Jammers Summary: Chapter 3, Turn 32

----------- = Meanwhile, elsewhere...
*********** = Later...

"Perhaps Seguld, Nilaroo, hand Ferric should look hinto possibilities for hobtaining a new vessel," Deigatt suggests. "Hit would be ideal hif we could move hour helm hinto a ship that's otherwise hin good shape, but there may not be many hoptions havailable."

"Hif we're going to be here a while," the minotaur continues, "then we're going to need rooms to stay hin. Leera, Kain, and Talus, would the three hof you take responsibility for finding hus haccommodations?"

"If I might make a suggestion." Vais says, "Everyone would be more comfortable if we could all remain in an Inn, but we need to guard the helm. We will certainly find something more comfortable then the raft, so can we not remove the helm, and perhaps purchase a cart, so we can keep it with us at an Inn and not split our party at night?"

Leera nods, "That sounds good. Why don't Nilaroo, Grigree, and Holland take care of removing the helm. Seguld and Ferric can see about getting a cart, and Kain, Talus and I will secure lodging. <Cough> <cough> Once we've got a room, I'll stay there and rest... this cough is taking a lot out of me. Kain, we'll need money for the rooms and Seguld will need some for the cart."

Talus gives Leera a concerned look as she coughs, but merely replies, "Sounds like a good idea, lets go."

Kain blinks slowly, twice, looking around the docks. His burns are gone, with only a slight discoloration of the skin on his left leg to show they ever existed. "Oh.. ah... money for the cart, money for the rooms, of course," he nods. Looking askance at the bustle of the gnomish port, Kain kneels beside the chest, retrieving two small pouches that jingle when he holds them.

"Not.. ah.. sure how much a cart should be," Kain shrugs. "There's fifty gold in this pouch, if you need more.. well.. let me know and you'll have it I guess." Standing and knuckling his back, Kain adds, "And I have twenty gold to get.. ah.. us some rooms. If it turns out that I didn't bring enough.. I'll just pay from my own funds and make up the difference later." Kain pauses, clearing his throat after speaking more than a few sentences.

The grom's eyes bug slightly and his fur starts to ruffle a bit. "Hoom, I would rather not move the helm until needed; especially without the proper equipment. I would hate for this planet to go up in green slime. The less moving and jostling, the better."

"You would know best." Vais says. "I shall stay and guard it then."

"I too will, hoom, stay and guard the ship. If something comes loose, I would rather be here to patch it." Nilaroo nods.

"Hit will be dark soon," Deigatt observes. "Robert, Hitalapate, Billy, hand I can scout haround this little city to see hif there har hany hopportunities for hus here."

Holland replies, "While Raken, Leera and Talus are looking for quarters, and Billy, Deigatt, Robert and Italapate check out the local job market; please look into pirate sightings and the like too if you would, the rest of us will remain here on board the raft to guard our possessions and the helm."

Taking a few deep breaths, Robert places his hands over his chest, "It doesn't feel broken anymore, but it still itches." as he rubs under his chainmail. "Local jobs, check." Robert says quietly looking at the clouds.

Holland adds, "Seguld, would you please scout around and see if there are any ships for sale; as well as prospective buyers for our helm, if necessary, as well as the assorted treasure that we have."

"I say again, selling our helm is a bad option," Nilaroo protests.

Holland nods and stresses, "It _is_ a bad option, but it may turn out to be our _only_ option. If we can work something else, then great! Though it would be for the best if we keep our thoughts open. It doesn't hurt anything to explore our possibilities."

"Including the astoundingly poor ones." Vais says as he bustle about the deck trying to straighten things out.

Ferric shakes his head at the suggestion and says, "Come Seguld, let us be about finding a new ship for Holland to captain."

Seguld looks to Kain as he is about to leave the makeshift vessel. "MakeSureIGot ThisStraightWeGot'Bout TenThouAn'Five'UndredGoldInCoinsAn'Gems. ThenWeGotA SilverStatueThingyThatLooksLikeAnOrc, ButIt'sGotPrettyRedGemsFerEyes." Seguld pauses and smiles. "ThirtyOfThemIvoryRings An'AveryValuableTwenty FurnaceHelmStones." Seguld then hobbles along after Ferric, just as he catches up he looks back and smiles at Holland. "OfCourse, WeAlsoGotAHelm, ButIAin'tSellin'It. RatherHookItUpToAMiningCart."

Kain shakes his head in negation. "Unfortunately, we don't have that much right now Seguld," he sighs. "We'll have that once we get the ten thousand gold we're owed for delivery of the.. ah.. weapons. Hey, Deigatt.. still have that.. umm.. wren figure we were given?"

"So.. ah.. Seguld," Kain says with a frown, "we only have about five thousand gold to offer, plus whatever you get from the items. I can.. ah.. throw in what I have, which is about seven hundred gold."

Holland opens his mouth briefly but closes it, letting out a small sigh as his head shakes slightly. Holland lets his head droops down for a few seconds as the various groups depart the raft.

