The Return of Arcanum (IC)

[Lu321]

In finding that these people were going to be her travelling companions, she looked them over. "A Tabaxi with a sword, a gentleman and his gnome butler, an older dwarf, a rich halfling, and a dragoon drunk? This is going to be interesting..." Kristen muttered to herself, following the guards up to the sky-docks. She had traveled to the docks on multiple occasions when asked to fix an airship, but the sight never ceased to amaze her.

When the king had mentioned an airship, Kristan had expected an older model, unfit for military use but reliable enough to give to adventures, not the airship they were brought to. It was one of the newest models, and although smaller than most airships around them, almost demanded to be seen. Excitement danced in her eyes. She couldn't wait to find the engine room and check out the machinery.

Hearing the dwarf's question, she glanced over at him. "I'm just a mechanic. I'm sure I could figure it out, but we're better off looking for an actual pilot." Glancing at the ship again, she did the math in her head. It was possible for a crew their size could control the ship and keep it in good repair, but unlikely unless everyone here had experience. Making her way to the ladder, she figured they would all figure it out later.

[Moonlit_Fae]

The Tabaxi lingered at the back of the crowd, even as they were all crammed into the small elevator that shot them upwards. She changed her stance for better balance as she felt her stomach fall from beneath her. She did not mind heights, she just hated the unknown. She was a creature of shadow, used to hiding and scoping out a situation. This was all happening so fast. It was unsettling and she was on guard. She quickly examined their rag tag group and was thoroughly unimpressed. The worst was the drunkard the king hired. She wondered how any of them would pull off stealing mysterious magical items. At least she knew her potential and could account for her own specialities and why she was summoned. The rest was a mystery to her.

Her fierce blue cat eyes took in the airship before them as the group was upon the docks prior to boarding the airship. Her tail swaying swiflty back in forth in disappointment. "For a scouting mission we will easily be seen. Let's hope the King doesn't have many enemies, our heads will be the targets." Despite liking to steal things, Night did not like to stand out. This royal airship was a death sentence if she saw any. The King was a fool and so were all of them for accepting this mission. Night could not give up the prospect of riches and values. Apparently everything had a price, including her Tabaxi life.

As they debated on a pilot, the group seemed to come to the conclusion a proper piloting crew should be hired. That was the best and logical decision. Since they all were in agreement, she need not give her input. They were strangers with a common goal, she only felt the need to speak to them if she had to regarding the mission. She easily stepped passed the crew and effortlessly pulled herself up the ladder onto the airship. Her eyes widened in amazement, this place was incredibly large, bigger than any other air ship she had ever been on before. Her curiosty flared and she knew she would enjoy scoping out every inch of this place. She would especially enjoy looking for the best hiding places. Her paw feet made no sound as she began her exploration of the ship, she decided she would try and find the living quarters first.

[Denraven]

Orin’s head banged like a drum, his ear felt dull and muted, as if overstuffed with cotton. His mouth was filled with the coppery taste of blood, this was soon combined with the strong taste of salt, as his mouth filled up with salty saliva, his body knew what came next, even if his semi-conscious brain did not. Orin retched loudly and profusely, his body violently purging his stomach. The vile pile of bile reeked something fierce and soaked into the cool stone floor and fine ornate carpet, Orin of course made a good effort to get as much of it on the guardsman as possible.

The King then began his speech. Orin didn’t pay much attention to it, while his purge had managed to sober him up significantly, his head still pounded like a steam piston, making it difficult to concentrate.
“. . .magic. . .Ancients. . .” the King droned Orin remained silent, shuffling only to further avoid his own filth “. . .you will all be paid handsomely upon completion of the task. Estates, gold, anything your hearts could desire will be waiting for you when you return." that last part Orin heard loud and clear, Orin’s hearing suddenly sharpening at the mere mention of money.

As the King finished his speech and left the throne room, the guard to the left of Orin made to kick him in the face, Orin anticipated this and blocked the kick, causing the guard to lose his balance and slip in the puddle of vomit. Orin let out a laugh that was short lived as he was knocked unconscious by a swift blow to the back of the head delivered by the butt of a halberd by the guard on his right.

