Swollen Ostrich

The Swollen Ostrich was a heavily modified Spelljammer ship whose last known owner was Casimir Dunbarton, who used it as a ship of exploration and a base of operations. Much of what was known about the history of the Swollen Ostrich was procured by magical means by Dunbarton, or inferred from the stories told by its original design and modifications. While Dunbarton made many modifications himself, the most dramatic and transformative modifications were made by an individual Dubarton refers to as The Explorer.

The ship spent untold centuries sitting idle in the Astral Plane. Because materials do not degrade in the Astral Plane, much in the same way creatures do not age, it is impossible to tell how old the Swollen Ostrich is, nor how long ago The Explorer lived.

Features
The Swollen Ostrich was originally an ordinary sea vessel that, over time, was augmented with Spelljammer technology and a variety of armaments and luxury amenities to suit the needs of its many owners. Most of the ship's advanced Spelljamming and magical features were implemented by The Explorer.

Propulsion
The Swollen Ostrich's three masts featured hybrid sails that were capable of harnessing the power of the phlogiston when traveling in wildspace, or wind when traveling in atmosphere. Throughout the ships history of modifications, its seaworthiness was preserved, enabling the ship to make controlled water landings and become a sailing ship. When traveling by sea, a traditional helm was manned by the captain and the sails, rigging, bilge-pumps and other vital functions were operated autonomously by a crew of ten unseen servants. The unseen servants could not leave the ship, and their considerable strength could only be applied to tasks related to the operation of the ship. The servants fell under a chain of command put in place by the ship's captain. When flying in-atmosphere, or when navigating Wildspace or the Astral Plane, the Swollen Ostrich was propelled and controlled by the Spelljamming Helm, which was situated in front of the traditional helm.

Armament
The Swollen Ostrich was equipped with three medium ballista emplacements, two aft, and one fore. These ballista could be operated by one or two gunners, with the second functioning as a loader. Though the unseen servants could not fire the ballista, they were capable of loading them; thus, a ballista could be crewed by one humanoid crew member and an unseen servant. The deck of the Swollen Ostrich featured a rotating heavy weapon mount, which usually took the form of a mangonel that could be disassembled and stored in the cargo hold. When assembled and deployed, the mangonel could be manned by one humanoid crew member and two unseen servants that acted as loaders.

Though not technically considered weapons, three fortified war caster platforms were located throughout the ship, one at the top of the main mast, one fore, and one aft. These platforms included stowage space for material components, sturdy handrails, and light cover from incoming fire. The platforms were meant to provide spellcasters a fortified position from which to cast spells in combat.

Hold Space and Amenities
The ship's original design was quite simple and featured three functional spaces: the deck, the captain's quarters, and the hold.

The hold, due to its simple, open design, held limitless potential for modifications. The ship's second wave of owners were smugglers accustomed to moving illicit goods with a smaller resident crew. The hold was therefore fitted with concealed compartments for contraband and some discrete living spaces for crew. Under the Explorer's ownership, these crew living spaces were augmented further into comfortable living quarters. In their final form, the crew quarters took the form of two cabins that could comfortably accommodate two humanoids each.

Over the course of the Swollen Ostrich's life, the deck's meager rails were replaced with ornate woodworked railings. Carvings throughout the railings depicted scenes of The Explorer's favorite locations, discoveries, and stories. The Explorer also added the three fortified war caster platforms to aid in her defense of her ship.

The captain's quarters were originally quite simple as well, designed to be a versatile office space for trade route merchants. Under the smugglers' ownership, the captain's quarters was augmented to be homlier, and more defensible. The Explorer took the captain's quarters to a new level of comfort. Being the only person aboard and spending years at a time exploring, The Explorer transformed the captain's quarters into a luxurious home replete with an enchanted washbasin, a gourmet kitchenette, an oversized bed, a laboratory space, a teleportation circle, and garish purple shag carpet throughout. When Casimir took ownership of the Swollen Ostrich, he left most of The Explorer's additions untouched, the amentities suiting his needs just as much as they did their previous owner.

Origin
The Swollen Ostrich was a three-masted schooner. The vessel was originally an ordinary sailing ship, albeit one of impressive speed and maneuverability. Modifications adding concealed cargo bays and specialized equipment stowage tell the tale of what was originally a merchant vessel being converted into a smuggling ship. Smugglers likely valued the ship for its speed and sail configuration.

