Blaise took the offered date and ate while he listened. "Blackbeard is not a man to be casually crossed, but he is just a man. A shrewd and powerful man, but still just a man. His eyes were sharp when we met with him, but he wasn’t able to hide everything. When I tried to get a feel for who we were talking with, I noticed him subtly tense when I looked towards his library. His books are important to him. I’m willing to bet that this book that our friends are looking over now is more than just important. I’d wager that it’s vital.”
“Blackbeard’s youth is long behind him. He’s not concerned with gold. He’s made his riches. He’s not interested in mere fame as a legacy. No, he’s a man who is reaching the evening of his life. My guess is that he either wishes to delay the final night or protect those he loves when the sun rises and he’s no longer here. Either way, that book is part of his plan for the future. Whenever I hear the old salts speak of L’Ollnais, they say that he sold his soul before he met his end. Blackbeard has a fear of
djab, but perhaps he’s wondering what price his soul could fetch and reckons that book has the path to the market.”
His eyes stare into the night sky for a long moment and in that moment, a power seems to subtly radiate from the pirate. As he speaks again, his voice carries a new intensity, “We all seek
La Gloriosa for our own reasons, but I need you to know, captain, that if Blackbeard seeks
Ge Rouge du Petro, then he and I will cross blades. If that gem is what I think, then Blackbeard may not be thinking of offering up his own soul for trade, and that is an evil that I will not allow.”
The moment passes and Blaise turns back to Kat with a sly grin and a wink, “However, he doesn’t need to know that. The best way forward that I can see is to stay close to him and gain his trust. If my suspicions are even half right, that book is not the solution to Blackbeard’s problem. It’s just the map to set his course. He won’t go after whatever he needs next himself. He’s already seeing the sunset and will have no desire to run off into the night. He’ll send others. That’s the job we need to have. We need to be the first people to get whatever he’s ultimately after. We could try and sneak into his library and discover it for ourselves, but how much easier if he decides to send us after it. After all, we are the ones who found the treasure the eluded him in a day. When we find whatever it is that he’s after next, then we can decide if Blackbeard should have it.”
“We have a little time and Blackbeard tipped more of his hat. I say we hold the treasure for a few more hours and seek out the Van Djik’s secret that he’s kept from Blackbeard. I heard some men in the tavern talk about him. He lives in town. Well, lives may be a strong word for a man dying from a curse. Still, if we can convince him to talk, then we have an option on what to give Blackbeard for the ship. Whatever Blackbeard wants to know, I want to know too. After we have it, we can make our decision. If the secret is more valuable, we keep it. If the book, we keep it. Either way, we fulfill our bargain with Blackbeard, gain a bit of his trust, and get the
Coral Curse. If we give him the treasure, then I say we give him all of it. Lying about the potions isn’t worth the ship or a potential relationship with Blackbeard. The ship will take time to make seaworthy. If we’re going to be spending so much time on his island, then we would do well to keep him from being an enemy.”
Blaise cocked his head in the direction of the cave as he continued, "As for the cave, you may be right. There was another path that we didn't go down and those cannons are still there, but we don't have to disclose where we found the treasure. Our bargain was just to bring the treasure not to tell him where we found it. We finish our business with Blackbeard and deal with this
djab first. Then, we can get to work on making the ship ready to sail. While that work is being done, there will be time to go back to the cave and see what else may be there."
|
OOC:
|
A few things to catch up, in case folks have forgotten (like me – I went back and reread).
The treasure we were sent to find was L’Ollanais’ whom was rumored to have sold his soul and killed by natives on an island. The party ran into him (not dead) and he is a werewolf and part of the rival crew of the Sea Wolf. I don’t believe that Blaise knows about your run-in with L’Ollanais so he assumes the rumors are true and that he’s dead.
Blackbeard gave us two options for the ship. Get the treasure or discover a secret from the former caption of the Coral Curse (Van Djik). We’ve gotten the treasure. I want the secret too (especially because it might impact the ship).
Ge Rouge du Petro is the red gem that Blackbeard wants from La Gloriosa. Blaise thinks that it may be one of the gems that he’s after and is unwilling to let anyone else get it.
|
|
