the elements that continually confronted them, and the voyage went off as usual, without any mishap. What the crew did not lack in skill, they made up for in lack of hospitality. Volo and Passepout were booked in steerage, and locked below deck for the entire trip so they would not get in the way of the busy sailing experts. Food was passed down to the two travelers by means of a hatch in the deck, which also afforded them their only glimpse of sunlight for the entire voyage.
With three voyages under his belt, Passepout was unsure which he preferred the least: the one with seasickness, the one with pirates, or the one in steerage. He prayed that this would be his last seagoing venture and that the dreaded upcoming airship journey would be easier… but of course, he doubted that it would be.
As the two travelers finally enjoyed the luxury of standing upright, feeling direct sunlight on their faces and firm ground beneath their feet, Passepout decided to query the master traveler on his plans.
'So we are going to try to rent an airship?' the thespian remarked.
'It will make things much easier, and our journey much quicker,' Volo replied. 'Look at it this way: We've already determined that our sole restriction is that we can't set foot on the same place more than once. Therefore flying over it shouldn't be a problem. Our sea voyages have also shown that the gems will still mark the passage of distance, even when they are not on land.'
'I think I've probably thrown more gems overboard than I've dropped on land so far,' commented the thespian, who felt the bag of gems getting progressively heavier as time went on, despite the reduction in the number of gems.
'I'm sure you're mistaken, dear son of Idle and Catinflas,' Volo corrected, taking a quasi-parental tone with the thespian/novice traveler.
'Whatever.'
'Don't be discouraged. Once we rent an airship, we'll be flying east in no time. Just think of the sights we'll see. We could pass over Dambrath. True, men aren't exactly welcome there, but who says we have to land? We can always view the legendary Bay of Dancing Dolphins with its entertaining inhabitants from above… or perhaps you would prefer stopping by Luiren, the land of the halflings. We could pick up some of their remarkable cheese and stout. I've sampled both, and paid a pretty penny for the pleasure, too. I ordered them through Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue and…'
'Stop,' Passepout insisted. 'You're making me hungry.'
'Then we shall eat,' Volo replied.
'Just so long as it's not fish!'
'I guess the lack of variety of the steerage menu has gotten to you, my friend,' Volo replied. 'So let's go find us some real land-lover food!'
Volo and the thespian discovered a tavern, not too far from the shipyard, that boasted good food, strong ale, and accommodating hostesses. The manager of the establishment recognized the master gazetteer by his reputation and needed no prodding to roll out the red carpet in the hope of securing a good review in the guide that the master traveler claimed to be working on.
Well-supped and entertained, the master traveler and his thespian companion planned to enjoy a few tankards of ale before turning in, and perhaps secure a few leads on an airship available for rental.
Chapter 11
'I understand that you are looking for a slightly used skyship for charter,' a dwarf whispered to the two travelers, who were just about to turn in for the night.
'Maybe we are,' Volo replied.
'Another round of ale,' Passepout bade the serving wench.
'I think I have something that might interest you,' the dwarf continued, taking a place between the two travelers. 'Mind if I join you?'
'Be our guest, care for a drink?' Passepout replied, fully cognizant that their tab was being comped in exchange for possible good review consideration.
'Don't mind if I do,' the dwarf replied. With the dwarf sitting between them, the two travelers quickly noticed the aroma of dwarf body odor that comes when one chooses to ignore common sense and normal dwarf hygiene.
Passepout quaffed another tankard of ale, hoping it would dull his olfactory senses.
'Been working hard?' Volo inquired, seeking possible justification for the dwarfs body stench.
'Nope,' replied the dwarf, downing a tankard and wiping the foam from his beard-and-mous-tache-framed mouth with his soiled shirtsleeve. 'That is, unless you consider making deals to be hard work.'
'What type of deals?' Volo pressed.
'Oh, just deals,' the dwarf replied, helping himself to a refill on his tankard. 'Now, your company and hospitality are wonderful, and I'm sure both of you are truly great fun to be around, but time is money. Are you interested in a skyship charter or not?'
'Well, maybe we are,' Volo replied.
'It will cost you,' the dwarf interjected.
'We will be willing to fairly compensate the sky-ship's owner for the charter.'
'Good!' the dwarf replied. He quaffed the last of the ale and jumped to his feet, tossing a piece of parchment on the table. 'Come to that address tomorrow at precisely midday… and come alone. If I see more than the two of you there, I will leave.'
'We'll be there,' Volo assured. 'Tomorrow, then.' And with that, the dwarf left. 'I hope he bathes tonight,' said Passepout. 'So do I,' agreed the master traveler, 'but somehow I doubt it.'
The two travelers slept late the following morning, but left the inn with more than enough time to reach the appointed place of their rendezvous with the dwarfish airship broker.
' 'Meet me at the abandoned boathouse at the farthest end of the Hale shipyard, signed Jonas Grumby' ' read Volo from the parchment that had been left on the table. 'I guess Jonas Grumby is our aromatic dwarven friend.'
'Aromatic nothing. He just plain stank!' said the thespian. 'I don't know if I'll be able to stand being cooped up with him for an around-the-world flight.'
They arrived at the shipyard with time to spare. With the exception of a teenage barefooted beachcomber who was feeding the sea gulls, no one seemed to be around for miles. Likewise, no airship was in sight either, only the broken-down boat-house, which looked as if it were ready to cave in on itself.
'Hey! Over here!' Jonas yelled from the door of the boathouse. 'Get inside! Quick!'
'All indications point to Captain Grumby here not necessarily being a businessman used to doing things on the up and up,' Volo whispered to the thespian as they approached the boathouse. 'We'll have to be careful. We can't afford to buy a pig in a poke.'
'No!' Passepout replied in mock shock. 'I thought he was as honest as Cadderly the cleric.'
'Enough of your whispers,' Grumby scolded. 'An airship is what you want, an airship is what I have. See!'
Grumby pointed inside the door. The ramshackle boathouse was only a front, with walls propped up by poles in the sand. Inside, resting on the broad beams of its hull, was a two-masted airship with the name Minnow painted on the side.
Volo ventured farther into the pseudo-boathouse and walked around the ship with a critical eye.
'As I recall,' Volo commented, 'Halruaan airships have three masts of flexible wood to hold their windsails in place. This, uh, ship has only two masts, and no sails at all.'
'That is true,' Jonas replied, as if his answer sufficed.
'Now, I realize that the ship is powered by the spell rod, which seems to be in place, and not the sails, but, again if I remember correctly, weren't the sails used for steering?'
'Yes,' replied the dwarf, whose odor from the night before had not improved.
