Welcome Back, Lord Governor!

Rosamund briefly discussed the optics of coming to Hipparcos with two ships worth of pirates, before finally coming to an agreement with Adanita. Only her, Ekliptik and Teodolit would go. For now. The ships hoisted two flags each, a white flag on top of their pirate flag. That would be good enough for now. They anchored at a comfortable distance from the city and from other ships, few of which Rosamund recognized as Khamil's.

His time, too, will come. But there was an order of business that they had to follow.

Soon they were approached by another warship. Rosamund lifted his arm to signal the Captain that all was in order. The ship stopped next to them and they connected with ropes and a walkway. A pair of sailors came down to assist him with the boarding, while the trio of pirates followed behind.

Nivelir, bless the man, was already there. He stood by the railing, staring down the pirates below. The tensions were high, both sides uneasy. The state he was in clearly wasn't helping the situation. His right arm was in a sling and out of comission, his left hand was bandaged up in an attempt to make a splint for a single finger, and he had a long cut with stitches across his face. Not a very good look, not a good start. At least the drugs let off enough for him to be able to stand.

"Lord Governor!" Nivelir greeted when he got on deck. "Welcome back." Only somewhat minding his injuries, he gave Rosamund a hug. Short and appropriate, and warm. It was good to be home. He carefully hugged him back despite the pain, before they both let go. He looked at him from head to toe. "What the bloody hell happened here."
Bless the man. "Later," he replied. Adanita and her two people climbed on the deck. All eyes were on him. Time to continue with work.

"Introducing Captain Adanita Vervain, the Pirate Queen. Accompanied by her First Mate Teodolit, and her Spymaster Ekliptik. They, along with the other pirates aboard these two ships are our honored guests who have come here as negotiators. I will tolerate no ill will or actions towards them."

It was easier when it was only him and a bunch of pirates, really. The trio could not stand out more. Adanita wore her signature coat, hat, and cutlasses, comfortably taller than all men on board. Ekliptik came in their strange fashion and oversized hat, and he knew well that they were armed as well. And then, among them, Teodolit, dressed the same as ever, and unarmed.
On the other side, the sailors all wore the same uniforms, with only their ranks marked differently. They were eyeing them suspiciously, but so far, they were under control. Next to him, the one outlier among the crew, was his secretary. Nivelir was taller than Rosamund, and came close to Adanita's height, although she was certainly taller. In fact, until he met Adanita, Nivelir was the only man that he knew who was taller than him. His skin was dark, his hair tied in a complicated bun and ponytail of dreadlocks, and he sported a long scar across his face, a remnant from an old duel. Like a proper nobleman, he was dressed in a fine embroidered coat and vest, following the latest trends in the Capital. He, too, was armed, with a rapier around his waist.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Vervain," Nivelir greeted them. "I am lord Leica Nivelir, the secretary of Lord Governor. May I inquire on the nature and the source of his injuries?" The man's deep voice was cold, and he was shooting daggers at Adanita. Bless him, he was home, and he was safe. All was well.
Adanita answered before he could. "Lord Governor saw fit to challenge another Captain to a duel. The fight occurred yesterday, and I am certain you would be happy to know he had won. His injuries come from his own stubbornness, not from our hospitality," she said. "I am certain he can recover. He has quite a knack for avoiding death."
Rosamund raised his broken hand in front of Nivelir before he could say something not-diplomatic to that. They barely got here. There will be plenty of chances for these people to start a fight. And judging by how many hidden glances Teodolit was giving Nivelir, there will certainly be fights. "The injuries are indeed nobody's fault but my own, so there is no need to further discuss them. We have better things to do. Take us to the docks," he ordered the Captain. "I have some matters to attend to with these people. May I use your cabin to rest?"
"Aye, sir. You heard the man, people!"
"Come on in, all of you. Let us not disturb the crew at work," Rosamund said. Nivelir, bless the man, took him by the arm and helped him walk.

They entered the cabin. Adanita and Teodolit visibly relaxed now that they were somewhat away from a group of potential enemies. Ekliptik did not, they instead paced around the cabin unnerved. They were the only one not to take a seat, more comfortable lurking by the door or a quiet corner.
Adanita had a seat and took off her hat, looking around with mild interest. This Captain also had some trinkets laying around, and Rosamund briefly pondered the possibility it's not hoarding but kleptomania that had her cabin stuffed full of various shiny objects.
But, she wouldn't, right.
Teodolit was, meanwhile, openly staring at Nivelir who took a seat across him. Rosamund also took a seat, next to Nivelir and across Adanita. He was positively exhausted, even from this short walk. He could barely wait until he gets home. But, work always comes first.

"In the interest of fairness, Captain Vervain, I believe Nivelir should be in the know about the issue at hand," he spoke.
"You didn't tell him yet?" she asked, honestly surprised.
"Of course not." Right, she didn't read his letters. "In any case, Nivelir is my most trusted associate. He helped me with many previous diplomatic missions, and his assistance is absolutely indispensable."
"Are you even in any state to negotiate now, Rosamund? You are paler than usual," Nivelir said.
"Thank you, I am quite alright. Nivelir, these people have saved my life. Specifically, Captain Vervain has saved my life thrice now, so I would prefer it if you treated each other well."
Nivelir defensively crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, staring her down. He was ignoring Teodolit for now, it seemed, focused solely on the source of his headache. He clenched his jaw a few times, trying to resolve the conflicts in his mind. Rosamund relaxed only after he decided not to argue. For now. "Thank you for saving his life, although I would prefer to have more context about what happened. As for whatever you are up to, does it have something to do with Lilac?"
"Yes. Have you sent the letter to him?"
"I did, however, he arrived before the letter could reach him. He was already on his way here, and he arrived yesterday. What was in the letter?"
"Wait, he's here?" Rosamund asked.
"Not on the ship, of course. I couldn't know how this would go, so I told him to wait in the manor."
Oh, bless him. "I wrote him to immediately pack and leave for Hipparcos, as I feared he would be in danger in the Capital," he said. He was deeply relieved now that Lilac was somewhere safe and within his reach. An ocean away from Duchess Almukantarat would certainly put at least a temporary stop to whatever she may be planning next.

