British hegemon

Chapter 105: Staying for a period of time

Chapter 105 Staying for a period of time

What is the Hanseatic League?

"Um...it seems to be a merchant group, the Great Merchants."

After listening to the question, the thin, yellow "translator" asked the two men in French and another language Roger didn't know, Danish. Both men shook their heads. The "translator" then ran back to the pirates and pulled out a skinny little guy. After muttering for a while, the guy also shook his head.

The "translator" shook his head helplessly and replied apologetically to Roger, "I'm really sorry, none of our people have ever heard of this."

Could you please describe it in more detail?

Roger shook his head, thinking to himself that he had only heard bits and pieces of information and was not sure where to describe it in detail. "Never mind, maybe I remembered it wrong."

"Have you ever seen a large merchant fleet?" Roger persisted.

Just as the "translator" was about to translate, a rude, loud voice came from among the pirates, "You bunch of bastards, are you planning to waste a whole day with them for three silver pennies? Get back here now!"

The one speaking was the drunkard who had spewed thick phlegm yesterday; he was clearly the leader of these guys in front of him.

Olaf glanced at Roger, and Roger nodded.

"Alright, guys, you can go back now."

"9

The "translator" nodded to Roger and Olaf in greeting, wrapped his thin winter coat tighter around himself, and got up to leave.

"Buddy, how many languages ​​do you speak?" Roger tugged at the corner of the "translator's" coat.

The "translator" paused, turned around, and replied, "I don't know either, but I've been to many places, a lot, so there must be quite a few."

"Are you a Gypsy?"

Clearly, the other person didn't know what a Gypsy was, and shook his head, saying, "I'm Hungarian."

"Talent," Roger thought to himself, and asked directly, "Hey buddy, want to join my team? Food and lodging provided, one and a half pennies a day, no delays."

The other person seemed surprised and hesitant at the sudden question. Roger quickly released his grip, saying, "You don't need to answer right away. I still have to stay here for a while. You have plenty of time to think it over."

After the "translator" and his companions left, Roger ignored the remaining pirates. Since Olaf had already said that those pirates were not worth recruiting, Roger gave up on the idea.

Roger's uncle Jeffrey had not returned for a long time, so Roger stayed on the rocky island for a day. During that time, he let the crew members on the Seawolf, including Ponytail, take a break, while Roger himself went into the island's warehouse for a thorough tour.

The warehouse mainly contained grains such as wheat, barley, and oats; textiles such as wool, flax, and felt; and nitrates.

Raw materials for production such as alum and madder, as well as bulk commodities such as fur, beeswax, timber and salted fish.

Of course, there were also small quantities of wine and silverware from the southern continent, and even spices and silk from Venice and Genoa.

Luxury items such as carpets can also be found.

Jeffrey's willingness to store these valuable goods on a remote island demonstrates his ability to deter those with ill intentions.

In the afternoon, Roger had nothing to do, so he borrowed a few fishing rods from the old man guarding the island and led the young horse herder and the weak boy to a reef to go sea fishing. They didn't catch many fish, but they enjoyed the sun comfortably all afternoon, which was a rare luxury in the cold winter.

During the rest period, the fishermen and sailors on the Sea Wolf also went back to their old ways. They didn't collect much seafood in the morning, so in the afternoon they borrowed the old man's fishing nets and small fishing boats and sailed to the inner bay to cast their nets and catch fish.

That evening, a large pot of seafood stew, freshly baked bread, and cheap beer were served, and everyone ate heartily. After arranging the shifts for guard duty, Roger also joined the group in a hearty drink, relieving the fatigue of the past few days at sea...

Roger drank heartily all night, and even the low-alcohol beer made him slightly tipsy. When he woke up, the cold winter rain was falling outside the hut.

Roger cursed the damn weather, threw off the damp, heavy blanket, and quickly got up, put on his armor, and hung up his weapons.

As Roger pushed open the door, a blast of damp, cold air rushed in. He instinctively pulled up the collar of his cotton armor to keep out the cold wind.

Last night, it first snowed for a while, then turned into freezing rain. At this time, the sound of rain was heard everywhere on the rocky island, and the ground turned into puddles. The two tent areas were trampled into mud pits.

It was difficult to start a fire when it rained, so the pirates all huddled inside their tents. On their side, a few fishermen and sailors tried to rekindle the damp firewood with candles under the newly erected rain shelter, which produced a choking plume of smoke.

Sergeant Ma En emerged from the warehouse on the isolated island, carrying several tattered felt cloths in his hands.

Standing under the eaves next to Roger, he couldn't help but complain, "Damn this weather."

"Sir, I just went to see the old man and plan to rent a few more decent tents." Ma Ennu pointed to the ground. "Those tattered tents are usable in good weather, but last night they leaked everywhere, and the men got soaked for most of the night."

"There are only a few tents in the warehouse, so I found some tattered felt to see if I could patch up the leaks." As he spoke, Ma En looked up at the gloomy and oppressive sky and the distant horizon. "This awful weather won't get better in a day or two, so we need to prepare in advance."

By this time, the fishermen, whose candles had almost burned out, cursed and gave up their attempt to start a fire. They kicked the pile of firewood away and dejectedly squatted under the felt tent to take shelter from the rain.

"No need to patch the leaks. We're still scheduled to stay in Port Skylis for a while, and I don't want everyone to suffer in this awful weather."

"Go and call the old man. Tell him to take me to the port by boat. I need to find a new place for my men to rest, where they can find shelter from the wind and rain."

Maren agreed and returned to the warehouse where the old man lived.

In a two-story stone warehouse by the peninsula dock in the port of Skylis, Roger met the head steward who was supervising the movement of salt.

The salt that arrived in port the day before yesterday was completely sold out in less than two days, which shows that salt products from Arun Island are indeed selling very well.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, the butler informed Roger that Jeffrey had not yet returned and asked Roger to return to the manor to rest and wait.

The butler was perplexed when he learned that Roger wanted to take the crew of the Seawolf to a safe place in the port to rest.

Although Jeffrey's smuggling business was large, he was always very cautious. His illicit transactions were always conducted on the rocky island. If Roger hadn't been Jeffrey's nephew and the goods he was carrying hadn't been so valuable, the Seawolf wouldn't have been allowed to enter the port.

After all, this place is very close to Dublin, and occasionally greedy English customs officers will come to inspect it. Once those guys catch you red-handed, they will inevitably extort a lot of money from you, or even bring more serious consequences.

Seeing that the other party was hesitant, Roger suggested that he could spend money to rent a few houses in the port.

"Sir Roger, you should understand this isn't about money." After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up. "Sir Roger, how about this?"

The butler pointed eastward, "About a mile from here is a small island called St. Patrice. At the western end of the island are two small stone houses. During the shepherding and fishing season, fishermen and shepherds come to the island to stay temporarily. Below the stone houses is a sheltered headland where boats can be moored."

"There is no one on the island before spring. You can let your entourage stay there temporarily. Those stone houses were just repaired in the fall, so they will provide shelter from the wind and rain without any problem."

"In addition, I will arrange a small fishing boat for your entourage, so that they can take turns rowing to town for leisure."

Roger had no reason to refuse such thoughtful arrangements and thanked the butler with a smile.