The lifeless, mechanical drone of a Librarium sky-train cut through the roaring winds and deafening downpour. The great, silver machine swam through the blackened sky, undisturbed by the hail bucketing down upon it. On closer inspection, a keener eye would notice that the train itself was bone dry. The hail was dispersed by the train’s atmospheric disruptor before it had a chance to cause any significant damage.

The Cloud Chasers had a similar device on board; a necessity for anyone who so desired to sail the free skies during Pandora’s wet seasons. Only, the atmospheric disruptor aboard the Chasers was much more archaic in design. Much like everything else about the airship, wear and tear throughout the generations had greatly impacted its effectiveness. It was for this reason that the majority of the crew found themselves huddled in the barracks whilst some of the more mechanically savvy members attempted to strengthen the disruptor.

Ull’Mona Kwenda was among them. The ships navigator, the girl also had a knack for Magitech devices. A large pair of goggles covered most of her face, largely to stop the rain from obscuring her vision. She was covered head to toe in a plastic raincoat, which helped keep the wind and rain at bay while she worked. In front of her were three Archive Interfaces which held various data on weather patterns and the functionality of the ships disruptor. Mona bit her lip, a bad habit of hers that most knew to mean she was deep in thought. It only lasted a moment before the girl waved her screens away and delivered a good kick to the run down machine.

“Ah bugger it! We’ll be ripped apart by the storm if we can’t get this piece of shite to work.” Mona sighed, gazing around the drenched deck. The disruptor needed to be exposed to the surrounding atmosphere, a fact that Mona was well aware of but did nothing to prevent her from whining about being wet and cold. She gazed up at the sky just as a fork of lightning streaked across it, bringing everything around her to life with a brief flash of light.

The deck was abandoned, save the few working to fix the disruptor. The Chasers would be considered obsolete by today’s standards of airships, yet there was something about its vintage nature that held a certain charm. The way it still relied on both steam and magic to run, how it still used sails and even the material it was made of. Wood. It was sturdy enough, but lacked the sleek, shiny finish of a Librarium Mothership. What it lacked in modern technology and ease of use, it made up for in character. Generations of rebels all living aboard this ship, passing the torch down to a new group of Mages.

Captain Ragnar had a similar thought as he watched over the pirates having a grand old time in the barracks. During a storm, personal space was a luxury that few had. The crew were practically arm in arm, singing sea shanties and drinking grog. Why, few would be too merry to even notice the crashing of thunder and lurching of the ship from intense gales.

The Captain sat at a large desk, a map of the free skies laid out in front of him. Very clearly imprinted on the map were several dotted lines. These lines crossed the skies between Hierarchical Realms in patterns that interwove and split off from one another at various intervals. It was a map of the sky-train routes. In particular, one route was marked with red ink. Route #14, leading towards Banskia Central in Suphlatus.

Huddled in a corner as far away from the rambunctious crew as possible in the cramped, overpopulated barracks with her knees tucked in close to her chest and book in hand, Adelyn could be found. She couldn't understand how they could be so joyful, so carefree as the weather around them threatened to rip the ship apart at any moment. But most of all, she couldn't stand how loud they were being. It was incredibly difficult to concentrate on her novel when all she could hear was obnoxious laughing, deafening volumes of drunken singing and the absurd amount of profanities being shouted back and forth. All in such a small space.

A crew member asked if she wanted to join in the drunken activities, to which the former noble shot a cold glare upon glancing up from her book before returning to it briefly afterwards. All the crew member could do was shrug and mutter a few choice words under their breath before returning to the drinking and singing, content to be oblivious to the storm around them.

Adelyn's annoyance continued to grow as the volume of their singing just seemed to grow and grow, like a tumor. The more the crew drank, the louder and less coherent they became. "Bloody barbarians." Slamming her book shut, she shot the unsuspecting crew another glare before deciding to go elsewhere on the ship. Surely there was somewhere, anywhere, else that didn't have ninety percent, if not more, of the crew in a tiny room. The ship wasn't a large one, nor was it anywhere near the comfort, luxury or even usefulness or practicality of the modern ships. But even it had enough compartments and rooms that the entire crew didn't need to be shoved all together.

So with that in mind, she retired to the gun deck. As far towards the bow as she could get. She could still hear the crew, almost as if she was in the same room as them, but it was way better than being in the same room as them at that volume. She could actually hear herself think now, truly a rare and blessed moment. She could even put up with the small drip of water that fell every now and then beside her. It wasn't anywhere near as obnoxious as the crew were.

"Finally, some peace....even though there's no quiet." With a soft mumble, she pulled her book out and began to read it once more.

---

Guld Airship, Crow's Nest
Banksia Skyline Route #14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus

---

The storm raged around the ship, the wind and rain cutting through those aboard the top deck like knives, leaving most chilled to the bone and all of them clinging to the nearest surface they could. In this kind of weather, even top of the line Air gliders would have difficulty navigating such winds, and the Cloud Chaser's models were definitely far from up to par. The best practice in such conditions would be to stay below deck if possible, and failing that, stay as close to the top deck as possible, where the atmospheric disruptor's protection was at it's strongest. However, far up above in the crow's nest, a long figure sat in a meditative stance, eyes closed in fierce concentration as his body was assailed by the elements.

Encircling him were 5 strange distortions, like black tears in the sky, each one housing a number of glowing green-ish geometric shapes that came together to form something akin to an eye in appearance within the tears in space. These 'eyes' gazed both outward towards the horizon, inward towards the young man they were orbiting, down at the deck hands at guild mates that struggled to fix their failing machine, and up at the rumbling, cloud-covered sky. And it was through these eyes that the young man could see everything around him, observing the flow of magical energy that flowed all around them, the origins that pulsed within the people below him, and how it was all connected. . . interwoven like so many strands of gossamer and silk. The winds tore wildly at his clothes, the rain and occasional piece of hail smacking against his skin repeatedly, the water serving to weigh him down like an anchor, but all of these assaults seemed to only have the faintest effect on his concentration. A quirk of the brow here, a hiss of pain there. While seemingly small reactions, they all revealed his current state of meditation to still be flawed, and as such, he felt his mind slip every now and then.

