Wordlessly, I stomped over to the chest, having Kingsbane banished to its ethereal realm again, and opened it. I debated absorbing it all on the spot, but I thought better of it. That was a nice chest, and I would take it. If that was pettiness, so be it, Bones be damned. The crew would benefit from seeing the fruits of our labor as well, so there was that.

I slammed it shut, and fell on top of it, throwing the Ravenbeak onto the stone before me, as I bound something around my wounds, as best as I was able to. I felt the vow we had made, that long time ago the first time I had visited the Fulcrum, conclude with a little notification and the feeling as if my ears were popping under a lifted pressure. The quest was done.

Bones just watched me, eyes still wide and...excited from the fighting. I watched him warily and felt the tiredness in my body. All of it always was a test, a struggle, a fight, or a move on a divine chessboard. Bones had played his hand, and now it was my time to answer. If only...If only things could be easy and peaceful for once. My heart longed for it. I had known that Bones was not a friend of mine, not by a longshot.

”I have responsibilities, Bones. And you do too if I judge you correctly. We both have mortals under our protection I, for one, cannot leave behind. Not yet.“

“A freebooter knows when his time to leave has come. My crew has grown fat and lazy. They are ready to retire very soon on an island where no stupid questions will be asked.“ Bones laughed.

“Well, the answer is no, then. And it would have been without the fight.“

Bones shrugged. “Fair enough. I respect the decisions of those that would sail with me. We are not the navy, after all. I had to give it a good try, though.“

”Did you? Damn you all.“ I murmured, surprised by the ease he accepted my decision with. ”Is every godling I meet insane?“

Bones laughed. ”Insane or tragic, yes. How else would he make a good story out of his first life? But I am nothing like the Jester in that regard. To be honest, I am more astounded that you managed to bring him to your side, however brief, than that you truly had the balls to come to meet the Admiral of the Scarlet Tide alone.“

”Smart men tried to talk me out of it. But I know nothing of the sea. And they did not know what I knew.“

”And what would that be, Raven?“ He leaned forward, his foot on a rock and his hands atop his knee.

“That we want the same thing, you and I. And I am not talking about being free and answering to no one. Everyone would say that. No. You just spent a thousand Shards to pay for the death of a slaver no one had ever heard of. Why?“

Bones grinned knowingly, his teeth still stained with his blood. ”Why, indeed?“

”Because you cannot stand the thought of men and women in chains as much as I can. Because you knew that Bloodbraid had an advantage no one you knew could challenge and that he had reason to take slaves, countless slaves. and you did something against it.“

He shrugged again. “True as well. Still, I hated him. He did escape my wrath and I did not like that one bit.“

”A thousand Shards worth of hatred? I do not believe that.“

“Believe what you will, Raven. But you will learn to spend more freely soon enough if what you say is true. People, Raven, people that depend on you, will give something in return, sooner or later. And what is another Skill, another level of something I could buy instead, against actual lives?“

“I know. It is why I trusted you. It is why I came. Because you are a good man, at heart.“

Now he snorted. “Again, not something I would bet my ship‘s portion of rum on. But I agree that I hate slavers. So what does that make us now?“

“That makes us people in a position of power that want the same particular thing. A thing we can work together on.“

”You know what I want. I said it the first time we met.“ He had been idle before, but now he fixated me with a serious stare. “What is the secret to sailing the Shattered Sea?“

I took a deep breath. And I felt it would be a mistake to obfuscate anything. If I wanted something out of this meeting, I had to be open and honest about it. Bones had made it clear that he did not like anything else.

“I have the secret. And it‘s no small one, either. But I cannot give it to you, not like that. Because the secret protects the slaves I have freed from Barak Bloodbraid. And will do so for a long time, if the knowledge is kept hidden. I do not mean to cut you short, but I cannot give you what you want.“

„Lad, among us unsavory folk there is a code as much as anywhere else. We take what we want when we want it, that much is true, but there are...limits. It is nothing but a fancy I have, to see every corner of the world. And it would be nice to have a secure haven to return to without the nuisance of being hunted or harried. You need not fear for the safety of your people.“

“My answer is still no.“ There. I had made my point. Everything else now was a bonus.

“Then I do not understand why we are still talking“.“ Bones frowned.

