When the pilot, Hiko-shi, came for his pay, I asked, "Hiko-Shi, do you have everything you need to pilot our ship?"
"I do, Shi-Tora. Thank you for asking." He bowed.
Next to come was Shifu. After he was paid, I said, "Shifu, I will eat with the crew and have the same food as everyone else."
His eyebrows raised. "Yes, Shi-Tora.”
After he left, I looked at Lay-shee. "I'm guessing the old captain did not eat with the crew and wanted special foods."
"That would be a good guess. He was from a higher social tier and cared little for the welfare of the men. He only cared about profit and his comfort."
"Among my people, the clan leader eats after he sees his people fed, and he eats only what his people eat. That way he knows his people are being cared for. While we are on the subject, ensure everyone has cold weather clothes for the high altitudes. I'm sure they lost some if not all of their cold weather gear in the attack. The cost of replacement will not come out of their pay. It is a ship's expense. I will not risk a man's life for the sake of profit."
"I will see to it, Shi-Tora."
When dinner was called, I found the men standing behind their chairs, waiting for me. They bowed when I entered. This was something new to them. They would not know what I expected and were probably afraid of making a mistake.
"Brothers." They all looked at me. "This may seem strange to you, but among my people the leader eats with his people. We will share hardships and dangers, and must depend on each other if we are to survive. Our meals will be shared together in comradery and respect. Forgive me, if this is not what you are used to. I am not high born. I was low born, a half-breed. I fought my way to a better life; we are all fighting our way to a better life. I pity those who oppose us." When I finished speaking, I bowed deeply to them. They bowed in return.
"Shifu, feed us, please." I took my seat, smiling.
"Yes, Shi-Tora." He began bringing in the food. My little speech seemed to lighten the mood, and everyone seemed at ease. Some food was strange to me, but it was all good.
"Shifu, has anyone ever told you that you would make someone a good wife?"
"Oh, no, M’lord, I've never heard that one before," he said, rolling his eyes. Everyone laughed, including me.
* * *
Every morning the crew did martial arts training led by Hiko-shi. I started attending, enjoying the stretching and fluid movements. Since I was new to martial arts, the crew traded off giving me additional classes in the afternoon. They seemed to enjoy working with me. I know I enjoyed it.
Work on the ship progressed, and in the evenings, I worked on translating Seeker's large journal. They began installing the belly guns the next week along with stocking us with ball and powder. Extra lead and powder were bought for the heavy long gun.
I got a note from Isla saying the recommended weapons master described as a rogue and cheat was no longer available. He had cheated the wrong person and, apparently, was not as good a fighter as he thought.
La-mar had returned from Windford, and I updated him on recent events. It made sense for him to start his trading routes again. The first place he went was south to buy more bombs, which I had a feeling we would need. Every few days, I had dinner with Isla and Alyse. I would catch them up on the progress of repairs, and they would catch me up on all that was happening elsewhere.
"We have heard through our spies that Lord Highreacher was killed as well as Lord and Lady Windford," Isla said. "King Edward has approved Michael as the new Lord Windford. There’s scuttlebutt about the Westies refusing to cross the southeast border. Seems that anyone who crosses does not return alive. They’re moving their efforts to the southwest border."
"Most likely, they’ll encounter the same problem again. If I gave them some advice, it would be stay home. I'll need to see King Edward before too long and give him a full report."
"King Micha will probably have a message for you to deliver when you go."
I nodded. "I'll let you know when I'm ready."
* * *
The ship was pushed out of the hanger and securely moored. She was raised enough to open all her sails to check rigging, pulleys, and gears. The rigging needed work, but the parts needed were common, so it was a quick repair. Quick being two days, but it could have been weeks.
They finished installing the belly guns and everything tested good. One book in my inherited library had pictures of different types of guns and cannons, the heavy long gun being one of them. The problem was the descriptions were in Far-Western, which I did not speak or read. I had Lay-shee translate and read the description from the book, while I looked at the drawings.
