Chapter 51

The other members of Richards' team proved to be a lot easier to rescue than Kathy West had been and while they were scattered all over Game World, it took but a week to find them and liberate them from whatever trials and tribulations they were facing. What amazed me the most about the whole matter was the fact that all of them had survived. It was incredible luck.

With that task taken care of I was ready to pack up and move on before trouble came looking for me. The big question was where to go next. There was no question about hopping on the Windrunner and sailing off into the sunset. The rainy season had hit the region and the seas were rough and the days had become cold. I also had no desire to go trudging off into the forests of the region. While I was certain that the scenery was spectacular, I also knew that it was wet and damp and that eventually, depending on the route I took, I'd hit snow and again it just wasn't something that I really wanted to mess with. In a way you could say that I'd become spoilt since coming to Oak Hall. I'd enjoyed hot food, good drink, and warm beds and I'd enjoyed being teleported from place to place by the consortium instead of having to walk everywhere. I had also become used to doing things big and the thought of simply hunting for food or protecting my party from wild animals felt simple in comparison to what I'd been up to lately. I also knew that the consortium was interested in seeing me do more than just killing an antelope out on a plain somewhere and field dressing it. That awareness had me scratching my head in silence and wondering what I could do next. Thankfully Angela Kent came along and gave me something that would keep me busy for a week or two and satisfy the needs of the consortium while keeping me out from under the feet of those who were busy running Oak Hall.

"My lord," Angela said to me in a very cheerful manner, one morning after my return from rescuing a bunch of outworlders that Gold Network had dropped into the middle of the African savannah, "I'd like to introduce you to Martin Kessler and his companions."

I had been sitting by the great hearth in the great hall of Lord Barnabas' keep, drinking warmed wine and thinking about my quandary when Angela had spoken. Her manner and the tone of her voice caught my attention as did her words and I immediately looked up from the crackling blaze that sat in the hearth and looked about to see who she was speaking about.

Angela was standing about ten feet away from me. She had a bright smile on her face and it was clear to me that the woman was very happy. She was dressed in local clothing – a heavy tunic that reached her ankles and a heavy hooded cloak that was thrown over her shoulders. While she no longer wore makeup of any kind, the joy in her face made her look pretty. I found that interesting. As I glanced past her I spotted three men that I had never seen before.

The men were tall and athletic looking and certainly in better shape than most people who had just been transported to Game World, which from their clothing I knew them to be just that. The man standing closest to Angela was a well tanned Caucasian. He had long dark hair that was tied off behind his head in a ponytail and he had a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He was dressed in some sort of uniform that consisted of shirt with rigid shoulder boards, a broad dark coloured tie, a pair of white slacks that had seen better days, and dress shoes. The insignia on his shoulder boards indicated that he was a lieutenant, at least according to all the memories drawn up from my other lives. As for the other two men who were standing behind him, they were both African in appearance. Their skin colour was very dark and they had short cropped coarse hair and beards. One man was older than the officer and the other man looked to be somewhat younger. Both men were wearing the same kind of clothing. They had on a loose fitting striped t-shirt and white cotton britches. The older man had a set of gold coloured stripes sewn onto the sleeve of his t-shirt and from them I guessed that the man was a Petty Officer. All three were dripping wet and they looked chilled.

"Good day," I said rising up out of the seat that I'd been sitting in, "and welcome to Oak Hall. Might I suggest that you men come and stand by the fire and warm yourselves up?"

The men didn't need me to invite them twice. The three of them moved over to the fire while I stepped away and in seconds they were leaning into it and rubbing their hands over the blaze. As they did this, I called for a servant girl to go and fetch them some heated wine. I waited until the girl had returned and the men had accepted the drink before I turned my attention to Angela. She was still standing in the hall smiling at me and waiting for me to address her.

"So Angela," I said to the woman, calling her by her name instead of slave as I usually did, "I can see that you are very pleased with yourself and that you are bursting with the desire to tell me something of importance. I won't keep you any longer. Tell me who these men are and why you are so happy to introduce them to me."

"They're our first recruits, my lord," Angela declared enthusiastically. "They're going to be our first volunteers for 'Pirate Quest'."

I was surprised and I was impressed and I told Angela so which put an even broader smile upon her lips. Then I asked her for details.

