Besides having several pairs of women's shoes and some other clothing, the Mage had almost nothing else in his cabin. The scrolls he had on him were the extent of his possessions. There were no secret stashes or anything, which meant he was here with no resources. No mage was that stupid. They always had something on them... and then I remembered how the Eastern Empire treated their troops before going into battle. Horribly.

I hid my sigh of disappointment. I had hoped for some potion ingredients, maybe an enchanting tool or two, or even a spell book or something. Instead, I had three scrolls with spells that I couldn't use. They were chants and used the wrong method for casting magic. The immolation potions were only good for lighting an area on fire, too.

“Sir, we've checked everything, right down to the deck boards, and there's nothing of value besides the old cannons we've already stripped from the deck and the beds and things from the cabins.” One of the crewmen said through the open door of the Mage's cabin I was in.

“Either these people already dropped off their expensive items or they didn't have any in the first place.” I said and stood. I was four inches taller, thanks to the new shoes, and the man had to look up at my face. “Gather the slaves up and strip the sails. Harvest any good ropes and any food stores that are edible.”

“Yessir. I'll spread the word.”

“Any sails not good enough, bundle onto the deck and have the slaves gather the bodies to add on top of them.”

The crewman smiled and jogged away.

I took a tentative step and realized that having to keep my center of balance above my feet and keeping my back straight at the same time, was weird for me. I was so used to being ready to fight and tackle with a lower center of gravity that it was throwing off my automatic reactions. I would have to train for a while to get used to this new stance and attempt to adapt my abilities for my new reality.

It sure was a heck of a lot easier to walk, though. I clack-clacked across the floor to the doorway and the young woman slave waited there and had a smile on her face.

“You're doing very well after only an hour of practice, Master.” She said, proudly.

I didn't bother correcting her address, because she was one of the slaves that had already been too broken by her treatment to accept being anything else except a slave. I had asked her how old she was and she said 'old enough' before she blushed and ducked her head. I did not ask the follow up question to discover if anyone else had asked her that and took advantage of her. I doubted that she would want to remember it if they did.

I walked by her and she took up a position directly behind me and to the right, the primary slave position, and I let her. She was the first to help me in my new sea life, besides the older woman slave that had taken care of me when I first became a slave. She wasn't my personal slave, though.

I stepped out of the ship and onto the top deck and nodded. The men and slaves had worked together with the rescued slaves and my orders were being carried out with efficiency. It was almost like the slaves were eager to be rid of their old masters. I smiled, because I was of a similar mindset. It took them fifteen minutes before they had the bodies stripped and piled onto several worn sails that wouldn't last long.

“Retreat to the ship.” I said and everyone hopped across to the deck of the pirate ship and I walked over with my slave right behind me. I turned and looked at the deck of the enemy ship. “Enjoy the depths, you bastards.” I said and tossed the immolation potion at the pile of bodies on the sails.

The vial smashed open, as it was designed to, and the whole thing was instantly covered in bright orange fire. It quickly spread to the dry deck and moved as if alive as it went to the masts and crawled up them as if eager for more air.

“Cut it loose.” I ordered and the hooks and ropes holding our ships together were removed and poles were used to push us and the ship apart. “Take us away from here.”

“Yessir!” The crewmen and slaves said and deployed several sails to catch the breeze and we slowly moved away from the well-burning ship.

“I doubt that thing has seen a good storm, it's so dry.” One of the crewmen said as the flames surged over the sides of the ship and started burning the hull. “I've never seen a ship go up so quickly!”

I held up another immolation potion and smiled. “Maybe two more.”

“HA!” The crewman barked and secured the tie for the sail he was deploying and walked off to make sure that the others were secured.

“They like you.” My slave whispered and then gasped. “I'm sorry!”

I turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder, only to see and feel her flinch from my touch. “Slave rules are relaxed when not in mixed company.”

She looked at my face and slowly nodded.

