"I'm pretty sure nobody knows that more than Alice," answered Suzanne. "She'll be on the lookout. And everything we know about the pirates and Morrison says that they only harm those they believe are corrupt. We stick to the plan and wait for her to contact us."
The four had set up a system for Alice to make contact with them in the event that Morrison took her into a building. Suzanne had decided it was wise to let Morrison know a little bit of Alice's magic abilities. That way, Alice could use magic if she needed to, but they did not let Morrison know just how skilled she was or that she could use healing magic. Alice would leave the building in the middle of the night on the pretense that a little stroll would help her sleep. She would then lean on the building and conjure up a small light, a supposed habit of hers. The group decided this was not as suspicious enough to raise alarm with the pirates, like shooting a magic flare into the sky would. The pirates would see little harm in her using a small light, only as large as that of a torch or lantern that they would likely store in their building anyway. It would be easy to see Alice outlined in the light while the other three could stay in the dark.
The three waited as patiently as they could for night to fall and Alice to make contact with them. Thomas was on watch when he spotted a light moving around the building. He squinted to try and see the figure outlined in the light and confirmed it was Alice. He kept an eye on her as she rounded the building. Unfortunately, keeping an eye on Alice distracted Thomas from his surroundings. Next thing he knew, he received a tap on the shoulder.
Thomas whipped around and as he did so, a torch was lit in front of him. The sudden introduction of light so close to him blinded him at first but after his eyes adjusted he saw a group of strangers holding blades to the necks of the sleeping Suzanne and Ron.
"Put your hands in the air and prepare to have your magic sealed," commanded one of several men that had gotten the drop on the three. Realizing he had little choice, Thomas did as he was told. The ambushers made sure to seal not only Thomas' magic but the other two's as well, not knowing that Ron could not use magic. They wasted no time in binding the hands of the three. They also used magic to keep the other two asleep as they did so. It was very easy to keep people asleep who were already snoozing.
"I'm assuming that the young miss taking a walk outside our building is also with you, am I right?" asked the same man to Thomas. Thomas had to guess this man was the leader. Thomas refused to give an answer.
One of the other men laughed, "I told John that girl was out of his league!"
"Quiet!" commanded the leader. "They may still have others about. And by the looks of it, we won't get this one to talk. Let's head back and handle things there."
The ambushers gagged the three and gathered up all their weapons and tools. They then allowed Suzanne and Ron to awake so they could walk under their own power. Ron wanted to put up a fight at first, but a couple knocks on the head and looks from Suzanne and Thomas calmed him down. Their wordless communication told Ron to save his strength for another time.
They saw Alice come around the building again. From out of nowhere, a group of figures materialized and quickly subdued Alice. The sight of his friend being attacked caused Ron to struggle again, this time causing the attackers to knock him out and carry him along. Suzanne and Thomas saw Alice surrender and allow herself to be similarly bound and sealed and led inside.
The four were led into the building and brought together to a courtyard with a small pond. They were brought before a figure, standing near the pond. In the darkness it was impossible to see any details of the figure. After a moment, the three conscious members of the group could see the figure turn around.
"Impressive that you found us here," said the voice of the figure. "I had thought we had done well to cover our tracks. I suppose it is my fault for employing so many men. If ever there was one weakness that men had, it was beautiful women."
Some of the other men lit torches on the walls of the courtyard and the three could see the figure with clarity now. She was a woman in her late thirties and definitely strong, a conclusion supported by the large axe strapped to her back. She made a motion and the gags were removed from the mouths of the four.
"I want you to know that my men and I find no joy in unnecessary bloodshed or in bringing pain to others," continued the woman. "Tell me, who are you and why have you gone to such lengths to seek us out?"
"My name is Suzanne. These are my comrades Thomas, Alice, and Ron, whom your men have knocked out," introduced Suzanne.
"Stop right there," cut in the woman. "Those names are familiar to me. Stories have been told of you in both the empire and her ally, Isis. I heard you put down a rebellion in the empire, one which brought more harm than good to the people involved. I also heard that you are taking action against the Archfiend, rumored to make his domain in southern Tarasia. Are all these things true?"
"They are," confirmed Suzanne.
"I must say I'm flattered that my band and I have gained the attention of such an esteemed group," said the woman, who did seem honestly proud. "But what kind of attention, I wonder? Has the emperor seen fit to send you to bring me in?"
"No. We sought you out by our own accord," replied Suzanne.
"Why?" asked the pirate. "If you are who you say you are, you have grander concerns than a group of pirates."
Suzanne hesitated before answering. She knew it would be a bad idea to give the pirate all the information she wanted. If she told the pirate she wanted the red orb, she would likely do all she could to keep it out of the group's hands. Keeping this bit of info from the pirates was the only chance they had at ever getting the red orb.
"Is it because you want our help when the time comes to move against the Archfiend?" suggested the pirate, when Suzanne did not immediately answer her question.
The question provided a possible story for Suzanne. She could claim that was the group's aim all along. Really, it was not such a bad idea anyway. The pirates seemed to have good intentions, though Suzanne did not agree with their methods. Their aid would be appreciated and if they agreed to help Suzanne they might even willingly hand over the red orb.
