Chapter 186: Flawed Plans

Book 4, Chapter 27 - Flawed Plans

Flickering candles cast long and faded shadows across the common room of the Boar's Feast.

The Red Serpent rested at a table in its center, head hung over a half empty mug of ale. For all the large hall's dim lighting and shuttered windows, her attempts at being furtive were thwarted by the ardent color of her hair. She was the center of attention. Every ship captain serving beneath her had their eyes fixed her way.

That is, what remained of the captains serving her.

This was the end result of such paper thin loyalty. A few drinking holes hit and blazed, and near half her crew had gone to join the other side. Her alcohol was gone, and so too did the fangs of the Red Serpent disappear, never to return.

Shipments from Qalydon's shores were not coming in to this side of town. Eksa's stocks were dwindling. The citizens of Kovar she worked so hard to buy a second life for were now under threat of starvation. Eksa was left to wonder if High House Coraine had finally decided to abandon the island.

“We should fight,” grumbled Cross. His was a name earned by an x shaped scar that'd taken an eye. A Tarmian captain from Ostirin. His stringy beard held the repulsive glow of grease come from a fried fish his teeth tore to shreds. “Any longer an' their numbers will have swollen too much,” he said, mouth full, spittle flying.

Eksa feared her numerical advantage had already withered. The greater of her fighters were gone. Inns such as the Boar's Feast held the last of her ale barrels. She could see it in the eyes of those sitting at tables near to the walls. Their shaded faces held the gloom of disappointment. They needed a decision, or they would make one themselves.

“Can't fight,” mumbled Severum in a low tone. He sat at Eksa's own table, head tucked low. Her current second in command, and he couldn't even sit up straight. “Jackrin's run away. Nothing to put the fear of death in them now.”

The Foura twins nodded their agreement, their gazes flitting across the room. They sat across Eksa. “Should submit,” one of them whispered.

“Crow's not one for mercy if we fight,” said the other twin.

Eksa shot them a glare that made them cringe. She did a quick take of the room to see if any of her captains had heard their pitiful words. Once upon a time, she'd chosen these sailors for her ship, for they were the meekest and easiest to control, she'd thought. They were also cowards that would never have her back. I too was a coward then.

She still was one to this day.

Everything she'd struggled to build, if only she'd fought two cycles ago when the numbers were still in her favor… Now, it was nearly impossible.

“If we're gon' fight, we need a plan. You got a plan madam Serpent?” asked Omul, another of the Tarmian captains. He had a bottle by the neck —one of precious few Red Vine bottles in her possession.

“A damn good plan too it's got to be. One that can outwit The Man with a Hundred Plans,” said Azul,” a Euralite captain who'd been Eksa's staunchest supporter for the better part of a year.

The Man with a Hundred Plans. The weight that name carried had deterred Eksa from action. A name with enough reputation to instill fear, much the same way the Red Serpent was but a name to instill fear and respect. The foundations of Eksa's crumbling empire had been built on a lie forged by Aaron, Viper, and Jack. She'd never solidified her hold over Kovar, and she felt the weight of those lies straining against her meek shoulders now.

Every eye was on her still. She had to say something. “We still hold most of the forges and weapons,” she said. “Hope is not lost.”

Snorts and tongue clicks followed.

Hope. Not a word to use before men like these. They believed in certainties, not fantasies. She'd said it weakly too, not at all like with the confidence the Red Serpent was said to have. Eksa sipped from her ale. All it took was a nudge down the wrong end for her to renew her drinking habits. A few screams from me to break up bar fights and silly scuffles and everyone believed I was in charge.

She should have known better. Her father always warned that lies had their consequences. Although, if only Aaron hadn’t left… What if I had left with him?

“Captain? Have we no plan?” Azul questioned. His muscles shone through the single vest he wore. He crossed his arms, further accenting their curves.

“What's there to plan? Just hit'em one night like they hit us,” Cross said. “I'm not submitting to Crow and the Black Reaver's gang again after they played us that day and left us to rot in the damned part of town. Madam Serpent here gave us food and booze at least.”

“I agree,” Eksa said, sitting straighter and speaking louder. “We hit their storehouses as they hit ours. We halt the reconstruction of Kovar's midsection and build barricades. With our weapons advantage we will outlast them.”

“And let the traitors stay on the other side?” Omul said. He then shrugged and took a large swig out of the bottle. “Suits me. They can eat each other alive when their stores are burnt.”

“That is implausible,” Azul countered. He turned his chair to face Eksa. “Their food and drink has been well guarded since they've hit our bars —I've had my sailors check. Further, our own food supply is running low and no resupply from Qalydon has yet come in days. A barricade is fine, but we will be split if they come at us from the sea down the southern side.”

Eksa held Azul's stone gaze. She began tapping her heel beneath the table. The Euralite captain was supposed to be on her side, but he was pointing out her plan's flaws. Flaws that Crow will pick out and tear into. Eksa downed the remainder of her drink. Word had it Crow had recently met with a Xenarian envoy. Was there a connection between that and her supply issues? “There is a chance Qalydon has abandoned us, or has joined with Crow,” she began. “As such, I will sail to the port town of Assak and make with as much stock as The Scarlet Reaver can hold.” The words made her stomach turn. Raiding. This was what it came down to. Stealing from one town to feed the people of another.

Or perhaps not. Perhaps she could make a plea with the lord of Assak and leverage her friendship with Aaron. He was some Xenarian nobleman now, wasn't he?

