Chapter 21

Vel planned to surreptitiously leak the Malshall ambassador's response to the Vengeance's remaining crew using the slaves who brought them breakfast each morning. Dent was anxious to get started but knew it would be better if they had a bit of time to think about this news and what it could mean to them. Instead of lounging around the apartment all day waiting, he decided to go to the Guild Hall for a little practice and to find out if there were any warriors available for their trip. Luckily he found Jon right away and had a quick answer to his question.

"Don't know of anyone available at present," he said stroking his chin. "Every swinging dick that wanted a contract has one, except for maybe a few of us old-timers that is. I sure a hell ain't taking a contract that puts me at sea. Silvia would kill me if the sea air or the food didn't.

"I'll ask around, though. You never know, someone may be getting bored. I do know a few whose contracts are coming due for renewal in the next few weeks. Maybe they'd be interested, especially if this trouble with Malshall is quieting down. You're looking fairly short term, aren't you?"

"Yes, short term for right now," Dent admitted. "A month of training soldiers and then one or two voyages, just until we see if it will work."

"Well good luck, I'll see what I can do."

Dent was able to get in a good workout and had just finished sparring with a few of the regulars when someone he'd never seen before approached him. He was a good three inches taller than Dent and powerfully built with a swagger he had seen in a number of his brother warriors, although few enough in the older veterans. He strode up and set himself in front or Dent as if to prevent him from leaving.

"You, Dent?" he growled."

Dent nodded, wondering what was going on.

"I have a message from my employer."

"Well that could be interesting depending on who your employer is, what the message is and who you are," Dent answered mildly.

"I am Escaro, chief of the Guard for House deBabear." When Dent failed to react he frowned and continued, "Garishnie deBabear is head of that household and has a message for you."

"Garishnie, is it?" Dent grinned causing Escaro to frown even more. Dent didn't usually make snap judgments of people he didn't know, but he was really beginning to dislike this pompous ass. Instinctively he knew smiling and acting calmly would piss off his unwelcome visitor probably more than anything else he could do, so he did it. "I can't imagine there would be anything he could say that I would be interested in but I suppose if you have been tasked with delivering a message, than you must do your duty."

He was right. Inferring Escaro was little more than a messenger boy worked almost as well as poking him with a sharp stick. Escaro's face took on an interesting shade of purple as he fought to control his temper.

"You had better listen, you little piece of newborn shit, if you know what's good for you." Escaro paused momentarily trying to compose himself. "The honorable deBabear knows you are in possession of two slaves, a mother and a daughter. He knows they have been bound with salidin and even given that he is willing to purchase them from you for the sum of twenty gold."

"Oh, is that all he wants," Dent said relaxing. "This is easily taken care of then. The answer is no."

"He thought you would answer so. I am to tell you that this offer is not for himself but that he is acting as an agent for a very powerful lord here in Harv'el."

"Oh, and who might that be?"

"I can't say, but he is powerful, very powerful."

"Somewhat more interesting, but my answer is still the same."

"Thirty gold then."

"Same answer: no."

"You cannot say no to this, little man," Escaro growled.

"I can, I have and I will." Putting his hands up as if to stop the big man Dent went on, "Before you make another offer you can save your breath. They are not for sale at any price. Go back and tell your master that is my final say in this matter."

"He is my employer and not my master!" Escaro fumed. "You will regret this decision." With that he turned around and stalked off.

"I see you met Escaro." It was Brent the older warrior he often sparred with.

"It would seem," Dent mused. "What do you know about him?"

"My old mammy told me once if a hundred times, 'If you can't speak good of a body say nothing.'"

"So what do you have to say about him?" Dent asked with a grin.

"Nothing," Brent replied with a wink.

Escaro knocked on the doorframe outside Garishnie's study and hurried inside without waiting for an answer. Garishnie was sitting behind a desk with ink stylus and paper spread out in front of him.

"Were you able to talk to him?" Garishnie demanded before Escaro could say anything.

