Somewhere in the Savan – Day 2 – Dawn

Daylight creeps over a still-dark horizon, but its glow is washed out by the warm orange of still-burning bonfires, the blazes as tall and lively as they were during the night. Aside from the fires, the camp is relatively calm, some early risers prowling about as they make ready for their day. The morning is pleasantly cool, by Savan standards, and there doesn't seem to be a cloud in the sky.

Rising early, Xander the Fire Mage prepares his ritual circle next to one of the bonfires. "What'll it be today," he muses out loud. "Something useful I think."

Kin was one of the early risers after having spent a private evening with their newfound friend, Long-Shadow. Instead of practicing this morning as she usually does, however, she had been helping prepare a morning meal. That task completed, she sits by the one of the bonfires with the lanky Savanite and is actually feeding him some lightly cooked meat gingerly hooked onto the end of one of her claws. Seeing Xander settle down nearby, she calls to him, "I pray you slept well, Master Lightfoot?"

Having spent a stretch of the night wandering in what, to most, would be darkness, Lilac spent the rest of the night asleep out under the stars. At one point she did return, checking on Kin to make sure she's well, before returning to the night to wish Gibson was here. Now, Lilac can be seen approaching from the perimeter of the camp, returning from where ever it was she slept at.

Long-Shadow quite enjoys the attention, and eats with gusto. With him are several large waterskins, a little dirty on the outside, but with the necks having been washed off before he brought them. They're very cool to the touch, likely having been buried the night before to make them pleasantly chilled.

Smiling to Kin as he sits in his circle, Xander replies, "Oh yes, I was quite exhausted and it was really comfy too."

"Wow, is the Savan ever flat," Lilac remarks as she approaches the group. "I mean flat, really flat! It's pretty, though. I should write a song about it, before we leave." She yawns, then plops herself down near the fire. The woman looks a bit dusty, really.

"I found my evening accommodations to be quite comfortable as well; in some ways more comfortable than a zolk-lined bed," Kin tells the Lapi with a smile. Spotting Lilac, she waves briefly and says, "Good Morning, Lilac. You look as if you found a dusty cave to sleep in." before shifting her attention back to the feline. Setting aside the bowl of meat for now, she reaches down and taps one of the necks of the cool water skins and looks to the Savanite questioningly.

"How'd you know I slept in a cave?" The human blinks, then leans forward and grins. "I'm glad you had a nice night, Kinny. It seemed like you could use some unwinding. I'm really quite surprised you took to this tribe so quickly!" She then sniffs the air, then eyes several nearby meals.

"Could one you find me some veggies?" Xander says. "I didn't get any supper last night." And then he's begun his ritual, muttering while staring into the fire.

Long-Shadow gestures welcome at the water skins, which do indeed seem to be filled with water. As the adventurers converse, another familiar Savanite approaches, the distinct rattle of beads preceding Glowing Coal's arrival. His fire shaping ritual for making the bright letters from the night before has long since faded, but he conveys his greeting with a smile and a nod.

"Sure, Xander. I should be able to sniff something out while I get something to eat," Lilac offers. She hops back to her feet, takes another sniff around, then walks off. A wave is offered to the Savanite elder as she passes, along with a cheery, "Hi, Glowing Coal!"

"You are not covered in morning dew and are dusty. Logic would indicate you were inside something natural. As there are no large trees here, it must have been underground," Kin comments with a small grin as she lifts up one of the water skins. The Kiriga takes a small sip from it, then holds it up for him. "You are welcome to what remains in my bowl, Lilac," she adds, then bows her head to Burning Coal out of respect and smiles to him. "Welcome to the dawn of a new day and a new start."

Lilac stops in her search, stepping back until she can eye Kin's bowl. "Ooo, hmm." She picks up the bowl and resumes walking, using her fingers to eat. "Thanks, Kinny! I'll see about vegetables now."

The shaman kneels by the fire, and concentrates for a few minutes, rolling his hands in front of himself in odd but fluid gestures. When he finishes, words begin glowing in the embers again, though this time they're fairly small, only a few at a time. Still they're legible enough. "Good morning, Sunscale, Embercrown. Some of the water seekers have filled your barrels. They did not disturb the old one."

Xander pauses in his ritual to nod to the elder, and says, "Thank you, Glowing Coal." And then he's focusing on his spell again. It helps that another ritual was performed here, most likely.

"Thank you, Honored Glowing Coal, your hospitality has been appreciated," Kin says to the elder. "With the path we must walk to reach the downed ships, is it a dangerous road or one fairly quiet? While I may be a warrior; it does not mean I wish to seek battles."

The letters in the embers spell out, "The Savan can be a dangerous place, but Long-Shadow is an able pathfinder. He will guide you safely, should you wish to avoid conflict."

As he works his spell, Xander starts to gesture with his hands; teasing a sinuous shape out of the fire towards him.

It's not long before Lilac returns, a second bowl in her hands filled with a random assortment of what could be vegetables. "I found this," she says, picking one out the looks like a brown rocks, "and I think it's edible. There's also these roots, this bulb-like one … these red berries … and one of these." She holds up the last one, shrugging unknowingly. The bowl gets placed next to Xander, before Lilac retakes her seat.

"I am certain we will have enough battles without actively seeking them," Kin says as she closes up the waterskin and sets it lightly onto the ground. The reptile gets to her feet and stretches skyward, jaw rolling and yawning. Once finished, she reaches down and strokes the side of Long-Shadow's cheek with the back of her hand, saying, "Now if everyone will excuse me for a short time, I must to some exercises this morning to keep my senses sharp and body supple."

Lilac's eyebrows rise as Kin pets the Savanite man, she just grins all the more. "Okay, Kinny," she replies.

"You should exercise too, Lilac," Xander says during a pause in his ritual, as he reaches for something in the bowl. "And thank you for finding me some food, too."

The cheetah just follows Kin with his dark eyes, and smiles silently. Eventually, he gets up and stretches, then slings a water pouch over his shoulder, and takes up his spear.

"Just be careful with that brown one – I'm not sure what it is. Well," Lilac cocks her head to the side, "I'm not sure what any of them are, but that one looks especially scary." She reaches ovr and pats Xander's hand, then stands up. "Wait for me, Kinny!"

Kin walks to the outskirts of the village, away from anyone she could harm. She busies herself with setting her sword down and doing a few more stretches, noting to Lilac when she gets close, "Just be careful, I will be working on my movement and agility today." And with that, the Kiriga darts forward and to life. The next ten to fifteen minutes have the dragon doing graceful back flips, forward flips, rolls, and a myriad of unarmed attack patterns that flow from one to the other with practiced ease. Once she's through unarmed, the reptile switches to armed and becomes a blur of golden scales, chitin blades, and flowing white mane.

Several minutes in, Lilac begins to try and copy Kin. At first, she seems to do so out of a sort of rhythm-sense, creating a dance from Kin's moves. Then, she tries to actively copy the moves. Although she takes several spills, ending up dustier than she was before, she manages to roughly copy Kin towards the end of her unarmed time. When Kin picks up her weapons, Lilac takes a seat and watches.

Many of the tribe pause what they're doing to watch, fascinated. The younger ones try mimicking some of it themselves, a few with their lit torches. They don't manage much of the complexity, but at least they keep from singing themselves too often, until the older tribes cats shoo them off. With some pleasantries and well-wishing exchanged, the wagon is soon made ready.

Kin spends the remainder of the morning after exercises helping pack the wagon with intermixed romping around with the children of the tribe. In short order, though, she's ready to board one of the Dromodon's. "Are you certain you do not wish to ride?" she asks Long-Shadow.

Lilac sits on the back of the wagon, leaning back lazily against the supplies. She gets out her flute and begins to check it for dust. "There's nothing like traveling for a good bit of music," she remarks.

Working up until the almost the last moment, Xander completes his ritual and breaks up his circle. Instead of a burning crown, this time he has a miniature flaming dragon perched on his shoulder.

Long-Shadow shakes his head. He points his spear at the ground ahead, then starts to sign something… he realizes it's not going to be understood, so he holds his paw up with fingers down, making a little walkie-motion.

"As you wish," Kin says with a small nod of her head to him as she climbs up. "If we have time, I would like you to teach me what you can of our language. That is, if you want to, of course."

---

Soon the 'caravan' is back underway. Enough time has passed that Primus has had a chance to climb, the sun's light strengthening from orange at the horizon to the Savan's notorious brilliance overhead. The wagon's cover is a welcome retreat for Lilac and Xander… the strong sunlight probably doesn't bother Kin or Long Tooth, and Long-Shadow seems comfortable enough, though his nosepad shines. He's often well ahead of the wagon, returning every so often to adjust the direction they're going. It might seem a little roundabout, but the Savanite appears quite confident, and the wagon doesn't run afoul of anything other than some bumps. Every so often, the cheetah pathfinder points something out in the distance… not apparently for any reason other than to see it. Flocks of birds. Watering holes. Packs of beast hounds safely in the distance. Herd animals.

"I hope that the temperature is not too high for both of you?" Kin calls back into the wagon. "I find it delightful, but I know that many mammals do not."

"The shade helps," Xander replies, although he's stripped to the waist to keep cool.

"It's sooooo hot on the ground," Lilac complains, having long since sprawled out in the back of the cart. "I was wrong: flying is better than walking, some times." Despite her complaints, Lilac is more often playing than not, so she at least has energy enough to make music.

"You will get used to it in time. Eventually, you will find it most refreshing," Kin says reassuringly. "I am certain Long-Shadow does; he seems quite content."

"You can dab some water on the backs of your ears," Xander suggests to Lilac.

"I grew up in a swamp. It was wet, and cold, and shady. It might be a while, Kinny," the human woman calls back. "I don't even think my curse is ready for this kind of heat." She glances over at Xander, then nods and does just that.

"You wear too many clothes," Kin suggests back into the wagon. "Your cloak must hold in a lot of heat, for example."

"But it's stylish." Lilac sighs, then shrugs her cloak off and begins removing her boots. "Very well. I wish I could turn in to a monster now, just so I could forget I'm sweating!"

"I am sorry that they are not used to the heat," Kin apologizes to Long-Shadow. "You must find us weak and silly."

With Long-Shadow's help, the wagon makes good time. Evening approaches, though the sun is still high enough in the sky to provide ample light. Finally, the cheetah returns to the wagon, his tear-striped face looking more subdued than before. He points at the horizon.

"What is wrong?" Kin asks the Savanite, looking concerned herself now. Her eyes then follow along his arm and to where he points off into the horizon.

"Are we there yet?" Xander asks as he goes to the front of the wagon to peek out from under the canvas.

Lilac, who has steadily slid over so that she's half-buried in a heap among the supplies, suddenly sits up. "Wrong?" She looks around like one of the local small animals popping out of its hole, "Somethings wrong?" She sniffs.

It's still a considerable distance away, making detail impossible to discern, but the spec hovering above the horizon is unmistakable for anything else. An airship.

"Ship," Kin says, "I cannot see the markings from here. It could be a trader, or a pirate vessel. We should move slowly and locate cover before it gets too close to us. If it hasn't noticed us by now, that is." To Long-Shadow, she asks, "Is there any suitable cover in the area we could use?"

"It would be going for the wreckage," Xander offers. "Especially if the pirate base is closer by, in the Beast Lands."

The Savanite nods… but gives the wagon a dubious look.

"An airship?" Lilac clambers out of where she's hidden herself, stepping out of the back and swinging around on one foot to peer forward, balanced on the edge. "Oh wow, it is an airship!"

"Hmmm. We should make the wagon appear abandoned, then," Kin suggests, then thinks of something. "Lilac, could you fly close enough to make out the markings without being easily seen for a person?"

"Ummm, I can try." Lilac jumps off the wagon, landing in the dust. She shadows her eyes with a hand, looking up. After a moment, she's hurrying to catch up with the cart. "I'm sorry Kinny, but there's no way they won't notice me. I'd be a black spot on a blue sky!"

"Can you look like a bird, somehow?" Kin suggests, frowning. She then blinks and looks to Xander, "Or, can your little shoulder Tooth fly up there and scout for us? It is small and may not be noticed."

"Umm, it's made of fire, so I'm pretty sure an airship crew would notice it," Xander says. "And it isn't like a golem. I can't 'see' what it does, if it could see at all. It wouldn't be able to observe anything."

"Oh let me check … " Lilac exaggeratedly looks under her arms, then around. "I'm sorry, but I left my feathers, beak, and talons in my other bard clothes!"

Long-Shadow is still peering into the distance. He turns around again, and makes a sign. Kin and Xander recognize it as 'fire' from before.

"Okay, I think that means there's fighting going on," Xander says, and climbs down from the wagon now. "I vote we leave the wagons here and run the rest of the way. If they're fighting, they aren't going to be looking for people on the ground running towards them."

"Why are we going to run towards a battle?" Lilac inquires, before she hops on the beast of burden besides Kin.

"Is it attacking something ahead?" Kin asks as she peers into the distance, trying to make out where the fire is. "And if we leave the wagon, we are abandoning our supplies. We may need them; but I suppose we can come back for them. Perhaps, anyway. But, I do agree we would be less obvious." To Lilac, she says, "Because they may be attacking the people we are trying to rescue. Or, it could even be the airship Gibson and Anisa or on. We do not know."

"The governor hired us to do it," Xander notes. "And we can leave Master Tooth to watch over everything! Or Long-Shadow – there's no reason he should put himself at risk by going further."

The fire can't be made out, but further squinting and a few meters closer, and a faint smudge on the horizon can be picked out, a ways off to the side. The plume of smoke isn't large, but it's there.

Lilac nods. "I just thought I'd ask," she says. "I'm going to destroy my clothes again, aren't I?" She slumps forward and lays her head atop the beast's. "I'm feeling queasy already."

Kin looks to Long-Shadow. "I do agree we should not put him in danger; this is not his battle," she says, though her expression is one of someone who does not particularly want to leave him behind. "Regardless, we must decide and move quickly. The more time we wait, the worse it may get."

"Just take them off in the wagon and transform now," Xander tells Lilac, as if she had control over the process.

Lilac lays her ears back as she glances at Xander, then she just buries her head against the animal she's riding. "And knowing Xander will be watching makes it worse," she complains at Kin.

"Well, I'm jogging ahead," Xander says, and starts off at a modest clip towards the smoke plume.

"You could pretend it is Gibson if it helps?" Kin suggests, not quite sure what else to suggest. She looks to Long-Shadow and asks him directly, "Do you wish to come or stay here? This is not your fight and I cannot ask you to endanger yourself for us." To Lilac, she asks quickly, "Can you, check with Master Longtooth to see what he wishes to do?"

"Yes ma'am," Lilac replies. She rolls off her mount, landing on her feet with fluid grace, despite her languid dismount. "Master Tooth! Where'd you go? Do you want to stay here, with the cart?"

Long-Shadow shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. He looks back at the wagon, but then returns his gaze to Kin and thumps the butt of his spear into the dirt in front of him, as if proffering it to Kin.

There's a snort from inside the wagon, and a wrinkled orange face protrudes. "Hmm? What? We dere jet?"

