#rolelplay

The plan had started off smoothly as he flew Gregory high abovewhere Thad had last seen the Haggleflare, reining in the great beast to asteady hover above the clouds. Katherine had swung around and hung gracefullyfrom the bottom of the saddle as she checked her ties on the ribbon. The steadyflap of the gryphons wings the only sound in the waning night air; Zexx leanedover and looked down to her. “Remember get in knock out the turbines and findthe shaman so Thad and I can storm the deck. Use the farstone if things gosouth, no craziness.”

“Other than this?” As Katherine swept her hand to the wide open sky she nowhung precariously out in now by a her blue work ribbon. 

 “Other than this. Get going, we don’t want the dawn to catch us, “grinning tothe acrobat. 

 “Toodles, Zexxy!” She let out a laugh and leaned back to lower her swiftly intothe cloud line and disappear in the hazy mass. 

 His gloved hands would help guide the acrobat’s line as he watched if driftfurther and further down. A slight sway to the right or left would guide him tobring Gregory about in the direction until finally they ran out of cloth. Itsat taunt and swaying as he waited, doing his best to keep his fears for hisfriend at bay. Then suddenly the ribbon would go slack and drift off to theright, until he heard from her for the signal he doubted he would be able tobreathe. 

“Zexx, the line,” came the hollow echo of Thad as he flew in close, his facegrim as he kept a gauntleted hand resting on the pommel of his side saddledgreat-sword. The dark knight sat in the saddle of his own gryphon stiffly as heswept about the sky, his face grim and angry as all they had talked about wasrevenge for their earlier capture and subsequent escape. 

 Remembering the blue line again, he would draw the cloth up to him rememberingquite clearly how Kat had said ‘don’t lose my shit’ folding it up as she hadshown him before. He’d finally gotten the last of the ribbon into the saddlebag when he felt a soft buzz in his ear. He expected to hear the snarky voiceof their wire woman instead a frantic voice yelled out, “Zexx help!”  

 “Thad!” He heard himself scream knowing full well the knight had heard hercries as well as he turned and dipped his mount into a dive run. Kicking hisheels into Gregory he would pursue his comrade through the early morning sky asthey rushed to the aid of Kat. Scarf whipping about his neck, he gritted histeeth to the wind and cold before the warmth of altitudes washed over him justas the first explosive echo ripped through the once silent sky.  

 Kicking his heels in hard on the bird again he would let out a cry to help spurthe bird down. Ahead he could see the black armored figure of Thad, his swordalready brought out over his head the dark steel flashing in the coming dawnover the sea. Further below smoke was starting to rise out from beneath theballoon of the Haggleflare the rising sun’s light mixing with what could onlybe flames under the armored air sack.  

 “The wards, shit.” He knew his voice would be wasted as he saw Thad continue tosail farther down and get within range of the airship. Grasping the reins ofGregory he would pull up to stop their dive bomb, his head dropping to stareopen mouthed as the balloon suddenly light in an angry red and eldritch blue. 

  A thunderclap shattered the air as a streak of twisting red and blue light flewforward with a roar at the dark knight and his steed. There was no time andthere was nothing that could be said or done as the bolt struck the pair.  An explosion of smoke, lightning, andfeathers followed as the wards did their job, but not quite as well as hoped asa flaming dark shape came crashing through the air.  Zexx couldn’t hear his friend’s yell ofdefiance but he was quite certain of the rage that the dark knight waschanneling as he sailed toward the hull of the airship his cloak burning behindhim transforming him into some kind of angel of death.  He watched as the dark knight fell withininches of the railing of the ship before thrusting his sword forward andstabbing into the wood to halt his rapid decent.  Thad clung to his sword as he did his best toclimb back up the side of the ship, the soft buzz in his ear again as Thad’svoice cut in, “I’m alright, but you need to get down here.”  The knight didn’t even sound fazed about thewhole ordeal he’d been a part of, the gift of death’s calm that he and hisbrothers were blessed and cursed with. 

“Right, “Zexx responded though he doubted that anyone could hearhim over the winds and the growing commotion down below the initial explosionsbeing followed by a cacophony of small arms fire.  Shifting in the saddle, he looked about forsome way to get down to the ship that didn’t involve the destruction of man andbeast from another blast of those wards searching the bag to find anything tohelp down to the Flare.  Articles ofclothing and junk were tossed out as he cursed himself for not keeping a tidierbag before finding his one ace: the ribbon rope of Kat.  “Ah hell.” 

Shifting his feet and pulling the reins he would turn at a widearc about the stationary blimp, glad for some small favor for the first part ofthe plan working out to keep the ship derelict. Soaring higher in the arc he would grasp hold of the ribbon and wrap theone end tight about his forearm gripping it with the same hand as he positionedthe gryphon in the direction of Stormwind. Gulping before leaning up and to give a soft rub to Gregory’s neck andyell out the command word, “Home!”  Withhis final command given he would look down at the empty space below and dismount. 

Air rushed his face as he shifted his other hand to grasp ontothe ribbon tightly as he rapidly descended suddenly realizing what a terribleidea this was before hitting the cloud line. His lightly armored body would fall through leaving him blinded a fewmoments by the fog before he’d burst through to spot the oncoming airship.  Maybe this was gonna work after all, ranthrough his head before the inevitable end of the line would occur, the blueribbon jerking to a sharp and painful halt causing him to yell out in pain andfear.  His wrapped arm shrieked in painas the ‘brake’ was pulled, using his other arm to try and hang on for dear lifeas he felt the ribbon tense and slip around him.  He knew the strength of his mount, doubtingGregory would notice all that much as he was working off the ‘home’ command buthis own strength was questionable as he now found himself swaying in the emptysky and heading toward the airship from the trajectory of Gregory’s lastorder.

In the stories a debonair hero would laugh at his success ofsuch a daring maneuver but looking down and seeing the ocean so far below onlycaused his stomach to lurch and try to keep his gaze on the prize.  Unfortunately the prize was not quite asclose as he thought realizing now that when Kat had initially dropped down shemust have come up as short if not shorter than he currently was projecting overthe armored sack. Swinging this way and that as he tried to tug hard on theline to maybe bring Gregory down but knowing full well that there was no waythe bird would notice his commands from this far down.  Timing would be what would save his life. 

Flailing through the air he would watch the tip of the balloonsack get closer and closer knowing he had to let go before or he’d just sailpast the ship.  Gulping he would watch asthe ship grew closer and closer before the time came.  “Light help me.”  And he would release the ribbon.  Only to remain hanging there as the ribbontightened around him from the release and tangled in his bracer, his mouthopening in a scream of panic as the blimp began to pass beneath him.  He had to get loose, he had to drop, flailingand swaying as he struggled to break free he knew the blimp was going to sailright by him if he didn’t let go soon. Reaching to his belt with his free hand, he would find and draw theshort sword that he’d chosen for this mission and swing up at the ribbon.  His first swing went wild and so did he as heswayed like a pendulum in the air his drop zone growing smaller by thesecond.  Recovering he would shift hisshoulder and swing hard for the blue silk again, doing his best not to lookdown.  The steel cut through the fabriclike butter, and the free fall began with his initial inertia continuing tosend him forward toward the rear of the balloon.    

Pain exploded into his rear as he landed, the wind effectivelyknocked out of him as he struck the gas filled balloon and found himselfsuddenly in the air again as he bounced off the taunt leather.  His new lift causing him to fly up anotherfew feet before sending him face forward toward the edge of the sack, panicgrasping him again as he saw the oncoming empty sky again his short sword lostto him as he turned and did his best to scramble and grab anything.  Scrounging and grasping he would slide theacross the oiled leather and find nothing beneath his legs and chest but opensky.  A curse screamed out above thegunfire as his hand grasped and held to one of the tie lines his body coming toa jerking halt as he hung halfway off the balloon gasping for breath as hemuttered, “Holy shit.” 

