Other than those within the inner circle, primarily Maatilani, Timeaus, Malakos and the other elite soldiers from Temrenos, most were surprised and terrified to see the towering sails of the dark black ship. Its sails emblazoned with a crimson bear, the color of blood that only seemed to mix with the pitch-black darkness that the ship appeared to exude. Rows of serrated teeth had been painted on the base of the ship’s prow, like that of an ocean predator, further amplifying its deathly image, resembling a giant hungering beast.

Men and women both cowered in fright as a mighty roar erupted from the deck of the vessel, just as a great plume of water erupted. In the darkness and with only the scant moonlight peeking through the clouds, none could see what had produced such things. They had not seen the bear on the deck opening its mouth and releasing a yawn as it awoke to the sound of the crew unhooking the large stone anchor and dropping it over the edge into the shallow depth of the cove. To them the sights and sounds only added to the fear, with some even willing to risk the dark and foreboding forests.

To avoid such a disastrous panic, Caedyrn immediately set out to ease the crowd, climbing atop a nearby crate and calling out to the people as his soldiers kept anyone from doing anything foolish. “Fear not, these people are one of our own. The Balearii clan serves Temrenos, its leader having fought at my side for many years. Calm yourselves, and do not do anything foolish, we are at least a week away from the nearest town or main road. These forests are not safe, and many wild beasts could be stalking our very caravan. Please trust me to get you to safety, as I have continued to do until this point.”

By the time the crowd had been calmed, and the more panicky of those within subdued, both Vexariz, and his daughter Cauaria had appeared upon shore with a handful of their men. Soon after another three row boats appeared alongside their own, with the soldiers and sailors immediately getting to work on loading up the supplies and goods. Even with the assistance of the crowd, it would still take until midday the following afternoon to complete the loading of both supplies and people. Time for the leaders of the two groups to sit around the fire and converse, and to privately exchange important information away from prying eyes and ears.

“You’re late you big lazy oaf! I sent that message two to three weeks ago, I assumed you would have been waiting at least a week for my arrival… However, I guess it was for the best. We haven’t exactly had the easiest of journeys, it would appear my enemies have given up on trying to undermine me, deciding to kill me instead.” Caedyrn grabbed the hulking man’s forearm, bringing him into a familial hug, yet his arm span barely managed to encircle the man’s wide waist.

“You haven’t grown at all old man haha! You used to be so much bigger than me, I looked up to you then… now I have to crane my head just a bit- Ooof!” Vexariz let out a muffled groan as an elbow crashed into his side, forcing him bend over slightly. “My dear little princess, why are you so cruel to your father? Can a nephew not tease his uncle?” Vexariz spoke through gritted teeth, yet the Blazing Fury ignored him, instead running up to and squeezing her elder in a powerful hug, pressing her face into his chest and acting like a little girl again.

Caedyrn for his part showed a rare smile, his right hand coming to rest on the young woman’s bed of fiery red hair, giving her a light pat the way a grandfather would a young child. “It has been a while since I last saw you my dear… I’m sorry that I have been so busy. Especially when you and your father work so hard trying to keep the sea lanes clear of pirates.”

“It’s fine, elder. I enjoy the work… rescuing the imprisoned, judging the villains. It has given me purpose, allowed me to forget, just like you said all those years ago. One day I will be strong enough… and now I am at no one’s mercy, those that commit such acts fear my wrath! Every scar is a trophy, another notch upon my blades, and another adherent to our cause. Thank you for your sage advice all those years ago.” Cauaria rubbed her face a few more times, clearing away a few stray tears before pulling away and revealing a wide toothed smile for all to see.

“I did what I thought was right my dear, and I would love to chat more, but we need to discuss some situations that came up during our travels. Things that we will need to keep our eyes peeled for, both now and in the foreseeable future. I would also appreciate any news you may have of recent events, either in Syroneika or the surrounding lands, especially around the Rustikan Peninsula. Reports have been difficult to come by… but let’s not discuss this here, we can use my wagon, only Niko and Mera are there at the moment.” With that, the group quickly made their way into the distant wagon, walking in as Mera was preoccupied showing a map to Niko, pointing at the multiple nations and surrounding landmasses. Teasing him for his slow and stumbling speech, yet also congratulating him for yet another tiny step forward.

