“Still want to take it from me?” Drake replied with a golden-toothed grin of his own.
Tanner laughed and slapped the table hard. A couple of nearby pirates, men from Drake’s crew, turned and looked, but they soon realised violence wasn’t on the cards.
“Why be king though, Drake?” Tanner said. “Word as I hear it says ya got all the money of a king with none of the shit that comes with it. So why? Unless it’s just to prove ya in charge.”
Drake narrowed his eyes. He didn’t credit Tanner with an abundance of subtlety, but neither did he trust the man, and that seemed like a decent policy given it wasn’t thirty days ago that Tanner had been about to cut out Drake’s tongue with a rusty knife. Drake rubbed the scab on his nose and winced.
“Legitimacy,” he said, and it was almost half the truth. “I might have money, but if I sail into Sarth I’ll still get my neck stretched just the same as any common criminal. If I can legitimise the Pirate Isles, make peace with Sarth, and the Five Kingdoms and Acanthia and the Dragon Empire, then I can go anywhere. We can go anywhere.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Think, Tanner. No more hiding, skulking into shit hole ports to sell things at a tenth of what they’re worth.”
“No more piracy,” Tanner rumbled, his smiles and laughter long gone.
“Nothing ever works out quite the way it’s planned, Tanner. There’ll still be fights to be had and ships to be robbed, but we make it so everyone wants to pass through our waters pays a tax, and we use that money to build real towns here in the isles. We won’t just be pirates any more – we’ll be the greatest damned navy the world has ever seen. That’s real power. The power to influence the world.”
“And that’s why.” Tanner stared at Drake, and there was real evil in his eyes. “Ya want the type of power even money can’t buy, only loyalty, and those that are loyal willing to lay down their lives for ya.”
Drake had to give Tanner something for being more perceptive than he would have guessed. “Aye,” he said, and waited for the pirate’s response.
“Ya got bigger stones than I guessed, Drake. Just remember who’s helping ya get there, and know I can take away my support at a moment’s notice.”
Drake was about to respond to the veiled threat when the door to the tavern opened and three Riverlanders swaggered in, followed by Deun Burn himself, all of them with tattooed faces. Captain Burn snarled at the gathered crowd of drunken, celebrating pirates, before his gaze settled on Drake’s table and he made his way over, his kin behind him.
“You order a Riverlander?” Drake asked Tanner.
Tanner spat. “No one ever wants to see one of those vagrant bastards.”
Deun stopped at the table and made a show of standing over Drake, looking down at him. Drake took the opportunity to ignore the man and sup on his ale, which, unfortunately, was on the verge of running dry.
“Morrass,” Deun hissed eventually, after it became clear to everyone that Drake wasn’t willing to pay the man any attention.
“Captain Burn,” Drake said with false cheer. “I didn’t notice you standing there. Pull up a chair, why don’t you? You know Tanner Black?”
The captain of Rheel Toa eyed Tanner suspiciously before looking around for a chair and finding none spare. “So it’s true? Even Captain Black works for you now.”
Drake smiled at Deun. “More of an alliance, really. What happened to Captain Khan? I’ve heard reports that he sailed away just after meeting with you, and he hasn’t come back yet. I ordered him to guard New Sev’relain. I’m a little curious as to what would have made him sail off like that.”
“He was betrayed,” Deun said with a grim set to his skull-tattooed face. “We were all betrayed.”
Drake glanced across the table to find Tanner looking right back. “Betrayed by who?”
“One of my brothers. Captain of Berris Dey. He tricked the big fool into sailing after a ship in our waters. It was a trap. Set by the Five Kingdoms and baited by my hitschkk of a brother.”
Drake had no idea what the Riverlander had just said, only that the word made his ears hurt. “I’d quite like to meet this captain of Berris Dey,” he said. He’d seen the ship floating out in the bay.
“He has been dealt with,” Deun Burn said with a nod.
“How can I be sure of that?”
Deun looked at Drake. The man might have looked confused, but the skull tattoo that covered his face hid the subtleties of his expression. He quickly fiddled at his belt and retrieved a pouch, opening it and dumping a patch of leather on the table between Drake and Tanner. It was a crude thing, a circle of leather with a few holes and a pattern like scales.
“We removed his honour,” Deun said, straightening up and standing to his full height.
Drake looked down at the circle of leather again, and then up to find Tanner Black grinning madly in the lantern light.
“That’s his face, isn’t it?” Drake said.
Deun Burn nodded.
“You people do some weird shit,” Drake said, glancing at the patch of skin and trying to keep his stomach from turning. “What happened to the rest of him?”
Deun picked up the flap of skin and tucked it back into its pouch. “Dealt with.”
“You ate him, didn’t you?” Drake said.
Tanner Black laughed, a deep noise that somehow drowned out the din around them.
“Did you at least find out how much the owner of that face told the Five Kingdoms bastards before you filled ya bellies?”
Captain Burn’s skull face frowned. “No.”
“Because I reckon there’s a good chance he told them where this place is. If he knew where New Sev’relain is, then now so do they.” Drake slammed his fist against the table, launched to his feet, and stormed past the Riverlander, not caring if either of the other two captains followed him.
Outside the tavern, Drake stopped and stared up towards the treeline and then down towards the docks. Deun Burn burst outside after him, followed lethargically by Tanner Black, who still seemed more amused by the situation than anything else.
“We’re gonna need folk in the forest, watching,” Drake said, holding up his hand against the bright sunlight. “I was at Old Sev’relain, and they landed on the far side of the island, came out of the trees before any of us knew what was happening. Surprise being their best weapon, I guess.”
“They would never survive the forests of the Isle of Goats,” Tanner said with pride in his voice. “Fango is a safer town.”
“Aye,” Drake conceded. “Maybe. But this little island ain’t called many deaths for nothing, Tanner. They might make it over the beaches and through the forest, but they’ll pay a heavy toll. Still best to have folk out there watching though.”
Looking towards the docks again, Drake saw Keelin Stillwater slogging his way up the sandy stretch. The man had that little wench of his with him and they seemed deep in conversation.
“We’re gonna need weapons,” Drake said. “I want every pirate armed and every spare weapon – sword, axe, or sharp stick – in the hands of the townsfolk. Prioritise those who know how to use them. We arm as many folk as possible.”
He turned back to Deun and Tanner to find the two men not jumping to his commands. Tanner had stopped grinning and was regarding Drake curiously. Deun seemed caught between the two of them, waiting for Tanner to fall in line before he would himself. Drake took a step forward and stared up at Tanner. The big pirate did not look cowed.
“Ya really wanna make ya stand here, Morrass?” Tanner said slowly. “Fango is better for it. With a few bows and those who can use them we could hold Fango against an army.”