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Tyl looked around her desk with disgust. She had accomplished many things in her life, but keeping her desk clean and organized was not one of them. Several files, uncountable scraps of parchment with notes on them, and quills were strewn over her desk. Glistening black ink pooled across the lower left corner of the desk, dripping onto the floor. "Ug!" she stared at the mess. "I should just burn it all and have done with it." "That's not a good idea, and you know it," Gwyn, Tyl's secretary, said from the outer office. Tyl glowers at the papers, then, resignedly, begins to shuffle through them, sorting them into stacks and stashing files back in her cabinet. "You know that tomorrow this desk will be back to this state?" she asked as Gwyn walked into the office. "Of course," Gwyn said. She dropped several files into Tyl's inbox. "Test results on the new students: Sanriel Tailorson, Elowyn Lashley, Phineas Phergus Phrancis, and Lotho Butternut. We're still waiting the grading on the other five. When are we getting the writing teacher in?" "Gloss?" Tyl said, flipping through a folder marked "Phrancis, Phineas Phergus - male, gnome, age 83" and reading a few pages. "She's starting next week. Did you add her salary to the budget?" "Of course," Gwyn brushed a few locks of pale blonde hair out of her eyes. "She's marked for ten gold a week, correct?" Tyl nodded, reading Phergus's file. "He really scored this high? Oh, yes... mage training, I see," Tyl looked up at her secretary. "We've got tuition from five of these eight new students. Which leaves only six students needing financial aid this semester. Not too bad. I think we'll only be about a thousand gold short at the end of term, unless we can find another Patron. Maybe you should solicit funding from some of your adventuring friends." "No," Tyl said. "If they want to donate, they will. I can cover it out of my personal monies if we need to. And don't ask Master Bluestar about it, you know where his 'donations' come from. Scribe out some solicitation letters to the more well-to-do merchants in town. Don't forget to mention that Mayor Praul offered a tax credit for all donations. That should get us a few hundred more gold." "Yes, ma'am," Gwyn scratched out a note to herself on her parchment tablet. "Anything else today?" "No, thanks Gwyn," Tyl said, still reading through the test results. "You can head on home today. I'll see you tomorrow." "You should get some rest too, ma'am," she said, looking at Tyl. "You look a little tired." "I'll get around to it," Tyl waved her out of the office. Gwyn dropped a brief curtsey, then left the office, carrying her pad with her. Tyl looked after her for a long moment, then shrugged and went back to reading reports. POP! With a swirling rush of air that scatters paper everywhere, Jelarthna appears on top of Tyl's desk. He looks around for a moment, then nimbly hops down. "Argh!" Tyl drops under her desk and begins picking up her reports. "Don't you ever just knock like a normal person?" "Errr... sorry, about that, love. In a hurry - Yb and the beholders just stole the Preening Maiden and are going gods know where and Zoya sent me to gather people so here I am and we need to find Bai and Jaret and Lisl and get to the Tower so we can get ready and talk about how to handle all this!" "She did *what*?" Tyl exclaims. Jelarthna takes a deep breath, "Okay, got that? Can you come and help?" He hugs Tyl quickly, then is obviously readying another spell. "Um, sure, hang on.... " Tyl runs out of the room, chasing after her secretary. "I'm sorry Gwyn, add it on to your hours, but I'm going to need you to cover the administrative details for me for a few days. Let Bluestar know he and Cwallie will need to cover my classes. Speak with Mayor Praul's secretary and let him know I won't be able to have lunch with him on Monday after all. You getting all this? Let them know that something's come up." Jelarthna quickly (and somewhat sheepishly) gathers up most of the paper that he had managed to scatter around the room and sets the jumbles messy mass back on her desk. Gwyn rolls her eyes as she jots notes down on her notepad. "All right," Tyl turns to Jelarthna. "Oh, yeah, Gwyn, send a letter over to Jaques and let him know that Jel and I won't be home for a few days. ::back to Jelarthna:: "Ready when you are." Jelarthna makes one last futile attempt to straighten the stack of papers, then nods firmly and takes Tyl's hand, squeezing it with a loving smile. "Here we go, love." He makes a few gestures with his free hand and speaks out the clear words of power to finish the next teleport... POP! Tyl and Jelarthna appear just in front of Lisl's house. Jelarthna grins. "Good, I wasn't completely sure I remembered this one right..." Still holding Tyl's hand, he knocks loudly on the door. The sound of a mighty sneeze explodes from an open window on the second story almost simultaneously with Jel's knock, and a moment later Lisl's head pokes out. "Gloss, come--" She breaks off as she sees her visitors. "Jel, Tyl... welcome. Is this a social call, or has there been more trouble?" Jelarthna grins slightly. "Can't you guess? Yb's stolen the Preening Maiden and has run off with it *and* the beholders! We need your help... we're gathering and going to meet at the Tower. Care to come help get Jaret and Bai, or would you like to meet us there?" "What are you doing up there? Spring cleaning?" Tyl shades her eyes to look up at Lisl. Lisl shakes her head, leaning a hand on the sill. "El's got a bad cold. And she's not taking it very well." Stuffy and mainly incomprehensible grumbles float over Lisl's shoulder to her listeners' ears, and she grins. "See? Just give me a moment... Gloss is on her way here with some home remedy she and El have cooked up." She glances back over her shoulder. "Okay? I'll be right--" Lisl's head disappears from the window, to be replaced in a moment by her booted foot, followed quickly by the rest of her as she hangs briefly from the windowsill by her fingers and then drops to the street, landing in a crouch a few yards from her front door, "--down." She rises, and dusts off her palms. "Door's open, Gloss should be here in a few minutes, El will be fine. And I *really* need to kill something." She smiles brightly. "Shall we go?" "Show off," Tyl says. Lisl takes off an imaginary hat-- you can almost see the plumes-- and sweeps into an exaggerated bow nearly worthy of Jaret, grinning unrepentantly. "Only for my friends." Jelarthna grins as Lisl drops easily down. "I hope you can wait a day or two before you start picking closer and friendlier targets, Lisl. Welcome aboard!" He forms an intricate gesture with his free hand, then smiles as Lisl as he takes her hand in his and speaks the arcane words... POP! The trio appears across the street from Jaret's house, and Jel leans over for a moment, breathing a bit harder. He drops down to crouch on his heels. "One of you... want to go fetch Jaret..? I want to rest a second." Jelarthna closes his eyes and takes deep breaths. Lisl claps him heartily on the back. "I'll go... that way, Tyl can practice that whole "sickness and health" thing with you." She grins and jogs lightly over to Jaret's door and raps sharply. "Ho, Jaret! Is milord home to visitors?" There is a slight pause and Jaret answers the door. He looks somewhat tousled and has a battered book under one arm. "Hello! What a surprise! To what do I owe the honor? Please, come in, all of you!" Lisl remains on the doorstep. "Kind of you to offer, but actually, we were hoping you could come out. There's been a development of sorts with..." She half-looks over her shoulder, scanning for anyone in the area, and lowers her voice a bit. "The short version is, a 'jammer crashed in the woods. Now it's been stolen, by Yb and some sort of beholder war criminal, and we're putting together a hunting party...now. Zoya's getting her ship ready. Interested?" Jelarthna slowly stands up with Tyl's help and waves encouragingly over at Jaret with a smile. "Am I! It certainly beats learning Mulhorandi! I'll be just a minute, let me get my things." Jaret rushes inside, leaving the door open in case the trio on his doorstep change their mind. He returns in a few minutes, his rapier hastily belted on, and a pouch bulging with accoutrements in hand. "Now what?" Jelarthna smiles wide. "It will be good to have you with us, Jaret. I know this may distress you slightly," he grins mischievously, "But I need you to take Lisl's hand." Jelarthna motions for him to do so, and makes the gestures for the teleport spell yet again, then takes up Tyl's and Lisl's hands and speaks the magic trigger words... POP! The four adventurers appear in "front" of the Meadehall. Jelarthna leans against the wall and closes his eyes. Quietly he says, "Hopefully Bai should be inside.. if someone would care to go get him... If not, we may need to look around a bit.. more." He takes some deep breaths and slides down the wall, resting his head against the cool, shaded stone. Tyl looks sternly at Jelarthna. "Is it a good idea to get yourself all worn out before we even go?" she pulls a crumbled bit of parchment out of her pocket, glares at it for a moment, then begins fanning Jelarthna with it. "Lisl, you have a key, go look and see if Bai's around." "Key? Keys, keys..." Lisl begins patting her clothing distractedly and reaches into her loose suede tunic to check her pockets. She turns to Jaret. "What's Mulhorandi?" "It's a language spoken in the Mulhorandi nations. Their writing is very pictoral, so learning the language, the phonetics have to be written down in another script. It's different. They're an interesting country, their kings are supposed to be gods. I'm... well... just broadening my intellectual horizons?" Lisl snorts. "I'll bet. Someone sending you on a spring cruise, Jaret?" She grins, glancing at him sidelong as she continues to root around in her clothing. "Bring your harpoon, I hear the Inner Sea gets a mite rough down that end. Though personally, I wouldn't bother with that bunch of dusty, prima-donna, hidebound old... well... they venerate cats, too, did you know that? Capital crime to even injure one accidentally." She shakes her head at this insanity as she pulls open her belt pouch to peer inside with a frown. "I would've guessed something like the Vilhon Reach to be more your speed... plenty of politics, and I hear Nimpeth's got outstanding wine." Tyl looks at Jaret for a long moment, then shrugs. "I do that from time to time as well," she grins and winks. "Very useful, broad horizons. I can't think of the number of times it had saved my life." Jelarthna grins up at Tyl and Jaret. "Broad horizons... they can be nice.. gives you some nice things in the distance to yearn towards if nothing else." He takes a deep breath and looks over at the door, waiting for Lisl to bring word of Bai. "And don't worry, dearest... Zoya said we wouldn't be able to get underway until tomorrow morning at the earliest. But right now it's best to move fast to get prepared and go join Zoya to know exactly who we've got, what we can do, and to have time to pump her for information and digest it." Jelarthna's cheeks regain their color and he stand up against the wall, leaning there more easily now. "Besides, I didn't know how long it would take to find everyone, so I felt it was best to move fast... I'm going to have to re-study a number of things before we go shooting off into the phlogiston anyway." She closes her belt pouch with an annoyed jerk. "Hells, I bet I left them on the hook by the door. Serves me right for going out by the window. No matter, I think I remember where to find the spare." She waves a hand airily as she heads off around the corner of the building at a fast lope, and a muted version of her bellow is heard soon enough in the street out front. "Hola, BAI! Yb's gone and done something rash again. You here? We could use a hand!" Bai walks out of the Hall. "What has she done now?" Lisl escorts Bai out and closes the door behind them, whispering the key-phrase which will relock all the doors. She turns to the group waiting outside and waves. "Found 'im!" She turns to Bai and continues in a more normal voice. "You know about the crashed 'jammer, I believe?" She waits for Bai's nod. "Well, apparently, Yb and some beholder war criminal stole it from where this lot stashed it." She gestures to Jel and Tyl. "Zoya's getting her ship ready now to pursue. We could really use you to sit on Yb and that damn staff of hers." She shakes her head, and her tone is grim, and betrays a hint of a growl. "I can't believe it. I knew she was insane, but I never thought she'd actually betray us." Bai glances at the door. "If we're hunting a ship, there are a few things in there that I could use. Think you could unlock it?" Lisl grins and produces the spare key from her pocket. "Good thing I didn't put this away yet." She unlocks the door and swings it open for him with a bow. Bai runs back inside and returns a few moments later with his quiver slung over his shoulder and his staff and sword nowhere in sight. "And I'm probably wasting my breath here, but don't think of it as a betrayal. Yb isn't constant enough to betray anyone. Saying Yb betrayed you is like saying life betrayed you." "You *are* wasting your breath. I know there's a brain in her head somewhere, and she can at least recognize her friends... too well, sometimes." Lisl pulls a wry face and shakes her head. "She's nuts, Bai, she's not a natural disaster. We can't just shrug our shoulders and say, "Oh, well, the Gods willed it" if an innocent dies because of her, or if she helps that beholder escape. If we allow someone with that much power and that little conscience to roam around loose when we have any hope of stopping her, that makes *us* accountable for her actions. Hasn't anyone ever tried to, I don't know, cure her, or something?" The gods have willed it Lisl. As for curing her, it's possible...If you're willing to sacrifice an entire plane and every being living within it. Lisl frowns darkly and shakes her head, but says nothing. She ducks quickly out the back to return the spare to its hiding place before exiting by the front door and speaking the locking word again. Tyl nods, looking around thoughtfully. "Loyalty is sort of a two way street. Think about it. If it weren't for our friendship with Bai, how many of us would really go chasing after her? I know at least two people who would wave goodbye and throw a party. She can't betray us, Lisl, she was never on our side." Jelarthna frowns slightly and chews on his lower lip at the turn of the conversation, looking thoughtful and troubled. He murmurs a few things and shakes his head, then pushes himself from the wall. Looking up at the others, he says, "I just thought of something else... Miyeel may know something useful... and might be useful on the trip as well." Jelarthna claps Jaret and Bai lightly on the shoulders, gives Lisl a smile, and Tyl a hug. "I'll meet you at the tower with the little fellow... I'm only going to be able to do one more 'port, so I'll just run over there to get him and pop over to the Tower." Almost without waiting for an answer, Jelarthna sprints off on his errand, waving back at his friends. Tyl watches him go with something like exasperation in her eyes. "I swear, he gets too much sugar in his diet..." She shrugs. "Ah well, at least it isn't far to the Tower. Do you need any help with your gear, Bai?" Looks over his shoulder at his quiver, "No." "Well, shall we?" Tyl heads down the street with a determined air. "I wish he hadn't run off so quickly," she mutters as they pass a few produce stands in the marketplace. "I have no idea if Zoya's thought far enough ahead to stock supplies. Ah well, picking up a few things won't hurt, I guess." She bargains quickly with a few merchants, adding several pounds of provisions to her pack: rice, dried fruit, a salted ham, a side of bacon and a few pounds of beef jerky. Absent-mindedly, she hands Jaret and Bai some large, empty water casks. "We can fill those at the Tower." "Can anyone else thing of anything we might need?" she looks at her companions. Jaret looks at Bai, Lisl, and Tyl and shrugs. "I've never really been, well, *up* before. Water sounds fairly important, but aside from that, I'm afraid I don't know. "Well, having been on a... cruise... fairly recently, I can tell you that this will probably be helpful..." Lisl ducks out of an herbalist's stall and holds up her prize-- several packets of a prepared remedy generally used for seasickness. Snugged under her other arm is a neatly tied cloth bundle... the distinctive antiseptic smell of woundwort gives away its purpose, if the green healer badge weren't enough of a clue. "A few other things that might prove useful, as well. It's a good thought, Tyl. Zoya's little yacht is fairly well stocked, but I don't think she's used to hosting so many. Jaret, I'm sure you're used to preparing for sea voyages." She grins. "And then, there's the entertainment to be considered...." Lisl frowns as she stalks through the marketplace, her expression lightening as the ringing music of hammers on steel sounds from the section housing the more permanent stalls. "Ah, *just* the thing." She stops beside a stall displaying a full suit of brilliantly polished-- almost glitzy-- plate armor, obviously intended for a paladin of Lathander. Deftly unhooking the large, round shield from the front of the display, she ducks inside with it. The armorer's cry of protest is audible from the street, followed by some quieter but furious haggling. Lisl emerges a minute later with the shield slung over her shoulder and a smug look on her face. "It'll mean another two weeks in the Northern Wastes for me, but it was worth it for the look on his face. He's had that bloody tinman out there for two years, "commissioned work" my foot. So... anything else we need?" "And people call me a thief," Tyl comments, eyeing the shield dubiously. "I assume there's a reason for that?" Lisl gives Tyl a look of wounded innocence. "I'm not a thief! It's not *my* fault I happen to know the gentleman has a soft spot for cloud cat pelts." She looks smug again. "Which happen to be *very* difficult to acquire here... unless, of course, you know someone who hunts the Northern Wastes frequently." She hikes the shield up on her shoulder a bit more. "As for what I'll need it for... like I said, the entertainment." She grins savagely. "'In the eye the beholder' and all that." "Entertainment, entertainment... " she stops at another merchant stall and picks up a few decks of cards. "Oh, hang on... I was at School when Jelarthna tore in." She pauses, closing her eyes and swaying slightly on her feet. Lisl stops next to her and puts a steadying hand on her arm, looking concerned for a moment before understanding dawns. "Ah..." She shakes her head. "Mages, psionics... I wish it were so easy for the *rest* of us to call home." ____________ Jelarthna jogs away from his friends, glad to have some time to himself after the troubling comments Lisl and Tyl made... Why *are* we going? To save the ship, obviously... To help capture a war criminal that we have nothing to do with other than the fact that it landed on our planet? Well.. we tried to keep the ship safe and failed, so we're at least partly responsible for that. And certainly I am the sort to poke my nose into business like this. But not the others... they're the ones who chide me for sticking my nose into these kinds of think. But hey.. I *am* getting better about it. Jelarthna shakes his head and grins ruefully. He jogs along further, increasing his pace slightly to make better time. He furrows his brow as he thinks more about their purpose... And what about Yb?... Zoya doesn't like her... even Lisl is frightened of her. And Bai. Bai is her watchdog.. protecting, cleaning up after. I've never really thought to ask why... why, if she's just a danger, doesn't he just kill her? Was she something more normal before? Could she be something more normal again? Bai's not stupid... nor is he a fool. That means there must be some kind of hope... but of what? Damn... I don't know enough. And I've never really tried to find out. She was sometimes fun.. sometimes scary.. always unpredictable. But I've never tried to *understand*. Even after I started getting much more curious about everything... Jelarthna frowns unhappily at his train of thought. He runs even faster, pushing his body faster... perhaps trying to distract himself from his own whirling thoughts... perhaps trying only to approach their pace... What are we going to do about Yb, anyway? How well can Bai control her? I don't think I've ever actually seen them together before... And what does Zoya intend? Or Lisl? Tyl was probably right.. they wouldn't do anything to her because Bai is our friend. But if he *wasn't*... what then? ... What then? Jelarthna arrives finally back at Tyl's manor and slows down. His breathing sounds slightly harsh; running on top of all that teleporting has taken a fair amount out of him, but he can easily keep going for now, and will have a chance to rest before long. He lopes around to the garden and sees the little glowing creature. Miyeel hums to himself in his strange, high-pitched voice, tending to the flowers in the courtyard of Tyl's mansion. He is not, perhaps, as good a botanical genius as others of his kind, but already the flowers and fruit bearing trees of the garden have greatly increased in productivity and growth. Miyeel looks up from trimming dead leaves from an azalea bush. "Miyeel gives you greetings!" Miyeel stands and bows, fluttering vestigial wings. "Miyeel is be having goods fun tending Attendant's plantses." "Miyeel!" Jelarthna calls out to him, looking around at the flourishing garden with a bit of surprise. "Wow, nice work. Everything looks spectacular!" "Is wonderings if can be plantings food crops too? Miyeel is seeing many peoples outside the garden who is being empty in the belly. Miyeel's Hive, we be feedings those who is not havings any to eat. Miyeel thinks there is much land here, not beings used for nothing." Jelarthna smiles. "That's not a bad idea, Miyeel... you'll have to ask Tyl about it, but I think there's a good chance she would let you do something like that. Human society is... not normally so much like that... But I have something more important to talk about right now." He grins and makes his way over to Miyeel. "We need your help.. the 'Great One' and the rest of us. We're going to go after the beholders, and we need to learn whatever else we can from you... we might even need you to come with us. Is that alright?" "High One wants Miyeel? Is chasing after mommy ball? Wantsing Miyeel's help?" the little creature glows brightly, looking inordinately pleased. "Miyeel is joyous to be helpsing you and High One." Jelarthna nods and keeps smiling a little, looking a bit distracted by his thoughts. "That's right, Miyeel. Here, come settle on my shoulder and I'll take us to the High One right away." He motions to his shoulder and begins preparations for the last teleport spell he has ready. Miyeel looks at Jelarthna, his little face intent. "Is you being troubled about somethings, Master? Yous seemings very not happy to Miyeel. Yous is looking like Miyeel be feeling when Queen says Miyeel is nots being a good Consort." Jelarthna starts to shake his head and opens his mouth to automatically decline the offer, then pauses for a long moment. He lets out a deep sigh and shows a trace of sadness in his expression. "One of the people that took the ship you came here in... Yb..." Jelarthna sighs, looking lost for words. "She's sort of a high one. But... too much so? Too high a high one, maybe? Too much a part of the chaos.. or maybe the chaos is too much a part of her. I don't really know. And that's part of what's bothering me.. I don't know, and haven' tried to find out." "But there's even more. She... I want to say she's sort of a friend. But no one I know has every really treated her as one. Not that I've seen. Including me..." He sighs softly and looks down at the ground. "It's easy to justify, because of how she is. Too different. Too hard to understand. Too unpredictable. Too dangerous. I can't really call her a friend... and that makes me sad, now that I'm thinking about it." "I just don't really understand. And I don't like that I don't understand. And.. I don't know what's going to happen... what we're going to do when we catch up with them. Or even what we *should* do! Zoya and Lisl think of Yb's action as a betrayal. And I... just don't know. By her very nature..." Jelarthna chuckles mirthlessly. "Her nature. I know nothing about her nature. So how could I think this is a betrayal... even though I too feel a little betrayed?" He winds down, taking a few deep breaths and looks at his companion, wondering