Colonial Hotel
du Tourbillon graciously pours coffee for Katerina and Nia, letting them use cream or sugar as they desire. He appears to be a man who enjoys standing on ceremony, and smiles discretely when Katerina plays the waiting game. What others call pomp and circumstance, du Tourbillon considers good etiquette.
"But of course, madame Corazon. Though I believe to have a good working relationship it is not necessary to air all the sordid details of one another's lives. Would you agree?" He inquires genteelly but decisively, avoiding Katerina's inquiry into his magical abilities.
"As you are aware, my aim in seeking Le Gloriosa is both professional and personal - to find my missing son-by-adoption Emanuel Wynn. In this endeavor there is a certain ship which has vexed me over the years - The Seawolf."
He pauses for a moment to look down and sigh, sipping his coffee.
The Seawolf is a legend of the high seas, a real ship yes, but the only tales of it come from the few survivors of ships utterly obliterated by it. Mad sailors' tales tell of a crew of devil sea dogs more wolf than man drifting from port to port to sell their bloody booty and indulge in drunken orgies before returning to sea...with lads press-ganged ne'er to be seen again.
du Tourbillon continues,
"I don't know who the captain is or why he seeks Le Gloriosa, but he seems to derive a twisted pleasure in sabotaging my efforts. When he was not able to steal my research, he would content himself with wantonly destroying it. Were it not for him and The Seawolf I may have discovered the lead to Chedreu* a year ago. Cés la vie."
"As for Captain Wallace, yes, I heard he was organizing a rival expedition, but I had no idea he was so close to leaving berth. Apparently, he has an actual lead on the treasure ship. Badouin tells me Captain Wallace will be ready to sail in a day and also that your man Barrington was spotted speaking with his quartermaster. A word of warning: This privateer Wallace has a reputation as a tyrant and backstabber. I wouldn't put anything past the man. Then again, that goes for half this port I suppose."
Clearing his throat, du Tourbillon glances at Nia, a bit unnerved at her steady stormy gaze at him.
"Ahem, which brings me to the reason I wished to speak with you. My man Badouin has compiled an itemized list of the expected expenses to outfit a 50-man crew for a one-month voyage...1,500 louis d'or (gp) yes?" He inquires of the accountant Badouin who nods, and hands the list to Katerina for her review.
"More importantly, how is your search for a ship going?"
[SBLOCK=Badouin's List of estimated expenses (total 1,500 gp)]
Food & Drink - total 302 gp
Month’s provisions for sixty men (3 tons) (water, bouillon, oatmeal, flour, salted meat, hardtack, peas, beans, salt, etc) 150 gp
4 barrels of rum 120 gp
Barrel of assorted fruit (oranges, limes, pineapples, sopadillas, sour-sops) 15 gp
Chef’s cooking spices & culinary tools 12 gp
2 goats, some chickens, and a pig 5 gp
Month’s feed for two livestock 3 gp
Naval Supplies - total 296 gp
Ship’s bell 60 gp
Bilge pump 50 gp
Five lanterns (four hooded, one beacon) 30 gp
Spare main sail and spars 25 gp
Hourglass 25 gp
Bunk cots and linens for sixty men 25 gp
Chest, lock, and key 15 gp
Lamp oil, pipe (105 gallons) 12 gp
Ship’s logbook, oversized waterproofed vellum 10 gp
Ink bottle (1 ounce) and pen, 10 gp
Scuttlebutt, 4 empty barrels, buckets and mops 10 gp
5 block and tackle 5 gp
Cordage, sounding lines, three lengths of 50-ft hempen rope 5 gp
Two sculling oars 4 gp
Captain’s chart table 4 gp
Two fishing nets and ocean fishing tackle 3 gp
20 square yards of patching canvas 2 gp
Signal flags 1 gp
Melee Weapons - total 365 gp
50 handaxes 250 gp
20 boarding pikes 100 gp
25 marlinspikes (daggers) 15 gp
Firearms - total 275 gp
25 pistols 250 gp
600 bullets and powder 25 gp
Auxiliry Craft - total 157 gp
One ship’s boat (1 ton) 150 gp
4 oars and a hand pump 7 gp
Cannon Supplies - total 105 gp
400 shot and powder (4 tons) for culverins 80 gp
200 shot and powder (1 ton) for demi-culverins 20 gp
Cannon cleaning tools 5 gp[/SBLOCK]
More so than in other parts of Nassau, there are several fineries the hotel can afford that catch Nia's witching eyes: fine silk drapes, dwarves speaking in Dutch trading necklaces and gems, several ornate vases from the outer islands of the Caribbean that would earn a pretty penny from a collector, and not to mention the Continental fur trader eyeing them - his wares seem most exotic of all.
[SBLOCK=Nia (observant feat)]Nia notices that several of du Tourbillon's accoutrements like his handkerchief, pocket watch, cane, and scarf, are inlaid or woven with subtle spell components. Most likely the arcane sort. Moreover, as one who has been touched by a great storm, Nia recognizes a kindred spirit in du Tourbillon: this man has gazed into the heart of the destructive sea.[/SBLOCK]
