Phoebe's father couldn't fathom what had happened after the length of his venture out to the disputed territory. Four great battleships, using technology he's never witnessed. And worst of all, his daughter's made advancements with admirals from another country, from another continent, who are obviously more inclined than any of the Southern Continent.
He hugged his daughter, he cherished her after hopping off his horse. Though he couldn't shake off the questions. But, he didn't need his daughter answering them. Phoebe said that one of the admirals (acting as a diplomat) was resting in one of the guest rooms of the castle.
It was night when Krumph Wilmmer came to Wagner's quarters, knocking on the door. "You may enter lord Krumph."
"You knew?"
"I was observing your conversation."
"Eavesdropping then." He closed the door softly. "Well, I suppose you know why I came here too then?"
"It doesn't require eavesdropping to understand your coming to my room." He stood up, grabbing the two seats from the table at one end of the room, setting them facing each other with a formal distance apart. "I understand how this would effect someone, especially of your level. The king of Grand would be seeing this as treason… Were it not that I wish to form an alliance with them."
"Ah that." Krumph said, "my daughter gave me a brisk description regarding that. You wish an alliance, you wish to help us in our dispute, and that you come from two other continents in our vast world. I found it hard to believe at first, considering the fact that we've searched the whole world (to our belief). But those battleships I saw docked in our private docks. I had to shake off that doubt of mine."
"Naturally." Wagner kept his stern composure, rivaling the marquis'. "What happened in your journey to the north?"
"We failed in reaching a proper negotiation." He said moodily.
"Truly a bad resolution to a month-old mission." Wagner added, clearing his voice. "However, has your daughter told you what we wished to do in behalf?"
"I believe she told me about a self defense of sorts."
"Yes. Self defense." Wagner smiled, the conversation going the way he wanted. "In response to a potential invasion, that seems ever closer, we will let them attack first, then we attack second using my battleships. Because of the location, we propose the USS Oregon to be supervising the area. Since the Crane river is wide even till' that area, we can assist with our main battery."
The marquis smirked. "Those cannons I saw on the back and front of those ships, they were confusingly amazing. I couldn't help but gasp that technology like that existed in this… Dare say… Primitive world I've been living in. So… Self-defense you say?"
"Yes." His smile left, "by attacking your knights, we retaliate. Simply self defense. I think that is legal, in all regards."
"That's an idea." Krumph pondered. "And I shall accept it." He swung his hand to him, Wagner clasped and shook it.
( * )
"Can't believe it." Krumph was on the bridge of the USS Olympic, together with it's sailors and admiral Bundle just beside him. "We're here in under a day."
"The depth of this river contributed in that, if it were any shallower we would've been powering through less than twelve knots."
Krumph nodded in agreement.
Aboard the USS Olympic was some fifty men of Crane's reserved garrison knights. None carried pikes, only bows and arrows as far's anyone was concerned. Thanks to the spacious accomodation of the USS Olympic there was plenty of room for the extra complement.
The marquis was briefed before the departure of the USS Olympic some three hours ago of how battleships worked. Saying goodbye to his daughter, he boarded the ship with the intention to learn from admiral Bundle. He hadn't talked with him, so it was a good chance to form bonds with another one.
"So this admiral is from the country of 'America,' from what I had gotten from Sir Wagner, the American nation is relatively new in the world-stage, although it's power has reached many other continents. He'd even called them a colonial power. Ruling many big lands in the 'east.' Whatever vague remark that was. For there is no country named; Philippines in the Eastern continent, that I know.
"But he spoke justly and without a stutter, no-way they could've been lies." Krumph sighed. "Well… The Americans have built the best looking battleship from the four. Their white-hull and golden superstructure was quite a pleasure to view in the morning sun. From what I was informed, the two main turrets are ones aft and bow, and use the highest calibre with the longest range. But I couldn't care less about the weaponry.
"I had made my way to the steam machines they used. Using my [magical observation device] I had found, as I had infered from Wagner, no magic whatsoever. The workers at the engine room informed me the way it worked. The engineers there explained it to me in the most simplest ways possible. It was like a human speaking to a child, I was the child in that scenario. And like a child, the engineer's words couldn't be retained in my head as usable information.
"But! Simply, it was the same as what Wagner said about compressed gas being used to do something with the something that does something that turns the propellors at the back. There's two large ones, I wasn't able to see it from it's dock of course (since it was underwater). However, I was given technical drawings of what they looked. Pray-tell I'll be giving that to my engineers.
"The ship itself I had examined top to bottom. There were many fire control measures that our kingdom's ships had not. What they called; 'fire extinguishers' that released gales of water to dispell fire aboard. And their careful and great planning of having many engineers aboard that were ready to repair at a word's notice at every single battle station.
