Tempting Fate, Balloon/Airship Docks

(OOC Previous Post: Agmir's Arrival)

After they'd left Abigale's underground alchemistry lab, they three had moved stealthily through the city streets, trying to remain unnoticed. Agmir had acquired a sheet of canvas from the lab, and was using it to cover his head and clothing. He'd also wrapped canvas around his staff. The result was that he looked pretty much like a beggar.

More than once they had to pause in an alleyway and wait for people to pass before coming out of the shadows. But traffic was light in this part of town. Most people were probably at this "roundup" the Warden had talked about. The Lord Harvester would be there selecting from among the unbranded to be taken for sacrifice to Dwalkin. They managed to make it to the docks, but once they got there, they saw that four guards were standing outside the ship, and two more were on the city walls.

The four guards at the bottom of the ramp wore black clothing that covered their faces, and they carried curved blades and wore black turbins. These were not Forwellian city guardsmen. They must be part of the crew of the Black Ship. The other two guards on the walls, however, were standard Forwellian city guards, armed with crossbows, short swords, and wearing light chain armor.

Agmir gazed at them from the shadows of the last alley. There was no more cover between them and the guards, and it was a distance of at least a hundred feet. There was no way to sneak over there, and no way to run and attack them without giving the guards on the wall a free shot with their crossbows. A direct attack would be unwise.

"What do you want to do?" he hissed quietly. "Shall I make us all invisible, or do you want to try something else?"

Kaylii thought about the situation for a moment. She would love a direct fight at this point. Having seen what had become of her city had been taking its toll on her. Granted, she wasn't a good guy my any means, but to see the city she had grown up in and put so much work into just made her want to make someone pay. Luckily for her and those around her she was smarter then that. For now it seemed as though her main concern had to be that of survival.

"Invisibility seems like the best plan from here. Any sign of anything wrong will likely draw much unwanted attention and could even result in the grounding of the ship. Once we are air born and clear of Forwel we can take out the guards and take control of the ship. Until then I think staying out of sight is our best course of action."

Agmir quickly drew a circle in the sand and told them to stand inside the circle. Then he withdrew a variety of rune stones from his pockets and set them around the circle. He would have to cast this spell quickly. He didn't want to chance anyone coming across them during the process.

Once they were all inside, he muttered rapidly and focused on the incantation, spread the essence of the pattern into the ethereal wind and evoking the necessary cascade of energy. When he completed the spell, and they all vanished from sight, he looked down and saw that he had indeed made an error. One of the runes had been misplaced and was slightly out of position. They were completely invisible, except for their feet.

"Shebancar!" swore Agmir. "I've screwed up the entire thing. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Our feet are visible. At least it's just the shoes. We'll have to be careful. If anyone sees you, make sure to stand up against a wall and stay still. Maybe they'll just think it's a pair of loose footgear someone left laying against a wall."

What were the guards going to think when they went running over there, he wondered? It was going to seem odd. They were going to need a distraction to keep them from looking at the ramp. He threw down another set of rune stones and begin casting another spell. "Wait one moment," he told them.

Once he'd completed the casting, he whispered, "Alright, I've brought about a distraction. A troop of monkey's is on it's way here now. We should wait until the arrive."

Several minutes passed while they stood in the shadows against the wall, when one of the guards shouted "HEY! What's this?" He had been hit in the face by a wad of monkey poo. "AWW! It's MONKEY SHAIT!"

"What?" shouted another guard. "AHH!"

Soon the guards were all shouting and running around, trying to avoid the monkeys that were throwing poo at them from the top of a guard tower. Several more monkeys had climbed down one of the walls and were flinging poo at the four guards at the ramp. The men chased after them, and the monkeys ran. Soon they were around the corner, leaving the area unguarded.

"Now's our chance!" hissed Agmir. "Run for it before they come back!"

He took off as fast as he could, and a pair of empty and very shaggy looking leather boots flew across the sand toward the ramp.

The sight of monkeys was a little odd. It was certainly a distraction but it seemed like it had the potential to ground the ship and cause suspition. But people were generally not smart enough to understand that monkeys were not common to see in Forwell, let alone a horde of monkeys. Nonetheless Abigale took off running toward the ship. She was not watching the others feet and was more conserned with colliding with people as she ran. She lept aboard the ship skipping part of the ramp and climbed upto the helm and hid behind a crate. She had no idea where her two compaions were so all she could do was wait.

The first thing Agmir noticed when he bolted up the ramp onto the Orphean Airship was the stench in the main hold. It reeked in here of puke, excrement and rotting flesh. It was hard to imagine a smellier place. Even the Forwellian sewers didn't smell this bad. It was horrible, and he covered his nose with a cloth to try and filter some of it out.

