Blacksail and Eriksson

Did you hear any news about Welikro in the royal capital? Claude asked.

Welikro was among the closest friends Claude had in his childhood. He had moved to the royal capital and later joined the royal guard. They met once during the five-year war at the knighthood award ceremony. Just like Claude, Welikro was given the award for his excellent marksmanship and sniping of more than 200 enemies.

Borkal nodded, but then shook his head again. I didnt meet Welikro, though I did hear about him. When I was at Baroness Marias banquet, I got to know a logistics officer from the royal guard, Major Nickson. After talking for a bit, I found that he was Welikros brother-in-law. Welikro managed to earn merit during the civil war and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He is now stationed at the prefecture of Limasosya.

He got married five years ago to the second daughter of a hereditary count. As a result, he got a large manor in Limasosya. For that reason, he applied to be stationed in the prefecture. So far, he has a son and daughter and lives a blessed life. His father, Uncle Kubrik, is rather old and loves to drink, so his health isnt exactly in peak condition. Hes now living in the manor as well.

Time really flies. Back then, we were merely middle-schoolers in Whitestag, living carefree lives and doing nothing but fooling around. Yet, now we have our own children in the blink of an eye, Claude lamented as he went to the wine rack to get a bottle of fruit wine to pour for his guests. However, Rublier said he would continue drinking red tea as his age was catching up with him.

Borkal sighed as he reminisced about their happier days in Whitestag. After a solemn moment, he picked up the glass of wine Claude poured him and took a sip. He hesitated for a moment before he said, Actually, I met Eriksson on the way back. He led the Blacksail pirates to raid our refugee ships

Claude looked at him and downed his glass of wine before pouring himself a second glass. What did he say to you?

This He wants a deal with the war theatre

Claude didnt ask what it was about. He furrowed his brow as he wracked his brains before saying, Tell me about your meeting and conversation.

I didnt recognise him at all at first. He looks completely different than he did and gave off a wild, domineering impression. His hair is so long that it almost reached his hips and he also has a large blade scar on his face. His eyes are sharp and he seems much tougher than before, though hes still the shortest among us four.

When we ran into each other at sea, they sailed to us without hesitation after seeing that we have no escorts. I could only order my guards to hide in various spots of the ship so we can get the pirates leader the moment he arrives.

All my ship did was hang up the flag of parley. The pirates seemed rather disciplined and didnt board us after they surrounded us. Instead, they merely tried to intimidate us with their cannons and weapons raised. They tried to frighten the refugees with fierce words and expressions. Many of them broke down crying on the spot.

Eriksson led his ship to mine. The closer he came, the more familiar he seemed. I tried calling his name out and only then did he recognise me thanks to my drastically different figure. After that, he ordered his men to look after us and sail together.

However, hes really careful and didnt board my ship. Instead, he invited me and my father to meet him on his ship. It was a class-three long-distance warship, his current flagship, though heavily modified. The cannons on deck are decreased and replaced by two sails, stabilising the ship much more and allowing it to sail much faster.

A few other pirates recognised us as well and were all too glad to see us. They called our names out excitedly. Though I dont really know them, my father later told me that they used to be citizens of Whitestag, sailors that used to serve on Captain Altronis Shark of Red Sea. During Erikssons mutiny, they took their families along to join him.

Eriksson received us in his cabin and asked me what I wanted. I simply told him we needed some fresh meat since we only had bread for the fortnight we were at sea. I wanted meat so much I dreamt of it. He laughed and went on to ask me what that fleet of mine was about, so I told him what happened. He sighed when he heard about Whitestags destruction before he instructed his cook to make us a sumptuous dinner.

After our meal, he proposed to bring us to the place where his parents are living in seclusion. He was on his way to sail to meet them, after all. He said he joined Storm in the first place to search for his father. When he finally found him, he mutinied and took his mother and the families of the other sailors away to form Blacksail.

