Aero Dynamics

As Muld's group explores the floating city, Gelden takes Ant northward.

23.

Aero Dynamics

 

“What’s taking her so long?”  Muld asked Khord as they waited impatiently for Sophia.

Khord shrugged, “She might be having some difficulty connecting to scrying devices in Westmark.”

“I hate not knowing what is going on,”   Muld sighed, standing up and glancing over to where Zeatt, Allea and Syndi were helping the Faesidhe follower of Gelden that had been left behind after he was struck in the leg with an arrow.    Loss of blood had nearly killed him, but Zeatt’s healing spells were stabilizing him and he was just now regaining consciousness.

“Muld, Khord; come here for a moment, please,”  Zeatt called over to them, “I need you to hold him down while I pull the arrow out of his leg.   If we don’t remove it, he won’t heal properly.”

The wounded elf was not yet fully conscious when Khord and Muld pinned each arm under them while Syndi held his uninjured leg down and Allea kept his wounded leg straight.

“Everyone ready?   On three, I’ll pull it out.   One… two…three.”

With as much gentleness as she could, Zeatt firmly grabbed the pirate arrow and jerked it out.

The pain brought the Faesidhe man fully awake.   He screamed in agony, terrified to not be able to move and at first not realizing the reason.

“You’re alright, relax; we’re not going to hurt you,”  Zeatt reassured him.     He looked at her fearfully with such a helpless, almost child-like expression on his face that everyone felt sympathy for him.   Muld knew he was probably most upset at the two Drow pinning him down, so to ease the man’s mind, he spoke to him.

“You’re actually really lucky, you know.   You are the only one of Gelden’s followers that survived.”

The elf looked at Muld with a lost expression, “What are they going to do to me, Master Muld?”

“Well, right now, we’re trying to heal you,”  Zeatt answered, smiling at the man.

“You’re Matron Zeatt… aren’t you?”   He asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“Please… I didn’t have any choice… I personally don’t have anything against King Eleazar or Queen Aurei.”

“So Gelden wants them dead?”  Zeatt asked.

“Yes; he blames them for the collapse of the Faesidhe kingdom.”

“Do you know if your master was looking for anything specific here in Windhaven, or was he merely trying to take control of the city?”   Muld questioned.

“He never told us details of his plans.”

“Well, what about instructions - did he tell you to look for anything specific in the belongings of the pirates?”

“No; he just told us not to open any chest or go through any of the pirates’ stuff - he said he’d attend to that himself.   We were just supposed to pile anything we found in the hold of the airship and lock it.”

“It sounds as if he was trying to find something after all,”  Syndi said, “I’ll bet that he was looking for some sort of magic.”

“Are you going to kill me?”  The Faesidhe man asked Muld.

“Kill you?   Why would we heal you first if we were going to kill you?”

“Master Gelden said that we’d all be killed if we cooperated with the Drow.”

“Don’t believe everything that you were told,”  Khord responded.

They heard footsteps behind them and glanced up to see Sophia returning to them, carrying her miniature crystal ball.   She had retreated into one of the abandoned houses so she could see the images in the crystal ball better.   From the look on her face, she had some success.

“Well?”  Khord asked her.

“It took me a while to raise anyone.    But Alleania contacted me and told me about what is going on there.”    Sophia related all the information on Gelden’s reappearance and Ant’s success in pulling him away from Westmark.

“Have you opened up a channel with Ant, to see what she is seeing now?”   Muld asked the sorceress.

“I’m in contact with her now, actually,”   Sophia replied, “I can see what she sees in my mind.”

“What does she see?”

“They’re travelling northward at a frighteningly fast speed, and I see mountains in the distance, so they are already halfway here.   Gelden hasn’t spoken to her, but I’ll wager they are heading to Losahome.”

“And when they arrive and find that there is no airship, not only will he kill Ant, but I fear he’ll take his anger out on my people,”  Syndi said.

“Wouldn’t he divert here first?   I’d think he’d want to see what happened here.   We’re not far off the route to Losahome, especially at the speed they’re travelling,”   Muld speculated.

“We need to divert them here,”  Sophia frowned, “But how?   A large airship hovering about half way from Windhaven and the path to Losahome might draw their attention.”

