A few apprentices from the Collegia Esoterica have gathered in the "social" area of the store, eagerly whispering amongst themselves and occasionally giggling out loud.

Aaron, the owner of said store, restocks the pastry basket. "Growing mages need their sweets," he grins. Not for the first time, he glances at the Chronotopian Egg clock set on a mantel above the Jobs Board.

It's just a few minutes until it's time for …

The jangling of the chimes on the front door to the store herald the arrival of an elderly wolf in a leather jacket and an odd-looking cap. The wolf calls his odd apparel a "Boomer Jacket". He has a few books tucked under one arm.

A couple of the younger apprentices squeal excitedly, while the others just wag tails or make other appropriate gestures of anticipation.

"Ah! Master Seagull, glad you could make it," the Lapi shopkeeper smiles.

The wolf bows and nods, smiling, and makes his way over to a weathered chair that he has unofficially marked as his "favorite". And, fortunately, it's hard enough and tall enough that none of the cubs has decided to take up residence. He sits down, his joints protesting as he settles into place. "Ah. I don't get out enough."

Aaron pours the Jupan – whoops – the wolf a mug of tea. "Care for any snacks?"

The wolf looks as if he's about to answer in the affirmative, but then he looks at the cubs, his jaw still agape. He shuts it firmly, and reaches for the tea, shaking his head slowly. "Can't tell a tale with a full mouth … but I'll have just something to wet the whistle." He sips at his tea, while the cubs get even more visibly impatient.

"Are you going to tell us about the airship graveyard?" "How about the iron bird?" "No! I want to hear about automovers!" "What's that funny thing on your head?"

Aaron smirks and tries to calm the apprentices down. "Are you like this with your teachers at the College?"

"Yes," answers one, before he realizes his admission and slaps his hand over his mouth. His ears flop as his friends laugh.

Seagull scratches at his leather cap, and says, "This … keeps my head from falling off!" He winks at one of the cubs, then turns to the Lapi proprietor. "What do you think, good sir? What sort of things should I talk about today?"

The Lapi rubs his chin, "Well… " He eyes the cubs, thinking. "What was your first encounter with magic like? That should be interesting!"

Seagull rubs his chin, as the cubs squeal agreement. "Was it Fire Magic?" "No, it must have been Air Magic!" "Chaos Magic!"

The wolf says, "Actually, it will be hard to figure out just what my first encounter was. Sinai – to me – is a strange place … and it's hard to tell what is 'magic' and what is just yet another strange part of nature here."

Aaron's ears waggle up and down. "Well, how about magic that was being cast by a Mage then?"

The wolf nods, and he looks very serious for a moment. There's something odd in his eye, and then he shakes his head, mumbling, "No … not a kid story… " He clears his throat, then says, "Ah yes … the first time I found magic … Well, that would have been on the surface … not long after I landed with my … parasail, as you call it… "

"The iron bird had been damaged, of course, and the crew – myself included – had to bail out. I didn't know it then, but, of course, machines don't work very well here," the wolf adds. "But good for me, a parasail is simple enough to still work, or else this would be a very short story, now wouldn't it?" He winks as the cubs giggle again.

Aaron draws his own cup of tea and has a seat. He hadn't realized before that Seagull's whole airship had arrived from another world…

"Now, there was a terrible storm … unlike any I had ever seen before," narrates the wolf, his gaze somewhere above the heads of the cubs as he recounts his adventure. "The sky crashed with lightning with such ferocity as to charge the very air, causing every hair on my body to stick straight out!"

The cubs snicker at this part, too, though the wolf doesn't smile to show that it was meant for a joke.

"I lost sight of the others … and I do not even know how many made it clear of the craft before it crashed into the floating rock – a golden floating rock that was at the heart of the storm. As I drifted down, I could hear … music. Yes, music coming from the golden rock. And I saw the smoke as the iron bird struck it, but no flames," continues the wolf. He shakes himself out of the reverie a bit, and says, "Not every machine blows up when it breaks, you see!"

