Capítulo 33: 14
Chapter 14 Sea Battle
My trip did not start off well. First off my project didn't progress. I forgot to consider the fact that I was the only person who could control the boat. Well, unless I didn't mind straight lines that might crash into a cliff. Besides that, piloting is really really boring. It wasn't long at all before I turned back around and swung by Lorath to hire a pilot.
It turns out that I don't need a navigator. Buying a few maps had unlocked options for that item with my powers. I can now create large, detailed maps perfect for mapping out the world. I still have to journey there, but I'm already putting together the beginnings of an atlas.
Sadly, none of the families had finished their tasks yet. I guess it was too much to hope given it had only been a few weeks. My time sense was really screwed up from all my trips to the End.
I did pick up some craftsman to start working a few project for me. None of them were masters of their craft, but something was better than nothing at this point. Besides, how difficult could it be to recreate ancient siege engines given my knowledge?
In the meantime I began my experiments with hot air balloons.
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The craftsman turned out to be a mixed blessing. I was right about the weapons. They managed to recreate almost everything I wanted. I now had recipes for an onager, catapult and perrier. They were all a bit small since they couldn't exceed two meters but still quite powerful.
The problem was that it was more dangerous than I realized. Injuries were common and I had to use potions to heal them frequently. Hell they even tried to stop working more than once. I was forced to throw one overboard and leave him to drown before the rest went back to work.
Still, I don't know why were upset. I paid them generously. I fed them well. Sure they sometimes lost fingers or limbs, but I regrew them. This world is harsh! Why are they so scared of a little pain?
They still whined nearly constantly. I really don't know why they were so upset. I healed them and besides the one example I made they all survived. Finally I just lost my patience and kill them all. I didn't even feel like I was betraying them. They're the ones that tried to go on strike. Idiots. Didn't they learn how I respond to anyone who betrays me by now?
Why do people here suck so bad? Oh well. I console myself with the thought that I hadn't really wanted knowledge of the siege engines and balloons to get out anyway.
So I'm down to my last option. Slaves. It's not my favorite idea, but I only need a few years service. By that point most of my projects should be done. To appease my rapidly shrinking conscious I resolve to free them with a generous severance package afterwards.
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I had skipped Braavos but wasn't about to pass up Pentos. Pentos was a large trade hub with a variety of products, but there was one thing I was interested in more than anything. Cheese.
I managed to buy a few different cheeses but still missed the variety from my old life. Cheese used to be one of my favorite foods and I missed it. It was one of my strongest minor complaints. How can cheddar not be a staple food? And Pentos had a reputation for the finest cheeses in the world.
They were very cautious of me at first. It made sense. My ship dwarfed any of theirs and they barely had a dozen galleys present. The harbormaster and guards were a bit cautious, but otherwise very polite. Once I convinced them I was only here for a brief stop to buy a few things they were more than welcoming.
I had no problems agreeing to their polite suggestions to limit how many my personal guards to bring. I only intended to take a few anyway. I anchored a bit off to the side and proceeded to fill an entire chest with my favorite foods.
I even pick up a few translators. They were called bond servants instead of slaves, but otherwise pretty much the same. Even better just paying them a decent wage automatically frees them after a few years.
They were all incredibly grateful when I explained my plans for them. Good. Hopefully I won't end up having to kill them for revealing secrets. I really do need to be able to interrogate the people living in the End. And in the meantime they can give me lessons. Speaking more languages is always good.
For a hypocritical 'free' city Pentos was a very nice place. I did make a quick check, but it seems my siblings weren't there. Oh well.
My reception at Myr was almost identical. A wary welcome, very politely worded requests and then shopping.
It makes me wonder if Braavos and the Iron Bank would have treated me much more respectfully if I had arrived in a giant warship. Probably. For all their claims to being a beacon of culture and civilization my experiences with them were fairly negative.
I was very impressed with the city. Large windows, intricate metalwork and elaborate architecture made the city the most beautiful I've seen so far. The place was very organized too. I didn't have to deal with a single pickpocket or mugger while I walked around.
