Of Coffled Slaves and Pirate Woes

 Not yet has the Hanseatic captain, Telman of Tsipa, returned to Cothon and his masters at the Kantor Kabljuahof--not yet, but word of his successes in his campaign against the Luwian Pirates precede his return! Running before a batch of foul weather blowing in from the east, Dirac's Wanderer, a single-masted dak, has come into the harbor of Cothon. Her captain, Lews Telaron, has come with a hold full of prisoner-pirates to be sold at auction in the souks of Cothon, and with news that Telman has driven the Luwians out of the greatest of their island strongholds.

Though ocean storms and bad weather--portending the coming winter--have stayed the campaign, preventing Telman's final victory, still, much has been accomplished. Unlike previous campaigns, Telman has invested the Luwians' islands with garrisons of the Hanse's men, preventing their being retaken by the Luwians (as has so often happened before). As the long winter descends, fraught with storms and bad weather that will prevent further campaigning until the next solar year, Telman has opted to return to Cothon for a time, to see directly to his own affairs in the Dual-Cities. According to Lews and his crew, Telman's galley should arrive by the end of the month, and with them will come a fleet of others like Lews and his Wanderer, ships and captains carrying holds of captured pirates to be sold off as slaves, the sales of which will back the war bonds offered by the Hanse at the start of the campaign.

Lews himself came early, hoping to make himself a tidy profit before the souks are glutted. The holds of the Wanderer hold not only war captives, but also a variety of other goods for sale:

(as with all such merchants, please comment on the blog below with any purchases, as these goods are first-come-first-served, and comments make an easy way to track such things)

Lews Telaron's Merchandise

Price	Item
40 dinars ea.	40 pirate-slaves, billed for hard labor
100 dinars ea.	8 prisoners billed as "household-worthy" slaves
25 dinars ea.	9 gilt or jeweled seax-knives (d6 damage)
300 dinars per case, OR 30 dinars per bottle	4 cases of sujamma liquor (12 bottles per case)
200 dinars ea.	7 pristinely white gadhar pelts, beautifully preserved
500 dinars ea.	3 polyjuice potions, allowing the imbiber to assume another's guise
2500 dinars	Ring of the Five Fingers of Pai

War Bonds Payouts

As Telman and his prisoner-bearing fleet return toward Cothon, and news of Telman's successes against the Luwians filter through the Dual-Cities, the Hanse begins to pay out to those who invested in war bonds back at the beginning of the campaign.

Per the records of the Scribes, Bartholomew Pettibone has been the only player-character who bought any such bonds, and he paid 1000 dinars (gp) into the coffers of the Kantor by way of this investment. When he receives word of the payouts, he also hears that the Hanse is returning investors' money, plus 25% of what was invested. This remarkable increase is based on the near-constant successes of Telman and his fleets against the pirates, the many captives taken and sold or to-be-sold in slave auctions, and the great amounts of booty recovered from the pirate isles. For, despite an early success by the Luwians (recounted here, as might be remembered, by Koway of the Weatherlight), every other engagement has been a success under Telman's sure hand on the steering-oar of leadership.

Which is to say, if Bart wishes to claim his money back, he would receive 1250 dinars. As this is based on the current success of the campaign, it is unlikely to change in the near future.

If Bart prefers, he can let the Hanse know that they can retain his investment for the upcoming renewal of the campaign in the spring (it'll be more than a few months), and their records will be updated to note that Bart's war bonds are now worth 1250 dinars, to increase or decrease the further campaigns play out.

Anyone wishing to may invest now in new war bonds, which will likewise pay out according to the future successes (or failures?) of the campaign against the Luwians--for the war is not over! Telman intends to return to the fray as soon as the evil winter weather recedes and allows it.