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Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 8: Chapter 9


"Shit, Blake. I'm so sorry…"

"I don't blame you. Nor Ruby."

Yang's relief was palpable, the Brawler's shoulders relaxing as she slumped back in her seat. Despite the private nature of Blake's tale to me, I thought it necessary to find out whether her suspicions on Summer Rose were true and, to my relief, Blake had agreed to tell Yang the story. Edited, of course. She left out what happened to her parents, simply saying that she had seen Summer in the attack, and in the company of Raven.

"I spent years focusing on and getting my revenge. I made mistakes. Blamed people who weren't to blame and took more pleasure in hurting people than I should have." Blake took a long swig of the foul alcohol served on the Mirage Isles. It was like fire. "I came to Beacon to escape that and to become something different. I'm not about to go back now."

"We wanted to talk to you to find out if it might be true," I said. "But I – we." I gestured to Blake. "Thought it would be best if we came to you and not Ruby."

"Yeah. I'm glad you did." Yang looked around, trying to see if anyone – Ruby, especially – might overhear. They weren't at their rooms however, but rather a table in a dark corner of the deck that made up the tavern area. Water splashed and sloshed over the edge to their left, and the table to their right was busy in a loud and raucous card game, stacks of lien and prized jewellery on the table. "First things first, I've told Jaune before, but for Blake's sake, Summer was what you'd call the perfect Hero. Not a hero, but a Hero. The Caste. She was our hero still, and a hero to a load of people," Yang continued, "But to Summer, law and order was more important than anything. So I think that if she knew of a way to get to the Mirage Isles, she absolutely would have come here to kill Blake's parents."

It was said with such certainty, such casual disregard for the lives of Blake's parents, that I shifted toward Blake, ready to intervene if she lunged across the table. To my surprise, the Assassin was calm. Stiff, but calm.

"I'm not sayin' it's fair or right," Yang said, "But they were pirates. Criminals. In Summer's eyes, and the eyes of a lot of people in Vale, it would be right to kill them."

"I understand that." Blake's eyes hardened and her hands clenched on the table. "But I'll thank you to never say it again."

"Got ya. So, I could definitely see Summer going ahead and coming here – but you're asking whether she might have been involved with Raven and the Greycloaks."

"Or if it's possible she might still be alive," I said.

"Impossible."

"You're certain? Absolutely sure?"

"One hundred per cent. Ruby and I were there when she was buried. There was a body. Not a charred or unrecognisable one either, but our mother, right there, everything in almost perfect detail. We closed the casket on her and Uncle Qrow and Dad lowered her down into a grave we'd set aside. Ruby and I visited it every year after. I know Summer is dead."

Well, there went that idea. As horrible as it sounded, I was glad she was dead. We had enough problems in our lives already without Ruby's mother coming back from the grave and being an enemy. Yang sounded so certain that I didn't doubt her.

"Could she have been a member of the Greycloaks?"

"I'm going to say no on that one, too. Mom was big on order. Law. Chivalry, honour and all that good stuff. The whole `sacrificing people` thing? You could argue she might have gone for a kill the few to save the many approach, but that just wasn't her." Yang laughed bitterly. "Mom was more the kind of person who would risk the many to try and save just one more person. That was one of her biggest flaws."

"There's no denying she was working with Raven, though."

"I know." Yang sighed and took another swig. "I knew back then, too. It was a big row between mom and dad. Raven and dad were never actually married from what I know, but she still abandoned me and dad after I was born. Dad was pissed – and Uncle Qrow was too – so it was a big kick in the teeth for them when Summer continued to go on Quests with Raven."

Blake looked surprised. "Even after she abandoned you…?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Summer was angry too and I heard her tell dad she'd never let Raven near me, even if Raven begged on hands and knees, but I guess being a Guild was a big thing to her. It wasn't like Raven was a criminal back then. She was still a Hero as well. They were Guildmates. I guess that meant too much to Summer – or she was able to put aside her anger for the Quest. But being a Greycloak?" Yang shook her head. "I'd bet my life on that not happening. Or that she didn't know the truth, or they changed after her death or something. Didn't Blake say there were no cloaks when the attack came?"

