Herald of Steel

The pirate captain's revelation shook not only Alexander but the rest of the crew nearby as well.

They each turned around to look at each other with stunned shock, feeling their backs become drenched with cold sweat.

If things had truly gone as the man said….

Of course, they also had little reason to doubt him given the circumstances, but that only made his story and all that could have been all the more terrifying.

Alexander too produced a wary, frowning look, "Captain Vidiyan… was it? Your claims are certainly grave. I will let you know I have very good relations with the Heeat family. So I hope you have some proof."

However, before the suspected captain could respond, he was quickly gestured with a wave of the hand,

"But this hardly the place for such conservations. Why don't we take it somewhere more private? Please, accompany me below decks, Captain Vidiyan."

Alexander had also noticed the nearby reactions of his crew and felt interrogating the pirate on the spot was not a good idea.

Who knew what the man would reveal? He would rather not risk letting any sensitive revelation float freely in the air.

Thus the pirate captain was quickly led into one of the ship's empty rooms, and once seated on a simple chair was quickly asked, "Now, …. why don't you go over all that you said once again? Please don't miss any detail."

The bearded stoic captain took a large, gulp of the sweet wine he was served, and with a simple nod quickly retold the matter, showing little inconsistency in his recount.

"…. and that's how the Heeat family wanted us to foolishly attack you no matter the cost. But I could not in good conscience lead my men to such a fate." The thick beard heavily swayed as if to show the man's defiance,

"However if I disobeyed… I knew I would be surely hunted and made an example of. Even if the sea is huge and I can hide… I would still be barred from most of my regular ports. Hehehe, even just that would be enough to kill me. I cannot accept that. So this is why I decided to meet you, my lord. I…. we wish to serve you."

"....." Alexander listened to the man's detailed account with a placid face, although the calm exterior hid a very turbulent myriad of emotions right now, the biggest of which was shock, shock at the outright betrayal.

He could not believe Lord Castell would try to pit him like this. Especially when they had gotten off on such good terms.

He could see no reason behind it, no logic.

But at the same time, he could not see any reason for the man before him to lie. The pirate captain did not even know him before today.

As for any proof behind the accusations, Vidiyan frankly chuckled when asked,

"Hehehe, I am not a learned man milord. So don't go asking for letters and such. And the Heeat family also does not like to leave such obvious evidence. They still have a face to save."

"But I swear to the gods all that I said was all true and nothing but the truth! May the gods smite me if I lied."

To Vidiyan's credit, this was perhaps the greatest proof one could provide in this time period in the absence of material evidence.

The fear and reverence of the gods was ingrained into the hearts of every man, and it was doubly true for sailors, who found faith to be the only source of 'compass' in this boundless stretch of blue.

The list of superstitions sailors held towards the sea and the various ways they tried to please the gods in order to ensure their safety during voyages could be a subject for study on its own.

Hence as the pirate captain made his promise, Alexander was forced to give weight to the man's words just based on that.

Which sent him into a ruminating spiral as Alexander tried to make sense of all that was said. But try as he might, he was unable to reach anything concrete.

He simply lacked enough info to verify it all.

Thus when his gaze suddenly returned to the man sitting in front of him, Alexander thought it would not be a bad idea to first get to know the man, and judge his character.

Perhaps his credibility could be gleaned from that.

Slouching back in a relaxing pose, Alexander lightly curved his lips,

"Forgive me that I have not asked till now, but.. Vidiyan… that is not a common name around here. Where are you from captain."

"Iyizarid, my lord. My mother is from House Vidiyan." The pirate captain frankly replied with a hint of pride, as if showing off his noble roots.

While for Alexander this was his first time meeting someone from that country in the far north face to face, so he could not help but take a closer look.

And as he scanned the man's facial features, he began to notice some of the telltale signs.

Iyizaridians were said to be famously beautiful, both men and women, with their most striking feature being their typical trapezoid body shapes (wide shoulders, broad chests, and slim hips).

They were also generally quite tall, a good few inches than the average Adhanian, and men tended to keep thick facial hair as it was a sign of masculinity.

Just like Vidiyan before him was sporting.

And if you were curious, women also had a definite way of styling themselves- which was curling their hair as much as they could, the bigger and thicker, the better.

"Oh, I did not expect you from a land such so far away. And from a noble family at that, I would guess. How did you end up…. here, if you don't mind me asking?"

Alexander was truly curious- to know how a blue blooded aristocrat could go from that to a lowly pirate- considered by all to be one of the basest professions- in line with banditry and thieves.

"Hehehe, there is nothing to hide my lord." The pirate captain however only nonchalantly chuckled at the request and then in broken Azhak succinctly retold his entire life story,

"I am a noble from my mother's side. She was the eldest daughter of her house but fell in love with a stable boy."

"She got pregnant and knowing my grandfather would never approve, they decided to run away. They managed to successfully evade their pursuers and settled down in a small fishing village far away. There my father worked as a fisherman and my mother a seamstress, taking care of me and three of my younger siblings."

"We lived there for ten years. Then one day, the village was raided by pirates. My parents were killed and me and my siblings were taken as captives."

"We were put to work as deck boys and slowly I climbed up the crew ranks, becoming the quartermaster and then the vice captain. At last, when the former captain decided to retire and return to his home, the crew chose me as their leader! And that's how I got here." The man simply finished.

And listening to the short summary of the man's life, Alexander found his story to be quite the stunning one, even much resembling his own.

From a slave to a pirate captain commanding 2,000 men, and even serving under the protection of a legitimate name- the Heeat ducal family, it was all quite thrilling.

Alexander thus was not shy with his praise, although at the same time, deep inside he also wanted to ask if the man ever wanted revenge on his pirate crew for killing his family.

However, Alexander quickly shelved that idea not only because it was too personal and they were only strangers, but also because he could already guess the answer.

Given the man's current position, it was very likely he took the whole thing from back then as simply business.

It was even possible he had done similar things in the following years, and many in his present crew were like him.

So eschewing such unpleasant queries, Alexander simply moved on to the core issue, "You say you came to me fearing the Heeat family's retaliation. What do you expect from me?"

"We can do what we did for them, my lord. Protect your ships, patrol your trade routes, and attack your rivals."

"...."

The offer was so simple, yet strangely there was such a long pause afterward.

This was because Alexander chose to enter into a deep silence as a myriad of considerations flooded his mind.

The first being- 'was it even necessary?'

Being from an era of complete free trade, where piracy existed only in the fringest part of the world, he had always had a hard time wrapping his head around this whole piracy, or more accurately privateer thing.

Why bother going after your rival's cargo ships as a way to put him down? Why couldn't you just trade with each other what you each needed?

This would lead to more goods for both sides, benefiting each other.

But Alexander guessed many mercantile ideas were yet to develop, and the lords found it far too lucrative to steal rather than pay for the goods.

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