Just a reminder (or a first notice) that there will be a poll up on Tuesday to decide what story becomes weekly on Thursday. It'll either be Raise, In your Wildest Dreams, or the new story set to debut Tuesday. Don't read any? Ignore this! Want your favourite updated every week? Check my profile after the Tuesday story drops and vote.

Also, unrelated, I am HOOKED on terra invicta. What a game. What a complicated, difficult to learn game, but what a game all the same.

Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 36

"Hello, hello!" The flamboyant Captain Neptune greeted them at the foot of a small wooden rowboat he and his first mate, Sun, had ridden to the shore. His ship lay anchored out just past the shallows, with its prow angled out toward the open ocean and several fishing lines and poking off the sides. The most noticeable difference was that it had been painted with dark green stripes down the sides, and the sails – previously white – had been replaced with a pale blue. "Welcome, honoured guests, so the Seaspear!"

"Wasn't it the Trident?" asked Jaune.

"Not since the Chosen and Deterrence Corps put out wanted posters for it, it isn't," said Sun.

"That nefarious ship is nothing like mine," said Neptune, grinning jovially. "Why, look at her. She's green and blue, and that's not a trident on the front. It's a spear." He pointed, and sure enough the bust on the front of the ship, that had once grasped a wooden trident, now grasped a wooden spear without a tip. Jaune was sure if he looked closely he'd be able to see the marks where someone sawed the end of the trident off.

The change of name and colour wouldn't fool anyone who drew close enough to notice the crew, Neptune and Sun both being distinctive, but he supposed that it was enough out on the open water when most would only be seeing them from a distance and through a looking glass. Sun and Ren sat and took an oar each, and soon they were rowing back out to the newly named Seaspear, where the crew aboard threw down ropes and used them to winch the boat up the back end.

"Captain," said Ren. "I trust my mother has filled you in on our plan." He eyed the nearby sailors. "Should we speak in private?"

"If this is about matey over there being the Dark Lord then no, you don't need to tiptoe around." Neptune pointed at Jaune, and the crew close enough to overhear didn't react with any panic. To be fair, they'd seen him use magic before. "He saved our asses out on the open water and there isn't a soul on board who isn't aware of it." He tipped his hat and said, "Jaune. I see you've been welcomed by the resistance. I trust they're treating you well."

"I don't have any complaints."

"Good to hear. They're good folk – and An is the best of them, I guarantee you that."

Them? The other rebellion cells. He'd not really put thought into that other than when An Ren mentioned them planning their own attacks. Neptune had pushed him toward Kuroyuri's cell, but he could have just as easily handed him over to another that might have been less accepting, or whom may have tried to use him on the front lines as a weapon. If they didn't blame him for their past failures and just cave his skull in.

"You knew I'd be accepted there?" asked Jaune.

"I trusted it would happen. Best of the ones I could have sent you to." He cocked his head, grinned, and said, "And I wasn't about to do you wrong after you saved my ship and my crew, was I? Dark Lord. Goddess. We live and die by the whims of the ocean."

"And I'm sure your father's death at the hands of the Chosen had nothing to do with it," said Ren.

You're one to talk, thought Jaune. He met Nora's eyes, and she sent them heavenward and shook her head. Thankfully, Neptune didn't take it poorly. "A little of this and a little of that, though I'm not fool enough to rush to my death for vengeance. My old man would never forgive me that." He signalled toward the sailors and shouted, "Anchor up and plot a course north. Sun, take the wheel while I entertain our guests."

The monkey faunus saluted and bounded up the wooden staircase beside the cabin doors that Neptune took the three of them through. Water sloshed outside as the anchor was retracted, three burly men pushing bars around a screw set in the centre of the decking as the sails were unfurled. Neptune pushed the doors open, led them through and past the cramped room Jaune had used before, taking them instead to his quarters at the back. A table had been set up and bolted to the floor; there were no seats, and he stood behind it, leaving them to stand at other points. A map had been stabbed down, but it was a map of the ocean with shipping charts, currents and such, and not immediately useful for them.

"Right then," said Neptune. "Time to talk business. As I understand it, An Ren wants the Dark Lord making appearances across Mistral. Draw the Chosen and the SDC all over the place."

Ren nodded. "That's right. Is there a problem?"

"Yeah and no. The overall idea is fine, but – and no slight to your mother here – she doesn't know what's going on beyond her borders."

"That's not our fault," said Nora. "The Schnee have cut down all information lines."

"Not saying it is. I'll give you the basics. The Schnee are terrified of failing the Goddess, about as An Ren expected, but the Deterrence Corps don't have the same urgency. They've been sent out over the whole country, and they're nominally searching for our boy here, but more than that they're having their fun at the expense of the people. Extortion, abuse, pillaging – it's the usual customers, but ramped up to eleven because the Schnee are too distracted to clamp down on it."

"You say it like the Schnee are a force for order," said Ren, his words sharp. Neptune raised his hands to ward off the young man's anger and smiled as best he could.

"I'm as against the Schnee as any are or I wouldn't be here, but even I admit they have the order part down. Brutal, cruel, but ordered. The Corps, on the other hand, are the arrogant and violent dregs of our society, and we need to own up to that. They're Mistralians who were raised powerless and now want to bask in the power they have."

"It was the Schnee that made them that way."

"It was also the Schnee that threatened to take it away if they took too many liberties, and they're not paying any attention now because they want the Dark Lord. It's bad." Neptune dipped his head and sighed. "Imagine the worst you've ever heard of them, and then take away the discipline they sometimes show. They're little more than armed bandits now. State-sponsored, state-protected bandits. Anyone found travelling alone is captured, interrogated, robbed and – if they're lucky – left with nothing. The rest are killed just in case. The whole country is reeling, and the Chosen and the Schnee are too distracted to care."

"Isn't that good for the rebellion?" asked Jaune. "If the Corps are that terrible then more people will see the need to rise up."

"It is good for the rebellion, true, but what's good for the rebellion isn't necessarily what's good for Mistral. At least not for those suffering. That's not the point I wanted to raise anyway. The point I am making is that it's not going to be as simple as show up, claim to be the Dark Lord and expect them to come running. Truth is, the Corps won't want to report sighting you if they can help it, or the Schnee will come down and see all the shit they've been up to."

Like a naughty child not reporting vandalism to one of the houses back home because their parents would ask what they were doing in the area at the time. Jaune sighed, and Ren and Nora looked caught between furious and exasperated. "I'm assuming you have an idea if you're bringing all this up," said Ren.

"I do – and I'm not asking you to deviate from your mother's orders. Just small changes. Simply, we're going to have to do a little more than a display of magic. It'll need to be something no one can ignore, and that'll reach the ears of the Chosen even when the Corps are keeping their mouths shut. It'll need to be big. Bigger than what An Ren is probably comfortable with you three doing, if you catch what I'm saying."

Jaune caught it. He was sure Ren and Nora did too. An had been understandably worried about sending her son and adoptive daughter into danger, hence what she must have thought would be a safer mission than fighting the Corps directly. He wasn't surprised when Ren smiled and planted his hand flat on the table, and said, "I'm more than fine with that. What did you have in mind?"

"Lodge House."

"Are you insane!?" blurted out Nora.

"Lodge?" asked Jaune.

"It's like a barracks, command centre or chapter house," explained Ren, quickly. "The Corps don't spend a lot of their time in cities or villages because they're disruptive and the locals hate them, so they have their own lodges spread across the country. Each one is like a small fortress and army camp in one. There's one to every region in Mistral, acting as a command post and a grim reminder of what happens to those who act out."

"They're stacked full of SDC is what they are!" said Nora. "And you want the three of us, plus a few pirates, to go up and destroy one? We'll be slaughtered."