"The Americans were ferociously… Great. I noticed, even from a glance. How inferior the Grand kingdom's navy was. Nigh, even every navy in the southern continent combined. The sooner I get the schematics of their technology, the sooner I can reproduce copies, no matter how far from the original; just so I could get the hook-in before my 'competitors' do."
He gripped his hand tightly.
"Is something wrong?" Bundle questioned him.
"No, nothing sir."
"Great." Bundle was informed something from his officer, Krumpf observed. Seeing his curiosity, he answered his gaze.
"I was notified that we are drawing near." Bundle smiled, his thick southern-American accent creeping in a little. "There's a little camp-base thing right, sir?"
"Yes, there is." Krumpf noticed he hung the word sir, understanding the admiral Bundle might not be accustomed to use that word, he didn't take it a sign of disrespect. Rather, it reinforced his rank as admiral all the more.
"Right." Bundle headed to a sailor; it was in mumble so Krumpf hadn't heard it."Your company of knights will dispatch by boat now."
( * )
Phoebe was engrossed in the papers given to her by her father. The Sanzan were a troublesome bunch, and no amount of talking would make them backdown in their want of the territory. But why would they want more land? There's nothing at all special in that section, which at best is a four-by-four kilometer box with one side forest and the other plains.
There weren't any caves in the recent surveys they've conducted on the area. And there weren't any presumed treasure nor monsters that would drop such treasure. There would only be two reasons why they would want the land, and her father listed it with confidence along with the rest of the papers.
She agreed that; "they wish to obtain land to fulfil a goal, whether that be to humiliate us, or that there really is something in that land. Or, they just want to have more land."
"And either one could work." She mumbled, groaning after.
"What is wrong, ma'am?" Her advisor questioned.
"Sanzan."
"The great dilemma," he found himself rather irritated with the fact, clicking his tongue. " I wish they'd just…"
"Disappear!" She hoped into the irritation train; "I empathize with your irritation, your ire, Felix. That Ire's great. Though I can't release them unlike you."
"It jeopardizes your reputation, I understand, miss Phoebe."
She cried internally, a pain reaching inside her. "God, I wish the Sanzan never existed!" Her eyes opened, almost as if she had a revelation. "This self defense idea… It won't go well. But my father accepted that idea like it were nothing. By the internation code section four…
International Code Section 4
"A country who attacks another without warning, or without proper declaration of war is not protected under the safety clause and therefore, the attacked country can attack the opposing force without facing direct punishments."
"Sir Atten, Wagner... And my father, should have seen it already then." She wiped the sweat from her face; "self-defence… Atten should've worded it differently. He's probably been informed of the tensions between us and Sanzan. But, the very fact my father isn't telling the king is… But if this operation they're conducting works, that they repel a group of knights that 'attacked first,' we can fight back, even without the same equal power. Since the law doesn't state how much force the country opposed can defend itself…"
"I should have gone." She groaned, "I would've been able to see their warship in action!"
---
Pais was interested in the workings of the adventurer's and merchant's guild. Before being an admiral, before being even in the navy; he himself commanded many merchant vessels after he graduated in naval navigation.
Begrudgingly, he had Atten come with him as well as a pack of ten sailors, rifles in hand-bayonet fitted in.
Seeing the two admirals, with the ten sailors trailing behind them, the people of Crane couldn't help but feel a certain amount of fear. For they didn't know them, and who knows what'd happen if they were to cross paths with them in the road. In those days, bumping with a noble on the road is as much a death sentence as selling your soul to the devil.
The city of Crane was in the middle of a psuedo-festival. Whenever the lord comes home from a long journey, apparantly the people gather and celebrate his return and for all that he's done during his time away. There isn't really a set name for the festival, but whatever it was, it made the main road of crane lively and bright with shops and people. Even when people evaded the two of them in fear, there were still a lot of bystanders walking thereso and yonder fo'.
"I do say," Pais looked around the road. "the scenery reminds me of Germany. However unfortunate it may seem, I feel nostalgic."
Atten chuckled awkwardly, "well. Whatever it is you think Admiral Pais. I find myself wondering why you of all people are curious in the workings of the adventurer's guild and merchant's guild."
"You don't need to." Pais replied promptly. "Anywho, as I am led to believe, the adventurer's guild is situated just right… There!" Pais pointed as he saw the building from across the street.
The adventurer's guild was fully of brick and cobble, with it's roof furnished with proper tiles and gutter. The building itself could've been sent to England as they had and no-one would bat an eye.
