Chapter 7: Indomitable

Previously in Chapter 6: Dalan and company arrived at Port Saif to find that battle already raged between the Centran landing forces and the Al-Mahid military. Picking their way through the battle in search of Murad, they were engaged by an enraged Bah'rati, who attacked Artemis, calling him a traitor in reference to some event in their past. After the battle subsided, Dalan found Murad and informed him about the Elvaan invasion. After saying goodbye to his former caretaker, Nana, Dalan Rejoined Artemis, Tobias, Jonathan and Murad's group, which began its long journey to Akhmet to avert two invasions: one by the Centrans and the far more dangerous threat of the Elvaan.


Chapter 7: Indomitable

“Hey, little Centran boy! C'mere! I'll cut you up real good,” A voice muttered amidst other groans and voices in the darkness. Although Dalan could barely see his face through the sparse light which filtered through the small barred windows of the jail cells lining the walls on either side of them , he could tell that Jonathan was almost paralyzed with fear. Dalan nodded at the young boy reassuringly.
“Don't worry, we aren't freeing them as well.” Dalan looked further down the hallway, where he could make out the figures of Artemis and Tobias. “Tobias, have you found them yet?” He shouted over the grumbling prisoners who muttered curses and occasionally reached out of their cells, grabbing at Dalan as he walked by.
“Not yet,” A voice echoed back. “Marina, Feliz?”
“Son?” Dalan heard a female shout, her voice raspy from thirst. He ran over to Tobias who was standing, his hands pressed against the bars of a cell. Inside sat a Roma woman in rags with thick dark neck length hair, her face smudged with dirt. Next to her sat a disheveled looking man, a gash running diagonally across the left side of his face.
“mare!” Tobias shouted. “Dalan, thats them!” Dalan pulled out a key ring, trying several on the lock until one fit. I hope the guards don't mind that we borrowed these.
“You know, when the guards wake up, I'm sure they wont appreciate you sticking poison tipped darts into them... or borrowing their keys for that matter,” Artemis quipped, as if anticipating Dalan's thoughts. Dalan shrugged, opening the cell.
“Well, after Tobias stuck Guilder Bah'rati with one, I figured that I couldn't let him have all of the fun,” Dalan replied. Tobias ran into the cell, embracing both the man and woman who were now standing.
“Tobias, what are you doing here?” The man asked. “Didn't we tell you to leave the city! It is a wonder you weren't caught as well! I heard the guards speaking of war, is it true? And who are these people?”
“Don't worry, pare, they are friends,” Tobias said. “I would make introductions, but I think time is running out. What they said about war was true. The Centrans are on their way to the city as we speak,” Dalan nodded silently, admiring the Centran strategy. On the long trek back to the capital, Artemis and Murad had discussed the strategy of the Centran invasion. The Centrans would certainly have lost against the full might of the Al-Mahid forces. So they used the port attack to spread the Al-Mahid defense... and pushed the attack from the north. The exact opposite of what we expected them to do. And indeed, it seemed to have been effective. When Dalan had arrived at the capital, Al-Mahid archers were rushing along the parapets, prepared to defend the city and he could already hear the sounds of battle to the north.
“You three need to get out of here,” Artemis said, turning to Tobias and his parents. “Head due west into Agar, then find a porter and get to Port Albert. You all look Centran. You can start a new life there,”
“But we have no money! Not anymore. Even if we got to Agar, we would be beggars,” Tobias' father explained. Dalan untied the brown sack which hung at his belt, removed a handful of coins, then closed it and tossed it to Tobias.
“Here. That should be more than enough to last you,” He said, pocketing the handful of coins.
“We can't accept this. Why are you doing this for us?” Tobias' mother said, baffled.
“Yeah, you can. Your son and I worked together. Its the least I owe him as a friend,” Dalan said, shrugging. “Take it or leave it. I don't need it. Even if Akhmet falls, I have money in other places,”
“Umm,” Artemis said. “Hate to break this up, but shouldn't we check on Murad, see how the plan is holding up?”
“Yeah, I guess that is true,” Dalan said, turning to Tobias. “Good luck, all of you. We'll try to take care of things on this side,” Tobias turned and hugged his parents, handing his father the coin pouch and walking over to Dalan.
“I'm going with you,” Tobias said.
“What!?” Tobias' parents shouted.
“The Elvaan... they are planning to invade. If they aren't stopped, then nowhere will be safe... for any of us. They are going to try to stop this. I want to help,”
“No! Absolutely not!” His mother cried out.
“Mare!” Tobias shouted. Dalan started and looked at Tobias in awe. He had never heard Tobias raise his voice before. “What good would it do to go with you if we all weren't safe! Only these people and a few others know about the invasion. With the help of Murad's unit, we are preparing for the attack. At the very least, it will buy you enough time to escape. It may even save Akhmet!” Tobias' mother continued to weep. His father looked up at him sadly.
“Are you... sure that this is what you want to do?” He said.
“I wouldn't forgive myself if I did anything else,” Tobias stammered. Tobias' mother looked at her son in silence for what seemed like almost a minute, then caught him in a tight embrace.
“Don't die, Tay,” She managed, though her body was wracked with sobs. His father walked up and caught both of them in a tight embrace. He was laughing, but tears were streaming down his eyes.
“How you have grown, son. You make me proud. I'll take care of your mother, just take care of yourself out there. We will be waiting for you in Port Albert. Just...” Tobias' father's voice trailed off as he held his son in a tight embrace. For what might be the last time. Dalan thought, but he quickly dismissed that thought from his head. The fight ahead did not look promising, but thinking like that wouldn't help anything. Dalan turned around and walked slowly back down the hall.

