Section 113: Blue sea and blue sky
If you haven't sailed in the middle of summer, you'll never know how beautiful the Moeby Gas Inland Sea really is.
It is true that the sea as seen from the shore has its own beauty. Sometimes during the day, on the shore of Parnilla, looking at the white tower glittering in the sun, watching the sparkling waves crash against the tidal embankment, or in the evening, the tower keeper above lit the whale oil brazier and began to adjust the mirrors to reflect the light, watching the orange pillars of light shine on the darkened water.
Or on a foggy day, the vast expanse is white, and in addition to the cool and humid air, you can also hear the long sound of the guide fog horn blown by the tower keeper on the tower.
But that was only the longing of the people on the shore, and it limited their perspective, like peeking out of the vast world through the archer's shooting hole in a stone castle.
This is not the view in the eyes of sailors.
No matter how beautiful the scenery is from a distance, it can't be worth being in it in person.
The horizon of the sky is dazzlingly far away, the sky is only a faint sky blue, and the transparent sunlight shines on the water, and you can see the bottom of the sea all the way down from the side of the ship.
The waters of Mobigas are crystal blue.
Compared to the icy North Rical Sea, the currents here are warmer and therefore lighter in color. In the relatively offshore part of the day, when the midday sun is at its strongest, you can even see coral reefs and a variety of marine life on the ocean floor.
But underneath this peaceful and beautiful scene, the occasional glimpse of a shipwreck reminds everyone that even the calm and pleasant Mobigas Inland Sea can become an abyss from which it will never return if you are not careful.
As expected, after two days out of the sea and gradually entering the open sea to begin the official voyage, many of the first-time boarders were lying on their beds with pale faces and unable to get up. The wooden barrel used to hold the vomit has turned jet black after years of use, and even many people who are relatively less prone to seasickness can't help but start retching when they see the greasy black color of the barrel and the unpleasant smell.
A weak-willed man cannot be a sailor.
Anyone who does not have an adventurous spirit cannot be a sailor.
This life has never been about comfort, and in the early years, when seamanship and knowledge were still very primitive, it was common for sailors to suffer from septicaemia. And even today, with great progress, it is still a very high-risk trade.
It is not uncommon for large merchant ships to be plundered by cruising pirates, but in this vast sea, only the wooden planks under their feet are solid ground, and if the ship is broken, there are few ways to escape.
Add to that the weather, although theoretically you can reach the land in the Mobigas Inland Sea by looking for the direction in which the sun rises and sets, and goes all the way to the east or west. But given the discrepancies and the fact that not all parts of the coast are inhabited, it's still a gamble with lives.
With such a high level of risk, people are still moving forward.
Wealth and fame are one of the reasons, and it is perhaps because of these that many people first entered the industry. But there are many ways to make money and gain fame, and sailors and captains will continue on this path, perhaps because the sea and ships can give them things that no other industry can give.
Freely.
On land, there are lands divided by race, language, culture, and even identity. The huge East Coast has been artificially divided into countless small pieces by people based on their own interests.
But there is no such thing on the sea.
As long as your ship is able to move on, then there is no limit to what lies ahead. As long as the wind is still blowing and the sails are not broken, you can go there.
This kind of free life is always a gamble with life, it is high-risk, and many times it can become a loss of money.
But when you are on this ship, which is very large compared to people, but very small in the middle of the sea. Looking at the endless blue sea and blue sky, watching the bright sunshine, blowing the salty sea breeze, watching the whales on the sea in the distance as the dolphins are jumping.
Any risk seems to be worth it.
Humans are the best race at killing each other, and no creature is better at persecuting and slaughtering than humans. No matter how self-proclaimed civilized a country is, the darkness inside is bottomless.
To a large extent, this is a hopelessly incorrigible race.
But.
The vast world of Rigal is inherently inhabited.
Looking at such a beautiful scenery and feeling excited, I am deeply moved, but only human beings are the only ones.
It's a contradictory race that can't be summed up in simple terms like good and evil, good and bad.
Most of the people, including the vomiting first-time boarders, stepped out of the gloomy cabin and looked up at the amazing scenery under the sunny day.
I'm just glad for the fact that I was born as a human being.
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The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and everyone knows this truth. However, given the terrain, the shortest distance is often not an option unless you can fly.
Just as there are obstacles such as mountains and lakes on land routes, sea navigation is also greatly affected by the environment.
