When I arrive at the blacksmith's location, I remember that we will have to leave our equipment behind and only a small furnace and other smaller accessories will be left inside the ship, since in addition to the weight, we would also use our water in the process. It seems that using seawater damages the items quite a bit, but for temporary items it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Today's goal is to ask my blacksmith to help me open the 3 safes I took from the Browns' house and also two jewelry boxes that were locked and unlocked in the storage bags I stole. The blacksmith says he will do his best to finish everything today, so I leave him alone to work and ask Ted to buy some more supplies that I will need, such as 500 liters of drinking water and other things that I plan to carry in my space for emergencies. Of course, this will depend on how much space I have after the robbery, since I also plan to keep the most valuable cargo with me, but I remember that I will gain more space soon if the system levels up.
I hurry to speak to everyone involved in the looting. At 1:00 pm, the boarding of passengers will begin and I can already see some of them waiting anxiously outside the ship. Normally, boarding would take place all day, but it was not possible due to all the planning. Before meeting everyone, I signal silence to Jack. We sit in the Captain's cabin and besides Henry, we have the 1st mate, Omar, Gordo, Jack, the brute ex-pirate that Omar freed and finally Captain Shang. As soon as we sat down, I signaled to the old pirate and he began to speak:
"The Golden Dragon arrived after 10:00 in the morning. Around 10:40 the main cargo of gold, jewels and precious stones was unloaded, half of the men capable of fighting went as an escort to the Valyrian Bank headquarters in the central district. At the speed they are going they will only get there around 15:00 and everyone should stay there and only return tomorrow to finish the remaining cargo. After they left, a huge amount of men left the ship, leaving only about 10-20. Two of them are at the top of the masts as lookouts and 4 are in the cabin area. It is not possible to see anyone else besides them. So they are in posts positioned inside the warship. At the entrance to the special port, we have 2 men from the Defense Force who are there at all times monitoring the ships that arrive and leave, they change shifts at 18:00 as you may already know. In addition, there are 4 more members of the Defense Force who rotate in the area around the special port, they also change shifts at 18:00."
I nod in agreement and he continues:
"My men can immobilize everyone on board without harming them, but we have no way of doing that with the men at the top of the mast. I still think we should kill everyone on board, it would be safer without witnesses."
"They're just working, but don't worry, if something goes wrong I won't hesitate to kill them. But if we can avoid it, it would be better…"
—Jack, can you take care of the men on the mast? I ask.
"Yes, it's just going to be hard to get them out."
After Shang says he'll send a man to help him. I conclude the part of the deal with the pirate and say goodbye to him so he can prepare everything on his side and he leaves the room. When he leaves, everyone stays. Then I give the signal for Jack to speak:
"I stole the ship's manifest, as well as information about the cargo. It was said that there were 150 men on board, different from the 130 that there would normally be. I don't know why there were 20 extra men this time. After that, I counted and 95 followed the gold, including the captain, and 55 remained. Soon after, another 38 left, leaving 17 men on board. Of these, 7 are in the open area of the ship. Everyone he described is in the right position, but there is one that he forgot. That would be the first mate. He is in the Captain's cabin and has a good view of the entire deck area. Right where the emergency alarm is."
I sigh, if Jack hadn't come, everything would have gone very wrong and we would only be able to start the fire for a momentary distraction, while we used the cover of night to escape. After that, the "pirate" would be the primary target, giving me the time I needed to escape.
"Jack, you've already entered the ship once. I believe you can do it a second time? Can I leave the first mate to you?"
"Yes, I can take care of the First Mate first before the remaining two on the masts."
"After knocking them out and lowering them, help me keep an eye on the 4 guards patrolling the area. I've already created two distractions, but they're as reliable as Shang. Lastly, remember that no matter what happens today, at 8:00 we need to have the sails raised and leaving, I won't wait for anyone. We only have 2 hours to load the cargo and return to the ship, don't let greed blind you. And Jack, when there's 20 minutes left until the deadline, you don't need to worry about the guards, you can leave too. Everyone is dismissed then."
I soon position myself at the entrance of the ship with the passenger list, and take the opportunity to read the 2 letters that I haven't had time to read before boarding begins. The first is from Black Cat, who left the city and closed the Sleeping Dragon, but said that we would see each other again if fate allowed it. He also stated that the men I hired will do the job normally as agreed. I'm glad to know that the distractions are still in place and I hope everything works out. He also tells me to be careful because a certain accident occurred last night that started a war between the triads. I had heard about it from the crew that returned from the city, but I didn't know it was so serious. The second letter surprises me:
"Dear Sir Red Sage, my brother and I thank you for your friendly warning about the dangers of the city of Valyria. You have saved us not only from losing our lives here, but also from losing many valuable magical resources. If you ever visit Pentos, look for the Black Hand organization and we will try to return the favor.
Sincerely, Laura."
I wonder how she knew I was here. It seems that my low-level prophetic protection can't even hide my location. That's dangerous when you're on a ship with your name displayed hugely on the outside. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when boarding finally begins.
Chapter 1/2 of the day!
Today we will have 1 additional bonus chapter to celebrate the launch of Patreon.
https://patreon.com/RedSageAutor?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Maybe there will be 1 more extra chapter tomorrow too.