Chapter Forty-Six Setting Sail (Patreon)

The docks were busy that morning, the sky was clear with not a cloud in sight. A bit of mist hung low in the distance as crowds gathered. Arlie couldn’t help noticing how many people had turned out for this. The royal guards and knight orders were out in force to maintain order. It seemed the whole city had heard about her departure and were here to view it. She was leaving alongside the twins Rose and Lily, along with Horon and Thron. Meanwhile her horse Dusk was staying behind in the royal stable. She seemed happy with the space.

Her gaze fell on the ship anchored at the end of the pier. A majestic frigate with a sturdy hull of ironwood and then plated with a special metal coating. The material in question involves mixing orichalcum with crushed dragon scales and mythril. Mixing these materials resulted in a material that was quite resistant to corrosion and nearly impervious to magic, while also being highly receptive to magical enchantments. Commonly called Dacrythil, it was used mainly on the kingdom’s battleships, large merchant ships owned by the wealthier merchants, upper ranked nobility and the royal family. The alloy was used solely on ocean-going vessels and in limited amounts due to the cost of making it. 

Regardless it was well worth the cost, since it greatly extended the life of seagoing vessels, protecting their hulls from corrosion, rot, and other threats that might compromise the hull. Naturally there were cheaper forms of protection on the market, but they weren’t as effective. Not to mention the alloy’s magical properties made it better for anchoring defensive wards, which were used to shield a ship from enemy weapons, the attacks of sea monsters, and hostile magic.

The ship she was looking at glowed with first-rate enchantments. The ship was the largest she’d ever seen, with an impressive length of eighty meters. Yet she knew from her family library that much larger vessels plied the waves. Some merchant vessels were nearly double that or more. Meanwhile, First-rate Battleships were typically around 300 meters long. In that context, the frigate before her was puny, yet she was well armed. Three pairs of Mystic Ballistae sat in armored enclosures on her forward deck, another pair was installed in her aft castle. Enchanted Ballistae were secured behind armored portholes on either side of the ship, along with smaller bolt throwers mounted on the rails.

She had two masts, along with the telltale signs of a mana engine. It wasn’t unheard of for large sailing ships to use both. Mana engines were wonderful, using enchantments of wind and water to propel a ship independent of the wind. Not to mention allowing speeds twice that of an average sailing ship. Some of the really high-end variants could manage upwards of twenty knots, although typical cruising speeds were slower. Yet for all that ability, they were expensive to install and required a fair chunk of mana to operate. Typically, a host of mages would charge a series of large mana crystals, which would in turn power the enchantments. Sails and oars however, didn’t require mana at all to work which is why many oceangoing vessels would have both sails and a mana engine. If they had a good wind, the sails were just as good, if not better than the mana engine anyway.

Princess Emila stepped closer pointing the frigate out, “That’s the ship you’ll be taking to Blue Rock Isle; The Iron Maid. She’s pretty fast when she needs to be, able to reach 22 knots with her mana engines, although her cruise speed is lower at 17 knots. As for her sails, she’s generally slower when sailing but it’s much less taxing on her mana reserves, which she needs not just for the engines but her defensive shields as well and her main weapons. Still with a good wind she can make 20 knots, without one you’d be puttering along at 8 or even slower. The mana crystals give her a range of around 7000 kilometers on a single charge. She’s even been equipped with a mana generator.”

Arlie blinked, “A what?”

“You don’t know about them? Well they are fairly new. I think your clan first tested a prototype about six years ago. Anyway the Iron Maid was one of the first ships to receive one. It’s a fairly complex mana gathering and refinement array connected to a planar tap, which allows it to generate mana from the ether and recharge the crystals. The process is a bit slower than we’d like, but faster than a team of mages using a standard gathering array. So instead of needing a week to recharge the crystals, we can do it in three days.”

“That’s fairly impressive,” said Arlie. She knew it would be faster in port; where much larger and more powerful arrays could be maintained, but there was always value to being able to replenish that mana at sea. Without mana, a ship’s abilities become quite constrained. Then she thought of something, “So what’s her rating?”

Ships were divided by type and rating. There were first, second, and third-rate battleships, then under that were frigates which followed the same pattern, first, second, and third-rate. Smaller vessels also existed such as brigs and Corvettes. Again, the Navy always split them into three ratings. The higher the rating the more potent the ship.

“It’s a first rate,” said Emila, “They wouldn’t send a princess out on anything less.”

Arlie sighed, suddenly reminded of her status. Ever since she’d set out from her little village this journey had been one revelation after another. Royal blood, a connection to the Goddess of the Cycle, and apparently an ability to breath out charged elemental fire just like a dragon would. Just to name a few of the big ones, she didn’t know what to expect next? Was she suddenly going to grow wings or something?

Emila took a step towards the ship, “Not only is the ship top of the line, but the crew is among the finest in the service of the royal family. I think you will like the captain, she is a good friend of mine.”

A voice cut in, “So this is the young lady I have the honor of transporting?”

Arlie turned to view the figure cutting into view. She wore the uniform of a captain and wore it well. It looked quite distinguished on her elegant features. The woman had sharp eyes and a slightly stern, yet elegant face framed by silky black hair that she kept in a bun. Her uniform consisted of a blue and white tunic with gold trim over a white undershirt and paired with a white skirt that fell to around her knees. Once again the trim was gold. Thick woolen socks covering her legs were paired with a sturdy-looking pair of boots. Arlie had to look up to see the woman’s face and couldn’t help looking at her massive chest straining against her uniform in the process. “Um, hello. I’m Arlie.”

“Fae of the Zors clan. If you’d follow me I’ll show you to your cabin, Princess.”

She blinked, that was a little more... curt than she’d been expecting. Still Arlie followed as she was led aboard the ship, her friends a step behind her were handed off to a subordinate before she was escorted toward the rear castle. The top of which was the aft weapon’s deck, immediately under that would by tradition be the bridge, the captain’s desk, and quarters, along with the quarters for the first mate. Arlie was led to a door in this area.

Fae opened it, and showed her inside. It was luxuriously appointed with a massive bed, a large trunk at the base of the bed, a seating area in the corner, and shelf after shelf of expensive-looking books. There was even a desk and a full size mirror stuffed into another corner and a pair of doors on the left led to a large closet and an attached bathroom. Before Arlie could say a word, Fae spoke up, “My quarters are across the hall and my first mate is bunked next door. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. If we aren’t in our quarters we will be on the bridge, just take the stairs at the end of the hall to the upper level. The guards will let you pass. Just you, your friends aren’t allowed on the bridge.

“Um, thank you,” she said, turning around. “I wasn’t expecting such nice quarters.”

Far scoffed, “Not the first time we’ve had to ferry a royal around. Why do you think this room exists? Now, stay out of trouble.”

Arlie frowned, “I take it you don’t like me.”

Fae gave her a look, “I wouldn’t say that, but I’ve had my share of royals causing trouble.” Then she let out a breath “Emila seems to trust you, but we will see.”

With that she left, leaving Arlie to get settled. This was going to be a long two weeks, wasn’t it?”

____________

Hikari shifted in the bed, feeling something soft pressing into her face and another soft something pressing into her back. She mumbled a little and snuggled against the softness pressing against her face, sighing with contentment. Her body felt pleasantly sore. Her still half asleep mind merely registered those facts and started to drift back into dreamland. It was far too warm and cozy to bother getting up or face the world. This was bliss, pure and simple. 

A sudden shifting behind her roused her back towards wakefulness for a moment. A wet something brushed against her ear. A shiver went down her spine, then a voice followed, “Last night was fun. But, um, next time could we have baby-making sex?”

Suddenly she was fully awake. “Eren!? What brought this on!?” She inquired while turning to face the cute foxgirl. Her eyes were gleaming, her tail wagging. She shifted to show her quivering sex, already dripping with fluid and held up a potion.

“Maybe we can have some now!”

Hikari gulped, “Wha, gah!”

Polca shifting beside her suddenly spoke up, “Calm girl! You are scaring her!”

Hikari glanced between the two. Eren’s tail stiffened then slumped, “I am? I just want a kid too! Oh twins would be lovely, or maybe quadruplets?” she grinned, “Let’s get started! No time like now!”

Polca groaned.

Hikari, now thoroughly confused, finally asked. “Um, what’s going on with Eren?”

Polca sighed, “Baby fever, what do you think?”

Eren’s eyes widened, “Oh right, humans aren’t comfortable with large litters. Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility, and raise all the pups for you! Even the one in your belly! Just put a couple in my belly already!”

“And she’s going into heat too...” said Polca. Hikari paled as her brain finally caught up.

“It hasn’t even been a year!” commented Hikari.

Eren giggled, “Baby fever can trigger a heat cycle.” Those words still echoing in her mind, she barely registered what happened next. By the time she realized Eren was already glommed on her face, tongue in her mouth. It felt nice. Her thudding heartbeat and pounding head told her she had other worries. What was she going to do? Neither noticed Polca moving.