All twenty-eight Captains joined Alex and Nela in the cave. Without the abundance of pirates fighting for a spot, the cavern was spacious enough for a proper meeting. But while the tall Captain of the Driftwoods Dogs commented that he could finally breathe without smelling Kalin's rotten smell all over, Alex smelled it everywhere. Her hands, her clothes, her very skin. Tonight, she would smell it her dreams too.

Still, that wasn't the reason Ilona walked around her in an arc as wide as the cave allowed. Though curious about Pan's condition, Alex refrained from approaching her. The scowl on Ilona's face a herald for a snapping conversation, which would benefit neither. She decided to talk to her Captain after the ceremony when they knew their destination for spring and summer.

She met up to Nela instead. "I know you lot find me a foolish Greenie, but what—"

Nela interrupted her. "A fool and a Greenie, you are without a doubt. But I would have never chosen you if I didn't think you would be the right person to become our Boyar."

"So you didn't pick me to spite Captain Ilona?"

"That too," Nela said, not a tinge of regret. "Yet the crowd has spoken, young Boyar.  At the back of the cave, you'll find a box containing a map a large black pawn, and a set of seven dices—one for each of the Gods. You'll place the pawn at Porthby, ask around which crews are interested in pillaging the place. You cast the dice for them. The highest number wins.  Then we move to the next town. The winning crew can try their luck again, but after the second win, they must rise and leave the cave."

Alex nodded. "And your task?" She wanted to know why the old Boyarina was still there.

"I shall be your scribe—write down the division of towns," Nela said. "A task reserved for a Boyar's spouse. Since you're unmarried..."

"You can do it until the end of time. I don't plan on getting married... ever."

"So say half of the Jade Daughters. The Goddess of Lust always finds a way, and that's not as bad as it sounds."

"She's a Goddess of Sin," Alex retorted.

"How can it be a sin when it feels so good, Young Boyar?"

Because it corrupts you. Alex heard her mother's voice in her head. Those who follow the path of Sin shall be smitten, forever burning in eternal flames.

She imagined a storm of green fire coming from the sea, sinking the ships, then coming ashore, the flames swallowing every man and woman before surrounding the cave, trapping the Captains in the Cove of Elo forever. The Greenlands would be saved. Seb could become King without ever having to worry about Jade Islandic Pirates storming the beaches and ports.

A dream. It wouldn't be that easy. She still had her part to play.

She ran up the platform and scoured the back of the caves. Hidden in a niche at the height of her bosom, she found a rusty iron box with even rustier clasps. To her surprise,  they clacked open with a single push. 

While the exterior was damp, the items inside seemed untainted by the wet conditions in the cave. The green book looked shabby but was completely dry. The writing went back forty years. While the oldest scribbles were fainting, she could still read them. The Sailing Ghosts were mentioned, her father's old crew.

She cast the book aside and picked up the pawn. There wasn't a scratch on the tall obsidian toy that seemed to have been stolen from a chess set. The dice were Jade Green, something Queen Crystal or Lana would pay a fortune for, even if the only purpose was to show off the beauty of the items. 

And then the map. As she unfolded it and laid it down in the circle where the Captains had gathered, she realised she had seen a similar copy once before, in King Thomas' office. It was as big as maps could get before becoming impractically large. She fit twice in the distance from Porthby to Burnfirth-By-Sea, over a thousand miles in reality.  Where could the Pirates have gotten this from? Loot from a previous raid? It had to be.

She placed the pawn on Porthby and sat down in the circle, the dice in front of her, Nela scribbling behind her. 

"Who wants to go to Porthby?" she asked, trying to sound confident. Her voice vibrated through the cave, the uncertainty clear. She cleared her throat.

The Captains looked at each other, feet shuffling, chewing noises and a raspy cough from Captain Miro, leader of the Morian Phantoms. 

Alex waited but nobody moved a muscle. Porthby was a small port, the last stop in the east before heading into Silvermark territory. It would be like invading Laneby. Other than crops and a few weapons, they could only steal lives there.

Still, no movement?

