Thought we’d make things simple with a couple math problems.  Come on by the forums to post your solutions. 

We’re starting a series of puzzles to help everyone keep their brains sharp.  The answer for this one is a word.  See if you can survive this one.

The harbormaster Lt, Juan Rodriguez de Soldano, hurried down the shipyard dock after the Castillian sailor . “You are not authorized to leave port. We are under a White Plague quarantine. Do you hear me? Any vessel attempting to leave will be destroyed by the galleons anchored in the harbor.”

“I’m sorry sir. You will have to talk to the owner about that. He instructed me to tell you that we were leaving right after full dark.” The sailor hurried on.

“The tides not even right. I know that he is a little anxious to try out the new boat, but this is the wrong time for a pleasure cruise!” Rodriguez huffed.

The Falcon’s Roost loomed ahead under the full glare of the beating afternoon sun. The bright decorations that had adorned it this morning for the christening ceremony had been stripped away. Riggers scurried amidst the sails, preparing the vessel to cast off. The ship’s owner stood uncomfortably next to a tall Avalon gentleman. “Senor Vasquez! What is the meaning of this insanity?” Rodriguez strode up to the owner shaking his finger. The owner simply shrugged sadly.

The blonde man smiled and revealed the pistol that had been hidden behind the ship’s owner. “Good sir, thank you for joining us. I was certain that you would deal with this challenge to your authority personally.” The tall man spoke to the harbormaster’s escort. “Good job, Velik. Go ahead, cast us off. We’re ready to go. I’ll take these men to the forecastle.”

“What about Alesio? Any sign?”

He shook his head. “No, I had Willie check out the entire inn and the surrounding area. She’s just gone with no sign that she was taken. I’m sure its not the last we’ve seen of her.”

While the pirate’s leader was distracted, the Rodriguez hissed at the boat’s owner. “How did they get aboard?”

“Remember that girl with her nose in a book at the christening? After we had all the provisions loaded up and most of the crew had gone for a siesta, she came back later with him.” The owner gestured at the Avalon. “Said he was a wealthy merchant who was looking to purchase a fast boat. Then he pulled the pistol on me and told me not to move. The girl whistled and these pirates dashed aboard and leapt at the skeletal crew I had. They didn’t kill anybody, just threw the crew below decks. We didn’t even get off a shot.” The owner continued in a whisper, “I think these dogs were hiding beneath the docks”

With a small prod, the Avalon escorted the harbormaster and the boat’s owner to the forecastle of the ship. A gruff Inishman joined the Avalon who spoke to him. “Mr. McCorley, please keep an eye on these two.” The Inish man simple nodded a quick “Aye, aye.” Looking around, the Rodriguez clearly saw that the sailors barely numbered enough men to sail the boat. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re stealing a boat. Hadn’t you noticed?”

“And who are you?”

“My name is Jeremiah Berek, formerly of the Sea Dogs. Now with the Brotherhood of the Coast.”

“You swine! We let you pirates berth outside our harbor and sell your plunder here and this is how you repay us?”

“You broke that agreement when you aided the fate witches in destroying our ship and putting a price upon our heads. You even let the fate witches patrol the docks to look for any stragglers they might have missed. Luckily they didn’t know where to look or that the shipyards had a boat that was ready for her maiden voyage. But now we really need to break out of this little quarantine of yours. And the way we look at it, you owe us for your betrayal.”

“Have you ever seen anyone die of the White Plague? It’s a horrible, lingering death. There’s been a case of it here in town and no one can leave until disease is contained. And if you spread the disease simply because you didn’t want to be late, I will personally hunt…”

“Do not concern yourself, sir. While my companions were busy finding the perfect boat for our little jaunt and finding some more bodies to sail her, I was investigating this ‘Plague.’ The only people to see the infected crew members were the passengers of a Vodacce vessel that came in yesterday. That vessel left minutes before the quarantine was declared. And since those former passengers burned the Hanged Man down and tried to kill our entire crew, I’m certain that it was simply a scare to close the harbor. Those fate witches wouldn’t even blink at starting that rumor. And unless we get to our men and get out of here, they will all die. I will not allow that.”

“Your ship burned down last night. Any crew on it must have died.”

“They would have. In fact, that was the fate witches plan. But I found out about it. We were able to semaphore ‘Danger’ to them. Enough to put them on their guard without alerting your vessels out there. Then I had one of our men swim out there under cover of darkness to let them know what to do. The boat was almost deserted by the time of the fire.”

“Impossible. Those tides are too strong. And where could they go? There were no other boats out there last night. Your entire crew couldn’t have made it to shore without being seen.”

Berek smiled and pointed to the lighthouse on a small rocky island a few miles out from the port.

