I’m going to list some underappreciated stories here. I mean there are lots of good stories on this website but here are three that I think aren’t getting nearly enough average views even though they are such high quality flights of fantasy. If you haven’t tried them, I urge you to give them a shot.

Loser of Tarinath by S. Zaplosky, lousy name but a great story:

http://royalroadl.com/fiction/3468

Slip Hero by PerfectDeath, professional quality, very long chapters:

http://royalroadl.com/fiction/1931

We dream of Worlds by Knave, extremely interesting perspective, back story and story line:

http://royalroadl.com/fiction/3652

To those of you who are reading The Defective Hermit, you will notice that there is a character in this story named “Nena.” However, it is pure random chance and you should not think of it, as being anything more than that. I used that name in this story first and when a random name generator (I use two different ones, http://random-name-generator.info/ and http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/the-sims.php) gave me the name for a young girl for TDH, it presented me with “Nina” and I stupidly forgot that there was a “Nena,” who was going to be a slightly important character, in Swamp Boy. So there are two females with almost identical names but it’s honestly just a coincidence.

If you spot any mistakes please leave a comment, thank you.

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Chapter17: In the Belly of the Beast

Admiral Samuel Taylor communicating by message board: “James where are you?”

Former HSMS Staghound: “On a ship.”

“Where specifically are you?

“In the Healer’s Cabin on a ship, it’s mine now.”

“James, we need more information than that.”

“Oh, I’m on a brig, it used to be the HSMS Staghound. The former slaves, who are crewing this vessel now; renamed it the Iron-Balls.”

“You captured a brig and the crew renamed it the Iron-Balls?”

“Yep, but don’t blame that name on me.”

“Where is your ship?”

“Next to a schooner.”

“What schooner?”

“It’s the other ship that I liberated, do you know if any of those other five schooners that I captured made it safely to Sweet Port? The fifth one has my glaive on board and I would really like it back.”

“That ship straggled in here a day ago. When they told us you had been swept overboard we feared that you were dead. Crown Princess Ellen was quite distraught at the news. Now, where are your two ships and don’t say in the ocean or some other such nonsense like that.”

“Where’s my glaive?”

“We’ll look for it or buy you a new one.”

“It took me three days to enchant that glaive, I genuinely want it back.”

“We’ll find it.”

“James this is Ellen. I thought you were dead. Now you tell me where you are this very instant or you will be dead.”

“Off the southern coast of the Book Continent, we are almost at Drake’s Swamp. I’m thinking about being dropped off there so I can gather supplies for a week or two, since I’m already nearby. Besides that, I haven’t had any good snake in a while and I really miss it. This is just too good an opportunity to pass up, I could gather potion ingredients and eat snake. It would be a complete waste of travel time for me not to stop.”

“Don’t you dare and stop talking about eating snake!”

“I’m out of concoction components and there are some really good pickings, just a day’s travel into the swamp. I won’t be long.”

Nena was manning the communications board; it took time to send messages back and forth what with the crude code we were forced to use. She was giggling with every answer that I gave and calling me a bad boy.

Yes, I was messing with them but it was fun. However, I was serious about going into the swamp; I needed ingredients for all of my potions but most especially those required to make my red longevity concoctions and regeneration potions. I was making my preparations right now and I had already put movement runes on a couple of the ship’s dinghies; I planned on towing an extra one behind me when I left the brig.

My discussion with Ellen went on for quite some time and I finally had to tell her that I was going to end all message board communications with her, if she didn’t cease arguing with me.

Admiral Taylor informed me that GKS vessels would be rendezvousing with my tiny flotilla within three days. By that time, I should be well within the swamp. When I told the crews of the two ships that I was going into the great marsh and to go on to Sweet Port without me, they all unanimously and loudly refused to depart if I wasn’t on board one of the two vessels. I really hate it when people yell at me.

Emile and Nena had begged to go with me but I told them that there was absolutely no way that I would or could take them along on my excursion. I would need to move fast and having them with me would only slow me down, especially since I would have to split my attention between keeping them and myself alive. Both of them pouted like little children when I told them that and they were quite visibly upset with me.

When I began my journey into that vast stinking quagmire, I couldn’t help but think; “ah, the smells of home.” I felt all of the tension that I had acquired from dealing with people leave my body. Now new ones or rather old ones resumed their rightful place, I had to be alert within this swamp or I would soon be some creature’s lunch. There were some large marsh islands that I hadn’t tried harvesting from before, mainly because stepping foot on them would be a lot more dangerous than normal. I was hoping that my war jacket and new flight harness would solve the safety issue.

Ten days later I left the swamp. I saw upon my exit that there were now six more vessels accompanying my own two and two of them were frigates, which was pretty astonishing since the Gulf Kingdom only had four seaworthy frigates, though many more were in various stages of construction. I saw a flurry of activity, when we came into mutual sight of one another, like someone had knocked down a beehive from a tree. I had kept in contact with Nena and Emile during my time in the marsh, by using our signal boards; we had exchanged twice daily “I’m okay” messages.

