Vylixan – The return.

It has been years since “Brian” had left Ar after a successful stay there as a simple craftsman and by now his one man company has
grown into something larger. Under the radar of the large trade companies, his former company and the consortium he had built slowly on his return. The long lifespan he has, paid off with the years that he needed to grow. Every goldcoin he earned he used to build his network again, former employees with a remorse against the consortium joined his line of small un-important shops gatherin information and getting the coinflow going again.

Every few hands he would gather the rayon-leaders, people that he made responsible over the shops in a certain area, to discuss the
results and to do a good forecast of what has to be done. Lists of consortium and disloyal Fallon trade company people are created,
mercenaries and assassins were hired though were hold on a standby till the day of action would take place. “Brian” or just Vylixan as he was called again during those meetings made a time line of occurring events that would let him strike in a time-frame of a few days. A longer time-frame would bring the operation in danger and a shorter would be impossible.

The people helping him where loyal because they invested in the shops, they owned some of the shops and all wanted to grow. Bringing everything under a single company and eliminating one of the big competitors at the same time is an oppertunity that not many would let go. All are aware that it is not an idea , a brainfart that is gone in a day, no the process takes years of preparations and finally the time has come to strike. A final meeting is planned and a date is chosen. Next moon they will strike.

In the final hands before the strike the orders are given to mercenaries that have to regain control over ships and caravans.
Assassins are given the final targets and time of striking so that in that time frame the leadership of the consortium and his
company are eliminated. In all those preparation months peopel are brought into the companies to work their way up and take over when the time is there. Nothing would stand in the way to take over the traderoutes and regain the power and be back where he belongs.

Vylixan smiles when he gives the final sign. “Brian” does no longer exist and Vylixan has returned the costs of this operation are
huge though every coin is worthy to be spend on the operation. it is an investment that will pay of on the long run. He nods slowly
when the first reports are coming in of peopel suddenly being assasinated, kidnapped, some shops that burn , caravans that are  missing and ships that suddely have a new owner. He gets an even bigger smile on his face as he hears the news that his beloved Saratoga is captured and has no significant damage. He send a return message to bring the ship to the closest harbor and have it waiting for him to return.

In a few days the consortium changed from a large cooperation that conquered the Fallon Trade Company to an integrated part of the same company under a new leadership. His leadership. He nods at the people around him.  “It seems the Company is back on the play-field and has assimilated his former opponent.” He raise his glass. “To the Company” His toast is answered by the people around him that are now the board of directors of the company. Then there is a moment of silence and after that hell breaks loose when all are cheering and yelling. For all those people this success means that they are rich now and successful.

The Departure from the City

“Brian” had done some jobs for several people and had asked around by doing the jobs the whereabouts of certain people he knew from the past. He found out that some where dead, others vanished and even some enslaved. His network that he used to have was no longer, unknown to the people he found out that even the men and women he had faced and enforced in the past did no longer knew him.  He smiled about that information as it made him safe, though on the other hand it made him sad to know that the phrase “Out of sight, out of heart.” is a true one.

He walks back to the house he had rented and starts to pack his gear, his tools and his possessions into boxes and bags to load all on the cart. He checks the small apartment and locks the door.  He had done all his tasks and was paid well for it by the people and now he went to the building owner to hand over the large key to the apartment and says his farewell.  This city is to big for him, to many people interfering with his business and to many competition for the work he does.

“Brian”pokes the beast pulling the cart and slowly it moves towards the gates of Ar.  he is leaving the city where people live that he has memories of though they have forgotten the Merchant and they will never recognize or want to recognize the man he is now.  The city is to big for long memories the lifespan is too long to remember things form the past for a longer time.  When he passes the gates of the city he sighs from the tension that drops from him and he laughs while the cart slowly moves south.

 

The gates of the City.

‘Brian’ came near the city, he noticed how busy it was at the front of the gate and he parked his cart nicely in the row of merchants wanting to go into the city. He grins when he slowly enters the gate, in front of him bags are searched and some people are dragged out of the line by guards. Then finally the guards reach him and on of them demands what he is doing here.”You peasant, state your business.” ‘Brian’ looks at the man and bows slightly.  “I am a humble worker, metal works, wood works, all small repairs I can do.”

