Recaps

Roger led the reluctant Bandit Suppression Army to a concealed cave south of Rocklanza Village, then went with Gray Rat to scout the pirate lair. The chapter left Roger watching the abandoned mill from nearby bushes, trying to count the pirates and assess their weapons.

• Roger sent Gray Rat and another young hooligan ahead to scout the route and wait at the ambush camp.
• Roger forced the men who tried to desert to continue marching, using threats and violence to keep the group together.
• The Bandit Suppression Army reached the cave before sunset, where Roger arranged food, rest, and guards.
• Roger and Gray Rat left the cave to reconnoiter the pirates, and Gray Rat reported that two lookouts watched the hill south of the mill.
• Roger led Gray Rat through the woods to bushes near the abandoned mill and began observing the pirates inside.

Ponytail infiltrated the pirates’ camp and tried to poison their meal, while Roger watched from hiding and prepared to lead his men against them. The chapter ended with Roger returning to the hidden camp to bring Baldhead and Blackhide Dog’s group toward the mill.

• Ponytail learned that the pirates planned to raid Whiting Bay the next morning and poison the camp’s water with liquid medicine.
• Ponytail added the poisoned water to the cooking pot and secretly treated cups as he set the pirates’ table.
• Two bandits beat Ponytail and smashed his vial, so he threw the green-soaked dirt into the meat broth instead.
• Roger confirmed Ponytail had infiltrated the camp, memorized the route to the mill, and returned to the hidden camp with Gray Rat.
• Baldhead and Blackhide Dog asked Roger about the pirates, and he led them inside to discuss the situation.

Roger briefed and organized his men for a nighttime attack on the mill, assigning groups to kill the pirates and archers to cover the exits. He led the Bandit Suppression Army toward the mill, where candlelight and laughter showed that the pirates were still inside.

• Roger told the gathered men that about fifteen pirates were at the mill, but only six or seven posed a serious threat, and promised them the loot if they won.
• Roger assigned Blackhide Dog and Gambling Addict to attack the left, Old Joey and three others to attack the right, and Black Charcoal with three men to attack the center.
• Roger ordered Baldhead and two hunters to guard outside with bows and crossbows, while Gray Rat was told to protect them with a club.
• Roger said they would leave the two pirates on Lu Jia's ship alone until the mill was secured, then take them out if the attack went smoothly.
• Roger led more than twenty men along a shepherd's trail to the thicket near the mill, where they heard laughter and saw candles lit inside.

The pirates’ feast erupted into a fight between the second-in-command and the third-in-command after a scout reported signs of an incoming attack. Ponytail accidentally exposed the mill in flames, then realized the pirates had been poisoned as the fighting left the leaders and many others dying or incapacitated.

• The second-in-command promised the pirates all the spoils from a raid on Whiting Bay and Milkhouse Manor, while the third-in-command objected to slaughtering civilians and challenged his authority.
• The second-in-command humiliated Ponytail and sent the old pirate lackey away, then ordered Ponytail beaten.
• A scout returned from Brodick and reported fresh tracks suggesting Baron John’s men were approaching the mill, prompting the third-in-command to draw his sword on the second-in-command.
• The pirates divided into factions and fought inside the mill while Ponytail fled; the old pirate lackey walked toward Mooring Cape as Roger and his warriors waited nearby.
• Ponytail set dry grass around the mill on fire, and the flames revealed poisoned pirates collapsing amid the battle.
• Ponytail recognized the poisoning and crawled under a table, where he found the scout hiding and learned they needed to stay quiet.

Roger led a sudden assault on the pirates’ mill after the planned signal failed, and his group quickly overwhelmed the remaining pirates. Blackhide Dog was badly wounded by a concealed attacker, so Roger left him in Fat Widow’s care and set off to seize the pirate ship.

• Roger rallied Blackhide Dog and several others to charge down from the mountainside toward the burning mill.
• Roger killed pirates at the entrance, and Fat Widow, Old Joey, Blackhide Dog, and Black Charcoal joined him in defeating the remaining fighters.
• The other armed men rushed in after the fighting began, and the group killed or subdued the pirates inside and around the mill.
• Roger discovered that a surviving pirate had stabbed Blackhide Dog, then treated the wound and ordered Fat Widow to keep pressure on it.
• Ponytail emerged from beneath a table with a lackey, while Roger assigned him to search the mill and took Baldhead, Old Joey, Black Charcoal, Gambling Addict, and Missing Tooth toward the pirate ship.

