WAR TABLE: Bang and Burn

[hornswoggle]

WHO: Flint, Silver, Loxley, Gwenaëlle, Bastien, Lazar, and Yseult.
WHAT: Riftwatch travels to Estwatch to convince some pirates to turn on the Tevinter fleet in the Waking Sea, only to find the pirate haven already in the midst of a revolt against the crews sympathetic to the Venatori.
WHEN: Early Guardian
WHERE: Estwatch, The Waking Sea
NOTES: OOC Info. Please mark your threads with content warnings in the subject lines where applicable.

THE PIRATE STRONGHOLD OF ESTWATCH
Welcome to ESTWATCH, a tiny spit of an island off the south-eastern coast of the Free Marches, has managed to successfully maintain their independence since breaking from Qunari control in 7:78. Though controlled now by pirates and raiders, vestiges of past occupations linger. The island is ringed by crumbling defensive walls and is host to a sprawling old Qunari fortress which looms over all traffic in and out of the island's bay, its beach dotted with the loose-knit assemblies of pirate crews camped on the sand. As far as potential welcoming committees go, Riftwatch has met with worse in its time.

Set further up on the interior of the island is Little Llomerryn, a town fashioned in the likeness of its distant sister city, Llomerryn, and run by an assortment of former pirates, can be found. While anyone who has spent time in the greater of the two pirate strongholds will attest that the pleasures of Little Llomerryn don't hold a candle to those of the larger port, there is a straightforward candor to the roguish qualities of the island which flourishes here. Taverns are cramped and labyrinthine. Company is cheap. Luxury goods don't survive here long (being smuggled briskly away to friendlier fences), and presently the most in demand services would appear to be those of the barber-surgeon and Madame Vasari's house, the latter being some combination of both brothel and convalescent hospital for raiders fleeing less than ideal entanglements with pirate hunters of nearby Hercinia.

Estwatch isn't any romantic adventurer's first choice when it comes to pirate havens. As a result, the politicking here is a shade more bloody and the crews who have made their residence here tend to be radically more prepared to align themselves with whatever is going to afford them the best long term odds. Sworn alliances are for the high tables in Llomerryn proper. Here in Estwatch, fortune favors the bold and the cutthroat.

THE ASSIGNMENT
According to the latest intelligence out of Estwatch, the situation Riftwatch was planning to sail into was one of tenuous suspicion. If anyone was going to be driven to incite widespread violence on the island, then it was probably going to be Riftwatch's efforts to hunt down and oust a short list of known Venatori agents on the island.

Upon arrival however, they'll find the pirates of Estwatch have already split into factions of their own. From the bay, it quickly becomes obvious that the beach has separated into two camps. The remnants of a large ship, seemingly ripped out of the water and dashed up onto the beach where its prow shattered against the base of the great fort and caused the exterior layer of the wall to come crumbling down on top of it, acts as something of a dividing line. Presently, a desiccated corpse hangs from one of the few unshattered yardarms.

Despite this less than encouraging welcome, and after a brief reconnaissance effort to determine which side of the beach warrants the safer landing, Riftwatch (and the Walrus' crew) will stake out a spot on the side of the beach where they're less likely to be stabbed on sight. Once Riftwatch agents begin mingling and asking questions, it will quickly become apparent that most everyone is aware of and capable of pointing to their short hit-list of Venatori agents. The most well known have been able to ingratiate themselves into prominent crews; despite their newcomer status, they can claim familiarity with long-standing members of the community, such as it is. Extricating them will require some delicacy to avoid sparking an outright civil war, or garnering significant animosity to Riftwatch.

Meanwhile, Little Llomerryn is host to those who have yet to align themselves with either of the warring factions on the beach. Whole crews have been driven to camp on the edges of town to doggedly maintain neutrality while they avoid the hostilities waged between the anti-Tevinter and pro-Tevinter crews camped on the beach. While there is no shortage of clashes and scraps down by the surf and at the base of the fortress, all three factions begrudgingly mingle between the taverns, trade posts and brothels found within the town. Brawls between crewmembers are minimal in Little Llomerryn, but never entirely absent.

