Herald of Steel

Listening to Vidiyan speak about the spending habits of his close men, Alexander thought he detected a hint of amusement.

Perhaps this was due to the pirate captain recalling many of the weird excesses they had done in the spirit of partying.

Or perhaps it was because he liked the fact that these men were broke- that way they could not leave him even if they wanted to.

Either way, Vidiyan was not complaining.

As for Alexander, giving an understanding nod at these extravagant expenses, then slowly added,

"Hmm, so how do you plan to pay for all your men now? You need to make at least 1 million wesas a year to keep them, don't you? Will you be able to find the time when you are also protecting my ships?"

"No, I do not need that much money now, my lord," The pirate captain however corrected Alexander's assumption with a light shake, then with a flattering grin and shining eyes reminded,

"Remember, you have promised us land after retirement. This is huge! I can cut their wages in half and no one will dare leave, hahaha!"

"..." Indeed the allure of real estate was magnitudes greater than the status of a mere free man as Alexander recalled.

Even the way Vidiyan looked at Alexander had changed after he made that promise.

This suited the pasha just fine, letting him feel assured that the pirate crew he just hired would not be hollowed out within a few years.

"That is great. And I guess you will get the remaining expenses from plunder?" He thus chimed.

"Yes. We crimson pirates might not be the biggest crew in the Central Sea, but we have our own fishing spots, hehehe!" Vidiyan dangerously chuckled with dripping greed.

Many of the bigger pirates had parts of the sea solely they controlled, refusing to let anyone in.

This let them have an easy source of steady income.

"Hmmm, but are you sure the Heeat family will simply let you… fish in your usual parts? Won't they send hunting parties or ambushes?"

Alexander however seemed to find a flaw in this approach for Vidiyan. It was easy to get sniped if the other side knew where you were camping.

"Hehe, rest assured my lord, the ocean is vast. There are lots of other places I can fish," The pirate captain thankfully reassured him otherwise, his eyes glinting with a light filled with low cunning, "I can even attack the family's vessels now. I used to guard them. So I know a lot of their usual routes hehehe."

The tone was filled with as much greed as a desire for revenge.

However Alexander visibly frowned at this suggestion, severely warning,

"I do not like that. I am not interested in causing any trouble for the Heeat family… at least not for now. Sheltering you is already pushing that. If the family suspects you are attacking them on my behalf…."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

As Alexander trailed off, the underlying meaning behind those words was clear- if the Heeat family traced back their connection, he would disavow all knowledge.

"....make sure they do not know you are working for me." He then finished with a wave of his hands

This order made the pirate captain produce a great struggle in his heart, as he originally thought he had access to an untapped gold mine.

He wanted to attack the Heeat family ships left, right, and center and then bring the loot back to Zanzan for profit and adoration from his boss for helping him get revenge.

But now….

"....Yes my lord."

Well given how generous his employer had been till now, Vidiyan was hardly ever going to say no. So although it took a bit of effort, he accepted.

'I will only attack a few good ones here and there. The ones carrying gold or glass,' He just sneakily added the addendum, unable to hold his greed.

And at the same time, he added a few more words to allay many of Alexander's worries about the Heeat family, starting in a sweet, smooth voice,

"Actually my lord you do not have to worry so much about the family harming me. They lack a large navy like the other large families. One of the reasons is that their lands don't have good timber for building ships. You need long, sturdy trees like firs and pines, they don't grow in Lynica."

Vidiyan's comment was followed by a slight pause as he took a sip of his drink, and then answered the question of why the family did not simply import the timber,

"But greater than that, the family is actually stretched really thin on money. Hehe, it might not seem like it, but actually, most of their money goes to maintaining their army. They need it to keep out the various native wandering tribes around them."

"I hear those guys are a true menace for the family, launching regular raids into the interior and taking livestock and slaves. They then sell many of the loot back to us, haha."

"So the family only keeps just enough sailors to guard its ports and coastal city, while depending on the council and us to protect its convoys. If not for that, I might have been out of a job!"

The part about the natives was an additional bit of information that Alexander did not know, and it suddenly made his eyes light up.

He thought he had just found a way to make trouble for the family.

"Did you also trade with those natives? They must be quite powerful to be able to cause trouble for the Heeat family."

Hence wanting to verify his thoughts, Alexander eagerly followed with the asked.

"Hahaha, well we are pirates, my lord." Vidiyan was in a good mood, so did not hide his covert dealings with his employer's rivals.

Then with a nonchalant nod elaborated on the second part of the question,

"And yes, those wandering tribes are truly fierce. They ride their horses like the wind and their mastery of the bows is something that needs to be seen to be believed. The family has tried again and again to deal with them, even asking for help from other similar families, but… the natives still live and thrive."

"The real trouble when it comes to them is that these tribes have no fixed settlements, no towns or even villages that the family can attack. They simply roam the steeps in their tents, moving wherever the season takes them!"

Indeed, Alexander could guess how vexing such an ever mobile enemy could be.

Whenever things were not going their way, they could just pack up their entire population and just run, leaving any pursuing army in the dust.

And this information only reinforced the thoughts in his head even further, as he gleefully noted,

'Good! I will have Vidiyan covertly sell food and weapons to those natives for slaves or hired mercenaries. Let's see how Lord Castell likes enemies with chain mails, crossbows and catapults!'

Alexander however kept such future thoughts to himself for now, and finding he was nearly at the end of things to discuss, in a sort of penultimate tone chimed,

"This is great news then. Hopefully, the family will not fuss too much upon finding my survival. "By the way Captain Vidiyan, forgive me if this is a bit personal, but did you ever meet your maternal family? Does your… grandfather know about you?"

"Ah!" The surprising out of topic query seemed to catch the man out of the blue, as he produced an almost look of shock.

He could see no reason why this mattered.

But rather than feeling offended, the thick beard soon parted to reveal a great grin,

"Hahaha, no, no, I do not dare to set foot on Iyizarid. No pirate does. That country of dragons is notorious for punishing us. All I know about them is from what my mother told me."

"But I am sure it is all true without a doubt. She used to tell me she named me Vidiyan after her family's surname and I know there is indeed a famous house with the same name. My mother also used to have a golden ring with a signia that matches that family's crest. I checked."

As a man who was told he had noble blood in him, it was only natural for him to verify this no matter what.

"Oh, do you have that ring? Perhaps I can use it to arrange a meeting for you." Alexander then eagerly chimed, a look of sincerity masking his face.

However,

"That…. the ring was lost when we were attacked that day. I… do not have it." The bitterness in those words was palpable, as Alexander noticed the jovial captain's face suddenly turning almost bitter black.

It was unknown whether he was angry over the attack or just the loss of the ring.

Alexander did nothing to soothe the man's feelings, and instead ruefully shook his head,

"That is regretful. If you could have proved this, I would have been able to use the excuse you are anoble to promise you a higher peerage."

The lost opportunity naturally made the man only clench his fist even harder, but then he suddenly chuckled,

"Hehehe, no, no, perhaps it is for the best. My grandfather would likely never want to see a pirate like me anyway."

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

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