The new ship was buzzing with life on this Cielday morning.
Hob was teaching the midshipmen how to work the timing levers and First Mate
Wirtz was patronizing the new help on board.
The only member of the crew that didn’t have a Proper job was
Diederich. He had been sleeping in his
throne. Books and maps surrounded him. He was sound asleep Until, Viscount Rung
stepped up to the sleeping emperor. “Sir I have a written report detailing the
attack last week” said Rung. Diederich
with his head still down stuck out his hand and grabbed the bundle. Diederich sat up and started to flip around
the pages. “So… a steel spider attacked you?” Diederich asked. “Well yes we
were attacked by an iron spider of sorts” answered Rung. Diederich looked at another page “well it
looks like this iron spider was the size of a bug compared to the vulture, good
job defending the ship”. “Look you Arschgesicht! If we didn’t attack that city
we wouldn’t have lost twenty men, and a land ship!” yelled Rung. The whole ship
was quite, except the ticking of the spring motor.
Diederich got out of his seat and slapped Rung’s face “Halt
die Fresse! Sie über pompösen Müll Landwirt! ich sollte dich jetzt töten, wenn
ich nicht brauchen Ihre prallen Arsch! Ich will essen Sie Ihre Säuglingen! Sie
nicht einmal wissen, wie dick buchstabieren, Sie nicht einmal ein, und du
riechst! Wann haben Sie zuletzt Dusche! Ich wette nie!” Diederich yelled. Rung
lower his head and stepped out of the room.
“Do not think that I don’t understand the gravity of our situation! We
were attacked and we lost, but I have found something very troubling. I fear
that this “government” is nothing but a parlor game, and my people are the
pawns!” Diederich shuffled thru the report and pulled out a picture of the
“iron spider”. Diederich inspected the
picture and marched up to the wall. He pulled out a blade and pinned it to the
wall.
Hob walked in, “ahhh is this a bad time?” Diederich turned
and looked at Hob. “No! It’s the best time! What is wrong?”. Hob lifted his
brass left arm, and opened his steely hand. He had a bloody hat. Diederich just
looked and chuckled “did someone get stuck in the main driving gear… again?”
Hob just looked at Diederich and finally said “no I fear it is murder!” Diederich
just looked at hob. “Really, murder? Well sadly Hob this whole ship is filed
with killers. We did free all of the crew from jail, remember? You said that
they were mostly loyalists and for the sovereign Emperor!” then the entire ship
yelled in unison “Wiederherstellen!” Hob answered “Well that’s all well Sir but
we do run a war ship here and this is the fifth man that may have been
murdered, at this rate we won’t have a crew” Diederich rummaged around his
pockets and pulled out a round silver medal. “If you think we need to take this
mad dog down, and then I hear by grant you “Law man” Diederich pined the medal
on Hobs chest and went back to his seat.
Hobs snuck around the ship, he
checked every supply room and every cabin, but nothing out of the normal. Hob was
devastated, why can’t find this killer! Hob went down to the motor room and sat
down on a wooden box. He pulled out his trusty pipe and puffed away. Hob didn’t
notice the shadowy figure lurking around the corner. Hob started to sing his
favorite song. The shadowy figure grabbed a lead pipe and with a quick whack
Hob was on the ground. With a few more smacks Hobs was dead….well at lest he
looked dead.
tink tink tink
Tink! Tink! Tink!
The sun beamed down on hobs “dead” body. A vulture pecked at hobs metal hands. Hob
woke up and batted away the bird. As he sat up he felt something tied around
his neck. It was a bit of yellow fabric with a letter. “First clue!” Hob
exclaimed. Then he heard something odd.
It was the loud thunderous breathing of a Chanka… a WAR CHANKA. And the Chanka wasn’t alone.
Hob quickly dropped back into the sand. The chanka with its
rider appeared on the dunes. The chanka awkwardly stomped across the sand to
hobs lifeless body. Hob just laid there as the hideous beast hobbled over to
Hob. The chanka opened its massive maw. The only thing Hob felt was the massive
tong being dragged across his face leaving a slug like trail of slime. The
rider jumped down. As the rider poked
hobs body with the butt of his gun, hob couldn’t help to notice his outfit.
This rider was a Confederate Guard. They only guard the capital city and its
people. Why were they here, in outerford?
The rider bent down over Hobs
and extended his armord hand. Hob had one chance, even if the rider was fully armored
in bright yellow plate steel. Hob saw the gap between his arm and chest. The
rider was inches above hobs face. The swat from the riders head dripped on to
hobs face. Then Hob attacked. Hobs brass hands punched and grabbed the rider.
Then with a mighty lunge, hob punched right into the armor’s hole. The rider
didn’t stand a chance. The rider fell to
the ground, dead. “Second clue!” Hob
yelled. The chanka reared up and started to sprint away but Hob grabbed the
reins. As the War chanka turned to face
Hob he noticed the lavishly armored he was. The Chanka’s helmet was gold, with
red feather plume, upon the armored brow the name “Nathanal” was scrawled in
high prush font. Hob lifted his hand and tickled the beast under its snout. It
gargled with happiness and its whole body gyrated. Hob decided to call his new
companion Nate.
Shits getting real!
Hob sat high on the seat of his new found friend. They careered down the dunes following the large wheel marks left by the land ship. But then behind him on the wind he heard a sound that chilled him to the bone, a war horn! Hob spun around in his seat, and he saw them, five, maybe six riders clad in yellow armorer charging hob at full speed!
Hazzzzzza!
Hob turns around and bolts at
the charging men! He laid low on the beast back, trying to dodge bullets and
arrows from the yellow clad devils! Then with a magnificent lunge Nate the wild
eyed, blood thirsty war chanka bear hugged the first warrior. Hob just held on
for dear life. He has never seen a chanka do such a move. Blood squirted out of the headless body and
in to hobs eyes, the copper taste filled hobs mouth as Nate lunged at another
rider. When the screams of the disemboweled men stopped Hob opened his eyes,
all five, or six riders, if you count the man split in half. Hob just looked at
Nate. Blood matted his mane and flesh and guts were stuck to his head and
mouth. Hob jumped off and tried to remove some of the gore. Nate just rolled
over on to his back and made a strange gargling noise. Hob stoked Nate’s fuzzy belly.
Nate’s tongue poked out of his little mouth. After petting Nate for a hour he
hoped back on and went looking for the ship.
Haz….NA!
Hob just smacked Nate’s fuzzy
butt as hard as he could, Nate let out a loud “YuuuuUUGW!” like yell. But soon the
riders where on Nate’s tall! One of the men tried to grab Hob, but with a
mighty jump, Hob grappled with the first rider. They tumbled to the ground and
like a flash Nate jumped upon the rider on the ground. Arms and blood shot out of the pile that was
once a rider. Hob flipped on to his back and couldn’t stop watching. Nate went
from one rider to the other, ripping arms and head from riders left to right,
none of them were safe from Nate’s rage! When the screams of the disemboweled men
stopped Hob opened his eyes, all five, or six riders, if you count the man
split in half. Hob just looked at Nate. Blood matted his mane and flesh and
guts were stuck to his head and mouth. Hob tried to remove some of the gore.
Nate just rolled over on to his back and made a strange gargling noise. Hob stoked
Nate’s fuzzy belly. Nate’s tongue poked out of his little mouth. After petting
Nate for an hour he hoped back on and went looking for the ship.
In sight
As the sun started to dip below
the dunes, Hob could see it. The land ships mighty structure stood stoically on
the desert sands, Hob pushed Nate harder to reach the ship sooner. The sand
shot up from under Nate’s blood mated, fuzzy paws.
As hob got close to the ship, a
search light shined out and struck him in mid gallop. After the attempted
assassination any persons trying to get on the ship was to be shot, but Hob
hoped that he would be spared….
Live and let die...
Hob woke up the next day in a
make shift medical bay. The guards luckily for Hob had bad aim and knocked him
out…
Diederich entered the room and
yelled “where did you go the corner store!” Hob just pulled out his clue and
fell back to sleep.
Diederich marched back up to
his thrown/ control room. Everyone knew by whispers onboard that there was a
spy onboard. Diederich sat down and opened up the note. After reading its content
he pulled out his pneumatic air pistol. He looked at all the men in the control
room, THEN! One of the men jumped and made a move to the door! Diederich leveled
his gun and fired. The man’s body smacked the floor with his bloody face. “Look
at that I solved the case!” said Diederich. The whole command room erupted with
clapping and then the entire ship yelled in unison “Wiederherstellen!”
But out of sight of the Emperor,
a shadowy figure made his move. He slipped his hand in to his jacket and grabbed
a pistol; it was time, to kill the emperor! The spy pulled out the gun and
screamed “DIE YOU PIG!”
pin drop
But before anyone could react…
AWWWW SNAP!
The doors to the command deck
slammed open and NATE THE WAR CHANKA lunged out, placing his jaws around the spy’s
head and with a swift snap. Blood shot everywhere. Bits of teeth and eye bits covered
the walls. A few drops hit Diederich in the face, and then Diederich yelled “Case
Closed!” One of the men spoke up and said
“umm sir… who was the man you shot?!” The Emperor shrugged… all the men looked
at each other and went back to work.
Later Hob was well enough to
give Nate a proper bath.