Musa Grazing Bull's Story

The smoke cleared and Musa peeked around the corner wall to see that fellow flying off on his fleshy butterfly and the other one walking off at a brisk pace while staring down at a compass. Quietly, she slid back into the alley after the cloaked man was far enough for her to not hear his footsteps. "That was.. Brief." She murmured. Although the fight was fast, she was very lucky that the man with the brimmed hat decided to ignore that loud mouthed Wetlander. Musa huffed in annoyance. He would get a nice strike from her staff when she finally cought up with his little troup.

Bouncing on her toes, she set off after the group again, hoping to find them quickly and apologize for her not trying to detain the brim-hatted man before he attatcked.

Thessir was following along just fine, avoiding detection and the like as they walked in the flying beast's shadow. That was up until the point when the man from the bar earlier came upon them both, attempting to apprehend the wetlander. The bounty hunter bound the wetlander's hands and just decided he was going to detain him as though it was just that simple. Thessir wasn't much of a fighter though, luckily the man with the flying beast spoke in his stead.

"What is desirable of gold?" He wondered out loud, speaking his mind. Not long after that sentiment however the man with the floating creature attacked as there weren't many other options for dissuading their tracker otherwise. Bracing his stance he received the wetlander as he was shoved over towards him by the flying beast man.


As the smoke emitted from the man blocked all vision Thessir calmly produced his dagger. He cut through the wetlander's bondage with his dagger so easily it basically passed through the ropes, leaving the cut remains of aforementioned rope to fall in tatters in it's wake.

"Come. We search now." He motioned for the wetlander to follow him as he proceeded down the alleyway. On his way out he passed a woman with a skull set upon her head. Due to the smoke which was flooding out behind him he was fairly sure he saw her but she didn't appear to see them given her lack of reaction. As the smoke enveloped her she seemed to still be looking out towards where the combat was taking place.


After a number of turns across a few alleys as he and the wetlander turned a corner he had arrived to see a woman sprinting right towards them. It seemed their entrance was supposed to be her exit. His eyes though suffering from the light could catch a glimpse of skin from beneath the grey hood. Her skin was almost as pale as his was, white as snow with a mild red hue spread across. The reddish tint was what separated them in terms of skin tone. His skin lacked even that much color, appearing as solely white. Thessir never darkened under the sun, he'd only blister.

This was interesting indeed, mainly because a person of such little pigmentation was as rare as a blossoming blue rose out in the sea of sand. As much as he'd of liked to stop and chat there was still the feeling of being pursued to deal with. It did seem however that the woman was in quite a rush herself. Stopping a moment he raised a hand to grab her attention.


"Are you able to spend a lesser mark of time answering a question? I am curious."

Skullivan swallowed, him and Thessir having narrowly avoided Musa on their way out of the alley. "Great plan," Skullivan said, glaring at his pale companion as they turned. "We have that Cowboy Ninja hunting us, the Wetlanders, that lady! And we still don't know where the hell my idol or the Naima-"

Skullivan paused, his attention turning to the strange cloaked figure running toward them - pale skin and red eyes peeking out of her bobbing hood. Thessir suddenly rose a hand to the woman, trying to get her to stop. In response she shot past the two, smashing between them, and cornering another alley.

"Great plan," Skullivan repeated. Two other women ran forward - one one young with black-hair, and another with greyish blue. They were also chasing after the cloaked, pale lady. Skullivan frowned. He recognized the two from before - they'd try to hand him a religious pamphlet or something while he was locked up. "Oh no, not these two," Skullivan sighed. "GO AWAY!" He yelled as they ran toward Thessir and he. "This alley is very dangerous!"

"There!" A voice suddenly called from behind. Skullivan turned to see a unit of Wetland soldiers running after the two women, electric rifles aimed. "Blast them!" Another yelled.

"GREAT PLAN," Skullivan said again, grabbing Thessir's hand and pulling the shorter man behind him, they following the hooded woman's leave - running down the alley they had just come from. Behind them electric shots began to fire, the sound of surging electric blasts hitting the sand at their feet as they dodged down the alleys. Skullivan glanced back. "Keep up!" He yelled at the two girls." The team of four swung down another street and ran on.

"Uluru, where are you?!" Skullivan questioned as the three ducked into an open entranceway. They flung themselves into a shop, The shop was empty - having been abandoned during the airship's arrival. Skullivan guided them through, jumping out an open window and into another alley. "Thessir, this wa-" Skullivan suddenly smashed into a figure. The Traitor staggered backward at the impact, seeing that he had run straight into the woman from before - the one with the spear and golden eyes.

