Chapter 29: Inis City

Once were docked we spent the afternoon wandering the docks.

We worked out many of the ships were from Weston. A few were from Federation, and several smaller ships were from Orient. They also had a large fishing fleet. There were plenty of taverns and other places dedicated to the entertainment of sailors.

We checked out the markets, and I even found a bank and organised an account. I wandered in and out of several jewellery stores. I found some of their styles interesting, but from what I could determine, many of the items were overpriced.

It seemed the metals as much as the gems were the primary cause.

I was surprised just how much my platinum would be worth here. It was considered rare. The gold and silver would also fetch me excellent prices. When I asked, I discovered many of the types of gems I was after were indeed mined in Weston.

Owen found us when we wandered back to the ship for food. Most of the eating houses hadn’t inspired us to eat there. At least we did know our coins were good when I purchased Sable a bag of roasted nuts earlier in the afternoon. The increased wind and drizzly rain didn’t inspire us to stay out longer, either.

Owen informed me that Queen Mary and her daughters would be visiting us in the morning. Lord Richard had agreed that it would be prudent to supply us guards and they would set up before nightfall. The sailors had also gotten worried by the storm, and most of the ships were being brought in and tied down.

They were hoping the storm would pass them by. Owen explained that storms this late tended to by-pass them and hit to the north. Most of the bigger towns on this coast were located further inland. This was the only suitable bay along the coast for this many ships.

When he discovered that we hadn’t eaten, he invited us to one of the better taverns. We decided to join him and his brother Hugh so they could fill us in how this city operated. They weren’t high gentry he explained, but since they were related to a Lord, they did get to eat in the better establishments.

We went and changed. We found the cabby that Owen had promised was waiting for us. It was a nice tavern and even had a stage that provided entertainment. We ended up with mostly seafood dishes, but that didn’t bother us. They were cooked with different spices, and we enjoyed the meal.

We noted the price of beef here. When I commented on it, Owen and Hugh told us more about what had been happening with their farms. We didn’t stay late since I had Sable with me. Harry chuckled as we went home saying that the ladies at the other table would have happily entertained me if I’d stayed.

They all chuckled when I replied, “That’s what I was worried about.”

I was introduced to the princesses, Quexi, Trisxi, Rehxi and Forxi.

Mary pronounced Trisxi as Trixi, Rehxi as Rexi and Forxi as Foxi, so I will spell them that way. In our language, ‘xi’ is added to a number to indicate one million. This is, of course, a huge number to the average Amitarian.

When I heard the names, I looked at Queen Mary and grinned. Then I chuckled. I bowed my head to her and said, “I must agree with you, your Ladyship. They are truly four daughters that are not like millions of others.”

The offended looks at my laughter turned to mirth and then she and her daughters cackled out merry sounds. Mary linked her arm with mine and said, “Show me your treasures, young swain.”

I inclined my head and led her to the hold. I wondered at her relationship to me. She had the tell-tail Horn coloured eyes except they slanted a little more. She definitely had the nose, chin and the figure. However, her skin had a more pale tea colouring. Her hair was a shade of copper that was less common in our Herds.

The daughters had similar skin tones, but that was all they had in common with each other. Quexi was a younger version of her mother in looks except she had blonder hair. She carried herself well, and it wasn’t hard to tell she was a princess.

Trixi had the most interesting green eyes with golden brown flecks. Her nose was longer and her cheeks higher more like mine. Her hair was a darker burnished copper. She was also slimmer and the tallest of the women. She was a woman you had to look at twice with her bearing and blatant sexuality.

Rexi was the shortest and was a little heavier than her eldest sister was, especially her udders. She made sure she displayed them well. She had the same eyes and facial shape as her mother, but her hair was blonder rather than redder like Quexi’s was. She had a definite, ‘give me a cuddle’ cuteness about her.

Foxi was slimmer than Quexi but curvier than Trixi. She had the same hair as her mother, and her eyes were a more muddy green. Her face also was shaped as her mother’s was. Her nose was longer, and her mouth was slightly smaller. Her eyes gave her a sultrier look, and I was sure plenty of men and women had looked.

