Ch.41: The Path to War

As the sun shines through the windows, it hits Mila’s face as she wakes up. She turns to see Glyn at the desk, looking through the papers and makeshift plans the three made the night before. Not noticing her, she shoots up and sneaks behind him, wrapping her arms around him into an embrace.

“Good morning,” Mila says with a smile on her face.

“Good morning. Last night was rather productive. But sadly, there’s no time to waste.”

“Where are we going?” Mila asks.

“To check on Tisha’s ship.”

The pair turn to Tisha as she tosses about in her sleep. “Should we wake her up?” Mila asks.

“She should be up already. She’s just faking.”

Tisha shoots up. “I was trying to give you two some time to be alone for a minute.”

“What’re you doing that for?” Glyn asks.

“Are you dense or playing around?”

Mila blushes and rushes towards the door. “I’ll get ready!”

Tisha sighs. “Seriously, just when that girl works up the courage to do something.”

“Leave her alone.”

“Anyway. Why are you checking out my ship?”

“How else are we going to get off of the island?” He stands up and stretches out his hand. “We’re going to need some craft to go on the offensive. So, shall we?”

“Fine. But you better not wreck it.”

The three walk onto the beach overlooking Tisha’s ship, sitting damaged. Tisha looks around the ship, noticing the sails broken, the rudder gone, and various scratches and damage across the ship. Glyn shakes his head with Mila looking around the area with Tisha leaping off the boat.

“Damn it. I should’ve moved it before now.” She says, scowling.

“Calm down, this was expected,” Glyn says. “Isn’t that right, Ivar?”

The group turns to see Ivar rising out of the water as he walks onto the beach. “Good morning, everyone.”

“Ivar? What’re you doing here?” Mila asks.

“Glyn tasked me with watching over Tisha’s ship overnight. It was an obvious target for sabotage, considering it’s our only large sailing craft.”

Glyn nods. “Yeah. Most of the boats on the island are for offshore fishing. While they can be used for traveling between the islands, it’ll be difficult to carry equipment with us.”

“You have a point there.” She says. “But why was my ship, anyway?”

“I was ordered to watch the ship. Not defend it.” Ivar says.

“What!?”

Glyn smirks. “Don’t worry, I have an idea. But first, Ivar, did you spot the saboteur?”

“Yes. It looks like we’re dealing with two people. Humans most likely, but I couldn’t get close enough to tell for sure.”

“That doesn’t answer the question of why you didn’t stop them from wrecking my boat.”

“Well, I figured we were going to need the boat to be touched up anyway, so a little damage here or there wouldn’t matter. And I figured they wouldn’t burn it because that’d be too showy.”

Ivar nodded. “Yes. They were cautious. If they have the same curse as our friend from yesterday, that would explain it.”

“Yeah. Their next attacks will be a pain to deal with. But at least we know we only have at least two assailants left to deal with, and I have a good guess about what their next target could be.”

“But what’re we going to do about the boat?” Mila asks.

“Easy. Ivar, if you would.”

Ivar nods. “Fine. He should be near the pier this time of day. I’ll get moving this thing there, so we should make it on time.”

“Who’s he?”

“Ivar’s Uncle, the local shipwright,” Glyn says.

The group moves towards the coast outside the village where they find a short older man submerged in water, hunched over a chair with a bottle in his hand. Around him, various small boats go in and out carrying hauls of fish as Glyn walks up to the man.

“Oh. It’s the little lordling my nephew’s kissing up to these days. How’s it going?” He asks.

Glyn bows. “Good morning Mr. Bjor.”

“Mr. Bjor’s my dad. Call me Irwin. Must be needing something if you’re bothering to come to see me.”

Out in the distance, Ivar carries hauls the boat into the dock before leaping out of the water. “Hello, Uncle.”

“Hey, Kid. I see you want me to fix this thing.”

“Yes. Maybe refurbish it. I do have some specifications I’d like added.” Glyn says.

“Specifications?” Tisha asks.

“What? We’re going to need it a little bigger to fit more than a few people on board.” Glyn says.

“Well, don’t forget this is my boat. If you want to do anything stupid with it, you need my permission. If you want to do something crazy, use your boat.”

Mila lowers her head and hides behind Glyn. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why is she apologizing?”

Glyn smirks. “Mila here accidentally burned my boat when I first got here. It burned to ashes there on the coast.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ivar chuckles. “Come now, you three, we have business.”

Irwin stands, taking himself out of the water. “I see. The damage is light enough that I could fix it in an afternoon. But you want something more, don’t ya, Lording?”

“Yes. I’d particularly like to add some extra space and something to help with mana detection.”

Irwin smirks. “Oh, planning on attacking someone?”

“We can’t play on the defensive forever. And besides, I’d like to make some opening moves of my own.”

Irwin laughs. “Fine, then I’ll help you out. If only to end this war business faster. But you’ve got to get the materials for me.”

“Not a problem. And while I’m at it, do you know any other craftsmen?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m going to need some work done on the manor. In particular, the gate.”

“Got big plans, do ya?”

“Yes.”

Ivar turns to Glyn. “Oh. First, I’m hearing of this.”

“Actually, it’s Mila’s plan. She came up with it last night.”

“Really now Mila.”

Mila nods. “Yes. And it’ll keep the village safe, so we’ll be counting on you, Ivar.”

Ivar smiles. “I’ll be sure to give it my all. But what are we to do with the saboteurs? We can’t let them run rampant forever.”

“Tisha, that’s where you come in.”

“Why me?”

“They attacked your boat. Don’t you want to get a little revenge?”

She nods. “Yeah. But how do we find them?”

“Easy. They’ll give themselves away, they can’t help it. I’m sure that word’s getting to them now and they’ll have to act.”

“And by act, you mean another monster swarm, am I right?”

“Yes. They were likely monitoring us and know we were working to repair the boat. During the swarm, they’ll likely try to attack the port similar to when they bombed the village.”

“So, you want me here to keep watch and wait for them?” Tisha asks.

“You and Ivar.”

Irwin laughs. “What about me? I’m getting caught up in your little plan, too.”

“Don’t worry. Since you’re a fish Beastkin, you can easily slip away, so there’s no need to worry about you too much.”

Irwin laughs louder than before. “Don’t hold anything back, do ya, kid?”

“Nope. So, everyone, are you ready?”

“Yeah!” Mila yells out.

Glyn smirks. “Because they’re likely going to attack now.”

Mila stares out into the distance. “There’re monsters moving about.”

“Alright, everyone. Let’s move.”