Because it was too late to arrive in Waikato town, a group of people found a hotel with a warehouse and stables. After setting up the two carriages, they went to the most famous tavern in the town to have a meal. Dealing with some airship owners.
The name of that tavern is 'Airship'. It was converted from a pod under an airbag type airship. The owner of the tavern is a retired boat owner. Together with his wife, he transformed the airship that he built, but after long-term use, was no longer able to continue flying, into the main part of a tavern and started a business on the ground. . As business got better, buildings were added and expanded.
Although the job of flying in the sky seems dreamy, it is actually very dangerous. There are really very few people who can survive until retirement. After a long flight, the tavern owner chose to retire with the airship he built, which is something that many younger generations admire.
In addition, he is willing to impart experience and is also an excellent mechanic himself. When the airships parked here need help on the ground for maintenance, they will occasionally come to him for help.
Over time, more and more people related to airships came and went from this tavern. The tavern eventually even became a venue for intermediary-related business in Waikato town, and its operating model was similar to that of the Adventurer's Guild's tavern. They even formed an airship guild of their own, but it was just a mutual aid club, without many restrictive rules and not very large in scale.
The airship tavern tonight was full of people. The boat owners and sailors who were unable to sail here ate, drank, chatted and passed the time when they were not flying.
After simply filling their stomachs, Lin and Uzov went to the bar to find the waiter who was a part-time receptionist, and inquired about the news about hiring an airship, as well as the relevant procedures and fees for the designated destination.
As for the fact that it was not completely handed over to Uzov, it was because the two parties still belonged to two groups after all. Obtaining information from Uzov was already going too far; if he even had someone else negotiate the employment contract, that would be a step too far. Someone doesn't want to do such a bottomless thing. Not friends of any level can be ordered around like slaves without any worries.
For the tavern receptionist, the question of cost is easiest to answer: please discuss it directly with the owner of the boat. Because the cost of each airship's voyage is not consistent, and the initial manufacturing and internal layout costs are also different, there is no set price for how much it should be charged. In the final analysis, the commercialization of airships has not yet flourished enough to form a consensus-based norm.
However, the tavern can act as a witness and sign a contract after both parties have negotiated the price and destination to avoid possible disputes in the future.
The destination is the holy city of Estari, the Feist branch of the Magicians Association. Direct flights are available from this location without any problems, and it can also be said that it is one of the popular destinations.
Because of the high cost of flying airships and the dangers that exist in the sky, the people who have most often used airships for a long time have been magicians with long-range attack methods and excellent life-saving abilities. For magicians who come to the central area of the Lost Land, the holy city of Estali is almost a must-visit place, and may even be the only place to visit. Naturally, the Holy City has become a popular destination.
As for the first question, is anyone willing to take a trip to the holy city of Estali? Yes, and there are many.
So is anyone willing to set off 'immediately' and go to the holy city of Estali? of course not! Just like what Uzov heard before, the reason is that due to the weather, this season is not suitable for airships to cross the Jura Mountains.
Even if you personally ask the boat owners who have a good reputation and have flown hundreds of times, no one is willing to risk crossing the mountains at this time of year.
After several inquiries to no avail, Lin and Uzov returned to their tables and drank helplessly. Thinking on the bright side, I am not in a hurry anyway. Moreover, the boat owners I just asked have all promised that they can set off for Estali anytime as long as the spring warms up and the wind on the mountain eases a little.
This waiting time in Waikato town is just enough time to settle down and sort out the various gains from this journey.
Just as they made their plans, they saw a goblin father and daughter wearing full costumes approaching the group with strange smiles.
It seems that the other party is a civilized species among goblins. But let’s be honest, someone’s formative years in the Southwest Peninsula involve the most interaction with their uncivilized cousins. Suddenly he saw two civilized goblins, whose appearance was almost the same as their close relatives. They were a little uncomfortable psychologically and physically. He almost summoned Hakakiri and chopped them both with a sword. one eight
As if noticing the flash of malice in the magician's eyes, the goblin father and daughter took a big step back, quickly raised their hands, shook their hands, and said in the common language of the lost land: "I have no malice, no malice, Your Majesty the Magician." . I am different from those uncivilized savage goblins." The goblins who spoke, or the civilized goblins, all knew how annoying their uncivilized kin were.
Knowing that he had made the mistake of judging a book by its appearance, Lin stood up quickly, saluted, and said, "I'm sorry, it's my fault for misunderstanding you two. Please forgive me. I don't know what happened if you two came here?"
