The cook comes out with two large platters and a pot. "We've got baked ones here, fried ones there, and our house special, Seafood Gumbo. I've brought you a collection of wines and Dwarven ales to match. Please, enjoy, and tell your friends, when they visit Behar, to come to eat here." The last seems mostly directed at Nila, probably under the hopes that she will bring more Wave Rider customers to his shop.
They're frequent visitors, from what Cain understands, and generally wealthy, so they're the perfect customers. Though, from the look of things, he isn't doing too badly.
"This is good. We should bring some of this home with us." Laura declares, tipping the last of a bowl of gumbo into her mouth.
"It's not that hard to come to visit. You could fly over from Assah anytime you wanted." Cain points out and Laura gets a thoughtful look.
"You've got a point. If we leave at first light, we could get here, get gumbo and get back before breakfast." She says nodding to herself.
"Small problem little one. We don't open until near lunchtime. We've got to clean and cook the morning catch first." The chef points out, replacing the already empty trays of food.
"Minor technicality. Maybe I could fly over between the morning dungeon and lunch?" She says, thinking of options that lead to more seafood in her diet.
"You could do that. At your speed, it's only an hour or so from Assah." Nila points out and the man who was checking out Nemu almost chokes on his food.
"Did I just hear you say that Pixie can make it here from Assah in an hour?" He asks once he regains his composure.
"Don't let her appearance deceive you. That's actually a Dragon, transformed into a smaller shape to better enjoy her food." Nemu smirks, amused that nobody ever recognizes the Dragon when she's transformed, despite the Opalescent Dragon wings on her Pixie-sized body.
"That's quite the crew you've assembled. I heard you bought the Queen Rose, are you planning to run the Independent Ports trading routes then? A mixed crew like yours would be perfect for the job."
"I don't know much about it, the ship deal just kind of fell in my lap. Why would a crew like mine be good for whatever the Independent Ports route is?"
"That's what they call the small towns along the three coasts. The closest kingdoms in the Central, North, and Eastern continents are all primarily human. But there are several smaller cities in all three that aren't. If you've got the guts to run the trade route across the ocean, they're always in need of goods, and they're a safe harbor for those who don't like too many questions." The old sailor behind Cain explains with a toothless grin.
Ah, they're the Pirate Cities and Free Ports. The old sailor has got a point, this crew might have a lot of fun with that.
"It sounds profitable, but I'll have to think on it. The Guild has recently built a new Castle, so getting it operational and defended has been taking up most of our time lately."
"Aye, a proper Guild Castle takes a lot of effort to maintain. The biggest problem is usually defending it against other Guilds. If they think they can claim it and add a hundred men to their roster, some are foolish enough to try. So you end up hiring guards, and patrols, and before you know it, a single fortress is taking up all your time and attention." The old sailor nods as if he's found the wisdom of the ages.
"Fortunately, we've got some Summoners in the Guild, so we can help even up the numbers with just a few stationed at the castle. Plus, the King was good enough to sell me some more magical Cannons."
"Good things those. And right nasty from a Castle wall, where they're not rocking in the waves." The old sailor agrees.
"So, how many do you keep at the castle? I don't recall ever seeing your Guild name before." Another man asks and Cain can see the old sailor roll his eyes at the obvious bait.
"Not many. Just the five groups that are over level 180 and want to do the dungeon we built it around. And then the Orcish Mercenaries." Vala shrugs. That was enough for the man to instantly lose interest in their castle. Looks like his Guild isn't up for that sort of fight.
Anyone who attempts to raid the castle is in for a shock. The Illusionary Army that Sora, the Tengu Lieutenant can Summon is only as strong as Cain's puppets, but as illusions, they all appear to be her level and Epic Quality. Until you fight them, they would be incredibly intimidating to any attacking force.
They might be fairly tough though. Cain gets a lot of bonuses to his summons, and the Summoned Lieutenants get a double dose of the Knight Rank bonus to Summon damage and durability, both for themselves and their summons.
That thought leads Cain on another tangent, Sora is the first Youkai designated creature he's seen. What other sorts of them are out there, with amazing abilities that mimic his own. Sure, Puppeteer isn't his strongest ability, but being able to use it without the actual puppets like Sora and get Illusionary Army do is pretty awesome.
"Question for you all. I came across a being known as a Tengu, designated as a type of Youkai by the system. Do you know where I might find more like them? They said they didn't know the skill I needed, but others would."
"Not anywhere easy to reach. They're from the East side of the Southern Continent. If the storms aren't enough to keep you away from that coast, the level 400 sea monsters should about do the trick." The old sailor laughs and the others turn pale.
"That's the territory of the Kraken. Faster than a flying Dragon and large enough to eat a whale in a single bite, nobody risks traveling that route. If you need to deal with the hidden realm, you cross the mountains from the west and hope they're feeling friendly." One of his tablemates agrees.
Alright, call that a long-term goal then. But it does give Cain hope that he will be able to smoothly level up in the future. A whole ocean full of level 400 sea monsters makes for quite a grind zone. You know, if they don't sink your ship and eat you.
That turns the conversation to the various dangers of the known world. The chaotic kingdoms of the western side of the central continent, where you never know who will be in charge the next time you visit. The level 300 to 400 Forests of the inland portions of the Eastern continent, the Giants of the Western Continent.
The last one is interesting, as they've supposedly got a link to their homeworld on the continent, and can call for increasingly high-level reinforcements if they're attacked. Almost the entire western continent belongs to the Frost Giants, but there are other types there too, as well as Dragons.
The North is the most stable continent, according to the connoisseurs of fine seafood at the Crab Shack. It's ruled by the Barbarian Tribes, full of dangerous dungeons and wild Beasts, but without the predictable zones of the central and eastern continent. There is no smooth progression from city to city, even along the coast, adjacent cities can have over a hundred levels difference in their dungeons and wildlife, though the coastal areas are mostly filled with low level creatures and residents.
With all that going on, plus monsters in the oceans, sailing looks like it's not for the weak of heart, though Nila assures him that Sea Monsters are quite rare until you get south of the Central Continent. Even the old sailors, who love their stories, agree that a ship seeing one a year on the routes between here and the northern continent is about normal.
"What about the Eastern Continent then? Assah gets regular trading vessels from there, is the continent at war or something that the North is more stable?"
"The East is airways at war, has been for centuries. That makes them a great trading partner though because they're always hungry for gear. Their battles seem to stop short of the kingdoms overthrowing each other but the traders all agree that if you get to a Port and it's under siege, you either turn and leave before you're noticed, or you sell everything to whoever gets to you first and then you leave before the other side decides to vent their frustrations on you."
That sounds like it might be worth visiting in the future. Their descriptions of the dangerous forest maglde the continent sound much warmer than the frozen northern continent, and the power levels of your opponents won't vary as wildly.
One of the legends they heard today, chatting over a steady stream of drinks, said the far north hides a clan of Barbarian demigods that are supposedly near level one thousand, with hundreds of Legendary champions. How true it is, Cain doesn't know, but it was a really good story, and the sun has set before they're done drinking.
Vala, ever the reliable one, has found them an Inn near the docks and informed the sailmaker where they'll be found, so the party turns in for the night, eagerly awaiting the renovations of their new ship.
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