Rise of the shadow mage, p.27
Rise of the Shadow Mage, page 27
shadows, I searched the ship and found the captain’s operating coin. I took it and all the captain’s papers.
Looking at the ship, the fog, and the docks, I made a decision. I called two more ships forth and had them tied to the docks. I again took the ship’s coin and its papers. Knowing how superstitious sailors were, I had the lanterns on the three ships light themselves so they wouldn’t look like ghost ships and did the same to the warehouse lanterns. Nodding, I went and called to Captain Morsh’s watch stander.
“Oi, lads, tell Captain Morsh that the ships are here and it’s time to get to work.” The sailors knew their business and set to it.
Captain Morsh joined me dockside, looking at the three ships. “Never heard a thing,” he said.
I nodded. “That’s Mage Bramble for you. He’s a powerful mage, but he’s quite a trickster. He once made my house disappear and then waited out of sight for my return just to see the expression on my face,” I told the story, chuckling.
“Keep them at it, Captain. Delivery wagons will be here at dawn.”
“Aye, sir.”
I left him to his duty and walked away, letting the fog swallow me once again. Out of sight, I put on the guise of the ol’ salt and borrowed a dinghy. I had three more ships to produce.
I rowed away from the docks, and the shadows pushed me out to mid-harbor. I took out the storage cards and called forth three cargo ships. I had the shadows drop anchor to hold the ships in place. Unlike the other ships, I moved all the cargo from these ships back onto storage cards. I also took the ship’s coin and papers and had the fore and aft lanterns light themselves as marker lights. That done, I thought over what I had done to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Satisfied that I had not, I had the shadow push the dinghy back to shore.
Barron Demeter went back to the barricade and told them to expect my warehouse manager and delivery wagons to start arriving sometime around dawn. I walked back to the last warehouse to see what progress had been made unloading the three ships.
They were making progress, but to be fair, I had only been gone a little over an hour. I decided now was a good time to take a nap and stepped into shadow. I called forth my camp and lay down, but my mind was too active for me to sleep. I kept thinking of all the things I needed to do, so I got up and made coffee. Sitting by my fire sipping coffee, I let my mind wander over unfinished tasks.
I began making a mental list of what needed to be done. I realized as a baron, I would be expected to step back from running the trading house. I would promote Dave to take on the daily operation of running it, and Jute could run the warehouse operations.
As for Westcreek, I would ask Morris and Emma if they would be interested in managing the country estate. Brea, of course, would oversee the Westcreek estate here in the city. I must admit I was curious to visit the estates and wondered what condition they were in. This was going to be a big change for us.
I had a feeling that the king would want me to take my place as his spymaster. To be fair, at the moment, I was the only one who could fill that role competently. “Unlike Master Cliff, I had a family that I could go home to every night so that I wouldn’t turn into the hermit in the basement,” I thought, smiling.
I also had cards full of spoils, and artifacts that I needed to look through, and new books to research. Perhaps some of the new books on magic would have some information on illusions and how to cast them.
The arrival of Dave, Morris, and the boys just before dawn brought me back to the here and now. Stepping out of shadow, I approached them.
“Good morning, Baron,” Dave said in greeting.
“Good morning,” I returned his greeting. “Come, I’ll show you what needs to be done.” We walked into the warehouse that was slowly being filled with cargo. “Basically, we’ll be doing the same thing we do in our warehouse, but in this case, we are working for the crown. Everything will be sold at pre-war prices, and the monies, after expenses, will go into the crown’s coffers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the king’s treasurer doesn’t show up.
“If someone wants to buy but has no, or not enough money, point them to the king’s treasurer to make payment arrangements. Make them aware that this warehouse and its contents belong to the crown, not House Demeter. Speaking of the king, he and his entourage have arrived,” I said chin pointing.
We all bowed. “Good morning, Baron Demeter. It looks like you have things well in hand. I’ve brought the royal treasurer to assist with the finances,” he said, smiling.
“Thank you, sire, we were hoping you would. We were unsure of exactly how that would be handled,” I answered.
Randal looked at the docked ships, “Three ships, aye?”
“The mage you hired says there are three more anchored mid-harbor, but we’ll have to wait for the fog to clear to see the truth of it,” I answered his unasked question.
“Well, if the mage says they are there, you can believe him. He’s never failed me,” Randal said, nodding. “Walk with me, Baron, and let these men get to work.”
Nodding, I fell in beside him and walked the warehouse. “You don’t know the weight you’ve lifted from my shoulders, my friend. I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but will we have enough to hold us until imports resume?”
I considered his question. “I believe we’ll have enough to fill the gap between now and when cargo begins arriving once more. But we must put our ships to sea as soon as we can, and not depend solely on others to come to us.”
We stopped dockside, where we stood looking at the three ships. “The mage I hired?”
“Mage Bramble,” I supplied the name.
“Yes, Bramble. Did he say how many ships he might have access to?”
I decided to share some of my secrets. “I believe he said the dragon had twenty more ships.”
Randal stared at me open-mouthed for a moment, then recovered. “War reparations?”
I nodded. “War reparations,” I said, so he understood they wouldn’t cost La Shard, nor the crown, anything. “The other twenty some odd ships,” I thought to myself, “will go to the Demeter Trading House to use or sell as needed.”
He shook his head, put his hand on my shoulder, and looked me in the eye. “The people of La Shard may never know all that you’ve done for us, but I will never forget it, nor will the crown.”
“I always have your back, my friend, my king,” I answered.
He patted my shoulder and turned back to the three ships. “Now, where are we going to get enough sailors to crew twenty more ships?”
“One bite at a time, Boot. One bite at a time,” I quoted our corporal. We both broke out in laughter.
From the Author
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave a review. It will help my exposure and sales. I try to read all the reviews, good and bad, as it helps me to improve my writing. You can follow me on Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, and other sites. My home page is Jameshaddock.us. Stop by for a visit. Thanks again.
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James
Other Books by James Haddock
The Derelict Duty
Duty Calls
From Mist and Steam
Hand Made Mage
Mage Throne Prophecy
Wizard’s Alley
Cast Down World
Lord of the High Reaches
Stonecutter’s Shadow
Dragon’s Envoy
Dragon’s Mage
Inherited Revenge
Heartwood Mage
All are available at Amazon Books
James Haddock, a retired army warrant officer with twenty-two years of service, is a full-time author and RV’er. He and his wife enjoy traveling and seeing the wonders of America. He loves reading sci-fi and watching sci-fi TV and movies. He’ll get an idea or see a picture and think, “That would make a great story.” Writing as a “pantser,” to him, is like reading a new story. He has no idea where the story is going to end up. He gets excited when he picks up a pen to write and looks forward to writing many more stories.
Haddock, James, Rise of the Shadow Mage
