After sliding the pastries into the oven to bake, Niki admonished
Karaz-Gorm to not let them burn and then went to her cabin to change and
clean up some.
     She closed the curtains and dropped her damp clothes haphazardly on
the floor, wondering who'd taken up residence next door.
     Wood splintered and she grimaced.
     Niki towelled off and pulled a dry, clean shirt on, heavy pants,
boots and a thick sweater before heading topside.
     Her old slicker hung on a hook by the door to the outside but she
passed it by.
     The rain had indeed stopped and the clouds were starting to
scatter.
---pw
     As Niki made her way towards the stern of the ship, she was
startled as a stout dwarf came racing up beside her.  She quickly
recognized him as the Illustrious Karaz-Gorm.
     "Are they done yet??" he blurted in an obviously excited and
anxious state.
     "No, not yet, Karaz," was her reply.  "Soon, though.  Don't let
them burn."
     "RIGHT!" and the dwarf was off again, racing back to the galley to
watch vigilantly the baking of those wonderfully delicious pastries!
---med
     After checking to see the horses were secured and the wagon was
blocked, Niki called everyone up and proceeded to lecture them on the
basics of safety in an airship.
     =93No fire, don't lean over the rails, and in high winds always use =
a
rope when going out on deck.=94  Her last bit of advice she said with a
smile.  =93If you do wander near the edge, don't look down.=94
     With that out of the way Niki asked for questions and then took the
wheel.
---pw
     There was, of course, one.  The Magnificent Karaz-Gorm shot his arm
straight up and bounced up and down until Niki recognized him.
     When finally acknowledged, he piped, "Now?  Are they ready now??"
     "Almost, Mr. Gorm."  Niki was very patient with the dwarf, although
that fact was lost on the ravenous little man.  "Just a little while
longer.  They're not burning, are they?"
     "Oh, no, ma'am!  I'm making sure of that!" and he was gone again. 
If there was one place on the ship that Karaz-Gorm knew the location, it
was the galley.
---med
     A sailor on the dock tossed her the ropes mooring the ship to the
dock as the sails began to magically unfurl of their own accord.
     A persistant breeze blew a stray lock of hair into her eyes until
she secured it under her braid, and the ship slowly pulled away from the
docks.
     Once well away from the busy harbor of Varna, Niki took a deep
breath and closed her eyes. An invisible silver line stretched out in
front of her and the frigate started to rise out of the water.
     When she reopened them, the frigate was a hundred feet up and
rising.
     They passed a flurry of low flying clouds racing towards Varna, and
rose above the other cloud layers coming in until the air was quite
cold, but Niki could see in every direction except below.
     Niki settled into a wide-legged stance and guided the ship on its
way to the Dragon's Isle.
---pw
     Again, she was disturbed by the dwarven mage.  Popping his head
from around a corner, he asked the question she knew would come from
him:  "Now?"
     Sighing, Niki surrendered.  "Yes, Karaz, now.  They should be
done."
     "YIPPEE!!" he cried, and was gone.  Niki was surprised he hadn't
repeated his show of gratitude that he had displayed on the docks the
day before, but was pleased all the same...his whiskers were awfully
scratchy!
     Within a few minutes, Karaz-Gorm could be seen strutting about the
deck, proudly brandishing the first of the buttery cherry tarts that
Niki had earlier prepared.  The fact that the ship was hundreds of feet
in the air didn't seem to bother the magnificent mage (either that, or
it hadn't completely sunk in yet...likely the latter).  Mind you, he
still hadn't taken a bite of it...it was far too hot to eat still.  He
was merely marching about the ship proudly displaying this morsel, as a
warrior might display a war trophy from a recently vanquished enemy.  It
was, well, a comical sight.
---med
     Kaega (still in human form) laughed for the sheer joy of the day -
not something she did often.  She waved to the others, then simply took
a running start and jumped off the side of the boat, falling for a while
before slipping back to dragon form.
---at
     Karaz was shocked!  He shouted, his voice climbing to a high pitch
in his excitement, "MAN OVERBOARD...er, WOMAN OVERBOARD...no, *DRAGON*
OVERBOARD!!"  He rushed to the side of the ship to see if he could offer
assistance (not likely, seeing that it was Kaega) or to at least get a
good view of the action (more likely, seeing that it was Kaega).
     He, of course, didn't have a rope secured about him.  That was the
first of Niki's rules that he broke.  Once to the edge, he looked over,
fully expecting to see Kaega splashing about in the water a few dozen
feet below him.  That was the second of Niki's rules that he broke.  The
shock of instead seeing Kaega falling much much farther below, and a
distant sheet of blue that was the surface of the water hundreds if not
thousands of feet away stunned the great mage.  He shuddered, and his
beautiful cherry pastry, all lusciously covered in melted butter and
steaming hot, slipped from his fingers.  Karaz quickly leaned over the
railing to catch it, breaking the third of Niki's rules, and was gone.
     This time, not to the galley.
---med
     Niki sighed and shook her head.  "I knew I should have put more
down on Karaz."
     She took a deep breath and yelled, "Kaega!  Didymus!  Dwarf
overboard!"
---pw
     Meanwhile, inside the ship, Tan and Liess were settling down for
the voyage.  Sitting near the large bay window that adorned the exterior
wall of their cabin, Tan saw Kaega go whistling by.  "Must be a nice day
for a swim," he thought.  Clambering over to get a better look, he
noticed their altitude.  "Maybe not!" he remarked in astonishment.
     It was then that the Illustrious Karaz-Gorm zipped by the window. 
Tan turned to Liess and said, "You know, Kazzy never mentioned that he
was a high-diver!  I guess somebody forgot to tell him that Kaega can
fly!"
     Well, the Magnificent Gorm was certainly no high-diver.  Was he
scared?  No.  Was he frightened?  No.  Was he the least bit concerned? 