Skullivan scrambled to his feet and backed away, raising a fist threateningly as he moved toward Thessir, the other two women - Elise and Aisha, catching up breathlessly. The cloaked woman was gone, and instead they were now face to face with what could only be a bounty hunter. "Stay away from me, bounty-hunter. I'll kick you in the knee!" He threatened, his green eyes wild. He glanced up to the rooftops - wondering if Uluru was near...

***

The soldier at the wagon, the captain of his unit, nodded. "We're looking for a man - a Wetland Traitor," The man explained, glancing back as two soldiers grabbed hold of Ka'Wa and Duvikal - pulling them apart and placing magnetic handcuffs on the both of them.

The captain sighed. "But then we found our men murderer, some criminals burnt down the bar," The soldier glared at Sören. "You best pray we find those responsible, son," He added, placing a hand on Sören's wagon. "Otherwise this entire town will pay."

"Sir!" Another soldier called. "In the wagon, I saw movement!"

The captain rose an eyebrow, before raising his electric rifle cautiously at Sören and backing away cautiously. "Check it out!" He ordered, nodding at his soldiers. The black-uniformed men nodded, surrounding the wagon. One of them cautiously stepped forward, climbing up onto one of the wagon's large wheels and looking inside. Whisper, Rusten & Dustin stared up. "It's them!" The soldier cried, leaping off the wagon. "It's the killers!"

"Get out!" The captain screamed, raising his rifle. "With your hands drawn!"

***

In the main square Bohdana ran out, a figure suddenly stepping before her. He wasn't overwhelming tall, but still taller than her. His hairs were smoothed back and on his face was a smug smile. "Hi," The Wetland commander greeted, raising a gloved hand casually. "I'm afraid you'll have to answer some questions on my ship."

"Commander!" A soldier said, running up. "We've found the murderers. They're in a wagon down the street but the soldiers are scared to fight them. They want to bring the others in..."

The Wetland Commander frowned. "Absolutely not. We can handle this without thuggish theatrics," The man grimaced and glanced up at his ship, still blocking out the sun above the town. "Prepare the beam."

Uluru glanced down below, looking for any sign of his would be companions. He briefly spotted an odd looking shadow, creeping in an alleyway, but quickly v dismissed it as a loose salamand. Looking further, he overheard a mess if commotion and screaming, meaning the Wetland Traitor and other assorted strange looking people had ran into each other. A lighting down with Yanyan, he leaped off his beast and hit the ground.

"I recognize some of these faces..." Uluru muttered, putting his sword away. "We keep all running into eachother, must be fate..." he muttered, half jokingly.

Musa had seen the Wetlander pulling along the pale man as she pasked through a neighboring street. But just when she decided to cross over onto their steet, he was now leading two other females as they ducked into a vacant shop. She cursed in her native tongue, her eyes flicking back to hear the armed Wetlanders yelling after her prey. Are they all this loud? She thought incredulously. Skirting about, she slid to a stop right in their running path in time for Skullivan to smash into her side.

Her eyes narrowed down at him as he proceeded to yell and holler again, undoubtedly giving away their location. Quickly drawing her staff she gave him a quick and well deserved welt on his neck to shut him up "Shut your mouth! All you do is shout and holler! I'miss surprised you aren't dead yet!" She whispered harshly to him. "Now shut up and all of you keep moving." With a flick, she pointed her staff to a random person in their mini crowd "Make sure he does not speak until we are out of this mess. I will detain the men along with that other man standing on the fleshy butterfly." Her eyes bronzed over at her term for the animal. She knew it was wrong but she didn't know the name for the actual specie. Giving her weapon a twirl, she huffed and vaulted herself through the window of the shop, a shout already accompanying her entry.

"Fleshy...butterfly?" Uluru questioned as the staff wielding woman seemed to take charge of the situation. She proclaimed that she would apprehend Skullivan along with him, which he was fine with, so long as he was certain she was on the up and up. But as he was contemplating this, the woman had already vaulted through the window of the shop, giving Uluru no choice but to hop off Yanyan and follow. "You...wait, you..." Uluru called out, not knowing what to call her. "How aware are you of the full situation? About..." he was reluctant to give this information so freely considering he wasn't sure whose side she was on, but the situation was getting tense. "About the Change?"

