Limitless Seas, Chapter 23.

Chapter 23.

“Bug Bartholomew, what brings you back to the Gull Dropping?” Larson asked. He had thought he had seen the last of the unusual ogre, given his fear of water.

“We’s broke sumfing,” Bartholomew said dejectedly.

“My brother is right; we had a bit of an incident in town. You see, the majority of the establishments in this fine port town have rather restrictive entry points. When we tried to enter various ones in search of employment, structural damage ensued. The proprietors were understandably cross at the damage we caused, forcing us from their establishment,” Bug added.

“You mean to tell me that nobody would hire you? Even if they didn’t know your mechanical aptitude, surely someone would want a strong ogre for some kind of work?” Larson asked.

“Oh, you are correct, there were various offers. Most of those involved the less than savory elements of Rockwell Warf asking us to physically assault someone,” Bug replied.

“We waz supposed to crush them, crush them to goo,” Bartholomew added.

“You two weren’t up for that sort of thing?” Larson asked.

“Well, I saw the practicality of the situation, but my brother also has a say in what we do,” Bug said.

“Aye, and I says we’s should go back to the ship. I likeses it here and I likesese eating the shark people,” Bartholomew added.

“But I thought you were averse to being near the water?” Larson said.

“Well, let’s just say that our aquaphobia is no longer a universal fear,” Bug added.

“You’se the scareded one, I’m just a bit prensive,” Bartholomew said, looking at his brother with irritation.

“The word is apprehensive, brother. I admit, the fear was more ingrained in my own psyche than that of my brother. After his experience aboard ship, he has somehow overcome his fear. Now, I know my fear is irrational to an extent, so I’m willing to give it a try if you could use our assistance,” Bug asked. Larson had no problem having the ogre on his team, they were powerful combatants and were brilliant when it came to engineering.

“Whoses those guys with the spikey heads?” Bartholomew asked, gesturing toward Ibn, intrigued by the spikes on their helms.

“Greetings, Bug Bartholomew, I am Ibn Hasma, formerly the First Dervish of the late Sultan Ilkahn and now the commander of marines aboard the illustrious Gull Dropping. My faithful companions are the Blades of the Desert, though I suppose we should look into a new title for our band now that we have changed employers,” Ibn said with a bow.

“Well met, Ibn Hasma and the Blades of the Desert,” Bug replied. At least the introductions were without incident, hopefully the two would work well together. Larson then tried to get on with hiring the ogre.

“Bug Bartholomew, I’d love to have you back. All my officer slots are now filled, but if you don’t mind being a crewman and working with the bosun, welcome aboard. As soon as I’m able, I’ll get you promoted to ship’s engineer,” Larson offered. A strange thing occurred when he made the offer. He had initially tried to make Bug Bartholomew the ship’s engineer, an officer’s position, but found he couldn’t say it. The system didn’t take control over him as far as he could tell, just blocked him from doing something that exceeded the parameters of his status screen. Larson didn’t like the feeling and began to worry about how many other decisions and actions he had made were being influenced by the bizarre system that governed this world.

“I think we will agree to that, though we would need some immediate funds to resolve our outstanding debts with a pair of merchants in town. It would take around twenty fins to resolve that, but I would also like request a similar sum in order to buy some materials for a special, but necessary project,” Bug countered.

“We got to buy new doors for the stores and we’s are going to make a floaty thing,” Bartholomew added. Though every coin was important, Larson couldn’t pass on hiring the ogre brothers. He passed over the coins, adding a small handful of scales in case they needed anything else.

“That should take care of it. Before you purchase anything, go to my business partner Lucian, he’ll steer you in the right direction and might even arrange the purchase for you so we don’t have to pay for more destroyed stores. Hurry up with whatever you have to do, in the morning we’ll be installing the new mast and rigging. I’d also like your input on modifying the ship so you can make it below decks if we need you down there,” Larson added.

“Aye, Captain, we’ll take care of our personal needs this evening and then rejoin you to prepare for our next day’s labors,” Bug said, taking the coin and stomping their way back into town, nearly bowling over Ibn and his marines.

“Quite an interesting character, that one, I look forward to speaking with him further,” Ibn added.

“We’re lucky to have him, the big guy may not look it, but he’s smart and can fix almost anything. I’m sure he’ll find some ways to improve the Gull Dropping,” Larson added, leaving Ibn to find a berth for himself and his men.

“Sir, I take it we’ve got the ogre back in our employ?” Tarley asked.

“Aye, he’ll be back after he takes care of some business in town. Tomorrow, I’d like you to head back out and try to find us some more crew. We got a little bit of coin from the raid, but much of it won’t be of use until we move the cargo we recovered. You can take Creech with you if think he’ll help and you might want to see our new marine commander, Ibn, and have a couple of his boys join you for some extra protection. I think the Shining Tower are done and the few thugs still out there will probably just drift on to new debauchery, but there’s always the chance some of them might want revenge,” Larson said.

