Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

There were only a handful of party members who could make it back onto the ship even after it set sail, and one of them was Gabbie. She mounted up on Ringo and outright threatened the sailors manning the loading ramp, telling them to leave it down until she got back, and if they didn't, she would hurt them. It was hard to take the threat seriously, but they couldn't pull it up until the captain got back regardless, so she won out before taking off and heading for the city.

Galley

"Oh no, so we might end up leaving people behind?!" Raquel wanted to get up and rush into town to find people, but that seemed counter productive and impulsive at best, outright detrimental to the survival of the Leverager and the Dark Utka at worst. "What are we ... what are we supposed to do? If we go out there looking for them, we might not even find them and just waste even more time ..."

"True, Tremere isn't a small port. It's way too much ground to cover even if you had a couple more hours." Talitha commented.

"Forget that, Tali. If we're going to leave, we have to leave now." Talitha knew that would come up again soon and had been dreading it. Leave the ship and just hope these people survived against a force employing dragons as a vanguard, something reminiscent of the Imperial navy. "Do you really want to get involved in this ...?" Mandy asked, seeing Talitha's reluctance.

"There isn't really anything we can do, is there ..."

Infirmary

"You've been 'out' since the fight as far as I can tell, and it's damn near noon, now. You do the math." the doctor replied before standing up and gulping down his water, concluding his breakfast. "You don't have to move. In a full scale battle, we get more injured than the infirmary can actually hold. The excess will just start taking up cots in the forecastle and I'll recruit a few 'assistants' to help me with the rounds, that's all. You just mind your own health for now, kid."

Gun Deck

"You're probably going to miss your first few shots no matter what, but if you use those first shots to find your range, you can find your arc for hitting an enemy ship. Use your eyes; you and your team will get the hang of it. We don't have enough time for a more elaborate explanation, but at long range you want to tilt the back of the cannon down so you can arc the shot and give it farther along the water. At close range, you just want to pick a decent section to target. Aiming for nothing in particular at close range is waste, so don't do it, but mind your timing." the man explained.

The gun deck was starting to become populated with sailors expecting battle.

Brig

"Yeah, he's not talkin' ..." said one of the sailors guarding Cornelius' cell.

"Oh, I'm fine with talking ... I'm just not interested in discussing things like your imminent demise." the druid replied with a sly grin, though he was sweating profusely and covering his shin.

"Keep it up, you worthless piece of crap; I'll shoot you again." another sailor warned.

Shadrak sighed. "So you seriously don't know how many ships are coming? Do you at least know how many dragons we can expect?"

"... at least two from the looks of things ..." Cornelius replied.

"This guy is useless ..." Shadrak muttered.

Docks

Captain Bogdan had to dodge quite a few dock workers on his way to the Dark Utka. It was chaos, but fortunately the ship hadn't set out yet. They did have their loading ramp up, though, and their anchors were up by the time Bogdan reached them. He waved wildly at the sailors looking over the guardrails.

"Bogdan, sir? What are you doing over here? We thought you would have left by now." one of them called down to him. Filat overheard the exchange and came running to the edge.

"Captain?! Why are-" "Raquel's people aren't back yet! Stay put just awhile longer. We leave at noon just like we planned, and we stay together." Bogdan interrupted. "But the dragons already destroyed every readied ballista in the port, and civilian crews are panicking. If we don't leave right now, we might not get another chance before the fleet arrives. As soon as they start trying to escape the port, the traffic will us in. We're too big to sail around merchant freights and fishing ships!" Filat explained.

"The dragons are just here to distract the patrol fleet until their ships are in position. They're probably going to try to take us before we ever have a chance to leave, you're right, but they aren't here yet. We still might have a chance to punch through ... so stay put. We'll send you the signal when it's time to head out."

That was a tough call. Bogdan must have known what kind of risk they were taking by staying. Filat conceded, though. "We await your signal, sir."

"Good man."

Streets

Volya evaded another of Ofnir's attacks, but the mere act of passing them up at such high speed threw him off balance. Instead of fighting it, however, Volya began a straight nosedive to get down to the streets of Tremere. It wasn't the most honorable way to handle this opponent. Innocent people would probably be killed, but Claudia was going to die for certain if they stayed up there. He couldn't leave it to chance.