"Yes. Summer had a white one…"

"Always did. It was her style. Point is, Blake and I are pretty similar in ages and you were seven, right?"

Blake nodded.

"Well, I was seven when Summer died."

Meaning that Summer had died either just after the attack, or within a few months of it. I mulled on that, rolling the idea around in my head even as I swirled the alcohol in my pewter flagon. If Raven hadn't been a Greycloak at the time but had after, then was it possible it had been because of Summer's death? Or maybe after it?

"Salem mentioned being there when Summer died," Blake said. "Back in Mistral, I think. When we were facing Tyrian. He mentioned recognising Ruby. So Salem was the one to kill Summer."

"No."

Blake and I looked to Yang, surprised. Yang wore an agonised expression, an angry one. A sneer and a scowl marred with a wrinkled forehead and narrowed eyes. She was staring down into her drink, clutching the handle with knuckles that had turned white.

"Yang…?"

"That's what I never understood. I didn't say anything because… well, she's dead. Right? What's the point? But Salem said she was there when Summer was dying and that Summer refused to make a wish on her."

"Which is another point to her not being a Greycloak," Blake realised.

"Yeah. But that's the other thing. The only reason we had Summer's body was because Raven returned it to us. I can still remember it. It was late and Ruby and I were supposed to be asleep, but I wasn't. Mom was supposed to come back, and I decided to wait up for her without telling dad. I was sat on my bed listening in by the window." Yang slumped, her cheek falling into a hand as her elbow rested on the table. "I can even remember hearing someone come down the path. Remember how excited I was, how I was going to go run into mom's arms."

I wasn't sure what to say. Comfort Yang who was recalling the loss of her mother, or comfort Blake – whose own parents would have been killed but weeks before, possibly by said mother. My hesitation cost me the chance and Yang recovered on her own, shaking away the memories.

"Dad answered the door and I heard everything. It was Raven carrying mom. Short story short, I saw her body through the window. I saw Raven put her down and talk to dad. Then…" Yang drew a shuddering breath. "Then I heard it."

"Heard what?"

"Dad found her wound. A single thrust through the back, into her heart. A sword wound. I can still remember dad attacking Raven, shouting that she killed Raven."

Damn. "And did she?" I asked.

"She said yes." Yang laughed. "Just like that, Raven said `I did`, batted dad away and left. I… It wasn't even a lie. Mom had been stabbed in the back – and we all know Salem wouldn't use a sword. Or that Summer would be dumb enough to turn her back on someone like that. The only people mom trusted her back to was her Guild."

And Raven had taken advantage of that. I didn't have to ask why. Experience, levels or the lust associated with it that I could feel, but which was – thanks to my Resilience – a dampened and distant feeling. A longing that I could ignore now that it wasn't being thrown in my face.

"Maybe Raven tried to recruit her," Blake suggested. "And she disagreed. Vehemently."

"That, I'd believe. More than mom joining the Greycloaks, anyway." Yang finished her drink and tossed the flagon into the ocean. The casual littering was ruined somewhat by the fact that everyone was doing it. "That's why Ozpin and Uncle Qrow were so quick to believe Raven was involved, because they knew she'd killed Summer and knew she was a murderer. Going a step further for this didn't surprise either of them."

"So, Raven and Summer came to the Mirage Isles and killed Blake's parents with a big party – probably as part of a Quest. Then, they somehow found out about Salem." My fingers tapped on the table as I ran through the events we knew. Information was limited still. Had Raven known about Salem in advance? Had Summer? Had they learned about it here, or had Salem just appeared as a result of all the negativity and forced the two to respond?

