Viktor had already discovered that aerial travel was even more tedious than sea travel, even though he'd done none of the later but had only heard tales of 'long days at sea'. When the sea was calm... that was the worst. At least waves gave you a sense of something happening as the ship rocked to and fro.

They both had the problem of weather, however, and extreme weather was bad for any ship whether it was airborne or seaborne. Fortunately, there was none on this trip... so far. What that meant is that two people on duty wasn't necessary at all times. Also, on such a small ship, it didn't take much to get to any spot on the ship from any other spot on the ship.

It was cold, though. He'd experienced his share of Balkan winters, so it didn't faze him overly much. That didn't mean he either liked it or was unaffected by it. Thus he made frequent trips to the galley for a hot cup of strong coffee. He actually detested the foul brew, much preferring tea or, better yet, a rum toddy. But the coffee seemed to have a better bracing effect than tea, and it kept him alert.

On this particular trip to the galley, he was surprised to find Stella there.

They'd made the shorter trip up from London together, but there was less crew then--him, Remi and a fellow that Lord Kentigern had lent them from his own ship's crew... what was his name now? Ah, yes, Duncan. Mercy would have joined in, but had been more interested in tinkering with the engines. Whatever she'd done to them had worked. They ran quieter now, with less vibration and greater efficiency... something about maintaining the proper over-pressure of the boiler.

There was still the occasional clank from the various devices, but feeding coal to the furnace wasn't as demanding anymore.

All that, and his own shyness of sorts, had kept him from conversing with Stella on that first trip, other than a mere 'Hello, lovely weather we're having' start that was quickly interrupted. At least he knew better than to use that line again!

"Ah, Miss Mulberry, keeping warm I hope?" he said to her. "I can't say I'm overly fond of this strange brew called coffee, but it does seem more suitable to cold lofty flights."

Stella looks up from her wrappings -- she seems to be wearing two coats together -- and favours the younger man with a pleasant smile. "Captain Stahler, isn't it? I am doing my best in keeping a minimal state of warmth. I do find the coffee helps.

"When I was younger, in my gold-rush days, the winters in Barkerville were frigid affairs indeed, much colder than this. We seemed to live on coffee. Well, on that and whiskey." She produces a flask from one of her coats and tips a bit into her mug.

"Will you take a drop? It's brandy."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:54, Wed 12 Mar 2014.

Mercy pretty much stayed hidden in the engine room. She sat there as she continued to work on the contraption she had started on back at the mansion.  From time to time she emerged above looking about as if finding something, before disappearing back into the engine room.

She had nodded off a bit, curled up in a ball right where she had been working. Once she woke up again, she went right back to work on her little bird.  She would stop from time to time checking the engines making sure all was in order.

In reply to Stella Mulberry (msg # 24):

Hearing Stella's offer, Grimsby appears at her elbow and remarks, "If you have any more brandy to spare, I would not mind a drop. I can furnish my own water to go with it."  His practical traveling kit also includes a canteen, which he produces hopefully.

"Why, certainly, Mr.-- Oh, I am sorry, but I'm afraid your name has slipped my mind," she smiles as she pours a healthy dram into a mug and hands it to Baskerville, "It mixes quite well with coffee or tea. Shame we have no chocolate to put it in."

"If you could see your way to spare a drop, Miss Mulberry," Viktor responded to the woman's offer, just as Grimsby entered the galley, "I'd be delighted to join you. I'm no longer in the military, so it's not against regulations."

"Ah, Grimsby, good of you to join us. It does seem to be a restless flight, doesn't it? I wonder if that's because we are all going into the unknown or whether that's a condition of flying for which we have yet to get used to."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:26, Wed 19 Mar 2014.

