Chapter 126: The Pirate Lord’s

Marcus received two letters at once at his head hurt from the reports he was receiving. One was the go-ahead from Alfred which was much appreciated, but it seemed it had come too late when he reads the second, detailing the riot that took place in Nakhla. Whilst the man he had placed there had managed to deal with it for now it was proof that tensions were getting worse. "Get Adrian for me." Ordering the man waiting in his the servant quickly bowed, running off.

It took less than five minutes for Adrian to arrive. "You called."

"I need you to speed up your dealings with Abdul. The situation in Nakhla is about to explode and I need to be there. Someone tried killing that woman." Adrian was shocked for a second but didn’t let it get to him. "I will be leaving for a while and handle it personally. The situation in the Capital is fine for now. The nobles know their place. Keep things running smoothly."

His threat was clear but Adrian didn’t pay it any mind, giving a nod. "Fine. Give me a few days before you leave so I can get my affairs in order." Marcus nodded and Adrian turned and left seeing that.

Marcus let out a long exhale as he wrote another letter back to Alfred about the change in the situation.

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"And why can we trust her? A woman who talks about ending bloodlines." A fat noble sat opposite the three that Mother had been dealing with. They had been around the whole city the entire day and it was their final stop. It had been a long and exhausting process. The responses however were promising, a mixture of complete disregard and distrust and an agreement of mutual cooperation against the Emporer. They knew it would only last for a while, but they believed that Mother could change their minds after a while. More so with the book, which showed some promise.

"You misunderstand her." The most powerful of the three-spoke with a reassuring smile. "When she talks about ending bloodlines, she does not mean it literally. She doesn’t have an issue with us keeping our wealth and status. People after all must own land and pay the people who live and work on it. What she wants is a theocratic state where the Followers are in charge, with our leaders elected by everyone. You, me the peasants and the clergy."

"So my opinion is now worth the same as the commoners." The fat noble brushed it off with disgust. "My blood can be traced centuries back and now I must put the commoners on a pedestal because the Lord says so. If this is what you are offering I don’t want to hear it."

"And risk death." The man’s voice was harsh but filled with fear.

"Is this a threat?" The fat man leaned forward, his hands gripping the chair he was sitting on tightly.

"Of course not." He quickly waved his hands in front of his body. "Just the reality if you don’t side with your people. The Emporer is a callous man who can and will exterminate everyone he sees as unfit. Can you honestly sit here and tell me you will be free from his blade when he decides the new lands are not fit for him" The fat noble squinted but said nothing leaning back into his chair.

"No." He sighed looking out the window. It was an open belief amongst the nobility that they were on borrowed time. But most still held out the hope of being spared by trying to prove their loyalty. Their armies had been decimated during the civil war and it had forced them to switch sides. The three nobles saw some hope but it was quickly crushed, "But he won’t kill me yet. I have time. To prepare an escape or prove myself. And he also knows that the same trick he pulled last time won’t work. If a purge starts we will know."

"So you’re fine with living under that constant threat." He snapped back and the fat noble scoffed.

"Every day we live under threat. With or without the Emporer. War could strike, famine, disease or the peasants could revolt. It doesn’t matter. You just have to hope the worst doesn’t come or take measures to make sure. The Emporer is a cruel man no doubt, but he’s not dumb. If he is the main threat now, then I will be on that side, not opposing it." He feared Alfred. But that was only if he went against him. Standing on his side was much safer than openly being a traitor.

The three could see the man before them had no desire to go against Alfred and sighed standing up. There was no point in talking to a brick wall. "We will see ourselves out." The fat noble nodded watching them leave. Once the door closed his eyes went sharp.’Time to leave the city.’He didn’t know why but his instincts called for him to leave. He trusted them and quickly made plans to leave the next day.

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"Forgive us, Mother." A day passed and the three sat before Mother with annoyed expressions. "Few saw the true threat the Emporer passed and are willing to help us, even when we told them the truth about your plans." She gave a shake of the head not blaming them.

"It’s fine. I hate to ask but do you know which ones these were? If possible I would like to avoid going forward. We never know they may try and sell us out to the Empire." She said worried and could see one man nodding reaching into his breast pocket.

"I made a list of those who denied us when I returned home. I hoped that maybe we could try once more when the Empire shows its teeth." Mother is taking it. Looking at the list it was long, but she knew it wasn’t ever noble within the city at the moment.

"Can I hold on to this? For my safety. We still don’t know who tried to kill me after all." She made her voice softer. The three looked at her with sympathy.

"Of course, I was going to hand it to you anyway."

"Thank you. Your help to see our Lord’s Kingdom be created will not be forgotten. You three will be remembered as some of the first to lay the way for our future."

"It is our job as Followers of Khors to see a vision like yours be created."

