The Airship

[Enthriper]

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The Airship​

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Prologue: New Friendships

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The day is warm, and a cooling breeze sweeps through the morning air. The townspeople happily work, gossip, run, and get on with their day. If any one of them were to look towards the ocean, they would see an amazing sight.

An airship. But, most importantly, a DOCKED airship. This was very rare in such a small town such as Vernale, the Flowering City. This city was known, as you might have guessed, for its wide range of flowers, always in full bloom. Not for airships. No, not at all. The very most anyone in this town had seen of airships were those that were flying far, FAR overhead.

Today was the legendary day that people all over the continent had speculated about. Several brave heroes were setting out to protect the whole world from evil demons, and bring light to those who were dark.

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Today was the day that young Thomas would finally set out on his adventure. He had been dreaming of this moment for a while. He had left the estate all on his own, he declined horses and quickening spells, he wanted to enjoy the countryside. Now that he was finally here, his heart was beating quickly in excitement.

He smiled as the cool breeze blew through his hair, and looked up, seeing most of the mercenaries he had hired walking towards him. They all looked extremely diverse, and probably had their own reasons for doing this. In fact, they were the only ones who signed up for the job. "Defending the world for evil demons," didn't really attract that many volunteers. He decided to let them take their time getting to him, he was enjoying the breeze anyway.

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Harmony sneezed, the flowers in this city were not good for her allergies. But Thomas seemed to be enjoying it, so she put on a smile whenever he looked over to her. She was supposed to be his bodyguard, but she was completely rendered useless by… flowers…

Harmony felt a cool breeze rush through her hair, and then sneezed again. She looked up and saw the four mercenaries Thomas had hired for the job, walking towards them from the city. She hadn't gotten to speak to any of them yet, but she looked forward to meeting them. She hoped they could all get along happily.​

 

[Raven]

Rina walked feeling the cool breeze in town. Usually she would find it just another day except today was the day she set to leave her adoption family on her very own adventure. She had signed up for an ad as a Mercenary for a man named Thomas. Her sword beside her and she had a small bag on her with a few water gems, family coin, and her ocarina. She believed she saw two people waiting on her. One she knew had to be Thomas and the other she wasn't sure. Once at the two she stopped walking. "Hello." She said. Just to start a possible conversation or to learn perhaps when they may leave.

 

[Penultimate Pi]

The chilled air rushed along Jona's face as he jogged his way through town on the cobblestone. He wasn't in a particular hurry, per se, though the Airship was on another end of town from where he was. The young man liked the flow of wind across his self - running with him or against him, he didn't care. It felt refreshing to someone like him, who worked often in cramped spaces or sweaty shops... or, in particular, carried a destructive engine nearly as big as they were slung behind them.

Of course, there would be no more of the same hot spaces and machine where he was going. He didn't quite know half of what he'd find on the Airship, but that idea almost excited him, honestly. The thought of working as a free-spirited Mercenary, aboard an Airship, no less, was a welcoming thrill to Jona, one he wanted to experience first-hand. Without any doubt, he wanted to be strong...

At last, Jona came within vision of the apparent standing crew of the Airship, still jogging but drawing exhaustive breaths. Slowing into a more reasonable pace, the fresh mercenary adjusted the contraption hanging behind him at his waist. "So," Jona spoke up, hoping to break the ice, "This definitely looks like an Airship. I heard a man here was looking for a Mercenary or two?"

 

[InkaDinkaDoo]

Darun plodded along carelessly, hands behind his head enjoying the sights. He didn't know if it was the flowers, or the task ahead, but he felt good. Better than he had in a long time. From his position he could see the Airship, it was a beautiful sight, truly. Even the ocean, usually terrifying, looked beautiful as the backdrop for the scene in front of Darun. Breathing in the sweet breeze he continued his walk. On the way he decided to have some fun, the hustle and bustle of the small city was nothing new to him. He shouted encouragements, and small quips at the workers. Smiled at the women he passed by, it was a beautiful day, one even handed him a flower (not that they were running out anytime soon).

Each footstep brought the image of the ship closer, and before long he could make out a small crew. Flower tucked behind his ear, Darun strode forward, footsteps quickening until he was at a full sprint, laughing like an idiot. The atmosphere of this place really is intoxicating, Darun thought to himself. Only just realizing the once distant Airship was now in front of him, he managed to catch the snippet of a conversation between two people. One had blue hair, and to Darun either looked like a really pretty dude, or a very handsome young lady. Looking over the other was most definitely a man, and looked around Darun's age. But he had what looked like a frickin' engine on his back.

