Terror in the Skies

[Orlan]

I'm apart of an Earthdawn campaign and, like the last time I was doing some table top RPing, I decided my character would write a story that tells his tale. So basically this is what happens as we run through the campaign Terror in the Skies.

 

I am Kei'Sar, T'skrang Swordmaster (Center on the bottom). The others I introduce, just a side note, a windling is something along the lines of a 15 inch tall elf with dragonfly wings. You can read up on the interweb if you're really interested.

 

Also, just a note, I wrote this in like a day and I'm not worrying about grammer, spelling, yadda yadda yadda but as long as I do this real quick I can get it out of my mind so I can concentrate on my third story with Taleth

[Orlan]

My name is Kei’Sar and I am a T’skrang Swordmaster. There is more to my name than that, but there is no reason push further upon that subject, for “Name-calling” is not as simple as the young human children would have you believe. I write this journal about the travels of myself and those around me for lessons can only be learned from those who have experienced before you.

 

This particular story begins with a caravan arriving into Travar. I had been a caravan guard for a few years, working as a guard, defending from those who would seek to plunder the goods that we oversee. This particular time was worse off than most, for it was riddled with loss. Ork scorchers, some of the deadliest bandits, attacked us this time and many of our number fell, the most notable was a young, by their standards, troll by the name of K’Ronk. He found and died as he lived, a warrior, and he gave death out even as he took it. His death brought sadness but it also brought a new friend into our midst. Dunthar, a dwarf who was trained by trolls to be a sky raider and was also a good friend of K’Ronk, grew closer to my group. My group, of course, being made up of Vadi, a windling wizard of short stature and quick wit, and Brisch, a boringly logical elven archer with a bit of a stubborn streak which stems from his vision of archery, something I will not get in to here for I would need another few volumes.

 

We had worked with Dunthar a few times before, but most of his time was spent in the company of K’Ronk. I am not an expert on the lifestyles of the trolls but I believe they where apart of something the trolls call a moot, and my great people call aropagoi, which is an extended family. Upon K’Ronk’s death Vadi suggested that we befriend him more, though Vadi’s reasoning was more sinister since the windling wished to learn more of this dwarf who acted like a troll. I, too, was interested but nowhere as near as Vadi.

 

Anyway, I digress. Back on track, we had safely seen all the cargo to Travar without losing any of it and our caravan master, a grumpy, penny-pinching dwarf (are not all like this?...well save for our Dunthar) by the name of Gruthus, gave us a meal on his silver at one of the best inns in Travar, The Picky Pallet.

 

We arrived, the four of us, and sat at one of the table enjoying some well deserved rest. Our server came promptly, a small, homely human girl named Kathleen, and brought a picture menu that had on it some delicious looking meals. Vadi, ever the funny-windling, cracked jokes and teased poor Kathleen for a bit before putting in our order. A few minutes later she came out of the back with a massive tray piled quite high with our meals. I could already smell the wafting aroma of the t’skrang soup she carried. This enrapture I felt was not so much that I missed the slamming open of the front door and the appearance of another into our mists.

 

A dwarf stood in the doorway, framed by an aura of red light coming from somewhere. I had foolishly believed this to be the setting sun, but I will get to my error later. The dwarf wore a burnished breastplate and had his hand on the hilt of a dwarven sword. The entire inn turned and stared at this newcomer in silence. It was a silence of awe and fear. The dwarf spoke quickly and bluntly.

 

“I need all able bodied individuals to follow me immediately,” he said. Kathleen, our server, seemed horrorstruck at this newcomer and she stared at him wide-eyed.

 

“Drimsby, you don’t mean…Burtram?” Kathleen barely managed to stammer out. The dwarf, Drimsby, put his eyes down slightly and sighed.

 

“I’m sorry Kathleen, the Dawn went down,” Drimsby said. Kathleen dropped the try with the food and, ignoring the wail of distress from Vadi at the loss of good food, fell to the ground shaking. Drimsby sighed but then took off from the door. All of the able bodied patrons in the immediately stood up and went out the door, leaving our group, some white-haired individuals and Kathleen. Our group looked at each other.

