Often, missionaries sought to be assigned to various dimensions for adventure as well as the chance to reach the lost.  Bevris Mauven was one such person.  When he was a young child he had read about pirates and wished he had been around when they terrorized the high seas.  Then when he entered the seminary and had his choice of dimensions to serve in he found some that appealed to his sense of adventure.

When he graduated from seminary in 1832 he chose to serve where pirates were active.  There was a world that was similar to earth in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s when the likes of Captain Kidd and Blackbeard roamed the seven seas. 

He chose to bring a male bio-syn that looked tough enough to fight demon wolves with a knife, six electromagnetic discharge pistols, a couple electromagnetic discharge rifles, a chest of steel projectiles, a couple sturdy swords made from ultra-stressed material for supreme strength and sharpness, a food and beverage replicator, a personal force field unit, a couple structural force field units that could protect a house and church, an injection reactor, a printing press that looked almost like what they had during the 18th century, a materials replicator, some books that were actually computerized multi-books, a chest of clothes from the period, a small chest of gold coins and gems, and some tools he would need to build a building in case he arrived in a location where he needed to build a church and home. 

So that he could be mobile, he also brought along a carriage and two synthetic horses that didn’t need to eat or drink.  But to make them seem realistic, they were able to eat and drink like a horse and produce the expected waste, only it didn’t smell as bad.   He also loaded in a transporter and transporter tags so he could travel easier instead of needing to use the portal all the time.  That would come in handly if he were captured and needed to escape. 

Bevris and his “manservant” Terj shifted to the dimension riding in the carriage with Bevris inside the carriage and Terj driving it.  The chests were strapped to the back and top of the carriage with a couple smaller ones and the printing press in the carriage.  If he needed ink, he could use his material replicator to produce it.  Both replicators were also strapped to the back of the carriage in the rear boot. 

Since robbers were known to pounce upon travelers, Bevris made sure he had a rifle and ample shot in the carriage plus three of the pistols and the same material in the boot up front at the feet of Terj with the rifle holstered beside him.   The swords were in the big trunk with the clothes. 

The city of Jorvansport was a good ten miles to the east of the carriage when it shifted to the different dimension and Terj snapped the whip above the heads of the horses.  No one saw the men appear out of thin air and it appeared they had the dusty road all to themselves.  But in a couple miles they found out the were wrong. 

As they passed a house they assumed was abandoned, three masked men on horseback took off after them.  Terj snapped the whip again and urged the horses to gallop faster.  Since they were synthetic, they easily accelerated to over 45 mph and left the attempted robbers in the dust.  This was a relief because Bevris didn’t want to be known as a killer before letting people know he came to bring salvation if he had needed to shoot at the men.

The city was a busy port where merchant vessels and pirate vessels were anchored side-by-side at the docks.  What government authorities there were in the city, it seemed they had no problem with criminals in the port.  Then again, when Bevris observed both merchant and pirate captains paying duties to the tax collectors that were protected by detachments of soldiers, the missionary realized the government was probably as corrupt as the criminals it dealt with. 

As Terj was nearing the center of the city where the government buildings were located, three soldiers stepped out into the street in front of the horses and raised their muskets at the animals and Terj.  He pulled back on the reins and stopped the horses a couple feet in front of the men.  One of them stepped up to the side of the coach and leaned his musket against the vehicle. 

“Good day, sir.  Welcome to Jorvansport.  Are you here for business or pleasure?”

Bevris leaned out the window and said, “Business.  I’m a preacher and printer of Christian literature.”

“Christian literature?  Is that a new philosophy I should be aware of?”

“It’s more than a philosophy.  Being a Christian is the reason why I live.”

“So it is a religion.”

“You could say that.  I want to spread the word about it to everyone I can.”

Bevris had learned the language of the people he was going to deal with and had already printed some pamphlets to pass out to people.  He had a wooden box with pamphlets and handed the man one from it.

