The landing in Titania was without any great incident or calamity, by Jynxian standards. Oh, sure, one of the balloons inexplicably sprung a leak, and before anything could be done about it, the whole craft was hanging lopsided by the two remaining balloons, with everyone hanging on for dear life (or held by their handy harnesses), but it wasn't long before they landed (however roughly) anyway and were able to sort it all out. No real harm done.

No, the real fun began when Feli Kurai and Gnarr the Big Smelly Guy With The Big Hammer were met by a welcoming party of Titanians…

…

Gnarr walks along a faintly bouncing catwalk that stretches across this cavernous chamber which is almost half open to the outside world. He has his sledgehammer propped up over his shoulder, and he grins with a lolling tongue.

Jynx walks behind the wolf, holding on for dear life to the handholds of the bouncing bridge. "So, where are we – ack! – off to?"

The big lupine stops walking. Coincidentally, perhaps, the bridge stops bouncing. "Home!" He hefts his hammer off of his back, and appears to be focusing on a bronze head of a stag located just to one side of the bridge. Once upon a time, it would have been quite a work of art. Now … Well, as Gnarr's sledgehammer pounds against its crown, it's evident what has caused its current less-than-admirable state of being. "Camp Behemoth!" the wolf howls.

Jynx gulps at the head, imagining his own in its place, "Well, why did you stop?". o O ( Not that I'm in any hurry… )

Gnarr slams his sledge down on the bronze Cervani head time after time, sometimes fast, sometimes pausing, with a peculiar rhythm. It seems echoed about the room – not merely by the acoustics of the chamber, but by other hammering lupines as well. That is, the great majority of them are lupines. Jynx can spot someone furry with tiger stripes on one of the platforms, and there's also what looks like a big shaggy Rhian across the chamber.

The Khatta claps his paws to his ears, the sound being a tad painful (not to mention off key.) He looks to the non-wolves a bit perplexed.

Finally, Gnarr stops, though there's still plenty of hammering going on, then several howls – plus at least one roar and a whinny (or maybe Jynx's just imagining that, with all the cacophony) thrown in. Gnarr howls loudly as well, as a contingent of big hairy lupines comes down the opposite side of the bridge. It starts bouncing again.

Jynx simultaneously tries to shield his ears and hold on to the catwalk, without much success. One particularly violent jolt send him almost completely off the side, leaving the cat to hold on until someone notices.

Well, actually, not ALL the hairy lupines are big. One is fairly small. Must be a cub. He's carrying a big hammer, though – not one nearly so large as Gnarr's, but still disproportionate for his own form. He looks rather happy as he charges down the bridge … then delivers a blow with the hammer right on Gnarr's big toe.

Gnarr howls in anguish! He doesn't seem to notice Jynx's predicament.

Far below, a number of big hammer-wielding guys look up curiously at the dangling black Khatta, and begin pointing fingers. So far, though, nobody seems to be greatly concerned.

Deciding that waiting for help from this lot could be hazardous to his health, Jynx fights and clamors to get back up on the walk.

Gnarr still howls in pain as the little wolf continues hammering on his toes with a wooden mallet. Actually, Gnarr seems to be making far too much ruckus for how much damage the little wolf should be actually capable of doing. He turns around completely, facing away from the remainder of the approaching group. One of them looks like a female with a REALLY bad hair day, and she has the Mother Of All Rolling Pins. She introduces it to Gnarr's head, causing him to shut up, and then starts barking at him fiercely.

Meanwhile, a Vykarin edges along the bridge, past the minor fracas, and starts sniffing at Jynx. "Rrrr?"

Across the room, there's a deafening roar as a big tank explodes, sending steam and hot spray all over (but, thankfully, not reaching here). Wolves are thrown here and there, and there's some shouting, but nobody locally shows the least bit of concern.

Jynx, who was almost back up, slips back at the sniff. "Ack!! Shoo! Go'way!" Now back to where he was just a short while ago, holding on for dear life, he glances over at the mob'o'wolves, "Uhh, hi? Anyone care to lend me a paw? I seem to have a slight… problem here… "

Far below, a big wolf barks, "Leggo! Me catch!" Hmm. Dropping a few stories to be caught by a big, muscle-y and probably rock-solid lupine (the fur doesn't count for THAT much) as opposed to the solid floor right below him. How's THAT for an option?

The cat slips even more due to the explosion, now holding on by one paw. o O ( Gee, thanks for the trip dad… )

The Vykarin whines … and then there's a sharp pain in Jynx's hand as a Vykarin muzzle clamps fiercely onto it!

"OUCH!" Jynx completely lets go of the walk now, dangling (painfully) from the Vykarin's mouth. "LEGGOLEGGOLEGGOLEGGOLEGGO!"

Jynx looks down, "Wait… don't let go!! Don't let go!!!!

The big shelled wolf-kangaroo-horse-thing growls and tugs on Jynx's arm. With a yank and another growl, he pulls Jynx over the railing and onto the bridge, causing both to fall over in a heap. Finally, the Vykarin lets go. "Roh right!" He wags his tail slowly, making sharp impacts against the wooden railing.

Jynx sucks on his poor, injured paw, fighting back tears. He turns to the Vykarin, paw in mouth, "Thyanksh," (takes the paw from mouth), "uhh, I mean thanks."

Jynx looks at the wolf trio. o O ( Must be the little woman… gee, real close family it seems… )

The Vykarin nods, then gets up and clops away. Meanwhile, Gnarr has apparently reconciled with the little wolf and the big female one, considering that they're embracing and being excessively mushy now. That is, until the cub whacks Gnarr on the head again with the hammer.

A couple of other lupines, walk up, these looking somewhat older, adorned in grease-stained aprons and leathers. One has a thick spectacle, while the other's mane has grown to the point of resembling a long white beard … At least, it WOULD be white, except for all the oil spots.

Jynx winces, no wonder Gnarr's brain is cracked. The little cat decides that it probably best to stay where he is until the wolf notices him, so as to avoid any more mishaps.

The bearded wolf looks to Jynx. "So. You travel with Gnarr?" The one with the spectacle just watches silently, ignoring Gnarr's family reunion.

Jynx looks around, "Who, me? Well, yeah, if that's a good thing." The cat stands, holding securely to the railing.

The bearded one nods. "Very good. Book of Wisdom back again. You help. Pay well." He reaches into his beard … and pulls out a small (but still valuable) copper bauble, which he hands to the black cat.

The bauble could be used as a necklace, but it'd need some cleaning up, unless Jynx decides his color is oxidized-copper-green.

Jynx blinks, taking the bauble, "Uhh, thanks… thanks alot! Just got in and I'm already making money, well well… " The Khatta wipes the semi-greasy trinket off on his shirt, and sticks it in his pocket. "Oh, I'm Feli Kurai by the way, pleased to meet you."

The bearded Titanian bows, and replies, "I Gartek. This," he gestures to the spectacled one beside him, "Rendar. Welcome Khatta to Camp Behemoth."

Rendar, the spectacled one, finally speaks, growling, "Rendar put Khatta to work. Khatta carry drum for Rendar." He hands over a canister he's been hauling under one arm, which sloshes a bit as he does so.

Jynx looks around, "It's very… quaint." The Khatta forces a smile,trying to hide his annoyance at almost falling off a walk and getting bit in the same day.

Jynx blinks at the canister, "Carry that? But I just got here, can't we get something to eat?"

The bearded wolf looks thoughtful. He digs around in his beard, and produces something unrecognizable though possibly edible. "Here," he says.

Jynx, nostrils flared, takes the… thing. He sniffs it, and gags, "Okay, give me the drum, never mind the food." He suavely (or at least to him it seems suave) drops the food behind his back and off the walk.

Rendar growls. "Khatta rude. Rendar teach Khatta. Work hard." He tugs on Jynx, leading him along the bridge.

The bearded wolf, however, just grins.

Jynx acks, and is led along with the wolf, "Ouch! Sorry! Gnarr, help!"

Gnarr just smiles and waves at Jynx.

The cat just stares open mouthed and worried at Gnarr, dragged bodily off to First Ones Know where…

…

The days and nights that follow are hard to tell apart. How much time has passed? When do these wolves SLEEP, anyway? Without ceasing save for the briefest moments, the complex is filled with the ringing of hammers, occasionally punctuated by boiler explosions or other catastrophes which the Titanians take in stride.

There is no end to the errands that Jynx is asked to perform … and when he has a chance to rest, there's always that cacophony to disturb his rest. When he gets a few seconds or minutes (who can tell?) of sleep, it is a very troubled and disturbed sleep. This is not the formula for a happy Khatta.

