidewater Rock as a base; in return, we'd give you a small percentage of our plunder and act as a ship that's part of your fleet, defending this place when we're close by enough to do so. Those are the foundational blocks of our potential accord, in my opinion."
After taking a moment to compliment Lady Smythe's cook (and offering an apologetic glance to Manny), the captain adds, "Your fleet and, as a result, your grip on the Rock, isn't what it once was. At some point in the not-too-distant future, a crew looking to make a name for themselves--likely a crew with a lot less scruples than mine--will try to take this place. Even if you throw them off, you're almost certainly going to lose more of your men and be that much weaker when the inevitable next attack comes after that. Me and my crew are looking to build up our own reputation as well--though without the violence when it can be helped. In fact, we're well on our way down that path already: we just recently sent Whalebone Pilk and his ghost ship, The Deathknell, to the bottom of the sea, hopefully for good. I'd hoped to grab his ship's bell as proof of our victory, but wouldn't you know it--that cursed bell was what gave Pilk and his crew their unholy power and life, so we had to destroy it. So, technically, we've no proof to back up my claim...but perhaps you or one of your servants in this room can read the truth in my words, either by a trained eye and ear or possibly through magic. In any event, you'll likely begin to realize I speak the truth when tales of Pilk become nothing more than ghost stories meant to frighten children, because his days of preying upon these currents are at an end, courtesy of me and my crew."
"So, those are some of the building blocks we might use to lay the foundations of an accord. But I'd like to hear your own thoughts on the matter before we negotiate any final pact."
Dipping another piece of crabmeat into a cup of melted butter, Capricia finishes off by saying, "No big rush--I could eat at your table for weeks with nary a complaint if this be a taste of your usual fare."
Crab, crab! Manny gnaws on crab and bread. He loves crab!. Crab people, crab people! He gulps rum as well as he lets the Longshanks haggle.
Hostage Chit Chat
Kaliban gets familiar with his surroundings. You guys wanna roll the bones, pass the time?
Nico builds himself a sandwich out of sturgeon, cheese and hard bread. Seeing how high he can build it before he needs to start eating it?
" My late husband was the most recent lord of Tidewater Rock, Bertram Smythee, captain of the Vale and three other brigs. Like his predecessors, he held Tidewater Rock as his seat, but controlled a few other small castles on surrounding islands as well.
Over a decade ago, 'Iron Bert' Smythee went to sea with his
small f leet in a feud with Free Captain Carola Antiochus and was never
seen again. Word came back that Antiochus had lured Smythee into the edges of the Eye of Abendego and ambushed him with the help of a previously unknown ally—one Barnabas Harrigan—and that Smythee’s fleet
was cut to pieces between the enemy fleets.
Though he managed to sink Antiochus’s Pergador, he was last seen on the deck of the crippled and sinking Vale at the mercy of the Eye’s
hurricane winds.
Captain Harrigan claimed the remainder of Antiochus’s fleet and took control of several of Smythee’s undefended castles. He made an attempt to take the Tidewater Rock as well, only to discover that I was here to defend it. I managed to fend off his attack with such alacrity that Harrigan decided to leave me to rot in my tower it seems. If I could get a good ship and crew I would like to get revenge on Harrigan."
"Harrigan...Harrigan...I know I've heard that name mentioned over the evening rum rations. Captain, didn't you have a run-in with a Captain Harrigan not too long ago?"
Capricia arches one eyebrow almost imperceptibly at Lady Smythe's words.
Either she's the best ally we could've ever hoped to cross paths with or she's setting a trap for us....
Harrigan was captain of Wormwood!
You sense no attempt at deception from Lady Smythee.
What you do sense is hatred.
Manny gets full and wonders if the longshanks are all done talking.
”I think the old adage, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ applies here, Lady Smythee. You and the Captain have a mutual hatred of Barnabas Harrigan. An alliance against him would be mutually beneficial. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”
Capricia stops stuffing her face with crab meat long enough to nod and eventually reply. "Bastard press-ganged me and Manny in Port Peril and forced us to serve his whim and that of his bastard officers, 'til we were put aboard a captured ship and engineered a well-earned mutiny to claim the ship as our own. Hell, there are other members of my crew who served under Harrigan's yoke for even longer. None of us have any love for the man. Plenty of hate, though."