Although the coastline of the east and west coasts is often described as a whole, it is in fact as rugged as the edge of any land or island plate.
Protruding from the edge of the plate coexisting with the depression, not all places are suitable for harbor construction. Add to this the fact that rift valleys and currents, especially in the shallow parts of the land and in some places with a large number of reefs, and while it may seem to the layman to be the most convenient and quick way to travel, it is often not the case with real sailing.
The route between the two ports is more like a less curved arc. People first start from the harbor and enter the deeper part of the sea, then move forward until they are near the next port before re-approaching the land.
This is generally the case for large ocean-going sailing vessels, which require a draft to avoid running aground or running aground. The reason why the northern raiders who made the people of the West Coast tremble back then were able to leave so many legends was precisely because the longboats they used had extremely shallow drafts, and could sneak close along the coast to land on the shallows, and even go up the river in small streams.
There have been many ingenuity in the design and production of ships, and various design styles have emerged depending on the application. Mira and Henry were travelling on a typical large Oriental merchant ship, with a large displacement and internal volume, and it was not built for short trips, and the route to and from almost the entire east coast was crossed, starting at Parnila at the southern end and stopping at the northernmost part of the empire.
Long routes, combined with the large capacity of goods and people, make the difference by transporting large quantities of products from the south to the north, and the money that can be earned by such a large sailing ship itself is something that small businessmen can hardly count on for a lifetime. And after 80% of the load capacity is used to carry cargo, the remaining space can still be used to carry many guests and their belongings, and make another profit, maximizing the benefits of a single voyage.
How big this merchant ship is, it is different from the feeling of standing outside and being inside.
It is separated by several floors of wooden floors. At the bottom of the rope are the so-called "ballast", some of the weights used to keep the balance and the paddling slaves to stay. And a little further up here, there is a densely packed cargo compartment.
Above the cargo hold are the holds of live animals, mostly cattle and horses, which are used by travelers and sturdy breeding animals that the cattle dealers intend to sell. Livestock can also get seasick, so in order to prevent them from vomiting and making it too cumbersome to clean up, most of them will be fed medicine after boarding the boat to put them into a comatose state.
And further up the hold of the livestock, the last floor below deck, half of which is the cargo and the other half is the living quarters of the sailors. The ship's junior sailors had to do all sorts of chores, and it was easier to get to the cargo and livestock holds on this level.
The remaining three floors above the deck were the passengers' quarters and the private quarters of the chief mate and the captain, who were always the largest and most ornate, and all looked up to see the decorated wooden doors and the captain's full name written in Laman.
The room where the Sage and the Maiden of Roan stayed was on the second floor of the traveler's quarters, and the third room was after the small staircase. It was a small, separate room, small and not much except two small beds, a cupboard, and wooden hooks on the wall for hanging weapons and clothes, but it still cost a considerable price.
The second floor is a place that can only be chosen by mercenaries and merchants who are relatively well mixed, as well as the children of nobles and gentry who go out to meet the world. In contrast, the first floor is cheaper, but it is a large shop with no obstruction. In addition to the pillars and walls used to support the structure, people had to bring their own beds. It is usually chosen by businessmen who save money and ordinary people who cannot afford a private room on the second floor.
The disadvantage of being relatively cheap is that there is no private space, and it is not only inconvenient to huddle with strangers, but also have to take care of your belongings. If you are not careful, if someone steals your belongings or the like, even if you pay for the trip, the officers of the merchant ship will not help you.
When you go out, you have to rely on yourself for everything, and if you are careless, you will lose your life next time.
All in all, in order to reduce the hassle, Henry and Mira chose a separate room on the second floor in order to afford it. After all, ships are not suitable for carrying weapons with them, plus Mira's books and other things that are inconvenient to carry around. Although they made sure that their wealth was not exposed, it was safer to lock up in their room than to put it in the Chase Shop.
The two newly purchased horses were sold for a very low price thanks to Margaret's "excellent bargaining skills". Our Loan maidens, who already knew a lot about horses, were carefully selected, not to mention comparable to the pure-blooded horses of the Imperial Knights, but at least they were stoic and strong, and intelligent.
Naturally, they were placed on the same level as the livestock, but in addition to the two horses, there was one other horse on the road with them.
"Step-" The girl paused, and looked at the white foal that was resting peacefully in the corner of a hut by the light shining through the ventilation windows on both sides.
