Master Bassel's Jewel

Master Bassel's Jewel

Bromm I

Claudia sat alone in her bedroom, staring mournfully into the mirror. Her pale face was framed by her long golden curls, held back from her face with red ribbons. Her gown of blue silk was cut low to show off the tops of her shapely breasts. She sadly painted black outlines around her blue eyes, not out of the expectation that anyone would appreciate them, but simply because it was the done thing.

Below, her cousins were playing in the mansion's garden without her, again. Lysette was reclined on the grass, watching her two naked slave boys wrestle. Her ever-present coterie of ladies-in-waiting was seated next to her, tittering amongst themselves as they called out encouragement.

A cacophony of shouts disturbed them, and the taller of the slave boys used the distraction to throw and pin his opponent. Lysette cooed in delight and clapped together with her maids. From the far side of the garden, her brother Phoebus emerged from the hedge maze, followed by his band of friends and hangers-on. Over Phoebus' shoulder he had slung the object of his hunt, another naked slave. This one was a delicate beauty, a girl of nineteen, with red hair and green eyes. His friends were binding her wrists and ankles with silken cords.

"Caught her again?" Lysette called, "What good fun!" turning to the victor of her wrestling match, she said "come her and receive your reward. Ladies, encourage the loser to be better next time."

The taller slave boy knelt before Lysette and put his head up her skirts. She laughed in delight and grasped his head. The loser was strung up between two trees, arms outstretched. One by one, the ladies took turns whipping him across his bare back.

Phoebus and his friends bound up their slave, bent over a flat rock with her legs spread open. Buscen, his favorite stepped out of his breeches and began to knead the girl's round ass. "To the hunter go the spoils," Phoebus declared.

"Excuse me, young master," said a voice from the door to the house. The family's majordomo, Titus, stepped into the garden, followed by a gaggle of guests. They wore fine traveling clothes and plumed hats. Their belts bore both pistols and sword, decorated with intricate engraving and trimmed with gold or ivory. At their head was a man holding a small chest under his arm. His clothes were of higher quality that his companions, he wore a coat of dark red wool and a long blade of fine steel.

"What is the purpose of the interruption to our regular entertainment?" Phoebus asked as his sister squealed in delight at her slave's ministrations.

"May I introduce our guest, Master Bassel. He is just in from the mines at Kholata and wishes to rest a spell before taking ship back to the Imperial City."

"Well met, sir. I am Phoebus, the governor's son. Over there is my sister Lysette. Our cousin Claudia is upstairs crying no doubt. You will meet her later. She lives with us since her parents' untimely death. I can offer you my father's hospitality." He gestured at the red headed girl, "This one is reserved for my gallant hunters, but I have no shortage of other wenches to offer you."

"He is handsome, underneath the dirt," Lysette called out, tearing her attention away from the slave for a moment. Perhaps my ladies and I can show him hospitality tonight, after his bath."

"I thank you sir, my lady, I am honored to enjoy your hospitality in the absence of your father."

"Oh yes," Phoebus waved dismissively, his attention increasingly being stolen by the girl Buscen was fondling in front of him, "Father will be back in a week. He is off on some business or other in inland."

"Peasants make trouble," Lysette said, her breath catching in gasps, "I say hang the diplomacy and send them all to the mines!" She broke off in a moan of ecstasy and twisted her dress around the slave's head. Her ladies stopped whipping the other boy and took a moment to appreciate their mistress' pleasure.

A guest, Claudia thought. Perhaps he will bring some gaiety to this miserable existence. Putting on her best face, she steeled herself for another bout with her cousins and went down into the garden.

When she reached the garden, Phoebus and Bassel were seated on the veranda, the man's black chest in front of them. Lysette and her ladies were composing themselves after sending away her slave. On the far side of the garden, Buscen had mounted the redheaded girl, with his friends lining up behind him for their turn.

Claudia approached her cousin and their guest, unnoticed until she stood next to him.

"Oh, there's my cousin. Claudia, Master Bassel. Master Bassel, my weepy cousin. Now, what is in this chest, sirrah?"

Master Bassel barely nodded at Claudia in greeting before Phoebus put his hands on the chest.

"Ah, Sir, it is a most rare and wonderful jewel, dug from the deepest parts of the mine. I intend to make it a gift to His Imperial Majesty. "

"Indeed?" Phoebus said, "It must be a rare beauty indeed. May I see it?"

Bassel looked over his shoulder at his companions, who were admiring the garden and the redheaded girl. Other servants had emerged to bring them wine, iced water and dates to eat. "I suppose it could not hurt," Bassel said. "My companions preach caution, but what harm can be done to us here?"

He took a heavy brass key from his belt and unlocked the chest. Inside lay a brilliant red jewel, the size of a man's fist. It caught the sunlight in a way that left Claudia awed.

"Magnificent," Phoebus breathed. "His Majesty will be most pleased, I think."

"I should hope so, sir. My only worry is getting it there through all the pirates that infest these waters."

"Ha! Pirates!" Phoebus laughed. "We'll put you aboard one of our galleons. No pirate would dare to assault such a fine vessel. You can travel to the Imperial City in the lap of luxury."

"That would please me greatly, sir. I will be sure to inform his Majesty of all your help and hospitality."

"Now, speaking of hospitality," Phoebus cheered, "Titus, prepare a bath for Master Bassel and roust that blonde slut from the kitchens. Our guest will need a companion. In fact, bring a girl for all of us!"

Then Bassel, Phoebus and his friends, carrying the sweat-soaked redhead, swarmed past Claudia into the mansion. Lysette and her ladies followed them, sparing Claudia not a second look.

Not far from the town lay a cove, in which several ships lay at anchor. On the beach, a two-masted schooner had been pulled up for careening, and the job completed, her crew were in the process of dragging her back into the sea. Two other ships lay in the cove already, a sloop and a lumbering merchantman captured a week prior.

The ships' crews were mostly ashore, feasting on wild pig caught from the jungle, fish from the sea and plantains bought from the locals. In a tent set up in a palm grove overlooking the cove sat Black Bromm, captain of the sloop Fortune and a renowned pirate. He and his crew were feasting on a boar he had shot that morning, accompanied by a group of local fishermen who had stumbled into the cove that morning and become their guests.

Bromm raised a bottle of stolen rum to his lips and took a long drink. Smacking his lips in appreciation, he turned his eyes on the nearest fisherman, a thin man of about fifty with a wispy beard and thinning hair.

"Now then, sir, tell me what I've missed while we were laid up here. How are things in Guildsharbor? That is where you're from, isn't it?"

"Aye, Captain," the man admitted warily. "I hail from Guildsharbor. I would like to be getting back home, sir, to sell my catch?"

"No need to worry about that, good sir. Captain Talish and I will buy your catch from you. All that we ask is that you remain with us until we are ready to sail. Our little fleet is so vulnerable whilst our ships are on the beach and I would be poor timing if an Imperial squadron happened to show up during all of this. No matter though, my Fortune will be back in the sea within the hour. Once we have decided on a destination, we'll be off and you can head home."

"I thank you for your hospitality, sir. Azlit spare you and Eldrin give you good winds."

"Indeed. I will offer the gods some of your fish before we sail. But tell me of Guildsharbor. Is the port well? Is it rich?"

"The rich men's houses are rich, Captain, but the poor men are poor. If you pay us a visit, I beg of you to spare us humble folk."

"Well of course. A man such as yourself has little to take, for the rich men have stolen it already. But what do the rich men have to steal?"

Another fisherman leaned over. "Captain, I you'll pardon my interruption, I have news you may wish to hear. Yesterday morning, a man from the mines came to stay at the governor's house. According to the talk of the town, he brought with him a great jewel, the size of your fist. No doubt such a man would have many other riches on him as well."

Bromm was interested. He leaned over the table to better hear the second man and put a hand to his thick, black beard. "In the governor's house, you say? And how many guards does this governor have?"

"Not so many, but he has been away in the interior dealing with a revolt among the slaves. Some of his guards must have gone with him."

"Captain Talish!" Bromm called, and the other man came to them from his perch overlooking the beach. "Captain Talish, these men have informed me that there is a great jewel, currently held in the house of the governor of Guildsharbor. I believe we have found our next voyage."

Talish considered the fishermen for a long moment. "Very well. But they will remain here until we return from our raid. If their information proves wrong, we will feed them to Tarnilaen."

