After the death of the Deranged King, a pirate horde descended upon the city to plunder her riches. The following is an excerpt from the tale of the mann who fought back.
The city has fallen. Captain Leon Barbarosa had been fighting for his life since before dawn. Smoke hung in the air, white and thin. Leon knew it was Old Town, the original Ironwood settlement’s ancient buildings could be seen burning high above. Pirates had sailed into the harbor under cover of night. A new moon ensuring that everything was as dark as ink, "This was a coordinated attack" he thought. The Deranged King had been hung just a fortnight ago, yet this large a force had to have been planned well in advance. It must be the Deranged King’s treasure they were after. As the Empire’s main military port, tons of gold and treasure looted from vanquished foes passed through the city. Screams echoed down the streets as cutthroats ran amok, slaughtering and pillaging as they pleased. The City’s Blackguard had fought them for countless hours, but no matter how many Pirates died by their swords, they kept coming.
Leon was the last of a proud line of Mokshin, trained to fight since he was old enough to stand. His Father and Grandfather had also served in the Blackguard, his Great-Grandfather had been Guardian of the Forest in these lands, in a time before the settlers came. Helping Leon were six Blackguard soldiers. Each was rolling two barrels, the water of the Viaducts helping ease the effort of the wearied menn.
The tunnels ended at the sea, carved into the bluff centuries ago. As a boy, Leon and his mates used to jump into the sea from here for fun. Tonight it was not for the excitement of falling forty feet into the cold sea; they did it for justice. When his head broke the surface, Leon could hear the distant roar of the ships burning. There were three Duchy warships still burning in the harbor, none his. Harpy’s Call was lost forever to the sea. The swim was longer than he remembered. Fatigue overwhelmed him as they crawled onto the cool, wet sand. The four swimmers each rowed a skiff back to the bluff, hauling in the remaining menn now jumping off. Together they hoisted the barrels dropped previously. The black, moonless night was now on Leon’s side as he and his menn glided across the enormous harbor towards the anchored pirate fleet.
They uncorked the barrels and began to pour oil about the ships. The sea was as black as ink, as was the sky above except for the stars. They weaved the skiffs between the ships pouring continuously alongside each. Once the first barrel was spent, they popped the next and started towards the still burning galleons so that all four trails met. Once near, they set afloat the barrels and watched as the ebbing tides carried them towards the fire.
The weary loyalists boarded one of the remaining Duchy galleons anchored offshore. Leon climbed nimbly to the crow’s nest to gain a better vantage point. With a great swoosh the oil caught, the harbor lit up bright. Those that unfurled their sails trying to escape were engulfed by voracious flames as the canvas caught fire. Many burned where they lay, as most of the Captains were still ashore pillaging, too confident in their victory.
As the sun broke the horizon, a battle horn could be heard from the west. It was a sound Leon had not heard for many years. Accompanying the horn of the Blackguard was the battle-horn of the Mokshin from the forest! Turning west, still in the crow’s nest, he could see clearly in the dawn's early light as a deluge of green engulfed the walls on either side of the main gate. Like waves breaking upon the shore, the Mokshin of Faefoth flowed over the rooftops. The main gates burst open as the Blackguard from Barantia Keep joined the fray. Leon could see Shields and Spears advancing quickly through the streets as their path was cleared by the bowmenn above. Outlanders and the Native Kypiq fighting together for the first time, pushing the invaders back towards the North River docks. There the pirates found no escape as flames prevented the small craft from returning to their ships. Victory was at hand but where was the Justice? Leon went ashore to discover who was behind these atrocities.