But Suzanne met the eyes of the pirate, who by her speech was likely the leader of the pirates stationed here if not the entire organization. She had the feeling that lying to this person was not a good idea. Besides that, telling such a lie did not sit well with Suzanne. They had to stretch the truth to get here, especially in setting up Alice's alternate personality with Morrison. But that had been only to find the pirates. To tell this lie in the hopes of gaining the red orb would be a lot like stealing. Suzanne looked at Thomas and could see in his eyes that he had much the same idea.
"No. We had not even considered asking your help for our cause," said Suzanne.
The pirate chuckled, "I suppose the idea of joining with pirates is not an appealing one, especially for a group hoping to win over the leaders of nations, the makers of the law. So then, why are you here?"
Suzanne sighed. There was no story she could think of besides the truth. She knew she had no other choice, "We heard you recently acquired a large red gem, what we would call the red orb. We wanted to see if you had it and if so find some way to acquire it."
"I see. How did you plan on acquiring it?" asked the pirate.
"We didn't think that far ahead. We had to find you guys first and see if you had it in the first place. We would worry about getting it later," answered Suzanne.
"I suppose you would have taken it, as we took it ourselves," mused the pirate.
"We would have tried to talk with you long before that," said Suzanne.
"And if you refused, we would have only taken it with the intention of returning it to its rightful owner," chimed in Thomas. "Then we would have negotiated with them over the orb. We do not simply steal from others."
"Tom!" hissed Alice. "Remember who you're talking to!"
But the pirate laughed at Thomas' words. "Believe me, sir, we do not steal for o
ur own gain. What do you know of our victims?"
"Your victims are wealthy business owners who, at least the emperor believes, are guilty or corrupt dealings such as exploitation of workers and customers," answered Suzanne. "Not only that, you go out of your way to spare the innocent, to the point it interferes with your attacks and has allowed you to be beaten back. Some believe you are virtuous folk, striking out against the corrupt rich. Even Emperor Vilisik had good things to say about you."
"He did, huh?" asked the pirate with interest. "I must say that puts my soul at ease. Believe it or not, I do not find it easy to do what I do. But I believe it is the right thing after all."
"Excuse me, captain," spoke up one of the other pirates, whom Thomas realized was the man in charge of their capture. "How do we know she's telling the truth? Maybe she's feeding you a story you want to hear. Just like the other lady did to John."
"A valid point," conceded the captain. "How do I know you're telling the truth now?"
"I'm sorry for what I put John through!" cried Alice. "I didn't want to do it! For what it's worth I really do think he's a nice guy!"
"It's alright Alice," said Suzanne. "I'm not going to say that we never lie. We had to lie and deceive to infiltrate that rebellion you mentioned before as well. But, like you, we always have a greater goal in mind. We don't like it and we wish we didn't have to do it but that's the way things have happened so far. But I continue to maintain that we only did this to find you. We would not try to cheat you out of the orb. Though, as Thomas said, we may have tried to gain it back to give to its rightful owner and deal with them."
"Ah yes, you keep stressing that point. Tell you what, why don't we bring the orb and its rightful owner here and settle this point once and for all?" declared the captain.
The three were quite surprised with this development. As some of the captain's men went to fetch the desired person and object, Ron started to come to. A quick look around the room and feeling his bounds reminded him of the current situation. He shot death glares at all the pirates. The other three made sure he would not get himself knocked out again and would let him get caught up once the other pirates returned.
The pirates returned with a heavy man who looked to be in her forties or fifties. The man was similarly bound as the other four but judging by the look on his face, not a man accustomed to danger. The pirates also brought with them a large gem that was identical to the other orbs the four had collected, save the color.
"Cenlin, I believe this orb is yours?" asked the captain.
The man seemed unsure as to how he should answer but after a quick prod from one of the pirates spoke up, "I-it's mine, yes."
"Oh goodness are you sure?" asked the captain. "Do you know who I am?"
"Your voice sounds familiar," answered Cenlin. "But I cannot place you in my memory."
"Do you remember Victor Danson?" asked the captain.
"Oh my goodness! You're—!" realized Cenlin.
"His widow, yes. Now are you sure this orb is yours?" asked the captain.
Cenlin suddenly went to his knees and began to weep. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I didn't want your husband to die!"
"I'm sure you didn't," responded the captain. "Why don't you tell everyone here what you did?"
Cenlin looked pleadingly at the captain, who responded with a glare. Up to this point, the captain had been very pleasant but this was the first time she showed a sign of anger.
"I-I-I-I had him robbed!" yelled Cenlin. "I wanted that gem of his! But he wouldn't sell it! So I hired some guys to rob him! And when he resisted—"
"I'm sorry Cenlin," the captain cut him off. "Did you just say that gem isn't yours?"
"No it's not mine!" cried Cenlin. "It's his! Or yours now!"
"Thank you Cenlin. Men, you may take him back to his room now. Put the gem back where it belongs as well," said the captain.