Breathing heavily as he watched the blue ribbon sail away on thehorizon, he try to find a moment to catch some semblance of footing as hechecked his person to find the Candell sword still strapped to his belt with asigh.  The moment of peace though wassoon shocked by screams and another explosion to rip below him as the deafeningwhine entered his ears even above, the explosion sounding more and more like athunderbolt than common cannon fire. Gunfire erupted again after the explosion as smoke continued to drift upfrom the deck below, another scream to follow as looked over to watch one ofthe sky pirates plummet over the railing into nothingness.  He never screamed or even flailed as heplunged into the air, Zexx nodding to himself as he figured one of his friends muststill be alive.  Groaning softly he wouldturn over onto his belly and begin to feel out for more of the tie lines thatkept the balloon attached to the body of the boat, going hand under hand heslowly shimmied his way down the side into the carnage of the deck. 

Carnage was an understatement as dropped down from the rope ontothe back end of the near the main cabin of the ship.  Littered before him were the bodies of a pairof sailors, their bodies burned and smoking still from what he guessed were thefirst explosions their charred flesh sending a sweet and repugnant smell intothe air.  Turning around he would lookpast the large windows of the back of the main cabin to see the pair ofturbines stuck and still, coated in a grey sticky mass of Spinex adhesive.  “Good job, Kat.” 

Crouching down he would grasp the hilt of his sword and edge hisway toward the edge of the till man’s deck and peer down below to find the nextgory scene.  There was a hole in the maindeck, a fire below causing a slow smoke to lift out of the hold and concealsome of the destruction.  Below him hecould count around nine more sailors, some loading up muskets and pistols aswhile others held sword and club and took cover amid barrels and otherdebris that had hit the deck.  Among the debris he noted around three still corpses blood pooling about them as theother sailor yelled to each other over the empty whine in their ears from therecent explosions.  Lifting his gaze hewould do his best to see through the rising smoke but found it to black andhard to see just about anything beyond the mid-ship, he had to hope Kat wasthere with Thad and were preparing some kind of plan.  For now he would be improvising. 

Returning to the rear of the ship, Zexx would lean over the edgeand look to find that the back end of the ship was currently leaking smoke fromthe smashed out captain’s cabin. Scrambling over the railing he would once again begin his careful shimmydown the back end of the ship and find himself above the window of the Gravelsnak’squarters.  Taking in a deep breath ofsemi clean air, the red scarf would be drawn up over Zexx’s mouth and nosebefore he swung down through the smoke and glass to enter the cabin. 

The crunch of glass under his feet was a dead giveaway to hispresence, granted from the destruction wrought through the room it didn’treally matter.  Burns littered the woodenframe and sides of the domicile, holding his scarf still up to his face hewould drop low to stay under the smoke billowing from the fire that currentlyburned away at the port side of the cabin. Broken bottles, burned and burning papers, and other smells of ozonespoke of some serious magic being called upon in here.  Scurrying to the starboard side, he couldalready hear the clash of weapons and cries of battle from behind the broken andsmashed in door that lead out to the lower decks.  Leaning his head out the destroyed frame, hewould see the stairs leading further into the hold where the clash of steelcould be heard along with the yells of a familiar deep accented voice,Gravelsnak. 

“Hold yer lines!  He’sonly one deader!  Hawkins shift to theright, no wait Jorvan not that…”  A thicktroll scream filled the hallways before more voices rose in fury and the clashof steel began.  The deep voice cried outfor some kind of order over the din of battle but it was lost in the shouts andensuing fight.  Drawing his long swordwith a nod of determination Zexx would stand from his hiding spot within thedestroyed cabin and make his way down the stairs to nearly run straight intoGravelsnak himself.   

