Blackacre stands atop the stone staircase, buffeted by winds, under pooling waterfalls of light.
BLAMM!
The drake drops leadenly to the airship platform.
Your company is victorious! You are left alone at the iced-over dirigible station. The huge corpse of the frost drake lays on the dock platform, and below are the savaged remains of the drow courier.
Blackacre blows a wisp of smoke from the barrel of his pistol and returns it to its holster.
La Siréene walks down the staircase, giving Gaston a pat on the back and a smile as she does so.
"Nice shot, mad man."
I test the frozen ground, trying to skate.
A loose piece of parchment twirls, blown along by the winds down the runway. It flutters and lands on Elspeth's face.
CITY POLICE BULLETIN
Wanted: 1 dwarven investigator. Name: Hergelund. (A rudimentary description of Hergelund follows). Wanted for questioning by law enforcement officers. Contact police for additional information, or if you have any tips leading to locating the named individual.
Further down the page, under a "Lost & Found" section -
Found: 1 minute-hand to a large clock. Interested parties can inquire at police HQ station number 6.
You remember that Police HQ station 6 was base of operations for Quinn and his investigative division, "The Swamplights."
Quinn approaches the dead drow and carefully takes the satchel. He pulls forth the 3rd crystal focus to summon the Tower Out of Time.
"Who's holding these crystals?"
Gaston smiles back at La Sireene. Thanks.
Blackacre looks over the body of the drake, then saunters back to the body of the unfortunate drow. As Quinn pulls out the focus, he lets out a low, oh. He looks around, then hurries to Quinn's side and motions for him to keep the focus in the bag.
I have one of them. We should be careful - we can't be sure who will be watching us.
Leaving the serious work to the serious folk... I skate near and reach a hand out to Phoebe. Come on! When will we have another chance?!
Ianez produces the prism he carries, an expression of wonder on his face. "Can you hear it? The one I have is vibrating at different pitches, almost as if it sings with joy for being near the other two."
Quinn looks at the 2 other foci.
"Should we keep these crystals separated?"
The policeman then looks to the remains of the drake.
"Can you crafters use the remains of the drake for anything?"
The flame oracle powers down her wings. They withdraw into her shoulder blades and disappear. She accepts Sandru's hand. They both skate out onto the ice, their boots singing along the surface. Shhhhhhhhk! Shhhhhk! The warrior skates, his leg muscles flexing with each stride. Phoebe flits around him in graceful circles. For one magic moment, all her anger thaws into the snow. She is like a little angel.
Their movement is awkward, but innocent. The distillation of hope for the end of this night and a better tomorrow. It's a baroque movement, expressing sadness. Not asking why, but celebrating one fragile moment... A winter blossom fallen from a tree onto a cold lake. Spiraling...twirling... Expressing beauty in the face of an uncertain hope.
All the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.
Elspeth, a few seconds to get a glimpse of the paper before it flutters through her incoporeal form hisses and thrashes.
Caromarc finishes summoning and stares at Elspeth then yells "Get that paper"
MM, withought really looking flings a scalpel through the air up, up it flies, then down, down it plunges.
The scalpel stabs through the paper, plugging both to the ground and pinning it to the ground.
Should we act like proper add'ults, Princess Phoebe? I ask in mock Caromarc accent, before losing my footing and falling onto my bottom, legs out in a "V" and sliding away from the girl.
I can't help but laugh aloud.
The prisms' hum provides a suitable background to the impromptu pairs figure skating, but all too soon it comes to an end, and the relentless driver in the back of Ianez' head reasserts itself. "There will be time for more of that when we are done. Now let's make sure there's a world to do it in, and people to do it. Is anyone still injured?"
The posting that the Manservant impaled is an emergency police bulletin. It reads:
CITY POLICE BULLETIN
Wanted: 1 dwarven investigator. Name: Hergelund. (A rudimentary description of Hergelund follows). Wanted for questioning by law enforcement officers. Contact police for additional information, or if you have any tips leading to locating the named individual.
Further down the page, under a "Lost & Found" section -
Found: 1 minute-hand to a large clock. Interested parties can inquire at police HQ station number 6.
You remember that Police HQ station 6 was base of operations for Quinn and his investigative division, "The Swamplights."
I broke my... Bum. I offer a wide brazen grin, showing the marks from the scrum with future Elspeth..