He grabs in his pocket and hands over some papers. “These are the recommendations from experienced craftsmen Sir, I have a good reason to be in the City.” The guard looked at the papers, no way he could read it, though it looks official and the guard will not admit he has no clue what the papers are. “Well then, you are not a peasant and you are welcome to the city.” Then he waves at the gate keepers.”let this merchant pass !”

‘Brian’ bows and smiles .”Thank you and have a good guard-time.” Then he moves on with the cart under the stone portal through the gates and into the city. He is in and now he can work more freely, the city is huge and no one knows Brian the handyman. He goes to the lower city and rents a room in the inn there, then he asked around if there is any work for him. There was indeed some small work for him to do and by that he settles down in the city.

On the move to the city.

‘Brian’ moved on to an other city, where he settles in a old shed on the side of the main road. a sign hung from the doorpost ‘Brian’s Handywork’. He grins as slowly work came in. Reparing the door of a barn was one of the easy parts, helping the bower cutting wood for arrows was a different story, though it learned him a lot and the bower learned him how to shoot an arrow at least at a target instead of miles around it. In a way all these little things shaped him a bit different then he was before the “unwanted” events.

Sooner or later he had to face his ghosts of the past and slowly he worked his way to the larger cities. after spending time in this village he moved on to the next. His cart was renewed. it had a roof above it and even a sleeping place inside. No longer he was pulling it but an animal was doing that work. He had gathered coin and respect from the people he had worked for and he was trusted by the locals to work for them, that all made him move further towards the cities.

He was not recognisable as he was before, he did not wear any taharian clothing just a normal low caste workers outfit, suitable for work on land and in a workshop. he still wears the simple machete though its no longer rusty or blunt, its a fine piece of weaponry now , together with a simple long stick it is suitable to hold of any outlaws or wild beasts. On the road he is again and in the far distance he sees the outlines of a large city that is his target, though before  reaching it he will stay some time in the village close by to get familiar with the local laws and habits around the city.

Dead or Alive , The Merchant somewhere on the coast.‏

The wreckage of the raft laid on the shoreline, no human being was found or seen near it , though the raft was not complete, parts where missing. A search was made though the origin of the raft stayed unknown and the consortium never mentioned that they had dumped a man on the rift with a raft and that he had disappeared. Normal life goes on and people took for granted that the raft was washed from a ship without anyone on it.

Miles further on a small island in front of the coast a man washed ashore and the way he looked was horrible. He clothes where torn and he did not look anymore like the sophisticated man he once was. He had a name . Vylixan, a name that had a history and a history that brought him into this situation though he never planned this. He looks around and grins .”Well I am still alive and I guess I am dead for the rest of the world. Lucky and unlucky I am to be here.”

Then he starts to explore the island and he sees the coastal line. “I will stay here a while to recover, if there is something to eat and drink here and then I make my way over. Though I have to plan this right.” he nods and searched the beach to see if there is something useful there. In his seek-outs he finds some bottles and crates, even a crate with clothing and most important he finds a machete, a used one and not that sharp though with the right stones he can sharpen that again.

He continues the life on the small isle by creating a small shelter from wood and tree leaves, the machete was a great help in that and a small campfire. the rest of the days he spend with sorting out the found goods in the creates and preparing a worthy raft from palm-trees.  he already had sorted out the clothing he would wear, nothing would look like the old merchant he once was. he looked more like a craftsman, one that could help the farmers with fixing their gear, to help out a blacksmith or woodworker. Only when you would look into his eyes you would see the different man behind the masquerade.

When he finally had finished the raft, it took time as it had to be a solid one, not a trash one that he was left on when he was dumped on the rift, he took all the gear he had collected , the crates, clothing and peddled to the shore.  He smiled when he arrived. everything he had he hide away in the dense coastal vegetation and he goes out to seek a handcart.  With that and the crates he looked more if he belonged there. In the night he stole a cart , made more scratches on it, dragged it through the dirt and packed it with his goods. Carts where all the same and because ‘his’ cart was not empty none would suspect it to be stolen.

