Quill

Sorry …  but I really wanted Arthur to feel that we were still solidly behind him as we have been throughout his previous two books. I have been very surprised at the lack of enthusiastic discussion over the first 14 chapters [yes, 14 whole chapters folks!] of 'Mir Pacifica' - as though people just expected Arthur to keep churning out more of the same stuff without allowing for his characters to grow as they got older and matured into young adults. In time we may well see that the much-loved valley at Vimeiro is still functioning as a refuge for orphaned lads and a long term home for injured and disabled soldiers and that the many other projects that Thomas set up in Spain and Portugal with the help of his friends are also developing - but just now only Arthur knows this! Do you remember the inn that Carmello actually purchased from the owner because the food was so bad [or did you all miss that?] - I suspect that a few of the lads were left there to run it and began to take in the local street urchins to work for them and give them a home. Arthur is a master at leaving little seeds like this in his writing that he may or may not return to - it doesn't stop our own imaginations from exploring them! So come on guys -  stop being so lazy and lets encourage this author to keep going … yes?
Incidentally, I am really pleased to see Eric Trager's story "It is what it is" being added to the Castle's Library. I have been reading it on another source and it is a stunning story - here he has reached Chapter 13 but the other source is already at Chapter 58 so there is much, much more to come  and it just gets better and better!

I have taken several weeks to think about what I actually wanted to place in this reply - because when I read the posts from "Minimee" I was actually quite angry that Arthur should have been subjected to them. "Minimee" states "it's hard for me to find my former Thomas Marking" but you see Thomas Marking is NOT yours or mine! Thomas is a product of Arthur's amazing imagination and months of disciplined careful work! The extraordinary depth which he has achieved in DB1 and DB2 is possible only because Arthur expects us to look up things that we don't know about - such as the various battles that took place on the Iberian Peninsular in the early years of the 19th century; the turmoil that Napolean's greed created in Spain and Portugal and the complete setting of the story. Arthur had me trailing along behind him looking at maps from that period to locate the various cities, towns and villages where the battles were fought, the weapons that were used at that time, the clothes and uniforms that were "proper" - even the "Della guerra"! In short before you criticise the author for not writing his story as you would have done I think you should have looked up some historical information yourself about the Dutch "expansionism" which was taking place not only over the Spice Islands but across the rest of the world.  The barbaric cruelty with which they achieved their own ends was every bit as bad as the French [and the English aristocracy!].
During the stunning DB1 and 2 Thomas was reacting to things which were asked of him- by his own Father, by the British army and Wellington, by Mr. Percy in his spying role for the British Prime Minister Spencer Percival, even by Carmello who used and manipulated him to provide shelter for his waifs and strays; by the Morgan clan and the Black Hand, by Prince Pimental, almost everyone who meets Thomas sees that he is special and tries to use his gifts for their own advantage. When he returns to Portugal prior to setting sail for the Mir Pacifica he tries to distance himself from the past - he no longer wants to be "The General" - that part of his life is over - or so he thinks. Yet he still has to answer the summons from the Portuguese monarch and has already agreed  to find out what has happened to the dead Black Hand member. He has never been to sea in this way before, everything is way outside of his comfort zone - the Captains under Mr. Scully are in charge. Thomas is searching for himself  - he is becoming a man, no longer doing the bidding of others! And yet even when he agrees to free the slaves and return the Chief's "heir" to him Thomas is kidnapped by the tribe and placed once again in great danger. However what happened to him away from everyone else is a superb piece of writing and Arthur himself puts Thomas through a kind of "coming of age" ceremony. Eventually the chief sees just how special Thomas is and showers him with gifts - but the real gift to Thomas is his acceptance into the tribe as an equal. He achieves his victory alone without the others around him. And with a greater self knowledge and inner confidence he sets off on the quest. Carmello seems to have almost stepped back on purpose giving his dearest friend the space to find himself.
I suspect one of the reasons that DB3 is on hold just now is that Arthur has begun to realise just what he has begun!? We are already on chapter 14 and we have only just now sailed into the outer edges of the Pacific Ocean. I can see DB3 becoming DB4 and possibly even DB5 very easily and still Thomas and Snot and Fairley and Carmello and  probably most of the others will still have us spell-bound wishing we could write as well as Arthur does! Thank you, Sir, for allowing us to see and share in the results of your labours! When you are ready to pick up your pen again you will find a willing reader here!    