>F̶̟͎̰̬͕̮͈o̶̡̬̞̰͇̩̕c̥͓͎̫̼̥̖͢ṳ̵̼s̴͕͔̩̭̹͓̳̕͞, ̨̧̥͖̪̭̟̺̤̟ ̨̝̭̜̯̭͖͕̫͔L͙̞͓̺a̸̛͓z̮͖̹͕̖͝ų̛̩̰͓̼l҉̻i̴̧̨͚̞̟̻̥̳n̕҉͓͕̺ . . . Ṱ͙h̟͈͇̜e̳̼̗͇ ͙͉̻̻͔̫̥̞T͈͈̜̠̰a̬͔̤p̼̫e̺̗̖̫̞͍̩̰s͔̦͇̻̬ţ͙̞̻͎̥͚r̗̻̥̪y̮͍ ̹̺͍o̠̥͉̬͎f̫ ̣M͙͇͕̳̻̮ạ̙̥̙͈̖̝g͎̬̖͚̜i͎̫͎͓̺̜̫c. . . Is͏̰̘ ̨͕͖̣̰̺͖͢u̥̪̻̻̥͚n҉̣̖̦f̧̣̺͕̝̭̮̕u̯̥͡͡r҉̹͟͞l̝̹̪̤̯̞e̴͇̗̟̕d҉̫ ͘͏̝̭̬̹̯b̹̝̟̗͇̫͉͡͞e͇̣̜͙͎̗̣͜f͏̵͙̫͓̼͜o҉͎̗̰͎̼̫̙r̢̧͇̤̭̥e̼̺̼͟ ̵̜̥̰͞you

. . . R̵̫̼͙͈͇̮̙͡ȩ̷͇͎̤͈̦a͈̥͈͉͎̥c̟̺͈̱̫̯͖͎̜h̨̟̟̦̙͉̪̝ ̨̹͍̳͇̹̹̺̗̤o̯̗̪u̱̫͉͖̳̕ͅt̷̖̹̜͈̤̲͜ ̯͙̲̝w̭̼i̻͉͉̤͚͉t̢̧̨͍̺̪̱͕͉̙̖ḩ̴̠̼͙̝ ͞͏̬͍̕w̶͙̙̣̤̬i̵̡̠͠ͅt̜̪͎̟̞̮͙̕ẖ̬̼ͅ ̱̤̠̕y͎͍̭̕͟ó̠̗̻̠̳͔̲͢͜ͅu̺͖͔̲̲̲͡͡r̳̩͖͕̦̲̀͝ ̰̯̬͖̹̳̟͘͠m͖̰͕̜̲͇͕͓̀͜i̴̦̠̜̬͖͙͚̥̺n̢̯͉̗̪̭̱̲̪̕͠ḑ̖̜͔͎͜ . . . B̛͕͇e͚͇͇̞̝̱͉̳͘͠n̰̣͎̗̗̪͡d̡̟͔͖ ̷̦̠̱͚̬̩̗͎͘i̲͔̻͍͜t̗̩̬͇ ̨̥̱̺̦̼͞͡t͚͉͉̺̕o̯̮̱̗̭̖͚ ̷̦̪̭̟̹͖͜y̸͜͏̻̩̰o̶̲͓̪ư̵͎̦̫͝r̟̬̪̰͘̕͞ ̩̖̦̬̱̻͓̕w̶͖̜̜͙i̡̢ͅl͖̀l͍͎̮͙̻

The voice rang inside Lazulin's head like the tolling of a church bell, an echoing whisper spoken in what sounded like a 100 languages at once,filling every crevice of his mind with its reverberating tones. His brow scrunched up as he attempted to focused his mental energies, trying to will the magic that he could see flowing around him into . . . something. Anything. But in the end, nothing came of his efforts. The world remained the same, completely unchanged and unaware of his efforts.

With a growl, he lashed out with a fist against the wood of the mast, the wood splintering beneath his it with a sharp crack. The eyes around him dispersed into wisps of black smoke, one by one, till he was left with just one hovering above his left shoulder. It's gaze simply stared at him, he could feel it in the shivers that ran up his spine. His teeth formed a grimace as drew his hand back from against the mast, flexing the appendage as he turned his head skyward. His uncovered eye opened to glare at the storm that beat at the ship, a sigh escaping him as he rose to his feet.

The winds were strong, forcing him to keep a tight grip on the railing that ringed the crow's nest as he considered his path to the deck below. For a moment, the silver-haired youth considered leaping straight down, but shook the idea from his head. Even if he somehow managed to avoid getting knocked overboard, by the strong winds making the attempt, the damage his landing would likely have on the ship would see to it that Zeke (or worse, Mona) corrected that little oversight. As such, he made due with climbing down the mast proper, attaching his safety harness to the nearby grapple line just in case a rogue wind tried to knock him off.

Soon enough, he was making his way down to the deck, stopping every so often as a particularly nasty wind threatened to tear him off the ship. Not to mention the hail, some of which was quite sizable, beating into him every so often. If it wasn't for the reinforcement magic he had had active right now, he had little doubt that he'd have ended up covered in some nasty bruises, if not worse. After a few harrowing minutes of this, Lazulin lowered himself safely on the top deck, soaked to the every bone and dusted with broken bits of hail, yet hardly looking the worse for wear from it. Making his way past the few other guild members scurrying about the topside, he happened to notice Sania screaming something out, though whatever she said could barely be heard with the wind roaring about them. As he watched her for a moment, a grin worked it's way on his face as he made his way forward, making sure that he stayed out of Sania's line of sight as he did so. The wind and stormy weather made for a perfect cover to his movements, his sneaking steps bring him right behind the girl where he would suddenly grab at her shoulders and yell in a deep growling voice.

"GOTCHA!!!" After that, he'd quickly release the girl and scoot backwards, chuckling a fair bit as he put a hand in his pockets, the other doing it's best to keep the rain out of his eye."Sorry, couldn't help myself. So, what are you doing up here? I would've thought you'd be below deck talking with the Princess or something. Or did she give you the cold shoulder?"

It may have been an absolute hell outside of the ship, but inside the spirit of the crew was shining and getting completely wasted on the grog, wine, and whatever other kind of booze there was on hand. Mirth and merriment were in the air as the pirates laughed even when the ship was being tossed around by the wind and getting pelted down an unending storm of hail thought that was probably muffled by the drunken sounds of playful jeering and cusses. While some would be questioning why these pirates would be so cheerful considering that their rickety, technologically inadequate airship could be torn apart at any given moment, but really, if they thought about it then the dread of the fact that they are on a high speed airship thousands of feet in the air that could be destroyed in mere moments then no one would ever have gotten off the ground.

But no, they were not thinking about so their morale was not sinking faster than the ship could at any given moment. In Huangdi's case he was taking part of the festivities with great relish, something that many outside of the crew would considering unsightly considering his royal heritage, but he truly did not give a single damn. The big, muscular Adonis of a man was downing the grog at the same pace as his crew members and slammed the mug down against the table and let out a hardy laugh at one of the verses one of his intoxicated compatriots slurred out before he fell against the table with a a thump.

