Chapter 31: Their Arrival Is Imminent
Sam rose to his feet as Lucifer stormed over to him. Bonding with the dragonship had healed him and increased his Max Power Level, but his current pool of Mana was still drained from the battle, so he was in no condition for another fight right away. Koga rushed forward to stand between them, manifesting white wisps of wind from his palm that materialized into his katana.
"Stay back, Lucifer," Koga warned.
"I must avenge my son!" the elf spat angrily.
Koga held his ground. "Ladarsa would still be alive if you hadn’t sent him after Sam. Why the change of heart after you warned us at the Arena?"
"Because our spies learned that Sam is an agent of Queen Maeve," Lucifer revealed. "The Kyuubikuza is not without its sins, but we cannot allow the return of the Dark Mother. That is a bridge too far, even for us."
"You know nothing of Sam’s true convictions," Koga insisted. "He means no harm to anyone!"
"Tell that to my son!" the elf screamed.
"What did you expect? He attacked first! Sam fought back in self-defense!" Koga snapped back. "You knew your son had anger problems, and had it out for Sam. Yet you thought it wise to send Ladarsa to capture him? You had to have known it would end in a fight to the death!"
"Do not profess to comprehend what I would have known or not known!" Lucifer snarled. "All that matters is that Sam is an agent of the Dark Mother, and proved his evil nature by murdering my son!"
"I am not an agent of Maeve!" Sam screamed out. "It is true that she is eyeing me to be her next Unseelie Knight, but I have no intention of seeing her freed from her prison! I am only following her instructions in the short term because I have reason to believe she is holding my mother hostage! As soon as I know my mother is safe, I will renounce all contact with Maeve!"
Everyone was silent for a long moment, and then they heard another voice nearby. "I really wish you hadn’t said that..."
They all turned around to see a tall, muscular, green-skinned devilman walk out of the shadows. It was Captain Grimrar. "Queen Maeve will not be pleased."
"You know what? Fuck it! I don’t care anymore!" Sam shot back. "I’ll just get stronger and free my mother by force! Tell Maeve to go fuck herself!"
Grimrar just growled at him.
Then Koga turned back to Lucifer. "You see? Sam is no agent of Maeve. Help us fight against Grimrar and Dark Mother’s allies."
"I will not," Lucifer snarled. "He still killed my son, and for that, the Kyuubikuza will never rest until his head sits upon a pike!"
"You will not harm Samreon," Grimrar warned. "I will escort him to Queen Maeve myself and see to it that he accepts her gift, by force, if necessary."
Many other pirates swarmed into the courtyard, some standing behind Grimrar, others siding with Lucifer.
"So two armies after me? Fuck you both!" Sam spat as he looked back and forth between the two crowds on either side.
"You’re not alone, Sam," Lazula said as she lifted her hands, her fingertips and her eyes crackling with blue electricity.
"We’re with you, man," pledged Marmalade, moving closer to Sam. Mallowa, Mephista, Deanna, and Konnis all moved into combat stances around Sam as well. Even Gabrielle came to stand with them.
"You too, Gabbie?" Sam said with a small grin.
"If we get out of this alive, I imagine we’ll be on the move a lot trying to evade these guys," she replied. "Perfect chance to see the world, just like I wanted. I’m with you too, Sam."
"What about your grandmother?" he asked.
"Fuck her," Gabbie said with a grin.
Everyone was tense, prepared for a huge battle... And then warhorns began wailing all over the town, startling everyone.
"What the hell now?!" Grimrar roared. A moment later, a black raven came soaring into the courtyard and shifted into a male gnome as he landed on the ground.
"The Paragon Navy has located Ravager’s Roost!" he shrieked out in a panic. "A fleet of ships has just been spotted uncloaking all around the island! There must be at least a thousand of them! Their arrival is imminent!"
"FUCK!" Grimrar and Lucifer both shouted in unison.
"Mark my words, Sam - I will find you again and have my revenge!" Lucifer shrieked before rushing away with his men.
"Not if I get to you first," Grimrar added, then turned to Lazula. "Come. We must escape the island."
"I’m staying with Sam," she declared. "He’s my captain now, not you."
Grimrar glared at her. "I will deal with your betrayal next time we meet!" He then fled with his men too.
The group of them left there discussed sticking together, but Marmalade, Mallowa, Deanna, Mephista, and Konnis all had family on the island they wanted to flee with.
"So this is goodbye for now," Sam said as he pulled them all into a giant group hug. "Stay safe, everyone."
"I imagine most people here will be heading to one of the Free Cities along the western coast of Kravica," Koga speculated. "They have a neutrality agreement with the Paragon Navy, so pirates can’t be targeted as long as they don’t commit new crimes while staying there. The closest and largest one is the Free City of Aedyria. You should all find your way there and meet up again."
"Aren’t you coming too, Koga?" Sam asked.
He shook his head. "I have other matters I must attend to. I’ll see you again when I can. Protect yourselves."
"Can I still come with you?" Gabrielle asked Sam.
"You cool with that?" he asked Lazula and Calista.
"I think having a new member of our harem could be fun!" Lazula said with a flirty grin.
Calista looked the Druid up and down. "She’s hot! I don’t mind!"
"Oh, so you’re a harem?" Gabrielle asked, then shook the thoughts away. "You can fill me in later!"
Everyone scattered across Ravager’s Roost, doing whatever they could to gather up supplies and allies and flee the island. The streets of the city were in absolute chaos as all the pirates and outlaws were running back and forth all over the place.
Sam, Calista, Lazula, and Gabrielle made it to the Honeydew Inn, grabbed as much of their stuff as they could, shoved it into bags with domain expansion enchantments, threw the bags over their shoulders, and then rushed to the docks.
"Oh damn it, someone stole our boat!" Calista cried out angrily as they stared at the empty spot in the water by a dock where their sloop had been tied up before.
"Shit! We need to find another way off the island, fast!" Lazula replied.