Even ghosts were once members of the real world. No matter how terrifying the Homelander that fell into the Warp a century ago is now, it is a ship built by craftsmen in the real world, just like Captain Duncan, who was once a human being before he turned into a shadow in the Warp.
For ordinary sailors, everything related to the Lost Homeland is bound to be shrouded in a veil of "curse" and "weirdness", as if the terrifying ghost captain was a creation directly born from the subspace. No one would think about whether a natural disaster wandering on the vast ocean has any personal likes and dislikes, or whether he has any interpersonal relationships. In the minds of many people, "Captain Duncan" is even like a symbolic natural phenomenon - it only needs to exist, and there is no need to trace its origin.
Fear built a high wall in the hearts of mortals, making them subconsciously not think about what details are on the other side of the wall.
But as an inquisitor who specializes in fighting this kind of fear, Vanna knows how to distinguish the true parts from a series of legends, exaggerations, and nonsense.
The terrible captain of the Lost Homeland... When he was still a human, before the incident on the Thirteen Islands of Veseland, he also had his own close friends and family members, and he also had loyal sailors and adjutants under him. He also needed to go to the port to maintain supplies and deal with the city-state authorities.
He couldn't have been born a moving disaster.
Captain Duncan had two children, Tirian Abnomer, his eldest son, and Lucretia Abnomer, his daughter, who are still alive.
It is said that some curse has prolonged their lifespans, allowing the two captains to wander the world immortally like their monstrous father.
The two captains each commanded a powerful ship and had been wandering on the edge of the civilized world for a long time. Their relations with all city-states were cold and even vaguely antagonistic, so much so that many people could not even imagine that Captain Duncan had a pair of children alive in the world. Only a few people who were familiar with history and rational enough knew about their affairs.
On the other hand, despite the cold relations with the various city-states, these two captains are at least on the side of humanity - the terrible curse of the Lost Homeland did not make them follow in Captain Duncan's footsteps.
The Radiant Star is a powerful pioneer exploration vessel commanded by Lady Lucrecia Abnomer, a lady who is passionate about exploring the limits of the world. It is said that she has reached the very edge of the known world and witnessed wonders that are unimaginable to the world.
No one knows what she is looking for at the edge of the world, but on rare occasions, she will send messengers to visit the Explorers' Guild of certain city-states and tell the world some of the knowledge she has discovered along the way - this only friendly contact is proof that she is still on the side of mankind.
It is said that the Explorers' Guild of Cold Harbor even awarded this mysterious lady a medal of honorary membership, but no one knows whether she accepted this... "honor".
Tirian Abnomar is a person who is "closer" to the human world than his sister, but more dangerous. More than half a century ago, he served in the Frost City-State in the northern seas, and now he is the most powerful pirate captain in the cold seas.
This moody captain controls nearly half of the main shipping routes in the Frigid Sea, with the Sea Mist as his flagship and more than a dozen warships fighting for him. In fact, he has become a semi-official force in the Frigid Sea besides Cold Harbor and Frost. The islands he occupies have also developed to the point where they can compete with city-states, which has clearly exceeded the concept of a "pirate group."
As to how Captain Tirian went from being a general under the Frost Queen to becoming a pirate leader, people have different opinions -
Some people say that he was the mastermind of the Frost Rebellion half a century ago and the one who personally pushed the Frost Queen to the guillotine. After that, he plundered the city-state's wealth and established a powerful pirate group.
Another theory is quite the opposite: a few scholars believe that Tirian Abnomar fought for the queen until the last moment during the Frost Rebellion, and that he eventually became a pirate and frequently attacked ships between Frost and Cold Harbor because he was disheartened and obsessed with revenge for the queen.
Vanna didn't know how much truth and how much falsehood there were in these chaotic speculations of the world. Considering the personalities of the two captains, they probably had no interest in explaining their own affairs to the world. But one thing was certain: the reappearance of the Lost Hometown was definitely a major event that they needed to pay attention to, and even to be vigilant and prepared for.
After all, these siblings had betrayed the Homelander with their respective ships over a century ago - and now, their enraged father has returned from the Warp.
Of course, as Dante Wayne said, this is just a backup card - it would be better if it could be used, but you can't put your hopes on this card.
What you can truly count on is your own strength.
…
When the bell tower of the neighborhood church rang, the whistle with a special rhythm also broke the silence of the night, and the city that had been silent all night gradually woke up.
The sunlight was gradually spreading along the distant buildings. The "Creation of the World" in the sky gradually faded and disappeared in the sunlight. The sounds of cars and pedestrians came from the streets. This city surrounded by the boundless sea experienced another night and safely welcomed the sunrise.
Nina got up early and prepared breakfast. The aroma of mushroom sauce and toast helped Duncan dispel the sleepiness of this human body in the early morning. Listening to the bicycle bells coming from the street outside, he suddenly said, "Do you want a bicycle?"
"Bicycle?" Nina was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand, "That's too expensive... and I can't use it."
"It will be more convenient to go to school," Duncan said. "Don't worry about the money. I will find a way."
He thought about this problem seriously - although this antique shop didn't look very good, judging from the stacking and rotation of goods in the warehouse and the cash stored in the store, it should actually have stable sales on weekdays, and it should be more than enough to support at least two people.
Nina's current difficult life is entirely due to the fact that her uncle donated more than half of his family fortune to the cult, and most of the remaining money was squandered on liquor, casinos and drugs.
Now that this decadent life has come to an end, after the huge wasteful expenses have been blocked, he doesn't have to do anything else. All he needs to do is maintain the normal business of the store so that Nina can live a better life than before.
Of course, he didn't know how to run a store, and the few supply channels he knew about were a little vague, but... he could get used to it slowly.
The most important thing is to make Nina feel at ease and get used to the fact that her "uncle" has become reliable again.
Nina lowered her head and nibbled on the hardened bread. After a while, she repeated, "That's expensive..."
Duncan opened his mouth and was about to say something when he suddenly heard a knock on the door from the first floor.
"So early... Someone's coming before the door is even opened?" Nina was stunned for a moment when she heard the knock on the door. She muttered subconsciously, then stood up and walked out, "I'll go down and see what's going on!"
The girl ran downstairs quickly, and Duncan broke off a piece of bread and threw it to the pigeon that was pacing on the table: "Tell me... In addition to opening a normal store, is there any other way to make money faster... How about you open a logistics company?"
The pigeon immediately jumped two steps to the side and flapped its wings in frustration: "You didn't come here just to make fun of me."
Then it started to chatter, something like "Daiyu was furious and swung her 10-foot-long snake spear", and "Elder Tang threw out his fists and hit Qiu Qianren, making him spin like a gyroscope", and then "When they looked up, a blood streak appeared on Tathagata's head, filling the entire screen, and the three brothers broke out in cold sweat"...
Duncan was completely stunned: "..."
He could understand that the pigeon couldn't speak when Nina was around and was therefore very frustrated, but he couldn't understand what the structure of the bird's brain had become after being frustrated for so long - what a mess its vocabulary was!
But before he could speak to the pigeon, Nina's voice suddenly came from the first floor - her tone sounded a little nervous: "Uncle Duncan! There are... two sheriffs looking for you..."
Sheriff? Two sheriffs came to see him so early in the morning
Duncan was stunned, and immediately ordered the pigeon to stay in the room, then got up and quickly went downstairs.
As soon as he reached the first floor, he saw Nina, who was looking back at the stairs with a nervous look on her face, and the two sheriffs in dark blue uniforms standing at the door of the antique shop.