Dewey Lambdin - A Jester’s Fortune

"But not take active part in those vessels' seizure, sir?" Alan quibbled. "Then we would end up paying Petracic his tribute. Share in the take, sir, at no risk to himself."

"Then he must move his newest European ships, and his galliot and dhow, down nearer us, sir," Charlton suggested, adamant for his plans. "Those may keep the sea for weeks at a time. Perhaps he covers Cattaro and Durazzo, whilst we cover Volona and Corfu. Closer to the straits, as you say. Then, what we chase but fail to capture, he gets a crack at inshore, from inbound ships. Likewise, what outbound ships full of timber exports which he fails to bag, we get our crack at. With the smallest of his boats forming our eyes and ears, where we daren't go."

"Uhm…" Lewrie pretended to gnaw a thumbnail and give it an honest ponder. "Where could we base them, then, sir? Palagruza is too far off, then. They're Eastern Orthodox Serbs, sir. There'd be a lot of trouble with the Albanians or Montenegrans. Autonomous from Turkish rule or not, sir, they're still Muslim. I'd imagine the hate our Serbs feel for Muslims is warmly reciprocated 'mongst the Albanians. Given a chance to butcher some Serb infidels, finally, the local Muslim governments would simply drool over the opportunity, sir. And there aren't any convenient islands where-"

"In for the penny, in for the pound, I fear, Lewrie," Charlton told him, with the first hint of frost to his voice as he sat up much straighter in his chair, prim as a parson in the parlour. "We've made our bargain… you still think it a bad bargain, I know. I'm not that fond of it myself, but needs must, as they say. We're spread too thin to be choosy over from which corner help comes. So far, we've kept up our end of the bargain… gotten Captain Petracic two new ships, given him gold, arms, artillery… a very subtle gesture on your part, when you turned that brig over entire to Captain Mlavic, by the way."

Oh Christ, is that what it was? Lewrie wished he could grouse. "… does not care to move south, nor care for any alterations in our methods of operating, then so be it," Charlton blathered on. "We let him go his own way, only modestly reinforced or strengthened, make with it what he will. And free those prisoners now held 'pon Palagruza… take 'em to Trieste, and caution the Austrian authorities to hold them incommunicado as long as possible. Thank God the people off that brig were all French, and not from one of the so-called neutrals, whom they must free at once. There's a chance it will all fall apart, soon as I put it to him."

"I see, sir," Lewrie said with a nod, trying to sound properly perkish and obedient.

"You are correct in one respect, Commander Lewrie," the senior officer told him with a brief, complimentary grin, "as regards Serbian impatience. Piratical impatience, rather. They're not a disciplined or trained flotilla… merely a pack of freebooters. And I suspect, sir," Charlton said, tapping the side of his nose sagaciously, "no matter how fevered or high-flown Captain Petracic's pompous boasting, our Serbian 'brethren of the coast' are not the all-conquering heroes. It may turn out that 'twill not be impatience which scotches the arrangement, but their fear of leaving well-known waters. And putting themselves in the lion's mouth, 'mongst hostile Muslims, where they don't know the territory. Or know of a convenient bolt-hole, should things go awry."

"As Captain Nelson says, sir… 'bold talkers do the least, we see'?" Lewrie chirped, feeling some hopeful twinges.

"It's all fine and good to boast and rage of vengeance for the 'Field of Black Birds'… aye, I see by your face, we've heard the same rant, chapter and verse, aha," Charlton mused. "But quite another to actually sail off and do something about it on unfamiliar grounds. My God, sir! Build a church and pass the bread and wine, the night before a major battle? I can see that they might have needed spiritual armouring. Then get seventy-seven thousand men slaughtered? Doubt they had that many, first off. Generals always multiply their successes. Or invent excuses for their failures. Might not have been over forty thousand, and outnumbered by the Turks two or three to one, to begin with. Like Roman legions were swarmed and massacred by the Huns, Goths, Vandals or Franks. Knowing how badly the Turks outnumbered them, they surely had need of Divine Services, hmm? In the 1300s.. still large cavalry armies, with knights and horses in plate-armour. The Turks on swift Arabs, the Serbs on Clydesdale-sized monsters. Like so many battles of the later Crusades, they hadn't much of a chance to start with. To lose an entire army, empire and sense of identity in one fell swoop, well…! I suspect the tales grew with the years, like the numbers."

"And they had to have an excuse to soothe the soul, sir?" Alan ventured, wondering all over again just where Charlton stood on their arrangement with the Serbs; was he wholehearted, or grasping at whichever straw might seem to hold him atop deep water?

"Something very much like that, sir," Charlton purred. "This Petracic fellow. Remarkable. Bone-headed wrong or not, one must concede he's a shrewd leader of men. They seem to adore him."

"As long as he produces the loot and a successful raid or two, sir?" Lewrie suggested, not wishing to grant the brute a bit of good credit.

"Goes beyond that, Lewrie," Charlton sighed. "Eastern religion is f mystical. So emotional, they make our Methodist 'leapers' look like Cromwell's Puritans. Something from the heart and soul, the very gizzard… from the toes up… and not so much the head, like us. Captain Petracic is more a holy warrior to his men, or so Leutnant Kolodzcy explains. Once he nosed about. Catholic Croats encroaching on Old Serbia, trying to turn emotional Serbs into logic-paring Jesuits, or baptising at the point of a sword. Muslims, well… Petracic was a priest, d'ye see. A minister of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Still is, I s'pose. He's the spiritual leader of his band, as well as being their fiercest warrior. Captain Mlavic, the other so-called officers, his under-captain aboard his galliot, would follow him anywhere."

"His… under-captain, sir?"

"Oh, some fellow named Djindjic… or howsoever one translates that into sounds." Charlton chuckled, attempting to spell it. "He's the real captain of the galliot. Petracic was a partisan fighter from the mountains first, and a priest or whatever at some shrine built by Stefan I… Milutin, perhaps. Memory's rather hazy. Too much to take in at one go."

"That or their plum brandy, I'd expect, sir." Lewrie grinned.

"Gad, yes, ain't it?" Charlton replied with a breathless look. "Church of… hmm. Ah! Church of the Virgin of Grachanitsa. As much a holy temple to the old Serbian emperors as it was to God, I gathered from a chat with Kolodzcy. He's shrewd and knacky, for not having any experience at sea. Well, not much, at any rate. It may be Petracic is shrewd enough to know when he's bitten off more than he may chew. And will renege on our bargain, with some profit gained with no effort. I equally expect him to get that radiant look on his phyz and rally the troops for a sail south. For a chance to bash some Albanian Muslims."

"But that's the holy war we were wary of starting, sir."

"Start, end… continue," Charlton dismissed. "It doesn't signify,

Lewrie. We'll know more once I've gone down to Palagruza and 'fronted him direct. And released Pylades to cover one of the ports you discovered, while I take another. With or without Petracic."

"You said he's a priest, sir," Lewrie countered. "A bit of a mystic. Might that go as far as hearin' voices, sir? Daft as bats… and seein' snakes and centipedes? Might he-"

"I'd imagine the plum-brandy's the culprit, anent the snakes and centipedes, Lewrie." Charlton laughed out loud once more. "Damme, sir! You've done my spirits no end of good. Admiral Jervis hinted you were a bit of a wag, too, sir. And, again, didn't speak the half of it. I find you one of the most energetic and aggressive Sea Officers ever I've met, Lewrie. As I will note in my appreciation of your recent voyage, once I've read your whole report. Which, should I ever speak a British ship, I will despatch to Admiral Jervis, instanter."