[Child of the 7th Age]

Luindal peered out over the bay. In the distance he could see a small flotilla of boats approaching the ship, each loaded down with two or three barrels and boxes. He had considered mooring the ship closer to the shore, at a point where an old wooden jetty jutted far out into the water. It would probably have made the loading easier. But he had rejected that idea. If the Spirit had pulled too near the shore, there was always the possibilty that the Corsairs could hide somewhere nearby and rush the ship en masse at an inopportune moment. This way no one should be able to approach them unawares.

They would need to crank the barrels onto the deck one at a time, using two large winches that stood beside the railing on the open deck. He beckoned to Rôg, Galhardir, and Freyn to climb over the side of the ship and go down the ladder into the first boat that had just drawn even to them. They were to speak with the Lossoth traders, shake hands on the deal, and offer the agreed on price. Then they would help attach the rope to the containers and steady them from below as he and Elwen and some of the others cranked up the rope and set the barrels and boxes out on deck.

Luindal closely observed the men who were accompanying the supplies in the boats. If these were Corsairs, they had done an amazing job of disguising themselves. To the outer eye and ear, they looked and sounded like native Lossoth. Perhaps the Corsairs had decided to rely only on their allies to do this little piece of mischief, and had stayed behind on their own ship. Yet this didn't sound like the approach that Marreth would take. Luindal shook his head and began to wonder what other mischief was afloat just as Rôg and the others began climbing down to the first small boat.