Flight!  Tylluan is back in the air, carrying Rosa to the ship that had been his residence for a fair number of days now.  The ship was half-lost in the mist, but as he swoops through the fog he can see the sails more clearly.

The Darkmaiden's Dance was leading the creature - it pursued the ship steadily, but was slowly flagging behind.  Slowly, but tirelessly, it seemed.  It slowly rocked back and forth as it swam, the lights around it bobbing and dipping lightly under the water, but keeping pace with the thing.  From above, it looked almost like a bottom-feeder fish - flatter and wider at the front, narrow at the back.  Perhaps that was why it struggled to keep up with Rosa's ship?

Rosa could see Dolph and the rest of her crew watching the thing like a hawk.  At the same time, others were pointing to where (they seemed to guess) the 'ghost ship' was.  But at this point it was probably impossible to see... nor did they see Tylluan in the air.  Their focus was on the water, especially the creature that doggedly pursued them!

Tylluan flies toward the ship, taking care to keep a cautious altitude. Whatever this creature is, it's possible that it might have tentacles. I'd rather not be dragged into the water and drowned, thank you very much. He flaps his wings to bring them closer to the ship until they're almost over it. "I am going to make a steep dive now," he tells Rosa. "It's possible this creature has tentacles, and I'd rather not give it time to snatch us out of the air, yes?"

With that, Tylluan half-folds his wings and drops toward the Maiden. As with the rest of his kind, his descent is eerily silent. As they come swooping out of the fog, he snaps his wings out and flares them, bringing them to a halt just above the deck.

Rosa looks down at the creature as they fly over it. “What the hell is it? Is that a catfish? Circle around once. I want to get a better look.”

Rosa is feeling a bit helpless as Tylluan holds her by her arms. She’d like to get a bomb out and drop it on the nose of that creature, but she can’t reach anything.

When they get back to the ship, she cheerfully says, “Well done lads! Keep the same course – we're outrunning it.”

She turns to Tylluan and says, “Thank you for the flight; it was a truly wonderful experience. Do you think you will be able to bring Light and Murleena back in one trip, or will it take two? Murleena is a skinny little thing, but Light is a big lad.”

She leaves Dolph at the helm, but she stays at the back of the ship where she can keep an eye on the sea-monster.

Tylluan bobs his head to Rosa. "As long as the distance does not become too great, I should be able to bring them both back safely. I will, of course, be very hungry when I'm done. Sustained flight takes a lot of energy." Without preamble, he wheels around and springs into the air again, heading back to where the derelict ship is still cruising, wreathed in fog. A pity I can't carry both at the same time, but I am an entertainer, not a warrior. They're lucky I can do this much.

Rosa... perhaps wished it was a catfish, truly.  She was able to make out long side-fins as Tylluan came in low, landing on the 'Dance' with her.  Hugh was moving to see if she was okay, but seemed simply reassured seeing her respond to them.

Dolph nodded once, working the helm.  He looked... stressed.  But the ship kept ahead of the thing - they managed to catch enough wind to keep well ahead of it... and ahead of the fog.

The fog was following that creature, Rosa was sure now.  It was moving faster, rolling across the surface of the water, as the fish-thing pursued her ship.  Even that creature was beginning to slow down.

Slow down, and turn away.  As Tylluan begins to light into the air again, he can see the fish-thing is wheeling around... apparently giving up on pursuit.  But, oddly, turning around.  It's heading back to the ghost ship...?

Rosa says to Tylluan as he’s preparing to launch, “I’ll keep the ship as close as possible to the mist-ship while staying out of the tentacled jaws of the giant catfish.” She takes a step back as he launches without another word, then she turns and attends to the ship and crew.

Leaving Dolph at the helm, Rosa quickly climbs up to the crow's nest so she can keep a better eye on the creature. “Four points to starboard, Dolph! Trim the sails to three-quarter sails!” She brings the ship around so they keep parallel to the other ship without getting any closer to it or the creature.

Tylluan bobs his head once more as he flaps into the air. "Please do. I don't know how long this creature will remain curious, before trying to sink one ship or the other." He tilts his wings to bring himself on course for the other ship and climbs higher. As he passes over the glowing fish-thing he sighs inwardly. Oh, you silly thing. Why can't you just leave things alone? While I'm not really concerned about the ones left on that ship, I just KNOW the captain would do something inadvisably foolish to save them, which would be a great inconvenience to ME. I cannot have that sort of thing. I want to continue my travels.

When he reaches the derelict ship, Tylluan settles on one of the yardarms again and calls out. "Hello! Hello! It is time to leave! Whoever is going next needs to get out here. That fish-thing has stopped chasing the captain's ship and is returning here."

Rosa seized upon the chance to watch the thing as she gave her orders.  Her crew were experienced enough to take over in a pinch - which was enough for her to track the fish...thing and be ready.

Ready... for what?  She didn't know.  She couldn't tell what else that creature might have in store.

And it might be territorial.  As the Dance trims its sail and alters course, she sees the creature has already begun to bank away... and follow after Tylluan?

