Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

"Is your ship like the others here?" Calm Reed asks, putting her hand on the hull. "The others I have seen today are a lot like sea-ships, but with magic that lets them sail the sky. I learned how to sail in my youth, but it was not until coming here that I saw an airship."

[Recaiden]

[Arriving]

A couple people are arriving at the Skybase. They have no need of a shuttle, as they are pulling up in a bird-drawn chariot that has been zooming along a road that extends through midair, but are headed towards where the shuttles arrive anyway.
The first one is Yone, a large fairy cat creature.
The second one is an unnamed imp which may technically be a demon.

"Hello, VIGILants? We're here to deliver a warning about a potential disaster." Yone calls out.

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

"I may have made some... Aftermarket modifications, but once I get this piston replaced, she'll be fully skyworthy again." Saramond continues working as he talks. "In terms of control, she should be about the same, but her workings are different."

[Morty]

[Arriving]

The Vigil crew rush to see if the newcomers are a threat, then send for one of the commanders when they hear the message. Wenomir arrives promptly.

"Potential disasters is something we hear about a lot. What news do you have?" he asks when he get there.

[Airship Gantry]

"Define 'aftermarket modifications'," Calm Reed says carefully. "There are airships where I come from, but they are... each priceless. Wonders of a past age. I never saw one before coming here."

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

The imp peers at the sign.

The VIGIL sign which her player presumes must exist somewhere.

"Hey, what's does it say there? V.I.G...-**** no! This is worse! It's actually worse!" The imp attempts to grapple Yone by the cuff of her shirt and futilty attempt to give her a shake. "I'm a demon, do you know what these guys do to demons?! I'm not ready to die!"

That's the point when Wenomir speaks up and the imp quickly let's go of Yone and attempts to disappear down into her shirt with a "eep!".

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

"Well, she isn't a wonder of a past age. But I did soup up her engine, install some armor plating, replace the power steering, upgrade the de-icing system, and a few other things." Saramond answers. Whether or not Calm Reed understands anything he just said is another matter.

[Recaiden]

[Arriving]

The Vigil crew rush to see if the newcomers are a threat, then send for one of the commanders when they hear the message. Wenomir arrives promptly.

"Potential disasters is something we hear about a lot. What news do you have?" he asks when he get there.

The imp peers at the sign.

The VIGIL sign which her player presumes must exist somewhere.

"Hey, what's does it say there? V.I.G...-**** no! This is worse! It's actually worse!" The imp attempts to grapple Yone by the cuff of her shirt and futilty attempt to give her a shake. "I'm a demon, do you know what these guys do to demons?! I'm not ready to die!"

That's the point when Wenomir speaks up and the imp quickly let's go of Yone and attempts to disappear down into her shirt with a "eep!".

(Yone is not wearing a shirt, since she doesn't have arms since she is a cat, but the imp can certainly grab a strap near her neck and then hide in a bag)
"Your boss said you couldn't be killed, and they even have demons working here, so what's the-

"Oh, uh, greetings, commander Wenomir!" Yone bobs and sweeps in a sort of bow. Something about her seems extremely nonthreatening, even a bit pitiful.
"I've been warned that a group of corrupted spirits of secrecy are headed towards Inside and surrounding areas."
"I understand that anyone who looks upon them is driven mad with forbidden knowledge and drawn into a deadly underworld conflict of sorts."
"The danger is greatest for faeries, magical creatures and so on, but normal folks can be affected as well."
Just listen to the warning and pay no attention to the demon hiding about her person.

[Morty]

[Cats, Imps and Warriors]

Wenomir folds his arms across his chest and gives the imp an unimpressed look. He's used to people being afraid at the sight of him and he'd be lying if he said it doesn't appeal to him on some level.

"Sprits that drive people mad just by looking at them? That's going to be a problem. Do you know where they came from and where they've been sighted?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

The imp continues hiding as this conversation is going on. Not going to get out and get decapicated, no sir. She was not going to die since some stupid cat dragged her to one of the most dangerous places in the world.

[Recaiden]

[Cat, Imp and Warrior]

"I understand they came from an underworld, where the souls of the dead go, but I haven't been informed about recent movements."
"Hold on."
Yone goes to open her bag and peer into it.
"Hey, did the boss say how far out they were? Where from?"
Normally she would simply know the answer, but here that risks finding out too much, if it would even be possible at all.

[Shadowcaller]

[Cat, Imp and Warrior]

"Uhh... seaside, maybe? I don't know. I just know they got... something out there." The imp whispers back while trying to stay out of Yone's field of vision within the bag (by hiding underneath something.)

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

"This tells me very little." Saramond might get the impression it's not an easy admission for Calm Reed. "The ones in my homeland seem to operate entirely on magic. I do wish I had seen one. The ones here seem akin to seafaring ships. Expensive, to be sure, but not priceless."

[Cat, Imp and Warrior]

"This is less than specific, but understandably so." It's hard to investigate creatures who drive people mad when they see them. "Is there anything else you can tell us about them?"

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

"She's not magic, but some of them are. But I don't work with magic. And no, not a priceless relic, but expensive. So try not to scratch the paint." Saramond chuckles, but he seems serious about that.

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

"I will do my best." Calm Reed smiles slightly. "I would love to go for a test flight once you are finished."

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

"That's the spirit. I'll be done in a few, and she'll be purring like a kitten." Saramond ducks back into the engine compartment.
A few minutes later, he reemerges, wiping his hands off on a rag, and gestures to the helm. "After you."

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

Calm Reed steps into the airship, not really knowing what to expect. But the Nexus has been one surprise after the other, so she'll take this one as it comes.

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

Saramond gestures to the controls. "First things first, we've got to start her up." He produces a key from his pocket and turns it in the airship's ignition. "Now put your hands here and here, on the throttle and the wheel. I'll get her unmoored." He begins untying the ropes holding the ship to the gantry.

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

Calm Reed does as instructed. This ship is very different from the others she's seen on the island. She'll have to take a closer look at those as well, but for now she'll learn all she can about this one.

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

"Good, now push slowly forward on the throttle. Ease her out of her berth." Saramond encourages. "Nice and slow."

[5a Violista]

[.]

The paladin, Zophiel, returns to Vigil, finally, after who-knows-how-long.

Unlike last time he was here, he now has two sets of wings that are pretty different form each other (one is by his hips instead of his shoulders) and he probably doesn't have a soul now. Maybe. Someone might have to investigate to know for sure, or maybe they could just ask him, assuming he knows. Whatever, it's not a big deal, probably.

The obvious place he needs to go is, of course, the training grounds since large wings change his center of gravity which would throw off his muscle memory for sword-swinging.

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

Calm Reed breathes out deeply. She does as she's told and there seems to be a natural flow to how she does it. Like she's very familiar with steering a large vessel, feeling it move around her and gauging its movements. It was a wooden sea ship rather than a metal airship, but something carries over.

[bc56]

Airship Gantry

The airship slowly comes to a start, the noise of the engines picking up gradually. "Perfect. Keep it up. Take her away from the island, slow and steady." The island will begin to diminish behind the airship.

[Morty]

[Airship Gantry]

"This vessel sails through the air, not the sea, but I find it familiar enough." Calm Reed looks straight ahead as they sail away from the island. "It is still a vessel."

[bc56]

Airship

"You could say that, yeah," Saramond gestures to a lever next to the helm. "Try that next. That controls the height of the ship."

[Morty]

[Airship]

Calm Reed does that, carefully. She'd be lying if she said she's not nervous, standing in a metal vessel high above the ground. Nothing but some machinery between her and certain death.

[Arkhosia]

[On the Ground]

Maiel waits. He's very still. He seems calm, but there is an air of leashed tension. A station or two rolls by before a more remote one appears somewhere on the outskirts of Inside, a run down village with green plains rolling away from its borders. The car's already emptied a little, but no one disembarks.

Maiel holds out a hand, palm up. "After you."

Blanche tries her best to play it cool, but it's harder for her to disguise the tense atmosphere between them. She's clearly a little on edge to casual viewers, the fur of her tail bristling and fingers drumming against the handle of her pistol. She'll play by their agreed-upon rules though, eyeing Maiel with distrust as she steps off the train.

[Recaiden]

[Cat, Imp and Warrior]

"Uhh... seaside, maybe? I don't know. I just know they got... something out there." The imp whispers back while trying to stay out of Yone's field of vision within the bag (by hiding underneath something.)

"This is less than specific, but understandably so." It's hard to investigate creatures who drive people mad when they see them. "Is there anything else you can tell us about them?"

"Besides that they were coming from somewhere in Seaside, no. Obviously, I can't use my normal methods of reconnaissance on them." Yone admits, letting the imp go back to hiding. But it's not her fault that the things are nigh-unknowable.
"In their presence, one should completely close their eyes or lenses, not just look away. Any magic effective against spirits should be able to contain them."
"If I learn anything more - anything safe, that is, I will do my best to inform VIGIL."

[bc56]

Airship

While Calm Reed seems ill at ease, Saramond is not at all uncomfortable. He leans over the rail and watches the land speed by. "See, it's not that hard. You've got the hang of it."

[Morty]

[Airship]

"The grace of the Dragons appears to have followed me here," Calm Reed says with some mild humor. "I was but a child when I first set foot on a wooden sea-ship and I knew I would be expected to know how to handle it."

[bc56]

Airship

"Dragons?" Saramond's heard of dragons, but vaguely. Aren't they those lava creatures from that one planet? And something about uplifting them to sapience? Calm Reed is probably talking about something different.