Section Thirty-Seven: Negotiations Between Land and Sea (Part Two)

Of course, not a single coin of compensation would be paid. The ocean was the natural pasture of the Feshi people, and now that Herdasin had been taken by the army, it too belonged to them. Who would expect to pay for a meal on their own pasture? As for currency, what an odd notion—though the restaurant owners patiently explained its use to the Feshi, the concept remained elusive to them. When it came to trade, they still preferred simple barter.

The First Army's Second Division strove to maintain order, establishing a cordon between themselves and the Feshi people in the two districts, standing vigil and watching each other. A day later, the Republic fleet of Landia returned from its secret overseas anchorage. Yet, they dared not attack the Feshi, and could only keep their distance, confronting the Feshi's swarm of sea bats on the open water several kilometers away, waiting for further orders from Valencia. The reason was clear: the Feshi force deployed this time was overwhelmingly strong. Besides a sea bat swarm even larger than Pompey's, they had brought one of the most fearsome sea monsters—the ninth-rank sea dragon. This was a wingless drake, dwelling in the ocean, of immense power. There were only two in all the Western Feshi Empire. This beast was several times the size of the largest sea bat, and no ship or creature at sea would dare face it head-on. Legends held that the previous Feshi emperor had tamed and bound it with a contract, and only Helen's father and the crown prince, Philip, who bore the bloodline of the contract-holder, were entitled to command them.

The Republic fleet had originally departed intentionally, acting on reliable intelligence from Valencia that the Plantagenet fleet would soon launch a surprise attack on Herdasin and other ports. Landia's fleet slipped away, preparing to strike at the Plantagenets from the sea at the opportune moment, once their attack began and the port garrisons were engaged. But the Plantagenets never came—instead, it was the Feshi who arrived, with a force far beyond anyone's expectations. Two facts shocked all: the Feshi had deployed the sea dragon and a vast sea bat horde, and, even more surprisingly, their lower-ranked warriors could now come ashore. The first fact allowed them, with the dragon's might, to forcefully smash Herdasin's coastal artillery; the second meant the port garrison could not hold out until the Second Division arrived.

Senator Kidd was the chief envoy for these negotiations, and Raven accompanied the mission as a deputy, though his true purpose was to deliver Helen to appease the Feshi's wrath, hoping to expedite their return to the sea. He had another, secret task: to deliver a message from Warrenheit to the Feshi crown prince.

What surprised Raven was that, upon reaching Herdasin, he ran into an old friend—the very man who had first hired him, Spielberg. The old gentleman arrived in the company of Herdasin's governor and the vice-commander of the Second Division to greet the envoys. He wore a monocle of glass, secured by a gold chain tucked into his breast pocket, which he would take out and peer through from time to time. Helen found this fascinating and badgered the old man until he let her have it.

When asked why he was here, Spielberg spread his hands helplessly. "I didn't want to come, but I have considerable business interests here, some in partnership with others—Mr. Anthony, for example. When I heard the Feshi had taken Herdasin and were facing off against the government troops, I had no choice but to come and see for myself."

The welcoming party first led the delegates to the Second Division's headquarters. Senator Kidd went to confer with the division's commander, while Raven and Helen listened to Spielberg elaborate on the situation.

By the envoys' arrival, several days had passed since the fall of Herdasin. The more timid citizens had already fled the city, while the bolder ones were beginning to adapt. Even in the district under Feshi control, people were gradually adjusting—as long as they kept their wives and daughters out of the Feshi's sight, there was little trouble. Only the taverns and restaurants suffered, for the Feshi treated them as free kitchens, eating and drinking without payment, and—drunk and unruly—refused to let them close their doors.

After Kidd finished his discussions with Lieutenant General Cullen of the Second Division, he wasted no time. That very night, under the escort of the elite guard and a specially selected company from the First Auxiliary Division, they approached the Feshi with a request for an audience, announcing that they had found their little princess, Helen.

When Helen, accompanied by Raven and the others, appeared at the cordon, the Feshi burst into cheers. Someone immediately ran to inform Crown Prince Philip, demanding that the humans across the barrier release Helen at once.

At that moment, Helen lost her temper. She strode straight to the other side of the cordon, for in her eyes, a little adventure was nothing to fuss over. Her brother's response had made things unnecessarily complicated and dull. She intended to see him at once, put in a good word for Raven and the rest, then return to Valencia and demand the Prime Minister fulfill the other half of his promise—to find Wei Wuji.

Raven, Kidd, and Spielberg hurried after her. With Helen leading the way, and though Philip had not yet officially permitted the envoys to cross, no Feshi dared obstruct her or the companions who appeared close to her. Only when Kidd’s guard detail tried to follow were they stopped. Kidd considered, called his men to halt, and decided to accompany Helen and Raven alone to meet Philip. As for Spielberg, the old fox, not only did he follow close behind Raven, but he also pulled several bottles of fine wine from his large bag and offered them to the Feshi. Seeing his gifts and his association with Helen, they did not bar his passage.

Raven felt a certain admiration for Kidd, this rising political star—his willingness to risk danger for prestige spoke volumes of his ambition and courage. As for Spielberg, Raven was not particularly surprised; the old man was far more than a collector. Outwardly, he claimed his presence was for the sake of his business interests and his desire for order to return to Herdasin. But knowing part of the truth, Raven suspected he might actually be an ally of Warrenheit. And, as someone aware of the existence of travelers between worlds, Raven was especially curious about Spielberg’s true identity. If not for having once been attacked by another traveler in the Rochester treasure affair, Raven might have been more certain. But because of Charlotte’s previous attack, Raven could not be sure. One would think that, if there was someone as cunning and ruthless as Charlotte—who would even use an old lover as a pawn—at work, Spielberg would have had no need to hire Raven if he was a traveler himself. Charlotte, after all, had died by Raven’s hand. Perhaps Charlotte and Spielberg were rivals? This was why Raven could not be certain of Spielberg’s real identity.

Thus, Raven was willing to work for Spielberg; it was a way to observe and gather clues, perhaps even to uncover patterns among such people, and ultimately, to deduce the true nature of the person far away on the wild continent—the one who had changed the course of Raven’s life so many years ago.

Following Helen, and with her noisy insistence, even Shadis, the Shak chief in charge of security, was helpless when he arrived. The little princess's favor with the Emperor and Crown Prince was well known.

Led by Shadis, the four of them made their way along the city streets to the former city hall, now requisitioned by Philip as the Feshi army’s main encampment.