Limitless Seas, Chapter 9.

We're back with the Limitless Seas chapter. Let's see what trouble Larson can get into. 

Chapter 9.

Larson propelled his way toward the nearest wreck, one that had sat under the waves for longer than any of the others if the amount of corrosion and growth on the ship’s hull were any indicator. Taking a firm grip on his spear, Larson noticed that his severed finger had, thankfully, started to grow back It had been severed just above the hand and now the first knuckle was back and a small stub was starting to grow out. Ignoring the miraculous healing, Larson focused on the wreck in front of him. The wood of the hull had rotted away collapsed upon itself, making finding anything a difficult task.

Making a slow circuit of the vessel, Larson could see that it was a bit smaller than the Gull Dropping. The top deck was where the rowers plied their trade out in the elements, while the single deck below must have been all the ship had available for cargo. Larson saw the remains of old cargo containers strewn throughout, but the cargo they had once held was nowhere to be found.

Further into the bay, Larson approached the ship that they had spotted during the storm. This vessel was much larger and hadn’t been down there as long as the first one had. As he circled the ship, Larson saw the reason it had sunk. A series of holes perforated the hull from bow to stern. The deck was a shambles, old rotting ropes and debris covered it, but one of the hatch covers had been left open, leaving Larson a way below to where the cargo holds waited. Before he went below, Larson headed toward the quarterdeck where the captain’s cabin should have been located. The wooden door was firmly wedged closed, but the rotten wood yielded to a few powerful blows of his tail.

Larson swam into a cabin that was more than double the size of his own. An actual bed was there, still covered in what must have once been expensive bedding. Several built-in cabinets and shelving lined the walls. The shelves held various knickknacks and waterlogged books. A plotting table, with maps too badly damaged to be of any use, sat in the middle of the room. Larson began with the cabinets, ripping off the water swollen doors to reveal their contents. The cabinets contained mostly useless items, disintegrating clothing, and some tableware for the captain’s mess. A cutlass that must have been ornate at one time was corroded beyond repair and lay in one cabinet alongside a matching dagger.

Finding nothing of value in the cabinets, Larson took a look under the bed. As he pulled back remnants of one of the blankets, something shot forward and grabbed onto him. His wrist exploded in pain as the crab-like claw tightened, knobby protrusions on the thing acted almost like a saw as the appendage worked its way back and forth. Larson stabbed with his spear at another claw that shot from under the bed, the metal prongs of his weapon barely scratching the shell, but successfully causing the claw to retreat under the bed. His health continued to drop as his savaged wrist began to bleed, clouding the water around him.

Remembering he had new powers, Larson aimed a stab at the claw holding his wrist, this time using his water magic. Imbue Weapon activated, consuming nearly a third of his mana. Larson saw he could add various types of damage and selected bludgeoning damage, hoping it would prove useful against the shelled monstrosity. A blue glow encompassed his weapon and as his thrust hit the claw, the magic released, and the shell exploded into fragments as the spear skewered the flesh beneath. A screeching sound was heard as Larson backed away from the bed.

Angry at the pain caused by its prey, the monster scuttled out from beneath the bed, charging Larson. It was a huge crab, as he had suspected, and the shell of the thing was nearly five feet in diameter. The mangled claw dragged behind the creature while the second was raised up, clacking in anticipation of latching onto its painful meal. Larson struck out at the thing’s armored head, imbuing his weapon with power once more. The blow landed, the magic shattering the armor protecting the crab and allowing the twin pronged spear to thrust deep into the creature’s body. The monstrous crustacean gave a shudder, its remaining claw tearing a divot of flesh out of Larson’s side before it finally died.

Leaving his spear inside the monster crustacean, Larson fought against the pian of his wounds as he waited for the rapid healing of this world to kick in and dull his agony. The wrist had taken quite a beating, his forearm bones were exposed, and blood continued to pour from the wound. The meat taken out of his side leaked blood, but not the extent his arm did. Larson’s health was dropping, and he knew that he needed to try and staunch the flow of blood. Sadly, he didn’t know of any way to stop a wound underwater. Sure, he could cut off some of the old bedding, but who knew what diseases were permeating the wet cloth. He wasn’t even sure if it would help, after all, you changed bandages when they became wet, didn’t’ you? He dropped below three quarters health before the bleeding slowed, and instead of a cloud of blood pouring from it, only small droplets leaked into the sea from his injuries.

With his health stabilized, and the pain down to a dull throb, Larson decided to continue the search he had started and peeked under the bed. There wasn’t room for two of the crab monsters under there, but he was cautious anyway, leading with his dagger, just in case. Other than a small pile of fish bones, the remnants of the crab’s previous meals, a small, rusted iron lockbox was seen, secured to the bedframe by a corroded chain. Reaching under with his tail, Larson was able to loop himself around the box and pull. The rusty links of the chain gave way after a bit of struggle and the box slid into the dim light filtering in from the shattered windows of the captain’s cabin.

His health was now down by a third and his wrist was still seeping blood into the water, prompting Larson to head back to the Gull Dropping with his prizes. He could come back later to search for more loot once he had healed up and had a full pool of mana. With only enough mana remaining to imbue his weapon a single time, he didn’t think it was smart to risk any further encounters with hostile sea creatures. Larson cut several long strips of bedding off with this dagger, using them as an improvised sling that he attached the lockbox to. With the lockbox slung over his shoulder and the skewered giant crab in his good hand, Larson swam out of the sunken vessel and headed back to his ship.

Halfway back to the Gull Dropping, Larson realized he wasn’t alone in the water. Large shapes closed in the distance, causing him to increase his speed. His normal swim speed was faster than that of an average human and when he pushed it, like he was now, his speed blew past what even the best human swimmer could accomplish. Despite the boost, whatever was following him was closing in. Larson swam past the ship, realizing that he didn’t have time to negotiate the rope ladder without dropping his prizes. He was almost to the beach when the things pursuing him were revealed to be a pair of twelve-foot-long sharks. The giant predators turned away as he entered shallower water, but he noted that there was a type of harness around the fish and strange symbols painted on their bodies.

Larson waited in the shallows until the sharks seemed to lose interest and swim back out to deeper water. When the coast was clear, he boarded the ship, looking over his shoulder for any approaching predators the whole time. Rope ladders were slow going for a naga, and Larson had to pass off the skewered crab and the lockbox to the waiting crewman before he was able to heave himself over the side of his ship.

“Larson, I thought you were looking for treasure, but it looks like you also brought us dinner,” Nogreb said with a chuckle, holding up the giant crustacean.

“Hand that thing off to Gilroy before it goes bad,” Larson said. Nogreb passed off the crab to the crewman who had been acting as their de facto cook. The man wasn’t all that talented a chef, but he was the only one that had at least enough skill not to burn water. “Grab some tools and meet me in my cabin, let’s see if we can crack this open,” Larson told Nogreb as he hauled the moderately heavy lockbox into his spartan captains’ quarters.

“Hmm, doesn’t look like the water breached this, and it has a good heft to it,” Nogreb said. The orc had brought a meat tenderizer from the galley, as well as a couple of the older knives they had found. Their options for tools were limited and most of what they had, accompanied the party looking for a mainmast. Nogreb gave the box one more shake before placing it on the small chart table. Holding up the meat tenderizer, Nogreb gave him a look that said, do you really want me to smash this open? Larson shrugged and nodded back. He didn’t need the box itself, only anything of value that might be stored inside.

With a single powerful blow, the orc smashed the hinge on the back of the box. Larson then took the box and with some effort, pried the container open. Inside the box, he found a sealed leather scroll case and two leather pouches. Setting aside the scroll for a moment, he opened the smaller of the two pouches, inside was a red, sparkling powder that felt much heavier than it appeared.

“Any idea what this stuff is?” Larson asked.

“No, but it might be valuable. We can have an alchemist, or someone check it out for us once we’re in port,” Nogreb offered.

The larger of the two pouches gave the satisfying clink of coin. Larson dumped the contents onto the chart table, the pair of them frantically trying to keep the coins it had contained from rolling away. The pouch held mostly silver and copper coins as well as a pair that looked to be gold. Sitting amongst the coins were a pair of small red gemstones.

“I’m not an expert, but those gems will bring a decent price, I’m sure. Let me count up the rest of this,” Nogreb said. The orc flicked through the coins, counting them quickly. “Looks like we got two ducats, thirty-two fins, and three score of scales,” Nogreb told him. A faint tingle inside Larson’s head was felt as the mysterious entity that controlled this place, Clio, granted him knowledge of the monetary system this part of his new world used. He now knew that the copper coins were called scales and a hundred of them were the equivalent of a silver coin. The silver coins were called fins and a hundred of them equaled a single gold ducat.

