Meeting Ambrose

As Brenan left the ship he deliberately avoided Sasha as she worked contentedly in the galley. But when he got through the hatch he took a moment to watch Castillo and the Jones brothers working with James and Julien. Castillo looked more like an able seaman now that he had changed into working gear, and he moved easily along the rigging as he pointed out different lines to James who was moving much more slowly after him as he climbed higher and higher on the main starboard shrouds.

Part of Brenan's decision to hire Castillo was based on his need to fill his ship's crew as quickly as possible. Three days ago, the very same day he had agreed to buy Davy's schooner he had been approached by a Freeport merchant that until then he knew only by reputation.

Walter Ambrose was known as a successful but shady merchant who straddled the line between legitimate and illicit. His chosen occupation was not that unusual in the island chains; many of the rich merchants in Freeport got their money by avoiding the tariffs and fees imposed by both the Cryn and Veertor governments on shipping in their waters. Considering the type of ship Brenan was purchasing, it wasn't surprising that Ambrose would be interested in making his acquaintance. A fast runner like his had a perfect design to slip past the coast guards of their navies and avoid what most islanders considered to be nothing more than legalized government extortion.

Although he knew that he would have to deal with merchants like Ambrose soon enough, he was mildly surprised that he was approached even before the purchase had been made. Brenan had even wondered if he should warn Davy that he might have a spy in his shipyard. Of course Ambrose knew a great deal about all the ships that would suit his needs and it didn't take a genius to figure out why Brenan might be visiting Davy's yard soon after the ship was brought in for inspection.

All the same, everything Brenan had heard about Ambrose indicated that he considered paying spies for useful information just part of doing business. It was this type of attitude, as well as his apparent delight in cheating others that made Ambrose a pariah among the more respectable men of the islands; much more so than his willingness to smuggle illicit cargos into foreign ports. Davy in particular disliked Ambrose and on more than one occasion had let his contempt for the man be known in public.

Despite all this, Walter Ambrose had a great deal of silver to pay captains, and a good number of useful contacts all along this island chain. Even just one successful run for Ambrose would open a number of doors for Brenan to use later and he was fast approaching the last of his coin from his remarkably profitable career as a pirate. As a captain of a ship, he could not afford to pass up valuable assignments just because he found the man behind the cargo objectionable.

With Castillo on board Brenan had pretty much the crew he needed, and if Ambrose still had a job for him Brenan wanted it. He would have to deal with the flack from Davy when he got back.

He found Ambrose in the inn where he did his business instead of spending the money to furnish an office.

(this part modified slightly from "Well enough" written by gunde)

“Ah, Brenan!” Ambrose greeted Brenan with a smile that made the ex-soldier’s stomach turn.

“Ambrose,” Brenan nodded at the small man as he took a seat on the other side of the table and Ambrose waved down a waitress.

“Hello my dear, a glass of your finest port for my good friend.” Ambrose talked to the waitress as though she was a part of the tavern’s décor, and Brenan wondered if he could even drink port this early in the day. However, it was probably expected that he accept the drink even though Ambrose might well be the sort of man who would buy you an expensive drink and then try to rob you blind while you drank it.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Ambrose greeted Brenan again, with a friendliness that was so obviously false that it drove Brenan to wonder if he was attempting to provoke him.

“Do you still have those jobs, Ambrose?” Brenan asked, in part hoping the answer was 'no' so he could be done with Ambrose.

“Ah, straight to business, it’s a good quality in a captain,” Ambrose began, “I still have some cargo that needs to be shipped, and no one to ship it as of now.”

“What kind of cargo?” Brenan was doing his best to keep Ambrose from talking too much about nothing, which he was very prone to do. Again, Brenan suspected that it was a tactic that the merchant employed to gain the advantage on the people with whom he was negotiating, wearing down their concentration by excess speech until he could strike a deal which was very advantageous to him.

“Well, it all depends on how much money you want to make,” Ambrose replied, seemingly a little disturbed by Brenan’s bluntness, “I have one cargo of a perfectly legitimate nature, although the perishable quality of its components is such that it requires a fast ship and a skilful captain to bring it safely to its intended port, less its value should be irrefutably lessened by the merciless advance of time.”

“What’s the cargo?” Brenan cut in, both because he was very keen on interrupting Ambrose and because he wanted to hear about the other cargo, which he suspected would be a lot less than legal.

“Perishable fruits and vegetables, grown and harvested right here on this very island, bought by me to be sold to the good people of the Empire,” Ambrose explained, and Brenan couldn’t help but suspect that Ambrose knew of his attitude towards said 'good people' of the Empire.

“And the other cargo?”

“Ah…” Ambrose strangled his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, after which they were interrupted by the arrival of Brenan’s glass of port.

“Aren’t you going to drink it?” Ambrose asked of the glass which Brenan left sitting in front of him on the table.

“Maybe to celebrate our deal,” Brenan responded.

“Oh well, anyway, the other cargo is decidedly not so legal, but very profitable…” Ambrose was once more interrupted by Brenan asking what exactly it was.

“In a word, cheese.” Ambrose explained.

“Cheese?”

“Well, cheese and wine, but mostly cheese. Nothing but the finest quality products from Cryn. As you no doubt are aware of, the consumption of products from said nation is unbecoming to any patriotic Veertorian, but some people are such that they rate their culinary fancies above their love of country, and who am I to judge them for it?”

“Huh…” Brenan exhaled as he considered his options. The transport of fruit and vegetables did seem as the less profitable but more secure choice, if not for the fact that he very wouldn't be surprised if Ambrose tried to use him as an unwitting smuggler of some illegal merchandise or other.

Smuggling cheese and wine on the other hand would be more profitable, but it meant that he would have to avoid the Veertor coastguard on his approach. Instead of heading for a well charted port he'd have to meet at sea with a local fishing boat, or make landfall in a bay or barrier island to offload the goods. The rendezvous point would be one that Ambrose and his partners had picked in advance, which meant that he would have to trust the ratty merchant’s judgment.

Either option would bring Brenan some much-needed cash, but both of them came with their own set of problems to deal with.