Ofnir followed them down and Volya could hear a loud burst of air as he caught up to them. "So fast ...!" He quickly flew down between two tall buildings to try and lose the wind dragon, or at least lead it into a devastating crash, but neither happened. Ofnir's control of the air around him was incredible, and he recovered from his mach speed dive in just a couple of seconds, flew around both buildings, and headed Volya and Claudia off on the other side. Volya pulled his wings in so the two of them would drop, and doing so saved the both of them from Ofnir's claws.

The landing nearly sent Volya tumbling into a closed shop stand. He got his footing and then looked up to see Ofnir directly above them, nestled between the two buildings and snarling at them as rubble rained down in little pieces. The collateral damage this thing can cause is unfathomable. It's not safe to let Claudia run, yet ...

The men on the guard towers struggled to put out all the fires from the dragon's attack, but the ballista was lost. Its wood was nothing but ash and metal had melted into unsalvageable shapes. When they abandoned the tower, they caught a glimpse of the same thing the other guardsmen had. There was a large group of ships on the horizon, and they were closing in fast ... incredibly fast.

"Oh hell, they sent the dragons to soften us up first and now the main force is here to kill us."

"That doesn't make any sense. What would these guys want with us?"

"To kill us!"

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, if we do risk trying to find them, it'd be best to do it by air,'' John said. ''However, just what business did they had in town?'' He asked Sophia.

''It was the same as us, to buy clothes,'' she answered.

''The markets huh, well, that helps to pinpoint a general location if they haven't moved yet. However, there is the problem of the dragon, and who knows if there is any other around.''

[Mercakete]

"Well, hopefulla they'll hurry back if they haven't come back alreada. Best t' look fer 'em, though, just in case they alreada have returned. Who all went?" Gytha asked. She had to know who to look for, after all, and didn't like how much time it was taking to get on with the search again. Not with dragons on the enemies' side them breathing down their necks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, wait, let someone else do it. You were sick and went into battle and look what happened! You heard the doc -- he's not going to use this place so much anyway!" Norbert urged Valter as the horseman gripped the door handle. He felt a bit better now that he had his maces again, but was still far from relaxed. At least he got some answers, but it still wasn't enough. "And by Wrath, Valter, answer my question: did anyone on our side die?!" Getting worked up again cost the pegasus rider his vision again. He hardly cared, though. He closed his eyes to try to alleviate the dizziness, but that didn't help. I'm getting my answers, darn it!

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, it was the girl we rescued,'' Sophia began. ''That mage Zachary, Robin, and Aneda,'' she finished. Hopefully that had been everybody and they weren't joined by anyone else.

''Only four? Did Aneda brought her pegasus?'' John asked.

''I don't know, I didn't actually saw them leave,'' she answered.

''Well, even if she did if they're still not back we indeed need to go and bring them back, time is of the essence after all.''

[Ether]

The clothing was paid for by Zachary, thankfully without much regard to the squabbling of the others, and they were to be on their way, when the alarm bells rang, and Zachary mentioned a dragon.

When the defensive positions were taken, and the weapons were drawn, Lisandra felt a remorseful twang at the realization that her axe was still on the ship. The dragon had appeared to have taken a pass, and though she caught a slight glimpse of it, it was soon out of sight. Looking around for anything that could potentially be used to ward a blow from such a beast, Lisandra was taken aback when it seemed not much was available at all.

***********

"Ooh~ It looks like they are really going at it~" Kit commented with amusement as she watched the dragons.

"Sooooo Fox, what do you want me to do for this?"

***********

Chaos abound, at the alarm bells ringing, reports of dragons, and an approaching armada.

"Sounds like a whole lot of complicated stuff... I've never seen a dragon before, though I guess this isn't the time for sightseeing. What should we do?" Faatina asked.

[roymbrog]

Valter turned around for a moment to answer Bert's question properly. “No one died,” he answered and left, stubbornly ignoring Bert's protests. As far as Valter was concerned, there wasn't a reason he shouldn't be helping. He wasn't an invalid, dammit.

