A simple wooden hut by the outskirts of the Port in Zulutown. Yes, Zulutown is a good name for the Zulu districts. Jan thought random thoughts like this as he walked with Nokuthula to the wooden hut. He pondered about asking whether such a name would be offensive in their eyes, but before his mind began fighting, Nokuthula spoke up.

"Seems you got something to say."

"This would sound strange and may be rather rude. But what do you think about calling the Zulu districts Zulutown."

Nokuthula took some to ponder Jan's frivolous question, before replying," You know? We call the Boer districts a similar name, Boertown. Or something close to your language. There are alternative names due to this incident. But for the sake of politeness, I shan't divulge what they are."

He could already imagine what names they were coming up "White Devils" or something along that line of thinking. Both parties did not trust one another, this incident only confirmed the biases that many in the population had. And now these people had a group of rather willing people who could agree with their preconceived notions. So, they're going about spreading it as if it's some gospel.

Simple shack, with a couple of Zulu guards outside, armed with the latest Boer firearms. They clumsily held the firearm, clearly unfamiliar with such a weapon. But Jan could not fault them for their quirks, for he was the same not too long ago.

Seeing their chieftess arriving by the door, they stood to the side and let her in. Before blocking Jan's entry, she waved them to the side and let him in as well.

One Zulu Guard was watching over the men, beaten up similarly to the injured Zulu warrior. They were cowering, hugging one another. Upon seeing someone of their race entering, they began looking towards Jan, hoping for salvation.

"Meneer!" (Sir!) They hollered, but the Zulu launched a kick towards them, shutting them up.

Seeing their state, and knowing that there was someone amongst them was related to Joren's business associates, he left the hut. Nokuthula followed behind, curious about his actions.

"Let's talk here. I don't want them to hear our words."

"If you speak in English, they won't be able to understand your words."

"I rather not take the chance."

"Very well, speak your mind."

Nokuthula confidently glanced around her surroundings. With her guards close by, and the weakling before her lacking any martial ability, she smiled.

"An eye for an eye seems to be the Zulu way. You have beaten them as how they have beaten your kind. So, I do not see any reason for punishment."

"So? Are you going to let them go? Let every man know that Zulu life is lesser than that of a Boer. If you do so, our partnership is over. The Princess will understand once I explain the situation to her."

"There is no need to do so. I do plan on punishing them. But not too severely."

Nokuthula watched him, waiting for him to pull off any funny tricks.

"Have you heard something known as community service?" Jan let his words sink in. Naturally, the Zulu Chieftess tilted her head to the side.

"Well basically, these men will be forced to commit to labour for the community. Whether it be constructing roads, picking up garbage in the streets or building homes. Simple useful labour."

"What is garbage?"

"We have cattle and horses roaming the streets. Some of them let out manure on the streets. Someone must clean them up."

"…"

"So, if you're worried about Zulu Dignity, making these men perform duties such as these will help the populace understand how they should perceive one another."

"But?" Nokuthula asked, before continuing," You've said it in such a sweet tone. But I must ask, what is the catch?"

"I cannot make these men perform this service. I will need the Zulus to enforce it behind the shadows."

"I hate that you're giving us work to do when you're supposed to be helping us as a leader. But very well since these concern us. We shall help."

"Menere, ek het gekom om julle hier uit te kry." (Gentlemen, I've come to get you out of here.)

Jan strolled in and gestured at the Zulu Guard who frowned at this impudent Boer. But seeing the glare from the Chieftess behind Jan, he meekly left the hut.

Untying the restraints from the men, the men began hugging him, thanking him for getting them out of this mess.

"Nou, nou. Ek het wel vir jou vrylating onderhandel. Maar daar is 'n paar bepalings en voorwaardes. Ek hoop nie jy steur jou aan hulle nie." (Now, now. I did negotiate for your release. But there are some terms and conditions. I hope you don't mind them.)

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The men didn't care, only glad that they were free. They were shaken from their experience of being kidnapped, and they didn't care what the terms were for. How could the terms be worse than what they just experienced?

