“So, what are we going to do with them?” she asked with a concerned look on her face. “Lorek and his men deserved what they got. They were going to hurt Isabella, but these men haven’t done anything.”
“Aye, that’s right; we didn’t do nothin’.” The weaselly little man spoke up quickly, stepping forward. “The lady’s right, Lord. We can be helpful. We’re good workers, an’…” Before he could say anything else, a bucket of water splashed over him, thrown from the side, and I found the old helmsman standing there. “You jus’ wait, yer old bastard! I’ll get you yet! One night you’ll be flyin’, all right, right over the side! I’ll…” the man started screaming at him.
I met the helmsman’s eyes and smiled. That simple act, something that would have been a wind-up between friends, had brought out the real side of the man in the cage.
I’d have understood anger, all things considered, but as the ranting went on, and got more inventive as I walked away from the cage, following him up to the raised deck, I recoiled at some of the things being shouted. When one of them involved what the four in the cage would do to the helmsman’s daughter and granddaughters, I spun around, ready to silence them, only to see all four shaking and crying out. Oracle had struck them with a lightning bolt, taking off from Bob’s head and flying over to me.
“Jax, why are some people like that?” she asked me, landing on my shoulder, and frowning with revulsion. “I was trying to help, trying to see if they could be reasoned with, or at least make them understand why we couldn’t trust them yet, and then they said all that…just because of some water?”
“Some people are just broken, Oracle.” I said, shaking my head, “and no matter what you do, they can’t be fixed. It’s best to treat them like a rabid animal, and simply kill them off.” When I realized what I’d said, I paused. It had come out before I’d thought about it, but it felt right. Back home, they’d have gone to prison, come out, and been shits again, robbing and hurting people until they were caught again and sent down, again and again as the cycle repeated. I’d always been annoyed at the pattern, that these assholes continued to hurt people around them, but that was just the way the world was. I’d accepted it. Here, though? Here, we couldn’t afford that, and I’d made the decision on how to deal with them already without realizing it. Lorek and his thugs had been different, as the villagers needed to see a merciful lord.
These shits were as bad, if not worse, judging from the things they’d said. I made my way to the helmsman where he stood on the raised deck, working on sanding out a divot I’d carved into the deck with my dagger yesterday.
“What’s your name?” I asked, and he straightened with a delighted smile.
“Jory m’lord! I’m Jory Ansbach.” He unconsciously flexed his fingers as he spoke to me, clearly reveling in the feeling of having a body that wasn’t as damaged as it had been for decades.
“Good to meet you, Jory.” I held out a hand. He looked surprised, then grinned wider, quickly wiping his hand on his pant leg, then reaching out and briefly gripping my wrist in greeting.
“So, why did you throw that water over those assholes in the cage?” I asked, and I got a guilty look in return.
“I saw you speakin’ to them, an’ I knew they’d all stink, so...” He shrugged, looking down reflexively.
“Whoa, none of that shit, Jory.” I said quickly. He blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. “Don’t go staring at the deck in fear of me. Just look me in the eye and explain things. If you fuck up, I might be pissed at you, but as long as you don’t hurt someone or fuck us over deliberately, I’ll always listen. Okay?” Jory looked at me for a second, then straightened his shoulders, a decision clearly made.
“Aye, I did it so they’d not smell as bad, but mainly, I wanted you to see what they were like. Honut, the little evil one? He’d stab his own mother for a copper."
"All four of ‘em were sent to work on the ships fer ten years ‘cause they’d been caught rapin’. I got no time for the likes of them, sir, and I wanted you to see for yerself.”
I paused, thinking through his assertion, and remembering that in my world’s own past, convicts had sometimes been used aboard ships. I had a sudden sinking feeling about the people I’d given a blanket amnesty to and had accepted into the Tower. I’d taken an Oath from them, one that Seneschal had assured me would protect both them and me, but still.
“How many others in the crew are like that? Criminals, I mean?” I asked Jory, receiving a shrug in return.
“Not many, Lord. I think Petey was given five years for stealin’, and Gimil was here fer murder of a guardsman, but he’d came home and found the fella with ‘is wife, and Petey was trying to feed ‘imself. The rest of us were all signed up for a life in the sky out of choice.”
I nodded at that, thinking maybe we’d been lucky, then, but I’d need to speak to this Gimil.
“About Gimil…” I said, only to get a sad shake of the head.
“Captain… the old captain, I mean… he made an example of him to make sure we all ‘knew our place’. Threw him over the side two days back. When we raided the village, he gave some of the boys and girls to those who’d pleased him. Gimil had led us when we said it weren’t right.”
“Some of the crew raped the prisoners?” I asked with a low growl,