Those seeking to attempt to sway neutral crews and captains from Tevinter's cause will have to contend with a number of concerns. Prominent arguments include the fact that that Tevinter and its agents presently are more than happy to supply southern pirates with leads on fat prizes, and that turning on Tevinter shipping in the region would gain them little—those ships belong to the Tevene amy and are armed for combat, not fat with trade goods. There are fears about the Tevene Navy, and what shape retribution may take if Estwatch openly declares against Tevinter. There are opposing fears regarding the possibility that a long standing alliance with Tevinter will make Estwatch a too-tempting target to the nearby cities of Hercinia and Ostwick. With their harbors in splinters, the Tevene Navy may be too great a force to muster against, but a pirate outpost? On the other hand, Estwatch is clearly expendable to the Venatori—the recent damage to the fort, the shattered hull on the beach, and evidence of other similar destruction lingering about the bay are all collateral damage suffered by Estwatch during the red lyrium sea monster attacks. Pirates staunchly opposed to Tevinter-allied crews may join in any argument should it occur within their hearing, though that isn't always a boon.

Diplomatic or not, Riftwatch agents will be charged with stoking anti-Tevinter sentiment among neutral parties more so than swaying supporters from their chosen cause. Those who find themselves less suited to the task of persuading crews away from neutrality might take up the task of flushing out Venatori agents from their positions of influence by another route (read: contriving to do a murder).

In the process, Riftwatch will have to navigate the volatile situation between crews liable to break into skirmishes along the sandy shoreline, and those who seek to control the crumbling fort and its walls. Long-time residents of Estwatch will explain that the body of the fort itself has been abandoned thanks to a long-open rift deep in the structure's interior. Rumor has it some kind of fade-touched beast is contained within the fort itself, and has made a meal of anyone who's looking to reclaim it. Those seeking to shortcut diplomacy and simply impress the dithering crews may choose to attack these problems head on, and put Riftwatch into a position to grant control of the newly-cleared fort to a crew and captain of their choosing.

DOWNTIME
The Walrus crew has staked out space on the beach, and tents have been set aside for Riftwatch members. While the crew themselves will be thoroughly occupied, Riftwatch is free to mingle on the beach, or use these evenings to further their assignment. Subject to the elements and to the copious amounts of sand that will inevitably find its way between canvas flaps and seams to ingrain itself among linens and belongings, Riftwatchers can at least count on privacy once they turn in for the evening.

Anyone with coin to spend and a taste for less sand-based lodging can rent a room at the tavern if they're so inclined, but this course comes with its own annoyances and dangers. The street itself is loud, but not nearly as loud as the singing, yelling, arguing and laughing that drifts up from the tavern's main room. As easy as it is to mingle among neutral crewmembers and eavesdrop on gossip, anyone taking this route must be aware that the reverse is true for them. Be mindful; who can say whether or not a conversation is truly private, or subject to an unseen audience? Moreover, there's safety in numbers. Choosing alternative accommodations may provide unique opportunities to gather intelligence and influence the locals, but it opens members of Riftwatch to assassination attempts and counter-spying.

While Silver and Flint will undoubtedly assert that all time on Estwatch is in service of ousting Tevinter from Estwatch, loitering in the right place at the right time can be productive and Riftwatch agents will likely find themselves with some time on their hands. Little Llomerryn's many diversions, from very legitimately acquired goods for purchase to strong liquor available at the tavern to the surrounding forests and rumored tunnels leading into the fort begging to be explored, leaves more than enough to occupy without strictly hunting Venatori throughout the island streets.

MISC HOOKS/PROMPTS/TIDBITS

• Don't get murdered. Riftwatch's arrival on the island is likely to inflame tensions, and known Venatori agents will consider their presence a definitive threat. If they're not the type to do the job themselves, it's likely they'll try to outsource the work to more capable hands.
  
• Be wary; pro-Tevinter factions may be willing to slit a Riftwatcher's throat, but anti-Tevinter crews can be just as dangerous—and are highly motivated to take advantage of Riftwatch's assistance.
  
