Bab 47: 0046 Mirror image of a sailor
The setting sun reflected on the sea where the great battle had just broken.
The sea was a mess of broken wood, mutilated bodies, scattered goods, and sea vessels that were blazing with smoke.
The battle came to an end.
After a three-hour long battle, the English were victorious, with Lorraine capturing the enemy flagship Fargo on the port side and forcing down the Scuna-type Mermaid Song, which had lost its mainmast.
Raven Chad had strong reinforcements, and with the combined strength of the two ships fought a bloody battle with the enemy in front of them, capturing the Gold Coast at the cost of a large loss of wingmen, while the other Skuna-type fled in disbelief.
Faced with this outcome, the Pure White Beach, which was busy putting out the fire and was incapacitated at the time, sensibly chose to surrender.
Lorin rendezvoused with his two Kirk-types and hosted Raven on the deck of the Buttercup while the sailors were busy cleaning up the battlefield.
"Dear Sir, I'm Raven Shogner, Second Fleet Governor of the Southampton Mindel Chamber of Commerce. Shogner, thank you for your righteous assistance. I have heartfelt admiration for the courage and strength of you and your commanders."
"Mr. Shogner, I'm Lorraine Drake, president of the Drake Chamber of Commerce in Plymouth. Drake. Our Chamber of Commerce is also based in Southampton, which is ... a real coincidence, to say the least."
A great fight, near finish.
Lorraine and his Buttercup completely dominated the battlefield and rightfully enjoyed the right to decide on the distribution of benefits after the war.
Raven is not surprised by some of these.
The battle was very rewarding, in terms of ships capturing one Brigantine-type, the Far Light (micro-breakdown); and three Mixed Sail Snake-types, the Mermaid Song (major breakdown), the Gold Coast (medium breakdown), and the Pure White Beach (medium breakdown).
In addition, Lorraine obtained Yacharin's sword, short spear, atlas, and nautical journals of little value, and scavenged close to 1,000 pounds worth of possessions, and nearly 3,000 pounds worth of goods.
The total cost of the ship's cargo was well over ten thousand pounds.
Lorraine could have taken all of it privately, even if by moral right, and just given them the Gold Coast, which had been independently captured by the Mindel Chamber of Commerce, and no matter how he did it, he would not have broken the rules of the game at sea.
But after much deliberation, he gave Raven a piece of the Gold Coast and Pure White Beach, which were not badly injured.
Ravyn was rather 㤞different, "Mr. Drake, such a distribution would be good for you and your crew ..."
"We are both English gentlemen and close friends of a harbor. Though Drake has lost two men killed and seven wounded, your loss is greater."
Raven shook her head sensibly, "We are prey, it is our duty to meet the battle, and you could have stayed out of it."
"Impossible." Lorraine laughed lightly, "The French, Spanish, and Dutch have set up a hunting ground in these waters, and we need friends, not to go off on our own and fend for ourselves."
"Hunting grounds?"
"This is important information that has come to us from Miss Xavier, our manager in Bilbao." Lorraine drew out a roll of parchment and handed it over to Raven, "This matter should no longer be a secret. Even for my own sake, I don't want upstanding gentlemen who could be comrades in arms to go out early."
Lorraine looked solemnly at Raven, "Mr. Shogunner, please accept Drake's kindness."
Vessel distribution ends here; personal effects and goods are not required to be distributed to the Mindel Chamber of Commerce.
Lorraine generously distributed all of her belongings to the 120 sailors who fought in the battle, with a further £50 grant from the Chamber of Commerce for those wounded, and a pension of up to £200 for those killed in battle.
Such a huge reward made the ship's morale break through the sky and almost reach for heaven.
The rest is Yacharin's personal belongings.
The logbook Lorraine gave to Pierce to watch and learn, and he could ask Yacharin for the code or try to decipher it himself.
The saber Lorraine was given to Ramos; it was the schoolmaster's sword of the French navy, and was not only well made, but of great significance.
A short right from Yacharin has Lorraine in a bit of a bind.
It is good gun, not only heavy, but also accurate, with an effective range of 10 meters, it is a good weapon for self-defense.
But it wasn't quite a weapon; the gold-covered barrel and ivory-decorated stock were encrusted with jewels and beautifully carved, so it could well be called an extravagant work of art.
This gun should have been perfect for little Pierce's defense, but because of the excessive fluff, it's too heavy for a child, even if that child is strong ...
What a redundant aesthetic.
Lorraine deflated and slid the gun onto her belt, officially declaring her ownership of the firearm.
The last same ... atlas.
This is a gem, black Moroccan leather cover, heavy and crisp folio hand-colored pages, subtle coloring, gilt lace and decoration everywhere ...
Forty-four charts have been produced, covering the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the British and Irish Isles, the Straits of Dover, the Cantabrian Sea, and the Celtic Sea, and comprehensively encompassing the entire maritime area of Northwest Europe, with layered, transparent film corrections made in accordance with the findings of the era without damaging the original drawings ...
Lorraine sees Lucas Jansson at the end of each chart. Jansson. Wagenaar's signature, and the name of the atlas ... was The Sailor's Mirror.
The Netherlands is the benchmark for cartography in the world today, and top cartographers have been coming out of the woodwork since the fifteenth century.
Mr. Wagenaar is one of the absolute leaders and a true standout among the star-studded Dutch cartographers.
In 1584, he published The Sailor's Mirror, a collection of 44 maps of Nordic waters, including mainly the coastline, landmarks, the contours of the coast visible from the waterfront, and the depths of the water.
Waggoner's atlases were so popular that the English adopted the term "waggoner" (a variant of Waggoner's name) to refer exclusively to all atlases depicting the coast.
It's a patriarchal atlas, and it's also hand-painted by Mr. Wahnal.
Lorraine was as pleased as punch, and was flabbergasted at the wealth of the Desai Chamber of Commerce.
It is many years since Mr. Wagenaar's antiquity, and such a well preserved atlas, whatever its practical value, could be estimated to be worth a full-rigged Brigantine ... that is, ten thousand pounds, if placed in an auction house.
Crazy ...
The biggest takeaway from this battle is actually in the cabin of Yacharin ...
Gathering his excitement, Lorraine returned to the deck with the atlas clipped to her.
The mopping up of the battlefield was nearing its end, the dead sailors were thrown overboard, and the living ones, wounded or not, would be gathered in the skiffs.
According to the rules of the sea, they would be exiled, and the winner would only have to provide barely enough food and water for two days to do their moral duty, and Lorraine gave them three days.
The largely undamaged Farsight assigned sailors, and the much-broken Mermaid Song pulled on a towline and now floats just behind the Farsight, heaving quietly.
Lorraine watched the sailors row their boats to the French coastline, took up the red and white double flag, and flagged Raven.
[Sailing, friend]
Raven responded with a precise semaphore.
[Begging for it, with wings attached]
Lorraine laughed and raised her arms high, "Buttercup, target Southampton, set sail and go home!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone