Serpent Mage (58 page)

¹
A Sartan cliche enshrining their magic as the ultimate source of power in all creation.

²
Such self-denigrating and “bumble” language is expected in all reports to the Council. Ramu certainly harbored no such actual questions regarding his own abilities. Indeed, I doubt that Ramu ever believed he could fail at anything.

³
Samah explained that the Sundered Realms are connected not only by the Death Gates but by many additional conduits known as rifts. Rifts are special passage dimensions used for the conveyance of matter/energy from one realm to the next. Generally, they move things in only one direction and are impossible for use of transport by living beings. The rifts were originally intended to tie all the Sundered Realms together into a unified and interdependent system. These rifts were the key of transporting wastes, resources, and products between the realms after the Death Gates were opened. They are only partially functional now.

⁴
A Sartan phrase meaning “third part” or “phase 3,” which has come to specifically mean the third phase of the Sundering. There were to be three such phases in all. Jran-ai (phase 1) refers to the actual Sundering magic whereby all creation was divided into its elements and the realms were created. The durnai were apparently created in the magic at that time. Jran-dus (phase 2) involved the occupation and organization of the realms under the guidance of the Sartan. Jran-kri (phase 3) was to herald the opening of the Death Gates and the final phase of universal cooperation. Jran-kri was never initiated.

⁵
i.e., hibernation.

⁶
Ramu is mistaken in calling the repulsion effect of the durnai “nongravity.” Tt might be more appropriately called reverse gravity.

⁷
He is certainly referring to the Kicksey-winsey of Arianus. The Realm of Water—it appears—was to act as a distilling and recycling location for the waste of other worlds. It's hard to imagine such a beautiful place as a garbage dump.

⁸
Refers to Earth before the Sundering.

⁹
See note 4 above.

¹⁰
Again the Kicksey-winsey.

(From a recovered sales parchment found on Gargon with footnotes by Alfred the Sartan)

You don't want grace and elegance. Stop looking at your shoes!
¹
What you really want is dependable, profitable and, most importantly, SAFE transportation through the seas of Chelestra. Come to us an we'll provide!

Dwarven submersibles are transportation and cargo carriers built by the solid dwarven craftsmen utilizing a few key elven technomagic principles and technologies.
²
These submersibles are most often used in trade between the various worlds. Some humans and elves have ordered travel ships built and not a few military ships built as well. This craft— a light, swift cargo/transport—is a fine example of dwarven submersibles.

All submersibles currently utilize the gravity of the
worlds
³
for navigation, propulsion, and buoyancy control. As you know, the density of an object relative to the density of the water around it determines a ship's ability to float. Density is the weight of an object divided by its volume. Simply put, if the density of the ship is less than the density of the water it replaces, then the ship will float toward a world. If the density of the ship is more than the water it replaces, it sinks away from the world. More accurately, if the density of a ship is less than the density of the water it displaces, the ship will rise in the water through the surface until the amount of water displaced is equal to the density of the ship.

Submersibles control their buoyancy—and hence, their depth in the water—by changing their density. Elven magic
provides the Gargon Submersibles with the combined means of altering their density at will as well as providing motive power for the ship through the Goodsea.

Crystals mounted in the keel of the ship generate various degrees of mass as directed from the bridge of the ship. Under normal, unpowered circumstances, the submersible is designed to float. In Gargon navigation terms, this means that a ship without the benefit of its keel mass-displacers would rise toward the nearest world. This is a natural safety feature much appreciated by all dwarves who know that even elven devices break down from time to time.
⁴

When activated, the keel mass-displacers increase the density of the ship and, thus, cause it to sink into the sea—away from the world. Naturally, the farther from the biosphere one travels, the less the influence of the gravity those spheres produce. Occupants of the submersibles would become weightless—however, a side benefit of the increased mass from the displacers is the generation of a natural gravity field through the ship. Thus, those traveling aboard are not subject to the weightless condition at all—unless there is a problem with the keel displacers.

Similar crystals operating on the same principles are employed in the propulsion of the craft and its directional control. A system of these crystals is used as a gravitic impeller, which provides the motive force for the ship. Other mass-displacers, located as design requires, are placed for directional control. On this ship, the navigation displacer is easily noticeable since it is mounted on the dorsal fin of the ship. The keel displacers are used for navigation on the surface.

Although the Goodsea is breathable, it is not advisable to be outside the ship while under way, as the force of the liquid rushing past the ship could easily sweep you away from your
craft. For this reason, submersibles are normally enclosed, although most do have decks for observation while the ship is at a stop and during surface operations. A large open area can be seen on this ship aft on deck 4 for this purpose.

Cargo for the ship is loaded through sealed hatches opening through the hull just around and below the pilot's compartment on deck 4. These hatches open directly into the hold extending down through decks 3, 2 and 1.

Additional access to the interior of the ship is through the large airlock located at the aft end and through decks 1 and 2. Large doors and a repeating set of navigation controls on deck 1 allow the operator to actually capture items from the sea without ever leaving the ship. The operator can utilize the keel mass-displacers to attract the object to the keel of the ship and then use their navigation controls to move the ship and airlock over the object. While requiring some practice, this technique is occasionally used to rescue dwarves who may have fallen into the sea.

