The day ended with the hectic aftermath of the incident. The longboat had returned to the pier with all the crew. Luckily, no one had been lost to the waves. Bosun Marge was still shouting, even as the ropes were being fastened and the first men had jumped over. Apparently, some 'worthless pieces of maggot shit’ had not reacted correctly in the face of danger and needed a reminder of their failures.

I could not help but smile. But more than anything I was relieved that we had no death to add to the list. Every single one hurt. I had freed them. I wanted to protect them. I wanted them to be strong enough to protect themselves. But still we lost one or two every other day to the creatures of the Wyld or some accident in the hazardous environments.

It felt like I had failed every one of them personally.

I postponed the plan to risk the warriors this night against the Nightmares. They have had enough excitement for one day. I was keen on the idea, but maybe it was too soon. I could not risk them. Not now. Not after such a close call already.

I returned to the Wreckage, just grabbing something to eat from the communal fires, and brought the food up to my ship. The Wreckage had grown. Not in height, quite the contrary as it had lost the mass of three ships, but as a base and a home.

The lower levels had been transformed into a place where people lived and worked over the last weeks. Besides the bigger structures, built into the cargo holds and battery decks of the ships, like the hospital, the warehouse and the dining rooms, people had erected small shelters, utility rooms, staircases, and bridges. It was a curious but also magical place. Like fallen right out of a story about the sea. The ships, the lanterns, and the smell of the ocean...I loved it. Even if I was not exactly keen on the ocean itself.

There was a reason I lived in the Ship farthest away from the water.

I climbed up and went straight by the opulent dining table, straight by the officer’s mess and the captain’s cabin to the bow of the ship, where I sat down cross-legged, my back to the gratings, eating the meat with my hands.

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I finally let my [Aura of Authority] drop. I had been using the Skill constantly. There were so many people relying on me. And our situation seemed so dire. Not hopeless, far from it, but people died under my command. There were so many questions every second of the day, so many answers I just was not able to give.

Using the Skill was a curious feeling I can only compare to the difference in attitude a man or woman might experience when they wear a uniform or armor instead of their casual clothes at home. Or a crown, I guess. Something felt different. One stood straighter, spoke with more assertiveness, had more confidence. The Skill was like that. It changed me.

And I hated it.

As I was eating, I thought about what to do. The bay was not safe. There were creatures in the water. I mean, that has been a given, but there were true monsters out there. Big enough to swallow our longboats whole. I felt the pressure of removing that threat on my shoulders. But we had specialists, which had more experience in the matter.

I activated [Bearer of Bad News] and lifted my palm, watching the swirling smoke rise from my hand and form the now familiar form of a pitch-black Raven, which turned its head with unnatural calmness to me, quietly waiting for my orders.

“Find Captain Locksley.“ I said. “Message: Sighting of big and dangerous sea creatures. Training of longboat crews delayed. Please return.“ The Raven cocked its head and flew away into the darkness. At my current level I could make the Raven remember 14 words and send him to any person I personally knew. It flew slightly faster than a real bird, but it still would take time to find the captain.

Locksley‘s mission would only be cut short by two or three days, depending on when and where the Raven would find him. As of today, he had been gone for 9 days.

We needed the Albatross. I needed the opinion of the captain.

So many of my plans depended on the usage of the bay. First of all, we needed to explore the other shores. We were now feeding on the game we could bring out of the Broken Lands. There was not a chance to plant something and harvest it before winter would fall. But we had to start something. Scavenge something. We also needed a better source for fresh water than what could be found around the floating isles.

And we needed the room to actually build a settlement. The pile of ships was a great place to take shelter, maybe even through winter, but it was a finite space. And one that could not hold everything we needed. A smithy, from the top of my head. Not a good idea to make such a fire in a room of wood. And the space around the Needle, which was solid rock, was very limited.

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But food was the main thing. I was not so sure anymore that we could fish on a large scale, with the dangers that lurked under the surface.

I had asked Fjora, the [Chargehand], for a favor today. To make the pier her personal project. The Wyldlings had started to use the slaves to break the stones and fill in the gaps between, to extend the rocks to a solid wave breaker and pier. I wanted to continue that. And even more, I wanted the pier to reach the shore on the other side of the bay.

I wanted a connection to dry land and soil. I wanted to dry out the side of the bay and one of the waterfalls. I wanted to see the buildings I had spotted under the waves. There might be a city there, or at least some structures of stone, waiting to be used.

So, every time Fjora had no idea what to do with a group of workers, she would send them to the pier. A mindless task, and a giant project, but time and commitment would take care of that. And there were a lot of moments a couple of workers and craftsmen had nothing much to do, which would add up fast. It was an excellent way to use every bit of manpower we had.

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Suddenly, mid-meal, Simue vaulted over the railing with nary a sound, landing as silently as a cat. She saw me in an instant and came over to me. The way she walked told me all I needed to know. She meant business. She had made a decision and was about to inform me about it. I breathed deeply, putting my dinner aside.

She had changed. She had shaved one side of her head and braided the rest of her light-brown hair into slim strands, which hung loosely over her shoulders. Every trace of mirth had been gone, lines of grief and worry were drawn all over her face. She looked down at me intensely, lips pressed together tightly, and gave me a folded piece of paper.

I want to go back to the empire

“Sit with me a moment, will you?“ I asked. She hesitated, a moment too long maybe, but sat down in front of me. Looking at me with determination.

“I don‘t really know you. Or your past.“ I said, straightening my back as the faux confidence of [Aura of Authority] washed through my body. “But I know grief. I know rage. And dead gods do I know the lust for revenge. Believe me.“

She watched me silently, stone-faced.

“A smarter man than I once said to me that a life spent in violence and revenge is not a life worth living.“ I smiled. “I did not believe him. I laughed as I released a dangerous plague in the hinterlands of my enemy. I was so arrogant. Take that!" I imitated what I might have sounded like, that fateful day, while I threw my hands up in mock anger. "Let your people suffer as I have suffered.“

My fingers drew circles onto the wood between Simue and me, as I remembered the night after I had climbed out of the Abyss. 

“Then I met Cogar. And learned that everybody is just one thing. People with people problems. People suffering under the politics and plans of stronger people or beings.“

She put out her hand, touching me on the knee. I waited patiently as she scribbled something on the paper with a stick of coal.

I have to. Staying hurts.

My hand reched for hers, squeezing it. “I understand. I do! But you are not whatever you were before anymore. You are one of the strongest humans here. These people need you. I need you. Is their hope, their survival not more important, more meaningful than dead Wyldlings?“

I could see that I was getting to her. She began to doubt her conviction. She was torn.

I still need to go. But I want to help. She scribbled. I want to return. Contact our group there. They need to know that...she stopped writing, turning away from me as tears began to roll down her face.

I shuffled over and grabbed her. Hugged her tightly. She fought me a moment, but without her heart in it. Hit me on the back and the shoulders, as she cried, but without any malicious intent or force. I just held her.

“I don‘t know what Zora was to you.“ I said with a knot in my stomach. “But I miss her too.“

We sat there a while. An eternity. Both of us needed that hug. Both of us were awkward and embarrassed. But we did not let got. 

“You can have a ship.“ I said finally, as we had sat there in silence for a while. “But you need to first show me that you do not just lead the free men and women straight to their deaths. I cannot allow that. Pick a few warriors and hunters that will accompany you to the Empire and take them into the Wyld. Train them, prepare them. The ships cannot leave the bay yet, there are one or more creatures that bar our way. You have at least that long to prepare.“

She nodded, eager that I had promised her a ship. She was ready to do what it would take.

“The resources of the empire are ours, by right. Make contact. Establish relationships with the groups resisting the Wyldlings and the traitors. Establish routes for goods and people to reach the shores where we can pick them up. Bring back the people who do not want to live there anymore, who don’t want to fight them anymore. We need the talent and the help. Promise me.“

She looked at me earnestly, nodding. Thank you. She let the paper go and stood up, disappearing over the railing without a look back. A woman on a mission.

As I watched her leave, Zero came crawling over the wooden planks towards me, everything but stealthy. But in his endearing caterpillar-crawl, which was quite noisy. He had gone exploring when I had returned to eat, but now circled me a few times and laid his head in my lap.

I felt his equivalent of looking up to me with puppy eyes, which was a subtle shaking of his spikes and a concerned feeling transmitted via the empathic link we shared.

I patted him instinctively, then stopped as I thought about how stupid that was. “Aww, buddy. Did you feel that hug I just had?“ Zero nodded. “Don‘t worry. I‘m fine. I will be fine.“

And I would be. Come hell or high water.

The spikey chain climbed me, trying to hug me too. “Ouch, Zero, stop that.“ I tried fighting him off, chuckling silently.