[TXS] Texas Republic - Episode 2 -Wendigo Comes Again

[[Free Republic of Texas] 2]

NOTE: Originally posted on Reddit on May 30, 2019, Edited

 

A little info about us:

Since the wipe, the Republic of Texas has been doing what we normally do...building up bases and outposts, trading with neighbors and nearby islands, and trying to keep our ships afloat. In the larger scheme of things we have realized that our little island is pretty quiet....we have visitors come and go without incident almost daily. Texas is a friendly place and we welcome visitors.

If you care to visit, I suggest you keep to the north-eastern shoreline which is away from our harbor. And while you are on excursion, most areas east of the lighthouse are safe for all visitors. With that being said, we have now been raided twice by our good friends, Wendigo. And by their actions we have had to install base and harbor defenses which are always on alert.

And now comes the second installment of our experience with the wayward Wendigoans.

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Our mostly quiet region of F10 usually exhibits few more than a dozen active sailors at a time. So imagine my concern when we began receiving reports of multiple sailors entering the region....again and again...more coming...and more.

The population rose to over 34 men at arms over the span of a few minutes...and talk began to spread of our westerly neighbors, the Wendigoans, seeking adventure and sport on the high seas. They seemed intent on seeking out ships flying the flag of our neighbors, YT, and attempted to call them out to a fight but either the YT company was out of region or they were nowhere to be found.

We Texians realized quickly that hostilities were coming to our shores like it or not and our minds were set and focused on our motto -- Don't Mess With Texas or Come And Take It. Your choice.

We set about to make ready our harbor ships at anchor and we manned the mortars. I stood lookout on the High Guard peak and began scoping the horizon for sails while others prepared the lower mortars.

Negotiations took a sour turn when the Wendigoans located an unmanned YT vessel at anchor on our southern island. I didn't know it was there, nor do I care. We have sought safe harbor during peace time at every island in our region from time to time, so it just seems neighborly to us that others would do the same. But the Wayward Wendigoans were looking for a fight and with YT laying low and our friends, the Hippies, in absence...that left Texas as the only means at their disposal to rid their cannons of their blue cannon balls.

They used the unmanned YT ship as their reasoning for bringing the fight to our shores....if we were allied with YT then we were the crazy ones. My assurances that we leave YT to fight their own battles and we only concern ourselves with ours fell on ignorant ears. Even word from Jazz Cabbage vouching for our Texas hospitality went ignored.

Then they accused us of allying with CSTG....to which I had to verify our company records that they were NOT floating somewhere in the lists. Seeing as how we are only cursory members of two regional alliances, CSTG was not shown or indicated, and our pre-wipe membership with the Federation of SCA would have meant nothing to the ship captains making sail for the Texas coast at that moment...so I didn't bother to explain our history and heritage.

Ultimately, the only company that has shown us any hostility has been Wendigo itself...and since they appeared to be hellbent on shooting at something or someone regardless of affiliation or peaceful intent, we Texians resigned ourselves to the second half of our motto and agreed on comms -- Let them Come and Take It!

As expected, sails appeared outside our harbor, a solo brig flying Wendigo colors with two speed sails and a handler. She brought up and heeled to as she found what was waiting for her....the Texas harbor was not so lightly defended as it was last time. She circled outside of cannon and mortar range...dipping in and out of view at the farthest my spyglass could see from the High Guard. Our harbormen reported her movements as she went off our southern point and lied in wait.

Shortly, a second brig arrived, masted with 3 speeds, and approached hugging the cliffs of our northern point....she dropped sail just as she was about to enter the firing arc of our harbor tower. I reported to our crews to standby...watch for foot soldiers and listen out for puckle fire! I assumed that a smart captain would have put a man ashore to scout for weaknesses in our defenses...but apparently I was wrong.

The 3-speed Wendigo brig made for a slow sail as she rounded the point. She fired on our northern-most large shipyard and I could see cannon balls being exchanged through my spyglass. The harbor crews reported the shipyard destroyed after only 2 or 3 volleys! 300,000 hitpoints gone without our cannons making a dent in the Wendigo brig's armor! Amazing!

As the brig passed our harbor, the handler brig that had being laying off the southern point had approached within firing range. Her broadsides began flying into the harbor and ripping through masts and rigging! Our ship crews stood their ground and every cannon in the harbor fired as the two vessels crossed and came to bear....I was regretting my decision to be perched on High Guard with all the fireworks taking place down below but the Texas harbormen were reporting the action and I could hear the cannons bellowing in the background and I could see the muzzle flash light up the rigging and walls of the harbor!

At about that moment, I heard the only shot that I heard during the entire battle from so high on top of our High Guard peak. "What was that??," I wondered.

One of my captains had landed a mortar shot on the brigs as they crossed and was reporting fire and sparks on the offending vessel! It's a small victory to land one solid hit against a much stronger foe and we Texians enjoy our small victories! At that point I lept off the platform of High Guard and began sprinting down the cliff face....I was obviously missing all the damn fun!

But as I descended High Guard using grapple and gravity, the Wendigo ships pulled out away from the harbor and our guns fell silent. Everything fell silent. The elephants and crows meandered along our harbor street as if nothing of import had occurred. I joined my fellow Texians at the harbor...

"Was that it? Where'd they go?"

"We lost the shipyard. Anything else?"

"Not that I can see."

It was then that the crew of the schooner, IH8Rocks, began shouting and yelling as she sank unceremoniously near the mouth of the harbor! "Damage crews! To the ships!" Damn our ignorance....we had forgotten that a ship sinking makes no sound until it's too late so we split up and began boarding our ships and making repairs!

The galleon, Alamo, was struck hard, her bow facing the open harbor entrance had sustained heavy damage and several planks were completely gone, her bilge already full of water and her lower deck awash!

The brig, Davy Crockett, was also taking on water...one plank missing and several leaks!

We scurried about the ships and tended them like bees tending honey....repair hammers in-hand and rummaging through caches of spare planks and wood!

I was not able to locate the Alamo emergency box...and as her lower decks became flooded I was grateful for having spent the time to learn to hold my breath for extended periods. I finally climbed above deck and jumped over the side to swim to the next galleon, the San Antonio. I was familiar with her layout and knew where to find supplies.

With replacement planks in-hand, I dove back into the shark-infested harbor and swam alongside the Alamo...dropping planks in place as I went. With only her last remaining deck above water, we plugged all the holes and she began to rise again! Saved!

We gathered on her deck as the water was pumped out and took stock of our losses:

A large shipyard and a plundered schooner with no cargo or cannons aboard. We also lost one of our harbor walls and the four cannons perched upon its ramparts. The four gun crew and the solitary deckhand from the schooner were all saved and assigned new duties.

We all agreed it could have been much, much worse...and that we need more mortars around our harbor!

After the frenzy of repairs, the salvage operations began. The shipyard was replaced and the schooner Loot and Schootnerwas backed up closer to the shoreline away from the exposed harbor entrance. We exchanged pleasantries with the Wendigo captains and acknowledged that their mythic and legendary cannons had been well demonstrated. They were reluctant to accept offers of trade for some of them however, advising us to go out and find our own. They did offer to come back and rid us of our harbor defense tower since it seemed to block the firing arc of our mortar so well.

That was mighty neighborly of them to offer.

Just a thought I would like to opine...when ballista can be armed with ship harpoons...drive-by broadsides on harbors may become a very costly hobby. I saw how much damage those brigs took in a single pass of our harbor....and I would not have made a second pass either.

Good fight, Wendigo. See you next time!