The ship is sailing south along the coast of Montaigne. A couple of days after the rain finally let up, the crew encounters strong winds which in turn induce violent waves, which threaten to capsize the ship. The crew is able to work together to keep the ship righted, and also maintain course. The crew mitigates all the Damage consequences (6), and spent 3 raises to take advantage of the opportunity to catch up to the Handmaid. Once the winds die down to a reasonable level (10 hours straight), Signe can just make out a ship ahead of them with her spyglass.

The Magpie steadily gains on the Handmaid over the next few days, and Signe & Ulfgar wait for the opportune moment to launch the longboats.

Signe has a plan to tie the longboats to the ship, and once they drop into the water, the rowers pull ahead, and begin towing the ship itself, greatly reducing the time needed to close. It works, but it’s an odd experience for everyone aboard, as the ropes constantly tighten and slacken with each pull of the oars.

Enzo confers with Signe regarding the prisoners should they be victorious. She shares his concerns regarding the raiders, as well as the fact that they’re doing this out in open waters instead of on a river, so they can’t just toss them overboard and let them swim to shore. She intends to transfer the cargo to the Magpie and immediately make for Klorhulg, while Enzo will take control of the Handmaid and lock up the crew in their own hold until he can get close enough to the coast to send them off in the lifeboats. It should be no problem for him to catch up with the Magpie afterward.

A Captain’s Captain, Part 4

Signe keeps watch on the flurry of activity over on the Handmaid. She gets on the megaphone and gives them a chance to surrender. This time, there is no doubt in the opposing crew’s mind, and they don’t even bother to respond. She identifies the captain, the lieutenant, and three sharpshooters with rifles as the most immediate threats. The Magpie catches the wind, and surges ahead of the longboats, sliding along past the Handmaid, and the crew readies the deck guns. This time, they focus on the crew directly, as Enzo will need the Handmaid to be in proper order afterward. Signe concentrates on the three sharpshooters at the stern, dropping one of them with her first shot. The other two scatter. With Signe’s second shot, she wounds the captain in the leg, which takes him out of the action for the time being. The Lieutenant manages to get a shot off and wound Eric. Enzo, Eric, Abul, and Christophe manage to soften up the ranks of the crew aboard the Handmaid just in time for the raiders pull up alongside and board. By the time the ship is able to turn about and come up alongside again, the raiders have made short work of the crew. All in all, only a handful were actually killed in battle, though most were wounded to the point that they could no longer resist. A couple even surrender.

Once the action has died down, Abul and the Handmaid’s doctor Arnold Lund get to work, treating the wounded on either side. Abul treats Eric first, then sees to the rest of the Magpie’s crew and the raiders in order of severity, then treats the captain, whom Signe has decided to take hostage. Enzo supervises Doctor Lund’s work on the Handmaid, to ensure that no shenanigans are going on. Meanwhile, Christophe organizes the able-bodied of the Magpie’s crew get to work transferring the cargo over from the Handmaid.

Afterward, a joint funeral is held; Vaticines on one side, Asgardr on the other. At a loss for a priest, Hector volunteers. The Vaticine funeral is a quiet, somber affair, compared to the Asrgardr funeral, which consists mainly of shouting at the gods to make way for the newest inhabitants of Valhalla.

Know Your Enemy, Part 1

Signe treats Captain Anton Jespersen with respect, through she does not identify herself nor remove her disguise. Lt Rasmus Lorentsen, however, makes it clear he has nothing but contempt for pirates. She interrogates him at gunpoint and learns that the gunpowder was indeed paid for by the Montaigne government.

Ulfgar thanks Signe for her quick thinking, and saving them from the possible consequence of inadvertently declaring war on Montaigne. But he warns that there will still likely be repercussions from the leader of the raiders.

The Magpie makes for Vesten, while the Handmaid heads for the nearest coast to drop off the prisoners.

# NotPirates