Occa comes up on deck and says, "I wish that our crew that was lost to the fireball yesterday would be returned here alive and well."
Emm approaches Niko and Ramage. "Excuse me sirs. Do you have any tasks for me since there is no crew? I am a pretty fast learner."
Niko grins. "I'm sure Ramage here can find some work for an eager beaver like yerself!"
"Can you sew?" asks Ramage.
"How hard can it be," replies Emm. "Needle in, needle out."
Ramage smiles, and sends Emm to Southwick.
Niko chuckles. "Emm, just make sure that ya sew them sails together and not yer fingers!"
"Alyta here can sew, Captain," calls Jesse, "Do you need her assistance?"
Ramage is in a good mood now that his crew has been returned to him.
"Aye, we aren't going anywhere very quickly until we have sails. Southwick, get her some canvas and a needle and thread."
Southwick, the ship's master, puts her to work.
Emm listens to Southwick instructions while watching Alyta's perform a similar task. Satisfied, Emm begins to sew. Moving carefully and slowly at first, Emm pushes needle repetitively through canvas. After a few minutes, he picks up speed. After another minute more, a small eruption of curses can be heard by those close by; perhaps one can make out the name 'Tuoni'.
The nearby observer would see a rather plain looking man, with brown hair and brown eyes, sucking on his finger. His face can only be described as forgettable; there are no features which commend themselves to the observer's memory. One might guess the man to stand around 6 feet. He wears no armor. Nearby lay a bow and a quiver of arrows. After a bit, the man withdraws his finger from his mouth and resumes his labors.
Eying the job before her, Alyta expertly slips the leather thong onto her thumb and hand, and starts to sew the sails. She moves slowly at first careful to do a fair job, but slowly she relaxes into a rythm and picks up speed.
After a while, she starts to sing a sailing song... one that is entertaining, but not unladilike. Her voice rides the wind and carries with it an infectious tone.
Jesse smiles as she hears the singing. She even adds accompanyment, being careful not to drown out or overpower Alyta's voice.
Niko's ear catches a few notes of music. He nods and smiles, as the song seems to bring back pleasant memories.
After the song is complete, Niko heads over toward Alyta.
He introduces himself cheerfully. "Greetings, Alyta and welcome aboard the Triton! That's a lovely singing voice ya have there. I'm hopin' we'll be hearin' more of it on this voyage."
Turning toward a more somber tone, he continues "However, when ya feel up to it, I'd like to ask a few questions about that pirate ship you were on. Until then..."
Niko bows and turns to Darian, who is approaching.
And as he does so, the young girl's eyes shed tears. She continues to sew, however.
Darian says, "Captain, do you want me back on sail duty as before, or can I return to my mage training with Occa?"
"Now that the crew has returned, you probably should resume yer studies with Occa. Do me a favor though, see if he's got something to fireproof those sails of ours! Tain't nothin worse than a ship dead in the water."
"Aye, Captain. Perhaps we can apply a fire shield spell to the sails. Next time, Captain, let me get closer to the opposing ship. I can absorb the spells before they've had a chance to spread out so much."
Niko nods. "Ya also might wanna carry Detect Invisibility, too."
"Already have it, Captain. And an extra fly spell as well. Oh, and water breathing as an additional backup if I can't walk on the water on my own."
Darian goes over to Occa.
They talk for a few minutes, then you see Darian take out a scrap of parchment, write on it, and impale it to the foremast with a pen knife.
Then, Occa touches him, and they both disappear.
Niko sighs, almost dreading to read the parchment, as he strides toward the foremast. Once there, he removes the pen knife and reads the message aloud.
It reads. "Occa and I went to find the rest of the group and retrieve the Nernal. Be back in a bit. - Darian"
Niko pins the parchment back up on the foremast with the pen knife and continues back to his cabin.
After about fifteen minutes, Occa and Darian suddenly reappear. With them is Hardboard the mage.
Occa says, "Hardboard has a Nernal...he calls it 'Spaceship'. Anyway, he is joining us on our quest."
He pauses and says, "What now?"
He looks over to Hardboard and says, "Can Spaceship create things? If so, we need some sails."
Hardboard shrugs and asks his disk, "Spaceship, can you create things?"
"I am capable of energy-matter conversion, yes," it replies.
"How about sails?"
"Of course. Please provide me with the details."