I arrived at the Iron Balls and my two dinghies were hoisted aboard. Nena came stalking up to me and grabbed my chin with her hand, thus holding me in place, so she could better examine my face. “What happened? She asked.

“Nothing much; another day in the swamp, that’s all.” I garbled out, it’s hard to speak when someone holds you that way.

I was trying to pick up a bag with my left hand and having a little difficulty with that minor chore.

She looked down and gasped. “James what happened to your hand?”

“It’s mostly still there and I’ve already started taking a regeneration potion, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

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Nena looked at the young man that had freed her and was still aiding her with rare potions and more importantly, the gift of knowledge. By teaching her how to be a lesser mage, he had helped her to feel like more than an old broken down slave. For the first time in decades, she could look at her own reflection and feel pride and self respect because of the actions of James Drake. When she had learned that he was in essence an orphan, she had started to think of him as the child that she would never have.

The right side of his face was badly scarred now and his right eye was milky white. His rugged leather jacket was torn, burned and badly patched back together into some semblance to a coat. There looked to be bandages beneath the left sleeve of it as well. As for his left hand, it was badly burned with three fingers completely missing. James also seemed to be having some difficulty with simply standing upright; she looked down and saw that his right boot had been crudely repaired. Nena had to wonder what the foot that boot contained now looked like.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “James, I need to know. What happened to you?”

“I was in a hurry which is a mistake in the swamp and I might have run into a pair of nesting swamp dragons with a dozen or more young.” Instead of acting fearful or boasting at surviving such an experience he seemed to be more embarrassed if anything else. Nena was quite annoyed with his almost flippant attitude regarding what must have been a near death experience for him.

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I had been monumentally stupid. It was always my philosophy to avoid and run away from swamp dragons. But I found this one large island overflowing with the rare plants that I needed. There were obvious signs of swamp dragons living on the island but I counted on my flight harness to get me in and out quickly, which it did. I had also assumed that if things went wrong my war jacket would protect me, which it sort of did. I had never tried gathering in locations nearby known swamp dragons or their territories which is an excellent policy when living in Drake’s Swamp. A strategy that I stupidly thought, I no longer needed to strictly adhere to.

I was harvesting ingredients when suddenly I was in shadow. I didn’t even bother to look up; I knew what such a large shadow had to mean. Instead, having time to do nothing else, I quickly stood up straight and fashioned my personal shield into something like a giant spear point. The dragon crashed down upon me, driving the invisible spear deep into its belly, my shield held but just barely. The beast started going into convulsions, its thrashing put a further drain on my shield. I started classifying my decision to visit that particular island as one of my all time idiotic moves.

My shield along with my own body was wedged deep within the monster, its gyrations were worse than any storm that I had ever been in, I swallowed my rising gorge and tried to prevent myself from puking. I was pushing more energy into my jacket when the dragon finally fell over on its side, ceasing all movement.

I wormed my way back out, where I found myself looking straight into the eyes of what I now suspect was the mate of the dragon that I had just killed. A clawed foreleg swatted the side of my shield. I flew a great number of long steps and stopped when I hit some large trees. My shield was low on energy and I was feeling sicker than ever. I remembered one of Ellen’s last communications to me before I basically told her to shut up. “You are going to go into that swamp and get eaten by a swamp dragon!” Hah, she was wrong. I’m going to be crushed by a swamp dragon!

Before my departure, I had loaded my wrist bracers with darts coated with the most virulent toxins that I possessed. I dropped my shield and shot all of my darts at the monster that was stalking towards me. They all just plinked off her armored hide. I immediately restored my shield and attempted to fly away. She opened her mouth and shot out her tongue at me. If I hadn’t stupidly and in a panic shot off all of my darts that tongue and her open mouth would have been a fantastic target for them, though they might not have done much of anything.

The long tongue of a swamp dragon is coated with thick, sticky goo which is highly corrosive. According to my University Biology Teacher, Professor Brown, that gunk is both a weapon and a digestive aid for the monstrous amphibian. The tongue is also blindingly fast.

Before I could fly more than a few steps or even do more than blink, the immense creature had wrapped her tongue around my shield and reeled me back into its mouth. I was dazed, things had happened too quickly and my shield was low on energy or I might have had it grow spikes to puncture the huge disgusting tongue that was coiled about me. As it was, the only thing that I could do was catch a brief glance as a huge open mouth approached and then swallowed me whole. I guess Ellen had been right.

The beast’s throat muscles were powerful and put additional pressure on my shield, as I was forced down into its stomach. I had shaped my shield into a cylinder with rounded ends during that very brief journey to better prevent my limbs from being crushed. Once I was in the stomach I took out three very small bottles of poison, all that I had left, set them down within my shield bubble after pulling their corks, and then I reshaped the shield so those flasks were outside of it, exposing the creature’s stomach to the contents of that trio of tiny bottles.

