Chương 87: Chapter 86 - Karaveth.

"Get up here Rowen, we don't have all day to dally, it'll take a few hours at least to reach Karaveth" Nythera shouted down at him. Rowen took a step and leaped onboard with grace "I was collecting the rest of my payment from the alchemists, they were very appreciative of the samples I brought them."

"They wanted that green goop? Really?" Nythera had an incredulous look on her face.

"I will have you know they were very satisfied with the samples. Apparently the state of the corpse does not matter much for alchemists, the crafters were considerably less pleased." Rowen hopped down the hatch, loading in their rations. The Sea Empress shot out of ever-busy Grandport, the heading set for the southeast. Nythera amped the jet force as high as she could afford. It is important to leave a strong impression, I have an image to maintain.

Kronan damn it, the damage to this ship is going to be such a pain to repair. I guess I'll have to replace it with the Sea Empress 2 once I get those "destroyers" or "frigates" that Halt was talking about. The ship coursed over the sea until Myrraval could no longer be seen, Mistvale was visible, albeit shrouded in fog, off their starboard side. A vast whirlpool came and passed beneath the ship.

"That would be Kraken's Wrath, sometimes it turns into a hurricane, but most of the year it's just like this." Rowen explained. Tower spires of stone crept up beyond the prow, Karaveth's grey visage stood in stark contrast to the lush green of Myrraval or even Mistvale. Nythera eagerly scanned with Precision-Sight, hoping to get a better look. Now where is Grand Karaveth, it should be right on the sea according to Lawrence. It's the biggest city in the entire sea, how hard can it be to find?

Nythera scanned from one end of the coastline to the next, finding nothing. What in the blazes? Oh, now that makes a lot more sense. I guess there wouldn't be much of a fleet left after the war. Vast stone walls of grey rock stood, sloped against the shoreline. The only clear indication it was a city was a scant few ships docked at stone piers that jutted out into the water. The port lay nearly empty.

As they approached, the sheer scale of the mountains became apparent, peaks that not only rivaled but were easily multiple times the height of those found on Myrraval dominated most of the island. Wait, that's really smart, they have no trouble with God's Wrath at all, I bet. Can I get some stone to do the same for Myrraval? Imagine if no city had to fear the sea or the fields getting swamped in saltwater? Nythera brought the ship down as they approached, until she could glide it straight into port.

Rowen jumped off and tied them to a stone post. A procession of guards surrounded an old man with an eye patch and a military-like uniform. Nythera's eyes flicked up to the wall. So the guards are inside? Ah, they have holes to shoot out from. This place is built better than most fortresses.

"Welcome, Tyrant of Myrraval, Slayer of Damien. What do you seek from our shores? Have we not had enough conflict already?" the old man barked, keeping his one good eye trained on her.

"Greetings, I am here to bring you something, prosperity, may I discuss it with the mayor" Nythera made sure to stand straight.

"Very well, let us talk" he made no motion to move. Uh, here?

"May we talk in your council chamber or government offices?" Nythera reached for etiquette lessons. He spat "Follow." The guard procession came in behind Rowen and Nythera, as they followed the old man through the gates. Adorned with massive shining red crystalwork, the vast arched gate had numerous holes from which defenders could shoot. Those crystals look like they can be brought down, it would take just one to kill most people.

The city was little different than the walls, lines of stonework houses blurred together, each building near-identical in shape and size, nearly all three to four stories tall. The road was pure rock, smoothed down. The sound of doors slamming shut is the only thing that greeted them. Nythera could swear she caught glimpses of people staring out of the crystalwork windows. In the distance straight ahead was a grand hall, massive pillars shot into the sky and a great domed roof. Not a hint of color.

Within minutes they arrived at the foot of the monstrosity, easily outclassing any building on Myrraval. The vast windows were open to the elements, men in uniform strode around with purpose, murmuring to each other.

"Come, Grand Karaveth's council awaits" The old man beckoned. In the central hall, a shattered crystal throne sat on a raised dais. To its side a large hexagonal crystal table, a shade of dark green, sat, stone chairs on every side around it.

"Sit" the old man took the seat on the opposite side, on his side were two others. A man in a military uniform, young with brown hair to his right. To his left, a muscular man in dirty worker clothes, his skin was grey, covered in a layer of stone dust. Well he clearly doesn't want to be here, he reminds me of Simon. The old man spoke "I am Corryn, elected mayor of Grand Karaveth" his one good eye was locked onto her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The dusty man raised his hand "I'm Desmond, I run the mines" he did not try to hide his irritation from his voice. On the right, "Major Gunther, commander of the Grand Karavethian Army" He saluted. Rowen piped up from behind her "Queen of Myrraval, Nythera vel Aurendor" She performed a mere nod of the head, as befit her station. I think? Aren't I way higher in rank than all these people? wait ….. Was I supposed to curtsey, or was it a bow? No, not a bow, a curtsey then?

But I already nodded my head, it would be weird to hmmmm. Corryn was the first to speak "We have heard of your efforts in Mistvale and Myrraval, recent expansions, troubling developments. But do tell us, why the killer of our former lord should not be executed right now?"

"Perhaps, when you hear of what I have accomplished on Myrraval, you will rethink your judgement" Nythera suggested. Corryn waved her on.

"A ferry system now runs between all the islands linking their populations. The interior is being colonized at a rapid pace, a new iron mine and forge already roaring deep inland, safe from Wrath. As you may have heard, ships sail to and from Vathrial daily, bringing in new migrants…" Nythera did her best to embellish as much of her work as she could, from the Mancer's Union to the delvers school. At the mention of ships full of migrants the foreman sat up and leaned in. Corryn looked increasingly displeased.

