Pirate's Life for Me

Even from the horizon, they could already see the smoke. The fire that engulfed the city has long gone yet the smoke was still in the air. Carrion crows have been feasting on the corpses of the former inhabitants. The conditions of some of the corpses showed that they did not die a peaceful death, like how one was killed by short drop hanging.

"BLEEGH!"

The leading lizardman looked at her fellow species, who couldn't hold it anymore and threw up. She then looked at other lizardmen. All of them have the same expression; horror.

"Search for survivor!" She gave the order.

If she had to be honest, she doubted that there was anyone still alive in the area. Either everyone was killed to the last blood or already evacuated the ruins. Nothing's wrong with just making sure though. Besides, it could give her underlings the much-needed distraction.

She decided to go to the harbor. Just as she expected, the situation was no different. The fire has consumed some part of the pier. There were tips of the masts that indicated the locations of recently-made shipwrecks. There was no corpse in the water though, so at least a saving grace existed.

The lizardman stopped her thought when she noticed that something was in the water. She went to the pier – the part that still intact – to take a closer look. When she was at the edge of the pier, someone emerged from the water. From her greenish fins and priest-like hat, she was able to identify her as a sea bishop.

"Oh, hello there." The sea bishop greeted her. "Welcome. I am sorry for the…unwelcoming sight."

The lizardman looked at the eyes of the sea bishop. The light in them was dim as if she had just experienced some traumatic event, which – considering the condition of the harbor – was very likely.

"Hey." She waved her hand lazily. "Do you know what happened here?"

"Not exactly. I was swimming several miles away from here when I heard the screams of people drowning. I and other bishops tried to rescue them but before we even enter the harbor, they were silenced."

The sea bishop climbed into the pier. She sat there as her eyes stared at the water below her. The lizardman could see a tear dripped from her eye.

"You know, we sea bishops perform a ritual so that humans and mamono could live together under the sea." She wiped the tear with her hand. "Right now, we perform nothing but a funeral."

The lizardman looked at the sea bishop and put her hand on her shoulder in sympathy. After a while, she moved away from the harbor, leaving the sea bishop to sat on the pier alone. As of now, she didn't know who razed the entire city. She knew that it wasn't the Order for they would try to turn the city into an Order-aligned one.

The news must spread; a new threat for a peaceful world has emerged.

In a coastal town of a small island, a party occurred not just in the taverns but also outside of them. People drinking all over the place with rum being the most popular. Some decided to spend their money playing games and there were those who spend it to enjoy the pleasure of the opposite sex.

One thing that stood out the most about the partying people was the majority of them were mamono. Most of them were zombies with the rest consisted of other undead mamono. The zombies were known for their low intelligence and often did not use their wits, making them being guided by instinct in search of human men.

Yet these zombies showed little signs of that. Sure, they were still simple-minded, exampled by how one of them has no problem being dragged around by a donkey. But they could do things like pouring a glass of rum without spilling too much of it, strategizing – if only a little bit – in a game of card, and in actuality, just being able to have a coherent conversation was already an improvement.

However, thanks to a large amount of alcohol served during the party, many of them were now in the state of drunkenness, making them no smarter than their ordinary kin.

From the harbor of the town, a group of mamono joined the party. The undead was led by a vampire who had her right eye covered by an eyepatch. Despite being a creature known for their pride, the vampire acted nothing like someone of nobility. She jumped around while speaking loudly and happily about her latest "job." Any vampire who sees her would very likely suffer a heart attack.

"…and here we are, back to the Turtle Island!" The vampire exclaimed as she spread her arms. "Captain Drekla, what's the state of our treasury?"

"We can be very excessive spending them and there will still be a lot in our coffer." A woman with a hook that replaced her left hand replied.

"Very good! Go ahead and have fun, lasses! We have a business of our own!"

The vampire hopped towards a tavern, leaving her crew to their own business. When she opened the door loudly, eyes went towards her for a while before the people inside went back to their own business. The white hair looked around for a while before setting her eyes on a table occupied by a vampire and two zombies.

She knew exactly where to go.

"Well, well, well…" The vampire on the table stopped eating her skewered meat. "If it's not the Arch Grand Commodore herself."

"That's us!" The vampire with eyepatch took a seat. "Luthoria Harkon, Mad Pirate Queen of the Vampire Coast!"

One of the zombies, who was busy counting her gold coins, took a look at the vampire, Luthoria, before returning her attention back to her money. It was clear though that she kept a clear sight on the Commodore because she changed her seat.

On the other hand, the other zombie, who was sitting lazily on the lap of a tavern's waiter, looked at the vampire skeptically before looking at her superior, who nodded in return.

"Yep, she's Luthoria Harkon, the one that the Countess talked about."

"Ah, new crew member, I see?" Luthoria asked as she put her hand on her chin.

"Correct. We found her on an Order convoy." The vampire captain smiled as if remembering something funny. "She was a hero of the Order, the one responsible for the damage on the Bloody Reaver. After she was slain, the Countess resurrected her as a common zombie and made killing her former comrades her first job."

"Oh, really?" The Commodore looked at the zombie while chuckling. "Rolled a pretty bad number, aren't you?"

"I…guess…?" The zombie tilted her head before hiccupping, most likely due to the rum.

"So, what brings you here, Commodore?" The captain said as she took a bite of her food. "You're not just here for chit-chat."

"Of course not. We just want some…information exchange." Luthoria's eye, once full of cheerfulness, was now replaced by cunningness. "Nothing much. Just some information about a convoy or two. We'll tell you about our latest victory."

"Ah, yes. Sacking an entire city and leaving no survivor. That's quite a feat." The vampire poured two glasses of rum. "It must be an interesting story."

