The sealed dispatch lies open across the chart table, its inked convoy marks and guarded waters narrowing toward a perilous approach beyond San Telmo Roads. Nearby, three refitting ships creak against their lines.
The Privateer
This channel is narrow enough to hide a sloop, but not a fleet. The convoy must be found before its escorts close the sea around it.
The privateer traces the route with one gloved finger, stopping at shoals marked like black teeth. Her weather-stained coat and brass-threaded braid draw the lamplight as she measures every turn.
Mateo Vargas
The flagship can sail by dawn, but the sloops cannot both be ready. One needs fresh rigging; the other still lacks powder and provisions.
Tortuga shipwright 1
I can launch one sloop with the tide tomorrow night. To ready the second, I must strip hands and timber from the fourth keel.
Beyond the shutters, hammers ring through Ballantyne Marine Works. The chart promises a rich convoy, yet every hour spent preparing another hull gives its escorts time to alter course.
The Privateer
Your decision governs the advantage. Strike quickly with a narrow force, or gather the whole command and risk finding only empty water.
Mateo waits beside the ledger, the shipwright stands ready with his yard accounts, and the privateer keeps her finger poised over the hidden approach. The next order will set the fleet in motion.
✓ Quest Accepted
Intercept the convoy