My underwater experiences had driven home to me the importance of air quality and quantity. I knew that I had no time to waste, sitting around inside the monster’s stomach. I reshaped my shield so that it was more like a giant mole with very large claws. Using my own strength and by reshaping my shield appropriately to match my movements, I began to dig my way out.

This second dragon now went into convulsions. I was hoping that it might vomit me out but that didn’t happen. Throughout its strange contortions, I just kept digging. I had to reach air soon or I wasn’t going to reach it at all. Digging through the swamp dragon’s tough body was painfully slow. I was getting a fierce headache when I had a new notion. I still had my almost fully charged flight harness, which while it couldn’t propel me fast enough to burst out of the dragon, it just might help me in another way.

Struggling to keep my focus, I formed my shield into something like a crude carpenter’s auger bit and not having a giant brace, I used my flight harness to turn me round and round, while simultaneously pushing me forward. I had vomited all over myself and my headache was absolutely monumental by the time I saw glorious daylight once again. I dropped my nearly exhausted shield, gulped air and that’s when Momma’s little babies showed up. I think that they might have been clinging to her body the entire time.

Not having my partisan, I used my short sword to fight my way free of them and I flew away. Before making my escape, they landed a tongue on my right cheek and left hand. Additionally one of the little mutant tadpoles bit off half of my right foot.

I treated my injuries as best as I could and rested that night. The following day, with my war jacket recharged, I went back to that island and I killed every one of those freakish mutant polliwogs. After which I harvested rare ingredients until I had both of my boats packed to the brim. The over abundance of rare plants and such on that island has got me curious now. Are swamp dragons attracted to such plants, or do they grow so prolifically because of the huge creatures? Perhaps dragon poop makes good fertilizer?

I definitely need some offensive spells or some exceedingly powerful portable enchanted weaponry that I can carry, because using my own body as a melee weapon, does not seem to be a winning tactic for long term survival.

Nena helped me to my room, while others stowed my two small boats and their contents. I could hear Captain Roka giving the orders to raise the sails; I guess they were anxious to get to Sweet Port. Nena helped me off with my clothes and she hissed when she saw what was left of my foot.

“It’s no big deal. Give me three to five weeks and lots of good meals and I’ll be back in one piece soon enough.”

She grumbled something under her breath about me being a “stupid and reckless child.”

Since we were going against the prevailing winds it would be long voyage back to Sweet Port. Well, I had plenty to do on the ship to keep myself busy.

The next day, I took a trip over to the schooner. Nena insisted on accompanying me and I found out upon our arrival that she and Emile had apparently met long ago while they had been both slaves. During my excursion into the swamp, they had apparently renewed their friendship. Today, it was my plan to examine the information that I had gathered about the invisibility spell that the wizards had used on their schooners. I had looked at their spell notes before but it was now time to really delve into what the wizards had accomplished, mainly because I was so intrigued by what they had done.

I found five runes on the vessel, two on each side and one on the stern. The runes seemed to be rather convoluted. At first glance, I thought them to be an overly complex mess mixed with gibberish. From what I had learned, the wizards’ spell in conjunction with the runes, could force light to bend around an object. The wizards could choose to have all portions of a ship invisible or just one side. The problem was that if they did do it to an entire vessel then it became very dark on board unless lanterns are lit and it additionally requires someone who has witch sight to now guide the ship.

Emile and Nena chatted while I worked; always keeping me in sight for some reason, my wounds seemed to be their primary topic of conversation. Once I thought I understood the wizards’ spell and the logic behind it; I set out trying to make a rune of my own, that did the same thing but better rather than attempt to duplicate their twisted rune. The wizards’ invisibility rune, if this makes any sense, looked too turbulent to me; like it couldn’t possibly handle magic or light, smoothly or efficiently.

I worked at if for about six hours when I decided to give up for the day and get back to making potions. I wanted to switch Nena from taking the red longevity concoction series to the blue. It shouldn’t harm her so long as she gets enough nourishment and those few red doses that she has already taken should serve nicely as a slight booster for the blue series. She and many other people aboard the two liberated vessels would also benefit if they were given the full regeneration course of potions.

The following day I returned to the Iron-Balls, I am never going to live that name down. I was certainly surprised to find Emile, accompanying Nena and I on the way back, he seemed to be almost embarrassed by the situation. Emile was a pretty decent carpenter, so I put him to work making some sign boards for me, while I resumed tinkering with the light-bending invisibility rune. While I was working, Nena showed up with some sugar cookies and tea for me, her behavior reminded me of Margaret Adams. I gave Nena, the first dose of the blue series the previous night, in four days time she will get a dose of the regeneration series.

While I lost three fingers, half a foot and one eye, I made out when it came to collecting potion ingredients. I also acquired some wood and cork that I wanted for another project. Seeing as how Emile is such a good carpenter he might be able to help me with it too.

