“Well, yes. But they don't need to know about it.”
“Back to the part where the Iron Guild might have noticed us,” Shane said. “Is that based on information, or is that just speculation on your part?”
“Oh, it's definitely based on information. And it's of the type that you'd best pay attention to.”
“And are you willing to tell us where this information came from?”
“No. At the moment I have no reason to trust you with anything more than necessary, and this is quite important. But I'll warn you that the information we have is on good authority.”
Shane felt his frustration grow the more they talked. Despite Alex's claim that he'd stop dancing around the issue, it felt like they were just going around in circles. He was tired of it, and he wanted to get to the point.
“What do you want from us?” he said. “What do you want from us, and what do you want us to do? Join your guild?”
“That would be ideal, yes,” Alex said.
“And what do we get from this?”
“It's quite simple, really. We may be a small guild, but we have a large reach and access to some very useful resources. And our interests align. You're in the smuggling business, and we could use more players in the guild. You can help us, and we can help you.”
Shane looked at the others, then back at Alex. “It's a lot to think about.”
“Yes, and this was sprung on you very quickly. I apologize for that, but we had to take precautions. And I wanted to let you know as soon as possible, to keep you out of trouble.”
“Your other ship,” Brandon spoke up. “Did-”
“Sunk with all hands and all cargo lost,” Alex said. “Just an unfortunate part of what the Iron Guild's control over the trade around these parts has done. We take our losses. There's no doubt about that. But we also have our successes. And you can be part of those.”
“We'll think about it, at the very least,” Shane said. “Is there anything else that you want to discuss?”
Alex waved a hand. “No, that's all. Take your time coming to a decision. But not too long. And be careful who you share your newfound information with. Spilling it to the wrong person could end very badly.”
“For whom?” Kelvin asked.
Alex smiled. “Ah, that's the question now, isn't it?”
Shane stood up. He didn't like the way that Alex continually played coy, but he also couldn't ignore the opportunity placed in front of them. If Rho could deliver on what they were being promised…
“We'll be in contact,” Alex said as they left. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Well, that was interesting,” Bailey said. “Do you think he's making things up, or...”
Shane stayed silent, thinking. Alex seemed confident, enough to spill secrets that could get his guild I serious trouble. Was he arrogant to the point of being delusional, or did he have a trump card to play like he claimed?
“They have a spy,” Brandon spoke up.
That caught Shane's attention. “What did you say?”
Brandon shrugged. “They have a spy. An agent. A sympathizer. Something like that.”
“Someone in the Iron Guild?” Kelvin said.
“That's the only thing that makes sense. He's confident that they'll be able to head off any problems before they happen, and he's not concerned about information getting back to them. Either he's an idiot, or they have someone to clean up their messes.”
“Still,” Bailey said, “do we want to trust them?”
Shane thought about the question again. He didn't like having the offer sprung on them out of the blue, and he certainly didn't liked the implied threats masked as friendly advice.
But he couldn't deny the possible opportunity either. Brandon had commented about it last night once they reached port, and he felt the same way. They had gotten extremely lucky, and they'd probably end up on the wrong end of the guild's guns before long. If Rho could help them then it might be worth the risk.
“I think we trust them,” he said. “It's the only thing that makes sense right now. And we're we going to do something dangerous we might as well work in packs.”
“So do we go back and tell them?” Kelvin said. “If we've made our decision then it's not worth wasting time.”
Shane nodded. “Right. Let's head back and let them know.”
Chapter Five
Once they decided to join Rho, things began to move quickly. Within a few days they had been assigned to a guild mission, a fishing expedition into the southern end of the Savery Sea.
Brandon stood at his normal station, looking out over the expanse of blue as their ship chugged its way through the waters. Four other ships flanked them, all small but seaworthy.
It had taken them over a day to reach this spot, using a combination of in-game time and the passive travel system. With such vast distances to cover in the virtual world attempting to cover it all in real in-game time was impractical, if not impossible. Traveling from one side of the map to the other could take days, and no one had that kind of time to spare.
The passive travel system was the compromise that brought the world together. Players could set a route for their ships and then leave the game world. Normally the ship would phase out after a minute and go no further, but the passive travel system allowed it to continue moving at half speed, safe from attack and interference.
There were restriction, of course. The system could only be used for six hours in a twenty-four hour period, and it couldn't be used within five miles of the coast. A ship needed to have enough fuel, otherwise the ship would stop when it ran out and leave the crew stranded. But for practical purposes it allowed the virtual world to be vast while also remaining accessible for all players.
Brandon looked around again, hearing the faint sound of the gulls crying over the rumble of the engines. That probably meant there were shoals of fish around here somewhere, or else the birds had were following them.
“Anything to report?” Shane called up through the open hatch.
Brandon leaned toward it. “Absolutely nothing, unless you want more details about miles and miles of open water.”
“No storms?”
“No. Not a cloud in the sky either.”
“Guess it helps that we're only on the edge,” he said. “But I wouldn't want to get caught out here in a small vessel like this.”