“We'll be spending a lot of time together, so get used to speaking when you want to.” I said and let her shoulder go. “And yes, they like that I'm as ruthless as them and not as restrictive as the old captain.”

“What happened to him?” She asked.

“He pissed me off and I decapitated him with his own sword.” I said and pat the sword on my hip.

She gasped and covered her mouth with a hand, then her eyes seemed to glaze a little as she smiled. “I knew you were the perfect choice as a Master.”

I almost sighed as her conditioning kicked in and she praised me for being a good master for her. “Don't worry, we'll work on it.”

“On what, Master?” She asked.

“The unwavering devotion you have for me, even though we just met.” I said.

“But, you deserve it. You rescued us from the bad masters before they could... before they...” Her face flushed red and she ducked her head.

I knew she wouldn't want to remember anything like that. I thought and touched her shoulder again. I was glad that she only flinched a little. “If anyone tries that on you, I'll flay them alive and let you remove their manhood to shove down their throat.”

My slave blinked her eyes as she stood there, stunned at my words.

“This is a working man's ship. We do have slaves; but, they still have to agree to things like that.” I said and pointed to the man in charge of jobs. “Jensen likes Molly and they came to me to approve of their coupling.”

“You... oh, my.” My slave whispered and blushed deeply. “Molly wouldn't even look at the men on the other ship.”

“This crew treated the ship's slaves as slave workers and nothing more. The captain was the one that made any females they acquired do things for him. After he broke them mentally, they were of no more use to him and they were disposed of.”

“No!” She exclaimed and then covered her mouth again. “I'm sorry!”

“It's all right. You'll learn to not react like that eventually.” I said and let her shoulder go. “For now, I suspect the other five crewmen will be paying attention to the other women they rescued, now that Jensen's taken a woman to his bed.”

“Will he discard her, too?” My slave asked.

“No. If they aren't compatible, they will split and go their separate ways. No one should be angry about it if it happens.” I said. “Like normal people.”

“We... we're normal people?” She asked in a whisper.

“Just because we used to be slaves, it doesn't mean we're not normal.” I said and she looked surprised. “Come on. I need to tour the deck and then bring the slaves to their new quarters.”

My slave nodded and followed me as I click-clacked across the wooden deck. Slaves and crewmen turned to look at me walking normally, or rather walking without hobbling, and didn't comment about me wearing women's shoes. At least they were black and didn't stand out from the pants I had acquired from the Mage's possessions. I would need to find a nice pair of boots like Helen wore when we eventually reached port, just to give me a bit more stability than these flimsy shoes did.

I checked everything and the new sails were already being put up to replace our own worn sails. The ropes we gained were also a better quality than we were used to and the crewmen were almost giddy with happiness as they ran them for the main sail and replaced the older ropes. They were still good, so they were stored for use on the smaller sails that were under less strain.

I complimented them for their fine work and then led the remaining slaves down into the hold to where I used to stay. The slave hold was much different now. It was clean and had bunks along the sides of the walls for them to sleep on. There were tables and chairs as well.

“The door is never closed. I would have removed it entirely, except if we are ever damaged in this section, we need it to block any flooding water and to keep the ship afloat.” I explained and the slaves stared at me like I was speaking another language. “Actual food will be served twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If anyone has cooking experience, let me know. I need some help in the galley to make food for so many people.”

“YOU COOK?!?” A slave woman yelled, her shock too evident to conceal. She let out a squeak of horror and covered her face to wait for the beating.

“I do cook and quite well. I used to be able to control multiple pots on the heat before I lost more fingers and all of my toes. I physically can't move like I used to. Not yet, at least. I'm working on it.”

The slaves kept staring at me for not beating the errant slave.

“There are no beatings for speaking out of turn.” I told them, which shocked them. “Pick a bed to sleep in and try to relax. Baths will be provided soon and you can all get cleaned up as well as get new clothes.”

“Who... who are you?” A slave man's voice tentatively asked.