 

“We need to help,” I said. Brisch nodded his agreement as Vadi fluttered over to the fallen food and tore off a duck leg from the cooked bird.

 

“That’s a good idea, let’s get going then,” Vadi said, brandishing the leg like a slave master’s whip. We were out of the inn in an instant, easily catching up to the dwarf Drimsby. Vadi, taking the lead as he always does, started badgering the dwarf with questions, though one look to the west answered any question I might have had. The sky was on fire, more so then the setting sun could ever create. It was obvious, Travar was burning.

 

“The Crimson Dawn has crashed into the city,” Grimsby said as he ran, waving to others to follow him. “Lately airships have been attacked by various creatures that could shoot fire from their arms like any fire cannon and flew through the air on great leathery bat wings. We call them Rakken and they just took down the Crimson Dawn.”

 

It was true, I could see in the distance the light of battle in the sky which told me that there were still some of the Rakken fighting some airships. That thought was placed second when we outpaced the others in the group and arrived to the crash site. What we saw was pure devastation. The Crimson Dawn was no drakkar by any means. It was a huge ship about eighty feet long and forty feet wide and it had smashed into the city and cut out a swath of death and destruction into the city. It was also burning like an elemental of fire.

 

“Slovaloha!” I swore in the t’skrang tongue, a curse not lightly used by my people. I was not able to pause in wonder for too long though since there were five men digging a trench as quickly as they could in an effort to stop the flames from stretching to the rest of the city. There was also a group of individuals who were forming into a water brigade. Some individual had brought a fire brigade’s cart with them so there were some shovels and buckets left. A pair of orks brushed by us in a rush. They were carrying a troft of water with them. Without another word the three of us who could, picked up a shovel and ran over to the trench and started digging. Vadi went to work his own way.

 

“What do ya think you’re doing? Grab a shovel before you city burns to a crisp!” the windling yelled at a group of onlookers who stood stunned by a group of individuals. Despite his “persuading” nature, Vadi could only get a few people to help. Dunthar took a different approach. The dwarf growled and grabbed the rest of the shovels, stomping over to the group of stunned individuals and thrust the shovels into their hands.

 

“Dig!” the dwarf roared at them. Whether out of obligation or fear the people immediately went to help. I sacrificed my shovel to a large human to use and instead went about to help the water brigade. I did not get very far when I heard Brisch yell out.

 

“We’ve got a survivor!” came the elf’s yell. I spun instantly but I could not see my friend in the fire. A moment later I watched Dunthar speed into the flames, the sky raider roaring out loud. I did not pause to think but instead reacted with my companions and leapt into the fire. The heat was almost unbearable, especially for me. I was not able to do anything about it though since someone needed to be saved and I was not going to let my inaction lead to their death.

 

I heard Dunthar before I saw him. The dwarf was roaring in pain as he lifted a beam. I saw Dunthar bracing a flaming beam on his arm and Brisch was pulling someone out from under it. Yet Brisch was unable to pull the victim out from under. I ran over to Dunthar and put both of my hands under the burning beam and lifted with all my might. The fire was burning me now, my hands were most definitely on fire but I pushed the pain away. With a grunt Dunthar and I managed to flip the beam and Brisch grabbed the man, an elf by his ears, and flipped him over his shoulder carting him out of the fire. The four of us broke out of the fire and ran through the trench that was nearly finished. We were hit by water that Drimsby was now having people splash on the trench diggers.

 

Not long after we got out of the trench and got a bit away from the fire three white robed elf women pushed us out of the way and began praying over the elf we pulled from the wreckage. I took this moment to look over Dunthar and he did not look very good. His upper back was burned and the hair on the back of his head was almost completely burned off. Looking at his pain reminded me of my own pain and my right hand seared in pain. Looking down at it my heart skipped a good many beats. My hand was burned to the point of bleeding; the wound was evident and deep.

 

In my pain I did not notice another two healers of Garlen, the women in the white robes, show up. This time it was a windling and another elf. The three who had been taking care of the elf immediately bowed out in favor of the two newcomers and went to the three of us. The one who looked over Dunthar quickly gave him a potion which Dunthar drank. Immediately he looked better.

