Limitless Seas 2, Chapter 36.

Chapter 36.

Larson started to ignore the warning, swimming toward a struggling civilian in the water. He reached her, an older child that was barely treading water. Larson grabbed her and swam back toward the Sea Venom as fast as he could manage. Once near the ship, Bug Bartholomew threw him two lines, one for him and one for the kid. A pair of crew hauled the girl aboard while the ogre used his prodigious strength to help Larson out of the water and onto the deck. Once out of the water, he could no longer sense the monster approaching, but the terror he had felt coming from Cassia was still there.

“Signal the fleet to get underway at the best possible speed toward the stronghold,” Larson ordered. The Sea Venom also started moving, and several of those on deck called for them to stop and help the few still struggling in the sea below. Larson knew that many considered him a cold man but seeing those that relied on him struggling and drowning did something. He wanted to save them all, but Cassia kept pushing the danger into his mind. To stay was to die. The ship’s boat was hauled aboard, and they started to pull away from the wreckage, the Golden Eel having now burnt to the waterline.

“Hold on, something’s coming up!” Quix shouted from the crow’s nest. The crew had reluctantly set the sail and with Cassia exerting her influence, they began to accelerate away from the wreck. In the space that they had just vacated the water erupted from below and the great maw of some sea beast emerged, a beast that resembled a shark grown to impossible proportions. The monster sucked in the remaining victims on the surface, including the burned-out hull of the Golden Eel, before returning to the depths. The dark, dead-looking eye of the beast, easily five feet in diameter, seemed to look directly at Larson as it sunk below the surface once more. He got the terrifying feeling that the beast was trying to decide if chasing the Sea Venom would be worth the meal it promised. If they had remained where they were the monster would have come up almost underneath them, and the mouth on the monster was easily large enough to consume the Sea Venom whole.

“Do I fire, sir?” Dredge asked, his normally confident voice shaking with fear as the gunnery crews shifted the starboard guns to train on where the creature had emerged.

“No, making that thing angry is probably the last thing we want to do. Given the size of it, I expect it would just shrug off even a fifty-gun broadside,” Larson replied. Several of the rescued victims sobbed on deck, most having lost someone aboard the now-vanished Golden Eel. A fin, twice the size of Larson’s ship broke the surface, moving impossibly fast toward the floundering pirate war galleys. Screams from the crew that had abandoned ship were heard over the wind as the Sea Venom and the flotilla moved away as fast as they could manage.

Twice more the monster emerged, each time sucking down the wreckage of one of the galleys. Anyone on the surface even remotely close to the ships was also sucked down, and when the beast submerged for the third time that day, the seas were eerily quiet. They all waited and watched, expecting the fin of the beast to break the surface once more. Cassia sent him the image of the massive monster returning to the depths from which it had emerged, sated for the moment. What other horrors lurked below the seas of this world? The only thing to fear in his old world were the sharks, terrifying enough, but no threat to a ship. How do you combat a monster that can swallow a warship whole?

Only four survivors were rescued, three of them having horrible burns on their bodies that required Shada’s constant attention to keep them alive. Every time enough mana regenerated for her to cast a healing spell, she would get back to work. Larson offered to give each of the injured a healing potion, but Shada advised him to hold them back in case she was unable to continue with her healing work. For now, she was keeping up, just barely, with the damage. A space below deck was made available for the injured to lie down, it was cramped, but people packed together even tighter when they saw the condition the burn victims were in.

“The magical flames that mage cast were even worse than normal. They continue to slowly burn even with my efforts,” Shada said, slumping down in exhaustion next to Larson.

“Is there anything we can do to help you?” Larson asked, for more than the first time, frustrated that the magic this world granted to him didn’t seem to contain any healing abilities.

“No, my magic will get the upper hand as the spell runs its course. It’s an insidious modification of a normal fireball, a ship hit by this could have the flames extinguished, only to have fire break out again a few hours later,” Shada said before drifting off to sleep.

“Well deal with that pirate mage when the time comes,” Larson promised.

A few hours later, as dusk settled over the sea, everyone started to relax, realizing the shark-like beast wasn’t going to continue its feeding. The flotilla sorted itself out, returning to the same formation it had used earlier. Extra watch was assigned to each ship, looking out for not only the sails of a pirate vessel but also for the emergence of any additional sea monsters. He had seen a tentacled leviathan, albeit a juvenile one, feast on the bodies after the fight where he had seized control of the Venom. Now, he had seen a different sea monster and wondered what would happen if the two met, it would be a battle for the ages, and one he would love to observe as long as it was from a very safe distance.

They made good time back to the pirate stronghold, and the journey was without further incident. Shada continued her work, finally gaining the upper hand on the magical burns, but being so exhausted afterward that she fell into an almost coma-like sleep from the constant draining of her mana. One good thing occurred as they neared the stronghold, the system had determined that he had finally done enough to justify reaching level six. Larson pulled up his information to see what had changed with this latest achievement.

Larson, Privateer Captain, Level 6. Water Naga, Constrictor.

Experience toward your next level: 0%.

Magic Affinity: Water.

Class Abilities:

Command Presence. Officers and crew within 125 yards of the vessel receive an 8% bonus to shipboard duties. The bonus extends to combat skills when engaged against threats outlined in the letter of marque. This ability is only active when the crew morale rating is at 40% or higher.

Chart A Course: This ability grants you a modest bonus when choosing the best route to take and dangers to avoid in the open ocean. This ability activates when actively looking at a chart, and scales with your level.

Weather Eye: The Weather Eye ability allows the captain to judge weather and sea conditions more accurately. You can eke out extra speed when needed by catching an elusive breeze or a helpful current.

Personal Abilities:

Armor/Weapon Skills: You are proficient with light armor, medium armor, and shields. All simple and shipboard weapons skills are available to you, including commonly mounted siege equipment.

Shield Bash: Lash out with your shield, damaging and potentially stunning your foe. Now that you have reached level 6, your Shield Bash ability has the chance to score a critical hit. This ability can be used 3 times per day.

You have gained the choice of a new weapon ability. Choose the weapon type you wish to unlock a new ability for.

1. Polearms.

2. One-handed weapons.

3. View other weapons.

A new ability unlocking was great news. Anything that could improve his performance in battle was more than welcome. The challenge would be which weapon type to focus on? The twin-pronged spear had served him well and functioned underwater without much difficulty, but he liked the feel of the rapier much better, and it seemed to fit in better with a new pair of arms wielding pistols as it was easier to keep out of the line of fire. He was also considering finding additional rapiers to wield in his second set of arms when the pistols weren’t practical.

Underwater, the thrust of a rapier was nearly as effective as a spear but had a shorter reach. The shorter reach of the rapier was somewhat mitigated by it having less resistance in the water than the longer spear did, making his attacks faster. The View Other Weapons option simply listed the weapon categories that his class could use, with firearms being conspicuously absent. His opinion might change as he discovered new weapons, but for now, One-Handed Weapons, which included the rapier seemed to be the best choice for his style of fighting.

New ability unlocked: Pincushion. This ability can be activated 1/day and unleashes five strikes in a single second and each strike hits with a 50% damage reduction. The target must be in reach of your weapon and the strikes will always hit their target. This ability scales with your level and will improve and evolve over time.

That would give him another tool for dealing with particularly troublesome foes, and though the strikes dealt only half the damage of a normal attack, the number of hits made it deadly. The Clean Kill rapier’s enhancement to armor penetration and damage would further enhance this new ability. Given that Pincushion could be used with any one-handed weapon, it further improved its usefulness. After selecting the weapon ability, he found the reason that firearms were left out of the previous list of weapon choices.

New Weapon class unlocked: Firearms. You have discovered the secret of the Sorcerer’s Sand and used that knowledge to develop a new weapon type. The firearms skill will now be added as a class ability to any class you currently possess or may unlock in the future. In addition, you have received a bonus ability for this weapon class.

Rapid Fire: Instantly fire a second shot with your current firearms-based weapons. The bonus shot will follow the first, so be sure you’ll hit your target before using this ability. Rapid Fire can be used 1/day and the ability scales with your level, evolving and improving over time.

New Ship ability unlocked: Cassia has been granted a version of your Rapid Fire ability and can now use it 1/day on any siege weapon attuned to your vessel.