The merchants were just as respectful. As long as I had money they treated me just like any other customer. A very few times a slight demonstration of my powers was needed, but everything was kept very formal. Veiled threats and subtle displays of power. There is something vaguely wrong about actually enjoying the experience of shopping for people.
Why in the world are slavers the nicest people I've run into? Maybe prolonged isolation isn't the healthiest thing for me.
In the end I buy several dozen artisans. I eagerly settled them on my ship and put them to work. I had them begin improving my siege engines by incorporating metal into them. After all there was only so much wood and rope could do. I also had artisans restarting my windlance project as well as recreating various other items.
I might not need everything they're working on but it always pays to have more options.
Honestly given how I was being treated by the various places I was beginning to wonder if spreading slavery would be better for me. I blame how messed up this world is for the fact that the idea doesn't immediately strike me as inherently wrong.
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Tyrosh was a disaster. It started off familiarly enough. I was met with a warship, talked with the harbormaster and docked off to the side. We were all very polite and respectful and in the end I went shopping.
This time I was looking to buy a smith who specialized in decorative work. Something Tyrosh is famous for. I wanted to recreate the helm of the inquisition from Dragon Age. I wanted all of my troops wearing a helmet that clearly says they're mine.
I wanted a smith because I don't know what color I wanted it to be. Also so I can have matching armor eventually. Maybe thematically redesign my siege engines as well.
When the man dressed in a bright green outfit approached I didn't really pay attention. Bright colors seem to be the theme here, even their armor is brightly colored. It gives the city festive air.
I only really noticed him when he offered to buy my ship. Laughing to his face wasn't the politest thing to do, but I couldn't help myself. My ship was currently the most powerful one in existence. It was also massive and took forever to build . There wasn't he could offer that was worth the hassle of making another.
I brushed off his pathetic attempts as intimidation. One of his guards tried to grab me and was promptly crushed by my golem. I didn't even react, amazed anyone was stupid enough to go up against someone who had four guards who all stood nine feet tall.
I would have let it go, but the idiot actually called in more men. I ended up with over twenty armed men surrounding me. It wasn't even a contest. The golems waded through them like cardboard.
I settled for pulling out a bow and sniping a few men. The green idiot just watched. He didn't even try to run until the last few men were being put down. I took great pleasure in shooting him in the back.
Annoying, but not really note worthy. I didn't even need to pull out a turret.
Except he was related to the Archon. So the ruler of the city just lost a nephew. And of course family and blood ties are what everyone cares about on Planetos. So I cut my losses.
It would have just been a short, failed shopping trip if my ship wasn't being attacked. Almost half a dozen various ships were surrounding it. The burning remains of two more were sinking. Even from the harbor you could hear fighting.
I was delighted to note the sheer volume of screams from my ship. Looks like my guards are doing their job. Still, all those ships couldn't have attacked this quickly. The attack had to have begun before the ponce confronted me. Which means this counts as betrayal.
First things first, time to save my ship and all my valuable help. I rocketed over, leaving behind my guards with orders to go berserk. I wasn't going to retrieve them, they were only obsidian.
In a way I was relieved. I had seriously been worried that slavery was somehow making people nicer on this world. It was good to know everyone is equally corrupt.
Turns out my guards were more than a match for unarmored men. They were grinding any assaults into hamburger. I took a minute to watch and admire my work. Work every minute I spent making them.
I used my naval turret to make sure all the ships that attacked burned. Don't like survivors. Shooting them down pissed off the harbormaster. Of course he didn't have a good excuse for why they were trying to take over my ship.
Inspection crew my ass. That doesn't apply unless I actually transfer cargo. Shopping trips do not qualify. I shot him and set his ship on fire as well.
I don't put up a tower and turret here. No I can now fly.
I spend all afternoon making bombing runs. When I'm finally done they didn't have a single functional dock or ship. I also make a point of leveling their Bleeding Tower, which normally protects their main harbor.
Since it was still early evening I decided to resume my shopping trip. I made a point of landing a full platoon of golems. It was a quiet trip. After my show of force everyone was terrified of me. They scurried around scared they would draw my attention. Even the few times unsullied launched suicidal attacks they didn't speak.
