Lord of the High Reaches

by James Haddock

"You should have thought about that before you became a slaver." I turned and walked away.

  * * *

  Dressed in gentleman's clothes and my fur a reddish gold, when we landed, I was ready to meet King Micha. Met by a squad of soldiers, I strode down the ramp.

  "Lieutenant, my name is Baron Lord Du-cat. I believe the king is expecting me. We also have 20 Westie slavers as prisoners. Please take them into custody.”

  "Yes, Sire. Sergeant, get a squad. Take the prisoners to the stockade. M'lord, if you will accompany me."

  "Thank you, Lieutenant." I followed his lead toward his headquarters. There I was given over to the Captain of the Watch, who escorted me to the palace. After a few more handoffs, I sat waiting outside the throne room with several others.

  Alyse and her escort came walking down the hall. She stopped and looked at me without smiling. I bowed. In clannish, she said, "The theater is about to begin, Lord Du-cat. Mother says to play your part. We will have an audience."

  "I shall do my best, Lady," I replied in clannish.

  Alyse walked on without looking back. I wondered what part in this theater was mine to play. Obviously, I needed to play the part of Lord Du-cat, but what else? The doors to the throne room opened. I was about to find out.

  There were already lords and ladies in the throne room for an audience with the king. I was put toward the front of the group which then advanced toward the throne. As one, we bowed. Isla and Alyse were on the dais with King Micha. They showed no recognition of me. One of the king's men leaned to speak to the king, indicating me by a brief head tilt in my direction.

  "Lord Du-cat, it's good to see you. What news from our northeast border?"

  I stepped forward, bowing again. "Sire, there was a Westie incursion. Two mounted Westie companies crossed our borders on a scouting raid. They burned villages, killing women, children, and taking slaves. My men and I engaged them before they could retreat across the border. We killed all but 20 of the enemy and took them prisoner. Our people they took as slaves were freed. The raid felt like they were scouting for a larger invasion force. I have sent word throughout our eastern lands for all cat warriors to rally at our northern border. If any Westies cross into our lands, they'll never see theirs again."

  "How many do you number in your forces, Lord Du-cat?"

  I'd better be careful here. Lots of ears in this place. "Between 300 and 500 warriors, Sire. But they are cats. They do not fight like a regular army. The Westies will never see them coming."

  He looked to the side. "Bring in the prisoners."

  The officer bowed and stepped out. Moments later, the 20 were brought in still in chains, their colonel leading them.

  The colonel bowed." Sire, my name is Colonel Lord Oakridge. I offered my parole to that cat. He ignored me."

  The king stared coldly at him. He rose and came down from the dais to stand in front of the colonel. "You killed women and children, did you not?"

  "No, Sire. They were cats." As soon as those words left his mouth, the king drew his knife, thrusting it up through his jaw and into his brain. The colonel stood blinking.

  "They were my people!" the King spat and let the colonel's body drop into the rapidly spreading pool of blood. He returned to his throne. Looking at the rest of the prisoners, he commanded, “Return them to the stockade."

  Once they had left the throne room, he ordered the officer, “Hang them as slavers."

  “Yes, Sire.” The officer bowed and left.

  "Lord Du-cat, our people are being taken care of?"

  "Yes, Sire. I will return with enough supplies to see them through the winter."

  "Well done. We thank you for your service. I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

  As the audience bowed, King Micha, Lady Isla, and Alyse departed. While leaving, a servant motioned me to the side. Without a word, he ushered me to another room with refreshments, including hot coffee. I had just poured my first cup, when the king entered, followed by Isla and Alyse.

  As I began to stand, he waved me off. "Keep your seat," he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "You do fast work, my friend. I didn't expect anything like this."

  "Well, as terrible as it was, the colonel made it possible. Had he not attacked and taken slaves, I'm unsure how successful I would have been at recruiting the cats. Now they have a common enemy to unite them."

  "And a leader to unite around," Isla added.

