Limitless Seas 2, Chapter 29.

Chapter 29.

“As soon as the Lost Soul clears the mouth of the cove, cast off and take us out,” Larson ordered. The crew snapped to and prepared to push the ship away from the no-longer-rickety pier. His people had been at the estate for a short time, but true to his word, Larson had left the place better than he had found it. Before the morning meal they had decided on who would remain behind to assist Felicia and the alchemist Sarvo in creating more of the guns and the ogre blood infused flints that the weapons needed. They ended up leaving a team of five crewmen, ones that hadn’t had a chance to fire the guns yet, they would get plenty of time and practice while the ships were away.

Sarvo was a bit of concern still for Larson. The old alchemist seemed excited to continue his experiments on Bug Bartholomew’s blood and its reaction with the sorcerer’s sand, but Larson didn’t get the feeling that he would stick around once he grew bored. When that happened, Larson hoped to have someone who could replicate the work. He already had Lucian sniffing around for another alchemist, someone they could trust to sign on for the longer term. Once he had a replacement lined up, Larson would need to decide what to do with Sarvo. As long as the man kept his mouth shut, he would leave him be, but if he left the project and suddenly new guns with ogre blood flints started showing up elsewhere, Larson had no qualms about ending the man.

Larson also left a detail of gnoll marines behind to provide additional protection for those at the estate. They figured that most of the families of those assigned to the estate would want to stay here with their loved ones, which would mean more mouths to feed and bodies to defend. The family could help around the estate and, hopefully, also learn how to assist in building the new weapons they were developing. Felicia was certain that many of the gnolls not inclined to become warriors would find their calling as gunsmiths or any of the other myriad of tasks that needed to be accomplished to ramp up their production. So far, the gnolls had proven to be creatures of their word and had worked hard for Larson.

They were well supplied for the trip, but Larson was worried about their ammunition and powder stores. He had left half of the barrels of sorcerer’s sand behind for the construction teams to use, which also helped free up hold space for the larger crew he now aboard the Sea Venom. The ship that had seemed so large at first, was filling up quickly now that they prepared for a longer voyage. Iron shot was being produced for the coming fight, but the ogres had only made one mold so far, and casting the shot was a simple but laborious process. Despite careful attention, about one in four of the cannonballs they made was off balance and had to be melted back down, slowing the process.

Bug Bartholomew and Felicia assured them that they would develop better shot molds, but it wouldn’t happen until they returned and had more time to work on it. Sarvo also offered to help, hinting that there might be an alchemical solution to the problem of creating good ammunition. Another team had been working on measuring out the sand into the proper charge for the guns, then pouring it into a canvas bag that they sealed up. The bags allowed them to quickly load the guns and prevented any mishap should a flint somehow be broken loose or dropped in the heat of battle.

As they sailed out of the cove and charted a course toward the pirate stronghold, Larson and Tarley worked on a series of signals to coordinate during a battle. Flags could be used during the daylight hours, and lanterns during the dark. It was decided to keep the Lost Soul in the vanguard since its shape may be confused with another of the pirate vessels, while the Sea Venom was very distinct. Combat would be handled with the Sea Venom pulling ahead and engaging at longer range with their guns. If it came to boarding actions, the Lost Soul would move in to support, though even at range, her siege engines were formidable.

They had assembled two of the multi-armed ballista weapons for the Lost Soul, one on the foredeck and one amidships. A catapult was mounted aft and was their longest ranged weapon. A few tests were run to show the new arrivals what the guns could do, their range easily outstripping that of the catapult. His crews were getting better as well, targeting was more accurate and the reload speed was picking up. He wouldn’t call them a well-oiled machine yet, but his gunnery crews were more than competent. Larson also spent some time working with the system interface to better organize his ships. A quick review showed they were much better off than before, with more crew members and better fighting capacity.

Maximum Ship’s in the Fleet: 2.

Flagship: The Sea Venom.

Current Crew: 57/80. 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 member. 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: 4/5.

Larson: Privateer Captain, level 5.

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

Ibn Hasma: Level 4 Fang of the Serpent/Level 5 dervish.

Bug Bartholomew: Level 5 Ship’s Engineer/unknown second class/unknown third class.

Passengers: 6/20. Several marines have been assigned to your vessel by the town of Stratwall Harbor.

Provisions: The ship is provisioned for a 37-day voyage, though it contains and can produce fresh water for a much longer trip.

Ship’s Armaments: The ship mounts 4 of the 12-pounder smoothbore cannon. 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: 100%. Your crew is health and ready for action.

Morale: 89%. Many new crew have been signed on, and while you have treated them fairly and paid them as promised, there is some concern over the difficulty of their current mission.

His crew was coming along, and by the end of this voyage, he hoped many of them would close in on level five. They should also start to pick up additional specializations as he cross-trained them on the voyage. He was a bit surprised to see his guns were rated as crude, given how powerful they were. Considering they were the first of their kind and the construction process was still a work in progress, he understood the reasoning.

His officers had all improved and gained levels in their shipboard duties. He could see that Shada had even gained a level in her Shaman class, likely due to the action they saw during the trip to the Hypogean realm, or perhaps her surgeon duties amounted to experience for both. Bug Bartholomew’s work on the guns had maxed out his Ship’s Engineer class, but his other classes were still a mystery. Larson also looked over the details on the Lost Soul.

Ship’s Complement, Lost Soul.

Current Crew: 64/80. 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 member. 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 2 Privateer/ Level 3 First mate/ Unknown third class.

Theodore Buxton: Level 1 Ensign/Unknown second class.

Samir: Level 2 Marine Commander/level 3 dervish.