I soon learned that Martin Kessler, Leroy Danton, and Ike Wilson were from an alternate Earth that was roughly a hundred and fifty years behind mine both culturally and technologically. Their Earth was just entering the industrial revolution and they were children of that revolution. The three men had been part of a crew of a revenue boat that had been operating off the west coast of Florida. Their vessel had been a steam powered cutter that had been armed with the equivalent of a Gatling gun. The vessel, USRS Fort Lauderdale had been in pursuit of custom runners when its engine had exploded. The result had left the three men drifting at sea and their vessel sunk and their captain and fellow crewmembers dead. Martin Kessler had been the ship's navigator and gunnery officer, Leroy Danton had been the ship's boatswain, and Ike Wilson had been a gunner's mate. The three men had been near death when Angela had shown up. Naturally they jumped at her offer of participating in 'Pirate Quest'.

By now we were all seated about a table that servants had dragged over by the fire so the men could stay warm. While Angela spoke and related their tale to me, the three men ate bowls of hot stew and drank more heated wine. I watched them with interest for a few seconds and then I spoke to them.

"You are aware of where you are?" I asked, directing my words to all of them.

"Some place called Game World," Martin Kessler responded, putting down his bowl and spoon as he spoke.

I smiled at that and then told the three men exactly what they had gotten themselves into. I explained about the concept of alternate Earths and I explained about the principle of Game World and the role that Angela's Earth had in it. That piece of news drew stern glances from the three men and in response the smile that had been glued to Angela's face since she had shown up with her 'recruits' slipped away. I did inform them that some people of that Earth had been attempting to change their ways and I pointed out that Angela was one of them. That seemed to placate the three men and comfort my slave.

"So what happens to us now?" Martin Kessler asked when I was done telling him and his companions the facts about Game World. "Miss Angela here said that she wanted to recruit us to hunt pirates. Of course when she asked us that we were bobbing about the Caribbean and we were in danger of being eaten by sharks. Now I don't know if we really want to do that."

I sighed on hearing that and then decided to explain a few more facts of life to Angela's three recruits. I told them that while Angela had taken advantage of them that it would actually be in their best interest to honour their promise to her and to participate in 'Pirate Quest'. I told them that most people on Game World arrived here without any assistance or knowledge of what had happened to them and that most of them ended up dead within twenty-four hours or enslaved. I quickly pointed out that by participating in 'Pirate Quest' that they would receive more help and resources than any person had ever received on Game World before and I told them that that number included me.

The three men quickly saw the light and agreed with my argument that they were better off doing as Angela had asked than they would be striking off on their own. With that settled they returned to their initial question. All were anxious to find out what would happen now.

"Well," I told them, giving the question some thought, "our original plan was that any recruits for these adventures would come to a 'safe haven' here on Game World and spend a week or two getting used to living on this planet and learning the skills that you will need to know if you want to survive. From what I've discerned listening to Angela talk about where she found you, and from looking at you and listening to you, I can see that you men know something about the sea, which is a good thing. There are no steamships on Game World and all travelling over the waters is done by sail or by rowing. I hope you all know how to rig a craft for sailing?"

"We all do," Martin Kessler responded, looking towards his men as he spoke and getting a confirming nod from each of them.

"And I assume that you all know how to use a blade such as a sword?" I asked with curiosity.

"Cutlasses," Kessler replied with confidence in his voice, "and long knives as well."

"Good," I said in response, "because those are going to be essential skills that you'll need if you want to stay alive and win the quest. Well for now we'll put you up for the night and get you some warmer clothing. I think in the case of you three that familiarizing yourself with Game World will be less difficult than some others that I've encountered so far in the last few weeks. In a way that will be good for you because it will allow you to move on and establish yourself in your new roles as pirate hunters without any screwing about. I think tomorrow I'll get you out to sea for the day and see what you're capable of and then turn you over to a couple of my better swordsmen. After that we can discuss where you start off on your adventure."

With that I summoned a guard and had him escort the trio to a barracks near the keep. The keep was filled to capacity with my family and my friends so there was little room left in the building. I did apologize to the men for that, and thankfully they understood. I did ensure them that we would see them again soon and I would certainly make certain they were well taken care of. Even as they left the great hall I summoned the chamberlain of the keep and had him assign a servant to them to see to their needs. I also had him send for tailors and boot makers, and any other person that they might need the services of, so that they could be kitted out comfortably for the coming days and more importantly for their adventure. When I was done with the chamberlain I turned and focused my attention on Angela.

