It’s a typical shop, as far as Captain Kim can tell. Organized but dirty with soot. Forged swords hang from the rafters and rest along one wall. Pails of nails and piles of old horseshoes take up a corner. The furnace, bellows, and water take up most of the space, but they’re silent and still.

A heavy hammer sits with its handle against the warm furnace. The anvil gives him an idea, and he sets his hat and weapons beside the furnace. He tries to lay his chain on the anvil and strike it with the hammer, but he needs to lift his arm to gain any momentum, and that lifts the chain, causing him to strike the anvil with shrill, metallic shrieks.

Cursing and throwing his hands apart, he wills the chain to break.

It doesn’t, of course.

But it may not matter anyway, because someone enters the shop.

Snagging his sword and ducking into the shadows, the pirate watches silently. He’s probably an apprentice, Captain Kim muses, not even twenty. In the dim light, he can only get a vague idea of the young man’s build, enough to determine that he is tall, on the slim side but well built.

The apprentice stops a moment to take in the sight of the inebriated blacksmith, muttering, “Right where I left you.” Evidently, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Further in the shop, he slows and frowns at the hammer and anvil. “Not where I left you…” He turns fast, back to his master, then looks around the interior, and Captain Kim swears softly. Figures he’d wander into the one shop with an observant and cautious apprentice.

He deftly wields his sword and slaps the man’s hand before it reaches his beloved hat at the furnace. It’s just a warning, but people have been killed for lesser offenses.

The apprentice jerks his hand back and stares at Captain Kim. Furrowed rows rise, and he gapes momentarily before ing an accusing finger at the pirate. “You’re the pirate!” His eyes drop to the sword a second before bouncing back. “The one they’re looking for; you just escaped.”

“Aye, and at least half the others did, as well. So am I really such a bad guy?”