"You've been betrayed. Kamarov is dead, and the White Legion is waiting to arrest you once your ship lands. Barakhin plans to barter your freedom in return for recognition of his puppet, Alexis III."

Corvo noticed that Sokolov seemed somewhat taken back by the mention of the name.

"That is impossible. Alexis died years ago of the rat plague while visiting Dunwall. I personally confirmed his death."

"The man you examined was indeed Alexis. The man Barakhin has crowned is not the prince, but he has convinced his followers that he is. And they are too blinded by their desire for independence to care."

The young woman added, "Colonel Holmes and I are willing to hide you from the Legion. But we must leave before they notice your disappearance."

Corvo was hesitant. He sensed a trap.

Col. Holmes, if that was really what his name was, seemed to understand. "Of course, you are welcome to turn us away and remain on the ship. But you should know that Barakhin has sent his protege, Lieutenant Yulia Zhutov, with no less than a hundred Legionnaires and mounted guards to await your arrival. And if you try to flee, then they have orders to fire on your vessel. What threat do we pose? I have no weapon and Mary, while I've trained her as best I can, would be no match for a Royal Protector."

"Colonel, we have to leave now. The port is just ahead."

"It's time, gentlemen. If you trust us, climb down to our skiff. We depart in three minutes."

As they climbed back down, Corvo turned towards Sokolov.

"Corvo, do you trust them?"

"Take my pistol. Shoot the girl first. The old man won't be a threat."

They made their way down to the skiff. Holmes settled into the back while Mary calmly guided them away from the ship.

"Now, Royal Protector, to prove to you that my intentions are noble, let me show you what will happen to your crew."

He motioned to Mary to stop the boat and handed Corvo a small spyglass. Corvo looked through it just in time to see some small boats, each carrying several men and women in white uniforms, surround the Lady Victoria. The soldiers then clambered aboard. Corvo could hear loud yelling as they rounded up the sailors and began ransacking the ship.

"We should go. There's nothing we can do for those men. With any luck, they'll be off to the labor camps before long."

Mary started the engine, and the skiff sped away from the ship.

"You're lucky I found you two in time. We've had to check every ship coming into the harbor, all while avoiding the Legion. I don't know what you were hoping to achieve, but Alexis III isn't likely to negotiate anything, not as long as Barakhin is holding his strings."

"I don't understand. We were told that Kamarov was still on the throne."

"Maybe he was when you got that letter. Or maybe Barakhin had it written so that he could lure you here and throw you in prison. Either way, Tyvia is no longer hospitable to men of the Empire."

"Where is Barakhin?"

"You won't get to him. At least not without my help. He's fortified the palace with the best the Legion can provide, as well as security devices, hounds, and mounted patrols. Not even you could enter without being caught."

Not without the Outsider's power, that is.

"If I may, where are you taking us?"

"Once Barakhin hears of this, he'll order the Legion to search every house and business in Dabokva until you're found. The only place they won't check is the wharf, because that's where the slaughterhouses are. No one is allowed to go near them without permission to prevent theft of whale oil supplies. I happen to know that near that area is an old clearinghouse where the Crown's custom inspectors were stationed. Mary has already prepared some rooms for you two, and my friend in town managed to get food and weapons to us before they confiscated his inventory to feed the Legion."

The skiff slowed as it entered the commercial district. Many of the whale factories were silent, and yet the air was still thick with the smell of blood, oil being processed, and decomposing offal. Barakhin had probably shut down most of the plants to save on manpower and only kept enough of them running to produce the oil he needed.

The clearinghouse was behind one such plant. Mary helped Corvo and Sokolov ashore.

"The door is unlocked. You two settle in while we hide the skiff and finish some other pressing business."