Chapter 53

Lord Barnabas was dead. I learned this news seconds after the Windrunner returned to Oak Hall. Men were talking about it on the jetty as they help tie up the vessel. Alarmed, my party and I hurried to the keep to learn what had happened.

"Be at peace Charles," Elsa told me upon our arrival. "The old man just slipped away in the night. There was no wrong doings and there was nothing to suggest that any of the networks were involved. I even had Sarah Williams break out one of those medical scanners that Felicity uses and as far as she can tell, the old man's death was natural."

It still hurt and the mood in my party was very solemn. I spent the remainder of the day in conversation with Elsa and the council. Their first task was to lay the old man to rest. Thankfully Barnabas had planned for that long ago. He had ruled Oak Hall for years and he had known that one day he would die and being the man he was, he wanted things done right. The man had ordered a mausoleum built to house his remains. That mausoleum stood high above Oak Hill on a hill to the west of it. From the top of the hill a man could see the city and the port and the sea beyond. From the council I learned that everything was ready to move him there. All they were waiting for was my word.

That was the problem. Elsa revealed to me, even before taking me into the council meeting that the old man had named me his heir and successor. While the news wasn't surprising to anyone, it was a bit awkward considering the fact that I was off on the Windrunner, somewhere on the other side of the world. Now that I was back they were anxious to comply with Lord Barnabas' final wishes.

I kept my mouth shout and let things happen. I did call a meeting of my mates and friends and asked them to remain silent about Nimue connecting with Dindraine again; at least until Lord Barnabas had been laid to rest. Then I would speak to the council. Thankfully they all understood and agreed.

There was a delay in burying Lord Barnabas. Messengers had been dispatched by ship to Izmir and Blue Harbour to inform Lord Omar and Lord Tailem and the council was waiting to hear back to see if either lord wished to attend the funeral. In the meantime, guards of honour were being picked and suited out in regalia fitting the occasion. While those details were being taken care of, I went off and paid my respects to the two courtesans that had been attending Lord Barnabas since the attack on him by Bronze Network. I found them in Lord Barnabas' old chambers, sitting vigil beside his sealed coffin.

"Ladies," I said in solemn greetings, "you have my condolences on your loss."

I spent the next hour in the two women's company, chatting quietly. I learned that both women were in fact married and that they had been for nearly fifteen years, ever since Lord Barnabas had dispensed with their services. The women had homes and family and they had been well taken care of by Lord Barnabas during his life and according to what they had been told by Elsa, they would be well looked after in his death. I was certainly pleased to hear this.

The next three days dragged. Word arrived the day after my return from Ingrid's Reach that both Lord Omar and Lord Tailem would be attending the funeral and that they would be attended by guards of honour. This required preparations to be made, but for me, once the order had been given, there was nothing to be done. Even council meetings were short and to the point, with most of the discussion focused on the upcoming funeral. It left me adrift with very little to do except to pop off once and a while to rescue someone who'd just been kidnapped and dropped on Game World.

The bright thing in all of it was the return of Rory and Zahra. The two of them had swept the region closest to Oak Hall and they had claimed all the vehicles that they could find. In addition to the vehicles that they had found before, they had added a tow truck, an electric powered van, and a small dump truck to our growing pool of vehicles. Their return put smiles on my face and caused sweet Caitlin to squeal with joy on hearing about her brother's return. She squealed twice as loud when she was told the news that they had kept from us. Over supper on the night of their return, Rory informed everyone that Zahra was pregnant.

"Congratulations," I told my young friend. As I spoke I rose from my seat and walked over to where he was seated and shook his hand. I then turned to a beaming Zahra and leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Back in my bedchamber the news was received with mixed emotions. Of everyone, Kola was the most disappointed. My first wife had wanted my child for a while now and hearing that Zahra was carrying a baby affected her greatly. I spent time with her and the remainder of my mates discussing the issue and my belief that the people who'd sent me to Game World had taken measures to prevent me from fathering any children. Hopefully, I pointed out to everyone, that inability would fade once I had succeeded in my mission. I will admit it did not help the mood much when I spoke of it.

Another matter came to mind while talking to my mates. Suddenly I remembered the boy I had taken from Araknis who I had given to Barnabas to foster. I hadn't seen him since returning to Oak Hall nor had I seen the boy's mother. I wonder where they were.

I learned the next day once I was up and about. It turned out that Suzy Park had taken them in. The young boy had become friends with Suzy's son and when Barnabas had died, Suzy had invited the boy and his mother to stay with them. I had a quick talk to all of them just to make certain that everything was all right. When I left them, I had a smile on my face. The concern for the boy had reminded me of something and I took note of it so that I would deal with it after the funeral. Until then, the thought would have to wait.

Lord Tailem arrived first along with his guard of honour. Chester did not come with him. He was still busy back in Blue Harbour, ensuring all the new refugees from Minos were settling in without any further problem. Lord Tailem extended his condolences to us all and then went off to the apartments in the keep that we had set aside for him. Shortly there after, Lord Omar arrived from Izmir.

