Prince Alard had retired to the common room and Lord Raz was ushered in. Alard looked him up and down as he entered and apart from the finery he had obviously donned before coming out to his ship, he could see this man with his weathered skin and hard eyes was no stranger to the hardships of the sea.
“
Lord Raz, welcome on board the flagship Aggressor, it is a pleasure to meet a man of your reputation.”
Raz was taken a bit aback at that, this Prince knew of him?
“
I thank you my liege, but I’m a little surprised you would know of someone as unimportant as I.”
The Prince smiled a little before responding,
“
I have always made it my business to know the people of all the ports of the Kingdom and their work history. And yours makes for interesting reading. I may not have ever visited down here, but that doesn’t mean you are forgotten.”
That made an impression on Raz, he thought the Kingdom didn’t know they existed.
“
Please sit down and tell me of your deep water port and what your capabilities are.”
The Prince motioned to the desk and also called for wine and a little food, they would be talking for quite awhile.
“
I won’t waste your time Prince Alard. I can tell you that while I have a viable port operational and defendable, it is only new and the jetty in question will only be able to handle maybe four ships at a time. But anything like this,” Raz raised his hands and looked about, “Then it probably will only hold two.”
“
How long to upgrade the jetty in question or even start a second jetty?”
“
It's not as simple as that, it’s a whole infrastructure thing, I have managed to gather 1,800 men so far, most of them are working frantically down at Port Volarus constructing everything that is needed for the population that originally resided here. On top of that we don’t have a lot of access to lumber. We must travel a further twenty miles down the coast past the new port to collect it. The small boats we have don’t carry a lot so the work is slow, but there is the benefit of when there is downtime Keera and Justin are training the men in most forms of combat.”
The Prince thought on this, a plan was forming in his mind.
“
Tell me what you need Lord Raz, give me a good outline of all the resources to do the job required.”
Raz looked at him shocked again, was this man going to give him what he needed? He had better aim high.
“
A dozen warships first up would help as well as crew for them too, then I would need at least another dozen brigantines for cargo work and relaying lumber up the coast. Also for the defense of the Port, I would need at least two dozen catapults plus enough weaponry to equip say, 3,000 men so that I had enough in reserve. Oh and I would need to build a food silo of some sort and have food reserves to keep them all fed until we had grown enough crops and such to maintain them.”
The Prince smiled at him.
“
You certainly have high ambitions don’t you Raz? I understand you already have four Man O Wars in your command?”
Lord Raz nodded, this is where he gets maybe ten percent of what he asked for he thought to himself. The Prince stood up and made a short request,
“
Come with me.”
As the Prince exited the room and went onto the deck Raz followed a little puzzled. Standing at the rail Alard pointed out towards some ships in the dark. One, quite large, in fact almost as large as the ship they were standing on. The Prince addressed him now,
“
That ship there you see is one of six that I managed to commandeer from the enemy while coming here. They are loaded to the hilt with lumber, weapons, munitions, food and clothing. Two of the ships have between them sixty catapults and sixty land ballistas as well as a similar number of wagons. There are even the harnesses for horses there too. I can’t give you horses though. I don’t have any.
One of the ships has a full load of lumber plus four forges and any number of wood and metalworking tools. The fourth ship is loaded with foodstuffs preserved for long storage. The fifth carries swords, knives, bows, crossbows and clothes too innumerable to mention, but I can safely say that it would kit approximately five thousand men, the last ship is filled with winter clothing, you know what that means don’t you?”
Lord Raz nodded, the enemy planned on staying for quite awhile.
“
I will also give you four more Man O Wars to add to the ones you already have. Three are in good order but the fourth has some fire damage to the bow. You shouldn’t have too much trouble enacting repairs.”
Lord Raz nodded still feeling a little light headed at all that he was getting.
“
I am also going to give you 450 of my seamen, they are all well trained and good at what they do, on top of that I am going to leave three frigates under your command but controlled by my best captain. His name is Captain Koberg and he is a highly talented officer who will relish any mission you give him. Do you have any questions?”
Lord Raz was still in a spin. It took him a few seconds to collect himself.
“
Well, you have already given me so much already. My only question would be to discuss tactics. I am sure you don’t want me to sit back and do nothing.”
Nodding, Alard suggested they go back inside.
“
You know the southern seas better than me. Do you have any suggestions that would not end with Port Volarus being attacked?”
“
Do you have any maps on board of this area?”
With that request Alard went to the sideboard and removed a large scroll which he unrolled onto the table. Raz, holding one corner, began.
“
We are here and the new port is down here in this bay. Further southwest you will see we have a large number of islands that number about fifty or more. I have been thinking about this and it is my opinion that we should operate a temporary base hidden amongst the islands and conduct raids on their supply lines and retreat to there. With that many islands and timing it so we returned at dusk after a raid, we can have it so they would either lose us amongst them and give up or maybe even run aground if we are lucky.
There are many ways in but only a few that are deep enough for our Man O Wars. It is a treacherous place and fortunately I know my way around there quite well. The added benefit is we are not exposing the Port to unnecessary danger and can supply the raiders from there.”
Prince Alard watched and listened as Raz spoke, he saw a man relishing the job at hand and an enthusiasm for something that would challenge him greatly. It was good to find a man who would not shirk his responsibilities but endeavor to do all he could and from his reputation he was a very competent leader too.
“
I agree with your summations totally, you have my permission to do all you wish in the southern districts here. In fact I am giving you a full title of Supreme Commander of the southern theater of operations. I will have my adjutant draw up the necessary papers and also present you with a seal ring of the Kingdom. Now before I make this happen, Do you Lord Raz accept this responsibility I am giving you? To promise to aid and execute the laws and orders of the Throne of King Arrick?”
Lord Raz was taken aback again and again he hesitated catching himself. With a serious tone befitting the station he was being given, he knelt before the Prince and bowed his head.
“
I do solemnly swear to enact the wishes of the crown in serving the best interests of this nation, may the Gods smile upon me.”
“
Arise Lord Raz, you are now Supreme Commander designate. Your full title shall be indentured once verification is given by the King himself. I can tell you that it will be but a formality.”
Lord Raz arose and thanked him for all that he had given. Not only would they be able to defend themselves, but the hardships they were facing were alleviated greatly by the men and materials Alard had presented him.
“
I shall now speed you on your way. There is an open boat ready to carry you to one of the frigates I have given you. There you will meet Captain Koberg and be able to make your acquaintance with him.”
Lord Raz was a little surprised.
“
You are not staying at present?”
The Prince shook his head.
“
No I intend on returning home immediately after you leave to rally our forces. I shall remain in contact but know this, we have just a little under four months to winter. If we can delay their forces to the point they cannot launch a major attack on the Capitol before winter sets in then we will have given ourselves a five-month reprieve. With that we should be able to mobilize quite a large army.”
“
I understand the ramifications of what you are saying.”
Lord Raz excused himself and left. 'If only we had a few more like him in the north, we wouldn’t have so much to worry about.' the Prince thought to himself.
Lord Raz was thinking similar thoughts of the Prince. If the Kingdom had a few more like him they would be served well indeed. Raz now had a fleet of his own and not only that but enough resources to supply and outfit a fair sized army of which he would be in charge of too. It was all very daunting but an exciting prospect at the same time as well.
Once he had conferred with this Captain Koberg, Raz would order him to set sail south while he returned to Port Valderus and organized the local garrison to take care of themselves. With that enacted, he would move to his new base of operations in Port Volarus and begin the huge task of organizing all these new men and materials.
“
Lord Raz?”
He turned around and found before him two beautiful women dressed in finery.
“
May I help you miladies?”
“
My name is Nightwing and this is Loranda. We are friends and associates of Wollfen, Dark, Keera and Justin. It was I who was relaying messages before we arrived.”
Lord Raz realized who they were.
“
May I be of service in some small way?”
Night filled him in on their wishes.
“
Up until now our mission since leaving Wollfen was to notify the Kingdom of what was happening down here. We have fulfilled that mission and wish to rejoin our companions.”
Lord Raz looked them over once again.
“
I take it you have similar skills to the others?”
He had to ask, they looked too sophisticated. Night nodded.
“
Yes just as many skills and attributes as our brothers in arms.”
“
Well then you are both very welcome, the more people of your caliber I can bring on board the better. The boat has arrived and I am to transfer to a frigate, please be my guest.”
Raz offered his hand to help them step over the edge and Night accepted. Loranda behind threw a canvas bag over the edge with a,
“
Look out below!”
It landed square in the boat with a thump. The man on the tiller looking back up with an unimpressed expression on his face. The rowers all looked up too. Once in the boat they pushed away and were rowing out amongst the fleet.
All the ships looked impressive from down here and Lord Raz looked on in appreciation and even a little envy. He would have loved to be back on board sailing the high seas, but he had even more responsibilities now and that prospect retreated ever further from being a reality.
A couple of hours later they were taking a cutter to Port Valderus. Lord Raz had filled Captain Koberg in on his wishes. He seemed a very capable officer and picked up very quickly on what was expected of him. Raz could tell that they would have a very good working relationship. Prince Alard was right in his praise of that man.
The two women had been rather quiet the entire time keeping to themselves. That was a stark contrast to Dark when she had been there. He had so many thoughts, so many decisions, so many problems to deal with. His mind was abuzz with all that he had to do and organize, but at least they had been left with the tools and resources to make it happen, it was so much more than he could have dreamed of.
As the boat approached the dock, both Keera and Justin were waiting. Loranda waved to them as the boat pulled up and was tied off. She sprang up and out before anybody else had moved. Keera was on the receiving end of a huge hug and kisses too. The last one left her spluttering and Justin chuckling to himself behind her. At that Loranda spied him and jumped, landing a hug on him that winded him a little. She certainly was happy to see them.
Nightwing had pulled herself onto the jetty and looked at Keera with a smile. They hugged and gave each other a light peck on the cheek, Justin got his too.
“
How have you two been? Are you well?” Keera nodded.
“
We have had some exciting times over the last week but are ready for more.”
Night smiled, you just couldn’t get the adventurous spirit out of this girl.