Niko and Ramage run off a long list of dimensions for the sails and other such information.
Suddenly a mountain of bright orange rip-stop nylon sheeting appears.
Sorting through it, you realise that these are your sails.
Hardboard, though, is unimpressed.
"Can you create me a cold pizza?"
"Of course."
Suddenly a large, cold, stale, Little Caesar's pizza materialises.
Now Hardboard looks impressed.
"This thing's almost as good as Orlon!"
"Woah!" Gilstrock says. "Can you create me a huge feast, consisting of mutton, potatoes, steamed carrots, good bread, with a hefty mug of ale?"
"Of course. Is that for here or to go?"
"Here! Now!" Gilstrock says.
An enormous feast materialises before Gilstrock's eyes.
"Wow!" Gisltrock says, his eye lighting up like a little kid on Christmas. "Hey, thanks, Mr. Nernal."
He looks up at the others. "Dig in!"
Gislstrock tosses his spear aside, drops his pack (if he's carrying it, which he probably isn't what with us being on a ship), and throws his cloak back as he sits down to dig into the feast himself.
Occa says, "Hey, can you create the sails so that they are flame proof? We have lost a good many to fire."
"These are flame retardant. I do not have the pattern stored for a completely flame proof sail."
"Okay, good enough. Thank you. What do you prefer to be called?"
"Nernal will do."
"Hardboard, what is the extent of the Nernal's creation abilities?? Can it fashion items of magic or of power?" Salaam asks, "More importantly, the nernal we met had the ability to scry and read minds in a limited distance. Does your nernal have such ability and if so, to what distance??"
"I dunno," says Hardboard.
"Why don't you ask?" Salaam inquires.
He does. Hardboard seems a little bit taken aback by this item of power that he possesses.
"I can only fashion items which function according to the physical laws of the universes. So-called magic items and their ilk do not fall into that category. I am able to practise a form of telepathy with creatures within normal speaking distance."
Occa says to Nernal, "Can you tell me if you have any limits to your creation powers? Do you have charges that may run out?"
"I am limited by the number of patterns I have stored in my memory. I cannot create an item without its pattern. As for charges, my vacuum energy source is fully functional, so energy is not a problem."
Gilstrock, his jaws working as he chews on mutton, looks blankly in the direction of the Nernal for a few moments before turning to the others and saying, his mounth still full, "What he means is that he can cook."
"Right. I am not sure what your role is in the upcoming war, but we have been sent for you." He pauses and says, "Someone show him a map. Niko, show him where the pirates are coming from and going to."
Niko takes out the maps that you found in the pirate lair in the north.
"Can you tell us where their ship is located?"
"I cannot."
"Also, Nernal, is there anything you could do to make this ship go faster? Can you create technoligical devices?"
"I can create technological devices. As for making this ship go faster, I do not believe that it could take the strain of going much faster than this wind and the sails could propel it. However, I could create a ship that would be capable of speedier movement, and would not be dependent on the vagarities of the wind for propulsion."
"That sounds like a good idea," says Pharian, coming up from below-decks, where he has been taking a lengthy nap. He is a older mage who looks like he was suckled on vinegar and weaned on a pickle.
"And what the hell happened to the sails? Did I sleep through a battle?"
"Yeah," Gilstrock says, between mouthfuls. "Pirates. We kinda popped over there and, you know, killed everybody. Only I think they were mostly dead before we got there, what with all the arch mages and things we carry around with us. We found Alyta there... did I get your name right ma'am?"
Pharian regards the newcomer without much interest. "Oh. Good you pointed her out, or I might have killed her by mistake in the next battle."
Looking over to where Alyta is still very intent on her work, it is now clear that she is sewing up the old sail at a manic pace, and her already fair features have gone deathly pale to the point of being a bit green. She is rocking back and forth in time with her stitches.
She is not paying attention to any of what's going on.
Occa says, "She is broken. Salaam...how about a heal or cure insanity?"
"Only if Jesse says it ok, wouldn't want her to go insane on me," Salaam says with a look to Jesse.
The bard nods.
He mumurs gently to her that all will be ok, and then places one hand on hers.
As Salaam sits next to the young woman, he hears her mumbled mantra for the first time...
"thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,
thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,
thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening,thisisnothappening..."
He intones, "Oh great Thoth, please heal this woman of all of her maladies," as he casts a Heal spell through his link with her.