The new ability was perfect for him and made even more powerful by the fact it wasn’t limited to a single weapon. When activated, Rapid Shot would fire both his pistols twice, and if he was able to acquire a second set of pistols for his other arms, he would be able to unleash eight shots on a single foe. Cassia’s version of the ability was even more devastating, as she had bonded with all the guns aboard her. Firing a double broadside would be incredibly powerful and Larson didn’t think there was any ship that could withstand it, even ones shielded by mages would be overwhelmed. The wording of the ability also gave him an idea that Cassia may be able to do more than he had previously thought, but before he dug into that, Larson wanted to review his other improvements.

Magical Abilities:

Imbue Weapon: Enhance your weapon with water magic, adding deadly piercing, bludgeoning, or slashing damage to your next attack. You have now unlocked the ability to imbue the ammunition of ranged weapons. At this level, the ability can only imbue the ammunition of any personal ranged weapon or siege engine you may be operating.

Create Water. Conjure up to six gallons of fresh or saltwater each day. This spell can be cast anywhere within your line of sight.

Racial Abilities:

Venomous Bite. Like all variants of the naga race, water naga possess a set of fangs that can deliver venom to their prey. You have been granted the subtype Venom Spit. You can accurately spit venom up to 18 feet. Once you have used this ability, it will take your body up to 3 days to replenish your venom reserves. You may shape the venom you spit, choosing to keep it a tight stream for a longer range or spray it widely over an area directly in front of you. If sprayed widely, the venom will have some of its strength diluted and the effective range will be decreased.

Your specific venom subtype is a powerful cytotoxin that creates rapid necrosis of any living tissue or organic material it touches. When you are underwater, this ability creates a small cloud of venom that will remain in place for up to 18 seconds depending on water conditions before diluting. As you attain higher levels, this power will improve.

Sense Disturbance: When in a large body of water, you can sense the disturbance of creatures moving nearby, even in complete darkness. This ability provides a moderate chance to track specific targets.

Command the Currents: You can use your power to control the seas around you and your vessel, speeding your passage and calming dangerous conditions. This ability slowly drains your mana, and some degree of concentration is required.

Abilities Granted by Cassia, the Sea Venom.

Serpent’s Scales. Call upon the power of the Sea Venom to temporarily strengthen your body with armored scales. This ability can be used 1/day and greatly enhances your armor as well as resistance to elemental damage. When active the Serpent’s Scales will also enhance your natural immunity to poisons, flushing even the most powerful toxins from your body. This ability lasts for 1 minute and will improve as you level.

Serpent’s strike. Once per day, Captain Larson may summon Cassia’s power to attack an enemy. Upon activation a giant serpent head will strike at your target, dealing bludgeoning and piercing damage as well as applying your current level of venom.

“Cassia, I have a question for you,” Larson asked after reviewing the modest upgrades to his other abilities.

“Yes, my mage and captain, how may I assist?” Cassia asked.

“We have unlocked a new ability called Rapid Fire, but the way your version of the ability is worded implies that you can use the cannons that have been attuned to our ship. Is that true?” Larson asked.

“In a minor way, yes, but I need to grow in power for the weapons to be truly under my control. As it stands now, I cannot load the guns, but I can assist a bit with aiming. My assistance improves the accuracy of the gunner, so the ability is tied to their skill. If they are horrible shots, I can’t make them experts. One thing I can do is fire the guns if they are already loaded. As I mentioned before, my ability to target them is minuscule. I see the Rapid Fire ability in my skills, but I suggest that we time it to coincide with more than one gun firing when possible,” Cassia advised.

“Thank you for the information, I believe we can deal a devastating blow with a coordinated broadside. I’ll work with Dredge and his gunners to let them know what we can now do,” Larson said. With his personal abilities and upgrades reviewed, Larson took a look at the small fleet under his command.

Maximum Ship’s in the Fleet: 5.

Current Fleet Size: 5. Improve your level in the Privateer class to continue to increase your fleet size.

Flagship: The Sea Venom. Modified Warship.

Current Crew: 33/80. The average crew level is 3.

Specialized crew: Many of your crew have acquired multiple specializations. Examine the Current Crew tab if you wish to see exact numbers. The most common specializations are marine, gunner, and damage control party members. There is no longer a limit to the number of crew with specializations or the number of specializations they may learn. Each additional specialization a crewman learns will take longer to acquire than the previous one.

Officers: 3/5.

Larson: Privateer Captain, level 5.

Shada: Level 5 Ship’s Surgeon/Level 4 Shaman/Level 3 Imperium soldier.