Skullivan shut up, not wanting to mess with the woman with the very large staff. He glanced behind at Thessir, Aisha, and Elise, before following Uluru's lead into the shop...

Elsie stumbled into the abandoned shop with Mirova and the two strangers. She noticed the Wetlander with them, "You! You're the reason this is all happening! How do you know about the change?" She was full of adrenaline. Had she known her day would have turned out like this, she would have kept chatting with her friends, friends she would never see again. Yet, in her life, she'd learned that just because she moved on from an area, doesn't mean those friendships cease to exist, or become stagnant.

Aisha was out of breath, following Elise around, wanting to ask for her assistance in finding the escaped Wetlander, but apparently, they managed to find him again. Aisha was barely aware of what was going on as she was led this way and that, but she knew she couldn't let the man leave her sights. She was set on ensuring his safety. Eventually, she found herself in an abandoned shop with a crowd of people. There was a lot of shouting and questioning, but Aisha remained silent. She closed her eyes and brought herself into a semi-meditative state, finding her inner peace so she could make good judgement, rather than continue being lead on by others.

"Excuse me," Aisha called, in a calm voice. She was sweating at this point, but her expression was stern. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before speaking again, raising a hand as if it gave her authority. "It would be best if all of us were to settle down and remain calm... My name is Aisha Abdul'la, and, it is best that we all be calm and come to a mutual understanding." She wandered toward the middle of the shop, slowly, and began to explain.

"First of all, just to make sure all of you understand, there is no such thing as the Change, at least not the kind that you are all seeking. That said, it is very clear that there is indeed something huge that has gotten the Wetlanders involved with our affairs. That is likely to do with our friend, the Wetlander whom of which we've persecuted and who of which those outside wish to capture. I don't know what all of you wish to do with him, but it is my belief that he must be protected. If you only care about information of the Change, it is your duty to leave now, for you have only greed in your heart. If you truly care for the man and his well-being, however, then hark and let him speak. Let him tell his story and bring to light what his beliefs and his troubles are."

Aisha turned to the person she was speaking of and told him, "If you allow us to understand you, then I shall tell you my recent information about the Clan of which you seek, for I have witnessed them."

"The Naima Nomad clan?" Skullivan's eyes went wide as he looked at Aisha. "You met the Nomad Clan?"

Suddenly the door to the shop was smashed open, dust and splinters flying everywhere as the black-uniformed Wetland soldiers poured in. The Wetlanders surrounded them. "Hands up," Manscum the Wetlander said, aiming a rifle at Uluru's head. He could tell Uluru was the worst type of person.

"Wait, wait!" Uluru exclaimed, raising his hands up, thinking quickly. "We have your traitor..." Uluru spoke quickly. "But I'll not hand him over to you. I want my reward upfront, we all do," Uluru nodded at the others surrounding him, giving each of them a look that warned them not to speak out just yet. "We won't let you hand him over and bar us from getting payed. Now how about you guide us to the ship, instead of roasting the only competent hunters in these sands?"

"Here! Over here, another body!"

Lowering her electric rifle, the Wetland soldier lifted her dusty goggles and knelt to the blood-stained sand, squinting at the torn up corpse of one of their comrades. The troops standing idly behind the squad leader exchanged nervous glances as the damage was surveyed.

"So. . . what kind of weapon did this?" she asked at length, pointing, to the myriad of messy holes in his chest. "Never seen anything like it before."

"Looks like it could be shrapnel from a bomb, ma'am," one of the men offered as an explanation. "We should warn the others that they may be armed with explosives." Considering the suggestion for a moment, the woman nodded and rose to her feet as she dusted off. "One of you carry him back. Let's go."

-

Click. Click. Click.

The last of the gleaming glass bullets were set and the cylinder rolled back into the revolver with a satisfying sound.

In the hands of a mysterious man without a name was a six-round revolver, one of the few remaining - if not the only remaining - old world weapons that have managed to survive through the generations. Not in one piece, but with some careful testing, the weapon was welded back together in serviceable shape.

"What is that?" a higher pitch voice called from the back. "Is that a gun?" Hanging upside down by her ankles was none other than Avari, who had the great misfortune of stumbling into a stranger's trap as she attempted to navigate the unfamiliar streets in a hurry.