No.  He was, after all, the Magnificent Karaz-Gorm.  Now in free-fall,
he was able to retrieve his pastry with no fuss at all.  Then he set his
mind to extricating himself from this rather undesirable situation.
     As he tore through a thin layer of cloud, Karaz thought about
birds.  Of course!  Why not give himself a pair of wings?  He waved his
magic little stick, with the full intent of sprouting a pair of eagle's
wings from his backside that he would then use to gracefully swoop back
up to Niki's ship and alight skillfully on the deck to the amazement of
his crewmates.  Unfortunately, Karaz had failed to take into
consideration the rather extreme weight ratio between himself and a
common eagle.  He got the wings, all right, but they were normal-
sized...by no means capable of checking the dwarf's fall.
     Not a problem.  Ever hear of a flying carpet?  Karaz had.  Another
wave of his stick, and a carpet materialized right beneath him. 
However, the carpet had no downward velocity, while Karaz had built up
quite a head of steam, so to speak.  The dwarf hit the carpet, and it
furled up, dumping the mage.  The carpet then recovered and maintained
its altitude, while Karaz continued his trek to the ocean's surface.
     *Now* there was a problem.  Was he scared?  Yes.  Was he
frightened?  Yes.  Was he the least bit concerned?  Most assuredly!  It
was at this point that he started shrieking wildly.  Even on the deck of
Niki's sky galleon, his pitiful cries were heard clearly.  Kaega, quite
some distance below him, also heard his high-pitched screams of terror. 
But there was something else that, for the moment, had caught her
attention.
---med
     Niki took another deep breath to yell, "Sky galleon beginning
descent, hold on everybody!"
     The ship didn't quite drop into free fall, but it began to spiral
down high above the magnificent Karaz-Gorm at a fairly rapid rate.
---pw
     As Kaega fell, something caught her eye - a glint of sun on metal? 
She dove lower, still out of range but able to see the boat.  It
appeared to be a lifeboat of some sort. There were two people in it, a
boy and an older man.  She decided to get the boat and bring it to the
galleon.  After all, most people didn't use lifeboats unless they were
in trouble.  Besides, some obscure Watcher instinct was telling her this
was important.
     She dove, weaving a magical net between her talons that would
support the boat.  Soon she was low enough to see their faces, then she
extended her arms, catching the boat in the glowing net.  She soared
upward to the airship.
     Kaega deposited the small boat on deck as the cries of the dwarven
mage wafted up to her.  She sighed, and called to Niki, "I'll get him!" 
She dove again, then stopped.  Would it be such a bad thing if the mage
were to complete his flight?  She considered this attractive notion,
then regretfully concluded that her companions would be rather
distressed if she did not save the dwarf, and might in fact injure
themselves trying to retrieve the wayward wizard.  They were, after all,
humans.
     She sighed again and resumed her dive, noting that the distance
between the dwarf and the water had decreased considerably during her
contenplation of the matter.  She quickly overtook the falling mage, and
hovered near the surface of the water.  There was no need to waste the
wonderful demonstration of the acceleration of falling objects.
---at
     Karaz watched as Kaega soared past him.  He was stunned that she
hadn't snatched him from his surely mortal descent!  "Never trust a
dragon, that's what my father had always said to me.  And now look! 
She's down there just waiting to watch me splatter all across the
surface of the water!  Well, I hope my innards splash into her eyes!" 
The great mage was rather resentful.
---med
     At the last possible moment she swooped down, catching him in her
talons a bare ten feet above the water.
---at
     His distrust now disproven, the Illustrious Karaz-Gorm now moved
onto another fabricated fault of Kaega's.  He screamed from the
precarious perch of her talons, "AAHHH!!  She's going to eat me!  Sir
Didymus!  Stop this insanity!  Don't let her eat me!  Help!  Help!"  The
dwarf could not see Kaega's reaction to his pleas:  a mere rolling of
her eyes in disbelief.
---med
     After another stop at their cabin (during the Magnificent Karaz-
Gorm's descent), the always apropo Tan and Liess returned to the deck of
the cruise ship ready for some serious sun-worship.  Tan continued to
verify the inventory of necessary equipment.
    [You let a dozen different adventurers loose in a supply shop to
acquire "necessary equipment" and you're going to wind up with twelve
*very* different shopping lists.]
    "Tanning oil...check.  Tinted spectacles...check.  Matching towels
stolen from the Dragon Inn -- beach and hand...check.  Summer reading in
disposable tomes...check.  Deck chairs...hm."  He looked around for the
deck chairs.  "Uh oh."  He was about to ask the cruise director (a.k.a.
Cap'n Niki) where the hell the deck chairs were when---al Kaega flew up
and deposited Magnificent Karaz-Gorm on the deck of the airship next to
the lifeboat she had collected earlier.
---at
     The dwarf made an instant bee-line for the nearest mast.  Throwing
his arms around the trunk of the mast (as far around as he could get),
he hugged tightly to the wooden anchor.
---med
     "Oh, they're starting the floor-show already," Tan said to Liess. 
"Looks like the Cap'n's a little busy."
     Liess watched the argument briefly (*very* briefly), then gave it a
thumbs down.  She surveyed the deck expertly and instantly identified a
nice, sunny, and secluded spot on the deck where the towels might be
spread out and serious solar worship might be conducted.  She headed for
it, Tan (and the gear) trailing behind.
---al
     Niki called to the dwarf, "Mr. Gorm?  Would you like to come
belowdecks to your cabin?"
     Karaz shook his head violently from side to side.  In a screeching
voice, he shouted back, "Oh, no thank you, lassie!  I'll be a-stayin'
right here, if you don't mind!  Just keep that damned *dragon* away from
me, and I'll be all right!  If it weren't for her, this'd never have
happened!"
     Incredulous, Kaega turned to the dwarf and questioned, "What?!  How
did you come to that conclusion?"  A puff of fiery smoke snorted from
her nostrils.
