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Post by Commodore Victor (SWT) on Aug 4, 2017 19:13:09 GMT
Disciplined. Skilled. Dedicated. These words were apt descriptions of the crews of Vigor and Sunstone. They had years of experience sailing the seas and plying the waves. Not only that, but their experience varied across disciplines, from war maneuvers and combat, to searches and rescues, to the daily humdrum of trade. Some might even call them exceptional or unique: The very best sailors Albion had to offer.
Gallad, the harbormaster of Gawant, had anticipated their arrival and procured goods from as far away as Camelot - with a road now stretching from Gawant, through Wessex and into Camelot, the harbormaster had a better selection of high quality goods at decent prices. Of course, he had also had a decent selections of goods in general at low prices, and with the amount of goods being requested from Hibernia, volume might prove to be more of a deciding factor than quality.
With orders from Commodore Victor to set sail for Lyceni, they loaded the merchant vessels full of everything they could find. There was some old felt from Wessex. It would do, and so on the ship it went. Someone in Hibernia would buy it for a pretty penny, and they had gotten it for practically nothing. Many other goods like it made their way to the ships, be it finely crafted weapons suitable for a knight, or smoked meat with a suspicious flavor. It was all needed, it was all desired, and it would all make them a fortune.
Captain Torsen cursed at the longshoremen for not working more efficiently. Captain Seren took things in stride. The crew needed a day's rest or two before they could set sail anyhow, and they'd make it to Lyceni before too long even with a brief shore leave.
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Post by Elyssia Whiterose (SWT) on Aug 4, 2017 19:14:12 GMT
Elyssia stood at the cliffs, breathing in the salty breeze. Robert stood at her side, enjoying the view that she could not see, her eyes covered by a poultice. She could feel the warmth of the summer sun and the breath of the ocean. She could taste the salt spray of the crashing waves far below.
"Describe it for me." She asked plainly, and so he did. He described to her the clouds rolling in from the horizon, and how the sunlight glittered upon the sea like a million crystals in a dark cavern illuminated by a torch. He described the foam by the shore, as the waves crashed against the cliffs. He narrated the flight of a flock of birds, while she heard their calls. He told her of the trees behind them that swayed gently in the breeze, with their roots firmly in the ground. He spoke of how the wind shook the barley, forming waves on land as if it were a sea in itself. And he finished his tale by describing the two ships that were leaving from Albion, off to foreign shores, laden with the goods and wares Elyssia had procured earlier.
Rivalry and Sir Doyle, with captains Norvin and Porter in command, were off to Hibernia. The demand for goods and supplies was enormous. Accordingly, the amount of goods and supplies to ship was equally tremendous.
But while others were working on the ropes and oars of the ships that had to sail, Elyssia could not do so owing to her injury. With her tasks done for the day, she settled down up there on the cliffs, and her and Robert spoke, of odds and ends, of work, and of life.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Aug 4, 2017 19:15:29 GMT
Captain Garrett, despite his status as a cripple, was still a captain and accordingly he could drink like a captain.
With news that Prince Uther had now been crowned Duke of Nemeth, it was cause for celebration. Sure, some would argue, he should be King Uther, and sure, others would argue, he shouldn't be a vassal to Camelot. But those were not issues that Captain Garrett had any cause to worry about. Rather, he needed to worry about properly celebrating Uther and his new title.
Thankfully, being a guild liaison afforded some benefits, such as being able to procure copious amounts of ale. Supposedly the ale was originally destined for the Admiral, but re-directed to Helna for the occasion; supposedly the Admiral wasn't too happy about that, but she couldn't possibly drink every ounce of ale in all of Albion. And that meant being able to hang out with the various sheriffs, tax collectors, guilders, druids, and anyone else of importance, as a good liaison should. And just as a good liaison should, he could share the liquid wealth of the guild with those he considered friends, which was just about anyone that summer.
And so, Captain Garrett, the war hero, the cripple and the liaison, celebrated the coronation of Duke Uther.
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Post by Commodore Victor (SWT) on Aug 27, 2017 2:41:01 GMT
Captain Aiden thought about the orders he had received from the Commodore. It wasn't quite what he had expected, to be honest, but it would do, and for all the Commodore's flaws, Aiden recognized the imminent threats and that the Admiral had given her blessings as well. So he would sail, as he was commanded to do, under the Commodore's command. A vile man, to be sure, with a little bit too much of a penchant for needless violence and aggression, but a competent man nonetheless, and with too many friends to dispute.
