Chapter 279: 278 Hell Is A State Of Mind

Bokuboy

It was a tie between the two ships. The clipper had been even more hampered by the traffic in the harbour than I thought it would be. It bumped into the dock and the entire crew looked frustrated, especially Lady Ming. She looked down the dock to where I was standing and saw the large slave ship had hooked on and pulled itself in to secure to the dock.

Lady Ming still wore her captain's uniform as she stepped off of the ship onto the dock and the head slave did the same in front of me.

“Thank you for helping us come here to a new land.” The slave said and bowed deeply to me.

“You'll have to forgive the mess of it. I haven't had much time to clean up around here.” I said.

Gella barked a laugh, because of all the things I had done. Lady Ming's frown changed to a smile as she walked over to me.

“What do we do now?” The slave asked. “We are still slaves and...”

“Gella, run to the driver and get him to hire a dozen carriages.” I handed her a handful of gold coins. “We'll take everyone back to the old guild building.”

Gella nodded before she quickly ran to do as I asked.

“They really are all your slaves?” Lady Ming asked.

“No, just slaves. For now.” I said and both she and the slaves nearby that heard me looked surprised. “I'm preparing a proper potion regiment for them to take for rehabilitation.”

“THANK YOU!” The slaves on the ship yelled out.

“It's only a physical restoration.” I warned them. “I have no idea how to fix the conditioning.”

“That's good enough for us.” One of the other slaves said as she stepped off of the ship. “We can find our way quicker to recovery when we are no longer bound by our frail bodies.”

I nodded and waved at the ship. “Gather up your things, or the things you claimed back from where we came from, and come back up here.”

A burly man and a thin man walked over to us. Both were quite scared and also determined.

“Sir.” The thin one said to get my attention. “You've docked... ah... three ships now.”

“What's the fee?” I asked.

The thin man looked over the side of the dock and the crushed ship I had removed to make room. He swallowed audibly and looked back at me. “It's a bit more than normal, because of the war and the hard times on normal shipping.”

“Then you're making things worse by charging more for services that they can barely pay for already.” I said and he looked shocked. “They will stop coming to the capital and deliver to one of the smaller ports, just because it's cheaper to drop their cargo there and ship it by horse and carriage.”

Lady Ming laughed and nodded. “It's why the navy ships dock in the harbour when they go off-patrol. They can't keep paying the high docking fee all the time, just to get to the shore for a few days of shore leave.”

The thin man sighed. “It costs money to run things and...”

“How many people do you have on staff?” I asked.

“Ten for the main dock and three each for the side docks.” The thin man said. “We run and maintain everything and charge fees to keep everything in top shape for ships to safely dock.”

I thought about that. “You increased the fees after the attack six months ago.”

The thin man nodded. “There was much to be fixed and replaced. Even the fabled magic of the Sellwafer's business wasn't up to the task of repairing much of it.”

“It was my magic, actually. They were just renting it.” I said and he looked surprised. “I own it now. And them. And their mansion.”

He looked about to faint.

“I'll pay the new fee this time, if you agree to leave guards here on this ship to stop anyone from trying to claim it.” I said and he looked conflicted.

“If the navy tries, warn them the ship belongs to the Marsh Man. If they don't know that name, tell them that Lord Drake will have them killed for their impertinence.” I said and he nodded.

Gella ran back to us with the carriages behind her. “My lord.”

“Thank you, Gella.” I said and gave the thin man a handful of gold coins.

He sputtered at the gold crowns in his hands.

I looked at the big man beside him. “Two guards with swords, one at each end of the ship. Even if an admiral shows up with papers, warn him. If he still doesn't listen, kill him.”

The big man smiled. “You really have been cleaning up around here.”

“Only the useless ones that make things worse.” I said and that made him smile wider. I turned to the slaves. “If you're ready, start loading up the carriages with your loot.”

“L-l-loot?!?” The thin man asked, shocked.

“Of course. Slaves don't own anything normally.” I said as if he was stupid. “They needed supplies to survive the trip across the world to get here.”

“But... but...”

