Yep, you got both rules right! In an ideal scenario, the Pirates are able to arrive in the Woodland with a big force, gather some loot, put it on the ship, and then sail off the edge of the map to secure their stolen treasure. They could get hampered by heavy losses in battle, but the warriors that stay on the ship for your Daylight actions are never "in" the clearing (i.e. they wouldn't be removed in battle) and should be able to sail the ship to safety (and reinforcements). I haven't had them fail in play testing, but I'd be curious what a new player tried to do with them.
As for Bribing, you do give someone 1 of your points. My hope was that factions would do it to take advantage of the rule (e.g. maybe the Eyrie doesn't rule a clearing to Build, but they can pay off another faction to let them continue their Decree). Plus, the token doesn't ever go away, which just means there's a "floating" point available to take back on another turn. It's definitely a player-dependent mechanic that I'll want to work on with other people at the table.