Chapter 18

It took two days for the Windrunner to reach Oak Hall. In that time I'd gotten to know the city well and had met several of its citizenry and I'd started to like the place. That was a good thing because in that time I had also taken charge of the city and the port, running it in Lord Barnabas' name. Of course I did nothing major without speaking to Barnabas himself, but the old man was willing to let me take charge until he was up and about. It was either that or trust one of his underlings and truthfully he didn't trust any of them. Since he knew I was not intending to stay any longer than necessary, he was more than amiable to idea of me sitting upon his throne. As for his lordship's health, that was improving with each passing hour. Felicity had worked wonders with her little black backpack of medical supplies. With Felicity's skill, a lot of rest, and tender loving care by two of Barnabas' former concubines, the old man appeared to be on the road to a swift recovery.

The first thing I dealt with once I'd spoken with Barnabas was to eliminate the Captain of the Guard. It was a regrettable decision but one that neither Barnabas nor I could see an alternative to considering the fact that Sir Roderick couldn't be trusted now that he'd made his views known openly. Barnabas asked me to deal with him quietly and I did. I simply walked into his office after breakfast the next morning, closing the door behind me so that we had a little privacy and then I put a bullet in his head. It was clean, it was quick, and it let everyone else know that Lord Barnabas was still in charge. My only grief in the whole situation was the man's wife. She was a pretty young thing who was pregnant to the teeth and due within the month. With the permission of Lord Barnabas I saw to it that she was taken care of, at least financially. Fortunately the young woman had relatives in the town that could support her in her grief. They understood quite well why things had happened in the way they had and they promised that there would be no fuss.

I greeted the Windrunner at the jetty when it finally tied up. Kola threw her arms about me and kissed me deeply and very publicly. When she was done, I was assaulted by Caitlin and then Nimue. They were all happy that I was alive and well. When I was done greeting my mates, I greeted my friends. Rory wanted to hear everything as did Tagus. I promised to tell everybody everything later in the day, once we'd dispensed with a little business.

The business was the return of the Swordfish. Lord Tailem of Blue Harbour had raised a prize crew from amongst his sailors and men and they'd rowed the craft back to Oak Hall under the escort of one of their own ships. In exchange for the favour I had promised him a sizable portion of what Lord Barnabas had given me. When I'd paid off Lord Tailem's man, I handed the remainder of the money to Tagus to secure with the rest of our wealth. By now we had a couple of treasure chests squirreled away on the Windrunner and if things kept going the way they were going we'd have to get another trunk.

Once that was done we all moved into Lord Barnabas' keep. That included Tagus. He wasn't happy with the arrangement considering that he still had a new crew to break in, but I insisted. I wanted to talk to the Silurian without prying eyes and listening ears. In the end he left the Windrunner in the hands of his quartermaster, leaving him explicit instruction as to how to find him if trouble arose with the new men. Personally, I believed that it was the first time Tagus had left his craft for the night, at least since he'd become its captain. I reassured him that everything would be fine.

My mates and I took over a suite of rooms that had once been the harem of Lord Barnabas. Considering that I now had four women sharing my bed and my life, I thought it was appropriate. With a little assistance from a few servants, Kola put it in order and made it hospitable for us five to live in. It had been vacant for a number of years. As for Rory and Zahra, I found them comfortable lodgings next to ours. Finally I put Tagus in a room on a floor above our chambers where he could hide away in privacy if he wanted. When I took him to his chamber I had a quick word with him. I made it very short and sweet.

"I've been speaking to that man we spared off of the Swordfish," I told Tagus bluntly. "His name is Tobias and he has proved helpful in this matter so far, and I think he could be useful to you over the next day or two in regards to your new crew. The man may have been a common guard upon the Swordfish, but he appears to have been a knowledgeable one. I want you to talk to him and to have him spy out your new sailors. If there are troublemakers amongst them or men who shouldn't be trusted when the situation calls for unquestioning trust, I want to know now and not when the Windrunner is in danger. I know that he might know nothing about the men at all, but then again he might. Talk to him and see if he can help."

Tagus agreed and I left him to settle in. While he did that, I went and relieved Tobias so he could eat and get some rest. Later Rory came and relieved me so I could tend to my mates. Now that we had comfortable beds once more, the four of them wanted me to prove my virility once more. I did my best to please them, demanding only one thing of them before I gave in to their desires. I asked them to stifle their cries of pleasure while we were in the keep, considering we were but a few doors from Lord Barnabas' bedchamber. After all, I didn't want to disturb the man. My mates giggled at my request and then swore an oath that they would do their best to silence their enthusiasm. They did it, but at times it took them great effort and if my body didn't heal so quickly, I would have had the bite marks to prove it.

