As afternoon edges towards evening, a small group has assembled on the roof. A stoic Rhian servant silently holds a heavy looking backpack, festooned with various straps, belts and buckles. Lilith the Eeee checks over the pack with a critical eye, while nearby Ravenia attaches a clip-hook to the end of a long spool of cord. The other end of the cord is tied to a wooden ring propped up on the end of a pole.

Arkold exits from the stairs quietly, almost as if he were trying to not be seen. Perhaps so he could run away if whatever he saw up here worries him. He takes one look around and only manages to look confused which seems sufficient to pique his curiosity and cause him to walk towards the others on deck. "I'm 'ere," he announces.

Alptraum follows upward. He's only half-paying attention, as most of his energy is devoted to doing some intricate braiding of his long hair to pull it up and out of the way so it can be covered with a bandana. "I bet they're going to shoot Arkold from a catapult at the enemy," he whispers to Tulani.

Following up last, the Black and… would be white… Sphynx smiles slightly at Alptraum's joke, before becoming more serious. Her hands heavy with wet soot and ash, she ruffles them through her pristine white wings, dulling them quickly to the color of a dirt road.

"Oh good, you're here!" Lilith calls to Arkold while waving him over to her. "We want to test this out before nightfall, just to be safe."

"Safe is good," Arkold remarks as he walks over. He gives the contraption a dubious look. "Safe is very good."

"You've had a long life, right?" Alptraum calls out after Arkold and he ties off the final bit of hair and starts wrapping it under a bandana.

As the Rhian holds the pack in place behind Arkold, Lilith immediately begins strapping and buckling the Jupani into it. "I'm sure it'll be safe! I patched all of the holes myself," she says, while pulling a strap up between Arkold's legs to attach to the belt around his waist. He's also belted at the shoulders and across the chest.

Tulani's eyes roam over the strange item with a look of unconcealed curiosity as she finishes with her wings and dusts a small amount of ash across the splash of white on her muzzle. She watches with interest as Arkold is strapped in.

"The knots are very tight too," Ravenia offers, a bit meekly, as she attaches the cord to a ringlet at the center of the harness chest-piece.

Arkold shoots Alptraum a look. "I hope you're lookin' pretty for my funeral," he grumbles. Then he peers down and notices all the straps. "I saw somethin' like this once." A grimace. "In an Inquisitor's office."

"Hah, I'll more than likely be on the other side to greet you, you realize," Alptraum comments with a smirk. "I'm not going to be any safer where I'm going."

Lilith and Ravenia step back to look over the harnessed Jupani. "Alright," Lilith says, stepping back forward to drape two wires tied to wooden handles from the pack over Arkold's shoulders. "You'll need to hold onto these until you're clear of the castle, then yank them forward hard, understand?" she asks.

Tulani simply sighs and rolls her eyes at the two men's banter, but smiles, continuing to watch with interest.

"Is that to the ball?" The wolf turns that suspicious look to Alptraum's braiding. He looks about to add something to that – and by his expression it would have been sharp – but the two women beside him get his attention. "Wha? Oh." He nods slowly. "Hold on 'till clear of castle then yank hard." He nods again as to confirm he gets it. "I want you to know I've always liked you both."

Both women smile, then quickly move away to the shelter of the stairs. Even the Rhian lets go of the pack (which isn't as heavy as Arkold first thought) and steps back. A low rumble can be felt building up.

Alptraum finishes tucking his hair away. Instead of replying, he just watches with interest. At the rumbling, he starts to back up.

Tulani walks over to firmly grip Arkold's shoulder for moment in a 'good luck' type of gesture… blinking as though contemplating doing something before leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, as though he were a favored uncle of some sort, then growling, "You better not make me regret doing that… " But she smiles and backs away as well.

The rumbling continues to grow, until the dark shape of the dragon zooms past overhead, low enough to snatch the wooden ring as he passes. The cord uncoils quickly as Vorgulremik begins to climb, until it goes taught and yanks Arkold into the air!