Wait.

If he came here on his own, that meant he came here in the previous time, too. So after a month long journey across the ocean, he would have arrived to the news of his brother missing, then dead, then accused of treason and/or incompetence. His heart skipped a beat and he put a hand on his chest, feeling ill. No, no, this was certainly not the time to entertain the thoughts that liked to seep out of the darkest corners of his mind. Staying calm.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked Nivelir, dragging himself back into the conversation.
"I said he was sent here to draw a teleportation circle to your estate in the Capital. What danger is he in?"
"It is not something I'd like to discuss here. And I believe Lilac should hear what Captain Vervain has to say, too. He is my brother. He is involved."

He looked up at Adanita, who was staring at him, deeply concerned. He was fine, he straightened up in his seat again. All good, nothing to worry about, really. After a moment of hesitation, she let it go.

"If Lord Governor wishes for it, then I see no reason to deny it. After all, I already told everything to my most trusted men. I see no reason why he shouldn't have the right to do the same." Beautiful. They wouldn't need to argue about this, then. "I'd prefer that we don't spread it to the world, but keeping it in a small circle of allies is acceptable to me. We will discuss it later, perhaps tomorrow?" she asked.
"Today. I have other business to attend to tomorrow," he said. He had five conniving captains to handle. "Until then - is everything ready for those two pirate crews?"
"I have secured and restored an old quarantine building. It is hardly perfect, but it is more than livable. If they want to, they can stay there."
Not fit for a governor or nobility, comfortable or more for peasantry. Rosamund decided that was appropriate. After all, his budget wasn't unlimited either. "And the captains are still under arrest?"
"Yes. I did not yet detain Vice Admiral Khamil, I believe something like that would at the very least require your authority. And I'd also prefer if you didn't do it rashly, although he has been slandering you every chance he got. And harassing me in letters, demanding I release his men before the royal envoy arrives to resolve this."
"What did you respond?"
"I did not. I stopped reading them after the second letter. At this point, I receive five a day. I told the servants they may use them to start fires in the kitchen."
Is this this world's equivalent of spam emails? Yes, Rosamund decided. It was.
"He didn't threaten you, did he?" he asked.
"If he did, I wouldn't know."
Fair enough.

Nivelir's turn. "So what do you plan to do with the pirates?"
"I will explain later," he replied.
"And why exactly are you here?" he asked Adanita.
"I'd prefer if Lord Governor explained it to you. He certainly has a way with words," she said. "You may mistake my intentions if I told them to you myself, after all."
"Right, fine. Keep me in the dark until we get to Master Lilac." Well that was clearly sulking.

"Please do not worry... well, not yet. After you learn what has happened, I believe worrying is warranted," Rosamund said.
"Charming. I am always glad to have permission to pull my hair out whenever you are up to something. And with a Pirate Queen this time, no less."
"I do prefer the title of Captain, it sounds rather condescending when you call me a queen," Adanita said.
"I apologize, I did not intend for you to notice that."
"Lord Governor, does your man want a duel?"
"Absolutely not, I will not allow it," he said.
"Happy to see that you may challenge my people at will, but I do not have the same privilege."
"Should Nivelir decide to act on his own accord and kidnap you, you have my permission to duel him," he said dryly. And to be fair, it's not as if he challenged her right hand man.
"Excuse me- I was under impression that the duel was an act of stupidity on your part," Nivelir interjected.
"Wait, do you mean to tell me that this is a normal occurrence? Lord Governor, I had no idea you were such a violent man," Adanita said.
"It pleases me to learn that he is as much of a pain to handle for you as he is for me."

There comes his headache. He almost worried he forgot it in Hannau. At least the two of them were now uniting, even if it was against him.

"I believe my course of action was reasonable, given the situation I was in," Rosamund said.
"I will not bother responding, out of consideration for the state you are in. Captain Vervain, I do have a few questions regarding the men you brought to this city..."
Nivelir began discussing with her the way to house and manage her people. Should they attack or harm the citizens, they will be put on trial, although their previous crimes would not be mentioned during the ongoing negotiations with Adanita. Rosamund leaned back, happy to let them discuss that on their own during the short time until the ship docked. Ekliptik seemed to want to join their discussion, but in the end they stayed silent in the back, fidgeting with their cape and their hat.

Another pair of sailors helped Rosamund land safely. A group of curious onlookers was held back by the guards. Adanita walked with her two people confidently, putting on a proper display. Next to her, Teodolit limped along in a more relaxed and casual manner. Ekliptik seemed to want to disappear, distressed from the attention they were getting.
Nivelir, bless him a thousand times, had arranged for two carriages to take them to his manor. He was in no shape to walk so he was more than happy to rest... despite how bumpy carriage rides were. He thought it would be a chance for him to discuss the situation with Nivelir at least a bit, but for some reason, Teodolit tagged along in their carriage instead of Adanita's. She didn't try to stop him, and the numerous arguments he personally had against the idea were stopped by Nivelir when he learned Teodolit was the closest thing to a doctor in this group.

At last, they had arrived. The moment Rosamund stepped out of the carriage, he was embraced by his brother, both men holding back their tears.

He was home.