Session 27. - Storm on The Horizon

The Realm of Tarsere       Adventures In Tarsere    The Horizon Beckons    Session Reports    Chapter V      Session 27. - Storm on The Horizon

---

 

26^th of Frost's End, 1440 A.P.

 

Umami's breath was visible in the pre-dawn light as he hunched over his alchemical stone, heating... no, crafting a meal. It was simple fare to break the crew's fast on their last day hunting rays but he gave it the same care and attention he would have if he was preparing it for the king himself. And there was bacon. They would be pleased.
  The ship was quiet save for the occasional creaking hawser or rustle of the balloon's fabric in the breeze. Only he and Bolt-1 were awake. Umami's erstwhile companion hadn't said a single word since the tetsudan had come onto the deck to prepare his meal but he was sure that the stoic forgeborn pilot was well aware of him.
  Dawn was coming. Umami couldn't see the sky yet, but the air tasted like rain was looming. He sighed. He hated water trickling through the cracks in his carapace. It gave him a maddening itch he could never quite scratch but there was nothing he could do about it. They had a job to do and would need to be well-fed to do it. He returned his focus to the task at hand. Heating several aromatic herbs in a pan and using them to season the last of the thick slices of bacon he had procured before they'd left Aran Dhabar. Knowing full well that the smell was likely already awakening his companions from their slumber.
  He turned the meat on his cooking stone and seasoned it one final time. As he did, he realised he was very low on moru root. He hoped that when they reached Tharsis, he'd have time to wander the market and procure some more... and hopefully it wouldn't be too expensive. The last batch that he'd purchased in Aran Dhabar had almost cost as much as his whole journey from Aras had. He was idly contemplating the merits of changing careers and becoming a spice trader when the others started to awaken. Angrar arose first and Umami silently handed him a steaming cup of kafa, mentally noting that the party's supply of that particularly precious commodity was also running low. He mentally added it to his shopping list. Umami had been part of the group long enough now to know that the tall half-ghrym was usually the first to rise and liked to sit in quiet contemplation with his drink before the others woke.
  Angrar nodded a quiet thanks and let Umami return to his meal prep. He took his cup of kafa and purposefully stepped away from the rail. He put his back to a large stack of crates and watched the dawn approach. He had never understood Deadeye's fascination with heights and tried not to think too hard on the previous days events. Like Umami, Angrar sensed that rain was likely coming. He hoped it would wait the day, but the wall of dark clouds looming out over the ocean to the East and blocking the sunrise told him otherwise. They would likely be drenched before noon. He thought about how uncomfortable his plate armour would be in the rain and did not look forward to wearing it. He was still lost in thought when Axon poked his head out of the hold and went to procure some bacon. Angrar didn't know what to make of their newest companion. On one hand, he seemed competent enough and he filled a role very similar to what Arbor had, but his personality was far more obnoxious than the goblin ever had been (shockingly) and there was something about him that Angrar just didn't trust. Not to mention, there was his connection to the Lady Lea, Arbor's patron, a person (?) that Angrar Definitely didn't trust.
  Angrar watched as Axon made small talk with Umami and tried to shake off his mistrust. Maybe Urith had rubbed off on him too much and he was just getting paranoid in his old age. He was thankfully stopped from continuing down this dark pathway through his thoughts by the arrival of the remainder of the party. Oorr was regaling Deadeye with a tale of how a lowly peasant boy had inherited a kingdom. Without even hearing the whole story, Angrar knew he was trying to inflict the whole Baraquellan Cycle on Deadeye. Angrar looked into his half drank cup of kafa and contemplated interrupting them before deciding that it was far too early for something like that and turned back to the view to finish his drink.
  The others were soon joined by Professor Crankshaft and his ward, Alvarine, who had grown to appreciate Umami's culinary presence just as much as the rest of them. The only one who didn't emerge from his cabin was Torak. When he hadn't emerged after some time, Angrar volunteered to check on him and went down to the cabins to see where he was. He found the tiny wildling curled up in his bed, rocking back and forth muttering to himself in his own strange language. His dog lay across the foot of the bed and thumped its tail encouragingly when Angrar entered. No matter what Angrar said, he couldn't coax his small friend out of bed. Apparently the trauma of falling through the sky as a squirrel had really gotten to their companion. Angrar empathised wholeheartedly and said that he was looking forward to having solid ground under his feet again soon. Torak didn't respond though and Angrar sighed and left him to his own devices, hoping that some time alone would help him heal. Maybe when he came to they'd be back on solid ground in Tharsis.
  When he rejoined the others, they were already preparing for the day. Umami handed him a large bowl with the last of the bacon and a warm savoury porridge to which he was forever grateful. He wolfed it down and assisted with loading the ballista. Hopefully today, they'd manage to capture some cloud hunters.
  With Torak incapacitated, Deadeye manned one of the ballista and Axon posed confidently by the other one. Angrar centered himself between both ballistae, ready to assist with either of them. Umami took first watch and Oorr, true to form, found something other than work to do. When Angrar looked back he was by the helm, chatting at Bolt-1, oblivious of the forgeborn's lack of responses.
  The morning passed uneventfully. They'd passed through a patch of light rain early on but the clouds had broken up and sunlight peeked through the clouds here and there. Unfortunately the wall of black cloud to the east was still there and looming ever closer.
  Mid-day came and there was still no sign of the rays. Axon commented that they'd probably gone to ground with the storm coming. Angrar had to agree. There was definitely a tension in the air and if he could feel it, then it was certain that other creatures could as well. Axon was heading down to relieve Umami when the spotter bell rang. He'd seen something. The captain raced to the bow and whipped out his spyglass. After scanning the area he pointed at a pod of rays low and to their west. Bolt-1 adjusted course on the captain's orders and soon they were closing with them.
  As they got closer, Angrar noticed that the pod had two of the larger males with it. He mentioned this to the captain who reluctantly shrugged and said it couldn't be helped. He said they were smaller than usual and likely very young ones so they shouldn't be too aggressive. They'd just have to take extra care not to antagonise them too much.
  Angrar nodded half-heartedly, trusting the captain's experience, but still harbouring some internal pessimistic doubt. He turned back to assist Deadeye with the ballista as they were coming in to range. Deadeye's first shot went wide and they reeled it in for a second shot but Angrar reeled it in too quickly and the cable got caught, gumming up the mechanism. The two of them struggled with their ballista, trying to get it reset, while Axon took a shot with the other ballista but it too went wide. Angrar wanted to move over to assist but they still hadn't fixed the first ballista yet. He chastised Oorr to stop posing and come and help.
  Oorr begrudgingly got down from on top of the crate he'd been standing on and covertly readjusted his cape so it wasn't blowing in the wind and came to assist Axon. After they winched the net in and reset the ballista, they swapped places with Axon help load, as they both agreed Oorr had the better reflexes, if not the better aim. This of course was immediately proven false as Oorr missed his first shot and they had to spend more time resetting the ballista.
  Angrar and Deadeye managed to fix their ballista just as Axon and Oorr reset theirs. With both weapons loaded and ready the appointed gunners took aim and launched, staggering their shots slightly so as not to get the cables tangled. Both shots sailed gracefully through the air and both successfully hit their targets. The only downside was that Deadeye's target happened to be one of the young males that they'd been encouraged to avoid.
  The male bucked against the netting and they could feel the ship shake with the force of its action. It twisted and rolled in the air, tearing at the netting with the sharp spines embedded on its shoulders and eventually worked its way free and turned to attack its attackers.
  The other ray wasn't as lucky. It lacked the bulk and the dorsal spines the males did. It twisted and rolled in the same maneuver as the male but only accomplished entangling itself further. In its panic it bellowed to the rest of the pod. Several of the others, including the other male, heard its cry and circled back, determined to free it.
