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The Shanty Codex I, by Saint Morgan LeFay.
By the time Francis woke up, the sun was already halfway past the horizon. Infinitely better than sleeping until the afternoon—or a week, for that matter.
The temperature was comfortable, the air coming from outside refreshing, even the light of dawn pleasing to the eyes.
It was perfect.
Too perfect.
Which only meant one thing.
As if on cue, a knock came, spoiling the short-lived peace.
“Yes!” he shouted.
“Francis!” Leonie called from the other side. “We need to discuss something.”
Of course it’s her. Who else would it be?
Francis groaned softly and got up to open the door.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Someone had a blast yesterday,” Francis teased. Her liveliness made concentrating on his research rather difficult, but he managed.
“Oh, shut up,” Leonie shot back. “As if you don’t unwind every now and then.”
Yeah. By killing people.
“Anyway,” Leonie continued, “it appears that… we made a mistake.”
“Do tell,” Francis said, raising a brow.
Leonie began pacing. “The person who sold me the intel set us up. He omitted the fact that Ironhook wasn’t a loner.”
Francis tensed. “Please don’t say it.”
“He worked for Read,” Leonie replied.
The name gave Francis pause. Read was no Blackbeard, but compared to an Acolyte, he might as well be.
Francis took a deep breath before sitting on his bed. “So, what’s the plan?”
Leonie resumed pacing.
“The man is brutal, even by Pirate Warlord standards,” she explained. “Our best bet is to leave Orange Town and never return.”
Her assertiveness caught Francis by surprise. “What about your family?”
“Staying here is what’s going to endanger them,” she replied. “Pack up. We need to go.”
Francis was grateful to his laziness for once, as the beard he grew in the last month finally found a purpose to serve.
Assuming they’re stupid enough.
He then nodded to Leonie, gathered as many of his belongings as possible, and turned to her. “Lead the way, captain.”
***
Valeria half expected Logreef’s residents to be vigilant, even hostile. Yet, to her surprise, they looked… excited.
“Captain!” Daisy said as she approached. “Where did you go?”
Taking Daisy with her might’ve introduced certain complications, but that didn’t extend to merely telling her, and so Valeria didn’t hold back. “I’ve been chasing the rumored treasure.”
Daisy’s eyes lit up. “Any progress?”
“More or less,” Valeria shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
The pirate captain then turned to look at the townsfolk. “What’s the liveliness for?”
“I suggested going to the main island, as it had much more to do,” Daisy explained. “And they all agreed.”
All?
Valeria looked for the girl that confronted her on her first day on the island, but she was nowhere to be seen. That introduced a grim prospect, a prospect Valeria refused to linger on.
“Well,” the privateer began, “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a while longer.”
“What for?” Daisy asked, before instantly flinching. “Respectfully, of course.”
“I’ll tell you all about it when the time comes.”
***
“Leonie! Where to?” her brother shouted the moment he saw the two sprinting down the stairs.
“No time to explain,” Leonie replied, before rushing to him and embracing him.
“Leonie,” he said somberly. “What’s wrong?”
“Just… take care of mom, yeah?” his sister replied, seemingly on the verge of tears.
Francis didn’t know what to make of it, as he had neither parent nor sibling, but he remained quiet out of respect.
Leonie then rushed to his side once more, before the two exited the establishment.
The morning air would’ve been a small comfort, had they not been living on borrowed time, and so the pair abandoned all decorum and ran as fast as they could to the docks.
Francis didn’t know if they were going to find empty spots, if they were going to find a ship to begin with, or if they wouldn’t encounter Warlord Read on the very same dock. And it didn’t matter.
They had to do something lest Read found them on his own terms.
And quite the terms those would be.
Francis didn’t know much about the Warlords, but the one hunting them had his fair share of horror stories, and none had him as the victim.
If that man’s letter is to go by, anyway.
“You’re pondering, aren’t you?” Leonie said from beside him, surprisingly matching his stamina.
“How did you know?”
She smirked slightly. “The silence. It always accompanies your pondering.”
Francis chuckled despite himself. “I’m that predictable, huh?”
“Not really. I’m just good at reading people,” Leonie replied, before the two turned their full attention to running.
Stolen story; please report.
Eventually, the harbor became visible, and with it came a dozen ships. The two didn’t know where any of them were heading, and there was no one to explain.
“Blast it!” Leonie shouted. “At this rate, he’ll find us in no time.”
“Maybe they’ll appear soon?” Francis asked, trying to reassure her.