  "Did I give my message in clannish correctly?" Alyse interrupted, wanting to please.

  "Perfectly," I smiled.

  "300 to 500 warriors, huh?" His Highness chuckled.

  "A fairly accurate guess, I think.” Give or take a few hundred.

  "Well, I believe you are right about the Westies, Cam. Should they cross again, and I believe they will, they will never know what hit them.”

  "We hear you have contracted to extend the railroad on its southern and western route."

  “We have. Lord Windford, myself and East Central have joined forces. East Central will do most of the work. I've also thought about extending the line south to East Coastal, the harbor trading town on the southern coast. That is, if I can get the needed right-of-way."

  "An interesting thought," he smiled. "So, will you be staying with us long?"

  "A short time. I need to ensure the cats have needed supplies for the winter. And I need to check on other trade deals and skyships."

  "Well, I'm sure we'll talk before you leave," he said, rising. He left Isla and Alyse with me.

  "Good to see you again," I said as they laughed and hugged me.

  "Come, let's talk as we walk," Isla said. I followed them from the palace.

  "So," I began. "The king awarded you all the Greenwell assets."

  "He did. Its kept me busy. I've reorganized the management and gotten rid of a lot of dead wood. It's a work in progress. I hear you have warehouses now."

  "I do. They are right on the rail line so we can ship in bulk without taking our skyships any further north.”

  "Good. We'll start shipping cargo to you once your trading house is set up."

  "Speaking of shipping cargo, I need to tell La-mar to pick up a cargo of winter supplies for the cats."

  "I've already sent him instructions, and, the best part, King Micha is paying for the shipment. It should be ready by tomorrow.” She seemed quite proud of herself.

  We were walking through the large market district, ringed by trading houses. Isla stopped, "Well, here we are." I looked around at the market stall, confused. The ladies laughed.

  "Not out there. Over here." Alyse pointed behind me. I turned to look at the gated trading house with a grand courtyard beyond. With a sweeping motion of her arm as though introducing the building, she announced, "Welcome to the D&G Trading House."

  "D&G?" I asked.

  "Du-cat & Greenwell," Alyse exclaimed with bright eyes. “We kept the Greenwell name, because that’s the name people are most familiar with.”

  Isla led the way up the steps and inside. "These are our offices. You have one over there. I have the one beside it. Come look out the window. That’s my house behind this building. In the guest wing are apartments for you when you’re in the capital."

  The buildings were far nicer than I would have expected for a trading house. "The Greenwell's must have been an old trading family to have such a place as their trading house."

  “They were, indeed," Isla said. "In the last few generations, they started to show off their wealth, with an eye toward elevating themselves to peerage. If they had not gotten greedy and impatient, they would have succeeded."

  Between the trading house and her home, we crossed another smaller courtyard. This one was paved in cobblestones with a fountain in the middle. In a corner, there was a small waterfall with water tumbling over rocks of varying sizes and into a pond with orange, blue, and green fish swimming under flowers floating on the surface. Dotted around the courtyard were stone benches, willow trees, and pots overflowing with fragrant,
brightly colored flowers. It was at once charming and comforting.

  Inside the main house, staff met us and took our cloaks. "Let's go see your apartments."

  In the guest wing were my apartments, comprised of a sitting room, a private office, a bedroom with a privy, and bath. The bath had hot running water. I had come to love hot baths, which we never had in our village. I wondered how hard it would be to have one put in the keep. All the rooms were completely furnished.

  “Isla, this is too much, and I may not be here that often."

  "Well, if you have your own place, you may come more often," Alyse said, looking hopeful.

  Overcome by being so welcomed into their home, all I could say was, "Thank you for your generosity."

  "You are welcome. Your trunk is in the bedroom. Get cleaned-up and changed. When you are ready, come down, and we'll have something to eat.”

  I was pleased that the servants had not unpacked my trunk and assumed Isla had instructed not to. The clothes that I had brought on my diplomatic trip had been placed in the wardrobe. After a luxurious hot bath and a change of clothes. I met them in the dining room where food was waiting.

