Bab 29: 0028 Viking sword, Finnish sword
Scandinavia has a long history of iron forging and has a reputation for producing sharp and fine swords in Europe, with Finnish and Viking swords being the most famous and distinctive.
A group of three, Lorraine, Hina, and Pierce, dressed in loose is regular clothes, talked and laughed as they walked through the cool alleys of the harbor district's franchise swords.
Scandinavia is mountainous and less populated, with most of the streets built into the hills, very different from the densely populated Western European region.
Stavanger's Black Harbor is no exception.
Wide alley paved with scattered green stone floor, following the undulation of the mountain to build a street-front pure wooden spire small buildings, white walls, colorful roofs, bright colors, just like a fairy tale.
Few people on the streets and alleys, is to see most of them are far away, greetings and pleasantries are two meters away, not particularly familiar, almost will not walk together.
This made Lorraine's trio seem exceptionally loud and eye-catching.
Walking and laughing along the way, they stopped in front of a store called [Martini & Espot], pulled the rattle, and pushed open the inlaid glass door.
No one was in the store.
There were messy and delicate swords all around, and the owner was sunbathing in the sunny front yard, with no intention of coming over to greet his guests even when he saw them enter the house.
In Scandinavia, this is a standard example of hospitality.
The three Lorraine's picked themselves out and drove off.
The store was full of weapons, knives, swords, shields, spears, axes, hammers, hooks, each of which was a type of weapon that pirates loved, and the most eye-catching ones were still their knives and swords.
Lorraine saw three pristine Viking swords in the wall racks, made of Uzi steel, open on both edges, with a blood groove in the center.
They are between 70 and 90 centimeters in length, and have a clear [Ulfberht] inscription on the blade, which is the origin of the store's name, "Aisbot".
Finnish knives on display, on the other hand, were far more numerous than the aristocratic-like Viking swords, long knives, short knives, curved knives, straight knives, some wrapped in tarpaulins and slung into barrels, others holstered and strewn across the counter.
They are unassuming, and the only thing that separates them from other knives, aside from their smooth, plain blades, is their distinctive, carved and patterned birch veneer handles.
Lorraine drew a pair of long, wide, straight-edged knives bundled in the same tarpaulin from a barrel in the corner.
They looked almost the same, with a thick, palm-width blade, a hair-thin, snowy edge, and a straight back with a tapered tip.
Its blade is close to one hundred and twenty centimeters, with a one-handed calyx-free birch veneer handle, for a total length of nearly one hundred and forty centimeters.
Its single blade weighed around four to five kilograms, slightly heavier, but Lorraine tried a few swings and found that the perfect center of gravity made it work like a charm, with little to no stagnation felt from the weight.
Lorraine instantly fell in love with the set of knives, picking them up and savoring them.
He saw intricate anti-slip patterns inlaid with copper wire at the hilt, and in the center of the pattern was the floral inscription [Marttiini], which was thought to be the origin of [Martini] in the store's name.
Hina came over clutching two short, lightweight knives, and couldn't help but feel a little strange when she saw that Lorraine was playing with the knives.
"Don't you use a bayonet? Why are you looking at knives."
"After the fight with Leif, I think I might need to toughen up a bit."
"Longer, heavier, more?" Hina looked at Lorraine with displeasure, "A weapon that fits is a good weapon, I would have thought you wouldn't have made that mistake."
"There might be a bit of a misunderstanding here." Lorraine rubbed her nose in embarrassment, "The Drake family's ancestral deck fighting technique is actually double swords, and I started practicing it at the age of six under the guidance of my father and older brother, and if I remember correctly, I should have been practicing it for ten years."
Hina's eyes widened, "I'm surprised the bayonet isn't your usual weapon?"
"The bayonet is the Navy standard. Drake uses it only because the Navy requires us to use it."
Everyone had a clear goal in mind, and the gear picks quickly came to fruition.
Lorraine bought the set of long knives, complete with two thick fish-skin sheaths and a leather cord for hanging them, for sixteen pounds.
Haina chose a set of eight red velvet flying knives and bought two more competent Finnish short knives for seven pounds.
Pierce bought a cable-breaking axe for Keren and eyed a faux-Viking short sword of about fifty centimeters in length for himself, squealing and pleading.
Lorraine frowned at him, "Pierce, you want to learn how to sword fight?"
Pierce Jr. bit his lip and nodded vigorously.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to become a liability!" He said firmly, "I was standing right behind Mr. Scott when the Twin Pirates were robbing the ship. But not only could I not help a bit, I distracted him to the point of getting hurt ... I don't want that!"
"If it's because of that reason ... this sword is not for you."
"Doesn't fit?"
"The short sword is a toy for Viking children to learn how to sword and a weapon for women to defend themselves, but it has nothing to do with warriors and doesn't even deserve its own name." Lorraine rubbed his head, unhooked the command sword on his waist and shoved it into his hand, "If you want to learn how to sword, you can use it later."
Pierce stared dumbfounded at the sword in his hand, "Sir, it is ..."
"It is the sword my father used when he captured the first enemy ship, traveled around the world and killed pirates. It is the sword of the brave, promise me you won't leave it in the dust."
"Aye! I swear on the honor of the House of Artis that I will ... not fail you!"
...
Twists and turns, perfect results.
Reloaded with new weapons, the party returned to the ship and together they engaged in the final preparations before leaving port.
Two days later, the hook-and-line-damaged gangway was repaired and fine Scandinavian glass filled the bilge.
The revitalized Artis Beauty stepped off the dock on the shore waves and, escorted by the Gemini, sailed out of the Borken Fjord, where she had been stationed for a dozen days, and headed west to begin a brand new journey.
This time the destination was in the distant Iberian Peninsula, in the vast Bay of Biscay, in Spain, by the great port of Bilbao, which was declining and never again prosperous.
There are calm harbors and fiery flamenco dancing.
That would be the beginning and end of the Lorraine Triangle trade program.
There is the most important link there.
Once opened up the Spanish trade routes, he will be able to lose the goods of the New World into Britain, send the Scottish spirits to Scandinavia, and then the northern Europe of the luxurious furs and beautifully crafted back to the European continent, and thus form the offshore merchant circle can be called the quality of the circulation system.
That will bring him wealth, and how fast it can be accumulated ... look to the wind, look to the sky, and no longer need to go to the face of man.
"What could be waiting for Spain ... that once kicked off the Great Age of Sail?"
Lorraine stepped on one foot on the parapet of the bow deck and hugged her arms, when she suddenly heard Pierce's childish shout behind her.
"Winds southeast-south, force five, moderate!"
Lorraine grinned and let go, pointing straight ahead.
"Quarterdeck, open the bow sail! Heading southwest, targeting Belle Mayo! Attis Beauty, depart!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone