Before he could say a word, Master Smollett was interrupted by the timely arrival of a coachman accompanied by four horsemen armed with rifles. To his surprise as well as those who saw the carriage pulled over on the muddy bush path at a shorter distance away from harbor, A fourth of the horsemen was an aboriginal clad in the English uniform like that of William and his comrades.
William moved closer to Master Smollett who was still surprised at the sudden arrival of the coachman flocked around by the armed horsemen and drew his attention to the arrivals halting a few miles away.
"Sir, the carriage from the Chancellor have arrive as promised",
He whispered to Master Smollett who said nothing but stared blankly at the cart and lowered his musket. His fellow companions did the same and hoisted themselves to the front of the naval officer.
Before their very eyes, two of the horsemen rode their horses to where they stood in anxiety while the spellbound natives watched them riding to meet the small crowd.
Still at the starboard of his ship, Captain Moldovan felt he had seen enough of the brawl upon the arrival of the unexpected carriage and beckoned his crew to resume unloading the merchandise they sailed with the entire journey down to the docks.
In a trice, the deck of the Castilian ship became nocturnal with frenzy as a result of the activities of the sea mercenaries discharging the valuable goods from the cabins below the ship to the docks which had been halted by the auction taking place right in the center of the natives selling their wares at the dockyard. The Captain was quick to leave the unpacking to his crew at the deck and went inside the ship to make sure his seamen didn't skip bringing out any of the merchandise he had planned to deliver the moment they set foot on land.
The two horsemen skillfully stopped galloping their horses and pulled hard on the reins as soon they reached the crowd. The very sight of the horsemen alighting their horses with their armed rifles scared off the sellers but Master Smollett and his men weren't looking at them.
Consequently, the auctioneer surreptitiously used the distraction to slip away from the crowd along with a few of his mercenaries and the captives which the mercenaries took with them to the canoes floating by the riverside before they could realize that he had disappeared.
"I humbly bid thee greetings from the Chancellor, Master Smollet of England. How fares the lengthy journey from English waters?",
The hefty man in front, questioned as soon as they alighted their horses where the Master stood in the midst of his guards.
"The voyage was less trouble compared with being held at gunpoint against those riffraff",
Master Smollett answered, peering at the auctioneer departing from the riverside in one of the canoes along with his mercenaries and the few native captives he brought with him.
"Are there any horses for us?",
William queried with profound eagerness and they both looked at him.
"Sadly, there's none for you and your comrades and as far as I am concerned, horse riding won't be part of your dealings to Edina",
Master Smollett cut in,
"Edina? I thought I was informed to meet the Chancellor in the region after the town flourishing with gold",
"I'm well aware of that but the supposed meeting point had changed and the details of his presence in Edina weren't disclosed to me. All I know is that I have orders to safely guide you and your men to the fort at Edina in that carriage",
"Won't it be convenient for you to have us ride horses along the way while the Master sits inside the carriage?",
It was William who asked.
"I fear not. It's a fine idea to ride with us but there's enough room inside the carriage to house all four men, so, ensign, I beseech thee to ease your worries",
The man retorted cleverly and turned to face Master Smollet still watching the two canoes paddle themselves towards the distant oceans.
"I see your men are ready for our dispatch to meet the Chancellor at Edina",
"By the gods, they are prepared to leave and they would have gunned down a few of those human traders if you didn't arrive just in time to save their necks",
"I enjoin you care less about those lowly human traders after wrestling with warring sea currents and pay heed to the meeting with the Chancellor",
"I assure thee that I did think of exchanging pleasantries with the Chancellor but thanks to the warring currents, there was enough solace and solitude in the Castilian ship to make me forget horrifying rumors about this land",
"I believe the chancellor would very much be ready to correct your misgivings about the Gold Coast and the locals, but that's if we hasten our dispatch together to see him which I request of you",
"As you wish, officer—",
"Obrad Beograd",
Beograd retorted with a smile on his face. His partner had shrunk himself behind Beograd.
"You have roots in Belgrade, I presume",
"Bred as one but enlisted into English ranks to fight for the motherland",
"That explains it then", Master Smollet replied rubbing his chin in thought about the stature of the man who stood before him, "Officer Beograd I'll join you as demanded but you must lead the way to the carriage",
"Master Smollett said and stole one last glance at Captain Moldovan's ship hoping to wave the Captain goodbye as Officer Beograd led them to the cart on horseback. He was able to catch a glimpse of Redruth and Adams carrying out sacks housing bits of their merchandise to the harbor as well as a few other sea mercenaries he had been acquainted with during the late night journey from Europe but he didn't see any sign of the Captain nor did he see Donald accompanying his fellow seamen to unload the last cargo on the bay of harbor.
Master Smollett took his time in getting himself comfortable inside the carriage along with the four guards he had fared with but before the Captain came out of the cockpit, the coachman had ridden the carriage out of the coastal bay escorted by Officer Beograd and his three comrades taking the eastern bush path into the forest along ebbing tides on the Atlantic seashore towards the central coastal region of the broad settlement.
Thirty minutes later, Captain Moldovan's crew was done unpacking their wares out of the Castilian ship and was done with the preparations for departure into the busy harbor. After being notified of their imminent departure, the Captain assembled his quasi sailors at the seaport and handpicked a few capable hands to remain with the ship which amounted to eight seamen including the Cook out of twenty of his men.
To protect the merchandise from being robbed along the way like they usually do, he had the remaining twelve seamen armed themselves with pistols and long daggers. Twelve pouches and two sacks of gunpowder were loaded on the first cart alongside the merchandise to ensure they didn't run out of gunpowder needed to refill their pistols.
Then he left with the rest of his crew to begin a new journey to the western midlands of the aborigines settlement on foot since their destination wasn't too far off from the coastal riverbanks of Takoradi.
As for the goods, he had them heaped up in five hefty carts and brought a lot of the merchandise along with them with the help of his crew. Slowly and steadily as their muddy boots could carry them, they rolled the carts out of the harbor but ventured the western route through the Evergreen forest towards the Fante territories.