Sorry …  but I really wanted Arthur to feel that we were still solidly behind him as we have been throughout his previous two books. I have been very surprised at the lack of enthusiastic discussion over the first 14 chapters [yes, 14 whole chapters folks!] of 'Mir Pacifica' - as though people just expected Arthur to keep churning out more of the same stuff without allowing for his characters to grow as they got older and matured into young adults. In time we may well see that the much-loved valley at Vimeiro is still functioning as a refuge for orphaned lads and a long term home for injured and disabled soldiers and that the many other projects that Thomas set up in Spain and Portugal with the help of his friends are also developing - but just now only Arthur knows this! Do you remember the inn that Carmello actually purchased from the owner because the food was so bad [or did you all miss that?] - I suspect that a few of the lads were left there to run it and began to take in the local street urchins to work for them and give them a home. Arthur is a master at leaving little seeds like this in his writing that he may or may not return to - it doesn't stop our own imaginations from exploring them! So come on guys -  stop being so lazy and lets encourage this author to keep going … yes?
Incidentally, I am really pleased to see Eric Trager's story "It is what it is" being added to the Castle's Library. I have been reading it on another source and it is a stunning story - here he has reached Chapter 13 but the other source is already at Chapter 58 so there is much, much more to come  and it just gets better and better!

Sorry …  but I really wanted Arthur to feel that we were still solidly behind him as we have been throughout his previous two books. I have been very surprised at the lack of enthusiastic discussion over the first 14 chapters [yes, 14 whole chapters folks!] of 'Mir Pacifica' - as though people just expected Arthur to keep churning out more of the same stuff without allowing for his characters to grow as they got older and matured into young adults. In time we may well see that the much-loved valley at Vimeiro is still functioning as a refuge for orphaned lads and a long term home for injured and disabled soldiers and that the many other projects that Thomas set up in Spain and Portugal with the help of his friends are also developing - but just now only Arthur knows this! Do you remember the inn that Carmello actually purchased from the owner because the food was so bad [or did you all miss that?] - I suspect that a few of the lads were left there to run it and began to take in the local street urchins to work for them and give them a home. Arthur is a master at leaving little seeds like this in his writing that he may or may not return to - it doesn't stop our own imaginations from exploring them! So come on guys -  stop being so lazy and lets encourage this author to keep going … yes?
Incidentally, I am really pleased to see Eric Trager's story "It is what it is" being added to the Castle's Library. I have been reading it on another source and it is a stunning story - here he has reached Chapter 13 but the other source is already at Chapter 58 so there is much, much more to come  and it just gets better and better!