The long gun fired a multi-part round they called a ‘bullet’. The powder was contained in a ‘shell’. The bullet had a pin or button in the nose that connected to a striker in the hollow place behind the nose. The hollow place held either additional black powder or Lucifers. Lucifers were some nasty stuff. Black powder exploded. But Lucifers burned intensely hot, easily setting fires. Extremely dangerous, it was encased in red wax and stored in barrels of water. The bullet was two inches across and four inches long. The shells were made from brass and were reusable.
"Why are the Lucifers stored in water?" I asked.
Lay-shee grimaced. "Because if the red wax breaks open and air gets inside, woosh! The Lucifers ignite. It’s not a pretty way to die. We feel the wax to make sure it's still sealed before taking it out of the water.”
Once the bullet was put together with the shell, it was loaded into the back of the heavy long gun's barrel. A cover sealed the barrel closed, and a striker ignited the powder through a hole in the back of the shell. I wondered why they didn’t do the same thing to larger guns and cannons.
The book had a lot more details and overall information on other guns and ‘munitions’. Lay-shee would translate it for me after I finished Seeker's large journal. All the repairs on the ship were now complete and once La-mar returned with the bombs, we would leave.
At dinner with Isla and Alyse that night, we continued discussing our business. Overall, we were doing well with four ships.
Changing the subject, Isla said, "I have a message from King Micha for you." I nodded for her to continue. "He said there was no need for you to come see him, but to deliver his letter to King Edward." She handed me a small sealed satchel.
I wondered if I had done something wrong by being demoted to letter carrier.
"Don't read anything into not being given the letter by him in person. He has a lot going on."
I shrugged. "I'll take your word for it. I'll be leaving as soon as La-mar returns, which should be any day now."
"Where will you be going first?" Alyse asked.
"Probably to Windford, but nothing’s written in stone."
Chapter 19
When La-mar arrived, we cross-loaded his cargo into the junk’s hold. "I was able to get 20 bombs, 10 red, 10 black," he said.
"Good. Give your crew a few days off, then choose a trade route. I'm headed to Windford. You can contact me there. Safe travels, brother."
"Safe travels."
I doubted the junk being here was much of a secret, but we waited until it dark then pushed it out of the hanger. Heat and air were pumped into the balloons, and we began to rise. Hiko-shi took us straight up 300 feet before opening the sails. With all her sails out, she bit into the wind, and we were off. Since this was the first flight since being repaired, the crew were climbing all over the ship double-checking everything.
Without me telling them, they brought up the heavy long gun and set it up on the bow deck. There were slots in the deck where the tripod fastened, to hold it fast. Once it was ready, it was covered with a canvas to protect from the weather.
Something had been on my mind for a while. "Hiko-Shi, where did you land the ship during the storm?"
He thought a moment. "East-southeast of here."
"And the ship you fought?"
"Same direction. She was in no bett
er shape than we were."
"Let's go see if she was unlucky."
He nodded and turned the wheel to an east-southeast. It was now full on winter, and, at the altitudes we flew, it was much colder. The junk for all its odd looks was a good design. She handled well, was stable, and we were warm inside the longhouse. The highest point of the longhouse was the cockpit, which was enclosed and heated. The junk’s looks aside, I was becoming spoiled.
The deck watchers had the worst of it, but were warmly dressed. Before leaving, cold weather gear had been purchased and charged to the ship. The most important way to stay warm was to dress in layers and keep skin dry. Each man dressed in three layers. The underlayer was a soft cotton that trapped body heat but let sweat escape. Next came the middle layer of a woolen shirt and pants. Over that was an oilskin jacket with drawstring hood and oilskin pants. Footwear was long cotton socks, then woolen ones, and a pair of thigh-high oilskin boots. Hands were also covered in layers, first cotton, then wool.
Three days later, we arrived at the area where the ship went down. Area being the operative word. Hiko-shi flew a zigzag pattern, searching for signs of a wrecked ship. There were no breaks in the tree canopy to be found, no burn marks, no debris. After two days of searching, we gave up and turned east for the coast.
"I'm sorry, Shi-Tora," Hiko-Shi said.
