Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Castel might not have many sailors, but plenty of nearby islands had been producing pirates for years.  

As long as Jeremiah took a bag of gold coins to the tavern and called out, he could gather a whole ship’s worth of sailors.  

On the Storm Ocean, ”sailor” and ”pirate” meant the same thing, merchant ships never recruited strangers.  

”This is different. I don’t just need sailors who can sail. For example, here’s the contract I’m giving you. Do you want to take a look?”  

Hughes patted the papers on the table.  

Jeremiah’s eyes twitched. He certainly didn’t want to look, he couldn’t read anyway.  

”That’s the reason. I do need sailors, but not just any sailors. I haven’t taken a close look at your ship, but it should be a wooden sailing vessel, right?”  

Jeremiah nodded. The phrasing seemed odd, what did he mean by ”wooden sailing vessel”? Weren’t all ships made of wood?  

Was he talking about small boats? Those indeed didn’t have sails.  

”If I build ships from steel in the future and use steam engines for power, then my crew must be literate and understand mechanical principles, which is far more difficult.   That’s why I choose to train students in navigation rather than send sailors to school.”  Jeremiah was a bit confused. He didn’t quite understand what a steam engine was, though the name sounded vaguely familiar.  

But building ships from steel?  

That was baffling, steel would sink.  

It had nothing to do with him, yet after a moment of silence, he still asked.  

After all, Jeremiah was a captain, and he couldn’t help but be curious.  

Hughes casually picked up the silver cup from the table.  

”Take this, put it in the sea, and see if it sinks straight down or floats.I don’t have time for physics experiments right now.   Take the contract with you. Oh, and I’ll give you a note, you can attend literacy classes in the future, for free, of course.”  

Jeremiah left, feeling puzzled.  

He wasn’t worried about the contract, he could just find someone literate to read it to him, like he always did.  

Reading wasn’t very useful. How many contracts would he sign in his lifetime?  

Jeremiah thought it was a waste of time.  

But as he held the silver cup in his hand, he unconsciously walked toward the shore.  

It still seemed absurd, ships made of steel?  

How could that be possible?  

He had spent half his life at sea and had never seen a piece of steel float.  

Finding a tide pool among the rocks, Jeremiah threw the silver cup in.  

The cup spun and sank to the bottom.  

Jeremiah snorted, seemed like that lord was just spouting nonsense to deceive him.  

He fished the silver cup out of the water. It was worth a few coins,enough to trade for some fried fish.  

Shaking the water off the cup, Jeremiah was about to leave when he hesitated and stopped.  

Ship.  

He looked down at the cup in his hand.  

After a moment’s hesitation, he carefully grasped the rim and placed the cup upright in the water, ensuring that no water entered.  

His eyes slowly widened.  

The cup wobbled but floated, it remained standing in the water and didn’t sink!  

”How is this possible?”  

Jeremiah picked up the cup, weighed it in his hand, it was heavy metal.  

He tossed it back into the water, and it sank instantly.  

His mouth fell open.  

That evening, Jeremiah returned, still holding the cup, now with a hole he had purposely smashed into it against a rock.  

He had spent the entire afternoon playing with water by the sea.  

After buying a few fish from a street vendor, he should have headed home.  

But after hesitating, he glanced southward.  

Bathed in the sunset’s glow, a two-story building in the distance had its doors open.  

He recognized it, that was the school where the island’s lord had set up literacy classes.  

Touching the note in his pocket, Jeremiah finally walked toward the school.  

He still had no interest in literacy.  

But he was really curious, why did that cup float on the water?  

Maybe those who could read would know the answer.  

With that thought, he took his first step forward.  

••••

”Connor, call Beatrice later. I need to talk to her about returning to Rhine. I’ve already told Jeremiah about the ship.”  

”He agreed?”  

Connor asked curiously while tidying the desk.  

”He hasn’t given me an answer yet, but he will. He has no reason to refuse, and he’s not stupid.”  

Hughes yawned.  

”See? I told you these pirates would eventually turn into merchants. As long as they keep choosing the most beneficial option, they’ll all end up on this path. Even the Empress is doing the same thing, boiling a frog in warm water. They’re almost cooked, and they haven’t even noticed.”  

Boiling a frog in warm water?  

Connor found the phrase interesting and pondered it for a moment before speaking.  

”Young master, there’s something else you should know.”  

”What is it? Something about the ship?”  

”Somewhat related. Do you remember Josh? The young man who wanted to buy goods on credit and then tried to get a ship on credit too?”  

Hughes became interested.  

”What about him?”  

”He’s gathered quite a few islanders and is planning to form a merchant association, though it’s just in name for now.”  

”How did he manage that? I’m paying my workers well, right?He still managed to poach people?”  

”That’s the key, he told them he’s already secured goods and a ship.Now, he just needs manpower and is willing to share the profits proportionally in exchange for support.”  

”…How many people are backing him?”  

”About a dozen, including some actual sailors.”  

”Wait, where did the island get sailors?”  

”Last time, someone from Jeremiah’s ship caused trouble on shore. The patrol sent him to do hard labor at the construction site for a few days. He found out the pay was decent, and they provided lunch, so he decided to stay. Now, he’s receiving wages and even attending literacy classes with the other islanders.”  

”…Is this really so attractive?  

I thought pirates made more than laborers, even if piracy is in decline?”  

Hughes did offer good wages, but compared to piracy, a life of licking blood off the blade, it wasn’t necessarily better.  

”Young master, it’s different.”  

Connor hesitated, carefully choosing his words.  

”Castel has… a sense of order.”  

”A sense of order?”  

”Yes. Most pirates were forced into it, they had no other way to survive. But in Castel, the things that drove them to desperation don’t exist.”  

”The wages are high here, and they won’t starve?”  

”Not just that.There’s a sense of security here, more order, more hope.”