The Kite Surveyor
Anywhere in the sky
From a job
Cargo: Survey kite silk (fragile)
“The buyer needs the silk before tomorrow's gale hits, and has calculated the exact hour the wind will turn.”
Possible rewards: Storm Sails
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Kite Surveyor
At the delivery port1 Deliver the crates of survey kite silk.
The buyer is a lean avian weather surveyor with rope-scarred palms. She flies trains of nine silk kites into heavy gales to measure wind shear and sells the data to sailmakers.
"My chartered ship backed out this morning," she says. "The gale hits tomorrow, and I need a sturdy hull to hold my kite line in the storm."
"My chartered ship backed out this morning," she says. "The gale hits tomorrow, and I need a sturdy hull to hold my kite line in the storm."
- Charter the your ship as her kite-survey vessel.She bolts her heavy winch drum to your deck immediately and marks the storm shelf on your chart.
- [Rigger] Have crewmate inspect and reinforce her kite line splices before agreeing.Crew: Riggercrewmate spots two frayed splices in her main cable and re-weaves them on the dock, earning her respect before she marks the storm shelf on your chart.+1 Repair skill XP
- Take your delivery pay and leave.She pays you fifteen silver for keeping the silk dry and heads down the dock to find another ship.+15 silverThe questline ends here.
Choosing the Survey Site
Right away2With her winch drum bolted to your deck, she spreads out two storm charts.
"Flying all nine kites in the heart of the gale will give me a complete wind record—though a storm-beast up there has bitten off my top kite twice this season," she says. "Or we can fly just three kites safely from the sheltered lee shelf, where our only competition is rival surveyors." She pays your fifteen-silver charter fee up front.
"Flying all nine kites in the heart of the gale will give me a complete wind record—though a storm-beast up there has bitten off my top kite twice this season," she says. "Or we can fly just three kites safely from the sheltered lee shelf, where our only competition is rival surveyors." She pays your fifteen-silver charter fee up front.
- Fly all nine kites into the heart of the gale.She hands over your charter fee with a fierce grin. "Grease that winch drum well—it's going to run hot."+15 silver
- Fly three kites safely from the shelf sheltered from the wind.She hands over your charter fee and rolls up the deep-storm chart without a word.+15 silver
- [Boarding Harpoon] Rig all nine kites to your ship's power winch so you can reel them in fast.Room: Boarding HarpoonShe inspects your harpoon winch and transfers her main kite cable onto its drum. "With a winch this fast, we can haul the entire kite train down before anything in the clouds can touch it."+15 silver
Nine Kites in the Gale
Sail to The Gale Shelf (1–3 passages away)3 Hold position on the Gale Shelf while the surveyor flies her nine kites.
The gale strikes the shelf at the exact hour she predicted. Nine silk kites climb out of sight on a single humming cable as the your ship leans hard against the pull. Suddenly the cable jerks sideways—a massive stormray has mistaken the top kite for a rival and is charging down the line!
- Hold the kite line fast and fight off the attacking stormray.A giant stormray dives down the kite cable with torn silk trailing from its jaws!Battle: Storm-ray · Gale
- [Avian] Send crewmate up the cable to cut the top kite loose and lure the stormray away.Crew: Aviancrewmate climbs into the howling gale and slashes the top kite free. The stormray chases the loose kite downwind, leaving the rest of the train intact.15 damage to the crewmate who acted
- Cut the entire kite train loose to save the ship and take only your base pay.All nine kites and a season of survey work vanish into the gale. The surveyor pays your thirty-silver day fee and not a coin more.+30 silverThe questline ends here.
- Engage your harpoon winch to reel all nine kites down before the stormray can strike.Your power winch howls, hauling all nine kites out of the clouds faster than the diving stormray can catch them!
- Reel the kites in for now and wait for the next gale.She reels the kites in and waits for the next storm front to roll across the shelf.
The Lee Shelf
Sail to The Lee Shelf (1–3 passages away)4 Fly the surveyor's three kites from the sheltered lee shelf.
In the shelter of the lee shelf, the gale eases to a stiff breeze. However, a Compact survey ship is already anchored in the only clean wind lane, flying six kites with brass gauges for a rival sailmaker.
- Fly your three kites alongside his and offer to pool both ships' wind readings.Both kite trains climb side by side, and the two surveyors exchange slates to combine their wind records.+1 The Compact standing
- Anchor directly upwind of the rival ship to steal his wind.
- [Avian] Send crewmate aloft to launch your three kites into the clean air above his train.Crew: Aviancrewmate carries the lead line high above the rival's top kite and releases it into undisturbed air, earning a fifteen-silver bonus from your grateful passenger.+15 silver
- Leave it for now.You pull back from the shelf for now while the wind holds steady.
Proven in the Gale
Right away5 Reel in the storm-tested kite train.
The kites come down with their indicator ribbons whipped into a complete record of the gale's core. The surveyor beams.
"That's the best storm record I've ever taken—and the kite silk survived a full gale. I can either have my sailmaker cut this storm-proven silk into a suit of Storm Sails for your ship, or pay you seventy silver."
"That's the best storm record I've ever taken—and the kite silk survived a full gale. I can either have my sailmaker cut this storm-proven silk into a suit of Storm Sails for your ship, or pay you seventy silver."
- The sails.Her sailmaker cuts and rigs the Storm Sails onto your masts, giving your ship superior handling in rough weather, and hands you fifteen silver.Fitting: Storm Sails+15 silverThe questline ends here.
- Take the silver.She pays your share in sailmaker's drafts, redeemable for silver at any port.+70 silverThe questline ends here.
- [Air mage] Have crewmate study the wind-shredded ribbons with her while her sailmaker fits the Storm Sails.Crew: Air caster · Magecrewmate studies the wind patterns recorded in the ribbons until nightfall, sharpening crewmate's mastery of air magic while her sailmaker fits the Storm Sails to your ship.The questline ends here.
A Modest Wind Record
Right away6She reels in the three kites and checks their barely frayed indicator ribbons. "Only a moderate wind record, but fair-weather sailmakers will still buy it."
- Take your fifty-five-silver share of the sailmaker's payment.She pays your share in sailmaker's drafts, redeemable for silver at any port.+55 silverThe questline ends here.
- Ask her to chart the region's wind lanes for you alongside a smaller silver payout.She marks every steady wind lane and dead-air pocket across the region on your chart and pays you twenty-five silver.Reveal 5 waypoints+25 silverThe questline ends here.
- Sell the combined two-ship wind record to the Compact sailloft for a bigger payout.Having simultaneous readings from two kite trains in the same storm fetches a premium from the Compact sailmakers, earning you eighty silver.+80 silver+1 The Compact standingThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord