Year 0, Month 2, Day 3
The New Harbor has made its mark on the land, across the grey dunes of coastal sand that abruptly turned to rock as it went inland. This went for hundreds and maybe thousands of feet before there were grand, green mountains to the north and northeast, with the northwest being a steep cliff that dropped into a more classic yellow sand with a dry riverbank that now had a well over it.
The people of Tremmel's Landing had been busy working, there were lodges, homes, a city hall, and even a relatively grandiose church.
A light storm had formed and lasted the past few days; The people had decided it perfect time to make use of it's new religious center. A sermon was being held by the Reverend, assisted by the healer Eira Mallaory.
Some, however, found sermons a decent time to catch up on the recent news within the city. In the upper floor of the church was a small private room that the leader and past marine Elias Tremmel was meeting with his assistant, a young apprentice engineer named Mara Kestrel.
"So it's been clear Blackthorne, who used to be a merchant, and his growing faction has been completely opposed to your self-elected leader position. But the past month they've been docile in council meetings, instead they've been trying to be more subtle. The recent rise in theft and assault in the city I'm afraid has something to do with Blackthorne, he's trying to lead to something." Mara gave a prologue on the current city's situation. She had been taking her new, now official job, seriously. While new and spare clothes is a luxury that none of the New Harbor residents can afford, she has been keeping her appearance clean and doing her best at her craft. She had become what some could only a pseudo-spymaster.
Tremmel was dressed in a mix of his formal military wear and civilian clothes, the only ones that survived the year's long travel to this land, "He's going to come to the night's council meeting with a new proposal."
Mara's eyebrow rose in curiosity, "And what would that proposal be?"
"We've been pretending to be a single house, a community where everyone shared everything, but that hasn't been true ever since it was put in place. We've been here around two months, correct? We're starting to become more self-sufficient, so from that I've concluded he can only plan for two things. The first is a constitution, which I was planning on writing nonetheless. The second is he's trying to implement a police force, maybe even have it constitutionalized. And with the men he has, it'd just be giving him a private army funded by the people, even though it's not much now it'll lead us down a dark path."
Mara was speechless, her first thoughts was that Blackthorne was just trying to pin crimes on Tremmel's men but a constitutional police force?
"That…makes sense…alright, next thing on the list. Even though we did find freshwater and the sandy soil in the riverbank was better for the crops like potatoes and carrots, they haven't been growing as fast as we've expected. It could be the lack of nutrients, as the soil is all dried out and could have stood bare for who knows how long. We have some methods to fix it that we're gonna implement later today, but food is still a big issue.
Oh and while hunting, one of our men encountered a moose stuck in multiple beaver traps and chains. They tried to shoot it to end its misery, but it managed to escape and severely injured multiple of our hunters.
.
.
.
Finally, we've been unsure where to put the citizens…feces"
"What?"
_ _ _
In the biggest lodge of them all built at the edge of the group of homes was Blackthorne's very own. He was having his own meeting as well, just that he didn't feel the need to do it in the church.
In his relatively expansive kitchen table was where the meeting was, between him and his brother in agreement. Silas Drake, somebody who while seeming like a neutral political force mainly attached himself with Blackthorne.
"A military? Really?" Drake questioned his motives, "We haven't even made a constitution, bills of rights, or even gotten self-functioning yet, and you think you can pass a bill to create a military?"
"Well, not tonight of course, but it'll be in my hands for the future. We've made enough of an effort to this land that passing ships will notice us from farther away; Some of those ships are bound to have hostile intentions."
Blackthorne, to the secret of everybody else, of course brought multiple pairs of clothes. Though he doesn't yet dare to wear it to the public eye, he enjoys it in his home. He was wearing a black fur jacket made of panther fur, a beaver hat, and pants adorned with red and gold. Though his fashion sense seemed questionable, the individual clothing was not. Each could easily sell for the equivalent of a month's wages in any nation. Such was the work of Blackthorne's smuggled goods.
"Huh? What was that?" Blackthorne saw something run past his window outside, one of his men. He barged into Blackthorne's room and yelled out, "We've been given a message!"
A bottle with a rolled up scroll has washed up on shore, when opened, it read the following in surprisingly neat writing:
"We, the Blazing Pirates, have claimed your land as ours. Pay us a monthly tax of 1000 crowns or perish. We will land in the afternoon to collect our payment"
An emergency council was immediately set, with the entire town being spectators. Before any counselor could even take their seats, chaos erupted after a child simply yelled. It didn't take much more for the crowd to follow and ask their questions and say their prayers, the reverend gained much popularity in this moment.
"HEY!" Trammel was the one to silence the mob, "There is no need to worry, we're a new settlement and don't know what crowns are, in that case, they will ask for possessions of equivalent value. I want everybody to gather their finest things and bring them here to pacify them."
Blackthorne, who had changed into his normal clothes, contested, "You wish to listen to their ridiculous requests?! We're a nation, we're one, a community aren't we? I say anybody with a sword or a crossbow will raise their weapons and charge with me into battle as soon as they touch even a single grain of our grey damned sand!"
Blackthorne's men and his faction erupted in a cheer, chanting "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"
"You are bloodthirsty! Acting like animals!" Eira Mallory spoke next, who's words silenced the crowd, she arguably was the most influential person, "They are pirates! Their lives are made to fight! We are refugees, mothers, fathers, children, and the ancestors to shape the mold for the future generations! We can't win in battle against them, but we can bide our time! If we have anything on these pirates, we are smarter, wiser, and we can wait to learn of their flaws, utilizing it to stop their streak of terror!"
The council was silent, the crowd was silent, Eira stood tall and proud in her belief. There was a certain glint in her eyes and shine in her white blonde hair that made her stand out like a light in the dim moodiness of the grey coastal sand.
"Then, let us gather our most valuable items we're willing to sacrifice and gather them here, right outside city hall." Mara concluded.
She came back with a golden pendant of her mothers
Miss Mallory came back with a silver cross necklace of her own
Tremmel came with his military badges, though the chances that's the best he had are low
Drake came with a single carton of 12 fine cigars
As for Blackthorne, he returned to city hall with his entourage, crossed arms, and nothing else.
"I refuse."
Eyes of the entire city turned to him.