Jammers Summary: Chapter 3, Turn 33

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

"What, hoom, do you mean by gnomish weapons?" Nilaroo asks around a mouthful of rare steak.

Ferric shrugs, "Their weapons are gnomish designed, not standard ship weapons."

"Has many hof you may know," Deigatt says, "my kind har well known for hour navies-- hour planet-bound navies, I should say. I myself have never been fond hof the sea, but most hof my kind take to hit by nature. Hanyway, we have a tradition that when a ship his retired hor damaged hand must be replaced, a portion hof that ship his used to build the replacement vessel. Thus, sailors can say that the horiginal ship his still sailing the main. I would very much like for hus to do likewise with the helm hand hat least some hof the wreckage of the SILENT STAR. Doing so would let the name hof hour company retain hits meaning, hand I feel we profit by having with hus a keepsake from hour first victory together."

Holland remarks, "Bravo Deigatt. Excellent suggestion."

"Hoom, I will see what I can do," the gromman says.

"I'mSure'RooAn'IC'nWhipSomethin'Up.MaybeAGoodOl'Hamst'rPoweredTurret WeC'nTake OnAHamst'rHookItUpToTheTurretGearsAn'ThenWe'dNeedOneLessWeaponsMan. CourseWe'd NeedTwoHandlersF'rTheHamst'r." comments Seguld.

Munching on what's left of his dinner, Robert says, "Perhaps, if we are short of funds to purchase a new ship, those of us that can cast spells might want to offer to cast one or two for a small fee?"

"Parthan told me that most gnomes have han haffinity for magic," Deigatt says. "Would they be hinterested hin what we can hoffer?" The minotaur takes a large bite out of a head of lettuce.

Taking a bite of salad, Raken nearly chokes at Roberts suggestion. After wiping his face with his napkin, he speaks up. "Um, is selling magical services to the gnomes...safe? Aren't their gizmos dangerous enough without adding magic to the works?"

Seguld rubs an itch on his nose. Raken sneezes directly at Deigatt. Seguld laughs, "NoMoreDangerousThanSneezingInAMin'taur'sFace!"

Deigatt scowls and wipes his face off as Raken wipes his nose.

Leera sits at dinner, listening to what others have to say and is bothered occasionally by her cough. "As far as money for payment for a ship is concerned, I do have a spell that can create some illusionary gold. If we pay with it we'd need to get off the planet fast, though."

Billy smiles at Leera's suggestion. "Just make sure you don't give them to an iron smith..." He takes another slurp at his soup, forgoing the spoon and drinking it out of the bowl.

Seguld looks at Leera indignantly. "KeepYerSpellsTaYerself." He shakes his head. "We'dNeverGet'NotherJobNoWhere. An'OnTopAThatMyNameWouldn'tBeWorth ABird'sTurd... NoMissee, KeepYerFancyIllusionsFerYerOwnPrivateDealings, An'Leave TheRestToThoseOfUsWhoLiveInTheRealWorld!"

"Seguld his right," Deigatt says, glaring at Leera. "I'm sure we can find han honest means for himproving hour situation."

Billy agrees. "It's a funny trick, though. You should see the expression on their faces when they see they have a bag of coppers instead of gold! Ummm... Not that I ummm... Ever participated in such a _dishonest_ prank.... But seriously, if we need to trade our helm for a ship with an equivalent helm, I don't see what the problem is."

Talus looks interested at Leera's suggestion. He murmurs, "You must teach me that spell sometime, it sound very useful."

Raken frowns at Leera's suggestion after wiping his nose. "Even given our current situation, I can't condone such an action. It would be immoral and would go far in ruining our reputation. Ships aren't that expensive; if we're short, we could possibly work it off with services around the dock. Joking aside, the idea of selling magical services is a sound one; I'd imagine the gnomes are in constant need of healers..." he finishes with a sly grin.

Kain sits quietly at the table with the others, his dinner before him but eating nothing. He looks to be deep in thought, though every so often he mutters something under his breath. Pushing the food on his plate about, Kain closes his eyes in concentration, then opens them and continues muttering.

Holland speaks up, "We have around 5100gps in coin and gems. Seguld said he could probably get another 2000 for the statue and the ivory rings. That takes us to 7."

Holland continues, "I do not have a problem with selling the three spellbooks; though I would like to copy a few of the spells out of the Scro books first as I am sure that others would want to as well. Spells are not cheap. I know. I had to spend several hundred gold just to get the elementary spell to animate our caustic friend."

Holland guesses, "I would imagine that we should be able to get at least a thousand for each of the books, minimum. It might be better to sell the individual spells instead of the whole book, I don't know. That is something that I think Seguld would be better at judging."