The Lapi listens closely. The wolf must be describing a passage through a Forbidden Zone, and one "golden island" is said to be found in those…

"I began to go down, and down … back and forth … and the storm was so terrible, I couldn't even tell which way was up, or which was down anymore!" The wolf weaves his hand about like a wind-borne leaf, flipping it now and then for effect. One of the cubs bobs his head, trying to follow the hand, and looks nearly seasick (airsick?) from the effort.

Aaron shifts in his seat, getting a little woozy himself. Once he gets his balance back though, he takes out one his little notebooks and starts jotting things down.

"Then … below there were mountains. My world has those, too, so I wasn't particularly impressed … but for a moment, I was so disoriented, that I thought that the mountains were the underside of that great floating rock I'd seen, and that I was about to fly up and smash into it!" The wolf smirks. One cub giggles, but most are just listening for now.

"Well … there were these … " The wolf uses some odd word that's hard to place, but he catches himself and says, "Well, 'Eeee', I know now. I hadn't seen those before. There might be some of those where I come from – and if not, possibly by now – but I sure hadn't seen any before! I tell you, I was sure wishing I'd had a pair of wings myself, because they did not look happy!"

"By this time, the storm has just up and vanished. In fact, I hadn't even realized it for a few seconds, it was so sudden! And there I was over these mountains, with some Eeee flying at me, going, SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He looks at a little bat in the group and looks sheepish. "Er, that's just … a guess, that is. I don't speak the language."

Aaron says, "Ashdod?"

The little Eeee snickers. "You just said, 'BUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS!'."

The wolf smirks at the bat, then nods to Aaron. "Yessirree. Seems they take seriously this business about these being 'Forbidden Zones' … and they thought I was some idiot Jupani out for a joy-ride."

"Kind of far south to mistake you for a Titanian," the rabbit jokes.

The wolf quickly scans the apprentices, but – not surprisingly – doesn't find any young Titanians in the group.

"Now, to make this part of the story short, I didn't put up much of a chase or a fight right then. Although I tried, especially when one of them came by to cut the strings on my parasail!" The wolf looks at his scarred left hand. "I figured to take him with me … some," he uses another unknown word, "creation out to get revenge for dropping the boomer, but when I tried to use my … flintlock, it exploded!" He grits his teeth, and some of the cubs mouth "ouch". "As I said, I didn't know about machines here."

The wolf smirks. "Not that I'd have had half a chance anyway, dangling from a parasail, not knowing up from down, and facing a very fast and angry Eeee." He winks.

Aaron tries to imagine it… and discovers he might be afraid of heights after all.

"Well … these two had friends, and, before I knew it … I was all tied up, going through the air, and once again, couldn't tell up from down! I was getting a mite bit frustrated at this point, to be honest. And it still hadn't occurred to me that I wasn't on my own world anymore. Though I was having some problems figuring out the floating golden rock, of course. I didn't think I'd gotten hit on the head." He taps his leather cap.

Aaron asks, "Where were you heading originally?"

The wolf turns toward Aaron. "Ah. Well, we were at war with the – " There's that word again that's hard to decipher. " – and it had come to the point where we had no choice. The … ah … Technopriests of our world had made the boomer. Our iron bird had four of them to drop on one of the enemy's cities." He frowns. "We had enough to make another run if those didn't work. Of course … I guess it didn't work, because we only managed to drop one, and then everything went wrong. No telling what happened while I've been gone."

"Do you mean," the Lapi asks, "that this boomer you dropped blew you all the way to Sinai?"

"Guess so!" says the wolf, prompting some "oooo"s and "aaaah"s and a few skeptical smirks from his audience.

"But I have to get to the magic part," adds the wolf. "You see, they took me to this city. Bigger than cities on my world … and Rephidim's pretty short as far as that goes. Lots of towers and stuff. And lots of flappy guys like you there." He winks at the Eeee.

"Anyway, they took me to see first this really important looking Eeee … then another … then another … and I couldn't understand a word they said, and slapping me around didn't help me figure out much more than that I was in deep … trouble." He eyes the cubs. "Finally, they show me to this really decked-out Eeee who seemed to be the head honcho there, and he has this … ah … " He points to a little cobra in the group. "What are your people called again?"

