Eternal
While the military definitely still needs your attention, you’ve got the ball rolling on that aspect already. You can see that Quintus really wants this navy build up to happen for several reasons and there are still pirate troubles after all, so you might as well see what you can do on this front.
“Alright, we’ll get the navy strong again, or whatever it was before I showed up.” You remark.
“Good, good! I’m sure we’ll make improvements so quickly that I’ll be able to convince the senate that the navy shouldn’t be dismantled. So, I guess you’ll want to get started immediately, so you should make your way to Waveview, it’s the largest of our port towns where our most experienced sailors are and most of the shipbuilding takes place. In fact Admiral Jarred Plickus should be there right now.” Quintus says.
“Wheeee! My incompetent husband finally managed to convince one of his goons to actually do what he wants for a change. This calls for a drink!” Nalia says and finishes off her bottle and grabs another one nearby.
You leave before you insult Quintus’ wife, well actually you leave before you do something worse than just insult her.
You make your way to Waveview and then to seek out this Admiral Plickus. After asking a few passing sailors and shipwrights they direct you towards one of the larger ships and say he’s aboard that one. The admiral apparently likes to spend all his time aboard his favorite ship.
From afar the ship looks impressive, but when you’re up close it looks less so. You expected the pride of the Nalin fleet with the admiral aboard it would at least look more presentable. With as many noticeable “patches” they’ve nailed into the hull, they might as well have just built a new ship.
The rest of the crew direct you to Admiral Plickus’ cabin when you finally board the ship where upon you find him fast asleep. He looks so damn old, you half wonder if he was alive during the time of the old Empire. (He’s human though so you know that isn’t the case) When you finally manage to wake him up to interact with him, he’s not exactly young of mind either. You honestly don’t know why this man is still commanding anything, let alone a fleet.
Frustrated you leave the cabin call for the captain of the ship.
“Yeah, I’m here.” A bearded man little older than you replies.
“I’m here? What the hell kind of answer is that?” you answer back in a threatening manner.
The captain suddenly realizes who you are exactly and makes more of an effort.
“”Oh shit, you’re that Eternal. Apologies sir. We didn’t know you were coming. My name’s Len.” The captain says desperately attempting to straighten himself up.
“By the status of the admiral it seems like he still doesn’t know I’m here, let alone who I am.”
“Yes, well the admiral is getting on in years, but the senate doesn’t seem to care. I believe two of his sons are on the senate in fact.”
“Figures. If he’s here, then they don’t have to take care of him at their own home. (Sigh) If this is supposed to be the best the fleet has to offer, I’d hate to see the other ships up close.” You say.
“It’s um, well I dunno what to tell you sir, except the truth. It’s true, the fleet isn’t given much attention; in fact you’ll probably find our cargo ships kept in better condition because of our trade with the usksha.”
“And that’s fucking stupid for the sole fact that you need to defend those same ships from pirates. That means warships that don’t look like they’re on the verge of sinking themselves!”
“I agree sir, and I’ve tried to make due with what I can, but spending on the navy has been cut a lot over the years. In fact I heard a rumor that the senate was going to dismantle the navy altogether.”
“Well not now they aren’t. I’ve been told to try to get something done with this sorry excuse for a fleet.”
“Oh? Well I suppose that would be a blessing, sir.”
“Glad you think so, because as of right now, you’re the new admiral of the fleet.”
“I am?”
“Well I assume you’re the next most competent and experienced sailor if you’re commanding this wreck. Is that not the case?”
“Well I don’t like to boast sir, but I am indeed the best captain that the Nalin fleet has to offer…such as it is. But trust me sir, that I routinely make forays into the Delerg islands in the hopes of whittling down some of those pirate bastards.”
“Good, shows you’re at least proactive.”
After a bit of explanation of what you want done to shape up the navy, you tell Len that you’re going to go talk with the shipyards and have them to start concentrating on building new warships.
“Didn’t you want a demonstration?” Len asks before you leave.
“Demonstration of what?”
“Of whether I’m really up to this task. I mean I think it’s a great honor that you’ve placed so much responsibility on me, but I’d still like to prove myself to you. Come with me on a patrol. I mean this might be my last time in a long time since I’ll have to be organizing stuff for a while.”
You think about it for a while and you can appreciate the fact that Len wants to show you that he’s up to the tasks you’ve set before him.
“Okay, but what about the ex-admiral?” you ask.
