Chapter 59

Derwen, Katsu and Mercedes waited for me on the porch with a real breakfast. Clearing her throat, Derwen announced that yesterday's storm had delayed The Lady of Truth from leaving our little port in the village. Katsu studied Derwen with visible curiosity at the statement, while Katsu's sensual shape held my eyes in her special, sheer, temple dress. Derwen and Katsu felt my preoccupation through our link and Katsu turned to me and smiled, pleased with the attention. Derwen was wearing a finely made pair of pants and a silk short-sleeved white shirt, while Mercedes was in a simple temple work dress, not much more attractive than homespun cloth. It was obvious that Mercedes intended to work today.

Keeping her mind on the task at hand, Derwen said, "Perhaps you would want to escort my ship to Conquest Point, Von. If there is no weather to worry about today."

Katsu's magnificent frame held my attention for a moment longer, before I responded, "But Derwen, I wanted to play with your sister today!" Putting on my best false sense of disappointment. My thoughts truly following an inappropriate direction, when Katsu's nipples suddenly pointed out. Mercedes lifted her hair catching my attention, extremely curious about my real intentions.

Derwen frowned a little. "Well? Tell us about the weather forecast."

"Clear for the next three days, my love," I replied without taking my eyes off Katsu.

"Does he have to go?" Katsu said in a soft seductive voice. My lover made it painfully clear she wasn't kidding, as she arched her back, thrusting her chest towards me, feeding my physical reaction with her beauty and my emotions through our mindlink.

My indomitable wife said, "He is overdue in Juniper Hills and I will not be responsible for upsetting his other wives."

I could see a spark of recognition of the truth in Mercedes' eyes. Her mother wasn't as willing to let it go, lifting her breasts with both hands, offering them to me. That broke the mood, making me laugh and then all the serving staff laughed too.

Derwen repeated, softly, "Our troubles kept Von here too long this time. He must make the appropriate apologies for us."

Katsu laughed adding, "It will be a rough, sweaty and urgent apology." Even Derwen laughed at her sister.

Slapping her hand, Derwen responded, "Naughty, naughty, sister. Our task in training the new Hi-Courtesan will be difficult if you don't set a better example of nobility."

Katsu playfully put her tongue out, "The only noble thing I want is..."

Morita announced, "Our foreign visitor from Conquest Point is back, waiting for an audience in the garden."

Katsu winked at me and left for the temple with her daughter. It served our interests for the former wife of Lord Atum to retire to the private part of the temple. Fortunately, they could use a couple of servants to scout the way, like Morita, so they could stay unobserved.

Derwen laid her hand on mine. "One thing more, Von. I have consulted the old rules about a Hi-Courtesan. If they register with an Earth Mother temple they are allowed their own Courtesan Guard of 10 men or woman. They are considered independent from their noble lover with enough status to call for protection."

"That is great news!" I said, eying her suspiciously. I felt a nagging sense from our link she was going to add a "But."

"I want Ginger to lead the protective detail. Brook needs a strong woman to guide her when she is away from the manor..." Derwen said stiffly, changing the direction of the discussion. "The temple warrior is also the right person to train her to fight like a woman."

My simple dalliance with the temple guard after the battle made me more than admirer of her combat skills. I'd intended to take her to Juniper Hills and make her captain of the temple guard as I liked her passion, bravery and intelligence. She was all the things that we wanted in a Courtesan Guard Commander too. Brook's youth and inexperience needed a firm hand, besides Katsu's courtly instructions.

"Very well. You're the strategist on these noble things," I grunted. "But you have to tell her with the High Priestess."

"Chicken," Derwen shot back.

I let Derwen go to her garden and I said my goodbyes in the manor. The staff were surprised I was leaving, as they hadn't heard any recent gossip about it and the women I was intimate with were teary-eyed. Morita seemed particularly distressed, but all I could do was hug her. Ridgeworth helped me fit my fanny pack and water reservoir. We drank each other's kisses for a little while, craving the physical touch and then I turned and left for the temple.

Although the main room of the private side of the temple, was originally constructed as the central gathering place for the priestesses, now it was mostly used as the language school, as learning the secret Moon Mother language I'd introduced took over in importance. Ambitious acolytes ran to me as soon as I came into the open-air room. I was the dreamy heir of Moon Mother, so female flesh pressed against me until a senior teacher got them under control. As time had gone on, the women without the "Von" experience were much more aggressive, with tales of my tenderness and hunger for the female form was always on their lips. Women that felt the pull of my itch would sometimes tell a temple companion, when I was pent-up, hoping to help a friend finally garner my attention.

The temple women rarely were in their regular attire anymore, preferring to get my attention by wearing the sheer temple dress. When I announced my untimely departure, I was mobbed as they bypassed the normal protocols and the teachers didn't stop the students from striping naked. A thousands hands had me undressed and moved to the day bed, the priestesses actually laughed at me. The room of women erupted in uncontrolled passion. They spread body oil over my entire body with feverish fingers stroking me. "I should never have run over here, damn sweat."

Getting me on my back was easier when I didn't fight it. A pretty golden-brown teen, from the mainland, fought her way on top of me. Her wild eyes, dilated giving her a delirious look, staring at me only long enough to impale herself yelling, "Oh, Moon Mother Bless me!"

The other women had stepped back to watch once one of their number who had mounted the prize bull at the rodeo. My new lover was a tigress, driven by a wildness I'd never seen as she dropped on me with her full weight and no fear. My lover pounded me, throwing her head about with wild abandonment. An older priestess stepped in and pinched the girl's nipples causing my lover to cry out, "Ohhhhhhhhhhh." The erotic nature of the commotion had me erupt into the girl when someone gently cupped my quiver. The teen lover lost her rhythm and collapsed off me, into the waiting arms of the priestess.

"The official goodbye party is over!" The head teacher announced as her hand cupped my face. Running her thumb over my lips, she continued in a whisper for my benefit, "I wish that had been me." Clapping her hands, the teacher herded the girls away from me, as Weaver pushed her way through the crowd with a bowl of water and a sponge to clean me up. Priestesses helped me get dressed again but my water reservoir was burst open, destroyed by the herd of temple heifers. My pleasant release was quickly forgotten with my disappointing loss of my comfort tool. "It's like I lost my favorite baby blanket. After all those fights I lost it to a stampede of lovers."

Through our mindlink Derwen knew I'd just run through a passionate time and her broad smile greeted me as I returned to the manor and found her and the go-between walking the pond.

"Your goodbyes go well?" My wife asked, her smirk barely containing the edge of her laughter that was trying to get out.

"It was ... intense in the temple," I grunted.

"Zizka, was telling me the Count was very complimentary about your war leadership skills," Derwen said, planting a wet kiss on my cheek.

"The storm kept us at the observation tower last night. We had an evening of drinking and storytelling," Zizka muttered. "My head hurts today from the cheap wine warriors drink. Hajin was full of tales about you, Lord Solon. The Count and his sister found it interesting you had a food upset while at the Port Lord's home. They were really taken by your fight with professional assassins, and your fast healing from their poisonous wounds to your person. I am more interested in seeing this new ship Derwen tells me you built."

My paranoid inner voice wondered if Hajin gave away too much last night. The plan counted on the Caldavian Count believing Lord Atum was a liar and oath breaker. "Did Hajin waggle a loose tongue last night?"

"Oh, you will see it. I am using it to scout for The Lady of Truth, " I announced. "My ship needs some preparation so I need to go ahead on my horse. Perhaps my wife will escort you to her ship on her carriage."

I nodded to him and left. "Let Derwen keep him busy."

To my surprise the village of Grundy had turned out to watch the prisoner delivered to Derwen's ship. The villagers were sullen and unhappy at seeing the Count. Of course, the villagers knew of his capture but this was the opportunity to see the man responsible for the death of their loved ones. I only had two estate escorts with me and it hadn't occurred to me to plan for his protection. "Out of sight out of mind."

Derwen had Hajin escort the Count and his sister with three full squads of marines to the cog and the mercenary commander wasn't taking any chances with the locals. Derwen had her own escort of a dozen estate guards, including Hawking who rode with her and Zizka in the Wolf Carriage. I doubted that Grundy had ever had so many warriors in town. My crew was already on board ship, being informed of the escort mission while I was still in the temple. I found the Dragon's dock entrance swarming with women waving goodbye to their men. Our extended stay was long enough for some of the sailors to pick up a number of relationships with the local women. The mood of my crew was both excited and sad. It seemed that I was down a crew member, lost to an unexplained death. The healers said a dog bite got infected and it killed him. The crew thought the man died of a broken heart, some woman spurned him.

I opened the Wolf bow canvas cover and loaded five modified bolts into an empty ammo rack. Once the new load out was in place I re-covered the bow. We had pups on board, along with our personal weapons, but at the ship's bow was our main firepower. The Lady of Truth had two Wolf bows fitted for its own defense, so our combined long-range projectiles out ranged any possible opponent we faced. Our weakness still remained any periods of time when we were becalmed and our foe was a galley.

Our anchorage was well sheltered, but I could see the mouth of the cove was suffering a criss-cross of whitecaps. A stiff westerly wind was blowing into the island, which would make leaving the cove a bit more hazardous than normal. We would not have the weather gauge to Conquest Point. A close tack to the wind would bring us out from the normal rocks that guard the narrow harbor entrance. After we were away from the island, the immediate dangers from the shallows and rocks would disappear.

