The airship Spring's Bounty is a sturdy craft, bound for Rephidim out of the Free City of Zannara in Ashdod. Built to withstand the rigors of long distance cargo hauling and the necessity of defending itself against raiders, it was nonetheless caught unprepared by the sudden tropical storm that struck it just two days past the Gigi Coast on its way to Little Rephidim West. Blown south towards the teeth of Aeztepa's treacherous and haunted Forbidden Zone, it was with mixed fortune that the craft came to a rough landing on a tiny, unnamed sky island where it could weather out the rest of the storm.

The damage from the storm and the forced landing was not minor, and would take several days at least to repair. Even then, the Bounty would be crippled, depending on sails and a single surviving engine to make up the distance lost to the storm before being able to limp into the Paquebot for further repairs. The need to supplement the crew's rations has brought the captain to the ship's young scout.

In the mess hall, Captain Herschel finds the half-Vartan "Sphynx" that he hired in Justininople some months before. "Tulani," begins the Palomino Rhian, "I need you to check out this rock for fresh water and any useful vegetation or other supplies we can use. We need to stretch our rations at least another six days if we can."

Tulani turns and says, "Sure, hang on while I check my gear." She quickly checks for her knife in her belt, and that she has a full quarrel of crossbow bolts, then heads onto the deck.

The deck is a flurry of noisy activity, as the crew makes what repairs they can. The ship's cook, a Calico Khatta named Sofie, is doling out a thin stew to those on break – more to keep them warm than to fill their bellies – while her Kavi assistant sits nearby and fidgets in boredom … until he spots the Sphynx, that is.

"Hey, Tulani!" the Kavi calls, and bounds over. "You're going out onto the rock, right? You should take me! I know what's edible, and … and you should take me!"

The black and white Sphynx smiles at the hyper Kavi, and says, "Hey Iggy! Break any dishes lately?" Without waiting for a reply from the Kavi, she asks the calico, "Could you give me a mug of that before I take off, Sofie?"

"Sure hon," Sofie says, and ladles out a mug for Tulani.

Iggy bounces around, a little tan blur, and keeps up his spiel, "I've got my fishing net! I can carry stuff too! You'll let me go, right Sofie?"

Rolling her eyes, the Khatta says, "Sure, sure, Ignoramus. If it'll keep you out from underfoot for a few hours, I'm all for it."

Tulani sips lightly from the mug before downing the rest of the contents. More seriously, she asks, "Do you know how to use a knife or crossbow properly?"

"I can cut veggies and fillet meat," Iggy says proudly, standing up to his full height of maybe four feet. "But … uh … I tried a crossbow once and it knocked me over. I've got my own knife," he adds, and shows off a slender-bladed stone knife. His black bandit's-mask makes his eyes look twice their normal size as he smiles hopefully up to the scout.

The Sphynx pauses thoughtfully for a moment. "If you promise to listen to me, and follow my directions, then I suppose it's alright." she finally says, smiling lightly at the bouncy Kavi.

"Oh! Of course I will, Miss Herfrell!" Iggy promises, and even performs a quick salute. "I'll get some bags and waterskins and my net!" He dashes off belowdecks before anyone can tell him otherwise.

Tulani watches the Kavi run off and thinks, "I hope the captain won't be mad!

"You be careful out there, Tulani," Sofie warns, once the scout has finished her mug. "No telling what's been blown onto this island over the years, and they say these skies are haunted," she says, making the sign of the Star and Anchor as a blessing.

Tulani returns the sign of the Star and Anchor. "I'll be careful and do my best to keep Iggy safe. Besides," she says with a smile, "it looks like he needs some time to run off his oh-so-bountiful energy."

Iggy is back shortly, with a half-dozen waterskins slung across his shoulders and a leather sack that looks big enough for him to sleep in strapped to his back. "I'm all ready!" he reports, saluting again.

The black Sphynx chuckles slightly at the sight of the over-laden Kavi and says, "You certainly are! Sure you can handle all that?"

