It has been many a month since I
have last been upon a great expedition as I have terrorized the waters of the
Emerald Archipelago. I had settled down
for a small while running business for a short time. Alas, the call of the ocean is reaching to me
once again and the greatest of adventures had come into mind as I idly walked
the boardwalks of Guava in my strolls.
The handsome rewards for the
attacking and plundering of the Imperialists have finally piqued my
interest. Therefore, I have decided to
make plans to rally my fleet and build flotilla to a distant part of the ocean,
upon which I have yet to set personal sails.
I must begin preparations, as it may
be an arduous journey. Surely, my flag
shall not bee needing my immediate services, although I shall be flying under
the Riot banner. Although my personal
fleet may be meagre, it should be more than enough to be up to the task.
The Riot Christmas Gathering was
this evening and quite eventful. I had
attended in regular fair in my best outfit, stained by the blood of the Kraken
and trimmed with gold.
After much celebration, I went forth
to begin inventory of the fleet. It
seems that I may not need the entire batch, but merely just a few ships. As well, I had gone shopping to get some
‘extra’ shipboard supplies, mostly consisting of game tables to replenish the
splendour of the Baghlah. If I am going out to live in the sea for a
while, might as well do it in class. It
will also benefit any other brave soul that shall accompany me on my journey.
The
Murasaki Royal Fleet:
o
1 Baghlah
o
1 Merchant Frigate
o
1 Cutter
o
2 Sloops
o
245 Small Shot
o
300 Medium Shot
o
10020 Proofs
of rum broken down to per unit:
o
28 Swill
o
105 Grog
o
26 Fine Rum
Even though the goods are divided among all the ships, it is possible to rally all
the supplies at Guava.
The campaign is to be as thus, a
portion of my fleet shall begin to set sail from Emerald and rally to
Only the weak shall see mercy upon
my wrath, as well as anyone with enough power to make it foolish of me to
encounter (I am not a complete fool mind you).
The least I need is the Blackship to curse us
in my hunt.
Detailing my fleet and the
operations of each ship including the modus operandi of their uses are as
follows:
The
Kamikaze Watermelon – scout
It will be the job of this sloop to
begin travel towards Diamond. From
there, charting (and pillaging) shall commence to create a pathway towards Coral. Surely, I can purchase some maps along the
way, but the inter-arch route from Diamond to Coral is the kicker. Some covert work with the navy may also show
the light on the passageway.
This vessel may also take part in
low density trading to help with the memorization of routes. As well, partaking in the tasks smaller than
what the cutter may handle.
Upon reaching the flotilla point, I
will not place it into sinking situations.
It will be used to aid in shipping, the occasional plundering of ships,
and the less hostile outposts of the Imperialist forces.
The
Clever Shad – trade
This Cutter will trade goods along
and around the intended route. This will
serve double duty for funding the expedition and helping to memorize the route
of travel required. Upon destination, it
shall aid in mid scale trade work around the area.
The
Thin Sailfish – command
Leading the flotilla is the Baghlah. When we
discover a route from its current location on Guava, it will begin pillage
operations while traveling to our target.
Upon arriving at Delta, it shall hold position and act to hold cargo and
loot that we will manage to retrieve in our operation.
I will purchase one sloop at Delta
upon the first landfall into the arch.
This ship shall be the one used to combat the more aggressive and
sinking targets. My current fleet is not
expendable at this time given some ‘investment’ that has been placed upon
it. That is to say, all the paint I have
spent to decorate all the lovely vessels, and getting one of the ships name
changed was quite a penny indeed.
Aside from the cargo already held by
each ship, there will be no other funds added into the expedition. Through previous pillaging, I have earned and
paid off all of the ships and supplies.
This way, the entire cost to attempt this is and absolute ‘nothing’.
Word of my expedition shall spread
to bring hands in to aid me in my journey.
Some recruitment into the crew shall be required, though I will follow
my usual strict practices of keeping well and able hands.
The winter frost still hangs in the
air while ice hung among the riggings of The Kamikaze Watermelon. Despite the cold, today marks the start of
the expedition.
With the ship prepped and ready to
go, a few able hands had quickly boarded as we began to travel from
The first contact was a simple win,
and it made for a wonderful warm up for the unskilled hands aboard. Alas, good help is hard to find as our second
engagement left something to be desired. Attacking the ship itself was the easy part,
but the resulting clashing of steel upon steel of our mighty blades drew no
fear upon the enemy as they had taken us all down, one by one. Our own booty removed in the case of
turnabout, we continued onwards.
After another successful battle, a
Barbarian cutter had decided to sail a few lengths ahead of us starting around
halfway between Epsilon and Guava. She
was traveling at full speed along with us, as if trying to tease me. This continued for about three leagues,
passing Guava as we headed towards the Diamond arch.
At this point, I was
fed up with the situation. I gave
the order and we raised our colours and engaged active pursuit. The cutter continued to run until a course
correction on their part finally slowed the yellow-bellied crew into our
clutches.
Even in battle, she was a hard one
to chase down, still living under the notion that it could escape my
grasp. After dealing enough damage to
their vessel and crew, we finally boarded as we proceeded to pound the tar out
of them.
After looting the ship, their cowardice
still exuded their captain. In an
attempt to throw us off their trail, he spilled forth the location of a nearby
sunken wreck, laden with unclaimed spoils of war. He may have been trying to lure us away from something.
I can only guess that he had some
more precious treasure upon his ship already hidden away, or perhaps some other
information. I would not find out as I
set course to the treasure, backtracking past Guava.
A good haul it was indeed, pleasing
both the crew and I as we slowly turned about to back onto course. I was not done yet though, still craving the
smell of battle despite the spoils held in the hold. Another brigand had decided to run alongside
and fire upon us.
They would soon learn how hard it is
to part a man with his treasure, giving another decisive win for the trip. More loot flooded into the hold with a
special treat when a container of Krakens Blood decided to grace itself upon my
deck.
Obviously, we had decided on heading
to port. Being less than a league away
from port, and giving the buying price for the blood was 7800 Pieces of Eight,
it was an easy task. After the crew had
departed and restocking for used supplies (about half overall), I have drawn in
9,673 Pieces of Eight so far in this grand expedition.