Black Arrow Lord Ch. 02

Jans said nothing but he nodded. Valdemar looked at the ceiling for a moment. He thought of the small roll of tools which Cor had insisted that he take along and this time he lifted Jans right off the floor.

"Go and bring the guns that you bought from Cor here, you idiot. We have to make sure that what we offer will work. If they have doubts now, don't you think they'll want to try them -- right in front of us this time?

Go and get them!"

While Jans struggled to carry the rolled up mats of wicker which contained the guns to the house one at a time -- and each weapon weighed ten pounds, Valdemar considered the boy for a moment. There was something a little different about him and thinking about it now took up a lot of the man's thoughts.

He looked like the other people here -- for the most part, but when Valdemar thought about it, the faces that he'd seen around here were the slightest bit different from what he'd seen around him where they'd landed. They were just a little bit more angular where he saw none of that here in this one. But then, he told himself, he didn't know very much at all and the boy was still growing, he guessed. Maybe he'd look like the others one day soon.

The boy looked to have settled down to some extent, but he still appeared to be at least uncomfortable in the large man's presence and Valdemar wondered what these people must say to each other about his kind.

He also wondered about a few other things, so he smiled and said in Dutch, "Don't worry; my people do not eat other people -- if that is your worry."

The boy continued to look at him blankly after that and then Valdemar had a strange notion come to him.

He made no motion, but he looked past the lad and then said in English quietly, "There is a large demon behind you."

The boy whipped his head around to look and then he knew that he'd been found out. He also realized that he now had a problem. The large guest knew that he understood English.

When he turned back, he saw Valdemar unrolling the tools to set them out before him. He was looking down and not at the boy.

"So you understand at least one of the Gaijin tongues," he said quietly.

"Hai," the boy nodded quietly in a whisper.

"Dutch as well?" Valdemar asked and the boy nodded once silently.

"Keep the secret for at least a while, then," the barbarian said, looking up just a little, "I have nothing to fear from it."

Jans was at the door and Veldemar let him in, "Ask the boy if we are to be given food or whether we are to cook and eat our own."

Jans relayed the question and the boy nodded and left. Valdemar went out to bring in his own batch of the guns. When the boy returned twenty minutes later with a woman, both of them carrying a few pots, they found Jans sitting in the corner holding a wet rag to his eye.

Valdemar was using a candle to peer at the manufacture dates of the weapons. He found a few which had none but in each case, he ran his thumb over the triggerguard of each piece as he held it to look for the number, the motion unnoticed by the other man.

Satisfied, Valdemar rolled up his rifles and laid the heavy bundles aside. "If it weren't winter here," he said, "I'd make you sleep with the goats. What the headman said about you is correct. If you ever try to pull a switch on me again, I'll kill you myself.

This isn't a game Jans. It's not my fault that you're a greedy, cheating little prick. Find your own way out of the pit you've dug."

They ate their meals at opposite sides of the room, the boy remaining behind looking from one to the other. Finally, Jans spoke to the boy, who nodded and then left.

He returned with the gruff man a few minutes later, and the man did not appear to be very pleased to have been summoned to deal with the troubles of the foreigners. Jans spoke to him and the man's mood seemed to improve. He walked away.

Valdemar asked what was said and Jans only shook his head, refusing to speak. Valdemar snorted and ignored him after that before lying down to sleep.

The boy didn't know what to do then and he sat and waited, wondering what would come out of this.

He couldn't say why, but he found that he liked the one who'd said that he was a daimyo from another land. He must be wise to have found him out -- even though he looked so young. The other man paid him little attention unless he wanted something.

After a time, Valdemar got up and put on his outer coat to step to the door.

"Where are you going?" Jans demanded.

"Fuck yourself, Jans," the other replied, "I don't need permission from you to have a piss. And don't touch my guns."

When the door had closed behind him, the boy grabbed his coat to follow and Jans wanted to know where he was going as well.

"He cannot walk anywhere outside," the boy replied in Japanese, "Oda-san will have him killed. I bring him back."

Behind a nearby tree, the boy caught up with Valdemar and whispered to him, "He told Oda-san to say to Lord Maeda that you are a bad man. You cheat."

