System in Assassin's Creed

Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Thera

[Current Balance: 374,934,701 scudi, 95 baiocchi]

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A month had now passed since La Providencia left Livorno.

Alaric stood on the quarterdeck near the helm, leaning against the railing, watching the grey expanse of the Aegean Sea slide past. The journey south had been... interesting.

They traveled along the coastline of Italy’s southern peninsula that was known as ”The boot”, then passed through the Strait of Messina, and navigated the Ionian isles before entering the vast Aegean.

The weather had been somewhat cooperative, save for one memorable exception.

---Flashback---

They were somewhere south of Crete, making good time towards Thera. It was late afternoon, around 5:30 PM.

Alaric was in the captain’s cabin with Oldgate, sharing a bottle of rum the captain had ’liberated’ from the Xebec stores. Oldgate’s large table was at the center of the cabin, covered with nautical charts marked with trade routes, potential hazards, and Oldgate’s own annotations.

”...and that’s when Avery gave the signal,” Oldgate was saying, swirling the rum in his cup, a nostalgic glint in his eyes. ”Chaos, utter chaos it was. The Ganj-i-Sawai, the Mughal ship, bristling with cannons, more men than we could count... but Avery, he had this look, y’know? Like he already knew how it would end.”

”How did he manage it?” Alaric asked, genuinely curious about the legendary heist. ”Against such odds?”

Oldgate took a long drink. ”Cleverness, lad. And sheer, bloody-minded nerve. He used the Fancy’s speed to stay just out of their main range, peppering them, drawing their fire. Then, when they were focused on us, his other ships, smaller, faster ones, came in from the other side, grappling hooks flying. Boarding action was fierce... bloodiest fight I ever saw. Lost a lot of good men.”

He paused, staring into his cup. ”But the loot... gods, Alaric, the loot! Gold, silver, jewels beyond imagining... enough to make kings jealous. We loaded our ships ’til they nearly sank.” He chuckled darkly. ”Almost got my head blown off by a cannonball fragment during the fight. Landed right where I’d been standing a second before. Avery just laughed when I told him later.”

Alaric nodded slowly. ”Sounds like quite the captain.”

”Aye,” Oldgate agreed. ”Capable. Cunning. Ruthless when he needed to be. But fair to his crew, mostly. Shared the spoils better than most.”

Just as Oldgate was about to continue, the galleon gave a sudden, violent sway, much sharper than the usual roll of the waves.

Bottles rattled on the shelves. Both men looked up, surprised. Seconds later, the cabin door burst open, and a drenched, wide-eyed officer stumbled in.

”Captain!” the officer yelled over the rising howl of the wind outside. ”There’s a storm coming up on us fast! A big one! Came out of nowhere!”

Oldgate’s eyes widened. He slammed his cup down and bolted out of the cabin, Alaric right behind him.

They emerged onto the deck to a scene of... chaos.

The sky that was clear just moments ago, was now a churning mass of purple and black clouds. The wind shrieked through the rigging, and strong waves, far larger than anything they’d encountered in the Mediterranean, were bearing down on them.

Visibility dropped as rain began to lash down. Worst of all, several dark, twisting funnels formed downwards from the clouds towards the sea... waterspouts.

”How in the bloody hell did you lazy dogs miss a storm that big!?” Oldgate roared at the sky, his voice barely audible over the tempest’s fury. He shoved the current helmsman aside. ”Get off! I need the wheel! Reef the sails! All hands, secure the rigging! Batten down the hatches! Move, you slugs, move!”

The galleon groaned as a massive wave crashed over the bow, sweeping across the deck. Sailors scrambled, desperately trying to follow orders amidst the chaos. The ship pitched violently, threatening to capsize.

Alaric stood calmly near the main mast, observing the scene. The sheer power of the storm was impressive, even to him. The waterspouts was menacingly closer.

’Can’t exactly cut a tornado in half with Kusanagi,’ he thought wryly. ’Need to reinforce the ship, buy Oldgate time to navigate through this.’

He activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the world momentarily freezing into shades of grey as he triggered Kronos.

Time stopped for ten precious seconds. Moving faster than the eye could follow, Alaric flashed through a rapid series of complex hand seals learned from the Fuinjutsu scroll.

’This works on a human body... I hope the principle applies to a ship’s structure too!’ He slammed his palm flat onto the wet deck. ”Asura’s Crest!”