They were swinging their mugs around with the rhythm of the song and Huangdi now took the lead and started to sing with a rich baritone. "Hey ho to the skies I go, to free my heart and ease my soul. Winds be strong, winds be cruel, but for this love that's my dole!"

"Love?" Yelled out one of the drunken pirates, "What about Louisa?"

"Or Charlotte?", Chimed another.

"Or Bernadette? Your love seems to be everywhere, Huangdi!" The crew burst into laughter along with Huangdi, who took another swig from his mug and wiped the residue from his lips though through the joy in the room he saw that Adelyn had walked out of the party. Somehow he was not surprised that she was doing this. She was still relatively new to the crew, but she was not exactly adjusting well to the life of a pirate.

Huangdi sighed and stood up, deciding to tail her and that he did until he found himself at the gun deck. He went to knock on the door when the ship lurched again and this time, the door swung open and slammed against his face. "Motherf-!" He yelled as he held his nose though he did not finish the phrase when he saw Adelyn sitting there. "Uh, hey there. Are you doing okay?"

She had barely opened the book when she heard the loud thud of the door connecting with Huangdi's face, letting out an irritated sigh as she slammed it shut once more. All she wanted to do was read, why did the crew have to be so obnoxious? With that thought in mind, she looked up at Huangdi as he cut himself short of swearing and narrowed her eyes at him. He was one of the crew members she had thought would let her read in peace, alas she seemed to have been mistaken about him.

"'Hey there'? Really? You sure know how to greet someone whom you've rudely barged in on. Good to see Xia's royalty is taught basic manners and courtesy." Rolling her eyes at Huangdi's question, she shot back the retort in an overly harsh tone. All this disruption of her reading was putting in a bad mood, not helped at all by the weather. She would much rather be outside in some comfy shade reading a novel in some natural light, rather than stuck down in a cold, unnaturally lit compartment of the ship. And to top it off, the gun deck seemed to be damp and smelled funny. But it was still better than being in the barracks with the rest of that unruly lot.

"And I'm just fine, thank you. I don't want or need your concern. Just because I do not wish to partake in such barbaric, boorish activities with those uncivilized mongrels is not merit to feel concern for someone either." Getting up, she brushed down the front of her skirt and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't done yet.

"I'm not sure how royalty and nobles are meant to act in Xia Mr Huangdi, but you won't catch me dead even considering joining in such obnoxious and loud festivities. And frankly, I'm disappointed that you do. What exactly does one gain from being loud, uncivilized louts yelling and singing with the ability of an out of tune violin, and at the volume of an orchestra in full swing? It's frankly disgusting just thinking about coming into contact with those smelly, sweaty pigs yet you stand there, linked arm in arm with them like it's the natural thing to do. And I can smell the stench you got from them from where I stand, so please don't come any closer or I might yet lose my lunch...Why is it that it seems like the only other person on board with any common sense is Sania?" Shaking her head she let out an exaggerated sigh, stepping sideways a couple of times.

She was up against the wall, but she just wanted some extra space between her and Huangdi because she wasn't kidding about the smell. The mixture of various body odors and alcohol, along with sweat, was overpowering her nostrils. She was equally disgusted a noble of any kind would let themselves lower their standards to the same as these barbarians. However she kept her eyes on Huangdi rather than where she was going, and now let out a loud, high-pitched squeal as she tripped over a rope and fell flat on her buttocks. Not before flailing her arms about like an absolute maniac as she tried to keep her balance, letting go of her book in the process. It flew towards Huangdi's face and would smash straight into his nose if he didn't react to it.

"....Why can't you all just leave me alone for once?" Covering her face, which was currently flushed with embarrassment, the teenager sounded exhausted. She was over this, well and truly. She would eagerly trade this entire motley crew in for home without a second thought.

---

---

---

---

As most of the crew continue to lay waste to their problems by chugging booze down their swollen gullets, one boy in particular was huddled in a separate little workshop tinkering with a SA "Liberty" Rifle on a messy desk of metallic gadgets and blueprints. Ezekiel never really was much of a social person, nor does he often start up conversations that much. But while he lacks in vocalizing himself, what he loves doing is simply being alone and working on his newest device to help himself or his guild out. It's the least he can do. And being cozied alone inside his warm workspace while a storm rages outside is, to him, a rather relaxing feeling. He can be completely immersed in his projects and work in peace.

Yet while enjoying the feeling of curled up underneath a raging storm, there's also the sense of cabin fever that occasionally sets in. There are times where Ezekiel happens to get bored working on a certain gadget of his or has a kind of creative-block that prevents him from purposely becoming engaged with his work. While these hindrances are rare for the tinkerer, even he is susceptible to this boredom. His foot taps rapidly on the wooden floor, creaking quietly, while he rubs his face with a seemingly defeated sigh. To him, he needs to keep his mind constantly working on something, no matter what it can be, or he often gets restless. Really it can be anything in particular, as long as its mechanical.

And with this storm getting worse by the minute, it wouldn't hurt to check for something to improve or repair.

Even the noise coming down from the barracks was already seeping into his area, causing his wince to continue contorting into an annoyed expression. He needs to get out of this place and do something. With that, he exits the workshop and bypasses the barracks where the festivities are being held. He never really liked parties to begin with. Only as soon as he got to the roofed portions of the top deck did the sound drown out in the chaotic pattering of the storm outside. Even though the storm was loud enough as is, the wind pushing against him violently as he grips onto the nearby railing, it's at least naturally bearable to a certain extent. He begins to huddle towards the wall of the ship, gripping against the handles as he tries to not get blown away by the intense wind and shattering hail.

Maybe there's someone out here who could use some quick help with something...

---

Guild Airship, Top Deck
Banksia Skyline Route # 14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus

---

"Aaaaaaah Fuck, that's really fuckin' cold!" Laz hissed between clenched teeth, his little prank having backfired tremendously on him. How he hadn't noticed that Sania was prepping a spell was beyond him, as the now faint wisps of her magic should've been easy to notice at a glance with his own magic active. Pushing that thought to the side for now, he let out a relieved sigh as the water mage undid her spell, though it was quickly followed by a short yelp as a rogue wind slammed into him at that exact moment. His legs had no chance of standing up against the sudden rush of force, sending the wildlander boy tumbling to the ground in a bit of a heap.

As he worked to get his legs to co-operate with him, he chuckled a bit at Sania's admonishment, making a gesture towards his absolutely drenched clothing. "Aye, I can do a bit more than see it Sania, and calm yourself. It's fine, I should've known better. And as for Mona. . ." Lazulin, now back on his feet, would peer through the thick sheets of rain in search of their favorite engineer. A small circle of magical runes would form over his eye, allowing his gaze to pierce through the cascading obstruction the rain provided. It would take a few glances around before he found her fiddling with the disruptor not too far from them. "She's over this way, come on."

