Limitless Seas, Chapter 26.

I go over crew pay a bit in this chapter, but I think for the final edit I'll move it to an earlier chapter, maybe a comment by Larson when they first make it to Rockwell Wharf. 

Chapter 26.

Larson saluted his crew, and then had them get back to work, there was still much to do before they sailed in the morning. He remembered the purchases he had made at Felicia’s smithy and headed to the armory compartment that was now next door to his cabin. Larson began pulling out the weapons and armor he had stored away with his new ability. While he had been gone, someone had cleaned and mended the armor from the crew that had participated in the attack on the warehouse. The racks that he had recovered from the shipwreck were there, filled with the weapons that had rested for who knew how long at the bottom of the sea. More recently constructed racks lined the walls, ready to receive the weapons and armor he was unloading.

After finishing stowing the new gear and seeing to it that the armory was secured, Larson went up to the forecastle to see how Bug Bartholomew was coming along with the siege engine he was assembling. The scorpion he was working on resembled a giant crossbow, giant sized for even the ogre. He must have scaled the weapon up a bit, it looked larger than Larson had expected. There was also a strange modification that Shada was helping to install. Where a normal weapon like this would have one set of arms to fire the bolt, this one had two.

“What gives with the scorpion?” Larson asked.

“A little trick that our ship’s surgeon came up with. A most impressive display of ingenuity,” Bug said.

“Orc lady is nice and smartses like Bartholomew,” Bartholomew added.

“It wasn’t some stroke of brilliance on my part, just something I remembered seeing when I visited the Imperium. The upgrade will give us a more powerful initial volley, but the reload speed can be a bit slower until the crew gets enough practice,” Shada told him.

“What’s the rate of fire after the initial volley and how many bolts do we have for this thing?” Larson asked.

“With a trained crew of three, the weapon will fire two rounds per minute. An expert crew might get as many as three. As far as ammo, I’ve been crafting it myself. Felicia forged me two hundred steel tips and the shafts are simple wood. I have fifty or so assembled and supplies to finish up the full two hundred bolts. I figure it will give me something to do while we’re at sea,” Bug replied. Two hundred rounds should be more than enough for the type of battle Larson expected to fight.

“Good work, it looks like the second ship’s boat is almost complete, any other projects you have cooking, Bug Bartholomew,” Larson asked.

“I got’s more shooty things for da ship,” Bartholomew said.

“Yes, brother, we have an additional pair of weapons for the vessel. They are an upgraded arbalest design that we’ve been working on, though, they are without the ingenious modification that Shada suggested for the Ballista,” Bug told him. The arbalests were large crossbows with a powerful draw and required a windlass to pull the arms back on the weapon. They also had a slow rate of fire, but the flat trajectory, long range, and high velocity bolt should make them more effective as an antipersonnel weapon than a normal bow and arrow. Bug Bartholomew designed the frame of the weapon to easily install into a swivel mount, one of which was placed on the main deck below the forecastle and one was up on the quarterdeck. He had made or purchased two hundred bolts per weapon, again, an amount that should be sufficient for the coming battle.

With the siege engine and the heavy arbalest’s, Larson was feeling much more confident about their odds in a long-range fight. He helped install the weapons, verifying they had a good field of fire. The one on the quarterdeck was higher up and a bit better situated than the one on the main deck. He would have liked to have mounted the main deck one on the forecastle, but it would have hampered the field of fire for the ballista. The ogre had only had time and funds to build two of the arbalests, but the flexible mounting setup meant that they could switch them from one side of the ship to the other when needed, the ogre having the foresight to install swivel mounts on either side of the ship.

At sunset, Tarley and his party arrived back at the ship. He appeared to have much more luck this time, and another twenty-two potential crewmen followed him onto the ship, all of whom looked somewhat worse for wear. Larson couldn’t afford to be picky and once he had a short chat with each of them, they were all hired on. Most were from the same crew, jumping ship when it became obvious their captain had no intention of paying them what they were owed. A sailor’s pay wasn’t all that much, as a good portion of their compensation came in the form of the room and board that the ship offered. A basic seaman, like his crew were comprised of, earned only one or two scales per day, not enough to survive on dry land, but at sea when you had no expenses, the pay could add up to a respectable amount by the time they made port.