“I’ll look at it later,” he said as he stuffed the material into the pocket inside his uniform.  “Will you be here long?”

“I intend on it.  Is there some kind of fee you are collecting for the privilege to stay here?”

“As a matter of fact there is.  If you want to remain here on a permanent basis, I will need you to pay a  residence fee of one gold double eagle.”

“Certainly, sir.”

Bevris opened his coin and gem chest out of sight of the soldier and pulled out a coin to hand to him.  The soldier placed it in a pouch he had hung from his sword belt.   It was bulging due to the fees he had collected from others that day. 

“You need to register in the city hall.  You can find a listing of available houses and other buildings you may need to conduct your business.  After you pay the registration fee, you can then meet with a housing broker who will help you find what you need, if possible.”

“And he will no doubt be charging another fee.”

“Precisely.  The only thing free around here is the air we breathe and the water we drink.  But I would advise against drinking the water.  It is tinged with salt.”

“I’ll try to remember.” 

After the man retrieved his musket he waved the coach on.  Terj drove it to the main government building and waited outside as Bevris entered to register.  He brought a small bag with a couple dozen coins to pay the fees and flipped on his personal force field to automatic in case someone attacked him.  He made sure to leave his weapons in the coach so he wouldn’t appear to be threatening. 

There were six people ahead of him in a line in front of a desk where a couple books were open and an official wearing a black velvet suit and a powdered wig sat with a fee collection box open.  Two soldiers with muskets at their side stood on both sides of the man. 

The people would sign one of the books and then proceed down a hall to a room after depositing a coin in the box.  Some of the people grumbled.  But they didn’t dare leave without paying the fee. 

Finally, Bevris stepped up to the desk and looked at the books.  The book on the left was for those registering for permanent residency and the one on the right was for those who intended on staying no more than a month.  A few of the people ahead of him had signed that book and wrote down how long they intended on being in Jorvansport.  The fee was one copper eagle per day while the initial permanent residency fee was one gold double eagle.

“Excuse me, sir, but I already paid an officer out in the street one gold double eagle,” he told the official who glared at him.

“That was foolish of you.”

“I thought it would be foolish to question a man with a musket along with the two other armed soldiers.”

“That was probably Lieutenant Sheffron and his men.  They usually collect at the docks.  I’ll give you a break.  SInce you have already paid the lieutenant, I’ll collect from him.  He reports in to his station before he goes back to the barracks for the night.  I’ll have the sergeant at the station informed of what happened.”

“Thank-you, sir.”

The official turned the book Bevris had written information into around to look at his notations. 

“You are a minister?  Are you a government official?”

“No, I am a minister of the Gospel of Christ.  I promote the religion of Christianity.”

“I’ve never heard of that religion.  Is it new?”

“It’s been around for over 1800 years where I come from.”

“And where is that?”

“I know you haven’t heard of it.  It’s a place called Newgate.”

“I’ve heard of that place.  It is far inland; about 300 miles.  It is very prosperous.  Why would you leave there for this reprobate place?”

“That is why I am here.  It is a reprobate place that needs the Gospel.  I believe in the redemption of souls.”

“This city is beyond redemption,” proclaimed the official. 

“I’ll let God decide that.”   

“Go to where you saw the others go.  You will find a housing listing and a broker who can help you.”

“Thank-you, sir.”

Bevris went into the room where the listing and half a dozen brokers were conferring with some clients.  It was a little noisy even though the people were speaking softly.  Bevris waiting until one of the men was through with a client and was motioned to sit at the desk.  The man was wearing a grey wool suit and linen stockings that came up to just below his knees.  He wasn’t wearing a wig and had a pencil in his hand poised above his ledger book. 

“What is your name?” the man asked. 

“Bevris Mauven.”

“Occupation?”

“Religious minister and a printer.”

“Which religion?”

“Christian.  You may not have heard about it.”

“I don’t believe I have.  What sort of things do you believe?”

