5

Chapter 5 A Short Trip

The very very small silver lining of the trip was the fact that I wasn't prone to getting sea sick. That was pretty much it.

Sailing is a very slow very boring process. I had avoided it even in my past life. I've always been impatient and liked getting places quickly. There was a reason they called it a cruise.

I miss the convenience of modern technology. Fly to another city in a few hours. Hell, just have it shipped overnight and not have to leave at all.

The one good thing was I had plenty of time to think. I realize that there was no way I was ever going to be able to do everything I needed by myself. I was going to need help.

But first diamonds. I was not going to wait any longer than I had to for magic.

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Braavos was just as bustling and lively as I remembered. Pulling into the docks I take four guards with me. Then I head off to the market to buy some diamonds.

My Inventory has a very odd habit of adding material to objects I store until to fits a specific shape. It's obvious my powers don't care about conservation of matter. It's never more apparent when it comes to precious materials.

Gold is what I have the most experience with. Nuggets, as dropped by zombies from the portal, are crude wedge about six inches long. Nine of those can be crafted into an ingot. An ingot is a bar two feet long, a foot across and six inches high. What's even more absurd is nine of those can make a block which is a perfect cubic meter.

What's worse is that I had plenty of time to experiment on the trip. Hacking apart a block of gold into approximately the shape of a number of bars and then storing them works. Twenty seven ingots. That's how many I manage to convert my block into. I don't even need the portal for gold anymore.

What's worse is that I'm fairly certain I can do the same with iron or any other metals. All of a sudden metal might be one of my most abundant resources. It was insane.

Gemstones if anything, were worse. A gem needed to be about an inch across for my inventory to store it. The problem was my inventory doesn't use inch size gems. No it directly converts it into a gem over four inches across. And of course the block was just ridiculous. I'm fairly certain a diamond a meter across has never been seen before.

I don't stay in Braavos long. I had a spare thought of looking for my siblings, but there was really no point. I had no idea where they had sailed off to. They might not even be in the city.

My trip was productive. I ended it mostly just annoyed at myself though. I really should have realized how I could exploit my powers sooner. I also might have set up some gem merchant for life. After buying a few stones I found a store that specialized in selling stones. It was a smallish establishment. The larger ones seem to focus on jewelry.

I trades a small bag of my converted stones for enough samples to manufacture blocks of most gems. In the end I had to make a quick trip back to the ship. There were more types of gemstones than I had realized. He even had metal wire so I was able to get some new metal samples as well. I ended up building an large chest in my cabin to store them all.

In hindsight, openly buying large amounts of small easily transportable valuable items. In a world as lawless as this one I don't know why I never expected my own guards to turn on me.

They waited until well after dark. A short charge with a piece of timber smashed the door and they all rushed in. Despite the rumors and my demonstration they still saw me as just a kid. Idiots.

Normally they would just be stopped by the pillar of stone I set behind the door. This time I removed it. I could clearly see their preparations through my window. Just because I didn't have any lights doesn't mean anything. I have excellent night vision and more than enough time to prepare.

Raw materials weren't the only thing I bought in my trip. I now had recipes for a fairly decent array of weapons not to mention several types of armor. I had wasted no time crafting myself a set of gear. I could even cheat with it a little.

I don't seem to register discomfort. Heat, cold and other sensations are felt but they're muted and never enough to really bother me. As such I went with the maximum amount of protection without worrying about such things.

I now have a decent set of plate mail that I was wearing over a layer of chain and padding. It restricted my movements a little, but didn't slow me down any. I eventually want to have a custom set of layered armor designed, but this is plenty for now. With what I have I'm fairly confident I can slaughter the entire crew by myself if need be.

It may come to that too. I can clearly see most of the crew standing by and watching. I make sure to memorize their faces.

As soon as the door goes down I pull the lever. A dispenser sprays out arrows through the door. I have time to go back to the window and watch most of the guards cut down before it ends.

It's not a fight. Even the guards who aren't dead are wounded and demoralized. My new range of weapons also makes me insanely lethal.

