yo ho let's be pirates

[sclavus]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Charles Vane
RECIPIENT: Everyone
WHAT: Stop being bad sailors
WHEN: eh
WHERE: idk kirkwall
NOTES: if you want some of that sweet sweet new character bonus AC

[ waves crashing against hulls and piers is the first sound that makes it to through the crystal, then seagulls, and distantly, men shouting and the bustling of the docks. Charles Vane's voice is a low, gravely thing, sounding exactly like you'd expect a pirate sailor to sound. ]

It's become clear to me that this port city, much as it may have its share of sailors experienced in ferrying merchants to and fro, has very little in the way of true men and women trained for naval war. [ a pause, and a slow exhale, almost weary. ]

Something the Inquisition will desperately need if they intend to reach every corner of this world that Corypheus has tainted.

[ and as fast as the mean to reach it. the venatori are like weeds, sprouting up everywhere they're given space and air. some months ago, Vane might not have cared, but then they took his home, and now he means to burn them out of existence. he hopes this Inquisition intends to do more than just what they're comfortable with to attain that goal. ]

I'm Charles Vane, a captain of Nascere, and I've arrived with a crew of men who've known harsh battle and victory on the seas for an age. If you have it in yourself to attempt to do the same, meet us on the docks, near the galleon flying no nation's flag.

We will see you made battle ready.

Comments

[elegiaque]

How many extremely respectable-looking and probably law-abiding sailors have we recently acquired, exactly?

( flint leans so hard into the #aesthetic there's no way that wasn't pointed.

but if it was pointed, it's not unfriendly. mildly curious. )

[sclavus]

[ har har har. yeah, he gets it. ]

Roughly sixty, respectable-looking and law-abiding sailors.

[ thank you for not saying pirates, he's not allowed to say pirates. ]

private;

[katabasis]

[Sure, this doesn't seem like it could be misconstrued as threatening or recruiting for an army in any way. Why not. But also fuck it, let's seem threatening and like we might be thinking about recruiting an army.]

Don't put anyone on the books. We can't afford them.

private;

[sclavus]

[ Look, he's training for the Inquisition. Whoever decides to come with them after Corypheus is dead is just happenstance and not his fault. ]

They're on the Inquisition's books, not our dime. I'm just attempting to aid their competency.

[aestivation]

Do you know how to swim?

[ it doesn't hurt to check: the point of boats is to keep you out of the water, after all. ]

[sclavus]

[ a short, sharp laugh. my dude, please. ]

Yes, I know how to swim. I suppose we ought to train others in that as well.

[thunderproof]

I'm told my kind are good on ships, though I've never really been on one much myself. I'd like to give it a go, if you can stand a mage and a woman aboard.

❰ women are bad luck on ships, right? adalia vaguely remembers something like that. ❱

[sclavus]

[ talking to the wrong captain for sexism, tbh. ]

My most deadly fighter was a woman, though not a mage. I can't say I've ever sailed with the latter. They've typically better lots in life to claim.

[ in Tevinter, anyway. ]

[castintoflames]

(Ships burning. A brother lost. Maedhros steels himself against those memories, thinking instead of these Men. They will have needs that he can help fill before they journey onward.)

How are your weapons, Captain? Do they need sharpening or are you in need of more?

[sclavus]

[ oh. that, actually, would be nice. huh. ]

We aren't in dire need, but better stock and sharpening wouldn't be unwelcome. You're a smith?

[sorcerised]

[ Oh sure, this doesn't sound suspicious at all. ]

What do you mean by battle ready? Is this about fighting or sailing, and if it's about sailing, then. Where are you sailing to? You can't hunt Corypheus down with one ship, you know.

[sclavus]

[ look he's just trying to help you guys suck less, okay? ]

Both. Fight and sailing are both needed for war at sea. And it's my understanding that the Inquisition means to assemble a fleet. The ships they can acquire, but they lack proper crews.

[rathercommon]

So - then what's the difference between sailing in peacetime and sailing in wartime? In terms of the skills you need, I mean.

