Arlie double checked her mage armor in the mirror and secured the enchanted item bag she’d received from the palace to her belt, alongside her sword. The bag didn’t have the capacity of her cart but it had more capacity than its appearance might suggest. It was packed with supplies she might need, including a special pocket to hide her travel funds in. She also had a pair of canteens, a supply of potions, travel food, and even her camping gear in there. Said camping gear included a tent, sleeping bag, cooking utensils and pots and a few tools. No firestarter though, she’d chosen not to bring one since she could use magic to start a fire if she needed one. There was even a map stuffed into one of the pockets.
Blue Rock Isle wasn’t particularly large. The main settlement on the isle was Mylria. A mid-sized town with a natural harbor. Given a decently sized harbor the town maintained a small fleet and benefited immensely from access to the sea. Fishing was a major trade in the town, but it was also home to a large number of artisans who worked with the rare blue rocks the isle was named for and local wood to produce the local specialty products. Many of which would be purchased by merchants and resold in the capital for a tidy profit. Mylria wasn’t the only settlement here, there were several small fishing villages and a couple of farming villages on the island. Not to mention the isle’s famous quarry, the local mine and of course the reason she was here, the Blue Temple. Unlike the Red Temple, the Blue Temple was surrounded by a populated settlement. All of these settlements required protection of course, and the military garrisons at Mylria were responsible for their defense. Mylria Harbor had a military port where a small fleet was always moored in reserve, several ships were on patrol of the local waters to deter pirates and other criminal activities, while on land there were three knight orders and an entire order of mages responsible for protecting the isle.
They maintained garrisons and patrols. Keeping the monster population in check, dealing with anyone who took up banditry, and more recently, dealing with any hellspawn that may have appeared on the island. Given the importance of Mylria, it was perhaps not that surprising that it was the local capital for the island. Entrusted by the king to the stewardship of Baroness Esmeralda Valenflame, the current governess of the territory. Sadly that same person was someone Arlie was going to have to meet. Arlie wished she could forget about her status as a royal princess, but she couldn’t. Then to make things worse even without that the incident regarding Sealord Ocari had to be reported. There were protocols to be followed when handing over prisoners, particularly highly wanted criminals with a bounty. Sealord Ocari had several bounties accrued over the course of her career as a pirate. Tens of thousands of gold coins in damages had led to her acquiring a collective bounty of roughly 3 platinum marks, it was actually a little over that.
Although notably that bounty was quite a bit smaller than the value of the cargo and coinage she’d stolen. Not to mention the value of ships she’d either sunk or taken as prizes. Still, for most people, 3 platinum marks represented a massive windfall. That was 3000 gold coins, more than enough to live off for several years. Depending on where you were, inn prices could be as low as a silver, or as high as ten, or even higher for the fancier ones. Food was often even cheaper with prices varying based on season. For example the common apple usually sold for about five coppers, but that was when apples were in season, when they weren’t that price could rise to several silvers per apple. Same thing happened with meat, rabbits were pretty easy to catch and hunt during breeding season, but they were hard to find during winter. If one was smart with their food budget, they’d usually only spend a few silver marks a month. Meaning most families might end up spending a gold in a year, usually less.
Of course Arlie was wearing a set of mage armor worth multiple gold coins. Her sword was likely worth way more now that she thought about it and this enchanted bag she’d been given was valued at nearly a platinum. Her clan alone made 19 platinum marks a year, and that was outside the money they had access to just for being royals. Taxes were actually fairly low in the kingdom, and until recently, she’d never known that. In the past, peasants might have lost half their income to taxes. The prosperity of their kingdom, however, had allowed for much more lenient tax policies. Even still she was told the annual royal budget amounted to something around a hundred and twenty-five thousand platinum coins a year. So what her clan produced on their own was pocket change compared to the national budget.
Arlie was also well aware that war was expensive and with the invasion of the hellspawn ongoing, the king had already declared a general increase of mobilization and raised taxes. While the kingdom did maintain a reserve of about twenty-five thousand platinum coins, that reserve could be drained quickly in a protracted conflict as this no doubt looked to be. A modest increase in taxes wouldn’t put any undue stress on the citizens and they’d gladly pay it, if it meant more knights protecting their city, town, or village from those monsters.
With all that in mind, one might think a mere three platinum marks would be inconsequential to Arlie, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. For all the wealth she was mired in, her personal access was but a fraction of that wealth. The royal budget belonged to the kingdom, not the royal families. That was an important distinction, since much of that wealth was used for the military or to maintain roads, expand trade or other tasks that the kingdom required. Sure some of it was spent on the palace and its staff but that was a mere bucket out of the lake. Sure the family made 19 of them in a year, and often didn’t spend all of them, in the family vault under her house were several platinums worth of gold coins. Yet she’d never personally carried that much wealth at once. The mere thought of it made her a little nervous.
