Chapter 31
Soon enough, our two ships—one big, one small—dock at the port. With so many of us, moving as a group would draw too much attention, so we split up, disembarking in batches and agreeing to meet at a fixed spot in town by nightfall.
Just like Mark said, Half-Moon Island is crawling with Kryhiss’s pirates. The second we step off the ship—me, Nami, Bonney in her little-girl form, and Mark—we spot two squads of pirates patrolling the port like they’re the local law. They give every pirate ship a hard stare, checking for troublemakers.
Good thing we disguised the ship and ourselves before arriving. The patrols barely glance at us, assuming we’re just merchants here for some shady deals. Their focus shifts to the actual pirate ships pulling in.
“If I were Kryhiss, I’d charge every ship docking here a fee,” Nami whispers to me as we pass the patrols. “You’d make a fortune in no time.”
I shrug. “Do that, and you’d scare off the pirates and merchants. Kryhiss would lose more than he’d gain.” I shoot her a teasing grin. “That’s why you’ll never be a tycoon, Miss Navigator. You’re missing the big picture for pocket change.”
Nami glares at me, her dream of striking it rich clearly stung. “Hey! Don’t curse my luck!”
Chatting lightly, we head into the town. After a good walk around, it feels like any other town—except for the extra pirates, the sketchy goods you’d never find in a legit market, and the open black-market deals. Besides the usual shops, this place is basically one big, legal underworld bazaar.
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After our stroll, the four of us settle by a fountain near the town center to rest.
“Here, John, try some South Blue wine,” Mark says, popping open two bottles and handing me one.
“Thanks.” I take it, clink bottles with him, and take a swig.
“Ha… burp…” Mark downs half his bottle in one go, letting out a satisfied belch. “Not bad, right?”
“I’ve had better, but this has a nice kick. I like it,” I say, giving an honest nod.
“Glad you think so!” Mark grins, then leans in. “So, after walking around, don’t you feel like the layout here seems… familiar?”
I think for a moment, then point to a grand, imposing building not far off, topped with a black skull flag. “Didn’t notice at first, but that setup—it’s like a royal capital.”
“Pfft!” Bonney, in her little-girl form, pauses mid-bite from a pile of street food she bought. “What?! A capital? Is Kryhiss trying to play king or something?”
“What? A pirate wanting to be a king?” Nami’s jaw drops, like she’s just seen the wildest thing ever. She glances at me, finally getting why I mocked her fee idea earlier. This so-called “South Blue King” actually wants to rule like royalty.
“From everything we’ve seen, that’s probably the case,” I say, nodding.
“Ugh, gross!” Bonney spits, her face scrunching up. “Guys like that are a disgrace to pirates!”
“Hey, everyone’s got their own dreams,” I say, patting her tiny head. My eyes drift to the building, where squads of pirates patrol like royal guards. I frown. “But with all these goons, getting inside to face Kryhiss won’t be easy.”
Bonney scratches her head, her hands still greasy from her food. “What if we gather everyone tonight and make a big push? What’s our shot at winning?”
I roll my eyes. “Dozens of us against thousands of them? You do the math. Even if we break into his little ‘capital,’ the thousands of pirates scattered around town would swarm us. We’d be in deeper trouble than before.”
“Hard to argue with that,” Mark agrees, nodding. “But what if we cause a commotion in town near dusk? The bigger, the better—draw out most of Kryhiss’s crew. Then we sneak in, take him out, and his crew falls apart. Without their captain, they’d be a mess, or at least too weak to matter.”
“Good idea, but we’re still too few,” I say, shaking my head. “Dozens of us making a scene against thousands of pirates? We’d get crushed in no time.” Numbers are the problem—dozens against thousands is a losing game, unless every one of us was as strong as Bonney.
Bonney groans, ruffling her hair in frustration. “Then what do we do? Our whole crew’s only got so many people!”
I open my mouth to respond, but then I spot two of Kryhiss’s pirates dragging a shackled man—another pirate, by the looks of him—toward the east side of town. That’s where the island’s prison is. Yeah, a prison—built by a pirate like Kryhiss, of all people.
The prison’s for holding captives they plan to sell as slaves, like civilians they’ve nabbed or rival pirates who cause trouble. The high-bounty ones get handed over to the Navy by Kryhiss’s crew, posing as bounty hunters, to cash in. The nobodies? They’re kept for hard labor or sold to nobles and tycoons as slaves. Human trafficking’s just another open business on Half-Moon Island.
Watching those two pirates drag their prisoner away, an idea sparks. I turn back to the group, a sly grin spreading across my face. “I’ve got a way to fix our manpower problem.”
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