Master Johnson and the seafarer continue conferring for a while. There is little to be overheard for where the characters are sitting, except that the seafarer is apparently one "Captain Winslow".

(Those of you with a background in piracy have not heard of a Captain Winslow before; that does not mean much, considering how many English sea captains there must be in the Caribbean, but at least he is not notable as a pirate or privateer as far as you know.)

After a while, they finish their conversation, and Master Johnson approaches the characters and studies them for a moment.

"Unfortunately not everyone I was expecting has arrived yet." If he is in any way disappointed or annoyed, he is keeping it out of his voice.

"As I stated in my invitation, I am equipping an expedition that aims to recover certain items of considerable value - what more sensational souls would refer to as a ´lost treasure´. I assure you, nothing of what this expedition is to accomplish will break any laws - except for those of the Spanish Crown, whose laws were are already breaking by being in the Americas to begin with."

He makes a gesture in the general direction of Captain Winslow. "The good captain here, whose ship will be conveying the expedition, already has a capable sea crew - though I am sure that those of you who possess them can still find a good use for their nautical skills aboard. What I hope to find in you is a team that will search for the location that items are hidden in, and retrieve them. Would you be interested in that line of work?"

"Oh, sure n' I would, sir."

Tom looks past to Captain Winslow, offering a warm smile and taking the man's measure. Is he pleased to be here, wonders Tom? Is he pleased to oblige Master Johnson by adding some new blood to his "capable" sea crew?

In reply to The Referee (msg # 11):

"Sure, I'll go." Solana said, quietly. She rose from her chair and walked closer to the group of men.
"I don't have any nautical knowledge but this trip will give me a chance to check out the area for any news of Siria." Solana thought.

Reaching across the table, she grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite. Once she swallowed she said, "I'm Solana Gallega by the way." Nodding to the other gentlemen at the table.

“Karl Friedrich von Bodenwerder, Madame Gallega.” Karl doesn’t stand to bow to Solana or pull her chair out or any such thing but does give her a respectful, if not casual, nod before turning his attention back to Master Johnson. “And yes, I’d be interested in joining as well. I have to ask though- what brought your attention to us for this expedition?”
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

Master Johnson smiles thinly. "I am sure you understand that a man of my profession must retain a few professional secrets. So let me just say that Charlestown is not a very large settlement, and there is a limited pool of potential applicants who are more than just your average desperate soul looking for whatever work will fill their bellies."

He looks at each of you in turn. "Word travels fast around here about those who appear to have extraordinary skill sets - be it with sword and firearm, with a dagger in the shadows, or in the arcane arts."

(Tom Floyd does, in fact, genuflect respectfully to Solana, and makes his own seat available.)

"Arcane arts, ye say? Well, sure'n that will come in handy."

In reply to Tom Floyd (msg # 16):

Solana graced Tom with a small smile, she slipped into the seat he vacated for her.

"Is this trip going to be that dangerous that we need someone with arcane arts skills?" Solana asked in a measured tone.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:16, Thu 11 Aug 2022.

Karl eyes the other two while taking a sip and, turning his attention back to Master Johnson, gives a little nod towards Solana to show his agreement in thought.

"You know how it is, Senora Gallega." Master Johnson shrugs. "If things go according to plan, no particular skills will be needed other than brawn to carry off the valuables. If things do not go according to plan... then who knows what skills might be useful?"

"Like if things go more according to the Spanish Crown's plan, sir?"

Tom watches Master Johnson carefully for any hesitation or tics as he answers.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Thu 11 Aug 2022.

Master Johnson raises an eyebrow in Tom´s direction.

"Please give me and the people I represent some credit, Mister Floyd. This entire operation is far too elaborate to be a mere ruse designed to catch a handful of individuals who are of minimal importance to the Spanish Crown, if any importance at all."

He takes a deep breath.

"Our purpose is to recover hidden valuables from on the islands here in the Caribbean - I am sure you understand why I cannot yet tell you which one while there is still a chance that one of you will take that knowledge elsewhere. If the Spanish Crown knew that those valuables existed, they would be able to locate and retrieve them in short order, which is another good reason for a cloak of secrecy, as I am sure you understand."

"Any valuables of any kind that you retrieve on the island in question will become the property of my backers, in exchange for a share of one percent of the material value of these valuables for each of you, for a minimum of no less than 100 pesos per person. Should any of you require money to make purchases of any kind, we are willing to offer half of that minimum share in advance, in exchange for a binding agreement to join this operation."


(FYI, the common wage for skilled labor is 25 pesos per month, so even that minimum share is quite a sum)

In reply to The Referee (msg # 21):

"Sounds like good people to know, your backers." Karl notes quietly as he pauses in his drinking, then adds a joke. "If all goes well."

In reply to The Referee (msg # 21):

Nodding thoughtfully to what Master Johnson said, Solana leaned forward, giving him her full attention.
"So when does this adventure start?" she asks, before reaching for the pitcher of wine.

