Despite the surge in the crowd, you continue forward, knowing your brother is close after all this time. A hundred feet away, you see the problem. This is not your brother’s ship. These are men you don’t know.
The leader wears a shirt that goes down to his ankles and has a tall pointed hat unlike anyone you’ve seen here. He holds a staff in his hands – it shines like plunder – with an emblem that you have seen before but never in the hands of a stranger. It is a cross, a thing that the men have taken from time to time … but what is this man doing here?
Someone steps between you and the stranger, grabbing your shoulder. You know this man, Leif – someone your brother has told you to stay away from. You gulp as he tells you to come with him … or else! There is no escape behind as the crowd blocks your way.
You …