I wander around and grab anything that catch my attention. I liberated a whole group of the skilled slaves rather than the one or two I was looking for. Since I wanted them to stay afterwards I even made sure to pick up their families if they had one.
Why not? It's not like going to pay for anything here.
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So pirates aren't the nicest people. They are also very very dumb. Sure some have other reason, but overall? Dumb as a box of rocks.
Unfair you think? Nope. I had just sailed away from Tyrosh after burning their entire fleet when I was set upon by pirates. Worse, after I destroyed them more showed up.
They were like lemmings. Just mindlessly charging to their doom. If I had unlimited ammunition this would be just like an arcade game. Instead it's frustrating.
There were dozens of boats and they didn't stop. They also didn't burn fast enough and several managed to reach me. Since I was using the turret I couldn't even maneuver. My ship was heavily enchanted, but already I could make out scorch marks on the hull.
When the turret clicked dry I couldn't believe it. That was nine stacks worth of fire charges! How have I not run out of enemies yet?
Looking around I realize just how bad the my situation had gotten. At some point the pirate ships, which were mostly longships, had been replaced by war galleys. The new ships were all flying the standard of house Redwyne. I think I registered the change because the ships were harder to sink, but didn't recognize what it meant.
I was now fighting ships from Westeros.
I take stock of my situation. My ship trapped within a sea of flaming wreckage. If not for the enchantments I'd have already sunk. The wreckage isn't all bad. It's keeping any other ships from getting close enough to board.
As it is I already have boarders, soldiers who had made it from their burning ships. Pockets of soldiers even now were desperately battling across the deck. I keep an eye on them but my troops seem to have the situation under control.
If I'm facing the Redwyne fleet then... I quickly start surveying the north with a spyglass. Aand, yep. There they are. The royal fleet.
This doesn't make sense! Using two entire fleets just for me is insane! Not that King Robert is the sanest person, but all this to kill one person?
Unless it wasn't one person.
I hadn't run into my siblings yet. What if they were here? I can easily see Robert using everything to finally wipe out the last of my house.
Which means they're here. Most likely back in Tyrosh.
With the waves I've made they're in a lot of danger. Just the possibility of powers like mine will have them hunted. There is only one way to ensure they don't get killed. I need to find them first.
I just hope I didn't kill them by accident.
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Of course I didn't forget about the two fleets surrounding me. I was out of fire charges and dynamite arrows. I had also used most of my TNT bombing Tyrosh. I can salvage my rockets, except I don't have any sand.
In the end I go a different route. I build raised walkways on either side of the ship. I fill them with skeleton archers. Every single one is holding a flaming arrow. The product of one of my experiments it automatically set it's target on fire.
I quickly cover the deck in iron slabs since they won't burn away. I wince when the ship groans and sinks several feet. This is going to make moving horrible slow. I really need to get a recipe for something much thinner for the future.
I leave orders for the archers to shoot every ship within range and retreat back to my rooms. I get in the control chair and began my escape.
My ship, which really needs a name, slowly pushed forwards. From my point of view all I can see is what looks like a burning forest. I wonder if I can raise the skull higher. Maybe place it on top of a mast?
My low speed gives more than enough time for several ships to intercept. I don't slow down even as it looks like I just ran face first into another ship. Really glad the link is only visual. I tear through the opposing ships easily.
I didn't add iron slabs just to the deck. I had also covered part of the keel. The prow in particular had been extended outwards by several feet. Now it acted like a massive blade as I literally tore through my enemies.
They tried to slow me down, but nothing worked. Grappling hooks had their lines snapped and anything blocking the way was sunk. I helped that even with the added weight my ship was still faster and much more agile.
My ship proved unstoppable. Rather than escape, once I was free to move I aimed for the center of the Redwyne fleet. I imagine I was terrifying sight. A gigantic ship, smoking from battle relentlessly ramming ship after ship.
It didn't take long for the fleet to break, ships scattering in an attempt to run away. I took the time to remove most of the iron. What was left of my battering ram was deformed and half melted. Probably should have enchanted it. Oh well. It lasted long enough.
I also took back the fire arrows. It would be pretty pathetic to sink myself after winning such a large fight.