"Assuming all of you sign up, and there are no time consuming preparation left to be done, we intend to leave on the high tide tomorrow, which I am informed will be shortly before noon."

"Little to prepare, sir. Ready to ship out at the bell."

In reply to The Referee (msg # 24):

"Master Johnson, upon second thought, I do believe I would like to partake in that advancement that you mentioned. I just thought of a few items that would be beneficial to bring on this type of journey." Solana said thoughtfully. "Is that going to be a problem? I do not think it would take me long to procure these items so we should still be able to leave at the time you mentioned."

*TIME SKIP*

The next day, once the ship is underway (and too far from the shore to simply jump overboard and swim to land), the details of the operation are revealed.

"A copy of a diary written by a member of Christoph Columbus´ expedition has come into the possession of our backers", Master Johnson explains. "The author was one of those who remained behind at the colony of La Navidad when Columbus returned to Spain; the diary was found in the colony´s ruins when Columbus´ second expedition arrived there."

He holds up a small bundle of papers. "The diary was encoded, and written in Latin; we have a decoded version and an English translation at our disposal for this expedition. The short version is that some of those left behind at La Navidad went out to search for gold among the native tribes of the area. They found gold, which they stashed outside the colony so that the next expedition would not find it; subsequently, they were killed by angry natives along with the rest of the crew at La Navidad, presumably because of the stolen gold. Our objective is to recover that stash of gold; assuming ours is the only copy of the diary, it should still be in its original location."

In reply to The Referee (msg # 27):

"Might I see the Latin version? I know the language and can help check for words with double meanings. If I know what was originally written when I see something that references it when we get there, I'll know." Solana asked Master Johnson.

(Over the course of the voyage, Tom asks few questions about the voyage itself. Instead he ingratiates himself to the crew, working alongside them as closely as possible, taking up whatever slack he can as a capable seaman and studying they ways of the vessel.)

The diary was written by a clergyman - at least that is what the quality of the Latin and the general religious fervor of the entries suggest.

Then entries written after Columbus´ departure to Europe are at first mostly concerned with longing thoughts about bringing the one true faith to the heathen natives, as well as grumblings about the blind greed of their fellow Spaniards in La Navidad. Apparently a number of the people left there went on excursions to search for gold and other valuables among the nearby native settlements - and found a considerable amount of it. Unfortunately, they also aroused the anger of the aforementioned natives, leading to several ambushes against gold-seeking excursions and later on foragers, and ending with a siege of La Navidad and finally the outpost´s destruction and the massacre of its inhabitants.

The final entry reads: "Drums... drums in the hills. We cannot get out. They are coming!"


An earlier entry gives directions to where one of the gold-seekers claimed their finds were hidden, though it leaves unsaid how the author got that information - confessions of a repentant sinner, perhaps? The directions are clear enough that, if the local geography has not changed too much in the last century and a bit, it should be easy enough to find the place.

There is one sentence, though, that seems worrisome. The author remarks on the folly of a sailor named Ramirez who "took the treasures that the natives regard as sacred, and is now doomed to guard those same treasures". The author claims that the other sailors demanded his help in dealing with Ramirez´ affliction, but he refused, reminding them of the wages of the sin of greed.

"Hmm. From the sounds of the note, it seems like the locals are lovely people." Solana said sarcastically. "Not certain what happened to this Ramirez character but I'm going to go out on a limb and say nothing good. Seems like this trip is going to be interesting to say the least."

The sorts of curses and (presumably) foul sorcery involved here isn´t anywhere near Solana´s area of expertise, unfortunately.

She knows, though, that this sort of magic generally has a limited duration - and even if however worked it was able to extend its effects, they are themselves most likely dead for a century or so.

Ramirez might still be around in some form, quite possibly a dangerous form, but it is relatively unlikely that the treasures would curse whoever takes them now - and if there is still magic on them, Solana should be able to see that.

Sometime before noon on the fifth day of the voyage, the Sea Maiden reaches the vicinity of La Navidad.

Captain Winslow has the ship go at anchor in a semi-secluded bay some two miles east of the ruins; the area here is densely forested with tall trees, and with the sails furled, the ship is reasonably hard to spot at a distance except for somebody sailing directly across the mouth of the bay.

The terrain between the bay and the ruins grows more hilly the further one goes to the east; the forest extended roughly halfway to the ruins, and there are smaller groups of trees scattered all over the place. The hills are all fairly small, and mostly no more than 100 to 150 feet tall.

According to the journal, the hiding place of the treasure is roughly one and a quarter miles south-west from La Navidad, in "a v-shaped hill with a split boulder just below the ridgeline".

Tom cleans and oils his musket, readies his weapons, and begins readying to disembark.

In reply to The Referee (msg # 33):

Karl also preps for their looming adventure by gathering the appropriate supplies for himself and his well cared for weapons~