[Mercakete]

Well, it was good news that no one died, but bad news that Valter went off anyway. "Merz, Valter!"Norbert exclaimed as he let himself drop into his cot again. Blast it! He's going to get himself killed! There's nothing I can do, either. At least he can walk... Stupid, rotten, blasted, no-good...! And so Bert fumed to himself. Though that didn't actually last very long since another, intense wave of dizziness overcame him. That, however, irritated him even more, to the point of knocking him out again.

[Phoenix]

Galley

"You should probably try to find another ballista somewhere, otherwise you won't be able to do much about those dragons." Mandy advised in response to Faatina.

"So it's too risky to try and find them?" Raquel asked, not seeing how else they were going to reunite with the others.

"Um, Tali ..." Mandy reminded her friend that it was time to make a decision.

"We're leaving anyway, right? If they ... want our help ... we'll give it to them." Talitha answered, trying to place the decision on someone else.

Crowd Control

Reign couldn't get close just yet. Volya and Claudia were getting showered with small debris, but larger pieces were falling in Reign's path. A battalion of guards approached the scene from behind, led by Eamon, and everyone out front save for him were carrying rifles.

"Men, prepare to send this weapon of destruction to the great beyond!"

"Uh, I was hoping the cavalry would have bigger guns than those ..." Reign commented. Eamon didn't spare him more than an annoyed glance and his men knelt down and prepared to fire at the dragon. Reign had to get out of the firing line since they seemed willing to shoot him if he got in the way.

Ofnir noticed them ahead of time and threw himself back at them. The entire line collapsed as they moved away to avoid being crushed or swatted by his tail. As the tail came swinging around, a single guardsman was taken and flung away. The gust left in the wake of the tail knocked everyone else to the ground, including Reign and Eamon. Volya used this chance to get up and look for an escape route.

"Hey, wait!" Reign called out. "That's Claudia, right?! Leave her with us and run! He's after you, right?!"

"It's that unemployed man from yesterday." Claudia commented blankly.

"Wha ...? We don't have time for this ... he might be right. If that thing is only after me, this might be the only chance to get you to safety ..." Volya admitted.

"C-Claudia?!" Eamon echoed. "Unhand my sister, you fool!"

The rifle platoon seemed pacified for the moment, so Ofnir turned around to face Volya and stood between him and the people he aimed to hand Claudia off to. "I've got to wait for him to make the first move ..." Volya told himself and Claudia as he stood there.

"F-fool! What do you think you're doing just STANDING there! If you have a deathwish, by all means, but leave Claudia out of it!"

Carrier

"I want more information about this group of enemies before I kill them, and in the event they escape the formation, I'm setting aside two ships to pursue them; the tracer, and the shadow ships. I want you on the shadow ship if it comes to it, but for now, try to confirm which ship the dragons are aboard so it can be marked." Fox replied. "If it's both ships, we'll capture them both." he added as a bit of an afterthought.

[Snike]

Blake was a little taken back by the boy's enthusiastic reaction to receiving the book. It had been a while since he had seen such gratitude over something so trivial, at least, in his eyes.

"You're welcome, I guess...," Blake said after a about half a minute of enduring the hug. "Anyways, I need to be moving the crates back. Good bye." And with that, the man began to lift the toppled crates, directing his whole attention towards them. He had just put the last crate away and was about to recommence his sword practice when an obnoxiously loud alarm bell serenade reached his ears. Lovely, what now?

The swordsman's answer came in the form of a dragon setting fire to the rain port in the foreground. In other words, Tremere was being attacked. Dragons meant it probably would be either Neviskotia's Imperial navy, or the rebels, and considering the fact that the Leverager had stolen dragon eggs on board, it was safe to probably assume that it was the rebels. Which meant another headache for Raquel's mercenaries. Oh well. Blake quickly sheathed his sword and made his way to the center of the ship, where sailors were bustling about. Time to figure out how to help out.

***

After Grant made it down to the docks, they decided to light themselves on fire- wait, no, that was the dragon that was now flying above him. Lady Mercy, they were under attack! The ballistae and almost every other anti-air weapon were destroyed by the initial fire, so the best hope of stopping the drake would be from a ship. The duelist broke into a sprint as he ran to the nearest unburnt ship to his location- the Leverager, conveniently enough, and approached the boarding ramp, yelling, "Do you have a ballistae on board?"