“Want to make the bet?”
Fair enough.
“Got any plans?” Francis asked, fully trusting her judgement. She was the brains of all of their operations, after all.
“Yeah,” she said, as she gestured to a few shops nearby. “Might as well blend in while we wait.”
***
Valeria didn’t smoke often, but the circumstances called for it.
As she lit her crudely made cigarette, she began considering her next move. Logreef viewed her as a savior; the main island viewed her as an invader, and half of her crew was missing.
The captain took a deep inhale before deciding to focus on what could be done instead of lamenting what couldn’t. The main island’s folk might not be the most enthusiastic about new neighbors, but it didn’t have to be abrupt; she could technically announce it a week beforehand, as a matter of fact.
As for Logreef itself, it all hinged on the ship’s cooperation.
Or submission.
With that settled, Valeria began climbing down the hill.
But of course, life had other plans.
“Captain!” Daisy shouted from above.
Valeria nearly lashed out before composing herself. Offending a Reverend never helped anyone.
“Yes, Daisy?” she replied calmly.
“Can I ask you something?” Daisy said as she climbed down.
“By all means, First Mate,” Valeria said, inwardly apologizing to Robert.
“Do you know where Pedro went?”
Six feet under.
“Why? Did you notice anything unusual?” Valeria replied with her own question.
Daisy shifted, seemingly uncomfortable.
“As I was relaxing, your attendant noticed Pedro heading towards the forest,” the younger woman explained. “At first I didn’t think much of it, but when I noticed you were absent as well, I felt uneasy.”
Valeria didn’t want to admit what she did, but there was no escaping it, lest she lose Daisy’s trust. “I killed him.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “What?”
“He was a murderer and a swindler,” Valeria continued. “He even tried to kill me.”
“But… why?” Daisy asked, seemingly thinking it unimaginable.
Valeria wasn’t exactly bewildered; the lad barely showed any emotional responses after all, and the ones he did show smelled of forgery.
And that required a closer eye.
“He wanted to use me as a scapegoat and attacked me using Enthral, so I rid the world of him.”
Her words appeared to unsettle Daisy, who took a moment to recover. “I… trust you.”
Huh?
“You’re not like Read,” Daisy explained. “You’re not the kind of person that hurts others for the sake of it.”
Valeria was at a loss. She didn’t know if Daisy was sincere or if it was another attempt at manipulating her.
Still, the woman didn’t have much of an incentive to stick around after unlocking her fourth Stanza, and that counted for something.
“I appreciate it,” Valeria replied at last, before handing Daisy her cigarette. “May I offer you some?”
Daisy looked slightly reluctant, then took the cigarette and inhaled. The motion resulted in her coughing slightly, but it was to be expected.
“How do you like this?” Daisy said, hierarchy a thing of the past.
“I don’t,” Valeria admitted. “It feels horrible.”
***
“Was this really the only option?” Francis asked as the pair entered the cramped room.
“I heard Read’s cabin was a lot more comfortable,” Leonie shot back. “Would you like to give it a try?”
“Point proven,” Francis replied begrudgingly. “But why this in particular?”
Leonie appeared to grow more frustrated. “Because no one cares about a ‘couple’ renting a room with a double bed.”
Oh.
“Aren’t you experienced?” Francis teased with an annoying smile.
“Francis, please. Now is not the time for your jokes.”
Her attitude was slightly surprising, but what was at stake made it understandable. Her whole family could be dead by dusk because of a simple mistake she made.
A mistake he helped her commit.
Leonie swiftly closed the door, then put her belongings near the bed, prompting Francis to do the same. She then began pacing as she usually did, while Francis sat on the double bed.
“So, now what?” he asked.
Leonie bit a fingernail in thought. “We lay low for a couple of days until we find an available ship.”
“Can’t we just pay extra?”
“Out of the question,” she replied. “That would draw too much unwanted attention.”
The woman truly thought of everything ahead; Francis would’ve complimented her, had they not been essentially caged.
That still left one last variable, however.
“Who’s going out from now on?” Francis asked.
“I can’t exactly change my appearance at a moment’s notice,” Leonie said. “But you can.”
“How?” Francis scoffed.
Leonie gestured to his lower face. “Shave that beard of yours before wearing your new clothes. You’ll be unrecognizable.”
Francis grew fond of his facial hair as of late, but there was no time for sentimentality.
“Got it,” he replied, hoping Read didn’t track them using Observation.