Dungeons & Disappointment

Chapter 23: A New Ally

"Alright, on three, we pull, okay?"

"Got it!"

"One, two, THREE!!!"

We both pulled as hard as we could, and we ripped the last piece of furniture out of the floor, tearing the bookcase off of the wall and into our hands.

"Nice job there, Trevon! Can you haul it out now?"

I shook my head, then grabbed one end of the bookcase, holding it off the ground and dragging it towards the exit. Finana picked up her end, helping with the weight, and we carried it, rather precariously, out of the ship and to the small wagon, piling it on top of the rest of the assorted crates, barrels, chests, and other materials that we had looted out of the ship. And with that, we started heading back to the airship.

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

I fit the final barrel into place, right as everything was wrapping up, and I heard cheering from above me as Tharngeil and Drar let loose the new sails, letting the Lateen sails flow in the wind. They were finally hooked to the rest of the rigging, fully functional, and that made me happy. And boy, did it make Drar and Tharngeil happy, too.

"Laddie, you've got to get out here!" Tharngeil yelled at me.

I wiped the afternoon sweat off my brow, then walked up the stairs and back onto the deck, slipped off the sides, and met up with the rest of the party. I stood next to Finana as we all sat down, still staring at the now complete airship.

"Works done." Drar said, then pulled meat, fish, breads, and various drinks out of his backpack. "Lunch is served."

We all took our shares, and I looked back at the ship as we silently ate. Honestly, the airship was gorgeous. It was a little over ninety five feet long, ten feet wide, and about eighteen feet tall, being a double decked ship. The frame of the ship was made out of steel beams, crisscrossing across the hull of the ship and helping to support all of the structure of the airship. The bottom of the airship had bronze plating that protected the keel, and around the middle of the ship, there were reinforced glass sides, allowing for viewing of the surrounding landscapes. The top of the ship was pretty open, allowing for a lot of movement, and there were four ballistas on the sides of the ship, two on each. And finally, the ship had very large and beautiful lateen sails, like Xebecs from my world, held up with a large and rather complicated array of rigging and various ropes. It was really, really pretty, and I raised my bottle of ale.

"To this happy ship."

"To this happy ship!!" We all chanted, and then drank merrily.

"Alright, so what's the plan from here?"

"We've got another job lined up from here." Drar replied. "This is our last day in the town. Hopefully we see you around?"

"Yeah man. Hopefully we do!"

"Aye, and if we ever run into each other again, feel free to pull a chair up to whatever tables we're drunk at!" Tharngeil added. "We hope to see the two of you around!"

"Hope so too man. Take care of yourself."

And with that, Drar and Tharngeil stood up and started off towards the exit of the junkyard, joking and talking with each other as they left Finana and I in silence.

"Alright so what now?"

"You go to Jeebs and get the job, and I'll head to the marketplace and score some deals on food. If you need anything, here."

She reached into her back, then pulled out a stone, colored dark gray, and she handed it to me. A stone of far speech.

"Use that to get ahold of me." She said. "Good luck."