Decrees were put up around buildings all over Port Mpande. There was one printed in Elfrikaans, and another was printed in Zulu. And they were placed all over the town and its various districts, side by side with one another.

Translated into English, the decree reads:

The Four Boers, names redacted for the sake of privacy, involved in the assault of the Zulu warrior REDACTED will be punished with 72 hours of community service. They will be cleaning up our streets, ensuring that they are walkable and clean.

Such a simple message, although Jan had some concerns about how REDACTED will be perceived by Boers and Zulus. He had to put these concerns aside, as an angry Boer marched into his office.

"Jan, what the hell is this!" Joren gestured at the decree in his hands, likely torn down from some wall.

"Are you sure you wish to end our business relations over some damn elves!" He bashed his fist on the table.

"Joren, calm down." Jan got up from his seat and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know very well that I have no intention of doing so. I also have no intention of submitting to the elves, so I came up with this solution. You see, while they are punished, there is no one enforcing their punishment. In consideration for you, I have even removed their names."

"Oh… so that's what redacted means…" Joren mumbled. Looks like he really should not have used the term 'redacted'.

"In the end, this should still be acceptable to both you and your business associates."

This time, a hand from Joren clasped onto Jan's shoulders.

"Remember what I've said? You're a genius. The elves are happy, and I am happy. A win-win solution for both of us. Contact me if you need more funds. I'm sure my… I mean our associates are more willing to loosen their purse strings."

The man happily left. As he stepped out of his office, he frowned at the sight of a dark elf.

Tsk. He clicked his tongue and continued his pace.

"Surely you don't mean what you said?" Nokuthula asked as she took Joren's place in Jan's office.

"Whether you want to see these men 'punished' is up to you. I wouldn't mind if you made them do community service every day. But please don't be too extreme in your enforcement. I do not wish to be implicated."

Nokuthula shrugged, turning around to hide her facial expressions, and calmly walked out of the room.

Every day, when Jan woke up in his room in the town hall, he went to the windows and found the same four individuals in the streets. They were shovelling manure from the ground, laying gravel over the dirt roads, as well wiping as the exterior of the various windows. Yes, those very same men always appeared in the mornings. It happened the day after Nokuthula left his office.

Those men were for some reason always there. Looking a bit further south, he found some elves who covered themselves in Western clothing, blending themselves in the Boer districts. They were always glaring at them, occasionally reaching for the guns they had around their shoulders.

'Nokuthula has no understanding of restraint!' Jan panicked at first, but once he calmed down and thought about it. Nothing was tying the elves to him. So even if they were caught, he could say he didn't know. There was no motive for him to enforce their punishments anyway, so this only would benefit the elves.

He even received a letter from one of the fathers of the men.

It was in Elfrikaans, so his mind translated it to English when he read it.

Dear Commando Jan,

My son was a useless person, all he did was go to the pub to get drunk. Afterwards, he would harass the local women and give me a lot of headaches from angry fathers. But now, he has matured. Your community punishment has allowed him to understand the ramifications of his actions, and now he has turned over a new leaf to perform good deeds.

Yours sincerely,

A father

Jan didn't know how to feel once he read it. Should he tell the truth? Sir, your son was working very hard not to be shot when he is alone in the middle of the night. But he decided to let it be. It was amusing to see the same sights every morning when he woke up after all.

"More ships are passing by, aren't they?" A man remarked as he shook his legs by a pier, watching the ships going by. All sorts of vessels went past St Lucia, British, Portuguese, Egyptian or Ottoman, they all passed by here to facilitate trade.

"There was a Boer who came by… saying he would set up a town by the bay near the newly conquered Zulu territories."

"How long was that? A couple of months ago since they took that land, I doubt they could do much with it. Any news in the markets? A hot good? A new tulip craze perhaps?"

"I haven't checked. But that might be the case. I doubt those farmers would be able to build a port. All they know is to run away. My last business partner was a Boer yeah?"

"How was he?"

"He was a decent fellow. He seemed like an honest and trustworthy chap. I left him alone for a couple of months. The next thing I knew when I came back to check the accounts, there were many unaccounted figures in the books. When I asked him about this, he said he didn't know."

The other man nodded.