“No crimes were committed here in the Gulf Kingdom or in its waters by them, so save your fancy speech about right and wrong. It's unnecessary.”

The thin man sighed. “I'll have the guards here in half an hour.”

The big man beside him nodded.

“It's a working man's ship they are guarding.” I said and the big man smiled again. He knew what that meant. Two gold crowns of extra pay. I suspected that he would be taking one of those positions.

“If you need swords, we'll send some back with the carriages.” Gella said.

The big man grinned and gave her a salute. She nodded back.

It took the slaves almost an hour for them to load everything onto the carriages. I had been right and the big guy was one of the guards. I handed him and his partner two gold crowns each, making them very happy. The slaves packed everything on the ship and then packed themselves inside the carriages until they couldn't move. Some even climbed onto the top rack and clung there.

I didn't bother telling them that we could make more than one trip and held an arm out to Lady Ming. She took it gracefully and I led her back to my own rented carriage with Gella behind us. I handed Lady Ming inside and then did the same for Gella, making Lady Ming laugh, and I climbed in myself as I told the driver to lead everyone back to the guild building.

“We should rename it, now that it's ours.” Gella said.

I thought about my crew and then thought about all of the slaves we were about to house inside it.

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You have a minor choice to make. It won't really affect anything, except for the people living there or visiting. Will your name inspire them or make everyone laugh?

A) Pick something inappropriate. B) Pick something funny. C) Pick something uplifting.

D) Pick something horrible. E) Pick something appropriate. F) Pick a curse word.

Okay, that's a lot of choices. I thought and then went over everything that's happened. Most of them would make everyone laugh with or at us, and I don't want that. I doubt anyone wants something uplifting, not with their lives ruined like mine. I nodded. It should be appropriate, so I'll choose E.

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I knew the perfect name for the place when it was finished. “Sanctuary.”

Gella looked surprised for a moment, as if she expected me to say something else, then she smiled. “Yes, my lord. Sanctuary it will be. I will let everyone know.”

“As will I.” Lady Ming said. “If I can borrow the carriage to head to the castle, I'll let the queen herself know.”

I glanced at her. “Ellen accepted your proposal?”

“You mean your proposal.” Lady Ming said with a knowing smile.

“You didn't tell her that.” I said and she laughed softly as she shook her head no. “I knew you were smarter than that.”

Lady Ming gripped my arm tightly. “I'll inform her when she grants me my commission and somehow finds me some ships to assign to the new naval division of the Fifth Regiment.”

“How much does a ship cost to build?” I asked.

“Depending on the size, a lot of gold crowns.” Lady Ming said. “I expect to wait a few months before I'll have anything besides my clipper ship available.”

“The new slaves have a ship at the docks that they aren't going to need anymore.” I said and she caught her breath. “I won't be involved with the sale, so the money should be given to them without trouble.”

“The queen will save over half the cost of building if she just buys that ship outright.” Lady Ming said, happily. “I'll mention the ship and that buying it is the best option, since stealing it for the navy won't work because it's under Lord Drake's protection.”

Her informing the queen of that, made me smile. “I'm sure that there are crewmen that want to get back onto a proper ship, too.”

“Some of them are even on my clipper ship, The Sprint.” Lady Ming said with a laugh. “My coxswain would kill to get his hands on a proper mainsail rigging to play with it.”

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We arrived at the old guild building that was now named Sanctuary and Lady Ming laughed as hard as Greta did when she saw the frigate parked beside the building. I handed her a napkin and she used it to dry her eyes.

“Thank you, Lord Drake. I haven't laughed like that in a long time.” Lady Ming said.

I stepped out of the carriage and handed Gella out to stand beside me. “Driver, take Lady Ming to the castle. You're off for the rest of the night if she doesn't need to go anywhere else to rent a room or something.”

“Can I return here?” Lady Ming asked. “I could use a nice safe place to rest and not have to worry about rogue mages.”

“They've been ordered to return here by the Grand Mage, so you're still in danger.” I said and she sighed exaggeratedly.

“You just ruined my perfect excuse to come back here and seduce you.” Lady Ming said with a demure smile. “I suppose I will have to find alternate lodgings for now.”

