Sea Witch Arrives
Will and Lawrence sat in the damp subterranean prison. At high tide ocean water spilled onto the prison. Will looked out the window, hundreds of ships were anchored in the port. Lining the harbor were rows of identical ships.
Yesterday, Will and Lawrence were imprisoned in a larger fortress. From the heavy footsteps above, Will could tell the fortress was heavily patrolled. From the outside, Will could tell the fortress was old. Inside the prison, moss and barnacles covered the floor. The building had to be several hundred years old.
In the distance, Will could hear the steps of several people. Whoever in charge must have arrived Will guessed.
Several seconds later, a muscular Orca man walked into the prison. He had rippling muscles and a pronounced chest. He looked like a super-soldier on steroids.
"Are you the emissary?" the man asked.
"Yes, I'm an envoy from King Fermion Godwin III to see the matriarch," Will said.
"Alright, let's go," the inhuman muscle Orca man grunted.
Will was thankful to leave that torture chamber of a prison.
Will and Lawrence's hands were untied from thick rope and left out to the bright sun. After staying the night in that underground prison, Will's eyes had to adjust to seeing the sun again.
"Don't cause any trouble," the Orca man warned.
"Well, what am I going to do?" Will asked.
The man loaded Will and Lawrence onto a small sloop, and then they shot off for the mainland.
"Welcome aboard. My name is Shamar, and the big guy's name is Graham. The Sea Witch asked us to bring you to her.
Please forgive our coast guards, we had to increase the patrol since the latest influx of counterfeit copper," apologized Shamar.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but that prison was a terrible holding cell," Lawrence said angrily.
"Well, the truth is, we're not sure who you two are. You may be an envoy or could be counterfeiters. If you are, you who say you are, then everything should work out in your favor," Shamar said.
The sloop sped to the mainland. It wasn't long before Will saw an ornate seaside palace in the distance. The palace looked like it belonged to a Russian oligarch, Will had the pleasure of knowing. Even from the outside, the palace looked overly gaudy.
When they were almost on land a storm began to blow. The wind whipped up into tempest. The sea rocked the little ship. The storm clouds began to rotate, and lightning shot down from the sky.
"She's mad again," Shamar shook his head.
"Hmph," Graham grunted.
"Who's mad?" Lawrence asked holding onto the ship.
"Kalista, the Dark Tempest. She's the Sea Witch's granddaughter, our Pirate Princes. When she gets angry, her aquamancer powers leak out. She's a fearsome woman," Shamar said.
When the sloop docked, Will gazed upon the baroque seaside palace. The palace surround by a pine tree forest and was easily 20,000 square meters. It was much larger than Will's manor in Gadreel.
As Graham escorted Will and Lawrence inside they were amazed by the palace's opulent decorations. Thousands of statues aligned the entry hallway. Will guesses the statues were historical representations of heroic Orca women and men ocean explorers, traders, and pirates.
Will and Lawrence were led to a grand drawing-room. There seated before them was the Sea Witch, Will met before in Rijilir.
"Greetings Mr. William vont Ballard, I have not seen you since the Tiger and Cat Clan's wedding. I believe the bride, was a close friend of yours. Mr. Lawrence, your wife Ms. Holo Yoitsu shall be joining us shortly," the Sea Witch smiled, showing off her sharp murderous teeth.
"Greetings, your excellency. King Roland Godwin Fermion III wishes to enter into a peace treaty," Will bowed.
"Mr. vont Ballard, you are as mannerly as you were when I was your dinner guest in Rijilir. But you are much more handsome. Stalking Wolf was wise to accept you into his clan," the Sea Witch said.
"Thank you for your kind words. I enjoyed our dinner party with Stalking Wolf, Striking Tiger, Heavenly Eagle, and the City Lord," Will said.
"It was your dinner party, which led me to believe in your solution to fix the rice riots. Since then, I've followed the news of you with great interest. You are intelligent, ruthless, vindictive, and covet gold like a dragon. We are similar in those qualities. If only I were younger, I'd marry you in a second," she smiled murderously.
"You honor me," Will replied.
"I find it strange how Mr. vont Ballard seems to appear every time there's a problem. First the rice riots, and now the bronze counterfeiting. Grandmother does not Mr. vont Ballard have an aptitude for our counterfeiting mastermind?" said a beautiful, sultry seductive, Orca young woman, with black hair and eyes.
She escorted Holo into the room. Holo and Lawrence embraced, happy to be reunited again.
"Mr. vont Ballard, this is my granddaughter Kalista," the old witch said.
"Greetings, Pirate Princess Dark Tempest," Will bowed.
"Granddaughter, why would Mr. vont Ballard, the wealthiest person in Tribal Lands, or Fermion, a friend of beastmen, dwarves, and elves engage in something so petty. Think girl, what would be his motive?" the Sea Witch sighed at her shortsighted granddaughter.