“I believe that the only way to get to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  It is what Christ did on the cross when he died and shed his blood that allows believers to go to Heaven.”

“Strange.  The gods we worship here allow us to live and prosper if we do what they want us to do.  Then again, a lot of people are successful without the help of the gods because they definitely don’t do what the gods want them to do.”

“What do you believe?”

“I really don’t know.  I guess you could say I’m just a person who wants to live as good a life as I can and then maybe be with the gods if they consider me worthy to be with them.”

“Maybe we can talk a little longer later because there is a lot I would like to tell you.  But time won’t permit.  It’s enough to say Christianity is very different from your religion.  I saw a listing at the front desk in this office of buildings available.”

“Yes.  How much are you willing to pay and where do you want to live and work?”

“What about near the docks?”

The man smiled and said, “You’re kidding.  You have to be kidding.”

“No.  I thought it would be the best place to reach sailors coming into port.”

“If you’re a tavern owner or whore.  But no respectable person wants to live near the docks.”

“I don’t want people to think I’m aloof.”

“What about a few blocks away from the docks in the commercial district?  There are a few places available that are good to start a business at and you can live above where you work.”

“Are they large enough for me to have a congregation of maybe 20 or 30 people?”

“You might be able to jam that many people inside the buildings.  They have fairly good sized back yards.  You might be able to fit, say, 60 or 70 people comfortably in the yard.”

“Sounds good.  How much do you charge for your services?”

“I charge a fee of a silver eagle per day and when you find what you want, I will charge a gold double eagle.  I will file the paperwork and try to get you into a place as quickly as possible, for your convenience.  In the meantime, I would advise that you stay in one of the inns in town.  Just stay away from the docks if you are a religious man.”

“Are there no inns down there?”

“Not ones a decent man would like to stay in.”

“Very well.  I’d like to look at places this afternoon.”

“Very well, sir.  We can walk unless you have a vehicle we can take.”

“My carriage and manservant is waiting outside.”

“Very good.  Did you register him while you were out in the lobby?”

“I forgot.  I didn’t know he had to be registered since he is my servant.”

“You better register him or else he won’t be allowed to stay in the city with you.”

“And I guess I’ll need to pay another double eagle for him.”

“I don’t make up the rules.  I only live by them.”

The two men rode in the carriage after Bevris had paid for his manservant to be there to the commercial district of the city.  There were three places along the cobblestone street that appeared to be large enough for Bevris to establish his church and business.  Two of the buildings were beside each other.  If they both weren’t expensive, maybe he could purchase them.

Terj stopped the carriage in front of the two buildings and let his passengers out. 

“Which one do you like?” asked the broker. 

“Let me see inside first.”

The broker showed Bevris around inside both buildings and took him outside to the yards and outbuildings.  It looked like Bevris would have plenty of room for storage and to do small repair work.  There were also basements.  But they were damp and musty smelling.  Some waterproofing and ventilation would help the condition. 

Inside the front room of the second building the men were in, Bevris asked the broker what the prices were. 

“For the first building, I’d say 500 gold double eagles sounds fair enough.  It is a good location for a business just like this building is which should go for maybe 480.”

“What if I bought both?”

The broker’s eyebrows raised in amazement.

“Are you sure you have enough money?”

“Will you take gemstones too?”

“Depends on the gemstones.  Show me what you got.”

“Gladly.”

Bevris went out to the carriage and retrieved a diamond, a ruby, an emerald, and a sapphire.  Each one was the size of a man’s thumb.  The broker’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“You could easily buy half a dozen buildings like these two with one of those stones.”

“I’ll give you a ruby.  That should more than cover all your costs.”

“Come with me back to my office and you can sign the lease for both properties this afternoon.”

After signing the leases and receiving the deeds and keys to the buildings, Bevris went back to the buildings and with the help of Terj started cleaning them up and bringing in everything from the coach.  There was a carriage house in the back yard of each property.  The carriage and horses were placed in one and the other was cleaned up to be used as a workshop and guest room in the hay loft. 