 

“Your hand,” demanded the elf that walked to me. I offered no resistance and gave over my hand. The elf looked it over once and placed her hand directly over mine. It was warm to the touch and I felt very at home. My body was filled with warmth that I had not felt since I was swimming in the waters around my home. I watched in reverence as the elf before me healed my wound easily. After a moment all that remained of the wound was a small scar across my palm. Though the aesthetics of my perfect body were now marred, I decided that it was a small price to pay for the lives I helped save tonight. It was a short time later when Grimsby showed up to us.

 

“I have you four to thank for saving my man from the wreckage,” Grimsby said. Vadi was fluttering over us at this time. “If there’s anything I can do for you…” The dwarf left it open.

 

“Food,” I said simply. “And rest.” Dunthar and Brisch nodded their agreement.

 

“Of course,” Drimsby said. “Where were you when I showed up again?”

 

“The Picky Pallet,” Vadi piped up, obviously anxious for more food.

 

“Ah, yes,” Drimsby said. “Have no fear I know the owner. For now the fire is contained. You can go to the city watch rest area for now and clean up and get healed. I have other things to do but I’ll send someone for you.” With that the dwarf spun on his heel and ran off.

 

We found the city watch’s rest area easily and went in. It was packed with various individuals who were more or less in the same condition as we were: dirty, wounded and tired. A few healers of Garlen, most always little wisps of girls, elves dwarves, humans and a few windlings, moved in and out of the people healing where they could. Vadi made himself a nuisance by trying to help out one little dwarf healer. The girl took the windling’s eagerness with a smile. I sat next to Dunthar. The dwarf had pealed off his armor and shirt and was leaned forward as a healer worked on him. After the danger high had nearly fled my body, a runner appeared at the doorway and told us the Air Warden would be waiting for us at The Picky Pallet.

 

“What’s the Air Warden’s name?” Vadi asked.

 

“Why Drimsby, of course,” the runner said as if everyone should have known that. The runner was out the door before we could do anything about him.

 

“Well that answers who the Air Warden is,” I said with a shrug.

 

We made it to The Picky Pallet in no time at all and found Drimsby in conversation with some dwarf in an apron. Drimsby waved us over to him as the other dwarf disappeared back into the kitchen. We made our way over to Drimsby and sat down at the table he stood by. He gave us a moment to get set and then he spoke.

 

“I’d like to thank you on behalf of Travar for the services you gave us. We’ve….no, I’ve lost a great many of my adepts lately, too many, and that has hurt the Air Patrol a great deal. The Rakken have been relentless in their attacks and they have rarely left survivors.”

 

“The Rakken are horrors,” Vadi piped up, interrupting the dwarf. Such is the way of windlings, think and speak at the same time, and then speak some more. The dwarf gave the windling a look of exasperation. He clearly had little patience for windlings, like most people. I had grown up with windlings so they were nothing new to me.

 

“And how does this help me, little one?” the dwarf asked. Vadi started a response but the dwarf cut him off. “Regardless, I do have need of yours skills. I know you were caravan guard and your mission is over for now, so I offer you another proposition. Join the Air Patrol, help us find out what happened to the lost drakkar and help us protect our ships from the Rakken. You will, of course, be paid for this, and more then others.”

 

“Steady pay is nice,” Brisch said, mostly to himself.

 

“There is another option,” the Air Warden said. He took out his purse and set it on the table. “I’ll put up a bounty from my own pocket. Seventy Five silver for any Rakken you can take out.” The decision was not a difficult one. We glanced at each other and seemed to nod in agreement. Bounties were good but they never pay the bills. Daily pay is always better.

 

“I think we’ll take the Air Patrol jobs,” I said. Everyone nodded in agreement. Drimsby grinned and nodded his head at us. I could see how pleased he was at this proposition.

