After a rather uncomfortable day on the ship, I was eager for a distraction, and if that distraction just happened to be the pirates, that was also a problem that needed addressing. Perhaps I would get lucky and be able to take care of the pirate situation on the coast in one go. If I could capture the leader of this pirate ship, then we could find out who is behind the attacks.

Given my Soulsmith job, I was confident that I would be able to force the information out of anyone I captured. Unless the person or people behind it were flawless, there had to be some hints hidden in their lore that would tell us more. I could then pass that information on to the Tibults and perhaps they could resolve the issue before we even got back from the peace talks. I liked when things were convenient, so I made my decision immediately.

I looked out into the distance, pulling some binoculars from my soul world to look at a ship that was sailing toward us. It had black sails. The flag at the top appeared to be an image of a cat. Well, it’s not like I would have known any pirate signs anyway. I looked over to the man who was piloting the ship, a local Ost Republic captain of no particular notable repute.

“Do you recognize the flag?” I asked curiously.

He shook his head. “The Ost Republic was very good about keeping back piracy up until the Osterians left. There aren’t any known pirate captains along these parts. I heard that Aberis and the Imperial Cloud Meadow have problems. They seem to be exporting their problems down south. He spat to his side as he said that, only blushing when he saw the princess coming out.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

It appeared he had confused me for an Osterian. After all, I was rather tall, and I was friendly with the other Osterians on board from Titan Fall. However, he knew the princess came from Aberis and didn’t want to insult her, so he quickly made himself scarce. Just behind Eliana, the unpleasant face of the church leader Anne appeared.

“Are we going to flee?” She demanded out loud, expecting someone to just answer her.

“No. We’re not.” I responded in a voice clear enough that it informed the entire crew. “We’re going to capture it.”

I had just wanted to capture the leader, but couldn’t I just drop the boat in my Soul World? I seemed to remember from Lydia’s survey that there were some rivers in the Wilderness, and they would not just go all the way south into Dioshin, but reach the ocean. If I could set up my dock, we could start a ship trade. The pirate boat was small and light, aimed at being able to escape, so it probably would work in a river. That also meant that it could probably catch up to us.

Anne sniffed, crossing her arms. “It’s not like I was suggesting we run away. My soldiers can take on the threat, and if anyone dies, I’ll just resurrect them.”

“We will die for you!”

“I want to be resurrected by Anne…”

“Watch me as I protect you, my sweet!”

It seemed like her entourage was perfectly happy to fall in battle. If the church of the daughter had one thing going for it, the Paladin’s gave off energy as if they would gladly die for their lol… I mean for the church head.