No Gold No Peace
“Its the damned Mochelfsi! Those damned dwarves turned our gold into lead! Their dammed dwarven magic! The Captain of the Zygos fleet hissed from his throne of bone and driftwood. His long lizard face was covered in scars and his left eye was completely missing.
One of his advisors sheepishly steps toward, his hands fidgeting inside his wide sleeves. “I do not think they have the magic to do this.”
Captain Okx snaps at his aide, “No! It must be, I want us to ready our ships, prepare our cannons and sharpen out teeth!”
The room was no stranger to battle, to be a pirate meant being a warrior, but a full scale war with one of the five fleets of Vasilikos was bound to end in death for all parties. In the best case the others would all side with Zygos, and the war would be over quick. In the worst case, they all side with Mochelfsi, and while quick it would be over, it would leave most of this room dead in the water, food for the crabs and the scavengers of the sea. More likely, it would divide the five crews and the war would drag out across the western sea, and from there, it could escalate further. The High Administrator is an Eltoris, and that is a family no one has enough gold to cross, especially now.
“How are we going to pay our crews if our gold is gone?” Captain Qrik asks, puffing up his white scaled chest “My men do no war for scraps!”
Captain Okx stands from his throne, exposing his fangs and his claws. “For scraps?” He snarls. “Scraps! Thats what we do! Captain!” He turns to face the room, “Remember, Captains! We are pirates, taking scraps is how we survive! We will take the scraps and we will dangle then in front of all the others that look to us as weak! As poor.” He drags out his words, hissing and snarling at the captains that make up his fleet. “Then we kill them! For that is what we do to the weak!” In a single swift moment he thrusts his sword into Capatin Qrik's pale chest. “You are not fit to command for Zygos!”
He pushes the white lizardfolk off his blade and turns to the rest of his officers, “Tell his XO he has a promotion.” The one-eyed lizard steps back to his throne, leaning tensely in the structure of driftwood and bone. “We ready our men today.”
The remaining captains and advisors nod, some thirsty for war and for battle, for pillage and for booty, though most not. A sense of uneasiness fills the room, and Captain Okx can taste it, “Go Now! Leave me be!”
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