"It's not that bad," said Neptune. "Hear me out. The Corps are ranging across the countryside, pillaging, looting, and pretending to be looking for the Dark Lord. They're having fun, be that with money or women too afraid to say no. We sailed past a lodge on the way here, and I tell you now the place was near-empty."

"Near," said Nora. "What does near-empty mean? Less than a hundred? More than ten?"

"Literally a couple of idiots on the walls. Four or five keeping watch. I shit you not." Neptune let that sink in, and even Juane couldn't help but think those were decent odds. "The Corps can't afford to be sitting pretty in their lodges in case a Chosen or a representative of the Schnee come down and accuse them of ignoring orders. They're all out taking advantage of people. Those that remain are sick, injured or a skeleton crew to keep the place running. They're not the strongholds they usually are."

They're still forts, thought Jaune. He hadn't seen one, but for them to survive against armed rebellions they had to be well protected. Nora didn't sound much in favour of it either. "Are we sure this is the only option?" he asked. "Isn't there another way to catch their attention?"

"Yes. We make a show of your magic in a populated town where hundreds see it. Problem is, the Chosen are waiting in the towns. So, it's your call. We can go up against a low amount of Deterrence Corps, somewhere between ten and thirty, or we can go up against huntresses and their magic and aura. And not amateurs, either. The best huntresses specifically sent to Mistral to hunt you down. The top quality of the Chosen ranks."

Jaune winced. That was even worse. "And they won't be at these lodges…?"

"Not much point doubling up on both Corps and Chosen in one spot, is there? The whole point of using the SDC to search the villages is so that the Chosen don't have to and can remain flexible and ready to ride out to wherever you're sighted. They won't be at the lodges. I would, and will, stake my life on it."

/-/

The journey around the western edge of Mistral was surprisingly peaceful. He learned, from talking to Sun and Neptune, that the waterways were mostly unprotected and ignored by the Schnee. Ships had to come and go for trade, and every commercial and major dock was being watched, but there was a sense of not too much caring for if the Dark Lord vanished.

"No one is saying it obviously," said Sun, "But I get the feeling the Schnee wouldn't be devastated if you cropped up in Atlas. They could shrug, say they tried their best and that you fled them, then the Goddess' attention would be over there."

It was an irritating reminder that if it wasn't for Ozma demanding he stay and help the rebellion, he could be off somewhere else and escape all this. It wouldn't feel right to leave them in the lurch like that, and he knew the people of Mistral needed help, but he wasn't the help they needed. They'd probably be a lot better off with him and the Chosen out the picture.

They were less than a day out from their destination now, with the odd ship passing them by in the distance but no one trying to search them. Neptune had them avoid towns where that might become an issue, taking them out further to sea and then back into land again, whenever they came near. Jaune caught Nora leaning over the railing on the prow of the ship, catching the salt spray on her face. He hesitated, then walked up, coughing to make himself known. Nora turned, flecks of water running across her skin. She smiled.

"Enjoying the water?" asked Jaune.

"I like the ocean. We don't get to see it all that often, what with the laws against travelling. A lot of people are trapped in the villages they're born in."

"Unless they join the SDC."

"Unless that." Nora sighed. "It's not hard to understand why they do, is it? I'm not saying I agree, and I hate them, but Ren and everyone else acts like they don't make any sense when they do. They were born downtrodden, just like us, and they wanted out. I don't blame them not joining us. I hate them for it, but I don't blame them. The odds were ever with the Schnee."

Jaune hummed and leaned his arms on the railing. "Wanted to get that off your chest?"

"A little," giggled Nora. "You're not with us – not properly – so you're one of the only people I can actually say that to and not have them act like I've slit their throats." Her smile fell. "Ren and the others are too involved. They hate the SDC. I get it. I do. But if Mistral is fighting Mistral, then who is fighting the Schnee?"

"I guess it's fighting the system?"