After killing the pirates at the mill, Roger led four warriors to seize their ship at Sheltered Cape. He killed two lackeys on the path, learned only an old man remained aboard, and confronted him at the ship’s cabin.

• Two pirate lackeys left the ship to investigate the fire at the mill, leaving the old lackey alone aboard.
• Roger hid with Blackhide Dog, Old Joey, and the others, then ambushed and killed one approaching pirate.
• Roger’s men subdued the second pirate, and Roger killed him after learning that only one unarmed old lackey remained on the ship.
• Roger and his companions reached the pirate ship and found a gangplank still connecting it to shore.
• Roger boarded with Baldhead’s crossbow and shouted for the old lackey to stay still, sending an arrow into the cabin door.

Roger tortured captured pirates at the abandoned mill to learn where Sea Wolf had hidden his gold and silver, but Olaf refused to speak. Roger threatened to kill the prisoners before the people from Brodick arrived, leaving Olaf facing a crossbow at his forehead.

• The Bandit Suppression Army slept at the mill while Old Joey, Black Charcoal, and two hunters guarded against curious villagers from Rocklanza Village.
• Roger salted a wounded pirate’s chest wound to torment him, then questioned Olaf about the missing treasure.
• Olaf said he did not know where Sea Wolf hid the valuables and refused to trust Roger.
• Roger threatened to kill Olaf and the other prisoners if they did not reveal the treasure before the people from Brodick arrived.
• Baldhead aimed his loaded crossbow at Olaf’s forehead and demanded that he talk.

Roger tortured Olaf’s surviving companion until the man died, then forced Olaf to reveal the location of a pirate gold cache. After arranging for Olaf and the two lackeys to be fed and rested, Roger went to check on Blackhide Dog’s injuries.

• Ponytail tried to persuade Olaf to surrender, while Roger threatened him and continued tormenting his dying subordinate.
• Olaf recalled how poison, infighting, and a night raid had left only three and a half pirates alive, and finally broke under Roger’s pressure.
• Roger stabbed the wounded bandit through the heart and ordered Baldhead and Ponytail to bury him separately.
• Olaf revealed a hidden cache containing more than forty pounds of gold and asked Roger to bury three of his companions properly.
• Roger had Olaf and the two lackeys taken into the mill for food and rest, then went with Baldhead to check Blackhide Dog’s wounds.

Roger set aside the most valuable loot and weapons for himself, then called a meeting to divide the remaining spoils among the warriors according to merit. He proposed ranking their contributions, but the chapter ended before he announced the rewards.

• Roger put the finest valuables and captured weapons and armor aboard the pirate ship, intending to keep them for himself.
• Roger sent Gray Rat and an islander to Brodick Castle with news of the raid and began assessing the warriors’ contributions.
• Gambling Addict, Missing Tooth, Baldhead, and the others argued over who deserved credit for the pirates killed during the attack.
• Roger warned the warriors to clean the possibly poisoned cookware carefully before using it for people.
• Roger silenced the gathering and proposed dividing the money into three merit ranks, each receiving a different amount.

Roger ranked the fighters who had helped defeat the pirates and divided the captured treasure among them. After sending a group to the captured ship and allowing villagers to retrieve two bodies, he ordered Bitter Melon Face and Little Horseherd to board the ship and summoned Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Black Charcoal.

• Roger assigned three ranks to the fighters and divided the gold, silver, and goods according to their contributions.
• Ponytail and Baldhead collected their shares, and the remaining men took their allotted money and goods before Fat Widow invited the underlings to claim the leftovers.
• Roger sent Baldhead and Ponytail with a group to board the captured pirate ship, while he waited at the Corpse-Drying Yard with the others.
• Roger allowed villagers to take the bodies of two pirates who had been dragged into the conflict as underlings.
• Bitter Melon Face and Little Horseherd arrived, and Roger ordered them to board the ship at Sheltered Cape before calling Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Black Charcoal over.