The man said nothing, continuing to inspect his gun as he faced away from her and toward the boarded up window. The few rays of light that spilled inside lit up his face in the darkness, though she couldn't see it from her angle. Nice hat, though. Suddenly, his arm arched backwards over his shoulder and the gun fired. The rope came loose from above her and Avari landed with a very painful and very audible thud.

"Ow! Jeez, man!" Avari groaned, rubbing her bruised shoulder. "I nearly cracked my skull open. . ." All the blood that had rushed to her head left her dizzy now that she was sitting upright - shaking her head and readjusting her sight, the girl looked up to see only an empty chair and an open doorway.

-

"Weird. . ." Avari mumbled quietly, glancing left and right into the city streets as she stepped out into the sunlight. "That guy was a weirdo," she repeated to herself, still not sure about what just happened. In the bazaar, the stands seemed to be left unattended - where's everyone gone? She picked up the pace, turning sharp corners and scanning her surroundings faster than she could probably register them. But she certainly registered her fellow clanmate at a distance, though she didn't rush in just yet - something was happening. Quickly hiding herself behind the cover of a building, her head peeked out as a small group was being rounded up by unfamiliar looking soldiers.

Whoa. . . what's all this?

The Wetlander soldiers glared at Uluru from beneath their dark helms. Skullivan glanced around nervously - the soldiers outnumbered, they couldn't get out of this one. "Fine," The Wetlander nodded. "We'll take you to the Commander."

Uluru nodded, grabbing Skullivan's arm for display and beginning to walk forward - the rest of the group following suit, not wanting to make a scene before the soldiers.

***

The group marched into the now mostly empty market place of the grand-bazaar. The colour of the stands now seemed empty, desaturated with the back-drop of black-uniformed soldiers who stood in formation along the street. Skullivan swallowed as he marched, glancing back at Uluru who held his arm firmly. Behind Uluru Musa marched, Thessir, Aisha, and Elise behind her - and a whole lot of Wetland soldiers behind them.

Uluru's plan, as it was, was to get them onto the airship, steal the Idol that the Wetlanders most likely took, and escape again. A task Skullivan knew was easier said than done. Still, without the Idol, there was no hope. It was all or nothing.

"I hope you know what you're doing..." Skullivan hissed as they came to a stop.

Before them the Wetland Commander stood, his hands behind his back as he looked over them. The chest of gold stood behind his feet on the metal platform. "Welcome back," The commander commented to Skullivan before turning to Uluru. "You and your team did good, I heard you wanted to go to my ship to negotiate?" The commander rose an eyebrow. "As if my gold wasn't enough..." The commander shrugged. "Well listen, none of us are thugs here. We'll happily negotiate." The commander motioned for them to step onto the platform. Hesitantly, the group did.

Beside them soldiers pushed on a few prisoner's with their hands magnetically cuffed behind their backs - Bohdana, Tetra, Ka'Wa, and Davikal among them. "Troublemakers," The commander casually explained. "We'll be leaving shortly. We just have one last bit of business to take care of..."

***

The foursome managed to escape the village, killing or fending off soldiers along the way. Through the north-wall the four exited, out toward the sandy dunes. Freedom. Escape through bloodshed, Sören, Whisper, Dustin & Rusten now found themselves at the town's edge - the sea of sand stretching before them, dyed yellow from the dimming sun.

Behind them, over the town, the massive Leviathan Airship hung - they now able to see it's full size, and the clean, black metal lining it - uniform in a way nothing in the Qafar was. Just as Sören finished speaking however a massive sound ripped across the sky, like electricity mixed with a monster's cry. It bellowed loudly as suddenly light poured out of a chamber a the front of the Leviathan Airship. Light, aimed right at them.

Duneyrr let out a yell as suddenly blinding light engulfed their bodies, electricity sparking through their hairs. Duneyrr, who had began to move, suddenly found it's hoofs off the ground and in the air. Duneyrr was being dragged up by the wagon it was pulling. Sören, Whisper, Dustin & Rustin too found themselves lifting off the ground in the light - their muscles tense as the metals of their weapons, in their armour, in their clothing began to pull them upward. The wagon let out a long creak as it began to rotate in the air. This was the Wetlander's weapon. The electro-magnetic tractor beam.

***

Skullivan and the group watched in awe as the light beam began to pull a wagon and a few people through the air, toward an entrance of the airship. "You don't kill a Wetlander and get away with it," The Commander hissed as suddenly the metal platform the group stood on began to raise, the metal ropes at each corner beginning to pull them up mechanically. They rose higher and higher into the sky, the street below them growing further and further away, and above them the air-tight vacuum and lights of the Leviathan airship grew closer.