  As soon as the first ray was netted, Angrar jumped on the winch and tried to reel it in but the sheer strength and tenacity of the male was too much, even for him and it tore through the netting like it was cobweb. After it broke free, Angrar looked over to where Oorr and Axon were struggling to winch the other one and moved to assist them, hoping that they could reel it in together before the angered male got close. Thankfully, this one proved to be easier to manage, especially with the three of them and together they started hauling in the beast.
  Once they got a decent rhythm going however, Oorr suddenly stopped helping and stepped away from the winch. Angrar cursed the faun's distractability and grunted at the extra strain he had to deal with. Oorr blithely ignored him, instead focusing on the rays that were quickly closing on the ship. He was attentively watching them and had a distant look on his face, as if he was imagining some epic scene in his head.
  As the other rays came closer, Axon too stopped helping and started preparing a spell. Angrar was left with a conundrum: keep hauling the captured ray in by himself or help the others in the upcoming fight. He ultimately decided to help his friends. He engaged the winch's brake, hoping that they'd reeled the ray in far enough that it wouldn't become a problem and readied his weapon, joining the others in preparation for a fight.
  They didn't have long to wait. The first male passed over the deck, taking a swipe at Angrar, slicing a large gash across his arm with its razor sharp fins before swerving away so as Angrar couldn't return the favour. As it banked away, it snagged some of the ship's rigging and Angrar watched as the rope frayed apart like cobwebs. A dread feeling crept into his gut. They were awfully high up. Gravity would not be on their side should many more of those ropes get cut.
  Deadeye fired a couple of his arrows at the other cloudhunters as they closed with the ship and Axon did the same with one of his spells. Neither of them did any real damage but it was enough to draw their attention. Once in close, they whipped their tails at the crew as they passed, one hitting Axon with a violent shock that set his teeth chattering. Another lashed at Umami as it passed, but couldn't get through his carapace. They continued across the deck, weaving in and out of the rigging with ease, unlike the larger males that just bulled their way through and circled around for another pass.
  Oorr hadn't moved or taken his eyes off the rays as they approached. As they swooped across the deck he suddenly started moving. He raced to the rigging and climbed with goat-like ease and as soon as one passed beneath him, he dove onto it's back, much like Torak had the day before. He drove his dagger deep into it's back to hang on as the ray twisted and turned, trying to throw him off. Against all odds he kept his balance and soon the ray was across the ship and back out over open air. Oorr glanced down briefly but the dizzying height didn't seem to phase him much. He continued to stab and attack the ray as he rode it. The ray was maddened by the attack and lashed about wildly with its tendrils trying to rid itself of its unwanted passenger. It managed to clip Oorr with one of the tendrils and sent an electric shock that stiffened the faun's body and threatened to send him tumbling into the verdant abyss below. Oorr barely managed to maintain his grip and was grateful that the ray had continued to fly with the rest of the pack and was banking back towards the ship. While he wasn't particularly worried about falling, his tactical sense of self-preservation kicked in and he had the urge to feel solid wood planking under his feet once again.
  This sense of self-preservation was amplified when the second male entered the scene. It charged at Oorr, trying to knock him off it's mate. Oorr managed to dodge the creature's bite, ducking under it's bulk as it whipped past, but one of the beast's barbed appendages clipped his shoulder as it passed and ripped a deep gash across his back, knocking him off balance. He tried to regain his balance but the ray under him chose that moment to bank and he lost his footing, tumbling into the open air. He saw a flash of sky and briefly felt the rush of free-fall as he flipped uncontrollably through the air. He briefly considered that he might be in a bad situation, but the thought was quickly driven from his body as he landed inelegantly (but thankfully) back on the airship's deck. He staggered to his feet and swung wildly at the ray he'd been riding but missed by a wide margin. He leaned drunkenly against one of the water barrels on the deck and tried to regain his equilibrium.
  Umami shifted over to administer some healing to the faun while Axon fired off another spell. He managed to blast a large chunk out of the same ray that Oorr had been riding which elicited a cry of anguish from Professor Crankshaft who admonished them to try not to hurt the rays. Umami muttered under his breath as he was healing Oorr "Tell that to the rays!"
