The crew of the Altair waited a moment for Dande to continue his story, but he didn’t seem inclined to do so. Sensing that they wouldn’t get anywhere if no one did anything, Tolas decided it was time to change the subject.

“Well, let's say we decide to trust you, what's your plan?”

Dande lifted his head suddenly with a melancholic look before regaining a more neutral expression.

“There’s just one thing to do : run. We'll go back the way you came. Even though the jungle is incredibly dangerous at night, I can assure you y’all have better chances with me on your team than without.”

Cornell, who had remained silent while listening to Dande, began tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. Tolas and Dande both turned their heads toward the old man at the same time.

“So what ya're proposin' is that we skedaddle with ya in our bags, is that it? It was mighty kind of ya not to put lead in our heads, but I don't see why ya'd come with us.”

“Because I know quite a bit about the Cormorant Fleet, old man,” replied the pirate arrogantly. “And I reckon you realize that the navy would kill for any tangible information about the fleet's composition.”

Tolas and Cornell looked at each other with the same interested expression. If he was telling the truth, the pirate could be a real goldmine for the entire navy. For more than forty years, the Cormorant Fleet had roamed all the seas without anyone being able to learn anything valuable about its organization. This contributed to the legend of the Cormorant, as no pirate had ever revealed compromising information about the fleet. Despite the horrific torture methods, the crown was willing to use when a pirate was at their mercy, the mystery remained intact.

All of a sudden, the pirate with the drawn features seemed much more like an unexpected boon for the young boatswain and the old lookout. Raphaëlle, who had stepped back a bit to check on Skepta’s condition, made a slightly disappointed face.

“...Alright, and what's your other plan?” Tolas asked, trying not to sound too convinced right away.

“I told you Scornwallis would be sending men here soon, right? If my estimates are correct, that would mean there'd be less than ten people left able to fight on the Kemper, and I'm counting Scornwallis and his guard in that. Honestly, I’d have preferred if we were at least five but with the four of us... we might have a shadow of a chance. My brother and I had been talking with some crew members for weeks now, and they’d love to move to another ship in the fleet. If it meant getting away from Scornwallis’ hellish boat, I’m pretty sure they’d do anything. And now that Monigam is dead, that butchering hellspawn only has two men in his guard.”

“So wait, the other plan is to attack the ship, hoping some of the pirates suddenly switch sides to join us? Is that it?” Tolas asked, unconvinced.

“Yes, with those who would switch sides and if there are any slaves still breathing, I think we should be able to-”

“The what?” Raphaëlle exclaimed, standing up suddenly.

“The slaves,” Dande repeated, thinking the young woman had misheard, “those who were already on the island and the small handful of surviving Ermythians. Best case scenario, we’ve got more hands to hold swords, worst case,we’ve got more meat shields.”

“You made survivors... slaves?”

The pirate raised a thoughtful eyebrow, wondering what Raphaëlle didn’t understand.

“Well... yeah, Scornwallis wasn’t going to let them rot here. Can you even guess how much you can get with a woman on the market? He could recruit a good crew if he sold those who survived the journey.” Dande continued to explain. “He’ll probably keep the kids for himself, that scum has... pastimes... uh...”

Dande couldn't finish his sentence without a shudder running through his entire body. Raphaëlle was staring at him intently, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white.

Cornell and Tolas, who didn’t understand why the pirate had stopped talking, exchanged a questioning glance before seeing Raphaëlle. Tolas immediately recognized the fury in his friend's eyes. The last time he had seen it, a man had ended up with his throat slit. The boatswain placed himself in front of the young she-wolf, preventing her from continuing to glare at Dande.

“Move, Tolas.” she ordered in an icy tone.

“Raph’, what are you doing?”

“Did you hear what he said? How he said it?” the young woman raged, her body trembling with anger.

“I know, I heard, Raph’,” Tolas replied in a soothing voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. “But you had to know, right? He’s a pirate, this isn’t out of the ordinary for him.”

Raphaëlle glared at Tolas before clicking her tongue disdainfully and removing his hand from her shoulder.

“Yeah, and I almost forgot it wasn’t out of the ordinary for the navy either.”

Tolas took the blow silently as Raphaëlle slightly calmed down. Dande had regained his composure and seemed to be thinking.

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“Well, it’s not like I don’t care that you can’t take your moral compass outta your ass,” he said impatiently, “but may I remind you that our time is limited, so we need to hurry and get the hell out of here!”

“We’re not leaving.” Raphaëlle replied. “And we aren’t going to leave the Ermythians between the butcher hands.”

The imperious tone used by the young woman was absolutely inflexible. She couldn’t imagine leaving these people to their fate for even a second.

“Wait, Raph’, it's not your decision to make!” Tolas exclaimed as loudly as the she-wolf.

She was about to retort, but Tolas cut her off.

“I know you’d prefer to go save them right now, but we’d clearly be at a disadvantage if we were to go in like this! It would be four people against at least ten pirates. And Skepta needs medical attention asap. We'd be risking our lives for nothing!”

“For nothing?” Raphaëlle retorted, stunned.

“You know what I meant,” the boatswain resumed, undistracted. “Our chances of attacking them and getting out afterward are close to zero. We'd be better off returning to the Altair. Then we could come back with help!”

The young woman stopped moving and gave her friend a strange look. Tolas thought his speech might have convinced her and gave her a timid smile. The she-wolf raised an eyebrow before slightly pushing him aside to see Dande.

“Scornwallis has probably sent his men to get here already, right?”