 

“Excellent,” he said. “Well, it is almost midnight and I still have many things that I need to attend to. We have a deal with The Laughing Toad so you can bring your things there and spend the night, just say that you’re apart of the Air Patrol and they’ll give you a good rate. Gentlemen,” he said with a bow of his head and then he was heading out the door.

 

“One thing before you go, sir,” Brisch spoke up. Drimsby turned and looked back at the elf. “What was the elf’s name who we saved?”

 

“Radler,” the dwarf said. Brisch nodded and Drimsby stepped out of the inn.

 

We ate our meals quickly for it had been a long night and we were all famished. I was getting particularly tired at this point. Though the daughter of Garlen had healed my wound, it was not the only damage my body had taken. I wanted to get some sleep. Actually I needed some rest. I was swaying a little bit as we made our way to The Laughing Toad. We each got our own rooms, except Vadi bunked with Brisch. There’s no real reason for a windling to take up his own room. It was only a few moments after I got into my room that I was lying in my bed and already drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

 

* * *

 

The next day came quickly and with it was a hunger that I had not felt in a great many weeks. We had had a big meal the previous night but I was not aware that my body was able to process that food so quickly to find myself this hungry again. We met in the common room of The Laughing Toad and ate a meal of porridge and talked about what we should do before we met Drimsby at the Air Patrol headquarters. The meal was exactly what I needed the help force my body to heal itself. After focusing my energies upon myself and mending some of the damage, Brisch came by with a wonderful idea: a bath. It had been about a week without a bath for myself and I was starting to get cranky about that fact.

 

Brisch and I found a bath house easily and it was truly an experience I had long since missed. The bath house was luxurious. It was in the higher class part of town so it was tiled with seashells from the Byrose River, I could tell because of how they felt under me. Byrose shells were always smoother then most shells since the river was a bit warmer then other rivers. I dove right into the big central pool in the bath house and was pleased to find that it went down a fair depth. It felt good to swim around for a while and I did it for a while, thinking that this might be the last time in a while that I would be able to swim. The idea of an airship, though last night it sounded good, was today beginning to set in. I hate heights, as do most of my kin (I omit of course our distant cousins who fly through the air with the greatest of ease). Though on the airship I can see myself as on a river boat, it’s a different matter when doing combat. But I put that thought into the back of my head and concentrated on enjoying my time in the water.

 

Brisch cleaned himself up nicely, combing out the dead and charred hair from the night before. We both found the bath to be to our liking. Of the other three, Brisch and I had the most in common. Mainly, our desire not to be caked in filth. That is a surprisingly strong bond when you think about it. It almost felt as if, in another time and place, Brisch and I could have been brothers of some sort.

 

Anyway, we met the others on the way to meet Drimsby for our first day as Air Patrol. Drimsby went through the basics and all the miscellaneous information that we would need to know about the job. We then met the two we were going to working with. The first was a human sky raider named Karl; the other was Y’rolk, an ork sky raider. Drimsby went on for a while but was interrupted near the end by a messenger who came in and whispered something into his ear. Drimsby grinned big and nodded to the messenger.

 

“Well I should get going since it seems our friend Radler has awoke.” Drimsby stood up to leave when Brisch reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow that he had been working on through dinner last night. The arrow’s shaft was expertly carved with ornate designs.

 

“Would you mind giving this to him?” Brisch said handing over the arrow to the dwarf. Drimsby took the arrow and seemed to understand. He nodded.

 

“I’ll be sure that he gets it,” Drimsby said. He walked out the door and left us with Karl and Y’rolk. Since our mission took priority, there was little talk as we ascended the tower to which the drakkar was moored. We got to the top of the tower and walked to where the drakkar was moored. The Tree Skimmer, as she was called, was floating in the air, moored to the massive tower. Karl and Y’rolk jumped on without a thought and Dunthar followed. Vadi had no problems and just zipped over to some of the rigging, buzzing around the ship looking here and there. Brisch took a breath and leapt onto the ship. I had problems. I glanced down and nearly lost it for I could see all the way down to the ground. It was not a very pleasant sight and I had to think of things to calm myself.