And she continues to be oblivious to what's going on, even to Salaam's touch and his subsequent spell.
She silently sews sails smartly...
Darian, not being able to overhear what she has said, calls over to Salaam. "Is there something wrong with her, Salaam?"
"She seems to have difficulty coming to terms with her situation. I hope Thoth will be able to aid her and cure her of any mental affliction her situation has caused," Salaam replies in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the troubled woman.
"What kind of ship would it be? One of those spelljammer ships that I keep hearing about?"
"I have no idea what he is talking about." replies the nernal.
"Hardboard, you can tell the Nernal that I have no idea what I'm talking about, either. Salaam seems to be the one who knows what a spelljammer ship is."
"Well, a spelljamming vessel is similar to a waterbound vessel except it has a chair that is called a helm that powers it. The power is from a mage or cleric in the chair, so what the nernal is talking about goes way beyond our capabilities."
Jesse puts up her hand. "Wait, I'm just getting used to this one!" she says, sticking her lower lip out, ready to pout.
Darian leans over and kisses her bottom lip.
Jesse smiles and leans into Darian for another kiss.
Darian obliges.
Darian walks over to the foremast and retrieves his knife.
Niko looks impressed and asks eagerly "This ship, could you create it so that it looks like a regular sailing ship? And could you make it fly through the air as well as through water???!!!"
The nernal only communicates with the rest of you via Hardboard. He passes on Niko's question.
"I could create a vessel that resembles a sailing ship by combining various patterns, but its performance would be compromised. It would not be able to move very quickly, and it would be unable to fly."
Occa says, "That might be alright...we could cover it with an illusion."
"If that's the case, we might as well use the original design nernal had in mind, Occa."
Hardboard passes on the message...and suddenly an enormous ship appears beside the Triton. It is like no vessel that you have ever seen before. It is a good 400' long and 100' wide at its broadest point. It must be 10 storeys high. You note that it is not really floating in the water, but actually seems to be riding an inch or so above the troughs of the waves. Its hull appears to be made of some sort of ivory-like substance, a brilliant white in colour. Above that is a superstructure. That is as much as you can see from your present poor vantage point.
A door appears in the side of the hull closest to the Triton and at her level, and a walkway extends across to the brig, coming to rest amidships.
Ramage regards the vessel dubiously, then turns to Niko.
"Not my type of ship, I'm afraid," he says, "I think I'd like to remain with the Triton, sir."
Southwick and his men murmur their agreement. Many of them seem to be positively terrified by this technological apparition.
Gonzo says, "KAAAARUMMBA!... whoaaa!"
Jesse shakes her head and attempts to disbelive the appearance of the boat next to them.
"Has to be an illusion." she says.
The ship remains.
Not one to be fazed easily, Salaam just looks up and utters, "Cool."
He snaps out of it a second later and says, "Hardboard, can Nernal tell us what the capabilities of the ship are, both offensive and defensive as well as how many people are needed to run the ship?"
"It has no offensive or defensive capabilities," replies the nernal. "The patterns for such a vessel were restricted. It requires no one to operate it. I take care of that."
Gilstrock looks up at the monstrosity dubiously. "Hmm," he grunts. "I gotta admit, I'm no hardened seaman, but that kinda looks fishy for a ship. So to speak."
Gilstrock looks over at Pharian, than Occa. "Looks more like a magic thing than an actual ship. You guys know how to deal with it?"
Pharian shrugs. "I expect the Nernal knows."
Darian looks at Alyta with some concern. "Salaam, your spell didn't seem to help. Is there anything else you can do for her? Occa's right. She seems broken."
"No, as Jesse has said, just time at this point. She has no malady that magic can cure, it is all inside of her, not an external influence."
Salaam shakes his head sadly and then leaving Alyta to her own self, he boards the nernal's ship.
Darian looks at her sadly. "And your heal spell would help her even if she'd been made insane by a spell or psionics? Or does a mage have to fix that?"
"If I didn't know you for so long, I would be offended at that statement. Yes, the healing Thoth granted me can cure all magical and natural ailments, unless the person's psyche is messed up." Salaam replies.
"I lost a psionic ability during my fight with the mindflayers. Does that mean you could heal me and recover that ability?"
"When I next commune with Thoth, i can find out if I can heal you," Salaam replies.
