"Oi, Fawkes d'ya want to be captain…?" I asked as I groaned out loud. Fawkes stifled a snicker before swiftly nodding and pus.h.i.+ng me forward to the front of the overpopulated boat.

With a betrayed glare I shuffled slightly. With quick steps Fawkes dropped Sorren into Terrick's arms, then he walked to my side holding my shoulder to steady my aching calves.

With a small lurch in the now peaceful waters the embargo around my boat s.h.i.+fted as the sea kings began to depart, diving deep underwater towards the freedom of the otherwise open calm belt.

With a knowing look Tiamat moved to the side, staying by my side. A burning look in his eyes as if he wished to tell me something. With him stood the single horned sea king, that I had begun to call 'h.o.r.n.y' in my mind. (I wasn't particularly known for my naming sense)

With a calming whistle the s.h.i.+p came to a halt, a decent distance away from us. Then with a small heave piece of wood fell into the water in front of it. A thin rope coiled against its end. With a swift jump a lean women landed on the wooden structure, using it as a somehow stable source of footing.

With another dull crash a second pile of wood was lowered down, quickly being alighted by a man that I could recognize better.

That was the warrior that I had faced on the island, the one that had given me a decent challenge in fact.

With a small cough the man began, "I suppose before any discourse is to begin, thanks and apologies are in order, outsider. Your actions on the island, alongside that of your fellow compatriots," here he looked at the p.r.o.ne form of Sorren. A touch of reverence in his otherwise calm expression.

"They saved us civilians. For that I, and the island's folk are thankful. The help that you and your allies rendered to this island have appeared as a boon in times of need!" He finished, bowing curtly to me before looking to the side and bowing a second time to Sorren.

A glimmer in his eyes appeared as he beheld Terrick's form, though it quickly dissipated to make way for a more businesslike appearance.

"What of taking my friends? What does your island say to that, Soldier?" I asked a cutting edge in my voice.

The women that had stood silently on the side perked up at the tone, staring at me with a renewed expression. "General!" She began in reproach, obviously wis.h.i.+ng to get on my good side.

With a grunt I stopped her nascent tirade, for though I had an issue with the island's leaders.h.i.+p, that was where my qualms with the island stopped. And seeing as how the upper echelon had all been completely killed, I no longer held too much of a grudge. IF the crew wished to exact vengeance however, that would be an entirely different ball game all together.

"Miss, though I appreciate your moral uprightness I must stress that this is a matter between my crew and the island as a whole. Further it is not as if I share much sentiment with the power that you yourself represent.

So in the following matters I believe it would be better for matters to be dealt with between the two bodies as opposed to needless interventions." I said to her, bringing her necessity within the ensuing discussion to a bare minimum.

"Further Mister General. Though I personally do not have further umbrage with the island as a whole, mostly because the offending bodies have all been killed and because I am personally not in a mood to waste the efforts of my doctor, that does not mean that my crew has forgiven the island for any of its transgressions-"

Suddenly I was interrupted by a voice from the periphery. A feminine voice called out with a strong level of resolve. " Then I shall take responsibility! If as this sir says, his crew does indeed wish to take up their righteous indignation with the island, then I shall personally forsake my head as a token of appeal!

Thus I ask that sir is not hasty with his actions." Then with a flurry of movement the high priestess that had been saved by Terrick and company walked over, giving the general a curt nod before looking over at Fawkes.

Fawkes looked over at her, an expression of indifference. "We shall discuss this after." was all he said, before shooting Terrick a look.

Catching his eye I glanced over at the kneeling a.s.sa.s.sin, looking at his side to see the still panting sword user, further in the back Rein and Scipio still lay unconscious.

Angella and Terrick looked at me with the same expressions however, with a nudge to his side Sorren too awoke. With a scurry of whispers the idiot train now held the holy trifecta of the crew. The numbskulled doctor, the ditzy sword wielder, and the day-care man.

With a slight grumble I looked over at the silent general and the stiff high priestess.

"Hah… The crew opts to forgive you, though that is mainly because your drugged priests have all perished and your very way of life seems to have collapsed like a senile serpent. That being said however, this island shall still be liable to pay for all of its transgressions."

Already an idea was forming in my mind, though Rein and Scipio had still not forgiven the island, I was sure that it would be alright, the former was not a crewmate officially and the latter was smart enough to know when it was good to ma.s.sacre and when it was good to take advantage of things.

"Here is my offer to your island, starting off I shall begin with the way that you managed the island, though at this point it would be no different to call it a city.

the high priestess and the general shall const.i.tute a board of leader, chosen from fields that I don't particularly give a rat's a.s.s about. There are only two things that I want from this board. One, to hold this island in a state of isolation as best as it can with a single department of sorts that controls the gates of this ma.s.sive structure. Two, the department I suggested shall have a single member in the board, with complete powers over this mountain's borders. The representative shall answer directly to me.

Now onto matters of payment, the island shall act as a docking station for a group of people that I vouch for as long as they do not damage the integrity of the island or cause undue frustrations onto its people. These people shall be under the explicit authority of the department head that I had arranged for.

The department shall also act as a recruitment/ training organization that maintains and bolsters the ranks of the group.

In exchange for this continuous incursion onto your lands and the amount of overall economic burden that you shall take on, this island shall be under my explicit protection. That means that you no longer need to maintain such a cut throat relations.h.i.+p with Amazon Lily, or fear the navy too much.

As long as you don't get the wrath of the entire force upon your heads the crew shall protect you." I finished, taking a deep breath to compensate for all the air that I had expelled.

I could literally see the numbers fly in the head priestess' eyes as she computed all I had told her, the Amazon Lily representative stood stock still though her eyes seemed to zoom out of focus.

"A couple of questions," the head priestess began professionally." Will this representative that you choose have a say in how the island is run? If so how much authority? Who will it be? and will that person have a detrimental effect on our island's functioning. Also will these group of people, be of the unsavory variety?"

A small chuckle escaped my mouth as I looked over at her. " The man that I suggest will simply have complete authority over his own charge. The authority over the island as a whole shall only be as much as the authority of any one member of this board, with their powers all being addable.

He shall interfere in how the island is run only as much as another single member of the board.

As to who he is, I was thinking about mister General here, what do you say?"