They each had their own beauty, but I knew whom I preferred. The princesses trailed along behind Mary and me to the hold. I had a hard time controlling my blush when Foxi whispered loudly, “That sure is one fine tushy.”

Rexi added to my woes with, “And it moves so fine with them lovely long legs. How did he get them into those tight pants?”

“It’s the eyes,” added Quexi. “I bet if you stared into those eyes long enough you’d come where you were standing. I wonder if he’d mind being a second husband.”

Mary chuckled and glanced at me, “You seem to be a hit, Bull Bron.”

I shrugged and replied nonchalantly, “I don’t get many complaints from my three spouses. Bea also has a thing for my tushy. If I look at Cora long enough, she will kiss me and pinch my tushy for me. Greta, my dame, now she has this look she gives me that makes me come.”

Mary snickered and looked at me more seriously, “Only three wives? I thought Bulls were allowed many more?”

“Yes, I can have ten wives according to our laws. I have been a Bull for seventeen months technically, but I only took over my Herd from my grandfather a year ago,” I told her.

She frowned, “The boy. You call him, your son. He must be five or six at least.”

“He will be four on the last day of the year. He is my calf.”

“Please don’t think me rude but just how old are you?” she asked me in surprise.

“I will be twenty on the first day of the new year. My Greta has given me a calf and Bonny is eleven months. Bea and Cora, both had twins, and they were born the day after my last birthday.”

Trixi butted in and said with disapproval, “You have six children already?”

I sighed and looked back at her. “Yes, and I’m not in any rush for more. I love all of my calves, but I have no wish to father a hundred and eighty odd like my grandfather did.”

“Goodness! He must have been favoured by the goddess of Fertility. How did he remember all their names?” Foxi asked.

“He didn’t. Mothers tend to name the calves, and except for a few of us if my grandfather wanted your attention he called you heifer, cow or old cow,” I replied.

“So you got called heifer?” Quexi asked with a chuckle.

“No, I got called the Bitch or the Bastard. He didn’t like me much,” I replied. I ended the discussion, as I walked them into the animal hold. I let them wander down the central isle and look in the pens.

As Dave had predicted, Mary spied the four white lankys. She seemed mesmerised by them. She said in her most imperial voice, “You are not leaving with them.”

I had to chuckle.

Captain Hail, Sable, Harry and I were invited to the castle.

I also insisted that Rose and Silver would be with us. I’m not sure if they approved, but I made it clear that Rose would be with me whenever Sable and I left the ship and Silver always accompanied Captain Hail. I think hinting that they were like our bodyguards may have helped.

Rose had chuckled quietly when I told her. She knew her job was to record everything that happened around me. I didn’t know these people and part of Rose’s job was to make sure I didn’t step into anything I couldn’t get out of. Silver was also happy to assist.

I had a feeling Mary may have earmarked me for Foxi, assuming I’d go for the younger daughter since both of the other two were older than me. I was interested to see how they would go about it. I was informed that we had been invited to dinner and Captain Hail and I were welcome to stay on for the get-together afterwards.

I gathered it had been hastily arranged. I did inform them that we couldn’t stay longer than two or three more days at the most depending on the course of the storm. Tom believed it was following us and its effects would hit here in the early hours of the morning. He felt it would travel further up the coast from here before crossing land as Owen had implied.

We made sure the ship was well tied up, and I added an extra couple of spells after the Royals left. I knew that Lord Richard had sent guards, but I decided a few precautions wouldn’t go astray and the crew agreed with me. We did have a lot of valuable cargo aboard.

I got to meet Lord Richard and Quexi’s spouse, Lord Griff. Sable and Harry were sent to eat in the nursery with Quexi’s daughter Barbara I don’t think they were impressed, but they knew we had to play by their rules to some extent.

I whispered to Harry and Sable that servants were an excellent source of information. They grinned at me and went. I felt sorry for the servants once Sable started in on them. He could get the time of day out of a stone.