She was about to repeat the question when the greying Captain of the Jade Hogs raised his hand. It was the signal others had been waiting for. The Jade Daughter followed, as did the Helmsman of the Harpoons who hadn't been officially promoted to Captain yet. Two more followed. 

She rolled the dice for each of the crews and pained her brain calculating the sum of the numbers. Suddenly, she felt glad for the hours and hours that Lady Karen had spent with her, repeating the same basic sums until she got them all right. 

The Jade Hogs landed on thirty-two, the Jade Daughter eighteen, the Harpoons twenty-three. The Red Water Crew made it to twenty-nine. For the last crew, she threw four sixes, then a three, and two twos. Thirty-one. The Captain of The Wind's Breath sighed in relief, while the Jade Hog scratched dandruff from his scalp, a worried look in his eyes. His second town would have to be bigger.

Alex moved the pawn. There were more candidates for Mistport. About half of the Captains raised their hands to get a chance at invading the real last big Greenlander port in the North East. Both the Bloody Eels and the Morian Phantoms landed on thirty-five. 

"Roll again," Nela whispered.

Twenty-five against seventeen. 

The Bloody Eels would sail east.

The next three towns were smaller villages like Porthby. Rastville went to The Night Ghosts, Midby to The Wild Onyx Martyrs. The Bloody Eels captured Lestcove, after which their Captain stood up and went outside.

In all this time, Captain Ilona hadn't moved a muscle. Neither did she for Faithmouth in the south. She looked distracted, always glancing at the exit and fidgeting with the buckle of her top belt. Did Pan's injury give her a change of heart? Was she done living the Pirate ways?

The Driftwood Dogs won Faithmouth, as well as the neighbouring town of Faithwood. The stout Captain with a permanent frown on his face looked content as he left the circle.

By the time she had reached the bottom half of the map, Alex felt more confident. Casting aside the dire consequences for the townspeople, this was a betting game, and she was in control. She received praise and pats on the back from the Captains landing on the right place and felt strangely powerful when a big crew like the Morian Phantoms lost a big town to one of the smaller crews.

Thanks to Nela's book, she had all the information to prepare the Greenlanders for the imminent attacks.

The grand prize was the Port of Diligence. The reason was clear; while the smaller towns could only be invaded once, perhaps a second time near the end of summer when the village had recovered from the first attack, the Port was an endless supply of fresh loot, comparably to the Ician Cave of Abundance in Nick's stories. Attacking the Port hurt The Greenlands the most, and thus it hurt the monarchy.

Captain Ilona did raise her hand when the pawn moved to the Port. All Captains still in the cave did so. Alex's wrists began to hurt, and her ribs too. She gritted her teeth and kept rolling.  Seventeen, Twenty-four, Ten, Thirty, Twenty-five, Twenty-six. Thirty-eight for Captain Ilona. The highest number she had seen thus far. Alex's heart skipped a beat—a return to the Port of Diligence. What would she do?

Then came The Silent Sharks. Selachii's old crew. A five. A six. Another five. A third five. A six. That was twenty-seven. The cast the sixth die. She couldn't believe her eyes when it landed on a six again. Thirty-three. 

All was still possible when she threw the last die with great force. It rolled over the top of the map, along the Horseshoe Mountains. It stopped right beneath Whitepeak.

A six.

"No!" Ilona pounded her fists against the floor. Wrath dominated the features in her face. "Cursed girl."

Meanwhile, the Captain of the Silent Sharks raised his head to the caves' ceiling. "Thank the Gods," he muttered. "This one's for you, Selachii." He took a swig from the bottle.

"Next, Rangerport," Alex told the Captains. The outcome didn't matter. Whoever would invade the Port, the Greenlander army would be ready—she would make sure they were. It was for the best that the crew who had saved her from certain death at sea wouldn't be pierced by Greenlander arrows.

With every town they passed on the west coast, fewer Captains remained in the circle. The Jade Daughters managed to win Birchhead and Westpool. Captain Miro lost Boringham to The Wild Onyx Martyrs but won the twin town on the other shore of Fortitude's mouth, Fortmouth.