[Mercakete]

"Whatever ye all d'cide t' do, d'cide quick, please! We might still have people out there n' th' sooner we leave, th' better! Won't be good if we don't have any room t' maneuver..." Gytha put in, clearly a bit anxious, and reasonably so.

[Acacia Sgt]

''It is a risk,'' John replied to Raquel. ''We could still try, although...''

Tali really had her mind in helping out, despite Mandy's urging to just leave.

''We'd certainly appreciate it,'' Sophia said. ''Though you've done so much for us, and us so little for you.''

''Hmm, they're most likely attacking the town because we're still in port and thus would get involved,'' John pointed out. ''The faster we leave perhaps we can drag them away too.''

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

Grant's arrival was a bit of a surprise to the sailors that recognized him, but the ones who didn't spoke up first. "Whoa, this is no time to be trying to book passage with us!"

"Hold on, he was asking about a ballista." another sailor cut in. "We've got one, but you saw what happened. The ships that mounted those things got completely torched and their burning up in the water right now. We need to try to slip out unnoticed before that fleet boxes us in, I think."

"We might have to fight them anyway, so maybe we should just try to assemble it anyway ..." an uncertain one chimed in.

Galley

"Well, I guess you can just make it up to us later ... but if we're going to fight with you guys, then I still need to go get Summer and Autumn. I'm not leaving them on the docks." Mandy replied. She only remained in the room for a moment longer to see if anyone was going to change their minds on the issue.

Maybe I should see if Connor's okay. There weren't any dragons involved the last time we had ship troubles. Raquel thought to herself.

Docks

Smaller ships were already setting sail and trying to escape the port, but a rexian sloop had only gone out to a distance so it could take the opportunity to ready its ballista, the only one remaining among the rexians. Grabacr circled around and set one of the merchant vessel's sails ablaze, and seconds later, the sloop took several shots at him. He retaliated by flying down to the ship, hovering just off the port side, and spraying it down with flames for almost thirty seconds straight. It didn't let up until the ammunition stores ignited and the entire ship exploded. Not a single crewman survived the attack, and the last anti-air asset in the patrol fleet's arsenal went straight to the ocean floor as a pillar of smoke and steam rose above the wreckage.

[Snowy_One]

"People are going to choke the main streets as they try to flee. Stick to the walls and alleys and follow me." said Robin as she took off in the lead. The people seemed to be in a wild swarm about her, civilians in fear of assault, soldiers trying to get to positions or clear the streets, mutts howling for their masters, and other chaos. It was like moving through a pine forest in a heavy windstorm without getting hit. Despite her litheness and agility she was pushed often and frequently as she made her way forwards, sliding into the first gap between the buildings.

"This way!" she called out, hoping Zack or Aneda could hear her.

---

"What should we do? Stay down here and get in the way of those more experienced, or head up top and try up there?" asked Fred.

[Acacia Sgt]

From it's vantage point Gil just kept following Grabacr's movements as it kept torching ship by ship. Gil only glared at the dragon, but thankfully it had not turned it's attention towards this ship... yet.

-----

''I'm heading to the deck,'' John said. ''Even if we're not searching for the others we must still do something to prepare ourselves. I could have something to do with Gil than just man a cannon after all.''

[Phoenix]

Galley

"Well, if we're doing this, then we'd better hurry up and go grab Summer and Autumn. I'm not leaving them behind just because we're short on time. I need your help, Tali, so come on." Mandy told them before turning to exit. Talitha followed silently.

Gun Deck

"'Try what', exactly? Just stay put for now. If we're real lucky, we won't have to do anything, but we'll see." the cannoneer replied.

Docks

Bogdan quickly began running back the way he came in order to join his crew. He still didn't see any of Raquel's people coming back, which was a shame, but they couldn't wait around forever.

[Acacia Sgt]

John made it back to the deck, and first thing he did was head towards Gil. The destruction didn't escaped his notice though.

<Looks like the ships are next,> He noted. <This dragon is really doing a good job in softening up the place for the fleet.>

-----

''So what are we going to do?'' Sophia asked Raquel. Staying inside the ship seems safer, she thought. But on the other hand, that couldn't possibly remain like that for long...

