The Cutler's Runaways
From a job
Cargo: Three quiet passengers (passenger)
“They pay in advance, keep their sleeves buttoned over their wrists, and ask not to be listed in the ship's log.”
Possible rewards: Blooded Cutlasses
7 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
Indenture Brands
At the delivery port1 Disembark the three quiet passengers.
Once safely on the haven pier, your three passengers finally roll up their sleeves to reveal House indenture brands—a master cutler's mark. The eldest, Imre Dask, spent eleven years grinding boarding cutlasses for a noble house. "A bounty agent named Corvin Halse is trailing us in his sloop with our indenture deeds. As long as he holds those papers, any port authority can arrest us and sell us back."
- Offer to track down the bond agent's sloop and recover their papers.Imre marks the sheltered rock where the agent's sloop anchors between ports. "He was two days behind us, and he never gives up a bounty."
- [Smuggler's Nook] Hide them in your Smuggler's Nook and carry them to a remote haven.Room: Smuggler's NookThe three runaways slip behind your false bulkhead with water and a lantern, and Imre gives you coordinates to an unlisted haven beyond the agent's reach.New job: Three runaways, hidden
- Collect your 15 silver fare and wish them luck.Imre shakes your hand with an iron grip and pays fifteen silver above the agreed fare.+15 silverThe questline ends here.
The Bond Agent
Sail to The Bond Agent's Sloop (2–4 passages away)2 Find the bond agent's sloop and recover the runaways' indenture papers.
The sloop rides at anchor beneath a bounty-hunter's pennant. Bond agent Corvin Halse steps to the rail in a tailored coat. "Three runaway blade-smiths with eleven years left on their bonds. I bought their debt legally: pay me sixty silver to buy out their contracts, or tell me which port you dropped them at and I'll pay you a forty-silver finder's fee."
- Buy out their indenture contracts for 60 silver.Costs 60 silverHe counts the sixty silver twice and hands over the three stamped deeds. "Pleasure doing business—I'll notify the House their debt is settled."
- Attack the sloop and seize the indenture papers by force.Halse blows a signal whistle, and his hired mercenaries man the sloop's guns.+1 heatBattle: Bounty hunters · Close rangeIf you win:+20 silver
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate inspect the indenture deeds for a legal defect.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate spots a fatal flaw in the paperwork: the noble house sold the indenture debt after its royal charter seal had already expired. Rather than face prosecution for holding invalid bonds, a pale-faced Halse surrenders the papers for free.
- Betray the runaways and tell him where they landed for 40 silver.He pays you forty silver on the spot. "You'll get the other forty when I have them in shackles—come along and stand outside the harbor while my guards grab them."+40 silver
- Leave it for now.You pull away, leaving the bond agent's sloop riding at anchor.
The Cliffside Haven
At the delivery port3 Land the three hidden runaways at the remote haven.
The remote haven is little more than a stone staircase carved into a cliff beneath a single lantern—where a fresh bounty poster listing the three blade-smiths is already nailed to the post. An elderly watchman with an alarm horn is squinting right at the poster.
- Disguise the runaways in spare crew coats and walk them past the watchman.
- Bribe the watchman 15 silver to look the other way.Costs 15 silverThe watchman pockets the fifteen silver, tears down the bounty poster, and goes to trim his lantern—and a grateful Imre reimburses you forty silver at the top of the cliff.+40 silver
Three Indenture Deeds
Right away4 Decide what to do with the three indenture deeds.
You hold the three wax-sealed indenture deeds in your hands. As long as they exist, the three blade-smiths can be arrested at any port. Imre is waiting for word at the next haven—though you could also burn the papers right here on your deck.
- Deliver the deeds to Imre in person at the next haven.Tucked inside the folder with the deeds is Halse's surveillance list of Reaches ports, which your pilot copies onto your chart before you sail for the haven.Reveal 2 waypoints
- Burn the deeds over the rail right now.You burn the contracts to ash over the side. When word reaches Imre via a passing fishing boat, he sends back forty silver in thanks.+40 silver+1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
The Second Half
Right away5 Collect the second half of your bounty from Corvin Halse.
Halse weighs anchor immediately while his guards ready their leg-irons. "They won't come quietly. Stand off outside the haven to block the harbor while my men round them up, and the second forty silver is yours."
- Wait outside the haven and collect your 40 silver.He pays you the remaining forty silver and sails off with his prisoners in irons, leaving your crew silent over supper.+40 silver+1 The Crown standing−1 heatThe questline ends here.
- Send him to the wrong port so the runaways can escape.You direct his sloop to an empty cove miles away. By the time Halse realizes the trick and posts a complaint against your ship, a grateful Imre sends twenty silver by fishing boat.+20 silver+1 The Free Captains standing+1 heatThe questline ends here.
Parting Ways
Right away6 See the three runaways off at the top of the cliff stairs.
At the top of the cliff stairs, the three fugitives pause. Because Halse still holds their indenture deeds, they cannot stay in any port for long. The burly young smith looks hopefully toward your ship, while Imre eyes the nicked cutlasses at your crew's belts.
- Recruit the burly young runaway as a marine.He signs your ship's articles and bunks beside the arms locker, safe aboard a vessel that never stays in one port for long.New crewmate: MarineThe questline ends here.
- Have Imre spend an hour sharpening your crew's blades and paying 20 silver.In the hour before they head inland, Imre hones your boarding blades, drills your crew in melee maintenance, and pays you twenty silver.+2 Melee skill XP+20 silverThe questline ends here.
Ashes on the Pier
At a port7 Deliver the three indenture deeds to Imre Dask at the next haven.
Imre reads all three deeds carefully, then sets them ablaze on the stone pier while the youngest runaway stamps the ashes into the cracks. "For eleven years I ground boarding blades for a noble house," Imre says. "Let me put a master's edge on every cutlass aboard your ship—or take my young apprentice onto your crew."
- Have Imre sharpen every boarding blade aboard your ship.Imre spends the entire night at your grindstone, giving every cutlass in your arms locker a razor-sharp edge that permanently boosts your boarding crew.Relic: Blooded CutlassesThe questline ends here.
- Recruit the burly young runaway as a marine.Broad-shouldered as a barn door, the young blade-smith signs onto your crew as a marine, and Imre presses thirty silver in unspent travel funds into your hand.New crewmate: Marine+30 silverThe questline ends here.
- Show the port clerk the expired charter seal to void their bonds permanently.Seeing the expired seal, the haven clerk officially strikes all three names from the bond register so they can never be hunted again. Overjoyed, Imre sharpens all your boarding cutlasses and the young marine joins your crew.Relic: Blooded CutlassesNew crewmate: MarineThe questline ends here.
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