Being summoned urgently by Emperor Maximus Decimus Mede 1, is something that makes most people nervous, be they commoners, nobles, or kings.
In my case it feels more like my son calling me to ask me to help him do his homework. Although I don't look like one in my thirties, I am much older than the emperor, and I was even the one who raised him after the Thalmor had his family killed during the second great war.
For 18 years I served as acting emperor, until Maximus came of age and could take the position that was his by birthright. As soon as he did, I left the imperial city to return to Skyrim, more precisely to its depths, where I started my subway nation project.
From time-to-time Maximus calls me, either to talk or to ask my advice.
I stopped in front of the door leading to the emperor's work room. I arrived a few hours ago in the imperial city and just took a break to wash up before heading to the tower of white gold.
At the side of the beautiful ironwood door stood two guards of the Penitus Oculatus who bowed when they saw me. One of them pushed the door allowing me to enter "The emperor and the empress are waiting for you" pronounced the guard, his voice charged with the utmost respect.
I nodded with a smile and entered the room.
The room is worthy of an emperor. Large enough to allow about 10 people to be inside without being too close together. The decor of the place is somewhat incredible: paintings of all kinds next to large bookshelves filled with books and archives, busts made of marble of previous emperors, and some weapons and pieces of armor that are works of art in themselves.
In the middle of the spacious room is a finely decorated desk made of ironwood, behind said desk an Imperial seated and an Altmer standing beside him.
"Emperor Maximus Decimus Mede, Empress Ayrenn Arana Aldmeri 2" Greet them both with a respectful bow.
"King Juncell Sahan" Ayrenn pronounced, granting me a formal greeting with a slight bow, it was less pronounced than mine due to the obvious difference in status between the two.
"Gods, where the fuck have you been? I haven't seen you in like five years" Maximus' response lacked any kind of formality befitting an emperor.
I couldn't help but laugh at that and the look on Ayrenn's face when she heard her husband's "Language. I raised you better than that" was my response.
Maximus is a Caucasian Imperial of about 77 years old, the gray hair and beard along with the wrinkles on his face are a sign that the years had an effect on him, although his speed and strength seems not to have diminished at all despite the years. He is stocky and tall for an Imperial, which probably comes from his father, who was a Nord.
Maximus is the grandson of Titus Mede 2, the previous emperor of Tamriel who unfortunately was assassinated along with his son during the second great war. Such an assassination was orchestrated by the third Aldmeri Dominion to destabilize the empire in the middle of the war, it worked at first, but when I took the position of interim emperor things returned to order and the war could continue.
As acting emperor, I decided to take the then very young Maximus as my ward and raise and teach him as if he were my own son.
As for Ayrenn she after the fall of the third Aldmeri Dominion and the Thalmor took control of Alinor as her queen.
She is an Altmer and like any of her race is taller than Maximus and I, although she is older than the emperor, she barely looks like she is in her twenties, with her beautiful sapphire blue eyes and long dark blonde hair.
The two were married several years ago and have ruled the empire together ever since.
Not waiting for any permission to be given, I took a seat in an armchair a few feet away from the desk.
"Gods you two" said the empress, letting out a weary sigh.
"Let us be my love, I've had a while without seeing this old man" My heart warmed to hear him speak of me so fondly "I would very much like to have a light conversation, But I didn't have you called for that" Maximus said, stopping any kind of good humor that was settling in.
"I suppose it's about those newly discovered lands to the southeast" Ayrenn just raised an eyebrow at my words.
"Because it doesn't surprise me that, of all people, you know a state secret that hasn't left the white gold tower" I could only raise my shoulders at what the empress said.
Maximus let out a chuckle of amusement at the simple answer I gave the empress "That saves us a lot of explaining. Though to be on the same level, tell me what you know?"
"I know that 10 years ago there was a magical explosion southeast of Tamriel, anyone with any attunement to magic could sense it. Many dismissed it, others tried to find out what it is, but gave up eventually. You decided to send three ships to find out what caused that explosion" They both nodded at my words, proving that so far, I got everything right.
