Chapter 269: Lamb stew

"It's not often that we see a ship like yours come to our shores," the man standing on the boat said to the captain with an easy smile. He had a long face and sharp eyes.

"We're just here looking to buy a few items unique to Coop," the captain replied.

"Any friends around here waiting for you?" The man was indirectly asking the captain whose protection his crew was under. Ordinary ships didn't just get to Coop unmolested by pirates unless they were carrying a token from one of the factions.

"Yes," the captain replied. He wasn't obliged to tell the man which faction he was paying off. That was a rule set to protect trading ships from being attacked, not that it worked if the pirates of a faction were inclined to cause trouble for a ship. Still, it was mostly peaceful because maintaining the status quo benefitted the factions. Aside from small fights that often broke out, major wars were avoided. Those only happened when takeovers took place.