I waved him off. "It was a gamble; sometimes you win, sometimes not.”
Down in my quarters, I busied myself working on the larger journal. The artwork was improving as well as the lettering. Focused, I didn’t notice Shifu had brought coffee until the smell broke through my concentration. I smiled as I took a sip of the hot liquid. Shifu always had something hot to warm the crew. Done for the day, I closed my ink and journals. When sketching, it was best to be well rested. Tiredness would make things look sloppy. Best to quit early.
I heard a shout and feet running. Flying out the door and up the stairs to the cockpit. I asked, "Trouble?"
"Crewman Aito spotted something in the trees. He thinks it might be a piece of sail," Hiko-Shi said, his hands on the wheel.
Grabbing the spyglass, I went on deck, looking in the direction that the watchman pointed. He was correct; it looked like a piece of sail. The ship slowed near where it waved in the treetops. Looking down through the canopy, we saw the crash site. The skyship was resting on its side.
"Good eyes, well done,” I commended Aito, handing him a gold sovereign.
Bowing three times, he beamed with pride. “Thank you, Shi-Tora.”
"Hiko-shi, hold the ship in place. I’m going down to scout.” I began cinching my weapon’s harness and backpack tight while crewmen dropped a line into a treetop.
"Are you sure, Shi-Tora? Maybe one of us should go," Lay-Shee said.
Putting my hand on his shoulder, I smiled. “The trees are my home. I'll be fine. You keep watch for other ships coming in. If you must, leave me. Return when you can. If all else fails, go to Lady Isla. I'll meet you there."
"Yes, Shi-Tora."
Grabbing the rope, I jumped over the side and into the trees. From the lower limbs, I could see the crash site. To my surprise, it was a junk. I had always assumed it was a regular skyship. It had been over a year since the crash, with no indication salvagers had found the wreck.
Not wanting to take chances, I jumped from tree to tree, circling the perimeter before going to ground. There were 20 or 25 bodies or what was left of them. Nature had taken care of the remains. I couldn't tell for sure, but it didn't look like anyone survived the crash to walk out. Inside the ship, there was plenty to make salvaging worth the time.
I climbed the tree over the crash site and waved our ship over. Yelling up, I reported, “No survivors, but plenty of salvage!"
They got busy setting up the cargo crane and dropped more ropes over the side. Now that they had a task, I stayed out of their way, continuing to scout the area, providing security while the men worked.
Light things lying around loose were gathered first: guns—both long and short, knives and swords. Next task was the cargo hold. Except for Hiko-shi and Shifu, the rest of the crew focused on lashing and hoisting cargo from the downed junk to ours. Lastly, the rigging and equipment were stripped out.
The boiler was a total loss, having busted wide-open when “junk met ground”. Lay-shee caught me staring at the boiler’s innards.
“Shi-Tora, is there something wrong?” he asked, peering at the innards.
“No, not really. I’ve never seen the inside of a boiler. Intriguing. It’s like a double-hulled sea ship, except using two tanks, one inside the other. See the smudges on the inside of the outer tank? It appears the outer tank is where these black looking rocks are lit to create fire which heats the inner tank, turning water to steam. Lay-shee, do you know what these rocks are?” I asked, picking one up.
“Yes, Shi-Tora. They are what my people used to heat their homes. It’s called ‘hard coal’. It burns well and provides abundant heat for a longer time than wood. I have not seen it used in a ship before. This ship must be a later design.”
“Where does hard coal come from?”
“It is dug out of mountains, Shi-Tora.”
“Look at these pipes. It’s a bit hard to tell because of the damage, but the curved broken pieces seem to indicate the pipes were wrapped around the outer tank. Long story short, more water was being heated from the same amount of fuel, the water inside the inner tank and the water in the pipes. What we have here is a more efficient heat source—hard coal—heating a larger quantity of water. Big improvement over current single-tank boilers.
“Ingenious. Please get my pen, ink, and sketch book. I want to sketch the tanks and pipes. Also, ensure the crew gathers up these rocks.”