"Thank you, Salaam."
Darian looks at her. "So, she's just been broken by abuse? No magical spells or anything else affecting her? No offense, Salaam, but something just doesn't seem right with her behavior. Maybe we should make sure she's not a magical being or something like that?"
"Actually Darian, a person's worst enemy is him or herself. She is fine, she has just been through a lot. Being someone's slave and then seeing a bunch of strangers decimating everything you have known is not easy to accept. Then a monstrous ship appears out of nowhere, I might even be aside myself," Salaam explains.
Darian nods hesitantly. "I'm sorry folks. I don't mean to push. It just pains me to see someone in that condition and I want to help in anyway I can."
"Maybe she's just, you know, kinda like that," Gilstrock suggests. "I mean, a newcomer looking at Occa from the outside would think there was something not right with his behavior, and I'm not even gonna talk about Pharian."
"Yeah, leave her alone," says Robert. "I've probably just overpowered her with my manly pheromes or something. Or maybe it was the beans I had for breakfast."
"If it was the beans," Op Code jabs Robert, "then all of us would be acting like that."
Darian shakes his head in frustration. "I don't like not being able to help people. Seems like we should be doing more. Occa, could you wish her back to complete health including fixing her mind?"
Occa says, "Sure, I could erase her previous memories, but that isn't the 'right' thing to do...she is what she is and that is the sum of her experiences. I am not sure why we would bother anyway. We just need to drop her off at a temple of some kind god and they can make her into a nun or something. She needs shelter from the world and she won't find that here."
Darian sighs. "Very well then, perhaps you should teleport her to Sandas and find a temple to take care of her."
Jesse shakes her head sadly, "No magic we possess will cure her of her demons. Only friendship, understanding and time will do those things. Some thigns magic cannot cure. Look at the woman Rage, in Kadlian's group. She too suffered like our Alyta."
Darian nods sadly. "If you really think so..."
"Well who has time to do that for peasants?"
Jesse glares at the Arch-Mage. "While you may not. I will. We know little about here, and perhaps, Occa, she is more than she appears. For often, those here are not what they seem."
Occa shrugs, apparently not noticing the bards irritation and says, "I hope so."
Darian looks at Occa with a sorrowful expression. "Are we so caught up in the saving the world that we forget about the individuals too? I know we can't save everyone, but Alyta's here with us now and it seems like we should do everything we can to help her."
"The needs of the many before the needs of the few...or the one."
"Don't get philosophical on us right now. Just put her on the ship and let's get going," Op Code calls back.
Occa pauses and says, "I would love to help, but we don't have time for someone like her. If she had something to contribute that would be great, but all we know is that she was a pirates slave and that she can sew."
"Maybe she has some other talents," the ranger winks.
"How do we know she isn't the key to saving the world? Perhaps she is great magic-user or cleric hidden behind the mask of a very frightened and abused woman. We have the time on our journey to the pirates. It will still take time to get there."
"As a humanist, I can't deny that all have potential for greatness. However, we can't cradle all as the taking their tentative steps toward it or the abyss."
"Did we check to make sure she's not under some curse or some other spell? Perhaps she's wearing something that causes this. I suppose her mind could been broken by the strain of her captivity, but that she be our conclusion after we've been able to dismiss all other possibilities."
But as the reality of the ship strikes her, the strain becomes more than Alyta can bear, and she simply passes out.
Darian rushes over to her and tries to heal her.
Jesse rushes over to Alyta's side as well. She first motions for Darian to not do anything. "Help me carry her below deck. Salaam I will need you too," she calls to the cleric.
"Great," says the cleric as he rolls his eyes up as he stops from boarding the new ship. "Niko, Occa, don't leave without me," he says as he follows Jesse and Darian down below.
Darian holds off on the healing and then bends down and easily picks her up in his arms. "Just watch her head when we go down the steps."
"Seems like she's not comfortable with some of the things we've been doing lately. Guess I can't blame her. Ships appearing out of thin air is a bit unusual."
Jesse nods, and helps carry the girl below deck.
Darian, Jesse and Salaam head below decks with Alyta.
"Whoa!" Niko exclaims. "Hardboard, ask nernal how do we...er, sail this thing. You have the bridge, Ramage."
"You tell me where you want to go and it takes you there."
Niko heads toward the walkway, eager to examine the new ship.
