Enlightened Empire

Chapter 152 Underwater

After their fleet had moved into the heart of the Verdant Isles, Wacoca had returned to his duties at the bough of their flagship. Although he had left behind his guest, Corco didn't really mind. After all, they needed their captain to navigate through the tricky currents and complex terrain if they wanted to reach their goal in one piece.

This was one of the main reasons the Verdant Isles had remained independent from the powerful Chutwa Empire at its doorstep: Without any knowledge of the local seas, enemy fleets would be hopeless in a fight against the verdant captains.

While the prince did his best to keep them alive, Princess Sumaci and Governor Mayu decided to show off their knowledge of the islands, and explained the local curiosities to Corco. Or rather, Mayu tried, but Sumaci never let him finish a sentence. Maybe she was too excited that for once, she could play teacher instead of student. According to the princess, the island they had just crossed was only a small outpost, a new island to be claimed by their forces. Proper verdant cities, they claimed, were much more advanced, in no way inferior to Medalan ones. This was even more so the case on the five great islands.

Since they inhabited the countless, tiny islands of the Verduic Sea, the Verdant Folk were spread all over the waters. Still, all of them called one of the five great islands their home. Even if they lived somewhere else, all the smaller pieces of land were dependent on the larger ones, at least in theory.

With great pride, the young princess spoke of her homeland, and the bravery and ingenuity of her people, first among them the many captains of the Verduic Sea.

Whoever managed to rule over these great islands would get to call himself a colored king. Although the kings themselves stood in a cooperative relationship to defend against outside forces, most of the time they held more of an awkward armistice. After all, there was no reason to trust any ruler of equal status, a thought Corco could sympathize with very well.

Still, among any number of equals, there would always be one who was more equal than the rest. In this case, the most equal colored king was the ruler of Rasacopa, the largest and most populous of the Verdant Isles. As a result, the king of Rasacopa alone had the right to call himself the Green King, in reference to the Isles themselves. This was the place the currents pulled them towards, the first goal of Corco's newest journey.

After they had sailed through the currents for another day, always after the hottest breeze of air, they had found their way to the Jurau Bay of Rasacopa, home of the Green King Taoco Hulpatec. As soon as Corco saw the city of Jurau with it's ancient stone harbor and the dark wooden buildings, he was reminded of home. Although there were many differences in details like the building materials and ornamentation along the facades, the characteristic rounded shapes of the roofs were the same as back in Medala. After all, the Verdant Folk were adherents of Pacha just the same as the Yaku. If the Green King was sentimental, it might even make his negotiations a bit easier, though Corco wondered if such sentimentalities would play any role at all.

Of course, he wouldn't have to wonder for long. When they entered the harbor, they did so without much fuss, right into the royal quarters. Beyond their religious rites and the etiquette within a crew, the VerDant Folk didn't have much in the way of rituals. Further, their entire trip was still a secret. After all, why else would the King of the South come on a Verduic ship, rather than on one of his own?

There was a reason most kings never traveled. In his current state, Corco would be a very easy target for assassins. However, while this part of his journey could have been handled by someone like Ronnie, he really couldn't rely on anyone else for what he hoped would come after.

In the end, Sumaci's constant chatter only ceased when they reached the king's private quarters in the mansion of the Hulpatec clan. While he watched Sumaci disappear behind the door, one of Corco's servants held a mirror up to his face, to make sure the king would be presentable when he met his equal. With a nod to the ghost warrior, Corco turned to the wolf mercenary who had also followed along and took off his weapons, everything except for his hidden dagger. Since the two kings would meet in private, all guards and weapons would have to stay outside.

"Good luck," Mayu nodded to his cousin. Although the governor's frown showed his displeasure, his voice was firm, and seemed genuine. Two days together at sea had been enough to relax the relationship between the cousins a lot. Of course, Corco's open disinterest in Sumaci's badgering had helped in that regard as much as Atau's absence had.

After Corco had said goodbye to his cousin, he turned to the bamboo sliding door. What he entered was a room of light and shadow. Although it was supposed to be a king's chamber, the room was lit quite well from the outside. At once, Corco thought about the chance of an assassination, until he remembered that the entire complex was surrounded by a private garden. Even more, all the openings in the room were to small to even let an arrow through. Rather than window, the walls were covered in holes, over and over. Patterned in the form of wavy lines, they cast shadows to give Corco the impression of an underwater scenery.