The Savery Sea was one of the more dangerous spots in this world, due to the weather that frequently disturbed its waters, especially to the north and west. The southeastern part of the sea tended to be relatively calm, but the other parts had the potential to be extremely dangerous. Driving winds, snow and hail, waves fifty feet high or more, the weather was capable of swamping all but the largest ships, and even those risked having their keels broken by the sheer fury of the waves.
But the Savery Sea also teemed with wealth, making expeditions tempting for many. Fishing was the one area that the Iron Guild didn't bother to tax. They might be ruthless, but they were also pragmatic, and if they wanted to sell their goods at high prices they needed customers with the coin to afford it. Allowing uncontrolled fishing was their way of making that happen.
Most varieties of fish were essentially vendor trash, useless for any crafting purposes, but the fish markets would pay for them. Some of the rarer varieties could be used to make potions, but that required players to venture into the more dangerous areas. Most were content to stay in the southern end of the sea and earn their cash slowly but safely.
He heard another hatch open, and Bailey stepped up onto the deck.
“Ah, open water,” she said. “And it looks like it's going to be busy.”
Brandon nodded. Their flotilla passed by another group of ships trawling the ocean with nets stretched between pairs of vessels. This particular group had four smaller ships, along with a much larger one. Brandon guessed they were using it as a command ship, as well as a way to store and transport more of their catch.
“That's goi
ng to be us, I guess,” Bailey said. “Going back with a hold full of fish. We're going to have to get the ship steamed-cleaned to get rid of the smell.”
“I don't know why they put it in,” he said. “I can understand making the fish smell, but then to keep it in the hold...”
“I think it's probably a way to force us to get rid of some of our money. Take some of it out of circulation,” she said. “I know we don't have to do it, but...”
“You want to sail on a ship that smells like fish?” Kelvin said, stepped out of the pilothouse hatch.
“I'll pass on that, thanks.”
Brandon saw him lean up against the railing.
“Know what's going on?” he asked.
“We're on a fishing trip.”
“Obviously. I meant, what else is going on,” Brandon said. “I don't think we just threw in with a bunch of fishermen. Unless everyone forgot about that whole conversation about the smuggling.”
Kelvin shrugged. “They haven't been very forthcoming with the information. Shane tried to get some more out of them, but they were being coy. I don't like it, but I can't say I blame them either.”
“No, I can't either,” Brandon said. “I'm surprised they came out and said what they did, but apparently they're confident that they can keep the guild from looking into them too closely.”
“Still think they have a spy?” Bailey asked.
“Of course I do. It's the only think that makes sense, and they haven't given me a reason to believe otherwise. They're very… what's the word I want to use? They're very shady. Everything they do has more than one motive.”
“Not surprising,” Kelvin said. “They're smugglers. In the eyes of the Iron Guild that makes us all criminals.”
“Funny how a single cartel gets to enforce their own rules,” Bailey said.
“There's limits. And they were smart about getting control,” Kelvin said. “It's not like we all couldn't see it coming. We were all just too dumb and too busy fighting with each other to mount a proper response.”
Brandon remembered that all too well. The Iron Guild had used a combination of force, bribes, trickery, and threats to establish their dominance over the trade routes. At first no one paid much attention to them, being concerned with their own wealth, but as their power expanded the other guilds tried to fight back.
But those attempts had ended in failure as well. There was strife, arguments as various leaders tried to hog the glory and gain control over the effort. Tempers flared, and the makeshift alliances were always doomed to failure.
The Iron Guild was partially responsible for that as well. They had a vast network of agents, and many had infiltrated their way into the alliances. There they sowed discord, pitting rival guilds against each other when they should be focusing on the real threat. And the guild took full advantage of the distraction to divide and conquer. Now there was no one left to oppose them.
“But anyhow,” Kelvin continued, “Rho is two-faced, I can't argue with that. But that's how they have to be. On one side they have to make their money by smuggling. But on the other they have to present a legitimate business face, otherwise that's going to attract the wrong attention.”
“There's always their agent,” Brandon said.
“Yeah, but there's even some things that a contact on the inside can't cover up. And the less you have to use them the better. Wouldn't want to get them caught, would you?”
“So is this a legitimate fishing trip?” Bailey said. “Or is there more going on?”
“Who knows?” Kelvin shrugged again.
Brandon thought about it for a moment. “Well, it's the open ocean, and the Iron Guild generally doesn't come out here. And even if they do there's plenty of traffic. Perfect for us to get lost in. Or to meet up with someone.”
“Is that your intuition, or your eyes telling you that?”
“The first one. It's not like I can see much else out here Brandon said. “But I'll keep my eyes peeled.”
“They'll let us know in good time,” Shane called up out of the pilothouse hatch.
Brandon looked down. “You been listening in the entire time?”
“It's hard not to hear. The sound's traveling down through the hatch and a little bit through the speaking tube.”
He reached over and clipped the cap shut, mostly to keep the tube dry and free from corrosion.
“And what do you think?” Kelvin called down the hatch.
“What do I think? I think they'll let us know in good time,” Shane said.
