A Return to Piracy...

Stories of the those from House Dragoon Talanador, the Company of the Dragon and the Tavern itself.

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A Return to Piracy...

Post by G »

It was an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.

His sources at "The Shady Lady" Tavern had told him, in blatant terms, that a large 24 gun galleon called the "Hermione" would be leaving within the week transporting expensive goods and luxuries from San Catarina to Crematon, and the moment it left one of the northern ports, she would head past the Rhydin borders, easy prey to someone who knew where and what to look for.

Well, he was that someone.

Noone has been around to really keep him in check since Kaja was busy with her work these days, so he was starting to feel a little reckless and roguish once more. One of his favorite activities in the past had been piracy. This, of course, was before his greasy ex-wife had gotten her hooks into him and introduced him to a world of modern technologies. Well, he was going back to basics now and with "The Belt" there were areas where technology simply would not work, and the land he was "king" of fell on the side of magics only. This meant that modern technology did not work there.

Still, he knew enough to take what advantages he could beforehand. Such as weather pattern research, and explosives, etc. He knew what could work on his side. And it seemed that the highest technology available to him would be up to and about steam power.

This knowledge is important enough as he was going to turn to piracy once more, and was going to incorporate this knowledge into his style. As he would only be able to use wooden ships, he would have to compensate and use whatever means he had to gain the advantage. The galleon mentionerd previously was another one of these wooden ships. You do need to know what kind of battles you can take on.

We return to the story which we had begun. G already has a ship called the Spelljammer. The Spelljammer is a classic Sloop of War that can carry up to 12 cannon. At its peak, Gnort only ever equipped it with eight, four on each side. There were times he couldn't use this ship against certain enemies for several reasons. One of which being that he didn't want them to know who it was committing these acts of piracy, another that a ship that size with so few cannon had a lesser chance to fight off stronger ships. So, with a 24 cannon Galleon the target, why would he be grinning and ready to attack? Well, for that we need a little more backstory.
Last edited by G on Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by G »

When you are the leader of a country, you don't build ships in with the specific purpose of committing piracy. Generally, you hire privateers to wage war on your enemy. If you are a pirate, it is then possible to capture other ships and use them yourself.

This is how all that works. G was using the Spelljammer in the past before settling down, and had eventually equipped her with a steam engine which was capable of powering the ship through all conditions without the need of wind. This engine made it difficult for him to be caught should the battle go against his favor. It also, when used with the wind, helped him quickly out-manuever his prey. So, when you're outgunned 2-1, He can still use speed to his advantage and force his enemy to surrender their ship.


What the Pirate does to keep the ships from being traced back to him and make him more formidable, is to switch ships when he captures if they're stronger than his current one. He'd sell the bigger, slower and uglier ships, but keep one with that has more cannon power and is shallower on the draft. Once, he used his 8 cannon ship to capture a 16 gun barque, allowing him to leave the Spelljammer in port, and after modifiying the barque to his needs. Then he upgraded by capturing a 20 cannon brigantine. This was the kind of ship more suited his needs and he found that if he were to continue this career path, that he needed one like this with more cargo space, the ability to carry more cannon and upgraded to his standards. Which is to say, a steam engine, better sails, and more firepower. Can't be a pirate if with a substandard vessel. To be the best, you must sail in the best.

Finally, the day came where it happened.
Last edited by G on Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by G »

While sailing his brigantine, he came across another pirate, rather well known in the Southern lands by the name of Blackspot LaFayette. Gnort knew there could be trouble as pirates attacking pirates meant that anything could happen or go wrong. But when he saw the pirate flag that identified LaFayette's "L'Agenais", greed also took over. For here was a pirate who had precisely the type of ship he desired. Oh it was still a Brigantine, but it was the class of ship which could use up to 32 cannons, not to mention it was a 100 ton vessel. Precisely the sort of firepower G was looking for.

To sum up a rather long story, it was a brutal, bloody battle. Half his crew was lost, and most of his ship had been damaged beyond repair. But when Lafayette boarded the tide of battle changed. Gnort and his crew prevailed because of far more skill with a blade and then a new ship was his. G killed LaFayette himself and transferred his flag from the old Brig to his new ship, supervising the equipment and cargo transfer. He kept all the valuables and discarded the less important item such as food. They weren't going to need that, since they would be heading to port for immediate refit.

With a slight pang of sadness he gave the order to scuttle his old ship, having his remaining men set a store of gunpower ablaze and igniting the explosives set in the main hold. If his Brig wasn't able to sail well enough to get back to port, then it would be best to put her on the bottom and away from the hands of those who might capitalize on his personal upgrades. Once this was completed, him and his remaining crew, those who decided to join with him, and his new ship sailed to Urnst for refit, upgrades and to prepare for the next journey.
Last edited by G on Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by G »

Now, back to the original topic, his information was about the "Hermione" which was sailing to Crematon. It was based on this knowledge that his Brig of War, which he Rechristened the "Baroness" and only fitted with 28 cannon as opposed to 32 for now, set out at night and waited in the shipping lanes to see this galleon cross over the horizon.