[Snike]

"Wait, a fleet?" Grant thought out loud. Why in hell was there a fleet here? And how in hell did these sailors know about it while the port authority didn't, judging by the chaos. He was about to ask that very question when the dragon flew by, set a merchant ship on fire, and decimated the last working anti-air ship in Tremere's fleet. That meant any air units the supposed fleet had, including the fire dragon, were now free to lay waste to Tremere and its' relatively innocent denizens, unless something was done.

"Where's your CO?," the duelist asked, now completely emotionless. The situation was well past niceties.

[-Cynthia-]

Main Deck

"Shouldn't we be headin' out of here? Like now!? Sailors should be good at the whole gettin' ships movin' thing!" Nadya said somewhat frantically to a nearby crewman after seeing a dragon destroy another ship.

Gun Deck

"If we're needed on to be on hand, that's where we'll be. We might not have the best aim, but the faster we can fire shots at them, the longer we'll stay afloat," Veronika said with some resolve.

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"The Leverager goes nowhere without'er captain, missy." a sailor replied. He was counting on her figuring that since they weren't moving yet, that the captain wasn't aboard at the moment. Even he was wishing he was, though. They were cutting it pretty close; the rebel ships in the distance were getting closer and closer and the patrol fleet was still trying to recover from the dragon attack. The rebels' strategy was getting clearer and clearer, and soon everyone would be boxed in.

The crewman speaking with Grant shook his head and replied "The captain went to take care of something while he still could ... hope he's on his way back now so we can get the hell out of here before those bastards catch us."

Gun Deck

"That's the spirit, and in the meantime, you two can help us get these cannons ready in case we need'em." the cannoneer replied with a strong nod.

"Hey! How many shots are we gonna need?!" one of the other gunners called out from across the deck.

"Depends on how smart the rebels are, I guess. As soon as they figure out the eggs are on this ship, we'll have to focus on not getting captured, so ... bring a lot. We probably won't have to worry about blowing ourselves up if you people just do your damn jobs."

Docks

As the sloop's wreckage sank to the bottom, the fire dragon, Grabacr, flew over the rising flames and steam and swooped down over another small ship, brushing the sails on his pass and almost capsizing it. With all of the ballistae set ablaze, the only ones left to protect the ships were gunmen, most of which were reluctant to provoke the beast by firing at it. At that point, Grabacr became more passive, and simply flew around the docks trying to find anything that seemed like a threat to him. Anyone that fired off a shot in his direction or tried to use any weapon that could actually reach him was either sprayed down with flames until there was nothing left, or bitten right off the ground, chewed up, and then chucked into the water. This only happened a few times before the gunmen fell back into the guard towers to try and think of another plan to dispose of the dragon.

Bogdan meanwhile ran along the docks trying to get back to his ship. If the stragglers weren't back by the time he was up that loading ramp ... well, they were staying behind, simple as that. They were all dead if the rebels caught them.

Streets

Ofnir finally made the first move, but it wasn't the one Volya was expecting; he fell back to wind magic instead of trying to physically assault him. This left Volya with no time to react, and he and Claudia were pulled toward Ofnir's jaws by a wind attack. Volya beat his wings forward to counter the effect just long enough to avoid being bitten, and then leaped backward to avoid the next bite. The third attack was a swipe from Ofnir's claws which Volya just couldn't avoid. He and Claudia took the hit and were sent flying into a market stand, destroying it and getting buried in the process.

"Ah no!" Reign called out.

"That's my sister, you bloody monster!" Eamon cursed at the dragon. "Men, ready guns! The firing line is clear!" And so they did. Ofnir's attention was still on Volya and Claudia, so they actually had time to fire, but once they did, Ofnir's wounds drove him over the edge. He lashed back trying to slice the entire platoon in half with one attack, and a lot of them were killed. Reign and Eamon dove under the attack with several others, but there was blood everywhere after wind blade vanished.

Gabbie arrived above the scene just in time to witness the brutal attack. "Holy ... well ... not going to foind any of them in this mess. I don't think they're stupid enough to try and take this thing on. W-wait ... may have spoken too soon. Is that Raquel's friend down there ...?" It was. "Hmm, not who I'm lookin' for, but he won't make it back in toime on foot, anyway. C'mon, Ringo. Let's go pull him outta there and get back to the ship."

