The ship secured for travel to Titania turned out to be a fairly small one, but then it appears that the journey is not expected to be all that far, all things considered. At least it doesn't involve going all the way to the Savan or over the ocean – just a bit to the north of Himar, where the air gets a bit cooler and more crisp.

The craft consists of three hot air balloons rigged together with a triangular frame and walkway, with a cargo gondola suspended by cables (and flexible ladders) from the center. The captain of this craft is a strange little creature, not any larger than Eve, with white fuzz on his body, an abbreviated, deer-like face, and four ears, with large, expressive eyes. He might seem a child, except for his overdecorated uniform and commanding demeanor.

Captain Mountainglade is accompanied by his "crew" – his somewhat smaller wife, Springwillow. Aside from these two, none others ride on the craft save for a very large lupine named Gnarr, and a smaller Khatta named Feli Kurai … and also known as "Jynx".

The morning finds the Khatta on the triangular deck, against the supporting rail, a long tether holding him secure to the deck in case his luck should show itself and prompt a nasty fall.

Jynx leans his elbows on the railing, chin in paw, and looking out over the edge of the ship. ( I still wonder how I got into this mess… )

The countryside passes below. The borders of Himar have been left behind, the ship making a morning stop for procurement (and cooking) of breakfast and to handle … morning things.

Gnarr evidently can't catch much of anything, food-wise. Apparently his barbarian skills lie in other areas than wilderness survival.

The black Khatta smells the food, making him hungry. ( Oh well, it could always be worse! ) He begins to make his way to the mess cabin, but stops to watch Gnarr, "What on Sinai are you doing?"

Gnarr grumbles. "Gnarr catch bird. Smash with hammer. Bird no fly close enough." He pauses, deep in thought.

Springwillow walks out, a tether fastened around her waist. "Here you go! Eat up! Sorry I haven't any dinnerware. Can't risk it going over the side! You'll just have to settle for 'finger food'." Breakfast consists of some fruits and vegetables bundled in thick parchment. Gnarr's stomach grumbles.

Jynx blinks at the wolf, then just shakes his head, "Well, to each his own," he mutters. The Khatta then smiles at the small Aelfin, "Well, if it tastes as good as it smells, I won't mind getting my paws a bit dirty."

Springwillow giggles, and gives Jynx a "you flatterer!" look as she gives him breakfast. "If you've a mind for anything to wash that down with, just head into the shelter, and I'll pour something right up."

Gnarr just grumbles, all the more, and lumbers up next to Jynx. He has a huge sledge that he carries about with him, his only possession other than his simple clothes and a battered trunk that he carries on his back like a pack. He easily stands twice Jynx's height, now that he's not stooping about inside the Kurai household.

Jynx takes a few bit of the food, and nods to the Aelfin, "Will do. Hey Gnarr! Come and get it!" ( And hopefully choke on it )

Gnarr sniffs. "No meat. Bleah."

Jynx bites into the fruit, and shrugs, "Fine, but if you don't eat something soon, you're gonna have to make a meal of that sledge hammer there."

Springwillow frowns. "I'm terribly sorry, sir, but … well … we're just not hunters, you see, and this is such a small craft that we can't carry provisions for the whole trip. But we're making good speed with this wind… " She fidgets about, then heads back under the canopy of the shelter.

Gnarr stares at Jynx for a good, long time.

Jynx stares back, hiding the shiver he gets from the wolf's gaze. "Uhm, yes, well… I'll let you get back to your hunting… " The Khatta walks to the canopy, to get a drink, and to avoid the wolf.

Below, the wilderness thins out … revealing rolling hills, farmlands, and houses. Civilization!

The lady Aelfin munches on some greens, seated under the canopy, looking over the railing at the scenery passing below. "Ah yes. We're making VERY good time." She nods.

Jynx, guzzling down a bit of his drink, looks down as well. "Where are we?"

Springwillow answers, "That is Chronotopia, below us. We must be careful. We are near Bosch, one of the wildest of the Forbidden Zones. But … oh … I DO hope we will be flying over Blitzheim. It's a beautiful city from the air. I understand that it's positively dreadful, though, on the surface."