"-I heard a man here was looking for a Mercenary or two?" , smoothly sliding into the conversation he added with a wide grin, "I'd really hope it's, 'or two', because I would have come all this way for no reason."

 

[Enthriper]

Thomas looked up at Darin and Jona and smiled.
"Hello there! Nice to make your acquaintance, the name's Thomas!" He said, placing his hands on his hips.
"This Airship has all the room possible for any brave souls to board. You two are some of the help I hired, yes?"
Thomas was trying to appear business like and friendly, but he was actually pretty nervous that he might mess up his first impression with them.

Harmony jumped up, towards Rina. When Thomas had shown her photos of the Mercenaries he had hired, she had told him that Rina was the coolest looking one, in her opinion. She seemed like a very strong, LADY warrior, which Harmony was striving to become.
"Hiya! Did you enjoy the fl-fl-flowers-ACHOO!" Her question was interrupted by a loud sneeze that left her unable to speak due to embarrassment.

 

[Raven]

Rina listened to Thomas reply. She gave a small smile learning she had gone to the right place. Hearing him ask if she and this other men was who he hired she gave a nod answering for herself. "Yes I believe so." She stated. She figured the man may perhaps more to the two men who came up after her. Seeing the girl with the man who hired her she smiled when the girl spoke to her. "Bless you." Rina stated politely once the girl sneezed. Then she answered what she heard of the question. "There very lovely today." She answered smiling once more taking a glance at a few of the flowers she had passed by on her way to the airship.

 

[Anthony_Cna]

He peered out through the circular window aside the room, looking to the fresh band of people chattering. He hadnt left the engine room in a few days sleeping in the crew bunking, so the sweat and heat of his current placement gave him a misleading feeling while looking to the bright meadows of this small village the ship had docked at. He took the steps up to the fisrt office and was welcomed back by some well known crew members and navigators of various classes. The floor and walls got lighter and less heated as they got higher on the ship and he then arrived at his usual place of rest, the First class navigators Office.

Armelle shuffled through her large circular containers of maps, to find anything related to the ships current docking port. However to her current and rare misfortune she had nothing on the small village they were all placed in. All of a sudden there was a knock her door. Three large staccato knocks relayed off the door and she smiled, "Come on in." Derbie entered with his usual grin as he was happy to be back in his usual resting grounds and in the company of his usual resting mate and superior. She unraveled the maps she had on their current destination and she just sat as Derbie laid himself down on his beautifully comfortable bed. "You know the beds in the crew quarters are all pretty uncomfortable", Derbie said. Armelle laughed and responded, "Lets hope its comfortable enough for all of those new mercenaries. Lets go introduce ourselves." Derbie sighed because he now had to find a way out of his amazing bed.

 

[Penultimate Pi]

"Bless you," Jona offhandedly said to the lady assistant who was greeting them as she sneezed. Turning back to Thomas (having not received any reply from the embarrassed girl), the young engineer nodded with confirmation. "Well, I seem to recall being one of the Mercenaries you accepted, or else my name isn't Jona Flamberge!" He quipped to the apparent captain, spreading a grin of confidence. Like anyone with legitimate concerns, Jona hoped he wasn't sounding like a blowhard. Wouldn't that be a poor way to start his new career?

"So, anyway," he continued, leaning back to stretch his spine a bit, "I trust you're eager to give us a tour of the ship? I, for one, would love to know some of the inner workings, as well as whoever's running 'em."

 

[Enthriper]

Harmony blushed more when not one, but two people blessed her. "T-Thank you!" She said to each of them. She looked around, desperate for a change of subject.
Thomas smiled. "Well, welcome aboard! I'll gladly give you a tour of the ship, and introduce you to some of the crew. You are going to like the head Navigator, I'd be surprised if she wasn't on her way to meet us now."
He then entered the ship, motioning for everyone to follow him. As he entered, he stated, mostly to himself. "We seem to be missing a person, though.. No matter, if she makes it, she makes it. If not, I'm sure we'll meet her another time."
Harmony turned to Rina. "I can't wait to see the inside, can you!? I didn't go inside yet because I wanted to make it a surprise, I've never ever been inside one of these before." As she talked, she began to get more and more excited. "Oh, by the way, my name is Harmony! N-Not that my name's important..." She blushed with that last statement.

 

[Raven]

Rina listened and gave a nod. When the girl said thanks. She listened to the other mercenary then Thomas. Hearing the offer of a tour she smiled. "That sounds great." She answered. The listened more to the girl before following. "Well then it will be a surprise for the both of us." She stated and smiled. "I'm Rina. Nice to make your acquaintance Harmony." She stated then followed the group inside.