Motioning his fellow guild mate to follow, Laz would slowly make his way over to Mona,a smile on his face despite having to almost literally fight his way through the harsh wind, rain, and occasional piece of hail that threatened to smack into his forehead if he didn't pay attention. Soon enough, he and Sania were at Mona's side, the former taking a peek over her shoulder to try and get a look at what she was doing. "Yo Mona, anything me and Sania can do to help get this hunk of junk working again?"

"Yeah, I'd knock on the door if it did not knock me in the face first." The titan of a man said with a chuckle, trying to break the tension with a little joke though it definitely fell flat with his current audience of one. Yeah, this was exactly the kind of reaction he expected from her so he was not surprised that the instant that he walked into the room that she would start hurling insults at him as if it was going out of style so he was able to bear through it. It was not like his own family nor the other nobles and foreign royalties did not share the same kind of snobbery that she did so at this point he was pretty used to it. His family definitely would have been ashamed to know that this was the life that he had turned to instead a life of a king.

Well, she said she was fine and really he did not want to impose any further so he was about to leave her be, but then she started on a barrage of insults hurled at him, the crew, and his own country. Oof, she really was going the full mile when it came to her insults. The contempt in her voice oozed and it just kept hitting him over and over again. He really underestimated just how rude this little girl could be and boy, was she ever the nastiest monster on this ship. At this point she may as well had just told him to promptly fuck off and leave her alone, but that would have been both too easy for her and in her case, probably too low brow.

At the mention of his musky smell of sweat and the sweet smell of alcohol, he raised his arm up and took a quick whiff before his face soured. Okay, maybe she had a point about the smell so fair point to her.

He simply just watched her while she walked around with her gaze on his as if she was trying to keep an eye on a wild animal though she ended up getting caught up in some rope and flailed and squealed as she fell onto her butt while tossing her book at his face by accident. Huangdi leaned back and watched the book fly by an inch away from his face. "Not this time." He muttered to himself as he looked back at Adelyn, covering her face.

Huangdi sighed, knowing that this was her at her breaking point. He knew that she was not okay, not by a long shot. "Do you know why we all spend our time acting like barbarians as you describe us as? Everyone here has lost or given up something in one way or another and we're the only people we have to give comfort to each other.

Picking up her book, he knelt down and handed it to her. "I'm not going to force you to come back, but I'm just letting you know this now. Isolating yourself like this and letting this stir inside you is going to do far more harm than good. Just talk to us when you're ready. We'll be here when you want to talk."

Mona’s face lit up at the gentle whirring sound of the atmospheric disruptor. That was until it began to sputter and croak like a sick cat. Even through the heavy rain, a puff of smoke could still be seen escaping the machine with one final clink. She sat for a while, mouth agape in disbelief. She could hear someone calling out to her, but she was too caught up in her own despair to respond. Taking a deep breath, employing the strategies most would use to stay calm in such a situation. They didn’t work.

“Oh, you bloody motherf-“ Mona’s enraged shout was cut short by the sound of a familiar shriek through the storm. That was Sania’s voice.
“Sania?!” She called back, her coat billowing in the intense gale of the storm. Through the downpour, it was difficult to make out any distinctive features, but she could see a figure approaching her.

“Sania is that you?“
“Yo Mona, anything me and Sania can do to help get this hunk of junk working again?” Lazulin’s voice caught her by surprise, especially since it came from right behind him. Spinning around to face him, she was relieved to find Sania close at his side.

“Aye, I would. Though if I’m honest, tinkering don’t seem like either of ye’s expertise. Yer welcome to take a crack at the bloody thing though.” Mona was about to go into more detail, when she remembered the approaching figure she had seen originally. Looking over her shoulder, she caught wind of Ezekiel. Had he come to help as well? Maybe he was just roaming the deck during a storm. Pirates are weird. Regardless, he was just the person Mona needed.

“Oi Zeke! Get yer bleedin’ arse over here and lend us a hand. Well, what do ya say mate?” Ezekiel was one of the engineering crew members. In fact he was one of the only members of the crew with any experience on the matter. Mona’s magic was a great aid when dealing with tech, but she clearly knew very little when it came to fixing anything.

Turning back to face Sania and Lazulin, she continued her explanation of the disruptor’s condition.

“Me best bet is that the convergence lacrima is damaged or out of juice. Either way, she’s got no power. I have a replacement Lacrima here, but it needs to be charged with energy signatures similar to the Storm. Unfortunately we’re caught in the middle of a real beauty. Trying to charge the bugger In the middle of this bad boy of a storm is a suicide mission.” Mona kicked her feet, spitting on the accursed machine that was the sole cause of her frustrations.

She wanted to curl up into and a ball and die right about now. The only silver lining to this situation was that the vulgar savage hadn't witnessed her little 'trip', otherwise she wouldn't live it down. If not for the taunting, then just for the sheer fact that he had seen. She would've have rathered jumping off the side of the ship then living with that situation. Luckily, it was only Huangdi so while she was embarrassed beyond belief, she could at least live it down.

At his question, she shook her head without moving her hands. Why or how would she know why barbarians would act like barbarians? She didn't think on their same wavelength, and she didn't have telepathy magic so mind reading was out of the question. That and the massive fact that she simply didn't care, couldn't underestimate that. Huangdi proceeded to tell her the reason anyway. Of course, a rhetorical question. Though she wondered briefly what they could've lost, they were barbaric savages what did they have to lose in the first place, especially someone like Huangdi. Like, why was a Prince amongst this lot anyway...

Though the thought was very short lived. She heard the creak of wood underneath his heavy steps and parted her fingers slightly to see what he was doing, visibly flinching as he knelt down beside her. "S-stay away!" Almost immediately after he finished speaking, she kicked the book straight into his face. She didn't even see the book, she just lashed out with her leg. A kick from her frail frame probably wouldn't hurt, but the fact she kicked the book into his sore nose just might. And the follow up of her kick added to the miserly by collecting his nose too, effectively sandwiching the book and kick together. If on purpose, it would've been a marvelous kick.

She tried to scurry further back but instead got tangled up in the rope and glared at him through teary eyes, which just for a moment had a twinge of fear in them. Genuine fear. Though it was gone as soon as Adelyn realised what she had done, her glare intensifying.

"I-I don't need your vile pity or 'sympathy'. Why would I feel the need to talk to you, or anyone else? I don't want or need your help. So go away!" The last part was ironic as she now struggled with the rope she had ended up in, tangling herself even further.