Kin dismounts from the Dromodon. "I am honored you will stand by us. Thank you," she tells the Savanite. "If it becomes too dangerous … I … just please be careful." she adds in a rather quieter voice.

"There's an airship fighting over there," Lilac waves in the direction of the battle," and we need to leave the cart behind, before to go take a look. Do you want to stay here, Master Longtooth, or come with us? I think someone needs to protect our supplies."

"Fight? I go." The old warrior clambers out of the wagon, though he looks a little dizzy after sleeping in the bumping cart for so long.

"Well, okay." Lilac pauses to scratch at an ear, shrugs, then calls back, "Tooth's coming with us! I don't think anyone is staying!" She points to where the battle is for Tooth's benefit, then hurries off that way.

"Looks like we all go, then," Kin says to Long-Shadow. She does grab a water skin from the wagon, then runs after Lilac now as well.

The water skin sloshes, still fairly full, and Long-Shadow checks to be sure his is as well, then nods, shouldering his spear. His long legs carry him forward, brisk strides helping him catch up to the Lapi and human that have gone on ahead.

"So, you know, I don't normally run to battles," Lilac tells Xander as they hurry ahead. "I usually run away from battles, fights, skirmishes, brawls, angry mobs, and many things of this nature."

"Well, in any case," Xander comments. "Did you remember to bring extra clothes this time?"

"No, and I left my clothes in the cart. It's hot, you know? I don't want to run in this heat carry with loads of clothes!" The human eyes the Lapi, then frowns at him. "You'd better behave, or I'll try and remember to bite you!"

Xander does sneak a peek, and says, "Well, I'll loan you my pants later, how's that?"

"Your pants can stay right where they are," Lilac insists.

As the group moves closer, the blot on both the sky and ground become clearer. The ship comes into better focus, a small cutter with myriad fins hovering stationary several hundred feet up. It doesn't appear to be flying any colors. Copses of trees provide some cover as the distance is eaten away, Lilac and Long-Shadow able to pick out an approach that affords the most protection, bringing everyone up to a point where they can see the smoke's source… a still-smoldering hulk of wood. Many of the trees near it are broken or scorched, and blackened wooden beams litter the area.

"Smell any survivors?" Xander asks Lilac as he catches his breath.

As Kin tries to catch up to all the faster runners, she frowns at the sight ahead. "Not good," she murmurs to herself, "Not good at all. Who are they? Pirates?" She looks up towards the ship, hoping to get a glance of one of the crew.

"I smell gunpowder and … " The hexed woman sniffs again, then lays her ears back, " … burnt flesh. Ugh." She reaches up and plugs her nose, shutting her mouth quickly as she fights a gag reflex.

"Gunpowder," Xander mutters. "Could this be a recently shot down craft, and not one of the ones we were searching for?" he asks Long-Shadow - who has, presumably, seen the original wreckage before.

The Savanite shakes his head, even while he creeps closer. The whole lot are now at the edge of the trees that're still whole, any further in is to venture out into the open. From where they are, they can see the wreckage better. There only seems to be enough for half the hulk, and it rests near a ravine, the sandy earth of the Savan giving way to jagged rock falling out of sight. The fires have long gone out, but the wood still smolders, curls of smoke lifting away.

Xander looks for the shadow of the smoke, to see if it would provide enough cover to approach the wreck.

Looking at the ship, Kin can indeed see people at the edges, but they might as well be ants for all she can tell about them.

"It is a coward's battle," Kin comments quietly as she looks over the wreckage. "A true warrior looks into the eyes of those they fight." As she studies the debris, she frowns further, adding, "It was an Imperial Ship. Those above are pirates or insurgents."

The smoke is, unfortunately, not very thick at the moment.

"Terrible," Lilac whispers in a nasal voice, before she remembers to unplug her nose. She winces when she regains her sense of smell, ears flattening again. "I bet the airship above is watching, so we should try and move forward avoiding both the air and the ground – which, doesn't look very possible right now." She frowns, looking left and right for a good approach.

"I can set a distraction," Xander notes. "In order for me to encourage more smoke, I'd need to let my familiar loose anyway."

"Is it worth it, though? There may be no survivors. Can anyone see any movement below?" Kin asks in a whisper.

"I … guess I can try and go look. Only Long-Shadow and I have any chance at all, and we don't need to bring everyone," the bardess suggests.

"Long-Shadow may not wish to get involved, that is an Imperial ship," Kin notes, "But if you feel you can investigate safely, Lilac, then please do. Just … be careful."

"Maybe we should look over the ledge instead," Xander notes. "There may be survivors in the rest of the wreckage," he whispers to Lilac.

"Oh I'm always careful," Lilac insists, sounding rather doubtful. "I can try for the wreck we can see, which, um, would probably be very dangerous. Or, I can go peak over the cliff, which seems safer."

"That airship is waiting for something," the Lapi offers. "There must either be survivors or a search party on the ground. So if you do see movement… be careful."

"Look over the cliff first. No sense in seeking more danger than we must. We cannot fight the airship ourselves so being seen is not an option," Kin notes.

"Yes ma'am." Lilac withdraws from the tree line, disappearing in to the trees and brush as she circles around towards the drop off.

Having successfully, if not without difficulty, made her way to the ravine side, Lilac is left with two options. She could fly down in to the ravine and avoid working her way through brush again, or take the ground route and avoid risking detection in the air. Lilac decides on sticking to the ground. Her wings, black as night, provide a lot of camouflage in the right kind of environment – unfortunately, broad daylight in the Savan isn't that environment.

Staying down low, Lilac is able to find entrance to the small canyon, and creeps among the scattered boulders, slinking around and through the rocks. It's mercifully shady down here. Peeking through cracks and around corners allows her to confirm the suspicion… the rest of the ship is indeed down there in a sorry-looking tumble of scorched timbers, though at least the burn marks don't look as bad here.

I guess I'd better see if there's anyone alive, so we know if we can move on, Lilac decides. She proceeds farther down, trying to find a approach route that won't give her away. The woman keeps an eye on the ridge, suspecting at least some of the people here are looking down at the wreck, too.

Moving further down, Lilac is a ghost amongst the rocks, and soon the sky above is just a sliver of blue between the walls of the ravine. The crack in the earth seems to provide excellent cover now, and she doesn't really risk detection from the ship here… but there are other eyes here. Peeking from under a long boulder that lays against another rock, the woman can see some scaled faces peering from defensible spots further toward the wreck. They don't apparently see her, but they seem to be watching the canyon, a few keeping crossbows trained down the rough natural 'hallway'.

There are survivors! The situation presents Lilac with a dilemma: she could go back and report this, in which case it may well be up to them, alone, to rescue these people. On the other hand, she could try and make contact with the survivors, and see if they might arrange some mutual plan. The latter plan risks perforation via crossbow, something Lilac is ill fond of. When did I get mixed up in all this? Bother! She peers, trying to find a way inside the wreck while avoiding those crossbows.

From here, it looks like Lilac would have to fly if she wanted to get past the bowmen… that'd mean approaching from the lip of the ravine above. The troops chose their firing positions well.

Hrrrm. Lilac looks around, trying to locate a stone and something chalky.

There's plenty of stones on hand. Some lighter stones could probably be scraped to chalkish effect… if not, there's plenty of charred flinders of wood that showered down here.

Lilac gathers up some nearby charred wood, and a flat stone. Then, she begins writing. "Sent by Governor; Viper's Hold; can't reach you; will get shot; I am unarmed." Then, she peeks out again, takes aim, and tosses the rock to arc over and, hopefully, drop down next to one of the crossbow men without revealing where she threw it from.

The arc is high, and gives Lilac enough time to peek from her vantage under the boulder before the rock lands. The clatter makes the reptiles instantly more alert, their heads popping up and where crossbows weren't at the ready before, they are now. When nothing seems to come out, there's some calls to each other. "Tash ka ah?" "Nuh.""

I'd really pay to know what "tash ka ah," and "nuh," mean right now, thinks Lilac. She decides more communication may be required before they 'get it,' and so writes on another rock. "Speak Standard; no Imperial; identify self?" Then, she tosses another rock. Lilac, bard and secret agent.

The rock goes sailing over with another clatter. This time, the reptiles in the canyon seem very interested. One moves from his vantage, his crossbow held up and at the ready as he crosses his point of cover to where the new stone landed. Moving out from hiding, Lilac can see that the creature is taurid in shape, his lower body long and powerfully built, his upper body clad in armor and tabbard. Finding nobody to shoot or shoot at him, he picks up the rock and hurriedly gets back into cover. There's another discussion behind the rocks.

Lilac waits, if not patiently. She more and more glad she has a very large rock between herself and all those crossbows. Telling stories is a lot less stressful than living them, she decides.

The discussion pauses some after one of them calls down the ravine. Before long, a newcomer arrives, also a taurid creature. One of the bowmen hands him the rock, which he studies, then hisses to the others. He lifts his head up to look toward the ravine's entrance, and calls out in accented Standard. "We have received your message! Who goes there?"

In all the good stories, there's always a point of destiny where the hero makes a choice. For Lilac, for this small adventure, the choice is now: to reveal herself and risk being shot to death, or to stay hidden and withdraw. No one ever writes stories about people who give up, Lilac tries to convince herself, if not with the greatest energy. I hope my curse is crossbow resistant. Lilac extends a hand out from behind the rock, and waves. "Hi," she calls out, somewhat lamely. "I'm a bard working for the Governor of Viper's Hold. We saw your wreck, and came to assist!"

Another pause, then the Rokuga calls out again. "Come out where we can see you! How many are with you?"

Lilac decides she better raise her hands – people always raise their hands in situations like this. She holds her hands high, takes a deep breath, and steps out. As she goes, she says, "I'm alone – the others are hiding and can't reach us."

Lilac is greeted by the ends of several crossbows, but they all hold their fire. The slightly more decorated Rokuga who speaks Standard hesitates, but says, "Good enough! Where are your comrades? We've been pinned down for days! We can't get out without being fired on, not even under cover of night! We've got wounded, and we're out of water!"

"Xander, if you remade your fireball, would it have any chance at reaching the ship above?" Kin asks the Lapi while the others wait.

"They're hidden, back by the first crash site. They won't be able to reach you here, but I think we can provide some help or a distraction. We have water, a mage, and a lo- … a guide. There's an airship above us with its cannons facing this way, and a lot of … um, pirates? … up above. It was hard just getting down here," Lilac tells the man. All those crossbows make her flatten her ears and tuck her tail.

The Lapi shakes his head. "It needs to be closer to the ground. I can take it out with my familiar too if I could get close enough to maintain control of it."

"Could you use it somehow to lure off the ship? Say you snuck off, when night fell, then used it to set a fire in the distance like a camp fire?" Kin asks next.

"I could probably distract it… but I don't if it would be lured away," Xander notes, rubbing his chin. "If we really need to take it out completely if we're going to get away with any survivors. We don't know how many there are yet."

"I could surrender myself as the sole survivor and they may leave. I would likely die, but it is a possibility to consider," Kin suggests as she looks skyward at the ship. "Particularly if there are a lot of survivors to protect."

There's some murmured discussion again. "No denying we need the help," comes the reply from the soldiers at last. "We can send a runner to maybe draw fire… better to lose one than all of us die of thirst down here."

"We need to wait for Lilac before planning anything," Xander tells Kin.

"I can bring you some water, if you can hold out here. There's a … Savanite with us, who can also bring water. We're the only two who can get down here safely before nightfall. We do have a fire mage, so maybe he can do something. Um, like some sort of plan? Wait until night, give a signal sort of thing?" Lilac shifts in her place, stepping from foot to foot. "Can I lower my arms, now?"

"If you give me an idea of what you want to do, and need, I can run back and tell them?" Lilac adds.

Xander's ears suddenly shoot straight up, and he looks around as if trying to find something.

"I don't know… " says the Rokuga. He adds, "Er, about the plan. They've definitely got someone up there that can see by starlight, at least. We're open to ideas, though." He hurriedly waves at the other soldiers, who lower their crossbows.

"What is it?" Kin asks Xander.

"I heard Anisa," Xander whispers, as he tries to pinpoint which direction the voice came from.

"From the ship above or the wreckage below?" Kin asks, now peering around curiously.

Lilac lowers her arms, then scoots closer to her rock while looking up. "They have people all over, and probably some looking down here. They have their airship, too, with its cannons. Um, our mage can do things with fire, maybe a lot of smoke or so? I can also see by starlight, so, maybe if we can knock out their night watcher and … Well, I'm not sure. I'm just a bard, really. The others know war more than I. Oh!" Lilac pushes off again, "I can come closer and draw where everyone is, so you know."

The Lapi focuses his attention on the burnt-out wreckage, and hisses in Skeek, "Are you in the wreckage?" towards it.

Xander continues his long distance conversation. "If you have cover, yes. We're in the trees. Lilac is looking into the rest of the wreck."

"I can try to give you a little cover," Xander whispers towards the wreck. "A smokescreen. But I'll have to burn some of the wreckage."

The Rokuga waves Lilac over, the rest of the soldiers resuming their watch on the end of the ravine. "I'm Sergeant Jens. You are… ?"

"Lilac, the Flower of Sylvania – I'm a bard when I'm not doing whatever you'd call all this," Lilac replies, after hurrying over. She conceals herself with the sergeant, leaning back against a rock and sliding down to ground level. There, she begins drawing in the dirt. "Let'ssay this is us," she makes an X, "and here's the ravine … the second part of the wreck, annnnd … the surrounding forest." Other details are drawn in, if crudely. "Here," she points at a spot in the forest, "are about where my friends are and here," she points in the air off a ways, "is where the pirate airship is."

Xander turns to Kin, and says, "Anisa and Gibson are down by the first part of the wreck, and need some cover to regroup. She's been listening in on Lilac's progress too – the survivors need water. Anisa can get it, but not without exposing herself. I have a plan. It'll require us to move close together, everyone in a tight light behind me."

The sergeant nods thoughtfully, glancing back up at the ravine's edge. "Good. How many do you have with you? A fire mage, and… what? A battalion? We'd take casualties, but maybe we'd have enough men to cover your mage getting into range."

"Ummmm." Lilac's ears wilt. "Not a battalion, per se. We have … ummm, five." The woman keeps her eyes steadfastly on her drawing, not wanting to see the sergeant's reaction. "But," she adds quickly, in what she tries to make a hopeful sounding voice, "one if a sword master, one is master of fists, one is a mage, and one a local scout! And, me!"

Kin's webbed ears flick at this. "What do you need me to do? If your plan is too tricky to safely accomplish, then I offer myself as a decoy. While they try to shoot me down, she can accomplish what she needs to," she offers.

"Well, I was going to conjure up a dragon and have it head for the wreckage, with us inside it," the Lapi explains. "It's… pretty easy. If they figure the dragon is a distraction, they'll be looking everywhere else. If they think it's an elemental, they should ignore it. And it will be creating a smokescreen as well."

"And what if they decide to shoot at it while we're inside it?" Kin asks, "Will it offer any shielding at all?"