"I am both impressed and disappointed in you slave," I told the woman. "I'm impressed by your resourcefulness in recruiting these three men. They will probably adapt more readily to Game World than someone from my Earth, which is very good. However I am disappointed because you gave them very little choice in coming here. The least you could have done was to offer to drop them off on an unpopulated Key off of Florida if they chose not to take you up on your offer."

"I am sorry, my lord," Angela responded, speaking with a low voice that trembled a bit. "I will remember it in the future."

"Do that," I said curtly. My tone made the woman start and she lowered her eyes in response. Smiling inwardly I decided that I had punished her enough for one day and when I continued, my voice softened and became amiable.

"Still as I said at first," I told her, a smile etched on my lips, "I was impressed by your resourcefulness and you should be proud of yourself. I hope you will keep thinking the way you did with these three when you recruit others for the programming that we spoke about."

"I will, my lord," Angela responded, her voice cheering up as she spoke. "I most certainly will."

I let her go for now. I did tell her that I would speak to her the next day and that we would go over the map of the Spanish Sea then to pick the best location to start the adventure of our three new friends. When she was gone, I smiled to myself with some satisfaction and then went off to find Tagus and Nimue. I wanted to tell them about our guests and fill them in on my plans for them. I was certain that Kessler and his men would find meeting Tagus and Nimue an eye opening experience.

The next day proved as interesting as I thought it would. I called Martin Kessler and his men to breakfast at the great hall and used the event as an opportunity to introduce them to their host and my mates and my friends. Kessler and his men were cordial with Lord Barnabas and Elsa Mueller and they were friendly with Dupree and my mates. They were however shocked to meet Tagus. The sight of the Silurian caused the trio to gasp with both surprise and horror. Interestingly, the sight of Dork, Goiania, and Nimue proved to be just as alarming to the three men.

"As you can see," I told the trio before they could even recover from their start, "Game World is not quite like your own Earth. Most denizens on Game World are like what you'd expect back on your own Earth. They look like you and think like you and behave like you and most likely you will get along with them if they're not out to kill you. However, the bastards running this place like variety. They believe that it spices things up and adds to the fun and games that go on here. Because of that you will run into people like my friends here and my mate and I suggest you take the time that you are with us to get used to them, because once you are out there on your own, your ability to accept what is thrown at you will mean the difference between you living and dying."

I left the matter at that and allowed everyone to settle down and eat. I noted frequent looks at Tagus and Dork and less frequent looks at Goiania and Nimue. Interestingly there were also several glances directed at Felicity and Dupree. I quickly got the idea as to why and I decided to bring up the topic before we pushed on for the day.

"Tell me Lieutenant Kessler," I said directing my words to the man seated at the far end of the table, "does slavery still exist on your Earth?"

"Yes and no," Kessler replied tentatively, glancing at his two colleagues before going on. "Some countries have abolished slavery within their borders and some haven't. Where we're from we have a mix of both. There are several states that still practice some form of slavery although there aren't many. Why do you ask?"

"Well," I responded without any hesitation, glancing towards the man's companions and then over to Dupree and Felicity, "I'm asking because slavery does exist on Game World and whether you support it or oppose the activity, it exists. Personally I'm against the business and I have actively hunted down slavers and killed them. Unfortunately not everyone shares my view of things. Regardless of that, it is something that you should take note of. Unlike your Earth, the slave owners of Game World aren't particular about who they make into a slave. Colour does not matter to them nor does sex or religion. The only thing that most slavers care about on this planet is how much they can get for the person that they are enslaving. If you're worth something to them you will live. Unfortunately if you are worthless to them, then you will die. It is as simple as that."

My conversation put a chill on the three men's mood. It did however open their eyes and make them aware that the rules of society were different here on Game World. Hopefully they would catch on. Only time would tell.

After breakfast we all wrapped ourselves up for the weather and headed down to the Windrunner. Before boarding the craft I took the three men on a quick tour of the port. Truthfully there wasn't much to see. As I'd indicated before, Oak Hall was in need of some serious improvements to its infrastructure. I did however show them a few types of craft that they might end up encountering once they were off enjoying the pleasures of being pirate hunters. I ended up showing them the Shark and the White Dove and the Revenge before taking them aboard the Windrunner. I also pointed out the Black Dragon that was sitting at anchor just off the promontory that overlooked Oak Hall. They seemed suitably impressed.