The goblin was facing the main hold where four of his men werejumping over their fifth and sixth companions to engage the dark knight Thadwho was quite ready for the ill trained crewmen.  The hold was a mess he pulled his gaze fromthe fight to look up and see where the earlier smoke was leaking out theceiling.  To the starboard side he couldsee another large still burning hole that was thankfully beginning to calm downfrom whatever had set the old wood to blaze the brightening sky beyond thatburning portal.  The fight grabbed Zexx’sattention again from a new death gurgle of a skewered human noting how theairship pirates were not even close to prepared for the full fury of the armoreddeath knight. Thad weaved his large two-hander among them like a farmer to thecrop, his black blade carving through air and flesh with a master’s grace as usingthe momentum of the heavy steel to crash into his enemies or drive them intoretreat.   

The few moments of voyeurism cost Zexx as his booted feet stoppedat the top of the stairs to watch his friend do what he does best, for thebulbous nosed goblin turned back up the stairs and found Zexx blocking thepath.  His thin lips pulled back in asnarl as he adjusted a heavy headed mace burning with a living flame andclenched his other four fingered hand into a tight fist, “You.”  The air began to grow thinner with eachbreath as Zexx stood his ground a moment watching the goblin just below him,suddenly realizing what had happened when Kat had infiltrated the boat to beginwith.  Gravelsnak was the shaman.   

The thinning air led to an increase of the scent of ozonefilling the cramped hallway of the hold, the situation deteriorating quickly asthe power of the elements coursed to the goblin’s will and swallowed his closedfist in a nest of swirling electrical might. Gravelsnak’s short stubby green arm lifted as he pointed toward whereZexx was as he opened his mouth to release a guttural ancient word as theelectricity sailed through the air toward his new foe.  Zexx blinked in shock at the display ofmagic, the lightning arcing toward him splaying across the stairwell walls toricochet and tattoo the wood with dark burns as it searched out his body.  He had no shield, nowhere to run in thecramped hallway as he watched it spring back forth toward him, swallowing hehefted his sword and rushed forward, the only way is through.   

Raising his sword to help protect his body, Zexx felt theelectricity bombard the steel, drawn to the metal like a moth to flame, the shockspiraling and skyrocketing down the blade and into the pommel to his hand.  A cry of pain mixed with his battle cry leadto him leaping the last few steps to the goblin, sword thrumming with agonizingprimal energy, to thrust the sword toward the goblin.  The blade pierced through the air and wentstraight for the goblin’s head, Gravelsnak’s hand lifting to try and defend himas he did his best to duck the blow but green stubby hand took  the full might of the blow as the bladeplunged in and drug up through his palm and out between two of thefingers.  His deep voice rose an octavewith the painful scream followed from diving to safety, Gravelsnak’s bloodsplashing across the hold’s floor as he clutched his mangled hand.  Zexx on the other hand continued his momentumand spilled forward and into the combat between Thad and the remaining pirates,his sparking sword skipping down to go through the back of an orc’s calf beforelanding on him in a heap.  The orc let outa howl as he turned from the initial fight to look down at the singed andgroaning Zexx, his cutlass lifting to strike at the prone man.  Fortunately for the one eyed warrior, it wasall the opening Thad needed to dispatch another of the thugs his great swordswiping through the orcs neck in a spray of black blood and gore as the headflipped in the air in shock before landing with a sickening thud.   

“Get up“, was all Thad said as he kicked over the corpse of theorc and turned on the final pair of pirates who were backing up quickly fromthe swordsmen, a fearful glance split between them.  Thad said nothing for bravado or heroics ashe marched forward, feeding on their fear of him as he tilted the great swordto let the blood flow over the blade the hideous runes glowing with a cold bluelight.  Zexx groaned as he sat upgingerly, looking between the pair of pirates and over toward their captain whowas trying his best to keep his dangling fingers attached to his hand.  Gravelsnak’s face was a mixture of fury,fear, and the need to survive as he looked toward the whole in the side of theship and back to the invaders.   

