Bayview Bluff… a place as jagged as the people who call it home. The island curls like a crescent moon, with cliffs rising out of the sea like towering stone beasts, making you feel small in their shadow. The harbor stretches out wide, calm as can be, a sharp contrast to the wild souls living just beyond its reach.
I’ve come here on more than just a whim. Word on the wind says one of me old mates from the Anthurium has been hiding among the folk here. Elias “Ironhand” Williams—the Captain’s own half-brother. They shared blood, but as we all know on these seas, it’s water that binds you tighter than blood ever will. Still, their bond was strong enough that when the mutiny came, the Captain, against all sense, spared Elias’ life.
Shame weighed heavy on Ironhand after that day. Last anyone heard, he’d slinked off, changed his name and his face, and dug himself deep into the underground mines that riddle this island like veins of gold. I’ll give it to him—he was always a driven one, always wanted more than what a boatswain’s life had to offer. But ambition turned to greed, and greed to betrayal.
Elias and I never had bad blood between us—until he crossed the Captain, that is. He was younger then, full of fire and ideas that outgrew his boots. He wasn’t a bad lad, just reckless. I suppose that’s what pride does to a man—it blinds you to the things worth keeping.
Finding him won’t be easy. The man’s had years to bury himself in this island. He could be anywhere in those cursed mines. But knowing Elias like I do, I’ve a strong hunch I won’t have to look too far. The local bordello is where he’ll be—Elias always did have a hunger for women, even when he had no coin to pay ‘em.