“Pah!” Cross spat. He wiped both mouth and beard with the back of a hand. “Sail? Alone? You enter those waters, Crow's flock will come down upon you.”

Eksa slammed her fist down on the table, making Severum and the Foura twins jump. “And pray tell, who among his flock can match me on open waters?” she demanded, surprised at her own sudden rise in confidence. The Red Serpent had singlehandedly brought down several warships and forced the Thundersword into a retreat —that was a story everyone knew and told. That part of her reputation had never been a lie. Eksa clung to it now, her final desperate line as the men around her edged nearer to the doors of mutiny.

“Then it is settled?” Azul asked. “We build barricades under the guise of building homes, and seek to ruin Crow's stores, all the while the Red Serpent finds a way to resupply us, while sinking some of their vessels and turning the numbers in our favor.”

Eksa blinked. Said like that, the plan didn't sound half bad. And she hadn't even come up with half of it. “I will also take care of any vessels he might send to hit us from the rear,” she said, furthering her own burdens. All of it to maintain the false image she'd crafted. She was a lone woman surrounded by men of ill repute. A breath of weakness stretched a second too long, and she knew what these hounds would make of her.

A small part of Eksa wanted to reach Xenarian mainland and flee. Flee and find Aaron. Aaron who'd abandoned her amidst a town full of thugs, murderers, and rapists. I've all but become the marauding pirate myself.

'You are and always will be my beating heart' he'd said. A slight blush came over Eksa's cheeks, one hidden by the dim lighting of the common room. He'd asked her to conquer Kovar and wait for him therewith. Eksa hated him. She hated him with all her heart and wanted him back in her life to quench that hatred burning away at her insides.

The door to the common room slammed open. Tyles, one of the Reaver 's deckhands, came in followed by another man of modest but wet clothes. The sounds of heavy rain carried inside. Tyles walked to Eksa's table. “A trader of Qalydon, Captain,” he breathed, wet shirt plastered against his somewhat toned form. “He's come with supplies and worrisome news.”

Boots shuffled and chair legs groaned. Everyone present sat a little straighter. One of their burdens was relieved. For now.

“Madam Serpent,” the merchant said, pulling out the sole remaining chair at Eksa's table before being asked to. He breathed hard, and his breath stank of onions. The brown threads of his beard and hair were an unruly, damp mess. Water dripped from their ends much the same they did from the corners of his forest green coat.

“Speak,” Eksa said. She crossed her legs and folded her arms, giving the appearance of control. “Who are you and what news have you brought?”

“I am Edlen, a materials merchant. I deal in ores and woods, but I've been sent by Lady Coraine to resupply the island.”

Edlen . The name did ring a bell among the numerous traders that used the Aegis Basin.

“The waters are all controlled by that other faction since the Xenarian Crown has decided to acknowledge their presence and hire them as privateers,” Edlen continued, speaking quickly. “Lady Coraine knows Kovar's people are being starved, and I knew madam Serpent was trying to help and so I took a long way around through the waters to—”

“Slow down,” Eksa said. A scowl settled on her face as she deconstructed this news. “Crow's gang as privateers?”

“Yes, madam. He's been paid, and he's asked for mercenaries to be sent to fight the 'malign' faction here on Kovar. Your faction, madam.”

That some traders still supported her despite her attacks on them over the past few years was a surprise in and of itself. “That Flame Scorched bastard,” Eksa spat. “If the High Lady knew of her people's plight, how could she accept this madness?”

“Orders from the Crown, madam,” said the merchant.

The Crown. Wasn't Aaron supposed to be taking that for himself? What in Flames was he doing? “And so Crow controls all supply ships coming into the island, is that it?”

“Well, yes. But I will strive to resupply you, madam. I know you're only trying to help.”

Eksa nodded. “Have you anything else to share?”

“Well, there's word that Crow has also been in talks with Trillians, madam Serpent,” Edlen said.

“Trillians? As in the religious order? What's he want with them?”

“I am not certain, but well, I overheard that there's to be a large shipment of silver stored in a Trillian Temple in Assak. No specifics, mind, but I'm thinking these are the funds to be used when hiring the new mercenaries Crow seeks.”

Trillians, Xenarians, mercenaries. Eksa slammed her palms down on the table and stood, knocking her chair over. “The rat's playing all parties. That, or he's currying favor with them all. I'd wager he's trying to make a Xenarian high lord out of himself before long!”

“Captain,” Tyles said, gaze kept low. “What if we took that silver? We could then hire the mercenaries ourselves.”

More mercs… Did she dare let another faction enter Kovar? But this could help regain her numerical advantage. She could use the mercenaries to crush Crow and then dismiss them once their task was ended. Thereby turning Kovar's streets into a battleground. Again the people would witness carnage and fires, and perhaps get caught in it. And I'm still raiding Assak's ports…

Eksa took in a deep breath. This had to be done. If she was going to change Kovar for the better, she had to have absolute control over it. Reparations for past actions could come only after her rule was solidified. “We go to Assak. The plans remain unchanged. Azul, Cross, bring me your best fighters and have them board the Reaver . We sail for the port town through the night. Keep raiding to a minimum. We hit the temple and we pull out.”

Eksa huffed. She would plunge a blade into Crow's own plans to gain greater numbers. That can only mean he's not confident of winning against me in a head on battle , she thought. Perhaps he was wary of Jackrin's presence still. But he was wary all the same. A sliver of fear that Eksa would make use of just as his ill-gotten repute had cowed her out of acting.