Larson could have offered only a scale per day if he had more time to scrounge around for crew, but he wanted to give the higher wage of two scales which would make the crew were more likely to sign on for another voyage when this one was complete. His specialized crew earned four scales per day and his officers eight. It wasn’t much, at least until you considered that once they were officially a privateer vessel, the men could earn a share of any prizes they took at sea, or plunder from a raid. The first mate kept the pay books, and the crew would receive their pay when they returned to port after a voyage. Sadly, far too many would drink, gamble, or be swindled out of their money by the time the ship was ready to head out again.

After everyone had been fed their evening meal, Larson called his ship’s officers, along with Bug Bartholomew into his cabin. The ogre had planned for his need to move about the ship, fashioning hatches that were larger than normal; oversized for most of the crew, but a tight fit for the ogre. With the ship’s officers sitting at the small meeting table in his cabin and the ogre sitting on the floor, Larson started the meeting.

“First of all, thank you for your hard work and support. We’re ready for the task at hand and I intend to sail with the morning tide. Based on the coordinates given, the rendezvous with this pirate should be about three days sail from here. While I can use my powers to speed our passage, I feel it’s more important that I spend my time helping you to drill the crew. They need to begin learning to work and fight together. Everyone in this room is deadly in a fight, but it won’t do us any good to win our personal fights if all our crew slaughtered in the meantime.

“Ibn,” Larson said, pausing as he looked at Shada, the orc had proven deadly in the warehouse fight and had some skill at leading the men into battle, “along with Shada will work on training up the crew in combat. Nogreb and Tarley will drill them on their sailing skills and damage control while I’ll come up with a few surprise challenges for all of you to deal with. Bug Bartholomew will continue working on anything the ship needs and finish up crafting the ammo for our siege engines. Come to me if you have any problems with the new crew, if anyone thinks they can cause trouble on the Sea Venom, they’ll find I have no qualms about tossing them to the makon,” Larson ordered. He then passed out healing potions to any of them that didn’t still have one. He had recovered the unused ones that he had given to the crew for the fight at the warehouse, now having just enough for his critical personnel.

“Ibn, a moment of your time please,” Larson asked as the others shuffled out of his cabin, the ogre squeezing through the oversized door frame with some effort. “Crewman Quix demonstrated some skill in our fight in the warehouse, in fact, I think he performed better than anyone other than the officers in the battle. He’s deadly accurate with his crossbow and has a cool head in a fight. I want you to consider him for one of your marine slots. He’ll need your help to develop more melee skills, but having an extra ranged specialist isn’t a bad thing,” Larson said. Ibn seemed to consider his options for a moment before replying.

“Very well, I can see where he might benefit our little band of marines. In fact, having someone with sailing knowledge may help my other men. We’ll give the lad a chance,” Ibn said.

“Good, if Quix doesn’t look like he’s working out, let me know, he’s a good sailor and I have no problem taking him back as part of the regular crew,” Larson added.

“Oh, Captain Larson, another thing I wanted to mention now that I have your attention. My men are no longer the Blades of the Desert, given our change in occupation. I propose we now be called the Fangs of the Serpent,” Ibn suggested.

“Earn it first, then you can call yourselves the Fangs of the Serpent. Until then, you’re my marines,” Larson decided, wanting to see more from the man other than skill with a blade. Ibn and his warriors had a lot to learn aboard ship before he would consider them some kind of elite force.

“As you wish, Captain, we strive hard to earn the title in your eyes,” Ibn assured him, bowing with a flourish before leaving the cabin. Larson spent the night on deck, talking with the crew on watch and finding Bug Bartholomew sprawled on deck piecing together scorpion ammo.

“How’s the ammo coming along?” Larson asked.

“Fun, but I’se keeps getting stabbed by the pointy bits,” Bartholomew replied.

“Yes, brother, we need precision not speed,” Bug said.

“I forgot to ask you earlier, what did you end up working out for a flotation device?” Larson asked, genuinely curious. While Bug still seemed apprehensive when near the edge of the deck, he didn’t seem nearly as fearful as he had been.