"C-curses ... it's injured, but I just lost half my guns. Am I supposed to sacrifice an entire unit to defeat this beast?" Eamon asked no one in particular.

[Acacia Sgt]

''There you are,'' John said once he was next to Gil. The wyvern made a grunt of acknowledgement, though he didn't break his gaze from Grabacr. ''Looks like we're in for our biggest struggle yet huh,'' another grunt. ''Heh, don't be getting too excited yet, we're gonna be facing more than just that dragon soon enough.'' <At this rate the fleet will block the port's eixt. Hopefully anybody still in town gets back here before we leave them behind.>

[-Cynthia-]

Main Deck

"Well what in the Wrathdamn hell does the captain have to do than sail this thing outta here!? We're gonna die if we don't get movin' soon!" Nadya said, stating what she thought was the obvious.

Gun Deck

"Wouldn't the rebels hesitate to sink us if they think our ship has the eggs? If they destroy our ship I doubt the eggs would survive- that could allow us to go on the offensive," Veronika mused aloud.

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"He probably had to get a message to the Utka in person, who knows!" the sailor shot back. "We'll leave when he gets back!"

Gun Deck

"We might be able to sink a ship or two if they force our hand, but if they surround us ... well ... we've only got so much ammunition, and they can just take turns trying to board us if they really want these eggs. Our safest bet is to get out of here and shoot anything that tries to stop us."

Docks

As Bogdan drew closer to the Leverager, the fire dragon made another pass, flying directly over him and then swooping down to pick off one of the dockers. That was unexpected, and Bogdan counted his blessings knowing full well it could have been him and not the other guy. The group with the little artificial girl had just arrived and wasn't far behind him, it seemed. "COME ON!!!" he yelled at them as he kept up the pace. He reached the ramp and ran straight up it as fast as he could manage before turning around to urge the other group along. Once they were all aboard, the sailors retracted the ramp. The anchors came up next, and then the sails fell into position. Ready or not, the Leverager was on its way out of Tremere.

The Dark Utka's scouts caught site of the Leverager's sails coming down and soon the ship was heading out as well.

Streets

Volya dug himself and Claudia out of the wreckage and reached back to make sure Claudia was still conscious, though he would have settled for her just being alive at that point; they took a bad hit, and Volya wouldn't even have been able to get back up again after that attack if his arm and ribs hadn't mended.

Unfortunately, he had Ofnir's full attention, again, and Reign noticed. "Why is it so focused on them?" he wondered aloud.

"It must be here to take my sister." Eamon spat as he stood up and gripped his lance.

"Why on earth would it be after h-" Reign was cut off by Ofnir's roar and staggered backward as a gust swirled around the area and put him off balance.

"I get it ..." Volya uttered quietly. "Claudia and I together is just too much ... it's too much power in one place for you to ignore. That's why you won't turn your back for even a moment and why you're trying to kill us." he added resolutely. Ofnir's only reply was a high pitched shriek that sent Eamon and his troops back to their knees covering their ears until it passed. Volya quickly let Claudia out of his coat while he had the time and sat her unconscious form down against the nearby wall. Then he turned to face Ofnir once again. "Now there's two threats ... choose wisely, dragon."

"We've got to get her out of there." Reign said to Eamon, who nodded in reply.

"Men, spread out and fire a second volley! Don't group yourselves all in one spot like last time!" he ordered. They did that as quickly as they could and somehow managed to get in position before Ofnir decided to attack Volya or Claudia. They were also the first to fire, and each wounded Ofnir and forced his attention back on them. That was when Reign and Eamon broke into a wild sprint to try and reach Claudia. Volya took the opportunity to get away from her and back into the sky so Ofnir's inevitable attack wouldn't take them both out at once.

Ofnir span around and clipped a gunman with his tail, killing him. Then several wind blades formed and began flying out all over the place and curving around him. Another was killed, but Reign and Eamon made it to Claudia, and the latter picked her up and passed his lance off to Reign. "Follow me! We're falling back! Now!"

"Farewell, Claudia." Volya said as he looked down on the two men carrying her to safety. With Eamon's unit in full retreat, Ofnir was somewhat satisfied, and looked up to the power that had been provoking him ... part of it. It really had split in two, he realized as he glanced back at the two men retreating. It wasn't quite as significant now. "What are you waiting for? I'm right here."

