Chapter 57: Book 1: Chapter 22 (Part 2 of 3)

“Where is Jackson?” I asked, only now realising he wasn’t present.

“Up on deck,” Anastasia replied. “Keeping a lookout. The spyglass only informs me of threats in or on the water.”

I grunted my thanks. It was a wise decision to keep someone topside.

“Let’s join him then,” I suggested and waved my hand in the direction of the door.

Shana and Anastasia led the way out. When we were in the lower deck corridor I looked down towards the prow where the doorway to the Brig was.

“What did you do with the prisoners once you finished their interrogations?” I asked.

Shana and Anastasia stopped and turned back to me. “Nothing yet,” Shana answered. “We wanted your approval before we decided on their fates.”

“I vote we chuck them into my dungeon,” Anastasia drawled and put her hand in the air.

“Not the worst idea,” I grinned. “Quix, I’m assuming we don’t get the XP for their deaths if we execute them via dungeon.”

<That is correct, Torin. If you want the XP, you will have to kill them yourself. I know that might be a problem for you as they are unarmed> Quixbix said.

“For these arseholes, who tried to take my ship and kill my people, no it won’t be,” I assured the imp. “However, we might have a use for them before we trade them in for XP, either for us or the Dungeon. It’s been ten hours, right?”

“Yes, Torin,” Shana confirmed. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that unless there is something about the Brig preventing them from recouping their Hit Points they should be back to full or close to it,” I explained.

“Yeah,” Anastasia said. “But I was going to suggest draining them before we throw them in, we don’t want them being strong enough to somehow complete the run,” she chuckled darkly.

“Precisely,” I agreed and raised my finger. “But why do that just once before we finish them off. Is there anything to stop you from using them to fill up your Ship Drain Pool of ten thousand, and use that to make us some golems, then fill up again after they recover?”

Quixbix cackled with delight. <I love it. And no there isn’t any reason, at least not in the short term.>

“Good. Would you care to elaborate on the long-term implications?” I pressed him.

<Of course, there is a Framework failsafe to prevent undue suffering. It’s meant for people in situations where they are starving to death but can’t die because their Hit Points keep replenishing before they can expire. Take damage from the same source repeatedly for long enough and eventually, the damage will bypass Hit Points and go straight to your Health. If Anastasia drains them daily, you should get a month out of them before it kicks in.>

“A month will do. I have a feeling it won’t be long before they have company,” I laughed darkly.

We made our way up onto the deck and waved to Jackson who was perched on a stool on the poop deck above the cabin. The coastline of Beaver Island was on the left. White sandy beaches with the occasional summer home.

“Anything to report?” I called up to him.

“Not really, Captain,” he yelled back. “No sign of any people at any rate. Several of the houses appear to have taken some structural damage. More than what I saw in Ionia or to the properties near the Grand River we passed. But I’ve not seen any clues to what may have caused it.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, we should be there soon,” I called back.

In fact, I could see up ahead the crescent of the bay where the St. James Township had been built. The few buildings that were unobstructed appeared abandoned and the only sound was the cry of the gulls that circled above us. I scanned the birds with my Analyse ability quickly. No mutated versions which was a good sign.

<Torin> Quixbix interrupted my gull watching.

“Yes, what is it Quix,” I said.

<It just occurred to me that you may not have been capable of absorbing the quest updates in the wake of your unexpected audience with the Shattered Goddess> he said quietly.

“You know what, I can’t remember seeing anything,” I told him after I tried to jog my memories.

<I thought as much. I’ll ping you them again. You have a quest to eliminate Luca Gattosi and your cove founding was considered part of that, so had been updated. Your repeatable crew quest remains unchanged, though> the imp related.

 Then the quest prompts flooded my vision.

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The Corsair’s Canon 4 (Kx2)

You have your ship, you even have the beginnings of a crew, what next? Every pirate needs a cove. A friendly port to call home or to store their ill-got gains or drink, whore, and gamble. While any neutral venue will do for your run of the mill pirate, a Captain needs more. A cove that is unquestionably their own. Especially if they are on a war-footing with a rival dastard.

Success: Found or convert a coastal settlement into a Lawless Pirate Cove within striking distance of Grand Rapids with you as its undisputed leader.

Rewards: 6,800 XP, and future The Corsair’s Canon quests and two new secondary quest chains.

Cuirass of the Bound. Shattered Gauntlets. Drainer’s Whip.

Failure: If this quest goes incomplete the rest of this quest chain will remain locked and unavailable.

It wasn’t much different from the original, at least not in what I had to do. The quest had more rewards, including a second quest chain, a bit more XP and two new pieces of equipment, Shattered Gauntlets and the Drainer’s Whip.

Divine Retribution (AE*x10)

You have pledged the utter annihilation of your rival Luca Gattosi in the name of the Shattered Goddess within one year. His death alone is not enough. You must dismantle his growing power base, either scattering it or preferably assuming control of it for yourself. Those who follow him must either die or forswear him completely.

Success: 1) Take all that belongs to Luca Gattosi and then kill him. 2) Variable

Rewards: 105,000* XP, 100* upgrade points, and the favour of the Shattered Goddess.

Gear rewards variable.

Failure: If this quest goes incomplete then you and all those connected to you will be consumed by the Shattered Goddess.

I whistled softly as I read through the Divine Retribution quest.

“What’s with all this variable nonsense?” I asked Quixbix.

<That’s because this isn’t a simple quest. This is what you would get if you completed it today based on the extent of Luca Gattosi’s power base, which is a lot more then what we have. The rewards and success requirements may shift upwards as he solidifies his position. Criminal Kingpin’s accrue strength quickly. However, the class does require them to be in contact with those tied to them in order to continuously reinforce their loyalty. This means they tend to struggle when it comes to expanding beyond their immediate surroundings> he explained.

“That hasn’t been the case before. Surely the overarching Framework knows his potential strength and can make a determining assessment,” I argued.

<Normally, yes. But the Shattered Goddess is a wildcard that even the Framework can’t predict. Even if she doesn’t intervene indirectly, and she will, she can’t help herself, your body is awash with her power after her visitation. That will influence a long-haul quest like this> the imp informed me.

“But this could be good, right? I might be getting more bang for my buck,” I asked.

<We can but hope> was Quixbix’s less than comforting response.

“Alright, I’m going to go drain the blood bags before we sail into the bay,” Anastasia announced. “With your permission, sir,” she added when I glared at her.

“Better,” I said and rolled my eyes. “And you aren’t a vampire,” I called out to her as she skipped back to the cabin door with my approval.

Anastasia shrugged her shoulders. “I’m draining their life force so I kind of am. Oooh, I’m an energy vampire,” she cackled gaily. “Fear me,” was her parting retort as she scampered below deck.

“An energy vampire, like Colin Robinson,” Shana giggled.

“Yeah, I don’t think Ana watched What We Do In The Shadows. Probably best we keep that under our hats,” I suggested with a chuckle.

“As long as they’re not cursed,” Shana quipped.

<Cursed hats? Who has a cursed hat?> Quixbix squawked with a hint of panic.

Shana and I looked at one another and bent over with laughter.

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