“SIS!” Mera’s shrill yell left Niko holding his right ear, as the girl had been close before reacting to the arrival of the new guests. The two women practically colliding into one another, with the older and stronger Cauaria easily gaining dominance and lifting the smaller girl into a crushing bear hug.

“Haha! Haven’t seen you in years troublemaker… are you still beating back all your suitors with sticks, or have you finally decided on someone to fulfill that role?” Cauaria was specifically eyeing the young man in the corner, the same one pouring over the maps and books while still massaging his still ringing ears. It was an ambiguous glare, neither positive nor negative, but most definitely questioning. The new woman was obviously interested in who this new addition to their band was, as he was clearly not someone close, and yet he was here within the inner circle, with the Scholar treating him as one of his own.

“There is no time for that child, for now you and Mera should sit and listen. We will be discussing things of importance, and as future leaders of the House you will need to be involved in such deliberations… Niko! You can put down that text, you will have plenty of time to study on the ship tomorrow. Bring over the maps while you are at it.” Caedyrn quickly assembled his officers and house members. The illumination from the glow lamp above tinged the small table and map in green light.

Caedyrn started the conversation which would drag on late into the night and early the next morning, relaying to Vexariz the dangers they had faced in journeying north and how that translated to the decreased merchant caravans heading south to the frontier. Business had been harmed by the many bandit and pirate groups present, as well as the prevailing logic centered around the noble’s involvement. However, the information regarding the new partnership with the Scyllan’s and the destruction of the Taureas family was welcome news. With Vexariz interested in the many new business opportunities for Balearii forged iron in the capital’s black markets.

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This relaying of information was not one-sided, with the Balearii chieftain describing the recent raids on the northern pirate strongholds, especially those of the Emerald Leviathan’s and their almost complete annihilation. Taking special care in thanking the Scholar for his recent gift of alchemical fire, the Salamander’s breath had been very effective in their trials. Easily destroying palisade walls, and carbonizing the defender’s as you had once explained, more surprisingly was the effect on stone. The thinner areas of some of the stronghold and inner fortress walls collapsed from sustained bombardment, so long as the fires were reapplied in half hour increments, even the stone would fail to hold and collapse.

Caedyrn’s hand moved across the paper as if it possessed a mind of its own, each of Vexariz’s recollections put to paper and chronicled for later storage. The new vessels performance was also something of wonder, data that the Scholar was likely to index during their travels over the next few days. However, what neither Vexariz nor any of the others present could have predicted was his response to the ranged contraption the Balearii chieftain had strapped to his back.

The crossbow that Sabina had created from their ballista prototypes had far exceeded even the Scholar’s expectations. With the intrepid inventor singing the young woman’s praises as she sat disgruntled upon the deck of the Sawtooth, having drawn the short straw and forced to assist Tritus in loading the vessel for departure. Gulgul’s head resting on her lap as her hands unconsciously itched his red furred scalp, an adequate substitution for the currently unavailable Cauaria.

Caedyrn held the weapon aloft, peering at the multiple arms, the loading mechanism, and the trigger, understanding that the difficulty in loading would need to be handled first before mass production could begin. Unfortunately, the current smithing techniques possible would fail to produce the pieces needed for that, instead they would need to focus their attention on an elite group of strong warriors. Equipped with these weapons, they would be extremely useful in dealing with heavily armored soldiers, or particularly large beasts which called the depths of the Jormani forest home.

“Old man, there has been some more worrying news from the east… I thought you would want to know. The Ociri Republic has made their move, three legions have begun marching south into Perenti lands, with the first legion already having engaged them. Both sides have taken a beating, but the Perenti, under the leadership of the second son of a small southern tribe, managed to defeat the first legion!” Although the tribe was in no way related to his own, the fact that a relatively unknown clan led the remnants of a shattered army to defeat a great regional power filled him with pride.

“It is good that they managed to beat the Ociri back, that should prolong the war considerably. It will buy us more time, ensure that we can defend against their inevitable invasion… Before you mention that tribal chieftain, recall the divisions within Kyrnos. Such a coalition is unlikely to remain together for long… if anything, keep your eye on the progress of the war and if things become worse see to the evacuation of the young chieftain and his tribe. Another capable commander would do wonders for our goals.” Caedyrn remained intentionally vague, yet it was clear from Vexariz’s reactions that he was fully aware of the Scholar’s intentions and meaning.

Just as Vexariz was going to continue the conversation the flaps on the wagon were pushed aside and an out of breath Apollonius made a beeline for his sister and the nearby Cauaria. Mera was barely able to hide the wide smile on her face, whereas Cauaria released a barely noticeable groan. In Apollonius’s outstretched hand was still bloody hare, an arrow resting deep in its flank.

“Ah, Cauaria it has been too long! You must be famished from your long journey, instead of hardtack, perhaps you would like to join me for a late dinner. I rushed over as soon as I heard you and your esteemed father had arrived, and I figured a stew of meat and vegetables would help before our journey home.” Mera eyed her older brother for only a second or two before snickering loudly.

“Oh… you just happened to be out hunting in the middle of the night dear brother. Shall I go warm up the pot, perhaps we should add some turtle meat to the mix for energy… Haha!” The little troublemaker ignored the hard stares from both Cauaria and Apollonius. Yet her teasing was cut short as a stern faced Caedyrn smacked the siblings on the backs of their heads and quickly shut them up.

Mera received a light warning, and it was Apollonius who received the greater focus, “Twenty minutes… I called for you twenty minutes ago. Not only do you arrive late… you also have the nerve to cause a disruption during an important meeting. I thought I taught you better than that boy. Go, sit in the corner over there, we’ll figure out a suitable punishment for you once we are on the way home.” Apollonius finally realized where he was and rightly hung his head in shame as he walked of to the designated spot. However, this was not before Vexariz moved in and snatched away the hare from his grasp.

“Thank you for the gift boy… I appreciate your concern for both My and My Daughter’s well-being… You know I was looking for someone to help scrub the ships deck, I think I’ll ask the old man if he can spare you for the trip.” A wide dark grin painted the huge man’s face as he towered over the young man who had dared approach his daughter so openly.

“Dad, stop! The meeting isn’t done, you still haven’t told the Elder about that beast in the mountains.” The cohesion and interest which had dissipated after Apollonius’s interruption was quickly refocused onto the Balearii chieftain. With even the Scholar’s gaze hardening at the mention of unknown beasts.

As soon as Vexariz described the beast and its features Caedyrn approached the strewn-out map and started requesting more information. Pointing out and marking the locations where the creature was seen and areas of increased Karsi incursions. Vexariz also made sure to mention that their experiments in breeding the wyrm variants in the mining operations had borne success.

Anselm had discovered that by crushing these new Rock wyrm’s fecal pellets into a fine powder and combining that with lime and seawater, a type of liquid stone was manufactured. The process was arduous; however, rates of construction had increased tenfold. It was the reason he had remained behind, to shore up the defenses and prepare for any incursions, either by the Gralg, or the Karsi.

The Scholar was excited at the mention of the liquid stone, naming it concrete and thanking Vexariz and Cauaria for the contribution, especially the many barrels of Rock wyrm pellets they stated were sitting in the Sawtooth’s hold. With Caedyrn promising his support for an expedition into the mountains, as he believed the beasts and their source needed to be destroyed before Kyrnos became yet another Jormani forest. However, Vexariz and his clan would be expected to hold the line for a few years before a proper force could be raised, one experienced enough to survive the dangerous trek.

For now, the conversation would need to be put to rest. As there would be a long journey ahead, Caedyrn expected them all to get adequate rest. Undoubtedly there would be many trials to overcome in the future, however, that would be a worry for another day.