---med
     "Uh, Kaega?" Niki said from her position at the wheel, "Please
don't do that. We're on a wooden ship, remember?"
---pw
     Karaz, straining his head over his shoulder and, still plastered
against the mast, replied, "SIMPLE!  Was it not you who lept from the
decks of the ship?  I, in the characteristically good-hearted nature
that typifies us dwarves and differentiates us from you dragon types,
immediately dashed to the side to see if I could render assistance,
fearing you had fallen into the sea and were sure to drown.  It is well
known that dragons cannot swim, or anything else that requires higher
mental powers.  So, if you hadn't insisted on jumping overboard, I would
have never come to the edge where I was tricked to fall off...all so
that you could put on some mock display of heroism and gain favor
amongst the other party members!  Ah, but the Magnificent Karaz-Gorm is
far too clever to fall for that little trick!  You see?  I've seen
completely through your entire charade!  Mr. Didymus!  Point of order! 
I wish to lodge a protest!"
---med
     Niki however had been looking at the lifeboat and the unmoving
people within it.
     "Pen?  Shouldn't someone go look at the lifeboat?  They might need
help."
     "Although then again, maybe they're just terrified out of their
minds."
---pw
     Yes indeed!  Quickly, young Pen dashed over to the lifeboat,
tearing himself away from the spectacle between Kaega and Karaz-Gorm. 
Reaching the tiny vessel, Pen noted how distressed the passengers
looked.  A man in somewhat tarnished armour, a young boy and a third
fellow, all seemed quite weather beaten to say the least.  Clearing his
throat, Pen spoke, "Begging your pardon sirs...can I help you?"
---ds
     Didymus, who had just come back up from inspecting his cabin below
deck, looked from Karaz-Gorm, to the lifeboat full of strangers (being
helped by Niki and Pen), back to Karaz again. "It would seem I cannot
keep up with the going's on about me."   Shaking his head, he walked up
to Karaz.  "What is your protest, Karaz...and who are these other
people?  Did *you* have something to do with their plight?" he asked the
dwarven mage, afraid of the answer he would hear.
---je
     "I most certainly did NOT!!" came the indignant reply that Didymus
feared.  "I say!  Almost killed by a careless dragon, and then accused
of something I wasn't even around to commit!"  Karaz began to huff off
to the galley (a place on the ship he knew only too well), mumbling,
"And they're probably spies or assassins sent to do me, the Great Karaz-
Gorm, in!  Oh, the life of an all-important magician!  The danger!  The
fame!  Well, somebody's gotta do it, and if it wasn't me, they'd
probably mess it up!"  Apparently, the great mage had forgotten about
his protest.
---med

     All was dark for a time, as in a place with no gravity, no sight,
no sound, but memories of dreams hanging in the atmosphere.
     Slowly and stiffly, Zolomon opened his eyes.  The light in his room
was painful, but his eyes adjusted.  Zolomon, knowing well what the sea
could do to a waking man, slowly sat up.  Observation showed that this
was a well-kept cabin, probably on a Gors or a Sheen (also known in
other worlds as a =93galleon=94 or a =93frigate=94).  The room was on the=
 side
of the ship, as three portholes brought in light rays with swirling
specks of dust shining like little stars.
     Apparantly, someone found the lifeboat and helped Zolomon and
what's left of the crew back to health... at least Zolomon, anyway. 
There were... two others... the BOY!  Zolomon's mind clicked.  He had
put his life and the water supplies at risk to ensure the boy would be
safe.  Perhaps Zolomon could reverse the conditions that had made the
boy so eagerly dishonorabe.  Because of his title, Zolomon had one of
the Ryxx Isles as his own fortress, as was fashionable among knights of
his kind.  Zolomon had made his fortress into a city, though, with a
port for  trade.  If he could enjoy the life of that island, why not use
it to boost his honour and share it with others?  In taxes alone,
Zolomon was able to succumb to the more expensive desires of it's
citizens.  A few have even written Zol, asking him to make the island
into a kingdom of it's own.  Needless to say, such an environment would
be good for the boy.  He could get a decent education in the university,
learn a trade...
     If he was still alive.
     Zolomon stood and made his way to the door.  If there was any
chance that boy was still alive...
---il

     Niki hailed Sir Didymus and after some small talk (No Tan, not you. =

Not Karaz either), she asked him about his years of searching for the
elixir of Penta-Cillian.  As he spoke, Niki started to understand why
someone would spend their entire life engaged in such a quest.
     During the long hours at the wheel she'd had plenty of time to
think about what he'd asked Pen.  Honor or duty, but had no answer yet
of her own.
     Duty was what you did, but honor was something you were, wasn't it? =

Duty seemed the most important because it put others first, but was that
correct?  Without codes of conduct society would break down.
     She had the uncomfortable feeling that she'd answer wrong if he
ever asked *her*, but then she was a ship captain and an ex-thief, not a
squire, so she was safe.
     They were alone on deck, Kaega having disappeared in the clouds
some time ago.
     "Sir Didymus, which *is* more important?  Honour or duty?  And how
do you know what's right?"
---pw
     Didymus was surprised at this question from Niki.  There was more
to the lass then first met the eye.  "You ask that which I cannot simply
answer, Niki.  Both are of utmost importance to a knight errant, that
much is true.  And as I said down in the hold, they *can* at times
conflict with each other.  Also, a choice one knight might make, one
based on honor, may well be the exact opposite another knight might
make, choosing duty.  The 'eternal struggle' it is called, and with good
reason!"
     Didymus turned his gaze out to the clouds around them, seeming to
stare at things only he could see.  "When the time comes, you must
choose as your soul sees is right.  The best answer I can give you, is
that beyond both honor and duty, you *must* be true to yourself." 
Didymus turned back towards Niki and began stroking his long moustache. 
