Reshad gave Diego a sidelong glance.<span style="color: DarkOrange">You are.</span>He said to Diego flatly.<span style="color: DarkOrange">If any of the stories of that ship are true then you wouldn't be wearing that hat if ye' weren't one of them. The way I hear it, they don't take kindly to peoples wearing their colors. So you're one of 'em. Unless your the brazen, stupid sort which may be as well.</span><br/><br/>He paused.<span style="color: DarkOrange">I wonder, did Jal tell ye' where he got that bit of inked up canvas of his? I didn't think so. Quite a catch, though, eh? Vendomur, the elven corsair, the terror of the dales... what's the legend say, a hundred fortunes, a thousand? All bundled up ready to be hauled off? Huh, a catch like that be willin' to make any well thinkin' man turn a blind eye to the whys and hows. Like <i>how</i> did Jal, an alley-scum dicer with a crap boat and no money, get his hands on a map like Vendomur's? Or <i>why</i> Jal won't tell us where'n he got it. That's a point of some trouble to me. But, I would imagine, like you, the chance at such riches is hard to pass by. Hells, with even a cut of that legendary loot, you'd be able to buy a ship double the majesty of the Blue Banshee.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">A man with your history has to have figured on this, I would imagine. So what's in your head? </span><br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Below decks, the sailors pressed in, keeping the man bearing the copper, silver, and gold at the head of them, using the coin as much as a shield against the potential wrath of the Kossick as a bargaining sum for their goals. When at last they were all present in their varying distances, the group fell silent and eyes danced between the man with the gold and the woman that was the subject of their attention. Liquid courage only held for so long.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Well go on, ye' twat.</span>The man furthest back, still with half of his first mug of rum remaining, said to their ambassador.<br/><br/><span style="color: SeaGreen">Well, we uh... ehm -</span>He looked back at the men behind him for some measure of support, but none was offered.<span style="color: SeaGreen">And don't be takin' this as a point of disrespect. But uh, we'd been buildin' a wager over the last few hours while ye' were fightin' with the elf girl and what not...</span>Again he looked back. All eyes were wide with anticipation.<span style="color: SeaGreen">Well, we were wagerin' on what ye' looked like naked.</span>As he said the words, the man's eyes widened and he visibly began to sweat, knowing that he was in the mighty woman's direct line of fire should she seek retribution or take offense.<br/><br/><span style="color: SeaGreen">Hear us, eh, hear me out!</span>He very quickly said.<span style="color: SeaGreen">See, you've got a magnificent form about ye' to be sure, and well, frankly, we ain't seen no Kossick lady before. And this gold here is the sum of nearly all our wealth offerin' to you. Figure this,</span>he continued rapidly,<span style="color: SeaGreen">If'n we don't find the pirate man's treasure, Jal wouldn't be payin' ye'. I can - we can promise that. Indulge our minor fantasy just once, and you will be walkin' away from this with a profit no matter what. 30 gold is nothin' to be turnin' a nose up at.</span>He stopped, trembling slightly in the face of the woman as he proposed something that had, in all his experience, never ended well.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>