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[Nunzillor]

Sounds reasonable.  +1 to the above.

[crazyabe]

Spoiler: GM comment (click to show/hide)

i spent way too much time researching it, but apparently helicopter blades hit with considerably less force than one might guess.

((Ceiling fans are also not nearly as vicious as one might expect, from my experience.))


Well then. Not to underestimate humans, but Helicopter (the Coast Guardian?) at least doesn't appear particularly scary. Hopefully their advancements are limited to farspeaking and flimsy transportation.

Speaking of which, we have now defeated their first champion and thereby hopefully proven ourselves not to be taken as a fool. Explaining these facts to Sophie's talking square might get us a more serious response than "hold still while we come find you."

Unfortunately, I don't think we actually want a serious response. Sophie's probably about as useful a source of information as they are, we were leaning towards keeping her as a pet rather than ransoming her back, and unless we're hoping to escalate the situation to see what they're really capable of there's no particular reason to antagonize them.


So I say we offer the still living rescuer for a small amount of gold (or other hoardables), if they're interested, then get Sophie to find us some cattle. We'll feel better with a full stomach.

+1

[TheBiggerFish]

+1.

[vkiNm]

Spoiler: GM comment (click to show/hide)

i spent way too much time researching it, but apparently helicopter blades hit with considerably less force than one might guess.

((Ceiling fans are also not nearly as vicious as one might expect, from my experience.))


Well then. Not to underestimate humans, but Helicopter (the Coast Guardian?) at least doesn't appear particularly scary. Hopefully their advancements are limited to farspeaking and flimsy transportation.

Speaking of which, we have now defeated their first champion and thereby hopefully proven ourselves not to be taken as a fool. Explaining these facts to Sophie's talking square might get us a more serious response than "hold still while we come find you."

Unfortunately, I don't think we actually want a serious response. Sophie's probably about as useful a source of information as they are, we were leaning towards keeping her as a pet rather than ransoming her back, and unless we're hoping to escalate the situation to see what they're really capable of there's no particular reason to antagonize them.


So I say we offer the still living rescuer for a small amount of gold (or other hoardables), if they're interested, then get Sophie to find us some cattle. We'll feel better with a full stomach.

+1

+1 yes.

*Edit
Ooooh, actually, we should let Sophie continue to talk with the Coast Guardians too and listen to what they and she say. Tell her that we don't mind, not really. And are just more curious and interested. And that she can go ahead and describe us if she wants, we won't be offended.

She'll probably say how glorious we are.

[NRDL]

+1

[Dorsidwarf]

+1 to admitting we didn't mean to trash Helicopter.

[karhell]

+1 to admitting we didn't mean to trash Helicopter.

I think "IT WAS FRAGILE" covered that nicely in a proper draconic manner.

[TheBiggerFish]

+1 to admitting we didn't mean to trash Helicopter.

I think "IT WAS FRAGILE" covered that nicely in a proper draconic manner.

Yep.

I agree to letting Sophie talk. We're getting good info from it. +1 to finding cattle or some other food source.

+1, but no eating people.

[LordBucket]

Now introducing speaking avatars!


: "Hello. I'm Sophie. I've been abducted by a dragon."

: "I AM A DRAGON."

: "Yes, that's the one."

: "I'm someone speaking over Sophie's cellphone. Please release Sophie and our pilots."

: "Yes! Release Sophie! Listen to the phone!"

: "Vewy well! I shall, welease...Sophie!"

: "WHO ARE YOU?"

: "I am...a cwever piece, of weferential humar!"

More avatars will be introduced as needed.


Money

offer the still living rescuer for a small amount of gold (or other hoardables),

Sounds reasonable.  +1 to the above.

+1

+1

+1 yes.

At this point you're unsure who exactly the Coast Guardian is. Clearly it was not the helicopter. Presumably it was not either of its human passengers. Obviously it's neither the speaker on the phone nor the other voice who was coaching him to keep you talking. You're beginning to suspect that 'the' Coast Guardian is not an individual, but rather an organization. Like a band of knights from your time, collectively given a single name. Humans like to do that sort of thing. Presumably it helps them to feel less inadequate.

You address the phone.

