Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 736890" data-attributes="member: 7737">Marrero startled, aghast at the question. He slumped in his chair and cradled his head in his hands."It's okay, you can tell us," Madrak said. "It'll make you feel better," he prompted.A shaken Marrero looked up at them. "I do not know how you deduced my involvement," he began. "Please understand that what I did, I did in the ignorance of youth. If word of my past life gets out, I will be ruined – my mayorship stripped from me and my personage jailed."Yes, I was once a member of the Sea Ghosts. Alessandro, Porfirio, and I founded the group. We were bored young noblemen with nothing better to do. The others thrived on it – the secret identities, the call of the open sea, the loot. They thought it was romantic." Marrero said the word with a mixture of sadness and bitterness."A few years ago, I left the Sea Ghosts. My father was becoming suspicious, and he wished me to take up the family position as mayor of Port Bax. As far as I know, Alessandro and Porfirio continued with their lives as gentlemen-pirates. I honestly do not know what caused the apparent rift between them, or what has driven Porfirio to take such desperate action. Running weapons to the Ice Barbarians! I can scarcely believe it."Quaddla and Banda got the sense that Marrero was telling the truth. The Kestrels promised to keep his secret and further agreed that they would warn the Baron of Lof of the danger posed by the Sea Ghosts "in exchange for some cash" as Bilt put it. Marrero advanced them 100 Gold Crowns against the balance they were owed from Alessandro. Further, the mayor offered to pay their passage on a trading ship bound for Lof."On one condition," Marrero said, his eyes shining with excitement. "Give me that map. Alessandro sent it to me, and –"Before he could finish, Quaddla handed over the map, her heart sick at the man's obvious greed. "Take it," she said sadly.Bilt started to protest, but after one steely glare from Quaddla, he relented. Damned paladins, he thought to himself.The Kestrels were reluctant to board a ship, even if Marrero was paying for it. What if the Sea Ghosts attacked? But after consideration, they agreed to a sea journey; the trip to Lof would be much faster that way than it would be by land, especially as the roads were clogged with frozen mud.So it was that the next morning, the Company boarded the Cardonal, a trading vessel carrying a supply of winter wheat to Lof. The Cardonal was a two-masted sailing ship of some hundred feet in length with a crew of ten men.While Bilt, Madrak, and Quaddla spent their time on the ship in seasick misery, Banda befriended the crew and delighted them with her prestidigitations. One of the crewmen taught the Vakeros sorceress to play Samor, a game similar to chess in which each player tries to maneuver an ornate keystone across a gridlike board. Banda smiled to herself. She had picked up the game rapidly, but she allowed the sailor to beat her from time to time, thus maintaining his friendship.Several days passed in this fashion as the Cardonal glided easily through the frigid waters off Durenor. Unlike the northern Kaltersee, which freezes into impenetrable pack ice during the winter, the coasts of Durenor remain passable at all times of the year. Even in mid-winter, ships plied their trade, braving the possibility of a winter storm in return for a profitable voyage. The men of Durenor considered themselves the finest sailors in the world – and also the finest swordsmen, diplomats, and craftsmen. They would not be deterred from trading just because of some cold weather.It was the evening of the Kestrels' fourth day at sea. A fine cold mist fell upon the Cardonal, soaking everyone to the bone. The adventurers huddled miserably under their clothes, cursing the Durenese winter."Ship ahoy off the port stern!" came a cry from the Cardonal's lookout. The ship's captain peered into the twilight, squinting against the fading sunlight. He could just make out the other vessel. She had two masts and stood high above the waterline, with an elevated forecastle."Where's the spyglass?" someone asked. Quaddla looked rueful; she had left it with Marrero.As the other vessel closed rapidly on the Cardonal, both her sailors and her passengers noticed it lacked identifying markings of any kind. "This is damned peculiar," opined the captain. "Perhaps we should—"</blockquote>

Verification