Arkold adjusts his hold on the handles and looks around expectantly. "I vow to make a mighty crater," he announces half-jokingly, and entirely nervously. "I hope you'll give it a right-handy name. Arkold's Fo-" He blinks at Tulani's hand on his shoulder, and more so at her kiss, then grins at her. He spares a moment of iron-tight gripping to give her a thumbs up. "Better get clea – ahhhh!" And off he goes! The wolf slides across the roof, pitches off the end, and can still be heard to yell as he presumably plummets.

Before hitting ground (or wall), the Jupani is lifted up clear as the dragon keeps climbing. From the rooftop, Lilith yells, "Pull the cords now! Pull the cords!"

Alptraum watches, unblinking, as Arkold is yanked off and up into the air. "Heh, it's kind of like fishing with a Jupani, or something," he jokes nervously, hoping nothing goes wrong.

The Sphynx watches with rapt attention, a note of worry evident in her eyes, not moving from her spot.

After he stops tumbling, and the Eeees know it's after he stops yelling, Arkold yanks the cords!

A large rectangular parasail billows out from the pack and the leather of the harness creaks alarmingly as it's pulled from two directions. The dragon is even jerked backwards by the sudden resistance, one claw momentarily loosing its grip on the ring until Vorgulremik compensates.

Slowly, Arkold is lofted up by the sail until he's actually level with the dragon.

"I really love having wings," Alptraum comments, watching and shaking his head a bit.

"Wow… interesting," Tulani briefly comments herself, tilting her head back to watch as Arkold is pulled through the air.

Bits and pieces of Arkold's pre-stabilization commentary filter back to the Eeees. "You better not let go you over stuffed-" "by Dagh's… !" " … you do I'll … something!" The curses do, however, die down once Arkold attains a stable flight pattern of more-feet-above-the-ground-than-any-Jupani-should-be-sans-airship. "Oh. Hey Vorgulremik!" he waves to the dragon unsteadily. "Wings must be handy, 'eh? Eh. Once you get past the … nausea."

"I hope the seams hold," Lilith frets, chewing on her lower lip. "Restoring that sail has just been a hobby until now. I'm not sure if the zolk in the patches is as strong as that in the sail." Some of the patches visible on the sail are bright pink.

"Wait until you try landing," the dragon calls back with a snort.

Alptraum reaches over and pats Lilith's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure the seams are fine," he tells her. "Colorful, perhaps, but fine."

Tulani likewise nods to Lilith at Alptraum's statement, adding in simply, "I'm sure everything will be fine… " But she continues to watch closely.

As the dragon banks and practices towing the sail, he and Arkold pass close over the roof. Some of the patches to the parasail look distinctly frilly.

"The colors are so you," Alptraum calls out to Arkold. He grins.

"Oh," Arkold moans softly. He peers down at the ground, wiggles his feet, then shifts in the harness. "Well," he says a bit louder, "I suppose no one has ever done this, eh? Dragon … sailing." As he and the dragon pass by Arkold yells down in a holler that goes faint rather quickly as he zooms by. "IT AIN'T SO bad once you get used to … " "STOW IT pretty ponytail … "

Something tears loose from the sail, and flutters down towards Alptraum.

Alptraum reaches upward, fingers spread so it catches on his clawtips.

Breaking eye contact from watching Arkold's 'ride' Tulani glances over to see what it was that came lose, looking a little worried, hoping silently to herself it wasn't something vital.

Whatever it is, it's lacy. It might be useful as a sling for hurling two stones at once, from the construction. Ravenia snatches it away before Alptraum can really examine it closely though, and glares at Lilith. "You told me this had been ruined in the wash!"

Alptraum grins as he eyes the two girls. He shakes his head and chuckles softly. "Well, I guess that must've been yours," he comments and shrugs lightly.

"HOPE that wasn't importa … " Arkold zooms by again.