“Him? Bah, we patrol with him on board all time, he never even wakes up despite the cannons. Let’s set sail.” Len says.
Soon you’re on your way towards the islands of Delerg. That still seems odd to you. Wasn’t a place you visited a lot, but the idea that that swampy landmass is now just a cluster of islands is still a little weird.
You find that being on the open water isn’t quite as bad as you thought either. You sort of had a minor concern about this whole navy thing at first, but going into battle on the water will certainly be a new thing you can experience and you’re sure this crew will appreciate the extra magical firepower you can bring.
You do ask Len about going on patrol alone and wouldn’t it be better to bring more ships, but he mentions how half of them are being repaired and some are pulling shore defense duty elsewhere. He mentions that pirates usually try to run rather than fight anyway and that while this ship looks horrible, it’s a lot more durable than it looks and certainly more than anything the pirates have.
“The major handicap is speed and maneuverability, usually they can outsail us if they really want to get away, but our firepower prevents most from escaping before they get that far.” Len laughs.
A few days pass and you’re finally in Delerg waters. You see several islands nearby, but the fog is making it harder to make out anything in the far distance.
“Is it always this foggy?” you ask looking out across the limited foggy view.
“Not always, but this is actually a good thing. This will allow us to sneak up on the pirates.”
“Or allow them to sneak up on us if we aren’t careful.” You say.
“Funny you should say that…” Len says and then two gunshots are heard and a painful sensation in two parts of your back. You gasp and your upper half falls over the side of the ship.
“Damnit, I told you idiots to aim for the fucking head!” Len says
“Sorry sir, can’t see for this fucking fog.” A sailor answers.
“Nevermind all that, help me throw him overboard!” Len replies.
As you’re gasping for air and trying to move to do something to defend yourself, captain Len and his treacherous crew grab your limbs and throw you overboard.
“Sorry Eternal, but the smuggling business is too profitable for me to start making enemies out of my business partners. And with you around breathing down my neck with this navy shit, I’d never get anything accomplished.” Len says as you plunge into the water below.
Under normal circumstances, you might’ve been able to heal yourself of the two big bullet holes in your back that also caused severe internal damage, but floating in cold water, with limited mobility and a profuse loss of blood is a deadly combination.
You eventually lose consciousness and the merciless sea does the rest.
“Alright, we’ll get the navy strong again, or whatever it was before I showed up.” You remark.
“Good, good! I’m sure we’ll make improvements so quickly that I’ll be able to convince the senate that the navy shouldn’t be dismantled. So, I guess you’ll want to get started immediately, so you should make your way to Waveview, it’s the largest of our port towns where our most experienced sailors are and most of the shipbuilding takes place. In fact Admiral Jarred Plickus should be there right now.” Quintus says.
“Wheeee! My incompetent husband finally managed to convince one of his goons to actually do what he wants for a change. This calls for a drink!” Nalia says and finishes off her bottle and grabs another one nearby.
You leave before you insult Quintus’ wife, well actually you leave before you do something worse than just insult her.
You make your way to Waveview and then to seek out this Admiral Plickus. After asking a few passing sailors and shipwrights they direct you towards one of the larger ships and say he’s aboard that one. The admiral apparently likes to spend all his time aboard his favorite ship.
From afar the ship looks impressive, but when you’re up close it looks less so. You expected the pride of the Nalin fleet with the admiral aboard it would at least look more presentable. With as many noticeable “patches” they’ve nailed into the hull, they might as well have just built a new ship.
The rest of the crew direct you to Admiral Plickus’ cabin when you finally board the ship where upon you find him fast asleep. He looks so damn old, you half wonder if he was alive during the time of the old Empire. (He’s human though so you know that isn’t the case) When you finally manage to wake him up to interact with him, he’s not exactly young of mind either. You honestly don’t know why this man is still commanding anything, let alone a fleet.
Frustrated you leave the cabin call for the captain of the ship.
“Yeah, I’m here.” A bearded man little older than you replies.
“I’m here? What the hell kind of answer is that?” you answer back in a threatening manner.
The captain suddenly realizes who you are exactly and makes more of an effort.
“”Oh shit, you’re that Eternal. Apologies sir. We didn’t know you were coming. My name’s Len.” The captain says desperately attempting to straighten himself up.
“By the status of the admiral it seems like he still doesn’t know I’m here, let alone who I am.”