Not that the fighting was over. I had defeated my enemies. Now it was time to destroy them.
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I built up high walls, extending over twenty feet high. Three rings of arrow slits, all of them manned. My ship looked more like a wooden tower in the middle of the sea than a ship. It was also practically immobile. So I built a new ship.
It was sleet and slender. A hundred feet long and only a dozen wide. A rapier instead of a fortress. I moved the dragon skull and control chair over. I used barely any wood this time. Most of my ship was iron. Combined with the new wardstones I shouldn't have any problems.
The armored prow was now replaced by an actual battering ram. Instead of a massive blade I now had a cluster of long spikes. Each one was heavily enchanted. The dragon skull also now sat on top of a short mast, giving me a much better point of view.
It was meant more for speed than cargo so it was designed much like a longboat. The main difference though were the two outriggers. Large, streamlined and hollow they should provide a great deal of buoyancy. Not enough to hydroplane, but every bit of speed helps.
Building all of this took time and I was surprised that I could still see ships all around me. I keep forgetting how slow everything moves. Since I had time I christened both of my ships and painted their name on the side.
My main ship would be the Dauntless. My newest one would be the Interceptor. It seemed an appropriate tribute to one of the few pirate movies I still remembered. I tacked on HMS as well. I hadn't noticed anyone here using it.
Besides 'Your Majesty' sounded way more appropriate than 'Your Grace'. Dragon's symbolized raw unstoppable power, not elegance and poise.
Chasing down the first ship drove home a point. Everything here moves so slow. Even my ship, as fast as it was, took almost an hour to run down my first victim. I was just glad I aimed for the group that contained the flagship. No way was I going to do this again.
Obviously I hadn't had time to really test my ram. The results were everything I had hoped for. I forgot how fragile normal ships are. My ram isn't just a cluster of long iron spikes. I can't enchant blocks and wardstones don't provide weapon powers. No, I used enchanted weapons and embedded them in the ram.
Each of the seven spires were tipped with a spear enchanted with power and sharpness to increase penetration. They also had reinforced plating enchanted with thorns. Then a cluster of gold swords, each enchanted with flame and knockback. I would have used knives or more spears, but the swords were convenient.
My ship barely slowed down. The ram slid into the other ship with barely any resistance. Then the secondary ring struck. It was like a bomb went off. Flaming wood rained down all around me as I moved straight through the now gaping hole in my target. Even as I moved on it was already breaking apart.
I refined my tactics. I was destroying the ships easily enough, but I wanted to destroy their morale. I wanted them terrified of the idea of facing me again.
When I struck the flagship I twisted. My ship thrashed back and forth like a shark, each touch causing more explosions. I didn't punch a hole in the flagship. I tore it apart.
I moved back and forth across the wreckage. Since I wasn't about to chase any other ships I wanted to make a statement. I purposefully hunted down and rammed every survivor I could find.
Then I turned north. The royal fleet hadn't been idle, but the sheer volume of burning wood had prevented them from approaching me before. They hadn't given up though. Slowly they had picked their way through, nudging aside burning hulks and even sinking a few to clear a path.
As I sped across the waters I watched them surround and assault the HMS Dauntless. The high walls were proving effective as stopping boarders, although I could already see people slowly scaling them using grappling hooks. The mummies seemed to be repelling boarders easily, but the distance made it hard to tell.
I did note only a single ship attempted to ram. The sight of it shattering against the Dauntless was enough to prevent another attempt. Well that and the knowledge that you automatically doomed yourself. Flaming arrows were almost automatically setting on fire every ship approaching within a few hundred yards.
Despite my short mast with mounted dragon skull my new ship had a tiny profile. I wasn't really surprised no one noticed me until it was too late. Even as screams of warning sounded I slammed into my first ship.
With this many targets I went for efficiency so I moved on immediately to my next target. I probably should have waited longer. Only about half the royal fleet had made it through the wreckage. They were trapped with me, but the rest managed to flee.
It would have taken days to try to run them down. It wasn't worth it. I spare a thought for the possible location of my siblings. Screw it all. I'm going home.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder