"I'm so glad you and your men decided to join us!" Eijnar said as he walked side by side with Narrita towards the port at the lowest part of the island. The rest of the two gangs followed right behind, with the Cutthroats standing in the middle of the pack. The Ghenkans marched in the rear, all holding their weapons angled at Narrita's crew. Citizens of lower Farrowport cleared the streets, giving the procession a clear path to the port.

Narrita kept her arms crossed. On her face was a look of disgust as she followed Eijnar down the path. "Not like there was much of a choice, was there?" she said quietly.

"Depends on how you look at it. Either you work with us. Or you could be holding a memorial for more than just two of your men tonight." He gave Narrita a friendly smack on the shoulder that sent her staggering forward. "Don't worry, you made the right decision. You've got smarts. No wonder you're the leader."

Once the two leaders reached the front of the boat, Eijnar ordered one of the Ghenkans to lower the docking board. Even in the dark, the shape and size of the Ghenkan ship made Narrita pause in awe. It was far larger than any other boat in the area. Detailed and ornate carvings covered the dark brown frame. The sail was white, making the intricate characters painted in blue on the fabric stand out all that much more.

"Guests first," Eijnar said with a bow. He extended one hand, offering Narrita to enter first. She turned back to the rest of the Cutthroats and saw each one stare back at her with their hands placed behind their heads as Ghenkans placed the blades of their swords and axes against their back.

"Fine," Narrita muttered as she climbed on board first. Eijnar walked right behind with a wide grin.

"Ever been on a Ghenkan warship?" the warrior asked.

"No," Narrita replied curtly.

"It's a sight to behold. Let me give you a tour." Eijnar took lead. "As you can see, this is the deck. It's where most of the work gets done." The floorboard was covered in scratches and creaking wood. Crates were scattered across the surface along with barrels that had enormous arrows jutting out. "I'll admit, it requires a bit of maintenance, but the scratches and knicks you see all have history behind them!" Eijnar said with pride.

"Fascinating," Narrita said just as bluntly as before.

"Not interested in that, are you?" Eijnar asked.

"Didn't you need our help? I want to know your reason for bringing us on your ship."

"Don't worry. We'll get to that soon enough. But it would be rude to bring you onto our vessel and not show you around." To Narrita's dismay, Eijnar kept his aggressively friendly disposition. "Ah, I know what will get you to lighten up. As a fellow profiteer, we have something down in the hull that even someone as fickle as you could appreciate."

Narrita kept her arms crossed. She looked at the shattered remains of the door that led into the lower deck. "What happened there?" she asked as she pointed at the destruction.

"That girl that's been a problem for the both of us. That's what," Eijnar said with frustration. "Come. I'll show you exactly what I was talking about."

Narrita followed Eijnar down the steps. The boat rocked slowly as the pair traversed the flight of stairs down into the hull. Torches placed along the walls gave enough illumination to make the end of the hall glisten.

"Now tell me, what do you think?" Eijnar said once he reached the bottom. He stepped inside the storage room with both arms spread out, his smile reaching from ear to ear as the sparkling of ill-gotten treasure lit up the room. "Even someone as coldhearted as you has to appreciate... all this!"

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Narrita stepped into the storage room. She went from disgusted to shocked as her eyes glossed over the illuminous treasure that lined the room from wall to wall. "Is this all yours?"

Eijnar maintained his confident grin. He put a hand on Narrita's shoulder as he panned his hand across the wide array of stolen treasure. "It is. But it could be yours as well!"

Narrita paused. Her surprised look turned to one of aversion. "What... do you mean by that?"

"You're a good boss from what I've heard. Not many people can lead a group of thieves and manage to keep an entire island under her thumb."

"Right. It's not easy work. Very few can do it."

"Exactly. Don't think I've ever met anyone that's been able to take charge a band of profiteers like I have. But you know you could be such more under the right circumstances."

Narrita paused. She eyed the Ghenkan captain from the bottom up and took a step back when she noticed his smile remained. "Circumstances?"

"I'm talking about your men, Narrita. I'll get right to the point. They're weak. They're holding you back. This entire island could have been yours if you were in charge of a real—"

An open palm went across Eijnar's face. The smack was the only sound for a minute as the Ghenkan rubbed the side of his cheek. "Don't talk about the Cutthroats like that!" Narrita shouted as she pointed her finger in the captain's face. "You don't know our history! What we've been through!"

"You'll come around, Narrita. I'm sure you will," Eijnar said. His smile disappeared as he reached for his axe. "I was going to make you an offer. Leave your men. Join my crew. All this could be yours. What you see here is probably more than what you've scored in your entire life!"

"Doesn't matter. Farrowport is my home. The Cutthroats are my family. I'm not leaving them for some bloodthirsty lunatics."

"We'll see about that soon enough," the captain said with his axe resting on his shoulder. "It's a big ask. But that's not the only reason I wanted to bring you down here."

"Get to the point," Narrita said impatiently. She crossed her arms again and tapped her foot.

"We need help taking over this island," Eijnar said. "We could use your knowledge to do it. We're not from Farrowport, so someone who has been here their entire life could give us the edge we need."

"Taking over? I don't get it. Do you know how many people live here? Not to mention the Farrowport Guard! Even if I were to agree to help you out with such a sinister scheme, how would we even go about taking over an entire island? You certainly don't have enough men to do it. And I don't see how our Cutthroats would be of any help."

"Don't worry about making any plans." Eijnar pointed at himself with his thumb. "I've got all of that figured out."

"Oh really?" Narrita replied smugly. "You don't seem like the kind of captain to be the brains of your crew."

Eijnar let a single chuckle escape. "Not many people would be speaking the way you do if they were in your situation. I can appreciate that. But don't get too cocky, now. Don't forget that we still have your family. And with a single order..." The captain slid his thumb across his neck. The Cutthroat leader frowned, her confident posture turning frail. "Now then. Are you going to let me finish explaining my plan?"

"Yes," Narrita said begrudgingly.

"Good. I'll have you know; I've organized countless battles and us Ghenkans have emerged victorious every time. I wouldn't have gone through with recruiting you and your gang if I didn't have confidence in my plan. So you have no need to worry about your men if you choose to comply."

"We're bandits, Eijnar. Not mercenaries. If you were planning on some kind of assault or siege, you've got the wrong gang. My men know to street fight, not how to deal with full on battles. You're better of using this loot of yours to hire some actual soldiers."

The Ghenkan laughed again. "What's the point of having all this money if we're just going to throw it all away on some overpaid mercenaries? I'm not just a warrior, Narrita. I'm also a businessman. And you know what my first rule of business is?"

"Tell me," Narrita said annoyed.

"Don't pay for something that you can get for free."

Narrita rolled her eyes. "I should have figured."

"And it should come as no surprise how effective the threat of death can be for some."

"My men would rather die than be turned into weapons for your plan," Narrita scoffed. "And I'd perish with them!"

"You think too highly of your crew, Narrita. As someone who has fought alongside warriors and has also taken more lives than I can count, I can judge the true character of a man within just a few moments. If it came between life and death, the rest of the Cutthroats would do whatever it took to secure the former."

"They wouldn't!" Narrita shouted back.

Eijnar turned his back towards Narrita and started going up the steps to the deck. "Let's have a test then, shall we? I'll explain to them their options and we'll see how they respond."