Chapter 1093: To the New World
“Twin Dragon Island hasn’t been this alive in years.”
Thunder said it quietly, more to himself than to Margaret, watching the dock from the Snow Wind’s bridge. Below, thousands of people moved through the noise and press of departure — sailors shouting, vendors shouting back, the rhythmic slap of cargo being handed from dock to hold, and beneath all of it the voice of the tide against the hull. From the height of the bridge, they looked like a pattern: purposeful, inevitable, a river that had found its direction.
The far side of the harbor was a forest of masts. Banners from Crescent Moon Bay, Sunset Island, Shallow Water Town — every major Chamber of Commerce in the Fjords had sent ships, and the flags were moving in the early wind like something alive. Like they were already eager.
The last time Thunder had seen a fleet assemble at this scale was when he was twenty-two, when all the Chambers had gathered to push into Shadow Waters. Most of those men hadn’t come back. Some of the others had come back wrong.
“Not just Twin Dragon Island,” Margaret said. She stood beside him at the rail, her voice carrying the particular warmth of someone reporting good news they’re quietly pleased about. “The whole Fjords. A route that used to be the least profitable has become the most popular one. The new generation won’t have to pay the same price for the title.”
Thunder let that sit.
She was talking about the route to Festive Harbor. When Roland Wimbledon’s offer had spread through the islands — find something interesting at the Endless Cape, claim a reward; discover something of real significance, and the King of Graycastle himself will name you Honorary Lifetime Explorer — it had worked on Fjords people the way fire works on dry tinder. The title of Explorer was the highest thing the Fjords offered: more real than any coin, more permanent than any contract. Dying for it had always been part of the cost. The King of Graycastle had altered the arithmetic.
He’d opened the route. Built the city at its terminus. Made the thing survivable. And for anyone who still wanted to push beyond the surviv able parts, the ancient ruins scattered across the Endless Cape held the promise of something larger — a connection to Three Gods, Roland had hinted, for anyone with the vision to look.
The Fjords took their faith in the Three Gods seriously. More seriously, Thunder suspected, than the Graycastle king had anticipated.
A few skeptical voices had asked aloud whether it was sensible to trust a continental king this deeply. Those voices had been drowned out by the merchants who’d already made fortunes on Chaos Drinks and Neverwinter perfume. The paddle steamers had done the rest — when Fjords crews started sailing them, and saw the gap between what was possible now and what had been possible before, Roland Wimbledon stopped being an abstract name and became something people argued about over dinner.
It had all happened in less than two years.
Thunder turned to Margaret. The words came slowly, the way a man speaks when he’s choosing honesty over performance. “Thank you. For everything. I couldn’t have given this kind of attention to the exploration if you hadn’t managed the Chamber. Business is not my talent. It never was. You’ve carried more of this than you should have had to.”
“You know I chose to carry it,” Margaret said. Her hand found the back of his. “It’s harder to accept gratitude from someone who doesn’t want anything in return than it is to receive it. We’re about to be at sea for months. Let’s not make this complicated.”
“Margaret —”
Their eyes met. She had a way of holding eye contact that was entirely comfortable with silence.
“Besides,” she said, and there was a warmth in the corner of her mouth, “it isn’t exactly true that I want nothing. I do want something. I’m not telling you what it is, but I want you to know I’m up to something. So don’t feel like you owe me.” She winked. “That’s worse.”
Thunder was deciding whether to cover her hand with his when his first mate’s voice cut through from the terrace below.
“Captain! The caravans are waiting for your word!”
He coughed. “Coming!”
“Alrighty!”
He drew a breath. Turned back to Margaret. Something about the moment felt unfinished, though he couldn’t find the word for what he’d meant to do with it. “Time to go.”
“Off you go.” She smiled in the way that said she knew exactly what he’d been about to do. “Do what you’re best at. As His Majesty said.”
“Right.” He turned toward the ladder. “To the new world.”
He descended to the deck and walked the length of the ship to the bow. The crowd below the dock saw him and the sound they made was the particular collective sound of people who have been waiting and are now ready.
Thunder raised his hand. The noise settled.