I have taken several weeks to think about what I actually wanted to place in this reply - because when I read the posts from "Minimee" I was actually quite angry that Arthur should have been subjected to them. "Minimee" states "it's hard for me to find my former Thomas Marking" but you see Thomas Marking is NOT yours or mine! Thomas is a product of Arthur's amazing imagination and months of disciplined careful work! The extraordinary depth which he has achieved in DB1 and DB2 is possible only because Arthur expects us to look up things that we don't know about - such as the various battles that took place on the Iberian Peninsular in the early years of the 19th century; the turmoil that Napolean's greed created in Spain and Portugal and the complete setting of the story. Arthur had me trailing along behind him looking at maps from that period to locate the various cities, towns and villages where the battles were fought, the weapons that were used at that time, the clothes and uniforms that were "proper" - even the "Della guerra"! In short before you criticise the author for not writing his story as you would have done I think you should have looked up some historical information yourself about the Dutch "expansionism" which was taking place not only over the Spice Islands but across the rest of the world.  The barbaric cruelty with which they achieved their own ends was every bit as bad as the French [and the English aristocracy!].
During the stunning DB1 and 2 Thomas was reacting to things which were asked of him- by his own Father, by the British army and Wellington, by Mr. Percy in his spying role for the British Prime Minister Spencer Percival, even by Carmello who used and manipulated him to provide shelter for his waifs and strays; by the Morgan clan and the Black Hand, by Prince Pimental, almost everyone who meets Thomas sees that he is special and tries to use his gifts for their own advantage. When he returns to Portugal prior to setting sail for the Mir Pacifica he tries to distance himself from the past - he no longer wants to be "The General" - that part of his life is over - or so he thinks. Yet he still has to answer the summons from the Portuguese monarch and has already agreed  to find out what has happened to the dead Black Hand member. He has never been to sea in this way before, everything is way outside of his comfort zone - the Captains under Mr. Scully are in charge. Thomas is searching for himself  - he is becoming a man, no longer doing the bidding of others! And yet even when he agrees to free the slaves and return the Chief's "heir" to him Thomas is kidnapped by the tribe and placed once again in great danger. However what happened to him away from everyone else is a superb piece of writing and Arthur himself puts Thomas through a kind of "coming of age" ceremony. Eventually the chief sees just how special Thomas is and showers him with gifts - but the real gift to Thomas is his acceptance into the tribe as an equal. He achieves his victory alone without the others around him. And with a greater self knowledge and inner confidence he sets off on the quest. Carmello seems to have almost stepped back on purpose giving his dearest friend the space to find himself.
I suspect one of the reasons that DB3 is on hold just now is that Arthur has begun to realise just what he has begun!? We are already on chapter 14 and we have only just now sailed into the outer edges of the Pacific Ocean. I can see DB3 becoming DB4 and possibly even DB5 very easily and still Thomas and Snot and Fairley and Carmello and  probably most of the others will still have us spell-bound wishing we could write as well as Arthur does! Thank you, Sir, for allowing us to see and share in the results of your labours! When you are ready to pick up your pen again you will find a willing reader here!    

I have taken several weeks to think about what I actually wanted to place in this reply - because when I read the posts from "Minimee" I was actually quite angry that Arthur should have been subjected to them. "Minimee" states "it's hard for me to find my former Thomas Marking" but you see Thomas Marking is NOT yours or mine! Thomas is a product of Arthur's amazing imagination and months of disciplined careful work! The extraordinary depth which he has achieved in DB1 and DB2 is possible only because Arthur expects us to look up things that we don't know about - such as the various battles that took place on the Iberian Peninsular in the early years of the 19th century; the turmoil that Napolean's greed created in Spain and Portugal and the complete setting of the story. Arthur had me trailing along behind him looking at maps from that period to locate the various cities, towns and villages where the battles were fought, the weapons that were used at that time, the clothes and uniforms that were "proper" - even the "Della guerra"! In short before you criticise the author for not writing his story as you would have done I think you should have looked up some historical information yourself about the Dutch "expansionism" which was taking place not only over the Spice Islands but across the rest of the world.  The barbaric cruelty with which they achieved their own ends was every bit as bad as the French [and the English aristocracy!].
During the stunning DB1 and 2 Thomas was reacting to things which were asked of him- by his own Father, by the British army and Wellington, by Mr. Percy in his spying role for the British Prime Minister Spencer Percival, even by Carmello who used and manipulated him to provide shelter for his waifs and strays; by the Morgan clan and the Black Hand, by Prince Pimental, almost everyone who meets Thomas sees that he is special and tries to use his gifts for their own advantage. When he returns to Portugal prior to setting sail for the Mir Pacifica he tries to distance himself from the past - he no longer wants to be "The General" - that part of his life is over - or so he thinks. Yet he still has to answer the summons from the Portuguese monarch and has already agreed  to find out what has happened to the dead Black Hand member. He has never been to sea in this way before, everything is way outside of his comfort zone - the Captains under Mr. Scully are in charge. Thomas is searching for himself  - he is becoming a man, no longer doing the bidding of others! And yet even when he agrees to free the slaves and return the Chief's "heir" to him Thomas is kidnapped by the tribe and placed once again in great danger. However what happened to him away from everyone else is a superb piece of writing and Arthur himself puts Thomas through a kind of "coming of age" ceremony. Eventually the chief sees just how special Thomas is and showers him with gifts - but the real gift to Thomas is his acceptance into the tribe as an equal. He achieves his victory alone without the others around him. And with a greater self knowledge and inner confidence he sets off on the quest. Carmello seems to have almost stepped back on purpose giving his dearest friend the space to find himself.
I suspect one of the reasons that DB3 is on hold just now is that Arthur has begun to realise just what he has begun!? We are already on chapter 14 and we have only just now sailed into the outer edges of the Pacific Ocean. I can see DB3 becoming DB4 and possibly even DB5 very easily and still Thomas and Snot and Fairley and Carmello and  probably most of the others will still have us spell-bound wishing we could write as well as Arthur does! Thank you, Sir, for allowing us to see and share in the results of your labours! When you are ready to pick up your pen again you will find a willing reader here!    

