It seems my ever-fickle muse liked my previous annotated omake, and wants me to write another. This time it's excerpts from a (translated) Spanish bestiary of rather dubious quality being annotated by a relatively contemporary Union author. It is obviously written after Union has grown significantly in both strength and infamy. No idea what reward I want though.
An examination of the Vile and Treacherous Undead Sworn to the Unholy Heretics of Union.[1]
By Fernando Alvarez
Annotations by Grace Algon
The Black Fleet of Deadport
The necromancers of Union are not satisfied with merely compelling the dead on land. Those souls unfortunate enough to die at sea near Union territory are doomed to be press-ganged by the Black Fleet[2]. Said undead have long preyed upon New Spain in search of new souls to sacrifice[3].
I can personally attest to their villainy. My father was a pious man, beloved by the community[4]. He kindly opened his home to many souls from Savage Africa, and offered food, shelter, and salvation in exchange for some good honest labor[5]. However said generosity of spirit attracted the attention of the Black Fleet. They came upon us in the dead of night. Through bound spirits, defenses had been observed and sabotaged[6]. I managed by some miracle to flee, and when I returned with help, my father was dead and the cowards had fled to Port Royal with their cargo of souls. I've no doubt that the Dual Monarchy whoresons who run the place welcomed them with open arms[7].
As such, it is with great pleasure that I shall now explain how to avoid the attention of the Black Fleet. The trick is to remember that, while their combat and maritime skills remain intact, the bound dead lack the intelligence they had in life. As such all one needs to do is to fool the magic guiding them. A skeletal figurehead at sea or some dead slaves hung along the coast on land should avoid casual examination. If the Black Fleet is specifically targeting you though then one must place their faith in the Lord Above. Pray to Him to protect you, and, should your faith be true, He will hide you from their sight [8]. That's how my older brother survived.
Goldthirsters[9]
The unholy acts of Union were not without consequences. Many souls of New Spain were horrified by what they heard and vowed to set things right[10]. In retaliation the vile necromancers of Union slew them and bound their souls[11]. They maintain the lethal skills they held in life, but they have one weakness. The foul necromancers unintentionally imbued upon those poor souls the dark sorcerers' own greed. As such the simple throwing of a coin can distract one long enough to escape or deal a telling blow[12]. What the witches of Union use the gold to buy I shudder to imagine[13].
[1] Mr. Alvarez obviously doesn't believe in the importance of brevity in terms of Titles.
[2] Despite what this moron believes, the Union Navy is an entirely volunteer organization, be the sailors alive or dead.
[3] Odd way to describe liberating slaves.
[4] His old man was also one of the most infamously brutal and cruel slave owners in Hispaniola, which is no small feat.
[5] I feel distinctly ill.
[6] The use of spirits for reconnaissance and sabotage is actually fairly rare. I'm not an expert on the subject, but apparently the sea water screws with the range enough that the Black Ship has to stay too close for comfort to compensate. Far easier to bribe someone to weaken the defenses. Gold fever makes it depressingly easy to pay a trusted friend or family member to betray the target. I wonder how Fernando would react if he discovered that his older brother was responsible for sabotaging the alarm bells.
[7] "Welcome" is a stretch. Port Royal is probably the greatest hive of scum and villainy in the New World. As such, while they'll tolerate anyone if the price is right, but the closest thing you'll get to a welcome is a prostitute stabbing you in a dark alley.
[8] So that's why so many captured slave ships have been sporting skeletal figureheads lately. It says something about the self-righteousness of slavers that they think God will protect them despite them committing and/or encouraging just about all the Seven Deadly Sins.
[9] Why are these guys even here in the undead section? Goldthirsters are very much alive, and you don't need to be a Mourner to figure that out. Just shoot or stab one, and watch the blood flow. Don't touch the blood though, it's exceedingly cursed, especially in older goldthirsters.
[10] In other words, some conquistadors discovered how valuable Union's resources were and decided to invade.
[11] This is blatant propaganda. Sure, we killed quite a few of these would-be conquerors, but those did not become goldthirsters. What actually happened was that the survivors were caught unawares by Winter and forced to swear allegiance in order to survive.
[12] Wow, Fernandez actually gives accurate survival advice here. You can distract a Goldthirster long enough by throwing them a coin, as their Gold Fever has only grown worse over time. Of course, Goldthirsters can detect gold from quite some distance away, so you'd better run quickly or go for the kill.
[13] Goldthirsters actually eat gold, with cursed gold being particularly favored. Said gold is tainted if it's not already and entered into the goldthirster's bloodstream. It's what makes said blood so dangerous.