The next weeks he spend traveling from village to village , earning some gold, food, gear and made contacts with the local craftmen and higher caste to gain letters of recommendation. These letters are of a great value as they are the gateway to more work in other villages and cities. He does it the smart way. Instead of claiming who he is and take back the company he used to own and the risk of getting killed this time, he build something new. He still has some things to settle though that will be done in time.

He closes his eyes for a moment while he is fixing a axle of a wagon, something he learned from a wagon builder some weeks ago, and thinks about his list . several high placed people are on that list men and woman, then he checks his pocket and finds a nice piece of rope that reminds him of something else. He then laughs and nods at the owner of the wagon. “It is fixed again good Sir.”  the owner pays him and thinks him for the repairs. Then Vyl goes on the road again.

One thing is in his mind, he took the name ‘Brian’ to be on the safe side and that’s how people address him now.  ‘Brian the handyman’ Together with the papers and experience he has he goes out to find more work and to see if he could build up a network again and to see if a certain Lady is still a free woman or has been persuaded into something else. He grins as he sees the scenes before him that have happened in the past, though as he is now , she would never looked at him if she would walk past him. He walks on dragging the cart with him with a smile.

Vylixan – The final chapter of the Merchant.

The huge ship arrived in the port in the morning sun and on deck there was a movement of people getting the ship ready for the docks. When the ship docked the crew spread out and loading and unloading of the ship begins. In the large captains cabin Vylixan discusses trade points on the route that they have to visit to make the most profit. Then he sighs and says. “I need to get some fresh air, I’ll be back in two hours or so.”

He then leaves for the tavern, in there he gets the drinks he want with the girl served with it and while enjoying that he has talks with several people who are in the tavern. That way he finds out what the port needs for his travel next time and after a while he leaves the tavern again, filled with the knowledge and the paga gathered there.

When he walks through the streets he noticed a small shop with curiosities and he goes in. the owner welcomes him and in a some time after a long chats they go to the back to see some nice things that he might buy. He is offered some tea, that he accepts out of politeness and when he drinks it it seems the world is changing a bit, it becomes more fuzzy. He has no idea that he fades into darkness and that he is carried away through small paths to a ship in the harbor.

When he wakes from the faded state the next morning he finds himself bound on deck with some guards around him. He has no clue though before he can say anything a man in robes of an administrator talks to him. “It has cost time to set up a trap that finally snapped and we finally got you.” The man laughs without laughing. “You should know that you could not be smarter then the consortium when you acted like you own certain places.” Then the man is silent.

Vylixan looks at the man , still no idea what the man is talking about. He waits for more information to be able to negotiate his way out of this. Fighting his way out is not even on his mind and he only can wait for things to happen. Then the man points at the railing and he says. “You will find out how it is to have nothing anymore and nothing around you but isolation. We are in a very remote part of the sea and we have a raft anchored to the small rift here and that is your new home for as long as your life may last.” The man Laughs.

Before Vylixan could say or do anything he fades away when one of the guards hits him with the shaft of the spear and he falls down on the ground. It is in the evening when he wakes up again, finding himself on a rift, with a raft with nothing and he sits there thinking, waiting, considering the limited options he has left. Chance of survival is not high, and by that it means that though he may not survive, the company will. He always knew that one day the company would have to go without him, though he could not foresee that it was today. Over thinking everything he fall in a restless sleep.

Weeks later on the shore of the mainland a raft is found, broken and beat to shreds, A storm had been formed and had wiped the rift clean. When the consortium had returned to see what had become of the Merchant they found nothing. The merchant was gone and the the company he once owned continued under the same name though its owner had never returned from his travels and was considered dead.

From the desk of the Magistrate.