“Frack this, hold them brothers! For the Flare!”  And with thatGravelsnak lifted his mace again and with all the might of his lumbering goblinbody chucked the burning weapon through the entrance to the storage hold.  As the weapon flew and disappeared below, thegoblin was already dashing toward the open wound on his ship leaping out with awild cry in that same guttural language of before.  The two other pirates noted their captain’sescape, eyes widening even further at what he had done before his promptretreat.  The first pirate, a goblinhimself, dropped his cutlass and booked it for the hole his hands flying downto his sides and up again to reveal a pair of makeshift leather wing webs, acry following as he spread his arms to the wind.  The other pirate, a human, stared after hiscompanion with his mouth agape at being left alone to face the pair beforeturning to find Thad right on top of him, the rune blade held high as it was tostrike him down.  “Oh Light n…”  were the last words spoken before the rumbleand subsequent explosion ripped up from below and caused the sky to open aroundthe trio. 

Zexx felt the floor give way, the timber of the floor burningand falling away to empty sky to the ocean far below, his family sword switchedto his other hand as the numb one did it’s best to help him scramble back forthe stairs.  The ship groaned and aroundthem as the frame began to crack and burn all around them, finding himself onceagain in the tattooed hallway as he looked back to the burning hold his stomachdropping in not seeing his friend right away. “Thad!”, he cried out amongst the destruction they had wrought, thesmoke clearing as the debris fell away to see the death knight standing on theopposite side his sword no longer in hand as he leaned against the broken hullhis face empty of any emotion but obviously showing weariness.  A sight of relief exited Zexx’s mouth as hecrumbled down onto the stairs and called out to him, “You alright?” 

Thad nodded but then his undead head shot up as he looked acrossthe way perhaps a memory of fear had shown itself, his gauntleted hand shootingup to point toward the frame of the ship that was barely holding the brokenbeast together.  “Zexx!  Get out of there!  GO!” The swordsman would quickly lift his cycloptic gaze up just in time tosee the brittle frame snap and feel his half of the ship begin to slip forwardwith a groan of the dying ship, his eye widening as he cursed and began toscramble up the stairs back the way he came. The back end of the ship was continuing to turn as he heard more woodsnap and girders explode as the rear began to shift into a sinking position.  It was fortunate they were not in the waterso they couldn’t really sink, but it was unfortunate they were in the air so itjust meant they were going to plummet to their deaths.  He could hear the screams and calls of theother pirates from above on the deck dodging debris and furniture to clamberhis way back to the captain’s cabin.   

The lurching rear of the ship had now into a full sink, thewalls floor and floor walls as he strapped his sword again to his belt and leaptup to the broken window he had initially climbed in from.  Grunting and cursing up a storm as he hauledhimself out into the open air again, morning in full swing as the red lights ofsunrise filtered among the smoke and wreckage. Sitting a moment with his legs dangling into the cabin he would breathein the fresh salty air and look across the way toward the other end of theship.  The rope ties that had held thebow of the ship looked pretty strong but he could easily see the tension of theropes on the stern where he sat as the balloon struggled in place to hold bothends.  And there were three crewmenclambering up toward him with deadly intent in their eyes.  “Guys, really?  It’s over. Let’s just make it out of here alive?” The roar of a pistol was his answer as he ducked down to takecover.   

“You wrecked our home, mon! Our livelihood!  Ya gonna pay witya life when I get ya!”  The initialshooter exclaimed as his long blue arms carried him up the side of the ship andonto the upended stern.  His pistoltossed aside as he grabbed for the hand axe at his belt and ripped it free andstalked up Zexx, the hanging boat below them swaying precariously by the fewropes that clung to the balloon above. Groaning painfully, he would pull himself back up to his feet and drawhis sword to face his new opponents the blade feeling always familiar but quiteheavy after the ordeal of the last hour. The hand axe wielding troll would leap forward with a yell and engagethe weary swordsman, their blades bouncing off each other as they did theirbest to balance and fight at the same time. Blows were traded as each seemed quite skilled with their weapon ofchoice, granted their current setting wasn’t the ideal place for a duel.  Zexx grasped his sword with his both handsand turned to knock the axe aside and shoulder into the troll with a thud, thethud of course meaning the well-built troll just standing still.  “Oh come on,” groaned the exasperatedswordsman as the cackling pirate made a heavy swipe at Zexx forcing him to loseground and slip into one of the broken windows up to the hip with a cry of pain. 

