Drakon followed behind Barbossa and the still irritated Don Rafael, alongside Lady Esmeralda, who tried to soothe her grandfather, and Kornir, a fellow member of his guild, Hero's Alliance.
They were on their way to the Brethren Court, the gathering place of the Pirate Lords, and where the different major guilds were bound to scheme against one another.
According to Kornir, this mission world was filled with members of strong guilds, more so than usual, promising great chaos.
But as Drakon observed his surroundings, it was not to look out for potential rival guilds, but because of the reason for Don Rafael's irritation, Ozymandias.
This did not escape Kornir, who leaned over and whispered, "I told you we got him handled. Soon, everyone on this island will become hostile to him, and attack on sight. Even if he was in the right condition, he would dead, not to mention he is a cripple."
Drakon did not know what they had in plan for Ozymandias, but Drakon had the feeling it would not be enough. The others had only heard of what he had done, which was impressive enough already, but he had a certain quality to him that could not be quite explained with words.
Drakon could just tell that Ozymandias would not simply sit back and die.
Still, he was curious to see what the other guilds would do about him. After all, Ozymandias had shown how capable he was by easily escaping from not only a Pirate Lord's pursuit, but also the ambush of a Shadow Team.
Wherever Ozymandias was, Drakon did not see him as he reached the Brethren Court, which rapidly filled up.
Most of the time, the Brethren Court was empty, as all Pirate Lords were busy, having duties to attend to, and were spread all over the world. It would already require a great coincidence for two or three of them to be in the city at the same time.
Today, however, five Pirate Lords were present to discuss the rising threat of the Rogue Pirates. They were not just any Pirate Lords either.
Don Rafael, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean.
Eduardo Villanueva, Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea.
Mistress Ching, Pirate Lord of the Pacific Ocean.
Boris Palachnik, Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.
Edward Teague, Pirate Lord of Madagascar.
All of them had Players behind them, and although Drakon did not recognize them, being a new Player and this being his first mission as a member of Hero's Alliance, he could tell they were all formidable opponents by the way Kornir tensed seeing them.
Kornir was a Tier I himself, so there had to be some Tier I Players standing beside the other Pirate Lords too.
Well, there was one group he recognized, for they were sworn enemies of his own guild. They were the Freedom Alliance, a guild born from traitors of the Hero's Alliance Drakon belonged to. They stood behind Villanueva.
Ignoring the Players, the most interesting entourages were those of Boris Palachnik and Edward Teague.
Boris was the secret leader of the Rogue Pirates, and thus one of the key figures of this mission. Killing him, or at least being responsible in his death, would grant great rewards. At the same time, taking his side may also lead to interesting conclusions.
Beside him was Christophe-Julien de Rapièr, a formidable pirate in his own right, and also the vice-leader of the Rogue Pirates. Drakon remembered him because he not only was the strongest member of the Rogue Pirates, but he also had two Rare rank pieces of equipment. Killing him was not easy, but if one managed to do so, the rewards would not be disappointing.
The other personage of interest was Edward Teague, for obvious reasons. Not only was he the Pirate Lord of Madagascar, but he also already held the position of Keeper of the Code. Perhaps even more importantly, though, was the young man next to him.
Despite not being a Pirate Lord, he sat on one of the chairs, leaning back dangerously, looking bored. He had long dreadlocked brown hair, a faint goatee, a tricorn hat.
[Name: Jack Sparrow]
[Title: Pirate Captain]
[Talent: ?]
[HP: 150/150]
[MP: 0/0]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: ?]
[Physique: 15]
[Intelligence: Locked]
[Wisdom: Locked]
This Jack Sparrow was young, yet his attributes were already this fearsome, with his Agility even being hidden from Drakon. It was Jack's highest, and might even have reached Tier I. Moreover, Drakon only had the most basic version of Analyze, meaning he could not see the added attributes from potential equipment, or Perks.
What truly stood out about Jack Sparrow was his Talent though.
It was a common misconception among beginner Players that only they had Talent, since most NPCs did not have one. As one got sent to higher-ranked worlds, NPCs with Talents would become more widespread, but in low ranked mission worlds, only certain main characters had them.
Drakon could not see what Sparrow's Talent was, but if the information he had read about him was true, then it was something that had to do with luck, which was a very strong kind of Talent, one that Drakon himself envied a little.
Of course, his own Bastion was nothing to scoff at, though Drakon understood it was not even near the top of Talents.
Talents did not have proper rankings to them, but as with all things, there were strong and weak ones.
This made Drakon wonder what kind of Talent Ozymandias had. Probably something to do with magic.
While Drakon internally mused about his fellow Player, Edward Teague, seeing that everyone had arrived, only batted an eye to the Players before focusing on the other Pirate Lords, and said, "I thank you for answering to this Court of Inquiry. I wish you had all answered, for the threat we face is tremendous, but it shall do."