From the desk of the Magistrate.
The magistrate sits in his office at the docks, it is a quiet morning with not too much troubles from the night before. In the cages is only one man sleeping away his drunkenness. Form his drawer he takes the small in leather bound diary and starts to write again as he was used to do back in Tyros, before all kind of events made him not to write down his story.

He hears a soft knocking at his door and when he says “Enter please come in” and a slave appears. There are no city slaves in Telnus, only privates, slaves from the slaver, paga slaves and council slaves. He looks at the slave as she asks him if he needs something. While Tyros had an unrealistic large amount of blackwine in stock, Telnus does not have that so he says to the girl “Just bring me some water, that will do”. The girl repeats his demands and vanishes towards the café.

He is now several weeks in the City having a good time, feeling him self at home. He not only has an office at the docks but an apartment in the blue cylinder in the upper city as well. He already met several people, got invitations for counter visits to other places. Especially the Northern territories are attractive for him as coming from the Deep South. He reorganized his trades and acquired an official business license. Slowly everything falls in its correct place and his wealth is increasing as it did back in Tyros with one difference: he does not show his wealth. This time he keeps that a little more hidden. He smiles as he thinks about his old very rich decorated office, he grabs a quill and his diary.

Slaves, he writes, are coming in many different forms, from the worker male slave that unloads and loads the ships till the hot blooded girls in the Tavern. But what makes a slave in his eyes different then all others. What would a slave that I want to have at my side be like? Well, he continues, its not the body that is the most important, of course he wants the body to be nice, but the contents of the mind and soul and heart are far more important.

I saw several slaves already that match my description as being intelligent, independent busy, pro active and with a soul. Slaves were you can talk in-depth with who you can use in your daily business. Those are your personal caretakers to look after you as they feel when you need something. Slaves that are not puppets who only sit and be pretty. So yes they have flaws and that make them alive. Some of the slaves were even used to be High Caste Women. Its idiotic to believe that suddenly they become brainless beings that can’t think.

Well you would say grab one , there must be a lot of them out there. That might be true but it is not. The good ones are hard to find and I am not active looking for one. Does that make me unhappy. No not really , sometime lonely of course but with all the things going on that never takes long and before I know it I am busy with other things and I just use every slave that is nearby when I happen to need one. If they walk there, sit there doing nothing then they can be used. It is of course sometimes teasing to order a slave, when she is busy with a Free Woman.

He smiles when writing it all down, then the slave returns with his water. He looks through the window, sees nothing special at the docks and lets the slave stay for a while to serve him. With a refreshed throat from the water he continues his writing only this time about an event.

A few days before when he found a man in his jail who according to the reports had shot down the Tarn of the Tarn Captain with him on top. Normally a serious offence although to his defense it can be said that the Tarn Captain was doing offensive maneuvers above the harbor and docks. Personally I would have done the same, but I don’t carry a bow with me at the docks. Anyway while preparing the trial several messages came in saying that there was a day of celebrations planned to celebrate the new Ubar. The man who shot down the Tarn is a lucky one as with the day of the celebrations, amnesty for all prisoners was announced. And so began the day with the release of a prisoner who could now join the festivities.

The day passed on with not to many troubles, a few drunken lost sailors from Port Kar, but that was handled fast by the Rarii that were on guard and at least the drunken Captain of Port Kar paid for his stay in Telnus. We should have know it when they arrived. Port Kar and its drunken sailors mean only trouble. The most funny part of the whole festivities was that the docks and the vineyard where transformed to one big tavern. Most free women stayed inside there houses or were drinking tea in a tent placed near the Arena, while the men have a free game in the rest of the city. The festivities ended in the night with an auction of a belted slave for a few hours, I do not know who got her as I had business to attend to at the docks.

He sits back down and lays the quill down, then he closes the diary and puts it away while emptying his goblet with water. He looks at the girl next to his desk and says “Go to the café and prepare some food, I’ll be right over“. While the girl runs of to the café he releases the sailor that was still in his cellblock. The man pays his fine an with a greet he disappears into a alley. Then the Magistrate leaves his office and walks towards the café mumbling “Yes. It is a fine day …”

The Docks: Dawn… Tyros * Dusk… Telnus.