"Yes," Escaro grunted. "He refused, said he wouldn't sell them for any price, the idiot. Even the best pussy in the world isn't worth what you offered him."

"Some people get sentimentally attached to things," Garishnie replied shrugging. "It doesn't make sense but it happens. The question is how do we deal with it. His Excellency is acting quite strangely about this for some reason. I wish I'd never told him about them; this is going to be a problem I can tell. He hasn't even seen them and he's demanding that I produce them immediately. I'm beginning to think he's a bit mad."

"So let's just kill this little prick and take them," Escaro recommended.

"We can't do that!" Garishnie snapped. "You of all people should know what trouble the Guild can cause if something like that got out."

"Fuck the Guild," Escaro spat. "All they do is take my money and give nothing in return. If I could get anywhere near the money as an independent I'd never set foot in one of those holes again!"

Wisely Garishnie didn't point out the faulty reasoning inherent in the warrior's last statement. He got twice the pay he would as an independent and paid only ten percent to the Guild. Some people wished to remain blind and it suited Garishnie to have a Guild Warrior who wasn't particularly loyal to his guild. Escaro was useful for jobs that at times required a flexible sense of morality.

""You can afford to say that," Garishnie said dryly. "Unfortunately I can't. If the Guild were to find me, ah, acquiring a member's property under less than legal circumstances it could be disastrous if not deadly."

Escaro grunted assent. He may not like the Guild for whatever reason but he wasn't stupid enough to underestimate its power and influence.

"What I really need and don't have is some other bit of fluff that I can give him to take his mind off these two," Garishnie mused.

"Sell him your daughter," Escaro said laughing as Garishnie grimaced.

"I would never sell my daughter to that monster!" Garishnie stated. "At least not at a price he'd be willing to pay."

They both started laughing at that.

Dent walked down the street quickly trying to keep up with the bubbling Festou. Vel sent the boy to lead him to the barracks where the ex-Malshallian frigate's crew was being housed. Soon they came to a rather ordinary-looking warehouse with no guards at the door. None were needed; after all where would they go?

Opening the door Dent entered and looked around. It was little more than a large room with rows of cots and a few large lockers. Men in the light blue of the Malshallian navy were sitting, lying down or standing in small groups talking. The low murmuring slowed to a stop when they noticed Dent standing by the door. As a group they started towards him, those passing the cots shaking their sleeping comrades awake. In a few moments the entire group of about fifty men was standing around Dent in a large semicircle looking at him sullenly.

Finally someone spoke up, "You here to tell us the bad news?"

Another piped in right behind, "Yeah our own country doesn't want us. You going to send us to the mines now?"

Slowly he scanned the crowd, heartened by the fact that most would meet him eye to eye even though they felt he brought about their doom. Every once in a while he could see eyes widen as their owner recognized him as the one most responsible for their plight.

"I'm here to bring you news," he began. "It may be good or bad depending on how you wish to take it."

"First the bad news: It would appear you have heard of your ambassador's response to our demand for ransom." The murmuring started again and continued as he spoke. "It's true, Malshall has refused to deal with us for your return. In fact they said they don't want you back at all. Said they won't have anyone who can't beat a bunch of pirates." The murmuring grew louder and began to take on a definite angry tone.

"I think that is not only unfair but foolish on their part," Dent said speaking up to be heard over the din. The murmuring quickly quieted until the room was silent.

"It's true you were beaten but you fought well. None of you need to hang your head in shame. You fought well but this time victory wasn't yours."

"I can imagine what you must be feeling now: Frightened, because you have been abandoned. Scared, because you think you will now be sold into slavery and, who knows, maybe even sent to the mines."

"Let me first say that won't happen." The murmuring started up again this time with an almost questioning tone. Raising his voice again Dent continued, "You won't be sold as slaves and you won't be sent to the mines. You will be released as free men, able to go where and when you please."

"What good will that do us?" someone shouted after a few minutes of quiet. "We're hundreds of miles from home without a copper to our names!"

Dent shrugged, "For those of you who want to leave, I can't do much about that." He waited a few seconds, "However for those who wish to stay maybe I can help."