His parents now live on an island somewhere deep in the Tranquil Ocean. There are three large islands and tens of smaller ones that form an archipelago there. The island his parents are on can support up to 30 thousand people. So far, all the families of the pirates live there. There are around six thousand of them. He also led his pirates to take over a few islands among the Nubari Islands and became one of the members of the pirates of the thousand islands.

Every three months, he would sail to the island where their families lived once to bring them some of the goods they raided. When he offered to take the refugees along, I refused, telling him that it wasnt nearly that simple. We have around 60 thousand refugees, much more than the original inhabitants of the island. Thats a dangerous demographic for an outgroup to have. Eriksson cant guarantee his ability to support feeding so many people either.

I did give him a suggestion, however. If he needed immigrants, he could simply recruit the sailors of the kingdom who lost their jobs at the mainland and take their families to that island. Not only would he be able to increase the population of the island that way, he could ensure their loyalty. Its much better than taking our refugees in. Hell also be able to control the number of people he takes in, so he wouldnt have to worry about the sudden influx of new immigrants causing trouble for the island.

He merely laughed and praised me for being much smarter than before. He then said he didnt necessarily have to take the refugees in and hoped that my family at least would be able to follow him. He said he wanted to found his island nation like the United Kingdom of Fochs one day, and by then hed make me a hereditary duke. I refused him immediately, telling him that I had my duty to fulfil, and if our old relationship still meant anything to him, he should allow me to return to the war theatre.

He merely sighed and stopped trying to ask me to come along. Since news flowed much faster around the Nubari Islands, he informed me of the news of our victory against Shiks. He also wants me to tell you he felt sorry about wronging you back then in Whitestag, since he didnt know that his father was a partner in your fathers venture. He was under the impression that his father was only a hired captain and fell to a pirate attack because of your fathers assignment.

He knows quite a lot about our colonies, so I suspect he has some informants here too. He told me he knew you were one of the five greats here, so he forbade his men from raiding in your waters so as to not cause you trouble. But he had a request he wanted me to relay to you in the end.

If our colonies can trade with his Blacksail Islands, he will guarantee that Blacksail will never go against the war theatre. We can even hire them to attack other pirates and Shiksan fleets that try to harass us in our waters. As for what we trade them, he wants cannon ammunition, some military equipment as well as food and daily supplies.

I found it quite weird back then and asked him why he didnt have secure access to a market to trade. He immediately cursed and said there were smugglers among the Nubari Islands, but the price they offered was far too low, often being a third or a quarter of the market price.

Most of the Blacksail pirates are Auerans, which makes it even worse for them. They always get the worst prices while trading with other nations merchants. But if they dont rely on them, they wont be able to supply themselves, so they could only endure it and pretend to fall for the bad deal. Thats why he wants me to ask whether youd be willing to trade with them.

So Eriksson let your fleet go and even provided you with food and fresh water? Claude asked. Borkal immediately nodded.

Claude looked at Borkals father, who had been sipping his tea quietly at the coach, and asked, Uncle Rublier, what do you think about Eriksson?

He looked up and said, The way I see it, you few young ones have changed lots. Nowadays, you hold a high position and great reputation across the colonies and the western coast. The war theatre also bends to your word, allowing you to solve most issues with one word. Eriksson, on the other hand, changed almost as much as you have, but now hes a pirate boss while youre the kingdoms general.

Despite being one of the five greats of the war theatre, you dont let it get to your head and consider everything properly before doing something so as to not let others get a grasp on your weakness. Eriksson, however, doesnt have that quality. He does things without much consideration. For instance, when we told him we were a fleet of refugees, his first thought was to ask us to go to his lair without considering whether it can even accommodate so many people.

When he said he wanted to form a nation like the United Kingdom of Fochs and make Borkal a duke, I knew he had great ambition. He doesnt take the other nations seriously. Perhaps its a result of living a life free of restrictions as a pirate. He thinks everything will go his way and nobody would foil him.