"FIVE?" Though the bardess can't see his reaction, she can hear it in his voice, a mix of incredulity and exasperation. "Then you're as trapped here as we are. I think our only chance now is to scatter in all directions, and hope the ship can't kill more than eighty percent of us or so… "

"Not while we're inside, no," Xander says. "But we've got time. The airship probably isn't in range, and it's weapons are pointed at the other wreckage I think. If we're fast, they won't have time to react."

"I do not know if that is work the risk of multiple lives. At the very least we should get some plank fragments, if possible, and carry them slung on our backs as makeshift armor in case they fire arrows or the like. It would be better than the simple fabric we wear," Kin suggests.

"Oh, we've been in worse scrapes than this," Lilac lies to the sergeant. "We just need a good plan. Why, we fought off a similar ship on our way here!" Lilac reaches over and pat's the man's leg, still not looking up. Looking up, after all, might betray her worry. "I think Xander – he's the mage – can make smoke, and I know Kinny knows how to fight. I can fly. It'll be fine! REALLY!"

"Well, you'll need to be quick," Xander advises. "Personally, I don't think pirates would be so quick to open fire on a dragon when they're in a flammable airship. But we could also follow behind it under the smoke trail."

"The smoke trail would be safer. I do not think it would be wise to travel inside it on the off-chance they do fire upon it," Kin says as she looks upward. "Or at the very least, we should be inside the tail, not the body."

"It won't be that big, and I can't make just one part of it safe like that," Xander notes, then checks the nearby trees for the driest looking one. "As soon as you're ready, let me know."

"Give me a moment, then," the Kiriga tells Xander. Kin creeps around in the underbrush, looking for any fragments from the ship that are roughly, well, shield sized.

There are some pretty good sized chunks. Eventually, Kin turns up a piece that's about as tall as she is, and about half as wide. It looks like it used to be the large part of a door.

Kin collects the the large fragment for herself and two other reasonably usable ones for the others if they want them and slinks her way back to Xander and Long-Shadow. "There, we have semi-functional shields should we require them," she says. Looking to Xander, she asks, "Do you wish Long-Shadow to remain here? If this goes badly, then at least one of us would make it out if he remained to keep watch."

"Your call," Xander says. "We could probably use him though, he's got a spear." Turning towards the wreckage, Xander whispers loudly, "We'll be following in the smoke trail of my dragon, heading towards the wreck. When there's enough smoke cover, you can meet us there."

Meanwhile, after some head-shaking, Sergeant Jens sighs. "Well, if your friends are willing to risk provoking a volley, they can probably get down here safely enough, if they wanted to. From what you're pointing out here, the ship is a good distance away. They likely won't be able to hit your friends in the time it takes to get down here. The problem is, it's not just ballista bolts, they were using cannon fire. That's why we can't leave. Explosions and shrapnel. They'll pepper the wreckage if someone sticks their nose out."

Kin looks to Long-Shadow, torn between endangering him or not. But, she has to concede that Xander has a point. So … she offers the Savanite the largest piece of wood for use as a shield if he wants it. "Xander is right; you should come with us … stay close," she tells him.

"Don't they have men down here too, Sergeant? I was thinking, maybe if … Xander made some smoke … here," Lilac draws a line between where the airship is and the wreckage, "and with their men here, they might not want to fire their weapons?"

Ears perked, Xander whispers into the wind again. "No, I'll cover you and the others getting to the survivors. I'm going to try and bait the airship close enough to attack it. There should be enough smoke to hide anyone on the ground."

Long-Shadow, who's been listening carefully during all this, nods and takes the makeshift shield. It looks unwieldy to carry with his spear, so he undoes the spearhead and discards the shaft. Re wrapping the leather ties around the base of the spearhead, it becomes a wicked-looking stone knife, which he hangs at his waist.

"Come, Sensei Longtooth, we must move. And … you didn't per chance bring any drink with you?" the young Kiriga asks … the significantly not young Kiriga. She then taps Xander's shoulder and says, "We're ready when you are."

"Always," grunts the old master, hunching one shoulder. A gourd dangles from a strap. "I ready."

"Good, I may have use for that," Kin notes to the elder. "I hope you will part with it when the time comes."

Sergeant Jens studies Lilac's map. "I think their men have likely withdrawn to their ship, or beneath it, if they still have forces on the ground. That might work to our advantage if we can get close enough, but let's worry about one thing at a time."

"Here we come!" Xander sends to the hidden Lapi, and tosses his tiny little dragon spell up into the tree – which is soon consumed in flames and smoke. And from those flames rises a flaming dragon, it's wings and tail billowing dark, black smoke that spreads as they flap. Xander gestures, and the flaming familiar launches from the tree into a low glide towards the wreckage. "Try to stay under it!" he tells the others, and starts running. "It may burn up any arrows fired through it!"

The old man just grins broadly, his face wrinkling even more deeply than usual.

"Let'sgo," Kin hisses to Long-Shadow and Master Longtooth. Then with the makeshift shield slung onto her back she darts out and under the flaming specter. "I hope Mage Xander is right about this plan," she thinks.

"Well, we saw men walking around when we arrived. I had to sneak around them all just to get here," Lilac explains. "As for a plan to get us all toge- … " The woman pauses, cocking her head upwards. "I smell smoke. New smoke, and … it smells woodsy."

The fiery dragon dances about in the treetops, its flames beginning to spread along the dried out canopy. Thick black smoke roils off it, far more than one would expect from a blaze of this size, and it spreads outward quickly. The cheetah's long legs help him keep pace with Kin easily, loping strides letting him glide effortlessly, while the old master and his stumpy legs seem considerably harder pressed, though at least still spry enough to keep up.

"We can't see up through the smoke," Xander calls out towards Anisa. "Let us know if the airship is doing anything!"

The group's flight covers the ground quickly… but a shout of warning comes from Anisa's direction now, her voice no longer kept low. "They're firing their cannon, look out!" Indeed, a few moment's later comes a dull thud, followed by a series of screaming whistles.

"Waah!" Lilac's wings snap around her, and she reaches to plug her ears. "They're shooting!"

"If we stop we're dead," Kin growls and pushes her legs even harder. Her eyes dart all around, looking for potential cover, such as mounds of dirt or more wreckage clutter.

"Evasive action!" Xander shouts, and then sends the dragon into a rising spiral – both to spread the smoke out more and to get it closer to the airship.

Wiggling her fingers, Lilac says, "Okayokayokay, I have to do something!" Her wings, however, don't seem to want to let her go. All that noise, fire, and smoke unnerve her. "Can you see what's happening, Sergeant?" It then occurs to her that she's cowering in the face of enemy fire she just said would be fine, but it's too late now!

The whistling changes to a short whoosh, and then an explosion sets ears ringing and the ground shaking. Fragments of newly-smoldering wood spray from the direction of the woods the group was occupying. Thud, thud… more muffled thumps from the distance. There isn't much cover, but the ravine is closer than ever now.

"Cannons mean gunpowder," Xander mutters, trying to recall what he remembers from his chemistry courses. Below a certain altitude, it would become extremely volatile. There were all sorts of spells used to suppress this in the Spheres of Fire and Chaos. Now, if only they could be used long-range…

Sergeant Jens lowers his head, but still seems to be peering grimly over the rocks. "I see a lot of smoke," he says, unhelpfully.

Lilac rolls around and peers over, as well. "What's going on?" She shaker her head, adding. "This isn't part of any plan I know – did the airship spot them? I told them I'd be right back!"

Thankful it seems they're firing on where they were, Kin continues towards the smoldering wreckage near the ravine. "This is not an honorable battle. You face your opponents, not sit far away like cowards and throw things at them," she growls.

"Hurry!" calls out Anisa. Through the smoke, they can see her waving her paws in encouragement from a large section of the frigate she's hiding in. The smoke has since spread all across the area, and Anisa's white fur is like a beacon in it.

"There!" Xander says, waving to Anisa. "Head for her, I'll stay and keep them busy with the dragon. I might think of a way to neutralize their cannons."

"If you die I will come into the bowels of the afterlife, drag you back, and kill you again," Kin hisses at Xander. Must be her way of saying be careful when she's angry. The Kiriga then heads directly towards Anisa.

The ground shakes angrily again, smoking clods of earth showering the lot of them… and then the ribs of the fallen frigate shield them from any more of the flying debris, Kiriga and Savanite finding shelter in its belly where Anisa has taken cover.

"Thanks, it's nice to know you care!" Xander says to Kin, then dashes off towards the airship, bringing the dragon with him. It should at least keep them firing in the wrong direction, or maybe urge them away.

Anisa's jaw drops at the sight of Xander veering off. "Wait, where's he going? Get back here, you cotton-head!"

"Where is Gibson?" Kin asks Anisa when she finally finds shelter. She can't help but glance at the Savanite and then look for Master Longtooth. "As for Xander … I think he is trying to be a hero," she says.

The dragon wheels in the air, dragging its cape of smoke as it swerves toward the airship and her relentless guns. Thump thump.

"This is terrible," Lilac whispers to the Sergeant between the impacts. "I don't smell blood or burning – well, I couldn't tell in this wreckage. I don't even want to think about what a cannon can do to someone … " The woman's ears shoot up, then flatten again. "Oh, I did! Oh no!"

The doe looks to Kin, then to Xander, and finally back to Kin, her eyes full of disbelief. "He… he's on the other side of the clearing, past the far side of the wreckage – or at least he was. He may have moved when he heard the cannon."

The whine preceding the thunder is the only thing Xander hears before he's deafened. The ground heaves, and there's a sensation of free fall, then he finds himself lying on his side, stunned.

Anisa catches sight of Xander, and gives a shriek of dismay as he disappears in the cloud of smoke. "No!"

The dragon continues inexorably on, but it falters, its outline becoming hazy. Still, it drags its streamers toward the airship, the smoke it left behind itself beginning to dissipate, if slowly.

Kin's jaw clenches tight as Xander disappears into smoke. "He was doing what he believed was necessary. It was honorable, if a bit … reckless," she says quietly, tone held as flat as she can manage. "But, now is not the time to mourn him. There are others depending on us. We must focus on the matter at hand."

Lilac, breathing quickly, suddenly widens her eyes and slides back down in to hiding. "I have to … to calm down. Everything is fine. No need to get worried, or carried away here." She reaches up and pushes her ears down, as if physical pressure could somehow prevent herself from changing form. "I need … to breath … In. Out."

Anisa glares at Kin in disbelief. "The matter at hand is that my friend is about to get killed out there!" Leaping up from her spot, the doe hops over the wreckage, and readies herself for a sprint. "I'm gonna go get him – there's still some smoke to cover me. You get down in the ravine with Lilac, and I'll be there soon!" With that, the rabbit tears off in the direction of the cannon smoke as fast as she can.

Thump thump. Perhaps encouraged by the dragon's haziness, the cannons sound again. The dragon's had some time to glide forward, but it slowly sinks toward the ground, its form beginning to break up. The shock wave is still enough to blow at Xander's hair and limp ears as clouds of debris lift from where the dragon has settled, and in its wake enough smoke clears to reveal the brown Lapi lying some distance from a small crater.

The Rokuga by Lilac grimaces. "If they were headed this way, they should have been here by now." He reaches out to pat Lilac's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Kin frowns deeply. "Help her, please? She may need help carrying him back, if he is still alive," she says quietly to Long-Shadow, "I cannot run fast enough to be of any use." She then taps Longtooth's shoulder, saying, "Let'sget down to the ravine."

Long-Shadow nods worriedly, and rises from his crouch, but by the time he can, the white Lapi is already darting into the choking miasma. Smoke stings her eyes and blurs them with tears, but she can still see well enough to find the stunned mage laying there. The dragon has since burned itself out, but the cloud it left remains, and the guns are silent now.

Lilac's shoulders slump, and it feels like the wind was knocked out of her. She mouthes something, then sinks against the rock. "It can't be … My friends … My friends can't be gone! Kinny and Xander, funny old Long Tooth and the nice Savanite … I … I even thought bad because he was stealing my friend away! I … I … " She blinks, reaching to rub at her eyes. "I can't be alone, not again!"

As the smoke clears, Anisa gets a better view of Xander's position, and makes a beeline straight for the prone buck. Skidding to a halt, she drops to her knees besides him. "Hotfoot – say something! By Dagh, if you're dead… " The doe fights back tears as she surveys her friend.

The sound of the cannon firing once more force the doe's ears to set back in a mixture of irritation and worry, but her spirits are bolstered as the others finally come near. "Quick, get in the wreckage! They can't see in here!"

Xander makes a gargling sound and blinks his eyes, trying to focus on the white blob. He also tries to stand up, but not very well – he doesn't even get off the ground, just wiggles a bit.

Long Tooth nods grimly. From where he and Kin are, the descent into the ravine is steep, but Kin at least has proven that a safe descent to the bottom is only a few bounding leaps away.

"I just hope Lilac is still alive," Kin calls out to Master Longtooth as she pauses in her somewhat acrobatic descent into the ravine. Perching on the ledge she's currently at, she peers down into the ravine.

Clutching her chest, wheezing, Lilac whispers, "What should I do, Sergeant? What do I do? I told them I'd be right back, I said be careful! I … It can't be!"

The old master follows after his student, springing from outcropping to outcropping, turning in the air. He clings to a boulder jutting from the side, his kinked and tufted tail dangling down. Below, some Imperial soldiers, all taurid Rokuga, can be seen peering up at the two Kiriga in surprise, none thinking at the moment to aim their crossbows. One of the ones that don't notice Kin and Tooth is patting Lilac uneasily on the shoulder. "It was a warrior's death. We are grateful they tried."

The look of worry on Anisa's face deepens, and she quickly tries to hide it with one of resolve. "Don't worry Hotfoot, I'm gonna get you out of here." Grabbing the buck's belt, she yanks him upwards just enough to get her paws underneath him, then hefts the mage over her shoulder with surprising ease. Wincing at her own lack of gentleness, she gets back to her feet, making a quick check of the airship before she takes off back towards the wreckage.

It's a rough trip back to the wreckage at the speed Anisa has to move to stay ahead of the clearing smoke, and it makes an already dizzy mage even dizzier, his rag doll limp body flopping over her shoulder, with his head bumping her back and seeing the ground flash by under a cottony tail.

About the only coherent thought that Xander is able to muster is: I've never seen Anisa from this angle before.

Lilac closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. She bites her lip and squints, painfully. "I'm so mad … I'm so mad … " Her fingers bury in to her arms as she hugs herself. "I … "

"Lilac!" Kin calls out from her perch, "We'll be down in a moment." And her descent down resumes as goes back to rock-hopping.

"I … " Lilac's ears suddenly shoot up, and her eyes snap open, jarring tears. "Oh, I can hear her! I'm going insane already, I," she glances over, spots Kin, and gapes. "Can, can you see them, Sergeant?"

Jens doesn't answer, but if the look of surprise on his face is any indication, he can quite clearly see Kin touching down on the floor of the ravine, joined by her teacher in a flutter of white whiskers and blue robes. When he does finally speak, he says, "Well, two of them made it, at least."

"Oh," is all Lilac can say, blinking tears out of her eyes.