When he came to he was being dragged across the Capital’s Sky-Dock’s. The docks were as he remembered them, a buzzing hive of energy, everyone had a place to be, a thing to do, and they all went about it with such an urgency.

He recognized many of those present.
Bolin and Balin, the Firbolg twins that personally performed all the heavy-lifting for the Royal Flagship. Despite their brutish appearance and slow, simplistic way of speaking they were far more intelligent than first impressions would imply. They were masters at all forms of dice games and were equally as skilled at cards. Orin clenched his fists as painful memories of losing a week's wages to them more than once surfaced.
Hornwald the Dwarf. Chief Mechanic on the docks, incharge of overseeing all repairs on the Royal Fleet. Orin owed him a sizable amount of coin in repair costs.
Heather, a bright-eyed and bubbly Gnome meteorologist with whom Orin had a complicated affair with.
Olivia, a fair skinned, dark haired, whip of a human navigator. She was stern, serious, spoke 7 languages, and had a tongue as sharp and biting as her wit in all of them.
And finally there was Harvask, Askell, Lorfinn, Gisk, and a dozen other Falcon Aarakocra soldiers, all marching in formation and dressed in full Royal Regalia. Orin took special care to hide his face from them, as they were his shipmates when he served on the Royal Flagship and were formerly his closest friends and companions. They were also the ones who had arrested him on his charge of piracy.


“I can.” Orin announced hoarsely.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Alek climbed up the ladder onto the as-of-yet unnamed airship. It gently swayed in the wind, the ropes tightening and loosening with every breeze. He began to study the cannons when Orin spoke.

"I can." his voice sounded rough, and by his smell and look, the bottle seemed to be a good friend. Alek clapped his hands together and laughed.

"Good, a pilot!" He reached out to help Orin aboard. "I don't believe you can fly always, and I myself am not mechanically inclined." He peered up at the hydrogen envelope. "And I can assume this model uses hydrogen to fly. It would be best to hire a small crew to help us when you are too busy to fly, and to replace our airship's gas with helium. Helium is quite expensive however, and we'd have to land. In any case," he smiled, "let us inspect our new ship!"

He started studying the massive ballistae on the deck. If they ever were in a dogfight, they would be prepared. He walked the length of the deck, keeping a firm hand on the railing. It would be a long way to the ground, and even his Feather Fall spell wouldn't last long enough. The airship was a good one, obviously newly manufactured. Alek doubted it had seen very many flights. Perhaps just the one to get it to the docks.

After he was finished abovedecks, he moved down into the hull of the airship. It was tight down here, with narrow hallways and very few rooms. There were five bedrooms, each with two beds and a single nightstand. They all had trunks at the foot of each bed, storage for any of the party's possessions. There was an engine room, where large containers of a bluish-black liquid reached nearly to the ceiling. This liquid would be pumped into the engine where it would burn to heat water and produce steam. The liquid burned quite hot and for quite a long time, so very little liquid would be needed for powering the various mechanisms. Near the bow of the airship, the largest room had one large table and several chairs on either side. There was a smaller room connected to the mess hall, which had various cooking utensils and dried foods. This was the kitchen, where one might cook a meal or pilfer some bread in the night.

After inspecting the airship thoroughly, Alek claimed one of the beds on the left side of the airship. He laid his bag's contents into the trunk at the foot of his bed and sat down. These beds were geared more towards comfort than the standard airship bunks. They were from the king, after all. After he finished with his bed, he made his way to the mess hall. There, he waited for the others.


As the party each completed any individual tasks, they gravitated to the mess hall, where Alek sat, watching all of them with a jovial smile. This dwarf radiated kindness and cleverness, and he seemed calm, if not entirely at ease. Alek cleared his throat, before he addressed his new party members.

"My name is Alek Stonemover. I am head librarian at the Scarlet Scroll library in Emblatonn, and a master of the arcane." he laughed and waved his hand, multi-colored sparks dancing across his fingertips. "Weak as it may be. I am honored to meet all of you, as you seem like interesting folk. Although we are on a highly important job, it does not mean we can't be friendly with each other. I was hoping we could get to know each other, as it seems we will be spending quite some time together." The whites of his teeth could be seen through his beard as he grinned, and his eyes crinkled kindly. "We should also discuss our plans to find these artifacts, as they are integral to our quest."

[Enigma]

"Ah, excellent!" Nicolas Figgins beamed, pointing at a wire mesh that was embedded in the fabric skin of the Zeppelin. "See here, Alfred! Should lighting strike the envelope or an electrical charge build up, this mesh will conduct it away from..."
"Sir?" the butler interrupted. "I think the question of staterooms should be brought up?"
"Hmm?" Nicolas frowned, turning to face Alfred on the catwalk. "Oh, no worries, my good fellow! We can share a room, I don't think anyone here will..."
"We shouldn't share a room, sir."
"Eh? Why not Alfred?"

Why not indeed, Alfreda? the butler thought to herself.

"You've known me for quite a while now, it's not like I snore...."
"I do!" Alfreda said, leaping on it. "I make a terrible racket, the maid and the cook have complained, sir."
"But there's a wall that separates you!"
"I know sir, it's quite dreadful."
"Perhaps I should take a look?" Nick frowned, turning towards her.
"No need, sir! I have been reliably informed that no surgery exists that would correct my condition," she sighed, draping her hand on her chest.

"Besides sir, you dragged me along as your intelligence gatherer," Alfreda pointed out. "What am I to learn in a room I share with you?"

"Ah, I see!" Nick beamed. "You mean to spy on the others! Well, there are ten beds..."
"You're forgetting about my snoring, sir. No one could stand to share a room with me, nor the rooms adjacent. And having a room to myself would be hard to justify. After all, the king summoned you all, I was just dragged along, sir. Wouldn't be right."

"What are we to do, hang you a hammock here in the envelope?" Nick frowned, waving at the maze of catwalks and lifting cells.
"I was thinking more about the pantry, sir."
"The pantry?" the sailor stared.
"My stature is not that great, and the shelves are well-secured, sir. I can easily clear a space for a pallet for myself and hang a curtain for my privacy."
"Well, yes, I suppose... but wouldn't that make me seem... snobbish?"
"Perhaps a bit, but it will help them to relax their guard around me, sir.
"Perhaps, but the pantry...?"
"We'll say I'm the cook."
"The cook?" Nick scowled, looking back at his butler.

"I do know my way around a kitchen, sir," Alfreda said, trying to sound slightly offended. "You lot are going to be much too busy to worry about cooking, best to leave me to it. You'd be surprised some of the things the cooks overhear."
"I see! Well, now that that's settled, let's go find the others."

Alfreda frowned as the librarian did his trick with his hands. It didn't look like one of the glitter tricks from the Book of Secrets, or someone using a special lens.

Nick pushed back his chair and took to his feet. "Wonderful to meet you, sir, and all of you. My name is Nicolas Figgins, and there in the back is my butler, Alfred. I have served on board his majesty's royal navy for many years, have written a few books, become a doctor, and served in the last war. While I can't perform the sort of magic he's pulling off, I do know my way around a scalpel."

[Lu321]

As soon as Kristan saw the engine, she knew that she would have lots of fun on this trip. It was one of the newer models, one she hadn't had the chance to look at yet. She had heard that fuel was supposed to burn longer than any other, and that the engine itself was made to be more efficient than even the model she was working on. But of course, they were only rumors. The only downside to this arrangement was that she couldn't take it appart.

Wandering below deck for a while, she claimed one of the beds in the room closest to the engine room. Simply putting her entire bag in the trunk, she made her way to the mess hall, the only room she hadn't explored yet. She knew she would have plenty of time to unpack her belongings later. After all, they were bound to be on this ship for a long while together.

