Pirate's Parley

by fszalai

A handful of years ago, Pirate Captain Dubloon and his fine, fast ship Rumhunter spotted another mast upon the horizon. With glee, his crew set about racing towards it in hopes of plundering away its riches. Surprisingly, the other ship did not try to escape. Instead, it waited for the Rumhunter to near then raised a white flag.
"Kilo's balls!" Captain Dubloon swore in a gravelly voice that grated along the spines of his pirates. "Stand down and sheathe your weapons!" He shouted down below decks to the bodacious Shark Bait, a plump gal so gifted at cooking she could make a pirate weep with joy over gruel. "Prepare a parley feast!"
Shark Bait's cooking worked its wonders and the captain of that ship swore to take up piracy under Dubloon's flag, turning Captain Dubloon into Dread Pirate Dubloon.

All Pirates Must...

Kilo, the god of plunder, and Nijiri, the goddess of storms, are the two most favored divines amongst pirates and their ilk. There is only one Holy Rite shared under both Kilo and Nijiri that all pirates adhere to, the Pirate's Parley. Failure to honor the parley is punished by keel hauling.
A parley can be called either by hoisting a white flag or yelling "Parley!" in a loud clear shout to ensure being heard. Pirates will hold their attacks and inform their captain who will then order all weapons sheathed and to remain untouched. Those who called for a parley must do the same with their weapons or they will be in violation of the parley, in which case the pirates will accept no surrender and give no mercy to the guilty parties.
A representative party from amongst those asking for parley, usually including the captain of a ship, is invited aboard the pirates' ship where they are all given the blessings of Kilo and Nijiri. The representative leader and one other are escorted into the captain's mess private negotiations with the pirate captain while the rest of the party is entertained by the crew. No thievery, thuggery, or other bad behavior is permitted. Those who fail to comply are tied to the mast and flogged while their personal coins are given away.
Within the captain's mess, the finest meal the ship's cook can provide is served along with the captain's finest drink.