Roger sent Fat Widow and the others home with the loot, then confronted White-faced John over the pirates’ spoils before sailing away. After reaching Holy Island, Roger slept for several hours aboard the pirate ship and woke in the stern cabin.

• Roger lent Fat Widow and the others horses, mules, and donkeys to carry their loot home, and told them to return the borrowed farming-tool weapons.
• White-faced John arrived at the mill with his troops and found the pirates dead, then demanded their money, weapons, and armor.
• Roger told White-faced John that the loot had been divided among the warriors, returned Brodick Castle’s worn equipment, and claimed a piece of padded armor as his reward.
• Roger left the mill and sailed toward Lamlash Bay with Ponytail, while White-faced John stayed behind in a fury.
• Roger slept aboard the pirate ship for about three hours, then woke when Little Horseherd entered the stern cabin.

Roger inspected the captured pirate ship, identified its added triangular sail as a lateen sail for sailing against or across the wind, and learned the aging vessel was worth only fifty or sixty pounds. After reaching Lamlash Bay, he arranged for Blackhide Dog to be taken to the manor and chose to continue to Holy Island, where Bitter Melon Face suggested Igo stay and serve him.

• Roger examined the Cog's hull, towers, and sails, then guessed that its triangular foremast sail helped it sail against or across the wind.
• Bitter Melon Face estimated that the poorly maintained ship was worth fifty or sixty pounds and asked Roger about its unusual sail.
• Roger ordered the ship to dock at Lamlash Village, sent Blackhide Dog back to the manor, and arranged for food to be delivered to Holy Island.
• Roger told Bitter Melon Face to inform his mother that he was safe but would stay on Holy Island until the next day.
• Roger kept Baldhead, Ponytail, Missing Tooth, and Gambling Addict aboard, while Bitter Melon Face proposed that Igo stay with Roger as his servant.

Roger brought his men to Holy Island’s Salt Beach to inspect his family’s saltworks. After seeing its poor condition, he learned how the workers prepared brine and used peat to boil salt.

• Baldhead paid an honest fisherman to deliver money and a message to his grandmother in Brodick, then threatened him not to steal it.
• Roger ordered Baldhead and the others to sail the ship to Salt Beach on Holy Island, where they anchored in the shallows.
• Roger went ashore with Ponytail and Little Horseherd and was disappointed by the saltworks’ shabby sheds and stone house.
• Little Horseherd explained that the workers drained seawater before boiling the brine and burned peat from the island’s mountain lake to save fuel.
• Roger and his companions entered the workshop, where the tools and last year’s dried peat were stored in the stone house.

Roger settled the captured pirates on Holy Island and planned to make the island his base, while reflecting that returning to the East under Mongol-Yuan rule might leave him a low-status outsider. The next day, he ignored his adoptive mother's pleas to abandon his companions and prepared to return to the island with supplies.

• Roger ordered Ponytail and Little Horseherd to prepare the island's huts and bring the captives, lamps, and blankets from the ship.
• Roger realized the East was ruled by the Mongol-Yuan and considered staying in Scotland, where he could build a comfortable life or return to smuggling.
• At Milkhouse Manor, Roger's adoptive mother scolded him for associating with lowborn men and keeping pirates on Holy Island, and urged him to marry.
• Roger reminded his adoptive mother that the lowborn men had saved him from the pirates and left for the kitchen despite her protests.
• Roger collected fermented bread, food, blankets, and clothes with Little Horseherd Igo, then headed toward the coast to take a rowboat back to Holy Island.

Baron John’s campaign in Galloway ended in a devastating English ambush that destroyed most of Allen Island’s army and cost him his brother and nephew. He returned to Allen Island with fewer than fifty survivors, while two ships and much of the force were lost.

• Baron John led Allen Island’s army into Galloway, captured Glenluce Fortress, and plundered the western peninsula.
• Donald MacCann and Roland MacGah attacked as Baron John’s troops boarded their ships, while five English warships blockaded Loch Ryan.
• Baron John led his men ashore and fled toward Ballantrae, but English forces pursued and repeatedly intercepted them.
• Colin led a rearguard to protect Baron John, and Colin and Colin II died during the fighting.
• English forces captured White Sail and another ship, while Baron John escaped by sea with the surviving remnants of his army.

