Tale of Four

In Farid’s quarters, Isis sat in the corner, peeling a small fruit as the man discussed with his men, the ship bouncing as it cut its way through the sea. With a salute, the men left after he finished. Seeing her chance, Isis walked over and saw a map of the ocean, between Veston and the western continent, Oros, with numerous dotted lines and carvings of ships. ”This is...”

”A good pirate doesn’t prowl across the sea without a target.” Farid picked up one of the carvings of the table, ”Information can always be bought for the right price, and merchant convoys are the most sold. Now, most of them will have their own protections, but some can’t afford them. Be it their first voyage, or they cut costs.” Placing the piece back on the map, he grabbed his head, ”Which means,” Knocking over three pieces, only five were left standing, ”Those three, no pirate will dare attack unless they are confident in facing an army or reckless enough to try and secure their riches. The remaining are the likely target.”

”So you’re patrolling the routes ahead of time to catch an ambush.” Farid nodded.

”Our mission is to protect the ships heading to the Desert. The sea is vast but always full. We can’t spare resources to protect the ships heading to the Flatlands or wherever else they may go, nor do we have any reason to. That is the role of the crown and its navy.” His final words were said with annoyance, and Isis picked them up. Thinking for a second, she realised why.

Seeing that she did, Farid spoke, ”The royal fleet has many waters to protect. I would blame them, but after being on the seas, I understand why they can’t help everyone. It is too big and too costly. It is why, despite lords owning private warships being considered a crime, it is not enforced. They look to us to handle the work they can’t handle themselves.” Farid relaxed, ”Despite this, I can still feel bitter.”

”How many ships do you have?”

”Three. In normal times, I would have between five and ten with me, but Lord Carter is holding his fleet back for the moment. I can only assume it is because he believes we are on the verge of war.” Farid sighed and took a sip of wine from the leather pouch tied to his waist, ”People believe soldiers have it the worst, but a sailor’s life during war is one where you never sleep. Ferrying men, patrolling the waters, protecting merchant fleets so prices stay low. There’s a grace period before news reaches the pirates, but once it does, they throw everything they have at merchants, knowing protection will be lower.”

”I will pray for you,” Isis said, getting a soft chuckle and a wave of the hand.

”It wouldn’t be my first war. Pray for the fresh sailors who have never seen war. They will wonder why they even became one.” The two shared a smile as Farid looked back down at his map and traced his finger along the set paths sent to him by the merchants. Stopping in the section between where they and the merchant fleet were, he tapped, ”We will likely find people here. The winds tend to be good, so a pirate can always escape if they deem the assault a failure.”

Isis tried to play out the scenario in her head and chuckled. With a sigh, she sat down and picked up one of the pieces he knocked over, staring at it. ”It sounds like a hunt.” Isis paused and looked at Farid, ”Like a hunt, however, I wonder if there is any game you don’t challenge.”

”We challenge all.” Farid leaned back, ”But that is not what you’re asking. You’re right. There are a few people on the seas who no-one wishes to face. But we are lucky that we have received no reports of them being active in this part of the sea. If we spot one, well, all we can do is assume the Gods have turned away from us.”

”That bad.” Farid nodded.

”Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be scared to face them, but with such a weakened fleet, it would be a problem. Luckily for us, pirates are smart and don’t initiate attacks without a gain. Well, most of the time. Soemtimes they do it for sport.” Isis sighed and leaned back, holding her hand out for the leather pouch of wine. Handing it over, Farid watched as she drank and wiped her chin.

”You can tell who these guys are?” Farid nodded, taking the leather pouch back and sipping from it.

”All of them fly flags, and not all ships are the same.” Getting up, Farid pulled a map out, placing it over the previous one. Unlike the first, which showed the west coast of Veston and the continent west of it, Oros, this one went further south. Ignoring the large piece of land below Veston, Farid tapped a small set of islands that rested in the middle of a triangle of Veston, Oros and the southern continent.

”The Leviathans Ribs.” Farid smiled, ”Gets its name because apparently the entire island is a ribcage of a leviathan. Anyway, here is a big slave and illegal goods hub, one that the three continents trade through, without having to worry about the laws of their native land. More importantly, it’s under pirate control.”

”Pirate control? And people willingly go there to trade.” Isis raised an eyebrow, making Farid laugh.

”Hard to believe, but most of these men are wanted in every continent. They can’t easily step onto land without the proper connections, and their whole way of life is secured by having someone buy their stolen goods or pay ransoms. Anyway, I’ve known a few people who go there to buy things. Two rules.” Holding up one finger, the stranger started, ”You must buy one thing from them, or you become a slave. Barbaric, but it’s the way it is; they will get their gold one way or another.”

Holding up the second finger, he carried on, ”When approaching, you can have at most two ships in your fleet unless previously negotiated, and you must fly a white flag. After that, they will board and check that you don’t carry anything to endanger the island.” Farid took a sip of wine as if to clear his mouth at even talking about the place.

”And to keep order, are those who you mentioned you don’t wish to meet?” Farid nodded.

”Unlike in Veston, where blood decides, there it is infamy.” After a moment of thinking, he listed a few: ”Harlot’s Cry, The Plague, Daisy’s Blessing, The Jolly Hunter. Those are the most infamous who usually come to these waters. There are others, but they don’t come here.”

Isis narrowed her eyes, ”Daisy’s Blessing? Hardly sounds like a ship name a pirate would have.” Farid smiled and nodded.

”The story goes that the pirate captain’s mother was called Daisy. As for what Daisy’s blessing is, well, when he boards a ship, he gives a choice. See reason or don’t see. His crew don’t kill you, they blind you. A death sentence when on the sea.” Isis recoiled and nervously chuckled. ”Regret coming along.”

”Well, it depended on who we saw on the sea. Don’t take it to heart that if you lose, I jump ship and try to bargain for my own life and freedom.” Farid waved his hand.

”You would be stupid if you didn’t. But I will tell you now, most you could probably bargain with, but you meet the Harlot’s cry, kill yourself, without hesitation.” His voice was deadly serious as he leaned forward, ”I’ve heard stories of people who have been to that island. They show no mercy to the women they find. Any found, the entire crew rapes them, and if they still have value after, they are taken back to be sold as slaves. Usually, their minds are already broken to not fight back after living on their ship. The best kind of slave to sell.”

Isis looked to the table and scoffed, ”The Harlot’s Cry. How unimaginative.” Farid bitterly smiled and nodded, handing the pouch to Isis, who took a deep sip.

”The flag they fly is black with a woman burning at the stake.” Farid stood up, ”Don’t worry, the merchandise flowing through right now, likely won’t attract their attention. They usually target ships that ferry people. After all, they know a slaves worth better than a jewel’s.”