TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 41

The next morning, Thiben waited for them on the pier. Around him stood a gaggle of The Bitch's crew playfully trying to entice him onto the ship for some fun.

"That man has a will of steel," said Scarlet, chucking as she watched the antics on the dock and sipped her morning tea.

"I think he has a wife and family," said Kal. "But I feel he likes the attention and hasn't mentioned that to the girls. Not that I blame him."

"Says the man who already has women constantly fawning over him," said Scarlet before her face turned serious. "Kal, I think you should buy The Bitch from us."

"I had a feeling this was coming. Why?"

"Freedom?"

"Is that a question?"

"Sort of. We fought for our freedom from slavery, then fought to learn how to sail a ship, then fought against the superstitions surrounding monster girls to find shipping contracts, and then fought to grow our name and reputation to make our business successful. Lastly, in the fight with Darrow, we fought to keep our freedom.

"Now, The Bitch isn't a lone ship struggling to get by. When we came into port, Ratt and I sold all of our shipping contracts that needed to go out immediately so we could wait for The Perdition to arrive. Yesterday, one of your people stopped by with a constable and a record keeper to ask Kolas and me about Darrow's deal with you and the circumstances of his death. When the officials were satisfied and left, your man, Olvo, asked if we needed help finding cargo. Kolas and I explained the situation, and he said he would look into it before leaving. A few hours later, he showed up with a stack of contracts all ready to ship out two days after the Perdition arrives.

"Kal, I didn't have to lift a finger. I didn't have to wheedle, or beg, or lower my prices to get these people to ship with me. The reputation I worked so hard to build meant nothing because The Bitch is now part of your fleet, and that fleet is part of an established business, and that business has buying power. It doesn't feel much like my ship anymore." Scarlet chuckled. "I suppose it isn't, really. It's Ratt's ship now.

"If you buy The Bitch, then that will give the original crew the freedom to do whatever they wanted in life instead of working on a sailing ship just to get by."

"Now that things have changed, are you considering settling down with Tavorah?" Kal asked.

"No, I'm the Commandant of a fleet of ships, even though a few don't know it yet. I'm too curious about where this might lead to think about settling down. Though I heard Ikuno talking last night and I'm none too happy you want to put me in an office."

"I need someone to manage the fleet and make sure my business is going in the right direction. Olvo and his people have the knowledge and contacts to make that happen. I just need someone I can trust at the helm."

"Ya bastard," Scarlet chuckled, "Using my own sailing terms against me. But do you really trust me that much, or was I just the only person for the job?"

"Both. Much as I enjoy Roka and Ratt's company, neither of them came across as able to handle a fleet of ships when we left The Spine. The next person on my list would have been Kolas for his experience, and there wasn't a chance in hell of putting him in charge.

"As for buying The Bitch, I don't think I can at the moment. Olvo and I haven't talked about buying out the slaving contracts and how much that will cost me yet. He still thinks I will come to my senses and allow the last slave shipments to be sold normally. Speaking of which, I actually dumped that decision on you, though I know what you will say. Kashka, Ikuno, and I will spend tomorrow reviewing my holdings with Holm. Afterward, we will discuss my accounts and how much gold I actually have available. Once I know those numbers, we will see."

"I wasn't thinking you would buy it tomorrow," she laughed, "but maybe the next time you come this way. I haven't talked about this with anyone but Tavorah and Ratt so far, and we need to have the approval of the original crew before any sale happens. Maybe not all of them, but at least a good majority."

"Since you brought up offices, I'll have Thiben post one of his men here in the morning so you can come and check out your new office. Admittedly, I plan on putting a wall in so we can each have our own area upstairs, and I imagine you will want to redecorate. That'll be a lot easier if Ria is with you."

"Is it that bad?"

"If you aren't an oni who's horny all the time, it can be pretty bad. I'll admit it has a certain appeal to me, but I'm also a man. Speaking of men, I guess it's time to rescue our man from your crew's womanly wiles."

Kal collected Kashka and Ikuno before joining Thiben on the pier. As they arrived, one of the girls knelt in front of him and playfully dragged her teeth across the fabric covering his cock, while another had a hand pulling his waistband out and down slightly with her face buried in the gap created. Kal guessed she had the tip of the man's prick between her lips. The other women with them formed a tight circle around the three, hiding them from the view of others walking up and down the pier.

"Having fun?" asked Kal.

Thiben's eyes focused, and he jumped before grabbing his pants and jerking them back up.

