Fairy Opera Chapter 31: Approach

 

Approach

I leaped off the rooftop and landed right in front of the archer. He was a rather tall man with red hair and a long beard. He took his bow and hung it on his back, extending his hand. “You’re Rock, right?”

“I am. Do you know me?”

“Everyone knows you, man! You’re the youngest member of the Rebellion council!” The archer tapped his chest. “I’m Richard. I came here from Rigamole Island to join the Rebellion. I saw you were being attacked by those assassins, so I helped you out.” He looked up at the rooftop. “We should probably retrieve that body.”

Ten minutes later, I was speaking with the island’s constable force. They searched the body of the assassin but found nothing besides their clothes and weapons. Whoever had sent them had done a thorough job of obscuring their identity.

Andrew pushed his way through the ring of constables. “Rock! Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine. This man here, Richard, really helped me out.”

Richard bowed. “Sir Andrew. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“You saved Rock?”

Richard pointed at his bow. “I’ve always been a really good shot with this thing.”

Andrew grabbed Andrew and I and pulled us out of the crowd. He dragged us across town until we came to the castle. We entered and came to a small safe room built into the castle walls.

Andrew pointed to some chairs. “Sit.”

We sat.

Andrew leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Now tell me. Where did those assassins come from? And why did you shoot first without asking any questions, Richard?”

“I saw that Rock was in trouble. Is that a bad thing?”

Andrew sighed. “No. It’s not a bad thing. But it proves that we’ve attracted the attention of some unsavory orginizations.”

I raised my hand. “I could ask the Syndicate to track them down.”

Andrew glared at me. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, the Syndicate promised to assist the Rebellion, so—”

“The Syndicate? I did not hear of this! Why am I hearing about this now?” Andrew’s face was flushed.

“Yeah, I think I was supposed to tell you that sooner, but I got sidetracked by those assassins.”

Andrew fell back into a chair and wiped his forehead. “Well, since the Syndicate offered, we cannot refuse. Perhaps they may be helpful to us.”

“Of course they will. They’ve got ears and eyes everywhere.” I shrugged. “They’ve got a lot to contribute.”

Andrew turned his face towards the ceiling. “Well then. Now that we understand that, what are we going to do about those assassins?”

“Interrogate them, of course.” I looked at the door. “I mean, what else would we do with them?”

Andrew rubbed his face with his hand. “They’re probably dead already. There’s no way a smart person wouldn’t put some protections into place in case their assassins failed.” He looked at me. “I’m glad you survived, but how were you able to hold your own against them?”

“I had a good master who taught me how to fight.” I rubbed my hands together. “I think it’s safe out.”

“I’m going to assign a bodyguard to you at all times.” Andrew put his chin in his hands. “I’ll give you a choice of who it will be.”

“If Tae and Jak can work as my bodyguards, then I’ll definitely take them.”

Andrew seemed to relax. “Good, good. Just don’t ever get separated from your friends and you’ll have a better chance at survival.” He checked his watch. “In any case, I have some business to attend to.” He looked at Richard. “Thank you for saving Rock. I’ll be giving you your reward sometime soon.”

Richard shook his head. “I don’t need any reward. I’m good, thanks.”

“It’s your decision.” Andrew got up. “Follow me out of the castle, and then meet up with Tae and Jak as soon as you can. I won’t take any chances now that we know someone is after your life.”

I nodded, following Andrew out of the castle. As soon as I hit the streets, I returned to the Green Dagon and found Jak and Tae enjoying their lunch.

“What happened?” Tae looked at me. “You promised to eat lunch with us today.”

I shook my head. “I was attacked. By two assassins. This guy, Richard,” I tapped Richard’s shoulder, “Saved my life.”

Tae raised an eyebrow. “I knew we shouldn’t have let you go alone.” She looked me up and down. “You don’t appear to be injured.”

“No. I was lucky this time.” I sat down at the table. “Andrew has asked that you guys stick with me as much as possible in case more assassins try to kill me.”

Tae pointed her fork at me. “Which is exactly what I would have asked.” Tae shook her head. “Now that we know someone is after your life, we’re sticking with you wherever you go. This island isn’t safe anymore. People know that it’s the Rebellion’s stronghold. Thus, we’ll attract a lot of attention to this place.”

I grabbed some meat off of the communal plate and started eating. “Richard, do you want to eat with us?”

Richard sat down. “Can I? I’m quite hungry at the moment.”

The four of us finished our meal. Then Tae reached into her pocket. “I got a letter from Jastle this morning. I was waiting until you came to open it.” She used her dagger to slit it open. There were several pages within.

Tae read it over. “Looks like Jastle is making progress with the distribution and creation of the anti-zombie medication. He says our profits are high and we’ve got enough income to greatly expand the business. He also asks how you’re doing.”