• The shattered ship on the beach, the Wolfe, once belonged to a now shipless captain by the name of Arter. He's staunchly in the anti-Tevinter camp, but has been bleeding crew since they've failed to find a new vessel with which to hunt in the intervening months since the Wolfe was wrecked.
  
• The corpse presently hanging from the Wolfe's yardarm is Reeve Rowland, the island's most well-connected fence. It appears the spark that officially started the conflict on the island was the discovery that Rowland has been communicating the whereabouts of various crews less than supportive of Tevinter's presence in local politics to Hercinian pirate hunters. This betrayal resulted in the capture of at least two pirate vessels in late Haring of last year. Strangely, certain old hands in the neutral territory of Little Llomerryn familiar with the dead fence will be (quietly) adamant that Rowland was innocent. —Well, not in principle, obviously. But he had a longstanding and well-known vendetta against Hercinian pirate hunters.
  
• Captain Braya "Black Finger" Orella remains the unambiguous top dog in Estwatch despite the scrapping occurring on the beach. She's single handedly responsible for keeping the balance of power on the island from substantially swaying in one direction or the other by merit of the fact that she herself has yet to choose one side or the other. The only thing Orella, whose nickname comes from her propensity to nick the small fingers off people who have lost to her in duels, likes more than a fight is watching one.
  
• Rumor has it that the crew of the Shark, a crew on the pro-Tevene side of the beach made particularly unpopular among most for their dispositions and with various polite company for being notoriously replete with venereal disease, is currently in possession of a talented healer captured off a mercantile vessel. That resource could do with reallocating. (Rescue??? Don't be silly.)
  
• Someone deal with that monster in the fort, please.
  
• Madame Vasari's tending house is an excellent source of intelligence. Or a great place to quietly dispose of a body, for the right price.
  
• Don't discount the friends and/or easy targets that can be made by winning (rigged?) games of chance, or drinking the right person under the table.
  
• In general: there are three known agents of Tevinter in Estwatch who need to be sufficiently undermined, assassinated, or otherwise dealt with. They may or may not be Venatori. They may be serving in pirate crews, or they may be sufficiently embedded in the local community to be difficult to oust. Feel free to get creative with who these people are, what they've been doing, and how they're wheeling and dealing to preserve their positions. Similarly, the anti-Tevinter parties noted above are but a sample of the kind of hoodlums your characters may deal with. Feel free to conspire your own conspiracies, make up your own problematic favs and side quests etc as long as they fit into the general framework noted above. If you want a specific pre-built hook, hit us up here and we can cobble some details together for you.
  
• You get the idea; choose your own adventure.

Comments

lil' llomeryn

[extortionate]

Lazar pokes the end of a rag into his cup, dabs it up onto the split of his cheek. Grunts like a dog for the sting.

"Shark needs bodies, more'n they'll say. Pox chewed through one skull - he showed me - and another's getting slow for it. Twitchy. Told me some kind've big bird got their mate."

It might have been a metaphor. He downs the glass.

"Birdwatcher thinks you're a right cunt," That's not news. "Liable to blow your load on any old sap."

It is a proposal. This is a small room, a surer one - but even friends talk. Lazar has, by all appearances, come back with very little to show for a day spent fucking off. He looks at Flint level.

Well, level as he can through a black eye.

[katabasis]

If that's true then he shouldn't really pour Lazar a second glass. He does anyway, mentally weighing whether it's more useful to blacking the man's other eye on the way out or if he should just see about making the first one worse. Leans toward the latter. The man looks like shit either way and it's hard to work a sword with two swollen eyes.

When the bottle is righted, it's placed firmly on Flint' s side of the table. At the very least, there won't be a third glass.

"Weren't they meant to have their hands on a witch?"

[extortionate]

"Rivaini," He guesses. "Old, tattoos. Unbroke a leg or two, but can't reckon she's doing much since - they're all worse than I'd figure. Got bad in a hurry."

Look, some people know naval warfare. Some know STDs. Lazar drinks, eyes the bottle at the end of the table. Grab for it, and that's an easy start -

"Dunno how kind she'd take an escort."

Interrupting a mage's potential vengeance seems a good way to piss her off.