By first light, the harbor bells proclaim a new authority. Redmane leaves the Loyal Clerks and Harbor Officers guarding the preserved accounts while she walks toward the quay with Mateo Vargas and Don Hernán Valdés.
Three captured galleons ride beneath Ballantyne colors, their Spanish crews confined but unharmed. Harbor pilots, merchants, and wary dockhands gather as the governor’s signet glints above Redmane’s command ledger.
Don Hernán Valdés
The officers will recognize the signet, Captain. The harbor obeys the seal first, and the victor second.
Mateo signals from the foremost captured galleon. Its colors snap down, then rise again in Ballantyne blue and crimson while the other two ships answer in sequence.
Mateo Vargas
All three galleons acknowledge your command. Their officers await terms, and their guns remain secured.
The harbor officers approach beneath the signet’s authority, carrying signal books and quay registers. Behind them, Governor's Guards keep their distance, uncertain whether to salute or resist.
Don Hernán Valdés
Stand before the quay, Captain. Speak the terms that will make this harbor yours in fact, not merely by conquest.
− Story Quest Removed
Complete construction of the second warship
“I persuade the captured crews the former governor had committed treason enriching himself at their expense. I announce generous terms to the captured crews to serve under my command.”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Redmane faces the captured crews on the quay, governor’s harbor signet raised beside the command ledger. The wanted poster snags her sleeve, briefly exposing the danger behind her authority, but Silver Tongue turns the interruption into proof that the governor feared scrutiny.
Captain Redmane
The former governor committed treason against this harbor, enriching himself while you paid, served, and bled for his corruption. Under my command, you will receive lawful shares, safe service, and fair treatment, recorded openly in this ledger.
She opens the command ledger to the preserved payments, letting each entry speak against the vanished governor. The signet makes her terms official, while Inspiring Presence steadies the sailors as they compare the promises with their own emptied purses.
Captured Galleon Crews
We will serve beneath Ballantyne colors. We ask only that our shares and the governor’s stolen accounts remain visible, and that our officers are not punished for his treason.
Mateo translates the terms across the quay, and the three crews lower their weapons and swear service. Their acceptance is complete, but their demand for public accounts binds Redmane to continued scrutiny and spends some of her private leverage.
Don Hernán Valdés
They have chosen you, Captain. Their loyalty is freely given, though every share must now withstand the harbor’s eyes.
The captured galleons’ crews take Ballantyne colors, and the harbor officers record their enrollment beside the signet’s authority. Puerto de las Sombras now belongs to Redmane’s command, not through fear alone, but through terms the harbor can witness.