You tell Dull you will consider his offer, and change the subject to the strange purple dining set you are eating off of.
"It is a wood that grows in the haunted canyons beyond the mountianhomes," Dull explains. "The few civilized folk who live in those parts call it Glumprong. The Sea Dwarves call it Royal Timber because of its purple hue, and import it to build boats because it is supernaturally buoyant despite its extreme density. Usually us Land Pirates stay away from Glumprong Shipments because there are few people interested in buying the stuff, and it is too heavy to be hauling around in any large quantity without having a buyer lined up."
He dramatically raises his fork to catch the light of a nearby lamp before taking a bite of his meat and continuing. "This dining set used to belong to a wealthy merchant named Throng-Urist. He attempted to ship it to his son, a high ranking officer in the military of your Empire, shortly after The War of The Emperor's Return, but the package was intercepted by my master at the time, a Land Pirate called Nuk. When Nuk tried to cast me from his clan, I killed him, and looted the dining set along with some of his personal possessions before escaping with my followers to form the pirate band that hosts you now."
A: That's nice. Lets get back to talking about a miltary alliance between your band and The Empire.
B: Hmm... The Kappa might want to buy Glumprong to build their ships, and The Empire controls a tunnel to reach them. If you can acquire more, perhaps a trade deal can be reached.
C: That's nice. How about you introduce me to the other fine people at this table?
D: That's nice, I think I'm done here.
E: I know both Throng-Urist and his son General Thrane. You should return the dining set to them.