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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 13, 2008 8:33:18 GMT -5
"Well, you might be... Run four laps around the inner wall, go. Now, that... That I could respect if the inner wall were actually of noticeable circumference, or if the runners were, say, clad in plate mail. It's, what, three quarters of a mile if you do four laps?" Linx had some grave feelings about how easy it was. He'd probably go trap Fishrudder and bother him into modifying it by the end of the day.
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Post by Lore not logged in on Apr 13, 2008 15:41:43 GMT -5
"Three quarters of a mile.. That's not so bad, although if you added plate mail to the mix, it would be challenging." Whether it was from Linx's "hype" about the training programs and whatever else he had said, or whether it was from boredom, Lore just wanted to get started. Hopefully the process of applying wouldn't be too drawn out.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 13, 2008 16:47:16 GMT -5
"Well, of course it would. They just don't... It's sad. C'mon, let's just get through the market and stuff, it's a pretty straight path up to the fort." Linx wanted to get started as well. All he was really concerned about at that moment was getting Lore signed up for a room, and getting her signed up for training. She'd probably pass it in a week.
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 13, 2008 16:57:36 GMT -5
"It'll bore me, then." Lore rolled her eyes; this wasn't going to be as exciting as she had originally thought. But no matter. She kept walking at a casual pace, but what she really wanted was to dash ahead and finally get to the fort. It seemed like they'd been walking for days, instead of about thirty to forty short minutes.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 13, 2008 16:59:53 GMT -5
"It might, but then again, it's just training. So long as you don't get stuck on the walls, actual duty has the potential to be... Interesting, to say the least." Perhaps operation of some artillery or other would suffice. Linx was also trying to resist the urge to just run, which was something he tended to do when not around other beasts. Of course, that was seldom the case. What was the case now, though, was that they'd passed through the market like it wasn't even there. "Hey, look... See that miniature fortress over there?"
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 17, 2008 11:57:11 GMT -5
"It'd be better than washing dishes or something. Not that dishwashing can't be helpful, though. Like most creatures, I'd rather take the action, but if it comes to that, I'll do whatever needs to be done." Lore grinned wryly with just a hint of excitement; then, she looked over to where Linx had indicated. "Yes, I see it."
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 17, 2008 23:37:29 GMT -5
"OK, what you must do is, um, run ten laps around the outer ramparts, and... Wash some plates while you're at it..." Linx gave Lore a sarcastic grin as the two of them passed his house, which he gestured to again. "That, uh, that's my house. I live there... As does Archon... And Mokwa... And Lars, and Dantin, and Dengoro, and Ellich, and even Kade but he's in his own little world most of the time."
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 17, 2008 23:41:49 GMT -5
"All right, doesn't sound too hard." Lore just laughed and looked around, impressed with the setup. "Some new folks have come, eh? I don't recognize all of those names."
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 17, 2008 23:45:30 GMT -5
"Oh, yeah, we have guys coming all the time," Linx responded cheerfully while turning back to look at Lore. He wasn't actually up and looking for a new conquest but he couldn't help but make a joke about it. Typical beasts tended to have a hard time dealing with the fact that he could never settle for one mate. "I'm just, uh, spending money... Yeah. I keep donating money back to the fort for some reason, I mean, I'm paying for nearly half of the Toy Boat project out of my own pocket!"
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 17, 2008 23:49:20 GMT -5
"Being rich must be nice." Never mind that the notion of "being rich" was something subject to interpretation. But Linx was clearly one of those who was "rich", and as long as he didn't start becoming one of those spoiled wealthy types, Lore saw nothing wrong with it. "So, what's the Toy Boat project?" Maybe he'd mentioned it before, but she didn't think so.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 17, 2008 23:52:42 GMT -5
"The, uh, Toy Boat project, that's a project to build a ship," Linx explained as they headed up to the fortress gates. It was also the most expensive project he'd yet invested in. "It's armed with modular, rotating cannons... Projectile weapons firing self-propelled ammunition... On the main deck, and it has no sails. It's propelled by harnessing the power of expanding steam, which is harnessed by heating water with a furnace and tank." It would be, once created, the most heavily armed and armored ship of its size, not to mention some serious speed being involved as well. It was exactly the kind of thing that the barely fortified river might need to be protected well.
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 17, 2008 23:55:21 GMT -5
"The Fort's certainly becoming.. how shall I put it? Warlike. That's good, though," commented Lore, wondering who would be skilled enough to man such a thing, aside from Linx himself. "But, what I'd be interested in hearing is how practical would it be for Fort members to use?"
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 17, 2008 23:58:57 GMT -5
"Uh, pretty practical. The crew compliment is less than thirty, actually... It's a pretty small ship, sloop-sized, and it only has two of those revolving cannons I talked about. Well, four, technically, it's two per turret... Anyway, it's pretty easy to use, you have one beast stoking the fire and another beast steering, and that's really all you need to operate it. I've redesigned the engine so many times that with the current model all of the steam gets recycled." It had gotten pretty far from his original steam ball. These days, it was just advanced, and Linx was feeling pretty proud with what he'd achieved. "Add maybe five beasts for each turret, and a bunch of logistical crew... Less than thirty onboard. It's actually a pretty well-designed ship, I got to have the designers who did the Stormy Otter help me out on it."
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Post by Lore Winde on Apr 18, 2008 0:03:36 GMT -5
"It's an impressive idea. It could be useful in times of war, which obviously is the idea. For now, though, I hope that we won't need it, even when the project's finished. No offense, you understand," replied Lore. Peace was always better than war, any day.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 18, 2008 0:07:36 GMT -5
"Well, I sure hope it doesn't see combat... Then I'd have to pay for new armor... I mean, it has that steel plating on the outside of the hull, but it could get all unseemly and dented if it got in actual combat, which would be just terrible. Really, though, the big thing with this is how scary it is. I have a concept for a kind of self-propelled munition where, when triggered, you have a deafening boom, big flash, cloud of smoke, flying projectile... Can you imagine that being your enemy's warning shot?" The Toy Boat project had an immense value as something to scare enemies off with. It was simply so powerful that nothing would even be able to breach its hull.
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