“I'm the Marsh Man.” I said and turned away to leave.

“He's Lord Drake of Drake's Marsh, the largest land mass in the Gulf Kingdom!” My slave said, her voice full of pride.

All of the slaves gasped at her declaration and seemed to lose strength as they collapsed on chairs, beds, and a few went to the floor.

“It's not true.” “It can't be.” Several of them whispered at the same time.

I left the slave hold and went to the designated bath room I had made. It was just a huge wooden tub that had a rope and pulley near a port hole that opened. I quickly used it to bring up the bucket and pulled it through the port hole and dumped it into the tub. I soon had it full and dipped my hand into it.

I used the Cleaning and Lathering spells I had learned from my maid Tabitha to make it bubble and then used the Heating spell for several minutes to make the water hot. I even used the Sweep spell to gather as much salt from the bottom of the tub to dump it back out through the port hole.

“When was the last time you had a bath?” I asked my slave and she looked ashamed. “Never mind. Please strip and enter the bath. I will bathe you and show you how to do it properly.”

She nodded and easily lifted the large tunic over her head to reveal that she was thinner than I assumed she was and her breasts hadn't quite developed properly, because of her near starved state. Her hands covered them and she blushed.

“It's all right. When we get some of the supplies I need, I can fix those for you.” I said and her eyes widened. “I know the best healer and I can brew my own healing potions.”

She took a breath and let it out, then stopped covering her breasts. She entered the tub with my help, as if she was a lady, and she sat down with more grace than a slave should have had. I suspected that she was a child when kidnapped and her parents never paid the ransom, knowing they weren't getting her back even if they did.

I took my time and used the Lather spell on my hands and I carefully scrubbed her all over. Her face was bright red as I touched her tender places and her eyes were locked onto my face the whole time. I suspected she was expecting to see lust or enjoyment on my face. I didn't tell her that I had the best blank face in the world, because I had hidden behind it often enough while growing up with the Hag.

“You're clean.” I said and stood up to grab a towel for her.

“M-Master.” She whispered and caught my hand. “Why? Why didn't you...”

“I'm betrothed and I will never take advantage of you.” I said and gave her a reassuring smile. “You never have to worry around me.”

She gave me a smile back and nodded. “Please call me Hanna.”

I opened my mouth to ask what her real name was, then decided her conditioning was too deep for her to fight against, much like my own was with the Hag. I still used her lessons nearly every day.

“I would be honored to call you Hanna, dear lady.” I said and took her hand to kiss the back of it and not the fingers. She blushed furiously at the attention and completely forgot the fact that I had just felt her body all over and she hadn't blushed nearly as hard.

I helped her step out of the tub and then dried her off, then gave her new pants and tunic to wear. There were tons of them in the ship's storage, for some reason, because they never gave them out. It was a stupid practice to make slaves wallow in their own filth and not keep them clean and healthy. A happy slave was a slave that would do anything for you. I knew that from personal experience.

“Would you like to learn how to cook?” I asked.

“YES!” Hanna exclaimed, slapped her hands over her mouth, and mumbled. “I'm sorry!”

I couldn't stop my laugh and moved her hands out of the way. “Do not do that with a knife in your hand.”

Hanna's eyes widened at the implication.

I nodded. “Now you know why I'm trying to get you to stop doing that. Anything in your hand at the time will be in your face if you keep reacting like that.”

Hanna nodded several times and I led her across the room to the door. We stepped out and a crewman and a slave were there cleaning the floors.

“Any requests for supper tonight, gentlemen?” I asked.

“The seaside special!” Both the slave and the crewman said at the same time, then they both laughed.

“Coming right up.” I joked right back, which made them laugh more. “Tell the new slaves the bath is ready. Pile their old clothes in the corner and the new clothes are in the cupboard.”

“Yessir!” The slave said and pat the crewman on the shoulder, and ran down the hallway to let the slaves know.

I took Hanna to the galley and started to cook for a ship that was nearly completely full of people.