Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty-Seven - Hustle, Bustle, Toil, & Trouble

Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty-Seven - Hustle, Bustle, Toil, & Trouble

Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty-Seven - Hustle, Bustle, Toil, & Trouble

Initially, I thought finding the baron would be somewhat easy. I dont know why I thought that, it just felt like the kind of thing that wouldnt be too hard.

Whatever city he hid in, hed probably insist on being in the nicest part of it. That seemed to match his personality.

The problem was that I couldnt have expected Storm Tower to be... the way it was, really.

While the outer wall of the tower wasnt all that thick, it was still filled with curving corridors, staircases that climbed up and down, and plenty of storage spaces, offices, and little break rooms.

What caught my attention the most though wasnt the strange verticality of the space, but the people within it.

Dwarves were all over. Short men and women (maybe? The beards made it hard to tell. Id have to find a way to politely ask about dwarven genders at some point) stomped about like busy bees. Next to them, and usually moving with both more speed and grace, were elves.

They were tall and lithe, with chiselled, noble features and very nice chins on average. The elves werent in a class of their own though, or if they were, I didnt notice it right away. Dwarf and elf worked together, and there didnt seem to be that big of a difference in their jobs. Sure, I saw more dwarven mechanics, but there were some elves in overalls covered in grease stains as well, and while the elves looked more comfortable in their office attire, plenty of dwarves had button-up shirts open at the front so that they could stuff the tips of their beards away.

Awa, theres so much to look at, Awen said. Which really summed up my problem, even if she was talking more about all the ships parked away around us.

I know, I said. This place is enormous. And its not the entire city or anything, I bet the rest of the complex is even more packed with stuff and people and things.

As far as Im aware, the tower complex is where most of the governance is, Caprica said. The satellite cities are for housing and industry, respectively. Though what I read about the Storm Tower and what Im seeing now... well, my history books didnt do the scale of this place justice. This is a wonder of engineering.

Its pretty big, yeah, I agreed. I bet someone could fit a whole Eiffel Tower in the middle of this place and still have room to park a few ships. Where do we even start?aryllis hummed. I think we start with the obvious. Well go pay our docking fees, then ask about the barons ship. If its here somewhere, then all the best.

Spending time in an administration building while visiting a whole new place didnt sound super fun, but Amaryllis was probably right about its effectiveness. So the five of us (Amaryllis, Awen, Calamity, Caprica and me) all headed out of the docks and with a few helpful directions from some locals and some time spent trying to understand the local signage, we bustled our way into a big administrative centre just off the main tower but still within the same building.

There were windows overlooking a pretty view of the sea and the industrial sector just to the south of Storm Tower, but mostly we werent there for the view but to talk to the admin.

Amaryllis took the lead, bringing out a few papers and permits which a young elf man looked over quickly. She managed to convince him that the Beaver didnt need an inspection and that we werent carrying any cargo to sell, so we obviously didnt need a cargo manifest. We were here on business, not to sell stuff.

Finally, the question I was paying attention to came up. Were also looking for someone while were here, Amaryllis said. A harpy noble by the name of Baron Vonowl. He might have arrived here on a skiff, perhaps a day or two ago.

Do you have any more details than that? the admin asked. We have skiffs aplenty here.

It was a Snowlander ship, Awen added. Then she rattled out a few specifications. Its balloon-size, approximate tonnage, the propeller and engine model. I didnt know shed gathered that much information about his ship just at a glance.

Unfortunately, that didnt really help much, at least, not until we got lucky. The admin turned as a dwarf in a suit trundled by. Hey, have you heard of a harpy crew coming in on a Snowlander skiff lately? he asked.

The dwarf paused. Yeah, sure, yesterday morning?

We all perked up. Did you see them, mister dwarf? I asked.

That... isnt how it works, Caprica said.

Calamity shrugged, as if to say well, I tried.

Any options then? Other than something so evidently criminal? Amaryllis asked.

Ask nicely? I tried.

Yes Broccoli, but who do we ask nicely? Amaryllis asked. We dont really have any connections here, do we?

Um, Awen said.

We all turned towards Awen whose cheeks took on a cute shade of pink at the sudden attention.

I think I know someone here. Well, someone who knows someone I know. Awa, what I mean is... she took a deep breath to recentre herself while we listened. My uncle came here a few times, starting a long time ago, when the tower wasnt finished being built yet. His airship is very, very old, like... one of the first, probably, and it was partially built here, though its had so many parts replaced that... well, nevermind. My point is, he had a bunch of friends in the Snowlands. He told me stories.

And those friends might be willing to assist? Caprica asked.

Maybe? Awen tried. There is an exploration guild here. And they probably have a club for old people.

That isnt a bad idea, Amaryllis said. Its a place to start, at least. And the kind of old person that hangs around at the Exploration Guild is exactly the kind of person that likes getting into a bit of trouble.

That doesnt sound like what I envisioned at all, Caprica said.

Amaryllis sniffed. You were expecting us to go through all the right and proper channels? Caprica, this isnt Sylphfree, and were not diplomats. We don't know what the proper channels would be, or if they even exist.

Were troublemakers, Calamity said with a devilish grin.

I shook my head. Were nothing like that. Just friends trying to fix a few little problems and see some amazing stuff while were at it. I think Awens idea is the best one so far. Well get to meet some people who can help and then figure out where we want to go from there.

Finding the exploration guild proved surprisingly easy. I flagged down an unhurried looking dwarf in the halls outside the dock administration place, then asked them where we could find the guild.

It turned out to be at the top of what locals called the little tower which was a smaller tower built closer to the coast. That was still a very long walk away though, not that anyone minded. We got to tour the Storm Tower and play tourist as we crossed the entire massive complex.

I just wished the place was a little more tourist-friendly. They really needed more signs explaining things. Like the main complex had an interior train system where people who needed to get around could hop aboard one of the moving platforms (they had benches and rails to grab onto) so that they could move around without having to walk, but we didnt know which platform to ride on so we had to just hoof it.

I didnt mind, it meant I got to see all the strangely dressed people moving around, many of whom paused to look at us as we passed by. Also, we discovered that the locals had a thing for street food.

It didnt taste very good. Everything from the sausages they had to their drinks was super bitter and smokey. I imagined the dwarf palate wasnt anything like a human one because I saw plenty of them enjoying their snacks.

Finally, after a good bit of wandering around, we made it to the Exploration guild.

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