I stab out with a long spear that flickers in and out of my hands. When one guard stumbles too close a greataxe lets me split him in half. Screams of demon fill the night as I finish off the last of them. I don't think the crew realized how pissed I was until I shot the first sailor.

Then the crew ran. Most went overboard to try to swim back shore. We haven't really sailed far, more pulled back to anchor off the docks. If I was worried about arrows they might have made it too.

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The next morning I go through the ship. Not all the crew died. Some hid and several just waited. I make sure to execute all the ones I recognized. Given the looks I doubt I'll have problems from the rest.

As annoying as it is, I have them head back to Braavos. With half the crew dead I need more sailors if I'm going to continue my trip. I'm pretty fed up with sailing by this point though. I'm definitely going to cut my trip short.

I spend way more than is prudent and don't really care. I buy breeding pairs of a large number of animals. I manage to find all the ones from the game that I care, mainly chickens, cows and sheep. I also buy a number of animals I'm willing to take a chance on such as ducks, geese and goats.

I even manage to pick up a bee hive. Thankfully, unlike the other animals, I can store an Apiary in my Inventory. Not quite sure why although I can store eggs as well. Maybe it has to be unthinking?

I pay to send a letter to Dorne. If they want the Mountain's head they can come get it. There was no way I was going to sail that far anytime soon.

I lucked out when hiring a blacksmith. I found one newly traveled from Qohor and looking to set up. Competition is fierce in a city this large and famous.

I bribe him outrageously to move to Lorath for a single year. It'll easily be enough to get him started when he returns. If he actually wants to leave at the end of a year.

I promise to pay him quite a bit for each project I have for him. I have so many ideas. Not to mention I need a way to break down blocks of iron into bars. I know it'll probably involve melting and casting and that's about it. I wouldn't mind keeping him working for me for decades.

The last thing I do is buy a small fishing boat. It isn't great, but it has more than enough room to transport my animals after I get to Lorath.

I don't bother hiring any guards. It's crowded enough on the ship with the animals. The blacksmith promises to take the next ship. I don't really blame him. If I trusted anyone else to ship the animals, I'd have them shipped separately as well.

It's fairly obvious people have heard about the rich kid on a ship without any guards. No less than three ships attack as soon as we leave the bay. The crew were scared, but they were much more frightened of me. They dropped anchor as ordered.

I waited until the first ship approached. It was smaller than the others and reminded me of a viking longboat. When it was less than a hundred feet away I firing. Didn't want to miss the first shot. It was historical, the first time gunpowder is used in naval warfare.

I laughed madly as it tore the front of the ship apart. The would be pirates, loaded down with weapons and armor, sank like stones. Less than a minute later I fire again obliterating the rest of the ship.

The other two ships start to turn around. It's too late. The ballista has a range of hundreds of yards. I only cripple the second ship before turning on the last. There was no way I was going to let them escape.

I don't even try to be conservative. I had stocked for a much longer trip and now there were piles of explosive ballista bolts just begging to be used. Long after all the ships were destroyed I keep firing.

I took to using them to snipe the few survivors who were trying to swim away. Even if I missed the explosion usually killed them.

The crew were properly terrified of me after that. The trip back was hard, but they were definitely motivated to get back.

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When we did get back I didn't waste any time. I had them start loading everything I cared about in my boat. I couldn't wait until I could sleep away from the animals. They were just so noisy.

I do visit Adalard briefly. I hand him a small bag of coins as soon as I see him. "I have a blacksmith arriving soon with his family. I want you to help him set up. Nothing fancy, but a little aid is appreciated."

He hefts the bag. "And the rest of my payment?"

I notice a number of men making their way closer. Really? "For?"

He sneers. "The ship. You promised to pay for repairs as well as protect the ship. Instead you kill half of my crew! I think a few gems would cover everything nicely."

Freaking spies. Even out here you can't escape them. Also, screw this. And him.

With only a pause my armor is equipped and I'm armed. He tries to protest, but the armed men surrounding us means I don't care. Even if he was just trying to intimidate me it's too far.

I stab him and draw my bow. The guards had hung back giving me time. I shoot two before they're too close. Summon a spear and brace and another impales himself.