Valdemar asked the boy if in this place -- right where he stood -- it was allowed to make water. The boy was a little surprised, but he nodded and Valdemar began as the boy turned away.

"Thank you for telling me. It changes nothing."

The boy leaned in a little to prevent them from being overheard, "You cheat? You bad man?"

"Bad man?" Valdemar smirked, "I do not know, but cheat?"

He looked over and smiled, "No. If I wanted to cheat anyone, I would not have come so far to do that."

The boy thought about it and Valdemar asked him his name. The kid seemed surprised, but he answered, "Kōichi."

Valdemar tried it and asked if he had it right. The boy nodded.

"Why did you come then?" he asked.

Valdemar thought about it for a moment and then he smiled, "I came to meet people like you, Kōichi-san. I am growing tired of certain Dutchmen. Not all, but a few."

Kōichi tried to say Valdemar's name, but the blonde man smiled after the third try. "Just call me the Dane or even Dane if it makes it easier."

"Why?" the boy asked and Valdemar shrugged, "It is what I am. My kind of people are called Danes by others."

They walked back to the house together and Valdemar made himself a little comfortable and closed his eyes. But he didn't sleep. Kōichi left them.

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In the morning, the two men were summoned and berated a little by the man called Oda with Kōichi translating. After that, Valdemar was told to remain and Oda led Jans away, while Kōichi remained with Valdemar.

Valdemar looked around at the surrounding winter countryside for a few minutes until he saw a young doe poking her nose out from under the snow-laden trees of the forest a distance away.

"Kōichi-san," Valdemar began, "Can you see that deer over there?"

He pointed and the boy looked for a moment and nodded.

"Who owns her?"

"The daimyo," the boy replied, "Why would you wish to know, Dane -san?"

"Because I like to hunt, I guess.

How is it that you speak English and Dutch?"

"My father taught me," the boy replied, "The Dutch have a place like a town for them in the south, near Nagasaki. Important people go there to learn many things. The Dutch teach if they are important enough and bring gold. My mother learned to speak Dutch there.

My father came from the sea. A ship was smashed on the shore in a storm. Almost all of the men were dead or gone in the water. Three lived. My father was one. People brought the men to their daimyo and he killed one. My father was sent to the Dutch town, and he met my mother. He stayed there and Mother stayed with him. He taught me to speak English as I grew. He was from there. The Dutch killed him.

The other man took a serving woman as his wife and her daughter is Aiki-san. There was trouble one night over something -- I was very small and did not know what it was about, but the woman and the other English man were killed by some drunken ronin. Ronin are Samurai who have lost their lords and their wealth. Aiki-san was taken in by my mother and Hoshino-san."

"How old were you then?" Valdemar asked and Kōichi answered ten.

"My mother had no place to go, but her cousin is the Lady Hoshino. They were friends when they were young girls. Lady Hoshino is Lord Maeda's, ... I do not now the word."

"Wife?" Valdemar suggested, but Kōichi shook his head, "Like wife but not wife. Maeda-san is not married. Hoshino-san came here to be with Lord Maeda and she brought my mother as her servant to be free from the court at Edo and also from people at Nagasaki. Mother brought me and Aiki-san."

Valdemar nodded then, a lot of his questions answered -- including the reason that the boy spoke with a bit of an English accent on top of the one which his mother tongue added to the mix.

"Dane-san?" the boy began, "Forgive me, but, ... Can I ask you things?"

Valdemar nodded, "Certainly."

"Why is your hair so long?"

The Dane considered for a moment, "Because I have not cut it, I guess. I saw no need, and there was no one to force me to. Seeing as I have come to find myself here in winter, I am very glad of it now."

"How did you get so, ... big?" The boy asked next.

Valdemar smiled and shrugged, "I just did."

The remark caused Kōichi to smile a little himself then and he acknowledged to himself that he was coming to like the large daimyo very much. He knew that a lot of it was his fascination with the man, which had begun as his fear of him faded, but it also had something to do with the Dane's seeming to try to find something likable in everyone. He looked up and found the man smiling at him and he asked what he'd done to cause it.