what he makes of all this. Miyeel nods, chewing on the edge of his thumb. "Other High One, she be losing controls over her magics? She be hurtings people who is not doing nothings? And our High One, she is being angry about this? That other High One stolens the ship? With mommy ball? And yous is thinkings that High One is being to kill other High One. Very bads to be doing that, yes? Both High Ones is yous friends?" He waits for Jelarthna to confirm his sum up. "Miyeel know old agrestic scribe whats be telling Miyeel about High Ones. High Ones be under the laws of Balesh, God of Chaos. Balesh, he be the force what is random, be the force what is creation, be the force what is destruction, what is potential. Balesh has mate, Goddess of Order, Tamtanriel. Tamtanriel is what be the force of law, the force what is growth, what is actual. Tamtanriel be leadings those what is attendants, what is strong of mind and strong of will. Balesh, he be leadings those what is strong of passions, what is strong of magics. Miyeel and others, we be following boths the gods." He shrugs and continues. "Old scribe, what tells this to Miyeel, he knows of old, Balesh be too hard on High Ones - thoses what be mortal is made from both Balesh and Tamtanriel, has boths Order and Chaos in hearts and minds. Thoses what be mortal, they no can be bearing the strains from much many Chaos or much many Order. Is not working in their minds. Is minds, sometimes they be breakings. A High One with brokes mind, very not good. Very much danger. Is not to be blaming them, does no ones any much good. Theys can nots be helping what they is doing. Is not their choices to be doing them." "Yous High One, Yb-chai, no is blamings her. Yous her friends, is right thats yous helping her. Mommy ball, she old, she knowings High Ones of old. She mights be knowings to encouraging yous friend. She's woulds be wanting her, for to be flyings the ship. Much magics, ships go fastest. Mommy ball be usings her up, be leavings her in the Chaos without Attendant when she be needings her no more. Is not High One's friend. Is not be helpings her to come home." Miyeel shrugs. "Miyeel not be knowings this for certain, Miyeel be only guessings." Jelarthna looks thoughtful, then troubled again. He mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, "Ugh, more gods." He shakes his head and sighs. "I don't know how right you might be, Miyeel... I don't really know enough about Yb. But.. you're definitely right about something. Yb *is* touched... and if this beholder hive mother is used to dealing with what you call a 'broken high one', then Yb is being manipulated." "She may or may not be easy to control like that.. I don't know of anyone that's ever tried. It's like playing with a delayed blast fireball and not knowing when it will go off. But this... to be lost into Chaos? Whether or not I can feel right calling her a friend... I don't know that I've really tried to treat her as one... she does need to be saved." Jelarthna quirks his mouth up slightly. "Justice and fairness aren't just for the sane..." Jelarthna stand up and picks up Miyeel gently, then begins the gestures for his spell. Jelarthna's eyes get distant for a moment, and he smiles in spite of his still-troubling thoughts. *Jelarthna?* *You rushed off in such a hurry, do you think you could pick something up for me? There's a small black velvet bag in the drawer of my night table which has several gems and a small crystal rod inside. Could you get it, while you're there? I might need them.* *Thanks!* "Wait here just a second, Miyeel... seems Tyl forgot something." Shaking his head with a slight grin, he dashes into the manor and rushes upstairs. He goes into their room and to Tyl's side of the bed, resting his hand on the sheets and sighing softly. He opens her nightstand and takes out a small, black, velvet bag. and holds it tightly for a moment. Heading back downstairs, it's not long before Jelarthna is outside again. He rejoins Miyeel quickly. "Regardless, it's past time to get moving." He completes the end of the teleport spell. POP! Jelarthna and Miyeel appear a few yards in front of the Tower, and Jelarthna waves, unable to keep from smiling at the structure. "Hello, we're here!" He looks around for the others as he walks up to the door. "Greetings, High One!" Miyeel stands up on Jelarthna's shoulder, waving frantically at one small window. Jelarthna grins at his little companion's exuberance. A minute or so later, Zoya's head pokes out of the window. There is a large smudge on one cheek, but she smiles when she sees the two. "Come in!" she calls. "You remember where the front parlor is, Jelarthna? Wait in there. I'll have the Staff attend you there. I'll be down in a few minutes." Jelarthna waves back and nods, shouting up, "The others should be along soon!" He walks up to the Tower's odd door and enters easily, heading straight for the parlor. He smiles slightly and settles into a comfortable chair, waiting for the Staff and Zoya to make their respective appearances. The Staff appears almost immediately and supplies Jelarthna with the beverage of his choice (within reason, of course - the Tower isn't quite as well-stocked at the 'Hall) and an assortment of breads and cheeses to snack on. Perhaps twenty minutes later, Jaret, Bai, Lisl and Tyl arrive, loaded down with supplies. "Hallo, Zoya!" Tyl yells up at the window. "Can you have the Staff give us a hand, here?" Once again, Zoya's smudged face appears in the window. "Jelarthna's in the parlor!" she calls. She eyes the supplies and laughs. "You'd think there weren't any merchants out there!" Tyl looks up, sticks her tongue out briefly. "Well, I didn't know that! Aside from that, as absent minded as you are these days, I didn't want to count on you not having forgotten dinner!" "And personally, I don't want to be reduced to eating freeze-dried warp rats.... it's not as though there's a food stall on every corner up there," Lisl mutters. Zoya ducks back inside, and a few seconds later the blue wisp of smoke appears and deposits several large packs and trunks at their feet. When the trunks are packed, the Staff collects the packs and trunks and takes them... elsewhere. Jaret, Bai, Lisl and Tyl join Jelarthna in the parlor and are served. It is a good half hour or more before Zoya appears. She is splattered with ink from head to toe, and her robes and face are smudged with what looks like ashes. She is triumphantly brandishing a lightly glowing piece of pure white paper which appears to be covered with arcane and obscure symbols. "Sympathetic magic," she says. "I'd taken the maps and charts off the Maiden to make copies, and it turns out - as I was hoping - that they'd been *on* the Maiden long enough to develop a sort of syno-electrical..." She trails off at the sudden look of combined despair, confusion, and boredom on Lisl's face. "In any case, I've convinced the chart to show us where the Maiden is." She holds up the chart for everyone to see. Carefully displayed, it is no more readable than it was when she was waving it about, but there does seem to be a small red dot on it which is moving. "Thus, rather than having to follow in their wake, we can set course for wherever it is they *are*." She grins at Bai. "Given Yb's usual erratic behavior, being able to chart a straight course should save us considerable time." "Any questions before we set sail?" "I certainly hope so," Tyl says. Lisl leans back in her chair, sipping from a glass of Dwarven spirits and nursing a scratch on her arm. "Just the basics from me... you know, the space problem, the air problem... will we all fit aboard?" Zoya nods. "I doubt we're going to be able to pry Jelarthna off the deck with a crowbar, and I'll be on deck pretty much full-time, too, since I'll have to navigate *and* teach Jelarthna or Bai how to sail her. And one of the three of us," she indicates herself, Jelarthna, and Bai, "will have to be on the helm at all times anyway, to provide power. "So it will be crowded, but do-able. Air could be a problem, though." She frowns a little as she calculates. "We'll need to replenish once a day, to be safe, and there's just not that much traffic..." She turns to Tyl. "You told me when I last took her out that you could transport Glossaria from the ship from as far as two