Chapter 290: Dragon’s Isle (2)
Chapter 290: Dragon’s Isle (2)
Finding a ship, however, turned out to be harder than expected."We don’t go to the Tapiel Islands," the shipmaster said.
It was because of pirates.
"Pirates? There are pirates around here?" Serati asked.
The shipmaster nodded. "Of course. When there’s cargo worth stealing, pirates aren’t far behind."
Port Terrister was one of the empire’s main hubs for sea trade and also dealt with the Seven Kingdoms. That meant plenty of lucrative merchant ships constantly coming and going.
"There was a time when piracy wasn’t this bad, though."
He said there had once been a major crackdown by the empire. It had launched full-scale operations and left countless pirates hanging from the gallows. But the world had changed.
He added bitterly, "Ever since that damned Shadow of Doom showed up..."
Many among the pirates had come to possess the power of darkness. As if they weren’t already brutal and bloodthirsty enough, now they had necromancy at their disposal as well. Because of that, the southern sea of the empire had become a hellish domain where undead pirates roamed rampant.
"That’s why the regular merchant fleets travel in convoys. If a ship sets sail alone or in pairs, it becomes easy prey," the shipmaster added.
Leven murmured in understanding. "No wonder the harbor’s so packed with docked ships..."