"Charles my young friend," Lord Omar declared once he had stepped off his ship onto the jetty, "I am so sorry to hear about Barnabas' passing. Hearing of it made me realize just how old I'm getting. It's a bit of an eye opener if you know what I mean. Still life must go on."

I just smiled and let Lord Omar embrace me. While his words sounded remorseful, his eyes told me something else. I tried to ignore it. The hairs on the back of my neck were sticking up so while the man might be insincere he didn't intend anything that might harm me or mine. I just nodded silently as he spoke and then passed him off on Asana. Lord Omar hugged his daughter and then got on to other matters, like when she was going to give him a grandson. I just bit my tongue at that and thankfully Asana was able to push the matter aside.

The funeral went well. Lord Barnabas was laid to rest with enough pomp and ceremony to please the two visiting lords. Afterwards I met with them in private.

"So Lord Charles," Lord Omar began, smiling broadly as he did, "we have done our duty to the dead; now we must do it for the living. I understand from Asana and from Captain Mueller that my old friend named you his successor. That is good. Oak Hall needs a strong hand guiding it and the alliance needs a man of action behind it if it is to survive."

"Is there a threat to the alliance that I have not heard of?" I asked Lord Omar bluntly. As I spoke, Lord Tailem shifted in his seat and picked up his wine cup. The man looked uncomfortable.

"There are always threats, my young friend," Lord Omar said, "and don't you forget it. You may have chastised the Minoans for now, but you haven't put a yoke about their necks yet and until you do, they will always be a threat. As well, there are city states to the west who we should keep an eye on. My spies in Izmir have told me that Ibos and Thrace have begun visiting the port more often and while there, their captains have taken an interest in my growing naval force. I sense that we might have problems with them in the near future."

"We may or we may not," I responded dismissing the suggestion, "but it is not an immediate problem. The weather does not favour their ships at the moment and I am certain that we can ride out the winter without having to fear an invasion."

"That may be so," Lord Omar shot back aggressively, "but we should be prepared and if we are smart, we should look towards pre-empting any threats that come from that direction. Perhaps you could lead a raid or two against them just to warn them of what we can do."

I sighed at that and I made it clear by doing so that I wasn't pleased. Lord Omar opened his mouth to speak again but I didn't let him.

"Lord Omar," I told the man, "there are other ways to limit threats to our alliance beside raiding cities and plundering them. Both Ibos and Thrace trade with all our cities as do the other city-states to the west in the region I know as Greece. I would rather build up our trade with them, making them dependent on what we can provide them, rather than spill more blood and draw the anger and mistrust of our neighbours. You should remember that none of us are in a position to take and hold another state without giving up our rule of our present lands. It is one of the reasons that I have not turned my full attentions to Minos. If I were to rule there, I could not rule here."

"But you will rule here, my warrior?" Lord Tailem asked with concern in his voice. "You do intend to stay."

"I intend to rule Oak Hall and honour my obligations to the alliance," I replied in a reassuring manner, "however I will not be here. In my place I will leave my wives to speak for me while I tend to my mission and other commitments."

"But we need you here Charles," Lord Omar insisted, speaking before Lord Tailem could say the same thing. "Oak Hall is the backbone of our alliance and if you are gone, we will be weakened."

"I must agree Charles," Lord Tailem stated, quickly interjecting his thoughts. "Our alliance is still young and it is vulnerable and whether I like it or not, our true strength comes from you and your ability to command men."

"And you will still have that ability available if it is needed," I told him in a reassuring voice. "Please remember my good lords that we have access to technology that is beyond what our neighbours possess. I may be gallivanting about on the other side of the world, pleasing the consortium and dealing with matters there, but I can return in the blink of an eye. Our alliance will not be weakened by my absence."

Lord Tailem was willing to let things go at that, but Lord Omar was not and we spent another hour debating the issue. He was back on his kick of wanting to raid for plunder. While stronger trade was good, he was interested in gold to fill his coffers so he could expand his territories more quickly and as his ace up his sleeve he reminded me that Izmir would one day be looking to me for leadership when he was gone. I assured him I understood that, but I also told him that for now my focus was on building Oak Hall and completing my mission. That response did not please him. We did eventually get around to other matters. Both men had resolved their difficulties with their new subjects and they were looking towards the new year with hopes of seeing their under populated lands begin to flourish. I told them I was sure they would. In the end we retired for the day with an agreed understanding that covered the next six months. Hopefully no problems would arise from it.

That night we feasted the memory of Lord Barnabas and the next day I saw the two men and their guards of honour off. After they had sailed I returned to the keep and called a meeting of the council. It was time to get down to business. Everyone on the council already knew that I was going to depart within the next week so the main order of business that day was who would sit in my place at the council.

"The only persons I can rightfully leave to speak for me are my mates," I told everyone, "and regrettably I will be taking most of them with me. Still I have come up with a plan that will allow me to tend to my mission while leaving Oak Hall well looked after. Naturally I will leave behind the Lady Asana. While young she is knowledgeable in matters related to the governance of a city and she will be a valuable voice on this council. I will also be leaving behind the Lady Princess Samira. As of tonight she will be my mate. You will find her skilled in foreign diplomacy and she will represent me in these matters. One of her first missions will be to travel to Indigo and meet with its ruler to sign the trade agreement that Tagus has negotiated for us. I am certain that she will do a fine job."

