Enlightened Empire

Chapter 302.1: Everyone Has a Plan

In a bright and open room within the Green Court, Tayali sat and stared out of the large, open window, onto the distant sea. He really wasn't made for the land. Instead, he would much rather be out there on the green waves, and live a life of freedom and adventure.

However, someone had to do the dirty work. If the old king had gotten his wishes, their old ways of raiding along the Verduic Sea's coastlines would have slowly faded away like salt in the rain. Now the old king was no more, and the throne was vacant. Although the princess had staked her claim, Tayali wasn't worried about one little girl. Without the backing from her Medalan husband, she wouldn't even be considered a challenge for the captain, not with his support among the warriors.

Over the past few days, he had felt Sumaci's lack of strength more and more. Every day, the princess' council would meet in the Grand Hall of the Green Court, and every day they would have fruitless discussions. The princess or her husband would make some outrageous suggestion that ran contrary to the customs and traditions of their people, and the warriors in the room would collectively shut it down.

In turn, the warriors would suggest more proper methods to combat their enemies, and the princess would prove a coward once again. Like this, they would still be in the middle of their talks by the time the colored kings stormed the Green Court. This stalemate couldn't last much longer. Eventually, even the most loyal of warriors would lose their patience with their headstrong princess and elect themselves a more capable leader.

Soon, Tayali would spearhead all the brave warriors of Rasacopa like he had always dreamed, and he would bravely lead them in their raids across the waves,. The other kings thought they were easy prey, but he would show them the true bravery of the green warriors. Eternally, they would rule the green waves. All those who dared settle along the Verduic Sea would once again tremble in fear at the mere mention of their names.

But all of those plans had to be left for the future. For now, Tayali was still stuck on land, having to deal with the moody little girl and her arrogant husband's endless contempt.

“Captain, a letter just came in.”

One of Tayali's crew brought him back from his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw the seasoned warrior fiddle with his eye patch. The man motioned down, and Tayali realized that the the sealed letter the warrior had brought was already on his desk.

“Who sent it?” Tayali asked as he broke the seal and unfolded the paper.

“It came from the library. He said it was urgent.” the warrior replied vaguely, but Tayali still knew who had sent it.

So he just mumbled in understanding and began to read. Soon, his eyes grew large. Just to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, he read the entire letter again, though it was only a few short sentences. Finally, he put the paper back down.

“Our dear guest, King Corcopaca, intends to travel,” Tayali said.

“Will the foreigners finally leave the harbor and go back home? Good. They shouldn't be here in the first place.”

“No, it's even better. He wants to take a few of his oversized ships and travel to the Mullu Atoll. According to him, he plans to scout the surrounding area for good defensive positions.”

“It's not a bad plan,” the warrior mused, as he completely missed the point. Tayali was glad to enlighten him.

“But also dangerous.” He sneered. “Just imagine: what would happen if his plans were to be discovered by our enemies. And what if they were to lay an ambush somewhere on his path? What a tragedy that would be.”

He expected the usual flattery he always received from his men, but none was forthcoming this time. Instead, the one-eyed warrior looked troubled.

“Captain... we don't really want to do this, do we?” the warrior said in a hesitant tone. “Those people are annoying, but they're allies after all.”

However, Tayali remained undeterred by the man's lack of spirit.

“Prepare to send a message to our overseas friends,” he said. “They should make good use of this chance and remove the thorn in their side, and in ours.”

Although the warrior showed some struggle on his face, he still saluted. Just like he had learned at sea, the orders of the captain would not be violated.

“Yes captain,” he said. This time, it was Tayali's turn to struggle. He had just developed an idea, one that may be worse than anything he had done so far. However, like a poison, the plan expanded as he rolled it back and forth in his mind, until he could think of nothing else. Eventually, his face firmed up again. This wasn't the time to think about morals or loyalty. He would preserve their way of life, and return the raiders back to greatness.

“And since her guardian will be leaving on a longer trip, we can't let anything happen to the princess in the meantime,” he finally said. “Make sure you arrange the right guards to protect Princess Sumaci for the next few days. They should be people we can trust, and people who won't ask too many questions.”

“Captain, you don't want to... I don't think this is a good idea.”

Again, the warrior refuted Tayali. This time, the captain was angry.

“What did I just say about questions!?” Tayali shouted. Maybe he was just trying to silence his own reservations. “Have you been on land for too long, and forgot the rules of the sea? The captain's orders are absolute! This is a chance that won't come again once we miss it. If we ever want to raid the seas again, we need to make use of this moment!”

“But-”

“Do you want to become a farmer or a merchant then!? Go ahead, tell me about your new batch of crops.”

This time, the warrior had nothing to say.

“Now go and do as you were told, or I'll have you keelhauled,” Tayali added.

“Yes, captain.”

As soon as the warrior had understood his place, the captain turned back towards the open window, towards the green waves of the ocean. As the steps of the one-eyed warrior slowly turned quiet behind him, his thoughts returned to his past glory, and to the future glory of the Green Island.

Soon, I'll be back on the waves. You never should have left to explore the sea, foreigner. The world out there is ours, not yours.

Several days after he had visited the royal library, Corco stood in Rasacopa's harbor and watched as Atau and his sailors got most of their ships ready for the journey. It would have been an imposing moment, had it not been for the ominous atmosphere around their departure. Corco looked back over the harbor, towards the many local warriors who stood guard around the Medalan ships. Supposedly, they were there to guarantee the safety of their guests, but in truth, their only purpose over the past few days had been to make sure that no one would leave the ships and come ashore.

Even worse, they had also done their best to delay their departure for as long as possible. Just getting supplies had been a pain, with the locals feigning shortages or obscure, cultural reasons for their refusal to sell the most basic necessities. One store owner claimed that he wouldn't sell anything in the days around the full moon and claimed religious reasons. Somehow, he seemed to forget that the Medalans were also Yaku and also Pacha adherents, but Corco hadn't bothered to pierce his lie.