"I find that I just like you," Valdemar said, "and I can't seem to help it. I am probably as curious about you as you seem to be about me -- only I am a man who must force himself to say the things which come out of you rather easily. I like that as well."

Kōichi didn't really know what to say to that. "I am sorry if I have said anything wrong."

It caused Valdemar to chuckle, "You haven't. You only seem to have trouble accepting something which is said to you without the barking which seems to be Oda-san's only manner of speaking to anyone."

That remark caused Kōichi to even laugh a little, though in a restrained and quiet way which the Dane interpreted as his trying to catch himself, like trying to call a horse back after the gate had been left open a little. He found that he liked to see that on him very much.

Valdemar wondered at himself just a little. His companion seemed to be a little wise beyond his years -- far more than he'd have managed to be at his age, the Dane thought. He also liked the way that Kōichi had of looking thoughtful as he considered something.

Often, if he seemed to be unsure -- or perhaps a little more unsure than he usually seemed to be, he looked down as perhaps anyone might, but he did it in a way which brought some of his long hair forward. The action looked to Valdemar as though the boy sought to hide behind his hair just a little. Most of that hair was tied back, and in a western way, it caused him to look a little like a girl, though here, it had no such connotation.

He guessed that Kōichi was not of the warrior class, since it was a little obvious, and that prevented him from tying his hair into a topknot -- which was fine with him. He liked this way better on him anyway. He knew that he'd have a great deal of trouble if the boy tried to speak to him the way that the headman did.

He'd probably laugh in the face of anyone this young who did.

Valdemar knew that anything that he said -- anything which they talked about -- stood a good chance of being repeated to the lord of this place, so he bore that in mind -- just as he also bore in mind that the boy seemed to have a well-hidden, though earnest want in him to get to know his large responsibility, as the Dane now acknowledged that he must have become. They spoke of all sorts of things for the next while.

"Are all of the people where you come from as large as you are?"

Valdemar knew that he might have been able to capitalize on this opportunity, but he decided to be honest. "No," he said, "Though there are a few who are larger than me, most are not my size."

Jans was gone with Oda for about an hour. When Oda returned, he summoned Valdemar, and it was plain that he instructed the boy to come along as well. He turned and walked off, wearing sandals on wooden blocks as he strode along the snow-covered path. Valdemar followed with Kōichi following him.

There was a small collection of others there, but Maeda knelt at the head of things. Lord Maeda looked to be a very fit and strong -- and proud man of about forty or so who wore his hair just as Cor had spoken of, just the same way that Valdemar wore his own hair.

Valdemar was shown a place to kneel at the other end. As he took his place, Valdemar was keenly aware that he was under the collective gaze of the assembly.

He noticed not long after that Jans was not there.

Kōichi was called by the lord and told to stand next to him. After a moment of silence, Lord Maeda spoke to the boy in Japanese for a moment.

Kōichi turned to Valdemar and said, "Lord Maeda-san has noticed that you have strange bows among your possessions. He wishes to know why a trader of rifles would have such things. He says that it shows that you have no faith in what you sell."

Valdemar shook his head a little, "It might also show that some men see the need and value of rifles, and yet know of the old ways and keep to them where it feels better to do that. The best and fastest rifleman might be able to shoot three times in a minute, reloading quickly. But if a fast second shot is desired -- such as when one hunts as an example, then a bow might work better. Also, I believe that to use a bow to hunt with requires better ability to stalk the game."

Maeda listened to the translation and nodded at the end in a grudging way.

"Lord Maeda-san agrees," Kōichi translated afterward. "He also asks whether he might be allowed to examine your bow. He sees that it is different from what is used here."

Valdemar nodded, looking at Maeda but speaking in English to Kōichi, "Of course. I had imagined that Lord Maeda-san might be one who understands the need to retain the older things before the way of them is lost. I would feel honored if he wishes to examine it. There are arrows there as well. A few should be brought with my bow. He might wish to try it."

The daimyo heard this and smiled, giving instructions to a servant to bring the bow and some of Valemar's arrows. After the servant left, Maeda turned to look at Valdemar and he spoke to the boy again. Kōichi looked a little ashamed.

