The Ships of Gold
"The average person hears tales about the Ship of Gold and its route along the inner coast. Tales about the exorbitant price, the exquisite service and decadent offerings to satisfy any base desire you could ask for. I'll tell you true, those tales aren't quite true and at the same time don't quite do it justice."
General Description
The Ships of Gold are three ships which have been given woven-gold sails and plenty of gilding along the hull and decks. The vessels themselves are of remarkable size, built as passenger ships with an eye towards luxury. As such there are enough crew to handle most problems which could happen during the voyage, and enough space in the hold to keep the ship provisioned for at least two moons should it be necessary to ration food and fresh water. There are more than a couple enchantments placed on the ship itself to deaden noise between passenger cabins, to make privacy more possible than normal.The route is almost always the same, taking two moons to complete and using two days at each stop to resupply and rotate crew if needed. The ship begins at the Sebile port of Salchall and moves north along the coastline to Kingsport near Eva Valoria, before turning east to put in at Daltan, and finishing the journey at Gilderun. The distinctive hull and sails make it easy to find by pirates on the seas, yet they mostly avoid attacking the Ships of Gold due to past events suggesting those actions will end poorly for all involved.
Currently, the route has been a little slower than usual, and expenses have risen quite a bit. This doesn't bother the sort who book passage on this route, as they tend to favor the spectacle over the speed.
History
During the heyday of the Rhyliss Empire's expansion, there was a retired adventurer by the name of Ryleah Pentos who had spent a good deal of time at sea and grown fond of the experience. As such they met with a shipwright who had always been looking for a aesthetic challenge and told them to design a golden ship. Since gold is not very useful to make a ship out of, and magic to make it possible would prove prohibitively expensive, the shipwright chose to go for a type of wood which would mimic gold while working out a way to weave gold thread into canvas sails to appear golden as opposed to being actual gold. After the ship was built, the retired adventurer spent a small fortune ensuring the minor details were as close to perfect as she could manage; she also took care to ensure there were enchantments to help the crew and passengers escape and survive at seain the worst case scenario.On the maiden voyage, Ryleah went along with the ship to keep a close eye on things and give the routine a check without a full compliment of passengers. Pirates spotted the ship and attempted to board only to find themselves facing an adventurer who had made a career out of hunting pirates. After being left in a small boat and told to spread the word the golden ships were off limits, Ryleah knew it would be a matter of time before someone else would be eager to try. As such, she ensured the next few voyages had Imperial Battlemages on board and likewise instructed them to give no quarter. There were always survivors, however, to spread the tale of the golden ships and how to attack one was to invite destruction.
After Ryleah passed away, the next master of the business turned the attention to building a second ship and sub-sequentially doubled the price of a ticket for one season with a push for more prestigious minstrel acts and offerings during the journey. A few more times during this period had pirate action, but when those occurred there was often very swift and complete reprisal which resulted in many pirate havens being left burning by the Imperial Navy as a warning.
Currently the Mistress of the Ships is Galena Forwin, a half-elf minstrel who bought the business ten years ago and used her connections with other wandering entertainers to improve the experience on the route. There are rumors she is looking to start up a second route along the western coast, though the expense to start it would prove considerable.
Class
Nickname
The Ship of Fools
Motto
"The Greatest Acts on the Seas"
Price
1,200 gold per passenger
Complement / Crew
24 Crew
Cargo & Passenger Capacity
16 Passengers
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