They would not sail alone, he had been told, but they would sail, so Aiden had his men ready the ship. Freedom was a fine vessel. It wasn't the guild's oldest ship, nor was its crew the best there was in all of Albion, but if it ever did have to face Vigor, Aiden was confident that his sailors would put up a good fight. He knew most of them quite well, some very well indeed. Sadly though, many of his best friends had succumbed years ago in battle against the Slavers, but as every sailor and captain must, Aiden made new friends and gathered a new crew of volunteers for this ship that had been commandeered from the same Slavers.
The ocean was calling them, and Captain Aiden hoped he and his crew would soon answer that call.
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Post by Elyssia Whiterose (SWT) on Aug 30, 2017 0:26:23 GMT
Sitting in a tavern by the river Conwy, aptly named ‘Tavern on the Conwy’, Elyssia was surrounded by friends as she enjoyed a good meal and a stiff drink. Neither was very good, sadly; the bread was a bit on the stale, the cheese not quite up to par, and the flagon of ale had a bland and bitter taste. All the same, it was pleasurable company and not the food and drink that brought them together. Good food and drink would most certainly be had at some other time. This time, they just needed to help empty out the pantry, and it was a simple way of saving both the tavern and themselves some much needed coin. “I thought you preferred older men,” the captain to her left stated, “But then you never did throw me a bone no matter how many times I strafed your bow” “Oh shut it,” Elyssia responded, taking a deep gulp of her ale before ordering another, “I didn’t want nothing to do with the wood you had to offer. Neither your ship nor anything else.” Blind or not, Elyssia was going to enjoy her drink and be snappy about it.
“Sassy,” another captain opined, “He does have a point Admiral. You’ve not been known to go for younger boys. What’ll be next? What’s his name? Prince Uther?”
“I don’t know,” Elyssia replied, “Count, Duke, Marquis, or something other. Who can keep track of all those titles? I think I offended one of Caerleon’s courtiers earlier today when I referred to her as lady. How’s one supposed to know anyway? When I could see, they all dressed alike, and now, they all sound alike too. On my way up here, I think I offended some nobleman by giving a proper greeting he didn’t deem right proper. Touchy lot they are.” Another gulp, another flagon.
The waitress came by and steadied the Admiral's stance on her chair. Being both blind and half-drunk was not a particularly wholesome combination. “Still then, you’re unmarried lass. There’s some noble blood in those veins, bastard as it may be, so why don’t you go hook yourself some poor noble sad and get one of those titles and be done with it?” A third captain asked, “Why someone like Robert? That boy’s not even a captain.”
Elyssia slammed down her flagon, “Robert, I’ll have you know, is as much a captain at his age as the rest of you were. More so even. Which one of you had a ship at his age?” She shouted at no one in particular, her eyes carefully bandaged still, “And he’s poised to own one just a few years from now. One of the youngest captains there ever will be. What am I supposed to do with a noble title anyhow? I wouldn’t know if people were giving me the right proper greeting or not. No, give me a good vessel and the it’s the sea for me. I ain’t staying in no stuffy nobleman’s castle; not in Camelot, not in Wessex, not in all of Albion.”
And on they went, the four of them, drinking through the night. Thanks to poor quality ale, the hangovers would be truly glorious.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Sept 8, 2017 0:19:50 GMT
Captain Torsen asked the Old Sailor, "What do you figure? How's the night looking?"
"Early autumn winds, captain." The Old Sailor replied, "I reckon they'll only last the night. Rain too, by the looks of it. Winds will blow right towards the land if experience serves me right."
Sailing relatively close to each other, Vigor and Sunstone were easily able to communicate. "Best get ready then," Captain Torsen declared, "Gallagher, do you know of any good sheltered bays here? I'd rather not fight the storm this time around. And I don't fancy crashing upon the rocky shores."
Gallagher replied, "Certainly." He proceeded to explain of the bay he knew. By the mouth of a river, a stretch of land extended into the sea. It was a small bay, and most of the land there was peat bogs and barely hilly, with few trees, but it would be enough that the land would blow over the land and leave the ships mostly untouched. Untouched enough, at any rate, that they wouldn't have to worry about getting blown onto the shore.