Ilona's luck was over. Each time, Alex rolled for the Kraken's Kiss, the eyes landed on ones, twos and threes. Maybe a four.  A single five or six, every couple of rounds.

In the end, only three crews remained. The Krakens, the Skulls, and the hooded Captain of the Faceless Ones. While the Faceless Ones had captured a relatively big port in the south, both the Krakens and the Skulls were still without a destination. The tension lay so thick and hot Alex was sweating.

"Burnfirth-By-Sea." Her voice had become raw from all the talking. She needed a drink, a proper drink. Something other than Palm Tears.

All three Captains raised their hand.

"Don't start with me," Captain Ilona said. "Leave the Kraken's Kiss for last."

"Then start with us," the hooded Captain said.

She took the dices in her hand and dropped them to the floor in a single movement. There was a two, two threes, a four, a six, a one, and... the last landed on four eyes.

Twenty-four, she counted quickly. Not high, but not very low either.

"Captain Tore," Alex addressed the long-haired Captain of the Skulls, a detail she found amusing.

"Roll," he replied with rolling r.

She rolled two fours, a six, a three and two ones. Then a two. Twenty-one.

The man buried his face in his hands. The Skulls had no town to raid. While the man seemed desperate, he had no idea he and his crew were about to dodge an unheroic death. She hoped the same fate would befall Ilona. The Krakens would have to forgive her later.

Ilona closed her eyes when Alex threw the dice onto the map. The numbers looked high.

Alex sat on her knees. She saw two fours, a six and a five. Her eyes darted towards the three and the other three. Twenty-five. She didn't even look at the seventh die anymore; she didn't need to. Burnfirth belonged to the Krakens!

"It's yours!" she screamed at Ilona. "We know where to go now."

Ilona wasn't happy. She got up, looking down at her. "Where we shall go. Not you, Greenie." 

"What? But you won the town." Alex cocked her head. The rejection stung, and she found that she wasn't getting treated fairly. Ilona had placed a bet and lost. "If this is about Pan—It was his choice to fight Selachii, not mine."

"No, stupid girl," she scoffed. "I have the spoils of one meagre town close to Silvermark to feed my crew for the next year. I need to make choices. First in, first out. Don't return to the Kraken. You've outstayed your welcome." 

Alex looked at Tore, but he too shook his head. "It's going to be a tough year without an extra head needing food and entertainment."

"Why don't you bloody attack Socota then?" Alex gestured wildly.

"King Halden pretends we don't exist as long as we aren't a threat to our own people." It was Nela who spoke. "Attacking Socota would be like stabbing our own heart for the sake of gold. It's a fool's errand, and we ain't fools."

"Neither am I."

She wasn't going to stay on the island with Nela, watching the sandworms grow bigger around Kalin's grave and the birds feasting on Selachii's corpse. Sure, she would be able to spend her days fishing and hunting and wait for another year to do the dicing ceremony all over again, but that was a boring and meaningless life that wouldn't bring her closer to the end of the Pirates. She needed to join another crew.

Her best shot would be with Learta of The Bloody Eels. Lestcove and Mistport would give the Eels the prospect of a good year, so they might approve of another pair of hands working for them. Besides, Learta had wanted to speak to her anyway. About Father.

The helmsman agreed to a meeting. He took her away from the beach where the booze flowed so freely it was hard not to stumble over the empty bottles. Men and women, not necessarily in pairs, engaged in activities instigated by the Goddess of Lust. He helped her aboard the Eel, a three-master with a bulging hull, two decks, a row of gunports and sails so large they blocked the crescent moon in the sky.

Learta leaned against the rail, his elbows on the wood. "She's a fine ship. Few decades old, so starting to show some defect, but the old Lady moves swiftly. We've had a couple of good years. Soon we'll be able to purchase a new Eel."

"What will happen to this one?" Alex asked.

"We strip down what we can still use. The rest we sell. The Greenlanders think of us as the great evil ones, but when we're not raiding their village, we're simple merchants. We go wherever we think we can sell our wares."