I think our hosts expected Rose to go with them but she simply stayed to my right and behind me where I could see her by turning my head. Silver said she would periodically check on Sable and the Captain wasn’t to go far from me when she wasn’t with us. We agreed.

They didn’t know my rules or customs, and as the guest, I knew I could get away with some oddities. Plus I had things that they wanted, but they didn’t really know what I wanted other than some gems.

I had deliberately not mentioned what gems I was looking for or why I wanted them. I instead played the ‘we want to set up trade’ chip. Since we had come to a port in a large city and we were on a trading mission, this was very sellable.

We asked questions like, if we came here what sort items did they believe we could bring that would sell and so forth. I deliberately said little more about my private life. I’d given them enough to think about, and I knew Mary had some knowledge of Green Island. I quickly established it was very old news and really little more than the basics.

Owen had said they didn’t have a shield or androids on this island. They didn’t have a controller or a citadel. They had only been here about four hundred years. Most of their population came from Orient or Galina and a few from Federation.

Inis had a smaller sister city on the Orient side of the island, and they transported goods back and forth over land as it was faster than their ships having to sail around to Inis. They were at a narrower cross-section, and it was less than 200km. Even going through the two mountain ranges that ran close to the two coastlines didn’t slow them too much.

They explained that at some stage in the island’s history, a large tunnel had been created through both ranges and when their ancestors had moved here, parts of the old cities were still inhabited. Most of what we were observing had been built since, as only a few of the older buildings remained.

Those buildings and the tunnels had very strong preservations spells on them that remained even to this day. Their mages did periodically check the spells on the tunnels and ensured they stayed intact. I did learn that they didn’t have very many mages on the island. They certainly didn’t have a High Mage.

I was introduced to one of the mages at the dinner. He was called Lord Erwin Lots, and he was an uncle of sorts, of Owen and Hugh. I gathered they were from a sister’s family line. Erwin ruled a large tract of land that included the sister city that was called Littleton.

I wasn’t sure how he inherited, as he wasn’t a shifter. I might have to ask my new friend Owen.

Lord Albi Aston was also in town. His mother had property to the north of Inis. Apparently, my timing was impeccable as on the following night, they were having a ball for Trixi’s twenty-fifth birthday, and the other Lords and Ladies would be in town. I could meet them and discuss selling my produce with them.

I asked about the sickness their herds had. At first, they seemed reluctant to discuss it with me and tried to make light of it. Trixi came to my rescue. “Have you come across this illness before?” she asked me.

Foxi and Rexi had been seated either side of me, and Trixi was opposite me and seated between the two Lords. I don’t think she was too happy about it. It was obvious to me that she didn’t particularly like either man’s attentions nor could I blame her.

Lord Lots, in particular, sat far too close and was constantly touching her. It made her lean towards Albi but then he took her movements as an invitation, and I had seen her remove his hand from her lap twice in as many minutes.

Mind you, I was having similar problems on my side of the table. As Foxi seemed determined to find out what graced the front of my pants. I think my poor cock shrivelled up and tried to hide. Rexi wasn’t much better.

I wasn’t used to being pawed in such a manner, and I wasn’t the least turned on by their actions. The fact that they didn’t seem perturbed by me removing their hands was making me cranky. I was just about to say something impolite to Foxi when I started to chime. It took me a moment to realise it was my organiser.

“Sorry, but I have to take this call,” I said to the table and pushed my chair back. I looked at Rose, and she nodded towards the upstairs. I then heard Sable’s call. I frowned, flicked my head at her to lead and then followed. She moved quickly, and I was soon running after her.

I heard someone following me, but I didn’t turn to see whom. We raced down a hall and burst into a room. Harry was grappling with one man, and Sable was ripping the pants off another with his puppy teeth. Three-year-old Barbara was in the man’s arms, and she was screaming, struggling and clawing at him.

I grabbed the man by the ears with the flat of my palms and flicked my wrists to the right. ‘SNAP’. As he slumped, I removed Barbara from his hands before he dropped her. “Harry,” I said.