“Aye, sir, I think we can round up a few able lads to help crew our ship,” Tarley said. Larson knew that the first mate had been catching bits and pieces of the story about their fight at the warehouse, so he spent some time to go over their new challenges and opportunities to make sure they were on the same page. While he wasn’t exactly the most formidable in combat, Larson knew that Tarley had more knowledge of running a ship than anyone save for himself. He pulled up his ship status to see how the new crew additions had changed things.

Ship’s Status.

Vessel: The Gull Dropping.

Ship type: Merchantman.

Size: Small.

Hull: 81%.

Ship’s Armaments: None.

Cargo: None.

Supplies: Fresh water for 90 days and food for 5.

Tools and repair materials: 18%.

Ship Efficiency: 34%. Your ship’s efficiency is being hampered by a lack of trained crew. As your crew expands and they have time to work together, your ship’s efficiency will improve. Your current efficiency level will reduce your ship’s speed, resistance to damage, and ability to maneuver.

Ship’s Complement for the Gull Dropping:

Crew: 7/60.

Specialized Crew: 5/10. Your specialized crew consists of marines and an engineering crewman.

Officers: 5/5.

Prisoners: 0.

Passengers: 0.

Crew Armaments: Average. Your crew is equipped with good quality steel melee weapons, but they still lack ranged weapons and the skilled crew to use them.

Marine Armaments: Good. Your current force of marines have high quality weapons that they are well trained in using.

Crew Armor: Poor. Your crew have only a few damaged suits of inferior leather armor and some well-worn shields.

Marine Armor: Above Average. Your marine force wear leather armor reinforced with steel rings and chainmail at various points. Light and flexible, this armor allows the marines to move freely, but it is not as effective as heavier armor types. In addition to the armor, your marines carry a small buckler into battle, improving their melee defense but offering little protection against ranged attacks.

Other equipment: None.

Crew:

Sailors, Level 1, 7. Your crew have all had some experience on various vessels and can perform simple tasks when ordered under the direction of an officer. They possess minimal fighting skills.

Marines, Level 4, 4. Your marines are drawn from a group of warriors formerly known as the Blade of the Desert. This experienced band of warriors is skilled and deadly.

Engineer, Level 5, 1. The ogre Bug Bartholomew is acting as a specialized engineer on your crew.

Officers:

Larson, Ship’s Captain level 2.

Tarley, Level 3 First Mate/unknown second class.

Nogreb, Level 3 Bosun/unknown second class.

Shada: Level 3 Ship’s Surgeon/Level 2 Shaman/unknown third class.

Ibn Hasma: Level 5 Dervish, Level 0 Marine Commander.

Average crew health: 100%. Your crew is well rested and fed, ready for any task they are called upon to perform.

Morale: 88%. Most of your crew are new and a bit unsure of how things will turn out. For the most part, they are happy with their pay and the living conditions are acceptable. At his level of morale, you crew operates at normal efficiency.

There were some interesting changes, and Larson was happy to see both morale and ship health improving. He was painfully short of crew, and the new category of ships efficiency told him what he already knew. Larson wasn’t sure why the system was adding new information categories, but he wasn’t going to complain over more information.

Weapons and armor for his sailors were still sub-par, but until he finished outfitting the ship, Larson didn’t want to spend more of his rapidly dwindling funds on it. He wasn’t surprised to see that Ibn was level 5, his battle inside the inn had shown the man and his troops were deadly. The fact he was a level zero marine commander was interesting and indicated to Larson that the man was a great fighter but had a lot to learn about fighting at sea. At least Bug Bartholomew was showing as part of his specialized crew. Hopefully, when Larson leveled up again, he would be able to promote the ogre.

Checking his experience bar, it looked like Larson was closing in on level three and only had about 18% to go before reaching it. All the fighting had helped, but the system also granted experience for his actions which likely included recruiting and cutting a deal with not only Lucian, but also Lord Mox. With the way that his life had gone so far, Larson didn’t think it would take him too long to reach the next level.

Larson took his normal momentary rest, still unsure of when the longer rest periods would occur. He spent the rest of the night making the rounds on his ship, speaking with the crewmen on watch. Larson tried to make it a point to know those serving under him. Calling a crewman by his name let them know they were valued by their captain.

“How are you feeling Quix?” Larson asked when the halfling took his turn at watch, which was the last one before dawn.

“Good sir, thanks to our surgeon Shada and that potion you gave me. Thank you for that, sir, not many officers would give something like that to a normal crewman,” Quix answered.

“If a captain doesn’t do what he can to protect his crew, he isn’t much of a leader in my eyes. Sadly, I can’t afford to pass out any additional potions until we can get some income generated,” Larson said, not wanting to set any unrealistic expectation over what he would be providing. The three dead sailors from the raid on the warehouse had never had time to use their potions and Larson had returned them to his storage space.

“Understood, sir, didn’t expect you to hand them out like the rum ration, just glad you did before our last scrap,” Quix said.

“You did well with that crossbow, Quix. I need every sailor I can get, but I would be glad to present you to Ibn for promotion to a marine if you have any interest,” Larson told the halfling. He was painfully short of crew, but the man was deadly with his crossbow and had kept a cool head in the fight at the warehouse, despite being seriously injured.

“I think I’d like that, sir,” Quix replied.