The food isn't that great, either. It's an exclusively carnivorous diet (There's no telling where the Rhians eat.) and it is invariably cooked to a crisp, or else so rare as to make one wonder if it's still twitching.

Carry this over here, carry that over there. At last, one of those spare moments finds the Khatta on a catwalk amongst a tumble of pipes and sluices going every which way, next to a hatch that leads who-knows-where, and a rack of unidentifiable tools.

Jynx leans heavily on the rail, looking at nothing in particular. Eyes rimmed, fur frayed, and an all around sour expression would tell any passerby that this kitty isn't in the best of moods. Slowly the cat's eyes begin to droop, this is just too much.

*KLANG!* *RATTA RATTA RATTA!* A loud ruckus echoes about, from just about everywhere.

Far down the walkway, around a bend, Jynx can spy one of the Titanians slowly approaching, distracted by a few explosions on the way. Rendar. As soon as he sees Jynx, he'll have another errand for sure.

Jynx jolts up at the noise, "I was just resting honest!" he yells at no one. The cat shakes his head, and looks down at the pushy wolf. "Great," he mutters, "the slave driver. I better find somewhere else to go." The Khatta looks around for possible hiding places, preferably one small enough so a big, pushy, smelly wolf couldn't enter.

There seem to be a few options. The most immediate would be the hatch Jynx is next to. It, like a lot of the more complex constructions, looks like it was salvaged off of something from some other world, being as hard as metal, but being a deep blue and with no hint of paint being involved. It definitely was not constructed for Titanian proportions. Nearby, an open pipe would provide another means of escape, though there's no telling where the other end comes out at. And then, there's a loose grating over what might be some sort of air vent, though nothing is coming through at the moment.

As soon as the hatch closes, the difference is remarkable. Silence! Silence, that is, save for the ringing in the Khatta's ears, and the murmuring noises that one sometimes hears when one has been spending all day in a noisy area and then is now alone and dealing with fatigue. The chamber is small by Titanian standards, but with more than enough space for the Khatta.

One wall is taken up by a big tank which looks like some sort of boiler, with myriads of thin tubes leading to it, though there's no fire going (or any place to put fuel), and the chamber is actually cool, rather than hot.

A smaller tube runs down from the ceiling, makes an angled turn directly from the wall, and juts out, open-ended, at about eye level. Occasionally, a whisper of some sort of noise comes from its mouth, echoing down its length, but the chamber is still fairly quiet.

Jynx sighs with a smile. Finally, solace for his ears! As his eyes adjust he takes in the sights of the chamber. Although his major want is to look for a place to curl up, his feline curiosity overtakes him, and he walks (limps?) over to the contraptions to get a better look at them.

As the Khatta explores, he can see more details about the room. For one thing, there is a bronze head very much like the one which Gnarr pounded crazily earlier on. This one looks not like a Cervani, though, but has features more in line with a race of creatures pretty rare in Rephidim, known as "humans". Nearby, a hammer – much smaller than Gnarr's – is propped up in a corner, with a sturdy wooden handle, and a blackened stone head.

Jynx ughs, he hasn't seen many of those human things, but he has seen enough to know they're ugly ( Gnarr should beat on this, might improve it ) He goes over to the hammer, inspects it, and tries to lift it.

It's heavy, as should be expected, but it's something the Khatta can carry. After all, this chamber appears to be constructed to accommodate someone closer to Jynx's size, so perhaps it's only fitting that it contain a hammer that would be similarly scaled. As the Khatta examines the hammer, he also notices a round portal with a glass-like window set in it … though nothing can be seen beyond the window but a jumble of tubes and gears and cogwheels.

The Khatta looks at the hammer, then looks at the glass. If you combined the two, you could have a very good stress reliever. Frustrated as Jynx is, however, he's too tired to try right now. Instead, he places the hammer back in its original position, and walks over to the open pipe, listening to it.

Near the "port-hole" is a complex contraption that includes a hammer much like the one Jynx was holding, except that it's permanently affixed to a wooden armature. Below it is what might be described as a shelf with ten holes in a row, each hole containing a half-spherical ceramic cup fused in place. On the floor are some more bronze "heads", much smaller than the one Gnarr was pounding on, or the one fixed to the floor. They look like a variety of different races – a Rath'ani, a Khatta, a Cervani … even a lupine head.

