Liam's Troubles

Looking far past the boathouses, a cluster of patched, low-slung tents lay hidden in the gaps between the structures. Several children, looking even younger than Flynn Fairwind, were busy with something in the clearing before the tents. Under the guidance of a slightly older boy, a few of them were pouring something into rum bottles.

Liam watched carefully for a while, finally catching on. It turned out these kids were watering down cheap rum that sold for a few silver coins a bottle, and judging by their practiced movements, this was certainly not their first time running this racket.

Before Liam could observe any more, Flynn Fairwind emerged from a narrow gap behind the house. The group of children greeted him one after another; a few snot-nosed little ones even ran over calling him "Big Brother," affectionately wiping their noses on his thighs.

Flynn gave each little one a gentle kick to the backside to shoo them away, then looked toward the older boy who was still pouring the liquor.

"Harlan Sweete, come here for a second." Beckoning to the older boy, Flynn turned and found a quiet spot to wait, then handed over the coin purses he had just acquired along with the two gold coins Liam had given him.

"Did you go borrowing money from Big Brother Klaus again? There are more and more people in Freehold lately. As long as we expand the scale of our business, we shouldn't have any trouble getting through the winter."

The boy was short and chubby with fair skin, his eyes sharp and shrewd. He didn't look like a street urchin, but rather the son of a merchant. As he spoke, he kept glancing around, as if constantly brewing some wicked scheme. Once he was sure the other children weren't nearby, Harlan Sweete added, "Of course, that's assuming you stop bringing people back here. Our little patch of land is almost full; if we get any more, we'll be easily discovered, and then everyone will be..."

"Alright, alright, we'll talk about that later. This money wasn't borrowed; I swindled it from a sucker today. It's not easy for Big Brother Klaus to keep those little animals of his, so I won't bother him unless I have to." Clearly, this conversation had happened many times before. Flynn habitually interrupted the little fatty's grumbling to explain the origin of the money.

"And about that business, it's best to keep a low profile. It wasn't easy for Wenrick to land a chore job, and the innkeeper is a good person. Don't let him lose his position over something like this; it wouldn't be worth the loss." Obviously, Flynn held reservations about the fake liquor scheme.

"Don't worry. Once those drunks are hammered, how could they tell if their drinks are a bit more watered down than usual? This is foolproof; nothing will go wrong."

As it turned out, before Harlan Sweete could finish his sentence, a thin, small boy scrambled in from outside. The boy had a bruised, purple eye socket, and although the blood on his nose had dried, it was clear he had been beaten quite badly.

"Wenrick, what happened to you?" They had just been talking about him, and now he had returned looking like he'd just been thrashed. Flynn hurried forward to ask.

"An outsider was drinking at my place today. He looked disheveled and had already downed quite a bit, so I swapped in two bottles of our 'goods.' But one of the seals wasn't tight, and he noticed. The guy said he was going to report us. I didn't dare make the call, so I had to come back and find you guys."

Wenrick looked dejected. Seeing the little fatty growing anxious, he quickly added:

"I was very careful on the way back and made sure no one was following me, but he already knows I work at the Legend of the Dead. If I don't go back, I'll lose the job, and it might even implicate the boss..."

"Fine, you lead the way, I'll go with you." Flynn didn't hesitate, instructing the little fatty to take care of the other children at home before following Wenrick out through the fence and away from their hideout.

"Are you sure that guy wasn't a familiar face? You've never seen him before?" Harlan Sweete chased after them, asking from behind.

"That's right. The markings on him weren't from the three major gangs, and his clothes were clearly soaked in water not long ago. He must be from somewhere else; he's definitely not a Freehold regular."

"That's good. I'm coming with you." The little fatty nodded slightly, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. "Since he's not a local snake, that makes things easier."

"You can come, but don't you dare stir up trouble." Flynn warned him quickly. He knew the little fatty wasn't one to sit still, so he decided to bring him along to prevent him from sneaking after them and causing more problems.

And so, Flynn Fairwind led his two little sidekicks out of the shantytown, heading in the direction Wenrick pointed.

The three of them were lost in their own thoughts, unaware that another figure had quietly followed them from behind.

The person following the trio was, naturally, Liam, who had been observing from the sidelines.

Through this observation, Liam became even more interested in the young Flynn Fairwind. In his memories, the boy was just a slippery information peddler who always managed to turn bad luck into good fortune. But now, it seemed this guy wasn't just full of roguish charm—he had a bit of chivalry buried deep in his bones.

As for Harlan Sweete, having watched him grow up, his obsession with money and his ruthless nature were already beginning to show. It was no wonder that after falling out with Flynn, he could rely on a group of desperate outlaws to build the Irontide Raiders into an organization that dominated Freehold. And he wasn't even satisfied with that, eventually intending to lay his hands on the entire Kul Tiras navy. He was, without a doubt, a ruthless character with grand ambitions.

Now that these two were in trouble, Liam naturally had to follow and see what was going on.

Upon seeing the man causing the trouble, Liam was stunned—it turned out he was the one who had brought this big problem upon them. With just one glance, Liam recognized the man's identity; he was dressed exactly like the pirates from the pirate ships Liam had sunk.

Liam had been wondering why it was such a coincidence that he had just arrived in Freehold, only for these unfamiliar faces to show up right on his heels. Now, it all made sense.

Clearly, after encountering the "shipwreck" that day, this man had used some method to drift ashore with the ocean currents. He was a bit slower than Liam and his group, but after a night's delay, he had arrived in town just as Liam and his companions were returning.

As a result, the little guys who wanted to bully an outsider sucker had ended up provoking trouble they shouldn't have.

"It seems I'm the one who brought this trouble here. Should I give them a hand?"

Liam suddenly felt a bit conflicted.