---

Tylluan was already in the air when he noticed something amiss.  The fog was thick, again, no surprise if this creature was really controlling it.  There was something else he was seeing, through the fog, too.

Faint lights.  Like the ones that surrounded the creature in the water, glowing pale orbs that seemed to be hovering in the distance... not below him, but ahead of him!  And in the air, somehow?  He hadn't even started flying to the derelict ship yet!

But Tylluan could hear the creature below, swimming after him.  He wasn't turned around... and the orbs were slowly getting closer, brighter...

Tylluan flies toward the derelict ship, but takes note of the glowing motes in the air. Now what is this? They look like the lights surrounding that fish-thing, but they're in the air. How is that possible? Are they dangerous? Will they allow me to pass them by so I can recover the two left on board that ship? So many unknowns here. Travel and adventure are for encountering the unknown, yes, but within reason. This is NOT within reason.

Tylluan will try to use his superior eyesight to see if he can identify what these floating orbs are.
OOC:
PER Roll, Sight: 13-
19:58, Today: Tylluan rolled 11 using 3d6 ((1,5,5)).

As Rosa sits in the crow's nest and watches the movements of the giant sea beast, she straps a few of her bombs together in order to make a bigger bang.

When the creatures back to the other ship, Rosa turns her ship so they get a little closer.

When she sees the strange lights in the mist, she gets out her telescope and tries to get a better look at them. She doubts she’ll have much luck with them, so she looks down and focuses in on the sea creature and has a better look at it.

Tylluan's gaze focuses on the glow.  Focusing in on them as he flies through the fog, he struggles to make sense of ephermal shapes of light.  Rosa was far worse off - further away, she tries to tell what the lights are with her spyglass... but she can't tell a thing.

Tylluan though... as he watches the lights, he finds they don't mvove the way a flying thing should.  They were almost hovering and bobbing in the air, yet somehow seemed to slide back as he approached... as if blown away by the wind.  Yet the lights barely shift or change, and they certainly do not flicker.

The lights themselves... aren't wholly circular.  The lights... have shallows too, and he swears she can see something akin to pits of eyes... or the hollows of a skull.

What the hell are these things...?!

Tylluan clicks his beak thoughtfully as he nears the mysterious lights. What in the world could these things be? They weren't above the water when we originally intercepted the ship. They weren't even there when the creature set off after the Maiden. He sighs inwardly and ponders for a moment, before coming to a decision. I'll treat them the same as any other annoyance; I'll ignore them. If I don't attack them, or otherwise try to engage with them, perhaps they will ignore me in turn.

With this thought in mind, Tylluan flaps onward, hoping to reach the derelict soon, so he can retrieve at least one of his, for lack of a better word, traveling companions.

With nimble fingers, Rosa meticulously assembles her arsenal of bombs, a precautionary measure rather than an act of aggression. Each one is carefully crafted, its dragon-powder core nestled within a sturdy pottery shell, ready to be unleashed.

From her perch in the crow's nest, Rosa scans the nearby area. Her sharp gaze follows the graceful flight of Tylluan as he glides towards the distant ship

Her attention is drawn beyond her feathered friend to the glowing, ethereal entities that float in the mist. They bewitch her, their enigmatic allure both fascinating and unnerving. Though she longs to understand their nature, they remain distant and elusive.

However, it is the ancient leviathan that captivates Rosa the most. Its colossal form lurks beneath the surface, a foreboding presence that conceals unimaginable power. Ever vigilant, Rosa steers her ship parallel to the other vessel, maintaining a respectful distance from both the sea monster and the enshrouded mists.

Tylluan arrives at the ship... but he doesn't see the people on deck.  Yeesh, what was taking them so long?  They were probably still belowdecks!

While the slowpokes kept Tylluan waiting, both he and Rosanhi can see the leviathan-creature in between both vessels.  Slow as it was, it was still lagging on its journey from chasing the Dance to heading back to the drifting vessel.  But as it moves along, the creature began rising up slightly in the water... and then suddenly it was diving below!  Sinking below the water, even the ghostly lights in the mist fading away.

But the mists grow thicker, the fog coming around the derelict ship.

Whatever it was doing, it doesn't seem to have left.

Rosa stays in the crow’s nest and uses her spyglass to keep an eye on the sea-beast and what’s happening on the other ship. She sees the beast dive, and she tries to keep track of it for as long as possible. When next she looks at the other ship she sees that the fog has thickened. “Damn it, what’s taking them so long? Don’t make me come over there....”

Tylluan scans the deck for any sign of the others, his talons clenched tightly around the yardarm. "Hello, hello, hello! You need to get up here so I can take you back to our ship!" He casts a nervous eye at the approaching leviathan. Seeing it all of a sudden plummet into the depths, he shakes his head. "Ooooh, no, no, no. That can't be good. I remember reading of the great whales of the sea, and how they dive like that, only to suddenly rise up out of the water. Sometimes they crush ships in such a manner. I'd rather not be here when it surfaces."