Fareeda nearly screamed as the airship suddenly took off. The food she had eaten threatened to rise up from her belly but she managed to controlled it with an effort.

While the view of the city below was spectacular, Fareeda took only one glance and shied away from the railing.

After a few minutes, she recovered from her sense of vertigo and put on a brave face.

"It looks like i had as yet developed my sea legs or rather sky legs." she said weakly, more to herself than anyone listening.

Just then, Fareeda saw the other flying vessel in the sky and saw Hingleswip frowned. It was a look she knew well after all this time she worked for him.

By Sune, i know that look. Something is wrong.

"Are they competitors, professor?" she asked as she went to his side.

Krogan was absolutely fascinated by the flushable tolets, the first he'd ever seen.   It was even more of a wonder to him than seeing the fireworks from above.    He silentlh vowed to increase his food intake, just to use them more often.

He found he loved air travel, and vowed to make flying under his own power a life priority.

This euphoria evaporated a little as he also saw the other ship.   Though far removed from his orc kin, he still had orc instincts, and being the smaller creature in a chase, being prey, did NOT sit well  with the big man.
He waited for the professor to answer the other's questions.

Lambrac was not impressed by the flushing toilets, since Lantan had had such things since the time that mainlanders were still squatting behind bushes. He was more curious, and concerned, about the mechanics of how it worked in a contained ship a great distance in the air. Where did the waste go, exactly? However, he wasn't interested enough to go see the sewage mechanisms themselves.

He was rather to disappointed to learn that the Scilandar was going direct to Chult over the Shining Sea. But then, it was a pretty wide detour to go over Lantan just so he could see his house.

*

Lambrac, surprisingly, was not craning his neck like everyone else over the railing when the Scilandar took off, and so he missed the whole grand spectacle of their emergence from great Calimport. After all, he'd seen plenty of the city already, and what was another angle going to add to his knowledge? No, he was with Ham and Jens, watching the great engines at work as they hauled the ship into the sky, and he was with the Professor as he piloted the vessel and watched the control mechanisms. He even helped out, where he could and was allowed. The whole contraption fascinated him, as every part moved in harmony to achieve a goal.

Finally, as activities settled down he pulled himself away from the devices and went for a walk, only now peering over the side at the land far below, the distant desert and ocean, the tiny cities and invisible people, the whole wide world spread before them. This was the viewpoint of the Gods, and it was humbling.

Lambrac sauntered towards the stern, finding people gathering over some sight. It was an even bigger and grander flying ship, but the clearly magical means of flight just smacked of laziness. "Might be Halruaans." he suggested, but he was no expert on airships, magical or otherwise.


OOC: ID ship: Knowledge (Arcana) 6, never mind

The Professor breathed deep as several of the other group came to stand beside him. His usual comical, slightly mad demeanour was gone and his features were set like rock.

To the question of who or what might be in the pursuing airship he muttered but two words.

"The enemy".

Krogan smirked.
No offense, Professor, but can you be more specific?   This is Calimport, you can buy enemies by the dozen in the bazaar.

He was regretting not spending his money on a good longbow, though.

Her father was serious when he said she shouldn't leave, and she was sorry to say she was never a very obedient gnomeling. But her uncle was everything her father was not, and what her father chastised her for her uncle celebrated and praised. She could handle herself, what could her father not see! All the mages in Almraiven agreed, she was brilliant. Brilliant! Linni frowned as she hid beside the railing of the ship, angry at the thought of her fathers abduction. What would everyone think of her now, carried off by her father like a babe. She peeked over the railing to see everyone peering into the distance looking concerned.

Turning her head to the same direction a small frown creased her forehead, she didn't know of anyone who had an airship to even rival Scilandar let alone outsize it. Wherever it came from its timing meant it was unlikely friendly.

Casting aside her concerns Linni decides to take a direct approach, walking up from behind the others till she stands by her uncles side. ”Should we burn it down?”

"If they mean us harm, then who cares what they are? Can the Scilandar outrace it?"

Fareeda desperately wished Abbas was here with her but she found herself standing next to the orc Krogan and clutching his arm. It was not as cold, slimy and clammy as she thought his green skin would be and it was so muscular too.

As if on command, Abbas approaches. He had been exploring the ship, and keeping to his own thoughts on the dangerous journey ahead. Sure, he leapt into these situations with abandon, and never actually considered the danger to himself. It was an adventure, and that life path required a certain sense of abandon. Still, he was looking out for more than himself now. While he might have the senses of a leader, and his friends and allies looked up to him in that capacity, he was certainly not the public face of the party.

Now he stands near Fareeda and Krogan as appearing out of the shadows around them, his hair freshly tightened back behind his head. He grinned at the figure on the other ship, and placed his left hand casually on the broadblade sword on his hip. His other hand flitted softly against Fareeda's arm, as a soft greeting, and he said, "We'll do what we can and what we have to. Right now, it's best to be ready. What kind of weapons does the ship have, Professor?"

Abbas might be nearly untouchable in a hand to hand fight, but a battle of these proportions might be beyond his skill and ability.

"Oh pleaaase...go get a room," Jibril sneers at Fareeda. "We have a situation here that doesn't require those types of skills..."

Fareeda sneered back at Jibril and answered with a barb of her own.

"Oh? I am surprised that you don't do so yourself, Azuthite. With The Lord of Spells sucking on Mystra's teat, i often wonder why would there be a need of your god at all as Mystra is the goddess of the Weave herself and Azuth is merely but a caretaker?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:03, Wed 26 Oct 2011.