Once Anisa is back under the wreckage, she slows down to catch her breath, and gently places Xander up against one of the water barrels to better inspect his wounds. Glancing over at the Savanite tracker, the doe can no longer hide her look of dismay, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "He's hurt bad," she says, "are you a healer?"

After no small amount of staring, Lilac stumbles to her feet. She inhales, blinking at Kin as if unsure if she's real, then the human rushes forward! "Kinny! You're alive! You … you jerk!" Lilac collides with Kin, giving her a hug.

Noticing that the bouncing has ended, Xander tries to figure out what sort of vile insects have gotten into his skull and started fighting, from the way everything sort of buzzes.

The Savanite squats down by Xander with a concerned look on his face, reaching out to hold the Lapi's head gently. He hovers his head close, peering into Xander's eyes and spreading one open with his fingers at the lids, then letting it rest on the side of the barrel. He runs his hands over Xander's torso, then checks each limb. Though he can't say anything to Anisa, he gives the doe a smile and a reassuring pat on the arm.

Kin grunts when Lilac collides into, and wraps her arms, around her. "Yes, I'm alive. But … why am I a jerk?" she asks, looking a bit confused for moment, before she looks up the ravine again. "Xander may not be alive, though. It looked as if he took a direct canon hit. Anisa insisted on going for him anyway. I … I asked Long-Shadow to help her if he could. I can't run like them; I'm useless here. Our opponents won't face us honorably and I can't even protect my friends from themselves."

"Because I thought you were dead! You scared me! What were you all doing up there?!" Lilac holds on to Kin, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and lets her go. As if to be extra sure Kin is alive and that she isn't insane, Lilac sniffs in Kin's direction before opening her eyes. "Xander?" Lilac lays her ears back frowning. "Dead? Oh no!" She bites her lip, then points back at the soldiers. "I found these soldiers down here, um, you should talk to them – I need a moment. We were working on … ideas."

Groaning, Xander clutches his head. Of all the luck! I feel dizzy and sick and sore… and I don't have my components with me… I have to make a Fireball, he thinks. Anything to avoid thinking about being felt over by Long-Shadow instead of Anisa. He should have just kept his eyes closed and gone with the fantasy…

"Xander insisted on a foolish plan. I tried t talk him out of it, but … he was determined to try," Kin says with a frown and a shake of her head. "No patience; no willingness to wait for something reasonable. We would have been better served to wait until nightfall and act. You could have moved under the cover of night without being spotted. You could have reached the ship. I was thinking that perhaps you could have used Master Longtooth's drink and a makeshift firebomb and dropped it on their airbag from above."

The reassuring gesture from the cheetah sends a flood of relief into the Lapi woman, and she allows a small laugh to escape her lips as she smiles through her tears, wiping them away as best she can with a dirty shirt cuff. Regaining her composure, she gets to her feet, and looks over the side of the ravine. "We have to get him down there somehow," she says to the Savanite. "If we stay up here, they're bound to notice us sooner or later."

Lilac nods to everything Kin says, then turns around and leads her back. "Sergeant, this is Kinny. She's the sword master I told you about, I … " she glances at the imprint her butt left in the dirt after she slumped down, " … I need to sit down a moment and breath." And then, she does just that. Next to where Lilac's sitting is a crude map of the battle. Kin's can easily tell it's Lilac's work, due to the similarity to her drawing style.

Troops come hustling over to Kin and Long Tooth, hissing in Imperial. "Are you all right?" "What happened up there?"

Looking to the troops," Kin says in imperial, "Our fire mage had a plan that did not work so well. With the smoke about, is there any way you could send some men up there to retrieve the barrels in the wreckage and our friends if they are still there?"

Long-Shadow nods again at Anisa, and lopes along into the rest of the wreck, staying low.

Editor's note: Get the line about the dragon burning out back up to its proper place. Bleargh.

"Hey Kinny," Lilac calls out suddenly, sounding a little tired, "I just remembered seeing something earlier: there's something hanging off the airship. Do you think it's an anchor?"

"Not lightly an anchor. Most likely a mooring line," Kin answers after a moment of thought. "Though I suppose it is a similar idea. Why do you ask?"

Anisa walks back over to Xander, and sits down beside him, trying to collect her thoughts. "Dagh, how am I gonna get you and the water down there, and Gibson for that matt- oh Star!" The doe springs back up, and sprints over to the side of the wreckage closest to where Gibson last was. She peers into the brush, scanning with eyes and ears for any sign of her brother.

"I was just thinking about what you said, about flying up there. I know what I said about hating violence and usually running away from things like this, but I'm willing to try. It can't be worse than wondering if your friends are dead," Lilac answers.

The sergeant gives the lip of the ravine a dubious look, even with the smoke wafting across it. He waves an arm at his fellows. "We're part of our lieges third light cavalry division. We're all pretty big. If we went up there, we'd just provoke another barrage, and probably land those cannons on the wreckage itself. We haven't got much down here… our healer is tending to some wounded, he's got the linens and had what little water we have left. We've got a little food, some cloth in the form of blankets, leather from our barding, spears, swords, wood, rope… "

Xander just leans against the barrel and watches Anisa, still unable to really hear her.

Anisa passes where the Savanite is rummaging around in an ashy pile of stuff, and reaches the edge of the wreck site. After some scanning, she can see a worried black face peering back at her, along with a pair of drokkar.

"Leather for barding?" Lilac looks up, ears perked. Then she blinks and laughs quietly. "Oh, barding."

"Then you have quite a bit to work with. I presume you have soot down here, correct?" Kin says as she thinks, brow ridge furrowing. "Damped soot smeared on the blankets may offer enough camouflage at night for some people to move around without being seen. Do you have any lamp oil on hand?" She then looks back to Lilac and says, "I do not like to put you in danger, but we need one of the gifts you have; flight. With that and your uncanny ability to hide, you might be able to reach the ship. Now, I can't expect you to fight them … but you might be able to sabotage the ship. By, say, throwing a burning bottle of lamp oil on the airbag or on their supply of gunpowder."

Jens nods again, and tugs at the straps criss-crossing him by way of answer for Lilac. They hold together a series of saddlebags and pieces of armor on his long body. To Kin, he says, "No lamp oil down here, but the wreckage up topside might have more. When we went down, our powder magazine blew, but we don't keep it all mixed, so I can't imagine it destroyed everything."

"Then you have the components for gunpowder? Can they be mixed quickly?" Kin asks the sergeant.

Jens nods again. "I would assume so… but you don't want to do it down at this altitude. It'd just go off in your face. It can only be safely handled high up." He pauses, and adds, "Speaking of supplies, did you manage to bring any water with you? Our lieutenant's with the wounded. They can use it."

"You can put me in danger, Kinny – I don't mind." Lilac smiles up at Kin, tail wagging a little. "I said I'd help you, didn't I? I'll help you as long as you need me." Lilac stands up again, brushing herself off. "I'm a little tired of these pirates, too. Shooting my my friends, shooting at ships. I want to see how they like things blowing up around them."

Anisa's expression changes to one of hope as she sees her brother in the woods. "Gibson," she Lapi-whispers, "get over here while there's still smoke to cover you! Leave Buttercup and Honeydew behind!"

The doe can just see Gibson mouthing, "Buttercup and Honeydew?!" to himself, but the black Lapi nods. He gives the hovering menace in the distance another worried look, but after hitching the reins of the drokkar to a tree, he hunkers low and scrambles across the clearing at typically fast Lapi speed. Mercifully, there is no thunder in the distance.

"Most of the water is still above, unfortunately," Kin says, but offers him her own water skin as well. "But they may have what little I carry. And get us, if possible, some sealed containers of the gunpowder components. Preferably fragile containers." To Lilac, she then says, "All right. Here is what I am thinking: We wait until nightfall. You use the cover of darkness to slink away from this place, far away. Then you go airborne and fly high. Go well above the airship where it sits now, then swoop down. They will likely not expect that. Then pour together the contents of the gunpowder components onto their airbag. You will also take Master Longtooth's drink with you. Pour that out all over the airbag. Light it, then dive off. Hopefully it will then ignite the gunpowder. I imagine you think of what would likely happen next."

"That sounds scary, Kinny," Lilac admits, her ears starting to lay back. "But, I'll try my best." She wags her tail again, giving the golden dragon a awkward salute.

"Unless, of course, if anyone has any better suggestions? There may be a better solution I am not seeing," Kin admits.

Jens takes the water skin with a grateful nod, then glances at those assembled. "Come along," he says. "Let's give your idea to the Lt. Dasha. She'll be a better judge."

Anisa grabs her brother's arm as he gets close, and practically yanks him into the cover of the wreckage. "Thank the Star, I was worried the cannon might have fired near you! Quick, we need to get into the ravine, but Xander's hurt – Kin and Lilac are already below."

Lilac glances at the soldiers, then perks her ears again. "Oh! The sergeant said they have someone who can see in the dark, Kinny. What should I do about them?"

Jens pauses, and nods. "That's right, it's the reason why we couldn't leave the ravine under cover of darkness. They've got spotters up there who can see at least by Procession light. We lost a few that tried to slip away that way. Still, maybe we can work with the idea."

Kin frowns at Lilac's comment of a night viewer. "Hmm. Well. We will need to distract the night spotter then while you move. Something visible, but not entirely obvious we want it visible. Keep them occupied while you move away and go airborne."

Kin nods to Jens. "Let us speak wit the Lieutenant. I am certain we can craft something to end this standoff," she says with quite a bit of confidence in her tone. Whether she actually feels that confident is anyone's guess.

Gibson pants, and lays a paw over Anisa's own. "I was worried too! I saw the fireworks go off. You say Xander's hurt? Let's see him."

"Well," Lilac gestures towards the airship, "I know I forget that I can see in the dark and others can't, some times. Maybe if we, I don't know, do something that only someone in the dark could see, then I spot them for you? Then, we know who can see me, and maybe we can do something about them." She then grins at Jens, "I am a very good sneak, leave that part to me."

Anisa nods, and leads Gibson over to the dazed form of Xander, propped up against the water barrel. "I think he's mostly dazed, or at least that's what the fellow here seems to think." Anisa smiles to the cheetah. "We need to get him and some of this water into the ravine below – some of this ship's crew is down there, but they're trapped and running dry. I think I can carry Xander, if you two can carry some of the water."

Back near Xander, Gibson kneels by his fellow Lapi and gives him a quick once-over and the same groping that Long-Shadow administered. "Doesn't look like anythings broken or bleeding, and his ribs are intact. I think he just had something of a shock. I'm going to creep over to the edge and see if I can't raise some help."

"Speak up," Xander mumbles. "And you owe me dinner at least, Gib… "

Anisa nods to her brother, "Its pretty steep, and I don't know how exposed we'll be-" The doe cuts herself short as Xander stirs, and she impulsively gives the buck a bear hug. "Thank the Star, you're alright!"

Below, Jens leads the Kirigai and their human friend to where a large chunk of the frigate's hull leans against the ravine wall, affording a bit of extra shade. Inside, makeshift resting areas have been laid out with blankets, many soaked through with blood from the injured soldiers laying on them. Almost all are of the curious taurid physiology… the few that aren't wear a slightly different uniform. The two most decorated of the reptiles, one a winged Naga and the other a Rokuga like the others, exchange hushed conversation and grim looks. The sergeant bows his head. "Lieutenant, Captain, we've got visitors." Both the senior officers look quiet surprised by this.

"Ow ow OW!" Xander yelps at the hug, feeling his bruises now.

"Hello," Lilac greets the officers, giving them a finger-wiggle wave, "We're here to help, believe it or not!"

Setting her ears back in embarrassment, Anisa covers her mouth with a paw. "Sorry! Sorry!" She scoots beside Xander, smoothing back one of his ears. "How are you feeling? Er, aside from the… hug… that is."

"Oh, by the way, Gibson is up above," Kin whispers to Lilac before she bows deeply to the pair. "Indeed. I am Kin and this is my associate, Lilac. We noticed you were in a bad situation and have come to help. I have a plan in mind that may aide in getting rid of your oppressor."

"I can barely hear you," Xander tells Anisa. "I am so going to blow up that airship now… once I can stand up… "

"What!" Lilac looks up suddenly, as if she could spot Gibson through half a wreck and part of a cliff side. "Is he okay, Kinny? Do I need to go help him?"

"I have no idea. I did not see him. Anisa is also up there; she told me he was up their too, off doing … well, she didn't say," Kin tells Lilac and shrugs. "I am sure he is fine."

"I hope so! I can't stand all this worrying. I was so right to not want to become a solider," Lilac whines.

"So that's what all the booming was about," hisses the four-legged one. She turns a critical eye on Kin and Long Tooth, then flicks her tongue at Lilac, her lower half swiveling on long but bowed lizard legs. Like the other Rokuga, she wears barding, though hers is heavier than the others, fitted with plates of ceramic and boiled leather. The lance resting on her shoulder features a steel tip. "I am Lieutenant Dasha, commanding this battalion of his majesty's Third Light Cavalry." A bitter frown clouds her long and angular face. "Or what's left of it." She gestures at the Naga beside her. "Captain Soban, formerly of the the imperial frigate Oressa." Soban glowers, but says nothing.

Anisa frowns at Xander, peering more closely at his ears. "You're in no condition to blow anything up right now," she says right next to his lobe in the hopes of being heard. "Can you stand?"

"Gimme a hand up," Xander requests, using the water barrel as leverage.

Anisa takes one of Xander's paws, and places his arm across her shoulders, giving the buck some balance as he stands.

The brown Lapi's legs wobble a bit, but eventually take his weight. "So… we hide in the barrels and float away down the river right under their noses… err… was there a river?" he asks, still a bit confused.

Kin bows again. "An honor. And please forgive me, I forgot to introduce you to the legendary warrior, Master Longtooth," she says as she comes back up. Her hands slip into her sleeves and she continues, "Now as to your problem above, I have a suggestion. Your sergeant tells me that you have the components for gunpowder. My associate, Lilac, is quite skilled in stealth and the night is her ally. I believe it would be possible for her to fly above the airship and land on it. She could then use the components to mix gunpowder and spread it on their airbag. With the use of some rather strong alcohol as an assist, I believe she could ignite and destroy the airbag rather quickly. However, I am told that the crew above have those who can see at night … so an appropriate distraction will be needed for Lilac to move unseen. Do you see merit in the suggestion, Lieutenant Dasha? I do not wish to cross your authority, of course."

"No, I carry you down the side of the ravine 'cause you're as weak as a newborn kitten," Anisa tells the woozy buck, helping him to walk over to Gibson. "What do you think, Gib? Should we make a try of it?"

"And to explain who we are, we are assisting the Governor out of Viper's Hold on a mission of importance; we are trying to locate the downed ship that may have been carrying the ambassador from the throne of Nagai," Kin says by way of explanation as to why they are out this far in the savan as it is.

