Red groaned as he dropped back onto the hard-packed earth at the top of the plateau. A cool breeze licked at his skin from across the teal sea before vanishing amidst the jungle. Far out there, the sounds of birds echoed across the island, but he heard none of it. All he could do was struggle to catch his breath.
Beside him, Vizim gasped for air. The two of them had just finished dragging Vizim's finished cannon onto the top of the plateau. The thing was nearly three feet long and was like a mountain.
"Did you really have to make this thing so damn heavy?" Red pushed himself up, still catching his breath.
Vizim gulped in the air. "It wasn't that bad."
"Wasn't that bad? You're still collapsed on the ground from the effort. This thing weighs a crap ton."
"Well, sometimes greatness needs girth."
Red groaned, "Really? Girth? This thing has a bit more than just girth. Will it actually fire when we need it to, though?"
"I certainly hope so," Vizim sighed. "But then again, it could very well just explode."
He chuckled, "That sounds about right."
There was always that possibility when screwing around with the mist engineering. Still, Vizim's cannon wasn't all that unique. In fact, it was a far simplified design from those commonly used by the Valencian navy. Simplified, but with a Vizim twist, of course.
The weapon couldn't fire extremely fast, and it would be dangerous to utilize without being shot. However, one good shot could be enough to strike fear into the entire enemy armada. That was also the key reason they had made the design. It was to activate the hidden explosives that had been placed all along the jungle edge. They hadn't had the time to make any sort of countdown, and that wouldn't have been reliable anyhow.
Red turned to the jungle, surveying it for a long moment. The fight would begin any day now. They'd only been at the plateau for a little over one, and already the tension was running high. Some of the soldiers were arguing for continued movement, while others were hoping they could win a prolonged siege. Even with it all, Silas still sulked.
No matter what happened, there was going to be a bloodbath when the fighting came.
"How's your…you know, plan for the Pirate King coming along?" Vizim asked.
Red couldn't help but sigh. "I'm working on it."
Working on it was a little bit of a long shot. He was more so contemplating it. The problem was, Derrin had been right. It was simply not feasible to cut off every single one of the Pirate King's marks individually. That would take too long and certainly be noticed. That meant if he were to do something, he would need to impact the Pirate King directly.
"If you need some help, just let me know. However, I haven't had any ideas myself. This is more of your area of expertise. Besides, I don't really understand this whole marking idea myself."
Red grunted, "Some expert I am, and I don't really understand the whole idea behind marks myself. The way Derrin explained it and what I have gathered is that after marking someone, there is a connection between them. It is there as long as both sides keep it held."
"If the one marking lets go, then it breaks; if the one marked lets go, it breaks. The problem is that there are an unknown number of these connections, and we can't disconnect them all where they end because that will take too long. So the only real option is to go after the one marked…which is easier said than done."
Vizim rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This reminds me a lot of engineering, actually?"
"What?" Red asked in bewilderment.
Vizim smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's simple, really. Each of these connections is a wire. Each wire is connected to their own receiver at one end, and they all meet back up at the central hub. The Pirate King is the hub and all of his lackeys are the receivers. I don't know, it was just a funny analogy."
"No, no," Red shook his head. "That was actually really helpful… I think I have an…"
Before he got a chance to explain himself, the side of the jungle burst open. Derrin and another soldier came sprinting from the tree canopy and dashed across the beach. In a few short moments, they vanished into the cave. Red froze. The pair's sudden return could only mean one thing.
Vizim seemed to understand it, too, and they both clambered back into the cave so they wouldn't be seen from the outside. Red paused at the lip of the tunnel leading to the roof of the cavern. Vizim was already below, darting off towards the mass of voices echoing through the chamber.
It didn't take a genius to realize that the pirates were coming.
For a few minutes, nothing seemed to happen. Eventually, though, a small group of pirates wandered out onto the beach. The group seemed to just wander about aimlessly as if they were simply attempting to pass the time. They didn't seem to bother with the plateau or the hidden cave for the moment. However, they also didn't leave.
One of the pirates took off her boots and lounged in the water. The others chattered animatedly amongst themselves. Their group seemed totally ill-prepared for any upcoming battle. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before one of them noticed the cave.
The group began in that direction, and Red couldn't help but sigh. He didn't hear the near-instant fight that happened below. The soldiers had killed the group before they even got the chance to scream. He didn't feel bad about their deaths, but they had just gotten unlucky. The rest of the pirates would not be nearly as callous with their lives.
None of that mattered at the moment. Their cave base had been discovered. Even if no one discovered it anew for a few days, there were now missing pirates as well. It was only a matter of a little time before they would be found. The first stage of the long battle had finally arrived.