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I must go down to the sea again - an Age of Sail quest

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27. An even chance
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    • You struggle to find the right words and instead decide to say nothing. So you nod at Calixta and wait with her in the gently misting rain outside the tavern for the next twenty minutes before the cavalaryman and his companion finally emerge, carefully placing their tall caps on their heads. BOth of you are given perfunctory little bows and then the other cavalry officer walks up and gives a slight bow to you.

    "Commander. I have the honor to be the captain's second, Lieutenant Dulcitus Maniakes, 9th Hussars. Do you have a spot that suits you for this business? My friend has chosen the sword as his weapon." They arch an eyebrow at you in question. You hesitate, then glance back at Calixta, who seems to know what's being discussed. She nods sharply and you look back to Maniakes.

    "Commander Marran Marinos, His Majesty's cutter Lydia. And we do. And the sword is perfectly is acceptable, of course, Myx Maniakes."

    "Thank you Myx Marinos. My friend also says that he will gladly apologize to your friend and retract any words he has said about her, but that he cannot and will not apologize for anything he has said about Captain Attaliates. Would your friend find this apology acceptable?" You suspect not, but give a nod.

    "I'll inquire." You turn about and walk over to Calixta to relay the offer to her. As she listens, she scowls, then shakes her head sharply. "He must retract all that he has said and beg my pardon in front of both you and his second. Then I will consider the matter closed." You sigh, then nod and turn back to Maniakes.

    "She insists that he retract all of his words and beg her pardon in front of the two of us," you say quietly.

    "I see," he murmurs. "Well, he won't do that. I suppose you had better lead on." With that, you turn back to Calixta and she leads the way through the winding streets, up the steep switchbacks until you come to a small, sleepy looking chapel and churchyard. The only stop you make along the way is to call at a local doctor's house to ask that he accompany the party, which he reluctantly agrees to do. It is at a distance from the road and the other buildings, it is quiet, and you seem unlikely to be interrupted here. A perfect spot for clandestine dueling. soft greenery under foot, trees that offer some protection both from the rain and from prying eyes. It is still damp and misty here and the footing seems less sure to you than a pitching deck in a storm. It's a lovely spot to die in, if die one must, though.

    Calixta removes her hat and coat and belt and strips down to her shirtsleeves, then begins to warm herself up, making a few practice passes with her saber. Her opponent does the same and after a minute or two of this, you step forward.

    "Good sir, good lady. Can you not be reconciled?" It is the custom to ask this one final time before any blades meet or a pistol is fired.

    "I'm afraid not," says Captain Stratioticus.

    "Impossible at this time if he will not retract his words," says Calixta. You don't like the next part of your duty, but you nod.

    "Very well." You raise a handkerchief in one hand. "When I drop the handkerchief, lay on. May the gods keep you safe." You wait for an agonizing three or four seconds, then drop the handkerchief and step back to join the doctor and cavalryperson in watching the duel. Duels are not illegal but neither are they strictly legal, either. Killing someone is still considered murder, though it is quite common for local authorities simply not to arrest duelers--especially if they are properly nobles.

    Calixta Acropolite rolls Prowess
    3 + 5 + 5 + Prowess 12 = 25

    Leon Stratioticus rolls Prowess
    5 + 1 + 2 + Prowess 13 = 21

    Leon takes 4 damage, HP 6/10.

    The first pass happens very quickly and even as a trained fighter and experienced swordsperson yourself, you almost miss what happens. The two fighters cross blades for the briefest of moments and then Stratioticus tries to beat aside Calixta's blade and lunge in hard and fast to end things quickly but Calixta has her point back in line faster than the cavalryman realizes and her riposte doesn't seem to go anywhere for a moment but as she pulls the blade back, you see a spot of blood slowly starting to expand along his left side. The man gasps quietly, puts a hand to it, and then slowly sinks down to sit on the wet lawn. The doctor and the other cavalry officer rush forward and you want to as well, but first Calixta.

    "Are you alright?"

    "Yes. Fine. He thought he could brute force me." She's breathing heavily, her face flushed. "Is he alive?" You look over towards the two huddled over the injured man and nod.

    "He is. For now."

    "Good. Let him live with it." She sketches a bow towards her fallen opponent, who to your surprise raises a hand to offer something like a salute in return. Then Calixta dresses, wipes her sword on the damp greenery, and then the two of you head back down into the city in silence.