I twist and lash out. My greataxe cleave through three guards. I can hear the squeal of metal and feel impacts, but my health is staying constant. I swing twice more before the rest start running.

Screw hiding. I need people to fear me.

I shoot another two I the back before the rest are gone. I don't hide it then I load all the bodies into my Inventory. I then march up to his family compound.

The gates are closed but one exploding ballista bolt takes care of them. Throwing them isn't very accurate, but it's not really a small target. Guards were behind the door judging by the pieces I find.

Another bolt destroys the front door. Once inside I ignore everyone running away. I don't care about killing them. This was a statement. I scatter all of the explosives I have and leave. The buildings here are just adobe and wood. The explosion levels the compound.

There was a delegation waiting for me at the docks. Between the sailor's tales and my demonstration they were finally taking me seriously. They wanted to talk about me plans.

I think I was pretty reasonable too. My plans were simple. I wanted to do some trading. No trying to cheat me. No assassinations. Or I kill everyone and try again. Oh and help the blacksmith setup shop when he arrives. Maybe move him into the compound I just cleared outs.

I thought I was being reasonable. They didn't. One of them even started screaming at me, which just gave me a headache. So I gave him one. With a spear.

That I think did it. They were suddenly all sickly polite and fake nice after that. God the people here suck.

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Setting up my new farm turns out to be very straightforward. I just built a large stone enclosure for all the animals. A set of irrigation ditches and some glowstone, instant self-contained farm. I fenced it off a bit mostly to limit overgrazing. Although bone meal should take care of that.

Sadly, breeding animals is not at all like the game. I can get them to mate, but I waited an hour and none of them gave birth. Even the chickens I hatched from eggs I stored acted real life chickens. Looks like the normal slow way it is.

This is going to set back my plans significantly. I need leather to make books. I need books to store the random enchantments. Without that everything becomes hideously expensive process of trial and error. Plus I need books to boost the power of the enchanting table.

I am now in the position of being able to enchant and not willing too. It's an annoying realization that I messed up. Really need to secure a source for leather now. Bone as well, that pile isn't going to last forever at the rate I'm using it.

What a second.

I vaguely remember seeing some old bibles with ivory covers. DnD also had metal covers. Hell modern books are something like wood and cloth. It shouldn't be too hard to get a recipe for something besides leather. Books are a bit rare right now though. I just need to find a large enough market.

Damn it. That means I need to go back to Braavos.

Before I do I need to figure out how to get everything I need. I'm not sure what an Arcane Workspace is, but it unlocked with the Enchanting Table and I'm eager to make one. Anything whose description includes the phrase 'your Targaryen birthright' is bound to be useful and powerful. The problem is it requires four blocks of dragon bone. I should also try to pick up something made from Valyrian Steel. The recipe for that material would be insanely valuable.

Several devices I have ideas for I might need to travel to Myr to have made. I should probably also wait for the blacksmith. No point buying anything he can just make.

Actually I might have an idea on how to obtain dragon bone blocks. Westeros has a set of dragon skulls that are currently just sitting in their storage rooms. King Robert also hates anything to do with dragons. He's also currently massively in debt.

It is really fortunate that gold is soft enough I can cut it myself. It's currently the only metal I can endlessly cut into ingots and convert back into blocks. It does mean I can afford to work through the Iron Bank though.

While I'm at it there are a few other resources I think I want. Weir wood doesn't rot, making it ideal for when I eventually build my own ships. Thinking about it there are several woods that I could use for craft or eventual trade. I might as well order cuttings or saplings from everything just in case.

Checking for any edible plants I missed might also be a good idea. You can never have too much variety. Oh, seasonings. Definitely need to get plants for that.

Thinking about resources has me realize there is a solution to my bone meal problem. I just need seashells. Hell, seaweed might also work. I remember seaweed wrappings being used on cuttings and mulch. And glass, but that's a whole other thing. Besides Crafting ignores lots of smaller material components for what I make.

Damn. Just realizing how many edible plants actually existed makes me tired. It's going to take forever to build farms for everything I want.

