Lord of the High Reaches

by James Haddock

  Being summer, the doors to the king’s bedroom were open for the night's breeze. I listened before entering and could hear one person lightly snoring. Cautiously and slowly, I moved, making no sound.

  Gratefully, the king was sleeping alone and no one else was in the room. One less potential problem to deal with. Scanning the room, there was an ornate entrance door which probably led to the hallway. To avoid any surprises, I made sure it was locked.

  Moving back toward the king, there was the handle of a dagger peeking from under his pillow. The first smart security precaution I had seen since landing on the roof. Clamping my hand over his mouth, his body tensed as he tried to sit up, while reaching for the dagger.

  "Sire," I hissed. "It’s Cam. You are safe."

  Waiting for him to become fully awake, I kept my hand in place. He looked at me, then around the room, and finally nodded.

  "My apologies, Sire, for the unannounced visit."

  "You scared the wits out of me, cat!" he said, in respectable clannish."

  "Well, at least, you didn't soil yourself," I replied in kind.

  He chuckled. "I assume you have something important to tell me?"

  "Most assuredly, Sire. Is it safe to light a lamp?"

  "Yes, I took care of that other problem of being watched. Thank you, by the way." He lit a lamp as I took the pump wheel gun from my back and drew it from its holster, laying it on the bed.

  He looked a bit astonished. "A mechanical gun?"

  "It fires eight shots before having to be reloaded." I showed him how it worked, then handed it to him.

  "The Westies have these?"

  “This was from a captured Norther’s skyship, carrying a Norther scientist. The Northers are supplying guns and other help to the Westies against the east. This may be the only working one there is. The scientist called it a prototype."

  "And the scientist?"

  "Dead," I answered. "You have people, scientists, that can take this and make more, don't you?"

  "I truly hope so,"

  "There's more. I've met some southern sky people who shared information.” I repeated what La-mar had said, but kept the source to myself. I opined that he might have further spies in the palace and should be wary. He intently listened.

  "Lord Mitchem and his group have been taken care of, and we knew that the north was plotting against us, but not this far. If they start mass producing these pump wheel guns, it be catastrophic. Can you get a message to the southern sky people?"

  "I think so."

  “Take a seat and let me think."

  After a moment, began writing. "What is your family name, Master Cam?"

  "Highreacher, Sire,” giving my adopted name.

  Continuing to write, "I am actually surprised to see you, beyond the obvious, of course. I received your package and letter saying you did not want to play in the king's chess game," he looked up at me. "That too surprised me, but a smart move on your part. So why come back now?"

  “I have friends here in the eastern lands and didn't want to see them hurt. Besides, if the Northers take the east and west, they'll head south next."

  "How much of this do the Windfords know?"

  "Nothing. I left them a month or so after we left here. I told them, I was going to the western range to scout. That was the last contact. They probably think I’m dead."

  "Perhaps, but Windy is no one’s fool, and his son, Michael, is no dolt either. I admire your loyalty to your friends. True loyalty is hard to come by." He continued writing. "I am offering the southern sky people an alliance, a mutual support treaty. If one of us is attacked, the other will send aid. I'm also offering them a trade agreement." He read through the letter, then wrote more. When he finished, he sealed it, put it in a leather messenger's shoulder bag and gave it to me.

  "Take this to them. It basically says what I have told you. Answer their questions honestly, as you know them. I am making you my emissary to the southern sky people, which means you are now Sir Cam Highreacher, Knight of the Eastern Realm. You are no longer a pawn," he smiled. "The bottom line is we would like them as allies, and may even need them soon. We can't pay them but will offer support where we can. In your future correspondence, sign it as ‘Rook’. By the way, you still own the lands along the western range, Sir Cam." He handed me a purse. "For your expenses."

  I took the purse and dropped it in the messenger's bag. Taking a black cloak from his closet, the king gave it to me. Then walked to the wall's corner and opened a secret door.

  "This will take you out of the palace and off the grounds. Message me as soon as you can. Now be on your way."