Tulani covers a grin with her hand.

"It was all stretched out," Lilith claims, and frowns. "At least it was only something small. As long as the bloomers hold, it should be okay."

"You two do act like sisters," Alptraum comments, amused, and elbows Tulani. "Must be weird living here, eh?" he asks her.

Indeed, the pair of bright pink ruffled Gallisian-style bloomers directly over Arkold's head are still firmly integrated into the sail.

The dragon banks again, heading back for the landing area. After passing overhead, he drops the ring down over the pole it had been attached to.

Tulani rubs her arm where Alptraum elbowed her, rolling her eyes at him and sighing… but she smiles.

"This could make us a lot of money," Arkold comments to the dragon as he practices. "Well," he shrugs a bit – hard to do strapped in to a parasail, "if you weren't an' evil soul-devourin' monster anyway. 'Arkold's Dragonsailing – ride the soul-eatin' monster' would jus' scare the … hey what are you doin'?" He eyes the suddenly be-ringed pole.

Alptraum winces slightly. "This could end up very painful for him," he mutters.

"Should we try to… catch him?" Lilith ponders, as Arkold begins to descend towards the landing area. It isn't clear whether he'll shed all of his forward momentum in time, however. "Aim for the pond!" Ravenia calls up.

"He weighs easily four times what you do, Lilith," Alptraum tells her. "Unless you want to be squished … ah, no."

Mind racing about trying to think of something to do, the Sphynx watches and suddenly asks, "No one happens to have a large sheet handy… do they?" She realizes too late that the material probably would have gone into the sail.

Arkold hits the deck at a flailing run. He staggers, pinwheels his arms, then completely loses it to skid chest down across the deck and into the pond with an immense splash that showers anyone nearby. "Ow," mumbles the soggy, half-soaked wolf. "Healer." After a second he adds, "Or wine. Ohh."

"Quick!" Lilith calls, "catch the sail!" She then runs towards the fluttering fabric.

Alptraum claps politely. "Well, I'd have to rate the landing around a two, but not bad for your first flight," he says with a grin. The Eeee's amusement is short-lived, however, as he then darts after the sail.

Tulani lets the two bats handle the sail and quickly moves over towards Arkold, reaching down to half pull him out of the pond.

Luckily, a quarter of the sail is now wet, which keeps the wind from billowing it out again. There are, however, more cries of anguish from Ravenia as she comes across articles of lingerie that are apparently unique to humans.

Alptraum is momentarily inspecting one of them, too, at the part of the sail he's grabbed. "Man, this is weird, I wonder what it's for?" he muses, then shrugs. "This section seems to be intact," he calls out.

Cries of anguish mix with groans of soreness (and wine) from Arkold. The wolf rolls his head to peer at the sail and its strange clothing. "Think it's … Gallisan. Or my spine. Can't … see straight."

With Tulani helping to hold Arkold up, Lilith begins to unstrap him from the harness. Sometime during all of the activity, Vorgulremik made his own less dramatic landing, and is curled up next to the stairs.

Alptraum struggles with piling up the sail … and remarks occasionally on the weird things patched into it. Satisfied it's finally gathered out of the way, he heads back towards Arkold. "That was rather impressive. You didn't break anything, did you?" he asks Arkold.

"No major tears or tangles in the sail," reports a blushing Ravenia once it's been secured.

Quickly aiding Lilith, the Sphynx undoes almost seemingly random buckles and ties. Once Arkold is out of it she pulls the wolf's arm over her shoulder, and placing her own arm around his waist half drags him up into a semi-standing position.

Once up Arkold dusts himself off too, then grins unsteadily. "I'll be all right," he answers. The wolf rolls his shoulders, then his neck and hands before patting Tulani on her shoulder and stepping away. "I'll live."

Tulani smiles a small smile at Arkold, replying in an innocent voice, "Just wanted to make sure."