Why they sent those ships is quite simple. Maximus preferred to be cautious. Centuries ago, the Oblivion crisis happened and traumatized the entire continent, and less than a century ago the eye of Magnus happened in Skyrim that almost doomed half of Skyrim. Ignoring things like a magical explosion is something the empire will never do again.
"We sent out that group with the goal of finding out what or who caused such an almost unprecedented magical explosion. Whatever it was, it had to be something powerful, something big and we refused to ignore something that could end up being a threat to Tamriel" confirmed the empress.
"Exactly. About 9 years ago the ships sent out a communiqué that they had found new lands" Continue stating what I know.
"Yes, at first we thought we had reached somewhere in Akavir, we even theorized that we had found Aldmeris. After meeting the habitants of that new continent, we discovered that they call the continent Serenus" I explained the emperor.
That is information I already know, after all on those three ships were some of my spies and they informed me of everything that happened during the trip. Why send spies on that expedition? For the same reason as the emperor. If there was any threat behind that magical explosion, I would want to be informed as quickly as possible so that I could intervene in time.
"I am aware of that information, also that they have been sending the odd ship to the site to discover the best sea routes" They both nodded.
"Exactly and we already have such routes. By following them we can reach Serenus in about 3 months or so of ship travel. After thorough research we are ready to reveal this information to the public. This is where you come in" After saying that Ayrenn took a large folder full of papers, which she sent towards me with the help of a telekinesis spell.
"The Sahan Trading Company has the reputation of being the trading company that deals with other continents. We want you to be our first trading contact with Serenus" While Maximus is talking, I was reading some of the papers contained in the folder.
"This is generous... Too much. Many kings and lords will see it as favoritism" I said in a warning tone.
"Favoritism? For you are the man who saved the world about 20 times, who achieved victory against the third Aldmeri domain, the one who returned the empire to its glory after my grandfather's death. Obviously, we have favoritism for you" The emperor's words made me smile because he is right.
"Besides, it's not just favoritism. Serenus is filled with races that clearly don't exist in Tamriel. You managed to form trade treaties with the races of Akavir and Atmora, you're the man to call when it comes to relations with other continents and other races. Call it meritocracy" Explained the empress.
"I understand... Refusing is difficult, I admit I am curious about this new continent, I may be well informed by my spies, but even they have their limits and stories are not enough How much time do I have before I leave?" I put aside the folder to direct my gaze towards the great regents.
"As much as you want, we trust you fully on this" Maximus replied.
"Your priority is to create trade alliances identical to what we have with Akavir, or better if you can. Our interest with this continent on a political level is null as we have been, with everything too far from Tamriel... But as you are a magnet to misfortunes, you will be a representative of your nation, more not of the empire" I could not stop myself from smiling at the words of the empress.
And she is right. After all the last Dragonborn is a magnet of chaos and prophecies, it is incredibly likely that I will find myself in some strange plot when I arrive to that new continent. It happened to me when I went to Atmora it happened to me when I went to Akavir.
"It's understandable" Was my only response.
After that we spent a few hours discussing the details of my trip to Serenus as well as talking like relatives who haven't seen each other in several years, which well... It's the case because I'm Maximus' adoptive father and consequently Ayrenn's stepfather.
At the end of the day, I was given a guest room in the white gold tower where I can rest, as tomorrow I will begin all the preparations for my trip to Serenus.
Since that day 4 months had passed. During all that time I spent preparing my kingdom so that it could stand upright and stable for as long as I was away.
Fal'Zhardum Din also known as Blackreach is a titanic cavern that is as large as Skyrim and in fact lies a few hundred meters below the province of the Nord's.
Once this place was a haven for vampires, Dwemer and then Falmer is now the tenth province and the second power of Tamriel. Nation of progress and tolerance. Here all races can live being treated equally, working to create a better future not only for Fal'Zhardum Din but also for all of Tamriel.