For the next few days until the day people worshipped their gods, Bevris was busy establishing himself as a printer.  He posted broadsheets on a bulletin board outside the shop that announced meetings in the building next to the shop along with Christian material the people could read.  A few would stop every now and then and read the material before walking on.  

Bevris had customers enter the shop to have him do printing orders.  While he worked he had the chance to witness to them.  In time as he printed more pamphlets about God and how to be saved and what it means to be a Christian, customers would purchase his material and take it home and gladly received the free literature he offered like the tracts he wrote.  He left thousands of them with people in and out of the shop and in homes he visited.  In time he became known as the Pamphleteer and people expected him to leave pamphlets and tracts with them.

Terj helped renovate the second building that would be the church and was sent out to purchase chairs.  There were no pulpits in the city since those that were priests didn’t use them.  So Terj built one and placed a cross above the door of the church.   

Since both main buildings were next to each other, Bevris was able to place a force field around both of them and placed the second structure force field around the carriage house where he kept the carriage and horses.  The second carriage house was just locked. 

One night, Bevris and Terj rode down to the docks and entered a tavern that was frequented by pirates to see if he could preach the Gospel to them.  They also entered to eat a meal as the original reason to be there. 

The patrons stared at the nicely dressed men as they entered the establishment.  They both had two pistols in holsters and a sword at their side for protection even though they both had personal force fields on.  But they wanted to look like they could protect themselves.  Terj was large enough that no one questioned whether he could defend himself. 

A serving wench in a blouse that was so low-cut that it almost exposed her breasts approached their table.

“Haven’t seen you two in here before.  What’ll you have?”

“We would like to share a big roast beef, a loaf of bread, butter, a big bowl of peas, and a pot of tea with sugar in a bowl,” said Bevris.

“That’s not a manly beverage.  What about some rum or at least ale?

“The tea will be fine,” said Bevris. 

The woman walked back to the kitchen to fetch the order.  While she was gone, three men dressed in leather and armed with pistols and swords approached the table.  One of the men had shoulder length dirty black hair and a few days of beard growth. 

“Are you men or rodents?” the man asked. 

“That should be fairly obvious,” said Bevris. 

“Brandishing swords and pistols don’t make you men,” the man complained.  “Have you killed anyone?”

“Not lately,” joked Bevris.  The two other men smiled. 

“Oh, a funny man.  Why don’t you want to drink a manly drink like what me and my mates imbibe?”

“No thank-you, sir.  Tea will be fine,” said Bevris calmly. 

The man whistled toward the bar keep who had a jug of rum delivered to the table with two glasses.  They were placed on the table between Bevris and Terj. 

“Since I offer you my hospitality, I expect you to honor it by drinking some of the rum.”

Bevris looked at Terj and said, “Since he went to the trouble of ordering it for us, I guess the least we can do is enjoy the beverage.”

Bevris reached across the table and grabbed Terj’s hand.  They bowed their heads and closed their eyes. 

“Heavenly Father, thank-you for what we are about to receive.  Amen,” said Bevris in front of the amazed men. 

“What was that all about?” asked the man. 

“Before we have our meal, we always ask grace.  It is our custom.”

“Strange custom.  What if you had food in front of you and I stole it while you had your eyes closed?”

Terj pulled a knife from a sheath on his belt and slammed it next to the jug of rum.  The men backed off and walked away.  Luckily the rum’s alcohol was neutralized by the catalyst that had been implanted in Bevris’ body years before when he had some problems with his liver.  So he didn’t worry about getting drunk.  They drank some of the beverage as the men were watching.    

Terj detected something in the rum that wasn’t supposed to be there and reached toward Bevris’ hand to inject him with micromachines to take care of the problem.   Bevris realized seconds later that some sort of sleeping potion had been placed in the rum.  But the micromachines took care of the potion and prevented him from becoming unconscious. 