Huh? How had she gotten it knotted around both her legs? Who the hell left this much rope lying around anyway? She must've been better tied than the bloody cannons at this point. She was going to throw them overboard for this, not without giving them a piece of her mind first. "I-I got it, stay back. Or I'll castrate you." Whether or not he made a move to help her, she made the threat, squirming all the while. As the comical event continued to unfold, it eventually reached the point where she could barely move and slumped onto her side. Still squirming to try and get out.

Going silent for a moment, she spoke out with a sigh almost as heavy as she was reluctant. "...Ok maybe I need your help with the rope."

---

Guild Airship, Top Deck
Banksia Skyline Route # 14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus

---

Lazulin tapped his fingers against his chin in thought as Mona explained the issue with the machine, and what would be needed to fix it. The sigils that encircled his eyes expanded as he looked around, trying to find something that matched the swirls of magical energy that surrounded the vessel. It was a very muddy coloration, though he figured that had more to do with his inability to read the magic properly rather than any true aspect of the storm itself(a feeling that was soon confirmed by Jamaerah through their more emphatic bond). Whatever the case, it didn't give him much to go off of when trying to find a similar source of energy on the ship, as everything seemed to blend together, covered by the haze of muddied blue grays due to the storm being able to pass through the flimsy remains of the barrier they were trying to fix.

As his gaze turned back to the machine in question, he considered giving it a good ol' whack or two. He'd often seen Mona and Zeke do the same for their projects. . . with admittedly mixed results. Yeah, probably best to not do that if Mona wasn't. In which case, what could anyone present due to save the current situation? As he pondered this thought, Laz happened to glance at Sania and noted something interesting. He couldn't see their magic, at least, he couldn't see it well. It was mixing in too well with the surrounding ethereal runoff from the storm, which likely explained why he hadn't noticed her charging up her magic before.

And just might be what we need to get the weather-blocking thing working again! Laz thought with a grin, puffing up his chest as he turned around and started to speak.

"Let's have Sania do it. Charge the lacrima, I mean. Her magic seems to match the energy of this storm near perfectly and if she needs more, I'm sure we can figure some way to charge her back up. maybe Alex has a potion or two next to all of his beers." Laz spoke with both of his hands on his hips, trying his best to look authoritative while his hair whipped around in the wind and his body shivered involuntarily every so often. It was fuckin' freezing, and that's not even including the chill he was still trying to shake off from Sania freezing his lower half just a little while ago. Hopefully, his idea would get the weather doo-hickey working again because he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to stand this cold.

[Redacted]

---

---

---

---

And just his luck, someone has just called for his assistance. Zeke's head corked a full 180 degrees to see Mona, along with Sania and Lazulin, trying to fix what appears to be the atmospheric disruptor. It's already making some truly sickening sounds as it struggles to work, with smoke bellowing from it in pure strain. This isn't good. This is definitely not good at all. Yet it's not impossible to fix, as Zeke has fixed it before in the past. Not wasting anytime, or any breath, he quickly ran over to the group, despite the winds and the slippery floor almost putting him off balance.

"Oi, what seems to be the problem?" he asks as he takes out his tools that he nearly always has with him onboard.

Mona was quick to explain the situation.

“Me best bet is that the convergence lacrima is damaged or out of juice. Either way, she’s got no power. I have a replacement Lacrima here, but it needs to be charged with energy signatures similar to the Storm. Unfortunately we’re caught in the middle of a real beauty. Trying to charge the bugger in the middle of this bad boy of a storm is a suicide mission.”

Zeke immediately begins to inspect the mechanism as he follows the smoke trails and listens for where the struggling is coming from. As he takes a peak inside, igniting his mini flashlight, he can hear Laz begin to explain his plan regarding this situation.

"Let's have Sania do it. Charge the lacrima, I mean. Her magic seems to match the energy of this storm near perfectly and if she needs more, I'm sure we can figure some way to charge her back up. maybe Alex has a potion or two next to all of his beers."

However, just after he finished, Zeke suddenly sees something shiny stuck between two rotary gears. It appears to be a copper bolt of some kind, a very small one at that, that must've fallen off either due to it being too loose. He couldn't remember the last time someone checked it, but it definitely wasn't him. He quickly peers up and waves everyone of the problem.

"Hol' a minute guys!" he calls out as he glances at the others, "That's a good idea an' all, but I think I found tha problem."

He gestures them to come and take a look as he brings light to the problem.

"Found a copper screw stuck between the main two gears that charge up the magnetic forces. I dunno who last did a maintenance check and all, but someone must'a screwed it on a lil' too loose and it fell outta an onto tha' gears. Maybe someone even kicked it too hard an' it fell. I say once it's out, I reckon this thing will start workin' again, so stop tha engine and let's carefully remove it. If that don't work though, we'll go with the ole' one, two, three with the new lacrima."

Another streak of lightning set the sky ablaze, giving Mona a quick glimpse of her comrade’s faces. Sania was worrying as she usually did, but still eager to be of any help. Ezekiel’s face was calm, eyes locked on the contraption with the focus of a true artisan. Lazulin’s eyes radiated magic power, glowing in a most eerie fashion that persisted even once the rest of him had faded back into the shadows of night. The deafening crash followed soon after, shaking Mona to the core. Her heart thumped rapidly, sensing the ever growing intensity of the storm closing in on them.

“Let's have Sania do it. Charge the lacrima, I mean. Her magic seems to match the energy of this storm near perfectly-“ Mona didn’t catch the rest of Lazulin’s plan, a gale of fierce winds whistling in her ears. What she did hear sounded promising.

“Laz, you legend! What an idea!” Mona began to praise her friend, but was interrupted by Ezekiel who had seemed to come across some revelation when examining the machine.
“That's a good idea an' all, but I think I found tha problem.” Ezekiel explained the issue, revealing it to be a lot simpler than Mona had expected. Sure did make her feel dumb that she couldn’t notice an out of place screw. She knelt down beside the disruptor and sure enough, lodged between the main gears, was the aforementioned copper screw.

Mona cursed like a sailor, though her vulgarity was cut off by another clap of thunder. Reaching in to the machine, she gave the bugger a little twist and yanked it with a frustrated grunt. The atmospheric disrupter sputtered and coughed like a dying animal before whirring back to life with a soft purr. Standing up, Mona couldn’t contain her excitement at the prospect of not being torn to pieces by a vicious wet season storm. She gave Ezekiel a big squeeze and then a friendly punch in the arm.