    You part ways with her midway to the harbor. Calixta is silent and a little brooding, even after the duel and your parting is not a happy one, though she promises to write when she has more news about her supposed to promotion and makes you promise to come back so that she can teach you ride a horse. you return aboard your ship feeling more exhausted than you thought possible for what had been supposed to be a simple day ashore, then settle down for the exciting business of deciding the course for your cruise which starts tomorrow.


    [ ] Stand further out to sea: You should stand out and try to snap up any shipping you can find, with the added advantage of being able to maneuver more freely and stand in towards shore if you need to. It does mean that you might miss opportunities to spot goings on closer to shore, but with the risk of fortifications, heavier ships, and bad weather, maybe a bit of caution is needed.
    [ ] Snoop around Selymbria: The well fortified harbor is where the Duke was last spotted with his fleet and while there are already ships assigned to snoop about this part of the coast to keep an eye out for him, perhaps you can spot something someone else hasn't. And the more eyes there are, the more likely you'll see him if he tries to slip away. Or something like that.
    [ ] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.

    Completely aside from the issue of maintaining professionalism and thus increasing the chance of our brevet rank being made official, this sort of work is what a cutter like ours is built for. In particular, any supply convoys using coastal roads should be targets for our marines, to help tighten the siege of the Duke's hideout.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.

    If we find anything or dont find anything we can go back to prowling in the sea lanes and i imagine the dukes location is being investigated by the others but the coastal stuff might be lucrative and might find more info on the rebellion aswell.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Follow the coast: This is in your orders. You should patrol close to the coast, look for opportunities to pick up intelligence or prizes and concern yourself with fulfilling your orders, not with filling your pockets.
     
    [X] Snoop around Selymbria: The well fortified harbor is where the Duke was last spotted with his fleet and while there are already ships assigned to snoop about this part of the coast to keep an eye out for him, perhaps you can spot something someone else hasn't. And the more eyes there are, the more likely you'll see him if he tries to slip away. Or something like that.
     
    28. A coastal jaunt
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    • Early the next morning, you slip your moorings and sail with the tide out the mouth of the harbor and then turn north to follow the coast. You keep a distance of a few miles between yourself and the shore itself, wanting to be able to catch any vessels moving along it without risking being run onto rocks or shoals yourself if the weather turns bad. For now though, it is a rather uniform gray as you are well into autumn and closing in on winter. What a season to sail in. At least you're sailing, though.

    In addition to acting lieutenant Eusoneus and midshipman Rhangabe, you now have another midshipman aboard. About seventeen years of age, he needed a berth and so was sent to you. He is Mister Midshipman Eusebius Angelus, lately of the seventy-four gun 3rd-rate Majestic. He doesn't exactly seem happy to be on board the Lydia but he's not sulking about it either, throwing himself into the work and ordering Rhangabe around with a touch of overbearing authority that you suspect you might have to nip in the bud at some point. For now though, you'll let them sort it out.

    Eusebius Angelus
    Diplomacy 10 Strategy 8 Tactics 8 Prowess 10 Subterfuge 8 Seamanship 9

    For now, though, you have hunting to do. You prowl up the coast for the next five days, beating into the wind until you've passed Selymbria on your starboard side and are entering waters that as far as you know, have few if any friendly vessels at this point. When you left Delphinos, rumors were going around that the army would march north soon as well to lay siege to Selymbria or to try and force the Duke's remaining forces to battle. Other rumors said it was the Duke coming south with his army to besiege Delphinos, but when you had gone there was no sign of movement on either side that you knew of.

    Marran Marinos rolls Strategy
    1 + 6 + 6 + Strategy 9 = 22

    Coastal Shipping rolls Strategy
    1 + 5 + 3 + 8 Strategy = 17

    Your hunting goes well to start. Very well. You are creeping up the coast out to sea a little ways when your lookouts spot three sails along the coast. Three fat-tubbed merchant vessels, coastal barges designed to do little else but move cargo up and down the coast. They are tough little ships, but not very fast or good sailors, nor are they usually well armed. You consider for a moment the best plan of attack, and knowing that they cannot hope to sail into the wind as well as you, pounce upon them from the north-east. You sail down onto the last ship in the convoy, fire a gun, and they almost immediately strike their colors. You put out one of the boots, send across Mister Rhangabe and a few sailors with order to sail back to Delphinos, and then continue onwards down the line. The second prize falls just as easily, and your second boat is sent across with a master's mate and a few sailors as well, then on you go.

