“So here we are,” she said. “The engine room was pretty large. Big enough to add another boiler, so we have a pair of them running.
“That's going to eat up a lot of coal,” he commented.
“Yeah, it will. But you saw how fast it goes. I think the tradeoff is worth it.”
“But that's probably not going to be good for long voyages, is it?”
“No. We can put one of the boilers on low power to save energy, but if we want to run them both at the same time we're going to need to have more coal. We have the room for it in the aft hold.”
Kelvin nodded. “Mmm. But that means less cargo space, and that's where we get the gold from.”
“Well, then figure it out, accountant.”
“Merchant,” he said.
She smiled. “You're basically both, don't deny it. An accountant that can lift a car.”
That made him smile as well. “OK, point taken.”
“We're going to have a smaller hold. So we'll adapt to it,” she said. “That just means we have to haul more valuable cargo. We can do it too. We have the speed to outrun pretty much anything.”
“Unless they smarten up and start working in coordinated packs,” Kelvin said. “That's the difference from last time. I'm pretty sure that we caught them by surprise, and they're not going to make the same mistakes next time.”
Bailey shrugged. “OK, so we have to work for it a little more.”
“It would be nice if we could add some guns to it,” he said. “Or maybe some torpedoes.”
“Guns mean that you either cut down or completely eliminate the forward hold,” she said. “So that completely defeats the purpose of making a ship like this. And torpedoes? You do know how expensive those things are, right?”
Kelvin nodded. It wasn't the mechanisms or the materials needed to build the weapons. It was the explosives, the fire crystal dust that went into the warhead that made torpedoes carry such a high cost. Only guilds with huge amounts of income could afford to maintain a steady supply, and most didn't even bother. They were one-shot weapons, powerful but with limited range. Steam cannons were preferred for their versatility and cost-effectiveness, vital when many guilds were forced to watch their spending.
“It would be nice, is what I'm saying. And with how fast this thing can go, wouldn't that make it a good launch platform for it?”
Bailey stepped out onto the deck, and Kelvin followed her. “I get what you're saying, but we'd have to heavily modify the ship if we wanted to do that. First we'd have to add torpedo tubes and a storage area. That's going to take up space and add weight, and it'll cut down the area we can use to store coal. That means using the forward hold, but then that's inefficient.”
“Is that all?” he said dryly.
“No, there's more. If you want to make the ship efficient then we'd have to move the pilothouse, but that means redesigning the layout of the ship. And if that happens it might be simplest to add some more length to it, and then add another boiler or two for extra power.”
“Sounds expensive.”
“Well, it's not going to be cheap, but it shouldn't be too bad either. We built the engine out of smaller parts, so the cost wasn't terribly expensive. It's like most free crafting stuff. If you can figure it out it usually comes out to be a lot cheaper.”
“If you can figure it out.”
She snorted. “Oh, so now you're going to doubt my technical ability?”
“Not at all. But trying to heavily modify a ship like that...”
“Who knows. Maybe we'll do it as a theoretical exercise. But right now we've got other things to worry about. Getting more money, for starters. All the dreams in the world stay that way unless you can pay for them.”
Kelvin nodded. “Well, I can agree with that.”
“You've been asking quite a few questions,” Alex said, looking out of his office window. “But I wonder if you truly appreciate the implications behind them.”
Shane frowned. “I do. And I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not entirely sold on the direction of the guild.”
“Are you having second thoughts about joining?”
He thought for a moment, wondering what he should say. He didn't want to cause a divide, but…
“Yes. Yes, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this, and I'm not alone,” he said.
“Oh?” Alex said with a wry smile. “Well, that's a surprise. I wasn't sure if you'd admit to it or not.”
“So you suspected?”
“Yes. Yes I did.”
That didn't surprise him. He wasn't sure about Alex's methods, but he seemed to have his hand on the pulse of the guild.
“I thought about it,” Shane said. “And we've kept our mouths shut because we don't want to split the guild. We're newcomers.”
“That's doesn't mean your opinion doesn't count. You're experienced players, and I'd like to know about the concerns you might have. Even if I can't address them the way you want, at least I'll know about them. And I don't want to just ignore them.”
Shane nodded. “That's good to hear.”
“So what are your concerns?”
He took a deep breath. “I'm concerned about the direction of the guild. Or rather, that there doesn't seem to be one. If there is then I can't figure it out. We have a small guild, but then we're sticking our necks out getting caught in a net of intrigue with another guild, and we almost gave ourselves away.”
“I see. I know that this might not sit well with you, but we have a plan. You'll need to trust us on that.”
“I'd like to. I'd like to do that very much, but after that last mission I'm skeptical. And that's another thing. Our mission to Kromus almost ended in disaster because half the team didn't have all the information. And why were we sent in the first place? To test our loyalty?”
“That was part of it, though that was really never a concern for me,” Alex said. “The other reason was again, you're experienced players that know what you're doing.”