Roger refined coarse salt into fine salt at Sea Salt Bay and shared roasted rabbit with the workers. Butler Bitter Melon Face arrived with news that Roger’s father and Young Master Colin had died in battle, and pleaded with Roger to return to his fainted mother.

• Roger filtered dissolved coarse salt through layers of linen, pebbles, grass, and sand to remove impurities.
• Roger boiled the filtered saltwater until white fine salt crystallized, astonishing Little Horseherd and the others.
• Roger had the workers roast two wild rabbits and seasoned them with the fine salt.
• Bitter Melon Face arrived at Salt Beach, and Roger told him he would stay on the island and not return to his mother.
• Bitter Melon Face told Roger that his father and Young Master Colin had died in battle and that his mother had fainted.

After Allen Island’s expeditionary force suffered a crushing defeat, Roger went to Brodick Castle, where he saw his dead brother Colin II and learned that his father Sir Colin had not returned. He showed unexpected respect for the dead and ordered his steward to arrange transport for the manor’s belongings, soldiers, and wounded back to Milkhouse Manor.

• Bitter Melon Face brought Roger to Brodick Castle, where islanders mourned the dead and tended the wounded from the failed expedition.
• Roger entered the church and saw Colin II’s body in a coffin while Baron John and the baroness grieved for him and Sir Colin.
• The baroness rebuked Roger for showing no grief, but Roger replied that grief would not bring back his father and brother.
• Ma'en knelt before Roger and apologized for failing to protect the knights or recover Sir Colin’s body; Roger thanked him for his loyalty and helped him stand.
• Baron John asked where Colin II should be buried, and Roger requested that he be laid with the Campbell ancestors; John announced a funeral for the following afternoon.
• Roger ordered Bitter Melon Face and Ma'en to gather the family’s belongings and bring the manor’s soldiers and wounded home, telling Bitter Melon Face to offer a high price for ox carts.

After returning to Milkhouse Manor from a disastrous expedition, Roger arranged relief for the dead and wounded and treated the survivors himself. He left the wounded in the barn and began considering his future as the manor faced a difficult year.

• Bitter Melon Face asked Roger how to settle the dead and wounded, and Roger ordered grain relief for their families, extra aid for the severely wounded, and rewards for the other soldiers.
• Roger sent Ma'en home with wheat and smoked meat, then arranged for the severely wounded soldiers to be cared for at the manor.
• Roger cleaned and dressed the wounded soldiers' injuries, though he believed two men with severe infections were unlikely to survive.
• Roger told Bitter Melon Face that God and angels had taught him his healing arts, and Bitter Melon Face accepted the explanation with doubts.
• Bitter Melon Face warned Roger that the manor needed to boil salt at Salt Beach because it had lost its sea-going vessel and expected little income beyond wool and salt.
• Roger returned to his attic bedchamber and fell asleep while considering his next steps.

Roger released Old Fisherman and Toke to work for him, then took Olaf to Milkhouse Manor as a guarded guest. After arranging Olaf’s confinement, Roger set out for Brodick Castle with Louis and two companions to attend a funeral.

• Roger offered Old Fisherman work, and Old Fisherman accepted and pleaded for Toke to stay as well.
• Roger asked Toke to work for him, and Toke agreed to become his servant.
• Ponytail freed Old Fisherman and Toke and led them to prepare lunch for the salt workers.
• Roger told Olaf he would take him to Milkhouse Manor, where he arranged for guards to watch him while allowing him some freedom.
• Roger changed into a kilt and tartan cloak and left for Brodick Castle with Bitter Melon Face, Little Horseherd, and Louis.

Roger attended the funeral of his father, Sir Colin, and his cousin Colin II, burying his father’s clothes in an empty coffin because the English still held his body. After the mourners dispersed, Baron John summoned Roger to his office to discuss something.

• Sergeant Ma'en caught up with Roger’s party and asked to attend the funeral, and Roger let him follow.
• Roger arrived at Baron John’s castle, where the islanders had gathered to memorialize Sir Colin and Colin II.
• Baron John asked Roger to place his father’s clothes in the empty coffin and promised to bring Sir Colin home for burial.
• Roger carried Sir Colin’s coffin to the grave alongside the other bearers, while White-faced John watched resentfully.
• After the coffins were buried and the mourners departed, Baron John told Roger to come to his office later.