Holland continues, "That puts us around 10 thousand, leaving us several thousand shy," Holland asks, "What would you all think about selling the magical plate armour? Does anyone want it? I would think that tinker gnomes would fall over themselves to be able to get magical metal that they could play with. To the right person that armour could be worth several thousand."

Holland concludes, "Add all of that up and we might have near enough to purchase a brand new Wasp' maybe enough to purchase a used one, or at least be very close to where selling magical services and the like would be enough to push us over the top." Holland asks, "What do you all think?"

"Fine," Billy says. "So we have a new spelljammer and extra helm... Why do we need the extra helm for? Unless ships don't come with a helm? Am I missing something here?" Billy looks utterly confused.

Holland says, "No, you are right Billy. We are trying to buy a ship, sans the helm. We have a helm that we are going to install onto the ship. The reason why a Wasp only costs 18000 is because it doesn't come with a helm. That would boost the price considerably, depending on the type of helm."

"Sorry Billy, but buying a ship with a helm would add tens of thousands or more to the price," Raken interjects. "A wasp is probably our best bet given our finances, but a tradesman would be better. Wasps are very tight quarters and there's not much space for improvement. If the gnomes are interested in our magical services, it might be to our benefit to save up for a tradesman rather than a wasp."

"Well... Holland.... YaSeeNoneOfTheShipsAreReallyNew, ButAsFerricSaid,TheWaspAnd TradesmanBothHaveGnome-MadeWeapons. Now, WeDidn'tSee'Em, ButIBetThey're ReallyNeat!" Seguld seems very excited about the possibilities. "Now,AsToWhich OneWeGoWith... TheTradesman'dProbablyCost... BetweenFiveAn'Eight ThouMore. NowTheTradesmanC'nCarryMoreCargo, NearlyFourTonsMore. But..." He looks to Nilaroo. "CorrectMeIfI'mWrong, But.... TheTradesmanNeedsACrewOfTen, AndItCan'tLand. NeedsASpaceport OrToRemainInOrbit. TheWaspC'nDoSolidLandings, An'OnlyNeedsEightOfUsTaCrewHer. WithACrewOfEight WeEachC'nGitEight HoursSleepADay... WithTheTradesmanEveryoneHasTaWork WeGitFourPeople Restin'AtAnyTime. ThatMeansOnlySixHoursSleep." Seguld crinkles up his nose. "Don'tKnow'BoutTheRestOfYa, ButINeedsMyBeautySleep."

Italapate finishes the last of his meal. He struggles to decipher Seguld's words. Finally, he gives up and shrugs. "Well, I don't know about all the ship's requirements and such... but I do know that we should get the Wasp. I mean, really, it just looks _so_ much better than some clunky ol' Tradesman."

Holland agrees, "I think the Wasp would be the best bet, due to the our limited number as well as the price difference. Granted the Wasp is smaller, but when we return to Bral, we will receive the remainder of our funds from the elves; we could always upgrade at that time. We could also see about taking on some new members on Bral, if we wanted to get a larger ship that would require them." Holland adds, "My only concern is the gnomish weaponry... Frankly, they scare me."

With a shrug, Raken sets down his mug. "Whatever you think is best; I hardly claim to be an expert on ships. And I whole-heartedly agree; gnomish weapons put the fear of devil in me, as well."

"His the wasp ship large enough to haccommodate hall hof hus?" the 7'9" minotaur asks.

"Don'tYouWorry... TheWaspShipIsALizardManShip. YouOnlyHaveToDuckGoing ThroughDoors. TheyMightEvenHaveOneOfThemPoolsToo! ThenYouC'nBatheAn'You Wouldn'tStinkSoMuch!" responds Seguld.

"Personally, I like the sound of the wasp." Robert says, between picking his teeth clean. "I've always thought that a jammer should look like it can fly. Never liked eels, and those other fishy ships."

"I prefer tradesmen as a general class of ship," Nilaroo speaks up, "compared to cogs and wasps. I know it is more expensive, but for our purposes it would more likely fit."

Grigree, who's leaning back in his chair, adds, "We could, llrr, always replace the 'jetatin device of the gnomes. If we get into trouble on way back to, rrrgg, Bral, we just board 'em." He drops down his chair to pick up a near empty mug, then finishes it off quickly. "We seem to be better at it anyway."

"What'sWrongWit'GnomeWeap'ns? YouProbablyJustDon'tUnderstand'Em. ISayWeWaitAn'SeeWhatItIsFirst." Seguld announces as he crosses his arms on his chest defiantly.

Raken smiles at the gnome. "Nothing, but from what I've been told, they require constant maintenance and have a nasty habit of, uh, not working when their most needed. Among my order, there is a cautionary tale about gnomes. The point of the rather long tale is that gnomes may be among the greatest geniuses in all of wildspace, but were cursed by the gods so that they lack the patience to perfect their work."