  The rays paid little heed to the professor's shouting and continued their frenzied attacks against the ship and its inhabitants. The first male bulled its way across the deck again. Snapping more hawsers and rigging and ended up on the upper deck, lashing both Bolt-1 and the Professor before crashing through the propeller blades at the rear of the ship. Blood sprayed in the air as the blades cut deeply into the beast's hide but it continued it's flight and seemed to ignore the damage. After it passed, Angrar heard the distinctive sounds of cracking wood and screeching metal coming from beneath the ship. One of the propellers started spinning erratically before stopping altogether. The high pitched metallic screech repeated itself a few more times before going silent and Angrar's fears that they were minutes (if not seconds) away from falling out of the sky grew exponentially.
  When they didn't immediately fall out of the sky, he let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. They had to end the fight soon. He took a quick second to assess what he could of the battlefield and realised that it was the males causing most of the damage. Angrar surmised that maybe if they drove them off, the others would flee as well. He shouted to the others to focus on the two males and then promptly ignored his own advise and attacked the ray that was immediately adjacent to him just off the port bow - mainly because it had just lashed at him with its tendrils. The creature was the same one that Oorr had ridden (and stabbed repeatedly), Axon had blasted and Deadeye had feathered with several arrows. It was now Angrar's turn. He swung his hammer with force, aiming for the head of the beast. Unfortunately his aim was off and he struck the ray's shoulder instead. The blow shattered the ray's bones with a sickening thud and it had a hard time remaining aloft. After struggling for a few moments , it sank out of view below the railing of the ship and Angrar assumed it was gone, or at least out of the fight. He thought about checking, but the idea of getting close to the railing with all that open air beneath them was too much for him. He would just hope for the best. He turned to see what could be done about the other rays.
  While Angrar dispatched the one ray, the others had actually listened to him (for once) and were focusing on the male that had damaged the propeller. Deadeye landed a couple of shots and Axon's spell blasted away a chunk of the fin. The ray seemed unfazed by the damage they were doing though and continued to bear down on the ship in an angry frenzy. Thanks to Umami's ministrations, Oorr was once again standing. As the ray flew across the deck he stabbed at it, landing a couple of significant blows and completely severing one of the creature's tails. It howled in pain and lashed out at the faun. It missed him entirely but cut through several more ropes as it crossed the deck. Once past the ship, the ray immediately dove beneath it and didn't come back up. Unlike Angrar, Oorr and Deadeye had no fear of the height and raced to the railing to see where the ray was. After some searching, they caught a glimps of it far below them, flying low through the mists rising from the swamp. It bellowed a weird hollow noise that carried upwards and most of the rays that had been harassing the ship broke off their attack and followed the young male's call. Only two of the smaller rays and the other male remained behind.
  With more than half of the cloudhunters fleeing, the party breathed a little easier and hoped the odds had shifted in their favour. They weren't out of the woods yet though, and turned their focus on the remaining rays. The male was the biggest problem and they all concentrated on it before it tore the ship apart and sent them tumbling to the ground below.
  Angrar and Oorr took swings at the male every time it came close, hacking away at it bit by bit, even as it slashed back at them and the ship. Axon cast a Hex, hoping to curse the beast's luck. Even Umami, struck out with his spells, Tolling the Dead , hoping to bring the ray down. Ultimately Deadeye was the one to land the final blow by living up to his name and putting an arrow through the eye of the ray, bringing it crashing to the deck against the cabin doors at the rear of the ship.
  With the big ray down, they turned to deal with the others but saw they were fleeing. Deadeye tried using the other ballista to capture one but the net sailed well wide of it's target and by the time they'd reset it, the rays had slipped out of range. They consoled themselves with the fact that at least they'd managed to capture one of the rays. Angrar resumed reeling in their captured prize and looked around hopefully to see if any of the others were planning on helping but they were too busy congratulating themselves to offer. He sighed quietly and got back to the task at hand. After some time, the others realised what he was doing and eventually came to assist, but by that time, the ray was almost to the top of the railing. Thankfully it had exhausted itself trying to get free and so they managed to get it over the railing and into a cage the Professor had prepared without too much trouble.