"If you can do that, then at the very least, you can make peace with the
'eternal struggle'."
---je
     Niki smiled and felt much better. She paused to remove stray wisps
of her hair from her mouth and said, "If you need to use my treasure to
get the elixir, I don't mind.  It's just money really, and money's just
meant to be used anyway."
     She gave a slight shrug and laugh.
     "Besides, I'd like to come with you if you don't mind.  I'd like to
see the island and meet more dragons."
---pw
     Didymus smiled and walked over to Niki and placed his arm around
her shoulder.  "I thank you, my lady.  And you most certainly may join
us once we reach the isle."  Didymus started, seeming to peer at a
cloud, and a look of joy came to his face.  "Speak of the devil, there's
the Spire Draconis," he pointed at a cropping of rock in an opening in
the clouds.  "...the single high spire on the northernmost island of
Drakenguard!  The big island, the Dragon's Isle itself, is only five
leagues beyond the Spire!"
     Niki could see a tear of happiness roll down Didymus' face,
disappearing when it reached the forest of his moustache.  The knight
took his arm from around the girl and did an impromptu jig then and
there.  "Ha...Haaaaaa!" he shouted to the rest of the group.
---je
     She smiled too and started to take the ship down slowly and
carefully through the cloudbreak to avoid ramming anything.
     As the others responded to the shout, the Kings Ransom gently
touched down in the ocean. There ahead of them rising out of a late
morning's mist was the Dragon's Isle as Sir Didymus had proclaimed.
     Niki relaxed as the ship gently rose and fell with the light waves
rolling in, rolling her shoulders to relieve their stiffness.
     Beneath the frigate the ocean was transparent green and brimming
with life. Dolphins appeared briefly, as did a flock of birds on their
way to somewhere else. They passed schools of fish and a submerged coral
reef, skirting the latter by a wide margin until at last Niki spotted a
sheltered cove to anchor in.
     Cliffs rose up on two sides, their bases lost behind a screen of
trees that extended down to the strip of beach curving around the cove
and out into the ocean to create a sandbar for the unwary sailor at high
tide.
---pw
     Rorandair had climbed up to the crows nest of the King's Ransom,
and was ther first to spot what looked like flying lizardmen diving down
at them from the clouds with scimitars in hand.  "Prepare for boarders!"
he called downwards, and began quickly climbing down.
     Didymus looked up at Rorandair, saw him climbing down, then looked
around at the calm, empty sea about them.  "Prepare for boarders? 
Whatever is he talking about?!"  He asked the rest of his group.  It was
then that they heard the screeching screams of challenge from above.
---je
     Niki looked up too as the foremost lizardman passed directly in
front of the sun.
     Dazzled, she fell back from the wheel towards the doors to
belowdecks and cover, daggers sliding out of wrist sheaths as she went.
---pw
     With instinctive reflexes that had mysteriously embedded themselves
into his being, Pen made for the direction of a particular cargo hold. 
In seconds he was back at his masters side, awkwardly cradling weapons
and armour.  "Your apparel, Sir."
---ds
     When she could see past the dazzle Niki shut and barred the door,
then raced through the halls to her cabin and then back topside from the
other side.
     Using what cover the sails and masts could give her, she crawled to
where she was overlooking the main fighting and loaded her crossbow.
     While the others fought or dodged as their preference, she started
sniping away at the draconians, aiming for their wings but not minding
if she hit a torso instead.
     As she reloaded she tried to find Pen and Karaz-Gorm in the
confusion, hoping both were alright.
---pw
     The liturgy for worshiping the solar orb being as all-consuming as
it was, Tan and Liess were sprawled on their towels, the picture of
complete exhaustion, during the full extent of Niki's and Didymus's
discussion of honor, duty, and the price of a really tasty piece of blue
cheese as well as the remarkably soft aquatic landing *and* the
welcoming ceremony performed by the natives.
     Well, they were until one of those flying whatsit's had the bad
manners to block their sunlight.
     (Of course, *he* probably thought it was a really nifty battle
tactic to attack with the sun right behind him, but with that leathery
hide of his, what did he know about the intricacies of maintaining a
really impressive tan?)
     So, it went like this:  The aerial, lizardly guy dove, his shadow
got a wee bit too large and persistent, Tan and Liess opened their eyes
in annoyance, Tan and Liess (trained professional adventurers that they
are) figured out what was going on *very* quickly, Liess grabbed Tan and
scrambled out of the way, Tan continued glaring at the intruding flying
whatsit.
     There was a crash.  It was messy.
     "Damn!" Tan exclaimed.  "That tanning lotion is hard to replace."
---al
     Chaos had broken out!  Zolomon, looking for the boy, ran right into
a fight between a Lizard and the hugest man he had ever seen!  They were
fighting hard, but Zolomon noticed another of the green monsters
crawling up from behind.  He shouted a battle cry and joined the fray. 
It took several strokes, but he successfully started to drive the
lizardman back a few feet.  He then stooped and swept the creature's
feet.  The whole time, he was thinking over and over the Ryxx Battle
Motto:  "Battle is Dishonourable... Treat it as such."  This was King
Ryxx's method of ensuring that the Knights didn't hold back in battle. 
Zolomon used every trick he learned in all of the previous wars, but was
not quite a match with the lizardman, which had twice his reach.  He
noticed something hooked to his belt, glowing a pale  blue...
     ...the orb had returned, and it was no doubt doing something.

     Atlon had heard the commotion and ran to the door, as soon as the
dizziness failed.  Outside was a man, about the same size and shape as
the half-invisible man that was in his room.  He was saying something,
and Atlon saw something sparkle.  He wasn't sure what was going on, but
soon saw it.
     A frightening blend of man and lizard had moved into view, casting
a menacing glare to the man...no, Dwalsch, Atlon realized.  This man had
hair growing from the face, but Atlon had never seen one facing a
skittish, much less this abomination!
     And he was definitely talking!  Something that the rock-eaters
didn't have the intelligence to do!
     Atlon saw that the green beast's back was to him.  He looked about
for a dagger, but the only one he could see was on the lizardman. 
     =93Okay,=94 thought Atlon, =93I joined the Thieves' Guild... let's s=
ee
how good I am!=94
     He ran outside, and grabbed at the creature's dagger.
---il
     "Oh, goody!" thought Karaz-Gorm.  "A battle!  What an opportunity
to show off my fabulous magical skills!"
     Running up on deck, he witnessed the fighting.  Rorandair was doing
fantastic things, leaping some thirty feet into the air to grab a
lizardman, and rending him in half before landing on the deck of the
ship.  Niki was frantically yelling at him to stop, for the impact of
the landings was beginning to do some serious structural damage! 
Didymus was busily donning his armor with one hand while fighting off
the attackers with the other, with Pen doing much the same (well,
helping Didymus with *his* armor, instead).
     Dashing into the open, the diminuitive figure was barely noticeable
in the commotion.  He pointed his little stick at a nearby lizardman and
yelled a couple of magical words (which sounded remarkably like
"Alakazoo, alakazam!"), and the creature was instantly transformed into
a chicken.  In a flurry of flapping wings, and loosed feathers, the
chicken-lizardman (or would that be lizard chicken-man?) alighted on the
surface of the water, where it struggled for awhile to get airborne
again.  After a few moments, when its feathers were completely soaked,
it sank and drowned.
     "Hurray!" yelled Karaz-Gorm.  "That's one for me!"
     Unfortunately, the attention that the shouting dwarf drew was not
from his comrades, but rather from his enemies.  Soon, two lizardmen
were upon him, and snatched up the mage in their hands and began to
carry him off, over the water.  All the Illustrious Karaz-Gorm could do
in his defense was turn one of them blue and give the other one a wig. 
With that "attack" apparently insufficient to drive his abductors away,
the pitiful cries for help began.
---med
     Atlon had just succeeded in pulling the dagger from the lizardman's
sheath when he started to glow, and shrink into a chicken's body.  The
talking Dwalsch shouted something in an unintelligable language and drew
the attention of two other of those lizard-men.  Atlon, shocked as he
was, could barely resist a chuckle when one of the lizard-men turned
blue, and the other grew hair, that instantly fell off.  Apparantly, the
talking Dwalsch could do magic, but not very well!  Then the Dwalsch
began to shout in distress, obviously calling for help.
     Atlon planted his newly-acquired dagger into the back of the first
lizard-man, and stunned it instantly.  =93I should've joined the
Assassins' Guild,=94 he thought grimly.  In a blink of an eye, he had sli=
t
the lizard-man's throat, and jumped for the next one, who was advancing
on the Dwarf.  This time, his backstab didn't succeed.  The lizardman,
seeing what had happened to it's friend, had found Atlon much more of a
threat, and was now attempting to throw him off it's back.
     Atlon failed to hang on the the Lizard-man, and fell to the deck. 
Then, it took off with the talking Dwalsch.  Atlon tried to jump on to
it again, but it was too high for him to jump.  He watched the thing fly
away, cursing himself for not being fast enough.  He was definitely
curious about that dwalsch.
     He ran off to find someone who could help.
---il
     Seeing the plight of her dwarf, Niki jumped to her feet and ran
towards the edge of the upper deck, leaping out over the water to
collide in mid-air with the straining, winged backs of the lizard
creatures.
     "OW!" she exclaimed, followed by "Uhoh..." as she began to slide
off. Niki grabbed frantically for the joint attaching the creatures
wings to its body and held on tight. Then she looked down.
     Needless to say, the combined weight of girl and dwarf severely
taxed the flying ability of the abductors and so Niki had a splendid
view of circling fins as they plummetted downward at an alarming rate.
     "RORANDAIRRRRRRR!!!!!!"
---pw
     Zolomon heard the shout from belowdecks, just after successfully
defeating the green monster-lizard.  Faster than anyone would've thought
of the four-foot man, Zolomon made it to the top deck.  He didn't need
to find where the shout come from, he could see a woman jump overboard
to port.
     He ran to the edge, to see that the ship was in the air!  He grew
dizzy.
     Zolomon was a seafaring man (you had to be to live in Ryxx), but
this was more than he bargained for!  Seconds later, he recovered, and
looked for the wheel.  Perhaps this is a new device, allowing faster and
safer travel for Ryxxian crew and cargo.
     And apparently, the design had a flaw... a BIG one.
---il
     Rorandair looked over the edge to see Niki and His Magnificence
plummetting downward towards the water with two winged beasts he had
never seen before.  Having only a sword, and frustrated to no end by the
lack of close combat, Rorandair gleefully jumped up, hooked his feet
under the railing, and thrust with all of his might upwards.  The
railing shattered and the airship teetered dangerously, but Rorandair
was propelled violently downwards.  At that speed water is more like
cement.  It was a good thing he was going to hit it before his
companions.
     It was lucky for Rorandair that his bones were unbreakable, as the
impact of his enormous body with the water shook him rather violently. 
He shook it off quickly, though, and surfaced only to have the
Magnificent Karaz-Gorm land on his shoulders and head.  Pumping his
powerful legs, Rorandair sprung a few feet out of the water and spun
around, looking for his strange foes, Niki, the sharks, and hoping
desperately that His Magnificent was not hell-bent on trying to fix the
situation himself.  Sighing, he landed on top of a shark and drove his
fist through the head, pushing the skull out the other side.  Then he
really went to work at finding Niki, who he had not been able to locate.
---mp
     Hearing what sounded like -- well, the sort of thing one would
shout when leaping into the ocean from a serious height, Liess turned to
look astern and over the side.  Twisting in her grip (and feeling a bit
ignored at the moment), Tan looked that way also.  He tsked.
