"We are all gathered, then," Sarafina announced. "Soon, you will all have a chance to tour your new vessel." The<em>Savanna Grace</em>swung parallel to the long pier, coming to a stop opposite the<em>Yuuki</em>. Sailors leapt onto the pier and secured the ship's mooring lines to the bollards on the dock, holding her in place. The gangplank was lowered, allowing the passengers to disembark.<br/><br/>Waiting for them at the foot of the lowered gangplank was a venerable ancient gnome, whose hair had been bleached white by the ravages of time. An old white rat with patches of fur falling off perched on his shoulder, fast asleep. "Captain Windwhisper. Navigator Lass. Helsman Zuk. Engineer Volkov. Quartermaster Wevetasun. Welcome, ehehehe," the gnome cackled "I am... I forgot. Call me the shipmaester, ehehehe. I've been keeping<em>Yuuki</em>shipshape for you, ehehehe. She gets lonely if she's left all by herself, ehehehe. Why don't we give you a tour of the old girl, ehehehe?" He ended his introduction with yet another creepy laugh.<br/><br/>The mad shipmaester shooed them aboard the<em>Yuuki</em>'s deck. Mounted at the bow of the airship, directly behind the prow, was a ballista. Near the middle was a metal support for a set of sail-like awnings that stretched over the deck and provided it with shade - or at least, would provide shade when the sun was actually shining. Aft, there was a raised poop deck at the stern, where the helmsman's wheel for steering the ship was located. Below the poop deck, a narrow ladder led down into the interior of the airship. The area was partitioned into a number of rooms, including five cabins, a galley, and an engine room containing the<em>Yuuki</em>'s reactor, a complicated contraption of gears and pipes and valves with shafts that connected to the propellers mounted on the outside of the hull. A locked hatch led even further down into the hold, where the reactor's fuel and the supplies for their journey were stored, at least according to the old gnome.<br/><br/>"Why don't you familiarize yourself with the<em>Yuuki</em>'s secrets, ehehehe?" The shipmaester suggested. "Arano locked her up like he was tying up a lady, that old scoundrel, ehehehe. He used to say that only those who deserved to fly would be able to take<em>Yuuki</em>back to the skies where she belongs, ehehehe."