When the Troth attacked the forest, a tinker named Nubieous Maximus built a flying machine to spy on Mörken’s forces.
Nubieous gathered a collection of discarded rain jackets. The tinker applied a large helping of rubber tree sap to their surfaces.
As Nubieous sewed the clothes together, a large ball formed. He then attached a set of ropes to the bottom of the sphere.
Purchasing a fine wicker basket, the tinker fastened it to the basket. Now the balloon was ready for the gas.
Nubieous gathered a large quantity of flummox weed and fermented it in an oak cask. The rotting weed produced a lifting gas that kept the balloon aloft.
With a collection of small stones and a spool of string. The tinker climbed into the basket and cast off.
The balloon rose until the retaining line drew taught.
From his vantage point, Nubieous could see the movements of the advancing army. He noted their position on a sheet of parchment.
Securing the note around a stone, the tinker dropped it to a messenger waiting below the balloon.
The army’s activity was quickly relayed to the field commanders. They could then ambush the unsuspecting Troth.
The invention proved invaluable to the Waldvolker. The information enabled them to push the Troth back to the forest’s edge.
Sadly, Nubieous’s dream of defeating Mörken and the Troth did not last.
The lifting gas from the rotting flummox weed proved highly combustible.
The last sight of the aeronaut was a plummeting ball of flame. The airship crashed on top of a Troth patrol out on maneuvers.
It is often said that Nubieous Maximus stayed at his post as the balloon fell. Witnesses of the Tinker screaming, “Death to Mörken,” but that may be only a tall tale.
Folksburywoods 
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