 

“You going to come on?” Y’rolk teased. I took a breath and did what every good T’skrang does; I faced my fear and spit in its eyes, stepped on its toes and slapped it hard with my tail. I made the short jump onto the airship and before I knew it we were off like a bird.

 

We started our search through the skies in a pattern of swaying back and forth, all our eyes on the ground. Time went by slowly and about an hour and a half or so into the search Y’rolk yelled out and pointed to something ahead of us. I looked over the edge and saw what he had pointed to. A katamis tree, surrounded by a few layers of thorns was busted on one of the sides and under the thick canopy of thorns was the ship we were looking for, the Sun Ray. Karl steered the ship over to above the tree and Vadi immediately flew down through the bramble and to the ship. Y’rolk tossed a rope over the edge and turned to myself and Brisch.

 

“Who wants to go down there?” he asked. I immediately pointed to my elf friend and he shrugged and started the club down. Halfway down, just before he reached the thorns he yelled up to us.

 

“Vadi says there are a survivor and two dead,” the elf yelled up to us.

 

“Does he see anyone else?” Karl yelled down. It was a moment.

 

“Nope, but he said it’s going to be tough getting the survivor up!” We lowered Brisch through the thorns and there were a few curses from the elf as he went through the thorns. We got the dead bodies up one at a time. Two dead humans accounted for. The last was a t’skrang who came seated in Brisch’s lap with the elf’s buckler over his head protecting them both from the thorns. Brisch’s back was ripped to shreds, as was the tabard that we were given at the beginning of the day.

 

With two men injured we made a beeline back for Travar, flying at full speed. Brisch was excused from helping on the way back for obvious reasons. Vadi went about helping him bind up his wounds using the remnants of the tabard. I thought it a great improvement. The tabards were less then enjoyable. I made a note to get something with a little more pizzazz when I got a chance.

 

We made it back and Drimsby thanks us for our help. The t’skrang was taken immediately to the healers of Garlen and we were dismissed for the day with our pay. Drimsby apparently believed that we had done all we could for the day and the final individual would have to stay missing for another day.

 

After Drimsby had left, Y’rolk and Karl gave us some strange looks and then walked over to us, asking us to come with them. Not to be one to say no to a stranger’s invitation for something that may or may not be good or bad, we accepted. We returned to the Tree Skimmer and took it out a fair distance outside of the city.

 

“This way if things go wrong it’s easy to clean up,” Y’rolk joked.

 

“What is?” I inquired.

 

“Hull jumping,” Karl said. Dunthar let out a good laugh though the rest of us were oblivious as to what it was. Karl took out a long length of rope and tied about twenty knots off on it and tied one end to the mast of the airship. Then, without much warning, he ran from one side of the ship to the other and leapt from the airship, pushing it away in the process. He disappeared from one side and a moment later he reappeared on the other side. Apparently he had just swung himself under the ship and back to the other side. This was obviously something to bet on. And bet we did.

 

Brisch took the first jump, getting a good spring off but not quite enough, he fell short and had to climb his way back up after a jarring bolt. Dunthar was next. Though Dunthar himself was a sky raider, he was still a dwarf and not built for jumping. His jump seemed to be more painful than Brisch’s jump. Though Vadi insisted on getting himself a shot, it was not going to happen regardless of how many times Vadi pestered. And there were many, believe me.

 

“How about you, Kei’Sar?” Brisch asked me. “You want a go?”

 

“You want me to jump out into the sky with only a rope tied around me?” I asked Brisch, staring at him in awe.

 

“Why? Are you scared?” Y’rolk taunted.

 

“Of course I am,” I said truthfully. “But I am t’skrang, and I will always face my fears. Give me the damn rope.” I tied the rope around me, not very sure of myself but sure of the fact that I needed to face this fear if I am to be of any use if we ever had to fight in the sky. I took in a deep breath and ran and jumped. I, too, fell short. It hurt. But I jumped and I was better off, though I was done for the day. Brisch jumped a few more times, stopping when he slammed hard into the side of the ship after tripping on his own rope. Sated for the day, we made our way home and set off to bed. Tomorrow would be a new day in the air.

 

* * *