The troll grinning wildly with tusk filled mouth as he raisedhis axe to finish the job, “Gonna enjoy di…” A gunshot ripped through the airfilling it with a hazy mist of blue and green gore, the eye of the trollmissing revealing the gushing remains within before tumbling over theside.  Gaping Zexx would struggle back upto his feet and look across the expanse to see among the crates and barrels apale faced, grim woman with a smoking pistol in hand.  Thad beside her was handing off anotherpistol to Kat as he pulled from a crate another brand new firearm to load.  Grinning wearily he turned to face the otherpair of pirates, flexing and shifting his sword to his other hand with aflourish of steel confidence surging at the reuniting with his companions.  And then a rope snapped. 

The aft of the airship slipped to one side as the remainingropes to the starboard side screamed at the loss of their port companions, thebroken ship twisting and swinging through the air as the three men tucked infor the terrifying ride.  Zexx grippedtight to his sword as he desperately clung to a window pain as the world flewby at an awkward lazy tilt back and forth, he could hear the other two yellingfor help that wasn’t coming.  Grittinghis teeth, the warrior would pull himself up to his hands and knee as the pendulumof wreck swung more knowing the few weak ropes holding on wouldn’t be of muchuse soon before the drop.  Stumbling upto his feet he would scramble across the ruins toward one of the ropes,stepping over a crying dwarf as he clung onto the edge of the ship as heteetered back and forth.  Reaching out hewould grasp and flail with his empty hand before finding a hand hold of theline, turning about to hand on for dear life and face the struggling pirateswho remained.  “Come on!  Grab the rope!  On your feet!” 

The dwarf would shake his head as he held on cursing in duegaras much as he was sobbing at the inevitable end, his companion coming to standup shakily as she began to stumble along toward Zexx.  Shifting his sword about he would tuck itloosely back into his belt, praying he didn’t slice himself in half doing thishaphazard hero work.  Reaching out to thewoman he urged her to come, the pirate fearful but not giving up as she stumbledand swayed.  “Come on your almostthere!  Reach!”  Her eyes lifted hopeful as she smiled at howclose she was, her strong hand reaching out before the second to the last linebroke and cause the aft to shift again. She followed the shift with a scream and disappeared into the fall.  The dwarf screamed in terror but before Zexxcould say anything more the rope that he clung to heaved as the wood toggle ithad tied to snapped and catapulted him up with a cry into the sky with theturning balloon.  The aft sat for amoment before crashing down through the sky and landing far below into thewater with a sickening thud against the waves. 

Wind rushed past his face as it drowned out his scream as hefelt himself shot from the wreckage and up over the now vertical sittingballoon, a saving grace as he flew up and landed on top in a heap.  Silence washed over Zexx as he sat breathingheavily and shaking from where he now sat, his hands grasping to hold ontightly to the leather sack beneath him as he looked about the world above and below.  He’d survived.  Sitting there letting the sway of the balloonbeneath him settle he did his best not to throw up, knowing he’d never hear theend of it from below with his companions, who he could hear now Thad callingout his name.  Taking a deep breath in hewould croak out a yell, “I’m here!  I’mhere!” 

Shimming down the side of the balloon was surprisingly easy ashe used the remaining ropes that held the bow on to make his way to thedeck.  He felt the strong hands of Thadoffer him reassurance of his footing as he finally reached the bottom with athump of his boots to wood.  Hisbreathing heavy as he grinned up to the expressionless dark knight, claspinghis friend by the forearm in a warriors embrace, “Not so bad.” 