The men were dumbfounded that watched the two.  They expected the strangers to fall to the floor fast asleep so they could be dragged to a ship and pressed into service as pirates.  When they saw Bevris and Terj weren’t going to cooperate, they went back to eating and drinking. 

After the meal, Bevris and Terj walked out of the tavern and were about to board the carriage when they were set upon by half a dozen men that had clubs in their hands.  The two drew their swords.  The men with clubs dropped them and drew their swords to battle Bevris and Terj.  The six attackers had no idea how well-trained their opponents were. 

After less than a minute, the attackers fled the scene and half a dozen soldiers came over to where Bevris and Terj were standing.   Bevris read their minds and knew they had been standing a short distance away observing and actually wanted the attackers to knock the strangers senseless with the clubs.  Bevris didn’t let on he knew what they were thinking. 

The highest ranking officer said to Bevris, “You’re lucky we came by.  Are you two all right?”

“We’re fine.  They were just a press gang.  I’m just glad we were armed.”

“You two should know better than to come down to the docks at night.  The food and drink is just as good if not better in the restaurant district,” advised the officer. 

“We’ll keep that in mind,” said Bevris.  The soldiers marched away toward another tavern and entered it for a meal. 

When Terj approached the carriage house where he was going to unharness the horses and park the vehicle, he noticed a candle in the loft when he looked through the window toward the roof.  It was extinguished before he opened the carriage doors.  He acted like he hadn’t noticed anything.  But he transmitted a message to Bevris mentally and told him to come out to the building after he finished. 

Bevris transported to the carriage house and hid in the stall where the horses were located without the intruder being aware of his presence.   They thought they were alone and used a coal they had in a can and lit the candle again.  Bevris slowly arose and left the stall.  He drew one of his pistols and called out to the intruder.

“I know you’re up there.  Show yourself.”

“Please don’t hurt us,” a young girl requested.  “We mean you no harm.”

“Come down from there, whoever you are.”

Down the stairs came two young girls and their mother.  They were frightened and didn’t know what to expect.  They were all wearing dirty clothes that were torn in places.   Bevris had installed electric lights that looked almost like gas light jets.  He turned the rheostat and brought up the lights in the building. 

“Who are you three?” he asked. 

“Please, sir, we mean you no harm,” said the woman.  “This used to be our home until my husband died at sea.  I couldn’t afford to live here anymore and was cast out into the street by our creditors.  We were living with my brother’s family when he too cast us out.  We are destitute.  Do you have compassion enough to take us in?”

“Sure.  But not in the loft.  I and my manservant have prepared the carriage house on the property next to this one for guests.  You and your daughters are welcome to stay there as long as you want.  If you want, you can join me and Terj for breakfast in the morning.  Are you three hungry now?”

“We haven’t eaten since this morning,” said the woman. 

“Come with me into the rooms above the shop then.”

The four entered the shop and walked up the stairs to the living quarters above.  The woman and her daughters had never seen marvels they beheld in the kitchen and living room where a replicator instantly as if by magic prepared what they wanted to eat and drink instead of a stove.  The lights looked like gas lights.  But there was no smoke or the smell of gas. 

The woman told Bevris that her husband had been a merchant who was heading for another province to do business.  He was in financial trouble and felt the business deal of importing goods to his store would bring in the money he needed to pay off his creditors.  He needed to meet with merchants face-to-face.  But while he was at sea, pirates had taken the ship and its cargo and killed all the people aboard.  The news of the attack didn’t reach her until a couple weeks after it occurred. 

When she failed to pay her husband’s creditors, they had her and her daughters thrown out into the street and the buildings were seized.   She still had a key to the carriage house.  So she sneaked into the building with her daughters and hoped the new owner would be kind enough to take care of them. 

The next day was when the people worshipped their gods in the temples.  Bevris taught the woman, her daughters, and a few curious people what the Bible said.  No one came forward for salvation.  But they appeared to be interested in what the man had to say. 

