Still slightly shaken from the ships sudden movement which had disturbed her peaceful watch Wisdom now silently hops from one piece of rigging to the next until perched above the ballista and those which swarmed around enthralled. It was clear she was attracted by the commotion and the now speaking of the captain. Staying quiet the bird gently flutters down to land upon one of the minotaur's horns in a similar manner to the way she would with Ohmen. Trying to hold her cawing in until the others had finished conversing Wisdom eventually breaks cutting off particular words whilst curious clacks of the beak went unnoticed. "Shmm sS SuCH" “S-Such fascination wiTH EngineS of WaR” Her voice is grating like the sound of chalk against a blackboard. So grating, in fact, Tarkaz found himself almost having to shake his head and block his ears… Before the minotaur could directly respond the raven hops down onto the deck. Wisdoms claws click against its wooden surface as she closer inspects the balista’s many parts before once again squawking, her voice sounding like someone trying to speak whilst in the middle of having a coughing fit, although it was also being reminiscent of the howling wind shrieking through some ancient, forgotten and long-dead forest as if it was lost and tortured by the many leering, identical trees. “Hmm hmmm" *Clack* "Y-Yes" "Y-Yes, YEs ChIldren, WiSDOM knows of SuCH MAChineS *Clack* *Clack* "hmmmmm…” She rattles out before beginning to aggressively inspect one of the balista's strings and underworkings with a few sharp prods of the beak all whilst resisting the urge to tug on it.
Several crewmembers agree to assist Izema in learning the workings of the ship when they have more time. Most of them disperse shortly afterwards, but the monkey-thing stays. It takes a few moments of wracking his brain, but the brawler quickly remembers where he's seen the monkey-thing's kind before. This is a Vanara! Several of them lived near the monastery you learned the first of your training at! Shorter than you, but with long limbs and an easy smile, it seems friendly enough. It is wearing a loose-fitting, red outfit you vaguely remember from your earliest training days back at the monastery. It smiles at you and bows low, like your masters used to. "Yours is not a school I am familiar with," it - or rather he - begins. "But I greet you in the name of the Path. I am Yang Sikh-Houri, but you may call me 'Seek.' I am the ship's lookout, but cannot be up in the 'nest all of the time. Perhaps we can make an even exchange? You, perhaps, can be assistant lookout, and maychance we can spar with each other? It has been long since I have had a training partner versed in any discipline!"
Over near the edge of the ship, a confused look comes over Garutis. His brow furrows, and steam rises from his forehead as he tries to think. His spit is not falling to the ground. It drops down to just below the deck he is standing on, bobs up and down a few times as a little spit-glob... and then sloooooooowly drifts outwards to the edge of the ball of air surrounding the ship. Curious!
Turning towards the Captain he lets go of the rope he was working for a moment, a smile peaks from the serious and focused expression he had while working, "I am pleased that you are impressed with our work, Drew is a good student. We will soon have the trigger ready and a final look over will have it safely useable again." He geatures for the captain to come closer to look at the work done. The arms of wood were again smooth and waxed allowing easier bending, the springs and other metal areas oiled, and the new rope nearly in place and waxed. As the captain steps forward Tarkaz begins to sound a bit more serious, "Minotaurs do have a hot temper, my tribe has worked over generations to tame and harness this anger to be used as a weapon however and to not cloud our judgement. We are a small cluster of tribes along the great river, and a minority of our race, it is likely you've never met one...until now. I forgive the slur, though *he laughs* if you were anyone else you may have been dangled over the edge of the ship" he gives a friendly wink. Turning to the captain Tarkaz raises a large fist and thumps his chest, "It would be an honor to be your weaponmaster, until either the winds and deity of travel (merchants) takes me else where or you find better use of me" Tarkaz finding a new respect for the captain bows his head. Looking back at Drew briefly he looks to see if the Ballista is ready to have its trigger inspected.
Tarkaz looks at the bird, and offers his large hand to it as if offering a place to perch while trying to keep it away from the new rope, "very peculiar..." the minotaur is interested in the talking bird, but still maintains focus on the Captain
Drakk thanks the Halfling in front of him before approaching the door. Heeding the Halfling's words, Drakk begins to cautiously knock on the door.
