Bassai leans forward, reaching for another sheet off the mound of paperwork. The unexpected pain of the motion makes him hiss quietly – his recent wound, treated, bandaged, but doing it's best to make sure it isn't forgotten. Sitting back he starts at the top, and reads. It seems like something is always a priority.

A Kiriga secretary with a scarlet mane walks up to Bassai and bows deeply. "Minister, you have a visitor. It is Assistant Undercoil, bearing what he says is urgent news demanding your attention."

"Show him in, I believe I was informed of that earlier and it's time to find out what it's about." Bassai hisses, putting the sheet he holds back on the stack.

The Ringneck Naga rises from behind his desk, and slithers to the rail, to look down and see who is entering.

The Kiriga departs, and soon after, a nervous-looking garter slithers into the room, clutching a bundle of papers, and looking about until his eyes alight upon Bassai. "Ahhhh! Minisster!" Somehow his 'accent' seems to convey even in Imperial. "I have urgent news!"

"Yess Assistant Undercoil, What does it pertain to?" Bassai asks, then waves for the garter to slither up to the higher level, "Come up here, inform me."

The garter makes his way up to the much larger Naga, and sets his sheaf of papers on the Minister's desk. "Trouble, trouble EVERYWHERE!"

Bassai moves the previous paperwork to one side, making room for the new stack. "Could you got into more details, organized trouble, or just an increase in disorder?"

"Yesss, Minissster!" The garter shuffles through the stack, then brings out a report. "Here. We have attacksss on ssslave ssshipsss… " He hands it to Bassai to peruse, but looks as if he's prepared to give his own summary nonetheless.

"Whose slave ships? All Nagai ones were ordered to be recommissionned or purchased months ago." The Minister starts scanning down the page, "Give me the summary please, this is voluminous."

The garter takes a deep breath, then rattles through the details, the most important summarized as: "One, the 'Ill Repute' wasss clearly illegal. The other, the 'Beginner'sss Luck' was a cargo vessssssel, legally taking Sssavanitesss to Rephidim, sssold by Lord Sunscale."

"According to sssurvivorsss, they were attacked by a black ssship crewed entirely by Sssavanitesss, along the Xenean river, east of Sssafar," the garter adds.

"It would seem someone certainly had some with the Beginner's Luck. Well, that answers my second question, and rules out Babelite forces… " Bassai flicks out his tongue. "Have you cross referenced the criminal reports, or the Airship registry, to find out if there are other charges or information about a ship matching that description?"

The garter shakes his head. "None whatsssoever. The airssship'sss desssign isss mossst curiousss. It isss a throwback to ancssient desssigns of the Nagai Empire, only ssseen in booksss. It isss desssigned to work with a compliment of magesss." The garter pauses, then adds, "… and the witnessssssesss are cssertain that the Sssavanitesss had the assssssissstancsse of wizssardsss."

"Indeed! Which Era?" The Minister's Archeological curiousity is piqued, "Wait, you probably couldn't say. I'll try to find it in one of my earlier texts… Were there any indication that free Savanites were involved, witnesses who saw their jewelry for example, or did they have the appearance of escaped slaves?"

The Ringneck Naga rises, and starts looking along his bookshelf for a tome that would have illustrations of ancient Nagai airships. "Wizzards… why would wizzards be helping slaves?"

The garter shakes his head. "No evidencsse of jewelry or tatoosss. The attackersss were dressssssed like jungle sssavagesss, though we know they would have not have the ability to make an airssship."

"That at least is a small consolation. Have reports of these attacks been made public? It must be emphasized that loyal Empire Savanites had no part in this, we don't want to increase the tension that already exists." The Minister checks a few more book titles. "Where could jungle savages have found a functional airship… or even had the skill to make it fly… Did any of the witnesses see a mage on board?"

At last, the Ringneck finds the book he's looking for. A tome with designs that are rubbings from stone tablets found at various sites … with gaps filled in by the most expert archaeologists specializing in ancient airship design.

The garter shakes his head. "The witnessssssesss only detected Sssavanitesss aboard the dark ssship. They claimed that many of them were not involved in the combat, but were sssimply … dancssing! How barbaric!"

"Hardly a time to be celebrating, though perhaps they were overcome with joy at the sight of blood… " Bassai flips through the pages, searching for designs that could fit the description already provided. "Any more details on the airship? I'm not sure what information will be gained if I can place it's origins and date… but it may help."