“Bloody hells! Wish you’d shown up sooner, gear-brain.” She jaunted, giving a polite nod to the three of them for their assistance. After a few moments of running, the disruptor shot a beam of energy up into the sky. It soared above the ships mast a few feet before dispersing; cascading around the ship in a perfect sphere of tessellating blue hexagons. When the sphere connected underneath the ship, it flashed a bright white before fading away. Mona removed her hood and held out her arms. She couldn’t feel a single drop fall onto her. She saw another bright flash of lightning scar the night sky, but there was no thunder to be heard.

One of the other crew members approached the group. He was a brute of a man, his size rivalling that of Captain Ragnars. He wore a fur pelt around his waist with a pair of scimitars holstered to his hips. His exposed body was covered head to toe in orange fur with black stripes and his face was more feline than human. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye, but the intense gaze from his glowing, yellow eye was enough to send a shiver down your spine.

“’bout time ya worthless knaves did something right. Was beginning to question if yer was even worth ya salt, I was. Get to the barracks, now. Cap’n’s orders.” And with that, Silver Claw headed off in the opposite direction; no doubt to gather up anyone else not present for Captain Ragnar’s address.
“S’pose we better head down there. I don’t want to end up on Silver Claw’s shit list.” Mona suggested. She wasn’t one to back down, but Silver’s reputation as an elite Cloud Chaser and horrifically brutal fighter was known to all across the Free Skies. Definitely someone you would want to have on your side.

---

---

Down in the barracks, Captain Ragnar watched as the last few crew members made their way into the room and crammed themselves in like sardines. Silver Claw arrived shortly after the last stragglers, giving him the signal that everyone was present. Slowly, he rose from his seat and cleared his throat.

“Chasers,” he began, his voice deep and powerful in such a way that demanded other’s attention. “The Librarium are preparing to send another shipment of food into the city-state of Keter. Food they have stolen from the good people of Pandora!” He pounded his fist into the table, sending a few empty pints toppling over.

“It sickens me to the core, thinking of those indulgent nobles stuffing their faces at their pompous parties while those who work day and night to feed their gluttony starve!” His words were met with a few outbursts from the crowd.
“Death to the Librarium!”
“I’ll rip their guts out!” He rose a single hand, restoring silence.
“That food belongs to the people! It comes down to us, protectors of the Free Skies, to take back what is rightfully theirs. Crow’s sources have informed us that the food is being transported via freight train along the Banskie Skyline, route fourteen. When it reaches Suphlatus, it will be transferred to one of Keter’s direct lines. Those trains are far too fast for the Chaser to keep up with and are heavily guarded to boot. Our best chance is to intercept the cargo before it reaches Suphlatus.”

Murmers began to rise among the crowd, the faces of sky pirates lighting up with eager, toothy grins. One young lass rose her make-shift prosthetic arm into the air.
“We’re pullin’ off a heist ya mangy currs!” She roared, and the room lit up again with cheers and merry shanties. The captain joined his crew in the uproar, smashing back another pile of ale while he slung an arm around a drunken Alex. His voice cut through the riot, silencing the rowdy lot.

“These Skies belong to no man! We’ll make sure the Librarium remembers that when we hit ‘em where it hurts tomorrow!” He rose another pint, watching as the crew followed suit with their own drinks. They drank together, sharing this moment and relishing in what it truly meant to be a Sky Pirate. When the crew began to settle, Ragnar sat down and began to move around various pawns on his sky map.

“We’ll be splitting into three squads. Team one will be responsible for infiltrating the Sky Train via gliders. You’ll need to get on board, take out any Knights and bring the train to a halt. Team two will be protecting team one’s approach with their own gliders, making sure they deal with any Librarium resistance. Finally, team three will be heading off tonight to Banskia Central Station. If this mission is to succeed, team three will need to infiltrate the control tower and shut down their comms. Team one and two can’t move out until we’re sure the Knights can’t call for reinforcements.”

There was a buzz of excitement in the air. It had been some time since the crew had undertaken an operation of this magnitude. Ragnar pulled out a last from under the map, beginning to read off the names of the various squads. First was team one,
“… Laz, Adelyn…”

Then the second,

“… Ezekiel, Amara, Silver Claw…”

And finally, the third team that was to depart tonight.

“… Huangdi, Mona and Sania.”

There were a few pirates disappointed that they weren’t being sent to Banskia Central. It was one of the finest stations among the Hierarchical Realms with the most expansive network of Sky Routes. But more interesting was the Banksia Bazaar, a marketplace teeming with black market dealings and wondrous treasures. What so many wouldn’t give to get a chance to trade at such a renowned network of merchants.

“The rest of you will stay behind and tend to the ship with me. Alex, you take a few into sick bay with ya and be ready to help the wounded. Team three, meet me in the landing docks in one hour.” And with that, Captain Ragnar stood up from the table and made his way through the crowd, returning to his chambers while the excitement of tomorrows mission still lingered in the air.

Around the ship, the storm raged. Inside the bowels of ship, the crew made merry. Raucous laughter in several echoed off the creaky wooded wall. The omni-present clank, smash and thump of mugs being placed, slammed or banged together formed a discordant chorus. Even on their best days, Amara found to crew of The Cloud Chaser, also wizards of the guild that bore the same name, to be an irritatingly rambunctious bunch. She had stashed herself in a corner of the room trying to find some privacy so she could focus on her studies, but there was no escaping the noise of some two dozen pirates drinking. Normally she would be outside, but with the storm raging and the atmospheric disrupter on the fritz (again) staying inside was marginally better. A pilfered lacrima-lantern swung on a hook above her, holding at bay the darkness and providing an unsteady light for her to read by. In front of her, laying open, was The Book.

The Book didn't look special. In fact it looked completely ordinary. It had the appearance of an unused shoddy old journal that one could buy for a handful of jewel. It had soft, brown leather bindings sandwiching off-white pages with the yellowish tinge of parchment that, when opened, were completely blank. But, as so often with magic, appearances were deceiving. For one thing the book was more than a century old, and yet looked like it was just made. Also, it was very durable. Fire couldn't touch it, even blades couldn't harm it. As far as she knew it couldn't be ripped, stained, soaked, or otherwise effaced. Writing in it was futile; the ink wouldn't transfer to the pages. It also faintly radiated magic to those who were sensitive to such things. However, it was still a book. or more accurately, a library. Hard coded into the blank pages was a vast amount of knowledge from centuries of wizards. But clearly the ones who had created The Book did not create it to be easy to read. It was more like the information had been *shoved* in, making it difficult to find anything useful. At best she could pick out a random 'book' and read it But less useful subjects like history, genealogy, and poetry were mixed in among books on summoning, magic, and fruit bats with seemingly no regard for order. It was frustrating. She had all this knowledge at her fingertips but yet it was near impossible to read it, much less understand it and put it into practice.

