Flampinfen

"Its perhaps the strangest thing in the realms. It flys like a bird, floats like a boat. I neerly quit drinkin' until I saw the thing the second time."

-Keegan Write, Barkeep of The Black Finch, in Maddocks Gate, western civil quarter.

Description

The flampinfen is a huge blimp-like vehicle, with enough room for roughy 300 passengers. It is powered by a gnomish invention, called Flampinsation. This proccess involves heating a circular cell, causing the entrapped air elemental to expand and become lighter than the air, allowing the vehicle to become airborn. Two large specimen are within the chambers of the blimp. Its ultra light weight design was achieved after decades of negotiation and centuries of planning, involving mithril and Darkwood. Its structure costed well over 500,000 gold pieces, some guesses go as high as 3 million. There are dozens of rooms, however the Grand Ballroom and the passengers quarters are the only things a passenger will see. The ship requires at least 30 highly trained gnomes to run it, though the group consists of 87 such gnomes. They keep the ship clean and tidy, and consider it their permanent home. The name Flampinfen is gnomish for Air earth sea, though people often mistake it for 'Flappinfin' because it is a swimming and flying wonder. It is regarded as one of the most interesting sights in Therra. Gold is earned by selling large amounts of exotic wares from the north all the way down to the south, in addition to ticket sales. Ticket prices change, though they average about 350 g per dropoff.

Docks

There are 7 docks throughout Therra in which the Flampinfen can dock safely. The machine can dock in any open field, but excessive damage will occur to the hull. As such, most major cities have opened a port, to attract the gnomes. They include:

• Maddocks Gate
  • Gilded Port, Northern Province This is the largest docking exchange, and the crew of the Flam insist on staying for a whole week here.
• Three Rivers
  • The Windgate
• Azanport
  • Belorn Docking Bay
  • This dock is submerged, cannot be reached with passangers.
• Philaen
  • Airship Port
  • Because of Philaen's floating towers, the Flampinfen enjoys an aerial docking process, staying aloft throughout its stay at Philaen. The gnomes obsess over the magical wears of Philaen, and spend a few days here.
• Gry
  • Tindered Bay
  • This is the newest port. Flam crew originally refused, but Gry apparently pays the crew well every time they land, in addition to the trade. Passangers rarely come from this port, and Flam hopes it stays that way.
• Waterdeep
  • East Docking Quarter
  • Second largest dock, it was one of the three original docks, as well as Maddock's Gate and Three-Rivers.
• Port O' Bounty
  • Great Dock
  • Flampinfen won't land here, they land in the water 15 miles east, and float in a small trade cog that folds within the ship. They won't take passangers to this location, or from, because of it's pirate history.

Bardic Council

Once per year the Flampinfen picks up all the bards from prominent cities, and they collectively record and talk about stories. This system is free for bards, its funding is unknown. Perhaps the gnomes wish to give back to society. This council is quite a spectacle, and being invited on the ship is considered a great achievement.