“Impossible. We knew that lighthouse was vulnerable to attack, so we rebuilt it so that one man could hold off a score of men. And we have a dozen men out there. We would have heard or been signaled if someone had tried to take it last night..”

“Except that our man came from the top. He should have been able to incapacitate everyone inside and let our people without difficulty.”

“How could he possibly get to the top of that lighthouse, unless he was one of those damned Porte mages?”

“No, no. He just climbed the outside of the lighthouse.”

“You’re dreaming. No man could pull that off.”

“We’ll see. Perhaps you are right and no one survived. We’ll just have to go out to the lighthouse and find out for sure. And Sean, we’ll be needing a new first mate with Alesio gone. If they did survive I know one man that should be made first mate. If he pulled off three impossible feats last night, then imagine what he could do with the crew. Reminds me a certain highland lass.”

“So you are just planning on sailing out there past the navy vessels anchored at the mouth of the harbor. You ARE cocky enough to be Berek. But your luck won’t get you past them.” The harbormaster scowled at the grinning Avalon.

Berek’s somber face broke into a mischievous grin. “No. It won’t. You will. We are going to approach one of the blockade’s ships. You are going to hail her. You are the harbormaster and personally selected those ships. When you tell them to allow us to pass so you can inspect the boat that burned, they will let us pass without inspecting us too closely for fear of the White Plague.”

“Very convenient. Except for one thing.”

Berek’s face suddenly paled. “And what would that be?”

Lt. Rodriguez folded his arms over his chest. “I won’t do it. I won’t help you break the blockade.” He paused when he saw the set cast of Berek’s face.

“The lives of my crew here. The lives of our men from the Hanged Man. The lives of the Castillian crew below decks. The lives of the Castillians on those other boats. And your own life all depend upon it.” Berek’s voice rose with conviction. “If you help us, no one dies. If you don’t, then a lot of people will die. I am not threatening anyone. I do not kill hostages. We will simply fight out way out. That will cost lives. Some of the prisoners will not survive the fight. Cannonballs have little finesse.” Berek looked out into the harbor for a moment. “But we will get through that blockade. They saved me from certain death. It’s time I returned the favor.”

Staring into his eyes, the Rodriguez realized this man meant it. He would fight his way out if there was no other choice. And with surprise on his side who knew what could happen. Especially with Berek. Castille couldn’t afford the destruction or even damage of any of her galleons with the Montaigne Admiral on a rampage. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “I’ll do it.”

“Good. We’ll be stopping at the lighthouse Mr. Wilcox and the rest of the crew. We will drop off most of the prisoners then. We may need to hang onto a few of you longer, but I guarantee that you will not be harmed.” As the Falcon’s Roost sped through the dark night, Berek turned his face towards the open sea. The wreckage of the Hanged Man was out there. But there was still time to save her crew. There had to be.

Salt spray splashed onto the deck of the Falcon’s Roost as she sped along under full sail through the cloudless night. The moon was a thin sliver which dabbled light across the tops of the waves without illuminating the depths. Juan Rodriguez de Soldano stared up at the familiar shapes of the Southern Cross and the Siren. The constellations seemed near enough to touch until a harsh laughter behind him disturbed his tired reverie. He glanced over his shoulder at the group of fishermen sitting together on the deck passing a bottle. They’d taken them aboard when the Brotherhood had finally landed earlier today. After two days without rest or sleep as the Brotherhood evaded the Castillian patrols, the crew had been happy to take on fresh swabs. He’d seen rougher men headed to the gallows, but rarely elsewhere.

True to his word, Berek had released all of the captives at the fishing village. They’d all left except for Juan. As harbormaster, it was his duty to bring this boat back to its rightful owners, especially after aiding these pirates in seizing it. Berek had understood and allowed him to stay aboard and given him the run of the ship in exchange for his word that he wouldn’t act against the crew. Juan didn’t know how he could gain control of the ship without breaking his word, but he had to try.

It was funny. He’d begun to think that these Brotherhood of the Coast buccaneers weren’t that bad. For pirates. They were reasonably courteous and had avoided injuring the captives. They were able fighters and excellent sailors. But they were exhausted and fuzzy headed from stealing the Falcon’s Roost, escaping from port, finding new crew and freeing the captives. Still to leave new crew as the only ones on duty seemed reckless when they’d been hired right out of the taverns. They’d snuck more rum on board and spent the time since everyone retired to continue drinking. How anyone had missed the fact that they were reporting for duty drunk was beyond Juan. Or maybe the Brotherhood just didn’t care. This never would have happened on board a ship of the Castillian Armada. Juan sighed and turned his attention back to the open ocean. He felt exhaustion weigh upon his own eyelids as well. Soon he’d need to head to the corner the first mate had assigned him.