"Very well," Captain Torsen said, "Let Captain Seren know; she should join us. We'll stay there overnight till the winds are gone. Once there, we'll take down the sails and secure anything that might blow away; The sails can cover us from the rain too while it's at it. By day break, I imagine we'll be on our way again."
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Nov 6, 2017 8:22:20 GMT
[T15, The Last Winds of Summer]
From Caerleon:
While the zenith of the Hibernian conflict had passed, the demand for goods from Hibernia remained high. Yet nevertheless, Admiral Whiterose had instead ordered them to sail northward into other distant lands, with the intent of sailing all the way to Bayard before returning home. Surely there was still much coin to be made in Hibernia? And surely there were still those who needed the goods they could provide?
But Admiral Whiterose had made herself clear. Even if they could sell more to Hibernia, there was no guarantee it would be as successful. Already they had sent many fleets to the island with both soldiers and goods. To continue to do so would eventually saturate the markets, and there was no reason to hurry the process along, especially when the guild now had a sizable collection of Hibernian goods that could be shipped to northern markets.
Hibernia was in no need of Hibernian goods. The local markets were already saturated with them as well. Therefore, it stood to reason that it was time to send those goods to where they had not yet reached - the dwarves, and also Bayard as it just so happened. In addition, they were to present a small, but valuable gift to the Bayardian court, to honour the memory of the Squire, Francois, who gave his life in search of sailors.
And so, Sir Doyle and Rivalry under the command of Captain Norvin and Captain Porter were loaded with mostly Hibernian goods and other items intended for both the dwarven markets and Bayardian royal court.
From Gawant:
In Gawant, Captains Stefan and Meredith were tasked with preparing their ships and crew to take part in the autumn's trade fleet. Both were skilled merchants and had served in the conflict against Hibernia by bringing over warm bodies and cold steel from Caerleon, and the conflict still raged on. Under the auspices of some taskmasters that Captain Gwyndaf had sent to Gawant to help with selecting the right goods, they prepared for a season in service of the guild. While they had to take orders from the Admiral and her trusted council rather than engaging in trade on their own, the service left them well-paid and with substantially more authority than mere trading, so they consented to it freely. Plus, being assigned to a trade fleet was deemed less risky than the possibility of being assigned to patrol against pirates (although those under the command of Commodore Victor had a tendency of making it back to port - not quite so much for those that faced him at sea).
Goods made their way from many distant parts to these ports, so that they could be shipped off to Hibernia. Most of the goods were local, to be sure, but there were quite a few from Wessex that had been bought at good prices, and some goods had made their way around from Caerleon, through Camelot and Wessex, before making it into Gawant - not that there weren't more immediate paths from Caerleon and Gawant, but merchants who had large amounts of goods and gold preferred large and well-patrolled roads, so the goods that made their way directly from Caerleon did so by a means that was more akin to diffusion rather than deliberate trade.
With a good selection of high quality equipment and supplies to chose from, it was possible to keep the prices low - prices that would most assuredly be much higher in Hibernia. While Captain Stefan would have settled for higher prices, lower quality and easier work, Captain Meredith was strict and intent on following the instructions from Admiral Whiterose and Captain Gwyndaf, so Captain Stefan followed suit.
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Post by Elyssia Whiterose (SWT) on Nov 14, 2017 8:20:23 GMT
One of the challenges that poor eyesight brought with it was a difficulty in appraising items that would otherwise have their value be determined by their looks: Art, gemstones, and the like especially. Elyssia hadn't quite gotten to the point of being able to see without immense pain and difficulty, so she had to find other means of piecing together the value of rare, ornate treasures from distant lands, and where they might fetch the best price.
"This is a silver ring," Her scribe began, "It's simple, unadorned, but the silver is immaculate and I don't see any flaws in the band itself. Truly remarkable in its own right. I believe this one was purchased off of a starving peasant who was desperate to feed his family."
Elyssia nodded. The description was sufficient. "And fed he was, I'm sure." An unfortunate truth of war was that many items that would otherwise hold immense value quickly seemed meaningless in the face of starvation. The guilders were paying for the treasures they bought, they just weren't paying for the sentimental value that people would otherwise attach to them, and in return, the people of Hibernia got sundry goods in their time of need. It was a win-win, really, except to the truly heartless who would rather have them hold on to their silver as they starved. "Send that ring to the Northern Traders market in Camelot. It can help repay some of our debt to them. What's the next item?"
