Chapter 173: The Skull Cruiser
Victor studied the necklace for a long moment, his weathered eyes tracing the faint shimmer of the dark blue liquid inside the vial.
"That explains it," Victor said at last. "That's why you sail wherever you please, without a care in the world. That necklace is nothing like our detection artifacts. Ours can barely sense the Sun Eater from a few miles out. Yours..." He paused. "Yours is something else entirely."
Jooquin grinned, tucking the vial back under his shirt.
"It was supposed to be a secret," he admitted. "But with that monster dead, there's no point hiding it anymore. When the Sun Eater was alive, this blood glowed bright blue the moment the creature came anywhere near." He tapped the vial through the fabric of his shirt. "But lately? Nothing at all. Just dark, lifeless liquid."
He spread his arms.
"So I concluded the obvious. The Sun Eater is dead."
Victor was quiet for a moment, processing the information. Then he nodded slowly.
"If what you're saying is true, then this is good news for the territory. That route has been closed for decades. Merchant ships lost. Fishing vessels destroyed. Entire fleets swallowed whole." His voice carried the weight of old losses. "If the Sun Eater is truly gone, we can reopen the sea lanes. Trade will return. The ports will thrive again. The whole region could prosper."
He fixed Jooquin with a sharp look.
"But you're not telling me this for free, are you?"
Jooquin barked a rough laugh and shook his head, the grin never leaving his face.
"Hah! Of course not. What kind of pirate do you take me for?" He leaned against the desk, his grin widening. "I don't care about trade routes. Let the nobles get fat on their tariffs, it's none of my concern."
Victor's expression shifted. His eyes narrowed with genuine curiosity. This wasn't like Jooquin. The infamous Skull Cruiser cared about one thing and one thing only: plunder. Trade routes, cargo ships, supply lines, those were his bread and butter. He'd built his reputation on knowing exactly where the wealth would flow and exactly when to strike.
So if he was standing here, in a Marquis's port office, offering information without asking for a cut of the trade revenue, then whatever he wanted was something else entirely.
"Then what is it?" Victor asked. "What could possibly interest you more than a reopened trade route?"
Jooquin's grin sharpened. He leaned in, lowering his voice.
"I found the Great Tartarus."
Victor's composure cracked for just a moment. His eyes widened, and he leaned forward against the desk before he could stop himself.
"The Great Tartarus?" he repeated. "Are you serious? That's a myth. A legend sailors tell when they're drunk. No one has ever confirmed it exists. No one has ever seen it and lived to tell the tale."
Jooquin didn't flinch. He met Victor's stare without blinking.
"I saw it with my own eyes," he said. "The Tartarus was swimming in open water, right where the Sun Eater used to patrol. I don't know if the Sun Eater was guarding it or just happened to share the same territory, but the moment that monster died, the seas opened up. I sailed further than I'd ever dared before. And I found it."
He spread his hands, his grin returning.
"Imagine it, Victor. A creature that big, roaming the open ocean for centuries, never once caught or catalogued. Think of the resources on its back. Rare minerals. Ancient flora. Maybe even artifacts from civilizations that tried to reach it and failed." He tapped the desk with one calloused finger. "We could be rich. Richer than any noble in this territory. Richer than the Marquis himself."
Victor was quiet for a long moment, studying the pirate's face. Then he asked the obvious question.
"If that's true, why are you here? Why not take your crew and plunder it yourself? You've got a ship. You've got men. You've got that necklace. You could have kept this to yourself and never told a soul."
"I'm not that stupid, Victor." Jooquin said.
He pulled the necklace out again, turning the vial of dead blood between his fingers.
"You think a creature like the Great Tartarus doesn't have a way to protect itself? I tried to approach it. Twice. Both times, my ship hit a barrier, some kind of magical wall that pushed us back like we were nothing. My best navigator nearly lost his mind trying to chart a path through it. My crew refused to go near the thing after the second attempt."
He tucked the necklace away and crossed his arms.
"I don't have a high-tier mage in my crew. Not one who can break through a barrier like that. So I can see the treasure. I just can't reach it."
Victor leaned back in his chair, understanding dawning on his face.
"I see," he said slowly. "You want to borrow our mages. You want us to break the barrier for you."
Jooquin nodded, his grin sharp as ever.
"Damn right. You provide the mages, I provide the location. We split whatever we find on the Tartarus. Fifty-fifty. Nobles get their resources, I get my cut, everyone's happy."
Jooquin watched Victor's expression shift, the way the general's gaze drifted toward the map, the way his fingers tapped once against the desk. He'd seen that look before. A man doing math in his head, weighing risks against rewards, calculating what he stood to gain and what he stood to lose.
That was the look of a man who was already considering it.
Jooquin leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, and decided to push a little harder.
"You're short on funds, aren't you?"
Victor's eyes snapped back to him, sharp and warning. But Jooquin didn't flinch.
"Don't bother denying it. Everyone in the territory knows. The Marquis raised taxes again this season. The fishing villages are struggling. The merchant guilds are complaining. Some of the smaller ports are barely hanging on." He tilted his head. "And that trade route you're so excited about? Even if the Sun Eater is dead, it'll take months, maybe years, before the sea lanes recover. Ships need to be rebuilt. Routes need to be charted. Trust needs to be earned."
He pushed off the wall and took a step closer to the desk.
"But the Great Tartarus is different. It's not a long-term investment. It's a single expedition. One trip, one score, and you walk away with enough resources to turn this territory around overnight."
Victor said nothing. His expression was calm, but Jooquin could see the flicker of interest behind his eyes.
"I'm not asking for much," Jooquin continued. "A few mages. A ship. Supplies for the journey. And in return, you get half of everything we find."
He spread his arms again with confidence.
"You could pull this territory out of debt. You could lower taxes. You could rebuild the ports and put the people back to work. All it takes is one expedition."
Victor let out a slow breath, his shoulders relaxing just slightly.
"And if you're lying?" he asked. "If there is no Great Tartarus? If this is just another pirate scheme to swindle us out of resources?"
Jooquin shrugged.
"Then you lose a few mages and a ship. A small loss. But if I'm telling the truth..." He tapped the desk. "You'll be remembered as the general who brought this territory back from the brink."
Victor stared at him for a long moment.
Then he rose from his chair and walked to the window.
He looked out at the vast sea, its gray surface stretching endlessly beneath the overcast sky, and understood that what Jooquin said held some truth. This was a golden opportunity to rise out of their difficulties. And even if Jooquin was lying, they wouldn't suffer much loss. A few mages. A single ship. That was all it would cost them.
But if he was telling the truth...
This was an opportunity the sea god had given them.
He turned back toward Jooquin.
"I'll bring this to the Marquis," he said. "It's not my decision to make. But if he approves..." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "Then we'll talk terms."
Jooquin grinned, his yellowed teeth flashing.
"That's all I ask, Victor. That's all I ask."