Dasha raises a scarred brow at Kin. "The Governor? That's good to know. I was wondering when we'd be missed. I wish he'd sent a more substantial force to our aid, but then again, I wasn't expecting anyone to find anything but our bleached bones." She looks over at Lilac, studying her with renewed interest. Captain Soban lowers himself down as well, close enough that Lilac can look almost directly into one of his slitted eyes. It's Soban who answers the question. "This little one alone? I don't think she could carry enough by herself. The envelope is generally the weakest point of a ship, but it is not made of parchment, and it is typically guarded on military ships, as we understand the nature of its vulnerability. Envelopes burn, but it usually takes something viscous to keep the heat to its resin-treated skin, like pitch. If the powder isn't packed into a bomb, it'll simply burn up and sear the skin a bit, like you would see a scorch on the ground."

Dasha pipes up again. "We were carrying his majesty's emissary, a scryer. He is mortally wounded, however. Our healer does not expect him to last much longer."

Meanwhile, topside, Gibson peers down into the ravine. "I wouldn't want to try it myself," he admits. "Maybe you could do it. I don't think we're too exposed here, at least. The other side of the crag is a little higher, and the ravine itself provides cover. I don't think we'll get shot at from here."

Lilac leans back from the two staring reptile faces, eyes wide, ears perked. She tucks her tail and smiles shyly.

"Did you bring any rope?" Xander asks Gibson.

"Then an alternative action is to try to detonate their cache of gunpowder," Kin notes, unfazed. "Either way, we must act or all they will find of you is your bones." Focusing in on Dasha, Kin frowns, "Is there no hope for him at all? That is … bad. May we speak with him?"

"You're gonna stay up here?" Anisa looks at her brother with a confused look. "And there's not way I'm leaving Xander here, not in his condition." The doe fidgets a bit, then looks to Xander. "Rope? Did we bring any rope?"

"Uh… no, I-… " begins Gibson, but Long-Shadow finally returns with some pieces of the frigate's rigging. They're not in the best shape, but despite some scorches and fraying it still looks sturdy enough, perhaps with some retying.

"Um," Lilac pipes up, standing on her toes to give her a little height, "what about cutting a hole in the envelope, and throwing everything inside? Would that work?"

"Oh, good, Shadow," Xander says to the cheetah. "Can we make a sling for the barrels out of that?"

Soban flicks his tongue again. "You'll have to make a large cut to keep the gas from blowing it all back out. And you still have the guards to contend with, little soft-skin."

Thinking of something, Kin glances to Lilac and offers, "You could take Falling Leaf and just try to cut a gash in the envelope along its entire length while flying."

"The guards. Right. Mmm." Lilac cocks her head to the side, frowning and scratching at her ear. "What if I … spun one of the cannons around and fired it in to the ship? Or plugged it up?" She glances at Kin, and nods. "I could, maybe, cut it … but I'd have to land. Maybe if I ran with the sword in the envelope, or walked backwards while cutting? And, there's still those guards. I can't fight like – … um … Like, like … Like you can!"

"I think we could," Anisa says with a nod. "And then we could use them to get to the ravine bottom." Taking Xander's arm from around her shoulders, the doe places it around Gibson's instead. "Here, you take him for a bit. I'll start gathering up the barrels while you work on the rope."

"You would not be able to turn a canon, they can weigh hundreds of pounds," Kin points out.

"You're tall," Xander comments to Gibson, feeling his shoulder tendons stretch.

Lt. Dasha hisses, "If someone can reach their powder magazine, that is also possible. But it would be no easy feat, and might get whoever does it blown up as well. At any rate, yes… the scryer is this way." She gestures toward the back of the makeshift structure, where one of the Rokuga tends to a shiga. The mage's bloodstained robes have been cut away, and angry purple blotches can be seen through his thin scales. The taurid's uniform is also stained with blood, but none of it appears to be his own, and a stylized red drop marks a band on his bicep.

"Oh." Countless stories about airships, and Lilac can't recall a single useful fact about how any of them are made. "Well, there's that powder area, right? Won't they keep powder near cannons?" She shakes her head, unsatisfied, as she follows along.

Kin folds her legs under herself and kneels near the shiga. She looks over his prone form with a frown, then asks the attendant, "Is there any hope for him?"

The medic sponges the mage's head with a cloth that might have been damp a few hours ago, then looks up from his vigil at the approaching lieutenant and her visitors. "His wounds have poisoned his blood," says the healer. "There is nothing I can do. I do not know how much longer he has." The emissary shudders, but opens his eyes.

Going here and there about the wreckage, Anisa inspects the barrels one by one, looking for ones still intact and full of water. She rolls the best candidates over to the ravine edge, gathering them into a group.

Gibson props Xander up, and gives him a sidelong look. "Hang in there, buddy. No need to be that desperate just yet, we'll get through this." He watches Anisa's work. The sealed barrels are still stacked where they were before.

Kin bows her head to the emissary. "I am sorry; I have failed in my task to escort you back to the governor," she apologizes to the shiga. "We were not able to make it to you in time. I ask for your forgiveness and if there is anything I may do to complete your mission so that you may find rest."

"Desperate?" Xander starts to ask, but his attention gets taken by some of the barrels Anisa is gathering. "Ho… hold on, Anisa!" he says.

The doe's ears swivel in Xander's direction, and she skids to a halt mid-roll. "What's the matter? Am I rolling them wrong?"

Xander starts pointing to some of the barrels. "Set those aside, they're gunpowder components," he explains, getting a wild grin on his face.

"Heh." The shiga laughs humorlessly, his voice a dry and hoarse whisper. "My fate was sealed the moment our ship was stricken. Do not blame yourself, kinswoman. We came here to… ss… scout the terrain for the Governor's enemies. The Third Light Cavalry's reconnaissance measures and my (cough) scrying. I suppose… hhh… we found some, eh?"

Anisa blinks, pausing a moment before Xander's words sink in. Once they do, she leaps back, regarding the barrel as though it were an annoyed tarantula. "Gunpowder?" She carefully rocks her current barrel back and forth, confirming that it is indeed a water barrel. Cocking an ear sideways, she rolls it over with the others, then starts to set the barrels indicated by Xander to the side. "You better not do anything stupid - not until we're clear, anyway."

"Wait," Lilac looks up, returning from her thoughts as she listens to the emissary's words, "you're a scryer, aren't you? And, they caught you off guard? Like," he eyes widen, and she leans forward a little in a conspiratorial fashion, "they knew you were coming?"

"That you did," Kin admits, still not looking exactly content. She frowns further at Lilac's words, then asks, "How many knew you were coming to scout? If not many, then who?"

Giggling, Xander says, "Look at it all. All the ritual components I'd need for… for a war." Still with that manic grin on his face, he asks, "Want to see what would happen if I used it all up on a fireball spell?"

The iguana-like mage sniffs, the dewlap at his throat bobbing. "I am a scryer," he hisses. "Not kaff an oracle. But that they found us so easily, it is… suspect."

Gibson looks a little uncomfortable holding Xander now. "I think you've had enough exploding for one day, my friend."

"It's just like fireworks," Xander babbles. "You use some of the essences to provide thrust for the main spell body… to get up high enough… "

"Very suspect," Kin agrees. Looking back to the Lieutenant, she asks, "Has this been happening often? Where the pirates have had uncanny luck in knowing when and where to strike?"

Anisa's brow furrows, nodding in agreement with her brother. "I don't think you're in any condition to be blowing anything up yet. Wait until we're over the ledge." Once she has the components all set aside – far aside – she returns to the task of the water barrels. "That's all of them. How's the rope?"

"I knew it. I knew it! It's them. I bet this was planned!" Lilac points to the wreck around herself, putting her other hand on her hip. "See, they tell the pirates where you'll be, and you are all killed. The Governor loses more honor, and whoever they want in control here pressures the government and steps in!"

Dasha shrugs, though her unhandsome face has already twisted at the thought of betrayal. "This is the first I've heard of it, but it would not be out of the question," she hisses, and Captain Soban nods grudging agreement. "Two gunships intercepting a single frigate on its way to Viper's Hold," the captain hisses, some edge to his voice. "The Serpent crush them, but you could be right. It's too much of a coincidence."

Long-Shadow has been working with the rigging, and repaired some of the netting with new knots. The edges are tied with longer ropes that should be able to reach the floor of the chasm.

"See, plots and betrayal I know. Stories are full of this sort of thing," Lilac insists. "But … that doesn't really help me with the airship, does it? It's something for later, I suppose. Hmmmmm." She goes back to thinking, ears twitching as her brain works.

"You understand, don't you Gib?" Xander asks the elder Snowshoe. "They shot a cannonball at me. You can't let something like that pass."

"What do you know about the Governor's enemies? Who leads them?" Kin inquires, her delicate features also twisting into a frown. Her claw tips now tap with agitation against the hilt of Floating Blossom.

The black Lapi wiggles his nose. "I have to admit, I wouldn't be thrilled by the idea. But those guys are way over there. Like sissy says, let's get everyone all in one place, and figure it out."

Anisa goes to inspect the Savanite's work, and nods in approval. "That looks good. Gib, why don't you put chattering Nancy there aside, and help us get some of this water below. The sooner its down there, the sooner we can get down there."

"Right, sis," says the black Lapi, and he gently eases the fire mage onto a seat on an empty barrel. Trotting over to Anisa's side, he begins helping load water barrels into the netting, and before long the bundle is prepared.

"So, how heavy is what I'd need to carry, anyway? And there's the envelope, the … magazine? … and … anything else I could try for? I'm trying to get some ideas," prompts Lilac. She kneels down, and begins drawing a model of the airship in the dirt.

"If you could find their powder store, you would not need to carry much. Just a decent fuse," Kin offers, "You need to light the fuse and then get off fast. If you just tried to light the powder you would, well, die."

"Oh." Lilac suddenly looks up, blinking at the Captain. "Well, you're big, maybe we … " Her suggestion trails off at about the moment Kin says "die," and she falters. "Hmmm."

The scryer answers Kin after being delayed by a long fit of coughing. "We believe them to be dissident locals, bandits, and others gathered around a regional warlord. We have little else to go on, which is why we were sent originally. I am surprised a… cough a petty warlord making a grab for power would be so brazen as to attack Imperial ships. And I could not have imagined they would be so well supplied."

Captain Soban coils himself up to look at the map Lilac is making. "Yes, I am large, but even I cannot carry much more than my own weight," he says. "Something large enough to incinerate a craft's envelope would be almost as big as you are. Something to ignite the ship's powder stores could be smaller, but I suspect you would find it deep inside the ship. Still, it would be a fine and worthy death." He nods encouragingly.

"Okay," Anisa says, "Let'slower this over the side. Once its on the bottom, we can use the rope to get below. Since there isn't anyone to get the barrels out the net, this is all we can get down there for now." The doe takes up the lead position on the rope, and slowly starts to ease the barrels to the side, motioning for Gibson and Long-Shadow to help her.

Xander ventures to the edge of the ravine to watch, casting the occasional glance skyward as well.

"Well, I have other reasons to believe that a larger group is working for some purpose here. I have heard rumors of similar groups working in other territories as well, seeking to undermine their governments," Kin comments darkly. "Is there any clue as t who the warlord is, at least? Even a rumored name would be of assistance."

Lilac just moans softly at "fine and worthy death." She shakes her head, and stares at the airship model further. "This so reminds me of that mansion. And, maybe there'll be some secret plans in the captain's quarters, too and … Wait, what am I saying?"

"This should be plenty for now," says Gibson, and he puts his back into helping with the load, forming the anchor while Long-Shadow takes up another rope. Bit by bumpy bit, the package bonks and rattles down the side of the ravine, knocking off loose rocks and eventually springing a small leak, but eventually getting to the bottom more or less intact. Soldiers waiting at the bottom eagerly unload the netting, then secure the ropes so the rabbits can clamber down.

Once the ropes are secured, Anisa turns to look at Xander. "Can you climb down yourself? I can help you down if you're still woozy."

"Down… should be easy," Xander says. Just to be sure, he gets down on his knees, then his belly, and tries to do a few push ups to make certain he can support his own weight again.

One of the taurish men hefts a barrel, waving up at the edge of the ravine before hurrying over to the broken hull that now serves as their command center. He bursts in breathlessly, clutching the keg and gasping, "Water!" At this, the medic quickly rises up and heads over to fill a skin. "Thank the Great Serpent! This'll bring a few men back from the brink." The scryer as well hisses, "Ahhh… a drink."

Getting back to his feet, Xander gives Anisa a thumb's up. "I can make it down. I'll be sore later though. More sore, that is."

Kin perks up a bit. "Ah, Anisa, Long-Shadow, and Gibson must have found a way to lower down the water. Good," she says and glances to Lilac. "If you wish, you are welcome to go to Gibson when he arrives here." She then resumes thinking. "If we cannot destroy the ship, then we need to simply make them believe they have accomplished their mission so that they leave," she muses.

Anisa looks puzzled at the sudden show of workout prowess, but then nods as Xander gives her the affirmative. She goes over to the ropes, chooses one, and tests it to make sure it'll support her. "Oh! What about the gunpowder stuff? Do we need that?"

Lilac's ears perk at the mention of Gibson, and at Kin's words she abruptly stands. "I'll work on this later," she announces, then she turns and hurries outside. Once out, she follows the trail of soldiers carrying supplies back to the source, and waves upwards. "Hi, Gibson!" She gives the others a wave, too.

"Leave it here for now," Xander advises.

Dasha considers Kin's notion. "Perhaps. Frankly, their cowardice surprises me as much as it offends me. I wouldn't have thought merely killing some of them who tried to pursue us down here would make them stand off like that and try to starve us out. As to the name of the warlord, we haven't the foggiest. Mage Kerval here would have divined that had he survived to Viper's Hold." The mage hisses, "I'm not dead yet!" His voice does at least sound a little stronger after drinking.

Giving the brown Lapi a nod, Anisa starts to repel down the side of the ravine, taking her time and making sure not to slide too quickly.

Gibson looks down as he slithers down the rope, and breaks into a smile at the sight of Lilac. "I'm glad you're alright, Lilac! Is everyone else okay?"

Xander is a bit more cautious in his descent, not wanting to slip and fall on Anisa. He's certain he wouldn't be able to ever live something like that down.

"Mostly! The soldiers are hurt, and the ambassador is dying, but some are alive and our party is alive … " she blinks at Xander, who looks much worse for the wear than last she saw him, and adds, " … Except Xander. But, I see he's alive, too! I was worried!" She moves to help Gibson down, then tells the recently arrived, "Kin is with the soldier's commanders talking to the ambassador. We're plotting how to deal with the airship, too. I'll explain everything as we walk."

"I am not pleased by their cowardice, either. A true warrior faces their opponents and looks them in the eyes. Standing and shooting from afar is … " Kin growls, feeling annoyed again. So, she draws in a few long breathes to calm herself and find her center once more. "But, we only have four options; convince them to leave, destroy their ship, surrender, or stay here and die. Personally, I would like do destroy their ship."

Once she reaches the ravine floor, Anisa dusts herself off and heaves a huge sigh of relief. "I felt like I was up there forever. I hope Buttercup and Honeydew will be alright." She tries to listen to Lilac, but all the information is a blur.

"So would I," says Captain Soban, glowering again. "Reaching their ship is the problem. I suppose now that my men aren't dying of thirst, we could rush under it without losing too many of us, but they'd pull up their moorings if we did so. Even if we got there, we're outnumbered and haven't the means to destroy the ship itself, even if the Third Cavalry could climb ropes with those clumsy four-legged bodies of theirs."

