As I approach the city, I am intercepted by a rather dangerous-looking skyship.
Unlike my wooden passenger ship, the newcomer is a fully metal gunboat with no sails. I can see no less than 4 gun turrets with medium-sized mana cannons trained on me. This thing was built for war, unlike my ship, which is a personal cruiser with some added toys.
The ship flies a blue flag with a skyfish jumping over crossed swords. I do not recognise the flag whatsoever. Yet another indication that my game knowledge will not apply in all situations.
'I would like to anchor at the port for supplies. I have metal and alcohol to sell, as well as a bounty to collect. I will send details of the bounty using the communication crystal now.'
From my captain's console, I can perform this kind of action without issue, although it would really be easier if there were a navigator on board. I hold a finger over the mana screen to my right, and flick the selected rune as though I were scrolling on a smartphone.
It takes no more than 5 minutes to reach the port, and after following the instructions of the naval vessel, I find myself in dock 3.
Once the ship stops moving, I make my way to the cargo hold and lower the hatch/boarding ramp, connecting it to the wooden dock.
The innate knowledge that came with my earlier headache really helps out here, as it feels like I am performing a routine action I have already done a thousand times before.
At the bottom of the ramp, there are 3 individuals waiting for me. I can imagine that they are the merchants waiting to meet me, so I greet them with a handshake.
'Nice to meet you, I am Captain Leon. Please come aboard and feel free to inspect the goods I have brought to trade.'
The merchants all follow me aboard and start rummaging through the boxes in my hold. It doesn't take them long to start proposing prices, and we quickly settle on 400,000 gp for the metal and 150,000 gp for the alcohol.
The merchants tell me that the metal is of rare quality, and the alcohol is very sought after, especially amongst dwarves with a high alcohol tolerance. I guess the name 'Dwarf Slayer' isn't just for show.
The 550,000 is presented to me in the form of many large gold coins, which I interpret as being GP. The majority of them find their way into the captain's cabin, inside the wardrobe. As soon as possible, I will install a safe in there to keep my money hidden.
After closing the hatch and returning to the bridge, I lower the gangplank and descend onto the docks.
I look around me, taking in the sights. The view I see would not be out of place in a period piece movie about seafaring merchants. Of course, the ships docked are not of the ocean-faring variety.
The sheer variety of ships has me reeling in delight. I feel like a kid looking through the toy catalogue before Christmas.
I can see ships made of wood like mine, of small and medium sizes. There are also completely metal ships covered head to toe in cannons, one even has a huge bulldozer spike on the front, which I imagine is for ramming.
There are merchant vessels, combat vessels, as well as navy vessels.
The variety of people is also incredible. There are laborers loading and unloading cargo, foremen with clipboards and parchment, and soldiers armed with rifles and swords walking around.
I'm so excited that I almost forgot that I need to collect my bounty at the Skyfarer's guild. A number of convenient signposts point me in the correct direction, and I make my way over.
The building is a stone hall that sits at the entrance to the docks. There is a sign out front which shows a traditional round ship helm, and says Skyfarer's guild in big writing.
I enter and see a gruff, muscular man sitting at the desk, making a face like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.
'What's your dock number?'
'Dock 3.'
'Right.. the bounty and a registration I see. Ok, fill this out.'
He passes me a piece of parchment with only two pieces of information to fill out. It asks for my and my ship's names.
I write my name as Leon Maxwell, and designate my ship name as Skyrunner. I imagine he will tell me that I can't use the model name as a ship name, but he tells me no such thing.
'You'll start off as an iron-ranked skyfarer. The bounty you received for that ship comes to 6000gp. The skyfarer's registration is 50 gp, and the docking fee is 100 gp per day. How long would you like to pay for in advance?'
'Let's say 10 days, maybe I will extend it after, depending on what happens.'
'Understood, in that case I will deduct the 1000gp for 10 days of docking and the 50gp for the registration fee, leaving you with 3950gp, feel free to count it.'
He hands me a bag filled with coins. I count 39 very large coins and 50 smaller ones. I guess that the larger coins are worth 100 gp each. I pocket the coins and thank the gruff man, following the directions he gives me to the main town.
As I climb the stairs leading to the city proper, where I intend to fill my belly with some good food and buy supplies, I feel a few taps on my shoulder.
When I turn around, I am greeted with an otherworldly sight.
A young woman, early 20s, dressed in black trousers with knee-high leather boots. She wears a leather top that exposes her perky cleavage, leather gloves, and a red shawl that is draped over her shoulders and held in place by a metal clip.
On her belt, she wears a double holster, and in each slot there is a dark revolver waiting to be drawn.
Her long, dark hair flows halfway down her back, and her beautiful amber eyes have a strong feline quality to them. The most amazing part is that she has the black tail and ears of a fox.
I immediately recognize her as a foxkin, a playable race from Sky Bucaneers.
'I can tell you aren't from this town. Would you like me to give you a tour? All I ask in return is a few coins so I can buy some lunch.'