"Sure thing, ma'am!" Iggy promises. "I've carried bigger loads before, and outrun the Watch … uh … bandits!"

The winds this high up are harsh and cold, making flying an effort. Luckily there is a rope ladder that the explorers can use instead to get from the deck to the barren rock that cradles the Bounty.

Tulani shivers slightly, and takes a moment to rest from the climb down, noting the thin air, and sharper chill.

Iggy doesn't seem very affected, although his exposed fur fluffs out a bit. "Which way should we go, Tulani?" he asks. "Up towards the center, or around the edge?"

Tulani looks around before saying, "Towards the center. The air is colder and thinner around the edge; it's unlikely there will be any noticeable vegetation there.

"Right!" the Kavi barks, and starts jogging off towards the central peak. Being a small island, the mountain rises at most six-hundred feet, and is only a half-mile trek from the grounded airship.

Tulani walks briskly to catch up, calling out, "Wait! Stay near me and don't wander off!"

Iggy does as he's told, waiting for the Sphynx and sticking close by afterwards – except for the occasional side trip to poke at lichen patches or to test pools of water for freshness. There isn't much else of interest along the way, aside from the random bit of rotted wooden wreckage left by other airships, or the shredded skins of sky-garden gasbags. It doesn't take long to reach the summit of the island.

From the higher vantage, it's possible to see the entire island. This includes a small pocket valley in the side of the mountain, about a quarter of the way around from the Bounty, which looks like it might have some vegetation growing in it. The dark clouds of the storm have moved off to the southwest, and even further beyond those Tulani's keen eyes can make out flashes of purple lightning from a distant Forbidden Zone.

Tapping the Kavi to make sure she has his attention, Tulani points off towards the only significant source of green, a small valley, and starts off in that direction.

Iggy follows along, the thinner air making him a little less bouncy than usual. The closer the two approach the pocket-valley, the more often Tulani catches a glimpse of motion within it – although it is most likely just the wind blowing around vegetation. That same wind creates a susurrus of whistling and moaning noises as it passes through and around the cracks and deeper fissures in the worn rock face.

From the lip of the valley, it's apparent that the vegetation is like nothing to be found down on the surface. Balloons anchored to the rock with gripping vines wave back and forth in the wind, while larger tree-like plants open net-like fronds to filter the air. Closer to the ground are tangled, thick roots that seem to bore right into the rock, and some of the vine-covered humps look distinctly artificial.

Tensing slightly at the few glimmers of movement she can catch, Tulani checks her crossbow, making sure it's loaded with a bolt, and tells Iggy, "Stay close to me and keep your eyes open." Silently, she adds, "Better safe than sorry… "

"It looks like we hit the jackpot!" Iggy exclaims, restraining himself from running into the garden. "Look, there's bubble-berries! And sky-squash, and frost-cactus and… that looks like sweetvine too," he points out excitedly.

Making her way towards some of the plants, Tulani pauses to examine one of the strange humps of vine-covered rock.

Despite the thick vegetation, there aren't any obvious signs of open or running water. One of the closer vine-covered humps is clearly the remains of a stacked-stone wall. "We can use a lot of this stuff," Iggy says. "Should I start filling up the sack?"

Tulani says, "Good idea," and starts helping the Kavi harvest the sweetvines.

Together, the two quickly tap the bulbous water nodules on the sweetvines to fill up the waterskins, and Iggy then moves on to collecting some of the melons and fruits. The constant sway of the plants in the wind is nearly hypnotic, but a deeper sound eventually comes to Tulani's attention, seeming to originate further back in the valley toward the base of the mountain.

Tulani's ears perk at the low sound and she stands up quickly, motioning to the Kavi. "Let's head that way, Iggy" she says, pointing in the direction of the sound.

"Okay, boss!" Iggy agrees, and recklessly dashes ahead deeper into the valley. "Hey! Lookit this!" he calls out after vanishing behind the mound of a fallen wall.

Quickly running after the Kavi, the Sphynx silently curses to herself, and calls out, "Not too far, Iggy!"