 

[Anthony_Cna]

" So many doors on this rig... You could get lost in here..." Said Derbie to his companion was he kept pressing through door after door of solid wood and pristine metal. They came upon a group of people entering the ship, possibly taking a tour or getting settled in. Armelle took the lead, passing up Derbie to quickly acquaint herself with the gathering or travelers. The rhythm of her boots clanging on the metal foundation went accordingly to her words and she said,"Hello,"Loudly enough to turn all of their heads to her outreached hand,"How are all of you? Tis a fine day for such a noble excursion, no?" Before she could shake anyone's hand however, Derbie crossed her over with another outstretched hand and said,"Dont mind the wordsmith, My name is Derbie, so you can call me Derbie," He said eyeing the young lady. Armelle slapped his hand and pushed him out of the way,"Dont mind that barbarian hes just an engine worker. Im however the First-Class Navigator of this fine vessel. Its a pleasure to make All of your acquaintances."

 

[InkaDinkaDoo]

At the introduction of who was to be his captain, and essentially his boss, Darun gave Thomas' another quick once over, taking in his stature, and the air around him. With a shrug of his shoulders, he was satisfied. Darun beamed, raising his two fingers to his brow he offered a small salute.
"Name's Darun, but you probably already knew that. Pleased to make your acquaintance Cap'n - sir."

After introducing himself Darun remained quiet while the other young man, now known to him as Jona Flamberge opted for a tour of the ship. Following right behind the Captain he gave a quick glance to the two women in his vicinity. Picking up snippets of their original conversation he now knew their names, the thought of greeting them crossed his mind. But he decided against it, they would become crew mates soon, he had all the time in the world to get to know them. Entering inside the airship two people approached their group. Taking their argumentative greeting in stride, before anyone else could say anything he strode forward crossing one hand over the other, offering each of them a hand.
"I'm Darun, and the pleasure's all mine, Derbie, and . . . I'm not sure you said your name Miss?"

 

[Penultimate Pi]

As much as he wanted to anticipate what would be aboard the Airship, Jona really had no way of knowing what he'd find aboard. On retrospect, this craft's lower half did look much like a sea-faring ship, to some degree, so there was at least that. Not that Jona had ever properly taken a ride on one before. The closest he ever got was coming aboard for some engine maintenance; hopefully he'd end up doing a lot more aboard this thing.

The new crew, led by the Captain, was clomping through one of the main rooms of the hull when they were hailed by another pair of individuals. It wasn't hard to guess they were existing crewmates, less so as they introduced themselves. Of course, these two seemed like crewmates in that they were at least both on the same ship - the way they fought each other just to each properly introduce themselves stood better for stark rivals.

"An engine worker, barbaric? Why, I should be offended," The plucky recruit stepped up, shrugging a shoulder to hoist the machine at his back a bit more. "But that depends if crafting an engine of destruction is still technically working an engine, hah!" Jona laughed off his comment, taking each of the offered hands with one of his own and giving them one hard shake.

"But no, really. Derbie, Miss-... lady, I'm Jona, and I'm quite happy to be of service here," he nodded with earnest.

 

[Raven]

Rina had followed everyone inside. She wasn't sure what to expect really. When entering she glanced as they walked at all the scenery taking in the ship as if letting it process within her mind. Soon looking once more ahead she noticed two others had joined them. 'They must already be a part of the crew.' SHe thought to herself and gave them a small smile waitting for the others to finish introducing themselves first. When they both had she gave a nod to the two being she was more in the back away from them. "Good evening. I'm Rina." She stated introduing herself.

 

[Anthony_Cna]

She smiled with good intent with each handshake giving each person an eye and an air of gratitude. "Welcome aboard, all of you. I am Armelle Fleur," She took a step back and bowed as was custom, a hand across her chest and another above her side. She stood,"You may call me Miss Fleur, as that is how Im properly addressed." Derbies fist covered his mouth and he coughed,"Ach- Melon." And to Armelles embarrassment he chuckled. "Shut your face!" She swung at him and he jumped back laughing louder. "What its only a nickname? Why would Melon ever catch on?" She caught herself before throwing another palm."Please lets just continue the tour, well follow and add any needed commentary." She smiled awaiting captains approval while she grasped Derbies ear between her fingers and yanked at his head. "Ou-Ou-Ouh" He said startled.

