Chapter 456: Exit Barriers
Valera Ruby had problems.
Chief amongst them was that she was back on the Queen of Iron after getting waylaid while attempting to go on vacation.
"We need every Captain we can get," had been the excuse her boss, the one who held her contract, made, before she pushed him to double her allotment of spoils.
A day later, the Queen set sail with the rest of the fleet, bringing up the middle since her cargo was mercenaries and Syndicate thugs, with the odd sprinkling of skilled adventurers who got to stay in the guest suite.
She finally got them to settle down after killing the first one to cause trouble and tossing him over the side, promising the next time it would be every troublemaker involved in the next incident.
The fleet’s target was Chainsfree, for what she knew historically would be the eleventh time across two centuries. Only this time, they were coordinating with Araqlun and the army of Aaru. The timing needed to be perfect, or all they would do was smash their ships against Chainsfree’s defenders, some of whom were rumored to be millennium mages.
"Argot the Asher, Zassirinda Tamn, Mayvel Van Xuport, The Lady of the Lyre, Claes Ashford, Kamina the Drummer, Bardoulf the Breaker..." she said the names of those she had to fear like a mantra, the Seven Swords of Chainsfree, chewing on a claw as she contemplated their shore-hugging route.
We were supposed to sail far enough from shore so as not to be discovered. I guess we’re throwing stealth out the window...
She wanted to thrash whoever decided speed was more important with her naked claws. If they landed ahead of the army, it would only give flying mages the chance to burn down the most important ships - the troop carriers, like the one she commanded. If the fleet could be spotted from shore, that meant they could be ambushed well before even reaching the city.
It was suicide... Unless... it’s part of the plan.
If the Syndicate was looking to push Captains like herself into a land battle, then maybe they weren’t truly intent on taking the city... Maybe they just want to up their profits by culling us.