A shower of meteors filled the sky overhead with a faint light. Watching them fall, Juan’s eyes suddenly narrowed and his breath caught. Across the dark waters, he saw the shadow of a boat under sail silently gliding closer. A Castillian galley would be lit up, but who else would be out here? Looking down, he chuckled at the thought when he stood aboard a darkened pirate ship himself. Glancing over his shoulder again, he muffled a curse. The fishermen had lit a lantern on the aft deck and were pulling out guitars and hand drums.

He called out above the low music, “Stow that! There’s another ship headed this way.” The fishermen laughed and began playing louder. There was no sign that anyone below decks had noticed. Turning back to the open sea, Juan peered into the darkness, looking for any sign of the other ship. His night vision slowly returned and he could barely make out a faint outline far to portside but approaching rapidly. Juan looked around for help but no one paid any attention to him. He did spot the port side deck cannons gleaming in the faint light of the lantern. Made of the finest steel and still covered in a light sheen of oil, these were the best cannons the Castillians could spare for such a small boat. Juan sprang into action and broke open one of the barrels of gunpowder stowed on deck. It would only be enough to load two shots before more would need to be brought from the powder room.

As Juan began loading the guns, one of the fishermen called out to him, “Hey, stop dat.” Juan ignored him as he grabbed the rammer’s rod and spun it into position. Three quick jabs and the first gun was ready. As Juan turned to the second, the fisherman strode up yelling for him to stop as he fumbled with a cutlass. Juan swung the rammer’s rod, slamming the shaft into his stomach. The fisherman doubled over and Juan swung the padded end around into the man’s head. He dropped to the deck like a sack of floor and Juan began ramming the second cannon. As he finished, he dropped the rod and stared out into the darkness to find the dark shape closer and more distinct. It was smaller than he originally thought and with excellent discipline since no sign of light showed aboard her. With a shudder, he realized she must be a Montaigne frigate trolling for Castillians. A number of frigates had been cruising these waters since the blockade was broken, but he’d never heard of them running at night. If the Juan didn’t do something before she came around to bring her guns to bear, the Roost would be her latest victim.

Juan rushed back to the stack of cannonballs near the center of the deck and plucked the top one off. He waddled it back to the cannons and pushed it into the barrel. As he rushed back for another, the other fishermen noticed him and their downed comrade whom he stepped over. One of them grabbed the lantern and a group of three brutes joined him in advancing upon the cannons. Though they wove from side to side slightly, they handled their weapons with familiarity.

Juan slipped the second cannonball into place and kicked the latches of the trapdoors which held the seawater off the guns. There was no time to aim the guns or any crew to shift them, so he simply eyed the Montaigne frigate’s shadow growing as it came closer and tried to estimate its advance. He nodded and spun towards the advancing thugs. Juan grabbed the lantern from the hands of the leader and smashed it down upon the first cannon. The oil spread across both guns and the deck between them before igniting with a whoosh. Juan dove to the deck and clamped his hands over his ears as two shots blasted into the darkness. The thugs scattered as the guns recoiled wildly.

A brilliant ball of flame lit up the sky from the suddenly revealed Montaigne frigate. The fishermen cried out in surprise and one in pain as he clutched his chest where he’d been hit a glancing blow from the caroming cannons. There was a rush of feet as the Brotherhood crew rushed onto the deck. A secondary explosion rocked the Montaigne vessel and the dark figures of her crew scurried about and tried to put out the flames.

Juan stood on uncertain feet and a firm hand clapped him upon the shoulder. It was a bleary eyed Berek who nodded at the burning frigate. “Your work?” he inquired with a raised eyebrow. Juan nodded. “Good shot. Looks like you got a direct hit to the powder room.”

Behind them, Juan heard the first mate and his brother yelling at the fishermen and smashing crockery still filled with rum. Juan smiled, “Si. I couldn’t let the Montaigne damage this boat. It’s my duty to return it to its owner in good shape.”

The frigate dropped her colors as another explosion lit up the night. Berek smiled and called out. “They surrender, boys, and we can spare an hour. Bring us alongside. We’ll take off the crew and grab as much loot as we can.” He and Juan stood watching the frigate burn as the Brotherhood topmen adjusted the sails and brought them around.

The Pirate King and El Vago

I thought today I’d let you in on a little secret.  GM’s cheat.  I know.  Big surprise.  But the key here is that sometimes, we get into weird situations and don’t know how to get out of them.  When that happens, a friend of mine and I like to exchange notes.  I thought other people might get a kick/story idea from these.  So, here’s one that hit a short while ago :

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, we’re putting a new adventure online for adults who want to run a game for their kids.  This is using the PCKS (Plaid Chameleon Kids System) which we’ll be tweaking a bit as time goes on.