He raps the hilt of his cutlass on the hull.
"No offensive or defensive capabilites, eh? Hardboard, can ya ask yer nernal how tough the hull is? Could it survive a hit from a ballistae?"
"The hull is likely to suffer damage."
"Oh, and how fast is she? The ship, that is."
"This vessel is capable of hypersonic suborbital flight."
"Is it fast?" Gilstrock asks.
"Yes."
Op Code scratches his head.
"Hyper..orbital. What's that?"
"It's like Jesse, see," Gilstrock says. "Sometimes she's hyper, but when she's not, she'll bite you. 'Hyper-or-bit'al, right?"
Op Code bursts out laughing.
"It is capable of flight at many times the speed of sound, and is capable of leaving the planet's atmosphere but not capable of achieving sufficient velocity to reach orbit."
"Sounds like a fun ride to me. Let's get it fired up," Op Code replies enthusiatically.
"Ah...think about all the cargo we could move! We could make a fortune in the shipping industry! Hardboard, please ask nernal how long can the ship maintain flight?"
"Indefinitely."
"Indefinitely?" Op Code wonders. "But what propels the ship?"
"Anti-gravity," replies the Nernal to Op Code's question. "I am the energy source."
"Ahhh. A magical mystery tour. I like it," Op Code remarks delightedly.
"Ummm...then what powers you???"
"Vacuum energy is an underlying background energy that exists in space even when devoid of matter (known as free space). I am able to tap this energy. This can be used for various purposes."
Niko's mind reels. "Hey, nernal, can you travel to another universe?"
"No."
"And can you create a channel large enough for people to cross?"
"No."
"Could you build a ship that could travel to these adjacent universes?"
"No. Such patterns were restricted."
"Hmmm...a shame...tis a shame. Would you know where to locate such patterns, though?"
"No."
"Would one of these Wizards know?"
"I do not know. They did not favour nernals, though."
"Did not favor nernals???!!!" Niko exclaims, thoroughly shocked. "Why not?"
"They feel that nernals are too powerful a technology; that they stifle innovation and therefore the growth, development and evolution of life. The Wizards consider nernals to be one of the main causes of the decline and fall of the human trans-universal civilisation."
"And do ya think that's true, too?"
The nernal does not answer.
"Nernal, can you create other Nernals?"
"No."
"I didn't think so, but I didn't think it would manner. What kind of scanning can you do from this ship? Can you make a viewer that can view the surface of the ocean from on high? We want to find a ship and have an idea of its path."
"I cannot. Such monitoring devices are usually located in orbit, and would broadcast images to vessels such as this. I could create such an observation device, but I would have to disassociate this vessel first."
"Hmmmmm" says Gonzo, his semi-creative energies hard at work and slower than most..."Ya mean dis ding flies?"
Then after hearing the great ship would have to be disassociated... "Youse is some powerful wizard type Nernal... if youse disassociated dis ship and made da observation device could you make da ship again???"
"Yes, but then I would have to disassociate the satellite."
"And explain why if ya could make this ship fly indefinitely, why ya couldn't have this ship and a spy device operational at tha same time."
"I was built that way."
Gilstrock looks back and forth between Occa and the Nernal. "Never did understand what wizards talked about," he mutters.
Occa says, "What about a better than average spyglass to be used from this vessel to view the seas below?"
"Of course."
"If this ship can move at hypersonic speeds, then we could comb a lot of territory with it to look for the pirates. Then we wouldn't need to have nernal build one of his spy thingamajigs and take apart this ship."
"To boot, it would be a great advantage if the ship could be camouflaged in such a way that, if we did locate the ship, it would not see us coming," Op Code adds.
"Hardboard, ask the nernal if he can make more charges, please. The other nernal, which is decaying, said that this nernal might be able to make them, but not re-charge them."
"Yes, I can."
"Great! Could ya make me 3 of those charges, please?"
Three charges appear.
Niko takes them "Ummm...they're fully charged, right nernal?"
"Of course."
Gonzo looks at the charges... "Hey... could I have three o' dose too Nernal?"
Three more appear.
"A voice activated flying ship. Is this thing permanent or does it have a time restraint?" Op Code asks Hardboard to ask the nernal.
"It is permanent, unless you wish me to disassociate it."
"Nernal, ya mentioned earlier that the ship is propelled by anti-gravity. Can you make a small device that could let one of us fly without a ship?"