The Pirate Lords silently nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, showing no emotions to the absence of half their numbers as they waited for the situation to evolve.
Seeing this, Teague slightly pushed forward the large book in front of him, adding, "As you all know, we gathered to address the issue with the so-called Rogue Pirates, who have been breaking the Code, threatening the status quo and bring down the wrath of the European Empires on us."
Villanueva, who had been glaring at Don Rafael for a while now, momentarily turned his attention to Teague, arguing pridefully, "You are making a mountain out of a molehill! We already know who their leader is!"
Drakon's heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the Pirate Lords, and more specifically Boris, but he did not see any panic on his visage. He simply nodded along, and so the did the other Pirate Lords.
The other Players did not seem surprised either, and Kornir was even grinning… what was happening?
Then, all eyes turned to Don Rafael, and Villanueva added scornfully, "If only a certain someone was not so useless, this miscreant could have already been stopped! Had it been me, he would have long had his skull smashed in!"
His words told Drakon everything he had to know, and he could not help himself as he looked at the various factions of Players.
Don Rafael looked like he had swallowed a lemon as he shouted, "None of us even knew this necromancer was the one behind the Rogue Pirates when he appeared before me! And you would do well not to underestimate him. He may be a crippled, he is a master of black magic."
Villanueva gloated at Don Rafael, looking at him with a smug smile, while Christophe-Julien said cautiously, "Although things seem to point at this Ozymandias being the mastermind behind the Rogue Pirates, we should make sure we were not misled."
Jack Sparrow, who had appeared carefree until now, leaned forward, his back straightening as he informed, "Did you not hear? The Spanish and French Royal Fleets are on their way here, for his head."
"What?!"
"Why were we not told of this!"
"How could they know the position of Shipwreck Island?"
The response was immediate and explosive from the Pirate Lords.
Although the Brethren Court gathered the greatest pirates, even together, they were nothing compared to the Royal Fleets. Even a single of the European Empires could wipe out all of them, if they put enough resources.
Shipwreck Island may be impossible to take, but the European Empires could also simply wait for them at the entrance of the Devil's Throat. Although Shipwreck City had plenty of provisions, for possible sieges, they could not hold on indefinitely.
While the Pirate Lords panicked, Teague looked at his son exasperatedly, making a light gesture with his hand. It did not seem to convey any particular message, but Jack seemed to take it as a threat as he visibly recoiled, and got up from his seat.
He bowed to the chaotic audience, who mostly ignored him, except for Lady Esmeralda, who also got up from her seat and followed Jack.
The two were supposedly lovers, from what Drakon knew.
As Jack and Esmeralda left the room, Teague got up from his seat, quieting the arguing Pirate Lords, and said, "I only learned of the news myself not long ago, but it would indeed appear that they have somehow learned of our coordinates. The French and the Spanish claim to only want Ozymandias' head."
Drakon observed the Players as Teague said that, and while they did not look surprised, they seemed troubled. As if they did not expect this, or understand how this came to pass.
Drakon certainly did not. While he had not purchased the highest grade information packet from the Guild, he had bought the second best, which should have included all the most important pieces of information, and possible paths.
Never had it been mentioned that the Pirate Lords could find the Rogue leader from the first meeting, be it the real one or not. Nor were the Royal Navies supposed to ever attack Shipwreck Island.
According to the information Drakon bought, the Rogue Fleet, Pirate Fleet and Royal Fleets could end up fighting one another, but this would require many variables, and never be at Shipwreck Cove, or be of this scale.
There was something wrong with this mission, and everything pointed at Ozymandias being at the center of it all.
Honestly, Drakon was already half-expecting him to cause changes, though it did make him wonder what exactly he had done that had such an influence over the course of events.
While the Pirate Lords continued arguing, a pirate suddenly came running him, earning him the glares from everyone present. While visibly spooked, he approached Teague, and whispered something in his ear, which made the Pirate Lord grimace.
Sending his man away with a wave of his hand, Teague rose up and spoke in a grave tone, "I am afraid this meeting will have to be adjourned. We shall meet again tomorrow, to decide what is to be done concerning our situation. Meanwhile, we must all look for Ozymandias."
The Pirate Lords were visibly confused, but several people entered, whispering to them as well. For Don Rafael, it was one of Drakon's guild-mates, who spoke loud enough for Drakon to hear.
"Ozymandias has been sighted, Sir. He has attacked Lady Esmeralda and Jack Sparrow…"
Don Rafael shattered the armchair he was holding onto as he rose from his seat, shouting expletives in Spanish as he left the room as well.
