786 Chapter 786 At the Docks
Once Marcus and Mrazivý had separated from Lilia, Alaric, James, Fallon, Ardea, and Jaela, they activated their disguises.
In an instant both of their very noticeable and rare hair colors changed to being more common shades with Marcus’ turning black, and Mrazivý’s turning brown.
Along with changing their hair color Marcus placed some colored contacts to hide his purple eyes and Mrazivý put on a pair of glasses that were enchanted to make her face less rememberable.
They were traveling as a pair of rich adventures rather than as royalty and wanted to make sure that no one recognized them.
pA n,dan0vel.c0m “Still, to think that you could scam the adventurers guild so easily to get us these new cards.” Mrazivý said as she held up a gold rank card.
Using his False Status unique skill and his ability to transform into multiple different forms Marcus had simply gone into the guild and applied as two new people.
He even got fake identification papers made for them in the same way and set both of their levels in the low fifties.
This plus a display to the guild master of one of the branches in Borealia was enough to immediately get them gold rank and the fake credentials they needed.
“Yeah well, I doubt many others could do the same. Without a skill that can fool appraisal items it would be impossible to get multiple different IDs.”
“But why did you keep your name the same and have me listed as Mraz which is my nickname. What if people figure us out because of it?” Mrazivý said as she scrutinized the details of the fact Id Marcus had made for her.
“Frankly I did it because I did not want us to have to worry about memorizing fake names. We are going to be using these identities for a while and it is pretty likely we would slip up at some point. So, I figured it would be best if we just stuck to what we are used to being called. Anyway, it is not like I am the only Marcus in the world and only those that are close to you call you Mraz.” Marcus said, giving his reasoning.
Shrugging her shoulders, Mrazivý accepted it, but still believed that they could have gotten away with fake names.
Nearly an hour later, after leisurely walking to their destination, they arrived at the impressive docks that Loursend was known for.
It was easily the largest port in Borealia and the only one deep enough to accommodate massive trading vessels.
Among those that were currently docked were many different types from all manner of nations.
Some of the ships looked like galleons Marcus had seen in movies or historical depictions back on Earth.
Each one looking impressive with their billowing sails and stunning wood that seemed to shine.
Many of them were actually far bigger than Marcus would have expected, and the mana cannons on them were quite menacing.
It was clear from just a few glances that these ships were built sturdily and had far more protections than the trading vessels back on Earth did. And this was certainly because the oceans on Mirrion were filled with monsters and magical beasts that could easily destroy an unprotected vessel.
“Oh, look Marcus, it is the bronze trading fleet of Triveneian Kingdom!” Mrazivý said excitedly.
Following where her finger was pointing Marcus saw a dozen large vessels that all had gleaming bronze hulls.
At first Marcus thought that this was quite odd. He certainly expected there to be metal vessels but figured that they would be made of steel like how it was on earth.
In fact, he could not recall every hearing or reading about a ship that used bronze as its hull. Which he figured had to do for a number of reasons with one being how heavy bronze was.
However, when he asked Mrazivý about it, the answer was actually pretty obvious, and he should have figured it out without her help.
“Hm, why would you use steel? It barely conducts mana at all and can fracture pretty easily if you run too much through it. Most metal ships are made out of bronze for its high mana conductivity.”
Hearing something he already knew well, Marcus wanted to slap himself in the face.
While on Earth a bronze ship may have been impractical, on Mirrion where there was magic, it made far more since to use a metal that could be easily enchanted for better protection and many other added effects like anti corrosion. A steel ship without any magic protections would likely be destroyed easily out on the open ocean.
“Okay, I understand. It seems that my common sense from my old world was at odds with this world’s.” Marcus said.
He then explained how modern ships were made in his world and Mrazivý listened with sparkling eyes.
“Yes, without magic and no monsters or magic beasts in the ocean it makes since that you would use steel instead.” Mrazivý said once she understood the differences between their two worlds.
“Moving on from our discussion about ships, you mentioned a Triveneian Kingdom. Would you mind telling me who they are?” Marcus asked, not knowing much about the world at large.
“Sure, they are our biggest trading partner on the continent to the west of here. I am sure you have noticed that we import a lot of our food, especially fruits and vegetables. Triveneian is where we get a majority of those goods since they are a tropical nation that is warm most of the year. Unlike here in Borealia.” Mrazivý explained.
She then went on to talk about how their bronze trading fleet was famous for having several hundreds of ships in it and that the trading company that owned them was backed by the royal family of Triveneian.
“It sounds like an interesting place. We will have to stop by some day.”
Nodding her head, Mrazivý was certainly onboard with the idea, and even suggested that they could slip from the ship they were about to get on for a couple of days and check it out.
“Sure, if we get bored and have the time. Though I feel like just a couple of days might not be enough for us to really experience what an entire kingdom has.”
While they were making impromptu plans to visit a destination they had not even thought about before, they continued walking down the dock towards the ship they would be boarding.