Dawn… The Docks of Tyros.

Shadows are moving on the docks as the large transport vessel arrives and opens its hatches. Out at the Thassa a guarding galley lays silent in the water fully armed and ready to strike when needed. A second almost identical one is laying almost next to the transporter guarding it while at the deck strange dark skinned men with scimitars and short bows take their strategic positions. A cityslave wandering on the docks waiting for her Master to return from fishing sees the movements and runs to the slums where it is stopped by a man.

“Come here ” says the man dressed in a kilt and with long black hair while pointing at her. The slave almost got a heart attack when He spoke to her “Yes Master “ she says softly and scared to the Chief Magistrate as she recognises his face. “Guide these two men and find my sister, she will be ready to leave by now, these two men are her guards” The Magistrate says and then the Magistrate smiles to the girl .”Go now”.

The girl and the two men dissapear towards the citygate and dissapear into the city while the gate closes. Then the Magistrate waves his arm towards the buildings in the slums. While the early beams of the sun hit the streets of the slums , slaves appear with boxes , bags and carts loaded with goods moving towards the transporter vessel in the harbour. The scarlets guarding the city see it happening but they look the other way as they have been payed well to do so.

He stands In the middle of the slums giving orders and directions towards the slaves, workers and men working for him. He smiles as he sees the progress that is being made and whispers softly. “Sometimes you have to hurt and be hurt to grow stronger although you don’t want to hurt.” A slave looks up wondering what the Master means but he is pointed to move on. A steady stream of goods that slowly dies out in to a few remaining people carrying the last things is moving towards the docks and into the ship. Then the large transport vessel leaves the bocks and heads to the open sea. In its place a smaller vessel reaches the docks waiting for its cargo.

The silence returns and the sun raises higher, the noises from the city become louder as the city wakes up. The Magistrate stands as a rock in the middle of the slums with a few of his warriors nearby. Now that they are shown in the light you can hear slaves who are peeking from the buildings in the slums whispering “Taharians… Nomads….. Warriors of the Sand….” The Man in the middle looks up to the sky and says “Any ihn now, stand ready.“ Then the large heavy brigde is lowered and the gates sway open as the city reveals its beauty trough the gates.

The man waits as the slave arrives followed by a young woman dressed in blue and guarded by two fierce warriors. When they meet in the slums the man speaks. “Tal My sister, you have everything ? Then we move. “ The lady nods and yes “Tal my brother all is packed and shipped ” and walks with grace towards the smaller ship and dissappears in to it . The man waits until she is gone and signals to the men. They quickly retreat to the ships and he himself is the last one to embark the smaller ship while the bigger ships move to the open waters he stands and watchover the docks,slums and city. He whispers “Too many things happend in there , too many nice and too many sad things.. Yes it was best to leave.” Then he nods towards the Captain and the small ship makes it way to teh front of the small fleet and they move out.

Ahns later he sits down with the Captain and with a large map between them on the table , they are discussing where to go . “What would be a suitable place for a Magistrate who left a City because he found that he had no choice for his own honor, believes and way of doing things.”He asks the Captain. The Captain looks at the map and search into his memories then he speaks “Cos , Sir. Cos .. I heard good things about it. You will fit perfectly Sir.” The Magistrate looks at him “Cos… Telnus .. Yes. I saw recomandations from friends. We go there Captain. “ The order is given and soon the whole small fleet moves towards the Isle of Cos.

When the small fleet reaches a small unknown isle near Cos they disembark all and the Magistrate claims it as his personal isle to live on. Then he gives the orders to build a house for him and his sister and all that is needed to support the isle on its own. After that he moves to the small ship and enters it. With the orders given the small ship sails towards Telnus where in the harbour it embarks it cargo of passengers. A few days later the Magistrate stands at the docks, his hands at his back looking over the harbour towards the sea when the sun goes down. He smiles and whispers “I am home”

Dusk… The Docks of Telnus.