I made a little more progress with my invisibility research before I gave up for the day and started mixing more concoctions.

The next morning, we returned to the schooner, I had Emile bring the blank sign boards. While he and Nena held hands, I started engraving the new rune that I had finally figured out.

I ended up doing eight rune boards, three more than the wizards had used because I wanted additional runes on the bowsprit and the two mast tops.

That night, I swore everyone on board the schooner to secrecy. I then showed Nena, Emile and Delta how to activate the runes without actually activating them. Vella who had volunteered to be an observer and myself were lowered over the side in one my dinghies. When we were far enough away, I used my signal board to tell my magical assistants, or one of them rather, to activate the runes.

Even though it was a dark night, Vella gasped when the schooner disappeared. Not only was it invisible to normal sight but it was even difficult to see with my witch sight. Pooh-pooh on you, you stupid wizards! I knew that their spell and the rune implementation that they had used was a chaotic mess. They might have come up with the idea first but I made it better. Now to time how long it lasts, with only the single energy charge. Hopefully the GKS vessels in our flotilla don’t start wondering where the schooner has gone to before I complete my tests. I’ve already told Nena and Emile to discontinue the experiment if they start receiving frantic messages from the rest of the convoy about the schooner’s “disappearance.” I also hope that Captain Reyes can maintain station with the rest of the ships by only using the lookout table that I had made.

I was soon thinking that it was a mistake to bring Vella along with me. Because she wanted to talk about when I had first encountered her, chained naked to the Captain’s bunk aboard the schooner and how grateful she was now to me, for freeing her and how no man had ever touched her with her willing consent.

I’ve been called a swamp rat and I guess that’s all I’ll ever be. While I was glad that she was free and that I had killed those bastards. What she was saying to me was going in one ear and pouring out the other. I tried to make appropriate sounds of sympathy but to my ears what I said all sounded pretty hollow.

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Vella had been born a slave on the Island of Fata though her parents were from the Gulf Kingdom. Except for her mother, she had never had anyone treat her so kindly before. Lord James had given her potions for her health and a cream to smooth away her scars. When they had boarded the little boat that evening, he had made sure that there were blankets and food on board to see to her comfort and when she had shivered; he personally had wrapped two of those blankets tightly about her. He had given her hot tea to drink as well. Now he was listening with a kindly ear as she told him of her life. Occasionally he would reach out and stroke her hair or pat her back in sympathy.

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I really wish that Vella would just shut up. I kept on giving her food so as to keep her mouth full and thus quiet her that way but it didn’t seem to be working. I am a bad man.

To my witch sight, the schooner appeared to be only a cloudy, ship-shaped, haze on the water before us; it was something that even a magic user might easily over look. Dumb stupid wizards; they steal my kraken spears; then they think, that they can make a rune that can beat me! I muttered a curse; there was never a wizard around when you want to kill one. I looked at Vella; she smiled at me and started telling me another tale of woe and misery. Would I be a terrible person, if I shot her with a paralyzing dart? I mean, I know her life has been terrible, but instead of telling me all about it, let’s make some plans to kill all of those swamp leeches who have hurt you and your family.

The runes lasted for almost forty minutes before the invisibility effect started to fall apart. Hmmm, I could increase the charge capacity, I already knew that.

The wizards kept their ships invisible for hours, but according to the notes that I’ve read; they always use a minimum of three spell casters plus their inferior runes, so that would certainly explain the duration difference.

Still, their implementation was so clumsy; I wondered if I could make a bigger ship invisible?

I maneuvered the dinghy back alongside the schooner. Vella hooked up the forward ropes and I took care of the aft lines, we were then hoisted aboard. I complimented everyone for an excellent job, especially Captain Reyes who had been steering blind except for the lookout table. They did tell me that a message was sent asking if they were alright since lookouts on the other ships had lost sight of them, but a simple reply had calmed things down and the rune charge had exhausted itself shortly after, so I think we got away with performing my secret test.

I decided to make a few more potions and then go to bed early for the evening. Nena and Vella seemed to be talking now, better Nena than me.

The next day we were back on the brig, and Vella had tagged along with us, groan. I had Emile hanging twelve rune boards on the vessel; one on each mast, one on the bowsprit, one on the stern, and four on each side.

The brief test that evening, worked just as successfully as with the schooner the previous night. Though we didn’t test for duration, I thought that my slight redesign should last at least twice as long but it was a lot trickier balancing out twelve runes on the brig as compared to eight on the schooner. I’m not certain that light bending would be possible for any craft larger than the Iron-Balls.

The war jacket, I had tailored for me in Ester’s Village, had worked wonderfully for carrying all of my potions, compared to the large clanking bag that I had carried while fighting in the Eastern Empire. But while the weight hadn’t been too bad, the bulkiness caused by all of the potions was more than inconvenient and it had almost gotten me killed because I couldn’t keep myself as flat as I would have liked to, when I was hiding aboard enemy ships. I think it’s time to start experimenting with that one bit of magic that I read about so long ago. There was little information, just the fact that some magic users were formally able to accomplish it, but I think a combination of runes and sympathetic magic might just do the trick, the only thing that I can do, is try.

I had Emile making wooden boxes for me that measured one step in all dimensions. The problem was that the boxes had to be nearly identical as possible and he couldn’t use any of the wood that I had brought from the swamp either, that was for later on, once I had figured out what I was doing. Nena and Vella brought me molasses cookies today and I gave Nena a dose of regeneration potion. I think Nena has introduced Vella to those two young slave/servant girls the Captain of this vessel had been abusing. Perhaps the three of them can talk out their troubles and not bother me with them.

I was sort of surprised that the senior GKS Naval Officer for this flotilla hadn’t insisted on seeing me yet. But I was probably overinflating my own importance, besides that I liked it better this way.

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Admiral Taylor was reading the latest message from Captain Ni Tien who was commanding the Gulf Protector. She was worried about offending young Drake and she was seeking advice on how best to handle him.

Admiral Taylor sent back. “Be honest with him and treat him with respect at all times. If you need something from him, simply ask but it never hurts to stuff him with good food before doing so.”

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I spent the rest of the trip making potions and trying to get my great invention to work. I know Emile is sick of making boxes and sanding off the runes from failed attempts. We even had to request some appropriate wood from other ships for him to continue making boxes. I think he hates me now.

I did meet with Captain Ni Tien who was the overall commander of this little fleet. I have but one thing to say about her, SHE IS A PRETTY LADY. Everything she did was so graceful and refined. I felt like a deformed swamp frog as I stuffed food in my face at her ship’s dining table. I presented her the red series and a jar of scar/beauty cream as gifts. I also adjusted some of the runes on her vessel. The mages who had originally inscribed them could have done a better job, especially with her ship’s lookout table, I nearly rebuilt that thingamajig.

We came into sight of Sweet Port, where I was hoping to be reunited with my glaive and my new pirogue. Instead, as soon as we docked, some very stern faced Royal Guardsmen greeted me; I was almost carried to the royal blue carriage that was waiting for me. Even before I could put my behind on a seat, the carriage was rolling briskly down the cobblestone streets, preceded and followed by a large escort of Royal Horsemen. I think I’m in trouble.

It felt like I was on the way to prison and I was beginning to really regret the fact that I had left my war jacket, bracers, partisan, and flight harness behind on the brig.

When we arrived at the palace; two big, Royal Guardswomen got on either side of me and escorted me in. I guess I was moving too slowly for them because suddenly each of them reached their left and right hands out respectively, picked me up by my arm pits and carried me along with my feet just skimming the ground. I let out an “Eep.” In response, both women gave me a stern eyed look, so I quickly shut my mouth. Though I was certain that they were both former soldiers with the Fifth Regiment, they didn’t seem very friendly at all.

I was finally brought to a part of the palace that I had never seen before and it seemed much more comfortable than the official areas where Court and Governmental functions were typically done. There stood two more Guardswomen on either side of a double set of ornate doors. Upon seeing us approach, they swiftly opened them, and I swear that they smirked at me.

I was brought into a large private sitting room filled with overstuffed furniture and even a large dining table. Before me stood Princess Ellen and she looked furious. My two escorts dropped me off in front of her, saluted, turned about and left the room.

Ellen did as Nena had done weeks ago; she grasped my chin and turned it so she could be better look at my cheek and my still nonfunctioning right eye. Then she took a hold of my left hand and inspected the fingers that were almost re-grown. Still without saying a word she twisted me about and pushed me so that I fell down onto a large couch that had been on my right.

Kneeling at my feet, she pulled out a dagger and cut the bindings on my boot. As soon as that was done, she ripped the boot off, tossing it over her shoulder. I heard something shatter. I wish she would have tossed that dagger instead of my boot because she looked positively volcanic with rage.

My damaged foot was given a hasty but complete inspection. She then stood up once more and looked down upon me.

“JAMES DRAKE YOU ARE THE MOST MISERABLE STUPID SELFISH PERSON IN THIS WORLD! You go off in a tiny rowboat to do battle with fleet of invisible warships stuffed full with evil wizards. Surprisingly you survive an insane voyage of over five hundred leagues to get there, though for some idiotic reason you did decide to personally inspect the teeth of a giant shark while on the way. On meeting Commodore Nelson’s fleet, you succeeded in defeating those few enemy ships that still remained, miraculously surviving yet again.

BUT WHEN THE SECOND ENEMY FLEET ARRIVED, FOR SOME REASON YOU DECIDED TO PROVE WHAT A BLITHERING IDIOT YOU ARE BY PERSONALLY BOARDING A NUMBER OF SAID ENEMY SHIPS BY YOURSELF. DO YOU PERHAPS THINK YOU ARE A GREAT HERO FROM THE MYTHS, PERCHANCE A DEMIGOD? I HAVE SEEN YOU CLOSE TO DEATH ON TOO MANY OCCASIONS. AT TIMES, I STILL HAVE TERRIBLE NIGHTMARES WITH YOU DYING BEFORE MY EYES AND I WILL NOT HAVE IT ANY LONGER!