As Drakon ran out as well, Kornir spoke through their communication device, "As expected, Ozymandias is a greedy fuck. He is definitely targeting Sparrow, but if he thinks the main character can be so easily killed, he is in for a surprise. Still, we can't let Lady Esmeralda get hurt, and that fat fuck Osmond will definitely take the opportunity to kill Esmeralda. Go and protect her."
Osmond was the leader of the Freedom Alliance team, and a rival of Kornir. The two had entered the game long after the split between the two guilds, but the enmity carried on to new recruits.
Fortunately, while the Players behind the Rogues might have attacked Lady Esmeralda in normal times, since she was a key in uncovering Palachnik's identity as the Rogue Leader, with Ozymandias acting as the scapegoat, there was no need to take a risk to kill her.
However, one thing was bugging Drakon: Ozymandias.
If there was one thing Drakon had learned about him, it was that he was no foul, and very cautious as well, which made it hard to figure out why he would make such a high profile attack.
Esmeralda should not be the target, as killing her would earn him nothing but a paltry Uncommon equipment.
As for Jack Sparrow, even if Ozymandias managed to kill him, while the pirate had quite a few interesting artefacts, such as his compass, he could not possibly expect to manage to survive for the remainder of the mission.
They still had two days left after all, and Shipwreck City was a small place. He had managed to hide so far because little efforts had been put in his search, but murdering Jack Sparrow would certainly result in Teague's relentless assault.
Had it been any other Player, Drakon would have stopped there, thinking they were merely a foul, but he knew Ozymandias was not one, so there had to be a reason behind his actions.
They were in the light, he was in the dark, and with someone like Ozymandias, that could very well result in a catastrophe.
Drakon strongly wished to go after Jack Sparrow, to figure out what exactly Ozymandias had in mind, and stop it, but he could not defy Kornir's orders.
Helpless, Drakon took some altitude, climbing the broken ships with an agility he wished he had back on Earth, and observed the chaos. It would have been easier to find Esmeralda with the help of his guild-mates, but his communication device could only connect to Kornir, who could not help.
Most pirates were running around like headless chicken, and some Players were as well, but Drakon quickly noticed that most were heading in two directions.
Thankfully, Drakon noticed Osmond in the distance, and since he was likely going for Lady Esmeralda, Drakon followed.
The chaos made it easy to follow unnoticed, though Drakon was sure Osmond would not care about a Tier 0 following him, and so Drakon was led to the Bowels of the city.
They had learned in their time in the city that it was split in three levels: the Bowels, the Edges, and Cloudtop. The better one's standing as a pirate was, the closer to Cloudtop they could get.
Inhabited by the worst filth piracy could offer, the Bowels was a place of nightmare, with corpses strewn around, the wood darkened by years of blood matting it, and the smell was somehow worse than it all.
Drakon was thus thankful he did not have to chase for long before he had to stop, as he had reached his target. What he was not so thankful for, though, was the situation Esmeralda was in.
Throwing himself in, Drakon arrived behind Lady Esmeralda, and blocked an incoming sword with his forearm.
The blade was sharp, and the one who swung it was strong, but Drakon's Talent once again showed its prowess as the blade barely cut into his flesh before being stopped.
The Bowels was a dark place, and the location of their fight was no exception as Drakon struggled to see everyone's features. Still, he recognize that five Players were attacking them, likely all part of the Freedom Alliance, while Lady Esmeralda had three of Drakon's guild-mates protecting her.
Adding in Drakon, the numbers were evened, but the odds were not, because of Osmond.
Most Players in this mission world were Tier 0, with only a few being Tier I. In Hero's Alliance, Kornir was their leader because he was the only Tier I Player they had, and it was the same for the others.
This was because the gap between Tier I and Tier 0 Players was a big one, one that made all the difference in a fight.
Osmond, with his short, fat stature, may not seem like much, but even if he was alone, they would only be bale to stop him. Adding to that his four guild-mates, the situation was dire for Drakon's side.
All they could hope for was that they would be able to hold long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
But as Drakon prepared himself for a bloody fight, Osmond raised his hand, which Drakon barely saw with the darkness, and ordered, "Stop!"
The members of Freedom Alliance complied like well trained soldiers, immediately stepping back, while Drakon's group also stopped. Their goal was to earn time, so it was in their interest to let Osmond speak.
Osmond, leaning a long warhammer against his shoulder, offered, "I do not wish to inflict unnecessary bloodshed. Our guilds were once one and the same, after all. So I am offering you a way out: leave Lady Esmeralda with us, and be on your way."
This made Drakon pause.
They had been tasked to save Lady Esmeralda, but was it worth it to die for her? Not only that, as even if they stayed and fought, the odds were that they would die and Esmeralda would still die as well.
Drakon could not see the others' expressions, but he knew that it would only require a single one to make all the others follow.
Would he be the one?
But then, there was light.
And fire.