But the captain was taken back by the presence of such a creature. "Alihatu alqamar," she mutters, making a warding gesture with one hand. "Please tell me that thing has the normal number of eyes," she whispers to Tarkaz. "The last time such a creature talked around me was..." "Me," the kenku suddenly butted in with a screeching laugh. "I am the last bird-creature that talked-spoke around you!" Leaning down, Kia inspected the raven. "Ah, you are one of the alghurab alqadim," the kenku hissed out. "Blessed-honored I am to be in the presence of one of the ancient-wise ones, even one so young as you! Which flock art thou from, if you mind me not asking?" ***** In the cabin, Ohmen had a particularly odd vision in his multiple viewpoints. The kenku speaking face to face with his familiar was an unusual one, but the sight of the planet falling away beneath them as they broke the cloud cover took his breath away and caught his attention. It was a glorious sight, even to one as jaded as he! An expression close to awe could - vaguely - be seen under his hood, and Rasmus smiled. "Got your first view of the planet-scape, eh? Truly, a wondrous sight! In a few minutes, you can get up from the chair. We just need to leave the atmosphere. Once we have done so, the ship will keep to the course and speed you set unless something interrupts our journey." As the mage let out a hissing sigh - possibly of relief - the elderly wizard waved a finger in caution. "That said, I would stay reasonably close to the helm for the duration of your shift. If we need to turn suddenly or fight, we will need you in that chair!" Up on the top deck, the sight was enough to pull Tarkaz and Drew away from the ballista for a moment. Garutis stumbled back from the ship's rail, momentarily stunned. Even Izema, normally calm, found the sight to be enlightening. "Ah, we have lifted through the clouds," Seek mused with a toothy smile. "A little higher up and the stars will open up above us!"
A moment after his knock, a shrill voice from the other side called out "Enter!" in Draconic. Pushing open the door, the kobold oracle was greeted by darkness. Whoever - or what ever - lurked in the ship's galley was not a friend of bright light! As he pushed the door shut, he could barely make out a clawed hand bringing a brand up to a hooded lantern. A moment later the wick caught, and the same hand, now covered in sand-colored scales, turned up the light enough that Drakk could see in the room. Narrow and cramped, the galley was hung all about with pots and pans on unusual hooks designed to swivel with the change in gravity. Netting held much of the foodstuffs to special wall-mounts, and even the cooking surfaces were designed to be spun about as the gravity plane shifts! But what really catches Drakk's attention is Sandy, for the diminutive ship's cook is a kobold! Cocking her head to one side, she smiles at Drakk and lets out a chirping laugh! "Goodness, I haven't seen another of our kind aloft in years!" she croons happily, "Let alone one so handsome! If I was only a decade younger, oh the things I could teach you!" She let out another of those laughs before settling back on her chair. Like the other items in the kitchen, it was designed to pivot with gravity. The odd chair was shaped like a flat-topped, inverted cone, attached to the outer hull by a single heavy iron rod. "Hmm, love the wings! Not often one of our kind is blessed with that sign of our heritage!" Turning her attention back to whatever she is cooking, she hums softly as she works. "But I'm sure you didn't come down here just to give little old me some eye candy! What can I do to, er, for you?"
Drakk is quite shocked to see another of his kind on the ship, Kobolds are not very common and many never leave their Warrens. Taking a step inside, Drakk says "Excuse me Miss Sandy, but if you wouldn't mind I am quite interested in learning how this ship works, as well as some more information on our heading. Rasmus told me you could answer my questions. And also, how did you end up here? Our kind rarely goes to the surface."
She bursts out laughing and shakes her head. "My, you certainly do not beat around the mushroom stalks," she replies. Gesturing to the wall right behind you, she explains the last question first. "Not all of our kind stay in the caverns. Our people took part in the Unhuman Wars, and many of us took to the stars for other reasons. We even have our own ship designs!" Behind you is a painting of a ship. It is unusual-looking, like a narrow triangle with large wings! "That is a kobold Angelship," she explains calmly. "One of my ancestors supposedly built the first such ships over five hundred years ago. Kobold-kind has been sailing the starry seas for a long time." Snatching a long-handled ladle from a hook, she stirred the contents of a pot on the stove and took a sip of the resulting mixture before frowning. "Hmm, needs more pepper." The ladle is quickly cleaned, and a pepper grinder appears from within one of the net bundles. A couple of twists, and the grinder returns from whence it came. "As for our heading, that I cannot tell you. Where are we going, and what do you want to know about the ship?"