Derwen walked down the dock and I jumped off of the Dragon to kiss her farewell. She tried to hide her dismay but our link burned bright in our mind. We touched and held each other, unconcerned about the audience.

"I love you," Derwen said, as she kissed me. "Knowing you, I have another set of twins on the way and you are leaving me again."

I smelled her faint scent of honeysuckle, trying to remember this moment, taking something of her with me.

"Maybe it's triplets," I protested and Derwen hit me with a love tap, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't forget to send me the names of all your children and mothers when you get to Juniper Hills!" She shouted over her shoulder, as my wife walked away. "That might be a long list, on a large piece of paper, " I thought.

Jumping back on the Dragon, I called, "Release ropes. Set sails!"

The freshly set sails snapped taut and pushed us out into the cove. I steered clear of the dock and waved to the villagers. The friendly crowd waved back as the cog cast off its lines too and a pair of row boats were slowly pulling it away from the dock. The villagers were adept to this procedure, having done it dozens of times to The Lady of Truth, but the Dragon was much lighter and more nimble than the trading ship, so we didn't need the assistance. I could see the snake lady and her brother watching us from the command tower of the cog.

My ship is unique and was certainly a surprise to the enemy nobles. The Caldavians make war on the seas but I am told their real speciality is land warfare. They copy sailing designs and mostly contract with Conquest Point for new ships, which kept Conquest Point, the source of their galleys, off their raiding list. Any cogs they captured were used for their own trading ships.

My crew was lively, adjusting the sails as we hit the choppy water at the mouth of the cove. One of the retired marines lost his cap as he'd forgotten to tie it down and a gust of wind took it off his head into the water. The man gave me an anxious glance as it was one of the specially made caps to keep the weather off their heads.

I just shrugged, yelling, "If that is the worst thing to happen on our trip, I'm good with that." He put fist to chest, acknowledging me. Another of the retired marines almost fell overboard as I tacked. "We are rusty." I thought to myself.

Looking back I could see the oarsmen still dragging the cog away from the dock, it would be some time for them to make the mouth of the cove and get into the sea.

"Give the fort our mirror acknowledgement," I commanded.

The marine without a hat grinned at me and then flashed the signal up to Fort Wolf. Unceremoniously putting the signaling device away in his vest, he moved to lean with the ship. The tough looking marine was getting his sea legs back as we tacked a few times to get room to maneuver. The sea was a bit rough with the steady wind and the canvas snapped its complaints as we waited for the cog to make the first leg of its outbound journey. No raiders were at sea around Convey so I didn't expect any company, which allowed us to practice our tacking maneuvers with little worry of sighting a hostile ship. I wanted to refresh the crew's skills.

I cupped my hand and shouted to the first mate, "Prepare for man-over-board drill."

He put his fist to chest and then passed the word to the crew.

I shouted to the mate, "Hard Tacking to port!" and he relayed the command. I did an internal number count then executed the turn. The crew took safety ropes out with ring floatation devices attached. After a short while, we completed our circle and arrived back at a point where we had started the exercise. We dropped sail on my hand-signal to attempt our fake rescue.

Seeing the cog luff a little coming out of the cove, I finished the exercise.

"Secure from the drill," I commanded and the first mate relayed the order to the crew further up towards the bow. He had a crisp voice that sang out the commands well. The men responded well even if it had been some time since we'd sailed together. I gave a silent hand-signal to raise the sail and we caught the wind again.

The cog's full sail caught the wind well, as it got past the last of the sharp rocks guarding the harbor and it quickened its pace now it was free from the confines of the land. For us, it was a leisurely affair making the wind work for us. The cog had to work hard to harness its power and make way. "If this is an example of how long it will take us to get to our destination, we are going to feel pretty bored."

The men were smiling at the slow pace of the merchant ship and I watched the crest of the swell, each wave lifted The Dragon, as we raced the sea gulls. We tacked well in front of the other ship for hours as we left the cliffs behind on the horizon. Eventually, as the cog achieved enough purchase on the wind, we started to remove the land from sight.

I gave one of the ex-marines permission to rest in my cabin. He wasn't needed for the sails, so there wasn't a reason he should stay topside. My cabin was a nook rather than a cabin, but it got you out of the weather and sun, with a small desk and bed. I could see right into my room from the helm, as long as the door was open. The man had a lazy-eye and it bothered him sometimes if he got too much sun. His weak eye was the reason for his early retirement from Hajin's mercenary company in Conquest Point. But I liked him around and he had a wealth of knowledge of the area around the neutral port. He was my cultural encyclopedia for the southern part of the mainland.