"Of course."
"Wow! And would it run indefinitely, too?"
"No. It uses charges."
"Oh, well...too bad. Could you please make three charges for it."
Another three appear.
"Could you make me one, please and explain how to use it!"
A backpack-like thing appears. It looks just the one that Valdar wears.
"It is manipulated by using the handle on the shoulder strap," says the nernal. "You will have to practice with it."
Niko immediately puts it on underneath his cloak and inserts a charge. He grabs the handle and tries flying over the water.
Niko immediately spirals out of control and slams into the side of the strange vessel.
He drops to the walkway, his head spinning.
Occa enters the new ship...very curious...
Emm stares and shakes his head; dismay, alarm, curiosity and awe battle with confusion. Finally, Emm stands and laughs. "well, I guess this means I won't be sewing anymore." He gathers his belongings and heads up the walkway.
The remainder of you follow, Gilstrock and Op Code pausing only long enough to pick up Niko and drag him aboard.
The tour of the ship takes nearly an hour. The first thing that you notice when you step aboard is that the air temperature suddenly drops by over 10F, and the humidity falls as well. You see many strange and wonderful sights. The vessel is clearly designed as a pleasure yacht, with several swimming pools (complete with scantily clad females lounging around them), a dining room, dance hall, gyms and tennis courts, holodecks, zero-gravity romper rooms, bars, dining rooms, sun rooms and garden areas, wire centre, plus many rooms and chambers whose purposes you cannot figure out for the life of you. The ship is sumptuously furnished, almost to the level of decadance.
Niko, after recovering from his little mishap, leers at the females for a few minutes and then watches Emm depart with two babes. He asks the nernal "Not that it matters, but are those females real or just illusions?"
"They are constructs...but very realistic..."
Niko frowns and shudders. "Sex with a golem...ewwwwwww!!!"
He then begins to chuckle. "I wonder if Emm realizes that!"
Nodding, Gilstrock says, "Yeah, I could get used to this."
He goes for a bit of a swim in one of the swimming pools. "Now only if this were closer to freezing," he muses after diving in and resurfacing.
The water temperature suddenly drops.
Occa says, "Fantastic."
He heads over and talks to the Nernal and Hardboard.
After a few moments, Salaam, Alyta, Jesse and Darian walk in.
You note that there are suddenly several scantily-clad men lounging by the pool now, as well...
Occa walks back from talking to Hardboard/Nernal and says, "Here are a bunch of communicators that will allow us to talk to each other on this planet."
He has a handfull of small badges that look like they can be pinned on.
He hands one to each member of the group and says, "We will share the rest with the other groups we want to keep in touch with."
He also has a shovel in one hand.
"Now dat's some KARUMBA magic dat kin do us good. Danks Occa!" says Gonzo as he pins his badge on.
"No problem!"
Fiddling with the communicator, Op Code jokingly calls into it, "Beam me up Occa."
On a more serious note, "These will be very handy. Do you know what their range is, Occa?"
"The range is planetary."
Darian attaches the communicator to his cloak. "How does it work, Occa?"
"I don't know. Ask Hardboard/Nernal. Probably, we press them or something and try to speak to the person we want to speak to."
"Hardboard, is that how these things work?"
He presses on his and says, "Darian, do you hear me?"
Occa's voice comes out of the other 19 communicators.
"Guess it works. But, how do you send to only one communicator and how do you make that choice known?"
"They can be keyed to the owner's name," the nernal replies, once Hardboard has passed along the question.
Niko takes one of the communicators and attaches it to his cloak. He then keys his communicator to his name.
Salaam places one of the badges on his clothing and marvels at the uniqueness and immenseness of the vessel.
He goes over to Alyta and says, "Would you like to join for a stroll and maybe a drink?"
Moving closer to Jesse, not paying much attention to what Salaam is saying, it seems clear that there is an intense battle of courage and fear going on inside Alyta's soul. She looks like a rabbit on a grassless plain, waiting for instant death from a hawk from above.
She turns to look at Salaam, just before he thinks she didn't hear him and say, in a near whisper, "That would be nice..."
It is impossible to tell what she means by this. She tentatively takes the arm he offers and the two stroll away from the group.
Darian looks at Jesse and asks a question with his eyes.
Jesse just smiles, nodding.