The footing is tricky due to the roots and vines, but Tulani catches up to find Iggy digging through a pile of vines in what once might have been a small room, before the walls collapsed. Turning to the Sphynx, the Kavi proudly holds up his discovery – a gleaming white, jawless feline skull. "Neat, huh!"

The entire body of the black and white Sphynx stiffens as Sylvanian-trained reactions kick in. She grabs the Kavi by the scruff of the neck and pulls him behind her, knocking the bone from his hand in the process.

Iggy squeals and flails his limbs in the air! "Lemme go! What'd I do? It's just a skull!" he pleads and complains. The skull itself bounces off the remains of a low wall to land upside down on the ground, eroded fangs facing skyward.

Quickly backing up Tulani looks around for any immediate signs of danger, before turning to sternly lecture the Kavi, "Never – and I mean NEVER! – run ahead like that again!"

The Kavi's double-thumbed hands clamp over his muzzle and his tail curls up between his legs at the scolding. "Yes'm," he mutters quietly. Beyond that, there is only the swaying of the balloon-plants and filter-trees, and the deeper moaning of some sort of cavity echoing in the wind a little further on.

Tulani calms down, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry Iggy, but in Sylvania you never know what might happen. For all I know this could be a bower of the living dead. … Sorry, Sylvanian reaction."

Beady black eyes grow wide enough to actually show their whites as Iggy reacts to the mention of the living dead. "Way up here?" he whispers nervously. "Is the ship in danger?"

Looking around cautiously, Tulani says, "I'm not sure. In Sylvania, it's always possible… " She pauses thoughtfully. "Maybe I should take you back to the ship?"

At this suggestion, Iggy straightens back up and sticks out his chest. "I'm okay! I ain't afraid of no dead things," he claims, perhaps to reassure himself as well as Tulani. "And I can help still! I smell animals nearby."

At the Kavi's sudden revelation of something nearby, Tulani begins quickly scanning the surroundings, crossbow at the ready, "You can't by any chance tell what kind of animal?" she asks, mentally hoping, "Please let it be just some dumb animal."

The Kavi's nose twitches as he tries to home in on the scent. "Uh, maybe chibix. It's the smell of moan … er … amo … you know, chamber-pot smell," he finally says, trying not to say anything crude. Iggy points in the direction of the deep moaning, and says, "From that way."

Tulani starts heading in the direction of the sound, watching the vegetation for any signs of movement, and motions Iggy to stay behind her.

The Kavi keeps close enough to grab onto Tulani's tail if he needs to. They soon come upon a low and wide cave mouth, and the ammonia smell is strong enough to make the Sphynx's eyes water.

Blinking salty tears from her eyes, Tulani checks her bag for flint, and the ground for suitable materials to make a torch.

The tough, fibrous vegetation doesn't look particularly flammable, but Iggy produces a short tar-covered stick from his own supplies while he unpacks his net. "This is great! I can set up the net, and you go in and flush them out. Fresh meat for dinner!" he whispers happily.

Tulani nods in agreement and begins into the cave, turning briefly to say, "Just keep on your toes Iggy, okay?"

Holding his net wide and ready, the Kavi nods and grins. "I've fished for chibix before, it's easy," he assures Tulani.

Holding the torch low, to not upset any chibix right away, the Sphynx moves towards the back of the cave, trying to get behind the movement she notes from the ceiling.

The flickering light reflects off shiny, definitely un-chibix-like hides as Tulani gets closer. Each step seems to sink into a layer of guano beneath what appear to be hanging fish – albeit fish with insect-like wings and semi-translucent bodies, and large mouths that are choked with long, overlapping teeth. The dozens of bodies don't seem disturbed by the light of the torch however, probably because they don't appear to have any eyes.

Tulani mentally shudders at the muck covering the floor and looks to see how much further back the cave goes.

Beyond the flying fish and their miasma, something small reflects the torchlight from a dozen paces deeper into the cave. The rustling of the creatures begins to grow more agitated now, as they start to notice the heat of the fire and its bearer.

Holding the torch as low as possible while maintaining enough light to see, Tulani picks up the pace, seemingly drawn to the reflected shine from the back of the cave.