     "Four divers going in all tangled up together like that," he said. 
"That's unsafe.  Isn't anyone going to whistle them for that?"
     Liess pointed at the water.  Tan followed her hand.
     "Now that's really unsafe!" he said.
     Liess, who was dressed appropriately for swimming, dove off the
side of the ship.
     "Where do you think we're going?" Tan screamed, just before he
remembered to take a deep breath.
---al
     Apparently, Liess knew what she was doing, diving off the ship into
the shark-infested sea.  Anyway, she knew something about proper diving
style:  Her hands were together over her head.
     Unfortunately, she was holding Tan in one of those hands.
     "!@#$%$" Tan thought as he watched the rather lively water get very
close *very* fast.  He did not voice the sentiment aloud mostly because
his gills were sadly underdeveloped and he preferred to conserve the air
in his lungs while he worked out a plan B for avoiding underwater
asphyxiation.
     With a demure splash (and bonus points for good form), Liess and
Tan disappeared under the waves.
     "Wow!  It's busy down here," Tan thought to himself looking around
at a bunch of assemblages of fins and scales.  Several of the latter
appeared to be scoping out himself and Liess as well.  "Well, first
things first."  He wriggled vigorously in Liess's grip until she noticed
him and let go -- at which point, he quickly climbed up her arm to her
shoulder, the better to avoid presenting a tempting target to certain
finny, large-jawed, undiscerning types.
     He had reached his destination and holding temporarily onto a thick
strand of Liess's hair (only for a moment, mind you) while settling
himself more comfortably when the area was rocked by a large, dense
object that plummeted through the water and disappeared downward.
     "!@#$%$" Tan thought to himself once again.  He again did not voice
the sentiment aloud for the same reasons as above (the details of plan B
were still being implemented).  He was unable to linger over the
sentiment -- or even see to the immediate completion of plan B --
because the first large dense object was followed almost immediately by
a second one (larger though less dense), that disintegrated upon impact
with the water.
     After that, things became confused -- as if they hadn't been
already.  The first heavy object (a.k.a. Rorandair) reappeared and began
amusing himself with mauling and otherwise discomfiting the blue-green
meanies.  Part of the second heavy object (a.k.a. the Magnificent Karaz-
Gorm) began amusing *himself* with attempting to aid and otherwise
discomfiting Rorandair.  Other parts of the second heavy object turned
out to *be* blue-green meanies.  Finally, Liess swam under and began
elevating to the surface the last part of the second heavy object
(a.k.a. Cap'n Niki).
     ("Funny.  I thought a Cap'n was supposed to go down with her ship,"
Tan thought to himself as he clambered along Liess's hair to her
shoulder; he refrained from communicating this criticism to Niki
immediately because plan B was still not yet fully implemented.)
     Liess even found time in her busy schedule to persuade a couple of
the finny phriends (by means of a fairly standard biff on the snout and
a waggle of the index finger once she got their attention) that Cap'n
Niki was not a suitable target for close personal inspection.
     Niki, Tan and Liess broke the surface again.
     "About time!" Tan exclaimed, scarcely able to contain his desire to
comment on the situation (or the breath he was trying to hold).  "I
really think we took altogether too long implementing plan B that time. 
We could've -- hey!"
     Liess splashed him.  Then she grabbed him again and pressed him
close to her neck.  Finally, she gave a thumbs down signal.
     "Aw, come on, Liess," Tan said, understanding her perfectly.  "Plan
C?  But that takes work."
     Liess nodded and dove, taking Tan with her.
     While Tan concentrated on implementing Plan C for comfortable
underwater respiration (plan C is very hard work and not recommended for
casual use), Liess looked around at the situation from her vantage
point, clinging to the side of Niki's ship.
    Rorandair was in the water, but having a fine time smashing shark
skulls.  Karaz-Gorm was above the water making things ever so slightly
more difficult for Rorandair on whom he was sitting but who probably
appreciated the challenge.  Niki had been at the surface, but then
disappeared upward.  All was well, and even the sharks were  taking more
interest in the other, dead sharks than in the handful of blue-green
meanies that were floating on the water.
     It would've been pleasant simply to wait out the whole dispute
right there, but Tan tugged on Liess's hair and pointed upward at the
surface again.  She swam up.
     "Sorry, Liess," Tan gasped, once they broke the surface.  "It's
just not working.  Maybe we should get back on the boat -- hey what?"
     Seeing Niki targeted by another blue-green lizard thing, Liess had
grabbed Tan and pointed him at the sight.
     "Well whaddaya expect me to do about it?" Tan demanded.
---al
     Niki bobbed on the surface trying to avoid the attention of several
sharks that had her full attention. The shooing motions she made with
her hands, a clear signal that she wasn't interested in a long term, or
short term, relationship, made no impression on them.
     Recognizing her extreme danger Niki paddled backwards towards the
boat, only to find herself floating out of the water and into the air.
     "It works!" exclaimed His Magnificence Karaz-Gorm.
     Now thirty feet above the water and rising Niki saw Karaz-Gorm
gleefully waving his stick around wildly as he chortled to himself. 
Niki continued to rise as the mage pointed his stick at one of the
sharks, and buried her head in her hands as a horseshoe of red roses
appeared around its neck and caught on its upthrust fin.
     "Oh well," she commented to a nearby seagull.  "This could be
worse."
     It was at that point that she noticed one of the remaining
lizardmen flying directly at her.
     "This is just *not* my day."
---pw
     Kaega sighed, amazed once more at how quickly humans could get
themselves into trouble.  She looked at the draconians attacking, and
sighed again.  Much as she wanted to help her friends, she was honor-
bound by the War Truce not to harm draconians.  So long as they did not
attack her, she could not attack them.  However, she could help her
overboard companions.  She dove over the side of the ship and looked to
see what she could do.