Nah, Enemy of my enemy is my enemies' enemy. No more no less
Nico listens carefully, glad to be getting some of the history of his new ship's crew at last.
Keep quiet and let someone else fill the silence is an odd trick for a Bard, but one that's worked a surprising number of times for Nico.
"By Besmara, we should press hands and make an alliance against Harrigan! I will provide you a base of operations here."
Capricia grins and shakes hands with Lady Smythee. "We have an accord!"
As the meal concludes, Capricia asks about the current state of affairs at Tidewater Rock. "Any supplies you need? Any dangers you'd like us to eliminate? Any interest in the loot we managed to relieve The Deathknell of before she sank forever beneath the waves? Any tips on where we might hunt ships in these waters?" After a brief pause, she also asks, "Any news regarding Harrigan?"
After a couple more forkfuls of crab meat and other sides, Captain Capricia taps the handle of her fork on the table and again addresses Lady Smythee. "Do you feel safe enough now with us that you could release our man Kaliban from your dungeon or wherever he's being kept? He's a good man and doesn't deserve to miss out on this meal." She reluctantly pushes herself away from the table with the compliment, "A most excellent meal, Lady Smythee--you have our sincere thanks."
"So, deal's done?? Great!" Ci Ci raises her mug of ale and says, "May Besmara bless our endeavor. A Black Spot upon Captain Barnabas Harrigan!"
Down with Harrigan!
She looks at Nico, "you, handsome. You have been awefully quite. How about we seal the deal under Shackles law and you be my husband for a year and a day, huh?" She sidles over to him and sits on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "Once the marraige is agreed, then perhaps we can see about releasing the hostage."
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Nico has vaguely heard of the old Shackles custom, marrying for a year and a day, followed by an amicable divorce as a means of sealing an agreement. "Sounds like a good idea to me." He agrees.
His look over Lady Smythee's shoulder at the other members of the Queen's grace crew show that Nico seems to be mostly agreeable to the deal. "Sure you don't want to check out Kaliban first? He's a big lad."
We pimpen Nico?
Nico has vaguely heard of the old Shackles custom, marrying for a year and a day, followed by an amicable divorce as a means of sealing an agreement. "Sounds like a good idea to me." He agrees.
His look over Lady Smythee's shoulder at the other members of the Queen's grace crew show that Nico seems to be mostly agreeable to the deal. "Sure you don't want to check out Kaliban first? He's a big lad."
"He's big and ugly! If I am to be married again then let it be to a handsome man like you."
"I'd be happy to perform the wedding, and give the union Besmara's blessing," Ci Ci offers. "Assuming Nico accepts your proposal?" she gives the bard a smirking side-eye.
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'If I'd known this was coming I'd have drunk a lot more!' Nico thinks to himself. "That'd be nice thanks "Ci Ci"." He answers calmly. He has no problems accepting the marriage. It'll make an interesting tale to tell one day.
.
Making a mental note to get his revenge on "Ci Ci" someday. :)
"Would you like me to simply witness an exchange of vows, or would you like me to invoke Besmara's blessing upon your union?" Ci Ci asks, looking to both Nico and Lady Smythee. "If you just want a witness, we can take care of it now. If you want a blessing, I will need to rest and pray, and I can perform the ceremony in the morning."
She waits a few moments for a reply, and then adds, "On that same note, can we release Kaliban, and invite him up for the festivities?"
"Lets get Kaliban out of his cell and then have have the wedding." Nico says, checking that his Bride-to-be is in agreement.
He's still more than a little stunned at how the parley turned out and is just going with the flow right now. :)
Capricia is quietly happy at how well this potential disaster turned out. She gives Nico a thankful nod and congratulates him and Lady Smythee on their impending nuptials. She absently realizes that she, as a ship's captain, probably now has the power to perform a marriage ceremony herself. With all the pirating, however, she hasn't had the time to think on how to do the ceremony...nor to ask Fishguts if he has any knowledge or suggestions on the topic.
Manny finishes his meal and wonders when the longshanks will stop gabbing
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.
that works for me
Kaliban is set free and she suggests you going out on a foray or two.
Seems we've an agreement... what was the cost?
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Nico's dignity?