  With the beast finally contained, they surveyed the airship and went about trying to tidy up the mess. Oorr and Deadeye were pushing the corpse of the Male ray towards the rail with the intent of tossing it over when Umami stopped them. He wanted to keep it and see about testing out some recipes but the Professor told them to continue, saying that the rays weren't good eating and their meat was poisonous. He mentioned something about the Aetheric glands rupturing after death and filling the body with toxins. While this intrigued Umami even more, he didn't want to argue and regretfully watched the ray's corpse fall gracelessly through the clouds and mists below. As he did, he felt the first heavy drops of rain ominously splash against his carapace. He looked to the East and saw the storm that had been chasing them all morning, had now caught up with them.
  With the ship and the crew squared away as best they could, the professor started talking hastily with Bolt-1 while they both shared concerned looks back at the storm. In a loud voice, he ordered the first mate to get above the clouds and explained to Axon and the others that the ship was not in great shape after the last battle and their best chance was to get above the storm. When Deadye asked if they couldn't just fly through it, the professor pointed at the giant balloon and said that it was filled with volatile gas. One stray spark from lightning and the whole thing would go up. They needed to secure the ship and get above the storm. They all nodded in understanding and hopped to it.
  Axon swallowed hard as he continued to secure the deck and quickly said a silent prayer to his patron as he thought back to how many times he'd cast a fire or lightning spell in the past few fights. Why hadn't the captain said anything sooner!
  While Axon pondered his brush with mortality, Angrar faced his own fears and edged far nearer the railing than he was comfortable with to grab a couple of the ropes connecting the ship and balloon that had been sliced by the ray's passage. He grabbed them as they were currently blowing uselessly in the wind and held them together while Umami tried some of his spellcraft toMend them. The ropes fused together magically and instantly snapped taut as the wind pushed on the ship. Umami said they'd hold and moved on to the next pair but Angrar wasn't so sure, but as his only other option was to stand on the deck and hold the ropes together himself, he decided there wasn't much he could do about it and followed Umami to the next set of ropes.
  Once the ballistae and crates had been secured, Axon looked around for something else to help with. The wind was starting to pick up, and it didn't seem like they'd gained much altitude at all. He looked over at the professor who looked frustrated as he was fiddling with the controls beside Bolt-1. Axon asked what was wrong but the wind whipped his words away so he climbed up beside them and repeated himself. The professor pointed aft at the two propellers and Axon noticed that one wasn't spinning at all. Axon said he'd check it out and called Deadeye over and they went down into the hold.
  Once there, they first checked in on Torak, hoping he would be able to help, but the small wildling was still huddled under the blankets and wouldn't respond. They left him and proceeded to the rearmost door in the ship's hold. Axon opened it and they saw something that they couldn't quite understand. In the middle of the rear wall sat a large, metal contraption. The front of it was covered in numerous dials , gauges and switches. From the top and sides of the machine ran various pipes, cogs, and gears connected with belts and wiring in a chaotic jumbled mess. Through the maze of pipes, they could see that it somehow connected to the propellers on the other side of the hull. Beyond that, it seemed too complex for either Axon or Deadeye to fully understand. The best they could make out was that a metal bar, probably one of the strut supports outside, had become lodged in the gear mechanism and caught up in the wiring, seizing the propeller. That was the good news. The bad news was that neither Axon nor Deadeye were strong enough to pull it out. Deadeye said he'd go and get Angrar while Axon studied the gauges on the console, hoping for further inspiration.
  Angrar appeared in the doorway a short time later, thankful to be away from the edge of the ship, and found Axon no closer to divine inspiration. Axon looked past the giant into the hallway, expecting Deadeye to join them, but the Half-ghrym said that he'd swapped out and was helping Umami with the ropes. Axon nodded in acknowledgement and pointed out the problem of the misaligned pipe and his thoughts on how to fix it. Angrar took a look at the system and was fairly overwhelmed at first, but as Axon talked about it, he managed to piece together what was happening and even made a couple of suggestions to Axon to make things go smoother. Once they'd agreed on a plan, he put his back into it and got to work.