"This is a witch's charm, non-magical as far as we can see, but a potent focus in the right hands. It follows some old traditions, and this one shows marks of decades of use. I believe the witch sold this charm to us as it reminded her of painful memories, and she made a new one in its stead. It's a wonderful piece of art, if I say so myself."
"It's garbage," Elyssia said, "A collector's item at best. No druid I know will touch it, and no priest will ever be considered. A fisherman might buy it, but I don't feel like spending the time to find one that would right now." She couldn't see the truly intricate carvings and how it showed obvious signs of having a history, yet she had decided on her appraisal.
"We also have this collection of dyes..." The scribe began, immediately interrupted, "Perfect. Dyes are hard to come by up north, especially Hibernian dyes. They'll fetch a good price in the dwarven markets. Please. Continue."
"Ah yes..." The scribe continued through the evening, going over some of the more valuable trinkets and artifacts that had been bought and sold in the past few seasons.
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Post by Elyssia Whiterose (SWT) on Nov 25, 2017 19:50:38 GMT
"New orders?" Captain Norvin asked Admiral Whiterose, who was sitting on a box down by the harbor. She nodded. "With these orders, this mission will have been a success before you even set sail." The admiral concluded, "But don't let that make you forget the urgency of your new task. It's not just our client who is relying on our success. While I'm not much for it myself, there might be great personal honour in success, and many fellow merchants have made a name for themselves based on such honour alone."
"I've had a copy of the list made for each of you, and I expect you have sufficient supplies and goods to get where you need to go, buy and sell what you need to do, and make it home in good time." Elyssia said.
Captain Porter "Thank you for this opportunity Admiral, we'll be sure to make you proud."
"I like the enthusiasm Arthur." Elyssia said, "Well. Get back to work. Dismissed."
Elyssia hung out at the docks for a little while longer, enjoying the sounds and missing its sights.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Feb 15, 2018 17:41:51 GMT
[T18]
“No more Helna.” Captain Meredith told Captain Stefan, “But we are due to sail again. Oh, and no naval supplies. Something about leaving Gawant out of this whole mess.” While there might be high demand for naval supplies, the local supply was more than sufficient to meet the local demand.
“So I take it we’re not headed down to Helna for any reason then?” Captain Stefan said relieved, “Might I suggest the dwarven isles?” The idea of making more riches off the excellent alloys in the far north appealed to him.
“Initiative. That’s new for you. I think I like it.” Meredith responded, “I also like the suggestion. I don’t think the dwarves are all that much into shipping; should be easy to bring back uncontroversial goods.” Although she seemed a bit wary. Stefan was not the type to take charge.
“I took the liberty of having the longshoremen working double-time. The quicker we can be on our way, the quicker we can be back.” Stefan said, to which Meredith raised an eyebrow, “Now that doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“Whatever do you mean? The quicker we get back, the more I can enjoy a nice relaxing autumn. Can’t do that if we’re busy negotiating prices with the dwarves well into the end of summer.” It all became clear then. Some people liked to have more free time to drink and laze around, and Stefan was one of them. He just liked to work his way into laziness. The only thing worse than having to work was having to be a lazy pauper. “Lazy as ever, Captain Stefan.” Meredith quipped, but Stefan retorted, “Not lazy; efficient.”
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Aug 20, 2018 18:31:06 GMT
[T26] Mercantile Providence
Some of the guild's newest ships lay ready in port, with an adequately trained crew and skilled longshoremen ready to service them. The cloudy, fair weather, with light winds from spring was a blessing for shipping. Hopefully, such good weather would continue, so the crew wouldn't have to spend their maiden voyage working the oars. It seemed likely that it would, as summer usually brought with it good weather, and as they would be journeying, they could race to try to escape poor weather. Bound for Hibernia, it had been a while since anyone had brought substantial goods back from its western shores, and doing so would avoid the undead calamities of the north, and the fey magicks in Venicnii and Helna, albeit both issues were merely minor concerns.
The major concern was making sure that the venture would be profitable, and for the captains it would be doubly important, as they were set on proving themselves as capable and competent. Time would tell if they could meet the standard.
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