"While certainly distracting, pulling Arkold's bulk through the sky is quite exhausting," the dragon comments. "I can only do it for so long."

Alptraum nods and says, "Good. You get to do that again, better to not break something on the first run." He grins rakishly and winks. He then glances to Tulani and says, "Hey, we should finish preparing. We've got a long night ahead of ourselves too."

"Have you found everything you need?" Lilith asks, while Ravenia spreads out the damp parts of the parasail to dry, holding them down with bits of broken masonry.

Arkold can only manage a half-hearted glare at the dragon. "I'll stay up 'ere I think, though might get somethin' to drink."

"For the most part. I haven't found any throwing knives in the storeroom, though. Do you know if there are any in the castle?" Alptraum replies and looks over at Lilith. "The piecemeal armor should be almost dry, at least. I'm glad the paints were left up in the solar. Came in useful."

"What do throwing knives look like?" Lilith asks. Behind her, Ravenia looks wistfully at the pond. "No midnight bathing tonight, I suppose," she says quietly.

"Wait," Arkold eyes the dragon again and walks over to him, "what do you mean "my bulk?" I'm as fit as a fiddle. Half the men my age would have hit that deck an' shattered in to a million pieces. And what's this about midnight bathin'?"

Alptraum glances at Ravenia briefly, brow quirked. He then shrugs and looks back to Lilith, saying, "Usually thin and about this long." He marks out a length with his fingers. "And they are balanced, meaning the center of the knife is where you can balance it on an edge and it won't slip off."

"With the sail, you are an anchor, Arkold," the dragon replies. "I must flap my wings constantly to keep us both airborne, which is not something I'm built to do."

Tulani stands off a little ways in the back, watching with a slight smirk as Arkold argues with the dragon, then calls over to Alptraum, "Just tell me when you've got everything together, I found a crossbow for myself that should be all I'll need."

"Ah, well then." Arkold drops down to sit next to the dragon and props his head on a hand. "Ever think abou' givin' the whole, uh, "evil" thing up?"

"Ever think about giving the whole breathing thing up?" the dragon replies.

"Do they have to be knives, exactly?" Lilith asks Alptraum, looking thoughtful. "I have some chitin stars that you can throw."

Alptraum considers that. "They'll make do," he says and nods. "I want to be prepared for several possible confrontation situations. I can't promise I would be able to return them, though."

Arkold tosses his hands in a shrug. "It's jus' goin' to cause you pain. You could put down some of tha' paranoia if you weren't provokin' people half the time." The wolf eyes the dragon up and down and adds, "There's power in peace, too, eh?"

"I suppose that will be alright," Lilith says. "I don't really have a use for them. I thought they might make interesting jewelry, but they were too sharp."

The dragon rolls an eye towards Arkold. "So, I should take up gardening then? Grow daisies?" he asks, sarcastically.

"If I can, I will, but they may get broken or lost," Alptraum tells Lilith. He pauses, then adds with a weak smile, "And I should say this now before I forget. Should anything bad happen and I don't make it back, it was a pleasure to have met you. I hope your future will be bright and happy."

Sitting herself down on the ground the Sphynx watches the various exchanges, not thinking of much herself except the coming night. At Arkold's comments, however, she turns and interjects quietly into their conversation, "It's hard for people to change their nature, and how they think they are."

Lilith glances towards the resting dragon, and then smiles to Alptraum. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment, certainly. It's been good to meet you as well."

"Conquering dictators, madmen, warmongers an' the like is very profitable," Arkold insists to the dragon. "You make peace, you take a share, you move on. People celebrate you. The powerful are much better off than these poor people you harass. 'He who inspires fear in turn must fear others.'"

"Well, anyway. I should get packed. Time is ticking. If you can find the stars, just bring them up here for when Tulani and I leave," Alptraum replies, then starts walking back towards the stairs. "I'll see you back up here at nightfall, Tulani," he says.

"What would I do with a world full of pets?" Vorgulremik mutters, then closes his eyes to nap.

