CH184 Flying Cloud’s first voyage.
Surprisingly, the streets were busy with people. Mostly humans, but lots of stalls, some with gnomes were buying and selling things. The small but blue water worthy ferrocement boats had multiplied so the place had become a bit of a trade hub. Money was still in short supply so people mostly bartered.
Alex noticed a rather large clipper ship that looked quite similar to a toy ship that a certain sea-elf-turned-fairy was flying around in not long ago. But she refused to get distracted just yet. She had a delivery for the gnomes.
Not wanting to waste time with pleasantries, Alex headed to the entrance to the gnome’s mine and deployed the massive semi-truck from the card. Considering it was almost 100 feet long, finding a place where it wouldn’t fall over because it wasn’t flat enough turned out to be a bit of a challenge.
“Hello” Alex waved to get the attention of a passing gnome. “Could we get some help off loading this engine? It is just chained to the trailer.”
A gnome gaped at the massive semi truck that appeared out of nowhere. “What in the world is this? A holy machine has blessed us with its presence.”
The gnomes milling around the area that caught sight of the massive vehicle all stopped in their tracks to regard it with awe.
“Some help please?” Ariel used her captain’s voice. “We gotta offload this delivery to the gnomes.”
A priestly-looking gnome got the crowd organized and brought forward what looked like a lift with a pulley on it. They were able to attach it to the chains and because gnomes are short, someone climbed up on a ladder built into the lift to get it rigged up correctly. It took a while but they got the engine pulled free, hanging from a chain and a team of gnomes pushed the platform back towards the entrance to the cave system that marked the entrance to their underground complex.
The priestly-looking gnome offered tribute at the end. “We give unto thee the building blocks to create new wonders that will please the gear spirits.” He waved a hand and a cart filled with iron rods, springs, gears and plates, all doll-sized forward.
“This will be very useful.” Alex inspected the offering. “Most of the doll parts we’ve had are softer brass or bronze. I could perhaps start the mannequin project that I’ve wanted to do for a while with this.”
“Can it wait?” Ariel huffed. “We need to get you at least one level before you go back to making more dolls.”
“Fine.” The black-haired magical girl agreed, though she didn’t sound like it.
The flying cloud had done a few test trials and was ready for a longer shake-down cruise.
A group of leaders met in a newly built stone building near the docks.
“Ah.” Donald, the shipwright from the Jass capital greeted them. “Was hoping that our captain and the magical girl who put all this in motion would come back in time to take this ship out for her first multi-day voyage.”
“I’d be honored to captain her.” Ariel straightened. “I do have experience with a very similar ship after all.”
Donald nodded. “I would say a ship of that size would need no less than 20 sailors to function, but with all the contraptions, so long as they function half that size would be plenty.”
“How many people can it take on a raid to the south?” Cecil asked.
“Likely 30 combat classers and their gear could bunk, there is plenty of space for supplies. This is after all a ship that looks like it was originally designed for fast delivery.” Mr. Mckay stated.
“That should be good to continue heading along the coast and clearing the smaller villages of demons.” Cecil pondered. “We are not trying to take the country, like with Jass, Dover needs to have pressure put on it. Have there been any reinforcements coming from the main continent?”
“I don’t actually know.” Donald shook his head. “Do you have any news Ariel?”
“I have been inland for a while.” The sea elf stated. “But last I heard they are treating this like a small rebellion and trying to downplay it to the public to save face.”
“Any word of that mountain?” Cecil asked. “Nobody here is high enough level to confront him, even wounded.”
“I suspect he went inland.” Ariel said. “Aqua might no more but I heard that he even avoided the big cities, likely he’s in one of the farthest east settlements near the border. She didn’t think he’d spend much time outside of the demon queen’s empire less he risk not fulfilling his contract.”
Grace who stood against the carriage scoffed at this. “At that level existing and being feared is enough. He can just cultivate all the time and do nothing and still be fine. Unless the illusion that he is unbeatable is broken he doesn’t have to try hard at all. That menace is incredibly lazy.”
Alex, Ariel, Grace, Cecil and a crew took to the seas, headed south on the clockwork clipper ship. It took a day to load and do all the checks but they launched at dawn with a bunch of people lining the shores to watch the spectacle of the large ship headed out of the harbor and into open water.
“Are we going to fly?” Alex asked Ariel when they were underway.
“The only way flying is faster is if there is a tail wind.” The sea elf explained. “Even if we have to jibe a few times, keeping the propeller running in the water is better than in the sky. Also, the balloons act like extra sails and will push the ship in the direction of the wind. It is not like those airships that you made for dolls and Merumeru.”
“That is my fault.” Alex grumbled. “I thought of a ship and one that could fly as well, but if it can’t do both well that’s a problem.”
“Nah,” Ariel shook her head. “Like the toy she’s one of the best ships I’ve had. We can take to the air, but in open water it is best to stay in the water.”
