They were coming by sea, just like Lumpy had said.
A vast armada of dozens of warships and hundreds of smaller boats approached the coast, Moustafa could see from his telescope. If they reached land, they would surely set a direct path to Dry Dry City, and with their meager militia and the vast desert before them, they could hardly wage an effective guerilla war. If they made landfall, the Republic was doomed.
The main standing in the boat next to him, though, stood tall and proud. He was Jonathan Jones, a captain recommended specifically by Lumpy himself. A proud pirate with decades of experience at sea, he seemed to look down the armada not with fear, but with anticipation.
“They’re using Pirate Guy ships,” Jonathan said, his sharky fins flapping in the wind. “That means they have low priority on this attack. The warships must be skeleton crews, too.”
“You mean they have an army of Dry Bones soldiers on-board?” Moustafa asked.
“No, I mean-- nevermind. If I am reading this formation right, it appears the Mushroom Kingdom has hired none other than Captain Syrup to lead the charge,” Jonathan continued. “My men have dealt with her before. Admiral Bobbery may be in command, but Captain Syrup is the real leader behind a force like this, surely. She won’t be a problem, as long as you have those Banzai Bill Cannons I asked for.”
“They were provided,” Moustafa said.
Provided with a heavy-interest loan from the Red Bob-omb Army...
If they won this war, he had no idea how they would pay for everything they were afforded. They may never be able to, with Dry Dry’s meager resources and isolated geography.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But freedom tasted too sweet just to give up. They had to fight.
***
“He must stand trial,” Toadsworth said.
“He had control of the Senate and the Courts. He’s too dangerous to be kept alive!” said Chancellor Toad. He had more overt control over the judicial process, even if Toadsworth had more direct access to the Princess herself, and the Chancellor was going to keep it that way, like some young squirt like Toadsworth was going to steal it all away from him. Bah.
“Can’t we just... exile him to Cool, Cool Mountain?” Toadsworth suggested. “Our dissident regions--”
“Our dissident regions are angry that the Mushroom Kingdom so readily transformed into a warmongering dictatorship just because of a change in leadership! If we show that we are at peace again, they will rejoin.”
“But...” Toadsworth tried collecting his words. “We have to LOOK fair. We can’t appear to be what Bowser already was.”
The Chancellor was disgusted. But he had to admit that Toadsworth was right in this, if only this. “But you know how the trial must end. We can’t place Bowser anywhere without considering that he may return. The Mr. Snowmans will riot if we place him anywhere near their territory, after what happened in Sherbet Land. He’s already shown he can escape from an island, and he knows the underground tunnels beneath the continent too well. We have to end this while we can.”
“I understand,” Toadsworth said. “But as far as this line of thought goes, Peach has the final word, you know.” Toadsworth stood up and began departing from the conference room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go inform Prince Mallow about the fate of his parents.”
“Good luck on that,” the Chancellor said.
Peach having the final word... the Chancellor almost laughed. It hadn’t been a real monarchy in a decade. It wasn’t suddenly going to become one again overnight.
He knew who held the real power in the Mushroom Kingdom.