Gilstrock wanders over to Pharian and mumbles something quietly to him.
Pharian snorts a laugh. "That's for sure," he says.
Occa looks at Salaam and Alyta, then to Jesse and then to Darian.
Finally, he just rolls his eyes.
Darian chuckles. "Hoping that your eyelids will say, 'Yes', Occa?"
Occa just laughs.
Watching the whole exchange, Gilstrock can't avoid bursting out laughing when Occa rolls his eyes.
Occa says, "Nernal, where is the viewing area? Let's get this craft moving! I want to find some pirates ASAP. Please take us to an elevation from which we can view the surface with your equipment, but not be viewed ourselves. We need some charts of the area...Niko, please take a look and let's figure out the path the pirates would take. Then let's find all ships along that path. Let's go!"
"I am sorry. There is no such place on this vessel. It is a pleasure vessel. I can, though, generate the images you want right here, or else you could go to the foreward lounge which has a large viewing port."
You have been to that room ealier.
"What about Lord Ramage and his crew? I know they don't wish to accompany us, but aren't we leaving them stranded with not much in the way of food and water?"
"Nernal, can you create food enough for 20 men for a month?"
"Of course."
He looks over to Niko and says, "Why don't you ask them to meet us in a harbor somewhere? They can go in and sell the goods we got from the pirate vessel."
"Okay, any room is fine then. Let's settle up with Ramage...maybe he could go to Sandas. We can give him a communicator in case they get in trouble."
Niko nods "Aye, that would be a good idea. Although, I would have rather handled the sales negotiations myself."
Niko heads off to inform Ramage.
Alyta returns after a few moments, with Salaam following. Twenty minutes after that, Niko gets back from the Trident.
In the meantime, the poolside bar has opened, serving drinks and snacks.
Niko grabs his charts and heads to the forward lounge.
"Please tell me where you want to go. Since this planet has no navigation beacons, and my internal geographical database has not been updated for over 30,000 years, compass directions will have to suffice."
"Can you fly around this world a few times and create accurate maps? How long would something like that take?"
"Several weeks to a month."
"What, can't you do warp speed, Nernal?" Op Code smiles.
"What is 'warp speed'?"
Op Code reacts with surprise, "I heard it somewhere that it represents very fast speeds. For someone who can create things by harnessing energy, I'm surprised that you can't propel the ship very fast."
"This vessel is designed as an on-planet craft. It is not a spacecraft. I can create spacecraft capable of faster-than-lightspeed travel."
"Faster than LIGHT speed?" Gilstrock asks, agog. "That's, like, pretty fast, isn't it? Hey! We could have races, Occa's teleport against the spacecraft!"
"How about faster than sound speed for on-planet crafts?" Op Cod pries.
"Easily. This vessel is capable of hypersonic velocities."
"Okay, that is a possible solution next year, then."
"Let's start with a hundred mile radius from this point, Occa. That'll be much quicker and give us a reasonable map to start with. Occa, can ya do something to hide the ship from unwanted eyes?"
"Maybe. An illusion would work to make us look like a cloud or something or make us invisible. However, we don't want to be invisible inside. Nernal, can you make this vessle hard to see?"
"I am sorry, but I cannot."
"Can you paint the surface of the vessel, say sky blue and cloud white, to camouflage it?" Op Code suggests.
"That I can do," the nernal replies, and suddenly the exterior of the ship takes on a pattern of clouds and blue sky.
"Ahhh. Do you think that will fool the pirates?" Op Code asks the others.
"Not if they are looking for us. And we're likely to cast a shadow, where we block the sun, but it'll make it harder for people to see us. Perhaps we should use the pattern of a cloud. At least that would explain the shadow... Of course, if we're moving in a different direction than other clouds or moving much quicker... Well, I guess you can't have everything."
"Or if we're high enough, they won't be able to notice us either..."
"Well I guess that I'm not very good in the artistic department," Op Code walks away in a huff.
"Nernal, can ya detect objects the size of my sailing ship when we're high up in the sky?"
"Yes."
Niko says excitedly. "Well, then let's go!"
"Nernal, can this vessel travel underwater?"
"Yes."
Niko grins.
"By Poseidon's beard, that's wonderful! Nernal, while this ship is underwater, would it be possible for me to exit this vessel into the water without flooding the ship?"
"Of course."
