Kargas chewed, rather anxiously, on his fingernails. King Tarask had ordered the settling of two cities on some islands to the northeast, to hinder the surprisingly rapi Hawai'ian expansion. Kargas, Vol'Kiss Ranger Field Commander, was the second highest in the Rangers when judging by rank; he was superceded only by Vol'Kiss Warlord Nachas, the battle Volcanist who supervised all Vol'Kiss military affairs. On orders by the Warlord, Kargas had chosen some of his most trusted men to guard the expeditiary forces that were to scour the islands for any possibly dangerous wildlife, enemy troops, and such. With the
Guardian, a newly completed ship that set new standards for the building of galleys, the hardened veterans and archmagi of Vol'Kiss had been granted a new kind of benefit: a galley they thought were faster than any other ship.
To the right of Kargas, the Archmage of Dusk Isle stared blankly out to sea. The Field Commander knew that the Volcanist had tried to use different magics to discover if the northwestern islands still lay untouched. So far, there had been no sign of him waking up from his trance. Unbeknownst to Kargas, the Mage had indeed succeeded once in feeling the infinitesimal trembling of the distant isles, but it had been to no avail: He had heard all the steps that were taken upon their soil, and could not be sure whether he was dealing with deer or Hawai'ian military.
Field Commander Kargas chewed his fingernails, as he'd done the last twelve hours. The race was on, whether the Hawai'ians knew it or not.
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