The platform rose all the way, entering them into a massive hangar of the airship - walkways stretching above them, and metal surrounding them on all sides. Mechanical sounds emanated from every hall, bright electrical flashes accompanying them.

They could see clearly now the subjects of the electro-magnetic beam - a wagon, a strange horse, and then four figures from earlier - Sören, Whisper, Dustin, and Xaverius. They were pulled into an entrance way of the airship and the beam stopped, dropping the figures onto metal ground beside the other's.

Skullivan, Uluru, Thessir, Whisper, Aisha, Elise, Musa, Bohdana, Xaverius, Dustin, Sören, Ka'Wa, Tetra, and Ka'Wa's great boss Davikal all found themselves standing together, in the hangar of the Leviathan Airship, surrounded by waves of black-uniformed soldiers.

The Wetland Commander stared at Uluru. "So, prisoners and... bounty-hunters alike. Half of you I should be thanking for bringing our boy back home," He reached forward, pinching Skullivan's cheek - who ripped away at the motion. "And half of you I should be condemning for murder and general crimes against our good Empire."

The Wetland Commander turned to the treasure chest behind him, pulling out one of the Wetlander gold coins and raising it in the air. "I was going to give you this reward... but unfortunately according to Davikal here you all helped our escapee here. And you know I'm very adamant about law and order on this ship." The commander put his hands behind his back and began to walk away as the soldiers surrounded them. "Law and order, my friends. Law and order..."

The soldiers moved in, magnetic cuffs at the ready as they grabbed Skullivan and pulled him forward. "Great plan!" The Traitor yelled at Uluru as they forced his hands into the bindings...

***

From the ground the Airship began to move, wetland soldiers leaping onto the hanging ladders and beginning to climb up as it began to leave Dol-Duna behind. "You!" A voice called. From around the corner where Avari watched the scene Uncle Andle emerged, grabbing her hand. "My niece is up there - and your clan kin, so come on!" Andle ran forward, leaping onto the bottom of a ladder as it began to be pulled back up into the airship above. He reached out for Avari to take his hand...

Musa had vaulted into the shop while also pulling the skull atop her head down to cover her face. Not only was it a helmet but it was a formidable looking mask aswell. Her weapon was drawn and she listened to Uluru and Skullivan follow behind her, along with everyone else, much to her disapproval. But before she could protest, the whole situation was flipped onto its head.

Now they were standing inside of the Wetlander contraption and its bright lights were making her squint. Unnatural. Her Buffalo skull was back on her head and her staff was locked onto her back once more. Her eyes took in everyone around her, her new found group and the one that was a little distance away from them. They had some sort of large deer and a man with antlers, although smaller, to match. She remembered him from earlier. She remembered all of them from earlier. Her skin crawling and her stomach beginning to churn from the experience of being a first time flyer, she lifts her hands and gently runs them down her twin braids while her golden eyes bronzed over with thought as she reserved herself to watching whomever decided to speak.

Since the moment Thessir had taken a second to address the white skinned woman it's just been a real mess.

People running into them, people running away from them, people harrasing them, all while wetland soldiers chased at their heels.

"You guys... can't beat the Wetlanders. If we get it back we have to do it quietly." Is what Skullivan had said back then. He was skeptical of that then and he was skeptical of it even as the troops poured into the shop they were taking momentary pause in. The woman in blue had tried to pass her judgements but he really couldn't of cared less. That was then.

This was now.


As he was brought up in the ship upon the rising platform he started to smile with a twinkle in his eye. This was the kind of thing he loved to explore. Admittingly his people's methods were more advanced as the rock lifts wouldn't of needed the long metal cables but what made it so interesting is that it wasn't the same. More than the lift however was their source of power which truly earned his curiosity. They doubted he would get to see the inside of the airship. Where were they now? Inside the very same ship is where.

When they turned on the magnetic beam to lift the wagon below into it he was also beaming, beaming with a thrilled joy at seeing something so cool. Ever since they took him aboard the ship things have been only getting better for him. His eyes were finally starting to be able to ajust as the lighting within the ship was within an acceptably dim range. Ideally the whole vessel would have no light at all but at least this wasn't giving him a throbbing headache. The pain in the frontal lobe was starting to finally dwindle.


