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| - As soon as we got off tha Gryphon from Iron Forge Miss Lylly insisted I put on a blind fold so she could take me ta her suprise. Now mind ya, I didnt fuss, cause the blindfold was her scarf, an it smelled a her, which is a right nice scent. So after tha blindfold was in place, she led me by tha hand ta tha "Suprise". She takes tha blind fold off me eyes, an when I can see again, I see that we are on tha docks a Menthil in front a that old beat up ship that dont never move. "TADA!" she says, then asks me "What do you think?" I looks around but dont see a thing, so I asked her "Think about what Lass?" She points at tha ship an says "The ship, I bought it today." Now I looks at her closely, ta see if there is blood spoutin from her head, since she obviously took a blow there recently. "This
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| abstract
| - As soon as we got off tha Gryphon from Iron Forge Miss Lylly insisted I put on a blind fold so she could take me ta her suprise. Now mind ya, I didnt fuss, cause the blindfold was her scarf, an it smelled a her, which is a right nice scent. So after tha blindfold was in place, she led me by tha hand ta tha "Suprise". She takes tha blind fold off me eyes, an when I can see again, I see that we are on tha docks a Menthil in front a that old beat up ship that dont never move. "TADA!" she says, then asks me "What do you think?" I looks around but dont see a thing, so I asked her "Think about what Lass?" She points at tha ship an says "The ship, I bought it today." Now I looks at her closely, ta see if there is blood spoutin from her head, since she obviously took a blow there recently. "This ship" I says "I was talkin ta tha Harbor Mistress just tha other day, an she said she was gonna have it towed away an scuttled!" "I know" she says "Thats why I got such a good price for it." "With a little work and paint, we can make it sailable again, and until then all of us can use it as a meeting place and a place to stay. It will save us money if we dont have to sleep in the Inns." A "little work an paint" was tha biggest understatement I had ever heard. There was no way short of a miracle that this bucket a rotted wood an rusted bolts was ever gonna be seaworthy again. I could no let tha Lass go on with her crazy idea that this ship was salvagable. I looked into her eyes prepared ta tell her tha truth as I saw it. Tha look a joy an happiness in her eyes an the smile on her face melted me heart, an tha harsh words I was about ta spout melted as well. So I lied. "Its wonderful Lass, I cant think of a better use a our meager funds than ta put them into makin this lovely vessel sea worthy again." Her smile grew even brighter, an I knew I had done tha right thing. I looked back at the rat trap with tha eyes of a Dwarf who was determined ta make Lylly's dream come true. "Right, first thing we'll do is get Angus ta look her over from Bow ta Stern. He was in tha Merchant Marine, an will have a good Idea what it will take ta make her sea worthy again." "I will get McDuff ta steal...er I mean gather tha buildin materials an tools we will need. He is right good at that sort a thing. An I will have McDonnald sweet talk tha harbor mistress inta lettin us keep her docked here till we can get her sailin again. No Lass can resist him when he turns on tha charm. Zinny can sew us up some new sails, an Gracci can make up some underwater breathin potions, since it will take quite some time an effort ta remove all them barnicles of a her keel. I looked back up at the Lass. She was starin at the ship with a raptured look on her face, like she could see something other than a wreck. "We'll call her Fish Tales" she said "I know she will give us many stories to tell over our cups." I looked back at tha ship an sighed "Tha be true Lass...Tha be true." Angus' report looked grim. There were so many holes in her it might a been more proper ta call her Swiss Cheese than a ship. Tha riggin was completely shot, an would require miles a hemp an some mighty talented weavers ta reconstruct. Tha sails were in tatters, an with the constant demand fer cloth by the war effort an tha different races, it would be very costly ta replace. Tha Keel was rotted, an removin tha barnacles would be a mistake as they seemed ta be tha only thing holdin tha ship together. By Angus' estimation, it would take a good ship buildin crew a year ta fix all tha things wrong with tha Fish Tales, an we arent a good ship buildin crew. Even if every member a Gone Fish Inc worked it day an night there would not be enough hands ta get tha job done. Macc contemplated seein if the Rats that had over run tha ship knew anythin about ship repairs. When he showed tha list a necessary repairs ta Lylly in tha hopes she might see tha futility a it all, she just smiled and asked where she should start. Macc thought about givin her a gun so she could shoot tha ship an put it out of their missery, but instead he handed her a list a leather items they would need an sent her off into tha wilds ta hunt, so she wouldnt hear him scream. When he gave tha rest a tha list ta McDuff, the shifty eyed Dwarf just smiled his "Im on it" boss smile an dissapeared into the milling crouds a port always attracts. Tha only good news came from McDonnald. He had wined an dined tha Harbor Mistress, an after a bit a footsy under tha table had convinced her ta not have tha ship towed off an scuttled. He did mention that he would have ta be makin regular visits ta her office ta make sure she didnt change her mind. McDonnald had wanted ta go into great detail on how he had managed his miracle, but Macc was not in a mood ta listen ta his tales a romancin tha Dwarvish Lady. Zinny showed up an when Macc told her she had ta repair tha tatterd sails she look at him like he was an imbicile. She stood there with her hands on her hips staring him defiantly in the eyes and was about to tell him what not in a way only a gnomish lass can, when he shrugged and said "Its fer Lylly". At that Zinny looked back at the sails and sighed. "Right" she said "Im going to need a ton of linen." When Macc informed her McDuff was on it, she frowned at him and said she would handle it herself. As everyone scattered to begin the daunting, and what Macc was sure would become neverending, tasks ahead of them, all Macc could think was "I need a drink." Tha crew had been workin hard ta restore tha Fish Tales, yet ta tha casual observer, there was little change ta be seen. Tha ship still leaked, was still full a holes so big a Dwarf could fall through them into tha sea, had no riggin, no functionin sails, was crawlin from top ta bottom with rats and stank a year old fish. So what had we accomplished? Well, enough of tha rottin deck had been boarded over ta allow a careful person ta walk about tha ship with only a fair ta middlin chance a fallin through. Tha rats had been bribed with generous offerins a food ta stay in tha non-livin portions a tha hull. Tha stairwells had been strengthened enough ta not collapse completely if a fly landed on them. An tha aft had been painted with tha words "Fish Tales" so anyone comin up to her would know not ta call her "Floatin Death Trap". Two other major things had been done. Tha sleepin an eatin quarters had been completely refinished an refurnished. This was mainly so Miss Lylly an tha other members a tha crew who were a tha female persuasion wouldnt have ta sleep an eat in total squalor. As mentioned, the rats had been convinced ta stay below decks, so the instances a bein waken in tha middle a tha night by screams a "Rats...oh my god their all over me... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH." an "Shut up Macc an go back ta sleep" had been reduced ta a minimum. Tha final thing that convinced me that perhaps Miss Lylly wasnt completely off her rocker was when, durin a break from all tha back breakin work, I tossed a fishin line overboard, an immediately caught a Firefin. When me next cast brought in an Oily, I knew she was indead tha lucky fishin boat tha Lass had predicted she would be. I immediately set about ta find her a figurehead fer tha bow. Wonder if Miss Lylly will let me put up tha Naked Elf Statue I found in a antique shop in Theramore? Lylly held her first business meetin on tha Fish Tales. We gathered on tha Afterdeck an enjoyed tha night breeze an tha settin sun. We discussed a few business policies that Lylly would like us ta all follow, an she reminded everyone that we are as much a family as we are a business. Lyrani pulled me beard by callin me "Ancient" an "Decrepit" an what not, but I have come ta expect that sort a talk from her now. I think deep down she is sweet on me. She is a right fine lass an will make some lucky boy a good mate if an when she decides ta settle down. I just hope she dont measure any potential candidates against me, as they would a course all come up wantin. Tha only negative part of our first business meetin was when Deavencre fell through a hole in tha deck. Tha poor lad almost drowned, an it was quite a while before he regained his composer enough ta return. I dont call it a Floatin Death Trap fer nothin ya know.
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