"I'm a Naga!" hisses the cobra, crossing his arms and looking mildly scandalized.

Aaron remembers watching Babelite soldiers at work, and wonders if the wolf is toning things down for the cubs.

The wolf nods. "A Naga. Well, this Naga was decked out in pretty fancy duds, too, and had this very strange stick … er, cane … staff that he had. He took out some chalk and started making triangles and squares and stars on the floor, and chanting strange words, and then they … had me go up to him."

"He did this … ah … hocus pocus stuff … well, you know how that goes better than me, so I won't try telling it, or you'll probably just laugh at all my mistakes." The wolf winks at the cubs again. "Anyhow, somehow, I could understand him, all of a sudden … and … well, he had a lot of questions to ask. That's when I started to figure out I was in the wrong place. I mean, really wrong."

The delightful and ever popular mingled scents of formaldehyde and crypts begin building.

The Lapi is only listening with one ear now, scribbling in his notebook… until that familiar aroma reaches his sensitive nostrils…

The wolf sniffs at the air. Several of the students do as well. One of them goes, "Whew! Did you … " The Khatta looks accusingly at a Jupani cub next to him.

The Jupani cub looks even more scandalized than the Naga did earlier. "Not me!"

"So … I learned this was a … ah … Mental Mage." The wolf looks askance to the Naga in the group, and sees a head shaking the negative. "A … Mind Mage? Ah, yes, a Mind Mage. It was a spell to help us understand each other. I'm still not sure whether I was talking his language, or if he was talking mine. Unfortunately, it didn't last. I still had to go through the Happy Helmet when they finally shipped me off to Rephidim."

Aaron gets up and tries to reach the front door before the owner of the smell can arrive, but must negotiate a field of small furry (and one scaly) bodies first…

A white, berobed almost-Naga opens the door, stopping short at the sight of the Lapi headed towards him. He stands where he is, adjusting the spectacles beneath his broad hat.

With a sigh, Aaron comes to a stop, and gives an abbreviated bow to the Naga. "Mage Qing. What brings you around today?"

"Ah!" says the wolf. "It's that … fellow again!" He waves to the Rokuga.

The little Naga turns to look at the Rokuga, starts to smile … then flicks his tongue as he looks at the Rokuga's arms. He turns back to look at the wolf. "Do keep going. You amuse me."

The snake pauses, then inclines his head curtly in reply. "The usual browsing and shopping for supplies," hisses Qing. He takes a brief moment to glance at the wolf, then looks back at Aaron. "In addition to the standard list, I'm generally interested in any objects related to my field that may have arrived."

Black ear beginning to droop, Aaron says, "Well, nobody's died in here recently, I'm afraid. What's on your list?" The Lapi even goes so far as to touch one of the Rokuga's shoulders to try and guide him back away from the apprentices and deeper into the store.

One of the cubs pipes up, "Okay, now tell us about the automovers!" The Eeee protests, "No, I want to hear about why there was this war!" The Naga hisses, "I'd like to know how Jupani on your world were foolish enough to try making an airship from iron. No wonder it crashed."

Qing's snout wrinkles slightly, but his tone remains even. "I refer to books or artifacts. As for the regular list, several pints of Karnoran bled within the past week will be a good start. I'll need to be sure it's certified, drawn from willing bleeders. I need to replace one of my candle-holding skulls; the wick burnt down and scorched the socket… " He allows himself to be led along, until his low, whispery voice is likely out of range to the listening group, but stops about at that point, glancing over his shoulder at them.

Aaron hmms, and quietly comments, "I didn't know you were interested in books. My guest speaker has some old ones, but not likely of any use to you. There's been a shortage of fresh Karnoran, I'm afraid. It has to be special-ordered and overseen by the Temple now." The rabbit morph rubs his nose, which has started to run a bit from such close proximity to the sharp fumes. "Umm… any particular kind of skull?"

The wolf's story-telling dissolves into murmuring in the background, although the Lapi's keen ears and pick out the occasional word.

The shopkeeper does keep one ear turned towards the front of the store, just in case the worst happens and one of the Jupanis asks about the boomers Seagull arrived with…

Ah. There's that word. "Boomer." Every once in a while, a cub echoes it. But the wolf seems to be talking a little more quietly now.