The copper coins were small things and stamped with various images and dates. Coins of this type were of a universal weight and value, the lowest denomination having long since been standardized across the world. A single coin might buy a loaf of bread, a cup of cheap watered-down ale, or couple of apples. Simple laborers might earn a small handful per day and skilled laborers would command more. The fins were heavier and nearly double the size of the copper scales, their size, weight, and material, matching their value. Ducats were even larger than the silver coins nearly double the diameter and thickness.

Larson held the pair of ducats in his hand, the large coins nearly cover the palm of his hand. He knew that smaller gold coins were common in most of the world, but the Free Isles preferred their larger and much more valuable ducats. Ten of the smaller standard gold coins were equal to a ducat and the people of the isles called them landsmen gold, often in a derisive manner. Most countries also just called the coins by their material, referring to them as copper, silver, or gold. Still, even landsmen gold was valuable, and spent just as easy as other coin. Larson couldn’t recall much of his old life, but he somehow remembered that various nations had different currency, a much more chaotic method than the one on this world.

“Well, it’s not anywhere near enough to pay for all our repairs, but it might get us refit to become seaworthy as well as help us stock some decent provisions and hire a few crew once we make port,” Nogreb told him.

Larson opened the scroll case next; the leather case had warped a bit over time, but the parchment contained inside was well preserved. There were several sheets of parchment and they seemed to be part of the captain’s record of his ill-fated journey. Why the captain had taken such care in securing these pages was a mystery. Larson was drawn in as he read the dated entries recounting the last days of the vessel that had been known as the Coral Destiny.

5, Nobrem. We’re five days out from Stratwall Harbor, a place I’ve never been keen to lay up my vessel for any length of time. While the town is no rougher or more treacherous than any of the others to be found in these seas, too many vessels go missing after leaving here. I reluctantly gave the men liberty for the night after seeing to it that our victuals and fresh water were laid in. The passengers we were contracted to meet came aboard without fanfare and went straight to their cabins. If only all passengers were so easy to work with. I had expected them to have considerable personal goods, them being nobles and all, but they brought with them only had a small collection of personal baggage. Sadly, there’s no cargo heading the way we’re sailing, preventing me from taking advantage of our hull space. So far, the seas have been calm and the winds fair. I pray to our gods that this continues.

8, Nobrem. We spotted sails on the horizon and after a few hours it was apparent that they were following our course. I ordered extra sail put on, nobody follows another ship this far out from port unless they have foul motives.

9, Nobrem. They’ve got the speed advantage and are closing, two vessels about the same size as our Coral Destiny. My crew is well trained and not afraid of a fight, but two to one odds are a little steep. Normally I would heave to and pay the “tax” that the local pirates try to impose on us. It’s easier and less risky for them to take a bit of cargo and not lose valuable crew or risk damage to their vessel in a fight. Sadly, other than the coin we received from our passengers, which I cannot part with, I have no cargo to barter our safe passage with.

10, Nobrem. We survived, but I’m not sure for how long. My boys fought magnificently, and all the coin I’d spent on gear and the portable ballista proved their worth. These were no normal pirates out to make some easy coin, these were paid killers. There was no attempt at parley, only a hail of arrows and spells when the range closed. Iblim enchanted our ballista bolts, allowing us to sink one ship before the other closed in to board. The passengers joined in our fight, hurling fire magic from the hollow staves they used as weapons. Half my crew is gone, as well as my mainmast. We’re making slow headway, and the passengers insist we continue on our course, even at a reduced speed. They won’t tell me our exact destination, only coming up to speak with me when the course needs to change. If they hadn’t offered a generous bonus, and if I hadn’t needed it so badly, I would have headed back to port for repairs first.

14, Nobrem. Making slow but steady progress. Today one of the crew reported a leak below decks. The men patched the leak, only to find several more. I don’t recall our foes firing at our waterline, so I’m a bit concerned over their source. Our patch job is strong, and the pumps have cleared out the standing water. I’ll keep a man on watch down there, just in case.

16, Nobrem. We now know the source of our hull damage. The man posted below saw it occur, a coral tipped spear pierced the hull in several places, the undersea attacker fled when the alarm was called. Though I am loath to do it, since our numbers are so low, I have the crew at 50% watch.

