Chapter 1832: Pirates! Pirates!
As the ship drew closer, Davos Harbor gradually came into view.
Mount Davos rose beside the sea like a slumbering giant, its massive silhouette dominating the coastline. At its foot sprawled the city itself, protected by towering walls and countless watchtowers.
The harbor was even more impressive.
Hundreds upon hundreds of masts rose into the night sky. Merchant cogs, fishing boats, and naval vessels crowded the waters, all moving in a seemingly chaotic dance that somehow functioned with perfect order.
The closer the ship sailed, the denser the traffic became.
Then, before the vessel could reach the docks, a smaller harbor boat detached itself from the sea of ships and moved to intercept them.
The inspection had arrived.
At the bow of the ship, Captain Stryker stood alongside several members of his crew, ready to welcome the harbor officials aboard. The pirates wore their merchant disguises, their expressions calm and their manners respectable. They had done this several times before.
Suddenly, Stryker frowned.
He felt a faint disturbance in the mana. His eyes sharpened instantly, and he snapped his head toward the lower decks.
Someone had just used mana.
The fluctuation was weak, but within the waters of Davos Harbor, even the slightest disturbance could attract unwarranted attention, especially for them.
A dangerous glint flashed across the Captain’s eyes.
Had the harbor officials not been moments away from boarding the ship, he would have personally gone below deck and made an example out of the fool responsible.
He beckoned to a pirate and whispered, "Go check the merchandise."
"Aye, Cap’n."
The pirate immediately turned and headed below deck.
Stryker kept his gaze fixed on the doorway leading downward for a moment before looking away. Whatever had caused the disturbance could wait.
The harbor officials were about to come aboard.
***
The pirate descended the stairs and hurried along the corridor leading to the ship’s lower decks.
Just as he rounded a corner, he spotted a figure emerging from one of the rooms and locking the door behind him.
"Swale?" The pirate frowned. "The hell’re ye doin’ down ’ere? So it was ye!"
The scar-faced pirate with yellowed teeth, Swale, turned to the pirate and grumbled.
"Had to teach that slave brat a lesson," he said.
The pirate scoffed. Crossing his arms, he stopped in front of Swale.
"The Cap’n’s gonna have a word with ye later. Ye must be a damn fool to use mana in these waters."
Swale’s eyes glinted.
"Oh?" A light frown spread across his face. "We’re still outside Davos, ain’t we? Who cares if I used a little mana? Hell, who cares if I use mana inside Davos?"
The pirate sneered.
"Idiot! Ever heard o’ regulations? Cities like this got rules. And have ye forgotten?"
His eyes narrowed, and his next words were cold as ice.
"We ain’t merchants."
With that said, he let out a huff and turned around.
Swale stood there for a few moments, watching the pirate’s retreating back as he sank into thought.
So there are regulations against casting magic inside Davos?
His frown deepened.
That means... I’ll have to return to my real appearance before leaving the harbor.
"What’re ye standin’ around for?" the pirate turned and barked. "Move it. We got work to do."
"Aye," Swale replied with a nod.
Then he followed the pirate to the main deck.
***
Upon reaching the main deck, Adam — wearing Swale’s face — saw the harbor officials speaking with Captain Stryker and his first mate.
Questions were asked, and answers were given. Port of origin, cargo manifests, purpose of visit, and all related information were divulged to the officials. Of course, most of what Stryker said was a lie.
Still, the initial inspection was little more than a formality. One of the officials present was already on Stryker’s payroll and ensured that everything proceeded smoothly.
After a lengthy discussion and a superficial sweep of the ship, the vessel was cleared to enter the harbor.
However, that did not mean they could dock immediately.
Davos Harbor handled enormous traffic every day, and docking space was extremely valuable. Hundreds of ships arrived daily, all competing for limited berths.
So the vessel joined the queue and waited for its turn.
Only several hours later was the ship finally directed to dock.
During that time, Adam’s nerves were stretched to the limit. He was drowning in tension, yet none of it showed on his face. He continued chatting with the rest of the crew, speaking exactly as he had seen Swale speak in the past six months.
At one point, Stryker pulled him aside.
Adam became so nervous that he thought his heart might burst out of his chest. He had never used the Faceless Mask to fool someone an entire rank above him, after all.
Fortunately, Stryker seemed to notice nothing amiss beyond the fact that Adam appeared slightly tense. But the captain simply assumed it was because they were posing as merchants and entering Davos under false pretenses.
The captain reprimanded him for daring to use mana near the harbor.
That was all.
As the ship finally made port, a small army of harbor officials led by a harbor inspector descended upon it.
Docking fees, cargo duties, harbor taxes, and various other levies were collected. Davos was one of the busiest trade hubs in the region, and the city earned a fortune from the endless flow of commerce passing through its harbor.
After docking, the vessel underwent another round of inspection. This one was far more thorough than the first.
Officials searched cargo holds, examined manifests, and questioned crew members. Every corner of the ship seemed to come under scrutiny.
No one inspected the lowest deck where the slaves were hidden away. Courtesy of the harbor official on Stryker’s payroll, of course.
Coincidentally, however, no one checked the room where Swale’s corpse rested inside a wardrobe.
Another hour passed before the inspection was finally completed.
At last, the ship was cleared, and Captain Stryker and his crew were granted permission to disembark.
Of course, the pirates’ work was far from over.
Before they could spend their coin in the taverns and brothels of Dock Borough, they still had business to tend to.
The cargo had to be moved.
Under the cover of the night, they would rendezvous with their contacts among the warehouses lining the harbor. From there, the slaves and other illicit goods would be quietly transferred through a network of hidden routes known only to smugglers and criminals.
The final destination was Dark Port, the sprawling black market hidden beneath the city.
Only after the merchandise had changed hands and the coin had been collected could the pirates truly relax.
And judging by the grins on many of their faces, they were already looking forward to that moment.
However, unfortunately for them, they wouldn’t be sleeping in the arms of whores that night.
They would be sleeping in the cold embrace of prison cells.
The moment Adam stepped off the gangplank and his feet touched the pier, his face twisted and squirmed. He pulled up his hood, then spun around and pointed a trembling finger at the crew.
"Pirates! Pirates!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "That’s the Stryker Pirates! The Stryker Pirates are here!"
Silence descended for a brief moment upon that section of the harbor.
Everyone had heard him.
The word pirate was all it took. Any thoughts of verification instantly vanished.
The next moment, the people on the pier, including the harbor officials, hurriedly backed away from the pirates who had just disembarked.
The Stryker Pirates themselves froze in shock.
Then a voice cut through the silence.
"Summon the Watch!"
All hell broke loose.
The Stryker Pirates scattered in every direction, fleeing for their lives as panic swept through the docks.
And somewhere amidst the chaos, a young man with a dark stubble on his head and a small bone-white patch near his temple quietly snickered.
