22-25 Ymiden 721
Skal moved in quickly with a small blade and cut the sword belt from the man's waist, taking the blade away from him entirely before handing it to Osmond. The man in Balthazar's grasp struggled but he was not stronger than the detective holding him. He tried to thrash around to make Balthazar's grip slide, and it did not work.
"Jack Thatch?" Osmond's voice spoke over the sounds of struggle and the restrained man let out a small laugh before shaking his head. Osmond looked over at Balthazar with an expression distinctly saying that he hoped Balthazar was right.
"It's him. I know it is." Balthazar said sternly as he squeezed Jack a little. The squeeze only pushed out a little more cackling but it was pained. "He was there was Rosmund died." The man in his grasp began to laugh louder when Balthazar said that and Skal raised a fist in a sudden anger but it never flew. She took a step back and took a breath before saying,
"You think this is funny?" The man in Balthazar's arms shook his head one moment and then asked,
"Who's Rosmund?" The question sent red flashing across Skal's eyes and Trooper Bean stepped between her and Jack. Skal took a breath and stepped back while Osmond produced a black bag and pulled it over Jack's head. The trio dragged him out of town and Osmond put him over the back of his horse. Osmond and Balthazar took Thatch off to the Prospect Tavern where they'd interrogate him more privately and Skal returned to The Four In Hand to watch for anyone else. Skal was given specific instructions only to watch and report back until they returned with the information they needed from Thatch. No one knew yet what he did for the crew, but Balthazar knew for certain he was a part of it.
~ 23 Ymiden 721 ~
They knew he was Jack Thatch by the night of the twenty third. Osmond handled the interrogation for the most part while Balthazar watched and tried to learn from his technique. Thatch outright refused to answer most questions and his nervous laugh stopped him from answer others. He wouldn't talk about who he was, where he was from, or what he did. It was that silence which made both detectives think he was involved. A normal person would answer the questions of two Flame Troopers. A smart criminal would lie to them. An average criminal simply refused to participate in the questioning. It never did anything but make them look guilty. Thatch was certainly making himself out to be an average criminal. Between the laugh he could not control that seemed to signal when they'd hit a topic he was nervous to talk about and his own inability to properly misdirect the detectives, Balthazar was surprised Thatch ever made it onto Henry Kenway's crew. Then again, one had to consider that none of the pirates on the crew expected to be abducted in the night. In fact it was likely that none of them ever even expected to be identified in a public setting. The Raskbuck did not leave witnesses or survivors. Those who were taken were put to work on the ship until they were no longer useful and then, like Rosmund, they were disposed of. No witnesses meant no one to conventionally identify them, but the detectives abandoned convention when they began using marks. That was why they'd found Thatch after all. What would have been a dead end for Osmond and Skal was a new lead for the marked detective. Now only time and Osmond's effort would tell where it lead them.
Thatch did not part with the information easily but Osmond had more patience than Balthazar would have had. He was willing to sit across from an uncooperative suspect for breaks on end without relenting in his questions. Osmond poked, Osmond prodded, and in the end Osmond leaned hard into the idea that whether or not Thatch gave up the information they were looking for, they would report it as if Thatch had helped. Jack Thatch's reason for loyalty to Henry Kenway, his fear, became the reason he betrayed his captain. After breaks of sitting in the chair, Thatch cracked. He was taken to be locked up until a trial could begin and the two detectives went to pursue the lead they'd been given.
~ 25 Ymiden 721~
By the night of the twenty fourth the detectives knew where the Raskbuck would strike next. Jack Thatch told them of a merchant ship traveling around Immortal's Tongue that was selling nicknacks to believers on the island. The Raskbuck crew learned about the merchant ship from Hector Barrow, the quartermaster of the Raskbuck and Barrow learned about it in a tavern in Almund. It seemed that the crew spread out among the islands when they were seeking leads and then reunited on the ship once one of them had found something worthwhile. The Elements spent the twenty fourth trial of Ymiden preparing a trap for the Raskbuck and they spent the majority of the twenty fifth waiting for the pirate ship to sail into view. Osmond and Skal circled overhead on the backs of their Scalvwings but they were concealed from most by the dark night sky. There were various mer Water Troopers beneath the waves waiting and watching for the Raskbuck and an equal number of Land Troopers on Immortal's Tongue itself incase the pirate ship was forced into the island and the crew attempted to escape into the shrines. Balthazar made it clear to both Osmond and Skal that he would not, and could not, set foot on Immortal's Tongue. If he did he would be no use to them in any form because he would probably be swept up by a vengeful immortal and slain again. The Elements had intercepted the merchant ship as well because the trio of detectives decided against leaving anything to chance.
The crew of the merchant vessel was replaced with Elements who had proper knowledge of seafaring to sail the ship and Balthazar, who stood on the deck looking out at the Hollow Sea around him while he waited for any sign of the cursed ship from Rosmund's memory. They drifted there in relative silence apart from the sounds of the sea and the creatures of the night. They drifted and waited... and waited... and waited...
Osmond landed his Scalvwing on the deck of the merchant vessel and dismounted carefully before approaching Balthazar who could tell what he was going to say by the look on his face. "You think we scared them taking Thatch." Balthazar said.
"They've been careful so far. We have too but taking a member of the crew... now they know we are getting close." Osmond said. "Do you think Kenway would have called off the attack?"
"No," Balthazar replied, "I think that, if anything, he chose another target." Osmond grimaced a little because if that was true, it meant that the Raskbuck had successfully escaped them once more. He gestured up to Skal who was still circling above them.
"She agrees with you." Osmond said, "We should-" A loud whistle sounded off from the skies above them and the two detectives looked up at Skal to find her pointing out into the sea.
A loud whistle sounded off from the skies above them and the two detectives looked up at Skal to find her pointing out into the sea. Osmond and Balthazar rushed over to the port side of the ship and looked out into the darkness to see what Skal had signaled about. A vessel was cutting through the waves moving closer and closer to them. It grew a little larger with each passing trill and Balthazar heard Osmond whisper a question under his breath, "Is it them?" It wasn't directed at anyone but it was on the minds of ever Element aboard the ship. They watched for a moment too long before Balthazar and a few others realized what was about to happen.
"They aren't slowing down," he said to Osmond, "you need to get back in the air." The Flame Trooper nodded his head and swiftly moved across the deck to his Scalvwing. He was just beginning to mount the steed when Balthazar heard one of the Elements aboard the ship scream a command at the top of their lungs-
"BRACE!"
