Even though his “ship” is nothing more than a tavern on the water, Smargat likes to play up the theatrical element of his establishment and has a tendency to refer to himself as captain. His demeanor might be disarming, but only the most foolhardy would believe the proprietor of The Black Freighter utterly ignorant of the Emerald Claw’s activities in Stormreach; even so, some might be surprised to learn just how involved he really is. The order uses Smargat’s presence and reputation as a double blind, playing on the natural suspicions of its enemies to dismiss a figure as public as Smargat as anything but a pawn. Order superiors do keep the details of specific plans and missions secret from Smargat, but this is done mostly to protect him. What he does accomplish for the order goes above and beyond what even the most suspicious of Stormreachers would expect, given the circumstances.
Running the Black Freighter is a greater service to the order than most would assume. Smargat especially enjoys the rumor that his tavern is capable of unmooring and sailing itself downriver, since the truth is entirely the opposite: The original piece of thri-kreen architecture was built into and affixed fully to the river bed. Secret hatches connect it to the ruins beneath the city, and Smargat uses them to move agents of the order at all hours of day and night. So although the Freighter appears as a “false” headquarters for the Emerald Claw, it’s actually much closer to a real base of operations for the order (or at least the hub that connects several different bases of operations). And as if running the Freighter wasn’t enough, Smargat also assists in both dirty work and coordinating other agents of the order throughout the city. His distinctive tricorn hat is a hat of disguise, and Smargat’s superiors have used its power to great effect over the years. For his part, Smargat is all too thrilled to help and considers it an honor to be asked to perform any function, no matter how small, for the Emerald Claw.