The pirates took the weeping Cenlin and the red orb out of the courtyard. After they had left, the captain continued talking with the four.
"So you see, Suzanne, if it is the rightful owner of that gem you are seeking to deal with, you have been dealing with her the whole time," said the captain. "I suppose I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Celia Danson, the late Victor's wife."
"I want you to know that vengeance is not all that motivates me or my men," continued Celia, "though it certainly is a factor. Wealthy men such as Mr. Cenlin take advantage of the little people all the time. They use their wealth and power to manipulate, to oppress, even to rob and murder those who are not so fortunate. I and my merry band here wish to pay them back for such service. As has been stressed several times now, we do not do this for money, and we do not harm innocents."
"I'll be honest with you, we do not agree with your methods," replied Suzanne. "But you're right, such people need to be shown the error of their ways."
"We could argue on and on about this until we grow old and I doubt either one of us would change our minds," said Celia. "But we both have more important ways to spend our time."
"I have a business deal for you," continued Celia. "I will give you that red gem we showed you before. In return, you will go about your business as though you never found us. You will not turn us in, you will not tell any other soul you know of our headquarters, and you will not even let on that you have met some of our members. Do we have an agreement?"
"That is a very generous offer," replied Suzanne. "It would be foolish for me to turn down such an offer."
"Very well. We shall make this official. Loosen their bonds," ordered Celia.
"Captain, are you sure of this?" asked the attack leader. "This is some risk we're taking, and letting them have such a priceless item to boot."
"It is risky," conceded Celia. "But I believe it is right. Our methods may differ but we are on the same team. They are trying to save humanity from monsters. We wish to save humanity from itself. We have little use for the gem while they have gone to great lengths to find it. I believe this will work out best for everyone."
The four were let loose from their bounds. Celia had each of them swear a separate vow to never divulge what they knew of the pirates. Ron and Thomas were reluctant to do so; Ron because he was still sore from how they had been treated by the pirates and Thomas because he still did not like the idea of dealing with pirates. But eventually they gave in and the deal was sealed.
Celia had some pirates lead the four to the area where the red orb was kept. The room was covered by a boulder that took two pirates to move. Once it was out of the way, the pirates gave the red orb to the group.
"Well that's four!" said Alice cheerfully. "Only two more to go!"
"Too bad we have no idea whatsoever where the other two are," said Thomas.
"We could go back to Lancel and ask the seers there for help," suggested Ron.
"Before we leave I want to have a chat with the pirates," said Suzanne. "They've likely seen a wide array of objects and heard many stories in their travels. They may know a thing or two."
"And I could definitely use a rest," said Alice wearily.
"We put a lot on your plate to get here, Alice," said Suzanne.
"Yeah, we owe you one Alice," thanked Ron.
"Think nothing of it guys," replied Alice cheerily. "But next time, it won't be my turn to go undercover."
Chapter 20: Shrine of the God-bird
As Suzanne had thought, the pirates had a great many stories to share with the group. The four learned a lot about how the group operated. As they had suspected, the pirate group did indeed have men inside all of the organizations they attacked. It also turned out the owner of Bear's Arms, the mercenary group that Morrison worked for, was a secret supporter of the pirates and Morrison was not the only mercenary who routinely worked for the pirates. Finally, they found out how the pirates got the drop on the group. It seems the four were not the only ones to hear of the invisibility herbs from Lancel.
"This is the largest criminal organization I've
ever heard of!" Ron had exclaimed. "And I spent a brief time as the emperor!"
"Thank goodness their intentions are in the right place," Thomas had replied.
As Ron and Thomas continued to talk with the pirates, Suzanne was having a conversation with their leader.
"Have you ever heard of Luzami?" asked Celia.
"I know I haven't. Alice may know something about it," answered Suzanne.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't. I only know about it by chance," said Celia. "It's an area considered lost to the world, even more lost than Aliahan. Magic doesn't work anywhere on the island and the absence of ships means its residents are stranded. I have some recruits from the island: people who were glad to get off of it and see the rest of the world."
"Anyway," continued Celia. "It may be worth your while to check it out. There are a good number of wise people on the island. The island is a secret dumping ground for nations that want to get rid of unwanted scholars and intellectuals."
"What do you mean by unwanted scholars and intellectuals?" inquired Suzanne.
"The ruling class would rather some mysteries stay unsolved," answered Celia. "Those that solve them anyway and have the nerve to spread this knowledge to the public are often punished. And these people often have great magical ability or know those that do, making it difficult to keep them in a conventional prison. Besides that, putting them on some island in the middle of the ocean ensures they won't be able to spread what they know."
"I see. So the people on this island may know something that can help us on our quest," said Suzanne.
"Maybe. I'm not making any guarantees. It's hard to further your knowledge of the world when you're stuck on a small island. Most of their knowledge is dated. Of course, this means there is a greater knowledge of older legends and customs on the island," explained Celia.
"So the reason nobody knows about it is that these nations don't want people to go to the island and find the people there or their secrets?" guessed Suzanne. "Do you know which nations are involved?"
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