As it was already late when they arrived at Waikato Town, the group found an inn with a warehouse and stables. After settling down the two carriages, they went to the most famous tavern in town. While having a meal, they also chatted with some of the airship owners.
The tavern's name was Airship. It was a modified version of an airbag airship's pod. The owner of the tavern was a retired airship owner. Together with his wife, they modified the airship that they had built. However, after a long period of use, the airship could no longer continue flying. Thus, they changed it into the main part of the tavern and started doing business on the ground. As their business got better, they built more and more buildings and expanded their scale.
Although flying in the sky seemed like a dream, it was actually very dangerous. There were very few people who could survive until retirement. After a long period of flying, the owner of the tavern chose to retire with the airship that he had built. This was something that many of the younger generation envied.
In addition, he was willing to impart his experience and was an excellent mechanic. When the airships that came to the tavern needed help with ground maintenance, he would occasionally be asked for help.
Over time, the number of airship related personnel that came to the tavern increased. The tavern eventually became a place for intermediary services in Waikato Town. Its operating model was similar to the tavern of the Adventurer's Guild. They even formed an airship guild, but it was only in the form of a mutual aid organization. There were not many restrictions or rules, and the scale was not large.
Tonight, the Airship tavern was full of people. The owners and sailors who could not sail were eating, drinking, and chatting to pass the time when they could not fly.
After filling their stomachs, Lin and Uzov looked for the waiter at the bar counter. They asked for information about hiring an airship, as well as the relevant procedures and fees for the designated destination.
As for why they did not leave it to Uzov, it was because they belonged to two different groups. Getting information from Uzov was already a little too much. If they were to let someone else do the work for them, it would be crossing the line. A certain someone didn't want to do something that had no bottom line. Not all friends of any level could be ordered around like slaves without any qualms.
To the waiter of the tavern, the question of fees was the easiest to answer. Please discuss with the owner directly. Because the cost of each airship was different, the cost of manufacturing and decorating the interior was also different. Therefore, there was no fixed price for the fees to be charged. At the end of the day, the commercialization of airships had yet to flourish to a point where everyone could agree on a standard.
However, the tavern could act as a witness. After both parties agreed on the price and destination, they could sign a contract to avoid any possible disputes in the future.
Their destination was the Holy City of the Society of Sorcerers in the Past district, Estali. There was no problem with a direct flight from this location, and it could be said that this was one of the most popular destinations.
Due to the high cost of flying an airship and the dangers in the sky, the people who used it the most were mages who had long-range attacks and excellent life-saving abilities. The Holy City of Estari was a must-visit for any Magician who came to the Central District of the Labyrinth. It might even be the only place they had to visit. Naturally, the Holy City became a popular destination.
As for the first question, is there anyone willing to make a trip to the Holy City of Estali? Yes, a lot of them.
Is there anyone willing to depart 'immediately' and make a trip to the Holy City of Estali? Of course not! Just like what Uzov had heard earlier, the reason was because of the weather. This was not the season for airships to cross the Jura Mountains.
Even if they personally asked the owners of the airships who had flown hundreds of times, none of them would be willing to risk crossing the mountains at this time of the year.
After a few fruitless inquiries, Lin and Uzov returned to their table and drank helplessly. On the bright side, they were not in a hurry anyway. Besides, the owners of the airships that they had just asked all promised that they could set off for Estali at any time as long as the wind in the mountains eased up in the spring.
During this period of waiting in the town of Waikato, they could settle down and sort out their gains from this trip.
Just as they finished their calculations, they saw a goblin father and daughter in full costume approaching them with a weird smile.
It seemed that they were the civilized species among the goblins. But to be honest, when a certain someone was growing up in the southwest peninsula, he had the most contact with their uncivilized relatives. Suddenly seeing two civilized goblins who looked almost the same as their relatives, he was not used to it psychologically and physically. He almost summoned the Cassette Cutting and cut them in half.
As if sensing the malice that flashed in the mage's eyes, the goblin father and daughter took a big step back and hurriedly raised their hands and said in the common language of the land, "We mean no harm, no harm, Mr. Mage. We are different from those uncivilized and barbaric goblins. " The goblin who spoke, or rather, the civilized goblins, knew very well how annoying their uncivilized kin were.
Knowing that he had made the mistake of judging a person by his appearance, Lin stood up quickly and bowed. He said, "Sorry, it's my fault for misunderstanding the two of you. Please forgive me. I wonder what the two of you are here for? "
Wiping the non-existent sweat on his forehead, the goblin father's panicked expression turned back to the original philistine look. He said, "Mr. Mage, do you want to go to Estali? I am also the owner of the airship. If you are willing, we can set off tomorrow. "
His words made a certain someone very confused. Some of the experienced pilots of airships were not willing to cross the mountains at this time of the year, but these two goblins were willing. Was this … a scam? Did the land of the land of mystery like this? Or were these two goblins trying to trick the mage into a dark alley, and then a bunch of people would come out to skin him? Wasn't that too stupid?
No matter how many civilized goblins there were, they were still goblins. Or would there be help from other powerful races? Or … could the airship of this goblin father and daughter really deal with the strong winds in the Jura Mountains at this time of the year? Lin Li's intuition told him that the last point was not very likely, but if he made the mistake of judging a person by his appearance again, would he miss an opportunity?
Just as Lin Li's mind was racing and he was considering all sorts of possibilities, the goblin father praised himself. He said, "My airship uses the latest goblin technology and has excellent performance. It can overcome the strong winds in the mountains at this time of the year. Of course, it is not cheap to ride such an airship. But for you, Sir Mage, this small amount of money should not be a problem. "
Lin Li decided to give these two civilized goblins a chance out of his good impression of the goblin sword saint that he had admired since he was young. He said, "If it is suitable, money is of course not a problem. But before signing the contract, I wish to confirm the condition of the airship before making a decision. "May the origin power be with you, my goblin friend. According to the official settings, that sword saint is not of the same race as you and only looks similar.
However, this request put the goblin father and daughter in a difficult position. They said hesitantly, "Sir, can't we sign the contract directly? How about this, I will use the original price of 9.5% to sign the contract with you. Do you know what 9.5% means? Come to think of it, this is a mathematics that you mages invented. Ah, it is really a good subject. Originally, the cost of transporting each of you to Estali was LXX Kiel (70 gold), but 9.5% meant that you only needed to pay LXX Kiel (68 gold). Wasn't that a good deal? So, let's sign the contract directly. "
The ancestor of your family's mathematics is here, and 95% of 70 is not 68, but 66.5. If I were your mathematics teacher, I would definitely jump out of the airship as soon as it reached its limit!
However, a certain someone still had to do what needed to be done. Thus, Lin Li insisted, "No, let's confirm the condition of the airship first before making a decision."
The goblin father heard this and continued to pester, "How about this, we'll give you 90% of the price for a jump sale. LXX Kyr (65 gold) per person. You won't be able to find anyone else with such a good price. How about we sign the contract now? "With that, he took out a piece of scribbled parchment and stuffed it in front of a certain mage.
In the face of such a forceful attitude, Lin Li reached out and grabbed the goblin's wrinkled, green-skinned face. With a dark expression, he said fiercely, "We are mages who dare to deal with demons and devils. Why do you have the misconception that we won't sign the contract easily before confirming the situation? It's already late, and the sky is dark. We can't see anything. Let's confirm the condition of the airship tomorrow morning. We'll talk about it then, okay? Mister goblin whose name we don't know yet. "
"Sure, sure. I'm sorry, please forgive me. "
Early the next morning, in front of a strange-looking airship on the plains. It was an airship with airbags, but the ratio of the airbags to the nacelles was much smaller compared to the typical airships in the Land of Confusion. Moreover, the airbag's shape was not symmetrical and harmonious. It was like a broken balloon doll that was tied up messily with thick ropes. One side was big, and the other was small.
Because of the irregular shape of the airbag, it floated in an unbalanced position. In order to fix the pod horizontally, the ropes at different positions were of different lengths. Even so, the pod could only be maintained in a slightly slanted state and not completely horizontal.
In order to show off their propulsion mechanism, the goblin father and daughter activated the mechanism. Even though it was not operating at full speed, the mechanism emitted an ear-piercing roar, and black smoke continuously rose from the opening of the tube. This propeller moved several sets of propellers, including two sets of smaller propellers at the front and two sets of larger propellers at the back.
The seemingly advanced design did not pay attention to symmetry and balance at all. It made the entire airship look top-heavy and out of place.
The goblin who called himself Totokani Afstein said proudly, "Sir Mage, this is an exquisite airship built with the most advanced technology of my race, using large amounts of rare materials and manpower. It's called the Hindenburg."
The man who looked at everything in front of him with dead eyes did not care about his companions at all. He turned around and walked away without any intention of saying anything.
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