Chapter 3

They arrived in the bank vault, and each of them placed a finger in the hole. They then withdrew their belongings from the boxes that appeared before them

Tom had his bow, arrows and moleskin cloak. He rolled the cloak up, and stuffed it into his bag. In turn, Tony, then Paul withdrew their belongings. As they were about to leave the others saw Tony take off his ring, tie it to a piece of cord, and hang it round his neck.

"Why are you doing that?" asked Tom.

"On my last mission, I was told that the Brotherhood men were looking for rings like ours. It makes sense not to advertise our presence if we don't have to."

"Sounds good to me," said Paul, reaching into his bag for a strip of rawhide, and doing likewise.

"Got any more?" asked Tom.

"Yeah, sure," said Paul, handing Tom a piece of rawhide.

Tom removed his ring and also tied it round his neck.

They had arrived in Small Cove, the only site on the island with a bank.

As they left the Bank, the smell assaulted their noses, just as it had before. The mixed stench of raw sewage, rotting fish, foodstuffs and animal droppings combined in the heat of summer, and made for a less than savoury aroma. They could feel the bile rising.

As Tom looked around, he saw that the town had grown. Before, it had been just a quay, a few sheds, some houses, the inn, and the Bank. Now he saw that construction was in full swing. There were new warehouses going up as well as some more prosperous looking houses. Also, there was what looked like a shantytown of tents and roughly built shacks. Mixed in with this, there were shops and even some better quality boarding houses.

The town was expanding outwards towards the headland. Whereas before, the buildings had clung to the shore, in the lee of the cliffs; now the town was spread out onto the headland, and towards a large hill that overlooked and dominated the area town. He saw that a breakwater also had been built, greatly enlarging the capacity of the port.

They made their way over to the stables. Robert was there and he greeted them like long lost friends.

"Lord Tom, Lord Paul! Who's your friend?" said Robert

"Hello, Robert. This is Sir Tony. Sir Tony, Robert," said Tom, introducing them.

"Pleased to meet you, Sir Tony. Now what brings you back here to our little town? Not more slavers I hope."

"I'm afraid it is," said Tom. "This time though, they seem to want the island, the whole thing. Everyone will have to bend a knee to them, whether they like it or not. They want the women as their playthings and the men to do their labours. Those who resist will be beaten or killed. We've come here to warn you of what is happening on the mainland. They call themselves the Brotherhood. They have already taken a large part of the mainland, and we are here to see that they don't get all of you, as well."

"That's awful. That will explain why we're getting a lot of refugees coming over. We hear some terrible tales. I've got some working on the farm. What I'm going to do with them once harvest is over, I just don't know. I know it's quiet now, but next month we're going to need every man available to get the crops in. If these slavers choose to attack then, how are we going to stop them?" asked Robert.

"We need to get the people together to have a meeting about this. But first, tell me, what's happened to the town? It seems to be growing out of all proportion," said Tom.

"Well, it seems that those slavers of yours have attacked the mainland and a lot of the traders have come here to escape. They do not like having their stock taken from them and told it's 'taxes'. I've never seen anything like it. The town has trebled in size since you were last here, and with the new breakwater we're getting more ships than ever. Oh, we have a new inn as well. This one is much nicer than the Stinking Fish. It's called the Traveller's Rest. It's up on the headland, so the air is much fresher," said Robert.

"You mean it doesn't smell as bad," said Paul.

"Well, yes; but as we have so many rich merchants in the town now, as well as those who visit here to trade, we needed somewhere more up-market," said Robert

"That sounds just the place to gather the people together to hold our meeting. I would be grateful if you would introduce me to some of these rich merchants, later. But first, tell me how thing are on the farm?" asked Tom.

"Oh, they're not too bad. Sheila's expecting. She's due around mid-winter. Have to make sure she's well wrapped up. Mary and her kids are doing okay, one of the new hands has taken a shine to her, and she seems agreeable. Had to throw Amy out. Caught her stealing from the barn. Apparently there was stuff buried in there that no one else knew about. She's plying her 'trade' down at the Stinking Fish. Uzma, the whore there, was not impressed with the competition. She doesn't do much trade there now. In fact, only Garan, the blind beggar bothers with her now. Amy's kids are still at the farm, though. Abida, her eldest, has been a real help. She refused to go with her mother, and looks after her siblings much better than her mother ever did. In fact she looks after all the kids. She's a proper mother hen. Ah, well, such is life.

"As for the town ... well, after you left, we kept getting people arriving. Some were refugees with only the clothes on their backs, but others were wealthy merchants who objected to some bastard riding up and taking half their stock as 'taxes'. They have been arriving in their droves. It's a good thing for me, though. With all the horses they need, it's making me rich!" he told Tom.

"That's fantastic news. Congratulations," Tom said, taking Robert by the hand. "If it's all right with you, we'll come over after the meeting, It will be good to see you all again. Just for now we're going to have a wander down to the docks and have a word down there. Get everyone together and we'll meet at noon, at the Traveller's Rest."

"Very well. I'll get everyone together and see you then," Robert replied.

They made their way down towards the docks. It was the same as docks everywhere. There were fish catches being landed, cargoes being unloaded, men rushing here and there with large loads on their backs. The smell ... although, it must be said, it was slightly better than the town ... well, the smell of fish was still strong. The sea breeze did manage to reduce it to a more tolerable level.

As they made their way along the wharf, he stood looking at the ships. They were very tiny compared to the giant super tankers and cargo ships seen on Earth. Some were small cogs, made for coastal trading, and were capable of carrying around one hundred tons. There were caravels, too. These were larger, better built ships, capable of long distance voyages, and able to carry up to three hundred tons. Looking up at the ships he saw one he recognised.

"Hey, there," Tom called to one of the sailors. "Is the captain on board?"

The man looked up. "Lord Tom, and Lord Paul! You have returned!" he called.

Others stopped what they were doing and looked up. Immediately they started cheering and calling to their shipmates. Disturbed by the sudden commotion on deck, Captain Peters made his way out of his cabin.

"What's all this noise about?" he bellowed.

Then he caught sight of the group on the quay.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain" called out Tom.

"Lord Tom, Lord Paul! Come aboard, please!" he called to them.

They walked along the gangplank.

"Welcome aboard 'The Lord Tom, '" he said with a flourish.

"'The Lord Tom?'" they asked together.

"Well, the old name, The Dogfish, just didn't seem right any more. So, we renamed her. I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all, not at all," he said. Then seeing all the new rigging and sails, he commented, "You seem to be doing well. She's looking good. What are you trading in these days?"

"Well, Sir, a lot of the work is coming from your friend Ahmed. He really is helping us a lot. We've also been getting people off of the mainland. With these slavers around, a lot of folk are desperate to get away. We normally get two or three families a trip. We brought out four, this time, nice people," he told them.

"What's their story? And where are they, now?" asked Paul

"Well, Sir, they're down below at the moment. Two of them were injured getting away, and they rest don't want to leave them," Captain Peters told them.

"Take us to them, at once!" said Paul.

The captain led them down into the hold of the ship, where a group of frightened looking people sat around their sick companions.

"This is Lord Tom, and Lord Paul. I'm sorry, in the excitement I forgot to enquire as to your friend. Please forgive me," he said.

"Nothing to forgive, Captain. This is Sir Tony," said Tom

A gasp went up from one of the men.

"I've heard that name. A singer from Blackford sang a tale of Sir Tony. He defeated a thousand slavers and freed the people of his land. The tale is sung in all the taverns."