The closer she gets, the more apparent it becomes that something metallic is reflecting the light. Near the back of the cave, Tulani comes across a rotting leather bag, with the corner of some sort of metal artifact exposed. A shapeless mass is next to it, hunched against the wall.

Not abandoning caution, the Sphynx slows as she approaches the mass against the wall, looking about before carefully reaching down for the bag on the floor.

The bag disintegrates at the first touch, revealing a palm-sized triangular piece of coppery metal with seemingly random protrusions around its edges, and seven holes drilled through its body in no discernable pattern. Next to it is a pale bone scrollcase … and clutching that is a skeletal hand and forearm, which vanish into the shapeless hump. The bones show clear signs of having been chewed on by sharp little teeth.

Tulani eyes widen upon noticing the teeth-marks, she glancesto the ceiling again, grabs the metal piece, and tries to remove the scrollcase quickly with as little noise as possible.

The brittle hand holding the scrollcase gives way with a sharp crack, and almost immediately the air around Tulani is filled with chaotic flapping of wings and cold fishy bodies banging into her!

Tulani grabs the artifacts tightly in her hand and scrambles for the exit! She tries to keep herself down to the ground, though it means sliding through the filthy muck coating the cave floor.

Bursting out of the oppressive confines of the cave, the Sphynx drives the swarm of flying fish before her… and into the waiting net of Iggy. The Kavi quickly leaps and lunges, catching at least a dozen of the creatures before closing the net and smacking it against the rocky ground several times to kill the contents. "Oooo, these aren't chibix," he finally notices, while the rest of the swarm flies off.

Tulani breaks from the cave, instinctively taking flight, trying to shake off the memory of the close cave. Finally, she recovers her senses, and circles back around. "Yeah. I noticed," she calls out.

"Hey, why are you flying off!" Iggy calls after the flying feline. "Did one of those things fly up your shirt or something?"

The Sphynx comes to a landing, then turns to the Kavi. "No, I just needed to stretch my wings," she says, before turning to the net. "Think those are edible?"

Iggy pokes at one of the odd fish, and shrugs, saying, "Anything is edible if you cook it right! That's what my mum always said. 'Always remember that, Ignoramus,' she'd say, and I remember good!"

Hefting the sack of fruit, Tulani says, "I think it's time to go back to the ship. You know the way, right? I'm gonna follow you from the air, okay?"

The Kavi gathers up the net full of fish and the waterskins, and says, "Just go up the hill until I see the ship, right? Didja find anything else in the cave that might be useful?"

Tulani pulls the metal piece and scroll case out from where she had hastily stuck it in her shirt, and shows them to the Kavi. "I wonder what this metal thing is?"

Iggy sniffs at the item, and says, "Looks like a funny bit of jewelry, 'cept for the edges. Those look like one of those jiggle-sawed puzzle pieces, you know? What's in that scrollcase? Think it's valuable?" His little Kavi eyes light up at the prospect of finding some sort of treasure.

Opening the scroll-case with a click, Tulani empties the contents into her palm.

Out tumble a rolled piece of leather, and a tiny pendant that is immediately recognizable to the Sylvanian: a double-barred ankh, made of green stone with a tiny glass bead in the loop: the symbol of Necromancy.

The Sphynx hisses violently through her teeth at the evil symbol and quickly dumps the pendant back in the case.

"Hey, what was that?" the Kavi asks.

Tulani says, through gritted teeth, "That was the symbol of necromancers and the undead… " She unrolls the piece of leather, revealing a faded map. "… and this is a map of Sylvania," she adds, recognizing the layout, and also noting to herself that it is marked with dozens of unlabeled black dots, and she's sure that several of them are not towns or villages. She rolls it back up, and puts it back into its case, then scowls at it.

"A map?" Iggy asks, practically standing on his toes. "Like a treasure map maybe?" he asks excitedly.

Looking grimly at the Kavi, Tulani grinds her teeth and says, "I doubt that, Iggy. I seriously doubt that… "