Jynx looks puzzled, "Dreadful? Why?" ( They must have a bunch of Gnarrs down there, that'd be dreadful )

Springwillow sighs, then says, "Well, you see, it's so DIRTY down there. It's not at all like Aelfhem. They dabble in machines, even though everyone knows that machines simply do not work anywhere well at all aside from Rephidim … and even then, they are never reliable. Oh, their boilers are forever exploding, and something else is always going wrong." She shakes her head. "And then, they are always fending off the barbarian invaders. We can't land there, you see. We're carrying a Titanian, after all. Wouldn't do."

Jynx stares at the Aelfin, "Barbarians? Like… Gnarr? Just where exactly is Titania anyways?"

Jynx. o O ( Great, so I'm getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of wolves who have the mental capacity of a bubble berry )

"Well," says the Aelfin, "Titania is a bit further north. We'll be able to tell when we start seeing more explosions."

"E-… explosions?" The Khatta looks intently at the Aelfin.

The Aelfin nods. "Yes. You see, the Titanians are very fond of machinery as well. That's why they're at war with Chronotopia all the time – They raid their cities for more metal to build bigger machines. And the Chronotopians return the favor."

Jynx blinks, inwardly brightening a bit, "They build machines? So you mean all the Titanians aren't as, er, slow as Gnarr?"

Springwillow puts a dainty hand to her mouth, hmming. "Well … actually … quite probably yes. They're clever in certain ways … and … ah … rather … well … DIFFICULT in others."

Jynx's ears droop, so much for hope. The cat sighs, tail now twitching angrily.

Springwillow says, "If only they put their efforts to more CONSTRUCTIVE uses … After all, with all the metal in their possession, by anyone's measure, they'd be quite rich. But … ah well … I suppose war is in their blood."

The Khatta sighs again, but then stops, "Wait… metal?"

The Aelfin nods. "Yes. Ceramic and chitin and wood go a long way, but for machinery, you ultimately need metal. And for Titanian machines, you need so MUCH of it. Oh dear! Look! It's Bosch! Oh, I do hope Mountainglade won't let us get terribly close."

She points over the railing, to a distant valley, which seems to glow with a light of its own, yet being shadowed somehow at the same time. It seems a sight determined to defy logic.

Jynx grins, a plan forming in his mind, but is promptly brought back to reality, "Bosch, the forbidden zone?" He looks over the railing to where Springwillow points.

Not much can be seen from here, but the valley seems to be full of large structures … or creatures … or plants … or some sort of bizarre combination of all of the above. It is like a city or a garden, and impossible to tell what is artificial, what is alive, or what used to be so. It seems a madman's dream, and multitudes of smaller creature-things can be seen prancing about on these horrible monstrosities.

Jynx shudders, "I can see why you want to avoid it." He walks over to get another drink, then returning to look again. "I hope your husband's a good driver."

The Aelfin lets out a sigh of relief as a mountain blocks the view of the valley, and it appears the ship is moving on. "Yes. Very skilled. He brought us here all the way from Ur. He is the first Aelfin airship captain to fly the routes of Ai in … well … at least this century, you know."

Jynx nods mechanically, trying to appear interested (although he isn't). In his mind he weighs the pros and cons of the trip. Pro: Get out of the house, maybe get some metal for a few extra shekels. Con: Have to live with a bunch of moron, smelly wolves with whom he'll probably get killed in some sort of raid. The Khatta frowns, the cons seem to carry more weight at the current moment…

A sound like a clap of thunder assaults the Khatta's ears. The ship sways faintly. "Oh dear!" cries out the Aelfin, as she grabs the railing.

From outside the canopy, there is a loud howling noise. Sounds like Gnarr.

Jynx oofs! falling flat on the deck, "What happened? Did we fly into a storm?"

"HOME!" howls Gnarr, and he starts hopping up and down on the deck, prompting another "Oh dear!" from the Aelfin.