She jumped as she heard the dwarve speak. She hadn't even thought of introductions. Watching as the sparks of what she could assume was magic dancing across his fingers, her eyebrow raised. He was clearly no lier.

Her gaze switched from Alek to the gentleman who used to be sitting in a chair to her right as he spoke. Nicolas seemed much like the wealthy men she served on a regular basis- military men with a bit to much conversation in their system to be any good. His butler seemed ok, but she would withhold judgement on either of them until she had gotten to see their true colors.

Knowing that introducing herself now would be better than later, she took a step away from the wall she had been leaning on. "Nice to meet all of your acquaintance. I'm Kristan Moon, but you all can just call me Cris. I'm a mechanic in Luminaa. I hope we will all be successful on this journey." With that, she stepped back, leaning against the wall again.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Night had spent her time going over all parts of the ship. It was very impressive. Immensely huge and with plenty of hiding space. Her people utilized airships a lot, but she had no grand knowledge of them. That did not mean she did not enjoy the splendor of an airship. She just wished the royal sigil was not so apparent. This airship made a statement which could either go very good or very bad for this rag tag group.

The tabaxi finally found her way to the rooms down below. There were ten rooms in all. She decided to take the room farthest down on the left. This way she could be away from the other and have her peace and quiet. Also if she had to do an odd side job here or there she could easily slip away. As she went to enter her newly claimed room she was surprised to see her other items were already here. Her pack with her thieves tools, grappling hook, some clothes, and other rogue items. Her short bow and quiver were also placed neatly upon the bed. There was a note on top of her items. She quickly grabbed for it and read it. The note stated:

Night Mist,
I know you are part of the adventure crew for the King. We do not know what he needs you for, but your people will care for you. Since we know you so well, we assumed you would be taking the room farthest out of the way from everyone else. Here is the rest of your gear and supplies. Just know your people are always nearby if you need us. Give the call and we will come.

Best of luck on your journey,
Kind Stream

Night quickly tore up the note and ate it, to hide the evidence. She was grateful one of her people had already come to provide her with her missing items, but it made her wary. Her people did have an intricate network of spies so that would explain how they already knew of her acceptance of this journey for the King. That did not mean she wanted her people sticking their neck out for her. She was a simple thief who brought back gold and supplies for her tribe when she could. Beyond that she was expendable. It did not sit well that her people were watching her and ready to come to her aide if needed. She decided she would only call for their help if necessary. Only she knew of her people offering to help them, it was good no one else had discovered this note before her.

Night felt her stomach rumbling and decided to head to the mess hall. When she entered she found the others already gathered here. Apprarntly an impromptu meeting. She shrugged her shoulders. Official greetings would be in order. This would also be a good time to gauge the others and gather intel on them. She hoped her skills would be just as usefil and impressive as the others she was hearing right now. The one named Alek made lights dance from his fingertips. His magic would prove useful. Nick was up next for intoductions. His medical skills would surely come in handy. However, her tabaxi eyes took in the butler Alfred. She made a slight note to be wary of that one. The ones usually lingering in the back could be the most dangerous. She should know since she was one to stick to shadows and stay out of sight herself. It was best to be non assuming. The last introduction she caught was for Cris. A mechanic, just what this ship would need. So far all of their skills were well roudned and coming together.

As the silence fell, Night came forward, but not too close to the others. "Name is Night Mist, call me Night.I steal things. I have yet to be caught and I can easily slip into places others cannot. My skills are at the service of our group." She was short and sweet. Not much else to say. That was her greatest talent, stealing things and not getting caught. Might come in handy to steal these magical items they would come upon.

"For the magical items, we should start where this one came from. We can track the area and see if there is a pattern to where the other items have been hidden." After she made her way to the pantry and started pulling out food items. She was hungry and she was not going to let a discussion get in the way of her needs.

[Denraven]

Orin boarded the ship ahead of the others, desperate to get off these docks lest someone less savory than Blis-blis were to see and recognize him. He made a bee-line for the crew quarters and quickly found the washrooms. Stepping into the one hallmarked for men Orin could see the King spared no expense, the interior was lush with finery. The walls were made of hammered copper, the oval shaped vanity mirror was made of polished silver and the wash-basin was made of carved marble. There was even a faucet for running water, a luxury few airships had, and the pièce de résistance a corner shower.