  After a few minutes of struggling, He managed to free the steel bar from where it was tangled. The machine made a gods awful screeching noise as soon as the bar was removed that almost made Angrar drop the heavy bar on Axon's head. Once the screeching subsided the machine seemed to resume normal operations. Axon noted that the dials that had been all showing in the red, were now showing what he hoped were normal readouts. They headed back topside to see what else they could assist with. As they were heading up, they ran into Oorr who frantically ran past them down into the hold. They wondered where he'd been and where he was going in such a rush.
 

---

  Oorr rushed down the stairs in a panic, ignoring the others. He had to save her! He had spent his time securing the ballistae to the deck with Deadeye until he'd realised that he hadn't seen the professor's young ward, Alvarine, in some time. The more he thought about it, he realised he hadn't seen her since the meal that morning. He immediately assumed that she was in danger or that she'd been injured during the fight and stopped what he was doing to check on her. While the others had gone to investigate the propeller, he'd checked with the professor about Alvarine's whereabouts and was brusquely told she was in her cabin with an implied undertone that he should get back to work and mind his business. Oorr, ever ignorant of subtext, thanked the professor and headed to Alvarine's cabin to check on her. He knocked and got no response. He knocked again and again no response. He knocked a third time and tried the door but it was locked. He debated trying to pick the lock but decided that wouldn't be very heroic. He decided to check the other two cabins. The first mate's cabin was spartanly clean, almost ascetic. The small bed didn't look used and beyond the massive longbow propped against the bedpost, the room was very empty. He moved on to the captain's cabin and it too, was unlocked. After a quick glance around the room, he saw that the young faun wasn't there. Oorr did linger a moment or two longer before closing the door, admiring the view out of the rear window and idly daydreaming that one day this cabin would be his.
  He returned to the deck and was quickly soaked as the storm had fully caught the airship. The wind buffeted him and he looked around, worried that the young girl had been blown overboard. He saw Angrar and Axon coming up from the hold and realised that was the only place he hadn't looked. He headed down the stairs, brushing past his friends on the narrow stairway and searched through the hold. He checked the cage holding the captured ray but other than the unconscious beast, it was empty. After searching everywhere else, he headed to the lookout's nest and opened the small door triumphantly, sure that she'd be there.
  When he opened the door two things happened. First, he was surprised to find the small lookout's nest completely empty. Second, The gust of wind that hit him as he opened the door nearly took him off his feet. When he regained his balance, he stepped out into the nest and looked around, just to be certain. He was about to give up and go back and unlock her cabin, when out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something billowing in the wind below the observation deck.
  He looked and tucked in to the hawsers and guide ropes beneath the nest, was Alvarine. She had her arms outstretched and a look of pure bliss on her face as the winds buffeted her. Oorr called out to her, trying to get her attention. When he did, she didn't react the way he'd expected. Instead of the shy, girlish coquette, she swore at him using language that would have made a sailor blush. In no uncertain terms, she told him to piss off and leave her alone. Briefly taken aback by this attitude change, Oorr stumbled over his words, trying to convince her to come inside but she was stubbornly resistant to his charm. When he said she was in danger and he was the only one who could protect her, she laughed and again told him to go away and let her enjoy the storm. As a last ditch effort, Oorr tied a rope around his waist, grabbed another one and climbed down to her level beneath the nest to try and convince her to come back up. She rolled her eyes at his precautions and told him to live a little. When he pressed, she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't going anywhere. That this was her time and to leave her alone, she'd be fine. To give lie to her words, a particularly strong gust of wind hit them just at that moment and she swayed unsteadily. She paused to regain her balance and finally relented in a reluctant tone, that a rope might not be a bad thing after all. Oorr handed her the rope which she tied around her waist. She thanked him in a tone that was dismissive and Oorr, for once sensing it would be the only win he'd get from the conversation, sighed and climbed back into the nest and then into the hold.