This is a special compartment located on the left side of the livestock level near the stern section, and the access is locked by a door, which is reached by a small staircase. There are only a few separate small cages that look relatively more upscale and comfortable, and at the moment all but the place where they are located are empty.
Needless to say, its identity is naturally the little unicorn that it met by chance in the forest of Bao and has some kind of spiritual connection with our Luoan girl.
To take it on the road, Mira was not so willing. For a profession like a mercenary, keeping a low profile and not being targeted by others is the right way to reduce trouble. And even if the little unicorn doesn't have the eye-catching little horn on its head, its white and graceful body is enough to attract gangsters who want to get something for nothing.
But the clever little creature was unwilling to stay with Margaret, and it wanted to cling to wherever Mira went. Maybe it's because people who have lost their parents have a common feeling, and the Luoan girl looks at it so sticky, and after all, she can't afford to leave it and move forward alone.
Ornor, who has gone there, had spoken to her when she traveled to the forest, and when she reached full adulthood, the unicorn possessed enough wisdom to use magic to hide her overly proud form - this is also the case in many legends, and the unicorn that concealed its true form tested and selected its master, and only revealed its true identity after making sure that the valiant knight was indeed a man of pure heart.
But it's obviously still too difficult for the little guy at the moment. So in order to hide all this, with the help of Margaret, they made a gorgeous horse coat and put it on.
Because of the yearning, knights and nobles have often dressed their horses with horse helmets with single horns for their horses. This practice is so common that people usually don't wonder if there really is a horn under the helmet.
To further dispel this suspicion, it wore a riding coat in addition to its sumptuous helmet. The horse's coat, which is also painted with a blue background on the horizon, is painted with beautiful basil chrysanthemums, which to some extent indicates the blood relationship between the lord's palace of Parnila and the present-day royal family of Saxiyutu.
Such a clear sign of status, combined with a written certificate written and stamped by Margaret herself, cleared the way for the two to go on the road with the little unicorn together.
But thinking of this book, Miss Luo An couldn't help but want to laugh a little. Margaret's certificate bears her family's seal, and it says that Henry and Mira were mercenaries who had been tasked with escorting the "precious foal" to Suomir to herself.
The hierarchical social structure of the Padrosi Empire became an advantage in this situation, and everything was done in place not only without unnecessary suspicion, but also made many people, including the captain of the ship, carefully serve the two of them, for fear that there would be something inconsiderate and displeasing the eldest lady of the mansion of the largest port lord on the east coast.
The little unicorn was thus placed in a special room where the nobles' pets lived when they traveled, and only the high-ranking personnel on the ship had the key. Moreover, since there were no other noble pets on this trip, the captain flattered Henry and Mira to give the keys to him, and hinted that they would be able to say a few kind words to Margaret in front of him after completing the mission, and that the tariffs and berthing fees for shipping goods in Parnila could be discounted in the future.
The sage and the girl Luo'an, who understood these underground rules, naturally agreed with their mouths, and after both parties obtained their satisfactory results, naturally no one would bother with more details.
Margaret did it all, concealing the identity of the little unicorn with something even more ornate, perfectly concealing it. And the captain of the merchant ship only thought that he was the willfulness of a nobleman's daughter, and felt that he had obtained a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to curry favor, and he would not think deeply.
A nobleman is a nobleman, Mira thought, even if it was her friend, Margaret, who looked small, was born with something much better than a commoner like her.
Looking at the little unicorn, still asleep, Mira walked back to the dimly lit livestock hold with the candlestick and locked the door.
When she returned to the top deck to merge with Henry, the smell of lunch came from the ship's galley, which was just one wall away from the Chase Bunk, in the dazzling sunlight.
"Shhh
"It's fish again. She frowned, but there was still a smile on her lips.
"That's good. Mira said this in a brisk tone, while Henry, who was next to her, looked at her and just shrugged his shoulders.
The sea breeze continued to blow, the sky was cloudless, and a dozen or so sailors on the front deck quickly inserted long wooden poles with large shade cloths into the fixes, and immediately there was a shady area on the bare deck where they could eat.
They then set up the table and the leather-topped pony. Then again, the sailor with the loud voice when he called people aboard the ship before, brushed the white towel he used to wipe his sweat over his shoulder:
"It's time to eat!"