Gods damn it. Our wheel fell off.
When Libby designed the Dauphine, she expected trouble. She knew we'd have to weather a lot to get from one side of the world to the other. Animal migrations, bandits, inclement weather... the works. It was bound to happen. You don't travel the world without taking some knocks in the process. What Libby did not anticipate was going up against the Imperium army, or at least not on multiple occasions. Maybe she should've.
Okay, yeah. She definitely should've.
To say the wheel fell off is not quite accurate. It would be more accurate to say that it fell apart. We heard the groan, the crack, the crumble, the collapse, just as we were digging into a soggy breakfast this morning. This followed by the groan, the crack, the crumble, and the collapse of our chief engineer as she heaved her bowl of porridge across the Neo Beefiary and into a wall.
Libby's not in a good mood these days.
Here's the state of the Dauphine as it stands right now:
- We can't move. One wheel? Gone. Another wheel? Not looking so good. The rest? Decent. Wear and tear.
- Engineering has three big holes in its walls. The gears that comprise the Dauphine's internal guts are in disarray. They still move when cranked, but you can't really tell if they're actually doing anything or just slapping ineffectually against one another.
- Engineering is equal parts swamp and skating rink, depending on where you are. Under other circumstances I'd find this entertaining.
- Several of the cabins ringing Subsistence are gone. Ed's old home, bless his bardy soul, is now a hole. Grylock's been forced to move into new accomodations, as well, as his cot fell out of the side of the Dauphine during our escape from the soldiers.
- Two of our three sails are ruined. Lucky potshot that zipped right over our heads and hit the mast. We can fix those easily enough.
- A fair few windows in Command are broken. Again.
- The mechanism that allows Daena to both power and steer the Dauphine is on the fritz. We found that out when she steered right and the Dauphine banked left... right into a dense forest. Ouch.
- And, because it would be remiss of me to neglect the poor guy, the rhino's till on the mend. Apparently a cannonball blast stopped the rhino's wheel dead for about two seconds - just enough time for everyone's favourite quadruped to trip. Ouch time.
Also, the Dauphine just plain looks like crap. During the day, when the lights are off, it resembles a derelict husk. Passers-by probably think Libby's angered wails are those of a haunting banshee.
The gypsies regrouped and found us again - they're apparently very good at avoiding the Imperium's patrols, and no surprise - and they've been helping us rebuild the thing. For, you know, a minor fee. Bloody gypsies. Nevertheless, we've embraced their aid and fervently hope it'll be enough to get us back on our feet.
Which, Libby assures me, it will. She's more positive on the gypsies than I am.
Still...
We can't repair the Dauphine forever. Eventually it's gonna break for good, like the Matriarch before it. And when it does... what the hell do we do then?
Sincerely,
Dragomir the Wanderer
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