In the center of the room stood a small table, with a large man seated on the ground behind it and a piece of cloth for Corco to sit to his opposite. As soon as he saw the king, Corco stood still and waited for his opposite's words. After all, he was the guest here. Then there was silence. Corco could feel his lips purse. Rather than feel fear from the foreign king's stare, he felt annoyed at the man's rudeness. What was this supposed to be, some pointless demonstration of power? Only after a good while did the Green King motion to his front.

With a silence to mirror his other, Corco stomped ahead and sat down. Just as rude as his opposite, he leaned his elbows on the table before he spoke.

"What's up with the decor? It's like we're underwater, isn't this a bad omen?"

In response to Corco's rudeness, the Green King leaned forward too, to reveal his own face beyond the shadows. As Wacoca's father, he also showed much of the young prince's handsome features, though the father's grin revealed several missing teeth. Considering the clean look of the leftovers, the king seemed to have lost them in a battle or accident, rather than to poor hygiene.

"You're a rude one, aren't you?" the king whistled through the hole in his teeth.

"Rudeness begets rudeness. What is this, some kind of weird test?" Corco motioned around, to the ominous, empty room.

"Where else are we supposed to meet? I'll invite foreign diplomats onto my ship, but what about you? You're a foreign king, you can't sit lower than me. So where else would we meet?"

"How about wherever you usually meet with kings?" Corco shrugged.

"What sort of king would be crazy enough to leave his kingdom and travel to a foreign lord's residence!?" the Green King shouted half an octave higher. "You even gave up all your weapons! Are you crazy, or are you foolish?"

"So is this why we're meeting here? So you can check on my mental state under stress?" Again Corco looked around. Although the room was a bit eerie, it couldn't be considered an efficient threat. "I'm... unimpressed."

In response, the Green King exhaled and leaned back as tension left his body.

"No, this place here is my private cultivation chamber. The waves let me face my fears, and remind me of my own weakness. We would not have met were you not teacher to two of my children. However, you are, so I indulged in my children's selfishness. Even so, we cannot meet in public, or etiquette would become a nightmare. So in the end, where else could I bring you but here, crazy king?"

"...I apologize. I have been rude."

As soon as he understood the other party's intent, Corco righted his posture and hinted at a bow.

"Corcopaca Titu Pluritac, King of the South, greets the Green King Taoco Hulpatec III."

"Yeah, likewise," Taoco waved off Corco's attitude. "So... my daughter tells me you're a smart man."

"Princess Sumaci exaggerates," Corco smiled. "I was just lucky to get my hands on knowledge many are not familiar with. Using the knowledge is what makes intelligence."

"True. What good are all those books if I killed you right here and now?" Taoco said in the same conversational tone. A deep sight escaped Corco.

"Can we skip the games? I've played along for now, but I really don't care for these power plays. We're alone anyways, so there's no reason to vie for strength or whatever. I'll just tell you what I want and what I can offer, and then you can tell me why you want double. How does that sound?"

Again, Tacao waved his hand in a kingly gesture. Now that he saw a proper king for once, Corco decided to copy some of these mannerisms. If nothing else, they seemed pretty fun.

"In that case, here's my first request: Open trade from, to and through the Verdant Isles."

"Impossible." Not only did the Green King not raise his voice, he even began to smirk. "Although I am a king, I cannot control all the independent captains of the Verdant Folk, even less so the other kings."

"Of course you can." Corco leaned forward and lowered his voice a bit. "I'm not some idiot Chutwa noble. I'm a Medalan. We've had connections to your Isles for centuries. And we know very well that a colored king can put certain ship's banners under his protection, to make them untouchable within the Verduic Sea."

"Right, certain banners. Not yours."

"And why is that?"

"Well for one, you represent a foreign kingdom, and this type of honor is limited to Verdant Folk or individual vessels."

"...right." Corco frowned. This Green King didn't make negotiations easy on him. Time and again, he tried to interrupt Corco's rhythm. Thus, he decided to try a different angle. "You're aware of the political situation in my home?"

"My children have kept us informed," Tacao nodded. Even though he had admitted that his children had acted as spies, Corco decided to ignore it.

"In that case, you should know what's happening in the Medala Empire, right? While the empire is split, both the northern and the central Kingdom are hard at work to eradicate the old Pacha faith."

"Our faith is our own. If you value your faith, you should be able to defend it." Again the smirk got wider, and showed off more of the missing teeth. Since there was no point to the sentimental route, Corco raised his hands in defeat.

"Well, it was worth a shot. Okay, then how about this: You get ten percent of every cargohold that passes through this place."