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

Passengers: 17/20. Several marines and their commanding officer from the town of Stratwall Harbor have been assigned to this vessel.

Provisions: The ship has 37-day supply of food and a 40-day supply of fresh water.

Ship’s Armaments: The ship mounts 2 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: 100%. Your crew is healthy and ready for action.

Morale: 89% Many new crew have been signed on, and while you have treated them fairly and paid them as promised, there is some concern over the difficulty of their current mission.

Much of the information on the Lost Soul mirrored the Sea Venom, but Larson expected that to change as he added ships to the fleet, and they operated further from his direct command. Tarley had gained the Privateer Captain class, which should help him manage the ship efficiently. Theodore and Samir were as expected, but it was good to see they had both gained appropriate classes to match their roles aboard the Lost Soul. Narbos was a bit different, it listed him as a full level five ship’s mage with the necromancer class as a specialization. It looked like mages didn’t have to learn a new class and could instead come aboard at their full mage level.

Armor was going to be a weak point for a while. He wanted to equip his crew with the steelwood armor that Felicia had developed, but her time was so taken with the new guns, that she hadn’t even been able to complete his newest set. He would have to buy something in town the next time they arrived. The armor he could purchase wouldn’t be light and corrosion free like the steelwood, but it might keep some of his crew alive long enough for him to get them fitted in something more appropriate.

Sarvo had given Larson a small case of healing potions, but there weren’t enough to pass around to all the crew. He had the officers take some and distribute what they could to some of the more experienced crew. If someone needed a potion, there should be one close by when the time came. While basic health potions were some of the most common elixirs, they weren’t exactly cheap and it would take a serious investment as the ships in the fleet, and the number of crew they needed to man them, grew.

When he had time, Larson worked with Bug Bartholomew on a way to holster his new pistols. It turned out, the best method was just to keep them charged and ready to fire while in his void storage. He could summon them at will, which might surprise an opponent when done at the right time. Reloading was going to be a problem as he would have to store one pistol to free up enough hands to reload the other. He presumed his first pair of arms would be busy with spear and shield in any fight where he was pulling pistols out, but they could also help reload if for some reason he wasn’t using them. Whatever the system did to his body enabled Larson to use four arms and without them getting in the way of each other, for which he was very thankful.

Most of the Stratwall Harbor marines, including Lieutenant Skarn were aboard the Lost Soul. He had kept a half dozen on the Sea Venom to supplement Ibn’s marines, but the plan was for the Venom to hammer the enemy from a distance. The four guns were spaced out so there were two on each side of the ship, and his crew trained relentlessly on shifting the guns from one side to the other. Even when they had the ship fully equipped, you never knew when a gun would be destroyed and you needed to shift another over to replace it.

The Sea Venom wasn’t designed for cannons, obviously, but it wasn’t too much trouble to rework areas they could mount guns on. Eventually, there would be eight guns on each side of the deck with another bow chaser in the front and a gun mounted to the rear. A second gun deck could be built out if they found a way to remove the need for oars and rowing to propel the ship. Given Cassia’s ability to use his Command the Currents ability, she may eventually eliminate the need for anything but the existing sails to propel the Sea Venom.

“My captain, I can sense your thoughts about me, does this vessel’s form no longer meet your need?” Cassia said. They had respected each other’s privacy, but thinking about the ship and accessing the system, must have triggered her to listen in.

“I feel that we’re about to change the way battles are fought, and the ship’s guns will be the deciding factor in most fights, rendering the older siege engines obsolete,” Larson said.

“So will I become ‘obsolete’?” Cassia asked, he could hear the sadness and a tinge of fear in her voice.

“Never, we may have to make some changes to the decks, but you’ll always be my flagship,” Larson promised. He meant it, even if they crafted purpose-built ships of the line that carried hundreds of guns, the Sea Venom was his ship, and one he would never part with, especially now that Cassia and he were joined.

“If you wish me to change, all you need to do is ask, what do you wish me to become?” Cassia asked. Larson tried to send her images of ships he remembered from his old world. He saw ships with great masts full of sail and three decks full of guns much heavier than the twelve-pounders he was currently running with. There were more, great metal ships, modern ships, but his memory on those was nearly blank.

“That’s what I envision. There’s more, but the types of ships I showed you will be the first step,” Larson said.

“Do not worry, my captain and mage, I can change to fit your dreams of gunfire and destruction. I am but an extension of your will and what you have seen in the dreams of your mind, we can make into reality. It will take time, though, and you will need to grow in power for me to grow and change as well,” Cassia said. She sent him images of her own, images that showed the Sea Venomchanging as he leveled up, growing and shifting over time to match the powerful ships he had unlocked in his mind.

“Then we shall both grow in power and change the Sea Venom into the most powerful ship to ever sail this world,” Larson promised.

“A question, my captain. Are the cannon, these guns, to be a part of me as well? Usually, the siege engines are simple things and I was able to integrate them into my design. These new weapons are, different, but I can try to make them one with the ship if you wish,” Cassia asked.

“What could you do if they were part of you?” Larson asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Assist my crew in aiming them, protect and repair the weapons that are damaged, and bond my magic to the dead chunks of iron they fling, causing even more destruction,” she replied, her voice growing almost bloodthirsty in his mind.

“If that is the case, then yes, make them part of the ship. If they become part of the ship, can I still remove them to shift them to another ship, or even bring them ashore if we need the firepower?” Larson asked.

“Yes, I can release them anytime you wish, but they will lose all the enhancements I give them, making them the dead devices they are now,” Cassia said.

“Very well, do what you can for our guns, Cassia, and do it quickly, we’ll need them and your help, very soon,” Larson ordered.