"Hmph. I should have suspected as much, in light of the recent problems the Temple has been having," murmurs Qing, flicking just the tip of his tongue out in an annoyed gesture. "So it goes. The skull only needs to have been purified, and be able to hold a candle about an inch thick." He glances at the gathering again, this time peering over the tops of his glasses. "It's that old Jupani again. What is he doing?"

Aaron tries to turn Qinq away from the gathering. "Just entertaining the cubs with tales of his adventures as an Exile. How about a vanderat skull?" Non-sapient skulls are always cheaper.

Qing fingers the edge of his hat thoughtfully, without taking his eyes off the gathering. "That should do, at least temporarily. I will eventually be returning home – News I'm sure pleases you." His brow lowers slightly. "An 'Exile', is he? What sort of garbage is he filling the heads of those children with?"

Aaron turns to face the front of the shop, ignoring Qing for the moment as both ears stretch out to hear as much as possible.

The Lapi digs his nails a bit into the Rokuga's upper shoulder as a worried expression crosses his face…

The Rokuga waits patiently, staring at the wolf, now. One of his brow ridges twitches and lowers as the nails pinch through his mantle, and a lower hand rises up to try to push Aaron's wrist away. "What is it, shopkeeper?"

"What?!" the Lapi yelps as he turns to face Qing, pulling back his hand. "Oh… ah… nothing. You're returning to the Empire soon, you say?"

Some of the apprentices look in the direction of the Lapi and Rokuga.

"Some little out of the way corner of it, right?" the Lapi asks hopefully.

Qing nods blandly, still staring in the group's direction. "Yes. There is little for me here anymore, and I wish to visit my daughter's grave. It has been too long." He moves his head just slightly to add Aaron to his field of vision for a moment.

Aaron forced smile cracks a bit, not caring for the images stirred up by the notion of a Spirit Mage visiting the grave of kin. "I… will be right back." The rabbit turns and hurries back towards the front of the shop, and his guest speaker.

"And that's it for now, young'uns!" says the wolf, as he rises from his chair. "Same time next week?"

"YEAH!" cheer the cubs. Even the Naga bobs his head up and down enthusiastically.

The rustling of scutes across floorboards makes it apparent that the witchdoctor has followed, if more slowly.

Reaching the group, Aaron is all smiles again. "And be sure to keep up your studies! Remember that when you graduate, you get a free discount… "

The cubs filter out as well, and the wolf shakes paws or wings or claws as they go. He then makes an odd little salute to the Lapi. "Been a pleasure. Hopefully once they're old enough to have a few shekels, they'll become loyal customers, eh? A good day to you!"

"Wait!" Aaron cries, grabbing for the wolf's arm. "Don't you know that Paradys is reachable now? How do you think the Babelites got a hold of that boomer?"

The pale snake remains silent, merely watching and listening.

The wolf says, "Uh … but if they got all of them … why didn't they use the rest?"

Aaron blinks, then explains, "If they didn't, then there are still two left. If that books says how to get them, you have to get the Temple to go and destroy them before someone blows another piece of Sinai to another world again!"

"And if not the Temple, then at least the Baron of Paradys!" Aaron insists.

The wolf's ears flick. "Yeah … well … I'll keep that in mind." He pulls away from the rabbit. "Wouldn't want that happening."

Eyes wide, Aaron tries to intercept the wolf again. "You don't have time to think about it! If those cubs tell someone who'll believe them that you brought the boomers to Sinai, a mob of Jupani will hunt you down and make a rug out of you!"

The wolf pulls his goggles down over his eyes. "Hmm. Good point there. Guess it's about time to relocate, eh? I was thinking about going on a trip anyway."

"The Chronotopians will want one to drop on Bosch, the Titanians will want one to drop on Chronotopia, the Nagai will want them both just on principle, and everyone will go to war to keep someone else from getting them!" the rabbit pleads. "Look at how long that book stayed hidden! Your crewmate must have known to keep it secret."

"If your original mission was to use those things to stop a war," Aaron says firmly, crossing his arms across his narrow chest, "then you can't let them be used to start one now."