Lilac reaches over and takes Gibson's hand, then begins to tug him along. "I'll show you where she's at. Did I mention I had to throw rocks with words on them to avoid getting killed, here? I did! Anyway, this is what happened … " Seeing the lost look on Anisa's face, Lilac takes her hand, too, and leads them along.

"Is Kin alright?" Xander asks Lilac, and looks around for someone to take his hand.

Gibson smiles and ruffles the hair around Lilac's ears. "You were very brave. Everyone has been. I knew we hadn't gone wrong getting you all for our little organization."

Laughing, Anisa allows herself to be tugged along, just happy that everyone is safe for the moment. She offers her free paw to the confused fire mage. "I think we're about to find out. C'mon!"

"Oh, Kinny's fine. You look like hell, though!" Lilac replies to Xander. She then beams at Gibson, not bothering to argue about her not really having been hired. "Anyway, before we arrive, this is what happened … " The human woman goes on to explain, in brief, the events the others had missed out on while topside, and all about the soldiers.

"We cannot win by numbers," Kin tells the Naga. "If we are to destroy the ship, it must be through other means, most likely subtle and quiet." Her jaw rolls a bit as she continues to think.

Both Captain and Lieutenant nod agreement, then look up as Lilac returns arm in arm with both a black Lapi and a white one, a third in tow in brown.

"Hi Kinny, I brought friends," the human announces. She releases Anisa's hand, but keeps Gibson's, smiling. "Did you decide on what to do?"

Kin's head swivels around when the others enter. She looks between them and her expression is … well, it's hard to say what she's really thinking or feeling. "Long-Shadow is gone, isn't he?" she asks.

"He's up with the rest of the barrels," Xander explains, and then dusts himself off a bit, not wanting to look too beat up in front of Kin.

Anisa pauses, then looks around. "You mean that Savanite guy? Huh, I guess he stayed up top." The rabbit's ears wilt, "I hope he'll be okay up there."

Kin nods at that. "I understand. It is … not unexpected," she says in her neutral tone that she uses when she is concealing, "He is strong and intelligent, I am sure he will be fine." To Lilac she then shakes her head, saying, "No, it is still being discussed. I am still of the opinion our best chance is a sneak-strike on their ship somehow."

The Fire Mage tries not to look too hurt at Kin's being more worried about Long Shadow than she is happy to see him alive and mostly well. Mainly because she doesn't look particularly happy at all. "Ummm, there are supplies for making gunpowder up in the wreckage," he notes. "I can do that. Make gunpowder, I mean. On the surface."

"What about those … mooring? … ropes. Could some of us climb those? And … Oh! What if you all made another big distraction down here, while I'm up there? If you can get the guards away from either spot, I'll have it a lot easier," Lilac suggests. "Although, I guess if they end up shooting they'll be near their powder … and I still need a way to get at that envelope."

"Xander, you have risked yourself too much for us as it is," Kin says and actually has a hard time looking at him. "There was nothing I could do for you up there, so I cannot ask you to risk yourself any further."

Captain Soban flicks his tongue. "You could climb the mooring ropes, or the ropes they have for any ground crew they possess, but they'd likely pull them up if they got wind of you down there."

"Eh? Isn't this what you invited me along for though?" Xander asks. "It takes more than a single cannonball to keep a Lightfoot down, Kin. Dagh, Anisa has slapped me harder than that cannon did.

"I agree," Anisa says, glaring lightly at Xander. "You need to take a break. We can try to go back for the gunpowder later, but I don't want to see you – or anyone – blown up by one of those cannonballs. Just wait 'til I tell Spring Meadow… "

"Is there any way we could attach a bomb to one of the ropes that they would not notice?" Kin asks. "Then if we tricked them into pulling the ropes up… "

Ears drooping, Xander frowns at Anisa's threat. "That would work, if we know what the mooring posts looked like, and if they didn't just cut the ropes from above. They have guards on the ground don't they?"

Soban tilts his head, a bemused expression on his scaley face. "Oh, I like that. It'd probably only blow a hole in their hull, truth be told… but then you could get inside uncontested."

"I invited you along because I welcomed your company, as much as for magical skill you possess," Kin admits to Xander with a small shrug, "You didn't treat me as … strange."

"Do we need just one plan? Why not a few plans, like Kinny's, while I go after the top or the storage? I should think, the more we distract their attentions, the more likely it will be one plan will succeed," says Lilac.

"Have you got any glue?" Xander asks the big reptile.

"We could overwhelm them with traps, distractions, and me, so it's all Anchor over Star," adds Lilac.

The Captain ponders this. "The ship's carpenter likely had glue."

"If we do too much, they might respond with everything they got," Anisa chimes in. "They seem to be holding back on a complete attack for some reason."

"The more glue the better," Xander says, rubbing his palms together. "I can mix gunpowder with it. Lilac flies over, dumps it on the envelope, and gets out… then we just ignite it."

"But, why? Why would they hold back? And, if they think we're scattered … where would they shoot?" Lilac scratches at an ear, until she notices she's standing beside Gibson and quickly stops.

"Because they want prisoners, I would assume," Xander replies. "They want to know how much we know about them, if a message was sent, or any number of things."

"Will it burn long enough, though?" Kin asks Xander. "The Captain stated it would require more than Lilac could carry to make an impact."

Dasha hisses, "They'd likely shoot at whomever they saw. They could get a fair number of us before anyone got away."

Soban nods at Kin. "Well, the glue might make the powder more viscous, and stick closer to the skin. But the glue itself might retard the fire."

"Burn?" Xander asks. "That depends of if the glue uses palm sap. If it does, then yes, it will burn."

"Or… just coat a bomb with it so it sticks to skin," the Fire Mage offers next.

"No one can carry a bomb big enough to damage the envelope enough. I suggested that too," Kin notes.

"Then … It seems like it will have to be just me. Either the envelope, or the magazine. And, since I can't carry the bomb, the magazine." Lilac lays her ears back, but adds. "I'll do it – I will! It's just, well … " She shrugs a little.

Soban hisses, "I don't think we should give up on Reiko's mooring line trick so easily. I still like it."

"I like the ground assault option too," Xander admits. With only one flyer – who may or may not turn into a monster and forget her mission objective – it seems the safest course.

"I think ultimately we will have to have the main force act as if it is trying to take the ship. If we can, then excellent, if we cannot, then we at least have two flyers who could be making a stealth strike on the ship, the Captain, and Lilac," Kin comments as she walks over to stand near Xander. She peers at him oddly.

"Am I smoldering?" Xander asks Kin, and makes sure his fur isn't smoking or that he doesn't have any revealing holes torn in his pants.

"And I think we could move in position by making some makeshift camouflage to move across savan without being fired upon by the ship," Kin adds.

"I am looking for the hole where it blew out your paranoia," Kin notes as she starts prodding at Xander's head. "It was not more than two days ago where you kept looking around as if we were about to be attacked."

Anisa stands by idly, intently listening in on the plan, but not adding much – strategy and planning is not one of her strong suits.

Lt. Dasha nods grimly. "It is an eventuality we were prepared for. With the water you brought, we should be in fighting form again. We're too large to sneak anywhere, but we can probably at least get the guns to fire on our position without being in too much danger thanks to the ravine's cover. If you can creep to a safe distance under camouflage, we can draw fire."

"Camouflage, decoys… flares… " Xander suggests, ticking off ideas on his fingers. "Well, yeah, but I know where to look, so I don't have worry about that. Plus, I'm so pumped with adrenaline right now I could vibrate through solid rock."

"Then I should be sure to relax you before battle," Kin notes to the buck. "Being too tense before battle is dangerous. It takes reflexes longer to relax a muscle, then tighten it for the needed action, than if it was relaxed to begin with."

Gibson stands by, listening carefully as well.

"Is that true?" Xander whispers to Anisa.

"Well, if I'm going to be lighting a room on fire or burning a gas bag, I'm going to need someone to explain exactly what I should do, for either one. What the room looks like, how to set the fire, what holes to cut – you know, all of that. It's not as if I plot to blow up airships everyday! Or, ever," Lilac insists.

"Pumped with adrenaline and bruise juice is more like it," Anisa says, grinning at the fire mage. "Regardless of what we do, I think we also need to think of when to do it. Even with the water, it'll take time for your men to be back in fighting shape." She looks to Xander. "Pretty much, yeah. If you're too tense, you get hurt easier."

"We should wait until at least evening before we strike," Kin says. "And perhaps I should ask Long-Shadow to do some reconnaissance for us. He could go see how many of their men are near the ship base and report it to us."

"Wellll," Xander says, looking thoughtful. "We have an advantage in hand to hand combat. If we can take the mooring base in the dark and knock out whatever defenses they have there, the underbelly would be easier to hit. I could send up a fireball to get them panicked, and Lilac could go straight up then to stick a bomb on the belly… "

"Or if we aren't detected, just go up with the bomb… " the fire mage adds.

"Don't I have to like … mix the bomb while I'm up there? I can't just hang upside-down on the underside of a ship, I'm not an Eeee," says the human.

"I thought your magic could not reach the height the ship was at?" Kin asks Xander … as she actually starts massaging his shoulders. Does does at least make sure to not spear him with her claws.

"Nope," Xander tells Lilac. "I can safely mix gunpowder on the ground. You just need to glue it to the belly, light the fuse, and run before it goes off."

Xander relaxes a little from the massage, or at least his ears do. "My longest-range spells are for fireworks. For various reasons, the range of my fireball varies depending on distance and trajectory. It's not made for shooting up at things."

Lilac lays her ears back at the thought of carrying a powder bomb from the ground up. "I hope you know what you're doing, Xander," she says.

"How often do you exercise?"" Kin asks Xander while she works. Looking to the Lieutenant, she asks, "And will all your warriors stay here, or will some come with us and some remain here?"

"Well, it's definitely safer than trying to make a rocket," Xander assures Lilac.

"A what?" Lilac inquires of Xander.

Dasha shakes her head. "We could if you wanted, but I think we'd just blow your cover. It's not easy to hide bodies our size."

"I run a lot," Xander says to Kin, then blinks at Lilac. "A rocket. You know… a missile? Airships use them for long range fighting… "

"And if we just need a distraction, we could blow up the wreckage up top." he suggests to Dasha.

The lieutenant smirks. "Getting their attention is the least of our worries, Lapi. It's what we do when we have it."

"How many guns do they have?" Xander asks the lieutenant.

"Good. You should not have severe cramping tonight, then," Kin tells Xander and then tweaks his hear with two clawtips. "And that was a foolish thing you did. Brave, but foolish. It is a good thing Anisa is fast. There was no way I could assist." To Dasha, she says, "As you wish, then. You honor us with your trust."

Lilac simply shrugs. "I've never heard of a rocket before," she admits.

"They're not very common on the surface," Anisa says to Lilac, giving her a pat. "Up on Rephidim we use them during holidays sometimes."

Dasha bobs her head in the Nagai form of salute. "For Emperor and Imperium."

Lilac blinks when patted, but smiles at Anisa anyway. "OH! Is that what those fireworks are? Rockets? Interesting!" She glances around, then adds, "I like that idea about using dirt to hide us, too. I think I may want to put some dirt on my face – I don't have my cloak to hide me, this time."

"We should prepare camouflage while we still have daylight to work with. I also want to send word to Long-Shadow and see if he is willing to do some scouting for us and determine how many will will have to contend with when we reach the ship's base," Kin notes. "I must admit, I am worried about him."

Lilac reaches over, pauses, then pats Kin. "He'll be fine, Kinny. He's probably the best person among all of us, to survive out here. This is his home. I don't think a Savanite will draw as much attention as any of us. They live here," she assures the Kiriga.

"Well," Lilac says as she looks around again, "I guess we'd all better get ready, then. I'm going to see about something to hide myself with, and then practice, um … putting bombs on a airship, I guess! I never thought I'd say that."

"OH! Kinny?" Lilac prompts, ears perked.

"Yes, Lilac?" Kin asks, glancing at the small human.

"Should I try and look for any clues, while I'm up there? I can try and see if the captain had any hints as to why they knew to find this Imperial ship where they did. If the ship blows up, there may not be anything left," Lilac asks.

"I do not think you will have time, Lilac," Kin notes, "As much as I would like to do so. We may have to just settle on going through the wreckage should we down the ship."

"The bombs probably won't destroy the airship," Xander notes. "But they should force it down. There'll be people to interrogate."

Anisa nods "Good. These guys are definitely more than just pirates, so we need to find out more about them. I'd be willing to wager the Cinders are involved somehow."

"Then if it goes down, the Lieutenant and her warriors will need to be ready to charge in. We may not be able to fight all of them," Kin points out.

"Okay, that's good. This bomb setting seems complicated enough, as it is. I guess once I set those bombs and light them, I'll have to fly away and get somewhere safe. If this crash site is any indication, their airship will leave a dangerous mess," the human woman says.

"Yes," Kin agrees.

"However… don't fly out into the line of fire of the their guns! Drop down first, then skim the ground," Xander advises. "I'll attach the fuses to the sticks, and can set them for however much time you think you'll need."

"I should be able to dive fine, that's easy. If the ship falls too fast, I may be able to ascend rapidly due to all the heat from the ship," Lilac explains. "Anyway, I'm going to go work on what I need to do! We all should!"

It's not hard to find Long-Shadow again, he hasn't gone far. Once the plan to approach the airship is explained to him, he seems glad to help. In addition to scouting forward, he actually helps a bit with camoflauge, using some of the available foliage and muds as he might while hunting. Captain Soban and Lieutenant Dasha further promise to draw fire from the ship onto the ravine once the adventurers are a safe distance away, allowing the ragtag band to reach the ship's moorings. From there, the plan seems to call for either planting bombs on the ship with Lilac's help, gaining access to the ship via the moorings, or a little of both, depending on what the situation with the ship's ground crew is.

Kin spent a fair amount of time on camouflage. The once gold and blue Kiriga is now a mix of deep sooty blacks and mud-browns. Her robe has been retired for now in favor of a set of piecemeal leathers to cover her torso, chitin vambraces, and a plate to guard the base of her tail. The change in look is rather staggering really; a shadow-black serpent in makeshift armor and carrying two swords strapped to her side instead of the proper and delicate woman she usually appears as. Finished with her guise, she goes to check on the others and start gathering people for their sneak across the savan.

Using two of the biggest drinking vessels that could be salvaged, Xander makes the limpet mines, packing nearly five pounds of gunpowder into each, along with some extra bits of shrapnel and glue-and-wax sticky-blobs for attaching them to the airship. A six foot long pole is lashed to each, with 40-second fuses twined about them. He also prepares a high-yield fireball, just in case (although he has to use another mug just to hide the spell-glow inside of).

Not far from the reptile is Anisa, currently rubbing the sooty mixture into her own fur, her expression a combination of determination and annoyance. "Dagh, its gonna take me forever to get this washed out – my fur'll look dingy until next spring!"

