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R.L.N. Vargfisk

The R.L.N. Varkfisk was a small ketch constructed at the same dock in Cullington as the Gaddfisk, a small one now abandoned. The Varkfisk, meaning Wolffish, was laid down in 1784 and completed a few months after. It was small for its time, but with a cargo hold large enough to hold four standard-size barrels and sails worthy of some speed, it was a good ship.

The Varkfisk was purchased while in construction by the Royal Lockellan Navy, and pressed into service as a small transport. With a flat bottom able to traverse the shallowist of rivers, the Varkfisk could transport goods throughout the Archipelago. The ship was simple, and yet effective.

When war broke out in 1787 between Lockelle and Norway, Varkfisk was modified to hold one cannon per side, two in total. It served its regular duty until the Battle of Tillaggaryd Strait, when it joined the Lockellan battle line to transport supplies between ships. The Varkfisk engaged in single combat with a Norwegian schooner, the Sognvik. The Varkfisk's opponent was armed with three cannons per side, but Varkfisk was able to rake a broadside atop the Sognvik's bow and demast it, disabling it. However, soon after Varkfisk was struck by cannon fire from a passing Norwegian third-rate, and demasted as well. It is said that the crews of Sognvik and Varkfisk then fought atop their disabled ships, but these accounts are unconfirmed and mostly thought of as legend.

Varkfisk was towed back to port, and, instead of having both masts reinstalled, was converted to a mortar barge. The rigging was removed, the hull stripped of everything but the necessities, and a wooden turnable mounted amidships with a large mortar atop it.

The Varkfisk stayed outside of Tillaggaryd for quite some time, watching for a Norwegian counterattack which never came. All was well until spring of 1852, when the changing of government happened for Lockelle, their Monarchy crumbling and being replaced by a Republic. This caused turmoil, and several loyalist partisan factions sprang up.

In 1855, when patrolling near Frustrum on the Bengsston River along with a few other vessels, including the Gaddfisk, the river ironclad, Varkfisk was attacked by partisans armed with small field guns. A single round, heated in a furnace to cause fire, crashed into the port bow of Varkfisk and out the other end. Varkfisk caught fire, and in the midst of the chaos surrounding them was not noticed by any other members of the convoy, until it was too late...

Varkfisk burned to the waterline, along with most of its fifteen-man crew burning to death or being shot by rifle rounds. The wreck was never found, and neither were the bodies.

A monument to the crew of Varkfisk stands in Frustrum today, along with the few recovered pieces of wreckage: a cap from one of the gun crew, a timber which was half scorched, and a curved piece of wood presumably from the turntable.


The Varkfisk handles well, looking almost like Gaddfisk's older brother. The mortar can obliterate almost any fortification, and the cargo hold fits four barrels nice and snug.


Well, the Pikefish, now Gaddfisk, was one of my best recieved posts, having three awards as of now and twenty-four likes. Did not expect that. That encouraged me to make more of these vessels from the Age of Sail, this time a bigger one. The mod includes all three Varkfisk variants, the unarmed, armed, and mortar barge. Just... ignore the lack of propulsion for the barge. I didn't quite think that through. It was supposed to be towed by another vessel, so just use your imagination for that bit.

Also spawnable are the cannons from both. The depression and elevation are inverted for some reason, so S is go up and W is down. The side-to-side is fine, though.

Also, here's a teaser about my next ship...

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October IX, 1787.

Captain Kurt Kallstrom looked across the deck of his twelve-gun frigate as it sliced through the cold, dark water north of Tillaggaryd. Somewhere ahead lie a force of Norwegian ships ready to intercept them if they made a break for friendly lines. It was four days since the Battle of Tillaggaryd, and they had been separated from their force during the battle, and surrounded. The one remaining officer other than him on board had been tallying the supplies on deck.

His head of gunnery, Vernik Olofsson, approached him. Kallstrom dreaded what he would say.

"Yes, Olofsson?" His voice was grim, thinking about what was to come.

"Captain, we have only sixteen shot left, and not enough powder to fire them all anyways."

"And our provisions?" Kallstrom thought, If we cannot fight, I hope that we can run...

"Only two days, and with that limitation and distribution none of us would be strong enough to do anything but surrender. Our sails and hull are wearing out, too-"

So we cannot run, and cannot fight for long enough to be relieved...

The captain straightened himself, accepting his, his ship's, and his crewmates' fates. "The Norwegian line is strongest closest to port, is it not?" he asked.

"It is."

"Then we make our last stand there. We cannot run, and cannot wait until relief comes. If we are to go down in a blaze, then so be it."

"Then so be it, captain Kallstrom."

The captain surveyed his ship for his last time. It was sturdy, but older, yet it still held up to the fierce weather. The seven guns to each broadside were in working order The nameplate hung on the back read the ship's title. Fadernesland. It looked as if, at dawn's break, the Fatherland would be making its final stand.