The hull rocked gently, and the mast and iron cables clanged together now and then.
Several pirates crouched on deck, patching cracks. Their tools hammered against damp planks that reeked of fish.
The Mad King's latest orders were for them to circle around to the southern route, intercept a Blue Tide Guild merchant convoy, seize the specified cargo and people, then deliver them to his flagship out in the deep sea.
Bagg led this squad, but he had no idea what the cargo actually was. It was sealed so tightly that not even they had managed a peek.
Some crewmen said it was an alchemical product that could set the whole sea ablaze. Others said it was an offering the Mad King intended for someone who worshipped the old gods.
No one cared about the truth. It merely spiced up their dreary days at sea.
The truth was that they had plundered the Blue Tide Guild's ships without receiving any share of the loot.
And a full third of their convoy's men had died in the attack. Even the assistant helmsman had fallen there.
Now the waters of Breakwave Bay held thirty of their brothers' corpses, and all they had gained in return was a heap of bottles and jars, along with a few prisoners.
Bagg sat in the cabin, picking fish bones from his teeth as he slowly chewed.
"Thirty brothers for a pile of damned things in iron boxes and a few men. Not a single woman. What the Mad King wants might be treasure, but we haven't even got half a barrel of rum."
With that, he kicked out in frustration, overturning a barrel. Liquor mingled with the smell of blood seeped into the gaps between the planks, and the pirate crew hurried over to set it