“Come on, she’s hurt.” As the knight released his fellowswordsman and moved over to the crates where he and Kat had been before, Zexxjoviality fading as swiftly as it had come. His boots pounding the deck as he found Katherine on the deck floor, herleft shoulder awash with crimson as Zexx knelt down and brushed some hair fromher face.  The poor girl’s eyes flew openand locked with Zexx’s one eye as she let out a happy sob and grabbed onto himto hug with her one good arm, “Thought we’d lost you.”   

“Naw, I’m not that easy to kill, “As he gently patted her backin the hug before easing her back, “But you on the other hand look likehell.”  As he reached gingerly to pull atthe sticky mass of cloth on her shoulder and eye the wound. 

“Tis but a flesh wound, “She would smile though she was shakingterribly as he tried to get a better look at it, “I don’t feel anything inthere, so I think it passed straight through. Damn dwarf got a lucky shot off on me when the last explosion hit.” 

“Well I assure you he got what was coming to him,” Zexx leanedback and stood up once more to face Thad as he grimaced as the aches and painsof the morning were beginning to warm up and settle in.  Thad stood silent as he looked up at theremaining lines and the gentle sway of the bow of the airship beneath them, heenvied the death knight at times for his tireless energy, “How we looking?” 

“Couple hours maybe, think I spotted a couple punctures in thesack.  The ropes though will hold longafter the gas filters out, but a spark could easily end the trip.  How’s the girl?” Thad’s dimly glowing blueeyes looked down to the one eyed swordsman before shifting to the bleedinggirl.   

“I think she’ll be alright, but not if we sit out here swayingall day, any ideas?”  Zexx following theknights gaze to the bleeding woman resting on the deck before looking back tohis companion. 

“I’ll head back to Archeus and I should be able to reachStormwind from there either by gryphon or other means. I will find you, keepyour farstone active.”  Thad spokequickly and to the point as always, his hand reaching to his belt to draw out asmall black stone carved like a skull. 

“You ok with doing that? I mean with your terms with the Knighthood?” Zexx eyed his friend withconcern for him returning to the Death Knights’ citadel, but he stopped as Thadclosed his fist about the stone and a spectral skull appeared above them andopened a glowing purple gate. 

“Wait for my return,” Thad spoke again as he stepped into the veil and disappeared from sight,the curtain sliding shut and the skull fading away into nothing but blue skyagain. 

“Damn.” 

• 

His hand continued to apply pressure to her shoulder as he saton the deck of the swaying wreck that was once the Haggleflare, his one eyestaring north on the horizon for some sign of their rescue.  He felt Kat would be just fine, but hisfriendly bleeding so heavily like this did not make him take any real ease ashe listened to the gentle creak of the ropes above.  Shifting his legs to keep them from fallingasleep he readjusted the bloody scarf on her wound and peered out over therailing. 

“Look at the colors Zexx, like such a beautiful painting, “Katherinesoftly slurred a bit as the pain the pain was driving her to some kind of deliriumat least that was all he hoped from it. He looked down from the horizon and to his friend before looking at thesky she was staring at.  The dawning skywas awash in reds, oranges, and yellows from the rising sun but still bits ofthe purple and blue of night clung to edge though knew only retreat at thishour.  “Tell me a story Zexx.” 

“Tell you a story?  I thinkwe just lived through one of my stories, “He chuckled softly as he continued tolook up at the blossoming day around them, the soft sea breeze blow over thedeck. 

“No, like a happy one where no one dies or gets shot, or doessomething stupid, “the woman whined softly as she tried to adjust feebly fromwhere she lay on the deck.  He’d hadlittle to try and keep her comfortable, but he’d done his best with somepackaging from the pistols and other crates to cradle her neck and cushion herback. 

“A happy one, let me see. Once upon a time there were three children and each of them wanted somethingspecial that was only for them.  Thefirst wanted to know it all, and made it very clear with how she spoke toadults as if she was an adult.  The secondwants to experience it all, and made it very clear with how he made everyone laughand could go anywhere.  While the third…”Hepaused as he looked out to the horizon, and smiled softly, “The third justwanted to fly.”