01-13-2013, 03:19 AM
"I don't think emperors are allowed to throw simple parties," Crispin theorized, responding to Cass's last comment first, and showing a far better grasp of political realities than most would have expected from the absentminded engineer. "It's not about having fun, it's about showing your power..."
"Um... but I guess that's not really a nice thing to hear about your birthday party." He looked awkwardly at his feet and floundered for a graceful way to change the subject, finally giving up on grace and seizing the one nearest and dearest to his heart right now-- the airship.
"We've been toying with some of the design elements for a while. Actually, I designed a lot of them for a different project, which is turning out to be much more complicated than expected..." Crispin ascended the last step and disappeared into the dark maw of the vaguely boat-shaped vehicle. 'Vague' was all that could be said of the shape, shrouded as it was in the concealing cloth, but it did give off the unquestionable impression of 'ship'. There were some scratching noises inside, and then warm light blossomed from the darkness and a hand emerged from the door to help Cass up the last steep steps.
Inside was a wonderland, dominated by a ship's wheel that looked comfortingly familiar to the princess, but the helmsman's view was like nothing that had ever been seen. A half-sphere of sparkling glass panes would provide an incredible view for the pilot when the airship was operational, although now it only showed shadows and draped canvas. The walls to either side were covered in oxblood leather, but that decorative note was barely visible beneath all the functional parts of the ship. Gleaming bronze tubes emerged from the walls, ran along them for a few feet, and then plunged purposefully back through the leather. Various dials peeked out between the tubes, the purpose of each labeled by a small plaque. The wall opposite the front window was furnished with two gas lamps, each equipped with a water-filled safety globe designed to extinguish the flame if anything damaged the lamp. The water also distributed the light more evenly than a normal shade would have. Below the lamps was a closed door flanked by framed blueprints of bizarre-looking ships.
Crispin stood in front of that door, smiling awkwardly as he waited for Cass to finish gazing around the cabin. "It's wonderful, isn't it? It can be run with one pilot and one mechanic, and there's room for six passengers... the cabins aren't done yet, just the bridge and the engine room. Someone from Gold is supposed to be working on decorations for the cabins... they're really unhappy about the weight limit I gave them... um. Anyway, what do you think?"
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