“Oh, we’ve come up with a rather novel solution to the problem,” the ogre said, pulling up his shirt to reveal a leather vest underneath. The ogre didn’t seem inclined to wear any armor and was only clothed in a giant, loose fitting shirt and canvas pants.

“We’ve lined the vest with a material the smith showed us. It’s a type of plant that is exceptionally buoyant, so we’ve fashioned some into a vest and some for our legs. According to my calculations, it won’t keep us afloat on its own, but it should give us time to inflate our secondary floatation devices,” from a pouch at his waist, the ogre pulled out a huge rubberized ring, with a straw-like attachment to inflate it with. It looked like he pretty well had things covered.

“Good work, take one of these for emergencies,” Larson said, handing the ogre one of the water breathing elixir’s.

“Thank you, hopefully we won’t need it, but if we do, it could be a lifesaver,” the ogre said. Larson continued his trek around the newly remodeled ship, but something at the back of his mind was bugging him. He made a beeline to the ogre once he figured it out.

“Bug Bartholomew, do we still have a good supply of wood leftover from tearing down the ship?” Larson asked.

“Aye, sir, much of it is stowed below decks for emergency repairs, and there’s still a pile near the railings,” the ogre replied, pointing to the neat stacks of decking boards that were lashed securely to the railing.

“I’m a bit concerned that the pirates would see us as a warship and get cold feet about approaching. Could you fashion something from the leftover lumber to make our profile look like something more innocuous than an Imperium war galley?” Larson asked.

“Hmm, that would be a fun exercise, yes, I believe we can craft some subterfuge for our upcoming encounter,” the ogre said. Larson left Bug Bartholomew to it, the ogre already muttering to himself and arguing over the best way to accomplish the task.

The morning sun was rising, and the crew ate a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits that the cook had whipped up. Larson was finding the reluctant chef Gilroy to be an indispensable, and exceedingly popular, part of the crew. With Quix transferring to their marine force, Larson now had forty-two able bodies sailors to work with. He had Nogreb lead thirty-two of them below to man the oars, while the remainder, including all the halflings, were on the top deck to cast off and handle the sails once they were clear. The Sea Venom had twelve oars on each side and would need a crew of forty-eight just to fully man them. He would have to finish this mission with an understrength crew and hope he had time to bring the ship up to a full complement once they returned to port.

Before they had a chance to cast off, a messenger from Lord Mox arrived, dropping off a heavy leather bag as well as further instructions. The bag was filled with steel washers that had the weight and sound of coin. It was a decoy for the pirates, a tool to lure them into the trap. As far as instructions went, Mox advised that the pirates informed he that they would wait at the given coordinates each morning, ready for the exchange. As long as Larson and the Sea Venom made it to that area before the deadline, they should run into Fontaine and his crew. He was to leave no one alive from the pirate crew, save for the two lordlings. Lord Mox would meet them at the same coordinates, but only after the deadline had expired. It would be bad for the pirates to see two ships appear at the meeting place.

“Cast off all lines,” Larson ordered, the deck crew scrambled to remove the four that secured the ship to the dock.

“Push off,” Larson ordered. The oars on the starboard side where they had been tied to the dock pushed against the pilings there, slowly moving the ship into the open channel.

“Oars out,” Larson commanded. Eight oars on each side extended and awaited his next command. He ordered them to back away from the pier, the ship turning as Tarley held the tiller over. Once they were clear, he had them begin a slow stroke out of the harbor, the tide helping to move them toward open water. The men were rough, the strokes of the oar’s not synchronized as they should be. He had a couple of days to work on that as they headed toward their destination, not a lot of time, but it was all he had.

Once in open water, Larson confirmed they were on the right course and ordered the sails unfurled. The large, green canvas of the mainsail snapped open, catching the modest ocean breeze. At the bow, the ogre had fashioned a small bowsprit that held a much smaller rectangular sail, but it too was contributing to their speed. The halflings and crew selected for the top deck seemed to be the right choice, they had an inherent agility that assisted them while climbing about the rigging.

“Sir, we’re clear of the harbor, do you want me to bring in the oars?” Tarley asked. Normally that would be the right call, resting the men while they could, but with their poor coordination, now was the perfect time to put them to work.