Sable turned quickly, but he wasn’t required. Rose held the man by having her arms wrapped around his upper arms and chest. She had his arms pinned at his sides. He was kicking and grunting, but he obviously didn’t understand how strong an android was.

Kicking Rose as he was didn’t hurt her as much as it hurt him, especially when she then squeezed him in retaliation. His face went quite red, and he started gasping for breath at the pressure. He soon worked out if he stopped struggling Rose loosen her grip a little so he could breathe.

I hugged Barbara to my chest, and she shushed almost immediately and hugged me tightly around the neck. Harry gained his feet, and Sable turned back to human. I had to chuckle as he hadn’t bothered to remove his clothes. “What happened, Harry?” I asked.

“I was reading to Sable and Barbara when these two came in through a side door. He grabbed me from behind, and the other grabbed Barbara from my lap. Sable changed and went after the man who had her and I wrestled with that shit,” he said.

He was pretty pissed off. He would have a shiner to go with his split lip. He wiped the blood and glared at the man that Rose held with little trouble. He wasn’t a lot taller than she was and had Orient features with the peach colour to his skin and eyes were more slanted than Mary’s was. He was middle aged at my guess and poorly dressed.

“Who messaged my organiser?” I asked as I gently rubbed Barbara’s back.

“Me, Daddy, I had it on, and I hit the call button before I changed,” my son told me proudly.

“That was very quick thinking, son. You did well.” I turned to the door and said, “So why would, two men be trying to kidnap Barbara?”

Quexi and Trixi had been the fastest to realise where I was going. The others were starting to crowd behind them. Quexi turned on her sister, “It’s all your fault, why can’t you just choose one of them?” she screamed at her.

She stomped into the room, and I handed Barbara over to her mother. Quexi soothed her daughter and took her to another room obviously upset. Lord Griff went with her and seemed just as upset. I looked at Trixi. She was quivering, but her lips were white with anger.

“The fucking bastards, I’m going to kill those jumped up supercilious...”

I had reached her by the time she said, ‘fucking’. I gently wrapped my arms around her and hugged her. “Shush,” I said softly.

She slumped against me and sobbed, “Stupid laws. I hate those stupid laws.”

I gently walked her to Barbara’s bed and sat down with her under my arm. I rubbed her arm gently, “What laws?”

“The marriage laws, if I’m not married by midnight tomorrow when I turn twenty-five I can’t inherit. I also have to produce a female child before I’m thirty. I don’t want the stupid property anyway,” she growled.

I looked up at Mary, “What is she on about?”

Mary sighed and looked at her daughter. “My cousin ruled the Devin Shire. She and her daughter died in a tragic accident nine months ago, and Trixi was named as her heir apparent if her daughter Jana died before she turned twenty-five. They were both born on the same day, and we never expected her to die or that Trixi would inherit.”

“If Trixi doesn’t marry, who inherits?” I asked.

“That’s part of the problem, no one else was named,” Mary said.

“Okay, so Trixi is the heir apparent, correct?” I asked.

They nodded. “So if Trixi as the heir apparent makes a testament that if she doesn’t marry by her birthday or have progeny by the time she is thirty, then her next oldest living sister is her heir. That is what normally happens correct?”

They all looked at me strangely. Lord Aston frowned and said, “Well she does have to make a testament when she marries to name an apparent heir at the very least. Normally the line about her first born daughter is also added, even though they can’t be named until after birth.”

“Does it happen before or after the wedding?” I asked.

Mary grinned and said, “I made mine a week before the wedding, and so did my cousin. So it must be legal for Trixi to also make hers before she marries.”

Trixi looked at me, “You mean if I say Rexi is my heir, I can’t be forced to marry?”

“That seems to be what your laws say as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve had a lot to do with sorting out of laws of late,” I told her.

Trixi hugged me and kissed me fair on the lips. Crap! She slowly drew back and looked at me strangely, “What just happened?”

