Eve was in no mood to deal with any type of bullshit; she wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly so that she could get back and help plan whatever was left of Judy and Alexandra's wedding.
Settlements all over the place had either been joining forces and creating one large community or they've been abandoning their areas and moving into walled cities it's not something that people liked but in order to survive at times that's what need to be done but what Eve was bringing with something more something that they could do to make their lives better.
The first settlement she went to was one of the large ones the last estimate on the sign outside of the settlement was that they were close to 2,000 people living there which was rare because not all of them were female they were some males in there which meant that there was breeding going on and that was a good sign which meant that the settlement was closed to turning into a city.
Aside from the walled city scattered about the different continents of the world there was only one city that was not walled that had over 10,000 people in it and is called the free City of Sitar. It had no affiliation with the pirates or the walled cities it kept to itself and did well by trading with individuals instead of larger governments and parties to keep itself afloat.
Of course Eve was going to make a stop there just to see if there was anyone that was willing to move, maybe take a business or a couple of families there to help grow everything on the continent.
She entered into the north point of the city and was stopped by the guard post, “Excuse me ma'am I don't know you could you please tell me who you are and who you are with and why you are here?”
Eve looked the guard up and down and she let out an exasperated sigh and replied to his very annoying question. “My name is Eve. I'm a crew member in the Crimson Judgment. I've come looking to speak with the leader of the settlement in regards to possibly joining with our settlement a few miles east of here.”
The guard looked Eve over again just making sure she checked out. He nodded and motioned with his thumb for her to continue on, pointing to a very large tent in the center that had a flag flying over top with a red background and seven stars and a mountain in the center.
Eve clicked her tongue at the guard and skipped to the tent. As she entered the smell of incense assaulted her nostrils and she started to tear up. She wiped the tears away and squinted looking for any sign of life through this miasma of fragrance.
An older woman stepped out from behind a curtain of beads and bowed her head as she spoke, “I hear you are coming looking for people to move to your settlement. Many of us have been here our entire lives. Why would we move? What benefit is there for us to come and join you?”
She was finally getting used to than my asthma of incense all around having her eyes one more time Eve responded, “My Captain is looking for able-bodied people not just for fighting but trans persons and the like we have a large continent that has a lot of room to grow by my estimates since I've been around the land for a while now I would say we could fit upwards 20 maybe even 50 settlements even some of your size so how about it there are plenty of room resources food everything you can ask for.”
The older woman let out a soft chuckle as she spoke, “We have all these things here along with our freedom there is no war or conflict and we don't need to be under the authority of anyone so I think perhaps you should leave before things get frightening.”
A sly smile crossed Eve’s lips and she pulled a dagger from her coat and stepped up to the woman sticking it inches from her throat as she responded, “You don't scare me old lady I'll slit your throat and drink the blood as it comes out this is not a request you are inside Crimson Judgment territory and you will either submit I will destroy this place by myself.”
She swallowed back her fear trying not to move so that the blade didn't Nick her throat she responded in the shaky and terrified voice, “No need for violence we just do not want to be enslaved by pirates all we want is our freedom nothing more nothing less some of us do not have the strength or the resources to move you are asking something that we cannot do.”
“Well, you don't have a choice in the matter of any island no matter how large around ours is getting destroyed we are blowing the islands and sinking them into the water so you don't have a choice you either come now or this place will be your grave.”
The silence in the room gripped the room almost as tight as Eve's grip on her knife. She could see it in the old woman's eye that she was not going to agree so Eve plunged the dagger into her throat, cut it around her neck and took her head clean off her shoulders holding it firmly in her hand the head swinging just by a clump of silver gray hair.
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Eve walked out of the tent getting to the highest point in the middle of the town holding the head in the air as she screamed for everyone's attention, “This settlement is now claimed by Alexandria and the Crimson Judgment you will all pack up all your belongings and anything that you cannot bear to part with you will be loaded into ships and taken to a new place any of you who refused will meet the same fate as your former leader so would anybody like to object?”