Putting his ear to the pipe, Jynx can hear some distant rumbles, and a muffled sound of pounding, along with a faint movement of air through the tube.

"Yuck, work!" The cat makes a disgusted face, and leaves the pipe be. Jynx walks over to the heads to take a closer look, focusing mainly on the Khatta head. He also inspects the portal and hammer, although its all meaningless to him.

Inspecting the heads doesn't reveal too much, except that the little heads are small enough to be held in the hand, and are very crudely constructed compared to the one Gnarr was pounding so long ago.

Or was it so long ago? Hard to tell the passage of time around here.

Jynx takes the Khatta head and looks at it. Not very impressive to be honest. He then looks at the ceramic cups. o O ( Wonder if this goes there? )

Actually, it appears like the head would fit in the cup perfectly, the rim going right up to the bronze "Khatta's" jaw.

The black Khatta shrugs, at least it's notwork. He places the Khatta head in the cup, then stands back to admire his ingenuity.

The bronze head sits in the cup, glowering back at Jynx. It offers no congratulations.

The room seems to blur a bit, and the Khatta's eyelids get heavier by the moment.

Jynx shakes the feeling off, and takes another look at the head. Something's wrong with it… the head looks, lonely. Tiredly, the Khatta puts the other heads in place along side the Khatta head. then sits to rest for a bit.

Ten heads sit in ten cups, all of them glowering at the Khatta, even as his grasp on consciousness loosens more.

Jynx sighs. ( Gee, they look like a grateful lot. ) The cat gives up, and looks around for a suitable place to curl up and pass out.

A big pile of reasonably clean (if stained) rags seems like the best place to use for a place to nap.

Jynx stumbles over to the rags, ready to fall into a for once undisturbed sleep. On his way to the rags, he trips over the hammer, cursing it and he smacks onto the floor.

*KLANG!* Lights out.

…

*KLANG!* *rumblerumblerumble* *KLANG!*

A clatter of noises intrude upon the Khatta's rest, and the chamber seems uncomfortably warm compared to what he remembered when he went to sleep.

Jynx rises irritably, and yawns widely. He rubs his eyes as he looks around, wondering what in the heck is going on.

First of all, there is some bright light streaming in through the porthole. No longer are there gears and tubes visible outside. Rather … a mountain range can be seen in the distance, and it's MOVING. The floor shakes at regular intervals.

Jynx fights to keep his balance, eyes fixed on the portal and paws clawing on to anything secured to the floor.

The floor shakes at times, but not so violently that the Khatta's agility cannot keep him on his feet, once he's managed to regain his bearings.

The Khatta stares at the portal, wondering how he and his surroundings suddenly became airborne. He walks closer to the glass to get a better look.

The mountains stop "moving". Apparently that was because the thing Jynx is in was … turning. Looking outside, a rutted plain can be seen, with a largely lupine barbarian horde rushing along, keeping pace with the machine. From what can be seen from the portal … it would seem that Jynx is in some very LARGE contraption, the size of a large building, which is WALKING across the plain.

Outside, there's an explosion that kicks up a great deal of debris and smoke, and sends lupines scattering. When the smoke clears, there's a crater that suggests some sort of projectile landed there. There's no sign of where it might have come from. By the movement visible outside, it appears Jynx's window is a SIDE window.

Jynx closes his eyes and shakes his head, he must still be dreaming! He presses his face against the portal to get a better look at the scene outside.

Unfortunately, this doesn't accomplish much except to make a smudge on the window where Jynx's nose presses against it. Basically, he sees what he saw before. He's in a big machine, and there are lots of hammer-wielding lupines rushing along outside, keeping up with the machine, occasionally avoiding incoming projectiles of some sort.

There's a whistling sound off to Jynx's left … from the direction of that tube that comes down from the ceiling.

Meanwhile, it seems to get just a little warmer in here.

Jynx sighs, it would be his luck to fall asleep in some war machine. The cat looks around inside the interior, beginning to sweat. He spies the hatch, runs to it, and tries to pry it open.

LOCKED! Or jammed. Or just stuck. It WOULD be his luck…

There's another sound from the tube. It sounds like someone is yelling on the other side.