“What did he say?” Bailey asked from her spot on the stern. “I can't quite hear him.”
“He said that they'll tell us when they're ready,” Brandon said. “Not exactly what I want to hear, but I guess we'll have to take it. Unless we want to cut and run.”
“I'm pretty sure that if we did that we'd be getting a visit from quite a few guild warships,” Kelvin said. “Alex seems like the friendly type, but I don't think he's one to take betrayal too well either.”
Brandon looked out over the rolling water again. Nothing to do but watch and wait.
The lead ship cut its engines, and then one of the other vessels in the flotilla began drifting toward them. Shane kept his hands on the wheel, making small adjustments so they'd come in contact without smashing into each other.
Both ships tossed bags of cotton stuffing tied to ropes over the side to act as bumpers, and as they eased into position the crews tossed ropes and lashed the vessels together. Shane cut the engines, locked the rudder in place and stepped out onto the deck to help finish their work.
“Ah, that was pretty easy now, wasn't it?” Alex said as he stepped over to their ship. “Good work. Your crew's pretty skilled. They pulled that off like it was nothing.”
“We've done plenty of sailing,” Shane said. “So what now?”
“For us, we're going to sit and wait,” Alex said. “We have five ships. We're going to be the base of operations. Two will act as trawlers, and one will act as the reserve in case one suffers mechanical failure and needs to switch out.”
“So we're fishing?”
“Of course we are. Though you never know who might show up,” Alex said with a smile.
Shane tried not to groan. “OK, forget that I asked.”
Alex put a hand on his shoulder. “Ah, we have some time to kill. Come on. I'll show you the Egret. And maybe this can shed a little more light on what we do.”
“OK then.” He caught Kelvin's attention. “I'm going over to the other ship, if you're wondering where I am.”
“So don't worry that you fell overboard and we don't have a helmsman?” Kelvin grinned.
“Very funny.”
Shane followed Alex over the rail and onto the deck of the Egret. It was bigger than their own ship with plenty of cargo capacity, though he didn't think the engines had as much power. It might be the weight difference, but he had to ease down the power on the way here.
But the Egret also carried a formidable armament for a ship its size, with a pair of steam cannons mounted fore and aft. Anyone picking a fight with the ship needed to kill it quickly, or they risked taking severe damage in the ensuing battle.
Shane wasn't sure if that was the right call for a smuggling vessel. It allowed them to fight off smaller patrol ships, but if they had to fight a warship or a group of enemies their weaponry might not be enough. He preferred to use speed and agility to keep them safe, but the extra weight of the weapons might make that impossible.
“So here we are,” Alex said. “I know that you were introduced to everyone before, but it's a lot of names and faces you probably won't remember. So I'll remind you again.”
“That would be good,” Shane said. “The more times I hear it the better.”
Alex nodded. “Well, first off there's Ashley. She's essentially the executive officer, our accountant and the one in charge of the little things.”
A short, black-haired woman nodded at him and then went back to her duties.
> “Then there's Jocelyn, one of our engineers. She'd focused on the engines and running the ship. And our other engineer is Teresa. She's focused on the gunnery aspects, though she also knows her way around the other systems.”
Two brunettes, one with a short bob, the other with her long hair tied up in a bun waved at him.
“Good to meet you,” the first one said.
“Good to meet you as well,” he said, shaking her hand. “Um...”
“Jocelyn.”
“Right. Sorry, I'm not good with names.”
Teresa laughed. “There's a few of them hanging around the guild. I had to change my hairstyle because some of them kept getting us confused.”
Shane smiled. “Ah yeah. I see where that might be a pain.”
“No kidding.”
“And the last one is Faye. Not sure where she is right now, but...”
“She's the blonde,” Jocelyn said. “Not hard to miss her, if she wants to be seen.”
“If she wants to be seen, huh?” Shane said. “So I take it that she's a shadow?”
“Yeah, the quiet stabby kind. Not to people on her side, mind you, but you probably don't want her hunting you through the streets. There's a pretty good chance that you'll end up with a knife or two in your back, and you probably won't notice until you're already dead.”
Alex laughed. “Oh, getting a bit overdramatic, aren't we?”
“It's what she does. And what you bring her along for, isn't it?”
“I suppose. Well, that's the crew. And we have a bit more time to kill before our appointment. So we can continue this tour.”
Shane nodded. “I'm right behind you.”
Alex showed him around the pilothouse and the cabins, just the standard accommodations on a ship like this. The engine room looked organized and well-maintained, though Shane didn't have a lot of experience with the engineering skill. Bailey would know more about this type of thing. And it might be helpful if he switched out his specialization for the engineering skill, just so he could get a better feel for some of the other ship components.
But he worried about what changing his helmsman specialization might do to his ability to operate the ship. The perks that came with the specialization didn't come in the form of activated abilities, just passive buffs that integrated seamlessly with his actions. At this point he didn't even notice them, but if they were taken away he'd feel the effects. Would the difference be enough to throw him off and cause him to make mistakes? Shane wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
Rising Tide: A LitRPG Novel (Age of Steam Book 1) Page 5
