The Bloody Hand by Mark B. Gilgam

To escape the Tolosan Troubles, in which he was entangled by his friends, the Knights of the Red Lily, Kitt stows away on a merchant ship just setting sail. However, his hopes for a quick escape are dashed as the ship becomes caught up in a succession of unnatural storms, preventing it from making landfall. In this perilous situation, a new threat appears on the horizon: the ominous purple sails of a formidable pirate ship. It is the dread Orokun of the Bloody Hand.

As the pirates attack, Kitt boards their ship in a singlehanded counterattack. A relentless struggle ensues in the dark confines of the lower decks. After a prolonged and arduous confrontation, Kitt assumes the role of smith and armourer on the Orokun and marks his twentieth birthday atop the mainmast.

The search for a safe port in uncharted waters leads to the hidden island of Satanazes, where restless ghosts guard their treasures, a volcanic underground forge waits for the smith to resume work, and a devious merman plots mischief.