Beatrice’s longboat pulls away toward shore as the Seawren’s moorings come free. Captain Pike supervises the watches, while the Seawren's acting officer arranges colored flags beside the mast and the crew prepares for departure.
The Returning Captain
Master Gandon, advise the exercise. We will show false colors, alter course twice, and test whether the watch reads the signal or merely obeys the wind.
The Seawren swordsman and the Seawren's second swordsman take stations near the foremast, while Thomas Redd joins the lookout. The departing courtesy is gone now, replaced by drilled attention and the creak of wet rope.
the Seawren's acting officer
Blue pennant ready, captain. The red and gold are folded beneath it, ready to become our false colors on your mark.
Beyond the harbor traffic, a black pennant rises briefly against the pale morning sky. It dips behind a merchant brig, then appears again farther seaward, too deliberate to dismiss entirely.
Thomas Redd
Black pennant beyond the brig! It could be the old rumor returning, or only a trick of distance, but it is keeping every eye aboard us.
The Returning Captain
Your reading, Master Gandon. Harmless echo or threat, tell me what the Seawren should do before that flag shows itself again.
“"I would act with caution, Captain. Signs of troublesome actors influencing the sea lanes near Cornwall would only make me more curious about this phantom hoisting a black penant to be spotted and positively identified before the spread of it's legend does more harm than it's cannons ever could, be there any truth to their rumoured existence... However, if you spot this phantom, bring me to her, and we will capture her together! Whether by ship's gunnery or by sword, she will be ours!"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Arrus Gandon
I would proceed cautiously, Captain. Find and positively identify this phantom before its legend outruns the truth. If you spot her, bring me to her, and we shall capture her together, by gunnery or sword.
Arrus raises the Spyglass and studies the black pennant's intervals. Battle-Tested Insight separates deliberate signaling from harmless drift, while Master of Secrets recalls how rumors become cover for men who profit from confusion.
His Code of Honor rejects a reckless broadside against an unconfirmed target, even as Reasoning weighs the wind, course, and harbor traffic. The glass catches a narrow hull slipping beyond the merchant brig, its black pennant plainly raised by design.
Arrus Gandon
There is truth in the rumor, Captain. That vessel is real, signaling deliberately, and now positively identified. Bring the Seawren after her, but hold fire until we know whom we face.
The Returning Captain
A sound judgment, Master Gandon. Elias, keep the merchant brig between us and the channel. Redd, mark her course. We will follow under false colors and close before she can vanish.
The Seawren's flags change, and her bow turns seaward. Through the Spyglass, Arrus keeps the phantom in view as she alters course twice, confirming a watchful hand aboard. The returning captain orders the longboat readied, so Arrus can board her alongside him when the distance closes.
✓ Quest Accepted
Resolve the hostile cutter encounter
“I will prepare my real dueling sword and pistol for battle, as well as the men and crew of the ship, with moral support and encouragement, as we close in on the apparent renegade ship. After carefully studying the features of the mystery vessel through my trusty spyglass, is there anything about this unidentified ship that I can recognize from all my days of sailing, or even a sign such as a recognizable design feature of the vessel's type that would give any clues or indication as to it's origins?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 55)
Arrus straps on his dueling sword and checks the priming of his pistol, then moves among the Seawren crew with steady encouragement as the longboat is readied.
Through the spyglass, the mystery vessel resolves into a lean, fast cutter with a low waist, unusually sharp bow, and a patched lateen rig. Its shallow draft suits the western coves, but the reinforced gun ports suggest more than fishing.
Arrus Gandon
The hull is built for pursuit and concealment, not honest coastal trade.
The Returning Captain
I know that cut, Master Gandon. Western-built, likely altered in a smuggler's yard, though those gun ports were fitted by someone expecting resistance.
The returning captain's assessment sharpens the deck's purpose. The Seawern's acting officer tightens the false colors while Thomas Redd marks the stranger's turns, and the Seawern swordsman and the Seawern's second swordsman take their stations beside the armed crew.
The Returning Captain
She has seen us. Her helm has altered toward the shoals, and our false colors bought no more than a moment. We close carefully, but the first exchange may come sooner than we wish.
The renegade cutter slips toward a reef-strewn passage, confirming both its local knowledge and its hostile caution. The Seawren follows, but the narrow water leaves no room for a clean retreat once the longboat goes over.