I took the letter and read it myself. Tae had made a good summary of the contents. I folded the letter up and slid it into my pocket. “The potion and medicine business will provide a large amount of funds for our Rebellion.” I took out a piece of paper and started writing a return letter. I asked Jastle to be as aggressive as possible with our expansion strategy. We needed as much treasure from this venture as we could get. The Rebellion was going to get quite expensive.

After I finished the letter, we left the Green Dagon and walked across town to the post office. However, we found that it was closed.

“Right.” I sighed. “We’re not part of the Empire’s post network anymore.”

“How about we just send the letter on the next ship to Billerstrang?”

“That’s a good idea.” Ever since we had separated from the Empire, trade had boomed around the island of Gagna, for the sole reason that we were charging significantly lower tariffs on goods passing by. Gagna held a spot right next to a consistent flow of trade winds. Though the Empire would be coming after us soon, for the moment they were too busy fighting in Illum to worry about a small island declaring its independence. Even the ships we had stolen from the Imperial dockyards wasn’t enough to get them to pay attention to our cause.

Which, when I thought about it, meant that the Empire was probably sure that it could crush us as soon as its forces were done invading Illum. We were sitting on a precarious station.

We found a ship bound for Billerstrang. I handed the letter to the captain and told him who it was for. I also paid him a gold piece for the service.

When that was done, we returned to the city.

A messenger came up to me. “Sir Andrew requires your presence at a meeting of the council.”

I acknowledged him and we went to the castle. Ten minutes later I was standing in the council room.

Andrew held out his hands. “Now is the time for us to craft our declaration of independence. I know we are going to be come a Republic, governed by our citizens, with freedom of religion and speech for all. We must figure out how to make this interest known by any interested party.”

The council meeting basically boiled down to the writing of a singular document that would declare what our intentions were as a new country. About two hours later, when the meeting was over, I left the castle and started walking down the street to the market with Tae and Jak.

Just then, a siren blared. People on the street started hurrying.

Ruby flew up to me. “Rock! Get to the castle’s lookout tower!”

I nodded, casting a jump spell on myself, Tae, and Jak. I grabbed Tae and Jak and leaped into the air, landing on the top of the lookout tower. Tae gripped me with her arms, her hair blowing in the wind.

In the distance, I saw something that made my stomach drop. It was the Ultimar, along with over a dozen Imperial frigates. They had come. It was far too early—we thought they were still fighting in Illum.

But they were here. I gripped Tae and watched the ships come closer.

The cannons on the edge of the island opened fire. The ships piloted by the army of Baphomet sailed out from the docks and headed to engage the Imperial fleet.

A brutal engagement followed. The twelve elven relic ships slammed right into the formation of Imperial frigates and initiated intense close-quarters fighting. The ships that we had stolen from the Empire also joined the fray. The Ultimar, however, was too powerful. It ripped through our ships like paper and sent four stolen Imperial frigates to the skyfloor in under ten minutes.

I knew Andrew would want me in the command room. I grabbed Tae and Jak and leaped off the observation tower, landing no a balcony. We rushed through the interior of the castle until we came to the war room.

The entire council and several Rebellion generals were standing around the battle table. Messengers rushed in and out, bringing battle reports. We were losing ships and men, fast. The Ultimar was pressing forward, so that it could unload its cargo of marines onto our island.

Andrew gritted his teeth and slammed his fist onto the table. “Why were we caught off guard? We can’t end up like the first Rebellion! We must fight!”

“But how are we going to defeat the ship? There’s no way we’ll be able to take down something of that magnitude!” The speaking general swept his arm through the air. “We’re doomed! We should start the evacuation process!”

I walked up to the table. “I’ll handle it. I’ll bring a strike team on board the Ultimar and destroy it from the inside. There’s no other way.”

“How are you going to disable such a large behemoth of a ship?”

“We’re going to kill the skysteel engine.” I put my fist into my palm. “We have to act now. Make your decision.”

“You go.” Andrew nodded. “Take whoever you can. Help save us from this disaster.”

I nodded, bowed, and left the war room. Tae and Jak walked alongside me.

“How are you going to even get aboard that thing?” Jak rubbed his hands together nervously. “There’s no way we’ll be able to damage it, even if we attack the weakest spot.”

I shook my head. “We must act. There’s no other way to save the island and the Rebellion.”

Jak sighed. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“Me too.” Tae grasped my shoulder. “We’re not letting you do this alone.”

I lifted my chin. “We’ll gather a few skilled soldiers and do this. We’re running out of time.”

We ran to the docks. The Grand Mahogany was already going underway. It seemed that our crew had wanted to join the fray already.

We hopped on board and the ship headed straight for the maw of the beast, the Ultmar.

 

32

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