spheres away - how far do you think you could transport air?" She looks at Jelarthna. "You've been out, too - did you try any magic? Do you think you could open a portal back here for air exchange?" "I don't know about teleporting it in. Teleports, especially psionic ones, are very draining," Tyl shrugs. Jelarthna grins. "The magical ones aren't always a walk in the part, either." "However, I can change stale air to breathable air pretty easily, although it does take time. I can change a room full of stale air into a room full of fresh air in about three hours without exhausting my reserves too much." She turns to Jelarthna. "Did you get that bag I asked you about?" "Absolutely! Here you go..." Jelarthna rummages in his pouch for a moment, then pulls out the small black velvet bag and gives it to Tyl. "As requested." "As for the air issue... it sounds like Tyl can do pretty well at that, even if it takes her out of commission for quite a while," he frowns little. "I didn't really play with magic too much while we were out there... it might be simpler to open a portal to the plane of air if you want to replenish ours... and that should do it very quickly. But if I recall the whole helm thing properly, if I'm piloting I won't be able to do that. If you'd like to alternate with me Zoya, I could show you a few tricks for placing a smaller gate and avoiding notice.. it's a slight but important variation." Jelarthna looks thoughtful "Oh, speaking of planar travel! You know, when travelling in some of the other planes air is a big problem. I know a couple of good spells that might help. Hmmm.. well one allows you to breath other things.. that probably wouldn't help much since we're actually got something good to breath. It might come in handy if for some reason the air turns stale and we have to let for a while... Hmm. I've another that will make breathing unnecessary. It lasts a couple of days, not nearly as long as the other one, and I could probably cover all of us." "What dangers should we expect besides those associated with fire? What should we expect from these creatures assuming a fight breaks out? What are their weaknesses?" Bai asks. Zoya considers. "The dangers of the travel - aside from that of using fire in the presence of phlogiston - are minimal, less even than one might expect sailing the seas. As for the creatures on the Maiden... "Beholders have a variety of abilities, most of which manifest as beams or rays extruding from their eyes. Most of them have an anti-magic ray, and many also have magical attacks, which vary from creature to creature. They are most vulnerable to physical attacks. Your best bet is to close with them quickly, keep moving, and disable them as quickly as possible. The subordinate eyestalks can be severed. "Illithid use psionic abilities. When they are hunting for food, they generally employ a short, relatively cheap, burst of energy which stuns their prey long enough for them to kill it. They do have more subtle attacks which they may use - mind control. They are physically even weaker than the beholders, however. "The real unknown is Yb. From what I've seen, she seems to be capable of just about anything *except* ridding herself of that thrice-damned staff. I strongly suggest that we let Bai handle her; he's got the most experience, and the rest of us should have our hands full taking care of the rest." "How exactly does this "helm" work? I've haven't spent much time on ships, and know even less about how they operate." Bai asks. Zoya grins at Bai. "Without entering into complex magical theory? The helm takes a person's stored magical energy and converts it into energy for the ship. They can use either clerical or secular magic, but the Maiden is the first ship I've seen with the ability to utilize any sort of psionics, or which distinguishes between ordered and chaotic magic. "The person at the helm is not necessarily steering the ship, and they need not know anything in order to be useful - all they have to do is maintain constant contact with the helm, which is why most helms are shaped like chairs. The more powerful you are, the longer you can power the helm and the faster the ship can go using your power. After you break contact with the helm, you will not be able to use your magic or power the helm again until you have completely regained all power you have lost - that is, if you have been on the helm for six hours, then it will be another six hours before you can cast spells or sit on the helm again. "Because Bai's magic will be needed to contain Yb, I suggest that he take the first shift at the helm, which should last long enough to get us out of the crystal sphere. After that, Jelarthna and I can take the helm in alternating shifts. It will mean that neither of us will be able to use magic in a confrontation, since one of us will be recovering from a shift and the other will be currently on a helm, but Jelarthna is extremely capable in a fight, even without magic, and I have a number of magical devices, collected for just this reason." She grins. Zoya nods. "It sounds like air shouldn't be a problem, then." She turns to Jelarthna. "You'll want to be careful opening any Planar connections - many Planes have spheres that match the Material Plane's spheres, with void in between, so opening a portal could well suck away . I don't know about the Plane of Air, but if it were that easy, there wouldn't be such a thriving business in traded air. And don't count on being able to cast spells very often. Our shifts will have to be more or less equal in length unless we want to stop moving, so you'll spend all of *my* shifts recovering from *yours*." "Hmmm... well if there is a danger I ought to be able to take a look before actually opening a portal. Usually the largest danger with any type of interplanar gate is that it isn't normally a casual spell, and the very nasty possibility of attracting attention." Jelarthna grins and winks, "I have ways of getting around both. It's worth a try at any rate." "And I'll remember about the spells... I can do without them when I have to. And if the portal to Air thing works, perhaps we can stagger our turns in the helm a bit to give me a chance to do it every few days if we end up being out there for a long time." She summons the Staff. "Anyone who needs any additional supplies - common spell components, whetstones, simple weaponry: Speak out now, and the Staff will see that it's there. Try to remember our space is somewhat limited." She pauses briefly for any orders. Jelarthna pats his pouch and smiles. "A sword or two would be good since I can't use my own out there." Bai suggests. "Well, then, if you'll all follow me, it's time we got underway." She leads everyone not out of the Tower, but deeper into it. "You didn't think I actually *teleported* myself to and from the Elissa every time I needed to holystone the deck, did you?" She grins. After following what seems to be a long, twisted, and circuitous route, they arrive at a carefully locked door. Zoya pulls an iron key from her sleeve and unlocks the door, then lays her hand on it. The wards on the door flicker visibly for a second, and then the door swings open. On the other side of the door is a small room which is half-full of the supplies brought and asked for. Zoya motions everyone into the room, then closes and locks the door. When the door has been locked, a second door appears on the opposite wall. Zoya gives it a similar treatment to unlock it (though you're not sure if it's the same key) and when it swings open, the first door disappears. On the other side of this door is a mountainside clearing, edged with tall trees and thick foliage, the ground lush with grass. In the center of the clearing is Zoya's ship, the Elissa. It looks almost like a sailing ship except that its keel is flat, and it's got at least twice the amount of sail a ship of its size would need on the water. Zoya grins. "All right. Everyone grab a pack or a box and haul it out. The Staff can get into this room, but they can't open the second door. We'll have to stow our things ourselves." She picks up a pack and strides through the door toward the ship. Jelarthna grins at the walls of the room and looks around curiously, then slings a pack over a shoulder and picks up a box and begins to follow Zoya. Tyl