A sketch shows a barbed, wicked-looking vessel that seems to be very close in appearance – at least in style – to the composite sketches provided with the reports.

If this is a match, it would be something pre-dating the most reliable Naga historical records, and subject to debate as to what era it would fall under … or whether such a craft were real, or just a stylistic rendering meant to serve some symbolic purpose to represent "death from the heavens".

"Okay… it looks like this one. It's… that's incredible! They would have had to have access to an almost pristine site… an ancient burial tomb that had lain undisturbed for millennium… It's overwhelming." The Minister shakes his head. "How recent were these attacks?"

"Jussst over the courssse of thisss passst week," the garter replies.

Bassai slithers back behind his desk, his side aching as he moves into a seated position. "All in the same area, in Safar? Have other ships passed through unmolested? I need to know if they are simply acting as pirates, or are specifically targeting ships with a high Savanite component."

Assistant Undercoil bobs his head and hisses, "There are no other recssent attacksss in the area that we can for cssertain attribute to the sssame ssship. But all attacksss – four including thessse – were on ssshipsss carrying Sssavanitesss asss cargo."

"Has an airship been assigned to this ministry for diplomatic duties?" Bassai says, "Alternatively, is a decommissioned Slaver available at a discount? These attacks on legitimate cargo ships cannot be allowed to continue. It's bad enough some nobles are selling their best slaves out of the Empire, it will be worse if they expect us to pay for them after they're stolen."

"We would be better off to buy all the slaves and just free them, at least we would incur some good will on both sides," The Minister comments, "but obviously that is not feasible."

Undercoil bobs his head, then hisses, "There isss no assssssigned airssship, but you have an account for travel, and Minisssterial privilege: to ride on Imperial vesssssselsss going the right direction."

"That will have to be sufficient. Can you provide me with a list of vessels going in that direction, preferably ones heading to a destination that will be easy to find a return trip." Bassai says, flicking out his tongue. "Ideally, we would be able to send our own ship, with enough diplomatic staff and soldiers to settle this matter one way or the other. I assume that is beyond our budget?"

The garter's face takes on the serpentine equivalent of a frown. "We have hardly any budget, sssir. The variousss lordsss have been protesssting every item, and it hasss been ssshrinking. Mossstly, you have your privelegesss to rely upon – travel, accssessssss, audiencsse. I will sssee about a lissst for you, Minissster."

Bassai says, "I will have to rely on privilege then. Hmm… perhaps my personal intervention in this can be 'sold' as an attempt to keep costs down, so the real reason – a lack of money, doesn't embarrass the Ministry"

The garter nods. "Very good, Minissster. Now then, there are other mattersss I wisssh to inform you of."

"Yes, I'm listening." The Ringneck Naga replies.

The garter hisses, "Well, sssome of thisss worksss in our favor. The 'Ill Repute' hasss no known legal ownerssship, ssso we facsse no direct repercussssssionsss from the owner. The 'Beginner'sss Luck,' however, isss from Rephidim. The owner isss raisssing a fussssss. A visssit from the Minissster of Sssavanite Affairsss might be in order."

The garter flips a page, and indicates, "The 'Ssshot in the Dark' and the 'Easssy Money' were of Himarian affiliation. I have heard that Himar hasss been dessstroyed, so that ssshouldn't be a problem now." He smiles hopefully.

"How fortuitous," The Minister replies. "Is the Rephidim owner presently in the Empire? If not, my travel preferences would have Rephidim as the destination."

"Perhaps any salvage of the two Himar ships can be held by the Empire, pending their owners request for it's return. After the necessary waiting period, it could be added to the Ministry's budget." Bassai flicks out his tongue contemplatively, "Assuming there was anything left of those ships, of course."

"The owner of the 'Beginnersss' Luck', retired Captain Sssniggit, resssidesss in Rephidim Cssity," the garter replies. "And very ssshrewd about the sssalvage." He scribbles down notes.

"Fortunately," the garter hisses, "asss you already know, Rephidim isss over the Sssavan. It ssshould be easssy to get transssport there – and back – ssso that your ssschedule isss not too greatly disssrupted."

"Yes, that is quite convenient. Rephidim Temple has already taken advantage of that. Inform me if a ship carrying a suitable slave cargo isn't departing in the near future, and I'll draft a letter to the Luck's owner, saying I will be personally visiting to attend to the problem as soon as possible." The Minister flips open a small book, and starts looking at his appointment schedule, "Most of these can be moved… "

"Yesss, Minissster!" hisses the garter, as his head bobs up and down.