Ibn Hasma: Level 5 Fang of the Serpent/Level 5 dervish.

Bug Bartholomew: Level 6 Ship’s Engineer/unknown second class/unknown third class.

Passengers: 91/20. Your ship is currently overloaded with passengers. The unused berths for crew have been allocated to the passengers, but you have still exceeded the maximum capacity of your ship. A morale penalty has been imposed that will grow the longer you are at excess capacity.

Provisions: The ship is provisioned for an 11-day voyage, food and water consumption is above normal.

Ship’s Armaments: The ship mounts 8 of the 12-pounder smoothbore cannon and a single 4-pounder weapon. The cannons are rated as Crude, reducing their range, accuracy, and damage.

Crew Armaments: Average. Every member of the crew has a primary and secondary weapon of their preference.

Marine Armaments: Good. The best weapons have been assigned to sailors with marine specializations.

Crew Armor: Negligible. Your normal crew is largely unarmored.

Marine Armor: Above Average. The sailors assigned as marines have access to the best armor available aboard the ship.

Average Crew Health: 84%. Injuries have outpaced the ability of your ship’s surgeon to treat quickly. As most of the injuries are to passengers, the injured have little effect on the ship’s performance, other than to limit the ability of your surgeon to treat new combat casualties.

Morale: 71%. The future for your crew and passengers is uncertain. Your crew believes in your ability to lead, but the passengers are starting to grumble. Morale will decline until your ship is back under maximum capacity.

The Lost Soul, Converted Merchantman/Armed Privateer.

Ship’s Complement:

Current Crew: 29/80. The average crew level is 3.

Specialized crew: Many of your crew have acquired multiple specializations. Examine the Current Crew tab if you wish to see exact numbers. The most common specializations are marine, gunner, and damage control party members. There is no longer a limit to the number of crew with specializations or the number of specializations they may learn. Each additional specialization a crewman learns will take longer to acquire than the previous one.

Officers: 3/5.

Tarley: Level 3 Privateer/ Level 3 First mate/ Unknown third class.

Samir: Level 3 Marine Commander/level 3 dervish.

Narbos: Level 5 Ship’s Mage (Necromancer).

Passengers: 98/20. This ship is currently overloaded with passengers. The unused berths for crew have been allocated to the passengers, but it still exceeds the maximum capacity of the ship. A morale penalty has been imposed that will grow the longer you are at excess capacity.

Provisions: The ship has 9-day supply of food and water.

Ship’s Armaments: The ship mounts 3 dual-armed ballistae and a single catapult. Created and modified by your ship’s engineer specifically for this vessel, the weapons are rated as Above Average.

Crew Armaments: Average. Every member of the crew has a primary and secondary weapon of their preference.

Marine Armaments: Good. The best weapons have been assigned to sailors with marine specializations.

Crew Armor: Negligible. Your normal crew is largely unarmored.

Marine Armor: Above Average. The sailors assigned as marines have access to the best armor available aboard the ship.

Average Crew Health: 91%. The crew is healthy, but many of the passengers brought aboard have health issues.

Morale: 69%. The future for the crew and passengers is uncertain. Your crew believes in your ability to lead, but the passengers are starting to grumble. Morale will decline until your ship is back under maximum capacity.

Red Sea Trader. Merchantman.

Ship’s Complement:

Current Crew 9/80. The average crew level is 2. The ship has below the minimum number needed to efficiently operate. In addition to the limited crew, an insufficient number of experienced officers is present. A 25% penalty for all shipboard actions is imposed until the number of trained crew and officers is increased.

Officers: 1/5.

Theodore Buxton: Level 1 Privateer/Unknown second class. Placed in command before he was ready, Theodore Buxton has risen to the challenge and unlocked the Privateer class.

Passengers: 129/40. This ship is currently overloaded with passengers. The unused berths for crew have been allocated to the passengers, but it still exceeds the maximum capacity of the ship. A morale penalty has been imposed that will grow the ship is at excess capacity.

Provisions: The ship has 9-day supply of food and water.

Ship’s Armaments: N/A. This Vessel is currently unarmed and does not possess any hardpoints for mounting siege engines.

Crew Armaments: Average. Every member of the crew has a primary and secondary weapon of their preference.

Marine Armaments: Good. The best weapons have been assigned to sailors with marine specializations.