"Well, I will learn Hallucinatory Terrain. That might work."
Darian holds out his arm and, presuming Jesse takes it, they begin to stroll down the length of the ship.
Jesse gladly takes Darian's arm.
If anyone kisses on the bowsprit, Pharian threatens to jump overboard and swim for shore.
Fortunately for everyone, all of the decks are enclosed.
Reaching the lounge, you see that it is a large, enclosed room in the very bow of the ship. As expected, it is more or less pie-shaped. Many comfortable-looking chairs and couches are in here. Again, there is a bar. Through the windows, you have a panoramic view of your surroundings. A quarter mile away is the Triton, now sailing north under her new orange sails, and tacking into the wind. You are currently located at the north end of the Strait of Dust, a body of water separating the mainland from Big Grassy Isle. It is midafternoon, and on the near shore of the island you can see a small thorp.
Suddenly your view starts to change, as the ship silently rises up into the air. To an altitude of 1000 feet you climb, then the ship begins an outward spiraling course. You cross over Big Grassy Isle, and see that it is low and flat...and grassy. A crowd of people in the thorp have gathered by the shore and are staring upwards at you. Many of them drop to the ground and cower.
Beyond Big Grassy Isle is another island...Little Grassy Isle. It is smaller, and uninhabited.
The ship circles over the mainland. Mestom is little more than desert at this point, and uninhabited. A road roughly parallels the coast, and here and there you see groups of travellers. Clumps of palms and the glint of water indicate the locations of oases. The coast of Mestom angles away to the northeast and to the southeast.
After awhile, the ship completes its spiral mapping pattern and returns to hover above the point where it initially lifted off of the water. Apart from the Triton - now well to the north and tacking steadily farther out to sea - you have seen no other vessels besides a few fishing boats.
As the craft gains altitude, Pharian says, "We are putting a lot of faith in the benevolence of this nernal. I wonder how long it would take us to hit the ground if it decided to disintegrate the ship."
"Always the voice of reason, I can see why Alyta would want to stay with us," Salaam says in a sarcastic tone.
"Let's hope it's longer than it takes Occa to teleport us out of here if necessary," the ranger chuckles.
"I am the voice of reason," says Pharian, ignoring Salaam's sarcasm. "I've also been wondering if the nernal can disintegrate objects it didn't create. Nernal? What about it?"
"No. My offensive capabilities are limited. I am a family model of nernal."
"What about defensive capabilites, nernal?" Niko inquires.
"I have none. I was not designed for offensive or defensive purposes. I was designed to provide the necessities and comforts of life for an individual."
Gonzo says, "Me dinks maybe dis odder ship not be on top o' da water... iffn dis ship kin go under water, ma'be da pirates is able ta do dat too? How about invisible? Did on o' youse wizard types look fer invisible piratical ships?"
Gonzo scratches his beard, his armpits, his toes and then commences on balancing daggers on each of his fingertips... the monotony of sitting looking at empty ocean seems to be getting the better of him.
You remember that you gained several weeks travel time on the fleeing pirate ship by teleporting south. You suspect that the pirate ship is still quite a long way behind you...
Darian pipes up. "Should we go back and look for them or forge ahead and take on the main base?"
Niko suggests ,"Maybe we should pick up the others first. Then we can decide if we want ta find da pirate ship or base."
"The others? Which others?"
"Darian, there are more to our group than who is present. The camp group who are traveling to Sandas, if I recall correctly, we can easily pick up with a vessel like this. I know Occa would love to see Tracy," Salaam replies.
Darian looks puzzled. "How do you think we found Hardboard? We know where they are. But, why do we want to pick them up. They're comfortable where they are."
Niko shrugs "Just thought they'd be more comfortable in here. It's not like they know we've got this awesome ship, ya know."
Darian shrugs. "True, but unless Hardboard knows the location of the castle they own, Occa and I can't guide you there."
"Nernal, if we go up 10,000 feet, can you still detect objects as large as the Triton?"
"Yes."
"Then please take us up to 10,000 feet, nernal."
Showing the nernal his (newly updated) charts, Niko asks the nernal "Please head toward this area (pointing at the pirate's lair the party already raided) and alert us to the presence of any vessels you detect along the way."
Niko will also watch the water for any vessels.
The nernal does as requested, and you fly roughly north, off into the evening, following the coast.