But she persevered. She had to. For herself.

But she was distracted from her studies were interrupted when, ironically, an unusual silence fell over the Barracks. Her subconscious picked up on this, drawing her out of the nearly trance-like state she fell in when reading the book. Amara suddenly became aware that Ragnar had been speaking and she had no idea for how long. Her head snapped up as she heard her name. "...Amara, Silver Claw...".

She found herself frowning as their Captain fished giving his orders. Storms! I missed most of what he said. She knew there was a mission coming up, and that she had a fair chance of being chose. That was why she didn't have any summons out, to conserve her strength. Normally she had one out at all time, as a form of practice. Oh well. I'll keep quiet and pay attention. I should be able to pick up on what I missed. She inserted the mental-magical equivalent of a bookmark, then shutting the magical tome and safely stowing it into a pocket. Said pocket was in the breast of a too-large greatcoat which she wore to ward off the weather and the cold. It was also useful as there, The Book would be safe from thieves. A guild they may be, but The Cloud Chasers were still pirates and some of them were of the unsavory sort. She pulled the coat tight, shivering despite herself. It was almost perpetually cold in the clouds, made worse by the storm that was currently blowing and the broken disruptor. However, the peals of thunder and winds sounded more muffled now. Did those incompetent engineers finally get that Storming machine to work again? Hopefully. Then the temperature would finally become more bearable.

Gathering herself up, she stood and glanced around. Her oversized greatcoat hung to the floor. Various members of the guild were milling about, a hundred voices becoming an incoherent buzz. Roshar had mentioned Silver Claw after her name, so he was the man she was, reluctantly, looking for. Claw had a reputation as fearsome as his appearance. Amara didn't know any details, but the other guildmembers treated him with awe and reverence, born of fear. He intimidated everyone and no one wanted to cross Claw. Amara had avoided him too, but she avoided everyone so she knew nearly nothing about him. Nor, however, was she intimated. She spotted him quickly, for his appearance and his height made him stand out.

He was also looking straight at her. She suppressed a shiver, instead putting on a blank, bored look with just a touch of haughty confidence.

With her expression in place, she sidled around the edge of the room, then cutting through the crowd of pirates to stand an arm's length from Claw. She found it irritating that, even at that distance she had to tilt her head way up to look him in the eye. She gave him a small smile she didn't feel and said "Evening." She said quietly with a nod. She reminded herself that she refused to be intimidated, even if he probably was as large as two of her combined. Then she shoved her hands in her pockets and stood there quietly, not inclined to initiate more conversation then necessary.

She still had yet to find out what the hell was going on.

@Leslie Hall @Lmpkio

Yup, that was a book in his already hurting nose alright. It certainly hurt like hell, like his nose already was aching and a kick from her dainty legs would do jack shit against him, but the book just made it worse. Oh yeah, shit. He forgot that she had an aversion to close contact with people for, well, obvious reasons. But man, he had to commend her for the timing on that kick; if it was on purpose then she may have some talent for martial arts and if not, her luck is pretty incredible. He mused on that thought as he stood up and made some space for the lass, bowing his head in apology though he could feel her gaze burning into his skull. Yup, she was completely pissed off. "Well if you don't need anything else from me, then I won't make myself more a bother then." She had made it a point that she did not want his help and who was he to not oblige even when she looked like a fish caught in a net?

Well, he was going to leave, but Adelyn finally understood that she was not exactly in a situation where she could tell him that she did not need his help. At least she was going to let him help without the threat of castration, like she could anyway."Alright, let's get you out of this mess." It really did take all of his strength to not break into laughing; he had never seen anyone do that to themselves before and really, it was a sight to behold. He knelt down and began to process of getting her out of her bind until all the ropes were all laying around on the ground. "I'll keep this between us. No need to give you a harder time."

Oh boy, even through this violent he could hear the captain's mighty voice. It looked like there was something going and on they were missing it. Hopefully he would not get an earful for being late, again."Alright, let's get going. Whatever it is, we should not miss it."Huangdi said with a far more sterner tone than he had been using previously. Adelyn was apart of this crew, not a guest, so she had to come along and take part in whatever Ragnar was going on about, unless the man was drunk again. In that case he should get her away from him as quickly as possible.

He made sure that Adelyn stuck close by to him when they had arrived back into the barracks for the meeting and...god fucking dammit. They just had to arrive at the point where they were decrying the nobles of Keter, the place that Adelyn used to live. He glanced down to her and said, "Hold your tongue Adelyn. You'll have your chance later." Right now, they just had to listen to what the mission was and what a mission it will be! When was the last time that they had pulled a daring stunt like this? If it was not for the fact that he had a Adelyn right next to him he would have shown his excitement too though with all that had happened with her and the crew's declarations, it really would have been in poor taste.

Of course Laz would be taking part of this mission. He was excellent at gliding and he certainly had a knack for fighting if things get down to it though he hoped that his student could just keep it as a stealth mission for as long as possible. However, as soon as he heard that Adelyn was to work with Laz, Huangdi nearly yelled out in objection though he knew trying to convince Ragnar would have been a useless effort and there must have been a reason for this decision. Still, perhaps he could speak to him when he meets him in an hour's time.

For now, he should at least meet with Sania and Mona though he couldn't just leave Adelyn there. "Hey Adelyn, I'm going to meet up with Sania and Mona. Want to come with?" Really, he hoped that she would say yes so that she would be able to take her mind off the things that been said rather than letting it stew silently by herself. With or without her, he went over to his two teammates for the mission and flashed a grin. "Hey, Mona, Sania. I see you guys got the disruptor working again!"

@Leslie Hall@Lunarlord34@Inkarnate

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Guild Airship, Top Deck
Banksia Skyline Route # 14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus

---

"Really? Just a misplaced screw took the entire thing out of wack?" Laz squinted at the mechanic with arms crossed, a bit disbelieving that the issue to the situation was so simple. But, lo and behold, with a more than a few wind-snatched curses and tinkering, Mona had the thing sputtering back to life. And here he thought mechanic work was supposed to be hard. I guess I just need to be more attentive next time something is broken. I bet that would impress Mona a lot if I managed to fix something next time it breaks."

Before he could comment on his plan to Sania, who he was certain would love the idea, the lot of them were suddenly called down into the bowels of the Chaser by one of their fellow Chaser's, the infamous Silver claw. He was one of the strongest members onboard, wielding the type of power that even Huangdi couldn't deal with. He was a man to be respected as much as he was feared, and as such, he responded in the only way that was befitting.