Jynx punches at the stupid, stupid hatch, but only hurt his paw. Now beginning to pant the cat looks for a way to stop this contraption, but hears the pipe. He rushes over to it and listens.

A voice barks through the tube, "… too much pressure in tank! Let out pressure before it blow!"

There's a resounding BOOM and the floor shakes more violently, almost sending the Khatta spilling. Thank goodness for feline agility.

Jynx blinks… pressure? Tank? He looks at the boiler ( Well, I guess that could pass as a tank. ) He rushes over and looks for a way to let out pressure.

The tank lacks any sort of nozzles or turn wheels or levers or anything else that would look like a control. There are no gauges, either. There are just several small tubes running from the walls and floor and ceiling to this tank, the tubes made of metal, while the material of the tank itself is harder to place, being a single piece rather than several panels put together like so much else in these parts.

Jynx runs over to the hammer and grabs it. Hefting it in a striking position, he looks for anything that might look vital, so as to stop the machine.

Jynx, lacking any knowledge of mechanics whatsoever, begins to swing the hammer at the assorted tubes and such, being careful to dodge anything that might spew out.

The tubes break under the impact of the mallet, resulting in hot steam spewing out into the chamber!

The Khatta's vision is obscured, but he avoids being scalded.

The Khatta gropes around in the white mist, avoiding the spewing steam and looking for that portal. He swing blindly, hoping to smash it.

After much fumbling about, the steam begins to clear a bit. Where it's venting off to is anyone's guess, though this room is so much of a jumble that there may well be some vents buried somewhere. A resounding *KLANG* rewards Jynx's attack on the portal, and it pops open, letting in refreshingly cool air …

… and lots of noise!

Jynx heaves a breath of fresh air, and looks out the portal. Gee, that's a long way down…

The ground moves in jerks, far below. It's quite a drop. This must be the back of the machine.

Jynx looks up above the machine ( Who's driving this thing anyways? And what would this 'thing' be?? )

Piecing together what Jynx can see above … and below … and a large swinging part of the machine above and to one side … It would seem that Jynx is in … one of those big machines he saw from the air when he was being flown in to this place. In particular, this would seem to be the walking one. It seems to be lasting a bit longer than it did before.

From back in the chamber, which has largely cleared of mist now, there's another barking noise from the tube that comes down from the ceiling. With all the competing noise, there's no way to make it out from here.

Jynx runs back to the tube and put his ear to it to hear better. As he does, he notices the heads again.

They remind him of the of the toy chimes Eve used to play with, the way they're lined up that is.

A voice barks, "You there?"

Jynx blinks, and shouts back into the tube, "Uhh, yeah, I'm here… "

The voice barks back, "Good! Good job. Now need build up more pressure!"

Jynx bites his lower lip and looks to the mangled boiler. Needless to say,it's in no condition to make pressure. "Well," the cat shouts back, "you see, that might be a problem… "

The tank itself is unscathed. A few of the tubes, however, are broken in the middles, and spewing out small streams of steam.

The voice barks, "No pressure is problem! You think something!"

Jynx thinks… how to avoid getting blamed for this… "We took a hit! Yeah, that's it! The tubes are all broken, and I don't know how to fix them!!"

The voice barks, "Tubes broken? So? That what they for. Now, build up pressure!"

There's another BOOM which shakes the chamber, accompanied by a startled yelp on the other side. "HURRY!" the voice barks.

The Khatta just blinks dumbly at the voice tube, then turns back to the steam tubes. If he could get them attached to the tank again, that might build up pressure. The problem being that the tubes are searing hot. Jynx looks around for anything that might shield his hands from the heat.

There are some thick leather gloves amongst the rags, but it's questionable whether the tubes could be all reattached – A couple of them, with some coaxing, might be shoved together, simply because of the different diameters – a smaller tube could be crammed into a slightly larger one, with some creative use of the tools in here. However, that would still leave a few unattached tubes spewing steam.

Jynx grabs the gloves and puts them on. They seem made for someone much larger than him, but under the circumstances a nice fit. He grabs a few of the smaller tubes and tries to cram them into a few of the larger ones.

With a great deal of effort and discomfort, Jynx's efforts pay off. He has some of the tubes crammed into place – roughly half of those he smashed. That still leaves the other half.

Jynx grabs the rags and tries to stuff them into the remaining tubes, blocking them from spewing out any more steam.

