Airships Over Aranor 10

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Whys is in the back of the Farran, closing down the door again. He is away from the others, but he can easily survey the damage along with Conall. There's a hole in the roof and floor, but nothing critical was hit along the way since most of the engineworks are in the back of the ship. There are also the four holes in the sides of the ship, and all six together do make the ship unfit for passengers and somewhat less aerodynamically efficient. Xach has a severe burn on his hand and now numerous bruises on the front side of his body. Ann is tough, but her wings are going to be out of commission for at least a few days. It's going to hurt Conall to touch things for a while, including his own clothes. Even the Fylenis managed to get injured in all this.

The captain, who knows Whys is still listening in, speaks. "Well, I suppose there are two ways of looking at this situation. I would say, everyone has been injured, the enemy got away, and after swearing the worst kinds of revenge on all of us. On the other hand, my sister would say we fought with everything we had, nearly got her...and now we've confronted Verra Kriset and lived, twice. Heh." He's almost, sort of smiling. Just a little bit. Come on, I'm sure that's not all the encouragement you've got. Anything original?
"...Certainly. Whys, get those pirates we did capture to the brig. I have little doubt at least some of them will be worth some bounty, enough to pay for repairs and medicine at any rate. In light of their loss and our gain this ought to be at least as good as a tie."
Better. And will do. And, uh, you got company.

An hour or two ago, the dragon Arizan was asked to hold on to something, to brace for some upcoming turbulence. Some half hour or so ago, there were loud crunching noises from the sides of the ship. A minute ago, the clear sound of an explosion rocked the entire ship. Dragons fly, and dragons are generally large enough to have an experience similar to what that of a sentient airship (if such a thing existed) would be when moving quickly at high altitudes. Dragons know what turbulence feels like intuitively, and they know that it generally doesn't cause explosions.

So of course she stormed out of the engine room and on her way straight to the bridge, the last known position of anyone else on the airship. And, after navigating a couple too many cramped hallways again, she comes to one close to the bridge and finds a giant hole in it, not to mention the captain covered in what looks like severe burns. The natural reaction to confusion for certain dragons is anger because they are usually big enough to just kill whatever makes them angry, and something that is confusing has a high risk of being a threat. Arizan is one such dragon, and is naturally furious enough at this development to nearly spit fire while talking. "What. Is. This."

Not even Conall can resist a literal interpretation. "This is a giant hole in my ship."
"Okay." There is a brief pause. "WHY IS THERE A GIANT HOLE IN YOUR SHIP THAT WASN'T THERE TWO HOURS AGO?!" It's really amazing when a dragon manages to spit fire and talk at the same time. Of course, it isn't a directed shot or anything, so it doesn't do much more than raise the temperature several degrees and aggravate Conall's burns a little more.
The human answers quickly and forcefully, without any pause longer than a breath, to suppress the dragon's protests until he finishes speaking. "We were attacked by pirates who, given the right circumstances, could very well have killed all of us, yourself included. I thought it best not to inform you of their attack in order to reduce the risk of their knowing you were here, since their captain is particularly insane and might have killed or kidnapped you if she knew you were here. Yes, she could have done that, last time I checked Fylenis powers work on dragons, too. Also, the captain got away with the ship after swearing vengeance on all of us, but since she did not know you were here you should not be in any danger from her. You are welcome."

There is almost enough time to mentally process all of that and form a response before he starts talking again. "Oh, and since our efforts to evade the pirate required us to move faster than usual we will be arriving at port in only a few more minutes. Once we get there this ship will have to be repaired, and if you still feel you need protection I will ask one of my crew to keep an eye on you during shore leave."

There is a long awkward pause before Arizan officially accepts Conall's defense and reasoning. "...Very well. I will decide when we get there." Conall nods and turns around, heading back to the bridge. The captain belongs on the bridge, after all.

Nothing important happens on the rest of the way to Rysinth, the airship port town that is and has always been the Farran's destination. Suddenly you, the reader, are suffused in so much free will and oh I can't do this. Let's just say that you can pick anyone currently on the Farran, nameless pirates excluded, and follow him or her on shore leave for a little while. Each of them is certain to meet someone exciting and interesting, share stories of things seen or heard long ago, and maybe even go on some small adventure all their own (since it'll take at least a couple of days to fix all the holes, not to mention the injuries). You may also suggest whether Arizan decides to consider the crew's work of protecting her complete and leave them be, or insists on an escort around town.

End Chapter 1

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From: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?42524-Airships-Over-Aranor-Prose