At that, several on the council nodded their heads in agreement. Even though several of them had been slaves of the Minoans before coming to Oak Hall, they had all interacted with the princess since arriving here and they had learned that she was a capable young woman. Those who did not smile at the suggestion were the few men whom Lord Barnabas had kept from Oak Hall who represented the merchants of the city. I ignored them and pressed on, knowing full well that they would never be happy with anything I suggested that did not line their pockets with coin.

"Finally I will leave one last person to speak for me with final authority," I declared firmly, glancing about as I did, "and I will be picking that person from the council."

That caused a bit of a stir and a look of expectation from a couple of the councillors. I just smiled and continued before anyone could ask who it was.

"Princess Samira will not be the only woman that I will be taking as my mate in the next few days," I stated loudly. "Once the princess and I have consummated our union, I will be claiming the hand of Captain Mueller as my wife. To her I will leave the ultimate authority of Oak Hall. Her leadership skills are well known as is her ability to command troops both on the land and sea. I will trust that all of you will give her your confidence and that you will serve under her faithfully while I am away."

There were congratulations offered after that, both to Elsa and me. I had spoken to my mates about this the night we had learned that Barnabas had died. All agreed that I needed to wed Elsa if I intended to go after Dindraine. They had also felt that I needed to marry Samira if I was going to continue to call myself the King of Minos. The only thing left after my declarations to the council was to do it. That evening I took Samira as my wife, marrying her in the great hall with witnesses and the assistance of a local shaman. Once he had blessed our union I took the young girl up to my new bedroom.

I had moved into Lord Barnabas' chambers. They were just as spacious as the quarters that I had shared with my mates and Samira, but they were better laid out for a man who ruled a kingdom. I could entertain there and hold conferences and meetings without interfering with what my mates might be up to. During the time between Barnabas' death and my union with Samira, the chambers had been cleaned and made more to my tastes. That night my other mates slept in our old bedchamber while I gave my attentions to my new bride. For Samira it was a dream come true.

The girl proved to be no innocent. She admitted to me that she and the three girls had spent many a night watching my mates and me playing in our bed and that the four of them had seen to each others needs afterwards. She also told me that she and Asana had play often when I hadn't been about and that Asana had claimed her virtue with the assistance of a toy. This said, Samira demanded my full attention that night, knowing full well that she would lose my company very soon. The young woman was full of energy and we made love well into the early hours of the morning and by the time we were done, I had sated myself in every orifice of her firm young body.

The next night was a repeat with my other wives present. I soon learned that all of them were well acquainted with my little princess. Again our lovemaking went on into the wee hours of the morning.

A day later I married Elsa with all the pomp that a woman like she deserved. Again we held it in the great hall and everyone was there, including the council and all our military leaders. Afterwards the two of us adjourned to my bedroom and we got acquainted. Elsa turned out to be just as wild and enthusiastic as Samira and my other mates, with only one small difference. The woman knew what she wanted and she wasn't shy about taking it. Our first time together didn't require any foreplay. Elsa was ready for me and I was definitely ready for her. She just pushed me back onto the bed and climbed onboard. Afterwards she demanded the soft stuff.

I showed my true feelings for Elsa the next morning. I took her on a raid. When I told her my intent she almost raped me then and there. It caused my other mates to laugh and giggle in response.

We headed to the Kingdom of Umayyad in the Gulf of the Twelve Kingdoms. The kingdom stood upon a peninsula of land that jutted into the northwest part of the gulf. It was a populace kingdom of nearly twenty-five thousand inhabitants that survived on trade. As such the kingdom was home to a well-built harbour that saw ships coming and going several times a day and a waterfront that rarely knew sleep. The kingdom was but one day's sail from Araknis, who was a major trading partner.

Remembering the boy from Araknis had made me think of the splendid xebec that I had been forced to sink a few weeks ago and remembering the ship had made me think about the Windrunner and the limitations that I found in her. In response I had gone to Mai Woo and I had put her to work on scouring the kingdoms of the gulf to find me a ship that met my requirements. To my pleasant surprise she found me one in no time at all.

The vessel was the Sea Nymph. It was twenty feet longer than the Windrunner and ten feet wider in the beam. The vessel had three masts including an aft-set mizzen mast, all rigged for lateen sails. The vessel had a covered rowing deck with twenty stations on each side of the ship. The best thing about it was that it had a full fighting deck and it had a small aft-castle that housed quarters for the owner, the captain, paying travellers, and a small galley. It was perfect for my needs. What made her perfect for me to plunder without a qualm was the fact that the vessel belonged to the Emir of Araknis. While within the waters of the gulf the ship carried cargos of goods from one port to another, but once it was out into the sea beyond, the captain routinely set course for the east coast of Africa and the settlements there. Usually the return trip was conducted as a slaver, and I hated slavers and people who profited from the trade.