WHO: Fitcher, Flint, Wysteria, Cassius & Co WHAT: Ye olde catch all WHEN: Now-ish WHERE: Various NOTES: Don't have anything open, but feel free to snag me OOCly if you want to do anything and I'm happy to slap something together.
Does Llomerryn give a single fuck about the legitimacy afforded by a privateer's license? Doubtful. Or at the very least, only the weakest of the crews would (Flint pointedly ignores the direction the reversal of that logic takes, and what it might say about the nationless ship in the harbor allegedly under this command). Yet there must be something Llomerryn and whoever has taken charge of her does want, even if it's simply to continue being rich enough to spit in the eye of any nation who would think to leash the likes of that island or Estwatch.
Regardless, the suggestion of an envoy warrants the wrinkling of Flint's nose.
"And we might consider wishing for a unicorn while we're at it."
Three taps of the coin against the table, John's leg stretching further beneath as he slants a grin across the table.
Yes, well.
"I'll find someone," John assures. "Dooley, perhaps."
It will not be the same. But the fact remains: neither of them could be on hand to have those arguments. If they could be in several places at once, many things about their situation will be different.
"And we might want to start having some conversations here," follows after, a suggestion that comes with John's gaze cast down at the crowd below. "See what the talk is from those sailing in from Llomerryn, so we don't arrive without any sense of the geography."
We blurring between them; John will have those conversations. They'll dissect them together after.
Dooley. That name warrants a labored look, but whatever remark it must naturally precede is judiciously checked in favor of turning the chit a few more times between his fingers.
"If this is to be viable and not just seen as pirates recruiting pirates, it would benefit us to try folding in some of the merchant captains into the same service."
There's nothing quite like the stench of hungry tradesmen to legitimize an enterprise.
The expression John slants back is similarly put upon, colored with amusement. They have men who have followed them this far, and upended their lives in service, but the Walrus boasts only two great orators among its crew and both of them are seated at the table.
They must make do.
The look on John’s face turns thoughtful. The tapping of the coin grows rhythmic, settling into a groove as they turn this thing back and forth between them.
“We might start with those who conduct their business out of the ports in the Marches,” John suggests. “There’ll be resentment there for the disruption, and that’ll do half the work for us.”
Disruption. John’s voice bends over this word in grim humor. But he’s spent enough time hammering at Antiva to know that disruption is exactly what many view the rolling pressure of war as until it touches them directly.
"Conveniently," he says, for the time being laying aside the topic of who will play as their understudy (fucking Dooley; John may take that humor off his face and eat it). "We happen to be in such a harbor."
Who knows. Maybe they'll get lucky and find some Kirkwall barely-not-a-smuggler capable of stringing a few sentences together.
"I'll ask after what contacts we've to hand in Ostwick and Hercinia. Byerly and Yseult are bound to have a few on the hook."
The coin raps a muted trio of beats against the tabletop.
"And if they ask after the purpose?"
They had said, hadn't they? No masks, going forward. There had been humor in that as well, but this question carries genuine curiosity. How much will Yseult and Byerly be told of this? Stark is an outlier, and so far disinterested, removed from much of the business.
But Yseult and Byerly might make this very difficult. More difficult than deciding upon a proxy to set loose in Llomerryn.
"We've discussed the merits of privateers before now."
And had wrestled so strenuously over the semantics that the idea had been all but smothered in it's crib. But that was before, with Tevinter's sights on Val Chevin—not an ideal target, certainly, but one which might be choked out by raising the Kirkwall chain or some other drastic action if fundamentally necessary. With the reverse on the table—if Tevinter manages to throttle trade along the Minanter as well as on the Waking Sea, what means will they have to stop it?—surely they can be motivated to see the reason in urgency.
Flint pauses, the blank back of the wrinkled chit face up between his fingertips. Hoping to win anything of real value against the house in these games is pure foolishness.
"When we were in Hasmal, Yseult asked after Nascere. She wanted to know what we'd intended for it."
Not a topic John had been prepared to see raised between them. The tap of the coin ceases as John looks back at him, taking in the whole of his expression.
"Did you answer her?" is half a question. What John is asking after is the nature of the thing. How much of an answer did Yseult receive, and how much of it was rooted in truth?
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no subject
Regardless, the suggestion of an envoy warrants the wrinkling of Flint's nose.
"And we might consider wishing for a unicorn while we're at it."
no subject
Yes, well.
"I'll find someone," John assures. "Dooley, perhaps."
It will not be the same. But the fact remains: neither of them could be on hand to have those arguments. If they could be in several places at once, many things about their situation will be different.
"And we might want to start having some conversations here," follows after, a suggestion that comes with John's gaze cast down at the crowd below. "See what the talk is from those sailing in from Llomerryn, so we don't arrive without any sense of the geography."
We blurring between them; John will have those conversations. They'll dissect them together after.
no subject
"If this is to be viable and not just seen as pirates recruiting pirates, it would benefit us to try folding in some of the merchant captains into the same service."
There's nothing quite like the stench of hungry tradesmen to legitimize an enterprise.
no subject
They must make do.
The look on John’s face turns thoughtful. The tapping of the coin grows rhythmic, settling into a groove as they turn this thing back and forth between them.
“We might start with those who conduct their business out of the ports in the Marches,” John suggests. “There’ll be resentment there for the disruption, and that’ll do half the work for us.”
Disruption. John’s voice bends over this word in grim humor. But he’s spent enough time hammering at Antiva to know that disruption is exactly what many view the rolling pressure of war as until it touches them directly.
no subject
Who knows. Maybe they'll get lucky and find some Kirkwall barely-not-a-smuggler capable of stringing a few sentences together.
"I'll ask after what contacts we've to hand in Ostwick and Hercinia. Byerly and Yseult are bound to have a few on the hook."
no subject
"And if they ask after the purpose?"
They had said, hadn't they? No masks, going forward. There had been humor in that as well, but this question carries genuine curiosity. How much will Yseult and Byerly be told of this? Stark is an outlier, and so far disinterested, removed from much of the business.
But Yseult and Byerly might make this very difficult. More difficult than deciding upon a proxy to set loose in Llomerryn.
no subject
And had wrestled so strenuously over the semantics that the idea had been all but smothered in it's crib. But that was before, with Tevinter's sights on Val Chevin—not an ideal target, certainly, but one which might be choked out by raising the Kirkwall chain or some other drastic action if fundamentally necessary. With the reverse on the table—if Tevinter manages to throttle trade along the Minanter as well as on the Waking Sea, what means will they have to stop it?—surely they can be motivated to see the reason in urgency.
Flint pauses, the blank back of the wrinkled chit face up between his fingertips. Hoping to win anything of real value against the house in these games is pure foolishness.
"When we were in Hasmal, Yseult asked after Nascere. She wanted to know what we'd intended for it."
no subject
"Did you answer her?" is half a question. What John is asking after is the nature of the thing. How much of an answer did Yseult receive, and how much of it was rooted in truth?