Suddenly the wind rune in her room lit up, “Attention! The Iron Maid is now on final approach to the pier. All passengers report to the deck in an orderly manner and prepare to disembark.”
Arlie took one last look around her cabin, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything then left for the deck. By the time she arrived her friends were already waiting for her, along with several marines and Sealord Ocari. Ocari wasn’t as naked as she had been when Arlie last saw her, instead she was wrapped in a simple brown shift. Just enough cloth to protect her modesty and nothing more, they hadn’t even bothered to find her any shoes. Not that surprising, shoes were often custom made to the foot, and they didn’t have a cobbler onboard. The pirate woman was lucky to be alive all things considered, her spell may not have much effect on living flesh, but that effect wasn’t nill. Not only did it twist, tear and rend metal, but it could rip the metals out of a living body. The only reason Ocari didn’t suffer that effect was because her own natural mana was strong enough to resist the effect. Arlie suspected most living creatures would instinctively resist the effects. Right now she could only offer theories, magnetic spells were a new branch of lightning, they’d been used in enchantment before but her spell? That one was different, stronger, more powerful and entirely new.
Arlie figured she’d spend some time studying how the magnetic properties of lightning could be better applied to spells. Magnetic Storm was a powerful spell already but it was also advanced magic. Epsilon Class to be specific, which put it on the same level as a siege spell like Solar Burst. Not only did she need to chant to cast it, but it took a long time to channel the required mana. Worse its area of effect was surprisingly limited for such an intensive spell. Obviously she’d need to improve it.
Her gaze swept out over the harbor. It was quite busy with several ships being guided in or out of the harbor. Being so large there were several piers that jutted out into the sheltered harbor bay so that large ships could easily be moored. Otherwise ships as large as the Iron Maid and Black Princess would have to anchor offshore and they’d need to use a small boat and paddle to shore. Speaking of the Black Princess, following the surrender of Ocari, the ship’s surviving crew had surrendered as well. Fae had placed a prize crew on the frigate and it was about to be docked as well. She could see that the local garrisons had noticed its presence with them and more than a few knights were waiting on the pier armed and ready for battle. Several large Mystic Ballistae were also aimed at the ship, part of the town’s coastal fortifications. As Arlie understood it, the town harbor was the largest on the isle. Any potential invasion of the isle must take Mylria or it would fail. She who controls Mylria controls Blue Rock Isle, that was how important this settlement’s location was.
Lily noting her arrival on the deck, spoke up, “Hey Arlie! Ready to get off this boat?”
She grinned, “Sure am. Can’t wait to be on proper dry land.” her gaze fell on Ocari, “and I do have questions on the whole incident.”
Rose commented, “So do I.”
A familiar voice spoke up from behind, “Not as questionable as you might think, but I do agree. I wonder where they sourced their intel. Someone may lose their head over this.”
Arlie turned to see Fae standing behind her. She blinked, “An execution? You sure that would be warranted? Would it not make more sense to strip them of status and sell whoever was at fault?”
Fae gave her a look, “The problem with treason is that anyone in a position to do it, cannot be allowed to live after being found guilty of it. More often than not they know too many sensitive things and mind wipes aren’t always as... thorough as we might like. A skilled mind mage might be able to retrieve what was supposed to be permanently forgotten. That’s why the penalty for treason is death. They can’t be trusted.” She sighed and I’m afraid treason is the most likely scenario for that attack.”
Arlie frowned, “A lot of people knew I was setting sail.”
“That we couldn’t hide, but the chances of Ocari coming across us on the open sea are low, even if she knew our destination.” Another sigh left her, “Besides, we recovered her navigation logs, they knew our exact course.”
The twins shared looks and even the boys seemed to know what that meant. It was Horon who voiced what everyone was thinking, “Someone leaked our course.”
Arlie thought back to what Ocari had said, “I think they leaked more than that.”
Fae concurred, “We know they did.” she lifted a bag she was carrying, “I have the evidence with me.”
Horon blinked, “Should you be carrying something so... important?”
Arlie answered the question, “She’s coming with us to make the report and when we do she’ll be turning that evidence over. Copies will then be made, and a courier ship will be sent back to Kamiria with a copy of that evidence and our report. All part of standard procedure. Hopefully by the time we are back from the Blue Temple this whole issue will be resolved.”
Fae gave her a look, “Just be careful. If they made one attempt, they may attempt another.”