For the next several weeks, the woman and her daughters were guests of Bevris in the carriage house that was used as a guest house.  The woman helped Bevris while the daughters were taught by Terj from the electronic books brought into the dimension.  Before long, the daughters were enjoying EPUs and the programs they experienced. 

Their mother began to fall in love with Bevris and he also had affections toward her.  She and her daughters became Christians as did a few of the people in the city.  Within a month, Bevris’ congregation grew to be 40 on a regular basis on the day of worship. 

At night, Bevris and Terj would go down to the docks to try and win over the people down there.  After enough times of being seen down there, they built up a trust with the tavern people and some pirates who no longer wanted to press the two into service aboard a ship. 

On one of the days of worship, the three men who had appraoched them in the tavern a few days after they arrived attended services in Bevris’ church.  They weren’t ready to accept Christ as their Savior.  But after what they tried to do to Bevris and Terj and there were no hard feelings, they thought they deserved to be listened to. 

News about a small fleet of pirate vessels heading toward Jorvansport reached the town.  They say there is honor among thieves.  But in this dimension, pirates regularly killed other pirates because they were in competition.   When Bevris heard about the pirates, he and Terj headed for the docks and volunteered to help the local pirates and merchants to fight them off.  The two joined with the three men who were coming on a regular basis to services and sailed out to sea to take on the attackers. 

The weapons Bevris and Terj had were superior to what the others used.  Eight  55 calibre steel projectiles could be loaded into the loading tubes of the pistols and 16 in the rifles.  The pistols could fire rounds at a muzzle velocity of a mile a second and the rifles could fire rounds at two miles a second.  Bevris used his material replicator to make a couple dozen more pistols and the components for a dozen more rifles.  He made sure the power packs were not as powerful as the reactors in his weapons.  But they could still fire about 1000 rounds before they needed to be recharged. 

When the ships were about two miles away, out of effective range of their big guns, Terj and Bevris were picking off sailors with both the pistols and the rifles every now and then.  Since Terj was synthetic, his eyesight was superior.  So he was much more accurate than his partner or the others that were armed with electromagnetic discharge weapons. 

Bevris knew that eventually the ships would be close enough to fire their cannons at each other.  So he had Terj decided to take the action to the enemy.  They both transported into the holds of the ships where most of the gunpowder was located and ignited the powder.  Since no one expected intruders in the ships, no one was guarding the holds. 

But when a powder monkey saw Bevris in the hold of one of the ships he yelled out to the men there was an intruder.  Three men entered the hold and were gunned down as they entered the door of the powder magazine.  Bevris transported to the ship he had left seconds before the ship he had sabotaged blew up. 

There were eight attacking ships that Bevris and Terj sent to the bottom of the ocean.  This upset many of the pirates the two were helping because they knew there had to be treasure aboard the attacking ships.  But when they both promised to try and salvage the wrecks in any way possible, this quieted the grumbling a bit. 

Jorvansport was saved from pirates so that the resident pirates could operate without as much opposition.  The weapons Bevris gave to the pirates he was working with helped them dominate the ocean and allowed them to kill the enemy out of range of the cannons.  But in time as pirates attended services at Bevris’s church, many became Christians and turned from their wicked ways.  They still went to sea but eventually as respectable merchant seamen. 

It took quite few years for Bevris, Terj, and Bevris’ wife and daughters that had been his guests to see Jorvansport become a respectable city with no pirates and government officials and soldiers that weren’t dishonest.   There were still pirates in the world.  But with the technical help of Bevris, more nations developed weapons that were more effective against pirates until after about 40 years, piracy became nearly extinct. 

In Jorvansport, a huge stone church was erected near the docks that had become a much more decent place to be at.  It became the symbol of change for the better that still remains a beacon of spiritual salvation for all those who work at sea.  The pirates were gone.  But not before Bevris lived the adventure of fighting them and experienced the even bigger thrill of leading many to Christ.