“Goddamnit…YES! Fourth time’s the charm apparently…” Dande exasperatedly replied.

“Alright then.”

Before anyone could react, Raphaëlle dashed up the watchtower stairs, taking them four at a time. She could hear Tolas and Cornell shouting her name from the ground floor, but she knew she was much faster than them. She also figured Tolas wouldn’t dare leave their companions alone with Dande, just in case he was waiting for them to let their guard down.

In less than two minutes, she had reached the watchtower’s rest area. She allowed herself a brief pause, bending over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath, then stood up and walked decisively toward the opening in the wall.

The night was well advanced but the sky was still dark and the moon was starting to be obscured by some gray clouds. The young woman ran a hand down her back and pulled out the distress pistol she had hidden under her canvas shirt before aiming it at the sky. For a moment, doubt crossed her mind. Was she acting too hastily? Was Tolas right, wouldn’t it have been smarter to flee the island and come back later with the rest of the Altair’s crew?

Suddenly, a vivid image crossed her mind. The Morwell’s slave market. The despair on the faces of the poor souls reduced to merchandise. The very idea that she could have ended up in Ermythia in a very different role sent shivers down her spine. If she could save even one person, she had to try. She pulled the trigger, and with a loud bang, a scarlet red flare shot into the night sky.

She descended the stairs even faster than she had climbed them and returned to the ground floor in no time. When she arrived at the reception, she saw Dande and Tolas looking outside from the front door while Cornell had managed to get Skepta to regain consciousness and was sitting him on half of the desk at the back of the room. Tolas and Dande turned simultaneously when they heard Raphaëlle arrive. She could barely contain a satisfied smile when she saw the mortified expressions on both men’s faces.

“Are you out of the damn mind ?! You want us to get slaughtered?” Dande shouted, pointing at the red sky.

“Weren’t Scornwallis men coming here anyway?” Raphaëlle retorted defiantly.

“How did you get that distress flare?” Tolas asked, his expression dark.

She returned his look without flinching.

“Do you really have to ask?”

Tolas first frowned, then widened his eyes in outrage. He clenched his jaw and turned back to the door, hiding his expression as best he could. He exhaled deeply before speaking again.

“I’ll deal with your insubordination later, we ain't got time. Why’d you do that?”

“You said we were outnumbered, didn’t you? Well, I thought we could flip that around. Instead of waiting to get to the Altaïr, we’re bringing the Altaïr to us.”

“Do you think the crew is at our beck and call? There's no guarantee they'll all come ashore to help us! Did you forget how the captain works?” Tolas snapped.

“He’s not the one I’m waiting for.” replied Raphaëlle.

Tolas, still with his back to Raphaëlle, preferred to change the subject immediately.

“Dande!”

The pirate, still gesticulating in panic, turned around.

“What?”

“We're changing the plan. We're going to the bay to take care of Scornwallis.”

Raphaëlle didn't even hide her devilish little smile. Dande looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack.

“What! But... no! We don't need to change anything; let’s get the hell out of here!”

“No, it might actually be more dangerous for us to flee than to try to get to the port,” Raphaëlle interjected before Tolas could justify himself to the pirate. “Now that your buddies have seen the distress flare, they'll probably split their attention between the watchtower and the sea. And now that we've called the Altair, the only way they can even get to the bay…”

“Will be through Vyx’s Bay…” finished Tolas, who was beginning to understand Raphaëlle's logic.

“That sound fine an’ dandy, interrupted Cornell while helping Skepta up, but if ya could talk AND get a move on, tha’d be great.”

“Damn, truer words were rarely said, old man.” said Dande. “Well, it’s not like you were giving me much of a choice anyway so follow me. If anyone comes here, they'll inevitably take the path we marked between the bay and the town hall. We'll take a slightly longer route that will pass near the island's lab, okay?”

“Wait! Skepta cried weakly. I... I'll just be a burden... I won't make it to the bay…”

“The whelp’s right,” Cornell added, holding him firmly by the shoulder, “whether it's him or me, we'll just slow ya down! Ya'll have ta get to tha bay without us.”

“But we can't just leave you here.” exclaimed Raphaëlle. “Dande! I'm sure you know a place where they could hide!”

The pirate seemed to think, but Tolas spoke before him.

“I don’t know if hiding them nearby would be such a good idea. We would have no way of knowing if they've been caught by the pirates or not. They have to come with us, even if it slows us down a bit.”

“Wait, I know! Dande! How did you inform Scornwallis that we were in the town hall?”

The pirate's eyes lit up.

“Clever lass! I left my walkie-talkie in the old grocery store two or three streets from here. It's connected to the Kemper's radio!”

“So, if we want to come back for Skepta and Cornell, that means we’d have to go to the Kemper anyway?” asked Raphaëlle, never taking her eyes off Tolas.

“Alright, fine, I didn’t need more convincing, you know?” Tolas resigned himself. “Let's go now. Dande? Lead us to Vyx’s Bay!”

The pirate gave a mock sailor's salute, rolled his eyes, and set off, followed by Raphaëlle, then Tolas and Cornell, both supporting Skepta.

Things were looking grimmer than what Dande had hoped. There were now only three of them to attack the Kemper. Their already slim chances of prevailing were now almost non-existent. If he couldn't convince the other pirates to turn on Scornwallis, he knew perfectly well that the young sailors accompanying him would have no chance against the butcher of the Isla Novaes. Dande bit his lip, thinking fast. Even if the odds weren’t in his favor anymore, he would find a way to survive. At any cost.