Seguld snips, "AtLeastWeTry... AsFerPatience, IBetIfAnyOfYou'dTakeMore ThanAFewMinutesToCheckThingsOut... You'dSeeWhatGreatStuffWe'veGot. ButNope... You'reTooImpatientToWaitFerTheThingToBeFinished..." Seguld shakes his head.

Ferric says, "Do not include me in your tongue lashing Seguld. I was around when Herkamir flew for a minotaur captain who did occasional work for the House. He's the one who developed the Spudnik ship that patrols this planet today. From what I hear he was a bit screwy though at least he wasn't as bad as the drunken gypsy bard they had as their pilot."

Talus asks, "Do we have enough parts from the Star's weapons to replace the gnomish weapons with them?" The half-elf adds, "The Wasp sounds like our best bet. It may have the smallest cargo capacity, but we are not looking to set ourselves up as bulk shipping merchants. We can specialise in small unique cargoes and services."

Nilaroo shakes his head, "Hoom, We left those parts behind, or cannibalized them for the raft."

"WhatDoYouMeanReplaceTheGnomishWeapons?!? WhyY'All'ReDaft! ReplaceAFinePieceOf Craftsmanship... 'CauseAGnomeMadeIt?!?" Seguld taps 'Pate on the shoulder, "ScuseMe, DoYouHaveAnyClueWhyWeCameHere?" Tossing his hands in the air over dramatically, "GuessEveryoneJus'WantedToMakeFunOfTheLittlePeople."

Pate grins. "Not me, Seg. I can't wait to see the weapons. The _only_ reason I would want to get rid of them is if that dropped the price a bit. Personally and belief-system-wise, I like you guys. Coyote thinks gnomes are the greatest! Well, after my people that is. I even hear he has some followers amongst your kind, though I doubt if he uses that name with you."

Kain looks up as the discussion turns towards ships. Seeming to just realize there is food before him, he hurriedly begins eating, pausing only long enough to put a word or two in the conversation.

"Those Vipers.. ahh... they were nice ships. When I got, um, close to that one, I notice they needed no one to tend the lines," Kain says breathlessly as he shakes his head. "Imagine, a ship without.. er.. sailhands. It seems like no ship at all, I think."

"I miss a ship with a proper mast, but that..ah..isn't enough for me to say we should get the Tradesman," Kain smiles slowly. "But neither do I like the.. ahh.. Wasp. Our main strength as a..uhh..group has been our spellcasting abilities, I think," Kain continues, looking around the table before looking back down at his plate.

"With the STAR we had free hands enough to keep spellcasters available. I think the replacement ship we need to find should.. ah.. be something similar, with a low number of crew required for proper sailing. For now, maybe, as you said Holland, we could get the Wasp and then look for a new ship somewhere else."

Kain takes a deep breath after his extended speech, then adds, "Would the orbits of Numeliador and Minial's Arch bring them close enough to contact those colonies before reaching Bral? It wouldn't.. ah.. hurt to look around for our ship. I dread to think what a good ship would cost on Bral."

Holland rubs his chin as he says slowly, "Hmm.. We could always return to Bral, collect our funds and then set out again to one of the outlying planets in search of a better ship," his hand dropping and resuming a normal speed, "You probably are on the right track Kain. Ships are bound to be expensive on Bral. We will have the additional 10,000gp to help us in our search as well."

Nilaroo shakes his massive head, "Hoom, ship's are not expensive on Bral, it is a ship building center."

Holland nods and adds, "Viper's are nice ships; too bad things turned out the way they did."

"Hoom, that is an interesting thought. Unfortunately, no one has been able to build a successful vipership in the past five centuries. They were an early human designs built by a lost spelljamming culture. Old versions may be repaired, and hold up remarkably well, but attempts to copy them based on the ships themselves always fail. Hoom, A working set of viper blue prints would be worth a Kings ransom! We did serious damage to the scro there, I saw a helmless viper sell for 100,000 gold!" Nilaroo says.

After a brief pause, Grigree leans over conspiratorially, his elbows on the table. In a dramatic whisper he adds, "Maybe we fly STAR's frelling remains back to Bral and buy new ship there?" He looks around at the group's faces. "Then we only have to move in once. Maybe no loose money on reselling ship."

"If we go to Bral, we must make sure that is our last stop," Raken comments. "Our liferaft is no match for even the smallest pirate vessel. An attack by an opportunistic pirate could destroy us. I'll bet there's quite a few pirates on Bral that would be just waiting for such an opportunity."

"SoYerSayin' "Seguld starts, as he is focused on Grigree, "You'dRatherPilotA BunchaBoardsToBral... ThenTravelOnAWaspVessel.... Just'Cause... It'sGotGnomeWeaponry?!?" Seguld shakes his head again Seguld shakes his head again then turns to Raken. "C'nYouCheckOutGrigs - He'sGotAFewScrewsLoose."

