From a distance, Liam looked behind the boathouse and saw a cluster of patched, low tents tucked between several boathouses. A few children, some even younger than Flynn, were busy with something in the open space in front of the tents. Several of them were pouring something into rum bottles under the direction of a slightly older boy.
Liam watched carefully for a while before he finally figured out what was going on. The children were watering down cheap rum that sold for a few silver coins a bottle. Judging by how practiced they were, this certainly wasn't their first time doing it.
Before Liam could make out anything else, Flynn had already slipped through a narrow gap behind the house. The children greeted him as soon as they saw him. A few little runts with runny noses came racing over, calling out, "Big bro! Big bro!" They acted so familiar that they wiped their noses on his thighs.
Flynn gave each of the little ones a gentle kick on the backside to shoo them away, then looked toward the older boy who was watering down the rum.
"Harlan, come here for a moment." Flynn beckoned to him, then turned and found a quiet spot to wait. When Harlan came over, Flynn handed him the few purses he had just acquired, along with the two gold coins Liam had given him.
"Did you borrow money from Big Brother Klaus again? There are more and more people in Freehold these days. We just need to expand the business a little, and we'll be fine through the winter."
The boy was short and chubby, with pale skin and shrewd eyes. He didn't look like a street urchin so much as a merchant's son. He was always glancing around as he spoke, as if he were constantly cooking up some scheme. After making sure none of the children were nearby, Harlan added, "Of course, that's assuming you don't bring anyone else back. Our little place is almost full already. If we get any more people, we'll be easy to spot. Then everyone will—"
"Okay, okay, we'll talk about this later. I didn't borrow this money. I conned it out of some sucker today. Big Brother Klaus has his hands full looking after all those little animals. I wouldn't bother him unless I had to." Clearly, they'd had this conversation many times before. Flynn cut off the chubby boy's complaints out of habit and explained where the money had come from.
"And about that business, we'd better keep a low profile. It's not easy for Wenrick to get a job doing odd jobs, and the innkeeper's a good person. Losing the job over something like this would hardly be worth it." Flynn was clearly uneasy about swapping the rum for watered-down stuff.
"Don't worry. Once those drunks have had a few, they can't tell if the rum we give them is a little weaker than usual. It's a safe bet. Nothing will go wrong."
Before chubby Harlan could finish speaking, a thin, small boy slipped in from outside. One of his eyes was bruised and swollen, and though the blood on his nose had dried, it was clear he'd taken a serious beating.
"Wenrick, what happened to you?" They had only just been talking about him, and now he'd come back looking like he'd been beaten up. Flynn hurried over to ask.
"An outsider was drinking at the place where I work today. He looked a mess and had already had quite a bit to drink, so I swapped out two bottles for some of our 'stock.' But one of the bottles wasn't sealed properly, and he noticed. The guy said he was going to report us. I didn't dare make a decision on my own, so I had to come back and find you."
Wenrick looked dejected. Seeing how worried the chubby boy was, he quickly added:
"I was careful on my 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 the boss might get dragged into this too..."
"Okay, lead the way. I'll go with you." Flynn didn't hesitate. He told the chubby boy to stay home and look after the others, then followed Wenrick through the fence and out of their hideout.
"Are you sure he wasn't a familiar face? You've never seen him before?" Chubby Harlan hurried after them, following at their heels.
"Yeah. The insignia on his clothes wasn't from any of the three gangs, and his clothes were clearly soaked not long ago. He must be from somewhere else—not one of the old hands in Freehold, at least."
"Good. I'll come with you, too." Harlan gave a slight nod, a hard look flashing in his eyes. "If he's not a local tough, then he'll be easy to handle."
"You can come, but don't do anything reckless," Flynn warned him. He knew the chubby boy was no stranger to trouble. Since Harlan wanted to come along, Flynn would take him with them rather than let him sneak after them and cause problems.
And so Flynn Fairwind led his two little sidekicks out of the slums, heading in the direction Wenrick had pointed out.
Their minds were in turmoil, and none of them knew that someone was already quietly following behind.
Naturally, the person trailing them was Liam, who had been watching from the sidelines all along.
After observing Flynn for a while, Liam found himself even more intrigued by the young man. In his memories, Flynn had been little more than a somewhat slippery information broker, albeit one with a knack for getting out of danger unscathed. But now it seemed the fellow wasn't just a cheeky rogue; he also had a touch of chivalry deep down.
As for Harlan Sweete, Liam had watched him grow up. His obsession with money and ruthless streak were already beginning to show. No wonder he'd been able to raise the Irontide Raiders, a band of cutthroats that came to dominate Freehold, after falling out with Flynn. And that still hadn't been enough for him; he'd even set his sights on the entire Kul Tiran navy. There was no denying he was a ruthless man with great ambition.
Now that these two had run into trouble, Liam naturally had to follow and see how things played out.
When Liam saw the person causing trouble, he froze. It turned out he was the one who had brought this major headache here. Liam had only needed one glance to recognize the man's outfit: it was the same as that worn by the pirates on the ships he had sunk.
Liam had been wondering how it was possible that, just after he arrived in Freehold, a complete stranger had shown up right behind him. Now it all made sense.
The man had clearly survived that day's "shipwreck" and washed ashore with the currents somehow. He had been a little slower than Liam and the others, but after being delayed overnight, he had arrived in town just as they returned.
And now the youngsters who'd tried to swindle an out-of-towner had gotten themselves into trouble they couldn't handle.
"Looks like I'm the one who brought this trouble here. Should I give them a hand?"
Liam suddenly felt a little torn.
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