Before any raid, the pirates transformed into merchants.

The metamorphosis started a day before they were due to arrive in Burnfirth and kept Captain Ilona and her crew busy until the early hours of the morning. White sheets draped the cannons, the deck and stern scrubbed until the wood reflected the moonlight. Dag lowered the flag, the white squid with puckered lips replaced by jade-green colours in a sea of blue. Ordinary. Dull. Safe.

The preparations continued below the deck. Men and women alike laid down their weapons, stashing them in every nook and cranny. They took off their belts and clothes, and waited in line for a dip in a heated saltwater bath that smelled of nuts and spices. Their wide sailing dressing or cropped trousers were exchanged for exquisite robes or ornate gowns befitting of a successful trading company. Honey based perfumes masked any leftover odour.

Alex was the last to bathe, the result of her Greenie status. She held the ugly salmon coloured dress in front of her, the silky fabric bringing back memories of her time at Sunstone Castle, of Lady Victoria telling her she would never be a real lady. While she would surely look like one, she wouldn't be a real lady. That wasn't the plan; that wasn't why she was here.

She slipped on the dress, then quickly slid Seb's dagger into her right boot.

One never knew.

The Burnfirthers welcomed the Krakens with open arms, blessing their presence unaware of what calamity would befall upon them. The harbour was bustling with activity and loud voices shouting instructions. Cases and baskets alike were hauled from the dozen or so ships that lay anchored in the bay. Fresh fish, but also chickens, fabrics, clay pottery and wood carvings.

Alex helped to unload the spices and brought them to the market square, which turned out to be a larger version of Laneby's flat grass space by the old oak instead of a smaller copy of Sundale's cobblestones. Most of the grass had been trampled, the frilly edges of her dress soon stained with mud. So much for Temperance Day. With the fat cattle and the abundance of ale and wine stalls, the market seemed rather an ode to Gluttony.

The Krakens erected two stalls, one for spices and one to sell a fraction of the jewellery they had stolen the year before. Nagi and Pan managed the spices; Dag and Kaisa the jewellery. The rest of the crew hung around, browsing the other stalls, not buying anything yet only stealing wares if they could do so inconspicuously. Their focus was on the Burnfirthers, and the riches they possessed.

"The gentleman over there," Liene whispered, gesticulating at the long-haired man with bright red robes and a thin cream-coloured shawl around his neck. "He struts around like he owns this place. Follow him."

Alex nodded.

She didn't set the chase right away, but stalked him as though he was a deer that had caught her eye. The difference was that humans were easier to ambush than game.

Gold coins rolled off his fingers, onto Dag and Kaisa's table. The man spared them no glance; he only had eyes for the silver-plated bracelet on his wrist, which he showed off to three other men and a woman he shared a few ales with.

He left the square, alone, staggering like an ordinary drunk. Instead of heading deeper into town and entering one of the many buildings still smelling of the paint applied to disguise the salt-damaged stones, he waggled to the northern part of the harbour where the first hills of the Horseshoe Mountains emerged from the deep blue water.

There, in the bay, on enormous platforms,  stood the skeletons of no less than seven ships, scaffolding around them. The beach was littered with planks and tree trunks waiting to be cut and processed. A shipyard.

"In two moons, you'll be the richest man in Burnfirth," the man muttered to himself, "richer than Lord Robert. Burnfirth finally known, the town from where the magicians leave at last. The other fools may leave but I'll bathe in gold, so much gold." He cackled. "I'll have the last laugh."

Not fully understanding what he meant, Alex ducked behind a bush as a second man appeared on the beach in a uniform. Three sycamore leaves; a Lieutenant. 

"I knew I'd find you here, Ted, admiring your work," the Lieutenant said.

"I don't do the work, Mack. I find sturdy young men who can wield both axe and hammer, then sit back and relax as they build His Majesty's ships. They are doing well." He showed the Lieutenant his bracelet. "Bought me a present to celebrate the success."