 

---

  Axon and Angrar returned to the deck to immediately discover that the rain had started and the wind had picked up something fierce. They had to shout to be heard and even then, their words were quickly whipped away by the wind. Axon found Deadeye and Umami at the bow of the ship. They'd repaired what hawsers they could and were now tying ropes around their own waists and securing them to the ship as a precaution. Angrar went up and informed Professor Crankshaft that they'd fixed the propeller. The professor thanked them and tapped Bolt-1 on the shoulder, pointing upward. The stoic forgeborn nodded and pulled on some levers. The ship started to rise but it seemed like it was going too slow. The professor said something to Bolt-1 that Angrar missed due to the wind and the pilot again pulled some levers. This time there didn't seem to be any response. He pulled them again and again the ship failed to rise. Angrar was about to ask what was wrong when a giant tentacle draped down from above, casually bumping against the stern rail and making him take a step back in shock. At the same time, the hawsers leading to the balloon sagged noticeably, as if there was a great weight pushing down on it from above.
  The Professor swore and said something about a lazy arsed Greater Ray hitching a ride. Angrar boggled at the tendril hanging down. It was as wide as he was. He then looked up at the balloon and thought he could see a massive shape outlined against the clouds. How big was this thing?! The professor shouted at Angrar and told him they needed to get that thing off the balloon, implying that the half-ghrym should get up there and get it off. Angrar shuddered at the thought. As he moved down to the deck to get the others, the Professor shouted something about Aliah's Breath but he couldn't make out if it was a warning or instructions. He debated going back to find out, but a gust of wind nearly blew him off his feet and he decided lower was better.
  He came down from the upper deck just as Oorr was coming up from the hold and during a momentary pause in the wind, he brought the faun up to speed before joining the others who were finishing up on the deck.
  Oorr, nodded and started to climb the rigging, up onto the balloon. He was sure footed, despite the weather and quickly scampered to the top. When he got there he found a huge ray, easily four or five times the size of the ones they'd fought earlier, casually lounging on the balloon. Oorr was absolutely amazed at the size. Angrar had described it, but seeing it was something else entirely. As delicately as he could, he climbed onto the ray's back, nervous that the thing would immediately buck him off, and approached creature's head. The storm must have addled his brain a little, or maybe he was frustrated from his talk with Alvarine, but the first thing he tried was to simply ask the ray to move.
  To the shock of no one in particular, the ray ignored him and he was at a loss as to how he was going to move the massive beast. With no other recourse at hand, he stabbed at it, hoping to cause it enough damage to fly away. The beast's hide was much thicker than expected and his first few blows did little more than draw shallow scratches across it's back.
  As he stood there stabbing the beast, he noticed a weird spectral glow starting to form across the leading edge of it's wings. Seconds later he felt the hair all over his body stand on end and he dove off the edge of the ray just as a bolt of lightning struck the ray and crackled across it's skin. Oorr was lucky enough to have dived off the ray just in time and had landed at the very edge of the balloon. The air was crackling with electric charge and Oorr's nostrils were filled with the smell of burnt ozone. With his ears ringing and his vision spotty, Oorr couldn't be certain, but he felt that the ray was actually attracting the lightning. If that was the case then they really were in trouble. One false strike and the lightning would ignite the gas in the balloon and the next thing he'd be doing would be reciting The Baraquellan Cycle to Rayah herself.
  He climbed back on the ray and struck again, this time focusing on it's more vulnerable areas near it's eyes and mouth. This time he got a reaction and the beast shifted in discomfort, if not pain. While he was attacking, Deadeye climbed up to see if he could help, just in time to have to dodge another lightning strike. Thankfully both of them were able to dodge and keep their footings. Oorr swung at it couple more times while Deadeye tried using his skill as a ranger to commune with the creature. Oorr wasn't sure his hits were even damaging it and Deadeye's attempt to talk to it failed miserably. He wondered aloud "Where is the druid when you really need him?" but the wind stole the words and Oorr didn't hear anything he said.
