Chapter 72: Flame Cannon, Aka Cannon
“【Quesser】 is different in any way?” Anse asked doubtfully.
He didn’t know much about sailing ships, but he knew that most sailing ships weren’t fast, and in many cases their speed was below 5 knots per hour.
“Knot” is a universal nautical speed unit, originating from “log-line”: crew members would throw a rope toward the stern, with knots tied at regular distances along the rope, and a fan-shaped log at the end.
The crew would time it with an hourglass, and at the moment the sand ran out, they would retrieve the rope and count how many “knots” slipped through their hands.
1 knot is 1 nautical mile per hour, and 1 nautical mile is roughly equivalent to 6080 feet（about 1853 meters）.
“【Quesser】 is the work of my lifetime. Over thirty years, I completed three major upgrades for her: reinforced hull, flame cannon, and tailwind sail…” Salian said proudly, as if showing off his most prized child to others.
‘Her?’ Anse found it amusing inwardly, but he could understand.
Salian’s introduction was very general, and he couldn’t quite understand it, so he tried to focus his mind on the hull, sails, and the cannons covered on the sterncastle.
Moments later, the dice trembled slightly and popped out the 【Quesser】’s related attributes, just like with magical equipment.
‘It really works.’ He was delighted inwardly and quickly browsed the description.
「Reinforced Hull」 makes the hull more sturdy and elastic, so it won’t suffer in a collision.
「Flame Cannon」 is a weakened version of the arcane cannon. It can fire a fireball at a visible location within 1200 feet（360 meters）. The fireball explodes upon reaching the target point, dealing 5d10（5-50） fire damage to creatures in a 15-foot（4.5-meter） spherical area around it.
Dodging the center of the explosion halves the damage.
Although 【Quesser】 has only one flame cannon with 10 charges, it is one of the key reasons Salian dares to stir up trouble everywhere.
「Tailwind Sail」 is made from clouds gathered from the elemental plane of air, also called cloud sail. The wind howls around the sails, allowing the ship to sail at a minimum speed of 5 knots per hour regardless of wind direction, without needing to adjust sails—the stronger the wind, the faster the speed.
Anse inwardly clicked his tongue: ‘No wonder it took thirty years—these things sound very expensive.’
“Impressive.” He exclaimed.
“Right? Paros has six ships of the same specifications, but only 【Quesser】 has no defeats. She has defeated or sunk at least dozens of pirate ships and slave ships. There’s an exhibition room on board displaying the flags or emblems of all the losers…”
“That’s quite impressive.” Anse played the straight man, praising nonstop.
He didn’t care if Salian had a fetish; as long as he was willing to take on the Nahshival family together, he was a likable person.
Salian grew fonder of Anse the more he looked at him, his smile never fading: “Don’t rush. This time I’m just here to scout. We won’t go to Baldur’s Gate; we’ll keep an eye on this 【Sea Shark】. I’ve checked it out—there are at least over a hundred commoners inside.
Don’t think they left because they feared the Waterdeep warships. They’re afraid of me. Every time before I arrive, they run. Their intelligence is quite good…”
“Maybe they were delayed by something.” Anse’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. “Are there enough supplies on the ship?”
“We have tailwind sails, and only about thirty crew members on board. Supplies are plentiful.”
“If I may ask boldly, do you… always do this? Hasn’t Amn retaliated against you?” Anse asked in surprise. Slave trade was a pillar industry of the Nahshival family.
“Uh, we strike occasionally. We need accurate intelligence, and mainly… funding isn’t quite enough. After all, 【Quesser】’s main task is to make money…” Salian restrained his smile, looking regretful.
“Oh.” Anse understood.
Paros doesn’t actively pursue slavers, but they will also join in if there’s an opportunity, following behind Waterdeep.
Salian’s actions weren’t authorized by the higher-ups, but he was senior and strong, so as long as he didn’t go too far, no one bothered him.
There must be retaliation, but 【Quesser】 operates stealthily like a hunter, making it hard to intercept. Unless they bombard Paros, but that would be disregarding the Lord’s Alliance too much.
‘So it’s self-funded. Gweneth’s family savings must have been emptied by him.’ He grumbled inwardly.