“Arlie looked to the rapidly closing pier, “I will, but I will feel safer on land. No offense, but I can’t exactly use my full capabilities on a ship. Most of my spells are either fire, lightning, or earth aligned. Not much earth to be found here on a ship,” she gestured at the deck, “Wood might seem earth aligned, but its actually nature aligned. As for my other two elements its rather obvious why I couldn’t use them like I normally would.”
“I understand, but don’t get complacent.”
Arlie nodded, but the conversation came to swift end when the ship finally docked with the pier. The group hurried to disembark and were soon met by the local guard, who took custody of the captured Pirate Sealord Ocari and escorted them to the Baroness’s residence.
_______________
The residence of Baroness Esmeralda Valenflame was set in the middle of the upper district. Fancier homes for wealthier families abounded. Mostly merchant families or highly successful artisans. Given the island was a barony, there weren’t many nobility living here in general. Although among the kingdom’s various baronies this was one was the most prosperous, something that showed in the streets, the architecture and the people. Arlie noticed how everyone they passed had good clothing, looked well fed and clean.
Esmeralda’s estate was a fortified manorhouse built of stone and wood. A well kept garden with a brick path led from the gate to the main house, whose towers stretched high into the sky. Clearly built not only as a fortification but as something to impress. Guards patrolled the estate, or stood guard at the doors. The group was allowed inside and met at the door by a maid. She curtseyed with a smile on her face, “The Baroness is expecting you, Princess, Captain. Please follow me.”
The group was led past the stairs, down a hall and to a garden path in the back. Arlie looked around at all the flowers, high hedges and well kept trees. The lack of useful herbs bothered her, but she noted a few valuable plants among all the pretty ones. They were just... rare.
The maid led them to a sheltered corner of the garden with a large white table, and elegant chairs. Arlie’s eyes fell upon who she presumed to be the governess. A lovely picture of a woman with a natural aristocratic bearing. She was lean, with pale olive skin. Dark black hair cascaded down her back and was decorated with silver ribbons. She was dressed in an elegant white dress, decorated with azure and black ribbons.
She noted their arrival and gestured at available seats. “Princess Arlie, Captain Zors, forgive the less-than-formal setting but I figured the princess would be more comfortable without all those extra trappings. Please sit, I’ve prepared seats for you and your companions. I believe we have something to discuss. I can’t help noticing that you entered the harbor alongside the Black Princess. Before we start talking, would any of you like some tea, or perhaps some water?”
Arlie settled into a seat, “I’ll have some water. Never been one for tea.”
“Ah I guess you are more interested in that newfangled imported drink... what do they call it?”
Arlie blinked, “Um, no idea. I grew up in a remote village. Imports aren’t that common in Varixyies.”
The baroness chuckled, “Ah right, that Contrey tradition. Something about keeping more in touch with the natural magic of the world or something.”
“Along those lines. I’m here for another one, the Trial of the Temples.”
“I heard. Now about the Black Princess?”
Fae who’d been silent till now, pushed forward her bag of evidence. “A case of treason no doubt. This must be handled carefully and swiftly. Someone revealed our route, our cargo and passengers, and more that mere pirates never should have had.”
Silence graced the table, while Esmerelda looked through it, her face growing several shades paler, by the time she was finished. She looked to Arlie, “I’ll be providing escort for your trip to the temple. Four of my best guards. Women naturally and they will make sure you reach the Blue Temple unmolested. In the meantime, I will make sure this reaches the capital swiftly.”
Fae interjected, “I don’t like the political implications of this and then there is the timing.”
“Nor I,” said the baroness. “That aside, there are a few things you should know. The hellspawn issue hasn’t been confined to the mainland. We’ve weathered two assaults on Mylria and several of our outlying villages have been attacked. I’ve had to increase patrols, just to deal with them. More recently a few fiends have even been spotted among the attacking hellspawn.”
“A gate?”
“Not on the isle itself,” said the Baroness with a sigh. She made a gesture and a map was brought forth. She pointed to a smaller island to the northwest of Blue Rock Isle. “We traced the gate to here. It used to be home to the fishing village of Hywari, but its under hellspawn control now. Fortifications, patrolling hell creatures and more. I’ve assigned four frigates to blockade Hywari and sent a request for reinforcements. I don’t have the troops to spare to actually invade that island.”
“Not sure what I can do about that.”
“I don’t expect you to do anything,” she turned to Fae, “But I would appreciate it if you allowed me custody of the Black Princess. I’m aware she is you war prize and you have every right to press her into service in the royal fleet, but we could use additional ships now and I am willing to pay you for her. Seven platinums, a premium for the ship as you are no doubt aware.”
Fae blinked. Arlie looked between the two. Having never bought a ship, much less a warship she wasn’t sure if that was a fair price, a lowball, or what. Only their words.