That day was selected by King Erban to begin the negotiations for the alliance with Briseea. He sent after me and Archibald Quantorus inviting us in the throne room. After a few formalities Erban reached to the subject:
- Like you pointed, Tyr, in case in which the pirate-necromancer alliance, would manage to conquest Briseea, that would mean we will be directly threatened by a huge empire of evil.
- True, even if is very unlikely that Briseea will fall, I believe that peace with them will be in our advantage , and also the destruction of the pirate alliance as soon as possible.
- Exactly. I know that you are preparing to return home, my friend, but I still want to ask you, if on the road back you can take a small detour to King Brissius court, because I can’t think at a better ambassador to accomplish this alliance. Ambassador Gungar – the one appointed in the ambassador position, is not very experienced and this will be a good opportunity for him to learn more about diplomatic relations and to get in touch with Briseean court.
Memories from Britannia came back strong in my mind, faces of my friends calling me amongst them, and I was burning of impatience to get back as fast I could, still Erban become my friend too in the last time, I was looking at him almost like at a child in my care.
- I will stop on Briseea and I will try to make this alliance; after that I am planning to go home, to Britannia.
I get his assurance that I will have a ship and crew ready for my returning trip. He even told me that I can go back from Briseea itself if I will get a ship from there and the diplomatic answer will be carried back to him by the ambassador Gungar.
After a warmly farewell and after preparations was done, together with Archibald and the Corfax delegation leaded by ambassador Gungar, we took the road to a small fisher’s village where it was anchored a ship prepared to get us to Briseea.
The road to Briseea took a few weeks, the sea life having a beneficial effect upon me, which in the last period started to have dark dreams and strange views, and in which the mountain entrance with the two foggy statues frequently appeared and looked to have a major role. They looked this time covered in flames and in the dream undead beasts guarded the entrance… When I wake up I felt drained of power and only the remembering of the simple and philosophic words of my teacher, Hamato from New Haven could reestablish my calm at the end.
Finally, at the horizon the land appeared again and derricks of the harbor-city of Briseea become visible on the foggy evening, Briseea - the capital city of the kingdom with the same name.
Here, I get to step on Briseean land, not like a fleeing pirate, but like the emissary of the new created kingdom of Corfax, with a warning and an alliance offer addressed to King Brissius. Faith really turns over without any rule and one day you are a slave working in a mine, thinking that your life is over, couple of days later you can be the attorney of a kingdom speaking with hi-ups and setting the path of politics…
From what I saw along the coast, Briseea, far of being a barren and dry land, had variant vegetation and the green and water abundance was predominant.
After all appearance, Briseea was a much advanced kingdom then Corfax, the harbor we entered was huge, and the atmosphere we could catch a glimpse of, remembered me of any other Britannian city. The castle itself was imposing enough, but not just like Lord British Castle. With massive walls of a open yellow, it looked more like a military centre then a government residence. Still, our deputation was received without delay, proving the attention given to diplomatic relations by King Brissius.
The king, in spite of his white tresses and his age, emitted a power and justice impression. To me, he looked like a man used to rule, but in the same time, right. After he listen to our warnings about pirate-necromancer alliance and at alliance proposal of King Erban, he smiled and took the word:
- I am glad to hear about the founding of Corfax Kingdom and I joyfully receive the peace offer of King Erban, still, the alliance between pirates and necromancers cannot be considered a real threat; Briseea was already attacked in west by necromancers, but our forces win an easy victory. How the enemy was already defeated I don’t see the reason for such a military alliance anymore.
This one being his last word, the rest of the meeting was spent in less important matters.
On the evening we were invited on an official dinner, taking place in one of the biggest hall of the palace, specially prepared for this kind of events. There we had the pleasure to meet the king’s daughter, Bianca, who did a very strong impression on my good friend, Archibald. Bianca was a delicate being with a very white skin and short black hair. But her blue-violet eyes was the ones that shake me from the depths… she gives me a strange familiar impression but malefic in the same time. Strange sensations I had at her sight, like the evil itself was standing in front of me, but in the same time I felt sorry for her. It was an evil I knew very well inside me. And still, nothing was clear to me, nothing looked sure. I looked at my friend Archibald who seemed totally enchanted of the girl. The companion at table on my right pokes me to get my attention; the king was addressing me. Blinking I tried to recover from my dizziness. “What the hell was going on with that girl?”
- … that you would like to travel on the northern lands, was saying Brissius, I heard many rumors about the northern kingdom of beyond the Great Ocean, still we didn’t assembly an expedition yet to establish some relations because of the large distance of unknown waters that separate us. Can you tell us about your country?
In this way I told them about Britannia, about britanian life and customs, about Lord Brittish and Blackthorne and many historical events, and then some of the adventures and events I was with my friends. Still my mind wasn’t at the conversation at all and Bianca was in the center of my attention all the time.
Another two days had passed and our staying on Briseea was close to end. In this short time Archibald became a different being, totally charmed of the girl. I tried to speak with him, to make him realize that she was princess, the highest placed among the nobles in the country, much younger them him and from a foreign kingdom.