Entering, they were immidiately blasted by a wall of noise and banter. Several adventurers were walking out, and to everyone's surprise; he slipped along with his drink. The full brunt of the beer, the ale still fizzing from leaving it's barrel; a whole two-hundred mili liters of water dashed forth and soddened Pais' dark blue French naval suit.
The half-drunkened adventurer turned sober in an instant, seeing Pais' uniform, the man behind him, and the sailors immidiately after.
"A- s-s-sorry… Sir! Sorry! I apologize!" Pais' face was deeply upset, his brows rising a milimeter up with every letter said.
Lashing out, he punch the man's stomach, the immidiate solar plexus; the adventurer's lungs deflating with all it's wind wacked out of him; comically sending him to the other side of the large room.
Everyone was left thrown aback. With the appearance of their naval visitor, his sailors, and the adventurer; half-dead and half-sober.
Pais remained silent.
Curious with the abrupt silence, the guild's leader showed his face from up the second floor railing. Seeing his visitors, he immidiately went down the spiral staircase and towards them.
"Good afternoon, sir Admiral Pais and sir Admiral Atten." A downpour of sweat plagued the man's forehead. "I am treumendously sorry for my guild member's idiocracy. Truly! He's certain to receive punishment."
"That shall be fact!" Pais cried, suppressing anger within his strained voice. "Ah-" -he stopped the leader's advance to take his coat away from him- "you will shoulder the man's failure, however you will not give me something to wear. I haven't a need of it."
"I see, sir." He bowed slightly, "again I apologize." He glanced at the punched adventurer, still gassed out on the floor whilst several other adventurers were examining him.
"Before I was rudely interrupted…" He wiped himself with the cloth inside his suit. "I and Atten had came to have a talk. I assure you this is purely personal and comes with no proffessional merit. It is merely a greeting and introduction."
"The guild has an office where we can talk privately."
"That will do wonderfully." His anger still evident.
"Ah," Atten introduced himself by shaking his hand, "as you know, I am Atten, and you are?"
"I apologize, I am Dredski. Leader of the Crane city branch of the adventurer's guild." They shared familiar smiles.
Dredski took the mantle and guided the two of them upstairs, the sailors in a march slowly yet candid military-style walk. The march itself could only command silence, respect, and fear.
When the sailors entered, with their bayonets and unwaveringly stern expressions. They couldn't move away, couldn't stand to talk to their friends, they couldn't converse at all. The guild slowly tried to move away from the break of silence, but they controlled themselves and their movements, like they were in a library.
The sailors took positions all around the guild to secure the place from any who had bad intentions.
Inside the office room, they sat in their respective seats while three sailors from outside guard the entrance inside.
"In our wo-" Pais cleared his throat; "continent. In our continent, there was no adventurer's guild. Not that I remember anyways. Say, what is the goal of the guild again?"
"It is to safeguard it's citizens, to escort merchants, and most importantly of all; to dispatch of and subjugate monsters."
Hearing the word monsters, Pais immidiately clicked his tongue and pointed at him. "There it is. Monsters. Europe hasn't any of that. Monsters are born of yore, of stories, and are typically the adverse imaginations of man. But! Imagine my disbelief when I heard of the American that there was a monster who's head was lion yet had the tail of a snake's. I wasn't able to believe it, up until your folk showed me their magicks. I hadn't a clue of magic! Magic is truly of yore and story also! We… I… I wish to know of this Magical power you possess."
"Their continent doesn't have any monsters and magic?" Dredski thought to himself in confusion. "That is truly a breakthrough discovery. For a civilization to eradicate the plague of the age of monster…" -he looked up at Pais and Atten with spirited admiration- "but how? How did they do it, when for centuries, eons, that we haven't?"
"May I question, sir?" Dredski expanded the topic.
"Yes."
"How?"
"How what?"
"How had Europe eradicated the plague of monsters?"
"Hmm…" He itched his temples. "Probably because there were none to begin with."
"What?"
"There were never monsters in our continent. That is the truth I state without any lie!"
"But how? In history not even the Western and Northern continent (who I understand to be greater than us by some extent) have yet to exterminate the monsters! Although I'm working on outdated hundred year knowledge."
"Bah!" Atten intervened, "I am interested about what you said, barring the monsters that Pais is interested in."
"The?"
"The hundred year deprication!" He cried joyfully, Pais sunk in his wooden chair sulky with Atten taking the podium. "That is truly a mistique! What harbored this outdatedness for it to reach a century? What ire is this? What made the North and West hated so?"
"Ah," Dredski massageed his lower chin, "don't take my words like they're facts, since it's been a long time since I've done in with the subject itself. But… It was a war."
"Exciting." Atten smiled and prepared to listen tentatively.