Of course there was the matter of the condenscending generals and of course the many soldiers with their nifty guns. Naturally this was an obstacle between him and freedom aboard this lovely machine. To him it was sort of like a puzzle. He was going to need to solve the handcuffs and whatever other barriers they set in his way before he could get what he wanted. As such, from the moment he had a gun pointed at his head he's been rearranging his possessions, moving gear in order to better conceal his belongings. It was subtle. Under a big coat it was difficult to see what his hands were doing. He couldn't reach into his backpack for anything sadly but he wasn't completely short on things to work with. To better solve the puzzle however he was going to need the right tools. Knowing which tools he needed meant knowing how their restraints worked.

Already his eyes were at work trying to figure their technology out. Though quite foreign in function and design as an experienced craftsman with some knowledge of old world technology he was able to understand the function well enough even if the design escaped him for the time being. He's been looking at practically everything the wetlanders had been using since he was taken, puzzling out their structures and processes in his oddly wired brain of his. Even as the troops approach him with magnetic hand cuffs he was smiling with joy.


"This day is transforming into a fun day." A statement which gave concern to a number of the guards though they had little reason to suspect he was able to somehow back his words up. They assumed he was simply ignorant of his situation.

They were simply ignorant of his true meaning.

For a moment, Sören actually blacked out. It happened somewhere between the point that the odd light had engulfed him and the others around his wagon, and then they were drawn into the ship. He was rational enough to understand that this thing was not the creature of myth that his mother or father would have thought it to be. The Rotgevir clan believed that there were great beasts of the sky and earth that spelled doom for any who saw them. There was once a great beast of the seas, back when there were seas on this world.

With his feet on solid ground, Sören finds himself able to relax a little, and to catch his breath. For a time he says nothing, standing beside his wagon and Duneyrr as soldiers surround them. Two men move forward while their allies keep their firearms trained on Sören and Duneyrr. They unhitch the stag from the wagon and then pull it aside so that a few of their men can inspect it. As a woman speaks to the soldiers, to a man who looks like he might be in charge somewhat, the northman watches as the soldiers tear apart his wagon, tossing out the furs and unloading the lumber. Looking around, nothing on this ship seemed to be made of wood, but perhaps they needed it in this Wet Land they came from. They certainly didn't need the wagon, though, because as he watches the men open another hatch and let it roll out of the ship.

Sören keeps his mouth shut, and his eyes averted from the hatch. He'd already passed out once due to his fear of heights and falling, now would not be a good time to let it happen again.

Then the soldiers were moving in close again, firearms held in a deadly position. They had shackles in their hands and Sören knew what was to come next. He and the others would be cuffed and locked away, if they were lucky. Executed if they were not.

"If you want the one who slew your men at the tavern, it was me. The others," Sören nods to Whisper, Dustin, and Xaverius, "Are innocent. I take full responsibility for what happened." As he lies he holds his hands out, palm up, and allows one of the soldiers to place the odd shackled around his wrists. "It was I who suggested setting fire to the tavern as well, since the owner saw fit to rat out paying customers. The man didn't have to die, but he got in our way as we were leaving."

Sören knew by now that word of the tavern incident had spread, the soldiers had known about it, that they were involved. He hoped that he could convince their commander that it had all been on him, which might give the others a better chance. If he was never to return home, he might as well give his life for a noble cause, if it came to that.

"Sick, you are," Aisha spoke up in the middle of the small crowd. She pushed her way past the others and move to the front. One of the two brass rings that Aisha usually wore around her neck, her Chakram, was in her hand. She pointed it directly at the commander, but she was addressing the Wetlanders as a whole. "Your ways are corrupted! Law and order, what of charity?! You follow the laws that suit you best, the code of the hoarder, they who have most! This world is full of false hope, but your hopes are of the ugliest kind, greed! You care not for who becomes harmed, not if they don't fit your 'order'!"

"That poor soul, whom of which you have haunted and pursued across the entire desert, he is devoid of a single person who loves him, and that has strained his heart so hurtfully! The lack of care your law and order has is killing him! Yet your law continues to punish him and your order only seeks to extract more from his very soul!" Aisha approached the commander with every statement, probably overstepping her bounds, but she didn't care, moving around as if she had all the authority in the world.

"As an agent of the Creed, I believe that all souls can be saved and turned to the true path, the path of righteousness." Aisha was far too close now. The soldiers were preparing their weapons. She was speaking hastily now. "And although an acolyte such as myself couldn't hope to save all of you from your law and order..." Aisha pulled the other Chakram off of her neck and made an offensive stance. "However! My life would be meaningless, if I couldn't save a single soul!"