Had Raven killed Summer after that, of her own free will? Or had Raven made a wish, been changed by Salem in some way and – as the price and crux of the wish – been forced to kill Summer? It was possible, I supposed. Salem had shown that she could be patient with making her victims pay the ultimate price, and she adored an ironic death more than anything. If Raven had wished for ultimate power, Salem could have shown her how to do it – getting her addicted on Exp at the same time – knowing that it would escalate until the point where Raven was hunted down and killed by the same people she once counted herself among.

A perfectly ironic death. The kind of thing Salem would enjoy.

But I didn't think that was the case. Raven had made other people wish on Salem, which suggested she knew the costs and was smart enough to avoid being roped in until she had her foolproof wish. Blaming Summer's death on Salem didn't feel right. Raven didn't deserve the excuse.

"Does this change anything?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so…" I looked to Blake. "Does it on your end?"

"No." The Assassin managed a soft smile. "I knew Ruby was her daughter the moment I met her. The face and eyes gave everything away. It was one of the reasons I was reluctant to join you at first. Not the only one, or even the biggest, but it was there. In the end… I guess it didn't matter. She would have been five at the time and I'm not a monster."

"Thanks." Yang reached over to touch Blake's wrist. "And I'm sorry, for what little it's worth. Mom was zealous. Too zealous. It caught up with her in the end. I bet it never even crossed her mind that Raven might attack her. To her, Heroes didn't do that. It just didn't happen."

"Sounds like she would have done well in Mistral."

"She may have come from there," Yang said with a shrug. "I never thought to ask. I guess nothing really changes from this. We still have Raven as a problem, but at least you both know Summer won't be. Not unless Raven goes and makes the same with Watts did with Weiss' mom. Doubt she will, though. That didn't end well for Watts and Summer would have a lot of reasons to want to turn on her."

"We already know what Raven's wish is," I said. To bring Salem here and face her. In a way, I had to wonder if Summer had been involved, because that sounded like the kind of thing someone determined to be the ultimate Hero might do. Fight the big fight, the Boss of the Dungeon. Slay the monster and save the world. "She might have been lying to trick us and the wish could be something else, but I don't think she was. It feels like she wouldn't need to lie with how strong she is."

"Doesn't matter on our end, does it? We're out of here soon enough."

"I don't know." Blake pointed over to the side, where a commotion was starting up by the decking that connected the central tavern to the docks area. There, the unmistakeable figure of a Greycloak was arguing with several pirates. "It looks like something is upsetting the captains. Adam, too."

I had to strain my eyes to see him, but Adam was among the pirates arguing with the Greycloak, making aggressive motions with one hand as he shouted something we couldn't hear. He didn't look pleased.

Come to think of it, this was the first time we'd seen a Greycloak down here other than ourselves. At least one who had come and interacted with the pirates and not just been passing through. He had a clipboard with him, and a sword sheathed at his hip. The pirates outnumbered him, but the threat of Greycloak wrath from above kept them in line. As I watched, the Greycloak swept his cloak back and indicated his weapon, and Adam and the others backed away immediately.

Threatening them with Raven. There was no way that single man could stand up to all the pirates here, but Raven probably could. In fact, a good fire spell cast from above might be enough to bring the Mirage Isles down. Assuming there were no Mages down here who could counter it. The Isle's defences really were the tricks that kept it hidden.

Not Runes. I knew that much. I'd engaged my Runesight once or twice, looking for traps, and found nothing that caught my eye. Some of the weapons the pirates wore had Runes on, but nothing incredible and nothing I wanted to risk drawing attention to us to see better.

"Do you think that's the official Adam was talking about?" Yang asked.

"Probably." Blake sipped her drink. "Looks like things aren't going to plan."

"We in danger?"

"I doubt it. There would be more than one Greycloak here if we were." With a sigh, she finished the rest of her drink and clanked the flagon down. "I guess we'll have to ask Adam. On Summer," she said. "We're telling no one. Correct?"