“Yes, well the admiral is getting on in years, but the senate doesn’t seem to care. I believe two of his sons are on the senate in fact.”
“Figures. If he’s here, then they don’t have to take care of him at their own home. (Sigh) If this is supposed to be the best the fleet has to offer, I’d hate to see the other ships up close.” You say.
“It’s um, well I dunno what to tell you sir, except the truth. It’s true, the fleet isn’t given much attention; in fact you’ll probably find our cargo ships kept in better condition because of our trade with the usksha.”
“And that’s fucking stupid for the sole fact that you need to defend those same ships from pirates. That means warships that don’t look like they’re on the verge of sinking themselves!”
“I agree sir, and I’ve tried to make due with what I can, but spending on the navy has been cut a lot over the years. In fact I heard a rumor that the senate was going to dismantle the navy altogether.”
“Well not now they aren’t. I’ve been told to try to get something done with this sorry excuse for a fleet.”
“Oh? Well I suppose that would be a blessing, sir.”
“Glad you think so, because as of right now, you’re the new admiral of the fleet.”
“I am?”
“Well I assume you’re the next most competent and experienced sailor if you’re commanding this wreck. Is that not the case?”
“Well I don’t like to boast sir, but I am indeed the best captain that the Nalin fleet has to offer…such as it is. But trust me sir, that I routinely make forays into the Delerg islands in the hopes of whittling down some of those pirate bastards.”
“Good, shows you’re at least proactive.”
After a bit of explanation of what you want done to shape up the navy, you tell Len that you’re going to go talk with the shipyards and have them to start concentrating on building new warships.
“Didn’t you want a demonstration?” Len asks before you leave.
“Demonstration of what?”
“Of whether I’m really up to this task. I mean I think it’s a great honor that you’ve placed so much responsibility on me, but I’d still like to prove myself to you. Come with me on a patrol. I mean this might be my last time in a long time since I’ll have to be organizing stuff for a while.”
You think about it for a while and you can appreciate the fact that Len wants to show you that he’s up to the tasks you’ve set before him.
“Okay, but what about the ex-admiral?” you ask.
“Him? Bah, we patrol with him on board all time, he never even wakes up despite the cannons. Let’s set sail.” Len says.
Soon you’re on your way towards the islands of Delerg. That still seems odd to you. Wasn’t a place you visited a lot, but the idea that that swampy landmass is now just a cluster of islands is still a little weird.
You find that being on the open water isn’t quite as bad as you thought either. You sort of had a minor concern about this whole navy thing at first, but going into battle on the water will certainly be a new thing you can experience and you’re sure this crew will appreciate the extra magical firepower you can bring.
You do ask Len about going on patrol alone and wouldn’t it be better to bring more ships, but he mentions how half of them are being repaired and some are pulling shore defense duty elsewhere. He mentions that pirates usually try to run rather than fight anyway and that while this ship looks horrible, it’s a lot more durable than it looks and certainly more than anything the pirates have.
“The major handicap is speed and maneuverability, usually they can outsail us if they really want to get away, but our firepower prevents most from escaping before they get that far.” Len laughs.
A few days pass and you’re finally in Delerg waters. You see several islands nearby, but the fog is making it harder to make out anything in the far distance.
“Is it always this foggy?” you ask looking out across the limited foggy view.
“Not always, but this is actually a good thing. This will allow us to sneak up on the pirates.”
“Or allow them to sneak up on us if we aren’t careful.” You say.
“Funny you should say that…” Len says and then two gunshots are heard and a painful sensation in two parts of your back. You gasp and your upper half falls over the side of the ship.
“Damnit, I told you idiots to aim for the fucking head!” Len says
“Sorry sir, can’t see for this fucking fog.” A sailor answers.
“Nevermind all that, help me throw him overboard!” Len replies.
As you’re gasping for air and trying to move to do something to defend yourself, captain Len and his treacherous crew grab your limbs and throw you overboard.
“Sorry Eternal, but the smuggling business is too profitable for me to start making enemies out of my business partners. And with you around breathing down my neck with this navy shit, I’d never get anything accomplished.” Len says as you plunge into the water below.
Under normal circumstances, you might’ve been able to heal yourself of the two big bullet holes in your back that also caused severe internal damage, but floating in cold water, with limited mobility and a profuse loss of blood is a deadly combination.
You eventually lose consciousness and the merciless sea does the rest.
