Gap

“	It's so bad that one in four ships that try don't make it through the Gap.	”
–The Lieutenant, "Cranky Bitch"

The Gap is a sea or large bay located south of the Salada Peninsula of the northern continent. It is one of the westernmost known geographical features of the Black Company series. The Pocatose archipelago is situated south and west of Chimney (the chief city of the Salada Peninsula) and is either inside the Gap or very close to it. Some time before the events of "Cranky Bitch", corsairs from the Pocatose expanded their piracy such that they captured 1 out of every 4 ships which tried to sail through the Gap.

The Gap does not connect directly to the Strait of Vermust. Instead, "the south end of the Gap" is separated from the Strait by some distance. The independent port city of Kadith is not within the Gap, but south of it.

The saltwater body is not part of the Lady's Empire and is not patrolled by any Imperial vessels. The many ships which sail across the Gap may come from as far east as the Jewel Cities of the Sea of Torments (all under the Lady's control) to as far north as independent Juniper and Meadenvil.

"Cranky Bitch"

The Black Company, sailing aboard the heavily-defended Cranky Bitch, sailed across the Gap 4 times during their 2 convoy jobs for the Houses of Istven and the Seamen's Guild of Chimney. There, they fought 3 bloody battles against the pirates of the Pocatose. These clashes at sea were uneven slaughters, with the Company using numerous artillery engines and the sorcery of One-Eye, Goblin, and Silent to sink dozens of pirate vessels. During the third battle, the Company shot a new, unidentified member of the new Taken out of the sky. This sorcerer's burning corpse was abandoned by the surviving pair of Taken, and it sank to the depths of the Gap.

The Company disembarked from the Bitch for the final time someplace along the shores bordering the Gap or south of it, to begin their long overland journey across the northern continent and their next adventures, the events of the subsequent On The Long Run short stories.

West coast of the northern continent
north to south: Juniper → Meadenvil → Shaker → Needle → Tagline → Chimney (Salada Peninsula) → the Gap → Pocatose archipelago → Kadith → western wilderness → Strait of Vermust