Roger negotiated the spoils from Allen Island’s disastrous campaign and learned that Baron John had secretly controlled the pirates he had killed. After accepting the limited goods allotted to Milkhouse Manor and inheriting his father’s knightly title in exchange for an inheritance tax, Roger left Stackport for Lamlash Bay.

• Baron John gave Roger the southern trade’s nine pounds and five shillings, farm tools, wool, and sheep, but denied him a share of the seized grain, gold, weapons, and armor.
• Baron John revealed that Ulf and the northern pirates had been his men, then let Roger keep their gold, a suit of armor, three weapons, and their ship while claiming the other spoils as inheritance tax.
• Baron John told Roger that paying the tax would let him inherit his father’s knightly title and become lord of Milkhouse Manor.
• Roger hired a vessel to collect Milkhouse Manor’s allotted goods instead of trusting the baron’s steward to deliver them.
• Roger signed the account document prepared by Paul and sailed aboard the Bella from Stackport toward Lamlash Bay.

Roger prepared to inherit Milkhouse Manor and become a knight, but learned that the estate was burdened with crushing debt. As he organized its people and cared for its wounded, he began studying the manor and military matters while trying to work out how to save the household.

• Roger learned that Milkhouse Manor owed forty pounds at extremely high interest, leaving the estate close to bankruptcy despite his coming inheritance.
• Roger invited the hooligans and Ma'en to attend his knighting ceremony and asked Igo to send minced-meat porridge to the wounded soldiers.
• Roger retained Ma'en as the manor's soldier and instructor, accepted Blackhide Dog's offer to serve him, and dismissed Missing Tooth and Gambling Addict politely.
• Roger presided over the fallen soldiers' funerals, treated the wounded, and helped two of the three wounded men survive.
• Roger surveyed Milkhouse Manor's farmland, water, and pastures and discussed the financial crisis with Bitter Melon Face and Ma'en while studying swordsmanship and military affairs.

Roger became a knight and the new lord of Milkhouse Manor at a ceremony hosted by Baron John, then attended a banquet where John announced a tournament with land as its top prize. Roger left the banquet and gathered the island’s lords and gentry at the Red Mill.

• Roger arrived at Brodick Castle with his family, guards, and a cart of weapons and armor to pay the inheritance tax, while secretly retaining much of the equipment.
• Roger handed over the cart’s contents to Baron John and was knighted in the castle chapel, where John slapped him during the ceremony’s final procedure.
• Roger received gifts from the island’s lords and gentry, then sent his nominal mother and Louis home with half of them.
• At the banquet, Baron John announced a tournament after the autumn harvest and offered a two-hundred-acre manor as its highest prize to attract warriors and strengthen the island.
• Roger led Ma'en and the gift-giving lords and gentry to the Red Mill, where Baldhead and Ponytail had arranged a celebration.

After waking at the Red Mill, Roger discussed refined salt with Kate and considered how it could help Milkhouse Manor’s finances. During lunch, he learned that Gary had arrived with his daughter and wanted to meet him alone.

• Halfpenny woke Roger and helped him prepare to leave the Red Mill.
• Kate thanked Roger for the porcelain bottle and refined salt, then asked whether he would sell her more salt for the Red Mill.
• Roger agreed to sell Kate fine salt if Salt Beach could produce it in bulk.
• Roger joined Ma'en, Baldhead, Ponytail, and the others for a lavish lunch at the Red Mill.
• A maid told Roger that Gary had come with his daughter to congratulate him and requested a private meeting.

Roger met village chief Gary, who feared Roger would punish him for striking him and offered a fine horse and his daughter as compensation. Roger accepted the horse, spared the girl, and ordered Gary to supply wine to Milkhouse Manor for payment.

• Gary arrived at the Red Mill with an apprentice leading a black bay horse and his tearful, cloaked daughter.
• Roger met Gary, who knelt and apologized for striking him, offering the horse and anything else Roger wanted.
• Roger approached Gary’s daughter, but left her untouched and turned his attention to the horse.
• Roger accepted the black bay horse and let Gary and his daughter leave.
• Roger told Gary to send a barrel of wine to Milkhouse Manor each week, with his steward paying for it.
• Roger handed the horse to the groom and ordered him to feed it oats and black beans.