THEN THE VESSEL YOU WERE ON WAS SWEPT AWAY BY THAT DAMN STORM THE WIZARDS CALLED UP. BUT WERE YOU CONTENT TO WAIT BELOW DECKS AND LET THE PROFESSIONALS DO THEIR JOBS? NO, YOU WERE NOT! YOU BREWED TEA FOR THEM AND DECIDED TO BRING THAT AND COOKIES TO THOSE ON THE WEATHER DECK, YOU COLOSSAL IMBECILE!”

I decided to speak up in my own defense; she did have some of her facts wrong. “It wasn’t tea and cookies; it was broth and stale bread.”

“SHUT UP! YOU WERE SWEPT OVERBOARD, YOU BLOODY FOOL AND I WAS TOLD THAT YOU HAD DROWNED AND WERE DEAD.”

She started to cry. “James I don’t have many friends, at least friends near my own station. My brothers were horrid to me and my father used to ignore and dismiss me as a mere female. As for my mother, I love her but she concentrated on my younger sister, who is a sweet person. You don’t care about my station in life; those breakfasts we’ve had together over the years, are amongst the greatest stress relievers and joys that I can recall.

I find out you are alive and what do you do. You immediately start talking about going back into that horrid swamp of yours. When I try to quite reasonably dissuade you, you threaten to cut off all communication with me if I don’t shut up. Do you have any idea how much that hurt me? Having one of the few people that I count as a true friend telling me to shut up! Then just as I had feared, you nearly got yourself killed there and don’t try and tell me anything different. If not for your own skill with magical medicines, you would be missing pieces of your body for the rest of your life!” She plopped herself down beside me, on the couch and then she really started to cry.

I took Ellen’s right hand with my damaged left and clumsily began to pet it, like I’ve seen some people do. She turned abruptly, stuck her face in the crook of my neck and astonishingly her sobbing was actually able to increase in volume and intensity.

One of the doors opened but it quickly shut, I couldn’t see who had done it because Ellen’s body was blocking my view.

I patted her back and said stupid things. “There, there, everything will be alright. I will heal just fine and I won’t even have a scar. Think of all the people your Navy just saved. They did a wonderful job didn’t they? Blah, blah, blah….” Swamp Muck! I was wasting all kinds of time here. I could be working on my great experiment or stuffing my face with food. It was nice to be hugged and all that but really, isn’t this all just a little bit too much? Which got me to wondering; has this ever happened to me before? I recalled Margaret and Linda Adams each having hugged me, Nena too has given me a brief hold that might have been a hug but this was the first time that anyone has ever hugged me for any length of time. My left shoulder was certainly getting wet though. Now if Captain Ni Tien hugged me, I wouldn’t have minded that one bit.

After what seemed like a ridiculously long time, Ellen finally calmed down and there was a meal brought in for us; citrus salad, fried sweet squash, lobster with drawn butter, corn, fresh bread rolls and blueberry cobbler. I was going to live! Surely she wouldn’t have me executed after feeding me like that or was that to be my last meal?

Princess Ellen showed me to a room, where she urged me to take a brief nap. There was going to be some kind of meeting that evening and my attendance was required.

After a nap and a bath, I was brought into a large ornate conference room and I was seated at a very large oval table between Dean Marks and Princess Ellen. My chair was quite comfortable; I wondered where I could get one. Dean Marks began talking.

“James, I am so happy to see you safe. Though I feel like you are a bit of a rat for leaving us behind and you had better watch out for your boat builder because she’s really quite angry with you.

Professor Sanchez, Black and I have been looking at some papers, describing the Wizard’s invisibility shield and we’ve almost got it figured out. Perhaps you can help us with our work?”

“Mumble, mumble”

Princess Ellen was listening. “James what did you say, and please speak clearly?” She punctuated her words by taking a firm hold of my ear; I think she’s still angry about my recent swamp excursion. I better never tell her, that I did get eaten by a swamp dragon.

“I already got it figured out. Once I understood the general idea, I saw how clumsily the wizards were doing it. I’ve already made the brig invisible.”

Admiral Taylor shot out of his chair; I guess he was listening too. “You what, now you can make bigger ships invisible!” He threw some papers in the air that had been sitting before him on the table. “I just got the Navy’s future building plans all figured out and now I have to rethink them again.” He sat back down and scowled at me. “How big a ship can you make invisible James?”

At that point the King was announced, it seems that he had just walked in the door when Sam asked that question. We all stood, and bid his Majesty welcome but we didn’t resume our own seats until he had first gained his. King Richard Rivers then spoke. “I’m glad to see you back with us James but I too would like an answer to Admiral Taylor’s question.”