Yang nodded. "I think that'd be for the best."

/-/

It took thirty minutes for the Greycloak to leave; not because he hung around, but because he was challenged by the pirates for so long, whatever news he had slowly spreading and leading to disquiet, threats and even a small brawl among some of the patrons – swiftly ended as several larger pirates acting as bouncers kicked them into the ocean. They weren't swept away, and were able to climb back onto the decking, but the dunking cooled their blood.

I wasn't sure what could piss off so many pirates at once, but it didn't bode well. When the Greycloak did leave, we were quick to follow, earning many a scowl and whispered threat as we did. Our Greycloaks made us targets, but no one questioned why we would so quickly retreat.

Adam had gone ahead, and we found him outside the rickety door to our room. He stiffened at first, but relaxed on realising it was us, motioning us inside and stepping in after. Seeing that everyone was in the room, he stalked forward and took a seat, reversing it and sitting down with his legs on either side of the backrest.

"When are we leaving?" Ruby asked.

"We're not."

I wasn't surprised by it. I'd have liked to say I felt shocked, but I didn't.

"News from up high is that no ships are to set sail." Adam leaned an elbow atop the backrest and his chin atop his fist. "That's being enforced, too. There's a lockdown on supplies and any ship seen leaving harbour will be blasted by spellcasters. There's been no explanation of why, and the Greycloaks are only saying it's her orders."

"Has she realised we're here?" Weiss asked, hissing. "Did one of your crew rat us out?"

"No. No one would. I'm not sure this is about you."

"She's closed the Isles to catch us!"

"There'd be no need to risk angering all the pirates just to catch us," Ren interrupted. "She could simply have someone monitor who tries to board any ship. Or do a head count of all the people here. It would take time, yes, but it would be easier than grounding her entire fleet." Ren looked to Adam. "How are the pirate captains taking this?"

"Poorly. There's never been a case like this before and we're not the kind of people who enjoy being tied down. A pirate's life is at sea. We live and die off what we loot, and you've already seen that the main tender here is pirated goods."

"No food or water," Pyrrha realised. "Without ships attacking merchant vessels, everyone on the Mirage Isles would starve."

"Fish and rainwater can only go so far," Blake agreed. "You could pan for and boil the seawater, catch the evaporating water and let it condense – but that would take time. It's not sustainable. There's actually a reason that ale, beer and spirits are more common here than water. It's because it keeps, and because you can rely on it to be safe to drink. If you closed off the piracy here, the people wouldn't survive."

It was doubtful that Raven would care overmuch about that, especially if she had enough food and drink to keep the Greycloaks above in one piece. Still, Ren had a point. This didn't feel like a kneejerk reaction to discovering our presence. That would have been to come down herself or send Greycloaks to subdue and capture us. At the very least, there would have been some commotion.

Raven was direct. She wouldn't waste time trying to starve us out when that might take weeks. Plus, the pirates would rebel if things got too bad. They'd fight one another for food, try to escape or even attack the Greycloaks directly.

"The pirates are going to go nuts," Yang grumbled.

"I think that's her goal."

Everyone looked towards me. Ruby said, "What do you mean?"

"It's just like the area. What she put me through."

"The death fights?" Yang asked. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh shit, I see what you mean. The pirates are going to get more and more aggressive the longer they're kept cooped up, especially when supplies run low. It's going to turn into a bloodbath. The whole of the Mirage Isles will implode. And all that resultant negativity might be enough to summon Salem."

"Might," Weiss said quickly. "We've been in situations where people have suffered before and she never appeared. Merlot sacrificed entire villages of innocent people, but it was him killing his own Sentinel that finally did it."

"Quality over quantity," Nora reminded us. "That's what Salem said. It… tasted better. Maybe because of the betrayal, because it was such a surprise for the Sentinel. It wasn't actually the death, but the grief and the pain, both physical and emotional." Nora glanced at Blake and Adam. "Would that be the same here, though? Would the pirates care enough? I thought they'd just hate one another and think of killing as being normal."