  The food, as usual, was outstanding, "I would like to walk the market sometime today," I said.

  "Looking for anything in particular?"

  "Journals, of different sizes, an artist sketch book perhaps, and I think they call them a portable scribe's kit or bag."

  "I know just the place," Isla said. After we finished eating, we walked to a section of the market that specialized in scribes and scholars. Visiting three shops, I found what was needed: journals that matched Seeker's, both large and small, and a large scribe's kit with a bag. The scribe's kit held all the pens, inks, and straight edges needed to continue my studies and translations of his journals. I was understanding more of the notes and sketches, and the transcribing was getting faster.

  We walked along for a while shopping, which seemed to be one of Isla's favorite pastimes. In one shop, there was a combination pocket watch and compass. One side was a watch, the other was a compass. It wasn't cheap, but it was sturdy and of fine quality. Finally, we made it back to the trading house with our purchases. Frankly, I was amazed that I only had to carry two boxes for the ladies.

  I retired early to finish the translation of Seeker's small book. Not knowing when I’d return, it was important to give it to Isla. It took most of the night to finish, but I managed a few hours’ sleep before sunrise.

  After breakfast, I gave Isla the journal. "There are a lot of notes on improvements to various things, guns, steam engines, and the boiler burn powder among others." She thumbed through it while I talked. "I'm sure you can put it to good use. I need to take supplies to the cats and make sure they understand what they need to do. Not knowing what may happen, I’m unsure when I’ll return, hopefully soon."

  "Thank you, Cam. I'll get this to our scientists. I'm sure it will help,” Isla said.

  Alyse exhaled. “So, you won't be coming back here after you deliver the supplies?"

  "No, I need to go back to Windford for a bit. I have some things to do before I return. I need to hire a manager for my estate and one for the trading house. Once I have everything set, I'll be back." I assured her.

  She gave a slight nod, then announced in a regal voice, "Fine, then we’ll expect you back in a month, two at the most."

  Since I did not trust myself to say, “Yes, dear,” without laughing, I simply nodded. When this young lady is fully grown, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

  We said our goodbyes. Alyse seemed teary eyed, but held her head high and shoulders back as I left for the ship. At the ship, La-mar was ready to leave and lifted as soon I boarded.

  "The cats’ village, I assume."

  "Yes. We'll unload these supplies, then head for Windford."

  * * *

  The clan leader was directing the rebuild of the village. Two previously destroyed villages were combined into one, so both would have a better chance of survival. The skyship sat down at the entrance, and the crew and village cats began unloading supplies.

  No cats said anything but I could see relief in their faces. The steel knives and belts were left with them. Between the knives I brought and ones taken as spoils, everyone now had one.

  Leaders of several villages were present. All referred to me as "The Baron”, which was fine. From “Shame to Baron”, not bad. Drawing a map on the ground, I showed the area they were to scout and defend, which included my lands in the Eastern Kingdom, halfway to River's Fork.

  "We will scout and defend these lands from the Westies. If they cross the river, kill them. You may keep the spoils. If they are foolish, they will make us rich, and your young warriors blooded. Each village will take a turn scouting to spread the work and the spoils. I will be traveling to many places. If you need me, leave a message at the Windford Estate. They are my friends, and I trust them."

  We stayed the night for a feast and talked war strategies. They understood what I wanted and would carry out my orders. Most of the night was spent celebrating and drinking. I drank enough to be polite, but that was all.

  Our ship lifted early the next morning, bound for the harbor town of East Coastal to buy cargo. There was no use going back empty. I let La-mar handle the trading. He had a better idea of what would sell best and for what price. We left for Windford with a full load and a good wind in our sails.

  Chapter 16

  I was looking forward to getting back to my keep. Isla's home was nice, and so were my rooms there, but the keep was mine.