- Love don’t have any boundaries and know no restrictions, he replied.
- How true… I said sighing. I couldn’t explain to Archibald what I felt about Bianca, no way. I realized that any try to warn him was fated to fail. On the other hand, I must discover myself what so strange familiar at this girl was. After hours of thinking and doubts, I decided that I can’t leave this matter how it is and I need to search for more evidence at all costs. So I collected all my courage and asked for an audience, unusual thing and, as a rule, watched with suspicion; what the ambassador of a barbarian kingdom can talk with the daughter of the King Brissius.
Bianca was standing on a terrace made of granite slabs of two colors which draw a checkered zone in this area of the palace. Accompanied by two girls from her retinue, she was wearing an immaculate white dress, giving her an angelic look. Even if my thoughts weren’t focused on that, I had to recognize that the girl was a beauty.
- I demanded to meet you your highness, to discuss a problem rather personal.
She smiles slightly taking an innocent attitude, only her blue-violet eyes seemed to laugh of my useless tries, looking to know everything. Starting to feel a bit anxious I continued:
- Like I said two evenings ago at the dinner, I came on your country to search for the island I was born, and how much I can about my origins.
- Indeed? - giggled her, but not with the same conviction. And you believe is any chance that I know such a place?
- I can’t say I have high hopes milady, still I will be more then honored if you can listen to my story; however less could mean very much – I respond watching carefully her reactions. Suddenly I realized that my presence have the same effect upon her, as her have on me, and no, it wasn’t a pleasant one. I hurried myself to continue:
- Yes, from what I know is all about a strange place, a tunnel entrance in a mountain guarded by two statues of fire and smoke, and the evil lies inside, is a gallery, long and straight corridors inside and … and … a fountain of blood flow within a wall – I remember in a shine. My words looked to trigger in her a strange reaction; she seemed to fight with a terrible force that grinds her from inside. Things look to get out of control.
- No – she whispered – not there…
- Be pure, be yourself, nobody can defeat your inner strength – I whispered looking in her eyes, the words and concepts which constitutes the core of the teaching acquired from my teacher, Hamato. Her forehead had covered with sweat and her eyes staring in all directions couldn’t see anything.
One of the two girls that accompanied her withdraws in a hurry to the palace entrance, while the other one watched us terrified. Without thinking I suddenly grabbed Bianca of her hand. The contact electrified us, in the same moment our eyes meet each other and I knew. In that very moment I saw him for a faction of a second. How could I forget? How? It was him. My old enemy, my old conqueror, my old master and the owner of an unbelievable strong malefic force that I could never defeat. Lord of the Abyss. Paladin destroyer. Eternal hellfire.
Steps could be heard from the terrace entrance. The guards arrived with running steps, in their front at some distance being Archibald Quantorus. Bianca lost her control, her eyes shined with his evil, and her delicate mouth disfigured in a weird grimace while she was biting her lips to blood.
- Die foul! – she whispered gripping my hand and the blade of the dagger shined in the sun rays on the terrace, small blood drops from her mouth sprinkled my shirt. The dagger draw a shining arc in the air and stopped on … the neck of the poor Archibald who jumped to separate us. Only the I could release my hand from hers, and the guards surrounded us. Archibald shivered a few times then remained immobile. The poison of the dagger was lethal.
I found about him, the one that had the keys of the answers at my questions and my search, now I was sure of that, but with what price, with what price!
I spent the next day alone, embraced in sadness, not wanting to know anything of the alarming rumors, not wanting to see even the ambassador Gungar who tried to contact me many times. The next day however, I had to act quickly; of a couple of days already we heard alarming news about attacks at Briseean borders, but these rumors was infirmed by the King Brissius who hoped to solve the problems in the meantime. So we didn’t had too many reasons of concerning until now when we received a message from the king with which we was invited to leave quickly the palace and the kingdom, because of the terrible news received from the southern seacoast and from the western front.
Apparently, the necromancer attacks from the west, constituted only a diversion to attract at that border the main briseean army, in this time Peg Leg James’s pirates massively landed in south of the continent, heading quickly to the capital city, plundering and pillaging everything in their way and cutting the supply lines of the Briseean army from the west. In the same time, tha main necromancer army attacked again, this time from north and west at once, surrounding the briseean army and fighting on life and death to destroy it. The few soldiers remained around the capital, started to fortify the city, waiting for the imminent invasion of the pirates. I and Corfax deputation were quickly led to the harbor, the king hoping we could leave before the harbor get blocked of Peg Leg James’s ships.