Tulani nods to Alptraum but simply continues to sit for a while longer, staring off into the sky.

Arkold gives Tulani his best 'I tried' shrug, then folds his arms behind his head and leans back to grab a nap himself.

By the time the sun sinks to the horizon, the two groups have finished preparing for their tasks. The plan is for Vorgulremik to tow Arkold in a circle around the castle to catch the attention of any spies, then head north. Shortly afterwards, Tulani and Alptraum will begin their search to the east, looking for the ruins.

To aid him in his role as a distraction, Arkold's harness has been modified to hold several oil lanterns, which he'll need to light after takeoff. Vorgulremik has also formulated a method of keeping the two airborne longer: rather than constantly towing the Jupani, he'll pull him up high and then drop the cable, gliding down to rest his wings before grabbing the towrope and climbing once more.

After Vorgulremik launches himself, and begins to circle around to catch the tow-ring, both Lilith and Ravenia give Arkold kisses on his cheek, "For luck."

Arkold grins widely at that kind of luck. "It's all worth it now," he tells the two as he gives them a slight bow. Slight because he looks to be yanked in to the air at any moment. His hands grip the handles tightly and this time he looks ready to meet the dragon's catch. And he does. Shortly before the dragon catches the ring Arkold begins to run forward. The end result is that his momentum doesn't increase nearly so jarringly and he makes a smooth jump off the ledge. Shortly after he pulls the strings and off he soars.

The dragon pulls Arkold around the castle, two shadows against the Procession, until the Jupani manages to get the lamps lit. The effect is eerie, since the light doesn't quite reach the parasail, so that only Arkold himself is illuminated.

Already there, the Sphynx watches the wolf go, towed off into the air, and waves at him briefly before giving herself a quick once over, making sure all of her equipment is in place.

Alptraum salutes Arkold as the sail takes him into the air. "Be well, Arkold. I think you will start a legend with this one," he says firmly, and to no one in particular. He takes a deep breath and steadies his expression, trying to mask his own nervousness. Only his heartbeat - to those who may be listening for it – betrays him. He then looks over to Tulani and nods firmly, saying, "I'm ready, are you?"

Tulani nods to Alptraum in return, not speaking for a moment, beginning to gather herself, before replying slowly, "I'll be right behind you."

"Be careful, and come back safe," Ravenia says, giving Alptraum and Tulani quick hugs, while Lilith scans the dark forest beyond the castle's eastern wall.

"Ow, hot, woah," the dragon can hear Arkold mutter as he goes about lighting the lanterns. He mounts them all along his belt, and a few along the straps across the harness. Once done he grins down at the darkness. "Hey Vorg. I'm the light an' you're the darkness. How poetic."

"Don't exhale too close to the flames," Vorgulremik comments. "I'm the only one allowed to breath fire here."

"I want to move fast and quiet. No heroics. If we find the ruins and we can get in, we do it. Our target is the necromancer, all other fights are secondary," Alptraum says to her and offers a brief reassuring smile. He then looks at Ravenia and nods his head, saying, "If we don't make it back, it was a pleasure meeting you. Be well." He then steps to the edge of the platform. Instead of taking off, he closes his eyes and feels the breeze around him. As if doing an old, practiced, performance … he simply tilts off the platform and falls. A graceful roll in the air and his wings snap wide, arcing the Eeee back upward and into the darkness.

"I coul' never steal your job Vorg. I jus' don't have the tail for it," Arkold insists as he flies along. "I wonder wha' they're thinkin' down there." His eyes watch the blackening world below with a mix of awe and anticipation.

The Sphynx listens closely and silently to Alptraum's directions, almost like an attentive soldier. Backing up she checks to make sure neither Lilith nor Ravenia are too close, so as not to hit them. Tulani spreads her wings a little ways with a soft fwapp and takes a short running leap off the edge of the platform. With a few strokes her wings she catches the air and flies off after her partner.