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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GnomeWorks" data-source="post: 1203106" data-attributes="member: 162">"Aye, lass, I be what they call a free spirit." Ricardo says, smiling. "Payment or no, so long as I've food an' berth, I'm fine.  As for why I'd take such a job, if ye offered it... well, a mix of what ye named.  A sailor without a ship is like a knight without a blade, if ye get my meaning, an' I be a sailor without a ship, at the moment.""Pirates... aye, I can tell ye of 'em." The half-elf says, leaning himself back against the bar. "Bastards, all of 'em.  There be dozens of pirate ships, all kept in line by only the Code, that bein' basically the same as honor amongst thieves, if ye know what I mean.  Pirates, though... they be usin' illegal weaponry, a nasty thing that they be callin' gunpowder." His voice takes on a somber air, and his expression grows serious. "It's illegal throughout the coast, an' no captain of an honest vessel uses it... but pirates, aye, they use it well enough.  If ye're ta be fearin' anythin', it should be the pirates with gunpowder.""What else...?" He seems to ask himself. "They'll board any ship they come across, a course, an' loot it, an' claim it fer themselves.  Usually won't kill their captives, though they may throw 'em overboard and leave 'em to th' fishes.  Most a their crafts are faster 'n any honest ship, so unless ye've got an exceptional ship, any corsair that sees ye'll be able ta catch up with ye.  Some a th' nastier ones'll sink yer craft, as well, usually with ye on it.""Also... there be a ship sailin' this sea, that some call th' Cirya de Pietro.  Captained by a man they call Ramirez... a devil of a ship, an' some say that Ramirez be a devil 'imself!  Rare is th' man who's seen that craft, much less Ramirez 'imself.  She was th' first pirate ship ta carry gunpowder, an' shortly after all the others followed in her wake.  She can sink a ship faster 'n any other ship sailin' the seas.""What'll make yer journey more or less safe?  Well, ye could start by not goin'," He smiles, "though that'd get ye nowhere.  Keep outta sight a land near th' ports, that'll help ye avoid th' ships if they're closer inland, an' they usually stay further out ta sea when between raids.  As I said, fear th' pirates an' their gunpowder... not all pirates have it, but most do.  Ye can smell it on the air when they near, if they be carryin' it.  What ye have ta lose?  Yer lives, at most, an' yer ship, at best.  Nobody ever said that sailin' the seas was safe, lass." He smiles once more."Now, ye could be askin' yerself why I'm tellin' ye this." He says. "An' I'll tell ye why - because ye shouldn't go ta sea without knowin' what ye'll run into.  Courage ye have, aye, but it'll take more 'n that ta make it out there." He indicates, with a nod, the direction of the sea. "An' what I've told ye is only a piece of what I know... I've sailed many years in me time, an' I've come ta know many a th' pirate ships around here.  If ye think ye'll be attacked, then I can help ye in tactics, an' help ye get out of a tight spot."All in all, he seems to be relatively truthful; nothing would indicate otherwise.</blockquote>

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