Airboat

An airboat (or floater) is a flying vehicle invented by the alchemist Oolim Phon who serves Phal Thurid, the Sark of Thurdis. Phal Thurid intended to launch a fleet of airboats to conquer Lemuria, but when Thongor broke out of jail in Thurdis he stole the airboat (the only one in existence at the time) and used it to flee the city. Thongor and the wizard Sharajsha later used the airboat on their quest for the Star Sword in their battle against the Dragon Kings. After the Dragon Kings were defeated, Sharajsha kept the Star Sword while Thongor retained ownership of the airboat.

Description
The airboat measures twenty feet in length and has a narrow deck with a low rail, and a small enclosed cabin where the controls are located. The hull is constructed of a weightless blue-white metal called urlium that provides the craft with aerial buoyancy. The cabin is lit by an oil lamp sealed in a glass ball, and the ship's chest contains emergency supplies such as dried meat, water, and healing salves.

Operation
The airboat is driven by spring-powered rotors. One set at the rear propels it forward, and a second just beneath the prow pushes backward. Other rotors in the center of the deck and beneath the keel force the craft up or down as desired. These engines are operated from the cabin by four levers in curved slots labeled with the directions which they govern. The higher the levers are pushed, the stronger the rotors drive the craft. The controls may be locked in place by the pilot.

A dial near the controls indicates the remaining amount of rotor power available in the great coiled springs that run beneath the deck. The airboat is capable of at least several hours of flight before the springs must be cranked up again. Otherwise the craft will simply drift on the air currents due to the weightlessness of the urlium hull until power is restored. For this reason the airboat is usually tethered to a mooring mast or some other object on the ground with a hooked anchor when not being operated. The springs are cranked by turning a wheel reached through a door in the deck.

Armaments
Clamped to the inside wall of the cabin above the single bunk was a Lemurian war bow. Phal Thurid had planned to launch a fleet of airboats manned by crews of archers trained in the use of these powerful weapons. Thongor wielded the bow against a winged grakk over the jungles of Chush, but lost the weapon during the battle as it fell to the earth far below.

Modifications
After the airboat stolen by Thongor was damaged in his battle against the grakk, Sharajsha helped him retrieve the wreckage from the jungle and repaired the craft. The wizard made improvements on the original design so that the great coiled springs "drove ceaselessly". He also installed a compass (a "magnetic pendulum" of lodestone) so that the pilot would never lose direction. When the repairs were completed, the airboat was given the name Nemedis to honor the memory of that great kingdom of men.