The Knight's Cross

Part IV

                Under charge of the quartermaster, Vane, the crew of the Ghost Runner began to unload crates of sugar, rum, and a variety of other cargo from the ship while Alistair and Ian made their way further inland from the port. While his father’s journal had marked Halifax, there was no other information on what, or who, was the reason this place was so important regarding the treasure. Alistair didn’t have the time or the patience to wander about and listen, hoping to uncover something by little more than chance. Not knowing where else to go for answers, he and Ian headed towards the tavern.

                A town’s tavern was the place to go for information. It could be about people, places, ships, cargo, rumors, or sheer entertaining stories – the tavern would have it all. Nearly every sailor ranging from lowly pirate to Navy soldier would eventually find himself near a tavern in one port or another, looking for a bit of rest, ale, and merriment on dry land before once again having to return to the sea.

Alistair’s reason for going to the tavern here was a little more specific than idle drink and conversation (though he was certain he might return at a later hour for just that, assuming Mitra didn’t find him first). He had come looking for a specific man – a friend of his father’s from many years past, whom he thought might know something about the map and treasure. And if there was one thing Alistair knew about Sebastian, it was that the tavern was the place to find him.

                To that very day, Alistair had not been wrong. It was well under a minute after entering the building that he found the very man – sitting in the corner with a tankard of ale in his hand. Sebastian’s age was anyone’s guess at this point, but he had to be at least twice Alistair’s age. He was a tall man of generous girth, who had long since turned in his days of sailing for that of the life of gambling and drinking. And no matter how much money was lost in a game of cards or wasted away on rum, Sebastian never seemed to be short on shillings. He never said why, and would only laugh boisterously if asked.

                “Wait here,” Alistair said to Ian as they approached the man in question.

                Sebastian, who was clearly rather focused on the drink in his hand and one of the girls that was working closer to the bar, did not become Alistair’s presence until he was just a few feet away, and even then he remained wary of the tall, lean young man adorned in almost all black. It was only after it became clear to him that the young man’s intentions did not lie with anyone but him did he speak. “Can I help you with anything, boy?” he questioned, not unkindly but clearly not appreciative of the interruption.

                Alistair inclined his head slowly. He was not fond of being addressed as ‘boy’ by anyone, not even Sebastian. But he had known Sebastian years before, if by known it was that he had often lingered in the background while his father converse with the man. That had been years ago, and Alistair simply assumed that the man did not recognize him, and so he held his peace.

“It would seem you don’t remember me,” he remarked passively as he took a step closer and sat down across from the older man, leaning back in the chair slightly.

Sebastian remained unfazed, and still irked at Alistair’s presence. “It would seem I don’t,” he replied slowly as his eyes narrowed.

Alistair held his gaze, leaning forward and resting his arms against the edge of the table. “Then perhaps you would remember my father a little better,” he suggested. “Surely you could not forget Captain Andrew Knight so quickly?”

At mention of the name of the former captain of the Ghost Runner, Sebastian’s narrowed glare turned to surprise. “Your Drew’s boy, then?” he questioned.