"Well…his motive would be to trick us into signing the peace treaty!" Kalista exclaimed.
"And when we found out they had done that, then what would happen?" the Sea Witch challenged her granddaughter.
"Then we cancel the peace treaty and massacre them!" Kalista said.
"Therefore, why would the king pursue a short peace treaty? They gain nothing. I told you humans are conniving and shortsighted, but not stupid," the Sea Witch said.
"May I ask, if you have any perpetrators in mind?" Will asked.
"I believe it's either the Naga Clan looking to destabilize my rule or other pirates," the Sea Witch said.
"The Naga Tribe," Will said in disbelief. Eleanor's death was embedded in his memory.
"There remains a remanent looking for a new home. But I can't figure out where they are getting their debase bronze from?" the Sea Witch said.
"They must have discovered an unexplored mine and found a cache of bronze. But without the smithing equipment, they can not old forge debase the copper currency," Will said.
"My thoughts exactly. But we can't find it. However, you're a terramancer, I bet you could find it easily. You help my navy find it, and I'll agree to a 10-year peace deal. But you also need to accept my granddaughter as your disciple," the Sea Witch said.
"No grandmother, I refuse to accept a human as my master. I'll be the laughing stock of the Tribal Lands!" Kalista declared.
"I'll help you regardless of the treaty's terms. But the treaty shall last 100 years. And, I cannot accept your granddaughter as a disciple," Will said.
Kalista felt hurt that Will rejected her, even though she was opposed to being his disciple.
"You unfilial granddaughter! This is our clan's chance to tie our fortune to his. If you defy me, I'll curse your blood. How unluckily am I to have lost my daughter to death and be given a granddaughter that rejects her familial obligations. Why am I cursed to raise such a stupid granddaughter?" the Sea Witch said. Her grandmaster mana pressed down on her granddaughter trying to crush her to death.
"I yield. I beg forgiveness. Please spare me, grandmother. I shall never reject my familial responsibility again!" Kalista begged for her life.
"Good! Should I hear you disobeyed your master's orders, do not come home. I shall foresworn you from my lineage," the Sea Witch said angrily, having lost all modicum of composure.
"May I ask a question? How can a terrramancer, teach an aquamancer?" Will asked the Sea Witch hoping to get out of accepting a disciple.
"The same way a pyromancer taught a terramancer," she responded angrily.
Both Will and Kalista realized there was no room for negotiation.
"Very well, have we settled on the peace treaty terms?" Will asked.
"Yes, a renewable 50-year peace treaty. You are also free to impregnate my granddaughter. I give you full control over her body," the old witch said.
"Grandmother!" Kalista shouted only to receive a glare from her grandmother that could puncture mithril.
"Disciple greets master," she bowed to Will, deciding not to die by filicide.
"Master greets disciple. Go pack, while your grandmother and I finish the treaty and disciple contract," Will advised.
"Good, I'm glad that's settled. Now let's go catch those counterfeiters," the Sea Witch said her murderous razor teethy smile returning.
An hour later, the Sea Witch, Will, Holo, Lawrence, Kalista, and 500 troops were on a carrack headed to the area they suspected was near the counterfeiter hideout. They had seen activity in the area but could not catch the perpetrators.
"If you needed a terramancer, why not ask the Bear Clan?" Lawrence asked.
"We do not need another clan to help us with problems. And I'd appreciate it if you do not mention this to Savage Wolf," the old witch said.
"Of course, this is a private matter," Holo responded.
In the Tribal Lands, every clan had their affinity to mana. The Rabbit, Naga, and Bear clans were closely affiliated to earth mana. The Wolf and Eagle Clans were affiliated with wind mana. The Tiger and Cat clans were associated with fire mana. The Orca and Mermen Clans were affiliated with water mana.
When the navy approached, the underwater cavern, they rowed Will ashore. How many kilometers of coastline were there? It seemed, the Orca coast was as expansive as Japan's, and with just as many islands.
When Will' feet touched land, he cast [Radar]. The spell spread across the ground for kilometers, and the ground opened up to him like an unfurling map. He could see everyone around and under him.
Will could at once see the massive underground cave network. Its mammoth cave system was over 1,000 kilometers had had 600 caves. Inside the cave, he could make out groups of people moving, sleeping, and mining. There was a whole world underground where people lived, worked, and played. Will could even make out hidden skylights, above ground, and underwater entrances.
Will returned to the ship and drew a map of what he saw. It was an expansive map, which showed caves, passages, and sinkholes.
"It's the damnable Mermen! I hate those introverted fish people!" The Sea Which exclaimed clenching her fist.
"Can we finalize the treaty?" Will asked.
"Of course, I'll even send your king some mermaids concubines. Let's head home. Tonight Mr. vont Ballard you'll dine with me to celebrate the first treaty between our clan and your kingdom," the old witch smiled wickedly.