When I wasn't watching Barnabas or tending to my mates or chatting with Tagus about the Windrunner and making plans for our continued adventure, I was managing Oak Hall. With the Captain of the Guard dead, I needed to promote another man to the job. Sir Humphrey recommended a name from amongst the four sergeants currently serving in the guard and I took it to Barnabas and asked him about it during one of his waking moments. The old man nodded his ascent and I made it so. Other matters I was able to deal with directly. There were minor grievances that needed hearing and some criminals that needed punishing and with help from an advisor or two I dealt with the issues.

The biggest job on my plate was finding a new crew for the Swordfish. As I quickly learned from the various advisors to Lord Barnabas and from the important men who managed the port, the task was an urgent one. The truth was that Oak Hall had a contractual obligation to meet and at the moment they weren't meeting it. It was their job to patrol the inland sea and to ensure that no pirates ventured close to any vessel marked as under their care. Without the Swordfish they weren't able to fulfil their obligation. For this job I called upon the captains of the other two crafts that Oak Hall maintained and picked their brains. Unfortunately, as I was to quickly learn, resources were limited and if I truly wanted to send the Swordfish out again, I would have to hire sailors from other free cities and I would also need to buy slaves. It was my only option or so they believed. I thought otherwise and I told them so.

While I had no intentions of changing how things were done in Oak Hall, given that I intended to sail as soon as Barnabas was out of bed, until that time I could do things my way and my way was the direct way. I knew exactly where to find men who could crew the Swordfish without effort and they were close at hand.

I had learned many things since coming to Oak Hall and I'd spoken to many people over the two days waiting for the Windrunner to arrive and the return of the Swordfish. One thing that I learned was that there were several islands that dotted the southern shore of the inland sea. Some were large and some were small and one was very large. I had also learned that these islands were inhabited by the very pirates that Oak Hall patrolled against. The number varied depending on who I spoke to but most agreed that there were several groups living on those islands. I wanted them or at least some of them to move to Oak Hall and serve upon the Swordfish. I only had to convince them that it was in their best interest to do just that.

Not every man was for my idea. In fact none were save Lord Barnabas. By then the old man and I were the best of friends and on first name basis and I could tell whenever I spoke to him that he was wishing that he was young again and with me with his sword in his hand. Unfortunately he wasn't and of the men serving Barnabas as advisors, most of them were opposed to any venture that potentially weakened Oak Hall. They knew their limitations and want nothing to do with a plan that could strip them of what protection they still had. They only had to point out the fact that only a few days before I had stripped them of almost forty fighting men. The others were greedy. They would go to the islands and sack them if the men and women taken were taken as slaves. They wanted profit and profit only. They saw no need to increase the population of Oak Hall with men and women and children who'd not been born here. Only Barnabas shared my vision. When I suggested it to Barnabas he just smiled at me and nodded his head in agreement. I noted the twinkle in his eye once more and smiled at that. I could see that he was wishing he was thirty years younger once more. I just patted his arm and told him to rest and that I would tell him all about it when I was done. It didn't make him happy but it did placate him for the moment.

The citizens of Oak Hall were not the only ones questioning my plan. Nimue cornered me shortly before the meeting with the locals and asked me what I was thinking of by going after the pirates when we were suppose to be looking for her sister.

"Nimue," I told her in a reassuring voice, "we will be going after your sister and be assured we will rescue her, but for now we need to do this first. I like the old man and I've given things some thought. Oak Hall is a well run city, where people are living in relative comfort and enjoying relative freedom. It would be a good home for us when all of this is over. Until then Lord Barnabas needs our help and a few more strong backs to assist him in running this place. My plan is to be selective about what enclaves we raid. From talking to Barnabas and the captains of the various ships, there are two types of pirates on those islands. The first group consists of local people who have decided piracy is a good way of life and they've taken to it, but the second group are outworlders like us who've been dumped here for the entertainment of the other Earth and they've done the best they could to survive given the circumstances. I'm not saying they're all great people, but some might be and I think once I've explained the facts of life to them, I can convince them to come to Oak Hall and become part of this community. In the long run it might help us out. As the other Earth gets more desperate, they've been sending more and more men against me. Having a friend with a small army at his disposal might make the difference in my survival sometime down the road."

With that little speech I sold Nimue on the plan as it stood; however I still needed to go to the islands and sell the men and women there. Before I could do that, I needed some intelligence.

I got lucky on that point. Tagus had spoken to Tobias and Tobias had gone down to the Windrunner and had a look about. Of the men Tagus had signed on in Blue Harbour, Tobias pointed out one man as being a potential troublemaker. The man had been a pirate up until five months ago when the Swordfish had rammed his craft and sunk it. Of the crew, the man had been the only survivor. The captain of the Swordfish had simply thrown the man into chains and used him as a slave to row the bireme. Tobias had informed Tagus that the man had been a very troublesome slave.

As far as I was concerned, that little tale was a great recommendation for the man and I wanted to speak to him. I asked Tagus to bring him up to the keep so I could chat with him in private.