It is unknown where the ship was built. It is possible that the Swollen Ostrich was built on an entirely different planet, but this is unlikely due to its similarity in design to modern sailing ships.

The Explorer
At some point in its history, the Swollen Ostrich came into ownership of a wizard whose name remained unknown. Casimir Dunbarton referred to this individual as The Explorer, a title chosen for her obvious passion for exploration. The Explorer was a powerful wizard and possessed advanced knowledge of Spelljammer technology.

The Explorer made considerable modifications to the vessel, starting with converting the Swollen Ostrich into a Spelljammer ship. She also renovated the captain's quarters into a luxury suite and the crew quarters into comfortable passenger cabins. Throughout her years of exploring Wildspace and the Astral Plane, she decorated the ship with mementos of her journeys and scenes carved into the ship's woodworking. Her most impressive addition was a system that allowed any spellcaster to cast Plane Shift and take the entire ship and all those aboard with them.

The Explorer used the Swollen Ostrich as a ship of exploration. She spent years exploring her home planet, the Wildspace surrounding it, and several adjacent crystal spheres. She also explored other planes of existence via the Astral Plane. Evidence of her journeys can be found throughout the ship, in the form of battle scars on its exterior and souvenirs decorating the deck and interior spaces.

The Githyanki
At an unknown point during The Explorer's ownership of the Swollen Ostrich, the vessel came under attack by Githyanki Corsairs, who killed The Explorer and took the Swollen Ostrich as a prize. The Githyanki found the ship unsuitable for their own use, however, and for several hundred years, the Swollen Ostrich sat idle, moored above Tu'narath, the Githyanki capital city.

Casimir Dunbarton
Casimir, quite an Astral explorer himself, became interested in the Swollen Ostrich as a means of rapid conveyance throughout the expansive Astral Plane. During the Wand of Orcus incident, Casimir tasked Trevor's White Knights with infiltrating Tu'narath and stealing the Swollen Ostrich, which would allow them to scour the Astral Plane for a color pool to the Abyss, a vital step in their quest to destroy the Wand of Orcus. Though the heist was successful, Trevor's White Knights abandoned Casimir shortly thereafter, the Wand of Orcus disappearing with them. Casimir abandoned his plan to find a color pool to the Abyss, but held onto the Swollen Ostrich.

After the Wand of Orcus incident, Casimir returned to the Swollen Ostrich to study it and learn more about its history. By studying the mementos left by The Explorer and by learning what he could from what remained of the ship's original design, he gleaned much about the ship and became quite attached to it. Enamored by its history of exploration under the command of The Explorer, Casimir decided to use the ship in much the same way. During his tenure as the Arch-Mage of the College of Willowroot, Casimir made great use of the Swollen Ostrich for research expeditions to Wildspace, the Astral Plane, and the Outer Planes.

Though Casimir was among the most accomplished wizards of his time, the technology behind the ship's ability to Plane Shift escaped his understanding. Despite weeks spent studying The Explorer's unique designs, he never understood what enabled the ship to attach itself to an individual's casting of an unmodified Plane Shift spell. He therefore never discerned what sort of maintenence was necessary to prevent the system from degrading. Which each casting of Plane Shift to move the ship from the Astral Plane to the Material Plane, Casimir began to notice issues, and resolved to limit his use of the system.

When Casimir returned to the Swollen Ostrich during Wyldgrowth and Plane Shifted the vessel to the Astral Plane, the Plane Shift system was damaged beyond repair. Casimir spent weeks attempting to repair it, but failed. Nonetheless, the vessel continued to serve Casimir well as his base of operations in the Astral Plane. On more than one occasion, the Rangers of the Wylds came aboard at Casimir's invitation, using the ship as transportation and safe refuge from the unforgiving post-Wyldgrowth environment.

Trivia
The origin of the name 'Swollen Ostrich' is a subject of debate, but thus far has no explanation whatsoever.

In an alternate timeline, the Swollen Ostrich served as a home for Casimir and Deliza who, in that version of events, got married and took their honeymoon aboard the vessel. When Wyldgrowth began shortly thereafter, Deliza suggested that she and Casimir stay aboard indefinitely. This resulted in Casimir being much younger during his adventures with the Rangers of the Wylds, due to spending the preceding decades in the Astral Plane, whereas the Casimir of the prime timeline did not.