“I will attempt to observe the engagement from the quarterdeck, avoiding interference in the ship's operations, looking for any noticable opportunities for the Seawren to outmaneuver the mystery cutter into a naval disadvantage that would increase their likelihood of surrender when approached, rather than betting on open battle from a weaker position”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +0)
From the quarterdeck, Arrus keeps clear of the working hands and raises the Spyglass. Navigator of Tides reads the shoals, while Battle-Tested Insight tracks the cutter’s helm, sail, and gun-port timing.
Arrus Gandon
She wants the reef passage, but her shallow draft will become a trap if the Seawren holds the outer channel.
The Spyglass reveals the cutter’s weakness: each turn toward the reef exposes her stern before the next gust fills the patched lateen sail. Arrus identifies a broad sandbar beyond the passage and the safe water beside it.
The Returning Captain
You have found something, Master Gandon. Give me the course, and I will make the water serve us.
Arrus signals the outer channel, then points toward the sandbar. Samuel Pike understands: the Seawren will cross ahead, forcing the cutter to choose open water under the Seawren’s guns or the shoal that denies her turn.
the Seawren's acting officer
Helm agrees. She cannot pass the bar without losing her stern. Crew, stand ready, but hold your fire until the captain gives the word.
The Seawren cuts across the cutter’s escape, leaving the shoal astern and the open channel under her broadside. Trapped between guns and bad water, the mystery cutter strikes her black pennant and raises a white cloth. Samuel Pike orders the longboat lowered for the surrender.
Quest Complete
Resolve the hostile cutter encounter
“I will advise my own presence on the boarding party with the two most well-trained swordsmen I've seen so far, "Captain Pike, I request permission to join the boarding party with Misters Marr and Pike, sir!"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Arrus Gandon
Captain Pike, I request permission to join the boarding party with Misters Marr and Pike, sir!
Arrus presents the request with formal respect, keeping his authority beneath the captain’s command. His dueling sword hangs ready and his flintlock rests secured, making clear he seeks lawful participation, not control.
The Returning Captain
Permission granted, Master Gandon. You will board under my orders, with Marr and my second swordsman beside you. Take the cutter cleanly and preserve her crew where they surrender.
Seasoned Diplomat judgment wins the captain’s confidence, while Peerless Duelist readiness makes the proposed party credible. Arrus checks his pistol and draws his sword just enough to test its balance before sheathing it.
the Seawren swordsman
Gladly, Master Gandon. Jonas and I will hold the rail while you find the cutter’s command.
the Seawren's second swordsman
Aye. We follow your lead, but Captain Pike’s order remains law.
Arrus joins the Seawren swordsman and Jonas at the lowered longboat. His Code of Honor keeps the pistol holstered until needed, and the three swordsmen push off together under the captain’s watch as the surrendered cutter waits ahead.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the surrendered cutter
“I will ride the boarding party's longboat with serious caution, with my flintlock pistol drawn and at the ready as we approach the renegade cutter, prepared for any sign that the surrender to the boarding party is anything but completely genuine. Once we make it onto the deck of the ship, I will announce myself by name and demand to speak to the captain of the suspicious crew while quickly assessing the true strength of this crew and vessel, as well as the ship's name and reputation, if it has one. Determining the threat level of the surrendering crew is among my first acts aboard their main deck.”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +0)
The longboat noses alongside the renegade cutter. Arrus keeps his flintlock drawn across his body, spyglass tucked at his belt, while his dueling sword guards the narrow gap and every surrendering hand.
He boards first with the Seawren swordsman and Jonas close behind. Battle-Tested Insight reads the crew's spacing, weapons, and faces; Master of Secrets compares their silence and signals against the habits of a prepared ambush.
The cutter bears no readable name on her weathered stern, but her reinforced gun ports and patched lateen rig confirm a vessel built for pursuit, concealment, and sudden violence. Twelve sailors stand visible, armed but lowered.
A lean middle-aged man, with weathered skin, a narrow face, cropped black hair, dark breeches, and sea boots in a tar-dark coat steps from the quarterdeck. A pale scar cuts through his left eyebrow, and one hand remains conspicuously empty beside the wheel.
Arrus Gandon
I am Arrus Gandon, envoy of Viscount Falmouth. I demand to speak with the captain of this vessel. State her name, her reputation, and the strength of your crew.
The Lean Middle-Aged Captain
Gideon Voss, captain of the Black Gull. She has a reputation for outrunning customs cutters and carrying cargo no honest manifest would survive. My crew numbers twelve, and every man is under orders not to resist.
The answer is genuine. Arrus's Code of Honor refuses to invent treachery from fear alone, while the pistol, sword, and spyglass expose the practical truth: twelve armed sailors, disciplined, watchful, and presently compliant, with no hidden force ready to spring.