Word was spreading about the Letters of Marque, and some captains were approaching us with questions. No takers yet, but when they saw others getting rich from taking spoils, greed would do the rest.
I passed by a church that looked a little unkept. I went under and raised bedrock under her and repaired her foundation and adjusted her stance. She looked better now, and I felt better for helping.
I had become a known person, and someone not to be trifled with. I was being called Captain at the wharfs, and Prince Aaron in the markets, and the city. The common people were not afraid to be around me or to interact with me. I always paid for whatever I got, fruit, pasties, or a meal. I accepted nothing for free. I addressed the common peoples as equals, and they loved it.
“Miss. Ruby, are those apple tarts ready?”
“You know they are, M’lord.”
“If my wife asks, you don’t know anything.”
“If she asks, you are on your own.”
Everyone in the bakery laughed. I left eating one.
Master Armor Young sent word my first ten crossbows were ready. I went to see them. He had them all laid out for inspection. His new employees watching.
I walked by picking up one at random and inspected it. They had done an excellent job. I test fired it. It worked beautifully, as I knew it would.
“Well done, Master Armor. What is your price per crossbow?”
“Ten silvers.”
I knew he was low balling it. “I’ll pay you twelve silvers per crossbow.” and paid him.
“But M’lord you’re already paid for theses.”
“No, that was to finance you getting set up to make them, not the price of them,” I gave him another large purse of gold, “keep good accounts. I need 200 more crossbows and 2000 bolts, if you need more money to buy materials let me know. Send them to the Castle in batches of ten crossbows, and 100 bolts.”
He bowed, “Yes M’lord.”
I took the crossbow with me to the castle armorer. I showed him how to use it and told him to start training the troops on their use. More would be delivered. He liked the new weapon and said he would.
I RECEIVED A MESSAGE that one of my ship was in port and wanted to see me. I teleported down to the pier where they usually docked. The captain was waiting by the ship.
“M’lord,” he bowed.
“Captain.” I nodded.
“They have taken your other two ships, M’lord. They caught us in an ambush; I was on the outside and was able to break away.”
“When and where did this happen?”
“This morning, at Storm Island. We were after two cargo ships; they made a run for it. We chased them, looking back on it, they were leading us. When we rounded Storm Island, their fleet was waiting.”
“How many in their fleet?”
“Ten or twelve that I saw.”
“How far to Storm Island?”
“20 miles east off the coast. It’s a place ships that are caught out can ride out a storm. It’s an old volcano crater harbor, with fresh water.”
“You did well bringing me the news.”
I walked in between two buildings out of sight and sank into the earth. I flew under heading east to Storm Island. We had only seen small ships passing our harbor since we had raised the forts. Storm Island may be their staging area.
I found Storm Island; it was indeed the mouth of an extinct volcano. The west side of the volcano was on the southeast end of the island. There were twelve Dunwich ships in the harbor plus my two. I came up through the bottom of Captain Wilks’ ship. They had a hand full of guard watching Captain Wilks and his crew who were locked in the hold. I emerged up behind each guard and stabbed them up through the back of their skull. They never made a sound.
I brought a keg of rum up and opened the door to the hold. “This is becoming a habit with you lot.” I said smiling. They laughed breaking the tension. They got out their cups and had a taste.
“We’ve got bigger troubles M’lord. I heard them talking. This is a supply fleet; the troop fleet has already landed south of Port City. They are joining forces with the Volwick Army to attack Port City.”
“How long ago?”
“Couldn’t say, they were here to refill fresh water before going on.”
“So, it couldn’t be too long otherwise they wouldn’t be here.” I thought a moment. “Wait here I’ll be back.”
I went to my other ship and freed them and told them to wait below until I returned. I didn’t waste time I went through each ship like the Angel of Death, breaking necks and moving to the next one. I did the same with the crew that was on the beach.
I cast a spell, and the bodies slid down through the ship leaving the clothes and equipment behind. The same happened on the beach. I held Captain Wilks’ ship back, but sent my other one to Port City to tell them we were coming in with a captured fleet.
When Captain Wilks was ready to sail, I cast a spell commanding the captured ships to raise anchors. I cast another spell for the water to push the ships along behind us following each other. As we left Storm Island, we had twelve Dunwich ships following in our wake.
We timed it so we would arrive at Port City after sunrise. As we approached the harbor forts, I teleported to them to let them know all was well. I had the captured ships dock at the piers and tie up. To be honest, it was kind of a freaky sight watching an empty ship do that.
Dov-ees was waiting for us. “Unload and inventory the ships cargos. Move everything into our warehouse. Strip the ships of everything but do nothing else to them yet. Keep all the intel papers separate, I’ll look through those, you don’t have to,” He nodded. “I must go see the King.”
I teleported to the coach Pavilion, Reggie was not there I walked over to the castle proper and started toward the dining room. Something was wrong there was no activity. No servants walking about, no sound of conversation. The first body I found was in the hall outside the great room. She was blue and had foam around her mouth.
My military training kicked in, I put my helmet up and closed my face shield to filter my air, just in case. There was a trail of bodies leading to the dining room. I entered the dining room it was obvious everyone there was dead. I did a quick check; Reggie was not among them.
I cursed myself for a fool and checked my ring for her location. I ran down the hall to where the ring said she was. I found her; she had crawled from the dining room coughing up blood. She was still alive, barely. I teleported the blood and mucus from her lungs and healed them.
She began to breathe easier. I teleported us to the harbor and into the water, washing us off. I didn’t know what poison they had used, but if there was a chance that water would wash it off, I’d take it.
She come to coughing and fighting. “I got you, I got you.” I held on to her. She stopped fighting when she heard me.
She grabbed me, “mother and father?!”
I shook my head. “No!” She screamed. I held her. While she wept. I teleported us back to our pavilion. She dropped into unconsciousness, so I put her to bed.
I teleported to the castle gate guard post, “Captain.”
“Yes M’lord?”
“Close the gates, lock the castle down. Someone has assassinated the King and Queen. No one in or out except for a runner to the Army fort, put all forces on full alert. Have the Red Cloaks report to me at the castle entrance now.”
He started shouting orders. I put my face shield down and teleported back to the dining room. I looked over the room, trying to determine what had happened. No one was sitting at their places. They had all choked to death. Food and dishes were overturned on the table.
I looked for the things that were out of place, a flash burn mark was on the floor, and the wall in one place. There was a small broken clear glass beaker jar. There was also blood on the wall by the burn mark.
I cast a detection spell, whatever had done this was gone now.
I went to the castle entrance. The Red Cloak were gathering, �
�Captain.”
“Sir?”
“Someone has assassinated the King and Queen. Princess Regina still lives. Search every inch of the castle and grounds. Gather everyone here in the courtyard, alive preferably.”
“Yes Sir.” He saluted. He broke everyone down into groups of threes and began searching. I questioned everyone on duty. No one saw anything unusual, or out of the ordinary.
I went underground and searched secret passages and escape routes. Nothing. If this was a prelude to war, or coup, I was going to ruin someone’s day. I went out one thousand yards from the city and raised a wall fifty feet high, and thirty feet thick of solid rock. It looked like the Great Wall of China.
I kept raising it until It completely enclosed the city, including the harbor. It had no gates, and no stairs going up to the top of the wall, I’d add that later. There would be no escape, unless they swam, as I had raised the chain closing the harbor.
The Red Cloaks had gathered everyone in the courtyard. Everyone was accounted for; they were either in this group or dead in the castle. I cast a truth spell and questioned everyone. None of these were responsible for the deaths. Now there was only Reggie.
I set the servants to preparing the bodies for burial. I also sent for the priests. The death bells began tolling, and news spread through the city.
I went to wait for Reggie to wake up. Armor was on the bed with her. Hopefully she could tell us who had done this.
REGGIE WALKED OUT OF the bedroom at midmorning. She looked at me, “did you get him?”
“Did I get who?”
“Arms Master Smith.”
“He did this?”
She nodded, “he broke a jar of something that became a mist, everyone started chocking. I tried to kill him by burning him alive but only got part of him before the mist got to me. He shouted, ‘we’ll see who gets fed to the pigs,’ as he ran.”
“Your fire probably saved your life. It killed most of what was trying to kill you. He’s not going anywhere I put up a wall around the city with no gates. I’ll go find Master Smith. Should I bring him back, or just kill him?”
“Bring him back, first he’ll stand trial, then you can feed him to the pigs.”
I went outside. Oaks was there. “Bring me the magistrate.”
He saluted, “yes Sire.” I guess I was King now. Not what I wanted, but I had the job now. I waited until the magistrate arrived.
I took him inside to see Regina. “Magistrate issue an arrest order for Arms Master Smith. For the murder of the King and Queen and 15 of their staff. The Princess has positively identified him as the murderer.” He looked at her and she nodded.
He bowed, “At once, my Queen, Sire.” and left.
“I’II be back.” I said. Reggie nodded.
I went underground and flew to Master Smiths house. I found him hiding in his hidden basement. He was in bad shape. Reggie had cooked half of him to a crisp. I healed him enough that he would not die from his wounds.
I waited for the magistrate to arrive, then cast my beguiling spell. “The building is on fire; you have to get out!” He moved as fast as he was able up the stairs and out into the arms of the magistrate and the city watch. They delivered him to the castle dungeon to await his trial. When they searched him, they found a guise ring. He had made himself look like one of our guards. That was how he got in and out with no one giving him a second look.
THE KING AND QUEEN were entombed under the Church where the previous Kings and Queens had been. After three days of mourning, they held our Coronation. We were now Queen Regina, and King Aaron.
Arms Master Smith saved us the trouble of a trial. He killed himself by bashing his own skull in against the dungeon wall. I still fed him to the pigs, just not alive. The Crown confiscated his business, properties and assets. I let his family keep their home, and the money they had in a vault in the basement.
At night I would hold Reggie while she wept. I let her take as long as she needed to grieve. I would take care of everything until she was ready to take over.
I lowered the chains across the harbor mouth, so ships could begin moving once more. I went to see Dov-ees, “You still have contacts in the cities we trade with?”
“I do.”
“I need to know what is going on, in those cities. What the markets are doing, the mood of the people, what the militaries are doing.”
He stared at me.
“I’m not asking you to spy on your former country, I’m asking what our neighbors are doing. How it will affect us. I also want you to contact the best mercenary naval force you can. I want to hire them to train our Navy.”
He nodded, “what do you want done to the cargo we took off of the ships you captured?"
“What was the cargo?”
“Mostly food, some weapons, and equipment.”
“Keep the food, unless it’s perishable. Send the weapons and equipment to the Army.”
“When will you be opening the wall?”
“Tomorrow, I think. I’ll put in a main gate to start and get the army to man it, and the walls. Our standing army just got bigger. Have you gathered the papers from the ships yet?”
“I have, they are in a chest in the basement along with the gold we recovered.”
“Add the gold to our operating funds, I’II take the papers.”
BEFORE I MADE A GATE, I needed to know what the Dunwich forces were doing. I went underground and followed the coast south. I found where they had come ashore, there were no ships there now. They had moved inland from the coast, so I followed.
They had made camp a few times moving further island more south than east. They had stayed at one camp for a few days then moved straight south. I guess they had seen our wall and had to change plans.
I followed them south and found them camped outside of Volwick’s capital. That was all I needed to see for now. I had a lot of work to do to make our main gate. It would take me a while to get back. The earth blurred by me, and I was under the wall where I had been thinking of putting the main gate. “I wish you had done that sooner.” I never thought to question my memories whether “fast travelling" like in a video game was possible here.
I added a main gate on the west side of the City’s wall. I gave it plenty of support and a portcullis. I made a small fort as part of the wall there that could house a company of guards. I added ramps to the wall every three hundred yards with guard stations. I raised bedrock up to support the wall so it could not be undermined.
I raised a stone road from the main gate to the fort, then to the main street of the city. I continued to the harbor, connecting it to the wharf. I put in a drainage system that emptied into the sea south of the harbor.
I went to the army fort. “Colonel.”
“Sire.” He bowed.
“The Dunwich Army has landed. They have moved south and joined Volwick. I have added a main gate to the west wall and ramps along the inside for you to man. There is a gate garrison that will hold a company of troops. You will man that at all times. The gate will be closed at sundown and opened at sunrise. You will keep the whole army on duty for the time being. What do you need from me to carry out your orders?”
“A proper fort with barracks would help.”
“How many do you want to house?”
“At least a thousand, but how big of a standing army do you plan to keep?”
“I will build two forts to house and train five thousand at a time. 2500 on the south wall and 2500 on the north wall. We will also build a new castle. Your main headquarters will be there.”
He bowed, “Yes Sire.”
“You and your men are being paid?”
“We are Sire,”
“Good. It will take me some time to complete the buildings and forts. In the meantime, man the walls and the main gate. We may open other gates close to the North and South forts, but that remains to be seen. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Yes, Sire.” He bowed.
Chapter 17
I would do my work at night improving the city, the wall, the harbor, and the new castle, I would rest in the earth, which restored my strength quickly. When I raised the castle, I set the base in the harbor and gave Navy ships a place to dock. I made quite a large complex so everything in government could be close by. Farmers started farming the thousand-yard buffer zone between the city and the wall. I added more wells all over the city, and a sewer system.
I raised the two forts and gave them plenty of room for a security zone, and training areas for their horses. They started running patrols outside the walls to the North, South and West. Every evening over dinner Reggie and I would talk of the day’s events and what improvements I had made. It was a week after our coronation before she started showing signs of interest again.
“Is the new castle complete?”
“It is, I’ve got it all closed until you are ready to move into it.”
“Tomorrow we will start the move, and I will start acting like the Queen.” I made the move a little easier by put the things in each room in a crystal. It still took us a week to get everything moved over to the new castle.
Once it was finished Reggie gave me a drawing, a lay-out actually, of a park. “I want you to sink the old castle into the ground, bury it. In its place I want a park built like this, for people to enjoy and remember mother and father.”
I nodded,” I’ll take care of it." At sunset the castle sank into the earth, by sunrise a park sat in its place. It had a central fountain with a sculpture of the King and Queen. The city came out to see it, and memory park was born. Reggie loved it.
I found her standing on the high terrace of our Royal apartments. Amour was with her, as he now almost always was. “You have done wonders for the City and the Kingdom, thank you.”
“Anything for you my Queen, my love.”
“I want to do more for our people.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“That is what I want you to tell me. What does your memories say about it?”
I thought a few minutes. “A few things come to mind. Schools: the education level of our people is low. We could open schools, and make it mandatory for children to attend, but offer it to everyone. Run and taught by professional educators. Hospitals and doctors: run by real doctors, that would help the overall health of our people. Military Service: everyone must serve two years in the military. When they reach an age, they will be trained and serve in the army or navy for at least two years.”
Mage Throne Prophecy Page 16
