Hana watched as Kaga-Mets mouth pressed into a thin line as Rio snarled in his strange tongue and slit open his hand with the knife. Accepting the blade, the Brazian did the same, mixing his red blood with silver. He was silent, and watched the boy go belowdecks. Even after he’d gone, there was a far away look in his eyes that was only broken once Berlin asked him a question. Inhaling deeply, Kaga-met blinked rapidly like a man waking up from a slumber. 
“Yes. We’ve been hunting them since they left Old Bariz for 3 weeks now. The [i]Swift[/i] is a fine ship, but she needs rest, unlike the galleys the slavers use. The oars are pulled by arms similar to what she has,” he gestured to the jaundiced human arms that grew in invtervals along the side of the [i]Swift[/i], “That only pull the oars. They never tire, and it allows them to move faster than should be possible and gives them room for their thugs and victims.” His voice grows tight as he says, “There are four smaller galleys like the one we fought today, each carrying about 50 to 60 fighting men. They’re the vessels used to make their attacks and collect victims, and one large galley they use as a floating refinery and center of operations. It’s heavily armed, and best we can tell carrying around 80 mean, but its slower than the rest. If you catch a strong wind you could gain on them, but if they can keep their distance long enough they can slip away the moment the wind turns against you.” He smiles savagely, “They’d had five of their raiding galleys before we destroyed one of them.” He fell silent again and looked out at the waters. 
Hana was overwhelmed by a sense of dread, and approaching Uban, grasped his arm and quietly said, “What are we going to do?” 

—-

Pieter whistled to himself as he finished squeezing a lime over the fish, swaying in time with the rocking ocean to make sure none spilled on the deck. It was a great catch, and he’d felt justified in using some of their precious spices and ingredients to make the meal stand out for their guests. If they wanted to seal the deal it’d pay to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Short, heavy footsteps made him turn, and the question that had been forming on Pieter’s lips about why Rohaan was visiting him died when he saw the bleeding. He nodded once to himself and set to fixing the boys bandage silently. Taking a (now precious) bottle of rum, he splashed a little on his cut and wiped it away the edge of a rag. After he finished dressing the bandage, he said plainly, “I’ve a lime slice that I was going to suck on, would you care for some?”