CHAPTER 13 - INFILTRATION: DISCOVERY
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It was night now, the day had quickly dissipated. It was inevitable that all the soldiers, senior or not, had retreated to their tents and gone to sleep. Even the most anxious and frightened, like Eneas, who among all of them was perhaps the most terrified, had fought and lost the battle against sleep, which, after so many overwhelming events, had completely drained their energy.
However, the simple fact remained that a secret that was supposed to stay hidden had been revealed, something that should never have gotten out was now in the mind of someone who, even if not believed by their companions, could spread the word sooner or later. Only one person, and this time it wasn’t Eneas, who was busy digesting that thought in her head, had this concern in mind.
General Rinoria, head of the militia, remained locked in his office, and in his mind, from the moment the guards he had sent out had reported that they had lost the target, he could do nothing but torture himself in search of a solution.
«"So... Someone has discovered the plan."»
The head of the militia remained seated in his chair, staring blankly at his desk. In front of him, a figure lay hidden in the shadow. The door was locked, and the posture of the commander revealed clear signs of paranoia. This was not an event he had foreseen in his plan, and he hadn’t expected it to happen.
«"It seems a spy has infiltrated. Probably a curious soldier. But the person in question, whoever they are, has fled."» responded General Rinoria, cracking his fingers, his face full of seriousness. But the individual before him seemed much less serious; on the contrary, a smile was plastered on his face.
«"Your soldiers are truly incompetent, spying on their own generals now, are they?"»
Rinoria turned away, taking his gaze off the shadowy figure. The individual, however, raised his arm, revealing it to be replaced by a rough and aggressive hook.
«"Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter. The damage is done, and soon the word will spread. We have to act."»
«"Unfortunately, that’s not my problem. I gave you my offer, and you accepted it. Now it’s up to you to deal with this matter, or else..."» After saying that, the individual hidden in the shadow stood up from his chair.
Approaching the dim light placed next to the militia leader’s desk, his face was revealed. A wide, malevolent grin stretched across it, and mischievous eyes adorned his wrinkled face. With his hook, Algalunga scratched his long beard, streaked with grey hairs that signaled his approaching old age. Then, he adjusted his hat, which unfortunately kept slipping, and finally replaced the typical pirate’s eye patch that covered his left eye.
His sudden, menacing appearance intimidated General Rinoria, who, despite the many battles he had faced, had never found himself in a situation like this.
When the idea of fighting pirates was first presented to him, following yet another ruined commercial expedition, he was fully aware of the numerical disadvantage and lack of power, but his inability to outwit the pirates and the lack of support due to the island’s remote location left him with no other choice.
Now, faced with such an offer from the pirate Algalunga in person, nightmare of the seas and commander of the pirate council, the true antagonist of the island, to leave the western islands alone and focus on the eastern ones in exchange for a simple deal, he couldn’t help but accept. But now, facing the actual deal, a thousand moral doubts plagued him.
Exchanging a large number of men and women to be sold as slaves in return for protection from the threat of pirates—that was the deal. And after so much thought and meetings with other generals of his rank, the idea was accepted. But such an explicit exchange of slaves could not be carried out openly.
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Thus, after a slow process, he decided that a false expedition would be the best idea.
Of course, only his most trusted men were truly aware of the plan, while the others followed the propaganda put out by the village leader. Most of the generals were unaware of the plan and thought it was a legitimate mission. Only a few superiors and close friends of General Rinoria knew the truth.
But despite this ongoing situation, despite the military draft now in operation, moral doubts plagued him.
What he was doing wasn’t right, but... it was the only way to free his island. To deal with such a man, he could kill him at that moment, or at least fight him, but the repercussions would cause disastrous consequences for his island—consequences he couldn’t afford.
Algalunga, then, that fearsome pirate commander of the seas, the most feared sailor of all, who had earned with his raids, his extensive crew, and his cruelty and cold-bloodedness the title of head of the pirate council—a criminal gang that organized all the pirates under one group—looked around. Even for him, being spied on had disrupted his plan. Now that he had secured a great deal, he couldn’t allow its ruin.
«"When you called me, saying the plan had been discovered, that we were spied on, I didn’t expect it to be in such a simple way. I’m confident it will be just as easy to find the responsible soldier among all your men and take care of it properly. After all, we’ll be taking your cadets anyway; might as well start with one who’s got great spying skills if they managed to get past your guards."» In fact, the idea that someone had managed to slip past the guards was very strange. It had to be someone with an unusual build, the only theory Rinoria could come up with.
Algalunga sat back in his chair once again. «"I’m sure you’ve already begun your investigations, but in case you haven’t, or in the worst-case scenario of catastrophe..."» At that point, Algalunga menacingly pulled out his hook again, moving it up and down.
«"We’ll take care of it. In any case, we’ll get our share of slaves, and then we’ll leave. Simple."»
Hearing this, Rinoria felt a feeling he despised—a deep sense of weakness. But despite that, he knew it was the only thing he could do to safeguard his people and rid himself of the pirates. In a firm tone, he delivered his verdict.
«"We’ll find that spy as soon as possible and make sure to get rid of them, for the good of our island and to uphold the pact."»
The wind, as usual, blew against the tent. Everyone was sleeping peacefully, even Natirra, who had struggled to reach that state of calm, and who, before falling asleep, couldn’t help but think of her family, her friends, and all the challenges she would face the next day. But someone who had struggled even more to sleep was Eneas, who had been exposed to something truly terrible.
Suddenly, struck by another nightmare, she woke up. She looked around, managing to recover her broken glasses, which Igre had left in her room, but they were broken, preventing her from seeing clearly.
Clear enough not to be afraid, blind enough not to fully understand. She could still orient herself, and that was a relief.
She got up from her bed, looking around anxiously and quickly, trembling as she covered her mouth, knowing she might break down uncontrollably at any moment. She had never been good at controlling her emotions, but especially in a critical situation like this, she felt as if a demon was pushing inside her, furiously trying to get out.
Once again, however, her curiosity pushed her furiously. There was something she had to do; there was more she had to discover. Her companions hadn’t believed her and had seen her as crazy, but if she could provide real proof, perhaps they would help her. She had already organized a full plan in her head to escape, but she needed support, or she wouldn’t succeed.
She got up from her bed, slowly walking.
The grass tried to sabotage her escape, sending out sudden and abrupt sounds, but despite everything, she managed to slip out of the tent.
The night guards, the few that were around, didn’t stay inside the tent to avoid disturbing the soldiers.
She walked quickly, but with a certain stealth outside the tent. It was completely dark, and the wind hit her face, but despite the terror she felt in that moment, a force within her kept pushing her, and she partly regretted it, but now that she was out of the tent, it was too late, and at this point, it was better to keep going forward.
Raising her head, she mentally traced the path to follow. She would find those offices, and assuming everyone was asleep, she would find some proof.
«"If... If they don’t believe me..."» she whispered to herself, as if talking to someone in front of her.
«"I-I’ll prove it to them. Th-that way they’ll help me escape."»