How I was able to create this realm was simple. I used what in Skyrim they call the right of conquest which basically allows me to become the owner of anything I conquer, be it bandits, monsters, or anything else I own.
That way I became owner of all the Dwemer ruins I cleared, as the vast majority have some access to Blackreach this part also became mine.
I used the money I earned from my adventures, ventures and investments and started remodeling everything. It took a long time, but 40 years ago Fal'Zhardum Din was finally able to open its doors to anyone who wanted to live here.
I feel quite proud of what I have accomplished in these 40 years, when I look at my lands from the top of my castle, I see diverse races like Minotaur's, Goblins and Falmer living in harmony with Norse, Altmer and many more races.
"Do you still not know how long you will be gone?" Serana Volkihar asks.
Serana is without a doubt my best friend and consequently the person I trust the most. When I create Fal'Zhardum Din she became my right hand and together we ruled this subway nation, making it the second largest power on the continent after Cyrodiil.
Serana is a beautiful Nordic woman with pale skin and black hair that reaches her neck, her eyes are yellowish green. She is possibly one of the most beautiful women I have ever been given to know.
"I'm afraid not. It will all depend on how open-minded the people of Serenus are and how large the continent is. My goal is to obtain trade contracts with as many of their nations as possible. It may take me about three years or even ten. Contrary to Akavir, Serenus does not seem to be under the rule of an emperor who allows me to quickly make contracts with all nations" I explained to Serana.
Right now, we are both walking through the corridors of the subway castle, the jewel of Fal'Zhardum Din.
"I don't think I'm ready for this... It's one thing to be your right hand and another to become the ruler of the place for at least three years" I stopped my walk to look directly into Serana's beautiful green eyes.
The former vampires were forced to stop her advance as she saw me do it before.
"Precisely, you are the best one to rule this place, you know how it works as well as I do, and these people appreciate you as much as they do me. Besides, the council will be there to give you as much help as possible and to top it off, you can contact me anytime" I pull out of my pocket a rectangular device that fits in my hand.
The thing is made of Dwemer technology and magic that allows the artifact to contact anyone who has one, no matter the distance and time.
Serana pulled hers out in turn giving it a slight glance "Are you sure it will work from that far away?" she questioned, after all this is just a prototype.
"We won't know until we try it. If it doesn't work, we use the older ways, I assure you that if something happens that requires my presence I will arrive immediately and there is nothing or no one that will stop me" I pronounced trying to make her feel more confident with that.
She seemed to hesitate for several seconds before letting out a heavy sigh "If you find your realm, shit done, I want you to remember that I warned you" My only response was to give her a smile.
"I know that when I come back this place will already be the first power in Tamriel thanks to you" Serana let out a cute laugh at my words.
Observe the horizon noticing the ocean in sight, the clear sky and the wind in our favor is a great day to sail... As it has been during the last few days of sailing.
"This boat is amazing" I pronounce who is in charge of captaining the boat.
"You've already repeated that about thirteen times Edward" My response caused the man to let out a loud laugh worthy of a sailor.
Edward Law is a Maomer whose skin is gray tanned by the sun, tall and stocky as any sailor worthy of the name would be, his hair is long and white. The Maomer appears to be in his thirties, though said age is only physical as an elf, the man is much older than that, after all we fought together in the second great war.
His completely white eyes scanned the ship with admiration "Ever since this ship came into existence, captaining it has been one of my dreams" the man pronounced.
Although I am not the kind of man to have a great attachment to the maritime, I must admit that he is right. The Ocean Dragon is the name of my personal ship, a gigantic first-class liner, the largest in Tamriel, made of the best materials, technology, and magic that money can buy.
It would take all the fury of the gods to be able to sink such a monstrosity of a vessel that can carry a total of 2200 men inside, though it doesn't take that many to handle it and I don't have that many men on board anyway. That is only its maximum carrying capacity in terms of personnel.