It wasn't for several hours that the first cry of "Sail Ho!" was heard, and it was shortly after daybreak. G quickly rose from his bunk and made his way onto deck. Looking through his spyglass he identified the yellow flag of the "Hermione" and grinned, knowing his prey was close and outgunned.

"Look lively men!" he cried out. "I want the cannons on each end, and two in the middle loaded with the chain shot to take out their mast, the rest equipped with normal round shot!" His crew of 86 knew their jobs well, three men to a cannon, the rest making sure the ship was secure. The galleon was no doubt manned enough to fight back, but he doubted that they used more than two men to a cannon, and that they had enough to ensure the safety of the ship while in battle.

He ordered most of the sails to be doused so that the galleon would catch up to them and to also make them look in trouble. They still had about a half day lead on the "Hermione" in any case, so it wouldn't be likely that she would catch the "Baroness" until the next morning.

And that's precisely what happened.
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Post by G »

It was good that the "Hermione" caught up with the "Baroness" when it did, due to the fact that Gnort intended to be at his employees Overlord defense the next evening. When the galleon was about two thirds of a league away, G sprung his trap, ordering his men to quickly raise all sails and start the steam engine quickly so they had the speed to catch the "Hermione" unawares. Of course, no ship captain would ever be caught by total surprise by another ship on the ocean, so it came as no shock to find that her cannons were also loaded. It seemed the initial volley would play a major role in this. So, G quickly turned the "Baroness" to port, turning those guns onto the "Hermione," and the moment each gunner saw the ship in his sight, they fired as ordered, seeking the best possible time to do damage. The end and middle gunners were ordered to aim for the mainmast and only fire when they had the chance to take it out.

The first volley impacted on the "Hermione", quickly taking out about a third of their cannons, mostly in the foredeck. This cut their cannons significantly. As the "Baroness swivelled around, circling like a vulture over its prey, the gunners quickly reloaded. It was during this time that their enemy got their shots off. Several cannon impacted, and there was a loss of only two guns. The ones that reloaded, waited for the order to fire from the gunnery officer, then let loose their next volley. This was the one that struck gold as two of the chain shots from the middle of the "Baroness" managed to both connect with the mainmast of the "Hermione." Without that mast, the galleon was a sitting duck. It was at this point, that Gnort passed the order down to his men to switch all cannon to the grape shot in order to cull the numbers of the other ship. It wouldn't be long before they surrendered.
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Post by G »

The battle started an hour or so after dawn on the second day of sighting, and it was over in less than thirty minutes. The opposing captain knew how perilous their position was, and turned over his ship in order to save his men. In disguise, Gnort gave them a lifeboat with a single small sail and pointed them in the direction of the nearest land. There was no need to further embarass or kill the unfortunate crew of the other ship, so he let them go free.

Now he set to the transfer of cargo. The "Hermione" was indeed carrying expensive goods. Silks, spices, tea, tobacco and wine were all stored neatly in the cargo hold waiting for saving. And as quickly as he could, G went about directing his men and having several organize his cargo as much as possible.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space on his ship to take it all, so that meant he would have to leave behind several of his men to attend the ship and sail it into the nearest port, which, incidentally, was closer than the port that Gnort sent the other captain to. He was nice, but not that nice.

Time was running out, so he left the carpenter, the sailmaker, and most of his men on the "Hermione" in order to repair her enough and sail her back to Urnst. Not a difficult task, but time consuming. In the meantime, G and the 22 remaining men sailed the "Baroness" back to Rhydin in order to meet his commitment that evening.

Before docking, however, the first mate suggested testing the wines to see if they would be able to fetch an average price, or to see if it were expensive.

"How many barrels are there?" was the question he asked.

"Only one hundred." came the reply.

"Very well. You and I shall sample a few, and then we'll know what the crews take is." G nodded.

He and the first mate when down to the cargo hold where the wine was stored. They took up a glass each, and began pouring small sips from the barrels, tasting them and rather liking the flavor.

After the Seventy second barrel was tested, and about three or four barrels worth of wine were spilled, Gnort and the first mate were being loud and obnoxious when the call came down that they'd arrived in Rhydin with only minutes to spare for the Overlord match.

With a glassy expression, Gnort borrowed the nearest horse and rode his way to the Arena, booting open the door and stomping down the stairs, surprising everyone with his condition.
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