Three Questions - Ships, Love, and Learning

Sunless Sea
1

Hello!

So this game has devoured large chunks of my life over the last two days. Delightful, yes, but also inconvenient.

Three things!

First, my poor ship seems to be worthless.

I have marked down here what the ship-master in London told me. Completely worthless. Without trade-in value of any kind. In fact, when I went to talk to them about this they closed the door in my face, and then watched me fearfully through the window until I went away.

See?

I feel rather slighted. She’s a bit old yes, and there was that thing with the shark last year, but we pulled all the teeth out and you can hardly see the holes under the new coat of paint!

I paid quite a few echoes for her and I named her and everything. But nobody will pay me anything for her. I wonder if it’s got something to do with the fact that, paranoid zailor that I am, I removed all of my gear from my old boat (engine, guns, rat-launcher) before buying this new (old) one. I feel like a function failed somewhere silently in the depths of the code while trying to transfer my engines.

I do not blame the code for this. My engines are heavy and speak to me sometimes, at night.

Are purchased ships supposed to be valueless?

QUESTION THE SECOND!

After slogging all over the zee, and trading many secrets to the skinflint Irenese traders to save her, the Indomitable Campaigner has finally returned my affections. We had an entertaining time together on the way home from the Khanate some weeks ago, but now she snubs me, only smiling faintly when I approach. Is there something I must do to regain her affections?

Judging by the way things have gone thus far, I must assume it will require the egg of a phoenix, the teeth from a toad, and the nose-hairs of a giant.

Worth it though. Totally worth it.

THIRD THING AND LAST

I have not found many opportunities for book learning during my time at zee. While I have learned to spy, and learned to fight, I haven’t learned any… you know… actual learning. In fact, from writing all of those reports about the republic, I find that many of my old memories of school have been replaced with colourful pictures of ants wearing shiny top-hats and cocktail dresses. The pictures are nice, and I am quite partial to both top-hats AND cocktail dresses, but I would like to raise my Pages in something like a sort of regular manner.

I have quite a few secrets to trade, but I have no teacher. Does anyone know a consistent way to raise Pages? I had a surgeon who used to help with that, but he decided to go live on a giant dead turtle, as surgeons so often do.

So it goes.

Yours (though not actually yours, and this should not be considered a binding contract in any way),

Ms. Begotten 
Captain of the Salacia
2

Dear Ms. Begotten,

Thank you for writing in, and I am very glad to hear you have been having wonderful travels around the Zee.

The men at the docks are absolute skin-flints when it comes to buying vessels. They &quotgraciously&quot waive the taxes and fees on your new vessel, but otherwise figure you will be pleased to simply be rid of the old thing. Then they will turn around and re-sell the old thing at full value, as though it were fresh from the factory! You might be able to wrangle a few thousand echoes out of them for a Dreadnought, but otherwise they won’t give you a penny for any of your trade-ins. (OOC: this is probably to avoid people trading down to a tiny ship to maximize their &quotcash on hand&quot when they retire a captain).

You may find that even the most Indomitable of your crew are sometimes prone to moments of weakness, where the fires of their souls will soften their hearts and open their bodies to you. Such moments on the Zee are few and far between - a lover in port is a much more reliable thing than the occasional fanciful fling at Zee … but the flings will always linger in my memory. Even after they disappear down the Wicket.

Book-learning is not a skill widely praised among Zee-captains. They tend to be men (and women, and … others) of action, not of words. You will find a precious few locations in your travels where you have a chance to exercise that head muscle of yours - at chess, when asking people about their history, when observing events rare and mysterious. Your wits will remain largely those you are born with or that otherwise arise from your past employ, for better or worse.

Your Correspondent,

Zee!
edited by Zee! on 2/9/2015

3

Dear Zee,

Thank you for your kind words.

Perhaps I wouldn’t have turned those scallywag anarchists into the dour gentlemen in black coats had I known about the shipyards. The rascals. And they call me a pirate!

I will be writing a sternly worded letter. Assuming I can remember how to do so, and whom to send it too. I imagine there are people for that. Complaints and so-forth.

General protests.

Regarding the object of mine affection, none more need be said. Time heals all wounds, even, apparently, moderate levels of soul-immolation.

I will have to see about funding a school for wayward zee captains. This rampant illiteracy and… uh… other bad stuff to do with not knowing things cannot stand!

Yours (though again, not really!)
Ms. Begotten
The Salacia
The Zee

4

The Surgeon is a rum old cove - the only Officer who trains in Pages, -and- he has double the skill of the rest of his rank. It’s useful of him, no doubt, but peculiar.

5

I’ll write OOC here… When you succeed in a challenge, car you skill raises a bit? I’m not certain of that.

6

You don’t consistently raise skills through using them, like in Fallen London - but, some challenges do have stat raises as rewards. It depends on the individual story.

7

oh ok, good to know then. Thanks!

8

Do not anger the gods, occasionally you get the option to pray to them and Salt will help regain your memory and knowledge and to see things more clearly.