“But we don’t have an airship " only the Queen Eioldth and Gelden would recognize that.”   Muld replied.

Sophia turned to Syndi, “Your people now have some airships, don’t they?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good!   I have an idea.   I’ll have to contact someone in Losahome first.”

“What do you have in mind?”  Zeatt asked her daughter, curious.

Sophia just smiled, a twinkle in her red eyes, “Let me set things up first, as we don’t have much time, then I’ll explain everything, for I’ll need all of your help; especially both of you, Syndi and Muld.”

 

***

 

After three hours flying, Ant was exhausted and nearly frozen from the rushing cold air of the mountains.    Gelden remained formless, for he now wore the form of an Air Elemental Lord, which was actually no form at all.    She could not scan his mind now, but she relied on what she had learned about him when he’d been merely a Faesidhe wizard.    He was determined to verify her story, but if he did, he’d kill her.    But what could she do?   If she diverted him back to Windhaven, she’d endanger Muld’s group.

As she fretted about her fate, suddenly Gelden brought them to a jolting stop.

“Master, what is it?”   Ant asked in Tolthe’s voice.

“WINDHAVEN IS PERHAPS TEN MILES EAST OF THIS POINT, AND WE ARE ABOUT THIRTY MILES SOUTH OF THE LOSASIDHE CAPITAL.    WITH MY SUPERIOR SENSES AS A LORD OF THE AIR, I CAN SEE FAR AWAY.    A LOSASIDHE AIRSHIP IS NEARING WINDHAVEN.”

“It is?”   Ant tried to suppress her surprise.

“OBVIOUSLY THEY WANT TO CHECK ON THEIR FRIENDS THERE.    THEREFORE WE WILL SURPRISE THEM THERE.    NO LOSASIDHE WIZARDS WILL TROUBLE US NOW.   IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOUR TALE WAS TRUE, TOLTHE.   WHEN WE REACH WINDHAVEN, I SHALL HAVE A TASK FOR YOU THAT YOU MUST QUICKLY COMPLETE WHILE I BRING JUDGEMENT DOWN ON THE DROW AND THEIR FRIENDS.”

“What shall I do for you, master?”   Ant asked as humbly as she could make her Tolthe voice.

“YOU ARE TO FIND THE OTHER ELEMENTAL GEMS, BUT DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR BARE HAND OR YOU WILL BE TRANSFORMED IRREVERSIBLY INTO SOMETHING FAR DIFFERENT THAN YOUR FORM NOW.   BRING THEM TO ME AND YOU WILL HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF TO ME.”

“What about the Practical Magician and those from this airship, master?”

“LEAVE THEM TO ME!”   There was such hatred in Gelden’s supernaturally loud voice that Ant could not suppress a shiver.

 

***

 

“All is ready, then?”   Muld whispered to Sophia as they hid with the others near one bank of the huge vacuum engines on the Queen Eioldth.

“We’re all set, Master Muld,”  The pregnant Drow assured him, squirming restlessly, for she couldn’t risk smoking until they finished their plan.

“All of our crew is off the ship, Lady Sophia,”  Prince Elothmends said as he joined them in hiding.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for coming to our aid.”

“I am delighted; we were overjoyed to learn of my parents’ safety.”   He turned around and smiled at his sister, Syndi, who smiled weakly back.    The Losasidhe princess looked extremely exhausted from the ordeal and Elothmends was somewhat concerned about the health of his youngest sister.   

“I hear something!”  Khord announced suddenly and everyone stopped talking to listen.

It was the sound of a roaring wind, as if a terrible storm was approaching.

Sophia took a deep breath, stood up awkwardly, and looked behind her as she readied her wand, “Okay; Syndi and Allea, begin chanting your Amplification spells and we’ll begin the plan.   Muld, be ready for your part; this could go quite quickly.    Mom, you and Khord get to Ant as quickly as you can, but don’t worry about coming back here; just take shelter in as sturdy of a building as you can find.”

“Do you think this will work?”   Zeatt asked.

“We’ll soon find out,”   Sophia replied as the sound of the wind grew louder and louder.