“That would be for the best. I can't impregnate you if you're going back out on the waters anyway.”

Lady Ming laughed and nodded. “I assume that Lady Helena was open to the idea of a brief contract?”

“Lady Helena is dead, as is my son and the rest of the Henrietta family.” I said and closed the carriage door on Lady Ming's shocked face.

The carriage turned around and Lady Ming's head came out the window. “DAVID! I'm so sorry!”

“So is everyone else.” I said and waved to her as the carriage left through the gates.

Gella didn't comment at my brashness and we went inside the building. The barricades looked stronger and we went up the stairs to the main botany floor. Greta's office was empty, which meant she was in the potion making area taking stock and brewing. We found her prepping ingredients and waited for her to finish a batch before I spoke.

“I'm back.” I said and Greta jumped as if slapped on the butt.

“I'm glad you accepted.” Greta said and quickly added the ingredients to the six pots of potions she had going at the same time. She chanted at them and reduced the heat, to let the potion cool, which meant she was almost done making the main slave rehabilitation potion.

“We have to wait for this to finish before we can get to what we need to do.” Greta said.

“Yes, the living are more important than the dead.” Gella said. “I've learned that lesson the hard way.”

Greta sighed and nodded. “The dead deserve their own special time and we need to give it to them.”

When the potions were done, I infused them for Greta and she thanked me. We bottled them up and would split them and dilute them into proper doses tomorrow. We had a lot of slaves to treat, myself included, and our work was only just beginning.

Gella left to get anyone that wanted to participate and Greta asked me to strip off my coat and shirt to let her take some of my back's scar tissue. She harvested what she thought was a good amount for us to distill out the skin altering potion and showed me the amount. Her face was a little pale from cutting me up, though.

“I would rather more, in case we mess up.” I said and she sighed. “I would do it myself if I could reach.”

“It's not that. It's that you're not even reacting.” Greta said.

“I can barely feel you touching me there, so it's okay.” I said.

Greta sighed. “You know that's not the point.”

“It is.” I said and took her hand. “I would slice off some of my thigh instead; but, I know you would hate seeing that and I would feel it cut from there.”

Greta nodded and kept working on my back to get more scar tissue to work with until we had double the amount. It would give us three or perhaps four chances to try different distilling techniques to refine the potion. Once we did, we could pull it apart and find the counter-agents to hopefully reverse the white pigmentation. It might also work on their hair, too.

That was when it hit me. My words during the king's birthday to her and our discussion about her mother's recipe. I sat up straight to stare at her face. “Greta. Your mother's modified skin creme.”

Greta gasped and stared back at my face. “It has similar properties, especially the versatility and stasis parts!”

I nodded. “We need to brew it up and then pull it apart, or get your mother's notes on it. With that as a base and a successful distillation of the pigmentation potion...”

“...we can change all of the slaves back to a normal skin color, their own skin color, with a liberal application of a heavily modified creme.” Greta said and her hand went to my head to pet it. “It will even work on hair.”

I nodded and nearly everyone I had brought with me to the guild building arrived on the botany floor behind Gella. I slipped my shirt on and stood up from the chair I was sitting on.

“We can use one of the conference halls on the upper floors.” Greta suggested.

We all followed her up several flights of stairs and entered a large conference room. I went to the front of the room with Greta, Gella, Farra, the old man, Hanna, Ann, and Jill with her wrapped bundle. Everyone else sat in the available seats. We all easily fit inside the huge room and the talking was only a low murmur.

Greta let it go on for several minutes, then she stood and rapped her knuckles on the desk in front of us. “You all know why we are here.”

Everyone fell silent and nodded.

“I know the proper rites and the words. I do not have the authority to...”

“Everyone who wants Mage Marks to have the authority, since she runs Sanctuary, speak now.” I interrupted.

“Yes!” Every single person there shouted.

Greta gave me a nod and then looked at the gathered crowd. “We usually need a symbol for everyone to focus on...”