“Yes, Shi-Tora.”
Crewman Kaito yelled. “Get Kosaku here, NOW! Everyone else OUT!”
My heart rate jumped. “What’s the problem?”
“The water surrounding the Lucifers is gone! They are exposed to air, Shi-Tora!”
Kosaku, who was the most experienced in dealing with Lucifers, came running. Looking inside the barrel, he said, “Looks like the lid came off and the water evaporated. The wax is still intact, Shi-Tora. The cold weather kept it from melting. Water can be carefully poured into the barrel. This should take care of the problem.” Buckets of water were transferred down below, which Kosaku slowly poured over the Lucifers, then sealed the barrel with a tight fitting lid.
Since the ship had Lucifers, it was reasonable to assume it held other weapons as well. The search for long guns commenced. Two were found, one on the bow wall and the other on the stern. Work continued on the salvage for two more days. It was like ants picking a carcass clean. Broken scraps were all that was left of the wreck.
Heavy with cargo and salvage, crew morale was high. With this much salvage, everyone’s shares would be larger. Not wanting to risk foul weather or a chance encounter with an enemy ship, we headed straight for Windford keep.
As we flew, ship work continued. The two heavy long guns were inspected, deemed operational, and mounted, one on the stern and the other on the forward end of the longhouse. Extra fire power could make the odds of surviving an attack greater. Other guns, both long and short, were also inspected. None had the new grooved barrels like the two heavy long ones, but were still decent. When we left port, there were only four long and four short guns. With the extras found on the wreck, each crewman could now have one of each.
"Brothers," They looked up from cleaning the guns. "As you know, danger hunts the skies, and there may not always be time to arm ourselves from the weapons locker. We must be ready at a moment’s notice. Which is why I am gifting each of you a short gun of your own. Make yourselves belts and holsters, and if you like, add a fighting knife to it. This way we'll always be ready when danger knocks on our door, if he is foolish enough to do so."
Once again, they were stunned to silence. Apparently, no one had ever trusted them to carry weapons all the time.To own a per
sonal weapon was for the upper class and the rich. Now, they were the richest of crews. They all jumped to their feet, bowing deeply. I returned their bow.
One shouted, "Long live Shi-Tora!"
The rest joined in, "Tora-Tora-Tora."
Lay-shee had shown me a painting of their tiger, orange and white with black stripes. Changing my fur color to match it, sent them over the edge, and our battle cry was born, then and there.
Crewman Kaito whispered to Lay-shee, who smiled and nodded. “Shi-Tora, it is a great honor to name a ship, but only when all on board are honorable. We are honorable men, and so are you. With your permission, the men would like to name the ship, Tora No Tsume which means Tiger’s Claw.”
“An honorable name for an honorable ship. When the name is painted on the side, paint it in both languages, yours and mine. Our enemies should know whom they fight. Raise your glasses. Tora No Tsume! The Tiger’s Claw!”
In one voice, they replied, “Tora No Tsume! The Tiger’s Claw!”
* * *
The weather held, and winds were fair. While underway, Lay-Shee and the crew inventoried the salvaged cargo. On the seventh day, we approached the town of Windford. Looking down, it was easy to see railroad construction had continued and was now miles short of the town. Windford Manor was, as last seen, a burnt out ruin. Anger welled up in my chest as I thought of Lord and Lady Winford. My father once told me that depression was anger turned inward. Clearly, I was not depressed, and my anger would be turned outward on those responsible.
Approaching what was now called Windford Keep, the Tiger’s Claw came up the valley low and slow, our trading flags flying. Changing my fur color to gold and red, I stood on the bow in plain sight, since I have an aversion to being blown out of the sky. Nearer the estate, farms had been laid out and houses were being built. Closer, we could see armed guards patrolling the keep’s walls. If we could see them, they could see us. Just before landing, I waved at Michael, who waved back. Hiko-shi landed close to the main gate, and Michael came to greet us.
At the bottom of the ramp, I bowed. "Lord Windford.”
Lord of the High Reaches Page 17