The Governor

Driven by the dual medical needs of Queen Bonny and Jack, the Banshee sets sail for Ciudad Flores at high speed. The ship itself loiters a day's sail away while the heroes go into harbor in a skiff, with a secret backup from Anne Crieux and Vittoria Viani and a party of Banshees on the coast.

Ciudad de las Flores is a small town clearly in the throes of construction -- there are several ships in harbor and neatly white-washed houses extended up from the quays. More houses are being constructed all the time, and there's a lot of construction supplies sitting on the quay. A main street leads up from the harbor to a central square with a fountain; facing the square is the Presidio as well as the Governor's Mansion, while inland is the island's Mission Santa del Bajo.

Arrival

Ciudad Flores' harbor has several ships of note -- the Black Spot pirate hunter Tiburon, the same vessel that pursued them earlier, as well as a nondescript trading vessel identified as belonging to the Atabean Trading Company and a missing pirate ship, the Blue Dawn.

In the harbor itself, pirates are being hanged in droves -- sailors from the Blue Dawn tried and convicted of piracy. According to the talk in the town, this is part of the new Governor's anti-piracy initiative; the Tiburon is another part of that initiative, under the command of a former Castillian naval officer, Captain Felix Cabral.

Orlando ventures into town to meet its chemist, Gonzalo, who says the new governor has been buying up all the alchemical supplies, while Alondra has an encounter with a local priest who preaches the dangers of hellfire.

The Governor

The chemist provides the Heroes an introduction to the Governor -- and it turns out he is Alondra and Orlando's old friend, Jairo Cristobal de Vasquez, who was basically raised with them by their parents. He has become Governor of Ciudad Flores and is pursuing an alliance with the ATC in the person of Fleming Rudd, the ATC's chief procurement officer. He became Governor quite recently in a surprisingly fast rise to power, and seems to be seeking to displace the other Castillian governors in the Atabean to become preeminent.

Cristobal -- whose family lost everything when Montaigne conquered Altamira -- believes that Aragosta's time is done. He encourages the Heroes to leave piracy and join him in establishing civilization in the Atabean and driving the Montaignes out. It is clear, in general, that Jairo has lost his ideals; he believes they are a luxury of the elite, and that power is the source of safety.

Cristobal promises to give some of the alchemical reagant Orlando needs to him, and ultimately shows him his laboratory, which is surprisingly similar to Orlando's father's.

The Mission

Jairo invites the heroes to join him meeting Flemming Rudd and Father Fernando, the Father Superior of the mission. The Mission is treating the native Rahuri like slaves, taking their children away from them for reeducation and generally disrupting their native way of life. Rudd, a devout Vaticine, is an enthusiastic supporter of this, believing he is saving the Rahuri's souls.

This mistreatement provokes outbursts from the Heroes -- Jairo silences them, and ultimately on the carriage ride back to the mansion she is able to get more information from him about Captain Cabral -- he stopped treasure hunting because of debts to the Vodacce -- and calm down matters.

The Privateer Captain

As the Heroes prepare to rush back to Aragosta, Jenny and Axel meet with Captain Cabral. His cabin aboard Tiburon is decorated with artifacts, and he explains that treasure hunting is his first love. He was drummed out of the Castillian Navy after the Armada, when he blamed a living admiral for the loss instead of a dead one, and then went into debt to Vincenzo Caligari to acquire a new ship. A disagreement over what should happen to recovered treasure led to Cristobal buying out his vessel from Caligari.

Now, he hunts pirates -- but he gives Jenny some information, potentially, about Travers. The crystal skull may have come from a New World mountain people, while Travers may have been on Aragosta because of Syrneth ruins in the tunnels beneath the island.

Cabral tells Jenny and Axel that he has heard the Banshee is in the region, at which point they gather the rest of the Heroes and leave the island, heading back to Aragosta swiftly before it is too late.

Persons of Note

• Governor Jairo Cristobal de Vasquez -- Childhood friend of the Rodrigos, he has become Governor of Ciudad Flores. He is a boticario and quite ambitious, with a surprisingly fast rise to power.
• Captain Felix Cabral -- Captain of the Tiburon, he is a pirate hunter with a fondness for archaeology and adventure. He is a former Castillian naval officer who was drummed out for speaking truth to power.
• Captain-Major Jose Hidalgo -- Commandant of the Presidio de Flores, the military garrison on the island.
• Father Fernando -- Father Superior of the Mission, he is a proponent of forcibly converting the Rahuri.
• Fleming Rudd -- Chief Procurement Officer for the Atabean Trading Company, he is a friendly-faced devout Vaticine who is comfortable with the Rahuri conversion.