gestures and the rest of the supplies rise up and float along behind Zoya. "Hey," she shrugs. "I hate carrying stuff." "Ah, but exercise is good for you!" Jelarthna jibes, giving his fiancee a grin. Bai shrugs, "If she wants to do the work, let her." Once at ship-side, she cancels out yet more wards, which seems to cause the ship to lower its gangplank. On board, she directs everyone to the hold and tells them to make sure everything is securely stowed. The hold looks like something out of an Escher painting, with ladders, handholds, and bizarre chests with multiple lids bolted to every flat surface. "Put everything but your clothes and weapons in a chest - I want nothing loose to go flying about if our gravity suddenly shifts. Keep in mind that under normal conditions, the hold will be oriented upside-down. There are chests in the cabins for the clothes and weapons you're not wearing. And check your sheaths - if you get turned upside down, will your blades fall out? If so, do something about it. I've had a dagger fall on me before. It's not fun." Bai glances over his shoulder at his empty quiver, then tightens his sash. "Ready." Tyl spends some time checking her weapons, an astonishing process, as it normally looks as if she is not well armed. She checks her short sword, several concealed throwing knives, secures a garrote that is tucked into her shirt collar, stows several small vials of some greenish substance in a pouch, and places several small bags of marbles, caltrops and snaptraps into one of the strange chests. Jelarthna takes care to stow things carefully, and tightens the sheath of you sword a little, making certain it can't just fall free. When Tyl is done with her self check, he smiles and touches her shoulder. "Sometimes I wonder how I avoid getting perforated when I give you hug," with that, he plants a kiss in her forehead. Zoya herself drops her pack and goes back to the doorway that's hanging open in the clearing. She checks inside for any remaining packages, then closes and locks the door, causing it to disappear from view. It is dusk by the time everything is stowed to Zoya's satisfaction and everyone has had a tour of the ship. As darkness falls, Zoya attaches her chart to the prow of the ship, and shows Bai to the helm. "It doesn't hurt," she reassures him. "And you won't have to do anything. I'll take care of the navigation. All you have to do is sit there." She grins. "Is everyone ready? Any last-minute questions?" Bai shrugs and sits down were indicated, unslinging his quiver and setting it on the deck next to him. "Ready as I'll ever be," Tyl says. Jelarthna nods in agreement. "All packed and ready to go!" He grins at Bai and goes to the edge of the deck nearby, looking at the helm and the ground and waiting expectantly for the liftoff. Zoya nods and pulls from her sleeve a crystal ball about the size of her two fists together. She stands at the prow of the ship, cradling the ball and whispering quietly. After a moment, the ship lifts quietly into the night, raising straight up and gaining speed as it goes. It isn't long before it appears to the passengers that it is not the ship that is lifting, but Toril that is falling away. The ship continues to gain speed as it speeds past the moon... the sun... After about an hour, as Toril is fading into a speck, she calls Jelarthna over. "Time to begin your lessons." She puts the crystal ball into Jel's eager hands and begins to sketch out the basics of control. (The remaining passengers will be relieved to know that no matter how enthusiastic Jelarthna gets, he can't make the ship turn wild loop-de-loops or suddenly change directions. Momentum is a bitch that way.) The trip itself is almost boring, aside from the great view. The ship is as steady as land - somewhat surprising to those who were expecting a sensation of movement, but Zoya shrugs and explains that the ship generates its own gravity. "Unnhhhh... so you say, Zoya, but I can tell you it's playing havok with... with *something* in my head. *And* my stomach." Lisl shakes her head-- slowly-- and looks a trifle green. "And my sense of direction is non-existent out here. I think it's time to go see if I got my money's worth... excuse me." Lisl heads for the cabins, and returns about ten minutes later sucking on some sort of lozenge and looking much more like her old self. She pats her belt pouch. "This time, I came prepared. Dish it out, Jel, I can take it!" She grins. "If anyone else starts feeling queasy, come talk to me." Jelarthna chuckles a little, both at Lisl predicament, and her comment. He moves his head around as if trying to look at things, but it's somewhat random; he finally stops and closes his eyes and just smiles. Zoya grins. "Actually, there are several forms of motion sickness. The most frequent is caused by sudden changes in direction, either side to side, or up and down - such as is encountered on seagoing vessels. There is also a form of motion sickness that is caused by motion the *mind* perceives, but for which the body does not produce the accompanying sensations. That may be the form you are experiencing, now, Lisl. But in any case, the cures are the same, so it matters little." Zoya suggests that restless passengers might want to climb in and out of the cargo hold to get some practice flipping over the plane of gravity - a trickier maneuver than it sounds. Lisl nods. "Good idea. It's not like I got a great deal of exercise the *last* time. Jaret, are you up for a bit of sparring? I'd like to try some down there, too, when we're a little more used to this flipping business... and test this sparking effect Zoya was talking about. Maybe we could use it to our advantage, if we can figure out how to direct them." "The sparking effect will not be evident until we have left the crystal sphere. There isn't enough phlogiston inside a sphere to worry about." Her eyes glaze slightly. "Some theorists believe that each sphere's sun..." Zoya shakes her head and grins. "In any case, it's a good idea, but it will have to wait until we're outside." And the *really* restless ones can climb around on the sails for exercise. "Why do you think I put up so many?" Zoya laughs. Lisl grins, pausing on her way to the hold. "Better speed? Say, if this ship is powered by mage's bottoms, why *do* you have sails?" "Two reasons. Firstly, the air a ship carries with it depends on its volume, rather than its mass - if things get a little stale down here, I can climb up into the rigging for a fresh breath. "And secondly..." Zoya looks a little sheepish. "I like to climb rigging. If I hadn't been born with the wild talent, I'd probably have been a sailor or trader." Jelarthna grins. "Interesting... no wonder you like spelljamming so much. It's sailing with magic involved. I could get to like this, too." He snorts and laughs, "Mage's bottoms." Tyl ties a long length of rope around her waist, then ties the other end to the rail before attempting some acrobatic leaping around from sail to sail. "Better safe than sorry," she says, untangling the rope from the mizzenmast for the third time. Jaret re-checks his rapier in its sheath, and proceeds to practice slipping in, out, and around in the cargo hold, and even plays around in the rigging for a while. After a few minutes he peers over the edge. "Zoya, what with this 'gravity', can I jump over and walk on the bottom of the ship?" Zoya nods. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes, if you could get there without falling back toward the plane of gravity, you could walk on the bottom of the ship. "There are a number of ships that take advantage of this principle, and which are divided into distinct platforms designed so that there is no bottom - only two tops. Of course, these ships cannot land, and they have a great deal of trouble if they are approached by a larger, hostile ship." After about eight hours, she has Jelarthna relieve Bai at the helm. She suggests that Bai get some food and water, some exercise, and some rest. Bai gets some food and water, then proceeds to familiarize himself with the oddities of the ship as Zoya had instructed the others to. Some six hours into Jelarthna's shift at the helm, something appears in the distance - faint, like mountains on the horizon, but much more massive. Slowly, over the course of hours (despite the ship's speed, which by now is mind-boggling) it resolves into what appears to be a massive grey wall, stretching in all directions, seemingly without end. She frowns at its featureless expanse. "Healed again already? Damn." As the wall looms uncomfortably close, she raises her arms and begins to chant a spell. A faint sparkle appears on the wall and slowly grows until it is somewhat larger than the ship. She continues chanting until the sparkle brightens and opens into a sort of portal, just in time for the ship to shoot through it. Zoya looks around at the black space. "Damn. Damn, damn, damn, where is... There." She lifts the crystal ball, and the ship shifts, heading toward a thin greyish stream. The stream expands swiftly into what appears to be a river of heavy gas and fire. The ship touches down in the stream and immediately accelerates again as it carries them along. Zoya checks her chart, and grins. Bai asks, "So What was all of that about?" "Crystal spheres often form natural cracks that a spelljammer can sail through. There was a small one here when Lisl and Glossaria and I came through a few months ago; I'd hoped it was forming - we could have used it to leave just now. But I suppose it was in the process of healing when I saw it, because it's gone now. I had to use a spell to open a portal - and it's not easy. This 'crystal' is harder than adamantium and almost completely magically inert." Jelarthna ooohs quietly. "So how does the spell work, then? Does it somehow activate a trigger for one of these cracks to occur sort of naturally?" Zoya smiles mysteriously and lowers her voice to a stage-whisper. "It's maaaaaaaaaaagic," she answers, then grins. "No, it doesn't force a natural crack. It's a form of portal, designed specially to deal with the crystal's peculiarities." "It won't be too long," Zoya assures everyone. "They haven't moved for half a day or more. If they continue to dally, we should catch up with them in a couple of days." Lisl frowns. "Any plans for how to board them?" "Not at the moment. It depends on the situation as it stands when we arrive. After all, Yb might have another complete change of personality and decide she'd rather come home. Or the gnomish fleet might have caught up and have things well in hand. Or they might have summoned a beholder fleet, in which case our best bet would be to turn tail and run." She shrugs. "In any case, the Maiden is rather larger than the Elissa [three or four times as big, actually] so when we catch up, we'll have to try to match their gravity plane, or things will get hairy." "And what if they try to run when they see us? Will we have any chance of catching them?" Zoya shakes her head regretfully. "No, if they run, we have no hope of catching them. The Elissa isn't a fast vessel, and I've never seen a ship as fast as the Maiden. Our twin hopes are that we can sneak up on them, and that Yb is in a recovery period by the time we get there... If the Maiden's helm even requires recovery the way a standard one does." "And what of whoever's in the helm at the time? WIll you or I be able to jump out and help once we've grappled them or whatever it is we're going to do? Or are we going to need someone to stay here to make sure we're under power?" Jelarthna tosses out the questions curiously. "Well, it depends in part on the situation. The ship can't move unless a magic-user is on the helm. But it's not intrinsically harmful *not* to have someone powering things. We'd just be like a becalmed ship until one of us was recovered enough to pilot again." Zoya considers. "If we can manage it, I'll start a long shift maybe eight or nine hours before we think we'll be catching up with them. Most of what I can do without magic can be done on the helm, and that will give you time to recover, so you can use your magic as well as your combat abilities." A few days pass. The Preening Maiden continues to stay relatively in one place. As the crew watches the map, it seems as if Yb is flying around in circles. She probably is. Every six or seven hours, the Preening Maiden stops and is pretty much absolutely still. Tyl spends about half of her waking time purifying the air and the other half meditating to regain lost psionic strength. As the Elissa gets within eight hours of the Maiden, the crew spots a ship in the distance. Zoya peers into the distance, then retrieves a spyglass from her sleeve and peers through that at the ship. "I've never seen anything like it," she mutters. "I'd guess it's of gnomish design, though..." She offers the spyglass to anyone who wants to look. Jelarthna takes a long look at the contraption before passing along the spyglass to the next person, breathing out an, "Amazing.." as he does. Barely close enough to make out through the magically enhanced lens is vessel that's closer to being a "contraption" than a "ship". It looks like it's been made from tin cans and lead pipes. "We'll be close enough to interact with them in a little less than two hours," Zoya says. "And we'll reach the Maiden - unless this thing detains us too long, or we stop - in about eight. I think we have two options: "I can take the helm now, in the hopes that this... whatever-it-is won't detain us, and we can continue straight on toward the Maiden confident that Jelarthna will have his magical abilities back by the time we get there. "Or Jel can continue to sit the helm until we've dealt with this ship, and we'll have to delay our rendezvous with the Maiden by a few hours to make sure he's fully charged. "Opinions? Other suggestions?" Jaret frowns. "I don't know many maritime customs apply out here, but with ships on the sea, it's usually considered normal to signal an ahoy to any ships you pass, with signal lamps. Is there something similar out here? We could just signal them, ask if there's any special news they have to pass along. If they do, it could be about Yb. If they don't, we haven't lost anything, since they don't seem to be that far off our course." "Good points, Jaret... Last time we encountered gnomes, we just got close enough to hail them.. but that was also a new ship and when we were lost," Jelarthna grins. "Either way I'd defer to Zoya's experience with etiquette out here." Zoya nods slowly. "There are ways of signalling, yes. But one usually at least recognizes the make of the ship!" She looks through the spyglass again, frustrated, then looks around at everyone else. "What do you think? Should we take the chance? I tell you plainly: I've never seen a vessel like this before, and so I cannot hazard even a guess as to whether they are friend or foe. Tyl? You can't... sense anything from them at this range, can you?" Tyl nods. "Well, sort of. I can go have a look and come back, but that won't tell us anything except what they look like. Of course, if I botch it up, I won't be able to see at all for a while, but you know, everything has its risks. It's easier for me, the closer we are." Zoya nods. "As soon as we think you're close enough to attempt it without too much danger, take a look. I'd like to at least take a peek before we start signalling." "Ten miles off is okay, one mile away is better," she grins. "Psionics have lots of uses, but the range tends to suck eggs." She peers at the ship through the spyglass. Can you figure out where the crew might be? I can't tell one side of that thing from the other." She hands the spyglass to someone else. Tyl sits down, making herself comfortable as Zoya steers the ship closer. She closes her eyes. "Someone might want to sit here and listen." Lisl clears her throat and looks around for Zoya's little blue glowing assistant. "Where's Miyeel? Didn't he say something before about gnomes having tried and condemned that beholder Yb's travelling with?" Zoya blinks. "Excellent idea! Miyeel? Where'd you get to?" And Zoya, you weren't familiar with the Maiden's make either, were you? Possible they come from the same region..." Lisl nods her chin towards the other ship, narrowing her eyes to squint at it. "Certainly fits *my* conception of what a gnomish navy would look like." Zoya shrugs. "Could well come from the same region, but that doesn't tell me whether they're friend or foe." She grins. "But yes, I'd put my money on gnomes, too, if I had to bet." "As for what to do..." Jelarthna looks