“Do not blame us for this, Koranth,” Eraina said. “Blame Rossa.”
“I was speaking to Rossa, curse his ghost,” Koranth said. “How can the tribe recover from this loss?”
Just as the halfling’s words faded, a second ring appeared in the sky above them, a blazing circle of familiar blue. As she saw the familiar figurehead in the center of the flame, Seren realized that perhaps the storm was no coincidence after all. Karia Naille swooped over the village, flying in broad circles as she surveyed the scene below. Seren ran to the center of the village, waving her hands wildly to get the captain’s attention. The others followed her as well, including Koranth and his halflings.
The ship’s boarding ladder spilled from the hull and Tristam slid down in a flash, sword in hand. Zed dropped beside him, moving a great deal more stiffly with his wounded leg but still holding his weapon with deadly purpose. Seren saw Aeven standing at the rail, her golden hair illuminated by lightning. The winds whirled around her, and she gazed down at the burning village with a strangely cold expression. The look in Aeven’s eyes frightened Seren more than any obvious rage or fear ever could. Thunder cracked the sky again. Seren remembered Dalan’s warning about Aeven’s fierce temper.
“Seren, are you hurt?” Tristam asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, running to his side and sheathing her dagger, “but they killed Kiris and took Dalan with them.”
“What?” Tristam said, flustered. “Kiris is dead? And why they take Dalan?”
“He probably wants to know how much we know,” Zed said. “Dalan’s dead, or he will be when Marth is done questioning him. There’s no way we can take on Moon, especially with our ship in the shape she is.”
“Maybe not,” Tristam mused. “In this storm, Moon’s weapons won’t be as accurate or affective. If we can catch up quickly enough, we can board and rescue him.”
“It’s suicide, Tristam,” Zed said.
Tristam looked at the inquisitive. “Are you telling me I shouldn’t try?”
“No,” Zed said. “I’m with you. Just wanted to be clear.”
“You know that even if we made it aboard, Marth’s soldiers would kill us,” Gerith said. “There are too many of them, and only eight of us. That’s assuming we all board, of course, which would be stupid, since someone has to fly the ship.”
“Koranth,” Zed said, turning to the halfling warrior.
“I have heard everything, human,” Koranth said. “You have your army, if it means the Ghost Talons have their revenge.”
Koranth stepped from his saddle, holding his javelin in both hands. Behind him had gathered a dozen of the tribe’s remaining hunters and warriors wielding whatever weapons they had salvaged from the village. Hatred burned in their eyes.
“Everyone aboard,” Tristam said.
CHAPTER 24
That way,” Tristam said, pointing south through the raging storm.
Pherris nodded and urged Karia Naille to greater speed. Aeven crouched on the rail of the ship near her figurehead, oblivious to the howling wind. Though the rain fell in sheets all around them, the airship and her passengers remained dry. The deck was crowded with Koranth’s halfling warriors and their glidewing steeds. The glidewings were agitated by the unfamiliar movement of the airship, so the halflings spent most of their time soothing the creatures. Blizzard glared disdainfully at the other creatures from his perch.
“We’re getting closer,” Tristam said. “Definitely straight ahead, Pherris.”
“Pretty lucky that you happened to enchant something Dalan brought with him so that you could track him,” Zed said.
“Nothing lucky about it,” Tristam said, still staring into the storm. “I gave Dalan and everyone who went with him something so I could find them if something went wrong.”
Seren’s hand moved to the silver bracelet the artificer had given her. For a moment, their eyes met and he smiled at her.
Zed chuckled in approval.
“We need to hurry, Pherris,” Tristam said. “I can’t sense him if he gets too far away and Moon already has a lead on us.”
“The ship can’t give you much more, Tristam,” the gnome said.
“I can,” Aeven said softly. The dryad lifted her arms to the heavens and tipped her head back. The winds shifted and the storm built behind them, pushing the airship forward.
Tristam turned back to face the assembled crew. “Each of you take one of these,” Tristam said. He opened a small pouch at his belt, taking out several glass vials and handing them to Seren, Eraina, Omax, and Zed.
“What are they?” Eraina asked, holding up the bottle and looking at the murky contents suspiciously.
“Leaping potions,” Tristam answered. “The halflings have their glidewings, but we’ll need these to get aboard Moon and back. Save them for now; they don’t last long. And for the love of all that’s holy, don’t miss when you jump onto Moon.”
“Will the potion work on Omax?” Seren asked, looking at the warforged dubiously.
“We are creatures of magic,” Omax said. “We were built so that we could benefit from other such creations. I suspect that the only reason we were given mouths was so that we might drink potions.”
“Can you board an airship with your leg, Zed?” Pherris asked.
“My leg is fine,” Zed said, nodding briefly at Eraina. “Still a bit sore, but I wouldn’t miss the chance to get even with those Cyran bastards for dropping an airship on me.”
“All well and good, but do we have a plan beyond ‘everyone jump and hope for the best?’ ” Eraina asked.
“I’m coming to that,” Tristam said. “I lived on Moon for a while, so I have some idea what we’re heading into.” He took a roll of vellum from his cloak and unrolled it on the deck, revealing a detailed sketch of the Kenshi Zhann’s interior.
“What if Marth has changed the layout since he took the ship?” Eraina asked.
“Old information is better than nothing,” Tristam said. “Moon’s lightning cannon is its main weapon, but it’s front mounted. As long as Pherris keeps Karia Naille above and behind her, she won’t be able to fire it at us. Our ship is more maneuverable than theirs, so that shouldn’t be a problem. The Cyran soldiers will still have crossbows, but with Aeven’s storm they’ll have trouble hitting anything. We’ll use the clouds to approach unseen and, once we get close, Gerith and Koranth will lead the glidewings down Moon’s main deck.” He pointed at the diagram. “Once they’ve distracted the crew, the rest of us will leap onto the rear deck. Dalan is probably being held in one of the lower cabins, here.” He pointed again. “Omax, Eraina, and Zed will fight their way there and retrieve him. Once you have him, leap back to Karia Naille and send off a flare so that the halflings know to break off combat and leave. We’ll have the element of surprise and the Ghost Talons to help us, but with a ship as large as Moon, Marth’s crew likely still outnumbers us. We can’t afford to linger long. Wait ten minutes after we jump, Pherris. No longer. If anyone isn’t back by then, assume the worst.”
“And once we have Dalan back, what’s to stop Moon from whirling about and firing that cannon at us?” Pherris asked.
“That’s where Seren and I come in,” Tristam said. He pointed at the map again. “Marth will expect that we’ve come to rescue Dalan as soon as he’s aware of the attack, so Seren will help me sneak through the chaos into this room. This part of the lower cargo bay houses the main elemental containment chamber of Moon, the crystal housing that binds their elemental to this plane. While the rest of you do your part, Seren and I will sneak down there and I’ll shatter the chamber. Moon will bleed out power fast and drift to the ground, crippled. Is all of that clear?”