"Aww," said the two women tending to his crotch. Kal noted that one was The Bitch's badger-girl helmsman.

"I'm s-sorry, Sir. That was quite unprofessional of me," Thiben stammered.

"Don't be too hard on him, Kal," the badger giggled as she and the others headed toward the gangplank. "You know how hard I am to resist."

"You have a point. I may need to talk to Captain Ratt about some discipline for using your musk in such a manner."

She stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Don't be mean. We were just having some fun."

"Do you think he's going to have fun explaining to his wife he got a partial blowjob from a monster-girl today?"

"But... he never said he was married!"

"And if you used your musk right away, he never truly got to tell you. I demand people treat you and the other women aboard with respect, and in return, I expect you to do the same."

She looked like she was about to snap back at him for a moment but instead lowered her eyes. "Yes, Sir."

As they stepped off the docks, Thiben looked over at Kal. "In fairness, Sir, my 'wife' has little say over what I do with other women."

Kal raised a questioning eyebrow. "Explain."

"My wife passed away four years ago giving birth to our second child. She left me with a two-year-old son and a newborn daughter to take care of while still trying to work and put food on the table. Darrow let me purchase one of his slaves, and I paid for the magic to make her produce milk for my daughter on credit."

"I misunderstood when you mentioned family yesterday," said Kal.

"Kiho is most definitely family. I've come to love her almost as much as I loved my wife. You asking me to free her is... terrifying. She's become my children's mother as much as if she gave birth to them herself. I don't know what I would tell them if I freed her and she decided to leave."

"Is she a monster girl?"

Thiben nodded, "A tanuki from Azumbaho. She says getting captured was the worst thing that ever happened to her, but being bought by me was the best."

"Then why are you so worried she will leave?"

"She had a mother and a little sister still living in the slums when she was taken and misses them very much."

"Do you know what city they lived in?"

"I can't remember at the moment, but it is on the eastern side of Azumbaho."

"What are you thinking, Kal?" asked Ikuno.

"A messenger parchment wouldn't be worth much, as few living in the slums know how to read or write. However, I happen to know a hayabusa that might be able to track down her mother and sister if given the name of the city. Hattori can read the message to them, then take a message in return and drop it off with Roka in time for The Gazelle's next trip around."

"That sounds like a solid plan. Were you thinking of a messenger parchment to contact Hattori?"

"It's about the only thing fast enough to reach her, and I'll have her collect her pay from Roka when she delivers the return letter."

"I see a potential problem, Kal. Does Hattori read or write common?" Ikuno asked.

"I... don't know. I only know she can read and write Azumbahan because it came up in conversation one night."

"That means we will need a translator."

"That won't be an issue. Olvo, Holm, and one of the girls in the office speak and write Azum. But... I can't pay for any of that. Messenger parchment is expensive and--"

"I'm a mage," said Kal. "I make my own messenger parchment, and since I specialize in runes, I always have magical inks on hand. The only real expense will be paying the hayabusa to hunt down Kiho's family, and her prices aren't extravagant. Besides, the captain of The Dauntless, Roka, will be taking care of the cost."

"But... why?"

"To take one step closer to freeing another slave and maybe give Kiho, and her family, some peace."

"If you don't mind, I'll write that letter for her," Ikuno offered.

"You mean you don't want to stare at paperwork all day?" Kal deadpanned.

"Yesterday was enough, thank you. At least I will feel like I'm accomplishing something. Besides, it's not like I have to be there if you need my opinion."

"True."

"Are there any odd jobs I can do, Thiben?" Kashka asked.

The mage stared at her. "You too? Some bodyguard you are."

"What? Am I supposed to protect you from getting poked with a quill? Nevermind, the upstairs has nice big windows and the sun is out. I'll find a sunbeam and take a nap until Scarlet shows up."

"You see that, Thiben? My women can't take the boredom, so they're abandoning me."

"You are absolutely correct," Ikuno laughed.

Kal's head of security appeared to be having difficulty wrapping his head around their banter. "I can already tell working for you will be very different from Mr. Darrow."

Kal smiled. "I certainly hope so."

---

Olvo stood up and walked around his desk when Kal and Kashka entered the building. Instead of squeezing through the door again, Ikuno left with Thiben to write Kiho's letter.

"It's good to see you again, Master Kal," said Olvo. "Before I let Holm have you, there is a," his eyes flicked to Kashka, and a look of worry creased his brow, "delicate matter we need to discuss."

"And that is?"

"Your wife."