"Why don't you say that to my face, ya fat-cat bastard!" Laz shouted after the lumbering mountain of a man, making a rather rude gesture at his retreating figure as he muttered more obscenities under his breath, before turning to Mona. "I ain't afraid of that cat-faced asshole. I don't care how tough everyone says he is, I could take him. . . _eventually Lobbing a wad of spit onto the ground beside him, Laz walked forward with chest puffed out as he fiddled with the bandages around his covered eye which had become a little loose due to the harsh winds and rain. His uncovered eye, meanwhile, took some 'subtle' glances in Mona's direction as he did so, as if to make sure she had caught all of his little declaration.

That was cool, right? Or do I just look dumb. . . no, doesn't matter if it does. Remember what Hunagdi always says, have confidence and don't hesitate. not for anything."

---

Laz joined the rest of the crew in their riotous cheering as he the captain confirmed that they were going on a Heist, the tingling of adrenaline dancing across his spine as wondered how many Librarium stooges he'd get to beat downon this mission. He settled back down as the captain spoke up again smilie on his face only growing as he went on. . . only to immediately fall flat as teams were announced. Welp, this is going to end terribly. How am I supposed to sneak in when the bitch queen's complaining and sinsults tips off the Librarium before we even get on board. A groan left his body in a huff as he could already feel the headache starting in the base of his skull. Now he'd have to not only worry about making sure none of the Libraium fucks alert the ship, but also keeping Madame sass a lot safe while she threatens him for doing it. he considered saying something about it to the captain, but thought better of it after a moment. The captain knew what he was doing, and it wasn't his place to question him. Besides, who knows, it might not even be that bad.

A part of Laz almost believed that, while the rest cursed the fact that they couldn't steal a mug of ale to ease the coming headache that would be dealing with adelynn and her mouth.

Gah, this was beyond embarrassing. How did she even get herself tangled up like this? She couldn't even look up at Huangdi as he knelt down to untie her, the shame was too much. She was a little buoyed at the fact he said he wouldn't mention this, but still...
Once the ropes were removed, her hands rubbing where they had been subconsciously, she shifted away from Huangdi as much as she could before smacking into the wall. Ow. She didn't show the slight pain of smacking into the wall, but she definitely felt it. Though this was also when she heard the Captain's loud, booming voice. Jesus, the man was a walking broadcasting lacrima. She could almost hear him clearly from here on the gundeck.

When Huangdi spoke, she looked up at him and was about to make a retort. But his tone and look gave her the impression it was perhaps unwise to. Tch, fine. "Whatever. It's probably just him finally telling them to settle down.", she didn't care either way but if it was important she might as well go. I mean, she would be lying if she wasn't a little curious as to what the possible ruckus might be. It didn't take long as one would expect, they were essentially going down a deck or two to reach their designation. She just hoped it wasn't a waste of time, this was eating into her reading right now and she didn't appreciate it. Entering behind Huangdi, she almost instantly scrunched up her face and covered her nose. They really needed a bath onboard at least, this was just plain disgusting the combined stench. Dear Juno, it was like the entire crew had been shoved into this postage stamp of a deck like sardines. That just meant more, smelly, sweaty drunken bodies. Wonderful.

Maybe if she just blew a hole in the side of the ship and let some rain in? She knew that was outrageously stupid, but it was tempting all the same. What was worse, putting up with these smelly pigs or the storm outside? She hadn't quite decided, but luckily her mind was bought back to the present before she made any such rash moves by outbursts from the crowd. To describe her expression in one word was simple from here on out; livid. Absolutely, positively livid. There might well as have been steam raising from her ears, and if it wasn't for Huangdi she might've said or done something there and then. But if she tried, she knew he would stop her. But it would only delay the inevitable, surely even he knew that.

While the rest of the crew seemed to grow more lively as Ragnar spoke, she instead stayed dead quiet. Her nails dug into her palm, her tightly clenched fists slowly turning even more pale than usual. They had to be joking. Well, if they wished to be no more than moronic savages with brains the sizes of quarks that was their choice. But she was soon reaching meltdown, hearing that she was she apparently participating reached that point. The fact that she had to work together with the most vulgar, brain dead savage of the lot? That tipped her over it. At Huangdi's offer, she simply brushed him off and gave him the coldest of shoulders without so much a look in his direction let alone a response. He couldn't see her face, but if he could he would've known exactly what was about to happen.

Stepping up onto a table, a book materialised in her hand as she drew her arm back. And it wasn't just any book, it was a hardcover encyclopedia almost as thick as Adelyn was spiteful. Almost, but not quite. With one swift movement, she flung the book straight into the back of Ragnar's head. The connection it made with the Captain's head made the most satisfying thud one would ever hear, a second thud soon after as it cluttered onto the wooden deck.
"...I thought you lot were about as intelligent as a flea, combined, but you seem to have failed to reach that bar. It's amazing really. Amazingly pathetic." Her voice came out in a low growl as she stood up straight. "I'll tell you what 'sickens me to the core'? You lot's choice of vocabulary. I've heard a wider, more extensive choice from an infant. I would suggest reading a dictionary, but it would surprise me if you even knew what one was. Or if you even knew any words longer than 7 letters. Like you," Pointing down into the crowd, she narrowed her eyes into slits "Did your mother procreate with a horse, or are you just naturally as ugly as the backside of a stallion? And you," Pointing into the crowd again "Do you know how to not speak like some sort of drunken thug? Probably not, seeing as you amount to little no more than just that." Finally levelling her sharp gaze back at the Captain, these next words were the bluntest and direct.

"And you disgust me the most. You think you can just drag Keter's name through the mud and expect me to just go along with this? Let alone work with that vulgar, brain dead savage? I would rather eat casu marzu than spend even five seconds of my time with him. You're even more brainless than a planarian. What on earth were they thinking, betraying everything they knew, the Librarium, their own family for uncultured swine like you." She had had enough of this. They could all go get dropped into a meat grinder for all she cared. Stepping down, she shoved anyone who tried to get in her way in the chest. And if that didn't deter them? Well, a arrow made from holy magic would sort them out rather quickly. She just wanted-no, needed space. She would take her chances with the top deck rather than down here. Quickly ascending to the top of their rickety ship, anyone who had either the lack of intelligence or simply just plain old bravery to follow her would probably also earn themselves a Divine Arrow to the chest. Or face, she wouldn't spare even a moment of her time to actually aim. She didn't care enough to. Nor did she know what to do once she had actually reached the top deck. She had ceased all active thinking since she had returned to the barracks, her fists tightly clenched as she went to kick a barrel over letting out a cry that was a mixture of frustration and anger. And a little bit of pain, seeing as the barrel was filled with water and barely budged from her kick.