I have taken several weeks to think about what I actually wanted to place in this reply - because when I read the posts from "Minimee" I was actually quite angry that Arthur should have been subjected to them. "Minimee" states "it's hard for me to find my former Thomas Marking" but you see Thomas Marking is NOT yours or mine! Thomas is a product of Arthur's amazing imagination and months of disciplined careful work! The extraordinary depth which he has achieved in DB1 and DB2 is possible only because Arthur expects us to look up things that we don't know about - such as the various battles that took place on the Iberian Peninsular in the early years of the 19th century; the turmoil that Napolean's greed created in Spain and Portugal and the complete setting of the story. Arthur had me trailing along behind him looking at maps from that period to locate the various cities, towns and villages where the battles were fought, the weapons that were used at that time, the clothes and uniforms that were "proper" - even the "Della guerra"! In short before you criticise the author for not writing his story as you would have done I think you should have looked up some historical information yourself about the Dutch "expansionism" which was taking place not only over the Spice Islands but across the rest of the world.  The barbaric cruelty with which they achieved their own ends was every bit as bad as the French [and the English aristocracy!].
During the stunning DB1 and 2 Thomas was reacting to things which were asked of him- by his own Father, by the British army and Wellington, by Mr. Percy in his spying role for the British Prime Minister Spencer Percival, even by Carmello who used and manipulated him to provide shelter for his waifs and strays; by the Morgan clan and the Black Hand, by Prince Pimental, almost everyone who meets Thomas sees that he is special and tries to use his gifts for their own advantage. When he returns to Portugal prior to setting sail for the Mir Pacifica he tries to distance himself from the past - he no longer wants to be "The General" - that part of his life is over - or so he thinks. Yet he still has to answer the summons from the Portuguese monarch and has already agreed  to find out what has happened to the dead Black Hand member. He has never been to sea in this way before, everything is way outside of his comfort zone - the Captains under Mr. Scully are in charge. Thomas is searching for himself  - he is becoming a man, no longer doing the bidding of others! And yet even when he agrees to free the slaves and return the Chief's "heir" to him Thomas is kidnapped by the tribe and placed once again in great danger. However what happened to him away from everyone else is a superb piece of writing and Arthur himself puts Thomas through a kind of "coming of age" ceremony. Eventually the chief sees just how special Thomas is and showers him with gifts - but the real gift to Thomas is his acceptance into the tribe as an equal. He achieves his victory alone without the others around him. And with a greater self knowledge and inner confidence he sets off on the quest. Carmello seems to have almost stepped back on purpose giving his dearest friend the space to find himself.
I suspect one of the reasons that DB3 is on hold just now is that Arthur has begun to realise just what he has begun!? We are already on chapter 14 and we have only just now sailed into the outer edges of the Pacific Ocean. I can see DB3 becoming DB4 and possibly even DB5 very easily and still Thomas and Snot and Fairley and Carmello and  probably most of the others will still have us spell-bound wishing we could write as well as Arthur does! Thank you, Sir, for allowing us to see and share in the results of your labours! When you are ready to pick up your pen again you will find a willing reader here!    