Volya, unlike everything else nearby wasn't running away, and so Ofnir finally decided to attack him and sent up a torrent of wind blades. They came far faster than Volya anticipated, and there were too many for him to intercept them all. He pulled his wings in to protect them and crossed his arms over his chest and face to guard his vitals, but that was barely enough to survive. Few blades struck, but the ones that did struck hard. His gauntlets and coat were sliced by them and parts of them simply fell off leaving Volya with an exposed left bicep and right forearm. Of course it wasn't just his attire that had been sliced. He had some terrible wounds only now beginning to heal. "Uuuurgh ... that was pretty pathetic on my part ... really."

Retreat

Reign and Eamon made their way from the wind dragon and that's when Gabbie flew down on Ringo. "Oi, if you're comin' with us, you'd better hop on. You won't make it back in toime on foot, ya know."

"My timing was that bad, huh? Then again, I didn't expect a dragon to come down from the heavens and start wrecking the place. Hey, Eamon."

"What is it? Why are we stopping?" Eamon replied nervously, his attention darting all over the place to make sure the dragon wasn't following them.

"I was trying to find Claudia to ask her about that pegasus, but then this happened. Could you tell her that-" "That you can't possibly afford to get her a pegasus by any means and are deeply sorry for being such lying snake? Of course, I'll tell her, but you helped me save her life, so I'm willing to forgive you just this once, rexian." Eamon interrupted.

"Actually I was just going to have you tell her that I'll have to get it and bring it to her at a later date. I keep my promises." Reign clarified.

"Well you certainly aim to try it sounds like. Very well. I shall tell her when she awakens, but I don't ever expect to see you again, in all honesty."

"Sure we will ... unless you do something crazy and get yourself killed." Reign replied with a bright smile. He then turned toward Gabbie and accepted her hand up on to Ringo. "Uh, why doesn't this guy have a saddle? This is really uncomfortable ..." Reign complained.

"Arms around my waist, and hang on toight; you'll be more comfortable~" Gabbie teased.

"Great, a delusional rexian and a scantily clad woman who rides no saddle. Wait, a moment. You're the people from last night, aren't you!" Eamon finally realized.

"Yep. Happy to help a second time. See ya around." Reign waved goodbye. Gabbie gave a small wave too and then Ringo took off. "Remember! Tell Claudia that I keep my promises!" Reign added before they were out of earshot.

"... heh ... I suppose if he's that bloody serious, you'll have a pegasus of your own soon, young sister of mine."

[Acacia Sgt]

<Looks like it's finally time,> John thought, grabbing his helmet and lance. True, chances were things wouldn't be like back when fighting the Dark Utka, but there might still be some need of close combat, whatever that may be.

Gil for his part finally broke his gaze on Grabacr and grunted at the sight of John grabbing the things. ''Not yet Gil, but we must still be on guard,'' John said as Gil grunted again in disapproval. ''With that dragon around it's certainly a high risk, we better not get too reckless there.''

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Aye, aye aye," Gar mouthed off as the carnage the fire dragon did swept through the port. It was beautiful in its own way. Gar was now snaking on one of his apples when the last--or not but the last of Raquel's group that would board came aboard. And then the Leverager was off sailing the oceans free again. It really didn't take much thought to connect the dragon attack towards the ship carrying dragons and dragon eggs, so Gar figured he'd go and get a brief on what was the new plan. Juuuuust after he was done with this apple.

[Mercakete]

Gytha had wound up heading up top again and saw Captain Bogdan and several others board the ship and the Leverager and the Dark Utka set sail. "Hoy, Captain!" Gytha greeted as she approached him and saluted, "That should be ev'ryone, sir! I spoke with Raquel n' some o' th' others n' th' ones who just came back're th' onla ones who left, by what I was told."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This time the blackout didn't last as long and Norbert awoke to an empty room, from what he could tell. Heaving a sigh, he just laid there. Something was different, though. It feels like we're moving now. I don't hear anything that sounds like dragons, though. Just a bunch of people running around. Normally, he would've just gone out to see what was happening himself. His blood loss wasn't really allowing for that right now, though. Blast it.