“The farthest we have been,” he said, “is Shadow Waters. Most of you know what that cost.” He let the silence after that sentence do its work. “That was a single step. There is a Swirling Sea beyond it that no chart has touched. This time, we go past Shadow Waters. We cross the Sealine. We go east, to a land that has no human footprints yet.”
He looked across the mass of upturned faces — sailors and merchants and young men who had grown up hearing the old stories.
“I’ve seen it. In the Shadow Ruins. A continent as vast as the Four Kingdoms — and empty. If it exists where we think it exists, Fjords people will not need to crowd onto these islands any longer, grinding out a living in fear. And it will bring more wealth than everything we have ever made combined.” He paused. “That’s why I want every capable man out here with us.”
The cheer began before he finished the sentence. He waited it out.
“But I want something else beyond gold,” Thunder said, when they quieted again. “I want the Fjords to be written into history. Not as traveling merchants. Not as island people that the continent tolerates at its edges. As discoverers. As the ones who found the new world.” He swept his gaze across the fleet. “When historians write down who opened the way for mankind — I want our names to be in that sentence. Not a footnote. The sentence itself.”
He raised his arm.
“Hoist the sails!”
The crowd below roared. The sound traveled up through the hull and into his feet.
“To the new world — full speed ahead!”
Chapter 1093 - To the New World
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Twin Dragon Island hasn’t been so bustling for a while.”
Thunder said as he stood at the top of the bridge of the “Snow Wind”, watching the boisterous dock down below.
Thousands of people were congregated here, busy loading their ships. From above, they looked like ants moving in a line. The dock area was filled with the yellings of vendors, the shoutings of sailors, as well as the sound of tidal waves foaming on the beach. All these sounds preluded their upcoming journey.
The other side of the dock was packed with sailing ships, their masts soaring into the air, forming a sea that stretched away endlessly.
Thousands of banners and flags streamed in the air, including those of Crescent Moon Bay, Sunset Island and Shallow Water Town. All the influential Chambers of Commerce at the Fjords had gathered here, ready to commence their voyages.
The last time Thunder had attended a big event of this scale was when he had reached 22 years old, when all the Chambers of Commerce had assembled to explore Shadow Waters.
Margaret said smilingly, “Not only Twin Dragon Island but also the entire Fjords are exhilarated by your news. A route that used to be the least profitable has now become the most popular one. The newborn generation is really lucky. They don’t have to risk their lives to become real explorers.”
Thunder curled up his lips into a smile.
He knew Margaret was talking about the route leading to the Festive Harbor.
When the news that “as long as you find something interesting at the Endless Cape, you can claim rewards from the King of Graycastle” spread to the Fjords, the explorer community was stirred.
Fjords people had a crazy obsession with the title “explorer”, for the title represented fame and wealth. However, it was not easy to discover a new sailing route, a new island or a big secret without a large amount of money, and more often than not an attempt would end up being fruitless and might even cost their lives.
Yet the recruitment campaign held by the King of Graycastle had altered everything. He had opened a very well-developed and relatively safe route between the Fjords and the Endless Cape. The brand new port city, the City of Festive, brought huge business opportunities. Even if one did not make any new discoveries, he would at least be able to profit something from this trip.
If one, with a stroke of luck, did find something invaluable, it would be even better.
Plus, the King of Graycastle made it very clear that those ancient ruins might bear a significant relationship to a secret with respect to Three Gods. Anyone who contributed to the revelation of the secret would have a chance to be titled “Honorary Lifetime Explorer” by the king. Although Graycastle, as a kingdom on the continent, employed a different system from the Fjord Islands, this condition for a lifetime explorer was fairly reasonable. As a matter of fact, Fjords people took this requirement more seriously than Graycastle citizens.
After all, the exploration had something to do with their faith in Three Gods.
As the new route was so lucrative, it inevitably raised some suspicions among a few explorers. These skeptical voices, however, were soon drowned out by enthusiastic merchants. The name of the King of Graycastle had spread throughout the whole Fjords market when Chaos Drinks and perfumes had been introduced to the islands. With the democratization of Graycastle commodities at the Fjords and a wide use of paddle steamers, more and more Fjords people started to include Roland
Wimbledon in their daily conversations. A stereotype gradually formed among Fjords residents that Neverwinter citizens were all ultra-rich people.
