The captured flagship anchors at Tortuga’s prize quay beneath fresh Ballantyne colors. Its holds await inspection and sale as merchants, shipwrights, and desperate captains gather along the crowded pier.
On the quarterdeck, Captain Redmane stands with the command ledger and claimant’s notices. The privateer, Mateo Vargas, the dockside scrivener, and the cooper arrange manifests, keys, and weighing scales nearby.
Dockside Scrivener
The notices brought half the quay running. If the inventory is honest, buyers will compete before sunset.
The cooper checks the flagship’s battered rail and swollen seams, while shipwrights below tap the hull and murmur over repairs. Every glance measures both treasure and the strength of Redmane’s growing flotilla.
Mateo Vargas
Your first sale can purchase spars, powder, and another hull. But these captains will judge whether your colors promise profit or merely spectacle.
The Privateer
The ledger is ready, captain. Shall we open the holds, announce the first lot, or receive the quay’s offers before naming our price?
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure committed vessels for Redmane’s flotilla
“I offer shares to recruit a shipwright’s vessel”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -2)
“I offer shares to recruit a shipwright’s vessel”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Captain Redmane turns from the manifests to a broad-shouldered middle-aged shipwright, a weathered man with brown skin, close-cropped black hair, and a square, bearded face, in a tar-dark coat, whose scarred hands rest on the flagship’s rail. The wanted poster slips beneath the ledger, threatening recognition as she makes her offer.
Captain Redmane
Take shares in this prize, and bring your vessel beneath my colors. Your shipwrights will have steady work, fair payment, and a place in my fleet.
Her Silver Tongue makes the terms sound less like a plea than a profitable commission. She folds the claimant’s notices under the command ledger, keeping the dangerous likeness hidden while the ledger’s captured authority gives every promise weight.
Redmane’s Inspiring Presence gathers the watching shipwrights around the rail. Their attention shifts from battered seams to the prize’s holds, and from uncertain inspection to the prospect of a growing fleet.
Tortuga shipwright 1
I accept. My vessel will join your colors, and my yard will keep this flagship sound. Give us our shares, and we will make your fleet seaworthy.
The broad-shouldered shipwright extends a tar-stained hand. Behind him, his vessel’s crew begins casting off from the neighboring berth, while the quay’s merchants and captains witness the first new hull join Redmane’s command.
Quest Complete
Secure committed vessels for Redmane’s flotilla