"Stolen wares."

"Our buyers don't know that." Learta shrugged. "Or they don't care."

Enough small talk. "You knew my father."

Learta nodded. "Knew him really well. We did a few raids together when we were young. Never a big haul, but substantial enough for Kalin to notice us. We joined the union, got ourselves some towns assigned. It was when the real work started. Your father chickened out after the first big attack."

"Of course, he wasn't a murderer like you lot."

"Don't underestimate your old man, Alex," Learta hummed. "Your father was a traitor, caused the downfall of the Ghosts. Owed me a substantial amount of money too when he disappeared."

"He went to The Greenlands," Alex assumed.

"No, I learnt a few years later that he first spent some time hiding in Socota, working wherever he could find work. Heard he was miserable when he befriended the eldest Greenlander Prince who came to visit King Halden. That was when he left the Islands for good. He still owes me a thousand copecks." Learta made it sound as though he wanted her to pay Father's old debt.

"I don't have any money. But I don't have a crew—Ilona kicked me out. I could work on the Eel and—"

"No, I don't want you here. Neither will Driton when I remind him whose daughter you are. And where you come from." Learta drew a dagger from the belt on his upper leg. He pointed the brown hilt at her. Sycamore leaves. Seb's dagger. "I heard this was yours."

Nagi had had that dagger. "Where did you get it from?"

"The Kraken Helmsman, won it in a bet. Had to when he boasted he stole it from you and then won it from you a second time. He's a big oaf with little Greenlander knowledge, but I know what this means." His finger tapped on the leaf. "Royalty, am I wrong?"

"I got it from a friend," Alex said, just to say something. Though she should have held her tongue.

"A present even, well-well." He placed the dagger on the rail. "You don't look like the type who sucks up to people in high places."

"Because I'm not."

"Then why are you are, poor lost Greenie girl who happened to drift on the Jade Sea the week of the dicing," Learta said. "Your King has a reputation, even here."

"He's not my King. I'm a Jade Islander," Alex stammered. She glanced at the dagger, Seb's dagger, her dagger. If only she could reach it.

Retreating the weapon, Learta tutted. "Denying makes you look even more suspicious, Alex. And it's useless. I could return to the beach and tell them all about your... home. Everybody's so drunk out of their skulls that you'll join old stinking Kalin in his grave in no time."

"You could kill me right here and right now. Throw me overboard, pretend nothing happened."

"I could."

"But you won't," Alex tried.

"I won't." He gave her half a shake of the head. "Troubling times are upon us. It may not seem so for an outsider, but the Pirates are growing, and not in a good way. New crews are born out of old ones. Half of the men leaving the cave were unhappy and had to tell their crew the Gods weren't in their favour. There's too many of us and not enough Greenlander villages to raid. Last time we were at each other's throat too many innocent people died. It was a long and messy war. Nobody wants to return to that."

"Then what do you propose I do?" Alex asked.

"The Sharks, the Phantoms, and the Harpoons need to disappear." He held the dagger in front of her, as if to return it. "I take it you can make the necessary arrangements. Also to keep the Eels safe."

"Maybe." Alex felt like she could make more out of this deal. "If I can join the Eels."

Learta chuckled. "Over my dead body. But I know how you can go back to Ilona's good graces."

"Consider it done."

"Pleasure doing business."

Alex snatched the dagger from Learta's hand and held it tightly. This had been an easy deal. She could still give valuable information to the army and destroy some Pirates, especially The Silent Sharks. This was good. Things were going well for her.

"And Captain Ilona? How do I handle her?"

From his second belt, Learta took his compass. He held it flat and turned his wrist before pointing at the sky. "Northwest is that way."

"I know, they won Burnfirth."  She felt cheated. "This isn't helping."

"Well, the world doesn't end at Burnfirth, does it?" He winked.

Alex looked at the sky. The silver stars twinkling in their night blanket. Silvermark. Learta proposed to take the Krakens to Silvermark!

A/N Silvermark means Fox, doesn't it? Next up will be a Fox chapter!