“No Tarley, I think they need more work,” Larson replied, calling down to Nogreb and having him put the men through their paces, working on timing their strokes before moving on to various speeds and maneuvering. He kept them at it for an hour, exhausting the crew, but by the end of their efforts, they were starting to pull in time. He ordered Nogreb to continue the training for another hour in the evening and at the same times tomorrow.

Larson didn’t just train the oarsmen hard; he also worked the rest of the crew. Drills to furl and unfurl the sail were held, with Tarley and Larson occasionally designating some of the men as casualties, requiring the rest to work even harder. During the day, the men also ran weapons training, working with both Ibn and Shada. The ship’s surgeon had proven to be one of the best fighters among the crew and was excellent at leading a shield wall. She worked with most of the halfling crew topside, having them use spears and the pair of boarding pikes to offset their normally shorter reach.

The sailors would rotate during the day from one post on the vessel to another, learning multiple jobs so they could fill in wherever needed. Bug Bartholomew taught the men how to properly control a leak, contain a fire and man the pumps. The ogre had the foresight to purchase a half dozen portable pumps, converting them to a foot pump mechanism from the standard hand crank, making them more efficient. Precut patches for the sail, wedges for leaks, and larger planks for more substantial repairs were prepared ahead of time, the sailors all having some practice at using them.

At midday, Larson had the ship halted while the midday meal was eaten. During that time, he had his marines practice launching the ship’s boats. They did poorly, which caused Larson to leave ship adrift for another hour to give them more time to work out the kinks. He could tell Ibn was frustrated, it wasn’t the type of fighting he was used to, but the man never complained and threw himself into the task. As a skilled swordsman, the desert fighter knew that intense practice was needed to improve, and while a bit of time at midday and again in the evening wasn’t much, it would help his men to become somewhat competent in boarding another vessel.

Bug Bartholomew unveiled another of his creations. Wide, reinforced boards were places at several points on the ship. A sharp metal spike gleamed at one end and a stout hinge on the other end secured them to the deck. When alongside another ship, these boards would be dropped down onto an enemy ship, the spike holding the two vessels securely. Larson remembered the device had been called a corvus. A small railing was built on one side of the device, but it still required good balance for the men to use it to cross over to the enemy ship. They didn’t have another ship to test the corvus on, so the ogre stacked crates in the middle of the deck, running a similar width board between them and having the crew practice crossing over without falling.

They ran into a problem when the crew for the upper deck, consisting of mostly halflings, took their turn at the oars. Not only were they physically weaker than the other races, but they also didn’t have enough reach to man the oars effectively. Bug Bartholomew came to the rescue once again. He developed an extended handle that could be clamped to an oar, giving the halflings enough reach to make a full rowing motion. It didn’t help compensate for their lack of physical strength and if the topside crew were required to row, the ship wouldn’t be setting any speed records.

While they didn’t want to waste any siege engine or arbalest ammo, Larson felt it necessary to have the crews that would be working the weapons fire a few real shots. For practice, the ogre had fashioned simple wooden rods of a similar size to the real ammo. They used up a hundred of the practice rods, along with a dozen real scorpion bolts and two dozen real arbalest bolts. By the time they finished the drills, Larson had selected the crews for the weapons. Three of the orcs assigned to the oars shined while operating the scorpion, securing that as their duty in a fight. Not surprisingly, two of the halfling crew proved best at the arbalests. Their reload speed wasn’t that great, but their accuracy overcame that deficit. The crew and officers were exhausted by the end of the day. Those not on duty heading below to their hammocks as soon as they were able.

The next day proved to be more of the same as far as training and the crew continued to improve at all the tasks required of them. If anything, the second day at sea was harder than the first, Larson and the other officers driving the crew and themselves to their limits in their last attempt to train before the coming battle. In between training sessions, the ogre had patched together several wooden panels that could be affixed to the sides of their ship, changing its profile into one that resembled a simple trading vessel. Bug Bartholomew said he would improve the design when he had more time, but a quick trip out in the ship’s boat proved that at a hundred yards or more, the effect was realistic enough to fool most observers.

They had prepared all they could, tomorrow, Larson would slow the pace of training as they closed in on their prey. It was nearly time for battle and Larson found himself eagerly awaiting the coming fight.