Perhaps Aisha wasn't thinking clearly. Perhaps she didn't count exactly how much she was outnumbered, or she was unaware of the functionality of their weapons. To call it bravery would have been one thing, but it could have also been simple foolishness. Whatever the rationality Aisha could have possible had at that moment didn't seem to matter. Aisha simply bolted at the guards who were taking Skullivan away and whipped her Chakram in their direction with deadly force, and held her other Chakram in front of her, ready to deflect any and all incoming blows.

No, Aisha wasn't thinking this time, but to her, rationality didn't matter at this moment, only duty.

Xaverius then suddenly realized what he did, the guards at the bar, the bartender, all dead. The looked down, gritting his teeth. He'd killed before, mostly just raiders and those who took the first strike, and whilst he was not the one who killed the bartender himself he still felt guilty for his death, he also thought of the girl that he saw being attacked earlier, in his intoxicated state he failed to do one of the main things he set out to do in this world, helping those in need. With every thought the stout man's heart sank further and further. He cursed his foolish nature and in his head vowed to not touch a single drop of alcohol again, as it was what made him kill, made him sit back while a defenseless woman was attacked. He then realized it was Whisper who set the house ablaze, she was the only one who could've murdered the bartender, sure he almost got them killed but his death was unnecessary. He felt anger in his head, but killing her would yet again go against his morals, so he decided he would distance himself from her once this was over, sure, he'd hang out with her if need be but her actions in his now sober eyes were uncalled for. Just thinking about all these things made Xaverius sick to his stomach, he understood what he did and was willing to pay the price. "Just let them go, I was the one who started that fight."

Dustin quickly awoke from the black to find himself surrounded by others, both the group he'd originally been with and an assortment of other individuals of which a few he recognized from the marketplace square. He quickly gathered his senses and his surroundings. We must be on their airship...

Soren and Xaverius began to speak to the Wetlanders nearest them. They stood sullen, stone-faced. Their gaze was cold and their demeanor near sinister. Apparently word spread fast. Despite both Soren and Xaverius demanding to be held responsible there seemed to be no change in the Wetlanders' intent on putting them all in chains.

The sound of two women shouting at what appeared to be the Wetlander in charge suddenly caught his attention. One claimed to be a duchess or something from Samaria while the other was lecturing them about morality and virtue or something to that effect. He frowned and flipped his mask up from over his face and let it rest on his head. The Atzerii Kassellander slowly picked himself. His stomach felt like scrambled Roc eggs and his legs wobbled like the gelatin his people made from yakki milk. Once composed, he brushed off the sand from his shoulders cautiously made his way to the Wetlander the women seemed to be addressing.

"Duchess here isn't the only politically important individual here on your... erm... Flying Metal Fish thingy. I am Dustin vel Iz'Raphel, First Sword of Kasselland, Council member of the Atzerii, and Servant of the Shorn King. The clans of the Qafar won't be happy to know that Mudmen invaded the Sea of Sand, kidnapped citizens of Dol-Duna, and imposed their will upon them." He looked at the Wetlanders surrounding them, their weapons, and the face of their supposed commander. That look of amusement was more irritating than ominous.

Suddenly the yelling got louder, and as Dustin slowly turned he realized to his horror the priestess began advancing on the Wetlanders. A few had already brought their weapons to bear on her as she pulled off what originally he thought her necklaces from he neck. The Atzerii sprinted over to her just as she broke out into a run right at the Wetlanders. Call it a savior complex, or maybe call it the feeling of responsibility he now held with his inherited position, but nobody on this ship from the Qafar was going to die today.

Dustin had caught up to the now apparent acolyte of the Samariamus Creed with ease and took hold of her by her waist and picked her up to break her run. "Not like this," he hissed into her ear. "Later, but not now."

Bohdana stayed silent, listening to the others speak with a sort of quiet desperation. She glanced to the Wetland Commander, deciding that if he wouldn't listen to offical speeches and important men, perhaps he would listen to the plea of a young girl trapped in a situation far bigger than she could ever imagine.

"Please! Please listen to them! My uncle--" Boh let out a strangled sob, "My uncle is still down there! Please we're gonna get separated, he's my only family left! You got the wrong idea we--we're clanless!! Peace keepers! I don't want no trouble, I'm begging you to let me down!"