Pirate Captain Runko looked up at the deranged man in front of him. The man was uninjured and didn’t even look like he had just been in battle. Besides the splotches of blood on his boots and spots on his leather, it seemed like the man was out on a stroll. His hair didn’t even seem out of place. Laughing. And then he heard an unfamiliar voice. It was grating.
“Boss, I thought the plan was to be in your ship watching. Boss.” The scarf around the man started moving around. And speaking. It was also flying. The pirate was in shock. He gasped out air as he was still in pain from his ribs being broken.
“Semantics, Jugou. Now go check out the other ship to make sure there are no survivors. Eat.” The red scarf started laughing, and unfurled as it flew toward the pirate ship. Runko was terrified, he had no clue what he’d gotten himself into. All because he heard from his source that a merchant ship would be conducting business in this mountain range. The merchant ship would be lacking personnel and significantly weaker. For the most part, they were, but the merchants were still so much more powerful than he’d expected. He didn’t believe it but his source had given him reliable information time and time again for the past five years. This was also how his crew became so successful. The source. Then he put it all together.
“You! But how?” So many questions filled his mind but before he could ask another question he felt something hit his head and he became unconscious.
Roy was ecstatic. His plans had finally come together. He spent five years establishing trust with royalty, merchants, and pirates just for one of these moments. And what a moment it was. He didn’t have to get his hands dirty, or too dirty. But it was better to be part of it, he told himself.
He went over to the dead merchant and stared at the man he killed. A merchant from the Crimson Gold, one of the better-reputed merchants in the continent. A man who seemed to want to make friends with him - a smuggler, a thief, a betrayer. And a murderer. A man who he stabbed through the throat, the only one he actually killed. Personally. He contemplated for not even a second as he swiped the glove and the sword from the dead man. Roy also looked for any other valuables and took them all off him, even the locket. Trying to go through the dead merchant’s body, he had to admit, Jesef was a fat pig. Roy smirked.
He started whistling as he walked through the corpses looking for anything valuable. Kicking people on their sides. Separating bodies. He noticed the warrior who led a valiant defense against insidious pirates. Though that wasn’t why he was looking at the man’s corpse. The purple whip from Alyn caught his eyes as he picked it up. He knew it was an enchanted weapon but not what enchantment. It appeared to cause some sort of piercing damage and extreme pain when inflicted. He laughed at his joke. Enchantments were not his specialty.
He would have to ask Jugou when the demon came back. The blood did not deter him from corpse robbing and there were a lot of corpses. And a lot of blood. However, Roy didn’t find anything else worthwhile so he went below deck to really look at the merchant’s treasures. He was hopeful. Five years of planning to get these two together; and this was just one of his many plans. Sure, it looked like this was the only one that panned out. But this wasn’t the day to think about that. He walked down the ship’s stairs and the light illuminated the contents below deck. He grinned. Jackpot.
There were rows of boxes and chests. There were vases and bottles. The space was filled with incredible goods and outstanding wares. Roy felt the prestige of the Crimson Gold merchants was understated if they were dealing with these levels of goods. It was more than he’d expected and he had expected a lot.
The smuggler was all smiles as he perused the merchant’s goods. It was like he was going shopping in a market. Except everything here was his. He saw the exquisite food, the kegs of beer, the bottles of wine, the leather, and so many more. There were some in abundance like the food and the drinks. There were some much fewer but extremely rare and hard to find like the minerals and the weapons. He couldn’t even identify the others. Roy tallied all his gains and started laughing like a maniac. He wanted to skip and so he did. His meticulous planning amounted to such great treasures that even he could not believe it.
Now, he could finally go to the capital and live the rest of his life in peace. He was sick of the tribulations he encountered in his past. He was sick of traveling. It was time for his future.
In excitement, he opened a bottle of wine and started drinking. The ruggedly handsome smuggler was celebrating. He looked at the mountains of food and goods. He picked the finest bundle of grapes and started feeding himself. This was the life.
“A pirate’s life is truly the life for me.” He sang to himself.
A red flying creature approached him as he was enjoying his new life.
“Boss, everything is done. No one on the other ship. Boss. And I cleaned up everything. The only thing left are any coins and treasures. Boss.” Jugou said excitedly and looked around. The red demon noticed all the goods and the excitement on his master’s face. He shared that excitement too. “Oh, Boss, I am so full. Fresh blood, Boss, and corpses. There were even a few live ones, Boss. Thank you! Boss.” He said gleefully and flew around in excitement.
“You did well Jugou, you should be full for a long time now. Come enjoy the spoils!” Roy was all smiles as he drank and ate and eyed the treasures greedily.
“Boss, what do you want to do with those guys over there? Boss?” Jugou directed his eyes to the people huddling in the corner.
The smile on Roy’s face disappeared, he frowned, and then he sighed. A group of what looked to be captives were chained up near the boxes and they looked frightened. He had pretended to ignore them, nothing could ruin his big day. And just his luck. When he finally had everything he wanted.
The group of captives looked at the man who had clearly seen them as soon as he came down the stairs. And continued eating and drinking anyway. They had no clue what to do as they tried to get his attention. However, the man had completely ignored them and just laughed maniacally. Then he danced and skipped. He even sang as he went through the assortment of goods. They thought nothing could scare them but this man was clearly not human. It seemed neither was his companion.
The captive group was composed of nine men: one a much bigger man, one was much older, and the other seven were imposing. The giant of a man was shirtless and had the frame of someone who could topple mountains. His chains were different from the others, they glowed somewhat. His hands and feet were chained to the ground and it looked like he could only move within a certain area. He had short hair and a square jaw. Handsome even with the dried blood, dirt, and cuts on his massive body. But not ruggedly handsome, Roy thought to himself.