"Hmm. Maybe." Nora's chin came to rest on her own arms, alongside his. They stood, side by side, looking out over the ocean. "I just can't help but think there'll always be more, you know? Kill every SDC member today, and the Schnee could just ask for another few thousand volunteers to leave their villages and live in luxury as long as they swear loyalty. Their ranks would be filled instantly."

"They wouldn't be as good, though."

Nora sighed. "We'd still have to kill them."

"What's your idea, then?" asked Jaune.

"Don't have one." Nora laughed bitterly. "That's why An is in charge and I do what I'm told. I don't have a better plan, but that doesn't mean I can't criticise the current one." Nora paused, and then asked, "Does he have any ideas?"

"Ozma?"

"Mm. I'm curious."

No one would accept Ozma's plans, not after he failed them the last time, but the curiosity wasn't ill-placed. He posed the question in his own head and waited for the Dark Lord to answer. It didn't take long.

"Nothing will change in Mistral without all-out war." Ozma was resigned. "People talk about peaceful transitions and changing minds, and revolutions of taking power from within, but what Mistral forgets is that the Schnee are as trapped as they. It will be their doom to accept or admit defeat, and to fail the Goddess, and so they shall fight until their last breath, and take Mistral burning down with them."

Jaune relayed the haunting opinion, to which Nora looked neither surprised nor upset. "I kind of expected," said the girl. "And even if we did beat the Schnee, what next? It's not like the Goddess will be happy with what we did. We're flipping the coin on whether their replacement will want to go easy on us or punish us for the blasphemy of questioning the Goddess' choice."

"Then why fight?" asked Jaune. "Why bother?"

"Because it distracts us. Because it gives us something to hold onto and work toward, even if it's an impossible dream." Nora pushed off the railing and heaved a sigh. "That's the only real difference between the villages and us. They've given up and we haven't, but no matter which way you look at it we've already lost." Under her breath she added, "But I'd rather die believing in something than live like that. It's too sad."

/-/

The Lodge could be seen from the shoreline; it was a large, square keep-like building set atop a rise, with wooden walls set in a square formation around it, and many more halls, tents and areas set within. It didn't look like a castle, not like the city of Vale, but it looked more organised than the Branwen's camp. It was how he imagined an army besieging a city would set up, and it had three gates toward the front and both sides. There was very little stone but for the foundations of the walls, and the forests had been cut away around it both to fuel the wood and remove any opportunity for people to sneak close.

Such was the idea in the daytime anyway. The Seaspear anchored itself off a mangrove nearby, hidden by the trees, and they stayed on board until night fell. The moon was partially obscured, casting the land in darkness. On the lodge's walls, torches were lit at spaced distances, and a small number moved along, carried by sentries. Jaune knelt at the bottom of the hill, obscured by rocks and trees, as Ren used Neptune's spyglass from the ship to count the defenders.

"-three, four. Four. Really? Is that it?"

"There will be more inside," said Nora.

"I know, but four people to watch four walls? That's ridiculous." He collapsed and handed it to Neptune. "What are they thinking? Are they even thinking at all?"

"They're thinking that the Chosen will be the ones to find and deal with the Dark Lord," explained Neptune. "They're thinking that their job is just to rattle swords, cow people into submission and be visible across the countryside. After all, it's not like the Dark Lord is going to attack them, is it?" He chuckled under his breath. "Sun and a few of the faunus crewmembers can get you close in the dark. Trust their eyes to get you up against the walls."

"Are we actually looking for a fight?" asked Jaune. "That seems unwise."

"You're looking to cause enough chaos that this can't be covered up and is seen for miles. That fort is atop a hill, and it's made of wood. The way I see it, that's a beacon just waiting to be lit."

"A beacon…" Ren smiled. "Can you do it, Jaune? Can you set it alight?"

Could he…?

"It would exhaust us," warned Ozma. "They see a building made of wood and assume it will light like a bonfire, but the reality is that it will be coated with hides and damp from the weather and proximity to the shoreline. It will burn, but it will take a lot out of us, and limit our ability to fight. Burning the tents inside would be much easier, and much safer. From there, while chaos reigns, we can look to transition to the fort."