"Oh, we bet it is one." The Commodore accepted the glass and drank it. "When we arrived, we presented ourselves as a captain of a trading company that has just escaped from a maelstrom, hence the…condition of our ships."

"They were that gullible?" The zombie that counted her money asked.

"Indeed. They were fascinated by how despite being a vampire, we acted nothing like an arrogant whining princess, how they could talk with our zombie crew without being attacked, and obviously, the large amount of rum, sugar, and tobacco that we brought."

Luthoria poured herself another glass of rum before continuing.

"As a 'thank' for letting us moored in their harbor, we sold them our cargo with a very low price. Rum and other alcohol were spread around and one big party was started. Which was how our crew was spread all over the city."

Her eye was now filled with a gleaming madness.

"And that was when we decided to strike! I went to the governor's house, cut off his head, and showed it in the city center. Our ships bombarded the city, our crew took control of the gates, trapping the inhabitants inside. Their puny guards fell before the might of our guns."

She leaned back on her chair and let out a laugh.

"Within hours, the entire settlement was ours. We took everything valuable, the survivors were taken to the ships, and the dead were raised to replace the zombies that fell."

"Must be a lot of prisoners." The vampire captain commented.

"Indeed. Made a lot of profit after visiting plantations and some necromancers."

"In any case, those are indeed some valuable information in case we plan to raid a monster-friendly settlement."

"Aye. But try not to do it too often. Sooner or later the news will spread. Also, spare Polove will you? We make a killing selling plantation product there."

"Worry not. We have no intention of attacking our cash cow as well."

The Commodore giggled as she poured herself yet another glass of rum. She offered to toss with the captain, which was accepted.

Things were going well for the Vampire Coast.

Inside a cell, a young woman with her hands tied by rope was leaning on the wall as she stared at the ceiling. She diverted her eyes towards the door, setting her eyes on an armored figure with a polearm. Just like several hours ago, they still kept their eyes on her.

Suddenly, there was a sound of a footstep. The armored person gave their respect to the newcomer before opening the door. As soon as her eyes met her, the woman knew who she was staring at.

"Countess Noctilus." She greeted her with a voice full of venom.

"Sabrina Lando." The Countess greeted her back, voice empty of emotion.

She was a woman with long white hair and red eyes, covered from the neck downward in thick, heavy plate armor, with a giant red captain's hat. In her hands was a small golden chest adorned with precious jewels.

Sabrina recognized it. It was a gift for the King of Lescatie, given by a fellow king and follower of the Order. A gift that has been entrusted to her to be safely escorted. A gift that many of her men had sacrificed their lives to protect when their ship was attacked by pirates.

A gift that was now in the hand of the monster in front of her.

Her men were experienced in fighting against the mamono, knowing about their desire to seduce human males and made them their mates while corrupting the females into becoming one of them. The mamono under Countess Noctilus – and even the Countess herself – was nothing like that.

The first thing that they did when both of their ships met each other was for the mamono to open fire with their cannons. It was followed by the zombies firing their pistols and muskets before boarding the ship.

Sabrina couldn't help but wonder just how the pirates managed to gain so many small arms. Not the cannons, that was quite common among the sea merchants and navies. But the small arms, on the other hand, was so many that they were more of them than people to use them.

"So…" The hero stopped her thought and looked at the pirate. "I was tweaking around with the key of this chest, simply to waste time. Now, however, I am curious about the content."

"What, you want me to give you the code?" Sabrina sneered at her. "You can forget it, pirate. I am not opening my mouth."

Rather than being angry, Noctilus merely put her hand on her chin and nodded. She then made a gesture towards the armored person and exited the cell.

"I believe you're in need of fresh air." She stated before leaving her with the guard.

She was harshly escorted – more like being dragged, really – into the deck of the ship. Once she was there, she could see the Countess enjoying the fresh air that she mentioned while giving her a smile. A smile that did nothing except making her worried.

"Ma'am?"

Sabrina diverted her attention towards the voice. Her eyes became as wide as saucer upon seeing them; her men – that survived the attack and was taken prisoner just like her – were on the planks with their hands tied.

"So, Sabrina?" She looked at Noctilus, who smirked at her while showing the chest. "The code?"

The meaning of her words was obvious. The hero tried to keep her mouth shut. Yet, upon seeing her men were pushed furthermore into the end of planks, she closed her eyes before letting out a sigh.

"Four o'clock. Counter. Nine o'clock. Eleven o'clock. Counter. Twelve o'clock. Counter. Seven o'clock." She stated, causing the Countess to raise an eyebrow. "That's what they said. I don't know the meaning of it."

Noctilus diverted her attention to the chest. She put her hand on a circle, which was the only part of the chest that can be moved. She rotated it, clockwise and counterclockwise, before realizing the meaning of the code.

"A clock, huh." The Countess nodded her head before looking at the zombies that took care of the captured Order sailors. "Send them to the deep!"

"No!" Sabrina tried to run towards the pirate but the armored person grabbed her from behind. "Noctilus, you promised…"

"Promised?" She looked back at her as if she had said something funny. "I never make any promise to you."

The hero of the Order could only stand and watched as the zombies pushed the last of her men overboard, sending them into the deep sea. She then dropped to her knees while Noctilus looked at her while holding her own chin.

"You know, I have seen your skill when we captured you." She stated before laughing. "You're lucky. There's a uniform of your size and a ship in need of a captain."

"I will not join you, monster!" Sabrina exclaimed, trying to attack the Countess but was held back.

"Well, it's not like you will have that choice," Noctilus replied before she went to her cabin with Sabrina being forced to follow her.

"Welcome to the Dreadfleet, Miss Lando."

And the prologue is done.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me!

Review, please!