Meanwhile, Kronos Island
~Cassius’ Perspective~
I kneel on the sand next to the dead body of who was presumably the leader of the crew. The filthy stench of rotting bodies fill the air as I look around at the death around me.
This isn’t good.
When news spread that Veridies was no longer a threat, every pirate breathed a small sigh of relief before turning their eyes to the bigger threat looming ahead.
About half a year ago, Sage, better known as the Emerald Empress, and her pirates took the fishing island of Altavista. The problem was that one, Altavista’s one of the most important islands in the 2nd Sea, and two, it’s pretty fucking important. And three:
She’s the leader of the Emerald Skull Pirates. One of the big 3 pirate organizations.
When Veridies tried to start a crew, all of the organizations turned their eyes on him, if not because they didn’t want another competitor. Now, with Veridies out of the way, nothing’s stopping her from focusing on dominating the west.
She’s a threat to the balance of power. If she’s left unchecked, she will drag the 2nd and 1st Sea into war.
Apparently the Mantle Pirates still haven’t 100% recovered after the last time that happened. And they have a fucking curse user as their leader.
These dead people were Shining Pirate scouts sent to watch Altavista in case they began to mobilize. The state of their dead bodies and the fact they were left here to rot means that she’s trying to send a message.
Don’t get in the way.
Bad news, lady. We can’t stand by and watch as you try to gain power and drag the seas closer to war.
“Oi Cass!” yells Steven. “We need out get out of here fast! There are ships heading our way!”
“Shit,” I mutter. “Everyone on board now!”
I watch as the 5 members of my crew who went down with me run past me onto the ship. I look back and follow them.
2 members grab the plank and pull it up. We unfurl the sails and begin to move away from the island.
“It looks bad,” says Brayden. “It was slaughter all around. Looks like some of the scouts were tortured as well.”
“That’s basically a declaration of war,” grumbles Pollux.
“The problem is that our main fleets are stationed east,” says Arianna. “They will see us coming a mile away. And that damn tornado took out the closest ships to Altavista. And you know that Trigno only gets involved when things get really bad. And Averill…”
“Is busy preparing for something else,” I finish. “In other words, we’re on our own until something big happens.”
“Well,” says Willow. “At least she doesn’t know where most of the survivors are.”
“And we’re the only ones who know,” I snap back. “Not even Averill knows where they are.”
“Captain,” says Alex. They hand me a letter before pointing at a bird perched on the railing. I look at the familiar writing on the envelope. I open it and read its contents before cursing loudly.
“Shit,” I curse. “It’s Averill. He’s in the 2nd Sea. He wants to meet us.”
I look at the bird.
“Send him a response and tell him we’re on our way. And report what we found at Kronos Island as well.”
I look to the horizon. Things just got interesting.
End of Chapter II