[sclavus]

[ he wants to make the joke "I wouldn't know, I only sail in wartime", but Manners, and yeah not totally true. He understands merchant and passenger vessels. ]

In peacetime, your only concern is the sea and the vessel under your feet. In war, its that, along with ever other ship you pass, and ever unfamiliar shore you near.

Navigating waves alone is a thing all sailors know. Navigating them while making for tactical positioning, keeping in mind where your guns are and where their's are, what the range is, how fast they're going, and how best to cripple the ship before you can board all must be factored in on top of that, before even coming to the physical fight between crews.

[nadasharillen]

[ Nari is here, although not with the aim of becoming a pirate sailor. It's with a keen desire to talk cannon. The Dalish elf, her vallaslin more pronounced as her skin has darkened further with the summer sun, raises a hand in greeting with a wide grin. ]

Captain! A pleasure. D'you have time for talk of land and sea battles as well?

[sclavus]

[ Nari catches him in the midst of weaving together a mess of rope and pullies, reseting a demonstration he'd used to train a set of sailors, or would-be sailors, not long ago. As such, his hands will be occupied for a time, while his body is stationary. So, good timing on her part. ]

I do. Do you mean one and the other separately, or a battle with a ship assaulting a port?

[staysail]

Well--

[A voice belonging to your classic pirate sailor of Rivain, more amused than gravelly--]

--Now, you're being unfair to the good men and women of our sweet seas. A raid takes a different sort than a naval war. Coming out on top in a raid, with at least your life in your hands--that's its own sort of victory. Depending on who you're up against.

[Plus if you teach every sailor how to survive a bloody war, how are the good honest pirates of Rialto Bay and the Amaranthine and the Waking Sea going to keep up, make their lives harder, why don't you]

It's training you're offering. Not work. Yeah?

[sclavus]

[ oh bless you sweet child. if only he was allowed to say the P word right now, but there's something smirking in his tone when he replies. ]

And had I thought a string of raids alone would handle our Corypheus issue, I wouldn't have left my islands.

[ the fleet of Nascere is a unique one, in that the man leading it is Captain Flint, and there's really no other man like him. but the Venatori aren't sitting bases and ports, or small fleets waiting to defend. They're an army. You don't raid an army with a lesser force - you out maneuver it, cripple it, and when it's on its knees, slit it's fucking throat.

ANYWHO about that murder. ]

Training alone. The work is for the Inquisition. [ for now, but hit him up after Corypheus kicks it, my dude. ]

[bouclier]

Is the Inquisition truly so desperate for numbers that they're now accepting pirates into their ranks?

[sclavus]

[ OH HO HO HO HO, DOES IT COUNT IF SOMEONE ELSE ALREADY DROPPED THE P BOMB, MAX? man, this pearl clutching scorn, it is so pure. he almost misses tevinter. ]

Perhaps if the ranks they had weren't such a piss poor outfit half can barely swim you'd have more pleasant neighbors. Condolences.

[ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

[hassaran]

Has the Inquisition not issued you a flag yet?

[sclavus]

The Inquisition is not a nation.

[ and nearly every other ship in the Gallows docks has an Inquisition flag, so that's not really distinguishing. ]

[arlathvhen]

[ Beleth is kind of surprised that she's the first to mention this, but: ]

We have a project dedicated to our naval presence. Perhaps you should speak to Araceli Bonaventura, the project leader.

[sclavus]

Araceli Bonaventura is the one who brought the need for trained sailors to my attention.

[ they've spoken, he's joined her project, she's a wonderful pirate queen and bless her. this is an attempt to flush her ranks some while she's on her way back from skyhold. ]

[wolfslayer]

Hello, Captain Vane of the Nascere, allied with no nation at all.

Are you in need of a healer for this grand undertaking?

[sclavus]

The ship is the Walrus. The island it's from is Nascere.

[ just getting it straight. and, aaaactually, yeah. ]

We don't have any real medics to speak of as is. Could use one.