  With Deadeye's tactic unsuccessful, he scurried back down to see if he could wake Torak and get him to help them. Oorr stayed and kept stabbing, hoping one of the hits would penetrate deep enough for the beast to take notice. As he was doing this, the static charge built up on the creature's bony ridges for a third time and sadly Oorr lost his footing when he dodged. He rolled right off the side of the balloon and started to fall. Thankfully he'd secured himself with a safety rope and his fall was arrested and he tumbled to the deck in a tangle of limbs.
  He told the others that he couldn't get it off (Axon sniggered for some reason) and that it was summoning lightning and was going to blow them out of the sky. He suggested making peace with their gods cause he was at a loss. As he said this, Alvarine emerged from the ship's hold. They could hear the professor yelling over the wind. Telling her to get inside. She nodded demurely and scampered towards her cabin, shyly avoiding Oorr, who stood dumbfounded in her way. After she disappeared, Oorr worried about her change in demeanour. Something strange was going on with that girl and he was determined to find out. He decided that the change wasn't natural. She must have been ensorcelled or possessed by something and he would have to rescue her... later. But first, the ship.
  Angrar wasn't going to accept Oorr's assessment. He purposefully strode to the center of the deck, bracing against the wind with every step and tied the longest rope he could find around his waist. With a very heavy sigh, he moved to the railing and like Deadeye and Oorr before him, he slowly climbed on top of the balloon. He purposefully didn't look down, knowing that if he did, he'd probably freeze up. Once there he tried to use his immense strength to shift the beast but the rain slick canvas made his footing very unsure. He tried a second time and managed to lift one of the dorsal ridges above his head. Unfortunately with the ridge high above his head, he failed to see the galvanic charge forming on the ray and with his arms outstretched, his plate armour acted as the perfect lightning rod.
  The lightning struck and his world went white. He was blown clear off the top of the balloon and would have been lost to the storm if it wasn't for his safety rope. It had gotten tangled in the rigging and snapped taut just above the deck. Angrar hung lifeless like one of those hollow Kerastemi paper dolls that are filled with sweets. The others shifted him back on the deck and Umami administered some healing but Angrar sat there stunned and unaware of his surroundings.
  They were getting desperate. Oorr ran to the top deck and started stabbing at one of the beast's tail tendrils that were still draped over the side of the ship. Apparently, he touched a nerve, and even above the storm, they heard the beast cry out in pain. Emboldened by the reaction, the others joined in. Deadeye joined Oorr after unsuccessfully trying to coax Torak from his room. He stabbed at the tendril and dspite not doing much damage, garnered a similar reaction to Oorr. Maybe they had a chance.
  Axon joined in, casting spells on another tendril. Once Umami was certain Angrar was okay, he too slung spells at the same tendril. Axon favoured fire and Umami relied on his inner radiance. They seemed to strike another sensitive area and the beast howled again and they could feel it shift above them. Oorr sensed another lightning strike was imminent and warned the others. Deadeye took another swing, connecting with the creature and causing it just enough pain to lift off from the balloon.
  It lifted off just as the lightning struck and sent electric shocks through everyone, stunning them momentarily. When they came to, the beast was gone. Deadeye said he'd seen it fly off into the storm, seemingly unfazed by the high winds. They briefly cheered before the professor's voice brought them back to reality.
  "Quit your cheering. We're not done yet. Damn beast's fried the controls and we're going down. Brace yourselves. This ain't gonna be gentle!"
  The airship sank rapidly. Bolt-1 doing everything he could to keep the ship upright as the professor fiddled with the control box. Nothing they did seemed to work though as the ground continued to get closer and closer with every passing second. The professor had enough time to shout "IMPACT!" just before they hit.
  The last thing they remembered was seeing a wall of marsh water shoot high into the sky as they hit and them come crashing down on top of them.
  Everything went black...