"I was angry! I threatened to sue him and hired a lawyer to file my case in the Cape Colony. But you know what happened?"

"That fella run away?"

"That fucker run away! Took my money and trekked to the middle of nowhere. I don't know where he went. Hope the elves boil his brains for soup... No, there might be too cruel for the elves."

"What do you expect from dumb farmers?"

The Englishman shrugged and frowned as he observed the ships passing by. Nothing much was out of place, perhaps he was overthinking things. Still, it would not be bad to check in with the town at St Lucia Bay soon. Those Boers might be planning something that might involve St Lucia Bay, perhaps massing a force to conquer the town. That cannot stand!

The first shipments of cannons arrived with grapeshot. A single cannon was calmly hefted by the cultivator as he pointed at the various places on the cannon. It was carefully sculpted by Master Smith, and as the cultivator explained, if he wanted decorations or what not emblazoned on it, he was going to have to pay extra.

Jan nodded at his words. The cultivator then asked where he wanted to put it, and his brain froze at his words.

Where to put it?

Good question. Just like every good question in this world, there is no perfect answer, there's only a multitude of good answers.

He could point it right at the Zulu Kingdom. The cannons' presence would strain Zulu-Boer relations, harming the remaining harmony between the two groups in the Port. It will spark an incident in the future. Problematically, the cannons would lay right in Zulutown. So if the Zulu population revolted, those cannons could be easily seized in them. However, showing that he did see the Zulu Kingdom as a threat would strengthen his power base consisting of Boers, who share that view, which is most of them. With the responsibility allocated to him as the Boer leader here, he would be expected to do it.

Now he could point it right at the Natalia Republic. It would improve relations since the Zulu would not feel so threatened by its presence. But, it would lay in Boertown. If a Boer revolt broke out, those cannons were going to be seized by them. Doing so would lead to many questions, such as, what exactly was he doing? He could point them to St Lucia. But considering how some Englishman might visit soon, the sight of cannons pointing in the direction of the town might lead to unpleasant questions. In all honesty, he was better off locking it in an armoury somewhere. But he needed a show of strength.

Jan was a new Commando. He needed to show the other Commandoes that he could do the same job as the rest of them, like procuring weapons to arm their men in the case a conflict breaks out. Showing off cannons would up his status amongst the Boers. Although, it was not necessary to display them.

As all these thoughts roamed about his head, he froze up, unsure of what to pick.

"Uhh… I'll just leave it here. You can get others to help you out instead. I still have things to do," The cultivator watched the customer freeze up and left the cannon on the ground before disappearing in a flash.

Jan made up his mind and was about to utter his thoughts but found the cultivator missing. He sighed and shoved it to the back of his mind.

"Commando Jan, I have to discuss the expansion of Port Mpande," Nokuthula professionally explained as she strolled into the office and watched the cannon in the centre of the room.

She laid her eyes on it, and her eyes absorbed every detail of the beautiful weapon of destruction.

"Is that a gift for me Commando?"

Jan was about to shake his head but he paused and asked, "What are you planning to do with it?"

"The Princess would be pleased with the famed Boer cannon. All she has received are simple firearms, but a cannon would greatly please her."

'How would pleasing her benefit me in any way? There's still the problem of you being able to use it against me,' Jan thought.

"I understand that you're afraid that we might use it against you. But how about this? If you gift the princess such a gift, she would be willing to open her contacts with other Zulu chieftesses. More Zulu chieftesses may further engage in trade, driving the overall Zulu engagement in the Zulu-Boer collaboration."

"That's only a possibility. But what can Zulu offer me? More maize and cattle? You should have known we have enough of that from the scant Zulu traders, what will more of that bring me?"

Nokuthula's lips curled up. She reached for a pocket and brought out a strip of leopard skin.

"You see, the leopard skin is a rather valuable piece in our culture. Only those who have the authority are allowed to wear it. One can be put to death if one lacks the right to wear it. I'm sure the same could be said about you Westerners. We can provide leopard skin, like the fur trade in Canada. Of course, the Princess will only extend to do this to the Boers due to our partnership, no Englishman will be participating in the deal."