---at
     While Tan concentrated on implementing Plan C for comfortable
underwater respiration (plan C is very hard work and not recommended for
casual use), Liess looked around at the situation from her vantage
point, clinging to the side of Niki's ship.
    Rorandair was in the water, but having a fine time smashing shark
skulls.  Karaz-Gorm was above the water making things ever so slightly
more difficult for Rorandair on whom he was sitting but who probably
appreciated the challenge.  Niki had been at the surface, but then
disappeared upward.  All was well, and even the sharks were  taking more
interest in the other, dead sharks than in the handful of blue-green
meanies that were floating on the water.
     It would've been pleasant simply to wait out the whole dispute
right there, but Tan tugged on Liess's hair and pointed upward at the
surface again.  She swam up.
     "Sorry, Liess," Tan gasped, once they broke the surface.  "It's
just not working.  Maybe we should get back on the boat -- hey what?"
     Seeing Niki targeted by another blue-green lizard thing, Liess had
grabbed Tan and pointed him at the sight.
     "Well whaddaya expect me to do about it?" Tan demanded.
---al

     With a hearty "Hah...Haaaaaaah!", Sir Didymus dispatched another of
the flying lizardmen.  But this time, along with the body of his foe
falling over the railing, went his broadsword.  "Hmmm...That was quite
unfortunate..." he remarked.
     Turning to Pen, who was struggling with one of the pirates behind
him, he called out, "Pen, run below and fetch my claymore!  True, it
*is* a bit long for inclose fighting aboard ship, but it shall have to
suffice.  Pen!  Are you listening to me?"  Didymus strode up to where
Pen was still wrestling with the pirate, and bashed his gauntlet on the
lizardman's skull.  The lizardman fell limp on top of the squire.  "I
said, did you hear me?  Come lad, get out from under this offal and get
my claymore."  Didymus lifted the lizardman off of Pen, and threw the
pirate overboard.  "Hurry now, there's dirty deeds afoot here.  Where
*is* everyone?" he said, looking around at the near-empty flying ship.
---je
     With a grunt and a yank, Pen was back on his feet and happy to
fetch his master's weapon. "Thank you Sir!" the boy exclaimed with a
salute. "I'll be but a second, Sir!"
     Helping Sir Didymus with his gear thankfully took away some of the
angst of the perilous situation from young Pen's mind.  That is until he
heard young Niki's cry as she plummeted to the sea.  His heart froze. 
Then something green flashed by him, chased by one of the characters
they had rescued earlier.  He had hardly noticed.  As he continued to
mimic a stone statue, Pen then witnessed Liess and Tan's efforts in
rescuing the ship's captain, who still clung to a flailing blue flying-
humanoid, who with the aid of another (green lizard man) held onto
Karaz.  Then Rorandair was in the soup of things.  What a mess!
     "*Pen*," cried Sir Didymus. "Duck!"
     He was just about to start his search for the aquatic bird, when he
realised the urgency in his master's voice dictated another application
of action. So Pen ducked. And just in the nick of time.  A large green
beast flew over his bowed head and collided straight into Didymus.
(ouch!)
     The boy turned to find Sir Didymus entangled with one of the flying
lizard men. Without hesitation the young squire jumped into action and
started to pry off the filthy beast from his master. All the while
crying out: "Master, master...are you alright?"
---ds
     Zolomon had nearly reached the aft of the ship, when a loud
*CRUNCH!* of splintering and breaking wood came to his ears.  Following
the sound, he found his way to a struggle.  Apparantly, one of the
lizard men managed to pounce on another of this ship's giants (a Knight,
Zolomon percieved from his armour), and wrestle him to the floor.  A
boy, slightly bigger than Zolomon himself, was trying to peel the
monster off the man.
     Zolomon jumped in, attempting to assist the boy.  One more couldn't
hurt... "War is without honour," he mumbled as he joined the struggle.
---il
     Finally, Pen handed Sir Didymus's claymore which was welcomed with
a smile and a wink from the old Knight.
---ds
     "Indeed,...<urk>..as I said...<urf>...a claymore is not the weapon
of choice for inclose fighting."  Didymus said, throwing the lizardman
overboard with Pen's help.  He noticed that the lizardman never hit the
water, but instead unfurled its wings and soared up to begin another
attack.  "Ah!  Pen, a lesson learned here.  Make sure we incapacitate
these pirates *before* we throw them overboard."  He also noticed a huge
man, that could only be Rorandair, and several others of his companions,
foundering in the sea far below.
     "Quick lad, lower that launch over there.  We have friends in the
drink."  As he spoke, Didymus readied himself for another diving
lizardman attack.  This time, he was well prepared with the claymore,
and used the lizardman's own attack against him.  "Hah-Haaaaah!"  He
shouted in triumph.  This time when he threw the pirate overboard, it
was cleaved nearly in twain.---je  He immediately began brandishing the
steel as he raced towards his potential foe.  They scurried like
frightened pigeons from his path.  Didymus wailed at them for their
cowardice.---ds  Looking about, he could not see any more pirates in the
air, so he took another look at his friends in the water.  "Hurry, Pen! 
It appears that Karaz is trying to stand on Rorandair's head!  Where is
Kaega?  She could quickly ferry some of them back on board?"
---je
     Rorandair was having a tough time concentrating on fighting while
the esteemed Karaz-Gorm was floundering on his shoulders.  In an act of
pure desperation and frustration, he planted his arms under the dwarf's
feet and attempted to heave him to the ship's deck.  Only the Lord knew
if he would be released from his private hell.
---mp
     Karaz screamed as he streaked skyward.  Remembering that it was a
fate similar to that which had befallen Niki (although that was at his
hands and was more magical than brute strength), he wondered if he would
catch a glimpse of the ship's captain.  He didn't.  As he reached
apogee, he looked down.  Big mistake.  Rorandair had indeed heaved him a
great distance.  Straight upwards.  He could make out the form of Niki's
ship, and a few dots in the water which must be the rest of the crew. 