“Great, I’ll let Ibn know, but I can’t cut you free from your duties as a sailor until we have a chance to recruit more crew,” Larson told him. Larson walked around the deck as the sun started peeking over the horizon. It was funny to him that he still considered moving around on his lower body “walking” but the term seemed to be stuck in his brain as another artifact from his previous life. He wished he could remember more about it, but other than practical knowledge that had transferred over to his new life, everything else was gone. His musing were cut short when he spotted Bug Bartholomew stomping his way back to the Gull Dropping, the ogre had several crates and bags secured to his body.

“What’s with all the cargo, Bug Bartholomew?” Larson asked as the ogre came aboard and began unloading everything where he had previously made his nest.

“We worked with your contact, Lucian, who was extremely helpful. I have a lot of what I need to evaluate our vessel’s condition, but I will need to get with the blacksmith, Felicia, to have some of these tools properly sized. Our fist order of business is to get our floatation device constructed,” Bug said, starting to lay out various materials and tools. Larson left him to it, sending Quix to rouse his officers, they had a lot of work to do and now that the sun was coming up, it was time to get started.

“Good morning everyone, were under time pressure and we need to get the ship ready for our upcoming voyage. Tarley and crewman Creech will head out to recruit more hands, while I want Shada to collect the promised supplies from Lord Mox. Nogreb will stay here to work with Bug Bartholomew in getting the ship ready. Ibn, I’d like you to send a pair of your warriors with Tarley and lead the others to protect the crew going to collect supplies. Our goal for today is to get an overall assessment from the ogre on what the ship needs, get the supplies laid in, and start putting together a complete crew. I’m going to check on Lucian and see where we are with sorting the cargo we liberated from the warehouse. You have your orders people, make it happen,” Larson said, dismissing the officers from his cabin.

They didn’t expect the mast to be delivered until noon, so most of the crew would accompany Shada to gather their supplies. Crewman Gilroy was cooking up a large pot of some oats sweetened with honey along with some sausages they had bought the day before. Now that the ogre had joined them, the cook was going to have to recalculate how much to cook for each meal.

The port was waking up and workers crowded the streets as Larson made his way to the warehouse district and Lucian’s home. Their new home was an apartment above a modest sized warehouse. Before going up to their home, Larson made a quick tour of the area, pleased to see that it was a much nicer neighborhood than the one they had been forced to live in before. He knocked firmly on their door and was happy to see their daughter Millie had answered, clutching a new toy.

“Hi Mr. Captain Snake Man, want to see my new dolly?” Millie asked.

“Of course, that’s why I came over. What is your new friend’s name?” Larson asked. The girl held out the doll for him to look at but refused to let him touch it.

“This is Petunia,” she proclaimed.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Petunia,” Larson made a show of shaking the doll’s little hand and pretending to tip his hat, causing Millie to squeal with laughter.

“Millie, I need to talk with Captain Larson, please go play in your room for a while,” Lucian told her, ushering the kid toward a door at the back of their new home.

“Good to see you Lucian, I wanted to see what your initial assessment is of the goods we recovered,” Larson asked.

“It’s not bad, mostly plates, tableware, bedding, and other household goods. The stuff will sell at a slow rate, but it will sell. We should probably get a small shop ready and with what we’ve collected, I can keep it running for quite a while without having to purchase more inventory. The only expense would be wages and rent,” Lucian said. It was good news, but Larson hated to ask about how much it would cost to setup even a small shop.

“How much will this cost me to get you started?”

“It’s not that bad, I have a location selected between the warehouse district and the eastern part of the city. It’s a place that gets good foot traffic for a wide variety of customers. It’s not a good spot to sell high end goods, but what we currently have in inventory is perfect for working class folks. I can get the rental if we prepay six months of rent, and the rent would be forty fins per month. The major cost of a new shop is inventory and we’re very well supplied for the time being,” Lucian said, wincing as he told Larson the total cost.

“That’s not exactly cheap, but with the coin we found in the warehouse, I think we can swing it,” Larson said, handing over what Lucian had requested. Thinking about how much money he had left released an interesting feature of his interface, when he thought about it, Larson instantly knew how much money he had in his storage.

Ducats: 0.

Landsmen Gold: 0.

Fins: 386.

Scales: 1877.

This didn’t count whatever the other officers had left over from their purchases the day before, he would need to keep whatever was left to pay for repairs. Larson went with Lucian to see about the new shop, the location was exactly as described. For now, Lucian’s family, along with Kipper, would start moving goods over to the shop. Larson would send a work detail to help if he was able, but work on the ship and training were going to be his priorities as they readied themselves to meet this Furious Fontaine and his band of pirates.

Larson resisted stopping by to check on his armor, knowing that Felicia wouldn’t be done with it yet and instead of bugging her, his time would be better spent helping with getting the mast installed. When he arrived back on the docks, Larson didn’t recognize the Gull Dropping. It looked like the ship had been through a battle, large sections of the deck were torn away and the upper part of the bow was in shambles. Amongst the chaos, Larson could see Bug Bartholomew ripping up planks and knocking over railings on his ship. The ogre better have a good explanation for the destruction, or Larson would be happy to shove him overboard to sink down into the harbor.