Jibril puffs up like an oversized peacock, with the vibrant colors to match.  He does a once over of the woman from the tip of her toes to the flying strands of her hair, while finally resting his gaze on her fingers clutching the orc's arm.

"Well, you obviously know something about caretakers. And there's nothing wrong with being a caretaker. It can be a noble profession.  Just ask Krogan or Abbas here since that seems to be the nature of their relationship..."   

Fareeda was enjoying needling the priest.

"Are you so jealous? I have seen the way you stare at me with your hot eyes. As for my own caretakers as it were, i will be careful if i were you in their presence. If i die then some will weep at my funeral but in your case, not even Azuth won't mourn your demise as he is much too busy lusting after Mystra to even care. You are no cleric, you are merely a bureaucrat, a cog within the Weave nothing more. I pity you."

Jibril laughs with amusement.  "That crotchety old fart? Since he's too busy studying his arcane tomes, he probably forgot he even has a cock...I doubt he's lusting after Mystra."

"And jealous? Hardly. Now, Professor what were you saying..."

"Takes one to know one, priest. No need to get all defensive." Fareeda mocked then she looked at the other airship.

"That pious fool has no idea how weak the temple of his god is or how low he sits in it." she hissed a moment later as an after thought.

With a bemused, self-centered smile, Jibril chose to ignore the woman's trivial barbs. He certainly didn't want to get into a cat fight that resulted in her plunging a mile below into the shark infested waters of the Shining Sea.  No, he certainly didn't want that...

Lambrac looked bemused between the arguing priest and entertainer. In the matter of an argument, he'd certainly side with the far lovelier of the two, but she wasn't exactly trying to avoid a fight here either. "Enough, children, or we'll turn this ship around right now and go straight home." And not go to Chult at all, it seemed an excellent idea.

"Enemy, Professor? An enemy you completely neglected to tell us about during the briefing?" He hated surprises.

Krogan was amused but confused about why the Azuth cleric was trying to beat his chest to get the small woman's affections.   They seemed to have better things to do at the moment.
He looked down at Fareeda and nodded.
I'll protect you to the best of my ability, ma'am.   I'm a bodyguard, but it's pretty obvious that we need everyone here for my employer to be successfully protected as well.    I don't have a bow, but I'll do what I can if they get closer.

He looked for a way to secure himself, and others, to the airship should a battle start.   Perhaps tying rope around their waists, and them to the railing or something more to the interior of the decks.

Ignoring the countless questions aimed in his direction and the bickering between Jibril and Fareeda, Professor Hingleswip turned and marched back below decks, gesturing for Ham and Jens to follow.

Within moments a strange buzzing sound began to fill the air along with the strange scent of burning ozone. Several antennae around the ship began to crackle with luminous blue energy which began to ripple over and around the ship's hull.

It had been a clear, star-filled night, illuminated by the light of a waxing moon, yet wispy cloud was starting to form in every direction. Within minutes the cloud had become thick fog, obscuring any vision beyond ten feet.

Wheezing loudly and leaning heavily on his cane, the Professor reappeared, seemingly drained by whatever had taken place below decks.

Krogan looked around, one hairy but well groomed eyebrow cocked.
A Fog Cloud to hide in?    A nifty idea, but wouldn't it be better to just kill them?

"Please do not be alarmed", the Professor coughed loudly, his breath struggling to return, "We are in no danger now. The ship you saw was...something unexpected. Quite unexpected."

He gestured out to the south with his cane, his features still set grim and resolute, "Nothing changes. Our objectives remain the same. If they wish to follow they will find the way is far more hazardous than they could have anticipated.

For now, I must rest. Please, make yourselves at home as best you can, we'll reach land by tomorrow and our destination is another day inland at full speed."

Wearily, he turned to head off once more but looked back over his shoulder to speak again, "Where we are going is a place without forgiveness, beautiful but deadly in its nature. You must learn to work together as a team, or you will all die."

He smiled sadly at Linni - it was evident he wasn't at all surprised by her return. And with that, he left.

"Let's hope they don't think to just follow the fog cloud..." Lambrac mused, in a low voice lest their pursuers be magically eavesdropping. Just because they couldn't see them was really no guarantee of non-detection.

And a 'way more hazardous than they could have anticipated' didn't sit well with him either, not when they had a ship three times bigger, magically propelled, and equipped with Gond-knew-how-many weapons and other surprises. What could be more hazardous for them? That they were flying into first?

The last words left him cold, and he waited until the Professor had left before beginning "Well, now, this isn't quite how I expected to die, but it will certainly be spectacular!" with a false good cheer.

Krogan chuckled at Lambrac's words.
Yes, it will certainly be memorable.   Well, not by us, of course, but by anyone else who sees it. 

Abbas grinned at the cloud that surrounded the ship. Lambrac brought up the hole in the logic of cloaking the ship, but it would serve as an effective cover regardless of who was following them. It was at night and they were effectively a giant cloud.

"Anybody up for some discussion or drills to develop our teamwork?" Abbas knew his place in a fight well, but that didn't mean the group as a whole would when acting together. He ignored the cold remarks by some of the others. Laughing at death was a requirement as an adventurer, but sometimes it just got to be too much.

Krogan nodded to Abbas.
I'm game.   You can't really get too good at fighting, I think.    Well, I'm a front line fighter.  I have some ranged toys, but my main strength is charging  up the middle.
I can adjust that, if need be, of course.

The orc spoke more for the group than for Abbas, who'd already fought at his side.

Thaniel kept to himself through the various events, arguments and conversations that happened on deck. He preferred to take in all that was happening, observing everything before he would make his own contribution.

OOC: NPC'd.