In reply to Stella Mulberry (msg # 27):

Grimsby replies, "Thank you kindly. I am Grimsby Baskerville, of Her Majesty's Colonial Office, presently on detached duty due to this curious affair. I do not commonly add brandy to my tea, though I like a cup in cool weather"
To Viktor he adds "So far, this flight has not been that bad, but I expect it will be rougher when we get over the mountains. If I recall rightly what I've read, Graustark is quite mountainous. Not good cavalry country, I fear."

Out on the windswept deck, Dash is manning the wheel.  As the great envelope of the gasbag abouve his head blots out the stars, and the darkened land flowing by below can barely be discerned, he is flying completely by the say-so of a dimly lit compass; maintaining a course that Remi had directed.

Bundled up in his trenchcoat, with dry clothes and warm woolen socks on his feet and his rumpled, white, billed sailors cap pulled down to his ears, Dash is enjoying the weather....singing to the shadows

O, what do you do with a drunken Sailor?
   What do you do with a Drunken Sailor?
O, what do you do with a Drunken Sailor,
   Er-lie in the Mor-nin?

Y'throw him in the Bilge and make him drink it!
   Y'throw him in the Bilge and make him drink it!
Y'throw him in the Bilge and make him drink it,
   Er-lie in the Mor-nin!

Way-ay up she rises!
   Way-ay up she rises!
Way-ay up she rises,
   Er-lie in the Mornin!

Matthew hears the singing even within the confines of his cabin, where he has spent the journey holed up studiously investigating the Cavorite. Samples had to be tested for density, pH balance, structural composition, gaseous content, and many other geologic scientific examinations. The one word spoken to him when the sample had been granted into his custody was at the core of his inquisition... anti-gravity. He hums as he works, one small part of his mind enjoying the song while the rest stayed obsessively focused on the rock.

Grimsby cocks an ear to the song and remarks, "I hope our steersman is more sober than he sounds.  I would hate to run into a mountain , or a passing airship."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Wed 19 Mar 2014.

Matthew is not able to learn much from the sample material. He doesn't have a full lab for starters, plus some of the testing uses up part of the sample.

First of all, he's able to detect a crystalline structure. It's not large enough to provide gemstones from it, assuming anyone thought they'd be valuable.

The density is rather high, which he thinks can only be because of a previously unknown element.

It's pH neutral and has no gaseous content. He can't determine a melting point because he can't produce a high enough temperature. However, when he heats it up, he notices that the crystalline structure changes.

In its original form, it seems to absorb light a little bit, but he can't figure out where it goes. The heated version gives off light and is slightly magnetic.

"Ah, I'm getting a bit too comfortable here in the warmth of the cabin," Viktor adds. "I'll take a cup of coffee out to Dash, though perhaps we should skip the additive, hey?"

He fills up a spare cup, and then turns back to Stella and Grimsby.

"Any idea how Mercy is handling the trip? She seemed quite at home on the ship on the trip up to Loch Rannoch."

Grimsby replies, "I've not seen much of Mercy during this journey.  She seems to be spending most of her time in the engine room. Given her love for mechanisms, I suppose the engine may be more exciting than the scenery." "

Mercy had stayed in the engine room working on her little contraption. She put each piece in its place in a loving manner as her work neared completion. Putting the final piece in place and securing it. She jumped up in excitement.

"Tis done," she says as she looked at the shiny copper colored bird that sat in her hand. She leaves the engine room and heads to the cabins.

"Stella you in here," as she opens the door to Stella's cabin. "Nope," she says as she closes the door and spins about. "Stella where are you," she calls.

She makes her way to the galley and opens the door. "There you are," as she spots Stella, along with a couple of others.

In reply to Mercy Kincaid (msg # 36):

"Mercy, dear girl, come into the warmth," Stella replies with a pleasant smile, "Tea or coffee? And would you like a drop of something fortifying in it, as well?"

Matthew finally sighs with exhaustion, realizing that he had once again been so absorbed in his study of the rock that he had neglected to tend to his own need for food. The strain on his eyes and brain pulses as a dim headache, troubling any possible theory with the annoying pain of interruption. He pushes back from the desk, sighing with disappointment that he didn't have access to a fully functional laboratory. Following the scent of freshly brewed tea, Matthew wanders into the kitchen, blinking with surprise at the impromptu gathering of passengers in one place. Hearing Stella's offer to Mercy, Matthew says, " Coffee please. Unfortified." he smiles expectantly, the manic grin of overwork doing little to compliment the dark circles beneath his exhausted red-rimmed eyes. " Has anyone here ever worked with or heard of Cavorite?" he asks.

Grimsby frowns thoughtfully and replies, "I've a notion some very hush-hush experiments were being done on the stuff, but it was well outside my province, so I don't know anything more useful, I'm sorry to say. If it had been the Agra treasure, say, or moonstones, I might know more. but we don't see much Cavorite on the Northwest Frontier."

"Ah, Mercy! I was just about to go in search of you," Viktor chimes in, "to see if you could use a cup of tea... or coffee... or perhaps some company. Instead, you found us!"

"That's a fascinating device you've constructed. Pardon my ignorance, but... does it do anything?"

He listens to her answer for a moment before excusing himself.

"As fascinating as the company is, I have responsibilities I must fulfull. In this case, relieving Dash at the helm so that he can get warm is the immediate one."

He puts his Ruritanian fur hat on as he exits the galley and takes the extra cup of coffee to Dash. After chatting for a moment, and informing Dash of the impromptu gathering in the galley, he relieves Dash at the helm.

The warmth from the galley still infused his body, but despite the great coat he wore, the wind could cut through him easily enough. He turned his collar up a bit and put on the protective goggles.

"Steady as she goes," he says to the night wind.

Everything that was said went right over Mercy's head at that moment. "Look Stella! I finished it," as she opens her hands to reveal the copper colored bird. "Watch this," as she pulls out a tiny key and sticks it in the birds back.  She begins to wind the bird up and then removes the key. Suddenly the bird comes alive as it stands up and opens it's eyes. It then began to mimic bird movements as it moved its head, wings and tail.  Then the beak began to open and close as it started to chirp out a tune.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Thu 27 Mar 2014.

Grimsby eyes the artificial bird with interest and remarked, "Very ingenious!  Could you incorporate a device to take photographs or record conversations?  It might have applications in my line of work."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:01, Mon 31 Mar 2014.

Stella claps her hands and smiles at Mercy: "How charming, my dear! It almost seems alive!"

After thanking Viktor for the coffee, and then double-checking that he can maintain the compass heading, Dash heads to the galley to warm up a little before retiring.

"Well, hello everyone." Dash says, as he enters the galley, removing his cap and stuffing it into a pocket of his trenchcoat, "Having a bit of a late-night coffee klatsch, eh?"

Dash walks over and refills his coffee cup, "I say, has any one of you ever been to this Graustark place?  I hear it's mountainous and land-locked, so I've never been.  I've heard of Graustark -- simply as one of many small European nations -- but I'm afraid that's the end of my knowledge."

Grimsby replies, "I've never actually been to Graustark, but I was briefed on it once, during the last Axphain-Graustark War --Graustark was losing and pleading for British intervention, and it looked for a while as if we might go in. Fortunately--or unfortunately from Graustark's viewpoint --we did not, and they ended up making peace in return for promise of a huge indemnity, which they will have to repay pretty soon. I believe Princess Yetive has been negotiating for a loan with some your American bankers, though I wouldn't call Graustark a good risk myself. I don't put much stock in the supposed confederation of Graustark with her neighbors --they have always behaved very independently and still do." 

" I hear there's good skiing. Read a travel brochure about it." Matthew says, adding his own plethora of knowledge on Graustark.

Mercy ponders a moment, "I am sure I could if I had the right components." She looked at the mechanical bird in her hand that had now gone to sleep as she pondered the possibility.