“I have it.” Jill interrupted, her voice loud and strained, as she placed the wrapped bundle she hadn't let go until now on the desk in front of Greta. “My Lady Helena... entrusted me with... this final duty.” She said as tears rolled down her cheeks and she fought to not cry. “I will see it fulfilled.”

Greta's face lost all its color as Jill opened the bundle to reveal the contents.

“NO!” Everyone in the conference room gasped and shot to their feet.

“My... my beautiful little lord... Lord Damon Drake-Henrietta.” Jill said and sobbed as she lightly stroked the dead baby's head. “Mage Marks, please... perform the last rites and save his little soul.”

Every woman in the room was openly crying now. The men all looked like they were going to kill everyone responsible.

Greta wiped at her face and then used those tears to make the appropriate symbols on the baby's forehead as she loudly chanted in Mage language. The wet tears glowed as she infused them and it sunk into the skin. She turned to Jill and touched her cheek to get more tears and repeated the process, chanting a different verse, then she turned to me.

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You have a critical choice to make. All future choices will depend on this decision. Will you make the right one or will you make the wrong one?

A) Leave. B) Hug her. C) Kiss her hand. D) Submit. E) Refuse to submit. F) Infuse it yourself.

I don't know what the best choice is. I thought and read the options again. It was difficult enough to function before. If I let myself feel anything, I don't know if I'll survive.

A timer popped up with ten seconds on it.

Dammit, I can't... I can't choose! I need more time to...

Time expired. The default option of D has been chosen.

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Greta's hand reached for my face and I grabbed it before she could touch my skin. I looked up at her sad face and saw in her what I needed to see in myself. I searched inside and there it was. A dam. A huge dam of emotions that I had been holding back.

For all of my life, I had fought to live. I fought so hard all this time and I had thought I made it. I had beaten the Hag and made a life for myself. Then she showed up and destroyed everything. I didn't really care about the material things, as they were so easily replaced. I could have everything restored in under a month and I didn't care about that.

It was the people. Friends, family, maids, workers, slaves, and relationships that I had built without knowing I was. People I liked and liked me back. People who cared at the time. People who I cared about. It was all there inside my head. The whole thing was there and had culminated into a single defining point in my life.

My son.

I looked down at his frail body and regretted that I hadn't met him when he was born. I only saw the empty shell that was already dying and I didn't want that to be my last sight of him. My only sight of him. I knew that Helena wouldn't want that to be my last sight of him, either. She loved me too much to hurt me like that.

I felt something well up inside of me. It was a pressure so great that I thought my heart would explode from it. My body trembled and shook as I suffered. I suffered so much because of it that a lot of people were shouting in concern and fear. I ignored them and watched as that dam inside me cracked. It didn't let go from the strain like I thought it would, though. It just barely held on.

I took a long shaky breath and looked back up at Greta as I let her hand go. A single tear escaped my control and it glowed brightly. Greta gasped as she used her fingertip to catch it before it fell. She put it on the baby's forehead and spoke the last verse of the rites of passage. When she tried to infuse it, her magic was sucked in and almost drained her completely.

Greta collapsed from magical exhaustion and I caught her as the glowing tear seeped into the baby's forehead. Nothing happened for several moments and Greta tried to catch her breath to say the last lines to close the ritual. That she couldn't speak, turned out to be good, because the baby's body started to glow a soft golden color.

We all stared at the body and waited to see what was going on, because by their surprised expressions, no one had ever seen anything like it. The glow moved up and out of the baby's body to float above it, then the glow expanded a little and formed into something that shocked everyone, myself included.

A perfectly formed golden glowing baby floated there for a moment before it giggled happily.

Half of the people in the conference room fainted, men and women alike. The others just stared at the baby with wide eyes and their hearts pounding in their chests.

“Damon.” I whispered and reached out for him.

The baby's tiny little hand reached for mine. When we touched, for a split second, his hand gripped my finger as if his hand was real. He faded slightly after that and started to rise up towards the ceiling.

“NOOOO! Don't go!” Jill shouted and reached up for him. “My little LORRRRRD!”

The golden baby giggled and seemed to wave before he faded away.

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