Wind Direction

Orange Town's docks had been bustling beyond belief since noon.

More than a dozen single-masted cargo ships were docked at the berths. Their owners crowded around Barlow, packing the open space before the dock warehouses so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Koldo stood half a step behind Barlow, holding a stack of freshly written contracts in his arms. The ink had yet to dry, and the sea breeze made the pages rustle.

Barlow spread a sea chart against the warehouse wall and traced a line south from Orange Town with his finger. "The route I'm offering has two stops on the outbound trip. The first is Stone Drum Island in the Konomi Archipelago, and the second is Salt Port in between. Fish catches on Stone Drum Island cost half what they do in Orange Town, while Salt Port's salted fish workshops have been idle for half a quarter. You take fruit to Stone Drum Island, unload half of it, and load up on fish. At Salt Port, unload another half and take on salted fish. On the return trip, your holds will be full. Both goods sell in Orange Town for more than double their purchase price. One run doesn't earn you the money from one trip—it earns you the money from three."

A shipowner in a striped shirt pulled his pipe from his mouth. "It's a good route, but these boats of ours can manage short hauls. Go too far, and the hulls won't hold."

"If your ship has problems, come to me." Barlow pulled the chart from the wall and folded it. "White wax timber, hull joints, replacement planks, keel reinforcement—the shipwrights of White Wax Island know their craft. Repairs are free and included in the contract. You help me transport goods, and I help you repair your ships."

The shipowners exchanged glances. The promise of free repairs moved more than a few of them.

Orange Town's shipwrights charged more with every passing year. The freight fee from a single trip would lose nearly twenty percent to ship repairs alone.

"There'll be escorts too." Koldo leaned half his body out from behind Barlow. His voice was not loud, but it carried just enough for several shipowners on the outer edge to hear.

"Our people will sail with you. Do you know how the Sea Serpent Gang disappeared?"

The docks fell silent for a moment. No one answered, but no one asked how the Sea Serpent Gang had disappeared either.

Everyone at the docks who needed to know already knew what had happened last night. Dozens from the Sea Serpent Gang had all ended up sprawled before that white wax single-masted sailboat overnight.

News could not speak, but it traveled faster than words.

Barlow tucked the sea chart into his coat. He had no need to say anything more.

One after another, the shipowners signed the contracts. Koldo collected them one by one, lightly pressing a finger to the ink to make sure it was dry before folding them and tucking them away.

Once the contracts were signed, the shipowners dispersed and returned to their vessels to load cargo. This batch of fresh fruit from Orange Town was better than in recent seasons, with thin skins and abundant juice. It could fetch twice the price in the Konomi Archipelago as it did in the Wind Organ Archipelago.

Barlow stood before the warehouse, watching laborers carry crates of fruit out one after another. The wooden boxes were stacked in neat piles on the dock, their lids marked in charcoal with their destinations and recipients.

The price difference on fruit alone could earn eighty thousand Beli per ship. Add the premium for fish catches and salted fish from the Konomi Archipelago on the return journey, and the net profit from one run could reach two hundred thousand.

Six shipowners had signed the contracts. Six ships meant a gross profit of 1.2 million Beli from a single run.

His fingers paused, and his gaze fell on a corner at the far end of the docks.

A ship was moored there.

Its hull was long and narrow, riding deep in the water. Iron plating covered its sides, rusted all over, but every rust mark had been left by scrapes rather than neglect.

A ram stood at its bow, painted black. Most of the paint had been eaten away by seawater, exposing the gray-white iron beneath.

A flag flew from the mast: black ground, white crossed bones, and a blood-red skull between them. Two daggers were lodged in the skull's eye sockets.

Barlow looked at that flag.

"Koldo."

Koldo was folding the final contract. Hearing his name, he hurried over. "Brother Barlow."

"What's that ship's background?"

Koldo followed his gaze, and his Adam's apple bobbed when he saw the flag.

"The Bloodhand Pirates. They're somewhat famous around this part of the East Blue. Their captain is Mad Dog Zager, with a bounty of six million Beli."

"They don't usually stop in Orange Town, only come by now and then. Even the Sea Serpent Gang used to receive them personally. I heard them bragging when they were drunk. They said Blood Hand was one of Melton's honored guests, and half the 'goods' moved through the black market were brought in by them."

Barlow narrowed his eyes.

"They're here today too?"

"They probably docked this morning. I've been busy around the warehouses and didn't notice the other end of the docks." Koldo lowered his voice. "Zager has a violent temper. I hear his crew fights dirty. They're not like the Sea Serpent Gang, ruthless in the way they bully people around the docks—they kill at the drop of a hat. Everyone on the docks takes a detour when they see their flag."

Barlow withdrew his gaze from the Blood Skull pirate ship. His fingers stilled inside his sleeve.

Mila and Roy had gone into town to look for Melton.

Blood Hand was Melton's honored guest, and their ship had docked today.

Those facts came together in his mind in an instant.

"Where is Melton's base?"

Koldo froze for a moment. "Melton? I only know that he has many gambling houses in town. The biggest is an underground casino in the town center. As for where he lives..."

"Where's the casino?"

"I don't know. I know the dockside, but Melton isn't Sea Serpent Gang. He belongs to the other side. He's close with Morris, and I can't get near Morris's people."

Sweat appeared on Koldo's forehead. "I've been at these docks for seven years. If a ship changes flags or someone enters a warehouse at night, I can find out even if I don't already know. But Melton is different. He isn't a dock man."

Barlow pulled the stack of sea charts from his coat and shoved it into Koldo's hands.

"Sort these contracts by ship number. When the shipowners finish loading and come to you, give each of them a copy. The route, stops, and cargo list are all written on the back. Tell them to come find me at the docks tomorrow about the repairs."

Koldo took them. His mouth opened, then closed again.

Barlow strode from the warehouse to the main dock road, pushed through the crowds of laborers and fishmongers, and headed toward town.

His steps were a beat faster than usual, each stride longer than normal.

From the docks to Orange Street, he avoided the crowds on Orange Street's main road when he crossed the market and took the side streets instead.

He did not wait for Koldo to figure it out, nor did he wait for Koldo to catch up.

Mila would not wait for him to save her, and neither would Roy. Together, the two of them could turn a casino into a slaughterhouse.

But Blood Hand's ship had docked today.

Mad Dog Zager, with a bounty of six million. He was not comparable to dockside thugs like the Sea Serpent Gang.

He needed to know where Melton's base was. He needed to find that address before Mila and Roy ran into Blood Hand.

The clamor of Orange Street faded behind him.