On the upper floor of the tavern, Vares sat down opposite the dark-skinned man—Nik, was it?—who was supposed to run the place.

One of the whores had given him clothes, which Vares politely put on. The pants were too tight, and the top too loose. He wondered what poor client got picked clean by these devils, but he wasn’t too bothered either by their origin or their size—Vares had little interest in such vanities, which is why the man before him held little interest.

“Not many men wash ashore here,” said Nik, sliding a glass across the room.

Vares had met many like him before. This Nik no doubt must’ve thought himself quite the important mover. These were paintings on the walls and the furniture still gleamed with a fresh polish—like all small men, Nik thought himself the big piece on the board.

And what a board it was, this dusty no man’s land. Vares had trouble deciding what was worse: losing his ship, or ending up here, of all places.

Not that any of it mattered very much now. On the contrary, only one thing mattered…

Does he have it? Vares wondered, eyeing the dark eyes of the man opposite him. Highly unlikely. How could he, all the way out here? And yet, it was the only thing he could focus on now.

“It was a stormy night. I was fortunate to have been knocked off the ship with a barrel to cling to. No doubt my crew are searching for me as we speak.”

The lie wasn’t convincing, but it wasn’t supposed to be. On the contrary, Vares wanted to see what kind of person he was dealing with.

A paranoid man might call him out on his blatant inventions. A conniving one might choose to ignore them. But a smart one would be wary of why anyone would be willing to lie with such indifference and without worry.

Nik eyed him for a long time. His eyes swiveled over to Lady Elizabeth. “How fortunate that your monkey fell into the turbulent sea with you.”

Vares reached back and pet her head. She chirped and rubbed against him affectionately. “The little beauty is with me at all times. Though I have no doubt she would’ve jumped after me even if given the choice. She’s a loyal woman, my Elizabeth.”

Vares took a moment and a playful smile played over his lips. He grabbed the drink and took a sip, still watching Nik. “Are yours?”

Surprisingly, Nik proved to have a backbone. “I’m not sure where you get your confidence, but I’ll remind you that you are a guest in my establishment.”

Vares raised his arms in theatric surrender. “Of course, my apologies.”

Nik leaned into his chair thoughtfully and drummed his fingers over the table. “So how did you really end up here?”

Vares kept quiet, still smiling.

“It’s a reasonable question to have given what you expect me to give you in return. Alternatively, you could try and swim the other way.”

More than just a backbone. Perhaps a beating heart? Even some balls dangling down there? “Is that so?”

This time Nik kept quiet, patiently waiting.

Have I underestimated this fellow? Vares doubted it. Nevertheless, this wasn’t a pleasant situation to be in.

“I was captain of the Seareaver.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Nik shrugged. “I wouldn’t know much of pirates and their ships.”

Vares grinned. “My notoriety preceeds before me in some places—though I suppose this is not such a place. Besides, this ship was a recent… acquisition, all things considered. In any case, my crew and I had bravely undertaken the transport of some rare goods up north.”

“Drugs?”

Vares laughed so hard he tossed his head back, causing Lady Elizabeth to cry out wildly. “Drugs? No. Alvanese furniture, as a matter of fact. Now, you may not know this, but Alvanese wood is quite pri—”

“This table is Alvanese wood,” said Nik brusquely, clearly proud of the fact, and insulted that it had not yet been noticed.

Vares realized he probably looked very foolish for not seeing it as such. Good. Let him think I am a fool.

“I am humbled by your taste and knowledge,” said Vares. “As I was saying, the Soverni recently set themselves up in Alvan. The monarchy has been abolished in favor of a republic. In exchange for their assistance in setting up this fledging government, the Soverni were granted exclusive rights to harvest their fine wood for twenty years so long as they guaranteed to use Alvanese craftsmen for the manufacture. Now, the only way they allow Alvenese furniture to be shipped out is through their skysails, making it that much more expensive, and essentially putting them in control of the entire production and distribution. A total monopoly.”

“And they attacked you over this?”

“You find that so unbelievable?”

Nik pursed his lips with indifference. “I’m aware that the Soverni are a coin-first sorts of people. I’ve flown on a skysail once, and having three drinks almost cost more than the ticket itself.”

Something about the way the man spoke of the Soverni immediately caught Vares’s attention. The few times he brought up the Soverni with distant places, his explanatory talks were met with accusatory skepticism.

And yet, this petty pimp that thought himself an aristocrat living in the middle of nowhere seemed to accept it all quite casually. Why was that?

The whole thing caused his skin to tingle. Did this fellow know more than he let on?

“In any case,” said Nik, “I know what you want.”

“Do you?”

“Few people here are wealthy enough to know what those red eyes of yours mean, but I do. It’s the reason why I decided to invite you into my office rather than letting my men have their way with you.”

Vares could’ve laughed. This poor bastard did think of himself as a man apart. A gentleman forced to live among savages. And, like all would-be gentlemen, the only thing he cared about was money.

In some places, Vares was used to people staring at his red eyes and seeing a flaw. A sin. Addiction.

This pimp was a bandit through and through. He looked at his cravings and saw one thing: coin to be made.

“Say I give what you want,” said Nik, tracing his fingers over the polished Alvanese wood with an almost erotic appreciation. “Haven’t you lost your ship? How will you pay me back?”

“You think I’d abandon my ship in such a foolhardy fashion? I have gold. Not on me. But somewhere.”

Nik rose from his seat and padded—almost gliding soundlessly—over to the window. He pulled aside the curtains and gazed down into the distance, towards the unimpressive center of town. “They call it scarlet here. The rezzam.”

The word alone sent tingles through Vares. The last time he’d tasted the dust was long before the sun had fully fallen the day before. So sweet.

Only imaginary traces of it remained on his tastebuds, sending the occasional electrifying wave through his nerves. Oh, but how he wanted to taste it again…

“I’ve never had it myself,” said Nik. “It’s a bit too expensive for my blood. But I hear those who take it for a long enough time develop certain… powers.”

Surprise after surprise. He knew about that? Maybe he had underestimated this pimp. At least his knowledge and ambition.

Vares kept quiet and smiled. “Some.”

“Only some develop them? Or only some powers?” Nik understood he was being toyed with and chuckled darkly. “I suspect you’ve lied to me from the moment you got here. I also suspect you have nothing tangible to offer me. You’ll string me along until you get enough of the stuff to disappear. And you’ll kill me and whoever else is necessary to get it.”

Thoroughly on point, Your Majesty.

As he came back to his seat, Nik’s face remained expressionless. “The man who leads us all, his name is Anders. Few ever see him. I do on rare occasion. And I’m one of the few who knows that Anders has been addicted to rezzam for the last few years.”

“And I suspect you do not have warm feelings towards this Anders.”

“I did once,” said Nik. A sense of nostalgia drew him in for a moment... “But he’s turned into a raving madman now. He is dangerous.”

Dangerous and bad for business. And you’ve reached the highest point you can climb without him gone.

“In a show of goodwill, I’ll get some rezzam for you now,” said Nik. “As for the rest…”

“I can loot it once the job is done. Is that it?”

For the first time since he entered, Vares saw something resembling a smile playing on Nik’s dark lips. “You are a pirate. Aren’t you?”