Wiping the non-existent sweat on his forehead, the goblin father's panic expression returned to his original philistine appearance. He said: "Your Majesty, the Magician, wants to go to Estari. I am also the owner of the airship. If you are willing, there is no problem for us to set off tomorrow."
When he said this, someone was confused. Some veterans who control airships are unwilling to cross the mountains at this time of year, but these two goblins are willing. This is... a fraud group? Is Mi Di also doing this? Or are these two goblins trying to trick the magician into a dark alley, and then have a bunch of people come out to skin him or something? Isn't it too foolhardy?
No matter how many civilized goblins there are, they are still goblins. Or will other powerful fighting races help? Or...can the airship of this goblin father and daughter really cope with the strong winds in the Jura Mountains at this time of year? Finally, it is unlikely that someone will have intuition, but if you make the mistake of judging a book by its appearance, will you miss an opportunity?
While someone's mind was spinning and he was thinking about various things, the goblin father was boasting about himself, saying: "My airship uses the latest goblin technology and has excellent performance. It can overcome the obstacles on the mountain at this time of year." Strong winds. Of course, the cost of taking such an airship is not cheap. But for the magician, this small amount of money should not be a problem."
In line with his favorable impression of the goblin swordmaster whom he had admired since childhood, Lin decided to give these two civilized goblins a chance and said: "If it's suitable, money will certainly not be a problem. But before signing the contract, I hope that Confirm the status of the airship before making a decision." May the Force be with you, my goblin friend. Although according to the official settings, the sword master and you are not of the same race, they are just similar in appearance.
But such a request made the goblin father and daughter feel embarrassed. They coyly said: "Your Excellency, can't you sign a contract directly? Let's do this. I will sign a contract with you at the original price of 9.50%. Do you know what 9.50% means? Speaking of which, this is also yours. Mathematics invented by magicians. Ah, that is really a good knowledge. Originally, the fee required to transport you alone to Estali was LXX Kil (70 gold). Nine point five percent means that you only need to pay Just LXVIII Kil (68 gold). Isn’t this a good deal? So let’s sign the contract directly.”
Your ancestor who is obsessed with mathematics is here, and 95% of 70 is not 68, but 66.5. If I were really your math teacher, I would definitely open the door and jump out after the airship reaches its limit!
However, if a person's heart is full of ulterior motives, he still has to do what needs to be done. So Lin insisted: "No, we should confirm the situation of the airship first before making a decision."
When the goblin father heard this, he even stalked and said: "Let's do this, let's have a big sale. Just give us 90% of the price. LXV Kir (65 gold) for one person. You can't find anyone else with such a good price." It's human. How about, let's sign the contract now." After saying that, he took out a piece of parchment with alterations and stuffed it in front of a certain magician.
In response to this overlord's aggressive attitude, Lin directly stretched out his hand to clasp the goblin's wrinkled, green-skinned, rough old face, and with a darkened expression, he said viciously: "How dare we fight against the devil?" A magician who deals with the devil. Why do you have the illusion that we will sign any contract easily before confirming all the circumstances. It is already late today, it is dark, and nothing can be seen. We will confirm the flying sky early tomorrow morning The condition of the boat will be discussed later, okay? This is Mr. Goblin whose name I don’t know yet.”
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, please forgive me."
Early the next morning, in front of a strange-looking airship on the grassland. It was an airbag-type airship, but the ratio of airbags to pods was significantly smaller than that of ordinary airships in Midi. And the shape is not a symmetrical and coordinated shape, like a broken balloon doll, tied messily with thick cables, one side is big, the other is small.
Precisely because of the irregular shape of the airbag, it floats in an unbalanced posture. In order to fix the pod horizontally, the cables at different locations have different lengths. Even so, the pod can only be hung at a slight angle, rather than completely horizontal.
In order to show off the proud propulsion mechanism, the goblin father and daughter turned on the mechanism. Even though it is not running at full speed, the mechanism that makes a harsh roar is constantly emitting black smoke at the mouth of the pipe. This drives several sets of propeller blades, including two sets of smaller blades on the front and left, one on each side, and two sets of larger blades on the rear.
It seems to be a very advanced design, but it pays no attention to symmetry and balance, making the entire airship look top-heavy and uncoordinated.
The goblin who calls himself Totokani Afstan is saying proudly: "Your Majesty the Magician, this is a fine flying machine that has been built by gathering the most advanced technology of our clan, spending a lot of rare materials and manpower, and putting all our efforts into it." Airship, Hindenburg.”
The man who looked at everything in front of him with dead fish eyes, didn't care about his companions at all, turned around and left without hesitation, without even the intention of saying any polite words.
