As Nolan talked, Vol thought he saw a group gathering beyond him. Small in number, as Nolan had said… but they were definitely his. Vol even saw a woman amongst them, around Nolan's age. Nolan saw him looking.
"Ah, yes, those are my men that I spoke of. A good lot. As loyal as hounds, and I do them loyalty in turn. If only in appearance, you see that they are taken care of, no?"
Indeed, they were clean. When you compared them to the raiders, they even looked saintly. They dressed similar to Nolan himself, with tight-fitting leathers, and well-cut furs over the top of them, with daggers at their hips. The girl had a bow slung over her shoulder, and a boy had a greatsword strapped to his back, and another had a hammer. They were well equipped, and varied.
"Are you still trying to recruit me?" Vol asked.
"But of course. After that earlier display, it's only made me more persistent. The good news is, we'll be working together from here on out. It'll give me a chance to show you what my men are worth. What it means to be part of something modern. Raiders are an archaic profession. My men and I do far better," Nolan said. The man wore arrogance like a perfume. He was so convinced of himself. That morning, Vol found himself wanting some of that confidence… Where had he misplaced his? Since he'd woken up that morning… no, since the night before, he'd been plagued by unsureness.
"What do you mean by that? We're going raiding in a few days time," Vol said.
"And we'll be joining you on that expedition. I've spoken to Blackbeard. We've got a deal worked out," Nolan said.
Vol recalled something that Blackbeard had said earlier that morning, in the disorganized mess of a gathering that he'd called a strategy meeting. "No way. You're who's meant to get us in the gate?"
Never in his life did Vol think he'd seen anyone so pleased. Nolan smiled as proudly as a well-fed cat. "That's exactly right. That bag of bones you call a leader? I've got him eating right out of my hand. That's the potential of youth, my good man, and my group has far more of that to spare than he. You'll see, with our momentum, in a year or two, we'll be flying far higher than the likes of mere raiders. Have you given a thought to that, Vol? To the future?"
Looking at Nolan's group again, Vol noticed that they all did indeed seem as young as Nolan himself had said. None of them were likely over twenty. He pulled up the System to spy at their levels, and was shocked to see that none of them were below level 12, despite their youth, and the highest amongst them was level 15.
Even the girl was level 13. How was that? Weren't girls just weaker in general?
Despite his question, the System had no reply for him.
"They're strong…" Vol said quietly. He hadn't meant for Nolan to hear that, but the boy caught it nonetheless, and he nodded his approval.
"I'm surprised you can tell that at a single glance… How old are you, Vol?"
"Fifteen," Vol said honestly.
That seemed to surprise Nolan even more. "Gods… Well. I knew that you were younger than me from your face, but I didn't think you were quite that young… I'd guessed around there, but to hear you actually say it, it's something else. Well, that only makes me want to invest in you more. Mark my words, you'll be joining me and my lot soon enough, Vol. You're wasted on the likes of these raiders. Blackbeard is a spent man."
"But you're fighting with us, aren't you? You're meant to be getting the gate open? How? Don't you know how dangerous this is?" Vol said.
"My, my. Dear Vol, there's so much about the world that you have yet to lean. Despite that little murderous nature of yours, there's such innocence in you. There's more to winning a raid than mere strength. There's things that me and my six can do that Blackbeard and an army of sixty cannot. You will see, soon enough, and when the time comes, it will be like magic," Nolan said. He nodded, and turned to walk away, satisfied that he'd made his pitch well enough.
"What if the enemy numbers are… higher?" Vol asked. "What if the intel was wrong? What if it's more like five hundred?"
He asked, and then almost immediately regretted the question. Blackbeard was walking back from the port. He saw Nolan and Vol talking. Nolan cast his eyes to the man as well, his eyes narrowed, a crafty look there. Vol's question had made him pause, but his smile returned soon enough, along with his answer.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," he said, leaving before Blackbeard could reach them.
"You know the kid?" Blackbeard asked as he neared.
Vol nodded. "I met him yesterday. He said you've hired him to open the gate."
There was a slow nod in reply from Blackbeard, but he didn't look happy about the question. "Keep that between me and you. I'm more… open-minded, than the rest. Some things are better to keep hidden until the day of – then you bull through the problem on momentum."
He left Vol with that, leaving the boy even more suspicious about what he had said earlier. Five hundred… That was about the Syndran raid, wasn't it? He found himself tracking the way Blackbeard walked as he went back to his men. He forced a smile on his face before he reached them, projecting an energetic energy.
Vol checked his level again, merely out of curiosity. The man he'd seen walking back up from the docks had seemed smaller than the man that stood amongst his men. Level 55, it read… Vol didn't even have the energy to be shocked. Instead, he was merely hit by the feeling that he didn't understand.