In my time in the Cove of Death I had not went out and experienced the local environment yet, I was too focused on perfecting my craft. I had gained a bit of rapport with the cultivators stationed here, however. It was only natural, anytime someone had an issue with their weapon they came to the blacksmith shop.

Our shop was the only local place where they could get quick repairs to head back to the battlefield. The battlefield in the Cove of Death was aquatic. The Cove of Death was the last stand in the local seas and islands which were filled with chaotic demons. These demons even gathered together to commit piracy.

They would raid our supply lines, pure savages.

Some of the demons had hefty bounties on their head. The Empire rewarded many merits for their extermination. My next stop was the bounty board to gain an understanding of what was out there.

"How"s it going today Kindroth?" I said to the dark elf manning the bounty board.

"Soulless, you"ve come out of the blacksmith shop? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. How may I a.s.sist you today," said Kindroth.

"I"m going to try my hand at the front lines. I"ve reached a bottleneck to my devilry from staying couped up forging all day. This young devil can"t be stuck at the Baron realm his entire life," I said.

"You should seek a group if you wish to venture out into these dangerous seas. A new Viscount Pirate King, Smiling Radcliffe just came into power in the Cove. It"s dangerous to head out there alone. The Mercenaries Guild can a.s.sist you with that," said Kindroth.

"Smiling Radcliffe? I"ll be careful not to cross such a funny named pirate," I said.

"You need a boat and a crew if you are heading out into the Sea of Death. There"s no way around that. Were you planning to walk there Soulless?" said Kindroth.

I laughed, "Oh, you got jokes, Kindroth? This young devil lord will start the greatest mercenary s.h.i.+p this Cove has ever seen. Just you wait," I said.

"Well, the bounty board is over there, if you have any questions I will be sure to a.s.sist you," said Kindroth.

"Right, thanks Kindroth," I said.

I was interested in taking down a mid or high-Baron demon. There were many bounties posted for them across the board.

Two Face Terrance - Mid-Baron, Wind Dao, Leader of the Barnacles. Illegally occupying the Garden Isle.

Numbers Ryan - Mid-Baron, Steel Dao, Leader of the Dividers. Illegally occupying The Dead Ait.

Diamond Fleming - High-Baron, Water Dao, Leader of the Silver Swords. Illegally occupying The Ethereal Enclave.

After looking over the list, I had narrowed it down to these three. They were Pirate Crew captains that had taken over islands within the Cove of Death. It would be easy to find them and take them down as long as I brought enough battle power with me.

Islands within the Cove of Death had many excellent resources for cultivation. These islands rightfully belonged to n.o.ble devils, those d.a.m.ned chaotic demons however would stake a claim to them. It was a never ending battle for who could command and hold the most resources within the Cove of Death.

The Viscounts stationed here usually guarded the most prized resource points, when not dealing with new Pirate Kings. So it was up to Barons like me to fight for these islands. Laying claim to one was a great merit, it strengthened our forces within the Cove.

I decided to deal with all three of these Pirate Crews, none would escape my axe or my bunny. With Jax and Blinker by my side, I should have no difficulties taking down an island. All I needed was a magnificent s.h.i.+p to set sail.

My next stop was the s.h.i.+pyard, to see if there were any boats for sale.

"Rekag, you have any good s.h.i.+ps I can buy?" I said to the gargoyle working the s.h.i.+pyard.

Gargoyles were a strange race, they had long horns and animalistic faces. The worst part was their bodies were made completely of stone. How a stone man enjoyed the simple pleasures in life was beyond me.

"Soulless, you want to buy a boat?" said Rekag as he fluttered his stone wings.

"Yeah, heading out into the sea. I need the finest s.h.i.+p you"ve got for sale," I said.

"The best I"ve got is Summer Flash, she"s a fast s.h.i.+p meant to be manned by a small crew. Only last week, her previous owner met their end within the Cove of Death. 85 low-grade fel stones and she is all yours," said Rekag.

"That"s a fair price," I said.

This was my first time purchasing something with fel stones. I had racked up quite a bit while manning the blacksmith shop. Having a monopoly on blacksmith repairs filled my coffers to the brim.

Sadly, the best currency within a Rift were merits, not fel stones. The old fogey only took merits for his service, but I was poor. I was happy to take in low-grade fel stones.

Everyone was glad to unload their fel stones to me rather than spending their precious merits. Among their many uses merits could grant you a fief, a valuable scripture, or get you out of the Rift. Fel stones could do none of the sort, although they were still the currency of the Abyss.

I looked over my new s.h.i.+p with awe.

Summer Flash was fast, light and maneuverable. She was adorned with a pearl white hull and light yellow masking sales. With her I could catch-up to targets as soon as possible. And hopefully escape any heat I couldn"t handle.

She was a High Speed Shallow Draft s.h.i.+p, that could bypa.s.s established seaports and discharge her crew to whoever there was at least a 10-foot draft. She could easily escape from large vessels who couldn"t follow into shallow waters.

Summer Flash was a sloop, a sailboat with a single mast. One headsail in the front of the mast and one mainsail behind the mast. One man could manage its single-masted rig una.s.sisted, yet she could still carry a sizable load.

She had an open c.o.c.kpit aft, and a small forward cabin outfitted with bunks and a stove.

This would be my vessel to tame the high seas!