Since we only see what Thomas sees and there are three ships, we aren't going to see all the characters in a chapter all the time.  We have seen Jervis and Lorenco when they were on shore in Africa.
 
Carmelo wasn't at the captains meetings because only the captains have command of their ships. Thomas was there as the owner of the company, but even he would defer to the suggestions of his ship captains.
 
As to Cape Town, did you miss the part where they ordered Thomas' ships to leave the harbor to face a violent storm at sea and certain death? Would you have preferred they shelled the town instead in response? This was a measured response.  The ship was a Dutch trader and fair game. They are going to be fighting the Dutch in the Pacific over trade. This was just the first skirmish.

I continue to be amazed at the wonder of Arthur's story, the depth of feeling he expresses in his writing and the fact he brings
a tear to the eye of an old man like myself.  I must echo the statement of another person who said they cannot wait for Book 3.
A brilliantly written chapter and I wait patiently for the continuation of this absolutely fascinating and addicting story. Thank you
Arthur for the most interesting, compelling and well written story I have read in many many years.

I agree with all the above. Great chapter.   You can fee the excitement of Thomas' brother 'leading' the horse!  The only thing missing was certain rangers but they probably weren't allowed to come.
I too was glad to see the promising TBC at the end. 
Jay just a note- you wrote tail but I think you meant tale.

Another splendidly done and emotional chapter, i have to concur with what someone else said that this is probably the best written of all of Arthur's stories.
I loved the fact that Thomas's biologocal family was able to make it, something i just realised however is that to the best of my knowledge we never did learn the name of Thomas's young brother.
And i too will agree to say Thank God for the TBC.

Thank you all for your kind words and I am glad that the emotional side was picked up by you all as it also affected me when I was writing it. I do however have to apologise for ending the story at chapter 20 as...Oh I mean chapter 21...no, no, no, it was ended at chapter 22...wasn't it?
Wait why have I got a page here that says Chapter 23?
Al this is all your fault, you promised I could be finished before Xmas. I am sending Loki to speak with you.
A

Arthur
If you would like to give us all an Xmas gift. Give us a book three. I am not alone not wanting Thomas' tail to end. We all have fallen in love with it. As you know it is hard to give up something you love. We have to thank you so much for bringing a light spot to our lives. Many can not hardly wait till the next chapter as I do. This is not a punishment to you, but praise to such a fine author you are. People will be enjoying this store for years to come. Just a very few can get this kind of praise from their fans, and we freely an glady give it.

I sometimes wish the story would end, then my husband would stop taking the piss out of me. often when i sit here at the computer reading the latest chapters of Drummer boy, he looks at me and asks me if I am reading that bloody story again because  he can the tears running down my cheeks. He cannot understand how a ex warrant office in her majesties infantry can be so emotional over a story.when in real life I have seen my share of the crap that Thomas and his merry bahd have suffered. Trying to explain that the story is so well written and emotive in so much I can relate like others in this forum to events in our real world experiences  it just makes me well up. So Thank you Arthur for Chapter 22 which generated another bucket load of tears. I was pleased to read that Thomas was going to keep Roger's sword and likewise he gave his sword away, so they are both safe for awhile at least
My leading  question is what will he do with his guns, will he return them to the British or hand them over to the Portuguese army or keep them for "book 3"(wishful thinking) where his business interest get so big he need a small army to protect his interest.?

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.
And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!