Drakk was amazed, he had never known that there were other Kobolds with a fascination for the Heavens. He had always felt like an outcast amongst his people, but apparently he was not alone. The thought of meeting more spacefaring Kobolds astounded him. Suddenly he remembered his question for Sandy and said "The Captain said we were headed for Silgis. Is there any information that you have on that planet? Also how will we survive leaving the atmosphere? Wouldn't we run out of air, or freeze death? Also, what actually makes this ship fly? If I'm correct, it taps into a magic users magic, but how exactly does it do that?"
"I believe it only has two eyes" whispering back to the captain And then the minotaur saw it, the atmosphere so clear as the skies parted from the clouds below...space. In awe he could not take his eyes off it, so overwhelmed by its beauty Tarkaz begins to shake some, but soon after regaining control. "Its...its....its everything I hoped for and more"
Turning back to the captain Tarkaz begins to ask what sort of weaponry and what type, if any repair facilities they had, "any anvil or smithy furnace?" What will be my tasks as weaponmaster? Aside from maintaining weapons for the crew and ship, I would assume." Tarkaz looks at Drew and back to the Raven...and then to the large bird man infront if him...
Her laughter rings out in the kitchen, echoing off of the pots and pans hanging from the walls. "My, inquisitive, aren't we?" Thinking for a moment, she considers which to answer first. "Well, let's start with Silgis. It is one of the moons of the planet we just left. Mostly barren, airless rock, but there are these long, deep canyons in the surface. Those have air, drinkable water, and plant life! Not a lot really happening there. Canyons connect to each other through tunnels that run under the surface, along the paths of the rivers, most of which are underground. That's where I'm from, coindicidently. Most of the inhabitants of Silgis are kobolds like... well, more like me than you. We all have a kind of sandy coloration and a knack for climbing and fishing, not to mention living in narrow areas!" Smirking she starts chopping up a chunk of... well you're pretty sure it is meat. It smells familiar, but if it is what you think it is, the rest of the crew isn't going to want to know. "Now, as for the whole air thing, they told you about the air envelope, right? Well basically it is a big bubble centered on the ship. Air inside is kept to a reasonable temperature most of the time. Usually about springtime evening temps. Won't be as warm as the desert you came from, but tolerable. As long as the air keeps up, we won't freeze. Unless we go to a sphere without a sun, that is. It gets cold in those spheres! I don't know the details, but there's something about the magic that makes the air envelope that allows it to gather some of the heat from the sun." She scoops the meat into the pot and stirs with a long-handled wooden spoon. "As for running out of air, well..." Biting her lower lip, she sighs and makes a clicking noise with her fangs. "I won't lie, it can happen. There's only so much air in the air envelope, and it has to be replenished after a while. Easiest way to do that is to land on a planet with air and drop the envelope for a while. 'Course, the downside with that is it also drops the gravity in this part of the ship back to the, um, 'correct orientation,' and I have to grab hold of my chair or go flying!" Thinking some more, she frowns. "I'm not entirely versed on how the ship flies, to be honest. The helm does most of it, and drains the user's magic to control said flight. Honestly, you can activate the helm, point us in a direction and start moving, then get off of the helm and the ship'll just keep going in that direction until something pulls us out of 'jamming speed back to tactical speed." Pausing she notes the look of confusion on Drakk's face and smirks. "Tactical speed is for entering and leaving planets, and fighting. 'jamming speed is for traveling from planet to planet without dying of old age or from sphere to sphere for same. Don't ask me how fast 'jamming speed is, I don't know. What I do know is 'jamming speed will get us to Silgis in just a few days. Not entirely sure how the connection works though. Rasmus swears the helm talks to him sometimes. In his head. The mage using it can effect some control while not actively touching the chair, but actually being in the chair works better. Beyond that, can't tell you."
Making that gesture again, Captain Naresh turns back to the minotaur. "Basically you will be in charge of maintaining and operating the ballista. It takes most of the crew just to run the ship, so if something happens we often don't bother trying to load the thing, we just run. Thing is, you can't always do that. That's how the Moonstalker wound up in drydock for repairs, and why I'm currently captaining the Moonsister instead. You'll need a loader as well though, so your current assistant (Drew) might give you a hand with that." Frowning, she casts Kia a nervous look. "That.... thing.... is safe, right?" "Safe?" the kenku replies with a laugh. "Maybe? Maybe not. It is a mage's familiar and shares the mage's personality to some degree. However, such creatures are known for wisdom and knowledge. If it offers advice, I would suggest listening to it."
