[TXS] Texas Republic - Episode 1 - Wendigo Raided Us Good Fashion

[[Free Republic of Texas] 2]

*NOTE* Originally posted on Reddit May 19, 2019...

Wendigo paid us a visit tonight.

They came with 3 armored brigs with cannons mounted mostly on one side. The first brig did the most damage. On the first pass, it damaged the Corpus Christi (an armored brig) and removed a rear plank from the San Jacinto (a standard brig).

They posted in global chat "Texas, anyone on? Knock knock. Come out and play." To which I responded, "Hello?" while we were on a nearby island collecting metal. I informed the Texas Volunteers that Wendigo was paying us a visit and I jumped the bed to the San Jacinto to find it already flooded and sinking. I replaced the missing rear plank and ran up on deck to see the Wendigo brig #1 circling and lining up for its second run. I decided to try to back the SanJack out of the shipyard and targeted the brig. As she passed within range I began landing hits as well as our other ships in the harbor. The captain of the Corpus Christi arrived just as the enemy brig turned to fire.

I couldn't tell how damaged the Christi already was, but as the brig's salvo landed she went down. I was about half-way backed out of the shipyard when the brig landed a full broadside on the SanJack and removed two more planks. A second volley knocked out the main deck and myself and my entire crew fell into the bottom of the ship in a hail storm of debris.

As reinforcements were spawning in the zone, I abandoned the SanJack by demolishing a lower plank and whistling the crew to follow me to shore. Some made it, most got hung up in the wreckage and the shipyard, eventually to drown or feed the sharks. Once on shore, I whistled everyone to hold their ground and I jumped onto the little Rockport fishing sloop which I had just completed an hour or so earlier. She was fitted with two rear-mounted cannon and a freshly installed ballista...as well as a forward swivel. Even though she was not intended as a ship of war but strictly for whaling and fishing, her guns were manned and ready. Most of all, she had gone unnoticed by the raiding party thus far and was undamaged...and only a few yards away!

As I was raising sail, I noticed that a second enemy brig had arrived and rammed the SanJack at the end of the shipyard. The first enemy brig was just then firing on the Dallas (a schooner) and I saw her shipyard destroyed in that moment.

I targeted the second brig and my rear cannons began firing over the SanJack's shipyard and through her rigging to land on the enemy. Upon clearing the shipyard, the SanJack took her last breath and fell beneath the waves. Her service was ended.

Our harbor defenses began issuing notices that the enemy was on shore. The puckles were firing and several kills were scored against at least one enemy player. Where ever he was, he was being persistent.

The Rockport was under full sail and I turned to bring my rear cannons and ballista to fire on the first brig (#1) which was making for another approach. Her bare side faced me and I felt confident enough to run up along side her within easy range. Ballista and cannon shots landed true but as I turned around to see where I should be turning next, a third armored brig was bearing straight for me. I was being caught between the two enemy vessels, so I lowered my handling sail and made to turn hard right to pass behind the first brig as she passed me....midway through the maneuver, the third brig rammed me at full sail and as the Rockport spun away from the impact I was thrown from the deck and landed in the water. The third brig was armed with fire swivels and the surface of the water lit up above me. I dove under the Rockport and could hear her medium cannons still firing as I swam below her keel and made my way for the second brig (#2) which was still pinned against the SanJack's wreck and shipyard. I came up with grappling hook in hand and caught her rigging. I climbed aboard and found myself well hidden between the enemy's hull and her outer armor plating. I resigned myself to stay aboard and see what would happen next.

A few moments later, the enemy began to withdraw....as there were no more surviving Texas vessels in the harbor, the skirmish had been little more than chaos amid the puckle fire. Crew losses were filling the screen with deaths due to cannon, fire or shark attacks and comms were excited and hectic. As the enemy ships departed, I noted on the Atlas map that we were heading south, so I finally took a few moments to announce in Alliance chat that it looked to me like the Wendigo ships were heading south to their next destination.

As recovery efforts were getting underway in the Texas harbor, the Wendigo fleet ran through a SotD patrol and began taking fire. One of the crew aboard the brig that I was hiding on was running around and making repairs. He spotted me in the ship's armor and attempted to route me out with sword and pistol. After taking a round of musket ball and black powder I elected to throw myself overboard and risk the sea. It was futile as I succumbed to my wounds and shortly died.

Upon arriving back at our harbor, the Texas Volunteers were already busy at the work of salvaging what could be had. Some gold had already been plundered or lost from the wreck of the San Jacinto, but most all other material was left to rest. The Galleon which we had framed only hours before was left undamaged save for a few hits to the shipyard itself. All other vessels of note were at the bottom and ready for plunder.

We lost the Dallas and the Riptide shipyards. However, a small yard and two large shipyards remain intact. We lost the Dallas, San Jacinto, Corpus Christi, Rockport and at the time of this writing, a recently acquired schooner claim was un-accounted for. I'm not sure if it made it back to our support base or if it was lost in the fray as well. We lost many crew. However several survived and were relocated to the crafting hall taming yard.

Of a humorous note, one of our fine captains put together a small salvage sloop for recovery efforts and was able to salvage the wreck of the Rockport which was beyond swimming distance from shore. But upon returning to the docks, the Recovery was also lost due to an unfortunate mishap which I witnessed first-hand when she ran up on the dock and lost her entire forward planking. It was quite the spectacle and a huge laugh was enjoyed by all.

For what it's worth, it was fun...but also somewhat discouraging to see the work of the last two weeks so easily destroyed by such a well practiced enemy. We have enjoyed some success in small skirmishes in nearby grids among other similarly sized groups...mostly fighting over resources and ship anchorages. But with this raid by a much larger group, the Texas Volunteers are looking to up our game.

Wish us luck in our endeavors. And join us next time for more adventures on the Texas frontier.

~Remember the Alamo!