Crew Armor: Negligible. Your normal crew is largely unarmored.

Marine Armor: Above Average. The sailors assigned as marines have access to the best armor available aboard the ship.

Average Crew Health: 68%. The crew is healthy, but many of the passengers brought aboard have health issues.

Morale: 61%. The future for the crew and passengers is uncertain. Your crew believes in your ability to lead, and Theodore Buxton has started to gain their trust as well. The passengers are starting to grumble. Morale will decline until the ship is back under maximum capacity.

Rover. Privateer Sloop.

Ship’s Complement:

Current Crew 8/40. The average crew level is 2. The ship has below the minimum number needed to efficiently operate. In addition to the limited crew, an insufficient number of experienced officers is present. A 25% penalty for all shipboard actions is imposed until the number of trained crew and officers is increased.

Officers: 1/5.

Jacil: Sailor 3/Privateer 0. Placed in command of the Rover, Jacil is inexperienced at the command of a vessel but has the potential to unlock levels in the Privateer class.

Passengers: 61/10. This ship is currently overloaded with passengers. The unused berths for crew have been allocated to the passengers, but it still exceeds the maximum capacity of the ship. A morale penalty has been imposed that will grow the ship is at excess capacity.

Provisions: The ship has 9-day supply of food and water.

Ship’s Armaments: N/A. This Vessel is currently unarmed but does possess a single siege weapon hardpoint positioned at the bow of the ship.

Crew Armaments: Average. Every member of the crew has a primary and secondary weapon of their preference.

Marine Armaments: Good. The best weapons have been assigned to sailors with marine specializations.

Crew Armor: Negligible. Your normal crew is largely unarmored.

Marine Armor: Above Average. The sailors assigned as marines have access to the best armor available aboard the ship.

Average Crew Health: 78%. The crew is healthy, but many of the passengers brought aboard have health issues.

Morale: 59%. The crew trusts in Captain Larson, but this particular vessel is currently under the command of an inexperienced leader. The passengers are starting to grumble. Morale will decline until the ship is back under maximum capacity.

Bountiful Land. Privateer Sloop.

Ship’s Complement:

Current Crew 7/40. The average crew level is 2. The ship has below the minimum number needed to efficiently operate. In addition to the limited crew, an insufficient number of experienced officers is present. A 25% penalty to all shipboard actions is imposed until the number of trained crew and officers is increased.

Officers: 1/5.

Sand Crab: Sailor 3. Placed in command of the Bountiful Land, the sailor known as Sand Crab is inexperienced at the command of a vessel and lacks the necessary ability to unlock levels in the Privateer class. Ship efficiency is reduced by a further 15%, and morale will deteriorate at an accelerated pace until the vessel is placed under the command of a competent officer.

Passengers: 55/10. This ship is currently overloaded with passengers. The unused berths for crew have been allocated to the passengers, but it still exceeds the maximum capacity of the ship. A morale penalty has been imposed that will grow the ship is at excess capacity.

Provisions: The ship has 9-day supply of food and water.

Ship’s Armaments: N/A. This Vessel is currently unarmed but does possess a single siege weapon hardpoint positioned at the bow of the ship.

Crew Armaments: Average. Every member of the crew has a primary and secondary weapon of their preference.

Marine Armaments: Good. The best weapons have been assigned to sailors with marine specializations.

Crew Armor: Negligible. Your normal crew is largely unarmored.

Marine Armor: Above Average. The sailors assigned as marines have access to the best armor available aboard the ship.

Average Crew Health: 77%. The crew is healthy, but many of the passengers brought aboard have health issues.

Morale: 51%. The crew trusts in Captain Larson, but this particular vessel is currently under the command of an inexperienced leader. The passengers are starting to grumble. Morale will decline until the ship is back under maximum capacity.

The situation was dire, but not quite critical yet. If morale continued to fall, he risked the real possibility that some of the crew would mutiny and take off on their own. He needed to get the ships to the stronghold and offload the passengers. Once in port, he could return the crews of the smaller vessels to the three with competent leadership and improve the declining morale. Of course, it wasn’t fair to Sand Crab and Jacil, they were doing their best. Given the system information, Jacil might have the makings of an officer, but Sand Crab needed to return to being a crewman as soon as possible. His review was halted when the call went out that land had been spotted, the stronghold finally coming into view on the horizon.