Drakk stares off thinking about this information. Suddenly he turns again to Sandy and asks "Could you tell me some more about your people? I'm quite intrigued."
Nodding to the captain Tarkaz then turns to Drew, "Well, are you up for it?" The minotaur is hopeful, as he felt a connection forming with him and he was eager to learn, the Minotaur figured he too could learn from Drew as the human is learning from him
ah! it has been years since Izema has been among the Vanara but he has fond memories. he schools his features into emotionless neutrality and signs (regret) he was never very good at Vanaran emotive signing but it's best to be clumsy and polite. "Greetings fellow traveler(mutual respect). it is good to meet a fellow practitioner(soft joy? maybe), im not surprised you are unfamiliar i spent only a short time with the battle dancers and most of it is my own(satisfaction). it would be a honer and a privilege to spar with you(humble earnestness... or was that caution? crap he's bad at this)to both teach and learn and to be better from each others company. i would love to help if you need me to and would be please to talk and tell stories of our travels. it has been to long" izema laughs "and i apologize for speaking as a child.(deep regret)"
Wisdom had been eyeing the Kenku especially since they had boarded which in turn caused the raven to now hop backwards upon hearing them talk. “HHhmmm” "S-Safe hmmm” She coughed whilst her head slowly pivoted sideways further highlighting the almost malevolent glow in her eyes, one that promised both a thirst for knowledge but also eons worth of memories and wisdom stored inside. There was something about the eyes of this creature that seemed almost otherworldly… Swirling, Inquisitive darkness... “Yes, Yes” “Verys SsSafe hmm” “F-F-Familiar.” “Hmmm” Now instead angling her head to the captain ominously the creature scrapes her talons along the deck before releasing a round of sharp, rattling caws. “Presence of my own…" "Watching. Eyes. Flock… " "hmhmmm" Wisdom repeats handfuls of the phrases and words spoken to her before twitching slightly, her talons now digging deep into the wood as if struggling. Shivering the bird's wings suddenly unfold springing out whilst she begins to speak, this time however the words are even more distorted and birdlike… with the pace starting slow and methodical it began to quickly accelerate faster and faster in between uncontrolled squawks. “A-Ancient FOresTs growing OlD” “A-Ancient sun shining upON ancient WOLD” “R-RRaven helD AhoLD scolding sky BurnED COLD” Drawing in attention like moths to a flame the bird's eyes burn with an otherworldly glow as they desperately try to roll upwards into her skull. meanwhile, her face continues to be fixated upon the crewmembers as if entranced. “Whilst a-ancient r-rite and r-ritual FORetoLD until SoULs SOLD” “Sky mADE BliNDFOld in darKness SCRO - SCRo sCROlled before they mARched fortH NINEFOLD” Her voice was now fully distorted and harder to make out as if original sounds were bent and warped into words against the raven’s will. Chilling as it was, the words transitioned between whispers, the kind one felt shivering down their back or tingling in their ears during the latest hours of night where not a single soul was in sight, to aggressive uncontrollable squawking as if there were multiple birds and individuals speaking out of one mouth fighting against each other for a chance to breathe. “NINE Entities boUNDd and enroLLEd, leaving behind StRonghOLDs from which thEy were PAROLED.” “PropheCY now r-RRETOLD and H-HAVing Passed the unearthly T-threshoLD they unfolD creation, change and mOUld uncontrolleD. BE-BEHOLD WISDOM.” Shaking violently for a few delayed dazed seconds the raven suddenly erupts in an explosion of feathers and claws as it drags itself backwards to the point where it now clings upon the edge of the ship. Moments later Wisdom’s talons unhinge allowing the bird to flutter back up to the rigging in a chaotic manner as if she was being weighed down by some other force… Managing to reach one of the riggings ropes the raven now clambers upwards before perching and continuing to watch silently in such a way that it was hard to tell if her eyes were even open or closed as if both dead and alive...
Drew looked at Tarkaz, thankful for the invitation, "yes, I would be happy to help." turning to the kenku, Drew said, "you say that thing is a wizard's familiar? Why is it acting so weird, are all familiars like that? That raven creeps me out."