The Ocean Dragon is faster, tougher, and more lethal than any other vessel, which is necessary, for I had created it when I went on a voyage to Akavir with the aim of creating trade routes between the continents. Learning from the mistakes of all my predecessors, I created a ship that was ready for the worst and boarded it accompanied by capable men.
Luckily, we had arrived in Akavir in relative peace, and it was never necessary to use the Ocean Dragon for anything other than defending against pirates.
"In normal time it would take us a few months to reach Serenus" Edward pronounced bringing me out of my musings "But with this ship and you aboard... I'd say we have only a few more days of travel left before we reach land."
Knowing that didn't surprise me that much. Not only is my ship the fastest, but also thanks to the Thu'um I can clear the sky, so the weather doesn't slow us down and put the wind always in our favor, making a journey that in normal time takes 3 months reduced to just over 1.
"You forgot to give yourself credit, we wouldn't be as fast without a captain as good as you aboard" I reminded him.
As much knowledge or power as I possess, I must admit that when it comes to captaining, I leave a lot to be desired, sailing is not my thing no matter how much it pains my ancestors.
Edward let out a big smile as I usually call it: Eat shit "Well obviously, who else but the great Edward Law would be capable of such a feat" When he finished saying that he began to laugh so hard that I swear I felt the wooden planks at my feet tremble to the rhythm of his laughter.
I only let out a slight chuckle from my side before casting my gaze to the outside of the ship, where I could see advancing alongside the ship a giant sea serpent. Its presence didn't worry me knowing that it was Edward's pet "Has it recovered well from its injuries?" I asked the Maomer.
My question caused him to stop his laughter and look at me noticing quickly where I was looking "She has. For a moment I thought I lost her, those damned Thalmor and their burning sea" The last words I had said in disgust.
Hearing about the burning sea my mind couldn't stop itself from traveling to the siege of Alinor that ended the war, before we could reach the islands, we had several naval battles with the remnants of the Aldmeri Dominion and one of the bloodiest was when the Thalmor mages summoned a burning sea. Using alteration magic they altered the water for hundreds of miles around, transforming it into liquid fire.
Thousands died and hundreds of ships were destroyed, the sea serpent almost died, as it was caught in the middle of the liquid fire, luckily, we had managed to get it out, as it represented too great an advantage to just let it die.
"I'm glad she's better and ready to get back to battle. Speaking of battles, anything to worry about?" I asked knowing that Edward was one of the captains who guided the first ships to this continent and thus knows it better than anyone on the ship.
"Other than the occasional pirate, not much. You see Serenus is almost entirely at war, whether it be civilians, against its neighbors or against monsters and dark wizards, basically as if they were still stuck in the second age. The chaos of the continent allows bandit and pirate groups to flourish as they want and that makes the roads both land and sea infested with those scum" It wasn't information I didn't know from before, after all my spies are still in Serenus.
"I see any that we should be particularly concerned about?" I stepped away from the edge of the ship to begin walking towards the bow.
"One, Olivia, is a pirate with a crew made up entirely of women, truth be told she's not very scary, she only has one ship and the woman as such thinks she's more of a vigilante bandit than a pirate" That made me raise an eyebrow, which Edward noticed "She attacks noblemen's ships, kills as few people as possible, takes the loot and then goes to poor neighborhoods where she distributes it."
"Wow, he steals from the rich to give to the poor. That reminds me of a story Where does he donate what he steals?" That Olivia got my attention, a pirate who steals to then donate what he stole isn't exactly a common sight in Tamriel or any other place I visited before.
"Austria, a small kingdom located on an archipelago. They must deal with pirates almost all the time, it is ruled by Queen Mireille Von Austria, a young girl in her early twenties. From what little I know the girl is oblivious to the shit her kingdom is in" That's information I don't have; our main target is Eostia and consequently my spies are all based there.
"A bad ruler then" I assumed.