Mack sniffed, seeming unimpressed. "What success? You oughtn't to spend His Majesty's advance for your personal gain. Come moon's end, the men need to be paid. There's hardly any coin left."

"I'll find a way," slurred Ted. "This project is too big to fail."

"I wish it would fail. Let His Majesty take the ships away from Burnfirth, then I don't have to deal with magicians rampaging through town in a desperate attempt to escape certain death in the mines of Ice."

"You're a doom-thinker, Mack. This deal will be lucrative for all parties involved. Ice will gain workers, the Greenlands will rid itself of all scum, and the scum will be able to make an honest-working living—something Silvermark will never be able to offer them. Ice will be like the Heavenly Halls to them."

Mack scowled. "If Ice were a Heavenly Hall, why do the mages come south, knowing they'll be prosecuted here? You're a Muttonhead, Ted. As big a head as Half-Ear in Sunstone Castle."

"Half-Ear? You've spent too much time on the other side of the mountains," Ted tutted. "I'll pretend I didn't hear your words of treason."

"Then I'll pretend you're not running out of gold."

The men exchanged a few looks before continuing along the beach. 

Alex followed them, moving from rock to bush, keeping a safe distance but still remaining close enough to determine whether it would be worth to raid Ted, the man building ships so King Thomas could deport magicians to Ice. When the men arrived at the dilapidated single-standing house by a pier housing an array of small fishing boats with either torn or missing nets and an old sailless two-master covered in algae, she returned to the Kraken's Kiss to brief her Captain.

Recounting what she had seen and heard, she pointed at the map and learned that there had once been a lighthouse where Ted was living. "Appearances deceive. He may have had gold, but there isn't much left."

"Protecting a fellow countryman, aren't you? The bracelet he bought and the clothes he wears are good enough reason to pay him a visit," Captain Ilona concluded.

"I'm not protecting him. I'll gladly rob him."

Captain Ilona slowly blinked. "Did you see any dogs? A creaking fence? Anything else that would disturb our hunt?"

"No."

"Then I add the beach house to our list. We're not in a position to be picky."

"There's still Silvermark."

"Which doesn't guarantee a good haul either. Return to the market—do what you're told. And do not let anyone hear your accent."

"Yes, Captain." Alex lifted her dress and bowed with the grace Lady Victoria had taught her.

Captain Ilona snorted. "Gods in the Heavens, Greenie. I hope you're worth more tonight."

Back at the market square, Liene ordered Alex to follow a couple who had bought four pounds of spice from their stand. They were heavily loaded, with the broad-cheeked woman carrying two clucking hens, and the man forming a sweat on his brow as he lugged four enormous bags. Their house was newly-built, the stones not yet corroded or battered by the weather.

She leant against the outer wall, darting a few glances through the window. The well-filled bag of coins on the man's belt was placed in a drawer and locked; the key thrown in an—she presumed—empty inkpot on a large barren desk. Silver cups and plates on the table.

As the woman freed the chickens into their fenced side-harden, Alex took the piece of chalk she had hidden in her bosom and drew seven rounds in a circle, placing an arrow in a rectangular, indicating where her crew could find the key.

She inspected the other houses in the mud-free street. Not all were as new as the house she had marked, but their owners did seem to share the same wealth. She marked them all with a crossed circle, except for the house where a dog had been barking from behind the door (an oval with four stripes) and the home of a weeping woman clutching a child to her chest (a single stripe—not interesting).

On her way back to the harbour, she crossed paths with a man wearing a feathered hat and a golden sundial brooch on his tailored vest. A Sundaler.

Upon double-checking that none of the Krakens were onto his trail, she decided to see for herself where the man was heading.

He entered an inn, stayed there for a drink or two, then bought a pastry from a stand on the other side of the street. Too engrossed in the conversation with the elderly women, he misplaced the bronze coins he had received as change. They fell onto the earth and got stepped on. The man continued without realising what he had lost.

A good opportunity. While digging the tip of her shoe into the ground, Alex pretended to inspect the pastries. She smiled at the woman, biting her lip as she scooped up the coin. With a well-aimed kick, she lopped up the bronze piece and caught it single-handedly.

"Miss, I want this one," said a small freckled boy with straw hair, distracting the woman.

Coin in her fist, Alex continued her chase. This might be her only chance to inform the King she had survived the sinking of the Acedia's Revenge, and that she had successfully infiltrated a band of pirates.

The man walked up onto the hill, to a three-storey house with a blue-tiled roof, a long barn with stairs leading to the attic; a man-high stone fence around it. Two black dogs lay sleeping by the gate. The Lord's house; out of bounds. Yet the man with the feathered hat did not look like he was Burnfirth's Lord.

To her surprise, he darted a look over his shoulders and spoke with a sweet Sundaler lilt, "Anything I can do for you, girl?"

Alex said nothing as she stepped from behind a wide pine tree, honouring the promise that she would keep her voice, her accent to herself. The Burnfirthers couldn't know she was a Sundaler like them. She pressed two crossed fingers against her lips, then opened her fist, revealing the coin.

"A mute girl in a stained dress bringing a single bronze coin on Temperance Day." The man cocked his head, his eyebrow puckered. "I'm not sure how I can help..."

Alex pointed at the brooch.

"That's from Sundale. I'm from Sundale," the man explained slowly. As though a mute would have trouble hearing.

She tapped her chest.

"You too? Do you want me to take you back to Sundale?" he guessed.

Alex shook her head.

"Do you want me to deliver a message to someone?"

Alex nodded. She would inform King Thomas she was alive, that she was a Pirate Boyar and sailing to Silvermark with the Kraken's Kiss, that he should send reinforcements to all harbours and coastal towns, and that he should prepare for a spring invasion next year. She tried to recall all the details needed to find the gathering place of the pirates; she had so much to tell him.

"Sure, hand me the letter and I'll deliver it."

Cursed be the Gods of Sin. There was no letter; it had crossed her mind plenty of times on the weeks' long voyage between the Cove of Elo and Burnfirth, but had never started it, too afraid the crew would find out who she was and what she was doing. 

She reached for her boot and retrieved the dagger.

"Whoa." The man took a step backwards.

One of the dogs woke up and barked. The other dog rose too, gnarling.

Raising one hand, she took the dagger by its scabbard, showing the leaves on the pommel and the crown on the crossguard.

"How did you...? That's..."

She nodded.

The man scratched his head, panic apparent in his eyes. "I cannot do this. I won't be the man delivering a weapon to His Majesty's doorstep without an explanation. He'll have me hanged."

Sick of being restricted by nods, shakes of the head, and simple gestures, Alex looked around. There was no other person except for the man with the feathered hat and her. 

"I can talk," she said in a low voice. "But I shouldn't."

"Why not?" the man asked.

"It doesn't matter. Ask Ol' Dicky to bring you to Mary. Tell her I'm..." She considered the essence of what she wanted King Thomas to know. "A thousand men gather in the Cove of Elo during the clearing moon. I'm the one who cast the dice, so it will take a while before I'm home."

If she ever decided to return to Sunstone Castle.

"You're speaking gibberish," the man said.

"It won't be gibberish to K... to Mary. I only have this bronze coin, but you'll get a bag of gold. Tell Mary I made you that promise."

"And what's your name?"

"It's best you don't know."

The man crossed his arms. "What are you hiding?"

Alex placed the dagger by the man's feet, as well as the bronze coin. "Nothing worth mentioning. But trust me when I say you better leave Burnfirth before sundown."

"Why? What will happen at sundown?"

"Mary will tell you," she said, lying. She needed to get back to the square; she had been away for too long.

She turned on her heel and walked away.

He didn't come after her.