 

[Enthriper]

Thomas smiled and nodded towards Armelle. Everyone seemed to be getting along with each other, that was good. Thomas didn't say anything, he was busy trying to think up a good line to say to close up the whole tour, when it was over. "Sigh.. I'm really bad at this whole... captain thing.." He thought to himself under his smile.
Harmony was behind the whole group. If any one would have paid close attention to her, they would've noticed that she was intentionally staying behind Rina, like she was hiding or something.

 

[Raven]

Rina listened to the introduction from the other crew members. When the girl speaking first bowed Rina did what was natural and a sign of respect where she had been raised. Both hands where at her side and she did the same even though she was in the middle of everyone. When she stood back up and waited for them both to finish she smiled. "Nice to meet you both. I'm sure we shall all become well acquainted." She stated. Then the tour continued. As they walked Rina could tell Harmony seemed to prefer staying behind but closer to her than the others. She didn't mind nor said anything to the others. Rina in a way wondered if she was the only one to perhaps notice. Then the tour ended and she stopped yet again staying in front of Harmony. She had a feeling the two would become great friends.

 

[Penultimate Pi]

In spite of the bickering pair of Armelle and Derby, the tour continued. Thomas resumed his leading the newcomers around the ship and it components and compartment, some areas of which Jona took special note of. He also couldn't help but notice that Thomas seemed to sound rather reserved or suppressed, even though he was trying to keep up a smile. Was their captain not feeling as powerful as he initially thought? Jona knew appearances were everything, but if a captain wasn't feeling like a captain then something was wrong.

Before anyone even knew it, the tour ended. Jona stood, adjusting the contraption at his hip again. "Well, there we have it, I guess," the young engineer shrugged. "So what's next? We're going to take off soon, I assume?"

 

[Enthriper]

The tour of the airship took longer than Thomas had anticipated. The sun was now low on the horizon, and Thomas was mentally spent from keeping watch over the group, making sure nothing important was tinkered with, and keeping track of all the workers. Nobody ever told him being a captain was this tiring! He was already missing his soft bed..

They had went in a huge, kind of circle around the ship. From the entrance they were lead into the mess hall, or cafeteria by Harmony's terms. From there they walked down a hallway with many doors on the sides. Behind each door was a room for the mercenaries to sleep in. The room included two beds, a shelf, and closet, all being made out of wood. Thomas didn't care whether they did any redecorating or not, and this he made clear. From the hallway there came two different passageways. To the right lead to the infirmary, followed by a dead end. To the left lead to a very spaced out room. This room was the preparation room, Thomas explained to the group, they would use it to prepare for journeys outside of the airship. In the room was a large closet, filled with wooden swords, dummies, and other devices used to train. There were also two staircases. One leading downwards, towards the engine room, and one leading upwards, to the main deck. Once outside, Thomas realized how late it had gotten, and told everyone the tour was over, even though there were still quite a few rooms after this. He had told everyone to meet at the mess hall, with a slight cough from Harmony and the word, cafeteria, slightly murmured, in about ten minutes. They could take this time to explore the ship more thoroughly, before dinner.

Harmony had gone the whole day without food, being to excited for this Airship thing. At the very mention of food, she forgot her shyness, and immediately began to run in the direction of the, "cafeteria."
Thomas, however, headed towards the head of the ship, wanting to get a glimpse of the sunset and relax for just a moment, before heading to the mess hall.

 

[InkaDinkaDoo]

Darun was amazed, the inside of the ship was massive. Just touring through it took the group most of the day, even though those weren't even all the rooms. On inspection of what was to be the crews rooms, Darun eyed the one farthest down the hallway. Tossing his small rucksack in the room, he managed to carve his sign into the door frame ( a backwards 'Z' with a line splitting it vertically) and followed loosely behind the group running his mouth at whatever new marvel the captain happened to show. Eventually the tour was over and they were instructed to head toward the cafeteria in ten minutes. Darun for once was at a loss for what to do. He could head to the preparation room and have a quick workout to build up his appetite. Or he could head over to the quarters and put his stuff up. Deciding to do neither, he headed towards the mess hall. Harmony, who he assumed to be related to Thomas' was already there. She never actually said her name, but he managed to pick up her and the swordswomans' name from one of their earlier conversations. Calling out a greeting, he laid himself on one of the tables and stretched. He was excited for the ship to finally take off, and couldn't keep still. Looking back over to Harmony he wanted to try to start up a conversation, but she seemed like the shy sort. And as energized as he was now, he would probably scare her. Unsure of what to do with all his energy, he hopped off the table and started doing a quick set of push ups.