Yet when they saw what it was, they both stopped and stared out in amazement.
“I know we already got a description of it, but it is far grander than I was expecting.” Mrazivý said with an awed expression on her face.
And Marcus was right with her, as he looked at the massive mithril ship in front of them.
Of all the vessels that were currently docked, it was the largest and only one that was made of mithril.
The light blue metal was incredibly striking, and it even made the bronze ships they saw earlier look like dinghies.
For a compassion, Marcus liked it to the cruise ships that were fairly popular back on Earth, and that was a fairly apt description.
It was a vessel that only catered to wealthy clientele and the cost of the passage Marcus and Mrazivý booked cost them twenty thousand cold coins a piece. And they had not gotten even close to the most expensive accommodations.
“I cannot imagine how much it must have taken to build this thing. In terms of both cost and manpower.” Marcus said in almost a daze.
He was trying to calculate about how much mithril it would take to make a ship this large and the number of people that would be necessary to make it.
“Do you think that you could create something like this?” Mrazivý asked Marcus.
While his skills as a forgemaster were primarily used to make weapons, armor, and other accessories, it would not be impossible for him to learn how to make a ship so long as its hull was metal.
“Maybe if I had the help of the entire Blazegram Forge and a well-equipped shipyard I could figure it out. But that of course would only be for the hull and adding certain magical enchantments. For things like the interior and such, I would have to have other craftsmen and artisans help me. Also, just obtaining the amount of mithril would be a struggle in of itself. I can imagine it would take several years just get the necessary materials to build a ship like that.”
“Oh, so you could do it though. Maybe in the future I might want a mithril ship of my own.” Mrazivý said jokingly.
However, Marcus grimaced at this. While she might have been joking now, he could see a future years from now where she decided she really did want him to build one.
Once they had finished admiring the ship, they headed on over to the building where people were waiting for boarding.
Normally there would not be an entire structure just for the boarding process, but as only those that were rich could afford to book passage on this ship, all manner of extra comforts were added to every aspect.
“Identification and tickets.” A guard standing outside the building said to Marcus and Mrazivý as they approached.
The security was pretty tight, and they were making sure that no unauthorized individuals got onboard.
Thankfully, once they handed over what the guard wanted, and he did a few checks, they were free to enter the building and wait to board.
“And just a friendly piece of advice. There are a number of nobles waiting and already onboard that we picked up at previous stops. Just make sure to stay out of their way the best you can. Most of them are fine and have good manners, but there are always a few that look down on commoners.” The guard said to Marcus and Mrazivý.
Naturally, their fake identities had them listed as commoners so that their royal status would not cause them any unwanted attention.
“Thanks. We already planned to steer clear of them.” Mrazivý said before leading Marcus into the waiting area.
When they got inside they found that there were already several dozen people waiting to board.
“Looks like the disguises were a good idea. I recognize a few of the nobles here.” Mrazivý said as they scanned the area.
Luckily no one that they could even consider acquaintances were among those boarding, and no one gave them so much as a second glance thanks to their disguises.
“Wow, everyone certainly does have an entourage with them.” Marcus said as he examined the other passengers.
“Yeah, it is normal for wealthy merchants or nobles to have servants with them on trips. I am sure we look like oddballs for not having anyone with us.”
The two of them continued to wait for nearly a half hour, before a number of well dress men and women came out from the entrance that would lead to the ship.
“Hello and good day to you all. I am captain Desmond Jissen, the commanding officer of the Ascension. One of the Chelmer Resort’s three luxury mithril ships. Please allow me to apologize for the wait and welcome you all of you abord my esteemed vessel.”
After giving this brief greeting, the captain began explaining the rules of his ship and the order in which they would be boarding
To start the nobles with the highest status, along with those accompanying them got on first, and so on down the line.
In the end Marcus and Mrazivý were the last to get on. Yet, as they moved to board, the captain stopped them.
“I had heard we had two high level adventures joining us as guests this time around and I can tell by the way that you hold yourself that you are both very strong. However, as you are guests, please do not decide to take anything into your own hands should anything happen. We already have our own guards and hired adventures to act as security and I can assure you that this ship is well defended.” The captain said, wanting to make it clear that Marcus and Mrazivý should not get involved if the ship comes under attack.
“That will be no problem. We came here to have a relaxing time and get away from fighting. We will make sure to leave the protection of this ship in your capable hands.” Marcus said.
With his message having gotten across, the captain stood aside and welcomed them onboard the Ascension.
Soon they were led to the top of the deck with a magic elevator and could finally see what the interior of the ship looked like.
‘Wow it really is quite impressive. Albeit a bit gaudy.’ Marcus thought as he scanned the area.
The ship was certainly not made practically and was definitely of a luxurious design.
There was a large pool on the deck where people lounged around and the first structure that they could see was a casino.
This only went to further Marcus’ comparison of this vessel being like a cruise ship. To the point that he believed someone from Earth may have actually designed it.