The Most Curious Wanderings of the SS Delirium, Vol 3

Hello again, dear readers. I bow to my knees and beg forgiveness for my actions, but will use your time later for explanations.

One of the many-fold reasons for this impromptu hiatus is the creation of an "Airship Delirium" website. It is now live, and while a bit vacant a buggy yet, a very exciting step for us here on the ship. Please comment, email, or message there or here with any imput, concerns, or suggestions. Find us here: www.airshipdelirium.com

Some of the new possibilities: updates from Captain Pennington himself, profiles of the entire crew, other goodies!

Additionally, journal updates will resume on a "once-per-week" basis, and hopefully resume multiple postings this summer.

Thank you for bearing with us!

This has been a long and unexpected....break? The woman I rely on to post my entries has been most occupied for an unexpected while now. She complains even now of "finding a paying job" "being socially overwhelmed" and "building a website for this freakin' thing".

I, for one, shall not be persuaded by these pleas for pity, but I do beg you, dear readers, to remain with us a bit longer as we resolve the issues facing the publication of my notes.

And too, Happy Easter.

Ahoy, fellow steampunks! I am Navigator Emilia Hedgecock of the Airship Delirium and I look forward to your continuing journeying with us, via my journal.

Additionally, I would like to let you know about a calendar my captain and I have created for 2010. It chronicles the journey of the Delirium over the course of the year with pictures and quotes. We are quite proud of this exquisite creation, having not yet beheld a similar format of keeping the days. But what do you think of it?

You may find it here on Etsy.
Or here on Amazon.

I humbly welcome any comments on my blog and, of course, all purchases.

Our first order of action was to find the nearest village and purchase more fuel. What we had to leverage this bargain with, I know not, perhaps it would be won with menial tasks or selling Miranda into slavery...But we were not given the opportunity to find out.

Shortly we arrived in the hamlet of Seawell, a typical shady village consisting naught of note but a tawdry novel dealer of the romance inclination known from its sign as Betty's Bodice-busters By the Bay. It is a classy place, this rustic hayseed market.

As it happens, Seawell has been without any trade for weeks now and there is not a speck of coal to be found amongst the shops. A local yokel directed us to the mayor, who he said might have a stash for the right price. Mayor Uriah Seawell dismissively greeted us from out his pacing reverie with the knowledge that fuel might be won with the completion of a task: Find out what was keeping the trade vessels away.

At last the gulls have quieted and I have a moment to write before attempting to pick the brambles from my hairs

We head to town tomorrow.

But, ah, dear reader, you know not where from. Let me begin again.

We are on a coastal fjord, dearest readers, stranded as it were. Among her numerous flaws, thee Delirium envelope has a struggle of remaining at a consistent buoyancy. She progresses along in a mountain-pattern, reaching peaks, now valleys, now peaks again as she lurches across the sky. This type of forward motion, of course, devours a great deal more fuel than she would otherwise. Of late the rate of consumption has become disgustingly wasteful and costly. It is for this reason we were journeying to New Hampshire and why e must prevail out of our current trials.

Our master-thermo-whats-it has indeed used all of its previous worth and degraded into a penalty. The ship sucked up all of her coal, lost flight a fraction of the way northward, and forced us land here in a... I have not the name for it. It is a terrible place.

I apologize for my rudeness, dear readers, in not writing. I shall sort it out and catch you up on our advents.

All was well as we began flight without the aid of our quarrelsome new members, who were yet sound asleep. The sky was fair and dotted with only the nicest of clouds, the wind was helpful and did not seek to hinder us a bit. It was even a bit warm in the morn's sun.

We were heading to the Hampshire of Newness. Lemuel knows a man who knew a man who talked to a man who's former manservant owns a factory there. We, as it happens, are in dire need of new apparatus for our envelope, whose buoyancy is less reliable than myself. I am not sure the strength of this bond will allow us a discount on the much-needed part, but Lemuel assures me we shall receive the item at a reasonable cost.

All was quiet until - hold up! I must - Oh dear

Forgive me, I shall return and continue my report after we-

We are delayed yet another day, dear readers.

Aye me, I believe the pace of our current voyage is rivaling the last for tedium.

The little gel did manage to find all of the newly-hired hands and incredibly without any further hitches. Equally incomprehensible was the return of all four by dawn. They were a bit bleary around the edges, but present none the less.

Unfortunately, tiredness was not sufficient to disguise the Delirium's short-comings. I do not know what these expected when agreeing to crew a ship unseen, but it was certainly not her. Patched and strung together, she is not the loveliest of sights these days. It is a compliment to refer to her paint as chipped or her technology as out-dated.

Jaws dropped and eyes bulged as they entered the hanger, oblivious to Miranda's cheerful blather. The Captain and I, of course, approached with welcomes and warm hearts, ready to head out for exciting shores.

Mister Humphries promptly turned to run, waving a frenzied hand. Mister Hawkes restrained him with a firm arm, his own eyes setting with fury. His reaction was not in kindness to us, but in the spirit of keeping equally miserable companions. Doctor Catashen froze to the floor - dropping both his bag and jaw.

Needless to say, the whole of our day was used for cajoling, quieting, and coercing these men into boarding the ship. Too soon night had fallen and another day's time with it.

I think we'll not bother waking the greenthumbs for the disembarkation. Sir Anthony can help for once.

Well, the flock has hit the fan, dear readers.

Frances, our accountant, has recently experienced a turn for the better, praise be. A couple of days ago he accomplished an instruction-laden gurgle delivering the location of a pittance he keeps back each month, should he be incapacitated and Sir Anthony allow his allowance to drip through his palms. I opened the hollowed bodice-ripper with a wince, disgusted at the thought of such dalliances. Inside, however, there was a small amount of cash. No enough for all the fuel we would need, but certainly enough for a gamble or two.

I myself neither indulge in nor approve of gambling - it is a nasty habit which makes men bet the breath of their children for a single wheel spin or a handful of cards. But hard times call for new measures, and Lemuel is a poker-faced, sharp eye capable of bending the most blank of players into springs. His mask only stumbles in the company of some ladi- women. Thankfully New Bedford is a whaling port and sports only women of the bedding or washing genre.

Last night sufficient were his earnings to refuel and stock some much needed supplies upon the Delirium. There is no need to spend the coin upon the crew since the only contracted 'salary' we receive is a percentage of an adventure's loot. No loot, no money, but our food, board, and care is covered as crew.

Miranda was sent to fetch our new bodies at the crack of dawn. As you well know, a ship must leave shore with great light to attain even the closest of lands most accurately. Accuracy is especially important for an elder  vessel such as the Delirium. Her buoyancy is ever-changing and can lead to inexact landings if not properly held in check. A check which becomes harder with each passing of a day's sunshine.

Sadly, the gel lost herself and needed fishing from a local tavern. Lemuel set her aright and instructed her again. We expect the arrival of our companions with the dawn. For now, I sleep a mite, none too glad for spending another night in port, before we begin another journey.

After much deliberation, a crew has been found, i.e. selected and agreed or coerced.

The qualifications some carry worry me, as we were unable to pay a sign-up fee or guarantee wages aside a percent o' our looting. Our new members are all either over or under fit for their station aboard our vessel.

They read as follows:

Miranda Hohenzollern - Powder Monkey
Are they not all strangely capacitated? I am in question of their boarding, as they all marked the papers without setting eye upon the ship. (Miranda is excluded from the statement, of course.)

I was right to be wary of our future crew. The specimens which appeared before us upon reaching New Bedford were the saddest I have witnessed yet.

The Delirium managed to chug her way into the hanger, but fell with a thud! the instant after she was docked. We'll not move her until certain issues are remedied and more fuel acquired. The dear was once brilliant and vast, now her hull is now restless and bereft of all dignity - literally a husk of her former glory.

Our potential wages are meager, so our choices are slim but would become smaller should they witness our sham of a ship. Therefore we shall hide the Delirium until contracts have been drawn and signed.

The search began last night. We have reviewed candidates for two days, however they will all either not have us, or we will not have them. Goodly shipmates will not sail on a vessel as mercurial in pay as we. Willing hands are wanted by law, which by itself is not a problem for a company of our...temperament, but they are desired for less than savory crimes or drunkenness (heaven save us from more drunkards!).

We need not the most respectable crew, but a functioning one is most necessary.