19, Nobrem. This will be the last entry of Captain Hobson of the Coral Destiny. We are undone, they struck again during the night, piercing the hull and when we made attempts to patch, they clambered over the rails and attacked. It was the Makon, a scrawny lot of them, but deadly and numerous enough that we cannot hold them off. They attacked off and on through the night, our losses making it impossible to keep up with the leaks. At dawn, land was sighted and we’re making our way toward it. If we can make it dry land, the Makon will be at a disadvantage and our superior weapons and skill will win the day. I can hear them at the hull again, chipping away at my ship.

Whoever finds this, any valuables still aboard are yours provided you bring this account back to the seafarers guild offices at any of the Free Isles, so the families of my crew know what happened. Look for the floorboard in my cabin marked with a C, under that is the bulk of our ship’s funds. There’s not much in the hold, but our weapons crates are sealed against the sea and we’ve only opened half to arm my depleted crew. Our passengers requested this pouch be sealed in here along with my account. I don’t know what it contains, but they were keen that it is not lost.

I can hear the loud thunder of the passengers’ weapons and I must see to the defense of my ship…

The account ended there; Larson passed the document over to Nogreb while he tried to process all that he had just read. The ship had been attacked by the Makon, and he mentioned the fins of their pets. Could the decorated and harness wearing sharks belong to the Makon that attacked the Coral Destiny? He needed the ship’s funds from the sunken vessel, not to mention any weapons that may still be salvageable.

“Well, Captain, you ready for another swim to collect all this?” Nogreb asked as he handed the documents back to Larson.

“I would love to, but I don’t want to tangle with the pair of sharks I spotted on the way back,” Larson replied, not sure if Nogreb had spotted the huge fish.

“One of the crew mentioned the fins following you into the shallows, you think they’re connected to what happened to the Coral Destiny?

“They were painted with symbols and wearing a sort of harness, so I would assume so, but as of now, I have no idea how to get to the treasure without becoming fish food,” Larson said.

“While I love treasure as much as the next orc, perhaps we shouldn’t risk fighting sharks and Makon until after we repair the Gull Dropping,” Nogreb suggested. Larson agreed and was going to ask if Nogreb had heard anything from either work party when a crewman shouted for them to come out on deck.

“What’s going on?” Larson asked. The crewman pointed toward shore where Shada and her work party were wading back to the ship, a couple of them holding burlap sacks full of whatever food they had scrounged up. Shada was first up the ladder and made a beeline to Larson.

“Captain, we found something ashore you should hear about. We’d gathered up a fair bit of coconuts and these strange purple things that one of the crew swear is edible when I heard voices in the distance. I crept up as quietly as I could and found, believe it or not, an ogre sitting by a fire and having long having a conversation with himself. I don’t know if he was hostile or not, so I didn’t reveal myself. What do you want to do about him? He’s smack dab in the middle of the best foraging area on the island, it will severely cut down our food gathering if we have to avoid him,” Shada advised.

“Great, we got a damaged ship, limited supplies, an untrained and undermanned crew, sharks circling potential coin we’ll need, and now we have an ogre. Have the crew lookout for a dragon attack, I’m sure that’s next,” Larson lamented.

“You wanted to be captain,” Nogreb said, smiling at Larson’s frustration.

“True, so, Shada, you said this ogre could talk. Was it just babbling, or do you think I could get it to speak with me before it tries to add naga to its dining options?” Larson asked. He knew from the system that ogres were generally simple minded and vicious, looking at any other humanoid as a potential next meal.

“This one was a bit odd, but it sounded intelligent enough, well, perhaps only one of its heads sounded intelligent, the other one didn’t strike me as all that bright,” Shada answered.

“Wait, two heads? Is that even possible?” Larson asked, the others just shrugged. He supposed anything was possible in this world. If he could be reborn as a water naga, why couldn’t there be two headed ogres as well. “Fine, let me go and try to speak with this thing, I’m pretty sure I can outrun it if things go south,” Larson added. While powerful, he didn’t think ogres were renowned for their speed.

“I’ll lead you there, sir, how many crew should we take with us?” Shada asked.

“Just you and a pair of the best fighters we have aboard. Nogreb will stay here with the rest to secure the ship against anything else that might wander up,” Larson ordered. Shada picked a pair of crew and armed them as best they could. Sadly, they only had a pair of cutlasses, he would have preferred longer reach weapons if it came to a fight with this ogre.