Meanwhile, the foundation of the Joint Chamber of Commerce further strengthened people’s faith in Roland Wimbledon.
Since their employer was a powerful king, it made sense that he set up a relatively high threshold for people to receive that honorable title.
Hearing the news, almost everyone at the Fjords started to take action. There were generally two groups of people. The more experienced and adventurous ones joined Thunder, whereas the others who preferred a safe journey while hoping to make a good fortune out of the trip headed to the Endless Cape, attempting to find themselves a good spot at the Festive Harbor.
Thunder would have never believed a country across the channel could exert such a huge impact on the Fjords if he had not witnessed it himself.
This drastic change had only taken place in the past one or two years.
Thunder said to Margaret as he squinted at the distant horizon that looked like a thin thread of silver, “Thanks to your help. I couldn’t have been dedicated to the exploration if you didn’t take care of the Chamber of Commerce for me. If truth be told, I’m good at nothing but taking adventures. I’m not even a good father. You have helped me so much over the past few years…”
“You should know that I’m most willing to do these things for you,” Margaret answered as she put her hand on the back of Thunder’s. “Doesn’t it hurt one’s feelings to appreciate a person who doesn’t want anything in return? We’re going on a long trip soon. It’s better not to talk about things like this.”
“Margaret…” Thunder said. He turned around and their eyes met.
“Having said that, it isn’t exactly accurate to say that I ask for nothing. There’s something… that I do want,” said Margaret as she winked. “So just bear in mind that I am up to something, and please don’t feel that you owe me.”
Thunder knew what Margaret wanted.
He was glad to see Lightning and her get along well back in Neverwinter.
Now he suddenly realized that he had been accustomed to Margaret’s company.
It was weird that a man like him, who could steer his ship against whirling hurricanes and waves, would feel a little hesitant to confess his feelings.
Thunder was debating whether he should hold Margaret’s hand when his first mate interrupted their conversation.
“Captain — ” The first mate craned his neck, yelling on the terrace of the bridge. “All the caravans are waiting for your instruction!”
Thunder coughed and said, “Got it! I’m coming!”
“Alrighty!”
He then took a deep breath, turned to Margaret and said, “Time to go.”
“Off you go.” Margaret smiled at him while nodding. “Do what you’re best at, as His Majesty said…”
“Right,” Thunder said, “… to the new world.”
…
He walked down the tower, passed the bridge, crossed the deck and reached the bow, facing the spectators gathering about at the dock.
The crowd below immediately burst into loud cheers.
Thunder waved his hand and said, “I think everybody has known that the farthest we have been to is Shadow Waters. However, this was just a tiny step we made in the past. There’s a huge Swirling Sea out there for us to explore. This time, we’re going beyond Shadow Waters, crossing the
incredible Sealine and visiting the distant land in the east — a bleak emptiness not yet imprinted with human feet!”
“I’ve seen a vast continent in the Shadow Ruins. It’s a land as splendid as the Four Kingdoms. But where is it? Is it to the east of the Sealine? We’re now going to find the answers to these exciting questions. If it does exist, Fjords people would no longer need to struggle on this overcrowded land and live in fear! Also, this new land will probably bring us much more wealth than all the fortunes we have made over the past years altogether. This is also one of the reasons I encourage every capable man to join us: It’s so lucrative a business that everybody would have a chance to benefit from it!”
His speech was interrupted by a rush of cheers from the crowd. Thunder waited for the crowd to fall silent again and then continued, “Yet I want something else other than gold royals and fame, that is, I want the Fjords to constitute a part of our history! Up to now, Fjords people are seldom mentioned in the history of the Four Kingdoms. There are neither prominent families dwelling on the Fjords for generations nor a king governing the land. We’re far apart from the continent, living on an isolated island with no influences whatsoever on people across the channel, except for traveling caravans.”
“But this will all change soon. When we discover a brand new land for mankind, history will remember us. We’ll be remembered as the most adventurous explorers in the world! I hope you understand that this upcoming trip will not only alter the present but also determine our future!”
“Hoist the sails, lads!” Thunder threw his arm in the air and shouted, “To the new world!”
The crowd below also raised their arms and shouted together. Their tumultuous cheers whipped through the air.
“To the new world — full speed ahead!”