Gunther betrayed no emotions.

"In summation, this is why you should reconsider my execution and perhaps even consider becoming partners" Nythera drove her momentum in. She flicked up her status and shared High Administrator, Manufactorium, Lord of Fire, and Blessing of Veymur. Gasps came from all three. Hushed government staff walking by paused to observe the council members in their stupor.

"All yields?" Desmond muttered incredulously. Nythera could not hide her smug look "While Grand Karaveth is too far to be incorporated into the ferry route, we could establish a new one. Karavethian stonemancers would be welcome, with imported stones, we could build docks and walls that would withstand Wrath. Surely the mayors of Myrraval would pay for such in kind, with plentiful crops and lumber." Desmond whistled.

"That is one Hel of a deal you bring." Gunther glared at him angrily. Collapsing his hands together Corryn leaned in "It is more acceptable than I expected, did you personally find the flying ships? And the route to Vathrial?" She nodded "Yes, my expedition provided the ships and the route. The route can only be traversed with ships from my armada."

"Can you give us one? For a reasonable price of course" Corryn's eyes searched her face for a reaction. She smiled "I am sorry to tell you, at this time I am not selling. The ships can only be piloted by people who have received my blessing. I keep them as a restricted resource for my domains." Let him chew on that, you're either part of my domain, or you get no ships. Corryn scowled "Surely, a barter could be arranged?" Nythera's practiced smile stretched "Show me anything worth even half of one of my ships.

Your men at the port won't be able to get it to so much as budge on its own."

"I've heard you got some decent pastureland for varn cattle, would sure love some real meat around here. Lizigeons cook like shit and most of Karaveth's animals taste like granite." Desmond's comment earned him angry glares from the other two.

"Desmond, we are not going to sell out Karaveth for meat, keep your mouth shut if you have nothing to contribute." Gunther chastised him. He shrugged "Whatever."

"Why do you need an army on this island? Who are you fighting?" Nythera's hand could not move fast enough to silence her mouth. Shit, that was kinda rude. The military man sighed "It keeps order, keeps people busy, and it's our only defense against stronger fluxspawn. Karaveth is rife with nasty ones. They blend in with the rock and can't be seen half the time."

"And they keep the workers safe, Kronan knows our quarry is as far from paradise as you can get" Desmond laughed.

"Why do you require so much stone? Is your island not full of it?" Nythera asked. Rowen's knuckles clocked her over the head, stealthily. Ouch, oh, that wasn't very ladylike, was it? Desmond laughed "Karaveth might not be much compared to the capital of old Greymere, but our city is rapidly growing. More stone is more housing, higher walls, more safety. Stone sings, and it's been singing of good times coming to Karaveth" He scratched his chin "why, it hasn't sung like this in over thirty years."

Gunther snorted "you and your stone singing nonsense."

"Lets focus on the flying ships. We got crystal, metals, gemstones, surely a deal can be reached?" Corryn snapped them all back to the matter.

"I cannot just- ouch, Despite your requests, I must ask you to reconsider your request at this time. I might be able to lend a ship for shipping stone from Karaveth and food to it given time to expand the Queen's Armada" Nythera rubbed her neck where Rowen had pinched her.

"Is Grand Karaveth interested in receiving Greymereian migrants?" she suggested. I need to find the lever that gets them moving in my interest. Corryn's scowl deepened "We don't need migrants, we don't want migrants, Karaveth grows too fast as it is. But fine… we would consider an offer for lumber, Mistvale pines and regular hardwood, in exchange for stone. Perhaps we can reach an accord" Corryn stuttered out for a moment. And snapped back to focus "But before such matters, you killed Lord Damien.

What did you think of him before you murdered the man?" Gunther's eye snapped to her, watching for any reaction. Nythera could see Desmond peeking as well. This is an easy question, I got this.

"Damien ventured across the sea to kill me and conquer Myrraval, my kingdom. He came with an armada, twice. Both built here on Karaveth, manned by soldiers from Karaveth. Damien was a pathetic bastard, a nuisance. He was no better than a common thug when I buried him under a mountain" Nythera sighed, containing her rage to give forth the appearance of disinterest. She checked her nails.

"What about his methods?" Corryn cocked an eyebrow. She snorted "Boorish, effective, but only in the short term. He never cultivated talent, he just threw what he had at the enemy. He ruled with fear, but only because he was scared of autonomy. Wasteful." Gunther nodded "Damien consumed a tremendous amount of human capital on his war effort, and all of our lumber." Desmond's face scrunched up "I'm not convinced, what makes you think you'll do any better?"

Nythera threw him an eyebrow, "is that a poor attempt for a joke? Did you not see my yield skills? I improve the land and cultivate human capital, not burn it to the ground. Myrraval is training new squads of delvers, once for a war, now for the interior."

"Your evidence? Beyond some new squabbling greenhorns." Corryn asked.

"I have a factory now, in our newest settlement in the interior, producing tools. A new iron mine. We can supply and house the migrants and our biggest bottleneck is just clearing the land. IF you stay here, isolated in your corner, we will surge past you so fast you won't even be a footnote on these seas. No one will ever come here for anything again, because everywhere else will just be better." Nythera let her smug grin slip out, condescension in her eyes. I hope this works, I hope this works, I hope this works.

Nythera slipped a glance at Rowen. A horrified expression sat on his face. Oh shit. Did I fuck up? Corryn chucked.