Quinn grabs the police bulletin and begins to read it.
"I guess we know where to head to next....back to HQ."
"I'm injured. I took the full force of that creature's attack."
The monk tries to rub the areas of his body that begins to show signs of frostbite.
Blackacre stretches his body, grimaces, and rolls his shoulders. I have some wounds as well. He draws his wand of cure light wounds. However, I can aid us in the healing process.
"Poor Uncle Quinn! Please do help him, Mr. Blackacre. He's turning blue!"
Phoebe applies several heals from her own wand.
"La Siréene, thank you for disabling those horrible monsters."
La Siréene:
La Siréene:
"Ugh. Looks like I took some damage too."
Phoebe:
Phoebe:
She shakes her head at Sandru bemusedly.
Sandru:
Sandru:
"And finally, Jornel."
Caromarc:
Caromarc:
Blackacre twirls his wand around in a surprisingly silly fashion, points it at Quinn, and taps it against the air several times -
- he then turns the wand around, eyeballs it as though it would do him wrong, and snaps his wrist twice -
- and once more:
I think I need a better wand. You okay, Quinn?
Quinn feels the warmth of the wand that repair his body.
"Thanks Gaston. Almost perfect."
The monk rubs his arms again and his chest. The normal color of his skin and his bald head has returned.
"Time to go to my stompping grounds....The Swamplights division....and get that minute hand."
Trap.. I feel better after Phoebe's healing and rolling my shoulders.
"It does sound suspicious," Phoebe concurs. "Especially given the town's state of disarray, hard to believe the police are operating as usual." She thinks it over some more. "What choice do we have? We need that minute hand to unlock the top floor of the clock tower and reach Hareton. The best we can do is walk into this with our eyes wide open."
Mind-reader, too. I like it... Any airships around. We csn drop in. I can't help but smile as I scoop Phoebe up, in a manner that has become usual and look around for a ship.
There are two dirigibles docked at Littlecog Station. One is punctured and deflating. The balloon droops and sags upon its frame.
The other ship appears to be intact.
Caromarc looks up
"I always dreamed of becoming a Zeppelin pilot..."
"I know the way into the Swamplights station. I don't think my....co workers ....are expecting me to work with anyone, especially you guys. I can walk in with.." Quinn begins to look around at his friends and fixes his sight on the inquisitor. "...Gaston. I can introduce him as another police officer from a different station. We can take advantage of his ability to discern lies and try to discover if any of my fellow police officers is working with Hareton."
"What do you guys think."
"That sounds like a good plan, Quinn. Earl Caromarc, can you cast a message spell so that we can stay in contact with Quinn and Gaston when they go in?"
"I can cast the same spell so we can have two going simultaneously. Also, Lady Paige had the ability to make herself invisible. Master Caromarc, can you do the same?"
"Even if he can't, I can."
"I don't really do invisibility. I have Elspeth for that. if I want to know something I scry. If I want to get away I teleport. Mostly I just scry."
There are six large cannons, three on the port side, and three on the starboard side. They can only be fired outward, in the direction they are facing.
There's also an engine that has several ports without connections. These need to be plugged into a fuel source in order to power the airship. Perhaps something with a mutagen or accelerant.
Gaston appears to be hiding a grin as he pulls out a smoke and lights it. Quinn's plan sounds good to me. Are you sure you can pilot that thing, Ser Caromarc?
"Reasonably sure. Not by myself - obviously. Even a smaller airship needs two pilots minimum, plus ideally six gunners. I'd ask my Manservant to help me - he's a trained driver and pilot - but I suspect we may need him in the engine room"
"Is that because you want my skill with mechanisms, or because you intend to co-opt my systems as a power source?" the Mechanical Man asks - suspicion evident in his voice.
"Well - consider that a last-ditch alternative. I'm sure you'll be able to jury-rig something." the Earl smiles reassuringly at the Manservant.
"I can take the rudder. I've never flown one of these before, but the theory seems straightforward." And if all else fails, I still have my feather fall ring....
Looks like we're going for a ride, Phoebe... I urge the girl onboard as I slip into the craft, checking seating and compartments.
Phoebe steps cautiously...her little boots make hardly any noise as she walks up the boarding plank. She searches the glowering skies. "I hope this goes okay..."