  "Baron, you'd better come topside," a crewman called down to me. On deck, La-mar was looking through his spyglass. Handing it to me, he pointed. It took a few moments to realize that the burnt-out ruin was the Windford estate. There was little smoke, so I knew the fighting was well over.

  "Man the cannons," I growled. I wasn't taking any chances. Keeping my eye to the spyglass, I scanned the area but saw no signs of the attackers.

  "Keep your eyes on the sky, men," La-mar shouted. Two men went up on top of the balloons to keep watch. I had not considered that the attack was from the air, rather assuming it was from the ground.

  "When you’re satisfied we're safe, Captain, take us down."

  "Watch report!"

  “All clear,” came the call. Slowly we went in, circling, belly guns ready. There were no signs of attackers. In fact, there were few men there at all. As soon as we landed, I was over the side. Fredrick Mercer, the head servant, walked over. "What happened?" I asked him.

  "Sunrise, three days ago, two companies of Westie cavalry attacked the estate. No warning, strictly a raid. They never asked questions or anything. They just killed everyone they found, set fire to every building, then rode out, heading west."

  "Lord and Lady Windford?"

  "Dead, sir."

  My claws sprang forth as I threw back my head, roaring with rage. Frederick fell to his knees, hands covering his face.

  "My anger is not at you, brother; another will feel that soon enough. Your family?"

  Head down, he shook his head.

  "Our dead have been seen to?"

  “Yes. All have been buried.”

  "Lord Michael?"

  "As far as I know, he is still at the keep. I heard they were attacked also."

  "Take him a message from me. Tell him we go after those responsible."

  He nodded. "When you catch them, kill them. Kill them all," he said, shaking.

  "You can count on it."

  Not waiting for a reply, I ran back to the ship and leapt aboard. "Lift off! The enemy is heading west with a three-day head start," I shouted. "Fly toward the keep."

  The ship rose, turning west. As soon as it was high enough, sails were turned out. Once again, I went forward with the spyglass; the trail was not hard to follow, even from the air. The tracks headed straight for the keep. As it came into sight, the destruction was obvious. The warehouses and outbuildings were burned to the ground, but t
he keep was intact. Michael was standing on the battlements, pointing west. As we flew by, I pointed west, answering him.

  Our ship turned, following the enemy. They were headed west, as fast as they could travel. It would take them five days to reach the border, pushing their horses as hard as they could. We would be there in a day, or a day and a half at the most.

  The crew kept watch, while I informed La-Mar about the attack at the estate and the deaths of many, including Lord and Lady Windford.

  "Two companies?" he asked. "That's the other half of Colonel Oakridge’s battalion. They split their force; we caught the half that turned south."

  "We'll catch the other half shortly”.

  Around midnight, we found their campfires. La-mar held the ship well back, and I slid down to scout. They had not been here long. Most were still awake, but exhausted. They had almost killed their horses, pushing them so hard. They were just going to die tired.

  There was a familiar scent in the air. I smelled other cats approaching. Backing away from the Westies, I waited for them to find me. One approached openly, making sure I saw him. He was the sub-leader from the slaver fight.

  "How many are with you?" I whispered.

  "Word came that a large force was raiding east. We come with 200 warriors."

  “Good. Let these fools settle down, then we’ll surround them. When we’re ready, I'll fire a shot to start the attack. Try to leave some alive to question, leaders, if possible. If not…," I shrugged.

  “Understood.” He nodded and left, taking my orders to the 200 cats. Up in the trees, I found a good vantage point to wait and watch. It wasn’t long before the Westies settled in their bedrolls. From this height, I could see cats getting into place. Waiting a half hour to give them enough time to be ready, I continued to watch them.

  One guard walked just below me. I drew my short gun and shot him in the top of his head. Roars erupted from all around the enemy camp, as the cats closed in for the kill. It was a slaughter. The cats made few clean kills as they mauled the enemy. The attack was so sudden, there were only a hand full of shots fired. When the fight was over, the captives were gathered by the fire. As I approached, the cats opened a lane for me.