A functional galley/commons area (deck 3), cabins (also deck 3) and an observation room (deck 4 aft of the pilot's compartment) completes the perfect craft for your transport and crew needs.

This is the lowest level of the ship. Its primary features are the airlock controls, atmosphere holding tanks, and cargo hold.

The main cargo hold narrows with the bow plates of the ship to this bottom location. Overhead, the hold extends through two more decks to the twin sealed cargo hatches above. Pressure doors exit this location port and starboard to area IB, and an access ladder is mounted to the aft bulkhead of this compartment extending up through the rest of the hold overhead.

Storage lockers are located here for tools and other gear.

The main access corridor of this deck. Forward can be seen the base of the main access shaft, which runs through all decks of the ship. At this shaft between each deck is a watertight hatch, which can close to seal off each deck in an emergency.

Aft of this corridor is a large observation window that looks into the airlock (ID) beyond. Here, too, are the controls that can navigate the ship, control the keel displacers, shift atmosphere and water in the airlock and open the doors to the airlock chamber.

The airlock is the easiest means of entering and exiting the ship while submerged. Rolltop doors set into the keel open the two-deck-tall airlock to the sea. Special rods of elven design displace the atmosphere in the chamber to holding tanks located aft door storage (IE). Access to this chamber from the interior of the ship is from deck 2 (2D).

Occasionally, atmosphere leaks from the ship. Atmosphere in the ship is as important as its mass-displacers, for if the ship interior is flooded, it loses it natural buoyancy safeguard.

This compartment holds additional atmosphere in compressed tanks. Air vacated from the airlock is magically transferred into these tanks as well. Whenever an area of the ship needs to be reclaimed from the invading sea, these tanks can be used to blow them clear of water.

This is a level of the ship comprised mostly of equipment. Here are found the compartments that support the work done on the other levels of the ship.

The upper level of the cargo hold. Additional pressure doors lead aft to corridor 2C. Additional hatches lead forward to compartment 2B.

The freshwater compartment. The seawater does not quench thirst, of course, so people aboard need a freshwater store. This also ballasts out the fuel compartment in the rear of the ship (2E).

Access corridor. A large pressure door leads aft to the airlock room (2D). Forward is the main access shaft and ladder leading to all other decks.

Airlock room. Often used as additional hold storage space, this room surrounds the top of the airlock from deck 1. A large pressure door on the starboard side allows access to the airlock interior from the ship.

Fuel storage. This fuel room holds the lead shavings and graphite that operate the gravitic converts and, thence, all the machinery on the ship.

The primary living quarters of the ship. The crew cabins (3H), commons room (3D) and galley (3E) are all located here. The impeller room (3K) is also located on this deck with its associated repair and tool rooms (3J) as well as the top of the cargo hold (3A and B).

Overhead on the port and starboard sides are located a pair of large watertight hatches. These hatches can, when surfaced, open to allow access to the three-deck-tall cargo hold below. The hatches open outward and away from the ship for safety (impossible to open while submerged) and convenience (the hatches can easily be supervised from the pilot's compartment on deck 4 which they flank).

Forward pantry. Here additional water stores and food are kept.

Aft pantry. Items for immediate use are stored here, convenient to the galley compartment.

The commons room. Comfortable and well appointed. Crew can relax and eat in this room amidships. Its location is not an accident—if the ship should encounter heavy undersea storms, this room is located nearest to the center of the ship's motion.
⁵

Galley. Long and cramped, it is designed for the preparation of food.

Additional storage lockers.

Main corridor. A large ladder leads up to the viewing/observation room on deck 4. The doors to the cabins are located here as well as an access hatch to the engine compartment (3K).

Crew cabins. The beds are mounted on dual axial swivels so as to roll with the motion of the ship.

Tool rooms. These hold various magical devices for repairing the gravities should they break down.
⁶

Impeller room. A large turned crystal is mounted in this room with a variety of conduits extending from it. Its color is that of black light—thus making it difficult to look at and impossible to focus on its surface. Some dwarves have gone mad attempting to do so.
⁷

This deck has only two functions: piloting the ship and observing the ocean world around it.

Pilot's compartment. A free-standing pedestal stands near the center of the compartment. Above it is a large magical display in three dimensions showing navigational data. The navigation device can be told in advance where to go. In these circumstances, the ship is capable of navigating itself. Also located in this room is a ladder up to the top of the ship. A small, personal airlock is located here.

Observation room. The large ladder enters aft of the compartment from deck 3 below. Around it can be seen an observation window that looks out over the afterdeck and to the sea beyond. Watertight doors on either side of the descending ladder allow access to the afterdeck when the ship is surfaced.

Afterdeck. Used when the ship is surfaced. A carved railing surrounds this deck back as far as the aft impeller fin.

You must agree
⁸
that the dwarven submersible is the safest means of travel between the worlds. Every crafthall and guild of dwarven workers put their sweat and brains into the dwarven submersible. You'll pay less elsewhere for a ship but you'll be sorry later.