Salt and Blood - Chapter 95 (Book 2 Start)

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2.01 - Conquest of Vengeance

Men often make terrible decisions in the throes of grief. Nothing causes more grief than the loss of a child. That’s why I think rulers should always lead their armies, instead of sending their sons to do it in their stead…

-Excerpt from ‘Power and Influence: How to Run a Nation’ by Sea-Emperor Vadaris Neptuna

“Rose! Think about this for a second,” her uncle yelled after her as she ran down the staircase.

There was nothing to think about. Fairwater Bay was under attack, invaded by Minenblum. She couldn’t help but blame herself.

The only reason they were on the warpath had to be what had happened to the Shadow King and his brother recently, which was entirely the fault of her and her… former crew.

If she didn’t go now and try to save her parents and the rest of the village, she would never forgive herself.

“You can’t stop me from going,” she replied, throwing open every door in search of the exit. “Why are there so many bloody doors in here!” she yelled in frustration.

A firm hand clamped down on her shoulder and she threw it off, spinning to face her uncle. He looked… shocked? Scared?

A little bit of both, she concluded. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to be so strong. She winced, realising she hadn’t meant to hurt him.

While it was annoying that he didn’t want her to leave, he was only looking out for his niece. She couldn’t blame him for trying, especially when he didn’t know just how powerful she’d become during her journey.

Still weak, compared to those monsters like Trent or the Shadow King, but likely unmatched back on the Emerlan Isle.

“Uncle, I am truly grateful for your concern, but there is nothing you can say or do that will stop me from going to save Fairwater Bay,” she replied, staring into his worried gaze without flinching.

“But Rose, you’re just fifteen-”

“So what? Does it matter how old I am when I can carve most men in twain with a single slash of my cutlass?” she cried, interrupting him. “Unless Minenblum sent one of their top officers I doubt anyone there could stop me.”

His gaze softened, his eyes filled with melancholy as he heard her declaration. He coughed once. “Be that as it may, you are wrong to assume Minenblum hasn’t sent anyone powerful to attack us. The last we heard the invasion was being led by Commodore Foulter.”

Rose didn’t recognise the name, but he had the same rank as that annoying bastard Saff… which meant he was likely stronger than her by a decent margin.

Clenching her fist, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Even so, I still have to go. They’re my parents,” she replied.

Her uncle turned away from her and started pacing up and down the corridor. She watched him for about half a minute before grabbing his arm. “If you have nothing else to say, I’d appreciate you showing me the exit. Your house is a damn maze.”

He gripped the bridge of his nose between two fingers and exhaled heavily. “Ugh, fine! You’re just like your mother,” he eventually groaned. “I could never keep up with her when we were kids. But you aren’t going by yourself. Follow me.” He waved at her and walked through the only door she hadn’t tried yet.

Of course, she chuckled inwardly, following after him. She wondered who her uncle was going to send with her. Surely he isn’t thinking of coming with me? Does he even know how to hold a sword?

Her uncle was a talented man, exceptionally skilled in business and now it seemed, governance. But he was definitely not a fighter.

Unless he’d been training in secret.

Even then there was a limit to how powerful you could get with training, especially on this tiny little island with nothing that dangerous to challenge you. Some rowdy doori maybe?

She giggled at that. The old cows could get pretty angsty. She’d been on the receiving end of a nasty headbutt or two while helping her mother herd.

As it turned out, the front door to her uncle’s house was only one more corridor away after they went down another flight of stairs. He really was rich.

She couldn’t count the number of beautiful paintings, sculptures, and gorgeous pieces of furniture she spotted on the way down. Although, with her accrued wealth she might be able to purchase a similar mansion if she decided to settle in Greengate.

“We were already planning to respond to the attack. We’ve known Minenblum might invade for a week or so and have been preparing for the worst case scenario, so there’s a squadron of soldiers on standby,” he told her as they rushed through the streets.

They were busy now, filled with people. Here in the noble quarter there wasn’t much outward panic, but she could see the fear in people’s eyes.

Even if they didn’t know what exactly had happened, being able to see the smoke from this far wasn’t a good sign. Things like this just didn’t happen on Emerlan Isle.

Even smuggler’s rest, rumoured to be a hotbed for pirates, was rather tame when compared to some of the places she’d travelled with her crew.

It didn’t take them long to reach the chambers of governance. Now that she was with her uncle they were waved past the reception with barely a glance.

Instead of going towards the main chamber, he dragged her through an innocuous wooden door. It led to a short corridor that ended in a thick steel door that lit up in a blue glow when her uncle touched it.

Moments later the glow faded and the door swung open. Inside she was greeted by sheer chaos, stunning her for a moment.

Dozens of men and women rushed about, carrying sheafs of paper and passing them around. Dozens more sat at desks, rapidly writing and shouting across the room at each other.

A huge map was pinned to the wall, showing the entire Emerlan Isle. Small symbols appeared and disappeared as the people ran about. Rose could feel a faint arcane tingle from the map. It was likely a treasure of some kind, or the result of a skill.

“What is this place?” she asked, taking a tentative step inside.

A shiver ran down her spine as she passed through the doorway. It was likely enchanted, the steel thicker than her head.

“This is the Emerlan High Command. Where the entire country is run from. It’s not much compared to other countries, but we aren’t just a backwater island like most say,” her uncle said with a smile.

“The prince isn’t here, which means the rapid response squad has probably already departed,” he added, looking around the room. “I’ll find out where they went and take you to meet them.”

She stood there, observing the people as they rushed about. Clearly this invasion was more serious than just a single attack. Would the Emerlan Isle even be able to survive a full-blown assault from Minenblum?

Rose doubted it. She would be upset if her country was ravaged by war, but right now all she cared about was finding her parents and making sure they were alive. Everything else was secondary.

A man bumped into her and sent her staggering back a few steps before she caught her balance. Instead of apologising he glared at her. “Watch where you’re going!” he exclaimed before rushing onwards.

Rose frowned, scrunching her face. She didn’t respond though. What would be the point?

Her uncle soon came back, with a young woman who seemed to be in her early twenties trailing after him. “This is Countess Elene,” he said, motioning to the woman as they approached.

“Nice to meet you, Elene,” Rose replied with a nod.

The woman frowned at her, then turned to her uncle. “Your niece doesn’t have very good manners, Governor Claydon,” she whined.

Her uncle coughed, turning a little red. “Forgive her, Countess. She was raised in a village and hasn’t spent much time in high society,” he apologised.

Rose didn’t really care about what title the woman had. She couldn’t feel a scrap of arcane energy from her. Why should she bow to someone just because of the family they were born into, when they couldn’t last a single day at sea?

“How is she going to help me find the soldiers?” she asked.

The woman looked ready to explode when she said that, but her uncle interrupted in time. “The countess is in charge of tactical deployments for the time being, so she knows where the prince headed and their route to Fairwater Bay. She can lead us there.”

“Will we even make it in time, running that slow?”

“You! Insolent brat. You think you can run faster than your uncle or I, despite barely being an adult?” cried the countess.

Rose sighed. This was far too tedious. She should’ve just jumped back out the window and run home by herself. Did she need a whole squad of soldiers just to save her parents?

She turned to leave, ignoring the protests of the woman. A smile crept onto her face when she saw her exasperated uncle trying to calm her down.

Suddenly, there was a flash of red light and the map completely shifted. The room went silent. Rose saw all the colour drain from her uncle’s face.

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