Adventure of Arus 1 - 18th Century Cornwall

The skiff bucks in the black chop, rain slashing sideways as a navy cutter slides out of the fog ahead. Elizabeth clamps the satchel to her lap. The open sea vanishes behind a wall of wood and canvas.

At the cutter’s bow, Lieutenant Spelling stands steady in the storm, one hand on his sword hilt. His gaze fixes on the satchel, then on Arus, as if the choice is already made.

The cutter drifts broadside, close enough to board. Red lantern-glow blooms across wet planks, and the Sergeant’s name hangs unspoken in the rain like a threat with teeth.

Arus has one clean problem now, the documents in Elizabeth’s lap must stay out of the Baron’s hands, or this chase ends in irons.

(carefully) at Elizabeth, \"Not quite so fast, Liutenant... I hold not one but TWO hostages!... Steer away or you will be held responsible by the Baron for not only the loss of his precious packages to the deep, but of his even more precious daughter to the sword of a pirate! I'm warning you! Disengage now and depart, or explain yourself over corpses to the aggrieved, famously forgiving Baron!\" I say with facetious concern and mocking sarcasm.","outcome":"success","trait":"Deception","traitLevel":"Superb","roll":-3,"register":"social","commitment":"committed","committedIntent":"intimidate Lieutenant Spelling into retreating by threatening Elizabeth Billings","shade":"yes_but","sceneTitle":"A Pirate's Bluff in the Rain","location":"Storm-dark Mount's Bay"}

Arus snaps his sword up and levels it toward Elizabeth only long enough to make the threat believable. The blade catches lantern-light, and the skiff lurches under his feet as rain hammers the planks.

Spelling’s hand loosens on his hilt. The cutter’s bow drifts a fraction off line, its oarsman checking for orders in the fog.

The words land as a warning, not surrender. Arus’s bluff works, but the effort costs him, his sword hand cramps from the spray and the edge of the blade nickes the back of his thumb.