    The third vessel, perhaps the leader of the little convoy, seems ready to make a fight of it as you close on them. They raise their colors and turn, rolling a little in the waves. You almost feel sorry for them--they can't have much in the way of guns. But if they wish to fight, you'll oblige them.

    Cutter Lydia
    Speed: 5 Firepower: 1 Durability: 2 Marines: 1 Crew: Regular (0)
    Commander Marran Marinos
    Diplomacy: 10 Strategy: 9 Tactics: 11 Prowess: 12 Subterfuge: 9 Seamanship: 13

    Sailing vessel Maiden's Kiss
    Speed 4 Firepower 1 Durability 1 Marines: 0 Crew: Mediocre (-1)
    Master Adelia Swift
    Diplomacy 12 Strategy 8 Tactics 7 Prowess 10 Suberfuge 9 Seamanship 12

    Round One
    Lydia opens fire as they close the range

    Lydia
    3 + 1 + 2 + 1 Firepower + 11 Tactics + Crew 0 = 18

    Maiden's Kiss
    1 + 3 + 3 + 1 Firepower + 7 Tactics + Crew -1 = 14

    Maiden's Kiss takes 4 damage, Durability now 6/10, she does not yet strike.

    Round Two
    Lydia holds her fire and moves in closer in an attempt to board.
    2 + 5 + 2 + Tactics 11 + Crew 0 = 20

    Maiden's Kiss attempts to fire again while maneuvering to open the distance.
    1 + 6 + 1 + Tactics 7 + +Firepower 1 + Crew -1 = 15

    Lydia grapples onto the Maiden's Kiss and the merchant vessel strikes her colors.

    As Lydia closes the distance, you open a brisk fire with your 4 pound guns. The merchant vessel attempts to return fire but their gunnery is staggeringly poor and their shots go wide as you hammer their hull and rigging with shot. You close in, ordering your guns to hold fire and to prepare boarders as the damaged vessel desperately attempts to maneuver away. Sadly, it's of no use and as you come alongside they strike their colors before you can even cross the gap between the vessels. Glumly, their captain, a young woman with shockingly bright red hair, hands over her manifest, though her charts and other papers seem to have mysteriously vanished at some point. An examination quickly reveals some important information--the Maiden's Kiss and the other ships in the convoy are carrying a variety of supplies. The Maiden's Kiss herself is carrying powder, shot, and cannon along with crates of other military supplies meant for Selymbria. The other two ships seem to mostly be carrying foodstuffs and raw woolen textiles, probably meant to be processed by the looms and dyers in Selymbria into uniforms, blankets, and other accouterments.

    All in all, a fat little prize. A significant one, no doubt, that will enrich you further. The problem is that they are fat, slow ships that must make their way under the noses of the enemy to reach a friendly port.

    [ ] Order the prizes to stand further out to sea: By having the captured vessels follow a course further from the coast, they risk less in passing Selymbria, though if bad weather comes up these coastal vessels may not be able to handle the rough sea well.
    [ ] Stick to the coast: Order your prizes to stick close to the coast as they make their way back. It will keep them safe from any bad weather that crops up, though it may expose them to the danger of gunboats or other light vessels scuttling out of the harbor to try and snatch them up, once it's realized that the supply ships aren't coming as expected.
    [ ] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.

    Escorting them back to insure they don't get recaptured seems to be the prudent move, even if it costs us some time
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.

    I don't think that Duke was rich enough to sacrifice 3 ships and quite a bit of cannons & powder just to lure us away from position for a day.
    Now, his squadrons might sally out while we're gone, but the window would be rather short, so...
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.

    Yeah , this is a pretty good series of prizes people .

    If our navy career stalls we could go privateer or trader even if we are rich enough btw. This happens in alot of age of sail novel series when they go privateer cause they usually cross a admiral or something like that.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.

    The only thing that could be better is if we had caught a ship moving the Duke's payroll.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.

    That midshipman was a bit below average on the stats no?
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
    [X] Escort them southward: Escort your now-captured convoy past Selymbria before setting them to their own devices. This will cause you some delay as you will have to turn and beat upwind again to reach your current position, but it will probably ensure that they are kept safe from most of the dangers they might encounter.
     
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