quest/src/epistolary/00046.md

title	created	updated	syndicated	public
00046	Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:07 -0700	Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:10 -0700	yes	yes

00046

Ah so I suppose those Toques were being honest then, there was a Ginnarak crystal, and I guess they were going to give it to us.. oh well, nothing good in life comes easy.

Alex cranks the dial on the sunspoke, grabs the hemogoblin from the basket, and jumps out of the balloon and onto the deck of the ship. He rushes over to the nearest pile of bundled rope and barrels and stows his new hemo friend. "Just stay hidden little guy, let me take care of these pirates first."

Alex grabs the dagger from his side as he makes his way towards the side of the ship, first thing first, best to cut the mooring lines and zip lines. The static clawing sensation appears at the back of Alex's mind, but he attempts to ignore it. There's too much that needs to be done too quickly, and he's all too aware of the danger he's put himself in. "What would Corraidhin do.." Alex thinks to himself, "perhaps a spell?".

function target:new(obj, tbl)
  obj = obj or {}
  setmetatable(obj, self)
  self.__index = self
  self.x = 0
  self.y = 0
  self.speed = 0
  reutrn obj
end

function target:yeet()
  self.x = 100
  self.y = 100
  self.speed = 50
  return self
end

After preparing the spell Alex makes his way towards the guard rail ready to cut the mooring and zip lines, spell at the ready should an enemy appear.

You crank the dial to 11. The sunspoke squeals in delight and burns like a tiny star. You grab the hemogoblin, who chirrups and clings tightly to you, and leap from the balloon onto the deck of the airship.

You think you can hear---barely audible---the sunspoke singing a song of homecoming as the hot air balloon continues to rise unpiloted up toward the sun.

You rush over to cover behind a barrel, and deposit your new hemogoblin friend safely inside the center of a large coil of rope. It looks up at you quizzically, but nods when you tell it to stay put.

You invoke the powers of the moon and prepare a quick but (hopefully) sufficient Spell of Yeeting.

When you draw the dagger, the world develops a faint static background noise which is easy enough to ignore at the moment given the state of things. You dash forward and start sawing at the thick mooring lines. The dagger's ruby hilt flashes in the sunlight as you work, and in your mind's eye you see a bright red wine, and a drop of blood red ink flowing from the nib of a fountain pen.

You shake the images from your head just as you finish sawing through the rope. A Cyberplasm who was shimmying back up the rope from the hotel to the ship yelps as the line goes slack and swings back into the side of the cliff. The pirate rebounds from the impact, bounces off the mountainside a few times, and falls from view as it disappears through the clouds below.

The ship drifts lazily, rising slightly, and despite your best sneaking around, the remaining Cyberplasms on board cannot help but notice that the ship is no longer tethered. You successfully hide behind a barrel as three cyber ghost pirates come rushing over to the ship railing and lean over, looking below at where there are no longer any ropes attaching the ship to the hotel.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the hemogoblin toddling across the deck toward the Cyberplasms, no doubt curious about what they're looking at over the side of the ship.

"Indeed, Bread, it's me. You have not yet escaped your fate of untraceable disappearance just yet." Inky deadpans, then smiles. "We have much to discuss, but later. I do need a guide … to your hotelier. Presumably I will find them by following the racket and trail of ruined decor, but maybe you know of a quicker route?"

Bread smiles at the threat of being untraceably disappeared, mostly confident that they are on the inside of a private little joke and that they are presently in no actual danger from Inky. They grip their hammer a little tighter nonetheless.

Confidence slips their trowels into their apron. "Yes, this way!"

They hurry down the hall. You know you're going the right way because tattered, torn, charred books litter the ground in increasing numbers. Bits of paper and ash fall like snow.

Confidence guides you away from the entrance to the library's Great Hall, and takes you instead to a smaller, more discreet staff entrance. They open the door a crack, and as you look through you are just in time to see the ship captain with their cybernetic leg, arm canon, and eye. Now that the crew have cleared the way for them, they stroll across the library over piles of fallen, damaged books.

A thin bald man with a neatly trimmed mustache is on the other side of the hall, his back turned to the pirate. He wears a fine suit and has just finished unlocking a glass display case. He retrieves a multifaceted blue and gold stone and hugs it to his chest with both arms. He throws a panicked glance over his shoulder at the slowly approaching pirate, and turns to run away. His retreat is halted by a small explosion at his feet. He skids to a stop and looks back at the pirate, who is lowering their arm canon.

"The crystal," the captain demands in a voice part ghostly moan, part mechanical drone. "Hand it over, hotelier." It steps closer. "Mother has promised us new bodies if we deliver the quintessence. You won't be permitted to stand in our way."

One pirate near the breach tucks a couple volumes of manhwa under its arm and climbs out onto the mooring line, returning to the ship with its plunder. It howls as the line suddenly goes slack, flinging the pirate and its comics into the mountainside, and then out into space.

Sunlight pours into the library from outside as the shadow of the airship shifts as it starts to drift, suddenly unmoored.

WHAT DO YOU DO

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