"Good thing *only* few, eh," Grigree replies and slaps Seguld on the back good-naturedly. "I meant, why buy ship here, hrrr, if we just sell it on Bral. But others think we won't loose money, so maybe we try anyway."

Seguld then leaps down from the stool and out of sight as his laughter continues. "OkGang," his voice calls up. "I'mGettin'MeBeautySleep. AnyOfYouBraveStrongAdventurersWhoWantTo... MeetMeOutFrontBrightAn'Early... WeC'nCheckOutTheBigBadGnomeWeapons... CourseMaybeSomeOfYouMight JustBeWakin'UpInOrbitSomewhere. Heck, Wit'TheInsultsYer Throwin'About, AndGnomeIngenuity, IWouldn'tPutItPassedThemLittleFolk. Oooops! IAmOneOfThem! AlmostForgot, ObviouslyManyOfYouDid, ElseYou'd'veSpoken MoreCivilly." With a emphasized hummph! Seguld turns and starts to head to bed for the night.

Ferric shakes his head and follows the gnome. "Seguld, do you have a moment?" the large warrior asks. "I just wanted to tell you that I've learned a lot from you in the past weeks. If you don't mind can you explain to me your strategy for making big deal like this ship? It can wait till morning but I want to know. I think I have a handle on the smaller stuff from watching you work, I just want to see if there are any big differences when making larger deals."

Seguld smiles, "Justcomewithmeinthemorning. I'llshowyoueverythingyouneed toknowabouthowtomake a gooddealonaship!"

"Thanks Seguld, I owe you. See you in the morning." The grey man answers.

"So," Grigree says, after Seguld leaves, "what we do now? Try for the wasp?"

"I don't know," Kain shrugs. "I still think we should..ah..look for a ship with a small crew requirement, freeing up our spellcasters. But if we are to buy one of the available ships,uhh... I think I'd prefer the wasp. That is.. ah.. if you all that are looking at it in the morning think it's a good buy."

Towards the end of the dinner Holland asks, "Do we want to negotiate with the ship owner first, or do we want to sell off the spellbooks, armor, and jewelry ensuring that we have funds available before entering negotiations?"

Grigree says, "After. Maybe he not want to wait and give discount."

Ferric nods, "I doubt there will be anyone to buy the ship out from beneath us after we talk to the owner so there should be no hurry."

After eating a little more of his meal, Kain says, "I'll go to the Harbormasters in the morning. They must have some office where ships.. ah.. register their comings and goings. I'll look to see if there are any ships bound in the direction we want to go. Just in case it turns out the ships aren't what we are looking for."

Across the room, a bard gets up and begins to tell a tale to the room at large. The company falls silent as they listen to him tell his tale. "Sandulax was not your typical elven farmer. No, far from it. He was cruel, cruel beyond belief; especially to his pigs. He would torture them not only in body, but in mind as well. Using his magic, and powerful magic it was, he would mentally degrade them simply for being pigs...."

As the bard tells the story, the company one by one returns to their rooms for a well deserved rest.

The next morning the company again gathers in the dining room of the inn for breakfast.

"Blasted short days," Robert says coming out of his room, "How am I supposed to get enough rest I ask you? That and all the odd noise that I keep hearing."

Before the company breaks up for the day, Leera tells the group, "I'm going to spend some time tomorrow looking around the town; I <cough> think I need to find a healer at a temple... unless one of you could help?" Leera looks inquisitively at Robert and Raken.

Raken is just sitting down, massaging his neck with one hand. "Blasted gnomes; you'd think they'd leave something as simple as a bed alone, without trying to 'improve' it," he grumbles. "Spent the night on the floor; didn't trust that thing." After stretching to relax his neck, he heads over to Leera. "Celestian was generous this morning; he entrusted me with a new spell that might help. Want to be, ahem, my genie hamster?" he says with a smile.

Leera nods. "Yes, thank you."

He makes several motions and gestures, speaking some low words. After about a minute of this, he passes his hand over her face and says "Celestian, cure this woman of her illness, cast the sickness from her body!" His hand drops to his side and he asks "Feeling any better?"

Leera takes a deep breath. "MUCH better! I can breathe again! Thank you, Raken!" The illusionist gives the druid a quick peck on the cheek and then announces, "I'm off to see the town."

Leera excuses herself and adjourns to one of the rented rooms.

Seguld says to everyone else, "ReadyToSeeTheDreadedGnomeWeapons?"

"I am ready," answers Nilaroo.

"Let'sGo!" Seguld says as he hobbles out the door and off towards the shipyard areas.

"Right behind you, oh wise and wonderful Little Person," Pate says.

Date/time: 9:00 am 15th day of the 6th Month, 5049 OC