  I bowed and entered the passageway, the door shutting behind me. The passage was dark and musty. Donning the cloak, I followed the passage downstairs, twisting and turning. There were no other passages to be seen, so I kept going. Finally, there was a door. It opened to a space and another door. When the door closed behind me, it locked. There was no going back. The next door had a spyhole, looking out onto an empty side street. Putting the hood up on my cloak, I opened the door and stepped out onto the street. Turning, I headed south to meet La-mar.

  Chapter 7

  It took about three hours to get to La-Mar. He had positioned the skyship dead-center of the lake, hovering above the water. As I approached, the ship began moving toward me and descended at the shoreline.

  Hopping aboard, “Good to see you, my friend. Been a long night.”

  “Since you didn’t get killed, I assume all went well.”

  “Good enough. The king wants a message delivered to the Southie king, proposing a treaty.”

  La-mar whistled. “Terms?”

  “Mutual aid in case of an attack on either kingdom.”

  “Not a bad idea considering current foul ongoings.”

  “We need to lay in about 10 days’ worth of supplies for the trip south. If I leave soon, I can get the supplies and be back while there is still plenty of daylight.”

  “Okay, but you will not be allowed back on the ship unless you return with tea. We are completely out. I can’t function without a cuppa tea in the morning.”

  So, how long will it take to get to the southern kingdom?” I asked.

  "Five, maybe six days from here, if the weather holds. Do you need to go back to High Reaches before we go south?"

  “No. I’m good. He nodded.

  Vaulting over the railing, I replied over my shoulder, “Plan on setting sail once I return with supplies.”

  “Do…not …forget …the …tea!” he shouted.

  * * *

  A few hours later, we were aloft and headed south. The trip gave time to practice working the ship, sails, and finally steering. I originally thought a skyship just went up, moved left or right when the wheel was turned, and, like magic, you could fly anywhere, not so. It took a lot of training. The only good thing about not having a crew was I had to do everything. As a result, I quickly picked up basic flying skills. The most important thing learned was that I either needed a smaller ship or a larger crew.

  We landed two days later at a small village to buy wood for the boilers. La-mar said we didn’t need any yet, but this was a good place to buy some. Once loaded, we were off again. After the balloons were set, we just had to keep watch, including on the ground and sky. At night we slept in shifts, someone always had to be awake while flying.

  The boiler kept the balloons filled and was also our stove. We ate simple foods: beans and meat, rice and meat, eggs and bacon. There were never any leftovers. I held the wheel while La-mar ate, and he did likewise for me.

  "Cam, do you have a mate or one promised to you?"

  "No family would agree to such a thing, and if there were someone, she would be shamed and shunned because of me. What about you?"

  "There was a girl. I'm not sure if she is still unmarried. Now that I am the captain of my own ship, her family may consider me. We’ll see."

  "What about asking more people to come back to High Reaches?"

&
nbsp; "Well, we do need ships’ crews…and wives," he winked. "I’ll make the offer. But, there will be problems, because of the plague. I don't think any, or very few, would consider moving there. The ones that would, I’d expect trouble from."

  "Then be selective. Only invite people who would add something to the new clan. Tell the leaders, I now own the valley and the lands east of the mountains to River's Fork."

  Eyes-wide, he looked stunned. “You mentioned the king gave you land. You did not say, he gave you a region. Good Lord, Cam!”

  "Well, I own the lands along the mountains to River's Fork, but…” I hesitated, “…technically not High Reaches. But, the people who receive the offer to live there, won't know that.”

  He smiled. "I like that idea."

  He turned aft, and his smile vanished. "Trouble! Keep us heading straight!" he yelled, running forward.

  Looking back, another skyship was closing on us from above and behind. She looked to be at least twice our size, maybe larger and with more sails. There was something sticking out of her bow. I felt our ship begin to rise; La-mar must have emptied some front ballast water bladders. He put more sails out, then came back to take the wheel.

  "What's that sticking out of her bow?" I pointed.

  "A propeller for extra speed and maneuverability when there’s little wind. It's one of their newer ships. Are all our guns loaded?"

  I nodded. "They are."

  "You'd better bring them up and get ready. Nothing will happen for an hour or so, but unless something changes, they'll catch and board us."

  I brought the guns up and laid them out where we could easily grab them.

  "Listen Cam. First, they will signal for us to surrender. When we don’t, they'll shoot at us with long guns. We'll return fire. Then, they'll try to board us from above. You’re good on top. Better than me. You'll have to meet them there. Be careful of your claws on the balloons. We don't need any holes."

  It took them a little longer than an hour, but everything else happened as La-mar predicted. They signaled for our surrender. We ignored them, then both sides started shooting. It seemed the only thing either side hit was the wood of the ships. Though I did hear one ball whiz by my ear.

  "If anything happens to me, get the message bag to your king. If I live, I'll see you back at High Reaches, someday.”

  We shook hands. La-mar seemed pale. Had I not had fur, I'm sure I would have looked the same.

  "Cam, our only chance is to get above them. I'm going to drop the rest of our ballast. When I do, we should rise above them. When that happens, we may be able to get away. It’s time for you to go up top."

  While they were reloading their long guns, I went on top of the balloons, but stayed out of sight on the offside. I heard the ballast water gush out, and we started rising. It wasn't a great deal, but it was some. When I looked, our balloon was above theirs, but probably not enough for us to get away. Before I thought about it too much, I was up, running across our balloon and put everything I had into a jump. A human would never have made it, and this cat cut it close.

  I caught the nets and scampered up and over their balloon and down the other side. Moving quickly before they figured out they had been boarded, I roared as I dropped to the deck among them. The roar combined with my height, fur standing on end, teeth bared, and claws fully extended momentarily froze them in place. Looking fearful was one of the first behaviors a cub learns. Comes in handy during a fight.

  One man was so badly scared, he jumped overboard. Another raised his gun to shoot. Using the closest man as a shield, he took the ball meant for me. Throwing the shot man into the shooter, they both went over the side.

  Wielding a sword, the next man swiped along the side of my head, cutting, but not too deeply. I ducked under, grabbed his arm and aimed for his throat. He screamed as I bit down and became suddenly silent when a chunk of his throat went missing. The fighting became a blur to me, total instinct, fighting to survive. It was blade and claw, flashing and gouging, ripping and biting. I saw flashes of gunfire but didn't hear it. Finally, I stood alone, covered in blood, theirs and mine. Suddenly, I felt exhausted and sat down.

  After a time, I heard someone shouting my name. It was La-mar. He had our ship close beside this one.

  "Cam, close the sails!" he shouted.

  I nodded and moved slowly to release the belaying pins and lines. It took a bit, but using the lines, the ships were lashed together. Once again, I sat down.

  Moments later, La-mar was at my side. "You were supposed to wear a glide suit when you do that," he said, looking concerned..

  "I'll try to remember," I said with a tired sigh. "But I hope, there's not a next time."

  He laughed. "Second times the hardest, because you know what to expect."

  I had been cut in several places, but never felt them. La-mar bandaged me as best he could. Most of the wounds were shallow slicing cuts, and my fur stanched the bleeding. La-mar gave me food and water, but I was almost too weary to chew.

  “Nice ship, you've got here, Captain, and you only had to fight 10 men to take it."

  I looked around; she did seem to be a nice ship, minus all the blood and bodies.

  "She's a military ship, propeller, more sails, and narrower beam makes her faster. I wonder…”. He looked about the ship, pensive, “Why they didn't fire their cannons?"

  "What?" I was confused. In all the fighting, I had no time to focus on anything but surviving.

  "She has swivel cannons or ‘deck-sweepers’, they're called," pointing at four cannons standing in their racks. "And they should have had more crew. Not that I'm complaining. I'm glad they didn't."

  I nodded my agreement.

  "Are you good to keep watch while I check below?" he asked, thumb cocking his two short guns.

  "Yeah, give me two loaded guns, and I'll keep watch."

  He handed me his two and loaded two more. He went below as I kept scanning the skies. I did not know what I would do if anyone came upon us. At this point, the most I could do would be shout a warning.

  La-mar came topside, guns holstered. "Pretty good haul. A few cases of new guns, both short and long. Some trunks and other goods. Plus, a few hundred sovereigns and a locked strongbox. Hopefully, the key is on one of the bodies. But the best prize is the ship herself. A fully armored military ship, not a battleship mind, but she'll do." He was clearly impressed.

  "Well, let's search these guys, strip them down, and throw them overboard."

  We found a few coins, jewelry, and weapons on them, and finally the keys. With all the bodies over the side, we rested while we ate and drank.

  "We’re drifting in the right direction, so we are good for now. I'll keep watch, while you go have a look around."

  "Don't start another fight while I'm gone.” I was spent, but needed to do a quick check if for no other reason than to ensure La-mar had missed nothing.

  "I'll do my best, but no promises," he chuckled.

  Down below, it was dark. Looking around with my feline night vision, I spied a lantern and lit it. Taking the keys, I tried each one. Finally, the strongbox popped open. The captain’s logbooks were in there along with some sovereigns, and a stack of 10 banknotes, each worth 5000 sovereigns for a total of 50,000 sovereigns. Well, 25,000 for me and 25,000 for La-mar. All in all, a profitable day's work. I would read the logs later.

  I walked the hold and opened a few trunks, looking inside. One belonged to a gentleman, full of fine clothes. Holding the clothes up to me, I was pretty sure they would fit.

  Back on deck, I reported to La-mar the contents of the strongbox. “Seems you are a rich man," I said.

  "Oh?"

  "The strongbox held 50,000 sovereigns in banknotes, your half is 25,000. You can now retire."

  He stared at me. "25,000 sovereigns?”

  "Don't spend them yet. We have to get to your people before we’re safe."

  "We're safer now," he said, pointing at a long blue streamer.

  "What's that
mean?"

  "Diplomatic ship, carrying a diplomat. Everyone still honors that, well, as far as I know."

  "Why didn’t we do that before?" I asked, incredulous that I risked life and limb in an unnecessary battle.

  "We didn't have the diplomatic streamers,” he shrugged. “They also had an eastern realm flag, which I hoisted…just to be sure."

  I looked aft, and there the Eastie flag flew. I wasn't sure if that made us less or more of a target.

  * * *

  At sunrise, we opened the sails on our new ships and started south again, towing our old ship behind. I was sore and moved a little slowly. I didn't want my wounds to reopen.

  "I've been thinking," La-mar said.

  "About?"

  "Appearances. If we show up looking like two balloon basket drifters, that's how they will treat us. We, especially you, need to look the part of an Eastie nobleman. You are Sir Cam Highreacher, Emissary of the King of the Eastern Realm. You are also a wealthy landowner and skyship owner. That's a lot of prestige, and you are going to need it. So, you need to look and act the part."

  "If I am the shipowner, then you are my captain, and you also need to look the part. We need to look through those trunks below and find suitable clothes,” I said.

  “By the way, I read the captain's logbook last night. Their mission was to meet and bribe Westie officials and military leaders. Their specific orders were to apply more pressure south toward your people. That's why they were carrying so many banknotes."

  "Well,” he sighed. “We knew it was coming; now, we have proof.” He shook his head.

  We took turns looking through the trunks and crew clothes for what would suit. La-man found what he needed by mixing and matching. The gentleman's trunk filled all my needs, so that trunk became mine. Everything fit well, except the boots were a bit tight. Finally, to enhance my royal appearance, I changed my fur white.

  To avoid mistakes upon our arrival in the Southern Realm, La-mar and I began calling each other by our respective titles. I called him “Captain”, and he addressed me as “Emissary, Sir, or Sir Cam”. We looked, sounded, and even moved as men long accustomed to being treated with deference.