[OL-FB2] The Battle of Terrabank

[Franco Clarke]

Ship's Log Day 12

Having passed the halfway mark with a night's stop at Amicable Point, the flotilla left the harbour early in the morning. Since there had been a lot of pirate attacks reported along this route, we opted for a defensive stance, with the Saler at point, and the Vif covering the rear. Hopefully the Saler's forward cannon should be able to blast through anyone who should seek to impede our progress, whilst the Vif's speed would allow it to loop around and chase of any pursuers. Although the Saler's speed would limit our ability to outrun the enemy our combined firepower should be able to convince any pirate that our convoy isn't worth the effort.

We are sailing over the Terrabank now, an area of shallow waters which are home to vast shoals of fish, very popular with fishermen. I could see that the large trader in our fleet already had a few improvised fishing rods dangling over the sides.

At that moment, the Saler signalled, informing us that it had sighted a sail to the front. I climbed up the mast and trained my telescope at the ship. It was a small warship, with a black hull, a classic pirate vessel. I signalled the flotilla to tighten up and slow down. The Vif cut through the formation and took up a position next to the Saler at the front. Hopefully we could knock this pirate out of the way before it could attack our merchantmen. I trained my telescope on the closing vessel. I noticed a red flag flying at the top of its mast, that wasn't a pirate ship, it was a Corrie!

As I examined the ship, I realised, it was very familiar, in fact we had met her before. It was HMS Flea, the ship which had pulled the oars trick on us all those years ago. I lowered the telescope and my eyes passed over the locker where we kept our oars. I wouldn't be caught by that trick again!

'Prepare the cannon; we might be in for a battle!' I said, and our lone gun was rolled up to the prow of the ship. It did feel much better to finally have something to shoot back with. We converged on the Corrington raider, and it carried on into our sights, seemingly unaware of our presence. Perhaps the crew was incapacitated? This was indeed strange behaviour.

Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of a firing cannon, followed by the splintering of wood behind me. I spun around, to see the merchant ship in the rear had been hit by a cannon shot, which had smashed the mast and set the cargo on fire. Further behind a large sail loomed above a pirate sloop. The Sea fox was obviously a stricken ship and I watched as the crew leapt in the water to escape the flames.

I signalled for the rest of the convoy to make a turn to the right, whilst turning to the left and swinging back around towards the sinking Sea Fox. I eyed the pirate vessel and noticed a red pendent flying alongside the skull and crossbones. These must be privateers working in conjunction with the Flea to attack convoys. I didn't feel like fighting that ship, as it was much larger and was probably heavily armed. We pulled up alongside the remains of the merchantmen and helped to pull the crew aboard the Vif, before moving to rejoin the rest of the flotilla. Then my memory triggered and I realised that we had also seen these pirates before, when we saved an Eslandolan ship from attack. It was indeed a small ocean.

The two hunters converged on the Sea fox, now listing at a steep angle. As we sailed away from the scene I could just make out small figures plundering what was left of its cargo. I felt my heart sink deep in my chest looking at the bedraggled crew sitting dejectedly in the Vif's bow. They had trusted me and I had failed to protect them.

The only new model in this story was the large white merchant vessel visible in the first shot. This was built as an attempt to use the wider bow pieces rather than my favourite 6 wide box pieces. I kept a similar build formula to my small imperial trading post based designs, just scaling it up slightly. I would be interested in your opinions as to how successful it is.

[TitusV]

Some very Nice ships, and the fire-scene looks great!

[Captain Genaro]

That was a fun story to read with some nice pictures to go along. The results are a bit of a disappointment, at least the crew was mostly saved.

[Bregir]

I always enjoy your stories, FC, and the way you illustrate them with your builds make it like reading a comic book.

I am loving the burning (and burnt) little trader, and your new trading vessel is nice. The hull is a little blocky round the back, but the overall shape and the railings are very nice. Of course, I would like to see some more work on the rigging. ;)

Lastly, I resent the insinuation that Corlander vessels should be preying on Olean trade! It is probably pirates using the Corlander colours as a ruse de guerre. ;)

[Franco Clarke]

Thank you for all of your replies, I am glad that you liked the burning ship.

I always enjoy your stories, FC, and the way you illustrate them with your builds make it like reading a comic book.

I am loving the burning (and burnt) little trader, and your new trading vessel is nice. The hull is a little blocky round the back, but the overall shape and the railings are very nice. Of course, I would like to see some more work on the rigging. ;)

Lastly, I resent the insinuation that Corlander vessels should be preying on Olean trade! It is probably pirates using the Corlander colours as a ruse de guerre. ;)

Thank you, I do try to focus on the story most of the time, and then build something to fit it, hence the rather dubious merchant ship here! As for the Corlanders, they seem to be very organised for pirates!