The main hold was largely empty except for a few crates and canvas bundles lashed to the walls. There were a lot of those. The entire hold was ringed with them. They looked like bodies that had been rolled up in canvas and tied with ropes. What were they? Agmir wasn't sure he wanted to know. But, he decided that perhaps it was best to find out, and since the guards were still busy chasing the monkeys, now was probably the only chance he was going to get. Pulling out his dinner knife, he slit a rope around what appeared to be the head of one, and pulled down a slip of canvas. Sure enough, there was a dead guy inside - a rotting nasty looking dead guy with a yellowish face and an N branded on its forehead. Quckly, Agmir put the canvas back over the face and retied the rope. They were hauling corpses in addition to the living. Why would they do that, unless... unless these were zombies. Of course! They probably supplemented the crew with zombies if they needed extra hands. Nangros was a necromancer after all.

Agmir left the hold. He didn't want to have to hide in here, it was too smelly to even think about it. On his way to the stairs leading up to the next level of the ship, he noticed all the empty chains hanging from the rafters. This was, no doubt, where the people from Forwell would be chained up for the voyage. It would not be a pleasant trip for them.

Upstairs, he came into a small cramped hallway that led it two directions and joined up with another set of stairs that led to the deck. Not wanting to hide on the deck due to his shoes being visible, he took another direction and found himself at a door marked "Captain's Cabin." That sounded more interesting, so he opened it and went on in. Fortunately, the door didn't creak, it's hinges were well oiled. Inside, he found a spacious living quarters with a desk, a large bunk, a locker, a chest, and weapons mounted on the wall. Behind the desk, a man sat scribbling on a chart. He was probably the Captain, since this was his room, and he appeared too focused on what he was doing to notice that the door had been opened. Agmir shut it softly and slowly, and then padded away. That was lucky, he'd avoided being noticed once more. Now he needed to find a good hidy hole fast before he ran into more of the crew.

Down the hall in the other direction, he came to a door marked, "Lord Harvester." Ah! This was better, the Lord Harvester wouldn't be in here. He was off collecting slaves for the voyage back to Dwalkin. Agmir tried the door and found that it was locked. Well, that was a problem. But he wasn't unfamiliar with locks. He had a spell for that, a simple one. A few seconds of muttering and waving his hands, and he managed to get the lock to click. Stepping inside, he found that indeed the room was empty of people. This cabin was even more lavishly furnished than the Captain's cabin. There was a large velvet covered chair behind an expensively decorated bonemelded desk. The bed was covered in black velvet with gold adornments. The wall displayed a painting of people burning in flames and screaming in torment. Several whips and lashes hung from the rear of the room, and a pair of manacles hung from the ceiling. It looked like the Lord Harvester took some of his work home with him. There were some slaves who would enjoy this trip even less than others.

On one wall there was a wardrobe. Agmir opened it and looked inside. shoes lined the bottom, and black robes hung in the center. There was plenty of space in here for him to hide, so he hopped in behind the robes and shut the door. Then he remembered something. Hopping out again and locked the chamber door from the inside so as not to arouse suspicion, and then he went back to the wardrobe and closed its door. There, now he was safe, it was just a matter of waiting.

After a few minutes, he had the presence of mind to dispel the monkeys. They had served their purpose, and he didn't want them to get killed. He'd only instructed them to harass the guards and run away. Hopefully not too many of them had perished. And now, without his influence, they would return to normal monkey activity - meaning hiding out and stealing food from the merchants.

A parade of people chained together in a line followed the Lord Harvester from the Grand Bazaar to the Balloon Ship Docks. Some of the cried and whimpered, but most simply stared at the ground. In the lead, the Lord Harvester held his head high, expressionless and completely immune to the suffering. Their shuffling feet kicked up dirt and sand as they moved slowly to the Black Orphean Airship. Up the ramp they went, one by one, where the crew chained them to the manacles hanging from the rafters inside the main hold.

The Governor of Forwell came walking across the loading dock. Behind him were two guards escorting a strange looking figure. The Lord Harvester turned as they approached. He nodded to the Governor, but did not speak.

"Lord Harvester," said the Governor. "I have one more prisoner for you to take back to Dwalkin. This man is a member of the Chotoban - the resistance. He is to be taken to the Dark Lord for a personal interview. And he is to remain unharmed until that time."

The Lord Harvester looked upon the man and nodded. "It will be done," he replied. Pointing to two of his own men, he said, "take this prisoner to my quarters and chain him up there. I will ensure his safety personally." Then he turned and bowed to the Governor. "Thank you for your hospitality. As usual, it has been a pleasurable visit. I will see you next month."

