The Black Pearl

"Haha, take him away, take him away!" Goldtooth laughed heartily. "Make sure he's kept under strict guard!"

A group of goblins responded in unison. One goblin untied a rope from his waist and bound Andy tightly. After being shoved and pushed for nearly an entire day, they finally arrived at a small seaside pier.

"Big Goldtooth, when the hell are you going to pay me back the money you owe me!" A muffled, guttural voice came from behind.

"I wondered who it was; it's the famous Mr. Heavyfist!" Goldtooth laughed. "I say, what's the rush? Take a look at this!" As he spoke, Goldtooth gestured toward Andy.

"Holy crap, an elf!" that Mr. Heavyfist exclaimed in surprise. "How did you catch him?"

Only when Heavyfist walked up to him did Andy see what this so-called Mr. Heavyfist actually was. A massive bull's head sat atop broad shoulders, with a pair of pitch-black horns gleaming with a dark luster. A shimmering gold nose ring hung from a giant bovine nose.

A Tauren!

Andy thought to himself, but wasn't it said that the Tauren were a race that didn't involve themselves in worldly conflicts? How could there be a Tauren pirate?

"Give this elf to me, and our debt will be settled. How about it?" the Tauren Heavyfist lowered his voice and said to Goldtooth.

"Heavyfist, do you take me for a fool?" Goldtooth scoffed. "I only lost thirty gold coins to you in gambling. This elf is worth at least eighty or a hundred gold coins back home. Give him to you? Keep dreaming! Once I sell him, I'll pay you back!"

Heavyfist wouldn't give up, insisting on pestering Goldtooth. Goldtooth grew impatient, waved his hand, and said goodbye. Heavyfist cursed loudly behind him, reminded Goldtooth one last time to pay up, and then stormed off in a rage.

"That Heavyfist, still trying to pull tricks on me, hmph!" Goldtooth kept Andy under guard all the way to a small inn at the port. "Boss, clear out another room for me!"

"Coming right up!" A goblin wearing a pair of glasses replied while calling out to a waiter, "Xiao Si, hurry up and get the room on the far left upstairs ready! Master Goldtooth has a big use for it!"

The one called Xiao Si was also a goblin; he quickly agreed and sprinted upstairs.

"You lot, keep a close eye on him. As soon as we return, we're setting sail!" Goldtooth gave the order, left four men to guard Andy, and took the rest of the goblins, rifles in hand, to head out again.

"Xiao Si, right? Let me ask you something!" Andy was thrown into the room, bound head to toe, with only his mouth free to move.

"Oh my, I must say you really weren't careful. How did you get caught by Big Goldtooth?" Xiao Si looked around to make sure no one was there and whispered, "You have no idea who these people are. They're a bunch of pirates! They kill without blinking an eye. You're truly unlucky!"

"Then what place is this?" Andy asked.

"This is Ratchet. You don't even know that?" Xiao Si blinked, looking at Andy's blank expression, and suddenly sighed, "No wonder you got caught. It seems you don't even know where you are!"

"Ratchet is the earliest city built by goblins on this continent. Rather than a city, it's more of a port. Later on, the port was used less and less, and it became a transit station for those pirates. Fortunately for us who stayed behind, it provided us with a livelihood." Xiao Si gave a brief introduction to the situation.

"Who is that Tauren? How can there be Tauren pirates?" This was the part that puzzled Andy.

"You mean Heavyfist?" Xiao Si said. "Tauren indeed don't get involved in outside affairs; they keep to Thunder Bluff. That Heavyfist is an anomaly, I suppose. He wasn't very settled back in Thunder Bluff, and eventually, he accidentally killed someone and fled. He came to Ratchet and joined a pirate crew. After going out to sea a few times, he returned as the first mate of a ship. I heard his pirate crew is called something like the Defias Pirate Crew, and it's supposedly a branch of the Defias Brotherhood!"

"Xiao Si, are you done yet!" a goblin asked as he walked in. "Our Master Goldtooth said no talking to this elf, and no one else is allowed near him!"

"Ah, I'm done!" Xiao Si replied, gave Andy a look of pity, and walked out carrying a water basin.

My god, the Defias Brotherhood! Andy was incredibly shocked. They actually branched out into a pirate crew!

Big Goldtooth and the other goblins spent the next few days coming and going in this small port town, moving fresh water, food, and a portion of "cargo" inside. Calling it cargo was just a cover; it was actually stolen loot and some slaves, all of whom were Quilboar.

Andy glanced at the Quilboar a few times. They were different from the tribe Nak belonged to; each one was listless, as if they had accepted their fate as slaves. Taking advantage of the time when Xiao Si came up to clean, he learned the origin of these Quilboar.

These Quilboar were born slaves and had lived in the hands of slave traders for who knows how many years. Those slave traders couldn't capture slaves from other races, so the composition of their slaves was primarily Quilboar, along with some captured pirates and goblins who were already low-status within their own kind.

After several days of preparation, Big Goldtooth was ready to set sail. His fresh water and food were sufficient, and his cargo was loaded onto the ship. Other pirate crews were doing the same.

"Alright, boys!" Big Goldtooth stood below the ship and roared. "It's time to set sail! Take that elf down to the hold and make sure he's tied up tight!"

"Don't worry, Boss!" a goblin said. "He won't be running anywhere!"

"Big Goldtooth, we're setting sail first!" the Tauren Heavyfist shouted at Big Goldtooth. "When you reach the destination, you must pay me back!"

"I say, why are you so stingy!" Big Goldtooth also shouted back. "I'll pay you when the time comes!"

Andy was brought to the front of the ship. As he passed Big Goldtooth, Goldtooth laughed and said, "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl!"

"The... the what?" Andy thought he had misheard.

"The Black Pearl!" Goldtooth looked at Andy and said, "What, do you have a problem with that?"

Andy forced himself to swallow his laughter. Looking at the small ship before him, he couldn't help but feel that not drowning at sea would be a miracle. Although the ship had two decks and three masts, the entire length was only about thirty meters, and it would be a stretch to say it was ten meters wide. Compared to the ship Heavyfist had just been on, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

"Hmph, don't look at my ship as small; it has the advantage of stability! Heavyfist's ship is big, but it rocks violently when it hits wind and waves." Goldtooth seemed to have seen through Andy's thoughts.

Andy was taken to the hold by two goblins. It was packed with Quilboar slaves and other cargo. A strange stench permeated the entire cabin. "Tell me, where are we going?" Andy asked.

A goblin reinforced the bindings on Andy's hands and feet and said, "A dream paradise, Booty Bay!" When he said those words, a look of longing appeared on the goblin's face.