Orin wasted little time stripping off his clothes and hopping into the shower, turned on the water and was surprised at the warmth as he had expected just cold water. Roughly remembering what Hornwald had blabbered about one night over drinks, the warm water was pulled from the main boiler into a secondary holding tank and regularly cycled through so hot-water was always ontap.

Orin stood there for several long minutes just enjoying the warmth and letting the water wash away some of the filth, grit, and the dried vomit before using the soap and a provided pumice stone to scrub himself clean. Orin turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, toweled himself off and redressed. He chose to don his silk shirt forgoing his jerkin and chainmail, stashing them, along with his yari into the locker in the corner of the washroom.

Exiting the washroom Orin made his way onto the deck of the ship, examining the rigging and armaments and he was quite impressed. The two gas cells were made of the latest woven fabric surrounded in a fine wire mesh acting as a faraday cage incase of electrical discharge or lightning strike.
As he walked the deck he sniffed the air and got an all too familiar smell, hydrogen. Normally an odorless gas, for the sake of being able to detect a leak should one occur a strong odorant was added, one that was particularly foul and assaulted the senses with such ferocity as to call anyone who smelt it to immediate action.
“All his money and the king cheaps out and gives us a flying bomb.” Orin thought outloud, massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Frustrated with this revelation but knowing that changing to helium was an all too expensive and time consuming process he made his way back below deck and met up with the rest of the ‘crew’.

“Alright everyone, I’ll start” Orin began,
“All you need to know is that my name is Orin, some of you I’m sure have seen that I’m a former dragoon, but I also served the Royal Airforce, details don’t really matter. I will be naming myself captain of this vessel and if you don’t like that, feel free to fight me.”
“Oh,” Orin added “I also propose the name Dragonfly for this vessel.”

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Alek smiled as each of his new companions introduced themselves. Nicholas Figgins, an explorer and surgeon. The name seemed familiar, until Alek remembered he had read one of the man's books. He would be a great addition to the group, as he had the most experience as an adventurer. His butler, Alfred said nothing. The next was Cris, the resident mechanic. She seemed highly capable of keeping the airship in working order.

Next was the mysterious cat-woman. The Tabaxi introduced herself as Night Mist. Her skills were of the more roguish variety. That would come in handy should they need to steal one of the artifacts. She also was the only one to offer forth a plan of action. Tracking down the elves in the Viridian Glade and capturing more of the artifacts in one trip.

Finally, their Captain spoke, albeit in a coarse, rough way. Orin was also a former dragoon, of the Royal Airforce. He looked as though his spear wasn't just for show. He also thought of a name for the vessel, The Dragonfly. The name sounded good to Alek.

As each of his new companions finished giving their names and skills, Alek spoke once more.

"I think the name is wonderful, Captain. But we do need a plan of action. Night has a good start, but my knowledge of the Viridian Glade leads me to believe it would be easier said than done to track down the elves." His voice carried no malice towards the elves. The tension between the dwarven folk and the elves died long ago.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Night had finished her sandwich at this point. It was a cold ham and swiss on sour dough. She chewed on it silently. Also stereotypically she had poured a glass of milk for herself to chase the sandwich down with. As she ate she studied the group. The natural order seemed to fall into place. The drunkard, to her suprise, named himself captain. She just shrugged at this. He can claim himself to be whatever he wanted, but in her eyes they were all of equal status until they had to prove themselves when things got tough through battles and planning. She would also not be calling him captain.

She stayed in the corner as Alek gave his input on her plan. It was just a suggestion, but her natural curiosity was getting the better of her and making her more social than she normally was. "What do you propose then, Alek? You seem well studied and our only crew member with magical abilities. There must be a way to track down these other magical items whether or not we rely upon the history of the elves." She said as she finished the last bite of her sandwich.