Just as they had gotten their supplies together, the local warriors had claimed that enemy galleys had come close to their shores, and that they wouldn't allow their guests to leave and endanger themselves. Thus, several fruitless days had passed, in which their hosts had done everything in their power to waste their time.

The meetings in the Grand Hall hadn't been any better. Over the past few days, he had felt Sumaci's lack of influence in her own home more and more. Every day, his wife's council would meet in the Grand Hall of the Green Court, and every day they would have pointless discussions. Sumaci or Corco would make some reasonable suggestion to defend the country, and the warriors in the room would collectively shut it down with bogus excuses.

In turn, the warriors would suggest ludicrous plans like rituals to appease the Divines or suicidal attacks on the other islands, and Sumaci or Corco would silence them with well-placed sarcasm. If this continued, they would still be in the middle of their talks by the time the other colored kings stormed the Green Court. This stalemate couldn't last much longer. Eventually, they would have to win over the local warriors, or circumvent them, if they wanted to achieve anything here.

Maybe, once this mission is a success, they will be more cooperative, he thought with a look back at the rows of warriors along the harbor.

Just as he thought about his impending missions, Corco saw movement within the ranks of the Rasacopa warriors. Soon, the rows parted and revealed the old advisor Phuyu. Accompanied by a warrior with an eye patch, he searched around the Medalan ships, before he spotted Corco and came towards him.

“King Corcopaca, this servant has been searching for you all day,” he said.

“Ah, have you now?” Corco replied in a casual tone. “What's up?”

“Does king already intend to leave on his expedition?” The old advisor's tone seemed careful, as if he was trying to probe Corco. However, there was nothing to hide in this regard.

“I'd hardly call it 'already'. We've been stuck here for way too long, so I'm glad that we can finally get going. Though you sound like that would be a problem?”

Corco winked at the advisor, who looked around awkwardly to find an excuse.

“Maybe... maybe it would be better to not act in undue haste?” he tried again to be vague, but Corco was having none of it.

“Right. And why not?” the king asked. “We've been trying to leave for several days, to no avail. Why stop us again?”

“Because... this brave warrior here has overheard a few problematic rumors.” The advisor motioned for the one-eyed warrior, before he took a deep breath. It seemed like he had made some kind of decision, and from then on he continued in a firmer tone. “There may be people within the court who want to do harm to King Corcopaca, and they may have heard of King's mission, and of the destination of his journey.”

“This brave warrior overheard it, huh?”

Corco stared at the man with the eye patch, who seemed uncomfortable under his gaze. However, the king didn't really care one way or the other.

“Well, whatever.” He shrugged. “No matter what you say, I'll just keep doing my thing. With the enemies I have, I'm in imminent danger no matter where I go. Do you know how many assassination attempts my brothers try on me every year?”

“No, how many?” the old man asked dumbly. “Please enlighten this old man.”

“...it's a rhetorical question. The answer is 'no idea. But many.'”

“I see. Even so, the danger this time is far more immediate. Why take on unnecessary risks? King may consider postponing his trip until secrecy and safety can be guaranteed.”

“No way.” Corco shook his head. “We've already waited long enough. If we wait any longer, wouldn't that just give our enemies more time to prepare their ambushes? Better get going now and catch them off guard. Plus, it's not like I'm especially safe here, what with all those secret traitors spreading rumors.”

“Laqhis, we're ready to set sail.” From up above the Homeward's deck, Atau shouted down to interrupt the conversation. Now that the ship was ready, all that was left to do was for the king to come aboard, and then they would be off on their journey. However, the sticky advisor still wouldn't let go. This time, he actually held on to Corco's sleeves so he wouldn't go up the gangway.

“At the very least, King should consider bringing additional raidships from Rasacopa's fleet. This servant could suggest several reliable and loyal captains. As far as this servant can see, King only plans to bring ten vessels along. Is that number really sufficient?”

“It's just a little scouting mission anyways. The rest of the fleet, as well as the army aboard, has to stick around and make sure you don't do anything stupid around my wife or her mother. And you said yourself that there's traitors, so I certainly won't bring along any people I don't know or trust. You really shouldn't worry about me. Our ships are faster than any others in this ocean. Even if we're ambushed, we can always get away.”

“I see... however, I still need to insist-”

“Are you done yet? You're not some kind of stalker, are you?” Corco laughed, though everyone else just looked at him with that blank stare he had gotten so used to over the years. “Tell you what, if you're that worried about me, how about you just come along?”

“Excuse me?”

This time, it was Corco who dragged the advisor up the plank and onto the ship. Although the old man showed some token resistance, he didn't have the strength of the warrior king who had felled the mighty hero Pachacutec.

“No, I insist,” Corco said with a smirk. “Even if we're not taking any Rasacopa galleys with us, wouldn't it be great to have some local observers along? That was the plan anyways. I wanted to find someone casually, or maybe have Sumaci recommend one for me, but you'll do just fine. You're well respected. So I'm sure the locals are gonna believe you once you report what you've seen.”

Rather than fight back against Corco's pull or reply to his cryptic speech, the advisor leaned over to the one-eyed warrior who had kept up with them, though he had a distressed look on his face. Although Advisor Phuyu whispered his orders, Corco could still understand him very clearly.

“Stay here. If Tayali doesn't want to lose control of the warriors and the court, tell him to abort his plan. I'm on board the Medalan ships.”

As Corco stepped up to the deck, a sneer spread on his face. Of course he wouldn't be so silly to fall for Tayali's amateur ploys. This time, he planned to decide the struggle in the Green Court with a single move.