already heading back to the Maiden’s Bane.
Jenna looked at Dexter, jaw clenched. He shook his head slightly, making her close her eyes and take a deep breath before releasing it. Then they were poked and pushed towards the Maiden’s Bane, where they were imprisoned in a hold converted to a brig.
They felt the Maiden’s Bane slow down and change directions several times, then finally dock. They were led out of the cell and onto the deck, confirming they were indeed docked at a floating collection of lumber.
It did not resemble a ship or even a group of ships, it looked more like a sawmill ate a forest and vomited up the remains, randomly placing wooden planks and beams all over the place. Some portions of it were open to the void, while others were enclosed. Only the docking areas showed any semblance of a pattern, with ramps extending out from the mass to allow the pirate ships to dock.
Also present were several heavy weapons, from ballista to catapults and jettison to even a few bombards. A slow realization dawned on Dexter but he kept his mouth shut until they were alone in a cell on the pirate base.
“I’m thinking we brought them a couple of bombards for their base here,” he shared.
“Blast, ye’re right!” Kragor said, smacking himself in the forehead. “That’s just the size for them boxes.”
Jenna nodded, agreeing with the captain. Bekka and Jodyn just looked on, not knowing one way or another, nor seeing how it made a difference considering their situation.
Dexter opened his mouth to speak again, but the door into the room opened and a man ducked his head and stepped in. All of them stared at him, momentarily speechless. He stood well over six feet tall and looked thick enough and strong enough to be able to tear the base apart with his bare hands.
“What are you?” Dexter asked.
“What?” he asked, his voice the timbre and pitch expected from so large a man. “I’m your guard, Rosh.” The ‘o’ was a hard vowel, making Dexter think of a roach when he said his name even though the giant of a man was a fairly decent looking guy.
“Are you half-giant?” Dexter asked, thinking how ironic it would be if he were considering the joke he made with his former employer about his first mate being a fire breathing half-giant.
“No, I’m human,” he said, scowling. “Just big.”
“I’ll say!” Dexter agreed, before turning to look at the others.
Bekka stepped forward. “What are they going to do to us?”
Rosh stared at her for a long moment. A slow grin crossed his face. Ignoring her question he asked her, “You’re a woman! Why’d you shave your head?”
“I find it’s better to not be judged by my appearance,” she responded.
Rosh nodded, “Good idea.” He shrugged apologetically. “The women’ll be raped, then killed. The men just killed. Don’t think we got anyone that likes boys here.”
“Why wait? Why not just be done with us on the ship?” Dexter asked.
“In case you had any surprises on board. Magic or something, ya know,” he explained.
“The guard on the other ship would not talk with us, how come you are?” Bekka asked him.
“I don’t get out much, too damn big for the ships, they says, so I’m stuck here,” he explained, sounding grateful for her question and her interest. “I’ve talked to everyone ‘round here, nothing else to do.”
“How much you make here, Rosh?” Dexter asked, a glimmer of an idea coming to him.
“Four gold a month, why?”
“You seem bored,” Dexter said, shrugging.
Rosh stared at him for a long minute, then nodded. “Maybe I am and maybe I’m not, what’s it to you?”
“Big strong man like you, I could use you,” Dexter said after a moment.
“Ha! I’m not into laying with men,” Rosh said, turning back to Bekka.
“That’s good, neither am I.”
Rosh returned his attention to him. “What you asking for then?”
“Like I said, I could use a strong man that knows his way around a ship and with a sword, my crew is a little short right now.”
Rosh chuckled. “Seems to me you’ve got too much crew since the only thing you’re Captaining is that there cage!”
“Aye, that’s the truth of it,” Dexter admitted, looking to Kragor and Jenna. They both returned his gaze and shook their heads. “But that’s where you come in.”
“You’re mad,” he said, shaking his head. “I got it good here, I ain’t letting you out.”
Dexter pushed himself up against the bars and spoke softly, “four gold a month… I’m willing to give you six percent of whatever our take is, how long would it take you to make that here?”
A crafty look passed over the man’s face as he considered the offer. His eyes narrowed and Dexter thought he saw his lips moving slightly. Was he counting? Dexter bit back his smile and made a mental note to invite Rosh to a friendly game of cards if things worked out well.
“And you’d be on a ship, traveling to different ports in the void, seeing new things and new people,” Dexter pressed.
“And women?” Rosh asked.
“Not like here, you want a woman you have to woo her on your own or buy her services,” he stated.
“Never could take something that wasn’t given freely. But you ain’t got no ship!”
“So let us out and help us get ours back!” Dexter said, letting some of his desperation bleed through. “The Voidhawk, my ship, is ready and waiting, we just need to get on it and we can be off and away! With your help we’ll have no trouble getting away.”
Rosh thought about it for a minute then shook his head. “You been caught once, you’ll just get caught again.”
“I got a plan for that too,” Dexter confided in him.
“You’re mad,” Rosh said again.
“Maybe a little,” Dexter admitted, “but that’s why it’ll work!”
Rosh thought about it and then shrugged. “Ah hell, I’m bored with this work. Six percent… what’s that work out to?”
“We make 100 gold, you get 6 pieces. We make 1000, your cut is 60. Depends on how good we do — all of us, even you,” Dexter’s explained. “You’ll be helping us then?”
Wooed by the promise of more gold than he’d ever had, Rosh nodded. “Aye, stand back,” he said, stepping closer to the door.
Dexter backed away and glanced at the others, who were just as wide eyed and disbelieving as he was. Bekka grinned while Jenna just stared in disbelief. Kragor clapped him on the back and Jodyn muttered something about Dexter’s ability to talk himself into, or out of, the jaws of a void dragon.
Rosh opened the doors of the makeshift cell and let them out. He drew the great sword off from his back to cut the ropes that bound their wrists, then shook Dexter’s hand. “Stay behind me,” he said, asserting himself.
Jenna regarded his sword and shook her head disapprovingly. Aside from her reaction, everyone did as he asked, letting him lead the way through the confusing tunnel of corridors. In almost no time they encountered two men turning a corner into their corridor.
“Roshelle, what are you-”
Rosh slammed the cross guard of his sword into the man’s face, then turned and drove his fist into the stomach of the other man, doubling him over. He brought the pommel of his sword down on the back of his head, dropping him to the ground.
“Roshelle?” Bekka whispered.
Rosh grunted. “Call me Rosh,” he said.
“Roshelle’s a girl’s name,” she said, smiling benignly and trying to indicate that she understood.
Rosh misunderstood her. He turned and glared, making her shrink back. “I’ll show you proof I ain’t no girl!”
Dexter laid his hand on his shoulder, having to reach up some to do so, and turned him away. “Rosh, she meant no harm.”
“Aye, I just meant I understood,” Bekka said, coming to her own defense. Rosh grunted and turned, heading off again. Bekka sent Dexter a grateful smile while Jenna rolled her eyes.