Giving a warm smile she looked at them. "That is good to hear. Now it is time to move on to the next step." The three moved in a little closer. "The people are scared right now and need something to keep them occupied. Whilst I can give my speeches to ease their worries, I am one woman. I wish for the people to be taught by our priests, and refocus their minds away from the fears they feel right now. And I hope you may provide the help by giving us places to teach them."

The three looked at each other and nodded. "Providing a place for them to teach lessons is no problem."

"That’s great." Mother clapped her hands lightly and smiled, "Thank you. I will see you out."

"There is no need. You’re still resting." They denied her leaving. Mother watched and when they were gone called out.

"Aseel." From the side room, her son walked out. "Did you follow them for me yesterday?" The man nodded. Mother smiled warmly at him, grabbing the amour on his face gently. His eyes closed, as he moved his head in closer to the touch. "Can you do another job for me?" She spoke with great care and Aseel gave a gentle nod, not opening his eyes. Mother removed her hand grabbing a pen and paper. At the top, she wrote ’Traitors’. Underneath she wrote with great care a few of the names, but not all.

"Over the next couple of days, Mother is going to be in some danger." Her words got a slight reaction fromAseel who opened his eyes, them being filled with anger. "My sweet boy." Mother grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. His anger quickly disappeared, replaced with calmness. "I need you to be brave and protect me. Can you do that?" Aseel gave a strong nod, and Mother pulled him in giving him a hug. Feeling her warmth, he rested his head on her shoulder. "I have a lot for you to do in the future, my son. You’re the only one I trust. So don’t disappoint me."

Aseel reacting to those words, tightened his hug around her getting a warm smile as she stroked the back of his head.

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Issac took a deep breath and looked at the scene before him. An Island that was covered in mist that gave anyone who looked at it a feeling of dread. If one listened closely, Issac thought he could hear the screams of tormented souls. He had been to the Chent Free Cities but they had all directed him towards this island saying the Pirate brothers hardly ever return. If he wanted to do business he had to come here.

Whilst he was scared he made sure not to go in weak. He had two ships borrowed from Catherine. Although most would have at least one woman working on them, Issac made sure none did for this mission. He knew how pirates were and he didn’t want to dangle something like that in front of them.

Looking to his left and right he saw the Unyeilding guards who didn’t show a single reaction to the Island, standing like statues watching for any danger. From the fog, he saw two towering ships coming out. Issac’s heartbeat quickened as he looked at his own ship and knew he messed up. They dwarfed them, being equal in size to the Empire’s capital ships. Despite this, he gulped and took a deep breath. He couldn’t show fear.

The ships were quick and pulled alongside Issac’s boat. A long plank fell onto his deck and he knew it was all or nothing now. He showed no fear and walked up it followed by his two guards. He could feel the piercing eyes all over his body and even heard the subtle moving of his two guards who took a more defensive stance. Once he was on the deck he saw who he could only describe as terrifying.

A giant of a man who had black eyes that were filled with madness. His long dirty black hair reached down to his shoulders with an unkempt beard that came to his chest. He was more of a savage beast than a human. A long saber was on his waist, with another small sword sticking out from the side of his back. Issac heard tales of this man and knew instantly who he was. Pirate Lord Oberon. Captain of the Widow’s Omen. Issac found the ship’s name unsavoury but didn’t say anything looking back at the other ship.

The one which held this man’s brother, Gage, Captian of the Silent Plague. He noticed the red flags it flew and could understand why he was meeting this man instead. Looking back at him, he saw Oberon’s eyes bearing deep into his body.

"Issac smiled back at him, not mockingly but friendly. "I come with a contract for you and your brother." Oberon walked forward, his steps somehow quiet for a man of his size.

"What job?" His voice was coarse but had a deep bloodthirst in it, but this didn’t bother Issac, being distracted by the fact that he was cooperative.

"Raid the Commonwealth continuously. 100 Gold upfront. An extra 400 after a year. All wealth earned is free for you to keep. We simply want you to stick terror into them." Issac gave the offer and held his breath hoping it was good enough. it was an outrageous amount of gold to offer but an acceptable loss. The amount could be made back with the new lands within a year if everything went right.

"Let me see it." Issac nodded and turned back.

"BRING IT UP!" He called down to his own ship and they watched as a chest was walked up the thin plank. Issac hoped it wouldn’t snap under its weight but his fear never surfaced, with the loud crashing sound and chest opening showing the gold. Oberon stuck his hand in picking up a piece. Biting it he he threw it back nodding.

"A year." Issac nodded and Oberon looked back at the gold. "Okay." With that, he spat on his hand and reached out. Issac had been told if this is how they ended the deal then it wouldn’t be broken. He didn’t hesitate and spat on his own shaking Oberon’s.

Looking at his men he walked back down and stared back at the two towering ships. If he didn’t know better he would think that the fog followed them. Only when he was out of sight he let out a deep breath and realized his shaking hands.