Alex and Grace got a room next to the captain’s cabin. Apparently there were people with captain classes but most of those were lower level. Ariel, being a magical girl, made her special class a step above normal ones. The first day went by smoothly and they settled in for the night. And eventually had dinner in her quarters, it was one of a few places with a table big enough to sit down together at. Of note was the constant noise of clicking of clockwork mechanisms and turning of gears.
“Some of the gnomes are captains and a few are at the level cap.” Ariel stated. “But most of them have more specialized paths. Like I met this old gnome who had spent over a century on submarines.”
“Do they not like being above water?” Alex asked.
Grace set down her cup of tea. “It is not that they don’t like being above water. For any of the races that are not human, being close to a human settlement is a big risk. So the best course of action is to not be noticed.”
“Many higher tiered cultivators know they are there.” Grace added. “But look at that island. The demons eventually left because there were no humans living there. The problem is that if they are harboring humans that changes things. It is safer to just go completely unnoticed, even if both parties are pretending.”
“What do you think about being out on the water like this?” Alex asked the red-eyed magical girl.
Grace sighed. “The last time I was on a boat it was being taken as a captive from the main continent to this one to subdue the last bastion of human resistance. It wasn’t a good memory.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” The black-haired magical girl frowned. “But everyone here is free.”
“I hope it stays that way.” Grace went back to sipping her tea and looking haunted.
“How about practicing your organ?” Fufi suggested. “I’m sure the sailors would appreciate it.”
“I guess I could, but it might be best to practice outside.” Grace considered the idea.
“We are making around 15 knots.” Ariel changed the subject. “So we should be in Dover waters in a couple days.”
The second day Grace took out her mini organ from the sky island and played a tune for the sailors. It had a nice rhythm that helped them work in unison, like a sea shanty. Everyone was happy to have a musician on board and they were impressed that the boat rolling in the waves didn’t mess up her playing.
The third day in the middle of the night a voice called out. “Land Ho! Hard a starboard!”
Ariel got up and with a slam of the door stormed out to the deck. Flapping wings signaled her familiar flew out to take a look as well. A few moments later the ship lurched from a sudden turn, sending her stumbling.
Being able to instantly dress with clothing, Alex was not far behind, thinking there might be trouble, she took a doll for protection. She took out her phone to look at the time, it was bleary 2am, though her phone no longer adjusted to local time for obvious reasons. Starlight barely lit the skies so the only thing that could be seen is waved adjacent to the ship and blackness. Whoever spotted land must have better vision than her.
“What do you mean land?” Ariel fumed at the watch. “The map says we should be in open ocean for miles. It says so on the map.”
“Begging your pardon ma’am.” The watchman stammered. “My eyes don’t lie. I believe that map is old. When they had the earthquakes maps became wrong, areas got deeper, shallower and islands popped up. Ships that had been raiding Dover have had tales of similar near misses.”
“This is why the deities don’t like beings with demigod levels of power on Terre.” Ariel’s familiar added. “The fight between that general, the angel and mister skeleton changed the landscape quite a bit and very quickly. It is frustrating that Cosmos has to be sidelined while monsters like these can roam with only their contract to the demon queen holding them back.”
The next day they made it to a settlement. They anchored the ship out of view of the harbor and deployed the dinghies to go ashore.
“There’s a good area on the beach to deploy the carriage” Alex pointed at a spot from the dinghy she was riding on.
“Go ashore there.” Cecil ordered the people steering the boat.
It too was clockwork though the gnome must have put the engine together using their magic because the toy boat didn’t have any dinghies. Alex never got around to making them.
“We’ll have to stay out over the water.” Fufi landed by Alex. “King Ben’s laws also keep flamingos out of their land.”
“I would say stay in the carriage, but it is so big now it would just sink if the card was deployed here.” Alex said.
They took the boat up onto the sand and everyone got out, pulling it onto the beach. Alex threw the card down in a dramatic fashion in a place that both had enough space for the semi truck and tanker and was not out in the open by being far enough away in the water and in some dunes with high grass.
“What do we do with the big metal tank?” Cecil asked.
“I was going to use it to grow mosquitoes but I don’t think I thought this through.” Alex squinted at the tanker, wishing that she brought something else.
“There will probably be some use for it.” The guildmaster looked it over. “If nothing else it can hold extra water. Running out of fresh water while we are at sea would be terrible, or anywhere else for that matter.”
“It can hold a whole lot of water.” Alex nodded. “Anyway, let me get my dolls ready and we can go liberate a town from demons.”
“It will take a couple of trips to get everyone here.” Cecil pointed back towards where the flying cloud was anchored. “Everyone needs to get ready as a group before we head out.”
So they spent the next hour offloading boats, doing a couple more back and forths from the main ship and when everyone had their gear set and supplies secured they went as a group towards the coastal city. Alex had some concern that they might not have enough people to take the city, but Cecil assured her that there was no Dojo here with a tier 3 demon. So they could storm in, purge the demons and head back to sea before any organized response could happen and then go and do that to the next town of similar size to the south.