"I wouldn't say that, rather it seems that the people on this continent have a serious wall between their rulers and the common people. While in Tamriel it's common to go to the castle of the local lord or even the king to make some complaint, here that doesn't happen, the nobles know next to nothing about the commoners' lives and vice versa" That made me raise an eyebrow How does that not even work?
It is true that Tamriel has had many lousy rulers in many parts of the continent, but almost all of them knew how their subjects lived and thought, because after all, how do you rule something you don't know? Precisely that was the mistake that led to the downfall of the dragons' reign. When the latter delegated too much of their governing power to the priests, it was the beginning of the end for the reign of the dragons.
A ruler should not become so detached from his subjects to the point of being oblivious to their problems "I guess I understand then the conflicts and rebellions swarming this continent"
"Indeed, Austria is on the verge of a rebellion, they are just waiting for a push, and they will go and take the head of the Von Austria family" Edward said.
"How did you find out all that information?" I asked curiously.
"I'm a sailor, it's my job to know what's brewing on the seas I sail and we're passing close to Austria" Fair point to Edward.
"Ship ahoy port side!" shouted the lookout. His voice was heard perfectly despite how loud he is because he used magic to increase the strength of his voice.
Edward immediately took from his belt a spyglass, which he pointed to port and scanned the ocean for the ship that had been spotted.
And he saw it by the expression it made "When speaking of the Daedra" Pronounced the captain "A flag depicting a golden rose on a black background, it is Olivia Scarlett's pirate flag. Is it your legendary dragon luck that makes us just happen upon it?" asked Edward already knowing my reputation for attracting trouble.
I could only let out a slight chuckle as I nodded.
The captain let out a sigh before resting two of his fingers on his throat, the fingers glowed green making it clear he is using magic "All hands to your stations, guns at the ready, swords at the ready and pistols loaded, the first landlubber I see loitering I feed to my sea serpent!" he shouted, his voice reaching everywhere on the ship thanks to the magic he had used.
"One thing Edward, let it come, it only attacks if it attacks us first, I would like to talk to this Olivia" Edward looked at me for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"It's your ship" Solo said before giving the order not to attack until we were attacked.
We had to wait several minutes until the pirate ship was close enough, at no time did they launch an attack, maybe because they didn't want to attack or maybe because they were confused why we didn't attack them first, when we clearly saw them from afar with our more imposing ship.
I approached the port side by climbing up on the edge of the boat and looking straight at the smaller boat where I could see purely women.
Their clothing was something that took me by surprise, each of them has either a short skirt that barely covers their buttocks or shorts that mold their bodies.
As for the top, they only wear bras with nothing else. More than pirate crew it looks like a brothel ship.
Among all of them one woman stood out above the others with long red hair with a patch over her left eye, which is black and has a golden flower marked on it. Her clothes like those of the others consist of a bra with a skirt that although longer than the rest, possesses a cut that allows her legs to be seen and note that she is not wearing any type of underwear underneath.
In addition to that, she has a tricorne as a hat and a pirate coat, which she only wears on her shoulders and not over her body.
The woman spoke... And the truth is that I didn't understand anything because we obviously don't speak the same language "Edward, do you know her language?" I asked.
He nodded "She comes from asking you who you are" the Maomer answered me, the fact that he came closer made the woman see him and she immediately shouted something that made Edward frown "And now she comes from shouting what kind of monster I am"
"Please act as our translator, I promise I'll learn the language later" Edward let out a heavy sigh at that and just nodded.
"I introduce myself, I am Juncell Sahan, king of Fal'Zhardum Din, I am on a mission with the goal of creating trade routes with the continent of Serenus, as I come from the continent of Tamriel" I said and immediately Edward translated.
"So, trade, and why are you telling me that Juncell?" Olivia asked which I could understand why Edward translated it rather quickly.
"Because I've heard of your act. I find it curious and interesting and theorize that you would have some interest in a possible alliance" Edward raised an eyebrow at my words, though he translated them anyway.
"Alliance? I'm a pirate, not a trader" Olivia replied.
"I know what you are, and that's precisely why I have an interest, I hear you spend your time giving what you plunder to the poor of Austria Why limit yourself to that when you can lift them out of poverty?" Olivia frowned hearing that.
"It's annoying to talk from different ships... Not far from here is a small, deserted island, let's meet at that place and talk better" I nodded at her request.
"Are you sure about this" Edward asked me "This might get you in trouble with Austria because Olivia won't stop attacking her nobility."
"It's not supposed to be an alliance known to the general public, you said these waters are infested with pirates and Olivia is the most dangerous. Having her on our side defending our ships and guiding them would be useful for a trade with both Austria and Eostia because we must pass through these waters to get to the site" Edward seemed to think about my idea.
"True that is preferable to having to deal with all the pirates roaming around here by ourselves, in fact, as far as I know Olivia is a sort of pirate lady, a title these people give to the most influential and powerful pirates" That only reinforced my idea.
"By the way, what's with those robes?" I asked. I had ignored that while we were talking, but now it's impossible for me not to remember those beautiful, barely covered curves.
"The pirate one?" I nodded "Get used to it. Most of the mainland has a feminine fashion sense that wouldn't be out of place in a Hammerfell brothel, that fashion sense is the same for everyone from nobles and queens to commoners."
I watched Edward my face covered in confusion "Really?" I asked.
"Yes, you'll see them when we get ashore, I swear when we arrived, we thought we did it at festive event or something. Seeing it for yourself is the best thing, although you already have a view with those pirates... By the way, another thing, on this fucking continent the women are fucking beautiful, I haven't seen a single one that could be considered ugly, they go from normal to fucking gorgeous."
That's a piece of information I didn't know. My spies didn't talk about either the clothes or the presumed beauty of women on this continent. Which is normal, if they sent me that kind of information, I would start to question their priorities.
"I see. Anyway, I must create a blood contract to sign with that pirate, obviously I wouldn't trust the word of a pirate without a bit of magic involved" that said I went towards my cabin leaving Edward to steer the ship.
Olivia POV
When we saw the giant, sleek ship in the distance, I made the decision to raid it. Any self-respecting sailor would have avoided it, but I am Olivia Scarlett, one of the great pirate ladies. I have already fought at a disadvantage, against several enemies and larger ships and against larger ships, I always came out victorious with minimal losses.
So, I gave the order to approach. But the other ship never attacked, never defended itself, which is strange because I was sure they had seen us approaching. Driven by my curiosity, she got close enough to the ship to see that they wanted to parley with me.
And now I find myself on this deserted island surrounded by five of my best girls, I see in the distance approaching a boat where that strange blue-gray skinned man and the other dark skinned one are.
There are only two of them and six of us, if a fight breaks out, I have the advantage. Either they are very arrogant, or they want to give me the message that they are not looking for any conflict.
Being closer I could see well the appearance of both men. One is the one who speaks a language I don't understand.
He is tall, he must be about 180 cm, maybe 190 cm, he has an athletic physique easy to notice even behind his clothes. His skin is dark brown, his eyes are blue, and his hair is black.
I must admit that this is the first time I've seen a dark-skinned man.
His companion is no less strange, as he has blue-gray skin, completely white eyes and long white hair, his face looks somewhat inhuman. His ears are long and wide, reminding me of fish fins.
He must be 180 cm tall and like the dark-haired man he is an athletic man.
Both men got off the boat to approach us, looking at them well, I can see that the human does not seem to have any weapon, while the white-haired, possesses a beautiful golden trident that is tied on his back.
"Greetings" pronounced the human in his strange language. Immediately the other translated what was said "As I said before, I have a deal for you."
My only functional eye remained fixed on the red-haired man "What kind of deal?" I asked.
"You see, we come from Tamriel a distant continent, but one that possesses trade interests with Serenus. Like any self-respecting merchant we have an interest in transporting our goods as quickly and safely as possible, which is not very possible in these waters due to the near omnipresence of pirates" Reason the man is not lacking, after all I almost attacked his ship myself and would have done so if my curiosity had not gotten the better of me.
Tamriel... Yes, I have heard that name being uttered a lot in recent years. A distant and unknown continent with which we had the first contact about 9 years ago. Back then I wasn't even a pirate.
"My friend here has told me a little about you, about your title of lady pirate" The red-haired man spoke again "The deal I have to offer you is simple, guide and protect the merchant ships coming from Tamriel and in exchange you keep 10% of the value of the merchandise carried on those ships."
My first reaction to that was just to raise an eyebrow, my second was to let out a loud mocking laugh "Why should I make such a deal? I can just raid those ships and get 100% of everything" I said with a smile on my face.
Neither of the two men seemed surprised by my words, that's bad because it means they expected this reaction from me.
"Let's see, according to the information, I have, you are the weakest pirate lady due to the fact that you keep giving almost everything you loot to the slums of Austria. That behavior brings you a lot of trouble" The brunet raised his hand, makes a fist, and then held up a finger before speaking again "First. Lack of personnel. Hardly anyone has any interest in being part of a pirate group that barely gets any money due to the fact that they donate everything they take out, add that to the fact that you only take women, and you have the smallest pirate baggage of the three pirate lords."
Pitifully, that's true, already by itself only having women would condemn me to have small crew but add to my way of doing things and pitifully I only have about 30 girls, while the other lords have a minimum of 500 individuals. The fact that this foreigner knows this made me angry, which was noticeable in my frown.
"Second, the lack of money is also a problem, you only have one ship and not one of excellent quality, and it's normal, since not keeping enough money, you can't afford to repair the ships and you commonly tend to steal them. The armament of your girls let's not even talk about it" The black-haired man only speaks with reason.
That fact has me getting angrier and angrier.
"Third and last... You can't raid any ship coming from Tamriel" He pointed behind me towards my ship.
That made me turn around only to watch in absolute horror, as a gigantic beast has it surrounded like a snake encircling a rabbit's body.
"Because we have those things accompanying our ships, along with capable armaments. To assault one of our ships is... Difficult not to say suicidal" That man spoke again.
"Damn you!" I shouted drawing my scimitar ready to start a fight.
The white-haired man brought his hand towards his trident, but the black-haired man only raised both hands trying to calm the situation "Calm down, calm down. It's just a security, if something happens the sea serpent will crush the boat, and it will only do it if you get violent" I looked out of the corner of my eye, my boat surrounded by the snake, which head is pointing this way observing what we are doing.
As if to prove to me that they are telling me the truth, I could see the snake's body tighten a little around my boat, not enough to damage it, but the message is clear.
Reluctantly I obeyed putting away my scimitar "Better. As I was telling you, attacking the ships of Tamriel is a bad idea for you and any pirate, but we prefer to avoid useless conflicts and it turns out that you can be useful in that acting as a bodyguard for the ships and as a guide, as you surely know the best routes" Explained the human again.
"And I'm only supposed to be content with 10% of what each ship brings?" he nodded.
"You can keep raiding any ships you want but the ones in Tamriel, you'll get quick and easy money on top of what you already get from your plundering, sounds like a good offer to me" The man's grin made me angry.
"You say that, but my crew and I will have to spend it fighting other pirates and wasting time guiding your ships. I don't know how profitable that would be, besides why make this contract with me being the weaker pirate lady?" I said keeping my angry expression.
"You won't have to worry too much about being too busy, for now the number of ships coming from Tamriel won't be many, maybe about five a year. That will increase when I finalize contracts with the nations of Serenus, but for now they would be few, besides 10% is no small thing" The red-haired man motioned to the white-haired man, who took his hand to his waist where a small leather pouch is.
The man threw the bag towards me, and I caught it in mid-air despite the lack of an eye.
Upon opening the small bag, I found inside three glittering and beautifully cut diamonds, each as big as a walnut.
I must admit that the sight of these three beauties left me open-mouthed. As a self-respecting pirate I know the value of things other than money and these diamonds of this perfect bluish color and almost transparent are worth more than I can get in three straight years of looting.
"That's 10% of the ship I have now, if you guide and protect us along the way, that's yours, obviously, the next ones won't pay as much, but it's to give you an idea of what you can get with this contract," said the brunet.
I looked at the diamonds for several seconds while thinking about this contract.
The reality is that I doubt I have a choice, the giant sea serpent still has my ship and is ready to destroy it on any order these men give. Even if they don't and I refuse the deal, I will find myself in a difficult situation.
I am a lady pirate, but my position as one is more fragile than any other. If these men go with the same contract towards any of the other ladies, it may happen that these may become more powerful and if they do my position as one will be even more fragile than it already is.
In short, I have no choice but to accept.
Now the truth is I find myself annoyed that I was curious. I should have walked away from the ship as soon as I saw they weren't attacking.
"I guess I have no choice. I accept your deal" I said reluctantly.
Juncell took his hand to his pocket from which he would pull out a piece of paper which he would advance towards me. I took the paper and began to read it noticing that it was a contract written in my language.
"This is a blood contract, you must sign it with blood, one drop is enough. If you do so you will not be able to break the contract, for if you do you will receive a curse, it is the same for me" Now that was information that made me uneasy.
I had never heard of this kind of thing before, and I don't find it funny to sign this kind of contract "How do I know it's not a trap?" I asked.
"Why would it be?" he asked in turn "I don't need to do something farfetched like this to hurt you or have you under my power, it's just a contract to be sure you don't betray me, after all only an idiot would trust a pirate" He has a point.
I let out a heavy sigh and brought my finger towards my scimitar, which I pulled out a bit to cut myself with its edge "I just have to put a drop of blood on the paper?" He nodded at my question.
As soon as my blood fell on the paper, I could hear a voice that was like a whisper "By Malacath this contract has been sealed, tear it up and you will be cursed" that voice gave me chills and made me swallow saliva.
"I summarize the contract, in exchange for your protection and guidance, you will be granted 10% of the price of the cargo carried by the ships. The only obligation you have is that the ships arrive safely in good port, any direct or indirect attempt to harm the ships will be considered a breach of contract and you heard what will happen" The red-haired man explained to me.
"And if you don't pay me the contract will be considered broken on your part and you will suffer the same consequences" He nodded at my words "Are you aware that I only accept this deal because you have me threatened?" I uttered my voice laden with fury.
"Do I?" I pointed to my ship still surrounded by the sea serpent "Or that... At no time did I say I would do anything if you didn't accept, I only said I will destroy the ship if you try to harm us, you could always refuse the deal. Although it's kind of impossible now."
Hearing that I was stunned, I thought back to his earlier words when I first saw the snake circling my ship. Fear and anger had clouded my understanding and I had taken the deal as a threat that I had to accept, or the snake would destroy my ship killing my crew.
I'm a fucking idiot.
"In any case take this" Pronounced the man again passing this time a rectangular artifact that fit in the palm of my hand "It's a communicator, the ships will contact you and give you their position so you can guide and protect them, you just have to keep the artifact always close to you" I explained.
I reluctantly took the object with a grunt still annoyed at having done the stupid thing of accepting this deal believing I was under a threat.
I just hope this doesn't destroy my whole life as a pirate.
Juncell POV
That went better than expected, if only because she got confused and thought I was threatening her to sign the deal.
Right now, we were back on our boat being guided by Olivia's boat several meters ahead of us. Thanks to her we will get to Austria safe and sound, not that we needed her to do it in the first place, but as someone said why waste your resources fighting when you can spend someone else's?
In any case for now these new lands look promising, let's see how everything will turn out when we get to land.