"What do you mean, stay?" another asked.

"I mean stay, in my employ." The faces he saw now were shocked and somewhat subdued.

"I am looking for men to man ships," he explained. "We are forming a new shipping company and are going to be looking for both sailors and marines. The pay won't make you rich and it may be extremely dangerous but it will pay and you will be free."

"Who do we have to fight?"

"Anyone who attacks our ships and yes, that could conceivably be Malshall." Raising his hands to quiet the crowd again Dent continued. "I know you're going to have questions. I don't know if I have all the answers but I will try."

One who looked like a sailor raised his hand and asked, "Some of us have families in Malshall. What do we do about them?"

"We knew some of you might," Dent admitted. "We think we know a way for you to bring them here if that is what you want. It probably won't be soon and I know it won't be easy but we will try. I don't know if it would be safe for any of you to return to Malshall right now but there should be a way for us to get messages to anyone there if you need to."

"One more thing," Dent said. "If any of you marines decide to sign on with us you will be trained in a different method of fighting than you're used to, the same method I trained the sailors on the Death Grip. This will be required. If you don't want to, or can't change, then don't bother to sigh up."

There were questions concerning this new training and although some were skeptical it didn't seem to pose as much of a barrier as Dent originally thought it would. It would seem that expatriates with unknown futures can be more flexible in their outlook towards new concepts than others.

"I'll give you two days to decide," Dent said. "You can send a messenger either to the Death Grip at the docks or the Cracked Cask in Cooperstown. For those of you interested, training will begin in a few days. I need to find facilities, but once I have, we will start."

"I don't need two days," said one grizzled older marine. "If Malshall doesn't want me then I'm yours. I do have family back there, though, and if we can get a message to them I would appreciate it. We'll see about moving them later."

"You'd have to get the garrison's dick out of your old lady's cunt before you could move her!" someone shouted from the back. Everyone, including the older soldier laughed at that.

"If you've made your decision, that's fine," Dent grinned, "but if you need more time, you know where to find me. We'll begin enrollment when I find the facilities. For those who wish to join us, I'll see you there; for the rest of you, may luck be with you."

"So they agreed?" Vel finished his wine and pushed his plate back on the table away from him. One of the serving girls picked it up quickly and left after he patted her on the butt.

"It seems so." Dent was trying to finish his own meal as they talked. The Cracked Cask wasn't busy at the moment since the noonday rush was over and the evening meal still hours away. "I don't know exactly how many we will get but I would guess most if not all will join. I can tell you they were pretty pissed off.

"How could Malshall be so stupid? Certainly the cost of training new troops would be more than the small amount you were asking for their return. It doesn't make sense."

"Politics, my young friend, politics," Vel grunted. "Malshall was sending a message, both to Jeevel and its own people. Politics doesn't always make sense and sometimes the gesture is worth more than the cost. In this case the gesture is an empty one as far as we're concerned and beneficial for us on top of it."

"If we can get them, that's good," he continued. "So you'll start looking for somewhere to train soon?"

"This afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest. I'm taking Marie's nephews with me. They seem to know their way around the docks and I figure there should be some empty warehouses or something available down there. Plus, it'll be easier moving the gear back and forth from the ship if it's closer."

Vel dropped a small bag on the table, it clinked. "Here's some money to rent what you need. I agree the docks are probably the best place to start looking.

"Now there are still a few questions I need answered before we can continue. The first being who can we get to hold the bond for us? I thought of the Sailors Guild but I'm not sure the merchants would agree."

"You really need to talk to Nesho about that," Dent replied, waving his hand. "But if you're looking for a neutral third party you might want to consider my Guild. I doubt any would dispute their adjudication of any contract."

"True," Vel mused. "But that would mean you'd need to be involved in the contract itself."

"Maybe, but it might be enough for me to be a partner no mater how small a part I take in it. I'll have Nesho contact the Guild contract representative. They should be able to tell us quickly if we can work through them. If they are willing it should be fairly easy to accomplish and to tell the truth I'm not sure I'd want to do business with anyone who's not willing to work through the Guild."