“Sorry, but I think you have been chosen,” I told her. I pulled my satchel around from my back when it appeared and opened it. I pulled out my magic box and then opened it. “Crap!” I said again and closed the box.

“Look, Trixi, you have a few choices. If we marry tomorrow, you inherit. The problem is that I can’t stay here. So you would have to rule alone. I could come and visit, but I can’t stay. Else, you write your testament, and you come with me. We don’t have to marry straight away, but it will happen.”

“What are you on about?” she said crossly.

“You have been chosen by the boxes. I worked out a little while ago that the boxes I carry in my magical box will only go to someone I can love,” I said. I picked up Trixi’s hand and placed it on my crotch.

“Only four other women had given me erections. I’ve married three of them. I may one day marry the fourth, but she isn’t ready, and may never be. The fact I don’t feel that I love her enough is why the boxes haven’t chosen her.”

“They have chosen you like they did my other three spouses. One of the boxes will go to you because they believe I can love you. I got an erection when I saw you walk onto the ship yesterday and I got one both times you have touched me since. Ask your sisters. It didn’t work for them.”

She looked at her two younger sisters. They both shook their heads.

She looked down at my crotch and chuckled. “You’re deadly serious aren’t you?”

“Afraid so. Like I said, I won’t force you to marry me straight away, but it will happen. This I’m very sure about,” I told her.

Sable walked up to Trixi and placed his hand on hers, and then closed his eyes. He opened them a few moments later and smiled at her. “Good choice, dad,” he said.

“But I’m way older than you?” she suddenly said.

I chuckled and took her hands back into mine where they belonged, “All of my spouses are older than me. You will only be the oldest by a couple of months. They seem to get older each time I pick one. Bea was my last spouse, and she is twenty-four. Cora is twenty-three and Greta my dame is twenty-two.”

“Hey mister, I’m hurting here,” the man Rose was holding whined.

I looked at him. Then I reached into my magical box and pulled out a band. I put the box away and replaced my sachet on my back where it disappeared again. I stood and walked over to the man and placed the band on his wrist. I cast the spell.

“You will not be able to lie, cheat or steal ever again, as long as you live. This is a magical punishment band. You will not be able to remove it. Who sent you here?” I asked.

His eyes snapped to mine and fear filled them, “He will kill me.”

I gave him a wry grin and dropped another spell on the band. “Not now he can’t. You can die of natural causes or if convicted by a court of law to die, but you can’t be murdered.”

The man’s eyes snapped to the doorway. Lord Lots started backing out of the door. I flicked out my wand from my side and pointed it at him, and he froze. “I believe you have a confession, Sir?”

He snarled at me, “The stupid bitch just had to marry me.”

“Why did you need to marry her? You are already a Lord,” I asked.

“The sickness, it has decimated my herds. I’m broke. Devin Shire hasn’t had it,” he said woodenly. I felt there was more, but he had said enough.

“Queen Mary, I believe this your problem. Except for one small act that I must do,” I said. I walked up to Lord Lots and placed my hand over his ring hand. I then said the spells that I so hated to say. The ring slipped off into my hand, and I lifted it to inspect it.

“Hum, this has been damaged. Where did you get it Lord Lots?”

“Orient,” he said woodenly.

“Queen Mary, he is yours now,” I said tiredly. I bent down to the better-dressed man I had killed and removed the ring from him too. It only had one gem and seemed very poorly made. I showed it to Mary when I stood.

“Rose, let that man go. I’m sorry about this man. He was told not to leave without Barbara, so it was the only way to stop him. I’m sure you understand I did what I had too. Sorry about Lord Lots, but he is a bad Lord. Stupid men, I hate finding corrupted items.”

I collected my people and took Trixi’s hand. She didn’t argue with me and seemed to sense I was very upset. She left with us. The trip in the coach was very quiet, and Trixi just held me. I hated to kill, and I hated doing what I had to do to Lord Lots.

When we arrived at the ship, she stripped and got into my bed with me. I cuddled up to her, and she soothed me into a troubled sleep. It was comforting feeling her warm against me, and her concern for me.