A small boat bumps against the captured flagship under a hastily raised flag of truce. The dockside scrivener climbs aboard, exhausted, clutching damp papers from Tortuga quay.
Dockside Scrivener
Captain Ballantyne, a powerful claimant has posted notices naming this flagship stolen property. There is a reward for whoever recovers it.
He lays the soaked notices across the command ledger. Red seals, copied descriptions, and a generous bounty proclaim the claim in language meant to reach every harbor from Tortuga to Havana.
Dockside Scrivener
I could not learn who paid for the claim. The notices were already nailed up when I found them, and men were asking after this vessel.
Before he can say more, sails appear beyond the stern, three dark shapes gathering against the glare. Mateo Vargas turns sharply toward them, while the twelve crewmen reach for weapons and lines.
Mateo Vargas
Those are not ships from my squadron. Whoever comes has followed the notices, the prize, or both.
The privateer closes her hand over the damp papers as the approaching sails grow broader. The flagship’s captured colors snap overhead, and every waiting face turns toward Captain Redmane for the next command.
“I use the claimant’s notices to bluff authority”
SUCCESS (Good Deception, rolled +2)
Captain Redmane takes the claimant’s notices from the dockside scrivener and spreads them across the command ledger. The copied seals and bounty language become the face of an official Admiralty seizure.
Captain Redmane
This flagship sails under Admiralty authority. Keep your distance, identify your colors, and await inspection.
Her Silver Tongue gives the bluff the clipped certainty of naval law, while Inspiring Presence carries it across the water. The ledger supports every gesture with captured orders and recorded authority.
The wanted poster threatens to betray her likeness beneath the papers, so Redmane angles the notices outward and keeps her face in the flagship’s shadow, turning concealment into official reserve.
Mateo Vargas
By Admiralty order, you will heave to and present your colors. This vessel is conducting a lawful recovery and inspection.
The three approaching ships shorten sail. Their foremost vessel raises its colors, then lowers a boat instead of firing, accepting the notices, the ledger, and the flagship’s commanding display as proof of lawful authority.
Dockside Scrivener
They believe it. The claimant’s own notices have made this seizure look sanctioned.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the approaching force to accept Redmane's authority
+ New Item Acquired
Claimant's notices
“I have Vargas present the ledger and notices as proof of lawful seizure.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Intrigue, rolled +2)
Mateo Vargas carries the command ledger and claimant’s notices to the rail. The twelve crewmen hold the guns and lines ready as the foremost boat comes alongside.
Mateo Vargas
Here are the captured fleet orders, the recorded seizure, and the claimant’s own notices. Together, they establish lawful Admiralty custody of this flagship.
Vargas opens the ledger to its sealed orders and lays the notices across the page. Their matching seals and precise bounty language make the seizure appear formally registered, not improvised.
The wanted poster’s likeness peeks beneath the notices, forcing Captain Redmane to remain in shadow. Her concealment reads as official reserve while her Silver Tongue supplies Vargas’s crisp legal phrasing.
Mateo Vargas
You will note the Admiralty seal, the command ledger, and the claimant’s public claim. This vessel is under lawful recovery pending formal adjudication.
Inspiring Presence carries the declaration across the water. The approaching ships lower their boats and strike their colors for inspection, accepting the ledger and notices as proof of lawful seizure.
Quest Complete
Get the approaching force to accept Redmane's authority