Gibson hasn't changed much, but he's already been made difficult to see just by nightfall alone, his garb already fairly rugged. He can be seen picking around the ground for good sized rocks to Kadie away in his skedat shell, giving his sister a smile when he spies his old one at Anisa's side. "Psh, you've come back dustier just from visiting the Bazaar."

"I have the advantage, there. A good stiff brush and some soap should remove the soot. Though, I will ask Xander to help re-polish my scales, just in case," Kin tells Anisa. "He has had lessons in the care of scales, thankfully. I do not envy your task of cleaning."

Likewise, Lilac has taken to rubbing soot on her exposed body parts. Stealthy she may be, but she's also as pale white as the Procession, and it usually falls to her clothes and city shadows to hide it. Here, in the sky, there are no shadows to take advantage of. "I guess I should sneak off, soon? If I'm going to fly up, I'll need to be away," she says.

Long Tooth, for his part, just tosses a couple handfuls of dust in the air over himself, and wraps a hood over his shock of white hair. The rest of him seems pretty dusty already.

"He has, has he?" The doe smirks at Xander, rubbing the the soot into her cheeks to cover up the last bits of her snowy pelt. Once completed, she almost looks like a smaller version of her big brother – albeit, a female version of the buck.

Gibson lays his hand on Lilac's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Be careful up there, okay?"

Xander hides his ears as he goes over the instructions with Lilac again. "Try to space them at least ten feet apart to do the most damage. This one with the extra loop of fuse at the end is the one to light first, it'll burn a few seconds longer."

Lilac's ears perk when the hand lands on her shoulder, and she looks up, wagging her tail. "Thank you, Gibson. You'd better not get hurt, either, or … " She gives a little shrug, then smiles a little more. "Just don't. I already faced losing Kinny today, I don't even want to consider losing you!"

"Yes, he did quite well under instruction, he did not mar my scales," Kin says to Anisa nd with a nod towards Xander. To Lilac, she says, "You must be careful and remain calm. Panic may cause your problem to show."

The human woman turns and nods to Xander. "Okay. If I can, I'll look for some place important to stick them, if I can find one." To Kin, she says, "I know, I know! I should be okay, as long as they don't start shooting at me, and I know you're not hurt. I'm used to sneaking, it's fighting that makes my hair stand on end."

"It's up to us to distract them before they can notice you, Lilac," Xander says.

"I would recommend perhaps near a canon port, Lilac. That may set off any nearby gunpowder for the canon as well. But, only if they are not firing that canon, of course," Kin advises.

Gibson says, "Let's not lose anybody. They may outnumber us, but once we're under the arc of their cannons, I think the odds improve a lot." He puts a heavy fist into his palm, and cracks the knuckles.

"Okay, Kinny." Lilac then glances over, looks up, stands on her toes, and rubs the tip of Gibson's ear. It somewhat ruins his resolute stance, but it makes Lilac grin widely, as well as wag her tail.

Turning to Anisa, Xander says, "Oh, uh, thanks for rescuing me earlier, by the way. I owe you a big one, Anisa."

The (naturally) black Lapi lets his ear lop down and be rubbed, and he lightly puts his foot on Lilac's own for a moment. "It's our feet that are good luck," he says, grinning.

Dusting her paw off on her pants, Anisa smiles to Xander with a shrug. "Think nothing of it, you'd have done the same. Just be more careful, okay?"

"I'm not going to be the one running towards the enemy this time though," Xander tells Anisa.

Grinning, Lilac rubs Gibson's foot up, leaving it poofed out. "I'll remember that. I guess I'd better get going now, otherwise I won't want to go. I don't get to see you very much, before you go running off!" She pats Gibson's hand. "Although, I suppose I'm the one running off, today. Well, I'd better go!"

Anisa stands, readying her skedat shell on her wrist and checking it over. "Well, I'm used to it, and I won't be alone. We'll be fine – like Gib says, we have two pairs of luckiness with us!"

Xander is pretty sure the 'luck' part only works when running away from something, but doesn't bring that up.

Kin draws forth Falling Leaf and peers along its serrated back edge. "Honored Tsuguri that have gone before, allow me the honor of defeating my foes this night," she murmurs to herself, "And if I should fall, let it be with honor and purpose." The blade of her sword then whips back. The flat slides along her forearm until the tip just touches the entrance to its scabbard and with a soft scraping sound the sword is put away. "It is time," she says to the others.

Lilac begins to move away from Gibson, but hesitates. She opens her mouth, but simply ends up smiling wryly instead. After gathering the bombs and balancing them safely on each shoulder, Lilac says, "I'm ready. I'll see you soon, I hope!"

Long-Shadow leads the way, picking a path through the wild growth of the Savan that strikes a good compromise between concealment and ease of travel. Even with his familiarity with the land, it's a long and slow process. The sun has dipped below the horizon by the time they're far enough away from the ravine that Dasha and her men make their move. The gunship opens up, flashes of yellow light fading into curls of smoke washed out by Procession light, the edges tinged red by the sunset. More time passes. The ship's guns fire irregularly, but evidently the soldiers back at the ravine are still kicking.

The last traces of daylight are gone by the time the group breaches the edge of a small clearing. Here, torchlight holds the night at bay, and illuminates a number of tethers spaced far apart, thick ropes attached to large mooring posts driven deep into the ground. Some campfires have been made, and supplies are gathered about. Perhaps a dozen men, mostly reptilian but some of other species, mill about or hold quiet discussions, while about six more dressed differently speak with the apparent leader. Several lookouts are stationed on the perimeter, fighting off sleep while they stare out into an increasingly featureless black blot of scrub land.

In a extremely low whisper, Kin says, "We should wait until some retire to bed before we strike. Perhaps we should try to lure away some of the guards with distractions and noise like some savan prey animal, as well. If we can whittle them down before striking in force, all the better. We do not want an alert sounded." She then glances to Gibson, Anisa, and Long-Shadow.

Anisa nods to the Kiriga, "That sounds like a good idea, but what kind of things are prey out here? Maybe Long-Shadow can imitate them?" Her own reply is so quiet, it's barely audible to the non-Lapi in the party.

The Savanite shrugs, but touches some of the feathers adorning his arm.

Somewhere not so very far away, Lilac hovers in the midnight air with a stick bomb in each hand. Xander had given her some time on the ground to wait, but rather than risk blowing up then and there, she's lifted the bombs up a ways and remains waiting for her signal. I feel so sinister,// she muses to herself. I wonder what those people are thinking? I never thought someone like me might be the one to attack an airship.// The novelty staves off the panic of waiting for the battle, even as she turns her thoughts to those on the ground. It's exciting, but … I hope my friends are okay.

"Do you think you could lure some of the guards away?" Kin asks Long-Shadow quietly. "Some may find it 'amusing' to hunt a Savanite. Then if you lead them past us, we can silence them forever."

The wind carries Lilac's darkened shape, though the weight of the explosives is cumbersome. Staying low and weaving amidst trees, not to mention all the cannon fire lobbed into the distance, seems to have kept attention off her effectively so far.

Long-Shadow gives the camp a thoughtful look, then nods again and slinks amongst the brush, soon being lost to sight."

Kin draws out the Floating Blossom, the shorter of the two swords she carries and readies it lightly in her hand. It's shorter and quicker to use; better for a strike from the dark. The fact that this may not be a terribly honorable strike does occur to the Kiriga, but then these are not honorable foes.

Anisa rubs the shell on her wrist, nose twitching rapidly in anticipation. "Dagh, I left my bow with the Buttercup. It'd come in handy about now."

Xander hunkers down and tries to keep out of the way. Melee isn't his specialty, after all.

"What does a bowl full of butter need with a bow?" Kin asks in whisper to Anisa.

After a few moments, there's a curious trilling whistle/buzz from the edge of the camp, getting one of the bored-looking sentries near there to look up. It comes again, like some kind of bird or insect, or maybe a hybrid, followed by a little rustling in the tall grass. The sentry walks away from his post to idly prod the butt of his spear into the grass, when the rustle comes from further away. He moves a bit further in, stepping out of the camp's circle of illumination.

The doe stifles a giggle, momentarily forgetting the situation. "Buttercup was my drokkar, but we left them behind back at the wreck." The sound of the trill causes the rabbit's expression to change to one of sobriety, and she crouches low, ears forward to scan the darkness.

Kin crouches even lower, her fingers curling tight, then relaxing, on the hilt of her wakazashi. "Well done, Long-Shadow," she thinks, feeling oddly proud of him.

It's still pretty hard to see the cheetah, but the guard seems to think there isn't much out here other than a means to alleviate boredom, so he ambles along, occasionally pausing to poke a tangle of weeds or patch of grass.

I must look like the angel of death, up here, Lilac thinks as she swings low around trees and rocky outcroppings. What a disconcerting thought! It does give her an idea for a song, though, which she kavis away in her head.

Lilac's gliding has allowed her to close to beneath the ship, circling under the hull, between the mooring cables, and out of sight. It's the typical 'Rephidimian' design, a wooden gondola suspended from a gasbag, though this one seems kitted out for conflict more than most.

Lilac tries to get a look at the mooring cable bases as she passes them, looking for any signs that her friends have moved against one. "Now I feel like a bug", she tells herself, her internal babbling helping to keep her fear down.
Wordlessly, Anisa motions for Kin to do the deed. With the doe being more of a brawler, she probably won't be as quiet as the reptile.

The Floating Blossom flashes out at the sentry's neck, and at that moment he happens to shift his weight onto the other foot. The keen blade bites into scaly flesh, but also a leather gorget, leaving a nasty gash and getting a shout of pain and surprise out of the hapless lizard.

Conversation in the camp stops, several people looking in the direction the shout came from.

Anisa bites her lip, setting her ears back in frustration at the sentry's cry. She begins to pounce on the warrior, but stops herself short in case she gets in Kin's way.

Eyes narrowed, Kin launches forward with her wakazashi still embedded in his gorget, she tries to leaver it upwards and against his jaw and throat to try and prevent the guard from crying out. "Dagh take it, this is my Ancestor's punishment for such a dishonorable strike," she thinks.

The sentry gurgles, then wrenches away, Kin's short, curved blade coming loose. A couple desperate jabs of the lizard's spear keep her at bay, and the reptile shouts, "Ambush! Help!"

A few more swipes of Kin's wakizashi are turned away by the shaft of the spear, and he swings back at her with wide swipes that snap twigs and rip at grass.

The shadow-Kiriga moves in light lightning with her sword sword, it whips and hisses through the air, catching the attention of her opponent. What he doesn't realize is her attack isn't with her short sword this time … but the katana. Her free hand slides down and grips the hilt and with a graceful arc it glides free from her scabbard. He never had a chance, the blade cleanly cleaves across his abdomen, nearly curring the guard in half as it passes. There's a sickeningly wet sound as his entrails spill out from the wound. The reptile gurgles and collapses into a bloody heap.

"Dagh take it," Anisa mutters, springing up from her crouched position, and taking up a new stance in case she needs to brawl. At first, she keeps her attention more on the camp, and less on Kin's battle, but the sickly smell of fresh blood soon reaches her nose, and she falters a bit.

As quick as the kill was, the commotion is enough to rouse the camp, the motley gathering on alert, snatching up weapons and torches. "Who's out there?" "Show yourself!" "Get 'em!"

"That did not sound pleasant," Xander says in a Lapi-whisper. He's not about to look at it, of course.

Lilac's ears twitch. At first, the noise is too faint to make out. Then, with the multiple shouts, the conflict below catches her attention. She shifts her gaze to try and locate it, wondering if it's her time to move now. Is that the signal?

"And so it begins," Kin thinks, her lips curling back into a grim smile. She actually starts backing away quickly from the corpse, hoping to not be spotted quite yet as she re-orients herself on those charging. Her first thought is to locate which of them is the biggest threat, that one must go first…

"What's going on up there, Anisa?" Xander whispers.

Regaining her composure, Anisa puts some space in between herself and the corpse, and pops a rikk from her skedat shell. "Plans have changed," she tells Xander, "get ready for a fight."

Men bearing torches begin hustling toward the break, swords, maces, and spears in hand. The six who were talking to the apparent leader remain behind, looking confused. They're dressed differently than the others, though they're too far away to pick out just yet.

Xander pops up to see what the situation is, holding a mug by the handle as if it were a very fat pistol. "Kin!" he hisses. "Demand their surrender!"

Gibson blanches, but sets his jaw, falling into step with his sister and stretching the cord on his skedat whip tight with a twang.

It's the movement of torches that gives Lilac the signal. I guess they're fighting now – I'd better do my part! Her plan is already set in her mind. The first part comes now: she veers, then catches a thermal and ascends towards the the broadside of guns facing the soldiers below. I'll just stick this right below the opening, then light it! She limbers the loop-fused bomb, and prepared to try and adhere it.

Kin glances to Xander's position with a really strange look on her face. "Is he insane?" she thinks. Still, the Kiriga figures that maybe it'll buy them time. "I am the creeping death," the Kiriga hisses out loudly towards those those charging. "Surrender now or forever burn in the pits of the afterlife!"

If they care, or even noticed yet, the oncoming horde makes no indication, their own bellows fairly drowning Kin out.

Practically twitching in anticipation of a fight, Anisa can no longer hold herself back. Picking the closest member of the horde, she lobs the rikk at him as hard as she can, pulling out her whip afterwards and readying for a brawl.

"Just say the word, and I'll fry the camp," Xander whispers to Kin, then moving back a bit.

Maybe it's just the excitement, but Anisa puts a bit too much arm into it, and the rock hurtles past the clearing.

Gibson's is a little better aimed, but it doesn't seem to slow down the thug he bounces it off of. Torchlight plays across the would-be ambushers, and Gibson rises out of his crouch to meet them, as does Long Tooth. "Wha-chah!"

"Aww, radishes!" Anisa yells in frustration, and she soon leaps from her hiding spot after her brother, fists raised.

Meanwhile, far above the fray, Lilac finds a spot to hang under a gun port, a still-smoking cannon poking out of it. She can hear footsteps tromping back and forth inside, orders being shouted, and the cannons being rolled back to be rammed again.

I'd better hurry, before they fire this cannon again. I don't want to be anywhere near that end when it goes off! They're loud enough far away! Lilac swings the bomb around, slowing it just before the sticky end impacts the wood to try and muffle the sound.

Finally, the attackers are upon Kin, Anisa, Gibson, and the old man, chaotic and noisy, limbs and weapons swinging every which way.

A trio of reptilian foes meets Anisa head on, and she finds her charge suddenly turned back by wild swings of cutlasses and a belaying pin. The shigai are daunted at first by the unexpected skill with which the small Lapi turns their attacks away, but they press the advantage their numbers afford, grinning as they force her back to back with her brother, himself dealing with a pair of assailants.

The other black Lapi meets his two foes with just as ferociously, and his size gives them pause enough that they're unprepared for the sting of his whip or the bite of the skedat shell's edge. He slaps aside a clumsy feint with his shell and pivots on one foot, catching one of the men flush on the chin with the back of his fist. The lizard stumbles with a drunken look, trying to keep his feet before flopping down face first. The other is driven back by a series of powerful blows, the last of which bloodies his nose. Gibson skips backward to stay back to back with his sister again, sniffing and touching his muzzle with a thumb.