The people looked terrified and Eve breathed in deep letting the fear caress her body and envelop her. She was pretty crazy as pirates go but nothing brought her more excitement than fear even though Alexandria was a good person Eve still wasn't going to allow others to push her around she found a spear in the armory piped the old woman's head on it and place the steak at the entrance to the town with a warning any who disobey will leave this way.
Everything was packed up loaded into transports on the way to the coast eve took some of the militia members that she had brought with her and scoured the island for any type of natural resources they were going to attempt something never before done they were going to carve out mines and other precious metals and stones the entire cave if need be and pull it across the water.
Once everything was loaded Eve had everyone wait for a moment as she and the militia members with her set out and planted explosives all over the island. Once everything was set they got back onto the ship and started moving away once they were at a safe distance Eve pulled out a detonator and clicked the button down water rock and all sorts of other debris flew into the air as the island sank into the water.
One of the people on the boats from the settlement started screaming and Eve went over to see what the problem was. “What the hell is wrong with you kid you got something to say?”
The boy didn't look any older than 16 and he was running his mouth to anyone that would listen. “You people are crazy for blowing up our home like that for no reason at all.”
Eve stepped towards the boy getting right in his face as close as she could and she responded, “You better choose your next words very carefully or you might join that old hang who's spiked head is now at the bottom of the water.”
The kid gave him a disgusting look as he spoke, “Well, we don't want to be under the rule of some filthy pirate bitch.”
Nobody saw the movement. Eve just stepped one foot close to him and jammed him at least three maybe four times in the chest with her knife. And she stepped away, blood poured down his chest as he coughed and dropped to the ground in a heap.
His father saw him fall and saw Eve's bloody dagger. He pulled an axe from his belt and ran at her wildly. She threw two daggers at him hitting two deadcenter in the chest inches from each other right through his heart and the third right between his eyes dropping him to the floor.
The mother let out of blood curdling scream and she ran to her son and grabbed him as the last bit of breath he had escaped his body and he died in her arms she picked him up and looked around and then made her way over to the opening in the ship and stepped off a splash when the deck hands ran to the side and looked at Eve.
“You can leave them they both chose their fate and if he could have just kept his mouth shut and maybe he'd still be alive make yourself useful and throw that trash off the side you find anything useful on his body take it take your shoes take his belt take his axe check his pockets after that toss him anybody else have anything to say good either go to your quarters I'll get back to work I don't have any time for foolishness.”
The work was going well back at the settlement the dry dock was bustling with ships being built as three one decks were being converted into two decks of course for the second one they had to build a whole new deck just to accommodate but it was working, and Alexandria was going to get the ships that she needed everything was going as planned.
Judy was working her ass off trying to make sure everything was ready and good to go. There were many ships to build and there wasn't much time, only 2 months to make everything happen the way Alexandria wanted it to. After that it would be a wedding and then bloodbath and she hoped that she would be ready for it.
Everyone was busy, even Alexandria who was in the central building going over all the paperwork and sending out letters to potential allies in different settlements that were within a 10-mile radius of their continent.
Her plan was to create a 10 mi note around and feel that water with ships, mines and traps to make it to where only her people couldn't maneuver through it anyone else trying without the proper directions and find themselves part of what Alexandria wanted to call a war made wreath.
There was no telling how long the walled city would stand by she would have thought they would have sent rating parties against them but something was off no ships had been seen no scouts nothing she was wondering what the problem was but it could be a million different things and at the time she just wasn't seeing it she knew from one of her crew members that the main council for the walled city's Capital was meeting and that those talks should be starting any day now hopefully their spy within the capital could give them information but that would take at least 2 months to reach them.
All they could do now is sure if they're defenses and make ready because once the battle started it wasn't going to end until either the city or their settlement was destroyed and all the people inside were dead but hopefully Alexandria had given her team more than enough of an edge to finally make it dent in this government that was choking the very life out of this world.