The City of Hannau Cove

They climbed on the deck, and Rosamund was shocked to find that the massive man o war was tied directly to the dock. The large bay had about twenty large sail ships littered around on safe distances from one another, but only this one had the privilege of being at the very dock. While they were walking down to land, he could see numerous small fishing boats, some with a sail and most with only oars. These small wooden constructions were incomparable to the giant ship they were on.

The city before him was painted in vibrant colors. Most of the walls were white or yellow, although he could see a few in blue from what he was almost certain was copper sulfate. The roofs were bright red, or occasionally painted in other colors. Between nice brick buildings there grew small wooden shacks and wooden houses.

"Do you have an overpopulation problem?" he asked.
"It's manageable. I am handling building more blocks on the outskirts," Teodolit said.
"Really?"
"Aye. Nita gave the city to me."
"Then what is it she does?"
"She can deal with outsiders. She is a merchant at heart. Her poker face may use some work, but she is amazing at sniffing out bad deals."
"Deals?"
"What, would you like a history lesson?" he asked.
"Perhaps." Whether or not these people agreed to it, Hannau Cove was under his governance now. It would be interesting to see the way the story unfolded from these people's perspective. The people they walked past on the street looked poor, but not starving or dejected. They had businesses running, too. Inns, bakers, fruit and vegetable sellers, and so, so many fish stalls. And of course, sellers of more obviously stolen goods. The people were armed and looked like they'd been in fights before, but he expected slums and disease. Where did all this come from?

"Some sixty years ago, Cove was a major trading hub. We're right between three continents, aye?"
"I know that much," Rosamund warned.
"You never know, you never know. Anyway, escaped slaves, prisoners, people too poor to be able to live anywhere else, the ostracized, and even exiled nobles from all over the world, all found their way there in time. Some had some money left, some had some fight in them. Slums grew 'round the place. People tried to find a home and a way out of poverty. I'm sure you don't know how it goes."
Rosamund stayed silent.
"And with time, you get pirates. With time, you handle the city guards. You handle whatever pest of nobility Bretonia put in charge of making your life as bad here as it was elsewhere."
"I can see why Franac Republic always felt sympathetic to you." They seemed to have a similar approach to revolutions, from what he heard.
"Don't worry about that scum, we keep them at arms length just like anyone else. For decades now, the pirate captains were encouraged to keep a bit of a careful balance between all nations. I'm sure you can figure out what that means."

And he could. Hannau Cove was just far enough that, if nobody was given enough reason to try and destroy them, they wouldn't. It was extremely defensible, too. If they kept piracy and assistance they offered to other countries at just the right levels, they'd manage to survive. Maybe even prosper - the stolen goods had to go somewhere to keep the show running. They could hold cargo hostage and trade it for necessities or gold before giving it back to where they stole it from. They could also steal and set up a trade with another country or with its merchants. Or wait for the highest bidder, if they had time and patience. They could fish and grow food around the Cove. If they feared the merchants that would come for their goods might betray them, they could organize a trade on one of many islands within a day's distance from the city. Similar to that story Adanita told him, they could even lend their ships to military efforts.
It was almost-

No. It was a country, he realized.

A functioning city-state of pirates, organized and ran by Adanita Vervain. The amount of bravery and responsibility needed for such a difficult role was astounding. A skill in diplomacy and speech, a charisma that would allow all these people rally behind her flag. And from what he could see, she was doing a great job, juggling the entire world while standing on the edge of a knife.

Meanwhile, this barefoot man was running the town. He was greeting people on the street while Rosamund was walking next to him in silence. He wouldn't be able to do much if she wasn't providing him with everything necessary for the level of prosperity shown here.

Both of them were beyond what he could ever have expected.

"How did you begin electing a Queen or a King?" he asked.
"Every pirate ship elects her own Captain. If the Captain proves unreasonable or breaks the Codex, they either maroon or kill them. A few years after the takeover of the city Captains that ran it figured they should also elect a Captain of Captains. An Admiral, of sorts, you may say. The title changed to Queen when they figured it was stupid to have an Admiral run a city."
"I see." Amazing. "And the law?"
"The law is the Codex."
"That is on the sea. What about the city?"
"We have people who enforce the Codex. A friend of ours runs a bit of a spy network, and we keep an eye out on those who do not respect the Codex. Of course, not all pirates follow it. Those ships are considered unwanted both by us and by other countries. They either have their own hideouts, or don't get to live very long."
"How did Codex come to being?"
"We needed laws."

Understandable. Every society needs instructions. It was one of things Rosamund deeply believed in.

Teodolit had them turn into a different street, away from the main road which continued uphill. This was the last row of houses now, and it didn't look any worse than the rest of the city. There were still vendors all over, and also some people loitering about.

"Are there other mages in the city?" he asked.

"No."

"Is that so?" Aside from the fact this man was lying to him, that was statistically unlikely.

"Aye. I'd gouge your eyes out if I thought it'd stop your blessing," he said. "But it wouldn't, so you should know I'll cut your legs off if you try and go look for any."

Charming. He should ask him more about what a blessing is, since he repeatedly used that word, but that could wait for a later date. "I see. Can I walk around the city otherwise?"
"That's for Adanita to say. She'll be here soon, I think," he said, entering a tavern. Rosamund followed him into the dimly lit building full of smoke and smell of alcohol.

He overestimated the respectability of this society.

No matter.

The chatter inside was enough that neither of them tried to make conversation while Teodolit led to the counter. He asked the keeper for a private room while some guests were eyeing Rosamund. If they thought their could be worse than a courtroom or a social gathering, they were wrong, and he paid them no mind. Teodolit said nobody will bother him. While the man was next to him, that statement certainly wasn't going to be tested. He stood straight and calm, waiting for him to finish his chat. His newly acquired flintlock certainly helped the matters.

"You said she was at some prior engagement?" Rosamund asked after they entered a separate, quieter room. Unlike the dusty main room of the tavern, this was empty and comfortable on the second floor. It even had a window with a view of the manor on the top of the hill, as well as a small balcony with some potted basil.
"Aye. Captains are all meeting up and discussing business."
"You aren't with them?"
"I'm the first mate," he said. "If you saw me magicking in the storm, you may have noticed I don't have a ship of my own."
"Do you want to be a Captain?"
"No."
Arguably, his position was far above a lot of pirate captains, he realized. He was working directly for Adanita. The entire city was his.
"Where is the meeting occurring?"
"Up there," he pointed at the manor. It belonged to the previous lord of Hannau Cove, he was sure. Even from down here, he could tell it was old, although they kept up with at least some of repairs.
"Does she live there?"
"Why would she? Her office is there, nothing else."
So she lived with the rest of her citizens. Unusual for ruling class of this time. Surprisingly humble for someone with a gold ingot for a paperweight on her desk. Or perhaps it was the ship where she lived on, and not a home somewhere in the Cove.

The innkeeper brought them plates of fish stew that Teodolit ordered. Teodolit gave him a few coins, and they started to eat.
"So, Nita told me you had something to do with that Verlice Experiment," he said.
It seemed it was his turn to ask questions. "Yes, I did."
"I'd like you to tell me more. How did you pull it off?"
"Are you sure? It might be boring to you."
"Try me."

Ahh... to talk about his favourite topic: diplomatic missions between nations.

He couldn't say no to such an open request ♥



Two and a half hours into his lecture, just as he was explaining the response from the Doge of the Mletak Republic to the second treaty where he promised on his still living mother's grave that he would have the information shared among all participating countries - to which The Most Illustrious and Excellent Signoria responded that he would rather consider doing the experiment on his own instead of cooperating with the Karpathian Empire OR the Eastern Empire and ruined five months of hard work - just as he was explaining all that:

Adanita came in.


And to Teodolit's defense and/or praise, the man managed to sit through all of that, quietly listening and only interrupting him with occasional questions to explain something in more detail.

Rosamund felt positively revitalized. He was now officially well enough to deal with whatever it was that the Pirate Queen would throw at him.


And boy, did he have no idea what sort of trainwreck was coming at him.