by C S Boyack
Fala stepped from the caravan with the blunderbuss.
"Don't shoot," James said. "There could be another wave coming." He moved toward the pile of musketeers, but they were dead.
The first assassin faced Johnny with a cutlass in his good hand. The ringing of steel and the braying of the panicked mules were the only remaining sounds.
James marched toward the last fight and pulled his pistol once more. He drew back the second hammer and ended the battle.
"Bout time, mate," Johnny said.
A cheer went up from the root monsters. "Ya-ya, ya-ya, ya-ya." Their cheer melded into a babble.
"Fun."
"Boom boom."
"Big boom."
"Ha ha ha. Big boom."
James pointed at each of them in turn. "Mal, reload the swivel gun. Dan get the trunk, then reload our pistols. Johnny, back the wagons out. I'll search the bodies for any information, and pick up any weapons Mal didn't destroy. Boss, send your men to the doors and keep a look out. Fala, stand guard until the pistols are ready, then check our stash under the floor of the caravan."
"Aye aye, Captain," Johnny said. "Then we're going to talk about those little creatures."
Everyone moved at once and went about their task.
When they finished, James dumped a pile of muskets, pistols, and cutlasses in the back of the wagon. "Johnny, can you drive the wagon. I need to bring the others up to speed and can talk to them all in the caravan. We'll follow you."
Johnny paused at the sight of root monsters piling into the back of the wagon.
"They're pretty handy to have around, and they won't hurt you. I promise," James said.
"Um, aye aye." Johnny mounted the wagon then pulled into the street.
"Mal, up front with me where you can reach that swivel gun if we need it. Dan and Fala in the back, but crawl up into the bed so we can talk." James climbed onto the caravan, then turned the mule to follow Johnny. The pony tied to the back was still in a panic, but settled once the caravan moved out.
Chapter Eleven
Johnny set a brisk pace away from the port.
Dan stuck his head out of the caravan. "What's his hurry?"
"Even if there aren't more assassins, the night watch isn't going to ignore all that gunfire," James said. "Besides, we even touched off the swivel gun. I don't feel like answering questions tonight."
"Well you're going to answer some for me. Where the hell did you disappear to?"
James started to speak a couple of times, but stopped himself. "My father was the expert in all this espionage. I grew up an honest man, in a respectable trade. I don't have his skills, but I have some he didn't."
"So are we going to Saphelon now?" Fala asked.
"No. My skills are all at sea. I've been trying to live up to my father for far too long. I'm nothing like him. It's time to use my skills and take this war to sea."
"How you fixin to do that?" Dan asked.
"That's where Johnny comes in. He has some mates to make a crew. We're buying a small ship and taking the war directly to Hollish."
"About him. How do you know you can trust him?"
"I met up with him in a tavern. An assassin tried to jump us and he killed the man. His mates scooped the body up then dumped him in the current without a second thought. Anyone who can cover me like that deserves some consideration."
"Well, I'm not convinced."
"You can walk away any time you like. Besides, he's in the wagon with the root monsters. Do you really think they'll let him pull anything? I'm still careful about such things."
"I ain't walking away. You'll need someone who can rig a sail, or read a compass."
Johnny's wagon turned onto a dirt road that headed up the river.
"Where is this ship?" Fala asked.
"There's a repair dock up river. It's moored there."
"Have you seen it?" Dan asked. "Maybe we're being led into a trap so his mates can take our gold."
"It isn't impossible. We rode up and looked at it from a distance. She's an old sloop-of-war; two masts. She isn't big, but she'll get us where we need to go."
The dock came into sight in the moonlight. "If it's a repair dock, what do they need all those warehouses for?" Dan asked.
"Maybe they offload the ships so they can work on them," James offered.
Johnny turned off the road and into a hilltop cemetery. A dozen men were digging up graves in the dark.
"What the hell is this all about?" Dan asked.
"Mal, stay on that gun," James said. "Fala, keep us covered, but make sure we're not in the way of that blunderbuss. Let's park and find out."
Johnny parked the wagon then set the brake. James pulled up beside him. A group of three hoisted a casket from the ground.
"What the hell's going on here?" James asked.
"We have a ship, and a crew. Crew needs things. These are our own graves. Do you have a shovel in all this kit somewhere?"
Dan came out of the caravan and produced a shovel for Johnny. He kept a hand on the butt of his pistol.
The crew opened the casket, and it held kegs of gunpowder. Other caskets came up and provided pistols, cutlasses, muskets, and even a few rifles.
Johnny led them to a simple tombstone that read Johnny Jump Up. "This marks the spot." He sunk the shovel in the earth then turned up the sod. "Lend a hand mate," he told Dan. "Get that shovel from Biscuit Bill now that he's done."
Dan retrieved the shovel, but watched Bill open his casket. Along with the various pistols, there were cast iron pans and pots.
Johnny Jump Up's casket held two more swivel guns, an extra firing lock, and a blunderbuss.
Biscuit Bill whistled, and two wagons pulled into the graveyard. The crew filled one with muskets, grapnel hooks, boarding axes, and various other equipment that came from the graves.
"Fill em back in as best you can," Johnny said. "Might be the only grave you lot gets. Ought to keep em looking nice." He used the shovel to sweep dirt back over his empty casket.
The crew piled in the back of the empty wagon, but some climbed aboard the equipment wagon. They all drove down toward the sloop.
The men hit the ground running. They swarmed the ship then started stowing all the gear. Others set up a hoist.
"They're going to be put off when we only have mortars," Johnny said. "Let me deal with that. Go aboard and start setting up your quarters. They don't expect the captain to lift mortar shells."
"Wait," James said. "We're taking the caravan. It was my father's, and I'm keeping it. She has a decent hold, use the hoist to bring her aboard."
"I have a man here who will buy the animals. You aren't taking them, are ye?"
"No. Sell the animals. Where do I settle up for the ship and perishable goods?"
Johnny pointed at a building on the end of the dock. "The man's in there."
The ship wound up costing five gold bars. Up to the time James paid for it, he'd never set foot upon her decks.
Johnny Jump Up was already directing the placement of the mortars. He had the men put one toward the bow, and the other toward the stern. He placed some old wooden gears alongside each of them. These were about five feet in diameter, and looked like they'd been salvaged from a mill somewhere.
James tapped him on the shoulder. "Need you in the captain's quarters." He turned to his friend. "Dan, you too. Find Fala and Mal, and bring Boss with you."
"Aye aye," Dan said. "I brought the vegetables aboard in a sack and stowed them below."
James' cabin turned out to be kind of sparse. A small room with a small bed, but it had a round table for everyone to gather around. He lit some lamps then waited for his guests.
When everyone arrived he asked them to sit, then issued his orders. "We're a small group, but we still need officers. Johnny, you're obviously our master gunner. Fala, I want you to be the quartermaster. Mal, you're our surgeon."
"What about me?" James asked. "I could be sailing master."
"No. Fala's dut
ies will be limited to finances, paying the crew, and keeping track of our stores. I need you as my second in command. When I'm not available, you are the captain."
"What about that?" Johnny pointed to the Boss.
"His lads are good in a fight. They follow orders and do a good job. We'll inform the crew about them after we leave the coast." He rubbed the short beard along his chin. "All ships have rats, and they are an abomination. Boss, your job is to rid my ship of rats. From the bilge to the crows nest, I don't want a single rat aboard this ship. Can you do that?"
"Ya ya."
"Hey, you're a sailor now. The correct response is aye aye," Dan said.
Boss furrowed his brow and leaned forward toward Dan.
"You heard me. Tell the captain aye aye."
Boss saluted the captain. "I I I I I I I I I."
"Ugh," Dan said. "Close enough."
"You can all pick mates, and choose as many as you need. Johnny, can you help Dan figure which men are best suited for certain jobs? I assume Biscuit Bill is our cook."
"Aye, on both counts. I can help Miss Fala too. You'll all fall into it pretty quick. There's a man out there somewhere, Don Velasco, you'll know him by the old steel conquistador helmet he wears. He would make a great sailing master."
"Done. Point him out, but have Dan promote him. I want the men to accept Dan as an officer. In fact start calling him Mr. Philson in front of the crew."
James stood up. "Let's get this ship launched. Quartermaster, your first task is to assign the officer's quarters."
"I'll take the caravan, if it's all the same to you."
"I don't care, but it's going in the cargo hold."
"Fine by me, but I just got it all cleaned up and it looks nice. Gives me a bit of privacy too."
"Done. Let's get to work people."
Men scrambled about all the decks. Don Velasco directed some men into rigging the fore and aft sail pattern the sloop provided for. Johnny placed men over the rails in bosun's chairs to paint fake guns on the outside of the ship.
Fala directed the securing of the caravan on the cargo deck. She ordered blocks cut and nailed fore and aft of each wheel.
A young sailor approached her. "Name's McCormack, ma'am. Johnny Jump Up sent me. Said you'd be needin a mate."
"What are your qualifications?"
"I'm one of the few who can read, write, and do cyphers."
"You're hired. Come inside." She climbed into the wagon then placed a small notebook on the table. "I want a list of everything on this ship. Separate pages for weapons, food, repairs, and whatever else you can think of. Got it?"
"Aye aye, ma'am. Do you want me to count the nails and such?"
"No, list items by the keg, barrel, crate, however they usually come. We're running a warehouse here. Understand?"
"Aye ma'am. I worked in the pira... the shipping warehouse outside."
"Pirate. You can say it. We're all bloody pirates now."
The crew worked like the seasoned veterans they were. The ship sailed past the Port of Airstony and into salt water in the pre-dawn.
James joined Dan at the wheel. "Get us out of sight of land, then turn north." He handed his friend a good compass. "There are no charts or maps of any kind on board. We'll have to work the coastal waters. Probably for the best. Any merchants in the shipping lanes will be heavily armed. Besides, our war is with Hollish, and that's to the North."
"Aye aye, Captain."
The rest of the day was spent situating everyone. Everything from hammocks to hammers. The galley was organized such that Biscuit Bill could sleep inside when he wasn't cooking. Don Velasco and Johnny Jump Up shared an officer's cabin. Dan organized the crew into night and day shifts.
James spelled Dan at the wheel as the sun rose. "Quiet night?"
"Nothing but wind in our sails. The men had a full day, so they slept like babies. Even night crew grabbed a wink or two unless we had to trim the sails."
Johnny Jump Up reported in. "Got a problem. Some of the men think the ship's haunted. Said they heard voices in the night." He aped with his hands to the left. " I I I I." Then to the right. "I I I I."
"Gather the crew. It's time to talk to them anyway."
James leaned over the rail from the poop deck. The sloop wasn't big enough to have a quarter deck. "You all know each other, but you don't know me." He untied his eye-patch then shoved it in his pocket.
The men all gasped and staggered back at the sight of his red eye.
"What a bunch of girls," Fala said.
The men looked at her and composed themselves.
James continued. "My mission is to bring Hollish to its knees. We do that with her shipping first. Cut them off from food and other imports. We'll take them going both directions. As soon as our guns are ready, we'll go hunting.
"You've met your officers, but there are more you haven't met. I brought a crew of monsters aboard with me. You may have heard them last night. They're small and can do things you cannot. Right now, they're getting rid of rats. They will man the crow's nest so you don't have to. They're also damned handy in a fight. I expect each of you to treat them with respect." He turned to the deck behind him. "Boss, step forward."
The jaws of the crew dropped open.
"This is their commander. His name is Boss."
Boss patted his chest. "Me boss."
"I want two of your men in the crows nest at all times. They're to watch for other ships and sound the horn if they see one. One of you scurry down and tell Don Velasco."
Boss saluted. "I I I I I I."
The crew nodded in unison, mumbled, and pointed. Boss sent Flattop and one of the monsters with a goat horn up the mast. The crew stared in fascination.
"Let's get those mortars anchored down, and see if someone can build us a brass monkey to stack the shells nearby. That is all." James relieved Dan at the wheel. "Try to get some sleep."
"Aye aye, Captain."
Johnny Jump Up supervised his crew as they nailed the giant wooden gear to the deck, and placed the mortar inside it. A brace and bit drilled holes all the way around that served to aim the mortar by placement of a metal pin. Johnny talked as the sailors worked.
"I'm just like you lot. Pressed into service during the war. I wound up under the flag of Hollish. Weren't like I had a choice. We used ship mortars at Fort Lemuels. Reduced the whole thing to rubble. We're damned lucky to come by these, let me tell you."
James adjusted his course, then had Don Velasco adjust the sails. "How did you come by the name, Johnny Jump Up?"
The sailors moaned.
"Reckon they've heard this before. My mum died when I was young. My old dad was crimped into service too. Left me alone at twelve years. I survived by beach combin.
"Found me a little island out in the harbor. It wasn't far out, you could wade out to it. Swim, if the tide was in. Built me a shack from stuff what washed ashore.
"I was just a kid, so sometimes I made a scarecrow, sometimes I tried making a raft. One day, I found some netting, and tried to build a hoist using rocks in the net to lift with.
"A longboat came ashore and offered me $20 silver pieces to hang a mutineer. They thought my hoist was a gallows. Now for twenty bits of silver, I wasn't going to argue with em. Figured he was gonna hang no matter, and I could use the coin. So I tied him up, cause every boy knows how to tie a noose. When I dropped the counterweight, it snapped him good, but it flung him up in the air and snapped him again. That disgusted the sailors, but they paid me all the same.
"I went to work and made some shackles for their ankles. Keep em tight to the ground. I reduced the counterweight, cause I didn't want their heads to pop off, just snap em proper.
"After that, I got business from Prelonia, Hollish, and a bunch of merchants from all over the world. Finest little jump up gallows you ever saw. Built me a viewing porch so people could attend the hangings. Even snapped the Lord of Silmont, on direct orders from the Queen. I had standing in town too, cause a lad with mone
y gets known.
"Turns out, my little island was right on the border of Hollish and Prelonia. None of them knew who owned it. When the war started, Hollish claimed it, placed a battery, then conquered the whole town. As for me, they knocked me over the head and made me a gunner. Been called Johnny Jump Up ever since."
"I'm sorry they took all that away from you. A man of substance could attract a wife and start a family."
"I would have too, and there were several worthy lasses that was interested. Now, beggin your pardon, do you mind if we go set the gun on the forecastle?"
"By all means, and thank you for the story."
It was a day of work. Johnny's crew moved to placing mounts for the swivel guns along both sides of the ship. Normally, they would mount them, but with only three, they had to keep them mobile depending upon where they were needed. By dark, the gunnery crew busied themselves sewing pouches from thin cotton, parchment, or anything else they could find.
Dan spelled James as the sun started setting.
Johnny continued to issue instructions. "Make sure when you add the powder, you sew em shut using the ivory needles. I'll not have steel anywhere near that gunpowder. Is that clear?"
His men said, "Aye aye, sir," in unison.
James turned to his friend. "Dan, this isn't going to work. We need a third man who can take the wheel, maybe more. We both have other duties, and we need to confer sometimes too. Any ideas?"
"That Don Velasco seems pretty knowledgable."
"Good choice, Mr. Philson," Johnny said. "I'm willing to hold course too, in turn. My men are just sewing now. Why don't we grab a meal with the captain and I'll get Don Velasco situated."
"He's right. Let's get the others and go over our day," James said.
Chapter Twelve
Supper consisted of reconstituted beef, beans, and biscuits. Apparently, Biscuit Bill insisted on biscuits for every meal. To his credit, they were the best James ever had. He pushed a fork of meat to the edge of his plate for Boss.
Boss wrapped his tiny arms around himself. "Crunchy."