Italapate puts his hand on Holland's shoulder. "It'll be all right, Captain Holland," he says. "And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you realize that everyone _does_ look up to you for answers, the better off you will be. Great leaders are oft times thrust into that position, whether they truly desire it, or feel they deserve it. History doesn't care how or why someone became a general, only how well they handled themselves after the fact." He pulls his hand away, turns, and, whistling a tune currently popular on Bral, sets off in search of jobs. "Hmmm," he mumbles. "'Sir or Madame, I represent a travelling band of adventurers looking for pirates to capture, dragons to slay, damsels to rescue. Hmm? Our ship? Why, see that hunk of flotsam with a chair nailed to it? That's our ship.' Somehow, I don't think this is going to work....."

Holland doesn't answer but he does raise his head, staring out into the gnomish port.

"You coming 'Pate?" Robert asks, as he watches some green smoke rise above one of the building's of the city. "Gnomes..."

Ferric and Seguld make their way off the edge of the raft and begin walking. As the two move Ferric can be heard to say, "Perhaps the gnomes can set us up with a steel plated ship. Let us survive until someone decides how to handle a battle."

Seguld responds, "SteelPlates? Whatfer? Wouldn'tYaRatherHav'A"He pauses to think, "ARazorEdgedDiscLaunchin'B'llistaWit'Dual FeedReloadersAn'AWind PoweredTurret.OnceISawOneAlmostWork."

"Seguld has warned that the Device may be too tempting to gnomish curiosity," the minotaur says to those remaining at the raft, "so hit should stay with hour crew hand the helm for hits own safety."

"The Minotaur should be careful as well, " Vais says, "Since tinker gnomes are known for their biological experiments as well. You may be the stock they've needed to develop a Horned Giant Space hamster."

Leera, on her way off the ship, hears the Device's comment. She begins to shake, laughing violently enough that she has to lean on a cobbled-together piece of raft railing (which promptly gives way, dumping her unceremoniously on the deck). She continues laughing until a coughing fit comes, leaving her gasping for breath.

Grigree turns and raises a bushy eyebrow at the exchange, waiting to see if it comes to blows. When Leera falls over and starts to cough, he goes down on his knees and comforts her until the fit subsides. When she's calm enough to stand, Grigree helps Leera get back on her feet. "Maybe you need new, rrrh, subdued sense of humor, in your krrr, 'jetatin condition," he says with an upward curl to his big orange lips.

Ignoring the taunting of Vais, Deigatt suggests, "Raken, perhaps you should haccompany Leera to help her with her hillness."

With his hand covering his mouth, Raken nods in agreement. "Yes, that would be wise," he manages to say. He turns to walk with Leera, limping all the way, a barely audible snicker coming from his general direction.

A little bit farther down, Raken seems a bit worried about Leera. "I'll try to do what I can for you; maybe Celestian will grant me the wisdom to cure your illness," he says as he walks down the street.

Kain gives Leera a concerned look as she sits on the deck. "I'll.. ah.. carry your things if you like Leera," Kain offers. Picking up the illusionists' scrip, Kain stands again, carrying his and Leera's things as he, Talus, Leera, and Raken set off to find an inn.

-----------------------

While the others are out on their various errands, Holland looks at the ring that he recovered from the Scro ship. After examining it for several minutes, he slips it on his finger and frowns in concentration. Almost immediately a fan of flame perhaps five feet long and five feet wide at its widest point explodes outward from the ring, startling Holland, Vais, Grigree, and Nilaroo considerably.

Holland looks sheepishly at the three staring at him in astonishment, then returns the ring to his pocket.

----------------------

Port Walkaway is a bustling spaceport, but its clear that it is much safer then Bral or any other human controlled port in the sphere. At least, the crime rate is far lower, the danger from the occasional wild gnomish experiment is impossible to guess, though several spectacular failures are noted.

The gnomes are very friendly and helpful, but everyone except Seguld soon develops a headache attempting to decipher their rapid speech.

Perhaps the oddest sight are the wagons, carts, and carriages drawn through the city by giant rodent like creatures, "hamsters" Seguld calls them.

***************

There's not much time before nightfall comes, and as dark falls everyone returns to the raft. With only a few hours in which to look about, little enough is discovered. Leera's group manages to secure rooms at an inn which is within sight of the raft's dock, and Robert places a spell upon Vais that will alert him if the metagolem is in danger. Since Vais requires no sleep, everyone retires to the inn and enjoys a quiet, excellent meal.

There's little news of piracy or the scro, and most tavern talk seems to center around local politics (virtually incomprehensible to non-gnomes, and "normal" according to Seguld at any rate). Seguld reports that the Gnomish military would be an excellent group to sell the scro spell books too, and that he can easily locate buyers for the additional treasures in the morning. "Icangetatleast2,000 goldforthestatueandrings." Seguld explains.

It was impossible to find out prices this late in the day, but Ferric and Seguld did find three vessels which were currently for sail: a wasp, a tradesman, and a cog. "They all appear to be spaceworthy." Ferric says, "But the tradesman and wasp both have gnomish weapons installed instead of their standard armament."

Date/time: 8:00 pm 14th day of the 6th Month, 5049 OC