: "PEON. I HAVE YOUR TWO HELICOPTER HUMANS. ONE IS DEAD. THE OTHER YET LIVES. PAY ME A RANSOM OF GOLD AND I SHALL DELIVER HIM UNTO YOU."

: (muffled) "Sir he says he has our pilots..."

Pilots.

: (muffled) "'...he's killed one, and wants a ransom for the other one. In gold."

: (muffled) "Did he say how much?"

: "How much?"

With everything else that's changed you'd be surprised if ransom rates for minions have remained the same over the centuries. Peasants would typically be unransomable. A wealthy merchant's ransom would depend greatly on their family. Nobles typically fetch the highest ransoms, except for those occasions where you received responses by courier offering to pay you to eat them instead. You suppose the closest comparison for the pilot would probably be a knight, but you suspect that the social dynamics among humans have changed considerably. Lacking a suitable basis of comparison, you simply guess.

: "A SINGLE SMALL CHEST WILL BE SUFFICIENT."

: "A small chest of gold. Alright then. I'm not authorized to approve any payment, but I'll pass that on to my superiors."

: "Did you seriously just ask for a chest of gold for ransom payment?"

You regard her neutrally. After a moment she brings her palm to her face.

: "Right. of course. Dragon. But there's no way they're going to pay that. Do you have any idea how expensive gold is these days?"

: "DO YOU?"

Sohpie looks thoughtful then shrugs.

: "I suppose we could look it up."

She taps on her phone a bit.

: "Price of gold is fifteen hundred and ten pounds per ounce."

That means nothing to you. Why are humans so preoccupied with numbers?

: "How many ounces do you think there are in a chest?"

You stare at her impassively.

: "Well, A krugerrand's just over an ounce right? Suppose it's only a few hundred."

She taps on her phone some more.

: "200 coins, that's three hundred thousand pounds."

: "THE WEIGHT IS OF NO CONCERN."

: "No, not weight pounds. We're not on that side of the pond. Pounds sterling. Here..."

She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a small handbag, and from it retrieves a small, colorful piece of paper depicting a woman wearing a crown.



: "This is ten pounds."

: "IT IS ONE PIECE OF PAPER."

: "Right. It's a piece of paper, and it's worth ten pounds."

You consider this.

: "AND A GOLD COIN IS WORTH FIFTEEN HUNDRED PIECES OF PAPER?"

: "Well, not just any paper. It's money."

: "WHAT MAKES THIS PAPER VALUABLE?"

That gives her pause.

: "Well, you can buy things with it. Fifteen hundred's more than my flat costs per month. That's a month's rent, plus food, hire and petrol."

: "I CARVE MY HOME FROM LIVING ROCK. I EAT WHAT I WISH. WHAT POSSIBLE PURPOSE COULD BE SERVED BY COLLECTING SCRAPS OF PAPER FOR TRADE?"

: "Well, what will you do with the gold?"

: "SLEEP ON IT."

Her mouth opens and closes a few times. She seems a bit flustered. Finally she puts her hands on her hips and stamps one foot.

: "Well, you could bloody well sleep on money too!"

: "IT WOULD CATCH FIRE. GOLD MERELY MELTS."

: "Alright, but it can't very comfortable to rest on. Admit that at least!"

: "PERHAPS, AFTER THE GOLD IS IN MY POSSESSION, I WILL CONSIDER ALLOWING YOU TO REST ON A SMALL PORTION OF IT. YOU MIGHT FIND IT MORE PLEASING THAT YOU SUSPECT."

She shrugs and sighs.

: "Better deal than I expected," she mutters.

if they're interested, then get Sophie to find us some cattle

: "I HUNGER."

She leaps back in terror.

: "FEAR NOT. YOU ARE SMALL AND WOULD BE UNSATISFYING."

: "...I think I'm offended. Maybe. Let me get back to you on that."

: "DIRECT ME TO A PLACE WHERE CATTLE ARE KEPT."

: "There are some beef cattle fields not far from my flat in Gloucester. We're known for our cheese. But that's about 200 kilometers from here."

: "VERY WELL."

: "Wait! No, that's far!"

: "HOW FAR?"

She brings up a map on the phone.



: "THE JOURNEY WILL NOT BE LONG. I RECOGNIZE THE GENERAL SHAPE OF THE ISLAND TO THE EAST."

: "Island? You mean England?"

You know the name, of course, but it surprises you to hear that it's the name of the island. Occasionally knights charging into your lair shouted 'for England!' before marching into your mouth. You'd always assumed it was the name of a king or a god or somesuch. Perhaps they named the island after a king. That seems like something humans would do. At least they didn't name it after a number.

let Sophie continue to talk with the Coast Guardians

+1

I agree to letting Sophie talk

You scoop up Sophie in one hand and the unconscious pilot in the other, and take flight.

: "YOU MAY SPEAK WITH THE COAST GUARDIANS DURING OUR TRIP. I WILL LISTEN."

: "On my phone?" she yells over the wind. "I can't hear it! I literally cannot hear my own voice right now!"

: "AND YET YOU HEAR ME WITHOUT DIFFICULTY."

: "That's because you're LOUD!  How fast are we going, anyway?"

: "THIS FAST."

She huddles her hands into her neck for warmth. You avoid the mainland, staying instead over the water while examining the changed landscape. Some things you recognize. Planted fields, trees, grass. Other things you don't recognize. Large, white round buildings. Long strips of blackish-grey ground with moving box-like devices with red and white lights on them. You recognize many structures as clearly being human dwellings, but both architecture and material have changed as much as the soundscape. And the sounds seem to be becoming more numerous as you travel. You identify a few structures that from their hissing, you suspect to be the cellphone towers mentioned earlier. But it's definitely becoming more difficult to make out individual voices in the distance amid the growing cacophony.

: "Dragon? I d-don't think I c-can d-d-o this. It's t-t-too c-c-cold."

You attempt to shield her from the flightwind with your other hand as you did once before, but with the pilot in that other hand, it proves difficult.


What do you do?

[Insanegame27]

Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffh.... this is hard.

We need to go lower, but we also need to avoid being seen. Let's try not to kill the remaining pilot or Sophie...

We are a weird type of dragon. I'd prefer it if we got to choose that stuff, but it'd probably turn out that way anyway.

Would like to know our general body structure, as well as our type of claw, tail, and wing.

Who's for going around by sea? This isn't an information trip, and we might be stopped if we go over land. Let's just fly along the coastline and get some stuff to eat. And let's not proclaim: 'I'M A DRAGON!' when we land.

+1 but try and find a thermal updraft to warm Sophie up.

[IronyOwl]

I don't think the altitude is the problem, I think we're just moving way too goddamned fast. We could potentially go slower, but then this trip would take forever. We're probably better off ditching our cargo, heading to food as planned, eating food as planned, and then returning. Humans can't run very fast, so it shouldn't be that hard to scoop her up again on our return.

Then again, we're not necessarily on quite the same time scale as humans, so maybe she'd scurry off in a lighted box in the time it takes us to make a "not long" trip. For that matter, she might want to eat also. The "pilot" isn't looking like it's going to be worth a whole lot, so I'm not terribly worried about just ditching him.

...

Let's see if those moving box-devices are light enough to carry and hollow enough to stash humans in. We could really use a better way to transport our pet anyway, and if one of those could shield her from the wind that'd do the trick. We could also see if any of these new constructions are made of something sturdy enough to tear off a chunk as a wind shield for her (again, I'd be fine dropping our less than a small chest of gold if the voice's superiors get around to it), though I assume that'd be less effective than a proper container.

[NRDL]

Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffh.... this is hard.

We need to go lower, but we also need to avoid being seen. Let's try not to kill the remaining pilot or Sophie...

We are a weird type of dragon. I'd prefer it if we got to choose that stuff, but it'd probably turn out that way anyway.

Would like to know our general body structure, as well as our type of claw, tail, and wing.

Who's for going around by sea? This isn't an information trip, and we might be stopped if we go over land. Let's just fly along the coastline and get some stuff to eat. And let's not proclaim: 'I'M A DRAGON!' when we land.

+1 but try and find a thermal updraft to warm Sophie up.

+1s for days

[TheBiggerFish]

True.
Can we exhale warmly?  But not full fire?
Like, we've seen how humans have fire of their own...

[Baffler]

Too much work. We should just stash the pilot somewhere he can't easily escape, then come back for him later. He's probably not going anywhere anyway, and can't call for help in his current state.

[LordBucket]

Next update probably won't be until Monday, so you have time to discuss.