Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 133: Multas Islands

The fleet sailed south, escaping the worst of the storm that had borne down on the rafts. Behind them, the rafts that had traveled so far along the Nerid were dashed into splinters against the cliffs, as the sea raged and roiled. The last hints of the Ursten army had disappeared.

Meanwhile, that same army bore down on the Multas Islands, a small group of islands off the coast of the Isle, that were rich with resources, and unlike most of the forests and mountainous areas of the Isle, lacked the ferocious beasts that made exploring such areas so difficult.

It was no wonder that the Empire had annexed the islands so many years ago, allowing the natives to continue living freely as they had done so for hundreds of years, so long as the Empire was given unfettered access to the lush forests and ore rich mountains. 

The Multas people couldn't believe their luck at first, the Empire paid them handsomely in whatever they desired, weapons, fine cloth, advanced magical devices. Anything the Multas people wished for, they could have, all they had to do was to give up a small area of their islands to do so.

They were happy to do so, after all, to them, the islands were vast, and they would always have enough forest to hunt in, and they would never give up their most sacred central island. But as the years went by, the area that belonged to the Multas people grew smaller and smaller.

The pure streams became choked with waste from the mills and refineries, the forests thinned, and even the mountains grew shorter and shorter. 

Then, the Multas decided they must fight back, for it had become obvious to them that their home would disappear if things continue as they had.

They had great weapons, and new knowledge that they had gained from the Empire, and they didn't hesitate to use it against the people that were taking their home.

It was an overwhelming victory for the Multas, because what could a lumberjack do against the sharp point of a spear, and what could a miner do against a lance of rock arcing through the air. 

The Multas were exhilarated, they had their land, and they had all the treasures they had gained, and as they feasted, the retribution of the Empire fell upon. Swift and decisive.

Their Mages watched in horror as the spells they spent their entire lives to learn to cast, rained down freely from the sky, the ground turned to lava beneath the celebrating Multas and great winds ripped through the gathered revelers. 

It seemed as if nature itself was punishing the Multas on behalf of the Empire, but it was not so. A trio of Mages, and a small squad of Warriors to guard them had been sent, this small group had decimated the Multas.

[Simon taught you about this place, didn't he?] Silane flicked through the memories Kothar had made before she had been revived..

[Yes, he told it as a great tragedy. But it was merely one nation being absorbed by a greater one.] Kothar replied plainly, he had seen it as no different to when he had subjugated rebellious planets for the Alliance.

[I wonder, they had no idea of what they were giving away. Is it really that simple?] Silane didn't enjoy having a conscience, and it was beginning to twinge, especially when they reminisced about missions for the Alliance.

[I wonder where Simon is right now.] Silane quickly changed the topic, neither she nor Kothar was ready to engage in a moral re-examination of their actions as agents of the Alliance. 

[knowing him, he'd be on one of these ships. He could even be that hawk masked fellow.] Kothar chuckled, instantly lightening the mood.

The soldiers around Kothar were laughing and joking about visiting the Multas Islands, talking of their beauty and the richness of the land.

"And what of the people?" The hawk-masked soldier piped up, interrupting a soldier with a mask depicting a prancing horse, who had been on a long rant on how the waters of Multas tasted better than any other land.

"And what of the people? The Empire has pressed them under their boot long enough, they will be grateful for our liberation." The soldier with the horse mask responded, laughing in an attempt to show that the hawk-masked soldier's comment was ridiculous.

"Yes, an entire fleet to liberate them from a measly Imperial Outpost. Not even fifty men, and perhaps a single competent Warrior and Mage amongst them. No, this is no detour of justice." The hawk-masked man paused, looking around at the gathered unitless soldiers. He had grasped their attention with a few words.

"We have barely a fraction of the supplies just an enormous fleet needs, and the holds are filled with our men, not with supplies. We shall be doing the same thing that the empire has done, but we shall be appropriating the Multas Islands for our own purposes." The hawk-masked man continued somberly, his words had set a gloom over the gathered men. 

Many of them had spent years on missions to far off nations, and this gave them some inkling of emotion toward a strange and unfamiliar land. 

[That's definitely Simon, it sounds exactly like one of his speeches.] Kothar commented to Silane, who giggled slightly, but an undercurrent of guilt ran through the pair. 

"So what, shall we starve ourselves and doom this whole endeavor?" The horse masked soldier replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Of course not, Grand Marshal Tam has commanded it, and so we shall carry out his orders. I was merely adding to the discussion," The smirk could be heard in the hawk masked man's voice. But the anger from the surrounding soldiers still faded. 

They might all have spent months, even years in different nations, for differing objectives. But they all shared one thing, their fierce loyalty for Tam.

Perhaps more so than any of the Ursten army, these men, Kothar included, were ready to die for Tam.