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The much older man was fully dressed in a black suit and black shoes. His white hair and mustache signified his age and his elegance. It seemed as though he was missing a glove. The other seven men were of varying looks. But they all had trained physiques and an imposing aura. Though they were all cuffed, the chains were different from the giant man. And at the center was a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a torn up - and what was originally white - dress. Roy did not like what he saw. He had an idea of what they were, what she was. But he was not going to get involved. Not when his dream was so close.
“Just eat them and be done with it.” He said to Jugou.
The group’s faces changed. The men all had angry looks and the girl’s face looked mortified. The giant man stood in front of the girl.
“Hold on there, stranger.” The old man spoke with his back straight and with an aged voice. “I hope we can come to some sort of understanding.”
Roy eyed the old man. His hair was white but it was still all there. His face looked distinguished and his clothes told Roy he was some kind of butler. Every one of the captives looked like they had been through battle and the old man was no different. There were cuts on his clothes and dirt covered his body. Roy didn’t say anything and let the old man keep talking.
“I believe you may have just defeated the merchant and his guards. We heard the sounds of battle and congratulations on your conquest. You may call this old man Cormad. If you could set us free, we would be very much indebted to you. May we have the pleasure of knowing our savior’s name?”
Roy scowled. He contemplated once again just killing them; he thought he was done with these sorts of things. Yet it kept finding him. However, he knew information was more important, he had to make sure he had an idea of what he was about to get into. His head was how he, well, kept his head. He decided to hear them out, for now.
“My name? No. Now why are you here?”
While Roy was contemplating what to do with these prisoners. The old man was also measuring the man in front of him. He saw the tall man carry his glove and the merchant’s sword. He saw the purple whip of the man that abused them. He saw how he did not hesitate to order their deaths and how he ignored them as he enjoyed himself. He saw the red demon and how the red demon called him boss. The old man knew this was a true monster and monsters could not be reasoned with. They had no morals. The old man sighed.
Things had not gone right for them for the past couple weeks. It seemed like a millenia had passed and he felt it. He was old and should be retiring soon, but he supposed it was not meant to be.
“We are lost travelers captured by a greedy, heartless merchant who intended to sell us to the highest bidder. If you could find it in your heart to let us leave, then we would be forever grateful.” The old man said as he bowed to the monsters in front of him. It was an interesting sight to see such a man bow while his hands and feet were cuffed.
“Hmm, why should I?” Roy continued to eye the ones in chains. The giant man was clearly a powerful warrior. He had no doubt that the giant was stronger than Alyn. Probably much stronger. The other men also looked like they were highly trained fighters. And the girl, she was the only one who looked terrified. Yet, she stared at him with a look of grievance. And conviction.
The old man contemplated what he could say to convince the man in front of him to free them. It didn’t look like the man was lacking much with the treasures in the ship. And he could sense the monsters were strong. They had to be to defeat a merchant from the Crimson Gold. Currently, the old man recognized they had nothing to bargain with but he knew it was only a matter of time before they regained their former glory. But it didn’t look like the monster would care. And time was what they were lacking.
“Money? We could -”
“No, I have more than enough.”
“Power?”
“No. From a man in chains?”
“Land?”
Roy shook his head. The old man kept listing things that would be valuable to any man. However, Roy felt he would get everything he wanted soon anyway, and without the hassle, so he rejected all of them. He did want to see what they could offer though, just to make sure. It was not that he was greedy, he was being practical. He had heard the old adage of a ship in the sea being worth more than two in the air, but he wasn’t sure he heard the phrase right. Afterall, airships were abundantly more expensive and two at that. No, he must have heard the phrase wrong. As he realized there was nothing the old man could offer, he gave a look to the flying scarf. Before he could say anything, someone shouted.
“Me!”
The girl with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes stood forward. Shaking. And the men around her were aghast, angry. They kept saying how that was impossible and unnecessary. That they would rather die. All the while, Roy observing their reactions and laughing.
“Hahaaha, you think you’re worth the trouble? What gives you the right?”
But the girl didn’t back down. She knew there was no way this man would let them go without something enticing. Something valuable. She knew her worth, but if that was what it took to save her people, then she was willing to endure. Afterall, she thought, it couldn’t be worse than what had happened to her these last few weeks. She put her hand to her chest.
“I am the princess of -”
Before she could finish her sentence, Roy threw his dagger at her.
The giant of a man blocked the dagger with his body, the dagger piercing him on the shoulder. Blood flowed out. The princess turned pale, terrified. And she fell to the ground.
The other seven imposing men glared daggers at Roy. They were ready to fight.
Roy turned to the red demon and asked, “What do we do with princesses?”
“Boss, we avoid them or kill them if necessary. Boss.” Jugou replied and finished with a snort. He eyed the group greedily. He was full but he felt there was always room for dessert.
“That’s right, Jugou, we kill them if necessary.”
Then he addressed the group. Another dagger appeared in his hands.
“Now, is it necessary?”
Cormad was the first to react. He knew he had to placate the deranged lunatic in front of him.
“Please stay your hand, Sir! We will do anything, as long you let her live. She must survive! In exchange, we’re willing to be your slaves, the Servant’s Oath.” The old man mustered out with the last of his strength.
He felt that he sounded much older than he ever did. Cormad offered the only thing left he thought would be valuable to the man threatening the princess he had been assigned to watch over. A duty that he failed. He kept replaying the series of events that led to this moment. It wasn’t that long ago that he was watching over the princess and her knights as children. Now, he had offered the Servant’s Oath from all her knights and himself for a chance to save the princess. He had condemned them to a life of slavery.
“No.”
Roy said as he threw his dagger at the princess’s head.