I had a lot of people staring at me; Dean Marks’s expression was particularly confusing for me to interpret. At least no one was yelling and Ellen had released my ear. “The wizards developed a shield that bends light. It isn’t very good because someone with decent wizard sight can easily see something hiding behind such a shield. Their shield is about eighty percent spell casting and twenty percent rune work. They use five runes on one of their schooners and I’m amazed that those runes even work because they are so badly crafted. To make the Iron-Balls invisible…..”

There were bursts of laughter around the table and even the King guffawed. “What did you just say James?”

I was forced to repeat the name and then tell the whole Iron-Balls story.

King Richard, with laughter filling his voice, spoke. “Admiral Taylor, I want the Navy to purchase the Iron-Balls and I absolutely forbid you to change its name. James, you need to collect that red and gold helmet at your earliest convenience and you are to repeat some of the words you just related to us while you’re wearing it. Iron-Balls…” He started to snicker. I looked around at the other people sitting at the table. General Howard was almost as bad as the King. Countess Green who had a delicate looking handkerchief covering her lower face had tear filled eyes, I think from suppressed laughter. Dean Marks was giggling and even Ellen who already knew about the name had eyes dancing with amusement. The King resumed speaking; “please James, continue with telling us how you made the Iron-Balls,” snort, “invisible?”

I almost scowled at the King but then I remembered myself. “I made a more efficient rune which only needs to be invoked like a proper rune and not that cumbersome hodgepodge that the wizards made. To make a small schooner invisible, takes eight of my runes: one on the bowsprit, one on each mast, one on the stern and two on each side of the vessel. To make the captured brig invisible; required two additional runes on each side, so a total of twelve for a ship that size. I haven’t done a proper duration test with my new runes but I suspect that they will last for approximately one and a half hours on a full charge. Which I feel isn’t too bad, considering that it takes a minimum of three wizards to make and keep a schooner invisible and from what I’ve read; they normally preferred to use five or more wizards for that task.”

Admiral Taylor asked a question. “James, are our Naval Rune Wrights sufficient to keep your invisibility runes charged?”

I was confused; “the, who?”

Dean Marks spoke. “The Mage Guild protested all of the new magic users being referred to as ‘mages.’ And actually the lesser magic users didn’t like it either since it might make them vulnerable to the magical dueling codes and laws practiced in most countries. Since lesser magic users can only activate and possibly charge already existing runes and wards, it was decided to come up with the name focusing on that ability alone. Wright as you should know means worker, a Rune Wright is someone who purely works with runes and is incapable of doing any spell casting; thus they do not fall under or have to comply with the magical dueling laws. Everyone is quite happy now with that clarification and the new job title.”

I shrugged my shoulders, I didn’t care and honestly I thought the new name sounded better than “lesser mage.” I answered the Admiral’s question. “It all depends on the Rune Wright. Some of them almost have the power of a mage, while others can barely activate a rune. You will just have to individually test them and find out. But the rune masking paints will have to be different from those used on kraken spears, kraken tubes and the normal ship’s shield since the invisibility runes, if you plan on using them, will need frequent recharging. Those old paints of mine prevent that, so we might want to rethink how they are used, though a change will make it easier for some enemy to copy our runes. But for that matter, maybe you want to change the masking on the standard ship shield runes as well.”

He nodded his head in understanding but his brow suddenly gained some furrows as he realized that had I brought him a new headache. “James, do you think you can make a frigate invisible?”

“No, I was barely able to do the Iron-Balls.” More giggles ran around the table.

He sighed, “we’ll have to have you test one of our brigs since they’re slightly larger than the,” he paused dramatically before saying the word with relish, “IRON-BALLS.” The King and General Howard exploded with laughter and Countess Green barely got her handkerchief back up to cover her mouth. Even the staid Minister of Justice, Baron Clarence Robinson, laughed this time along with the Minister of the Treasury, Baron Walter Cooper.

What a bunch for children! I thought to myself. Ellen and Dean Marks were both grinning at me. I should have stayed in the swamp.

Baron Robinson then spoke, “All levity aside, this Kingdom is facing a grave crisis. We know now that at a very minimum, that tens of thousands of our people and probably their offspring as well, have been enslaved.

Because of that cursed magical conditioning that they’ve undergone, we don’t even know the true names of those unfortunates that we’ve freed so far or how many more of ours are enslaved back on Fata or on their other ships. Work is being done to remove their mental blocks but by law no one within this Kingdom knows very much about that subject, so it will take considerable time if it can be done at all.

Now we face a terrible moral decision. How many enemy ships do we sink with our own countrymen imprisoned aboard them?”