As for the trade request, I would suggest against accepting it. Hes trading to increase his power and expand the scale of Blacksail. Now, I regret letting Borkal give him the suggestion to recruit sailors from the mainland. Then again, he had to do it so that well be allowed to leave.

Claude looked down and slowly sipped at his fruit wine. Rubliers view on the matter was rather simple. He didnt care that Eriksson used to be a good friend of Claude and his son. He only expressed his opinions of his person alone. Naturally, his view as a merchant was definitely coloured by the bias of hating robbers and pirates who didnt work for their keep. They were completely incompatible.

However, there were a few points worth Claudes consideration. Rublier said Eriksson was an ambition-filled person who couldnt bear to be bogged down by rules or restrictions. In other words, he didnt see the arrangement between Eriksson and the war theatre working out. His bringing up of Claudes status and Erikssons wild ambitions almost hinted that Eriksson wouldnt settle with his current position or accept Claudes orders.

Secondly, the moment Borkal suggested that Eriksson recruit more crew at the mainland, Eriksson gave up on the refugees. Obviously, he was going to follow the suggestion. Then, he went on with his grand speech about expanding Blacksail now that the kingdom was helpless to defend its coasts from them. They were free to raid as they pleased.

Thirdly, with manpower and wealth, Blacksails expansion was inevitable. However, they would need large numbers of arms and gear, which simple raiding wouldnt get them. They also needed to ensure there were enough supplies to sustain those living in their lair, which Eriksson definitely wouldnt be able to purchase from the colonies of the western coasts. Even if he could, it wouldnt be worth transporting them so far away.

That was why their ideal trading partner was the war theatre. It was also the reason Rublier didnt want Claude to agree to that deal. They only managed to escape because of Borkals suggestion. Not trading arms with Blacksail could also help limit the rate of their growth, and the war theatre wouldnt be considered their accomplices either.

What Rublier didnt understand, however, was that the war theatre needed time to make up for the deficits incurred during the war so that development may begin anew. That was a point Claude had taken into account. Refusing the trade with Eriksson was simple, but that would cause them to be one of Blacksails targets.

During the colonial conflict, few pirates dared sailed to the war theatres coasts, mainly because they were afraid of meeting their doom at the hands of the Shiksan fleets. Now that the conflict was over, the sea routes near the coasts would definitely grow more active. A trade route in a time of peace would no doubt attract all sorts of pirate factions attention. Before the war theatre formed their own fleet, their coasts and waters were at risk of pirate attacks.

Eriksson had noticed that point and offered to deal with the other pirates. It was one of the ways he could establish his territory and force the war theatre to agree to his terms.

It seems that Uncle Rubliers right. Erikssons ambition is huge, so theres no point in recruiting him to become the war theatres admiral. Its too bad he is rather short sighted. Does he really think his descendants can continue his legacy of piracy?

Claude had never taken the pirates seriously, but now, he needed time. After the railway and trains were ready in the war theatre, the next step was to apply the steam engines to the ships. He would form an ironclad fleet powered by steam engines. By then, even the so-called invincible navies of the Freian nations would be no match for him, to say no more about Blacksail.

Blacksails might was indeed formidable in the age of sail, but when the time of ironclad warships came, they would only be able to run and hide. Craftsmen and manpower could indeed construct sail-powered ships. But no pirate force would have the technological and financial capability to build ironclad vessels.

But before that could be realised, the war theatre still needed to form their own fleet using the warships of the Alliances navy. They would have to train their navy and naval officers to set a firm foundation for the ironclad fleet as well as ensure the safety of the colonies waters.

Claude rapped on the desk with his fingers. There were too many things to consider. Before he decided on whether to trade with Blacksail, the war theatre would still have to deal with the ambassadors from the royal capital. It had been nearly four months since Shiks loss, so the royal capital mustve received word of it by then. With the threat of war out of the way, the new nobility would be all too happy to sail to the colonies. Perhaps, in their eyes, the colonies were just a piece of juicy meat waiting to be bitten into.