Jarek's Family Research

Eleint 8th, morning

Okay, walk me through what Jarek is planning to ask his family about pirates? It's been awhile since the idea came up and I need a refresher. :)

The Rabhartachs (from which Jarek gets his orcish side) are a big merchant sailing family, mostly legitimate, although undoubtedly here and there a cousin has worked with pirates sometimes.  They have historically drawn in business being either The Cargo Traders Anyone Would Regret Trying To Rob or by fishing in rough waters, chaotic weather, and for more dangerous fish/etc than they say any slighter folk would dare to brave.  The family was probably founded by folks setting out for new horizons from one of the more Lawful Capitalist orcish cities.  (This also accounts for how often Rabhartachs are more-than-half-orcs in Brilight estimation.)

In the evening or early morning, Jarek ventures to the Redport district, to the family's main warehouse of business, first to pay respect to the matriarch of the family and hopefully to be directed by her to whomever would best know:

-Has there been any change in piracy of late?  More or fewer sightings of any known vessels or captains, more attacks on particular routes or families or goods?  Mysterious disappearances?

-When was the last time anyone saw Korogur Redfang?

-What kind of power do the Redfangs have on the sea?  Do they have any rivals?  Lairs of operation?

The point here, Jarek explains, is that some friends of his are very worried about Redfang meddling in the city and the forest, conspiracies and politics and stuff, all turning on this Korogur, and he wants to make sure they don't get blindsided just because they don't take the world on the waves into account.

There has, in fact, been an increase in pirate sightings and attacks in the past few weeks. Part of this is because of the ravages of the plague; quite a few pirate crews have learned to leave ashore their sick (or, on some of the more brutal vessels, to simply throw them overboard) whereas the army and merchant vessels have not been willing to operate on a lean crew--leading to a situation where pirate ships are comparatively "well" while their prey are staffed by larger-but-sickly crews. Quite a few ships have recently surrendered after only token resistance, and their goods seized.

Of the most "known" pirates and their recent activity, Korogur Redfang is definitely one who has been active in the recent sacking of ships. Thea Starguide, Kelpyr Corcane, and Damarfore Windward have also been sighted in the area, taking on army and merchant ships with impunity and stealing their stores. There are also several new players making names for themselves among the sailors and pirates who dock at Redport: Tree Heartstrong, Graves Kair, and Radicel Northborn are names which have been floating around.

The recent attacks do not seem to correlate strongly to any particular family or goods, although it is noted that several of the targeted merchant ships were carrying spell components and rare curative ingredients which had been intended for the Feytower as part of Laerdya Siannodel's cure research. This could be a coincidence, though; at this point, almost all the merchant vessels are carrying something for the Feytower to try against the cure--but it is noteworthy that the pirates seized the goods rather than allowing the packages to continue on to the city, where a cure would surely help them as much as the city residents.

Korogur Redfang has not been seen in port recently, and it is believed that his ship is at sea at the moment. The Redfang family itself is not a strong player in the pirate world; their influence is largely city-based, although they do profit from being the merchant face for many of Korogur's thefts (he funnels much of his stolen goods into Redfang shops) and some of the Redfangs serve as crew on his ship. Korogur does not have any enemies as such--the man is brutal and efficient, but well-liked among Nightdock populace--but he has something of a friendly professional rivalry with Thea and Kelpyr and is openly disliked by Damarfore.

As for lairs of operation, Korogur is said to port among the sea caves south of Brilight whenever his ship needs repairs. Pirate lairs tend to be well-kept secrets among their crew--and the sea caves are a veritable maze if you don't know the lay of the area--but if Jarek were dead-set on going exploring, a way could be found to get him and a small crew there. After that, however, they'd be on their own.

Jarek makes notes of all these things in a carefully clear hand, with frequent requests for pauses and repeats to be sure he has everything.  The idea of venturing into pirate-infested sea caves doesn't appeal at all, and he laughs uncomfortably when his cousin raises the notion, but he includes that too, just in case it... becomes relevant, to someone, at some point.

The state of piracy is more of a surprise to Jarek.  He would never have guessed there could be so many big names so close to Brilight (though on reflection he also realises he has no idea what it takes to count as a big name in the pirate industry).  He knows the name of Starguide though, and he makes a specific note to ask Thimb and Ka'Ri if they might be able to strike an alliance, especially if Korogur might have used the tales of Thea to ensnare his hostage.  That probably offended a pirate, right?  They've got to be rather obsessed with reputation.  Then again, no one who wanted a good reputation would be stealing curatives from Siannodel, surely?  Or maybe they're profiteering, planning to sell the goods in the city for a higher price?

This is beyond Jarek's capacity to sort out, and he's wary of asking too many more questions when the Feytower Commissioner has demanded secrecy.  He thanks cousin Shalach deeply, bids the family take care on the sea, and promises to return if he learns of any looming dangers.  As if they need more these days. Jarek makes a quick exit look as subtle as he can--he has to meet up with his sister in time to get to this meeting, and it would make a depressing pattern to be late twice in a row.