The fishermen swallowed hard. The older one fixed his younger companion with a hard stare. Bromm was unconcerned. He leapt to his feet. "Men, we have our destination! Make Fortune and Specter ready to sail, but keep the fishermen and the fluyt here. We're sailing for Guildsharbor, and a great treasure!"

Claudia lay awake in her bed, listening to the sounds of laughter and music coming from the salon. When she had slunk out of the salon unnoticed, Lysette had been reclining on Master Bassel's bare chest as her ladies sang and played the harp for them. Phoebus and his friends had adjourned to the balcony, overlooking the town of Guildsharbor, drinking and watching their favorite blonde slave dance in the nude for them.

Frustrated, she rose from her bed and stepped out onto her balcony. Luckily, it faced away from the salon and she was not in view of her cousin and his bawdy friends. Instead, she stared out at the open sea, stretching to the horizon in the blackness of the night. Somewhere out there was the wreck of her parents' ship, and in this moment she wished to be down there with them. She found herself wishing to be at the bottom of the Devouring Sea more than she wished to be in the salon, laughing and drinking with her cousins.

Despairing, she leaned forward on the balcony rails and looked down into the garden. From around the corner of the house, she heard the blonde girl growl in lust, and the sounds of one of the men mounting her with great vigor.

At that moment, she saw a dark shape drifting into the harbor.

Bromm was at the prow of Fortune as it silently slid into the harbor. His keen-eyed pilot was at his side, calling out instructions to the helmsman in a harsh whisper. Behind the sloop, guided by a rope line, was Specter, its deck crowded with armed pirates hungry for plunder. Bromm's own crew was at the ready, most of them at the gunwale ready to leap ashore and begin mooring the ship.

The pilot turned to Bromm and whispered, "That's it, we're all in the clear. Now we just wait until the tides pull us to shore."

Bromm smiled through his thick, black beard. He drew his cutlass and a pistol in his offhand and made his way to the head of the shore party. "Remember, lads, follow me to the governor's mansion. We must get the jewel before this man hides it or makes for the safety of a temple."

In short order, they saw the quay drawing near and then felt the lurch as their ship bumped into the stone wall of the harbor. "Alright, lads, tie her up. We've got until first light, then the tides will be good for making back out to sea! Let's go!"

They surged through the streets in the deepest silence they could manage, winding their way up the narrow paths toward the governor's mansion on the hill. The streets were dark and deserted this late at night, but the candles burned brightly on the hills.

At the thick oaken gate stood two guards. They held halberds in their hands and carried swords on their hips. When the mob of pirates rounded the street corner and locked stares with them, both parties paused. Bromm raised his pistol, and the guards hurriedly turned to unlock the door in the gate. The pirate fired, and his men surged forwards.

Captain Talish's crew was a few hundred yards behind them in the streets, but Bromm and his crew charged the gates all the same. The guards made it through and shut the door behind them, so the pirates set about it with axes. Three men threw a rope over the wall and began to climb, but the first man to mount the wall was killed by a blast of musketry.

Windows along the street were thrown open and bleary-eyed townsfolk looked out into the street.

"Some of them might have weapons," Bromm shouted, "get into those houses and secure the windows!" His men began to batter their way into the homes through doors and shuttered windows.

Claudia bolted upright from her bed at the sound of musket fire. She ran from the room to the main staircase, whose window overlooked the front gate. Five guards were frantically reloading their guns as the gate shuddered under a series of blows.

Phoebus burst from the salon, his loose breeches in his hand and his shirt undone.

"What in the gods' names is going on?!" he demanded. "Is this a riot?"

"Pirates!" shouted someone from downstairs. "Pirates at the gate!"

Bassel ran into the hallway completely naked. "My jewels!" he cried, "Men, get to the jewels!"

His companions, in various states of undress, ran down the stairs toward the vault where they had stored their jewels. A naked Lysette and her equally nude ladies followed them.

"The servants are fleeing!" someone shouted, and Claudia saw it was true. Their servants, including Lysette's favorite slave boys, fled out the side gate of the mansion's yard.

"Damnable cowards!" Phoebus shouted, doing up the laces to his breeches. He retrieved his dueling pistols and a saber from his room and headed down the stairs. Claudia stood bewildered in her nightgown at the top of the stairs. Without any other idea of what to do, she followed Bassel down the stairs to his jewel stash.

