[quote=@Bingelly]
...

“Do you have faith this plan will work, Captain?" Mitunbaal asked as she caught up from him from behind. She recalled him being more neutral during the meetings after take off, and the old captain was older than anyone short of the Elgan aboard. He was more neutral than she had been at the very least. "This could see us shot, even if the opportunists among us, god willing, resist their baser urges to steal some of the gold.”

[/quote]

"Madame," Arkadios inclined his head politely to Mitunbaal, though he didn't immediately answer the question, apparently taking a few moment to consider the thought, "Well, young Miss Spyrou promised them a cut so one can't really begrudge it to them.  I would rather move the whole lot back to friendly territory but if Miss Spyrou hadn't revealed this location -" he gave a nonchalant shrug, "-we would have proceeded to Grendell without ever visiting here and were she not to have promised some money it is likely people who are essential to the running of this ship might not have agreed to make the journey.  So I supposed whatever amount makes it back to the Empire is better than none.  And I would assume it will be the vast majority."

"It is not an ideal situation," he added after another pause, stopping to stare thoughtfully back at the river, "But it is the one we find outselves in.  And we are making the best we can from it."

[hr]

[i][b]The morning after next...[/b][/i]

As dawn approached and people started to head back towards the now, fairly well depleted gold reserve, anyone on the top of the balloon might happen to see shapes silhouetted against a nearby ridgeline.  Moving shapes.  Training a telescope would reveal the shapes as horsemen.  They would definitely have seen the ship.  The ridge was a little over a mile away.  20 minutes or so at a brisk walk.