"Again, true. Your Guild may not be known for its compassion but it's scrupulously fair and holds both sides to the letter of the contract. Good! That takes care of that then! Now for the next thing: Dent that woman of yours is going to drive me mad! She has been working on the bookings for our cargo and I swear she is more shark than human!"

"What's the problem?" Dent asked with a grin.

"She's having the merchants bidding on space and I can't get a firm grip on just what cargo we're going to be carrying! It keeps changing day to day!"

"Just tell her when you have to know and I'm sure she'll get it for you. Is it really a problem?"

"No," Vel muttered. "That's not it. It's just, well, damn it, she treats me like I'm some kind of village idiot. I've been sailing, trading and shipping for more years than you've been alive and she just smiles, pats me on the cheek and tells me to be a good boy and go look after the ship!"

"Do you think they're taking advantage of her? Is the profit in jeopardy? I can tell her to back off and let you take care of it if you want."

"Damn it, no! That's what's so infuriating! She already has cargo scheduled that will bring us twice the profit I expected and she's not done yet." Vel sighed and leaned back in his chair. "To tell the truth it hurts my pride to see a mere woman besting me at what I do best."

"Welcome to my world," Dent grinned. "I told you she was smart. When she gets it into her mind that something is best for us I wouldn't bet on anyone in her way. You know ships; she knows numbers. If you want my advice, let her worry about the cargo and you and I will take care of the ship."

"I know, I know," Vel sighed again. "It's just the merchants don't like dealing with a slave even if she is my agent."

"Fuck them!" Dent declared, no longer smiling. "If they have a problem with that they can find someone else to move their crap. If they have a real problem with it they can talk to me about it, personally."

"Yeah," Vel chuckled, "I doubt you'll get many takers on that. You're right though: I need to stop whining. She's good at this and I'd be a fool not to let her go ahead with what's she's doing. Doesn't mean I have to like it though." Dent just shrugged and smiled back at him.

"Exactly, well I guess this little boy better get down to the Grip and see what those fools have screwed up today. Barring any major stupidity, we should be ready in about three weeks. Will we have a contingent ready in that time?"

"We'll have to be, now won't we? It shouldn't be a problem. If we get most of the crew from the Vengeance they're already trained fighters. I'll just be polishing their skill and adding a bit to it. They'll be ready."

"Good, then I'm off for the docks."

Just as Dent was finishing Sosho swept into the main room and hurried over. Kelei was removing his dishes but Sosho ignored her and flopped down in his lap giving him a big kiss.

"Hello, Master mine," she said happily.

"Hello to you, sweet thing," he answered. "What've you been up to and why so happy today?"

"Well first I want to apologize for being such a bitch lately; I'll make it up to you I promise." Dent started to disagree but she put her hand over his mouth. "None of that. I know how I've been acting and I wanted to say I'm sorry. But second, I want to ask a favor."

"You haven't been a bitch," Dent was finally able to get out, "and what do you want? You know you can have anything I can reasonably give you."

"Thank you, but what I want is to use the spare room. Marie seems to think I can do well as a dressmaker here but I need somewhere to work and do the fittings. I asked Momma but she said I needed to ask you first."

"Of course you can. In fact if that room's not big enough, I'm sure we can find you an empty shop around here somewhere to use."

"Thank you, oh masterful one," she said squirming around in his lap. The feel of her soft bottom was doing wicked things to his cock and he started to harden. Feeling it, she grinned and bounced up and down a little but continued on as if nothing was out of order. "I don't need anything like that yet; maybe sometime, but not now. With you and Momma working so much lately I've been bored and this will give me something to do."

"Well, we do want to keep you out of trouble." Dent was thinking that if she kept up what she was doing she was going to get herself dragged upstairs and fucked until she couldn't walk; that should keep her out of trouble for a while at least! But before he could take his thought from idle speculation to action Nesho and Marie walked in and sat down next to them.