Anchor Profits End
by Bberke

For months, the ship captains of Medievia have been reaping huge rewards by anchoring their ships in hazardous waters and killing small serpents with dartflingers at a pace far superior to any other method available. Not only was this a more effective method of serpenting, but it also required less skill to master. The riches that could be so easily made by such an unskilled and low risk pursuit became an issue of intense controversy among the citizens of Medievia.

This method of serpenting has recently reached a crescendo. So many medium and small serpents were being killed in the same areas that it was common for the ocean in these areas to be literally covered with serpent meat Some captains were bringing in thirty million gold in profits an hour, while other captains brought in even more. It had become the accepted way for serpent hunters become rich.

Another reason for this method being so effective was that it was so easy to pull off. Two ships could be anchored perpendicularly to each other, so that they never had to turn either ship and always had a good shot at any serpent. Captains could freely move about, just firing guns themselves as necessary and not having to worry about the steering the ship. Some clans even anchored more ships into a single anchor formation, turning the art of captaining into a contest to see whoever could just fire off all their guns as quickly as possible, without having to be concerned about being rammed.

The shift in the economy and in the art of shipping began to stir controversy in the realm.There were cries from those who abhorred the shipping profession that too much gold was being made. Those ship captains who treasured the art of captaining also frowned upon the killing grounds the ocean had become. Still, the large amounts of gold that could be made appeared to drown out the dissenters.

Only a few days after one of the largest serpent slaughters in the history of Medievia, the serpent population suddenly adapted. Eight hundred million gold in pure profits had been made in a single day, well over a billion gold gross. Suddenly baby serpents began ramming any anchored ship they encountered in safe or hazardous waters. No ship could remain anchored without eventually taking tremendous damage. The baby serpents used the anchor lines as guides to destroy the ships without ever surfacing. Now ship profits have decreased substantially, allowing some semblance of balance to be restored to the blood-soaked waters.