“Because I do not trust you now. But I could learn to trust you. And I cannot endanger my people in the Shattered Sea but in Limbo? The sea of gods? We can work together there. The slaves you free from the Fallen Empire, where do they go? I can take them off your hands! I will even pay you for them, one gold coin each, so they can live in peace with their brethren, under my protection.“

He stroked his beard, thinking. Then gestured me to keep talking.

And I did. ”You can pick your prey if, as you said it would happen, other nations smell the easy bounty and come to the hunting grounds. There is no need for you or yours to go after mine. I want your ships to leave them alone.“

“There is in this world but one thing I want, besides my fancies. Give my crew a home when they are done with the life of a pirate. You can have the rest, it is no matter to me, and no sport, to hunt and annoy freed slaves and the weak. But I care for my crew and my men. They might have nowhere to go. You cannot allow me or my ships into your harbor? Fine. But those that want to retire...I will not take no for an answer. They must be allowed to stay a year and a day at the very least, to wash their names away from the wanted posters. They might want to leave after that, they might not.“

”They would learn the secret, then.“ I said.

“But I would not. Not for a year and a day and maybe never.“ He grinned. “Think about it, Raven. A lot can happen in a year. Who are you to say your secret holds for that long?“

I thought about it, long and hard. And then I nodded. What else was there to do or say? I had to take a risk, at some point. And he was right. A lot would happen in a year. And the secret was out there, with the Wyldlings at the very least. Just not the means to do something about it, because they could do nothing without the actual Dragonamber. As was true for the pirates.

“I will provide a safe haven for your retirees for a year and a day. But I will not take anybody in before the winter has passed. I am in no position to fill even more bellies with what we have.“

He spat in his hands and reached out. “A vow seems to be in order, here.“

“Not so fast. I get immunity from the Scarlet Tide in return? What else? What do you do with the ships you take and the people of the Fallen Empire you free. Do you accept to bring them to me?“

He thought. “The ships are money to be lost, but I can give you the shoddy ones I would sink otherwise, and the slaves to row them. For one cold coin per head. But just because I am a saint and a better man than you have any right to meet.“ His teeth glistened through his grinning lips.

“Is this isle a good point to meet for that very purpose? We could leave firewood behind and you burn a light if there are people to gather, and I would leave the gold right here when I am done collecting them.“

“It is the perfect spot. Miserable piece of land surrounded by tricky shallows every captain tries to avoid if he is not good enough. Which most aren‘t.“

“Then we will speak the vow.“ I grabbed his spit-filled hand and shook it, frowning at the sensation.

“Raise a scarlet flag and dip it three times, if you see a ship with red sails in your wake. If they belong to the Scarlet Tide, and they would be insane if they are wearing our colors without our permission, they will leave you be. If you need to find one of us, ask in the dirtiest taverns you can find in the harbors of the world after a Bone-Dry rum, stiff and wet.“

I raised an eyebrow at that. ”Seriously?“

”Let no one say that being a pirate does not have its moments of humor or is dull.“ He grinned once more.

“I accept.“

And the vow was made.

I returned to my ship and more or less ignored all the stares and pointed questions about my well-being, but I dragged a sizable chest behind me and that was deterrent enough for most of them. I even evaded the question of Locksley, which he took as his cue to so raise his eyebrows at me for the rest of the trip, but I stayed resilient and quiet.

I would keep that business with the retired pirates to myself for a good long while. Maybe ever. They could join in with the other fugitives and keep their head low because that was exactly what they wanted in the first place. I told the sailors how to keep the Scarlet Tide off their backs, though. The rest was my business.

We sailed past Veneir and Higgins on their hulk and gave them the same information. They dipped their flag in greeting as they sailed westward, toward the markets of Khondor. And the Albatross returned to Ravenport.

Time went by quickly, as I mulled over the ifs and buts of that auspicious meeting over and over and yet I saw no fault beyond dealing with pirates in the first place. It all made sense. The feeling of unease remained nonetheless, like a bad taste that just won‘t leave your mouth.

I was too seasick on the way back to much use the spare time I had otherwise, but it made me appreciate the dry land of Ravenport even more, as I finally jumped down to earth again, greeted by the cheers of the people and Thimotheus waiting to board the Albatross in my stead. Locksley just took a few hours to bunker water and provisions and off he went, north towards the Swan Bay and the White Tower.

I returned home. My friends and confidants were gone on their respective missions. I swore to make it a productive couple of weeks that would overshadow every one of their little adventures. There was unknown land to explore, after all. I allowed myself a smile. Hope fluttered in my chest, things were looking up, for once.