Jynx staggers onto his feet, "We're here already? What was that horrible noise?" ( Besides Gnarr I mean… )

Another Aelfin, the captain, storms up to Gnarr. "Now hear! Stop hopping up and down like that! I'm having enough trouble as it is. I've gone over this ship with a fine-toothed comb, and I still can't understand why it seems we have too much weight. And your hopping up and down won't make me any happier!"

The Titanian stops, making a loud hmph. "Gnarr no get heavier. Gnarr get light. No meat."

Jynx walks over to the captain and the over-excited wolf, "Are we there already?"

The Aelfin hmphs, then looks out. "Almost. I suggest you make yourself comfortable. Titania is a fairly large and spread out land."

Gnarr bellows, "Aha! Titania! Land of great machines!" He waves his sledge around wildly. Fortunately, nobody is tall enough to risk getting whacked by it.

Jynx nevertheless dodge reflexively, with a wince. ( Oh well, the longer the better… ) "Hey wolfy, better put that hammer down before you swing off the side." ( One could only hope… )

Gnarr settles down, then points off the deck. "Ha ha! TITAN BATTLE!"

Jynx blinks. He goes to the rail and looks to where the wolf points with a pre-impression grimace.

Below, amongst billows of smoke can be seen some large shadowy shapes … Monstrosities of wood, metal and ceramic, on wheels, treads and even one that apparently walks on four legs. Their size is emphasized by the multitude of "little" Titanians running all about them, only reaching the ankles of the "walking" one.

The machines march, roll and lumber toward each other – three machines and three armies of hairy lupines. Then … there's another loud explosion, and steam erupts from the walking machine, which comes to an abrupt halt. Gnarr immediately lets out a disappointed groan.

It seems the grimace was appropriate. "Things not going well for your side?" the cat asks Gnarr.

Gnarr sighs. "Behemoth go boom." Just as he says "Boom", though, there's another explosion. This time, the wheeled machine skids to a stop, as all six of its wheels fall off, one after the other. Lupines scatter as clouds erupt outward, and the resulting explosion sends a few furry forms hurtling through the air. The remaining side looks to be about to cheer, when there is a loud whistle … and the treaded machine begins to blow itself apart as well.

"Gremlins," Gnarr mutters.

Gnarr doesn't seem encouraged by seeing the other machines explode. Rather, he just seems all the more depressed.

The ship drifts on by the scene. Some of the fuzzy forms hurtled into the air … are actually getting back UP from where they impacted the ground! (… and, incidentally, staggering about… ) The "armies" seem more interested in tending to their machines of destruction than engaging in combat with each other.

Jynx frowns, "This sort of thing isn't… frequent, is it?"

Gnarr doesn't answer. But the Aelfin captain nods. "Yes. They're always blowing themselves up." He clears his throat, muttering something about, "… just as long as they don't touch my SHIP… " as he tends to one of the stoves.

Jynx sighs. He watches a bit more of the battle, which looks more like a mechanic's convention, then goes over to sit down against one of the rails.

"TITANIC!" barks Gnarr, as he straightens up again. "Greatest work of Titania!" He looks positively proud as he points to what looks like a fairly large building imbedded in the side of a mountain, but sticking out at a strange angle.

Jynx puzzledly looks to the structure, "Is that where we're going?"

Gnarr shakes his head. "Naw. That great Titanian AIRSHIP. Biggest of all Sinai!" If that's an airship, it looks like it must have made a fairly harsh landing.

Jynx hmmms. The biggest airship on all Sinai, piloted by the smallest brains in the world. "If its so great, why isn't it flying?"

Gnarr grimaces. "Need work. Gremlins no like Titanians to fly. They stronger on ground."

Gnarr sits down on the deck, resting his back against the railing. "Far yet to go home. Gnarr rest."

The cat arches a brow, "Gremlins? You think gremlins are responsible for all that?" ( He must not know much about deficient brains )

Jynx nods to the wolf, and decides that for once he has a bright idea.

Gnarr nods. "Yes. Gremlins strong on ground. Make machines go boom. But they no jump high. No make machines go boom on sky island."

Jynx yawns, and settles against the railing himself, "Well, tell your gremlins not to disturb me while I'm asleep." With that, the cat slowly nods off.