Salian smiled at Anse: “Anse, what do you think of the slave trade? Paros and Waterdeep have tried for so many years, but it seems nothing has changed.”
Anse smiled and looked toward the busy Silver Scale Bay: “I’ve heard a story. On a beach, when the tide receded, countless small fish were stranded. A boy tirelessly picked up the small fish and threw them back into the sea.
A passerby couldn’t bear to see him waste his effort and advised: ‘Child, there are thousands of small fish on this beach. You can’t save them all.’
The little boy said: ‘I know.’
The passerby said: ‘Then why are you still throwing? Who cares?’
‘This little fish cares!’ The boy answered while picking up a fish and throwing it into the sea. ‘This one cares, this one too! And this one, this one…’
Many things may not have results, but doing them is right.”
Salian’s eyes lit up, and he repeatedly slapped the railing: “Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. I’m short a first mate on my ship. Want to give it a try?”
With a clatter, not far behind them, a gray-haired halfling stared blankly at Salian, a wooden crate overturned at his feet.
“Captain, aren’t I the first mate?” The halfling pointed at his own face, his expression shocked.
“You can be second mate.” Salian waved dismissively, continuing to look at Anse.
“I don’t have that idea for now.” Anse quickly declined. He knew nothing about ship affairs, and taking someone’s first mate position right away would be too much. Besides, he had no interest in rescuing slaves; he was just catering to Salian earlier.
“Alright, you’re welcome here anytime.” Salian said regretfully.
Life at sea is very tough, with many unknown dangers, and skilled professionals don’t want to come—after gaining some status, who doesn’t want to enjoy life?
The halfling nearby seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, shook his head helplessly, picked up the crate, and left.
“When do we make our move? I’m already impatient.” Anse quickly steered the topic back—this was the main point.
“Don’t rush. A hunter’s most important quality is patience.” Salian laughed. “The prey has wisdom too; don’t underestimate them.”
“I understand.”
Facts proved that Salian really knew these slave ships very well.
Perhaps foreseeing danger, after 【Sea Shark】 finished procurement, it didn’t leave port but chose an anchorage far from 【Quesser】, quietly at anchor with no movement.
Anse wasn’t in a hurry and wandered around the ship, learning about the structure and characteristics of sailing ships.
But Little Clara couldn’t stay put. Seeing First Mate Colin the halfling about to procure supplies, she wanted to go along, so Anse and Kalenno accompanied her as bodyguards and conveniently bought a few healing potions.
Shortly after dinner, the sea wind suddenly shifted direction, growing stronger and stronger, with whitecaps surging in the bay.
Then dark clouds covered the sky, and drizzle began to fall, mixed with the sea wind, stinging people’s faces.
Anse quietly stood at the top of the sterncastle, wearing a cloak over his cloak. It was a bit odd, but it blocked the wind and rain. Although the cloak’s saving throw feature didn’t work, wearing it provided some protective ability.
In the game, you can’t wear multiple armors, but in reality you can—as long as you can wear them, wear as many as you want.
But almost no one does that; mobility and agility are very important in combat.
The sky grew darker, the sea surface a hundred meters away was blurry, and the distant anchorage had no lights visible at all.
The first floor of the sterncastle was the dining room and crew activity room, brightly lit at the moment, with over thirty crew members of varying heights, weights, and builds chatting and laughing, seemingly not nervous at all.
Finn sat in the corner, suddenly stood up, opened the door, and shouted upward: “【Sea Shark】 is weighing anchor.”
“Mm.” Anse responded and continued waiting.
In the dining room, Salian sat drinking with First Mate Colin. An owl perched on Colin’s shoulder was dozing off, its body swaying, giving a silly and cute vibe.
Hearing Finn’s shout, Salian’s eyes flickered as he carefully sized him up.
Colin watched nervously—he was all too familiar with that look—and quickly emphasized:
“Guli can do it too; it’s just that today… the wind is a bit strong.”
“Oh.” Salian was noncommittal.
Colin was a level 4 druid from the Ocean Society, with an owl magic pet named Guli. It could scout intelligence normally, but slept during the day, dozed at night, couldn’t fly in strong winds, and rested in the rain.
It was exactly like its owner.
