Night was falling fast.
The air grew heavy as shadows swallowed the canyon. Bloodbeard stood at the edge of his campfire, the dim light flickering against the crimson streaks in his tangled beard. His gaze was as sharp as a drawn blade when he turned toward the exhausted tracker approaching him.
"Did you find their trail?" Bloodbeard's voice was low and cold — a voice that could freeze marrow.
The tracker barely dared to breathe. Sweat dripped from his temples as he pointed shakily toward the northern ridge. "Y-Yes, Boss. The thieves went that way."
Bloodbeard's eyes narrowed. "Then move out. Now."
He cast one final look at the valley behind them — their base camp, once bustling with the noise of men, now quiet and still. Without the crystal fish, this place was worthless. Worse, the secret medicine formula — the one said to strengthen the human body — had been stolen along with it.
