Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Four - Broccoli & Friends Mercenary Company

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Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Four - Broccoli & Friends Mercenary Company

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Four - Broccoli & Friends Mercenary Company

Youre all familiar with the harpy delegation that was meant to be at the summit? Caprica asked.

My friends and I all nodded. Whats going on with that, by the way? I asked.

The summit? For the moment it has been postponed. We havent set any sort of date for the second attempt. It would be a faux-pas to organise something too hastily. I imagine that it will be a few weeks until we start preparing for another summit, this time with proportionately tighter security.

Amaryllis sighed. And to think I wasted all that time preparing.

Caprica chuckled. I wouldnt consider it entirely a waste. Your group left a much better impression on the nobility of Sylphfree than any speech could have.

With a proud sort of huff, Amaryllis gestured for Caprica to continue. You were talking about the delegation? The airship has been found?

Not quite, Caprica said. We have an idea of where it disappeared, but not an exact location. The army scoured the areas it was supposed to pass through, but nothing was found. Then they expanded their search to other routes the ship might've diverted to - but still, nothing.

Which either means that the army is incompetent beyond measure, or the ship never made it into Sylphfree in the first place, Amaryllis said.

Does that mean that it got lost in the Trenten Flats then? I asked as I tried to remember what Dirt looked like on a map. Maybe it flew too far east?

That would be very unlikely, Caprica said. The flying east part, I mean. We did receive confirmation of a sighting to the north of the Golden Peak. The path the ship should have taken would have brought it further north, then around through a well-marked passage between the north-western mountains of Sylphfree. But the ship never arrived at the passage, so we now believe it likely disappeared in the territory of the Trenton Flats.

So you want us to grab the Beaver Cleaver, head out there, and find the ship and all its passengers? I asked.

Caprica hesitated, then nodded. Essentially, yes. Though there are several details that wed need to work out beforehand, and Im not certain if your vessel would be suitable for the quest at hand.

I crossed my arms. The Beavers an excellent ship, I defended.

Im certain that its a fine vessel. However this quest would require a certain amount of... discretion, which wouldnt be easy to obtain if you were to just fly in with an airship and start searching for a potential crash-site.

Ah, Awen started. Um, why arent the sylph looking? Why send us?

Caprica hummed. Mostly the issue comes down to politics. The Trenten Flats and the Kingdom of Sylphfree arent allies. Were not enemies either, but things are tense right now.

Couldnt you explain things? I asked. A whole ship went missing, full of innocent people.

And politicians, Awen added.

I nodded before continuing. That should warrant a search by the cervid, right?

Youd think so, but the Trenten Flats have fewer ships than we do, and theyre older besides-- they were outdated when they were first launched. Having Sylphfreean ships roaming above their territory would violate their territorial skies. Asking them to do the work would raise tensions. Besides, we can't rule out the possibility that the Trenton Flats are the reason the vessel is missing in the first place.

Amaryllis sat up straighter. You think they ... what, shot down the Harpy delegation?

The delegation was escorted, Caprica said. Its not the case of one ship going down, but several. One vessel having an unfortunate accident is plausible. A small fleet is less so. Had the fleet turned around to return to the Harpy Mountains, we would have heard about it by now.

So, you need someone real discreet and sneaky to look around the Trenten Flats and find the entire delegation fleet. So, naturally, you thought of me and my friends, I said carefully. I was pretty sure Caprica knew that... well, I didnt do sneaky very well.

I was going to suggest that you team up with a few choice sylph. I believe there are some paladins ready to escort you to the Trenten Flats. Im afraid the search, once there, will be up to you.

I rubbed at my chin. Were going to need to get the Beaver Cleaver closer, I said. Not to do the actual search, but if we discover that the delegation left to go somewhere else and we need to chase it down, we need a fast, reliable ship that can do that. the Beaver wasnt the fastest ship, but it was very reliable!

That can be arranged. Ill have someone bring the ship to the capital. If you could write a letter addressing your crew, that would be helpful, the king said.

I nodded along. That made perfect sense.

And now onto the more interesting topic, Amaryllis said. Remuneration.

The king chuckled. How very mercenary. Yes, I wouldnt imagine giving anyone a quest like this without paying them back. Speaking of which... he gestured to one of the paladins. The sylph reached under his armoured cuirass and pulled out a lacquered wooden box which he handed to the king. How did that box fit under his armour? Unless the paladin was very, very thin under there. The box seemed heavy, especially as the king placed it on the coffee table with a clunk.

The king undid a latch on the front of the box, opened it, then turned it around for us to see.

Three hundred sylph ducats, as promised, he said.

The box had three rows of coins, all neatly placed in groves obviously meant to hold them in place. I reached out and plucked one. It was heavy, which I expected of gold, and about the size of the circle I could make by touching my index finger to the tip of my thumb.

I held the coin up before me, face side lined up next to the kings face. Were these stamped a while ago? I asked.

One of his eyebrows rose. Some years ago, yes. Have I aged poorly?

I giggled and shook my head. No no. But you had more hair once.

Broccoli! Caprica gasped.

The king laughed. Yes! I did! My wife reminds me frequently. Mostly I blame my overabundance of daughters.

Father!

Broccoli, stop insulting the guy who can chop our heads off on a whim, Amaryllis said.

Oh, oops. Sorry! I said before placing the coin back into its box.

The king waved the apology away. Its nothing. I do own a mirror or two and can see the truth for myself. Now, this is the promised reward for the last task you completed for us. A handsome reward, Im certain.

I glanced to Amaryllis. I had no idea if this much gold was a lot or not. I figured it was, but my frame of reference wasnt ideal.

Amaryllis caught on to what I was asking with just a glance. Yes, Broccoli, its a lot. The Sylph ducat is perhaps the most valuable coin on Dirt, or at least the parts Im aware of. Its pure gold, not mixed with anything else. Three hundred gold is enough to purchase a small house in most cities.

Oh, thats nice then, I said. We can use it on the Beaver! Make the ship even cooler, right Awen?

Ah? Yes, I can think of a few modifications that would cost about that much, Awen said. A new engine wouldnt be cheap. But we dont really need much, the Beaver Cleaver is still very new.

The king cleared his throat. Ill let you ladies discuss things further. Youre invited to stay the night, if you wish. Any mission you go on would likely start in the morning. Let Caprica know what you think.

And with that, the king was off, leaving us to make our choice.

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