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It takes less than a week for the blacksmith to arrive. I also found out his name. I was glad Locke Cason didn't take any offense to that. He was more than eager to get settled and start working. He had apparently used much of the gold I gave him to purchase tools, most of which I didn't recognize.

The first order I placed with him was the most important. I needed a fairly compact furnace in which to melt or cut down a block of metal into separate ingots. Obviously I couldn't give him much metal, but I did leave him a single block so he knows what he's working with.

Patience is not my strongest suit. To speed things up I paid for a number of helpers to aid him than arranged for him to take two apprentices. It wasn't hard. Even in place as small as Lorath there are poor and homeless people. All of them were more than happy to have work.

Another arrival proved just as beneficial for me as the blacksmith. A leviathan was caught. It's a fairly common occurrence, but I had never been actually present for the event. Seeing the giant whale being butchered was an interesting sight. It also gave me an idea.

I already knew the bones were discarded. What I didn't know was that most of the skin along with the organs were as well. It seems the meat wasn't valued either. During the processing the poor clustered around and helped out with fetching and loading. In return they were allowed to take as much of the meat as they wanted.

I hadn't realized there were that many poor in Lorath. If people were desperate enough to work for food than I could use a few of them. Seeing them living inside one of the warehouses explained it.

Free shelter and worthless meat was an incredibly cheap price for workers. Since processing a whale doesn't need steady or skilled help it was an ingenious solution. A few guards were there but overall no one seemed willing to lose their position.

I flipped a gold coin to one of the guards to leave me alone as all this was going on. Besides the workers, the skin could be perfect for me. A bit of testing with the discarded materials and I had to control my reaction. No sense giving away how valuable this was to me.

A square about a meter per side converted into a piece of leather in my Inventory. Anything smaller yielded a small hide instead. Small hides only could be converted into normal hide so smaller pieces were definitely not as valuable. Anything less than a square foot just didn't convert.

With these findings it was with great excitement that I arranged to collect all that lovely unwanted skin for myself. Truthfully it was pretty easy. The merchants as a collective share the cost of the warehouse since they all make use of it. I merely paid a fair share of upkeep and had to make a deal with some of the people sheltered there.

Sure they tried to have me buy the skin. A summoned spear through the throat stopped any talk of that though. It also made me laugh to be able to ask him "You were saying?" after stabbing him. No one else laughed. I think my sense of humor is going off. I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have found that funny even a few weeks ago.

I patiently explain they aren't losing anything and in fact are saving some money since I'm going to help pay for the warehouse. After that they might have even given to me for free, but I wouldn't have it. No use cheating them and making enemies after all. Well more enemies.

They all rush to agree and just like that, I had my own source of leather. I promptly drop off several thousand gold coins and declare my share paid for the next ten years. I already calculated it and it was more than enough. Hopefully that stops them from bothering me.

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I find a fairly desperate poor family to hire. Matilda Barnes lost her husband a year ago. Without anyone to provide for them her and her two kids were soon homeless. Frankly I was surprised they were both still alive.

For a moment I wonder if how similar their ages are to my own siblings might have played a part in their selection. It still makes great motivation though. I explain the deal.

If any leviathans or whales are butchered, they don't work for meat. Instead they help skin it and cut it into chunks. They store it in the shed I made. Every week I'm going to drop by. I'm going to collect the skin and drop off food. I'll drop off food even if there isn't any skin so they damn well better make sure they help skin every whale that shows up.

I then show them the storage shed I made. It's a standard minecraft building, walls three feet thick. Simple. To keep the smell down I actually built a basement for actual storage. Distance and multiple door should help keep it down.

I was surprised when she asked if they could live in on the ground floor. It's kind of empty and is going to smell horrible but I don't really have any problems. Hell, this might work out better.

I don't want to really give them anything that'll make them a target but some cloth should be fine. I don't have any wool, but I do have plenty of silk and leather. I drop off a small pile of each. That should let them survive the cold nights.

I really need to set up some kind of signal between the islands. Maybe I can build a second floor to house some ravens?