The sailors and Vikress Merchants' Guild staff transporting this shipment had numbered twenty-five in all. The survivors were now gathered in Morris Town's council hall.
Including Byron and the old butler, there were only seven people in the plain hall. Only two sailors and one of the guild's deliverymen had survived.
Twenty-two lives had been lost in the naval battle that evening. Not one of those twenty-two had survived.
As the strongest maritime kingdom, Kul Tiras had four fleets in its navy. Apart from the Norwington Family's Second Fleet, which had been wiped out during the Second War, each of the remaining three fleets possessed more than a hundred warships.
Yet even after three campaigns to eradicate the pirates, Freehold's pirates still brazenly plundered ships in the waters around Kul Tiras.
Now they had actually appeared in Kul Tiras's Inland Sea.
Both Anglepoint Wharf and Watcher's Ridge had fleets guarding them. Could these pirates somehow submerge their warships and sneak into the Inland Sea?
Had a pirate raid occurred in some other waters, Rowan might not have been so agitated. But these sailors and guild employees had been intercepted and killed while delivering a blast furnace to him.
What Rowan found hardest to accept was that they had died less than seven nautical miles from Morris Shipyard.
The pirates had slaughtered the sailors and plundered the cargo ship right under Rowan's nose.
The more Rowan thought about it, the angrier he became, yet there was nothing he could do. The shipyard's warships still could not put to sea, leaving him with no means to strike back.
The sailor who had spoken to Rowan earlier was named Galin. He had worked for the Vikress Merchants' Guild for many years. His own brother and several comrades he had trusted with his life had been on this cargo run with him.
Rowan could not imagine what Galin had been through. When the burly man, already over forty, learned that only the two of them had survived among the sailors, he covered his face and broke down sobbing.
"It all happened very quickly. They knew when we would reach Morris Town, and they had taken up an advantageous position. We had no time to react." The speaker was Ellen, the Vikress Merchants' Guild's deliveryman. Confusion filled his face as he recalled the pirates' appearance.
Rowan could not understand how the pirates had known the blast furnace's arrival time in advance, either. Apart from Jaina, he had told no one about it. No one else could have known, much less the pirates.
"I can guarantee that no information about this shipment was disclosed to anyone beforehand. As the deliveryman, you should know that this Iron Smelting Blast Furnace was being transported under the Dalaran magical aid agreement." Jaina certainly would not have leaked the information, and after thinking it over carefully, Rowan was sure he had not told anyone else about it.
Ellen did not argue. That was indeed the case. Young Master Rowan was not lying.
"That's precisely the crux of the problem. Even the sailors didn't know what we were transporting. The entire blast furnace had been dismantled and packed into crates. Besides, the shipping order went through House Vikress's own merchants' guild. Nothing was overlooked at any stage." Ellen remained remarkably calm. His levelheadedness told Rowan that he was more than a mere deliveryman.
"With things having come to this, I won't hide it from you any longer. I'm one of Miss Lucille's guards, a level-three Stealth User. When the pirates' cannon shot struck the cabin, the blast knocked me straight out of Shadowstep. The cannon was extremely powerful. If I'm not mistaken, it was an A3 Rapid-Fire Cannon, newly produced by Ashvane Munitions last year." Ellen systematically analyzed the cannon's power, and his words carried an unspoken implication.
Ellen really is talented, Rowan thought. I need to find a way to keep him here.
"It's too early to discuss who's backing the pirates. Right now, all I want is to drag those pirates out and blast every last one of them into the sea." Rowan slammed his hand on the table, his voice furious.
Ellen's face remained expressionless, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Rising, he said, "Our best course now is to report the attack to Lord Aldrius. Alternatively, give me a ship, and I'll return to Boralus immediately to report what happened. Miss Lucille will inform Lord Arthur Vikress. I believe they'll avenge our guild's dead sailors and staff."
Byron nodded slightly and agreed. "Indeed, that's the best solution." With Leonard absent, Byron had taken over his role. As Young Master Rowan's guards, their most important duty was to ensure Rowan's safety.
Although the pirates had infuriated Byron too, once he calmed down, he also felt that waiting for the regular fleet to come and wipe them out was the wisest choice.
"If you go back now to report the attack, the report will have to work its way up through the fleet's chain of command before approval comes down and an extermination order is issued. That'll take at least half a month, even at its fastest. And that doesn't include the time you need to get back to Boralus," Rowan explained.
Ellen did not argue. The facts were exactly as Rowan had described, but remaining in Morris Town would accomplish even less.
"It's the only thing I can do right now."
"You have another option: find those pirates for me. Since they've entered the Inland Sea, that means they can't escape through Anglepoint Wharf or Watcher's Ridge anytime soon. No matter how stupid the fleets guarding those places might be, they can't just stand by and let the pirates leave." Rowan clenched his fists. If he failed to avenge this, he would be unworthy of being a son of the Norwington Family. He would fail the brave warriors of the Second Fleet who had met their deaths in the waters off Southshore during the Second War.
Every wrong must be avenged. That was the creed of the Norwington Family and Kul Tiras's Second Fleet.
Byron's mouth twisted. He hurriedly signaled Ellen with his eyes, urging him to leave at once.
Ellen was stunned by the youth, who still looked a little boyish. He thought of the warships in the harbor, which could not even put to sea. Even if I find those pirates for you, what can you possibly do?
"That's the military's job."
"I'm the Norwington Family's only son, and I'll be the commander of the Second Fleet in the future. These pirates plundered a merchant ship outside our shipyard. That's an insult to our family, an insult to our fleet, and above all, an insult to the countless honored dead of our Second Fleet. I must avenge them!" Rowan had made up his mind. His voice was firm, and determination shone in his eyes.
As Byron watched Young Master Rowan's blazing gaze, brimming with confidence, he too felt his emotions stir.
"Damn it! Young master, once Leonard brings the cannons back and you get the warships in the harbor moving, what makes those damned pirates think they can fight us?" Byron struck his fist into his palm, seething with indignation.
Listening to this exchange between master and servant left Ellen a little bewildered. His brow furrowed as he asked, "Why haven't the warships in the harbor been given wind runes and the Tidesages' blessings?"
"Our warships at Morris Shipyard don't rely on House Stormsong's runes or blessings," Byron replied.
What is any of this supposed to mean? Ellen thought. The warships can't even move. Are we supposed to chase the pirates with oars?
"I'm sorry, but I have to leave."
"Byron, persuade him to stay," Rowan said quietly, wasting no words.
Byron raised his warhammer. Holy light blazed around his silver-white breastplate as he immediately activated his offensive skill, Crusade. With a solemn expression, he said, "I'm not much of a talker. If you want to leave, you'll have to take my Crusade-Judgment combo first."
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