The rags don't do much of a job. However, as Jynx pulls the rags off the floor … he uncovers a number of sealed containers in various shapes and sizes.

Jynx blinks, curiosity once again taking over the need of survival. He takes one of the containers and tries to open it.

It takes yet more coaxing, but Jynx manages to get the lid off of one of the containers. As it comes off, something clings stubbornly to the inside of the lid, and stretches with considerable elasticity. It LOOKS like some sort of oil, but oil doesn't stretch like this.

Suddenly remembering the 'pressure problem', Jynx's brain decides that this is something that will plug up the hole. He takes a few of the containers, and tries to smear the contents over the broken ends of the pipes.

It's a GOOD thing Jynx was wearing gloves. The goop is doing an amazing job of covering up the tubes, and once it has come into contact with the hot metal of the tubes, it has started to harden … but bits of it still stubbornly cling to the gloves, and from the gloves, they stretch to the jars, and anywhere else the sticky goop has come into contact with!

One of the tubes looks as if it's blowing a bubble … but the "bubble" solidifies, forming a semi-translucent, steam-filled orb. However, steam starts whistling out of the tubes Jynx jammed together earlier!

Jynx ewwwwwws (sounding too much like his little sister), and finishes sealing off the broken tubes. He then rushes over and smears the gunk around the pipes that were shoved together, gluing them tight. Rushing over to the talking pipe, he shouts, "How's that?"

There's a pause, and then a voice barks back, "Great! Got more job for you! Load up five noggins!"

Jynx's brow furrows, "Uhhh, noggins?"

The voice barks back, "Noggins! Load up five noggins! Hurry!"

The black Khatta thinks some more, "Not to pry or anything… but, what exactly is a 'noggin' and how do I load it?"

The voice barks back, "You gots ten noggins! Load five!" There's a sound of an explosion and a yelp, and then lots more shouting.

Jynx looks away from the tube and around inside the machine. He guesses the noggins are the heads, but as for how to load one he is at a loss. The cat looks for anything that might look like it takes 'noggins'.

There seems to be nothing that looks like it should hold the "noggins", if that's what they are, other than the very holders in which they currently rest, where Jynx put them before his "nap".

Jynx goes over to the holders. The wolf said five, so the Khatta removes five of the heads, since he placed ten there earlier.

Removing five leaves five in the holders. Imagine that!

Jynx goes back to the tube, "Alright, I guess I have five loaded, now what?"

There's more commotion, then the wolf barks back, "FIRE!"

The cat, angry and tired, yells back in the tube, "How do I fire them?!"

The tube barks back, "Flat-face! The flat-face to fire!"

"Flat-face?" Jynx looks around the room, but the only 'flat face' he sees is the human head on the ground.

The tube barks back again, "Flat-face!"

Nothing else in the room presents itself with anything that would seem to fit the bill, at first glance.

Jynx looks around harder, seeking out anything that resembles a 'flat-face'.

Nope. Not very much looks very flat at all in this room, save for the hatch, or the business end of the hammer.

Jynx grabs the hammer, and with a shrug, smacks the heads in their holders.

*Bang* *klang* *klong* *whack* *bong* *KLANG!* The five noggins in their holders get whacks, but nothing happens. However, when the one in the floor gets hit … on the wall, a metal cylinder pops up out of the floor, slides up the wall toward the ceiling … slows down … then slides back down again.

Jynx blinks. ( I guess that was right… ) He runs back to the tube, "How's that?"

The voice barks back, "Hey! You call that FIRE? You gotta SMASH!"

Agitated, the Khatta walks back to the head, heaves the hammer above his head, and brings it down on the head with all the force he can muster.

*KLANG*! The whole chamber resounds with the sound, and the bronze head sinks a bit into the floor for just an instant. The cylinder shoots up from the floor, up the wall, along a track, then hits a bell up at the ceiling. *BONG!*

The whole chamber shakes, threatening to send the Khatta spilling. In fact … out he goes!

Jynx screams as he flies out the hatch, claws splayed and attempting to grab an to anything.

A jumble of tubes (they're everywhere) present themselves as good candidates for something to hold onto. Dangling from the tubes, the Khatta gets quite the perspective on the battle from here. There are jets of steam shooting out from the vehicle … and another vehicle can be seen ahead of it. Apparently the two are locked in combat, while the barbarian hordes of wolves below render each other senseless with hammer blows.

There's another *BONG*, and then a big mechanical fist … springs outward, aimed directly at the "head" of the other machine. There's a creak of protesting metal, and splintering of wood, and the other machine's "head" ratchets up into the air, as clouds of steam shoot out, obscuring its form.

Jynx hangs helplessly on, looking for a way up and silently praying to the First Ones that nothing skewers him.

The rocking stops, and the steam slowly clears. The big walking machine has stopped, and so has its mechanical opponent. Below, it's kind of hard to tell, but it would SEEM that the army of wolves accompanying Jynx's machine is engaging in much hooting and hollering and general celebrating, while the other band tucks tail and runs away.

Jynx, jumbled up in the tubes, just hangs in there, and waits for someone to notice. But that may take a while judging by last time he tried that…

Yes, it DOES seem to be taking a while for anybody to notice…

Jynx sighs, and decides he better try to find a way up, or down, since he probably isn't going to be rescued any time soon.

Now that the machine has stopped moving, Jynx's options of travel seem to have improved a bit. He might even be able to climb back up to the chamber he came out of … or risk a longer climb down to one of the "legs" and to the ground.

While he examines his options, nearby there's a gust of escaping air, and then another hatch pops open, not of the same design as the one leading to Jynx's chamber.

Jynx looks over to the occupants of the hatch, "Hey! How about some help over here!" The cat struggles cup his paws around his mouth.

A shaggy-looking lupine sticks his head out of the hatch. "Ho! Little Khatta?" He clambers out, making his way along the tubes, reaching for the black cat.

The 'Little Khatta' reaches out to the wolf, a look of relief spreading across his face, "Thought you'd never show up."

Gnarr grabs Jynx's arm and hoists him, the black Khatta experiencing a brief moment of being suspended over a great drop only by the grasp of a big wolf. Not an experience for the faint of heart. But before there's much time to reflect on that, the black cat is dragged into the hatch – a larger hatch leading into a correspondingly larger chamber, occupied by a few furiously-working wolves, and one panting Tiger-Khatta.

Jynx looks around at the assembled group, "Uh, hi."

The Tiger-Khatta nods, then leans over to a tube coming down from the ceiling, much like the one in the "Noggin" chamber.

Jynx feels out of place, "So… did we win?"

The tiger nods several times, growls a few things into the tube, then listens to it again, before reporting to the others, "Little Khatta in Noggin room! Not Barzo. Barzo must be sleep again." It would seem the Tiger-Khatta shares the grammatical deficiencies of the wolves.

Gnarr nods and slaps Jynx hard on the back. "Little Khatta do good! Behemoth BONK Gargantor good!"

Jynx OOFS and is knocked forward by the pat. "Your w-welcome, I'm sure… " The little Khatta looks around some more, "So… what now?"

"Back home!" barks Gnarr. "Book of Wisdom help fix Behemoth. Behemoth WHOP Gargantor! We win! Much rejoice."

The tiger gives Jynx a scrutinizing look. "Hmm. Little Khatta hero."

Jynx, now with even larger bags under his eyes, steam-frizzled fur, and an all around exhausted expression, looks at the Tiger Khatta. "Do the hero's duties include sleeping?"

The tiger laughs and claps Jynx on the back just as hard as Gnarr did. "Much sleep! After feast!"

Jynx falls flat. Feast or no, this kitty is out.

There are more clanking noises, and, through the still-open hatch, it is evident that the machine is turning around … and then there are several grinding noises, and a *BOOM* that shakes the whole room, as steam begins billowing out. Everyone in the room frowns. "We walk home," Gnarr says. Then, he looks at Jynx. "Hmph."

…

The black Khatta is carried "home" somehow, and, some time later, he is treated to what the Titanians consider a "feast". The food is still bad, but at least it's closer to edible this time. Also, while the chambers still ring with constant work, the activity isn't at such a frenzied pace … and Rendar seems content to leave Jynx be for the time being.

Yes, a nice end to a day, and Jynx even gets a clean pile of rags to sleep on. Perhaps the only thing that might really disturb him, as he dozes off to sleep, would be a half-remembered musing by the Tiger-Khatta, who seems to have a brood of his own tigerlings at Camp Behemoth. Did the tiger ask Jynx if he was married?