"A tempting offer," the Green King whistled. "Still, Medala has far too many ships. If I allow all of them free passage, how many vessels would be able to pass through our waters tax-free? Like this, the Verdant Folk would miss out on even more money. Not to mention the trouble I would get from making all the other captains draw back. If only the Hulpatec clan profits, there would be trouble."

Of course, 'tax' was nothing but Verduic code for 'theft', but Corco wouldn't expose his opposite like that.

"Because if you don't give me guarantees, no ship will travel through your island group at all. If you take half my ships as 'tax', it sounds like a great deal at first, but half ofzero is still zero. Also, you can always chose to share some of your profits from this deal with other captains. It's not my fault if you make enemies from your own greed. Speaking of the other captains, you're aware that there's four more people on these islands who can offer me the same conditions, right?"

"Are you blackmailing me?" For the first time since their meeting, Taoco's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Corco was baffled at the response.

"...what are you even talking about? You think you have a natural right to plunder?"

"Careful what you say. After all, I know what you really want. If I allow this kind of free trade, I would wager that you would buy as much grain from us and Chutwa as your ships can carry."

For the first time, Corco could feel the Green King's pressure. However, it wasn't the narrow eyes or low voice, and it wasn't the eerie room either. Rather, he hadn't expected to have his weakness this exposed.

"You know, my son is a bit too proper, in some regards, but Sumaci grew up right." Taoco's chest swelled. "Before you came in here, that girl told me quite a few interesting things. Like how you're at war with your brother from the central kingdom, and how your trade routes are cut off." He leaned forward even more. "How half your country will starve soon."

"The girl exaggerates," Corco said, his face unchanged despite his discomfort. "I'm sure Princess Sumaci failed to understand our exact position, but it is nowhere near as dire, I can assure you." Roaring laughter answered Corco's calm response.

"Ahaha! So she's right then!" The king slapped the table. "At this point, I wonder if you'd have ever talked to me if you didn't need to feed your people."

Although Taoco had tried to trap Corco further, this time he had made a miscalculation. Right away, Corco's smile grew warmer again.

"Of course I would have. After all, I have a second request to make of you, one independent of trade deals. Interested?"

"You couldn't even make me agree to your first one," Taoco scoffed. "Still, tell me your second request so long as my mood remains good."

"I want you to rob Medalan ships," Corco grinned.

"Huh?" Now it was Taoco's turn to lose composure. As it turned out, the Green King had a much weaker pokerface than the King of the South.

"Of course you won't rob the southern ships," Corco continued with a raised finger. "However, my good brothers have established contact with the Arcavians, merchants and warriors from across the eastern Sea. They want to march through Medala, to establish trade with the Chutwa Empire. It won't be long until they do, and on their way to the riches of the west they will come through here."

"So what does it have to do? Whether or not we take them is our problem, right?"

"Sure, but I can provide you with the number of vessels, the cargo and the headings for all the trade fleets that leave Medala. All I ask in return is that you try to keep the Medalan sailors alive as much as possible."

Even when he plotted a secret deal with a foreign lord, Corco would never forget his own people. Whether or not they lived under one of the other kings mattered little in this regard.

"Maybe you're not a hopeless case after all," Taoco sighed.

"So does that mean we have a deal?" the merchant king asked with a wide grin.

"Sure, we can talk about your second request, although I'm still unclear about the details. As for the first, you best forget about it. In the end, Medala just doesn't have enough goods or wealth to make it attractive. Our benefit doesn't make up for our costs."

Although he still denied Corco's request, at least Taoco had finally admitted to his real problem: There weren't enough benefits to annoy his fellow kings over. To the merchant king's great luck, if there was one thing he had more than enough of, it was trade goods.

"I knew you'd say that," he smiled like a car salesman. "Had you played along for sentimental or religious reasons, I would have looked down on you." Rather than answer, the Green King Tacao only stared at Corco and waited for the punchline. "As a matter of fact, I can provide you with another reason for our cooperation, more gold and silver than what you can count in a lifetime. However, I cannot do so now. That part will have to wait until my return."

"You are leaving already? I assume you have plans and did not just get wet feet?" The Green King sat up, and for the first time, the eyes of the kings met with both of them in a proper posture.

"Not exactly. I'll stay a bit longer so we can talk a bit, maybe tie some deeper knots. However, since I managed to get out of my kingdom for once, I'll take the chance to visit other countries as well. For now, our next stop is Chutwa."