Liam had gotten a fairly good read on the boy's character from the changes in his expression as he ran over.
First, he was short on money and greedy enough to chase after them until he was half-dead with exhaustion. Liam had known as soon as he got the purses that they contained less than a gold coin altogether. Clearly, the other "fat sheep" the boy had targeted weren't rich, either.
Second, he was well-informed, able to find out where the two of them were with ease in such a short time. The way he'd stopped suddenly when he got close showed that he was a little clever. When he saw Liam waiting for him, he'd immediately sensed that something was wrong.
And yet, after struggling for a while, he'd still made up his mind to come over. He'd even opened by putting himself on the moral high ground, denouncing Liam the "thief" for stealing his things. That was enough to show that the money he'd stolen was for something important, unlike the other people in Freehold, who spent theirs on rum and women.
Of course, at his age, spending money on the latter probably wasn't an option anyway...
Persistent, clever, and with at least a little sense of purpose—Liam thought the kid could make a good guide. If he had potential, he might even be worth cultivating.
"Kid, what's your name?" Liam asked casually. Since he'd taken an interest in the boy, he needed to learn a little about him.
"What do you want?" the boy asked warily.
Seeing how sharp the kid was, Liam knew he wouldn't get anything out of him with empty promises. He casually pulled out two gold coins and tossed them from hand to hand. The boy's eyes followed them up and down, and, satisfied, Liam tossed both coins to him.
"I'm looking for someone named Leo Shields. If all goes as expected, he should be in Stormsong Valley right now. This is an advance payment; you can keep it for now. I have plenty of money, as long as you can find me useful information..."
Liam looked at the boy with deliberate disdain. As expected, the boy immediately jumped to his feet.
"You can ask around. I'm the best friend of the Bilgewater Cartel boss, 'Flynn'! From the land to the sea, there's nothing in all of Freehold I don't know."
The seven- or eight-year-old tried to borrow the pirates' reputation to scare Liam, but nobody would believe a little kid like him had any connection to the notorious pirate boss. His bluff was pretty clumsy.
"Flynn Fairwind? Looks like I really did come to Freehold for the right reason this time..."
Liam knew that name very well. Later, the boy really would be kidnapped by pirates, but thanks to his remarkable brains, he'd manage to become a captain. Unfortunately, he wasn't ruthless enough. His crew would turn against him, and he'd end up captured by the navy, forced to do work for the Proudmoore Admiralty that they couldn't handle themselves. He'd become one of the military's most famous spies.
When Liam didn't respond right away, Flynn Fairwind thought he'd managed to scare the "fat sheep" with a few words. He quickly took the opportunity to say:
"Well... I'll be going, then? You know, it takes time to gather information. Why don't you come find me at the Legend of the Dead in two days?"
The Legend of the Dead was the only small inn in town. It seemed to be where Flynn hung around, looking for easy marks. Liam knew that once the boy got back to Freehold, he'd disappear without a trace. Gathering information was just an excuse; he was pretending to agree so he could get away.
But Liam hadn't planned to take the boy along just like that. Flynn Fairwind was too slippery. Even though he wasn't yet ten, he wasn't someone Liam could easily keep at his side. Liam planned to test him first, then find a way to get him to work willingly.
"That works out. We need somewhere to stay, too. We'll take a room for a couple of days."
Liam went along with him, and Flynn Fairwind's face fell. But he quickly hid it, replaced it with a smile, and led the two of them back toward Freehold.
With Flynn Fairwind, a local, showing them the way, entering Freehold was much easier this time than before. After booking two rooms under the innkeeper's contemptuous gaze, Liam had found them a temporary place to stay in Freehold and could finally stop sleeping rough.
After "settling" the two of them at the inn, Flynn hurried off. He had no idea that a figure hidden in the shadows was following him from a distance, deeper into town.
Truthfully, Liam wasn't all that keen on staying in a place as lawless as Freehold. If he'd been alone, he'd have been glad to get familiar with the pirates' daily lives. But with Jaina, that deadweight, it wasn't so convenient. Fortunately, the four "brawls" and one "murder" they'd encountered along the way seemed to have frightened Jaina. As soon as Liam said he was going out, she obediently returned to her room, no longer showing any of her earlier curiosity.
Liam should actually have been glad he'd decided to stay in Freehold. If he'd lodged at any inn in Kul Tiras, he'd probably already have been surrounded by a large group of sailors and escorted to their commander, Daelin Proudmoore.
Only a lawless place like Freehold could fail to receive a notice from the Proudmoore Admiralty right away. Of course, everyone had their own ways and means, and the shady characters entrenched in Freehold had their own channels for gathering information. Unfortunately, Daelin Proudmoore had already begun his blockade operation, so they were bound to miss this extremely important piece of news.
Flynn Fairwind was cautious. He wandered all over the streets, deliberately passing the doors of the busiest taverns and walking down the main thoroughfares. Finally, taking advantage of his small size, he darted between two groups of pirates facing off against each other, then ran into a shop by the roadside and disappeared from sight through its back door.
If an ordinary person had been tailing him, they would have lost him by now. Unfortunately, although Liam's Stealth wasn't very strong, it was more than enough to deal with these third-rate sailors and pirates. He stayed right behind Flynn until they reached a very remote area.
Liam watched Flynn reach the back of a few low ship sheds, look around, then duck through a gap in a fence where a board was missing.
Liam didn't follow him in. Instead, he leaped lightly, stepped onto the windowsill, and grabbed the eaves of the ship shed. Then he pulled himself up onto the roof.
Flynn was too sly. Liam didn't want to crawl through a dog hole only to get caught and have his cover blown.
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