The wolf tucks the book into his jacket. "Hey, hey, don't get your ears tied in a knot. There's only one other fellow who could read this, and now he's just a bunch of bugs. That and my buddies, who are long gone now. Nobody's going to be able to read this, except me. And my eyesight's not that good anyway. Nothing to worry about, right? And everyone knows how those Eeee who dropped the boomer got creamed by that 'Baron of Paradys' fellow … and the Intimidator, of course."

Aaron points out, "How did they find out about it in the first place, though?"

The wolf frowns. "I don't know about that. … But if it were so easy, then the Temple probably would have looked into it, right?"

The rabbit tugs on the end of his ears. "Why don't you go ask them about it at least?" Finally remembering Qing, Aaron turns to find the Naga practically right behind him.

The witchdoctor doesn't move. Sometime during the conversation, however, he seems to have taken his spectacles off. Unblinking crimson eyes continue to observe, mostly focused on the wolf.

"Qing," Aaron says, trying to regain some composure. "You know the Baron, right? Has he ever mentioned there being more of those boomer things laying around?"

Qing's head moves ever so slightly from left to right. "Not to me. Our relations were professional, and focused on the matter at hand at the time."

Aaron smacks his forehead, "Of course… silly of me to think you might have friends."

The wolf says, "I've already been asked all about the 'boomers'. Thank you, but I don't think I really feel like paying another visit to the Inquisition just now. I guess I got a bit carried away there, in story-time. Too much for my own good."

The Lapi twitches at the mention of the Inquisition. "Oh… ah… So, the Temple knows all about them and where you left them then, right?"

"Yes," replies the Rokuga evenly. "Silly."

"You … could say that, yes," answers the wolf.

"Er … " amends the wolf, his ears flicking, "I was meaning about Aaron's statement. Not yours, sir Naga."

Qing doesn't respond, but seems no worse for mood.

Aaron takes a few deep breaths to try and calm down… then realizes his mistake and takes a few more steps away from Qing before trying again. "Okay, sorry to jump on you like that, Jonathan… but you could have told me up-front about that book."

The wolf frowns. "Up front? I didn't know that Bobby had written in the back of it." He waves the book around. "This is just a flight manual. Sentimental value, like I said."

"So, you aren't going to try and get this thing airborne again, right?" the Lapi asks cautiously.

The wolf laughs. "Ha! It'd only stay airborne as long as it would take to fall to the ground. Machines like those from my world don't work here."

Aaron decides not to mention the alleged conditions atop the Red Cliffs that he's heard about. Probably just rumors anyway. "Ah, true. Don't tell that to a Titanian, though."

The wolf gives Aaron a questioning look, then shrugs it off. "Well … I'll try not to spread any more wild stories without … ah … checking by you first. All right?" He 'punches' the rabbit's shoulder, then makes for the door again. "Next week!"

Aaron waves (with his non-punched arm). "Sure thing!"

The chimes jangle again as the wolf walks out the door, whistling to himself as he heads down the street.

Once the wolf has left, Aaron is free to rub the shoulder that received the friendly punch. Looking at Qing, he asks, "If I give you that skull for free, will you forget all of this?"

"No." The Rokuga folds all three sets of arms after replacing his spectacles. "I take it this Exile is not as much a charlatan as I'd like to believe."

Aaron sighs, "No more than the Red Cliffs are a hoax perpetrated by some Jupani cubs."

The Lapi squints at the Spirit Mage, and asks, "You wouldn't be thinking of telling any of this to some high Nagai muckety-muck or anything, right?"

The witchdoctor glances out a window facing the street. "I must admit, politics are not my field of expertise… but most everyone has heard about the capabilities of these 'boomers'. Are you satisfied with the wolf's explanation of how safe these things are being kept?"

"Are you kidding?" Aaron says. "The Temple might know about them, but that doesn't mean they've done anything. I'd rather go to Paradys myself and look at the iron bird in person."

After a moment of thought, the Lapi adds, "Unless they can't be gotten rid off without setting them off… "

Qing tosses his head, and flicks his tongue, a slight curl developing on the top of his snout. "You? And just what would you do?"