Bromm and Talish hoisted a fallen lamppost between them and swung it against the gate. The gate burst off its hinges and fell to the ground, admitting the pirates to the mansion's grounds. The six guards with their muskets fired a volley and then fled into the mansion. They barred the gates, but the pirates quickly gained entry by smashing open the large glass windows.

The captain followed his men through a shattered window and entered a grand dining hall. The walls were decorated with floral wallpaper and beautiful oil paintings. From the ceiling hung a brass and crystal chandelier. He charged through it into the main hall and spotted two half-naked men armed with swords descending a staircase into the cellar. He drew and fired his second pistol and dropped one of the men in his tracks. The other shut the door behind himself, but Bromm was close on his heels.

Along with two other pirates, they smashed down the door and descended the staircase. The spiraling hall was narrow and steep, he dreaded having to fight on it. However, Apliss smiled on them that day, and they reached the bottom without encountering resistance. Ahead of them was another oaken door. The application of axes soon opened the final barrier, and they entered the cellar.

The room was lined with shelves, barrels and crates, but at the rear was an open safe in the wall. Between them and the safe were a group of men, most undressed in some manner, and a beautiful blonde woman in a nightgown. Behind them, he could see gems glittering in the torch light. Bromm raised his saber and hefted the empty pistol as a club.

"Have at 'em, boys!" he cried and charged into battle. The men fired their pistols, which fortunately missed Bromm, and they crossed sabers. In the narrow confines of the cellar, his thrusts were quickly batted aside. His crew pressed forward, crowding him into range of the enemy attacks. He soon found himself forced to parry more than slash and even found one of their swords turned aside and then ensnared by his thick wool coat.

One of his men ducked to the side and poked a blunderbuss through the cellar's shelving. There was a deafening blast, and tiny lead balls tore through the line of defenders, sending many of them tumbling to the floor, dead.

Bromm lunged forward, throwing his head into the face of an enemy. The man staggered back, and the line was broken. The pirates swarmed over their foes, slashing and stabbing. In a few scant moments, all were downed except the woman and a single man, who was cowering against the back wall.

"Take the gems then, I yield!" he cried, dropping a gilded saber and a pair of ornate dueling pistols. "Just leave me my life!"

Bromm shrugged and looked back his men. Some were injured, but none too severely. The gems called to him from within the safe. The big one he had come for was not to be seen.

"Where is the big one?" Bromm demanded. "Give me the big one and I'll spare your life."

The man looked around in a panic. "In the chest," he said, pointing to a small black chest in the safe, "the key, the key!" he pointed to a brass key on the belt of one of the corpses. Bromm grabbed the key and opened the chest. Slowly, he drew out the great red jewel. It seemed to pulse in the light of the torches.

"Yes, this will do," he whispered. He barely noticed his men reach past him to sweep the other gems and loose coins into bags. Bromm paid them no mind, instead thinking of the price the gem would fetch for him in Torvuls' market.

His attention was torn away from the gem by a sudden sob. To his surprise, it came not from the cowardly young men in the corner, but the blonde woman crouched between two crates. He had not noticed her beauty before, but now he took full notice. Her golden hair fell to her shoulders in ringlets, and her simple nightgown was spattered with blood. Her bare feet scrabbled at the stone floor as she hid her face against a crate.

Slowly he knelt by her and took her by the chin. Turning her face to him, he could see tears flowing from her blue eyes and streaking her rosy cheeks.

"There, there, lass. The bloody work is done. I've won, and now's a time for revelry. For me, revelry involves women and wine."

"Revelry?" she asked, "May I join?"

"Aye," Bromm agreed with a smile, "pretty ladies are always welcome. But first, let's get you out of these ruined clothes."

He put his saber down her bodice and, in one motion, cut away her bloodstained nightgown, leaving her naked on the floor. Bromm knew a hundred whores and courtesans throughout the ports of the Sea who would have envied her flawless body. He extended a hand and helped her to her feet.

"Here, lass, I'll help you over these bodies. Close your eyes," he lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder. To the cheers of his crew, he carried her out of the cellar and up the stairs.

Claudia's last look at her cousin came as the pirate carried her over the mass of corpses. Phoebus was curled up in a corner, his bare chest splashed with blood. The pirates had carried off his weapons, leaving his destitute and despondent in the remains of his father's house.