Homeless and Lost ……

The darkskinned stepped back Chief Magistrate looks at his old City from a distance. He Lost all becasue of his own principles and believes. And old song from the old planet of earth goes trough his mind…

Just because I’m losing
Doesn’t mean I’m lost
Doesn’t mean I’ll stop
Doesn’t mean I’m in a cross

Just because I’m hurting
Doesn’t mean I’m hurt
Doesn’t mean I didn’t get what I deserve
No better and no worse

I just got lost
Every river that I’ve tried to cross
And every door I ever tried was locked
Ooh-Oh, And I’m just waiting till the shine wears off…

You might be a big fish
In a little pond
Doesn’t mean you’ve won
‘Cause along may come
A bigger one

And you’ll be lost
Every river that you try to cross
Every gun you ever held went off
Ooh-Oh, And I’m just waiting till the firing stops
Ooh-Oh, And I’m just waiting till the shine wears off

Lost and Found

Vylixan has returned to his office tired and sad and also happy. He walks to his private servery and grabs some water. Then he sits back behind his desk, takes his diary and starts to write…

What should I say; I don’t have much luck with slaves and female personal it seems. The Magistrate that the Lady Physician requested me to take under my wings is gone. I knew she had some back-story but I did not know it was that bad. After a few days just before we could make the plan final to visit other cities to see their law system, I received a sealed scroll.

The scroll stated that the holder of the note is going to be responsible for the Lady Magistrate to teach her a few lessons. Normally I would put aside such a note and just laugh about it, but not this time as it was written by the person who put her under my wings in the first place. I could not refuse such a written and sealed request. I had to release myself as her protector and let her be taken away by the man who had the note.

Again I lost a Magistrate who could have helped me with my work. Again I felt lost as again there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. The Priest Kings must be having some reason to torture my soul every time I take a step forwards.

He stops writing, drinks some water and stares outside the window. He stands there for some time and then he continues to write

Well that was one thing. The other thing that happened a few days after that, was an event that was not good but was needed in some way. While standing on the bridge mumbling about my lost Magistrate, my dear sister in law showed more or less that it was my fault that she was gone now. As she loves to pick on me all the time and always balance just on the edge without going over it. I could not stand it any longer

When lots of events are happening and can’t blow of steam then it only takes a little push to let it explode and that happened. At that moment I just wanted to get rid of them all. Just to be alone and find piece. Only I oversaw the fact that my intended is stronger that it seemed she was. She ran off and took the first ship out of town. My sister in law was of course very angry and her Father too. When I heard she left I still felt something inside me that wanted her back

I had to find out where she went. What she did not know was that a lot of captains report runaways to the Magistrate of a City. That is me in this case. I used up a lot of favors and spend a lot of coins to gain the information of where she was. And a day ago I finally receive the info I was waiting for. She was still on a ship docked in the harbor. The crew had left and would return the next day.

It had a very fast sailing ship laying in the harbor and when I boarded it , we sailed quickly towards the harbor where she would be. There the ship was waiting till I would have returned, alone or with company

He looks around in his office, he loves it. He thinks back at the dark ship he went on not sure what to find.. Then he returns to his writings.

I entered the ship that should have her somewhere. And searched it all, the ship was abandoned. The only place I did not look was the Captains Cabin. I could hear that some one was inside. Instead of smashing the door I decided just to knock on it. A voice whispered to enter and I recognized the voice as it was hers.

This time I did smash the door and entered the room with my sword drawn only to find it empty except the Lady I searched for. I only gave her one option. I tossed a coin and said “head or tail” she made her choice as she had gambled that I would go after her and find her before any one else would. I brought her back home where we talked. She will not run away anymore. As she knows now what she already knew in her heart, I do love her.

He lays down the quill and closes the diary.  He opens the draw and looks at a nice shiny piece of metal with a lock. He smiles as he knows that it can stay in the draw as a reminder to women who tries to be renegade runaways. He empties his mug with water and stands up. It is time to go home as she is waiting for him there.