"Lord Maeda-san sees that you have learned that I can speak your language. He wishes to know your thoughts of this."

Valdemar shrugged, "Sometimes, it is desirable to learn what one can beforehand. I assumed that something such as this might happen. I do not care either way, though I find that Kōichi-san is a good servant as well and I am in his debt for this. It makes things much easier for me with him near me."

Valdemar looked at the boy then, "And please tell him that you do not speak my language -- unless you also understand Danish. Jans does not, though I have learned a great deal of Dutch lately."

The information surprised the daimyo. "The other trader has said that you are his countryman. He said that you are not a daimyo and that you cannot be trusted."

Valdemar laughed a little when he heard it, "Well he lied. I am no more Dutch than you are.

I only have a working partnership with our head merchant who is Dutch. I have no partnership with Jans at all. I only traveled with him to learn the route and the customer. As far as whether I am a lord, I leave it up to lord Maeda-san to determine, for I did not expect to be have the need to answer such a thing.

I am a lord with no land anymore. If I had known that it would cause problems, I still would have said the same thing. I am what I am. I cannot change this."

"Lord Maeda-san says that you told me that you do not know if you are a bad man. He wishes to know of this and how it could be."

Valdemar thought this was getting a little personal for his taste, but he also recognized that there was likely a good chance that his life hung in Maeda's balance at the moment, so he said, "The land where I come from is no longer ruled by daimyo -- as your lord understands the word. I belong to part of an old and noble family which has fallen on hard times."

He waited as this was translated and then he continued, "I traveled once on a ship with some countrymen of mine and we landed in England, if the lord knows of it. I was attacked by many men when I was alone. When I woke up, I was on one of their ships and had to work for them for nothing other than food and a place to sleep."

He waited and watched as Maeda's eyes widened at that. "If something like that happened to him, lord Maeda-san says that there would be war on his return to his home."

Valdemar shrugged, "I have not been home yet, and also, the English have far more ships and the rulers of the Danes do not seek war as readily as they once did.

It happened not long after that I did not understand what was commanded of me. When I asked, I was punished, so if the lord tries for a moment to put himself in my place, then I would ask him what he would do to that man when he saw the chance."

"Lord Maeda-san says that it would depend on what was done."

Valdemar nodded and pulled his shirt off over his head. There were a few gasps around the room and he caught Kōichi's astonished look before he stood up and turned around, holding his hair aside.

After a stunned silence, Kōichi said that Maeda had said that he would kill the man as soon as he had a chance.

Valdemar nodded as he turned back again, "Tell him that I beat that man with my fists until he was dead.

Ask him if he thinks that I am a bad man for this."

He waited as it was translated and then Kōichi said, "Maeda-san sees nothing bad in what you did. He says that you have earned some of his respect for it. But he sees a problem."

Maeda gave a signal to another servant with his hand and the man lifted some sheets of coarse cloth, revealing the two lots of rifles which the Europeans had brought to sell. Even from a slight distance it was plain that one lot was superior to the other. Valdemar walked over as he pulled his shirt back on.

He pointed, "That lot is mine. The other is Jans'."

"That is the opposite of what the other trader said."

Valdemar nodded, not at all surprised, and he drew out a piece of paper. "Most of my rifles have numbers on them. It serves something like a person's name. All of the numbers are here, and it shows the date when I got them. Jans does not know that I brought this with me.

Not every one has a number, but every one bears the mark of a proofing house because my weapons are English-made. For you, I chose English-made guns and beside the quality, I had another reason, and that is out of wanting your men to have a little more safety if they are not used to firearms of this nature.

Fighting an enemy is difficult enough sometimes. A warrior should not have to hold the thought in his mind that his own weapon might kill him."

"Jans said that this mark was the maker's mark."

"Jans wouldn't know anything of it, "Valdemar said, "He is Dutch and the mark relates to English law. I might not have wanted to be there, but I was in the English Navy against my will and I learned a few things.

It is against English law to sell a rifle or a musket unless it has been proofed by a known proofing house. Some of the houses also make guns, but many do not. A proven weapon will bear the mark of the proofing house on it by law, regardless of who the maker was.