The man was taller than average for Game World, but still under six feet in height. He was strong looking but he could certainly put a few pounds onto his body. His skin was well tanned and he looked to be middle aged, although part of that appearance could have been the result of what the man had been through since arriving here. When the man was brought into Lord Barnabas' private office, he glanced at me warily.

"So what is your name?" I asked him directly.

"Mike," the man replied without hesitation, and without the deference that one would expect of a man who'd served as a galley slave. He just stared into my eyes without blinking.

"Well Mike," I responded curtly, putting emphasis on name, "today is your lucky day. I have use of you if you're willing and it has nothing to do with being a sailor on the Windrunner. First I'd like some information from you. Basically I want to know about the man I'm dealing with. So have a seat Mike and tell me all about yourself."

Mike was taken back by that. It took him a second or two to find a seat and then to make himself comfortable. When I poured him a drink, he took it cautiously, waiting until I'd drunk some myself before he tried it. Eventually he opened up and told me about himself. Mike's full name was Michael Sutcliffe and he came from Dover, England. In his world it was still an important seaport. As a boy he'd learned to sail and to row boats and to live off the sea and that experience had come in handy when he'd been plucked up one day and plopped down here. His knowledge of boats and sailing had come in handy and he'd been the helmsman on the craft that he'd been taken from five months ago. Our conversation lasted a while and since I didn't push Mike on anything in particular, simply letting him ramble on for a while, the man started to relax. I learned that Mike had ended up on the big island and that he'd joined the largest pirate band that currently operated from the island. The band had four forty foot craft that struck out from the island taking what it needed from passing ships. Mentally I did the math and I quickly estimated that the enclave had at least eighty to a hundred men at their disposal. Mike confirmed that number later on and increased it by another forty who were either too old to serve upon the boats or too unfit. These men served as guards at their base and in other roles.

Mike surprised me with some of the things he told me about the band he had been with. This group consisted mainly of outworlders, many of whom had been serving as galley slaves upon the boats that the pirates had sacked. These men had stayed on with the band out of gratitude for being freed and because they knew that they had very few options upon this world. Then he told me that his old enclave had electricity. A truck had been dumped on the island a few years back with its driver. The driver had been an electrician and his truck had been stocked with the tools and the necessities of his trade. The community had scavenged the truck, cannibalizing it down to its axels and they'd used everything from it in an effort to improve their life. Hearing this made me want to meet them even more.

I learned from Mike that there were five enclaves on the islands to the southwest. There were three on the big island and one each on the two largest small islands. His band had a camp on the north shore of the big island and there was a second enclave on the south-eastern shore and another one on the south-western shore.

Once Mike was finished talking I poured him a second drink and then told him about myself and my mission and the truth about Game World. Like most that I'd told my tale to, Mike took it hard and he raged for a few minutes before I was able to calm him down. When I did, I told him my plan for the band of pirates that he'd belonged to not so long ago. He listened to me dubiously and only when I was done did he comment.

"Why should they join with Oak Hall?" the man asked coldly.

"They should join because it's the smart thing to do," I replied firmly. "Oak Hall is well run and it is clean and people here are basically happy. You'd have access to better food and better homes and there'd be less risks working for Oak Hall than there would be if you refused and continued pirating. Oak Hall is still stronger than any one of the pirate bands situated on the islands and with my leadership, I'm certain that we could put them out of business within a week."

It was a blatant threat, but I meant it and I could see in Mike's eyes that he knew I wasn't bluffing. The man had seen me hack through forty men in ten minutes and the memory of that was definitely fresh in his mind.

"What do you want from me?" he asked after a moment or two of contemplation.

"We'll be sailing for the islands in the morning," I told him honestly. Even as I was talking to the man, I had Nimue scurrying about, putting together an assault force. Assisting her were Sir Humphrey of the city watch and the two patrol craft captains. In all I expected her to raise a force that could crew the Swordfish with men to spare. Any extras would tag along on the Windrunner or one of the other patrol crafts. With that in mind I went on and told Mike exactly what I wanted from him, "and I want you to be my spokesman. You'll sail on the Windrunner with me and when we get in sight of your enclave, I'll put you ashore and let you chat with your former colleagues. Lord Barnabas is offering full amnesty and citizenship and work for any man, woman, and child that wants it. You can either live within the walls of the current city or you can set up a separate encampment down the coast from Oak Hall. All you need to do is to swear fealty to Lord Barnabas and he'll accept you under his protection. I want you to pass that message on. While you do that, my task force will be dealing with the other enclaves. They won't be receiving the same offer. The townspeople want profit out of this venture and they don't trust the other bands. Those that don't die fighting us will be sold into slavery. I don't like the idea but I don't have much choice in the matter. It's the price I'm paying to secure the best deal possible for your band. You can tell your people that as well. When we're done suppressing the other enclaves, I'll be back to talk to your old band personally. I hope we'll be able to come to an amiable arrangement. I don't want to have to kill people if I don't have to, especially people that are just trying to survive what the bastards from the other Earth threw at them."