"Vote," the dwarf captain spat with a voice like rocks grinding.

"Vote," another captain, who hadn't yet spoken, concurred. The chant took hold through the group and they began to pound their fists on the table in time.

"Vote! Vote! Vote!" The first captain took the leather sack which had held the tokens and slipped a bead inside before passing it to the next pirate. It made its way down the line, each pirate slipping a token into the leather bag until it reached Jaego who held up his fist. He didn't cast a stone himself but instead upended the purse and poured the contents into his fist. One by one he placed them on the table top, slapping each down with a theatrically crack.

Six black stones and five white.

"Your claim is denied!" Jaego called. The pirates tensed preparing to execute the interlopers but the pirate chief held his hand up to forestall any action. Emmaline had edged back towards the door, though it was unlikely that she would be able to escape before she was cut down.

Jaego lifted a hand and opened it, displaying a white token on his calloused palm. Six and six.

"This is a special day," Jaego called turning slowly to address the entire hall, hands spread.

"The anniversary of our great Republic," he added with a snicker that was taken up by the remaining pirates, all aware of the fiction that Sartosa was anything more than a den of thieves.

"This whelp is bold, perhaps a fool, but what say you to a test?" he demanded of the assembled captains.