"Of course," smiled the Governor. "Have a good voyage."

And, with that, the Lord Harvester turned and boarded his ship. The crew made ready to depart. Commands were shouted by the Captain, and the sheets were unfurled from the masts. "Water to the Ignecium," shouted the Captain. "Throw the lines."

With a creaking and moaning, the huge ship levitated off the sands as its heborite hull repelled the seffinium beneath it. She steadied herself and leveled off, holding a position perpendicular to the ground.

"Wind Mage," shouted the Captain. "Activate the wind driver, give as a stiff one from the aft. Let's make some time. Crewman Ripple, open the air vents to the hold, I want an airing out down there. Serax, tighten the second sheet on that main mast, you've got a lose line there. Drax, why isn't that sand anchor up? Move it man, you're going to drag us. Mandor, is the ramp locked?"

"Aye Captain!"

As the sand anchor rose from the aft of the ship, the huge vessel caught the wind generated by the wind driver, and the sails took shape. Instantly, the ship began moving away from the city. Slowly at first, and then picking up speed.

Down in the Lord Harvester's cabin, Agmir (still hiding in the wardrobe) heard the door open and several people enter the room. He heard he rattling of chains as the guards locked Reill into place. "There you go, scum bag," spat one of the guards. "You poor bastard," said another guard. "We don't get important prisoners too often, and a member of the resistance has never been presented to the Dark Lord. I wouldn't wanna be you fer all the coin on Vola."

They laughed and left the chamber, shutting the door behind them. Agmir peeped through a crack in the wardrobe and looked at the man that had been chained to the rafter. He was a strange looking fellow. Pale and skin scribbed with odd markings. But that made sense if he were a member of the resistance. After all, they spent most of their time below ground. Agmir felt a sensation of hope. Maybe this plan would work after all. This man could be another ally!

He opened the wardrobe and stepped out, revealing himself. "Shh!" he whispered to Reill. "My name is Agmir. I'm here with friends. We're going to take this ship. Can I rely on you to help us?"

Attached Image

The ship was now in the air and starting to take the wind. Abigale's invisibility had not yet wore off and she was still hidden behind some of the crates. There was only one person at the helm and most people were down below taking orders from the captain. The helmsman was wearing goggles and a scarf over his head to most keep the sand from his eyes. Abigale noted that she could not make out his face at all or really anything about him. Abigale peeked around to see who else would be able to notice him if she made a move. The helmsman set the direction and engaged a lock to keep it straight. He moved toward a table that was fairly near Abigale that had some charts on it. Foret must have been blessing Abigale, because it seemed too easy and too perfect. Abigale creeped up toward the helmsman and as she neared him she realized her invisiblity was wearing off. Hastily she grabbed her dagger and raised it toward the throat of the helmsman. She thrust him in the area of the vocal cords so he could not make a sound yet sliced his neck clean open. He would be dead soon. Abigale put her left hand finger tip on the mouth of the man to attempt to calm him. He was gasping for air to make a noise but all that could be heard was the wind blowing. Abigale used her other hand to quickly remove his head scarf and goggles. The man had a brand on his head and his eyes quivered as he knew he was taking his final look into the pale maiden before him. Abigale used her dress to keep the blood from collecting on the ground. The man finally gave up on life and collapsed. Abigale removed his outer garments as fast as she could and threw them on overtop of herself. She put on the goggles and headscarf. The whole ordeal took less then 2 minutes and it seemed as though no one noticed it. She was impressed on how well she dealt with the situation. And only a small amount of blood was spilled. Abigale moved the slain helmsman behind the crate where she originally hid and moved a small box on top of the blood stain. She stepped back again to admire her work. She still felt uneasy about random killings but this had been done so well that it made her feel good inside.
The helm was Abigale's to control. She looked at the wheel and charts and then out to the sky. She had a sudden lapse and had no idea how to navigate.
"Ok Dwalkin is west and Daroon is north east... So if this is west then..." Abigale tried to pick a land mark that looked like it would be north east. "Foret you've blessed me so far, lets hope your still watching and guide me. Also this may cause a commotion."

Abigale unlocked the helm and turned it what she thought was gently. The ship creaked and moaned and began to turn. But it was not an easy turn. It was very noticeable and that was not what Abigale had hoped for. Abigale could feel that any moment the captain would come charging up to question her. Hopefully Agmir and her sister were ready, because Abigale felt like so may have just set off the events.

Reill was questioning the watchers plan long before he was dragged aboard the ship. The spirit claimed he would find his prey during his mission to Dwalkin but why, why wait to complete some meaningless quest for a spirit and leave his target alone. What would happen if he disobeyed a contract that passed realms, a contract given to him by a creature who could observe the entire string of time all at once....what could he throw at Reill that Reill couldn't stop? His mind had wandered through the many scenarios that might happen as he was dragged aboard the ship and eventually down into the Lord Harvesters quarters. His head jerked as a glob of spit from the guard who pinned them, hit right below his left eye and dripped down his cheek. His eyes scanned back over and though he didn't say a word he seemed to take note of the man as if for later reference.

He watched the two leave and shut the door behind them only to have another door open instantaneously after, (the wardrobe). A dirty vagrant stepped out, staff in hand and some what transparent though it seemed every second he was becoming more and more 'substantial'

Reill's eyes went wide...So soon, we have not even left port... he could easily tear from these chains and send Agmir into the wall. He felt his fingers clench into fists but his bodily quickly relaxed as his eyes fell onto the staff agmir was holding.
A voice in his head interrupted his urge to sack the wizard The Staff of DamuRae? has he learned to wield its power...maybe for now it is best to wait and see what the watcher has in store. Acting too quickly only to fail would not be good for us Reill He took control of his breathing.

"You can rely on us....me." he quickly corrected himself as he held up the bracers that confined him.

Kaylii easily got on board the ship with the others during the distraction, but couldn't figure out where they had gone once they were aboard. She quickly thought that maybe they should have laid this plan out a little more carefully before deciding that it was to late now and she had to hide her feet before someone saw them. Going to the far side of the ship, she simply sat down at the edge and let her feet dangle off the side. While sitting there waiting for the ship to get under way, she took every opportunity she could to get some extra sand on board. Everyone that came on board had slightly more on their shoes and clothes then they normally would, but not enough that they would actually notice a difference. Over all it may not have been much, but added to the stuff that way already gathered it would be enough to make do in a pinch.

Shortly after the ship had left port, Kaylii found herself once again questioning their preparation with this plan. Not only did she not know where her sister was, but she had no idea how long the spell was going to last or when they were going to take the ship. She was quickly taken from her thoughts however when the ship made a sudden and unexpected turn while nearly sent her off of the side of the ship she was sitting on. As she straightened herself back out, however, she noticed that she was once again visible and made a quick decision before she was spotted. Standing up, Kaylii quickly started to climb some of the rope leading up to the sails. She figured that as long as she looked busy no one would look to closely or question her. That was her hope anyway as she figured there were no female crew members on board. Continuing to climb, she kept her eyes on the deck, waiting for her companions to make their move and ready to back them when they did.

Ezira Escallia, the Wind Mage for the ship, had been standing next to the black ship's conus when the vessel had changed direction unexpectedly and everything had gone to hell.

The conus, or 'wind driver' was a black obelisque mounted to the upper aft section of the ship. Made from a special type of hardened black granite, it was covered from top to bottom with etched signet runes and embued with a considerable amount of magical force. These things were constructed by SpellBinders who worked the ancient arcane arts of their manufacture in the dark pits of the mines below Dwalkin. The purpose of the device was to evoke and control wind storms that drove the ship in the desired direction. Everything on an Orphean Airship worked in tandem. When things got out of sync, the results could be disastrous.

Moving the ship in another direction was one of those things. The wind Ezira had summoned was coming from the North East, driving the ship toward Dwalkin. Like all sail vessels, you could not turn into the wind and expect to make any headway, yet this is what had happened. Some fool had adjusted the sails that controlled the ships direction, attempting to turn her into the wind rather than flowing with it.

Men screamed from the rigging, and several fell. Two onto the deck, and one off the side and out into the desert. The sails themselves flagged ragged from the sheering force, and the entire vessel tilted to port, threatening to flip. They were all in grave danger, and to make matters worse, Ezira had just completed the summoning of a heavy aft drive. She looked back and saw it coming, a heavy wind that had been intended to double their speed, but now it was going to hit them from the side. She swore and wondered if she had time to dispel it, but she knew the answer almost immediately. There was no time at all. If they didn't turn port, and quickly, it would hit them and they'd roll.

"HARD PORT!" she screamed to the helmsman, but there was no one there! Where had the helmsman gone? No wonder they were in trouble. And there was nothing she could do. The helm was too far forward for her to get to in time. She grabbed on to the conus and watched the storm coming at them.

Creaking and groaning, the huge ship spun out of control. Men screamed in the rigging, and tried to drop the sheets. They had seen the problem as well, and knew what would happen. Their only chance now was to drop the sails before they were flipped on their side.

(OOC: For Reference: Orphean Airships and Conus Wind Driver