Aaron looks the Rokuga straight in his beady little pink eyes, and says, "Panic probably. Then find someone who can at least bury the things."

The pallid reptile stares back over the tops of his glasses, then pushes his spectacles back up his snout. "For all your faults… at least you are honest, Aaron." The witchdoctor settles back into his coils. "I have doubts as to your ability to do anything about it… alone, at least.""

"Of course I couldn't do it alone," Aaron says, rolling his eyes. "I'd need an airship at least, just to get there."

The Lapi looks around the shop, and starts to clean up the debris invariably left behind by cubs. "I don't suppose you have some way to get to Paradys that doesn't involve dying first?"

Qing ignores the Lapi's facial expression, too lost in thought. "Yes, that will have to be arranged… I'm not certain what kind of clearance that would require, however. I have tenure in the Institute and Academia, but any 'research trip' I proposed would have to be justified, in all likelihood."

Aaron's black ear twitches and swivels towards the Naga. "How big of a justification would it take? I've got lots of books of legends about Paradys, and I'm sure the Baron didn't get into all this chasing the undead stuff for fun."

Qing shrugs all three sets of shoulders in an odd wave from bottom to top. "The administration is fickle. They will probably wish something that can have a positive financial or prestigious impact. Eliminating a threat is often not enough, though this isn't something that can be predicted with Chronotopian precision."

"It must justify the expenditure, basically," concludes the witchdoctor.

The Lapi finishes straightening things up, and eyes the broom in the corner. Finally, he turns back to Qing and says, "Tell them the truth. You think that more of those horrible weapons exist on Paradys, and want to find out if they're related to alleged necromantic activities. They'll fund you just to find out about the boomers. I'm sure the Potentate wouldn't mind having one dropped on the City of Hands, after all. Then all you have to worry about is making sure the boomers are dead, and you are an expert on death, aren't you?"

Aaron says, "But I think asking the Baron for passage would be simpler."

"You have a lot to learn about administration," hisses Qing dryly. "Still, I think you even mentioned it yourself earlier… If anyone, the Empire included, got wind of these weapons, there'd be a war just trying to obtain them. I work with what war brings every day… There is no glory for the Nagai in that." He nods slowly. "I nearly forgot about the Baron. Yes, Baron Cambio is a decent man… If there is any danger there, it would be because he isn't aware of it yet. We should approach him with the possibility that more of the weapons lie dormant in his domain."

Aaron smiles, and fetches a Vanderat skull from the back of the counter for Qing. "I'm glad you agree, since you must know how to find his house here in Rephidim." Handing over the skull, he then says, "Let me know when you've scheduled an appointment, all right?"

"Agreed." The warder accepts the skull, placing a few wire-rimmed coins on the counter. "I hope he is still on Rephidim. I am given to understand he travels a great deal."

"The Embassy must have some staff in it though," Aaron says with a shrug. "He couldn't take his entire household with him, right?"

Qing places the skull into a small canvas bag, hooking it to a cloth loop beneath his mantle. "I'm not sure I wish to approach anyone other than the Baron with news this sensitive. In fact, it concerns me that the Jupani… what was his name again? That he is wandering around. It could all be a hoax, but word will get out about his stories, and we've no guarantee they'll be taken lightly."

Aaron says, "His name is Jonathan Seagull, and hopefully he won't be taken any more seriously than any other Exile."

"I may not be from this skyland, but I'm fairly sure that the Temple always views Exiles with some degree of seriousness. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother with the Processing." Making sure one final time that his purchase is secured, Qing slithers toward the door, pausing before opening it. "Dealing with the paranormal, one comes to expect hoaxes. For once, I sincerely hope I'm tailing a hoax."

Aaron blinks, unsure if the Naga just made an intentional pun or not. "True enough. Good luck contacting the Baron, though. Hopefully he knows about the situation and has already seen to it, eh?"

"Hopefully." With that, the witchdoctor opens the door, and slithers through it, the draft helping to clear the air a little.

The Lapi watches the Rokuga leave, and decides to close up shop for the night. He's had enough excitement.