"Where Aa is silent, perhaps the Zodar will speak," responds Athellin, and setting himself in Aalistair's place begins a long shuffling of his Zodar deck, dealing cards out, and reshuffling them for quite some time, before finally speaking.

"Most curious.  Again, I remind all present, when the Zodar speaks, its advice is best heeded, though it does not deign to explain itself."  He stretches, then continues, "We fly east during the night, until Jhang's sickle breaks the horizon, then we part ways with our fine hosts.  We must then carefully, and very quietly, make our way east, until we spot our quarry."  He looks inquisitive, almost confused, as he looks up again, first at Callianos, then Jaxar and J'landria, and briefly, at the others of the band gathered.  "I say, can you fly?"

J'landria, having been silent and ever watchful from the prow, not leaving her spot, even while sleeping looks startled at the question.  Her head turns and she looks at Athellin, green eyes wide.
"Fly how," she asks.

In reply to J'landria (msg #93):

A low growl rumbles in Jaxar's throat, "Although I am hoping Athellin will be able to shed more light on his last comment I think it's safe to assume that we will need to board the Wind of Fate in a manner similar to the first time we took possession of her. Although I have not seen many windships I do not believe I have seen any that were physically on the ground. The need to fly could refer to the fact that we will need to get aboard a windship that is, at the least floating above the ground, and possibly moving."

"I believe friend Jaxar has the way of it.  The Zodar indicates that while the group of us may approach the windship, it would possibly be most advantageous for the three of you to be in the forefront.  And some, perhaps all, of us will need to be flying to get to the windship.

"That's all the Zodar chooses to reveal at this time.  I hope it may be of some assistance.  As always, you may choose to take its advice, or not." 

In reply to Jaxar (msg #94):

"It could also imply the use of magic, in some capacity.  It goes without saying that stealth, rather than brute force, is required if we are going to survive this encounter.  Perhaps the Zodar deck instructs us to create a diversion, so that some of us can slip aboard the Fate while the rest of us divert the attention of those devils."

J'landria shrugs with a small sigh.
"I can... follow directions," she says after a moment.  Her ears twitch and she looks back over the landscape moving below them.  Her attention is captured for a moment, then she turns her back on the ground and walks over to where people are gathered and talking.

The suns set, and full night encloses The Horn.  The coming of night brings cold, chill air, a reminder of the lateness of the season.

The night deepens, but the captain puts out only the most minimal lights on deck, and those he has shielded so they do not shine directly forward.  With those, and the light of the full silver moon, it is just possible for an experienced sailor to find their way around.

On the eastern horizon, the blood red horn of Jhang's crescent thrusts upwards.

"If only I had a small avir," J'landria whispers into the night air.  She looks around, keeping her attention ahead of the ship, looking around to see if she can spot anything.

Wraith's eyes narrow as he attempts to steer the ship.  He looks about for Jaxar and says, "Perhaps the one among us named Kar can reconnoiter a bit for us.  What do you think?"

"Better, something smaller," J'landria says before Jaxar can reply, a rumble in her throat.  "If Kar could find me a... small night Avir.  I could see well... beyond the reaches of the... ship, and we would be less exposed."
She turns then and looks at Wraith, bowing slightly while her long tail swishes behind her.
"Unless you have one... at hand."

She raises her chin then, her green eyes almost glowing in the dim light and she smiles.  Her white teeth glint in the darkness and she seems quite the predator.

*At which point, Kar spreads his wings.*

After all have apprently missed this show,

"Ahem...yeah, some of us can fly. What of it? I had thought to begin running scout to see if I could find them early, but if you have a better idea...?"

In reply to J'landria (msg #101):

"I do not have an Avir at my disposal, lovely lady." Wraith smiles at the regal Jaka.  "Kar will have to suffice, I'm afraid."

Her shoulders shake as if she's laughing while a quiet and short hissing sound can be heard, and she holds up her hands as if she's cupping something small.

"Alas... I can not hold him... and whisper to him," she says, a twinge of amusement in her voice, the usual growl rumbling in the background.  She turns then, reaching out to one of Kar's outstretched wings.
"Are there any... small night birds?  I need but one with... swift wing and sharp senses."

OOC: Pay no attention to the seven foot tall man with the bird-like visage and the twenty foot wingspan, there are no flyers here.

In reply to J'landria (msg #104):

From her former position at the prow of the windship, after dark fell, J'landria was able to perceive the occasional night hawk winging through the night air. 
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:51, Fri 06 Aug 2010.

J'landria turns her head and spies a night hawk winging in the the wake of the windship.  She smiles.
"By the grace of Jalar," she intones quietly.  "Come to me... aid me... Be my eyes, my ears."

She holds her hand out and the hawk swoops over and lands on her wrist.

"Hello sister," she says, stroking the hawk's head.  She then leans in and whispers to it.  Her eyes close and she takes a deep breath.  When she opens them, the glow in her eyes is now red instead of the earlier green.  The hawk cries out once and takes off, flying ahead of the ship.

"I only have a short... time.  We can see what is around... what lies ahead," she says and she turns back to the area beyond.

The small night avir wings rapidly away before the windship, quickly disappearing into the night, while J'landria remains, an intent look of concentration on her countenance.

Meanwhile, Peregrinus steps beside Wraith, places his hand on his shoulder, saying, "I should spell you now, and slow the windship.  Now is the time for you to be with your companions, in any case.  Should we not get a chance to speak further, it has been a pleasure serving with you, and best wishes for your coming encounters."

J'landria is silent for a little while, then a gasp and a long low menacing growl.

"Danger ahead," she snarls, her lip curling up.  Her tail thrashes a few times before she turns to look at the rest of you, the red fades from her eyes and they're once again glowing green.  Her voice is low and her expression is grim yet fierce.  "I saw a... very large number of beast men.  The ship moored by large... rocks.  A platform from the ship lowered... a host of more humanoids on it."

She growls again, the same angry or hungry growl.

"There look to be a hundred... or more.  A plan is needed."

Coming up in time to hear J'landria's words, Aalistair peers off into the darkness. Seeing nothing, he moves up on to the deck and finds something sturdy to sit himself near.

"So, we believe that the ship we seek is somehow moored to one of the Fangs? And that they are indeed working with the Beastmen?" He takes a deep breath, thinking for a moment.

"I suppose our first order is to re-acquire the other ship, yes? Though we may like to strike at the Beastmen, that is secondary. Too, if we sieze the other ship, the Beastmen will have less opportunity to strike at us." He looks around the ship for a moment, his eyes slightly unfocused.

"Aside from Kar with his natural gifts, do any of you capable of altering nature have the ability to make yourself fly? Or conceal yourself or others? Perhaps in such a way we might enable a small force to board the other ship - either as a pre-emptive strike or while others of us create a diversion." He shrugs.

"Either way, am I correct in assuming that the other ship is our main priority here?"

Wraith surrenders the helm to Peregrinus and, extending his hand, says, "Thank you for your kind words.  It has been a pleasure to serve aboard this vessel. I hope that we cross paths again."

In reply to Wraith Zephyr (msg #111):

Peregrinus grasps Wraith's hand in response, and answers, "I hope so as well, my friend."

In reply to Aalistair (msg #110):

Rioniv, listening to everyone's words, after no one has responded to Aalistair, offers, "That is my understanding, Aalistair, that our one overriding goal at this time is to reacquire the windship.  I do have a spell that will levitate a man, but how many times I could cast it, I do not know.  Certainly not enough to get our entire crew in flight."

In reply to Rioniv (msg #113):

Wraith recalls, suddenly, that his friend Nas provided him with an elixir of flight with several doses.  An idea suddenly begins to materialize in his head, and he saunters across the deck to confer with the rest of the group.

"How could I have been so stupid?" He says to himself.  "Perhaps because I am that stupid. That phial has been in my belt pouch for days now."

"How close do you think our captain is willing to take us? That is another consideration. Can," Aalistair closes his eyes for a brief moment, taking a breath. "Is it possible for us to go very very high above them? Then levitate down? A controlled fall? In Aaman and other countries of the west the nighthawk frequently does something similar, diving from on high. In the far East, I have heard that the shrikes do that as well."

In reply to Aalistair (msg #115):

Overhearing their conversation, Wraith says, "Gentleman, I think I may have a solution to our dilemma."  He rifles through a small pouch and produces a phial filled with a glimmering liquid.  "My esteemed colleague Nas Nasri gave this to me when I'd had a bit too much Aquavit.  There's enough in here to render us all capable of flight . . .  Please forgive me for not thinking of this sooner."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Sat 07 Aug 2010.