The Kiriga slides in to engage her opponents; the three reptiles. After a quick sizing up, she targets the one that seems to be the slower and less skilled of the three to try and lower odds quickly. She darts in, engaging him. And against all odds, he defends off each of her attacks. Not only that, but he actually manages to push Kin back. This seems to be a mixed blessing, though. On the one hand, she got pushed back by someone who isn't nearly as trained. But on the other, that one interferes enough with his two comrades attacks that they can't quite get a bead on Kin, either! Kin and the third stare across clashed weapons at each other. The Kiriga's eyes are narrow and focused. Her opponents eyes are also narrow, but there is evidence of strain is present.

In a whirl of orange and dingy blue, Long Tooth falls amongst his foes with a raspy howl. A few swipes of a mace are neatly sidestepped, and the old master carries the spin into a high kick that plants a large foot squarely in the center of an airman's chest, followed by a second kick to his gut that doubles him over. The one attempting to come to his friend's rescue is greeted by a sharp elbow, and Tooth's fist snaps upward to loosen teeth and topple his second assailant. The last over swings, and is helped on his way into the grass by a bony foot, unharmed but out of the fray for a moment.

The bomb is secured without resistance from the crew, lodged below a gun port. Once set, Lilac can free a hand to reach her belt and pull out the smoldering reed she lit before taking off. Xander said this would stay lit for a while – I'm glad he's right. Trying to light a tinder up here would be hard.// As if to confirm her thoughts, a cold wind whips her hair from her face, forcing her to shield the reed with her body, before she leans over to light the fuse …

The wind makes the reed flutter, glowing orange where it blows, and the fuse whips about stubbornly.

"Fffff… " Lilac manages to get the fuse under control and the reed is pressed to it… but for now, all that happens is that hissing sound, and a small streamer of smoke.

Gritting her buck teeth in anger, Anisa redoubles her efforts, springing at the lizard trio with everything she has. Fending off two of the attackers, she zeros in on one of the lesser skilled ones, and opens up on him with a barrage of punches. The attacker is taken off guard, and soon finds his face bloodied and in the dirt, thanks to a rain of sooty-white fists. Once he falls, the doe follows it up in no time with a hard kick to the other less-skilled attacker's gut, knocking him for a loop, but not knocking him down.

With his foes down, the taller of the black Lapi turns his attention to his sister's fight, circling the scrap. With Anisa's hail of fists removing one of the airmen from the fight, he finds his opening, racing up behind the largest of the two standing and slipping his arms under the reptile's. The scaley fighter lets out a hiss of alarm and rage as Gibson's hands lock behind his head and hold his arms awkwardly out to the sides

Kin and her three assailants are a blur of blades and hissing. There are numerous trades of blows, blocks, and last minute sidesteps as weapons blue by Kin and enemies alike. The fight is very pitched and yet Kin never backs down, knowing full well it will mean her life. Finally, she slips a blade through the average one's defenses, it strikes true and cuts deep. But, all is not done quite yet and again blades whirl. As the Kiriga grows more and more worn, she slips yet another strike through, this one with Falling Blossom biting deep into the average opponent's neck. He gurgles and drops into a heap. With grim resolve her grip flexes on her swords and she switches focus to the remaining pair, the fast one and the skilled one. "Do not falter. Do not fall," she thinks to herself.

Suddenly, from the edge of the clearing, a tawny blur flies from the shadows, a knapped stone knife held high. The weapon comes down in an arc at one of Kin's foes, and as agile as the reptile is, he isn't able to dodge what he didn't see coming. A long slice opens the back of his leather tunic, and the cut leaks crimson… but the airman turns with rage on his face, and soon Long-Shadow is finding himself hard pressed to defend against the sword with only his knife.

Old Master Tooth starts to step forward, popping over sized knuckles as he pursues the opponent he sent into the grass, but a glance over his shoulder turns his attention towards his student. "Umeko-chan." He crosses the clearing and looks for an opening.

I should have thought about the wind when I was practicing this! Lilac blows on the fuse, huffing, and puffing, until it sparks in to life! Yes! That'sfourty seconds to go! Using the already burning fuse, Lilac tries to light the second bomb early, rather than try and deal with this hassle with an explosion weighing on her shoulders. The wind is again against her as the second fuse blows about the first, finally making contact only to simmer like it isn't sure which way it wants to go …

Still clinging to his sword, the lizard whose gut was such a tempting target with Gibson holding his arms out doesn't present the opportunity for long. He stomps on Gibson's foot, prompting a yelp of pain from the big black Lapi, who loosens his grip enough for the shiga to wriggle an arm out. With his free arm, he grips one of Gibson's, and shoves his hip and tail back, taking on the Lapi's weight and rolling him over his shoulder, flipping the Lapi onto the ground in front of him. "OOFGK!" goes Gibson as he lands flat on his back.

Anisa gives out a shriek of alarm as she watches her brother go flying, and is momentarily shocked into inaction. She doesn't let the feeling linger for long, and launches an attack on the large reptile. Blow after blow rain down on the ship hand, and although none of them make it through to hurt the Naga, it prevents him from throwing a counter attack at the doe – and more importantly, keeps him away from the doe's brother.

Kin looks torn between standing against her equal, or saving a friend who is in trouble. And against all logic, she goes to save Long-Shadow at the expense of herself. And in the end, it costs the Kiriga dearly. The skilled opponent moves in. Kin does her best to fend him off, her her dodging holding … but the battle has taken its toll. His mace connects to her side, lurching her sideways and nearly doubling her over. The second then comes down on her back. The makeshift leather offers some padding … but that's it. The small dragon crumples to the ground as the Autumn Harvest slips from her fingers. The world around her swims and she feels parts of her body tingle, but no longer move. The only thing she can do … is let her eyes go to her Savanite friend. "I'm sorry," she whispers weakly towards him as he now stands alone against his opponent… "I'm so sorry for bringing you into this."

"Kin!" Xander shouts from behind.

The Savanite's dark eyes widen in silent horror, and he springs forward in a frantic lunge, throwing his arms up against the shiga's sword. It's a reckless move, and gets him cut lightly for his trouble, but without leverage the wound isn't serious, and Long-Shadow is free to plunge his knife into the airman's chest until the base of his fist touches the reptile's Rughrat hide jerkin. The airman goes limp, his cutlass falling from his hand as he slumps over, and he hasn't settled entirely on the ground before Long-Shadow is already scrambling over him and toward Kin.

Xander runs for Kin as well, and looks up briefly to see if anyone else in the enemy camp is heading out this way yet.

The six differently dressed men in the camp are simply staring dumbfounded and looking nervous, while the one they were speaking with is now shouting and pointing.

Stupid bomb! The wind whips back and forth, dead at one moment and scattering her hair the next. Lilac fights to light the second bomb, only to notice the first bomb has now burned down shorter than the shorter fuse! Oh, wonderful! I hope the others are having better luck! She resists the urge to look down. I have to focus. One more time, then … I'll think of something!

Anisa keeps her attack going against the larger of her foes, all the while fending off blows from the lesser. Back and forth the melee goes, with both the Lapi and the large reptile starting to tire. Luckily for the rabbit, the Naga starts to become sloppy, and at one point leaves himself wide open. The doe spots this, and fires a hard uppercut at the larger combatant, sending the lizard careening into the dirt.

It takes a few moments for Gibson to flounder back to his feet, rolling over in the dust to get back up… but when he does, it's with a vengeance. With both fighters turning their attentions on his sister, the wounded one isn't ready for the skedat shell coming his way. Tall enough to raise his fist high enough, Gibson clubs the lesser scrapper unconscious.

The heavy stone-headed mace wielded by Kin's attacker rises high into the air as well, and comes crashing down on the vulnerable Kiriga… only to be slapped aside by a gnarled orange hand. "Umeko!" rasps Tooth in the scaled language. "Umeko, say something!" He doesn't pursue the other reptile, content for the moment to merely drive him back.

Kin is only partially aware of what is going on around her; everything seems to be distant and detached. "Sensei," she murmurs upon hearing him in her hazy state, "Finish … mission. Many lives … at stake. If … others live … worth it."

Meanwhile, hundreds of feet up, Lilac's efforts are finally rewarded. Spfft! The second fuse crackles to life, though both are rather short by now.

With the first fuse burning down, and time running out, Lilac decides they both need to go at about the same time. So, she lights the second fuse farther down, finally able to manage it during a brief lull in the wind. Yes! YES! She cheers internally, only to have her ears shoot up as she remembers she's holding a live bomb, and next to another one. Oh, no! Forget my original plan, I have to get out of here! She swings the bomb upwards with both hands, thumping it against the side, under another cannon barrel. Then, with her feet, she pushes off the hull and begins a dive.

Reaching Kin, Xander kneels down next to Tooth. "Is she going to make it?" he asks the old warrior.

The sparks quickly creep up the fuses and disappear into the improvised bomb casings while Lilac goes into freefall. There's a moment of quiet, as if nothing is going to happen at all… and then a boom that is felt in the chest of everyone on the ground and in the air. Heat washes down over Lilac, turbulence making her flight wobble, but she's able to straighten out. Above, a hole gapes in the hull, from which a cannon, pieces of wood, and a couple screaming crewmen tumble. Smoke floods the gun deck, the remaining cannons ceasing their irregular shots altogether.

The mace man that Tooth drove back looks ready to come storming back, but as orange light blooms over everyone on the ground, he's given pause, looking up. "What in the Serpent's name… "

Tooth glares at the mace man, sparing a glance back but only saying, "I nottah know. She talk, dat good." Long-Shadow is already cradling Kin's head, looking worriedly into her face and splashing it with some water from his water skin.

Once her attacker is down, Anisa checks to make sure that Gibson is well, and a feeling of deep relief washes over her at the sight. Swiveling to the other side of the battle, the feeling immedeately evaporates as she sees Kin on the ground with the mace-laden reptile towering above her. Without thinking, the rabbit tears off into his direction, and launches herself into the air, aiming her massive feet at the assailant's head.

The thudding impact is hard enough to be heard, but it's one that's caught on the lizard's armored forearms. He carries the momentum backward, stumbling a few steps and nearly dropping his mace. Grimacing, he stares at the gathered adventurers… then turns tail! He heads for one of the mooring ropes. Far above, the crewman that Tooth had sent tumbling into the weeds has made it about halfway up, while the one who had been shouting at the gathered strangers has given up on them as well, heading for a different mooring post.

Looking up at the explosion, Xander smiles, and says, "Good work Lilac. I think that's my cue." He gives Kin's hand a squeeze, and then stands up and looks to the bigwigs in the camp.

Kin is still very much out of it for the most part. As water is splashed on her face, some of her sooty disguise washes away, leaving the battered Kiriga a streaked mess. Her weary eyes look up at the Savanite holding her head. In addition, she's aware of the explosion at least, saying, "Good job … Lilac. Song about … yourself." And when Xander squeezes and flees, well … that gets her to say a feeble, "… careful, Xander."

Xander takes a few steps towards the remaining ground crew, and then points the mouth of his mug at them so they can see the little inferno waiting inside. Then he shouts to them, "Hey! If you want to live, tell your men to drop their weapons, then you bunch walk over here. I'll even give you until the count of… oh… five!"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, the sore and bruised Anisa ignores her fleeing foe, and runs over to Kin's side. "What happened? Is she okay?"

At this, the white-swathed men at the back hold their hands up hurriedly, shaking them at Xander. "No, no! Peace!" Now that Xander is closer, he can recognize their garb… guardsmen from Viper's Hold!

Lilac comes in for a landing faster than she'd like. Her feet hit the ground, putting her in to a stumbling run that only stops when she pitches forward and rolls over her shoulder. Landing on her back in a heap, she sighs, grateful to be alive. Above her, the shimmering form of the damaged airship looms, smoldering like a red moon. "WHAT?!" She sits up, gaping at it. "It's still flying! You stupid airship!" She paws around herself … the hurls a rock at it.

"What the… get over here!" the brown Lapi calls to them.

Long-Shadow flicks his glance at Anisa worriedly, holding Kin's head in his lap and gently stroking her hair.

Gibson stands at the edge of the clearing, his ears held tall. He calls over his shoulder, "The Third Cavalry are approaching!" Sure enough, before long the Rokugai arrive in a thunderous herd, lances held high. Dasha is at the lead, a pennant streaming from her lance. She's breathing hard, but not breathless when she hisses, "We came as soon as we were sure the guns stopped! What's our status?"

"They're probably going to cut their lines and run for it," Xander tells the lieutenant. "Do you want to try and take that ship?"

Anxiously, Anisa looks back to Xander and his captives, then up at the escaping reptiles returning to the ship. Finally, she returns her gaze to Kin. "We need to get her back to the camp and to the doctor! I can carry her if I-" She stops at the sight of the approaching cavalry, and springs to her feet. "Did you bring the doctor with you?" she asks nervously.

"Now … " Lilac looks around, sitting alone in the dark, " … where am I?" She stands upm brushing herself off and looking around. She hadn't thought about where she was diving to, only that it was away from the explosion. She looks up, trying to get a view of the ship and the damaged she inflicted.

Dasha squints up at the now-smoking ship, glowering. "I don't want it to get away! But I'm not sure how we can get up there. We're meant for fighting on the ground, we're cavalry after all." At Anisa's interjection, the lieutenant's eyeridges rise. "Lady Ryuu is injured! Corporal, see to her." The medic says, "Dame!" and hurries over to where Kin lies. Though it looks awkward for his taurish body to kneel down, he seems to have practice with it.

"Right then, let's see if we can do the 'not getting away part' then," Xander says, and walks towards the center of the mooring camp. "Oh, arrest these guys too," he calls back, waving a hand at the out of place guards.

The six guardsmen meekly head over to Xander. "But… but we didn't attack!" says one. "We just… we were under duress!"

"Oh, I don't know why I'm doing this but … " Lilac stretches her wings, then takes a running start before leaping in to the air. She heads for the airship, aiming to approach from the far side of the hole.

"You'll have time to convince us of that later, now get out of the way," Xander tells. "You do not want to be under this when I set it off."

Still a bit out of it and the sudden arrival of more reptiles … well. One of Kin's hands fumbles as if trying to find her swords. "Do not hurt him," she manages out defiantly, still trying to protect her feline friend. Well, at least she's speaking a little more coherently. Given how she was hit she's likely got bruised or broken ribs, not to mention a fairly nasty stun effect going given the proximity the other blow lander to her spine.

Flying back upward, and without having to worry about archers or cannons now, Lilac gets a better vantage into the breeched hull. Smoke swirls inside, while cannoneers cough and stumble about. Somewhere inside, there's shouting. "What happened?!" "We don't know! A cannon must have jammed and gone up!" "Get these fires out, Dagh take you!"

With the medic now attending to Kin, Anisa takes a few steps back, allowing him room. She watches him work for a few moments, then lets out an exhausted sigh, scanning around for her brother. Finding him, then doe wearily paces over, and leans on him, wordlessly – simply thankful for a brief respite