Gobie Oadü (goh-BEE-ey oh-AH-doo)

A gobie oadü (Lüota for great flying egg) is a Winkie-designed dirigible used in the international transport of cargo and passengers throughout Eden. Created during The Second Age as the halfling answer to the dwarves’ system for self-propelled inventory transfer, o‘gobie oadü are seen by many Edenians as grander and more elegant than their S.P.I.T. counterparts.

Say this to a dwarf and they’ll scoff at you—but they won’t speak aloud the words “You’re wrong.” They’ll just look grumpy and disappointed instead.

Physical Description

Each gobie oadü is comprised primarily of a pill-shaped envelope and the gondola suspended from the underside of said envelope. An open metal frame surrounds the envelope, consisting of four primary support beams running along the length of the ship and four sets of circular reinforcements which encircle the envelope’s full width.

Each gobie is equipped with three propellers, one mounted on the underside of the ship (at the rear of the gondola) and two mounted on the sides of the envelope (via the frame). A rear-mounted wind drive is affixed to the tail, though this is never used during interregnums (where it would be overkill) and is instead only activated during Wander Years, on the odd occasions that the halflings are granted permission to explore the world outside of Eden by The Sister Goddesses.

When asked during Interregnums, the halflings pretend the wind drive is simply a rear-mounted safety light. The dwarves don’t believe them, but have never been given the opportunity to inspect the thing to prove their suspicions.

Power & Propulsion

The lifting gas which holds each gobie aloft is heated, humor-infused air. To put it another way, each gobie is filled with and buoyed by laughter. This material is gathered (always with consent) from the audiences of comedic performances held regularly in the Winkie city of Embershire, then delivered to the factories of Wü Winikini for refinement.

Unrefined laughter is too powerful, you see, and would probably lift the gobie straight up to the Pu Dijk space station.

Propulsion is achieved through the aforementioned propellers, which are powered by Edenite-fueled engines

Armor & Armament

Since the rise to power of the balloon-fearing Oscar Diggs in the year 142, the envelopes of o‘gobie oadü have been lined with dragon scales for protection. During the early years of Diggs’ Ninth Empire of Oz, his witches regularly targeted any gobie which came within 10 miles of the Emerald City—and were even known to attack other more distant flights on occasion.

This, as you can imagine, resulted in more than one near-catastrophe. But after the dragon scales were added and the witches’ attacks rendered irrelevant, Diggs backed off. Though direct service to the Emerald City remained illegal until the reign of Diggs’ successor, at least the danger of being shot at by angry magic users on broomsticks was no longer a concern.

Communications

Each vessel is equipped with direct access to the EdenNet for instantaneous communication across the world.