"They would when the conflict is between different crews, but not if it was inter-crew." Adam tapped a finger on his cheek. "A crew is your family. Brothers, sisters, lovers and everything else. Most people stick with a crew forever and form strong bonds. If you're looking for emotional pain, watching crewmates turn on one another might do it."

"Wouldn't they all make a break for their ships before that happens?" Pyrrha asked.

"Greycloaks are guarding the docks," Adam said. "Plus, the supplies are kept above." He pointed at the rocky ceiling. "That means if you want to have any hope of getting a ship from here to Mistral, you'll need to storm the Greycloak garrison itself. Or fight and kill to scavenge what scant supplies are kept down on the lower levels."

"Considering the tide and possibility of storms, food and perishables are kept above," Blake explained. "Right where the Greycloaks can control them."

"Damn it. So even if we fought our way through the Greycloaks and got onto the ship…"

"We would have no hope of escape," Adam confirmed. "We would either starve before we reached Mistral, or, more likely, our ship would be sunk before it could get out of range of the Isles. There's not exactly a lot of cover out there, and a couple of Mages stood atop the spires would be able to sink any approaching. That's another part of what makes the Mirage Isles so easily defended."

"Raven can't be saying she's locking us here forever, though. The pirates would have rebelled already. What's their story?"

"There isn't one. The Greycloak I was talking to just said it was temporary, no more than a week, and that they would enforce the order with deadly force if required."

"Tch. I doubt this will be over in a week," Weiss said.

I agreed. The week was just something thrown out by Raven to try and keep the pirates pacified – and maybe to see if Ozpin took the bait and invaded. When he didn't, she would summon Salem. Whether she needed the pirates for that or not was unknown, but we were going to be stuck here when it happened.

Reading my thoughts, or just thinking the same way, Ruby stood. "We need to get off the island."

Adam was unconvinced. "I can't risk my crew on that."

"You'll have to. If Raven summons Salem, everyone here is probably going to die. She doesn't care because she can open a portal and escape, but unless you have enough people here who can open their own – which I'm doubting, or you'd all have done it already – then you don't have a choice. You'll all die otherwise."

Adam looked to Blake.

"Ruby is telling the truth." There was no hint of anger from Blake to Ruby over what had happened between their parents. No sign of enmity or even recognition. "I've seen what Salem does to the people who summon her, Adam. Only one survived, and he did that by dying and coming back." Her eyes slid to me. "Everyone else is dead and gone."

"Then let her kill Raven and the Greycloaks."

"That's our plan, but the problem is Raven's wish. She wants to summon Salem to stay in this realm and become a part of it. So, what do you think an all-powerful creature who controls Grimm and enjoys killing people in inventive ways is going to do when she appears in the Mirage Isles surrounded by pirates?"

Nothing good. I actually had no idea what she would do, only that it would be horrific, ironic and cruel. With no time constraint on her summons and no need to grant wishes any further, she might even take her time with the people here. Days, weeks or months. It would be time for Vale to prepare for the inevitable.

But we wouldn't have that if we were caught here when it happened.

"We need to get off the island," Ruby said again.

"Then we'll need food and water," Adam capitulated at last, though more because of Blake's assurances than any of ours. "If you can stock my ship, I'll captain it. We'll also need a distraction to keep the Mages busy, but that could be done at the same time. The food is kept atop the spires anyway, so you'd be up there either way."

"You'd not be coming?" I asked.

"Oh, I would, but you'd need me to organise my men to take any supplies we liberate down to the ship – and to fight our way past the Greycloaks guarding the docks. Actually dealing with those above would be your problem. Not to mention if Raven gets wind and appears, which wouldn't be all that unlikely considering she'd be not five hundred metres away at most."

"You don't think it's possible."

"I don't," Adam admitted. "But I think we'll have to make it possible if what you say is true, so I'll hold my breath. Don't expect much help from my crew. They're brave and determined, but that doesn't mean much against people who are all above Level Forty, and some who are above Seventy or Eighty – or even One Hundred."

Raven for the latter and Vernal was probably one of the other two. She had felt like someone high up in the Greycloaks. Considering how dangerous they all were, she had to be strong to back up her attitude. She'd have been killed otherwise.

"Do we have a map of the Mirage Isles?"

"It's easy enough to make one." Adam drew his knife and moved over to the wooden table, carving two rough circles into it and two lines connecting them. "These are the spires. The west spire and the east. Down below them is the decking where most of the population lives." He tapped the connecting area between the circles.

"The Greycloak fortress, which was once the Belladonna manor, is here, atop the eastern spire. The supplies are here, atop the western spire." He tapped the left one. "There's a bridge that can be drawn up and down which connects the two spires at the top. In its default state, it's down. The only way up to the spires is to take the winding path on the west spire, or there's a rope elevator on the east – but that can only be accessed if someone at the top lets it go. We can't get up that way."

We all leaned over to look at the crude drawing. It was simple, but then so was the Mirage Isles really. While there were tunnels leading in and out of it and fishing areas and decking and dock areas, none of those were important for our purposes, making everything a lot simpler.

"So, we'd have to go up the path on the west spire to the top, kill the guards, get the supplies and let your men transport them back down the west spire to the ship."

"Yes."

"That's not as difficult as I was expecting it to be," Pyrrha mused. "If Raven is on the east spire and we were quiet enough, she'd never know."

"If." Yang grumbled.

"Can't we disconnect or raise that bridge?" Ruby asked.

"No." Blake shook her head. "It's meant to defend the manor, which means it's raised up to the east side, and can be lowered back down from the east side. You'd struggle to destroy it too, because it's solid metal."

"Not to mention Raven would hear that and can open portals," Weiss pointed out.

"The stealthy approach is better," Blake agreed. "But… it's only going to be stealthy for a short while. I could have an army of Assassins, but I doubt we can move all those barrels and crates of food down a mountain path without being seen. There are also the guards themselves to worry about. They have to be expecting someone to try this, even if it's not us."

"We need a distraction, then." Ren waved a hand. "The obvious one is the pirates themselves. Instigate a fight, an attempt to escape my ship or an attack on the Greycloaks at the docks and more will come charging down to break it up."

"Yeah," I said. "Straight down the path we'll be heading up, and then when they're done, they'll be coming back up that path while we come down with the supplies."

Ren accepted my words with a nod. "The elevator system, then?"

"That would require us to access the eastern spire. A dangerous prospect."

"Not if Raven was down at the bottom already."

"Admittedly," Weiss said, "But how can we create a distraction guaranteed to draw her attention? I'm not sure we can. Or that we would want to, even if we could. What if she chases after us? Her portals don't seem to work on the same basis as those made by Mage arrays. What if she can open a portal onto a moving ship?"

"What if she can't, though? We'd be away."

"I don't want to trust our survival to a poor understanding of that woman's abilities. Better to assume the worst and prepare for it."

"Do we have a choice, though? We need supplies – and short of killing every single pirate down here and hoping there are enough in the tavern-"

"There isn't," Adam interrupted.

"Then we have no choice," Pyrrha finished. "But we don't need to attack immediately, either. I'm assuming the Greycloaks will be bringing some supplies down each day, or the pirates will rebel. If they do, we can use that as a distraction, but if the Greycloaks bring stuff down, we can keep watch them and look for an opening."

"We have their cloaks," Ruby said. "We could sneak among them."

"They're bound to have more than just clothing to differentiate them," Weiss scoffed. "Codes, signals or some other form of identification. Any pirate here could kill a Greycloak and steal their outfit, and while I'm sure Raven would welcome them regardless, she would be a fool to not expect their supply stash to be hit."