Then began the descent.
     A meek "Oh, dear," preceeded more fanatical screaming as the great
Karaz-Gorm announced his return to earth...er, sea.  Desperately waving
his stick and chanting, the mage came to a halt only inches from the
shoulders of the man-island Rorandair, who had braced himself for the
impact (more to try to protect the dwarf than himself).  Then, alighting
gently at his starting point, Karaz whispered into Rorandair's ear,
"That was fun, but warn me next time, okay?"
     Rorandair shrugged in frustration, nearly sending the mage on
another airborne trip.
---med
     It was then that Valkyr ran out on board.
     He had heard the commotion, and Rorandair's last jump finally tore
him from his incessant nightmares...  He would have to talk to a psychic
of some sorts soon, before those dreams became the death of him.
     The sight of the lizardmen triggered an instinct in the paladin,
and thus his hand went to the Lightblade...
     The sword stuck in the scabbard.  The Lightblade did not judge this
encounter as a justful attack on the paladin's part.
     Valkyr stood there dumbfounded, letting a lizardman knock him back
into the ship's railing with a diving bump.  He managed to get out his
whip, the only backup weapon he ever kept on him.  With a quick snap the
long strip of leather was wrapped around the main mast, preventing the
paladin from falling overboard.
     Standing up, Valkyr managed to deflect a lizardman's blow with a
keg's cover, and pushed the flying reptile away.  Suddenly a thought
came into his mind, and he shouted to everyone on board...
     "Stop the fighting!  These must be guardians of some sort, and not
mercenaries!  They won't attack if we try to explain what we're doing
here in the first place!"
     "At least, I hope not..." Valkyr muttered to himself as he tied the
handle of the whip to his belt.
---avc
     From her still rising vantage point above the water, the drenched
Captain Niki (=93Cap'n=94 or =93Niki=94 to her friends) eyed the lizardma=
n
diving towards her with murderous intent.
     "Could we maybe talk about this?" she offered just before the
creature drew his scimitar and swung.
     "Oh all right, be that way." she added as she kicked the sword from
his clawed hand, then punched him in the snout for good measure.
---pw
     Aware that the ship lacked a captain and that the Galleon was
floating a few yards above the sea listlessly, Pen ran over to the
wheel.  He had earlier watched his friend Niki maneuver the great boat
and was hoping he had learned something of the crafts' operation. 
Taking hold of the wheel and grasping one of many dangling chords, he
attempted to settle the craft.  Not being a sailor nor an air man for
that matter (an expert with horses not vessels), Pen had some difficulty
in handling the task at hand. 
---ds
     Still rising, Niki looked down at her comrades to see who might be
able to throw her a rope or something.  Then she saw Pen at the wheel.
     "Pen no!" she yelled, cupping her hands for greater volume.  Even
as she spoke blue fire lept into being along the silver traceries
imbedded in every inch of the ship.  His face took on a startled
expression as he realized touching the wheel connected him to the ship
as a whole, and made him able to move the sky-galleon.
---pw
     Pen looked up, surprised to see Niki in the air.  Stunned by her
presence there and with the lack of anything better to do, he smiled
stupidly and waved.
---ds
     "Pen!" she yelled, horrified at what he could do if he wasn't
careful.  "Think only about what you want the ship to do! *Don=92t* think=

about *where* you want to go!"
---pw
     He barely heard, but what he was able to grasp, made sense.  He
tried his best to follow her instructions.  Frowning in concentration,
he desperately filtered out the chaos that surrounded him and tried to
remember exactly what Niki had done to raise and descend the ship.  Soon
he had it, but his skill was lacking.  The huge boat groaned and tilted
to one side as it drifted towards the waters.  Valkyr was just about to
be the next to fall over board, but managed to stay dry with the use of
his whip.  Quick on his feet the Paladin then took hold of Sir Didymus,
prevented the leader of this voyage from going over the banister.  All
the while, Pen tried to level out the craft and avoid landing on his
friends below.  The trick was to use Kaega as a point of reference.  He
watched as she nose-dived for the gang below.  Pen made for the opposite
direction.  With a crash and a groan, he landed the ship.  *Not* a very
smooth landing, but what do you expect from an inexperienced pilot?
---ds
     Atlon had been running around, trying to find a good place to hide
on this ship.  However, he had been chased most of the way by at least
two of those green-skinned monsters.  And, as unlikely as it would seem,
Atlon could have sworn to having glimpsed a brightly-colored skittish,
almost as large as Ryxx castle itself... *flying* over the water.
     Atlon dismissed the thought, concentrating on losing his green-hued
tail.  And ran straight into another, who had waited ahead of him.
     It was then, as a sign from the Rheds, that the ship violently
shook.  Atlon was thrown clear of those creatures, and they had to take
off, or be battered like the boy.
     As the ship's shuddering died down, Atlon continued his flight,
with three of those things on his tail.
---il
     Kaega glimpsed the boy from the lifeboat flying through the air,
pursued by draconians. She hastily slipped into a dive, carefully
snatching the boy and pulling up, as the draconians  tried to recover
from the immense draft from her wings. She deposited the boy on the deck
of the ship, and returned to hovering  above the water, where she
watched Karaz-Gorm's antics and considered pulling him out of the water.
---at
     Atlon sat on the deck, stunned.  All he had learned from the guild
about wildlife had failed.  In addition to these freaks, a *skittish*...
a *huge* skittish... a *huge, flying skittish*, which wasn't living up
to it's name... had grabbed him in it's ...*claws*!... and carried him
up to the deck!
     Realizing what had happened, something happened to Atlon that had
never happened to anyone in the Thieves *or* Assassins' Guilds in the
history of the Five Kingdoms or Ryxx.
     He fainted.
---il