"A-and…" He continued, "we lost. We always knew that the Northern and Western continents used greater technology than us. And the fact remained that in battle; quality overcomes quantity and degraded quality. Where we used warbows in battle, they used crossbows and balistas in great amounts."
"After the war?"
"After the war…" Deep in thought, "the North and West forced us to stay in our continent. Never to venture North nor West ever again."
"Can I continue with my questions?" His eyes pierced Atten's. "Atten?"
"A-ah…" He sweated profusely, waving his hands like he was being arrested, "yes, yes you can."
"Great."
Dredski watched like it were the quarreling of children, reacting accordingly with an awkward laugh.
"So, Dredski, explain to me what monsters are and why so your people can't defeat them."
"Well, to an extent: we can defeat them." He retorted, "regularly we deal with monsters (the subjugations and escorts explain that). It's in a spectrum! We rank a species of monster by the rank of an adventurer. We class adventurers by their power from the ranks; 'E' to 'A' accordingly by power, and same-so with the monsters."
"The American Admiral, Bundle." Pais said so harshly, "encountered a manticore. What rank is that?"
"That would be a rank D monster fit for the rank D and even rank C adventurer if they were up to it."
"What does a rank A monster look like?"
"They're…" The topic was hard to talk about because of the past Dredski had with those kinds of monsters, his grim face said as much. "They're the literal vessels of massacre. Only it's equal can fight it, and there's not many rank A adventurers out there. I myself managed to be thrusted into battle with one. Safe to say, a majority of the hundred-member subjugation force were… Had… Perished. And I? I ran away before I could have befallen the same fate my comrades had." He looked aimlessly at the window to his left, bringing the soft light into the room.
"I apologize for having him making you think of the past." Atten added a smile of sympathy, "however I also have a question of my own. What are the perks of being an adventurer?"
At the moment of the questioning, so unlike of him; Pais was interested and agreed with Atten's line of questioning.
"Being an adventurer…" He looked at them, then quickly back at the window wallowing in a kind of self despair. "Being an adventurer gives you the right to freely traverse any city given the scope of the guild in a country. Where without it you'd be needin' to pay three silvers per entrance. You also get the privilege of using our services.
"Like being able to sell materials you get from quests to us for an equal market exchange. We also offer scholarships to schools who're contracted with us if an adventurer shows promise. That's why the guild's booming in every single country."
"Ah." Atten smiled, "that is truly a great guild system! To offer it's members the chance to prosper is truly great. I do say… The guild does more than parliament!" Atten laughed at the idea! Pais chuckled silently.
Dredski didn't understand a thing.
Atten and Pais stopped their comedic charade. Up until Pais broke it up with a question.
"I remember questioning and so I will bring it back. What is magic? How do you people use it?"
"Magic." His eyes landed on the two of them, unsure who to look at since both Pais and Atten were attentative in their gazes at him, making him quite nervous. "Magic is the soul of being. I myself am versed with the niche sword-magic arts. Magic isn't something that can be passed down, rather it is… Learned through learning oneself.
"There's many kinds of magic out there, some are less damage-able unlike others which cause real damage in battle. The most common of magicks are the fire-type and water-type. However, there's also the ground-type and air-type. But such types are rather uncommon. The sword-magic arts I profess I was good at is the sub-category of the fire-type. Since, like fire; a warrior must have courage and determination to survive."
"And magic does what?" Pais pressed on.
"There are fire magicks that deal damage and mean to inflict pain." He said, "But there are also kinds that mean to support or to help. People often specialize in vocational magic arts since it yields a better future for anyone who doesn't wanna be an adventurer or the military. Vocational magic arts are just fire, wind, water, blah-blah-blah that aid rather than fight. Like fire walls, controlled fireballs and the such."
"Truly fascinating." Atten couldn't help himself, clapping in a fast beat. "Magic is truly fascinating! I cry in joy to be able to witness magic become a reality! Oh how would my father react to this!? How would Europe react to this!? Suddenly, our world turns upside-down with the revelation deemed impossible by our modern understanding of science!"
"Science?" Dredski was unfamiliar with the world.
"Science is the… Discovery of the unknown and the studying there of! I think a similar word would be sorcery, but sorcery is to create through chemical and dare-say 'magical' means."
"Sorcery exists in Europe?"
"No, that I do not think so." Atten mumbled to himself, "sorcery is the talk of witches! Of a craft that cannot be spoken of. And is scientifically faux and stupid." -Atten looked at Pais, his face listless with irritation to (assuming) him- "are you finished with your questioning?"
"No, I have but one more."
Dredski prepared himself.
"I wish to be an adventurer."