"I vote we wait and see. At least for a day or two." Yang raised her hand as she spoke. "If shit gets bad and it looks like Salem is going to be summoned, we risk it all, but she wants to wait for Kingdoms to attack anyway. That means she has to give it a few more days."

"We lose nothing by being cautious," Ren said. "Anyone against?"

No one dared speak. Not when it might doom us all.

"There we have it."

/-/

The night was tense and passed in shifts of one person keeping watch, prepared for a cave invasion. Nothing happened on any of our watches, but it felt like that was more due to the shock permeating through the Isles. Everyone was restless and muttering, glaring at Greycloaks as they passed to the point that we decided it would be safer not to wear the cloaks at all.

No Greycloak would dare come down here now.

Except, that was, to prove Pyrrha's guess correct. At two hours past dawn, a large procession of Greycloaks descended the western spire carrying crates and barrels between them. They were fifty strong in number and crowded the dock area in ranks two thick, their weapons drawn. Though muttered anger and insults met them, none dared attack.

Yet. I had a feeling that might change in a weeks' time.

There was a figure I recognised among them. The short-cropped black hair, dark skin and cruel smirk. Vernal stood atop a stack of crates and yelled out for the tavern workers to come forth. She sneered down on the nervous individuals, then kicking a barrel over, spilling out fresh bread.

"Crumbs for you worms. See it shared out. Or don't. Can't say I care which." Her eyes scanned over the crowd, and I made sure to turn away and duck a little, sitting down behind Pyrrha and using her to shield me. "We'll be back tomorrow with more."

"When will this blockade end?" a brave soul yelled from the crowd.

Vernal tried to spot the speaker but gave up, realising he'd hidden himself in the mass of bodies watching. "It'll end when it ends. When Raven decides to let it. You'd all do well to shut your fucking traps until then. Fish if you're hungry." Her lips peeled back. "Or thin your numbers out a little. The food would go further if half you fucks offed the other."

"Delightful soul," Pyrrha whispered.

She didn't know the half of it. I watched from one eye, trying not to draw any attention as Vernal leapt off the crates and let those working the tavern take it. For now, the pirates did nothing, probably taking the same approach as them and getting a feel for how the Greycloaks were going to operate this. I could see Adam doing the same from an upper area where he saw with his crew. They kept away from many of the other pirates, subtly standing above it all.

Instead of going straight back up the spire, Vernal and the Greycloaks headed to the docks area and spoke with the other Greycloaks there. The fifty she had brought down with her exchanged themselves with those already there. As well as bringing food down, it was a change of shifts. Important information to have, even if I wasn't sure how we'd make use of it yet.

Once the men were relieved, Vernal marched them back up the spire, leaving the pirates below to mull over the change in lifestyle. Rather than the loud and raucous laughter of the day before, the disquiet that fell over the Mirage Isles was tangible. Tables muttered and crews clung together, moving in packs and taking over little areas to themselves, neither mingling nor interacting with others.

It had already begun. Soon, the calm – what little there was – would break. Food or not, there was no way this would last. Tempers would fray and tensions rise until it would take all but a poorly timed spark to ignite the Isles.

"We have to get off this hellhole."

"I don't think you're the only one thinking that," Pyrrha said, nodding to a collection of pirate captains who were meeting around a large table. Each of them looked weathered and old. Each of them drew out a blade and laid it down on the table; a gesture of peace. "Not the only one at all."


It's amazing how losing a single week in March can still be dragging me down halfway into April. I guess my deadlines are just that tight, but I'm still playing catchup for lost time. Yikes.

I guess it doesn't help that the moment I'd finished my event, my parents decide to go on a 4-week holiday, leaving me to look after their dogs and cats along with my own. For crying out loud. When do I get some peace? xD


Next Chapter: 22nd April

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur