"Got anything you've been wishing you had the elements to build?"

"I have quite a few ideas, actually! But none of them are something I can jump right on this afternoon. Metalworking takes tools I definitely do not have, since I've never had much metal to work. I was planning on waiting before bringing this up but if I take you to a big town I can park my ship there for a while and work with you to make all sorts of useful metal objects. Like a RADAR, freezers, computers, solar panels, and electric motors. I got some technology books from Milliways, you see."

"I'm guessing a freezer freezes things like a heat mage without the magic, right? What are the others for?"

"A RADAR can detect objects at a distance, even though clouds, using a lower wavelength of light. Very handy for not crashing into things and moving around at night, I would bet. I could do lights, too. And maybe SONAR, which uses sound. A freezer can make things cold without a heat mages, yeah. Electric heaters are possible too. Computers do - a lot of things, mostly to do with information. Hard to sum up and I don't really get them myself yet? Solar panels make electricity from sunlight. There's also generators that can turn fire into electricity. Electric motors are like my engines, force without a force mage, except they use electricity instead of fire."

"Wow. Can't even keep people from doing magic by literally keeping them from doing magic. I'd like to see a big town and I can't think of a better idea than helping you with that yet, the only reason I'm not sure it's what I want to do is because I just got here and for all I know every job here sounds that fun."

"Well, I'm not asking for a binding precommitment here, I just hope you'll strongly consider it. Meanwhile, let me get Kar his stuff..."

He puts the elevator into motion, lowering himself and Valanda and Kar's stuff to the surface of the island, ropes swaying slightly as the ship's balance reacts to the motion.

So cool. The swaying is terrifying but he's good at balance.

And then they're resting on Kar's island, comparatively steady simply because of its size.

Nick shows off all the various goods Kar asked for and helps the man carry them to his shed.

"You made friends quick," Kar tells Valanda. "Good luck out there."

"Good luck to you too! If you ever run into me again you let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"Got titanium. And the titanium is turning into all this good stuff. That's plenty. You don't tend to see folk again when you say goodbye on Cloudbank. But I'll remember ya."

"I'll remember you, too."

"And don't let that fella cheat you. Never trust a merchant with everything, you hear?"

"Thank you. I think he's figured all my secrets out without my help, though."

"I'm never gonna understand how they do that. Part of why I'm out here. Goodbye, then."

He turns back to looking over his New Stuff, where Nick is still unpacking it.

He'll help if it seems like he won't break things and it's obvious where they go.

Otherwise he'll just watch and wait.

It's not particularly obvious. Nick does also buy some meat and berries and jam and vegetables. It doesn't take too long.

"Shall we be going, Valanda? Anything left for you to do here? Last chance if so, there's really no going back somewhere on Cloudbank."

"I don't think there's any reason to wait."

"Then away we go! We can finish the grand tour. I don't get the chance to show off much, you know."

He heads back to the elevator.

Valanda follows.

He takes the elevator up and resumes the tour! He demonstrates how it all works fairly well, saying how this or that feature is particularly impressive, rambling about science and engineering concepts along the way.

The kitchen and a cozy little dining nook with a shelf of books, the workshop area, the engines, the elevator and ailerons and rudder controls, the ballast system, the lift tanks, the bridge, the bathroom, nooks and crannies of various sorts, and the greenhouse.

"I see two options for where you're going to sleep. I did not optimize my ship for cohabitation. I could set up a hammock in the cargo bay and give you room to stretch out, or I could clean out a closet and put a few blankets in there for you, but it'd probably be pretty cramped. Which would you prefer?"

"I... think I'll try the hammock. It shouldn't be much like a bed, right?"

"Hammocks are a lot less stable and flat and supporting than beds. They have more in common with beds than the floor, admittedly."

"Well, if it turns out it's terrible, will you mind if I sleep on the floor under it instead?"

"I wouldn't complain. Can't be very comfy, though."

"I'll try the hammock, then. Thank you."