Arrived on the sea on our corfaxian ship we headed to south trying to reach Corfax. I was already in a very bad mood because of Archibald, only after his death I realized how close I get of him and how much I miss his company and sharp mind, and now a new delay for the returning of Britannia and the uncertain future of Briseea worried me even more. But, it wasn’t to be like that. After a couple of hours of navigation to south we saw a small ship with all sails raised, sailing at full speed to north. We was already on guard because of the pirate threat, so we approached the newcomers with big precautions. They, at our approach, had no though to slow down, even if they recognized our Corfax flag. In that few minutes in which we intersected each other, a tall man yelled at us from the other ship:
- Turn back, turn back, a dark fleet is coming this way from the south, is going to north, save yourself while you still can!
Our tries to warn them to not head to Briseea remained bound to failure, they were already too far away.
In this situation it was rose the question what we could do. The captain of the barbarian ship decided quickly:
- Pirate fleet is coming from the south, we will go to north, damn be Peg Leg James and his cursed island, Shell Harbor.
- But we need to get to Corfax at all costs – withstand Gungar, the Corfax ambassador. The message we need to transmit to king Erban is even more important now when Briseea was already attacked.
- The King’s Erban help would have been arrived in Briseea too late – I interfered. The captain is right, if we will continue to south we will fall right in the hands of the pirates. The only way we know of is to north, let’s try to reach my country, Britannia.
- But in the north lies the Great Ocean, we don’t have the provisions and …
Gungar’s words were interrupted by the watch sailor:
- Ship at fooooore! Ship at fooooore!
The captain without wasting more time, get his hand on the steering wheel, and turned the ship so abruptly that some men lost their equilibrium. Then he commanded the rise of all sails. In the meantime other two ships become visible on the spyglass behind the first one. Of course, they saw us too and raised all sails at their turn, showing us clearly their intentions. Right now they were at a very big distance, could be observed only by spyglass. Now, it only remained to be seen how fast our ship was. Right from the beginning of the race, the captain commanded the drop of a part of the ballast and a careful anchorage of all other weights, to not slip because of the dangerous inclination of the ship that run with full speed. Hours passed one after another, the distance didn’t modified too much, it was a race not only of speed but of our nerves. After two days it was clear that they were approaching, but the difference in speed between our ship and theirs was very small. Out captain reduce it even more planting some additional sail in the left and right of the ship. For some time we even hoped that they will abandon the pursue, and return to the fleet that no wonder in those moments was besieging Briseea, but they didn’t. Only one ship was in our tail now, but no doubt, without any defensive devices on ours, it was more then enough to sink us without problems. The weather continued to remain calm with a constant wind from the south, which was good because if the wind will get faster or a storm would hit us, we had to remove a part of the sails.
The crazy race took over three long weeks, in which we finished our provisions and we needed to eat only the caught fish, with the pirates still at a respectable distance behind us, when a storm finally hit us. We needed to furl some of the sails otherwise the ship would have been turned down, and they started to get closer and closer. But is the same time the weather becomes worse and worse, till a mother storm begins to scream his rage across the endless ocean. Our small ship wasn’t prepared for such threats and higher waves started to sweep the bridge, reducing our speed even more.
The pirate ship caught us finally, but we were too busy fight the storm to care about fighting pirates in same time. Suddenly a thunder was heard from the enemy ship and a explosion on ours destroyed the upper deck, killing two of our eleven sailors. It was all over, they had a canon. How they could target us on that hell remained a mystery. Our ship was on a total chaos, everyone was trying to save himself, rain was falling without interruption and the waves were hitting the ship from everywhere, when, a big wave swept the bridge; our ship was already heavy of water because everybody leaved the pumps after the first canon shot, and started to sink slowly. Screams could be heard from the pirate ship when they realized that we were indeed sinking; after a so long race they didn’t imagine that they won’t capture our ship and the load, plus a bunch of good slaves, us. Sliding on the bridge I started to climb the mast trying to avoid to be pulled on the water from the sinking ship. In a desperate try to capture us the pirates get their ship closer, a very dangerous maneuver on such weather. Hooks caught our ship while the pirates start to pull it, trying to bind it of theirs so they can loot it. I was getting already in top of the sail when another big wave hit our ship from behind pushing it hard against the pirate one, crushing it with a sinister noise. The mast finally collapsed and started to fall over the pirate ship. I lost my grip and fell from it flying over the enemy ship and jumping in the sea. I didn’t lost conscience and as soon I get in the water I started to swim, very difficult task with all the storm, rain and waves dropping tons of water on my head. After some time I found myself alone in the middle of the ocean, the sinking ship or ships were moved by the strong wind and currents, out of my sight. For a long time I fought with the waves swimming to what I believed to be north, many time the waves covering me, other times drinking sea water, which I discovered strangely, it did not hurt me, nor make me sick…, very strange indeed.
After more then three days I finally met a small boat with a single sail and a single human on it, who saved me at last. He was a poor fisher from Jhelom, who was trying to get famous by modifying his fishing boat and exploring with it the Southern Ocean in search for unknown lands.
After a few weeks I was back on the civilized world, on Britannia, quarrying with me many regrets, and much news about the unknown lads on the south, with at least a part of my mission accomplished and some answers found, but in the same time with many other questions that I knew, I will have to face sometimes.
[ End ]