I spoke up because I’d been worried about the very same thing. “I have some runes that I’ve never revealed and some that I have just developed; runes, that will encase someone within magical armor and let them fly; runes which can turn a pole-arm, in the hands of a gifted and trained Rune Wright, into a weapon that can kill a shielded magic user. Additionally, I have magical suppression potions and paralyzing poisons that can be used to coat small darts which can then be launched by miniature kraken tubes. I have held back some of these things because of the magical dueling laws. In a few months time, when I graduate from the University, other magic users will be able to legally challenge me to a duel and I will be almost forced to accept when that happens. I was hoping my enchanted weapons and tools would grant me edge in those circumstances since I am still deplorable at spell work.

But I’m willing to reveal some of my private research to a select few mages, for this Kingdom’s benefit, if those secrets are used to arm a force of Marine Rune Wrights who will be used to board enemy ships, as I have already done, and liberate those people who have been enslaved. Small invisible ships propelled by movement runes, like my own coble, can get the Marines close and then they can board those enemy vessels by using a flight harness.”

There was dead silence in the room and I looked up to see eight wide-eyed faces staring back at me.

The discussion went long into the night. The only mages that I would trust right, for the time being, were those employed by the Royal University. They were already ill at ease and aggravated with the Mage Guild. The Guild is fully as powerful, if not more so, than any Duchy. The senior mages, who run things, all come from old established mage families. The Guild is also a highly patriarchal association; women do not hold positions of power and are generally treated as inferior magic users despite their skills. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds but females are generally one or sometimes even two ranks beneath a male magic user of similar abilities.

Within the noble houses and skipping a few steps, a person’s loyalty goes from: commoner to Baron to Count to Duke and finally to the King. For anything less than the King, what noble a plebian might look to, is dependent upon where they live. The mages, of the Mage Guild, should legally be part of the same system but it is an accepted fact that they are not. Their allegiance goes from mage to senior mage to the Guild to the King and the last one is a maybe. Even those mages who are nobles have questionable loyalty. Though to the best of my knowledge there is no mage who has a titled rank of greater than Count.

The Mage Guild acts as a buyer and seller of magic and magic related items. They set their own prices and if you don’t like them, you may buy or sell somewhere else which is frequently an extremely difficult thing to do. There are independent mages but even they must give the Guild a part of their profits in order to maintain their status as legal magic users. The percentage that they give depends on their physical location, what they are selling or buying, and who they are selling to or buying from.

Young talented mages from non-established mage families generally get quite frustrated with the Guild and the inferior treatment that they receive. Females from even established families have been growing angry as of late, after seeing how normal women have generally advanced themselves within this Kingdom in recent years. It is also my belief, from a few hints that Ellen has dropped, that the Crown is worried about the Guild. While they don’t feel the Guild is exactly traitorous, she and her father do think that the Guild does not keep the best interests of the Kingdom in mind as they should. This is clearly evidenced in two ways, the exorbitant prices that they charge for such things as kraken spears for example and how they usually, only provide the services of inferior mages to the Navy and Army. Though many of those people are only inferior because of a lack of education, since the majority of them come from normal, non-magical families; which means that their magical education lags behind those from established magical families.

I have freely given too many of my inventions to the Guild and they have profited greatly from them, that ends today.

I along with the mages from the University, are going to set up a little company. Excluding my potions, we will not compete against the Guild, but sell our own unique products, at least to start. Later on we might sell other things once we are better established. Truly, what the Guild charges for rune inscribed items, is outrageous but any kind of conflict with them at this time would be ill advised.

Before I left the room, for my borrowed bed in the Palace, I was pushed into accepting the Crown’s proposal regarding Cone Island. I had been thinking about it but I hadn’t been quite ready to commit, until I did some more research into its economic feasibility. The current labor and material shortages had me hesitant. But being so desperate for my bed, I wearily nodded my head in agreement when the King and Treasury Minister brought the subject up. They seemed quite happy with my response.

I was dragging when I left the conference room. Ellen was pushing and guiding me while speaking with Countess Green and Dean Marks, who all sounded disgustingly wide awake. The ladies were discussing having tea and a snack in Ellen’s private suite. Ellen pushed me a little too hard which caused me to stumble but I caught myself before falling. She gasped; I turned to her with one eyebrow raised and she started to apologize. I held out my arms and said “carry me.”

I meant it as sort of a joke, so as to get her to let me go at my own foot dragging speed. But I forgot something, I am on the small side and Ellen is well over a head taller than I am. She also keeps herself in shape by partaking in intense physical workouts at least every other day.

She got this funny expression on her face, swept me up in her arms and started taking long strides down the hallway with me along for the ride.

All three ladies started to laugh and Countess Green made a definite off color joke about Lord Iron-Balls which not only caused them to let loose with great peals of laughter but the Royal Guardswomen who were accompanying us, joined in as well. I being a man decided to perform a valiant act. I closed my eye, rested my head against Ellen’s bosom and went to sleep. My last thought before doing so, was that I hoped that I drooled on her dress so as to teach her lesson.

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Carpenter’s Brace:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brace_(tool)