“Yeah we're experienced. And you know why we were successful? Because we had the information we needed to make plans. We didn't have that in Kromus until I had to drag it out of everyone else, and then I had to improvise a plan on the fly.”
“It worked.”
“Yeah, it did. But it was a huge gamble, and I wouldn't want to try to replicate it,” Shane said. “That's my other big problem with the guild. We don't get the information we need. I understand that there's some things you don't want to give away to newer members. That's fine. It makes sense. But sending us on a mission and leaving us completely in the dark? I'm not going to work like that.”
Alex nodded. “I see, and I apologize for putting you in such a bad situation. We were trying to keep the information we had to as few people as possible, because we don't want to tip off the Iron Guild. This has the potential to completely shift the balance of power.”
Shane frowned. “Isn't that an overreaction? One blueprint is going to be enough to shift the balance of power?”
“That doesn't mean the Iron Guild will immediately lose all their power. They're a formidable foe. But this will allow us to even the odds and fight them on equal terms.”
“What's going to do that? Unless you can get every single player not in the guild to work together and fight them. You remember what happened the last time someone tried to do that.”
“I do,” Alex said. “So do you. And we're not the only ones. You're right. Many others remember the results of our last attempts at an alliance. Attempting to found another one now would only lead to disaster again. Many wouldn't believe that it would work. Those that would join it will probably be wary. And the Iron Guild knows how to dismantle something like that. They've had plenty of practice.”
“They have,” Shane said. At least Alex seemed to realize the magnitude of the situation. “But if you're not looking to build an alliance...”
“I'm not looking to build an alliance now,” Alex said. “But ideally we could in the future. That's
our ultimate goal. To bring the factions together and open up the sea lanes so there's equal access for all.”
“But if you manage to do that,” Shane said, then paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “How are you going to do that, if you know for a fact that they won't listen?”
“They won't listen now, that much true. But that's because the other guilds have seen too much. They've seen their hopes crushed. And they don't think it's practical to fight back against the guild. Smuggling and eking out enough profits for their adventures is all they can hope for. But if they have something to rally around...”
“Something to rally around. That's a fine idea, but it's going to be difficult to do, isn't it?” he said. “You said it. The Iron Guild's become experts at ferreting out and crushing any resistance. I think it's a minor miracle that they didn't catch us after the last mission.”
“Yes, and I think that's the unfortunate truth about smuggling. We can do it, stave off the inevitable for a little while, but for how long?” Alex said. “Eventually the guild will catch us and shut us down. So we have to find another way.”
“And you think that other way is overt resistance, is that right?” Shane said.
“I do. Provided we do it intelligently.”
He laughed. “Intelligently? I don't think there's anything remotely intelligent about going up against the Iron Guild.”
“Does that mean you're not willing to do it?”
“Heck no. I'm willing to fight them. But to me it's just another inevitability. They'll crush us.”
“Yes. Yes they will, unless we have something that can stop them. We need allies, we need a war-chest, and we need weapons before we can even think about fighting the Iron Guild.”
“And where are we going to get them? Right now we have none of them,” Shane said.
Alex shook his head. “Not quite. We have a few of each, though not in the quantities we'd like.”
“Still.”
“Let me ask you a question, then. You can refuse to answer if you want. I'm not going to hold it against you.”
That made him smile a bit. “Ah, that sounds pretty foreboding.”
“Don't worry, I'm not going to grill you.”
“I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.”
“Alright then, here's my question. If you think that the odds are so stacked against us, then why are you here? Why are you continuing to spend time in this particular virtual world when there are others you can go to?”
“You mean, why haven't I quit like all of the others?”
“You could word it that way, yes.”
“Because I don't want to leave it. I remember the way it was, and I want to do something to bring it back.”
“Do you really think it's worth it?”
“I do,” Shane said. “And honestly, I was hesitant about getting into the game at first. I wasn't completely sure about the steampunk theming. But then someone introduced me to it, and the way they explained it made me think about the whole thing.”
“What did they say, if I might ask.”
Shane thought for a moment. “The way it was explained to me, steampunk has a kind of ethos to it that tied into the game mechanics. It's about self-reliance, about being creative. And it's about being optimistic about those things and using them to their full potential. That's how it was explained to me.
“That's makes sense. I imagine that you're referring to the crafting system?”
“Yeah, that's a big part of it. But more than that. The adventuring, the exploration. You'd go out into the wilds, find something, and then you couldn't wait to get it back to Beylan to get it appraised. I always wanted to see what I could do with the stuff we found.”
“And that's gone now that the guild controls the trade. Or it's severely diminished,” Alex said. “It's becoming too expensive to use some equipment.”
“And that's what I hate about it. What the Iron Guild did, what they're doing, it seems so… cynical. It sounds stupid, but it's like they're desecrating this world. And I don't want to let that happen.”
“Because you remember the way it was. The way it should be,” Alex nodded. “And since there's going to be no divine intervention, or rather, designer intervention, we either walk away and leave this, or we find some way to bring that optimism back.”
“I want to do that,” Shane said. “But I'm not sure how.”