around at everyone else, then sighs a bit. "I don't know that we can count on Yb to do anything in particular, including moving or staying where she is.. or even if she's made some ghost-blip for us to follow. But it's best to try to be prepared and not hold back if we can avoid it. I think it would be best if you took the helm now, Zoya... we can maybe reassess after we reach the.. the thing up ahead. At least if it doesn't divert us for long we can forge ahead right away." Zoya nods and puts one hand on the helm's chair back. After Jelarthna stands, she slides into the seat, smiling as she does so. "Yes, High One?" Miyeel's little piping voice comes out as he climbs out of the hold. His small wings seem to be somewhat longer, but still not long enough to fly. "Miyeel, can you see that ship out there?" Zoya aims the spyglass for him so he can peer through it. "Do you know who might be on it?" Miyeel peers through the spyglass, putting his whole face to the lens. "Miyeel doesn't know, High One," Miyeel says, looking at the ship. "Miyeel has never been seeing themses before. But Miyeel's not been on a ships much. Not seeing much shipses." Tyl sways suddenly, her breathing slowing. She leans forward, then turns her head slowly from side to side, as if looking at something. Her eyes are still closed. "There's something funny about this," she comments, reaching out as if to touch something that isn't there. "It's very dark. Hang on, someone's coming." She waits for a long moment, a frown creasing her forehead. "He's sort of floating along..." she says, her voice puzzled. "No, no he's not! He's swimming! No wonder it's dark in here. There's no air! They breathe water. Look at that! He's got gills on the side of his neck. Here he comes, he's swimming by." She pauses, breathing heavily. "He's got bluish skin and he's small, maybe a little over three feet tall. He's mostly humanoid, sort of looks gnomish... very thin and has a large nose. He's wearing really strange clothing, seems to be made out of... " she pauses again. "Sharkskin, maybe? He's got a coral bead necklace and some strange markings on his face. I'd say they were tattoos, but how on earth would you do a tattoo underwater? He's got a belt, too. With lots of pockets. There, he's gone now... I can't see anyone else." A moment later, she opens her eyes and looks around. "Okay, that was weird!" Turning to Zoya. "How are we going to talk to people when we can't even breathe the same environment as they can?" "Very weird," says Jelarthna. He snags the spyglass again and stares at the strange ship. Zoya looks surprised and perplexed. "I've heard of water elves before, but water gnomes?" She pauses, thinking. "We can hail them through some standard ship's signals, but those aren't really very useful for passing a lot of information. If I weren't on the helm, I might be able to finagle communications, but it'll be hours before I can call any spells now. And Jelarthna's still recovering..." She looks at Bai. "Is there anything you can do?" Bai shrugs, "I can talk to them, though the range is limited. I'd have to board their ship or they'd have to board ours. And I don't have any spells that allow me to breath underwater." Lisl looks at Jaret. "Jaret, you've talked to merfolk. Got any tricks up your sleeves?" "I'm afraid not." Jaret says. "I know some of the language of Faerun's sea elves, but I've never even heard of aquatic gnomes. And the water breathing abilities I had were temporary, and bestowed upon me by a spell. I'm learning everything as people are talking about it right now. So, any tricks I *might* have up my sleeves aren't applicable in this situation, sorry." Lisl starts suddenly, struck by a thought. "Wait a second--they're 'jammers, right? I'm sure *they've* figured out some way to talk to airbreathers, if only to trade for air and such. Their water's got to get just as stale as our air does, sometimes! Is there a way we could signal a desire to talk, Zoya?" She points at Zoya's bit of parchment, with the dot indicating the Maiden. "We're close-- they've probably even seen the ship. I think it would be worthwhile to at least ask, if we can." Jelarthna brightens, "Oh, good thinking, Lisl! It makes sense that they'd have to trade at some point, too. I *really* want to see how.. and more of their ship!" Tyl looks over at Bai. "That much I can do... it's a little uncomfortable at first, but you'll get used to it. I was going to suggest using it myself, but I'm not much of a linguist, and even mind-reading needs to take place in the same language." Jelarthna turns to Tyl curiously. "Really? I didn't realize that. How interesting!" He grins and fiddles with his beltpouch. "If you have trouble with the water breathing thing Tyl, I might have something that could work.. a potion or a ring, something like that." She turns to Zoya. "Did we want to go ahead and signal them, or just go around?" she asks, fishing in her pouch for a small green gemstone. "I think it's worth at least seeing if they'll talk, but we shouldn't spend too long on it.. we don't want Zoya to have to spend *too* long in the helm all at once, and she hasn't had a full recovery..." Jelarthna turns to Zoya and grins. "So what do we do?" Zoya grins. "I'm fine on the helm for hours, yet. You folk figure out how to get together with them - I left my water-breathing potions back at the Tower. I'll signal them and find out if they're interested in talking." She rummages around in her sleeve for a while and comes up with a thin, metallic wand. She aims it in the direction of the gnomish ship and it begins flashing extremely bright, colored lights. Tyl looks over at Zoya with a trace of amusement. "I swear, woman, it wouldn't surprise me if you had the kitchen sink up your sleeve." She takes a moment and looks up her own sleeve. "Although I must admit, I have no idea how you keep everything from falling out." Zoya laughs. "It's a variation on a bag of holding. Nothing comes out unless I reach in after it. It comes in handy when you spend a lot of time bound to a helm." Jelarthna chuckles in amusement and pats his belt pouch. "This is similar. Smaller and more convenient than a bag of holding, but holds about as much." He grins. The gnomish ship turns slowly and rolls towards the Elissa like a giant wheel. Multiple flashes of light flicker from a large oval section of the ship, acknowledging the hail. When the two ships are fairly close together, a small door opens up and, with a gush of water spilling out, a very small ship comes out. The smaller ship flashes a few lights, asking for permission to board. The small ship floats up, then, with a thud, lands on the deck of the Elissa. Water is still dripping from the surface, puddling onto the floor. A door opens in the ship and out steps a gnome, dressed in strange clothing with an interesting machine of some sort strapped across his back. The machine is metallic, with a long black tube coming out of the bottom, which wraps around the neck of the gnome like a snake. "Keeeeeeeeeeeyeeeeek! Shrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeayyyak! Eeeeeeeeeeeeniiiiiiiiiick!" the gnome screeches out something which sounds like a combination of someone running their fingernails down a chalkboard and a child scraping his plate with a fork. Jelarthna shakes his head a little, looking thoughtful. "Doesn't even sounds vaguely familiar..." He looks over at Bai. Zoya barely manages not to wince at the noise, then turns to look at Bai. "Well... You said you could talk to them." "Cooooooooooompk! Arrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiik! Soooooooooooooooooonk!" Bai replies in what sounds like a perfect match of the water gnomes language. The gnome stares at Bai, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. He backs a few steps away and screeches, his voice sounding demanding and urgent Jelarthna grins at Bai and waits patiently for the conversation to commence, looking at the gnome's device and smaller ship curiously. Bai and the gnome have a brief conversation screeches and squeaks, then the gnome gets back into his ship and returns. Bai turns to everyone. "Apparently they're part of an armada sent out here to capture the Maiden. They're going to follow us." Bai says. |
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