A white sailing ship lay anchored near an uninhabited island roughly two hours' sailing from Sonia Island. Its entire hull had been painted white, with a black raven outlined in black paint on either side.
Seagulls occasionally flew over and perched on the rails or masts, leaving their droppings behind before flying away. The sailors had to run about with buckets and mops, cleaning up the mess.
They did not want to do this either, but their captain, Freeman, had almost absurdly strict standards of cleanliness. If anyone did a poor job, missing a meal would be the least of his worries. What they feared was being shot dead by the captain.
At that moment, Freeman stood on the foredeck. Even under the blazing sun, he refused to take off his fur-collared coat.
Sweat beaded on his grayish-white face, with its dark circles around the eyes. He kept taking out his pocket watch to check the time, looking increasingly agitated.
"Damn it, why isn't Grizzly Bear back yet?"
Freeman turned around for what felt like the hundredth time and glanced at the entrance to the cabins.
The Artisan he had abducted from Glen Town was currently locked in the ship's storeroom.
Freeman had gone to considerable trouble to obtain the Artisan, finally managing to abduct his target without anyone noticing.
Looking back over the past few months, he felt that life had been anything but easy.
His former ship had been destroyed and his crew killed by the Iceberg Admiral. He alone had escaped, then spent many days in hiding. Only after the new year had he returned to the sea.
He had bought another ship, recruited sailors, and rebuilt the Black Raven Pirates. But neither the size of his ship, the number of his crew, nor even the quality