“You'd make a good guild leader,” Alex commented. “You can see the bigger picture, and you need that. I'm surprised you never made a larger one.”
Shane shook his head. “I'm not a guild leader. Not really. Brandon, Bailey, Kelvin and I are equals. And I'm not their guild leader, even if I might have taken the title at once point. Our real leader left after the Iron Guild executed their takeover.”
“And you took their place.”
“I could never take his place. I don't think I'm worthy of the spot.”
Alex smiled and shrugged. “So what are you doing, keeping his seat warm until he comes back, whenever that might be? And when will that happen? Will he suddenly decide to just ignore the things that drove him away from this world in the first place?”
Shane felt a momentary flash of anger from the comments, but he suppressed it. He couldn't exactly deny that Alex had point. What was he doing? Did he really think that things would magically go back to the way things we're, especially since Age of Steam's designers had explicitly stated they would interfere?
Maybe it was time to move on, but…
“OK, can you answer me this question?” he said.
“I'll try to the best of my ability.”
“What's your gamble?”
“I'm sorry, my gamble?”
“To take down the Iron Guild. You have to know something like that is a gamble. So what is it? Because from where I'm standing, I might be willing to take it.”
Alex went silent, and Shane wasn't sure how to interpret that. Did he not want to answer? Was he still keeping secrets? Or was he considering what to do?
“This is going to take a little bit of explanation,” Alex finally said. “And a walk as well. Come on.”
Shane frowned and fell in behind him as he walked out of the office.
“Miranda, if anyone tries to find me I'm out of the office,” he said.
“Of course.”
“Where are we headed?” Shane asked as they stepped out onto Low Falmath's streets.
“We're going to one of our friends. Blue Frog Shipping,” he said. “I'm not sure if you've heard of them...”
“Of course I've heard of them. Who hasn't?” Shane said.
Blue Frog had made their fame and fortune as a courier company, shipping goods on behalf of other guilds for a price. In a game where players could break contracts and run off with merchandise with no repercussions outside of what the betrayed party could do, they were an anomaly. Blue Frog had built up a reputation of trust, vetting their crews and captains, and paying replacement costs if anything happened to their cargo.
“Then you'll be somewhat familiar with them when we get there,” Alex said.
“I didn't know that you were friends with them,” he said. They weren't a combat-focused guild, but they could be a powerful ally under the right circumstances.
“You could say that, yes. Now let's go. We have to get to Handrow, and that's a long walk.”
“Welcome, welcome,” the clerk at the front desk said. “Ah, Alex. It's been a while.”
“Good to see you, Heath. Is Travis around?”
“He's here somewhere. Let me see if I can find him,” Heath said, picking up a phone receiver.
Shane was impressed. Most guilds only bothered to put phone lines inside their large ships in order to communicate, due to their expense and the need to maintain another system. Phones inside buildings were rare, because a speaking tube or walking to find the person tended to be just as efficient.
But even with all the tolls and expenses they had to go through, Blue Frog Sh
ipping still raked in huge amounts of cash. They weren't the equal of the Iron Guild, especially when it came to military power, but they remained formidable.
“He's in his office. Do you want to speak with him?”
“I do. And tell him that I have a guest with me. An important one.”
“Right. You know the way.”
Shane followed Alex down a hallway, wondering what lay in store for them. Rho was a small guild, yet they had connections with one of the most notable guilds in Beylan. What other surprises did Alex have up his sleeve?
Alex stopped at a door and knocked.
“Come in.”
They stepped through, and Shane found himself in an office filled with expensive woodwork, ornate gilded knickknacks and a wall of stained-glass windows on one side. It was all for show, but it made quite the impression.
“Hello Travis,” Alex said. “We have a bit of business to go over.”
“I see. And I'm sorry, I don't believe I've met you before,” Travis said, turning toward him.
“I'm Shane. Thank you for meeting me,” he said. They shook hands, and Shane took the opportunity to size him up. He stood about six feet tall with a medium build and dark brown hair that stretched down to his shoulders.
Travis nodded and looked back at Alex. “So, what kind of business are we going to discuss?”
“The kind. Relating to the eastward trade.”
Travis abruptly moved over to the door and shut it tight, then flicked the lock. Without another word he stepped over to a bookshelf and turned a decorative knob, then another. As he turned the third one something clicked, and the shelf began to move aside.
Shane found himself looking into the darkness at a tunnel, a secret passage with stairs heading down.
“Come on,” Alex said, motioning for him to follow. Shane stepped into the passage and descended the stairs. Travis came last and pulled the hidden doorway shut, engulfing them in darkness for a moment. Electric lights switched on, illuminating the stairway.
Shane began counting as they descended. How many steps was this? Fifty? One hundred? It seemed to extend far beyond a normal basement.
“That would be correct,” Travis said when he asked. “And we did that on purpose. We wanted to make sure that this stays hidden, so it's twenty feet below the level of a normal basement.”
Rising Tide: A LitRPG Novel (Age of Steam Book 1) Page 11