Jaune passed the message on. Neptune didn't look happy. "It's magic, isn't it? I assumed you could just toss a fireball at that building and be done with it."

"The magic is in summoning and controlling the fire," answered Jaune, understanding that much from Ozma's lessons. "Once it's out my hands, it's just fire. It'll catch, spread, and burn the same as if you threw a lot of torches at the place."

"That's not good."

"The interior will do," said Ren. "It'd be great if the whole place lit up, but even if it's just the tents and the supplies, that'll light up the night and there will be smoke come morning. The villages nearby will see it. If it spreads even further than great, but there's no point risking more. If Jaune gets captured here, the Schnee will be the Goddess' golden children, and then we'll never have a chance to escape them."

"I suppose we can try again with another if it fails," said Sun. "If the Corps don't want to tell anyone what happened, that means they won't be reinforced. We'll either burn this place or come back and torch it on the second try. Either way, the news will get out."

"Good enough for me," said Neptune. "Sun. Get them to the walls."

"Aye, captain." Sun moved, crouching low, and waved to them. "Come on. With me and stay quiet. Trust my eyes even if you can't see where we're going."

Trust was all Jaune could offer as he, Ren and Nora followed Sun and a good six other crew members, all faunus, up the hill. The stars and moon should have given enough light to see by, but the torches at the top of the hill hanging from the walls had blinded them, and the same must have gone for those on the walls. They were in such a well-lit area that their eyes weren't adjusting to the dark, and since they approached without weapons drawn or any light of their own, they were inky shapes in inky darkness, moving slowly from rock to rock and shrub to shrub, close and closer to the walls.

Sun had them stop more than once along the way to wait as a torch on the wall walked slowly by. Their movement was only ever when no one was there, or when the sentry had gone by. Had there been more people, Jaune was sure they would have been seen, but running on a skeleton crew, the people inside slumbered on, utterly unawares of them even when Jaune pressed his back to the wooden wall and took a deep breath.

Ren tapped his arm and indicated, whispering, "Gate's open."

An open gateway and only four sentries. How arrogant were the SDC? No, he supposed the better question was how beaten down were the people of Mistral, that the SDC felt comfortable enough acting like this. If they needed to take more care, they'd be taking more care. The fight really had been beaten out of them. Sun motioned for them to slide along the wall, then peeked his head around the gateway to peer inside. He looked, and they waited for another few minutes, and then, when no one came past, he motioned for them to duck in.

The inside of the fort was much better lit – with numerous campfires and torches planted down into the soil. There was little, if any, shadow to hide in, and the beige and cream-coloured tents were well-lit and illuminated. Even trying to hide inside would be pointless, and it would probably make them stand out even more. For now, they were under the cover of the open gate, out of sight, but also limited on time. It would only take one person stepping out their tent to take a leak, and they'd be seen. Or if one of the sentries changed shifts and came down the wooden steps to their left and right.

"Now," whispered Sun, jerking his head inside. "Do it now."

Now or never. Jaune took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing the aura up within him and to his hand. I could use a little help, Ozma. If you want to support this rebellion as much as you say you do, help me out.

The fire surging through his body intensified, burning into his palm so hot that the walls and faces of everyone were lit up bright orange. They looked afraid, excited and, in Ren's case, gleeful. The ball of fire grew until it touched Jaune's fingers, then expanded beyond it, engulfing his hand and arm up to his elbow, and all without burning his skin.

"Now," said Ozma. "Will it away from you now."

Jaune angled his right arm at the nearest tents, across the ground and toward the wooden fort at the back and expelled his breath and all the energy in one go, pushing with his mind, his shoulder, and his lungs in one go.

It was like the sun itself touched Remnant.

Jaune casts fireball.

It's super effective.

Next Chapter: 9th October

Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur