Five #2
It took a week to get to Pouli. Kardez had managed to find an opportunity cargo because of the extra time we'd spent at Melamar, and it was a large one.
So we spent half a day unloading, then a few more hours rebalancing the load, since we weren't picking up a cargo there.
Then it was a little more than two weeks to our port at Savoy, because we had to fly across a fair deal of Pouli to get to the gateway that would take us to our destination there.
Also, since we weren't at all late for our delivery, Kardez had decided to save fuel and travel at a more efficient speed.
All of that was fine with me. Anna visited me two nights a week, while Neli often just showed up while I was doing something, smiled at me, and either grabbed my hand or my tail and started tugging.
She normally stood the early morning watch, which meant from four until breakfast, then the dinner watch, which was roughly eight pm until midnight.
The rest of the night was typically just two watch-standers who kept an eye out for problems. If there was one, Neli could immediately take the helm, as her bed was close to the bridge.
Of course, it helped that Kardez could also pilot the ship, and even I was an experienced helmsman and had done it before.
The only other time Neli was at the helm, or at least on the bridge, was for portal transits and during landings.
More than once, however, while we'd been somewhat involved, she'd had to check the helm.
The rumor that we'd had sex up there while she was flying, after I'd thrown everyone off the bridge, was absolutely not true. I was just standing very close to her while she flew.
Honest!
The thing was, Neli liked to make things up now and again and had a very quirky sense of humor, the kind you'd expect from someone who could roll a cargo ship or a navy frigate and not damage a single thing in the process.
So much so that I was very tempted to actually make that rumor a reality by the time we put in at Savoy.
I was sitting in my cabin, cleaning my pistol, when Alena knocked on the open door.
"Yes?" I asked, looking up at her.
"Captain wants to see you down by the aft cargo hold."
"Tell him I'll be right there," I said, and checking to be sure I hadn't left anything in the barrel, I reloaded my pistol and put it in its holster. Then, getting up, I headed down the passageway to the back.
Going down the stairs and stepping out into the sunlight, I found the captain and headed over to him. He was talking with a couple of people. One was human, and the other was a halfling, who always reminded me of overgrown hamsters, and he froze in place when he saw me.
"Are you both followers of Vikoria's?" I asked as I walked up.
"Why, yes, we are," the human said.
"Then you have nothing to fear from me," I said, looking down at the halfling.
"Oh? Are you a follower?" the human asked.
"Nope, I follow Feliogustus, but he and Vikoria are friends, and I'm always willing to help her people out if necessary." I turned to Kardez. "So, what's up?"
"They want to know if we can deliver the load directly to their village."
I turned and looked at the other two. "Why?"
"We've been having… issues with a group of locals, and the local haulers are afraid to head out our way."
"Oh, is that so?" I said, my voice going down in pitch.
The man blinked, and the halfling shivered. I turned to Kardez. "Why are you asking me?"
"Because you're the owner and you're here?"
I nodded. "Can we do it?"
"Well, we'll have to fill up the ballast tanks, so we don't go negative while unloading. That means we'll be burning a lot of fuel to get there, since we'll have to use a lot of fan power for lift."
"Do we need to refuel first?"
"Probably be wise. The extra weight would help."
"Okay, do it. Once we're fueled, we'll fly out there." I turned back to the other two. "And you would be?"
"Sam," the human man said.
"Per-Perrin," the halfling said.
"Sam, Perrin, I am William the Godslayer, and I am at your service. Now, how about we go sit in the mess, and you can tell me all about your problems."
"Di…did you say…G-Godslayer?" Sam said, eyes wide.
"Ah, you've heard about me," I replied with a smile. "Then you know that I honor Vikoria and her farmers and ranchers. Now, shall we?" I asked, heading back over to the deckhouse.
They both nodded and followed me inside, and I led them to the mess. I found it interesting that Perrin was now much less afraid, while Sam seemed to be more so.
"They say you killed a goddess for us?" Perrin asked as we sat down at a table.
"That's one of the reasons," I admitted. "I was asked to help protect the farmers out there, and, well, Par did some very nasty things, not just to them, but to me personally, as well as to Feliogustus. So…" I shrugged. "I'm not exactly proud of what I did, but it had to be done."
"You're not proud of it?" Perrin asked, looking me up and down in surprise.
I sighed and gave them a wan smile. "I have a bit of a temper, and hurting children, defenseless women, and people whose sole goal in life is to provide for others tends to set it off.
Torturing or killing them—" I shook my head "—it helps me to do the things I must to punish those people.
Yeah, I'm a bit of a monster, I get it, but I'm not a psychopath.
I do my duty, and that's all there is to it. "
Perrin and Sam both nodded.
"So, tell me about your problems, and let me see if I can fix them."
"Seven or so months ago—we're not exactly sure when—Boss Sorez came to town," Perrin said.
"Boss Sorez?" I asked.
"That's what he calls himself," Sam grumbled.
"At first, he seemed okay," Perrin continued. "He set up in town and started his 'business'. It appeared to us that he was just running a local hauling and labor outfit. They'd move things from town on wagons and such for a fair price, and they'd supply labor for those who needed to hire some."
"But over time, that changed, I take it?"
"He ran all the other workers out of town. You work for him, or you don't work at all. Same for all the other haulers, unless you pay his 'tax'. He turned his eye to us last month, and we're only supposed to allow his men and his wagons to haul our goods, our harvests, and all that."
"And we need to pay a 'security tax' to him to protect our farms," Sam added.
"I'm surprised nobody's done anything to stop him."
"Some tried. They either disappeared or got run out of town after a vicious beating."
"Don't you have any kind of law there?"
"The old sheriff retired and moved to the city a couple of years ago. The new one—" Perrin shook his head "—we think is either working for Boss Sorez, or he's just too afraid to do anything."
"Guess I'll be staying for a while after the unloading's done."
"You'd do that for us?" Sam asked, looking surprised.
"Vikoria helped me when I needed it. Only fair I help her folks when they do. Also, I seem to recall saying that it really bothers me when good, hard-working folks get abused."
Perrin snickered, and Sam looked surprised.
"Now, go find the captain and tell him how to get to your town, and show him where to unload. I need to gather up the few things I need."
#
I sat on one of the crates in my old form—that is, I had shifted into my base human form, and not my champion form—as I watched the rest of the cargo unload.
I'd told Kardez not to wait around in port for me, that I'd probably be a while, and I'd find my own way to Rossiya.
I'd then said my goodbyes to the rest of the crew, and after showing Perrin and Sam what I looked like in this form, I'd ridden one of the crates down, as they used the ship's cargo cranes to unload the hold.
Perrin and Sam had come down in one of the ship's boats, along with Bork, our cargo master and purser, to make sure we got paid and everything was correct. Kanhz had accompanied him, in case there were any outside issues, and Alena had flown the boat.
There were a couple of locals from the co-op talking with Bork, and I saw a few things change hands, which he put in the boat, then he talked with the people some more while the unloading continued. Perrin eventually made his way over to me, while Sam went somewhere else.
We were unloading all the cargo at what I guess was the local grange hall, where the local farmers met to coordinate their efforts and help one another.
There were a number of buildings around the grange, most of which were obviously storage for the harvest. There was a large workshop, another barn that I guessed was where they stored the communal equipment they all shared, and another building with a very large open section in one wall.
As our cargo was all for the purposes of canning, that was obviously going to be their new food canning facility.
That was a pretty big investment for any farming community, and I wondered if that was the real reason this Boss Sorez had come here.
The planning for it must have started years ago, and it would become a source of wealth for the area.
I'd looked at the nearby town as we'd flown over it on our way here.
It wasn't exactly tiny, and it was close enough to the nearby city to trade with it.
So I was sure there were a number of shops and craftsmen, and the like, but it wasn't big enough that you'd expect someone to try and set themselves up as a crime lord or the like.
But a canning company… that would change things, especially one owned by a farming cooperative run by a group of Vikoria's people.
They were very much a non-violent kind of group, so they'd be an easy touch—or at least that was what most people believed.
Also, it would draw more farmers and workers who followed her to the area, because over time, I was sure that cannery would grow, as the owners would be quick to reinvest their profits.