Intricate, glowing seals instantly spread out from his hand like a spiderweb, shooting across the deck, up the masts, along the hull, encasing the entire galleon in a lattice of reinforcing energy.

The seals pulsed brightly for a moment, sinking into the wood and iron, then faded just as time snapped back to normal.

’Okay, the galleon should be able to endure the stress now,’ Alaric thought, feeling the ship shudder less violently under the next wave. ’But we still have to avoid those waterspouts and ride out these waves.’

He saw a group of sailors struggling high above on the main yardarm, trying to reef the massive mainsail against the tearing wind.

One man lost his grip, dangling precariously. Without hesitation, Alaric leaped upwards, landing lightly on the yardarm beside the struggling sailor.

He effortlessly secured the flapping canvas and helped the grateful man regain his footing before leaping back down to the deck, landing silently beside Oldgate at the helm.

Another waterspout went towards them, it was a monstrous vortex of wind and water. Oldgate gritted his teeth, straining with all his might to turn the massive wheel, fighting the storm’s pull. The ship resisted, the wheel barely moving. ”Damn it! She won’t turn!”

Alaric immediately reached out, grabbing one of the handles on the wheel with just one hand, and pulled. Oldgate’s eyes widened in shock as the wheel spun easily under Alaric’s seemingly casual effort, turning the galleon just enough to avoid the waterspout’s direct path, though they were still tossed violently by its power.

”Hard to starboard!” Oldgate roared, recovering quickly and shouting further orders to adjust the remaining sails.

They fought the storm for what felt like hours, dodging waterspouts, riding up the crests of enormous waves and sliding down into deep troughs, the galleon groaning and shuddering but holding together thanks to Alaric’s reinforcement.

Finally, almost as suddenly as it began, they sailed out from under the black clouds into calmer waters and clearing skies.

Alaric looked back at the receding storm, shaking his head slightly.

”Damn,” he commented to Oldgate, wiping rain from his face. ”That was my first real sea storm.”

Oldgate spat seawater over the railing, still gripping the wheel tightly. ”You’d best hope it’s your last, lad,” he growled, though there was a grudging respect in his eyes.

He turned, scanning his exhausted crew who were checking for damage and securing loose gear. ”You alright, lads!?”

A ragged chorus of ”Aye, Captain!” came back.

Oldgate grunted, his gaze turning stormy again as he looked towards the navigator’s usual station. ”I’ll be having a word with that damned Navigator later...”

---End of Flashback---

Alaric leaned against the railing near the helm, enjoying the warm breeze. Beside him, Oldgate puffed contentedly on one of the premium cigars Alaric had ’made’. They watched as the distinctive caldera cliffs of Thera grew larger on the horizon.

”Here we are then, lad,” Oldgate announced, gesturing with his cigar towards the volcanic island. ”Thera.”

Alaric gazed at the island, a familiar yet alien landscape from his memories of the game. He saw white villages clinging to the edges of cliffs, standing out against the dark volcanic rock and the deep blue sea.

’Helloo Thera...’.

[System Currency Updated] [Scudo Converted to akçe Currency...]

[Conversion Fee: - 1 scudo, 80 baiocchi.]

[Current Balance: 374,934,701 scudi, 15 baiocchi = 44,992,164,234 akçe]

[Current Balance: 44,992,164,234 akçe]

(1 Real = 12 akçe) (£1 = 384 akçe) (1 scudo = 120 akçe)

Almost an hour later, La Providencia carefully navigated the caldera and dropped anchor in a small, somewhat sheltered harbor at the base of the cliffs.

It was strangely quiet as they hadn’t encountered any significant Ottoman naval presence patrolling these waters, which Alaric found slightly odd but didn’t complain about.

Oldgate stretched, looking around the harbor. ”Well, lad, this is the last stop for you on this contract,” he said, turning to Alaric.

He clapped a heavy hand on Alaric’s shoulder, his expression a mixture of lingering awe from their adventures and genuine warmth. ”Been one hell of a voyage, I’ll give you that. Never seen anything like you or that friend of yours. Be careful out here, lad. The Ottomans don’t take kindly to uninvited guests with... unusual abilities.”

Alaric smirked. ”Don’t worry about me, Captain. I can handle myself.” He met Oldgate’s gaze. ”Thank you for the passage, Edward. It was... memorable.”

”The rest of the payment, the three thousand pounds, I’ve left it in my cabin, on the desk. Help yourself.”

[Money Withdrawal: £3,000/1,152,000 akçe]

[Current Balance: 44,991,012,234 akçe]

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