. . .

“So, what is taking them so long?” Artemis asked, turning to Dalan, who stood with his back against the sandstone building, flipping a coin into the air and catching it effortlessly.
“I think Jonathan is in there tending to Tobias' parents' wounds,” Dalan said, looking at the almost deserted city. Many of the citizens had probably either taken their money and fled the country, or were holed up in their houses in fear.
“I already dressed their wounds. We should be trying to find Murad to see how the battle is going,” Artemis said, tapping his foot in the sand, kicking up small dust clouds into the wind.
“This could be the last time they see each other!” Dalan bellowed. “If you don't respect anything or anyone else, at least respect the fact that they could die!” Artemis laughed.
“Everyone dies.” He said, sighing and looking up at the soldiers rushing around the tops of the city walls shouting orders. “You know, if they skipped all of this sentimental merde and just went their separate ways, it would be a lot easier for all of them. They might even see each other again. All of that crying doesn't help,” Dalan began to open his mouth, but was interrupted by the groan of metal as the large prison door opened slowly. Jonathan, Tobias and Tobias' parents stepped out, the latter three looking weary and dejected. The three family members embraced one last time and exchanged goodbyes before Tobias' parents walked away. Dalan noticed that as Tobias' parents left, his mother could not stop turning around to get a tear-filled glance at her son.
“Well, I guess its time,” Dalan almost whispered. Tobias was staring intently down at the ground, his body shaking slightly. Dalan put a firm arm around his shoulder. “C'mon, kid. They will be fine. It's up to you to get through this. Are you still ready to do this?” Dalan asked. Tobias nodded, wiping the tears off of his cheek.

. . .

“Kussa! Where is Murad!?” Dalan shouted, sprinting up to a man in the standard issue sand-brown desert combat fatigues characteristic of the Akhmet Border Mercenaries. Damn, they already made it this far? He thought as he looked up at the Centran invasion force pouring over the dunes not two miles away. The Al-Mahid force, while outnumbered by the onslaught, were using the desert to their advantage, archers using the dunes as high points to snipe the Centran forces from afar. A battalion which Dalan recognized as members of the Border Mercenaries had lured a detachment of Centran soldiers into an ambush amidst the ruins of a decrepit building.
The man pointed a few feet away to a group of men clustered around a tent, observing the battle.
“Although I don't know what in Sharah's name he has planned. Have you heard his orders? He must have gone mad!” Murad had a small telescope in his hands, observing the battle. Dalan nodded and began to walk over to the tent, Artemis, Tobias and Jonathan close behind. The plan. Dalan thought. Was to dedicate only half of the forces defending the capital to fighting the Centrans, using these to draw them out through the desert with hit and run warfare. At the very best, we can tire them down and prolong the war effort, saving the other half of the forces for the imminent Elvaan invasion. Although it was a long shot, Dalan could not think of a better option. Artemis had suggested that Murad should use the majority of the soldiers who had skill with a bow for defense of the city. Although Dalan noticed that this would be a reasonable way to repel the advancing Centrans, he knew that the main reason was to repel the Elvaan army from a distance. He remembered what Artemis had said on the way to the capital and it sent shivers down his spine. He said that there is no way that our armies would stand a chance in an all out offensive. The thought that the two strongest armies in Hume territory could lose such a match was a preposterous thought to him. But I doubt the Centrans and Al-Mahid would be able to organize a joint defense effectively anyways. It seemed as though they were to be caught unawares and crushed before they even knew what happened. The only hope was if the battle subsided for a moment so that Murad could deliver news of the looming Elvaan assault to the Centrans. And even then, who would believe him?
“Dalan!” Murad said, turning around. “Back from your business in the city, I see. I assume everything went well?” Dalan nodded. Lourrdes and Mustafa stood not too far away, their eyes riveted to the battlefield.
“The kid's parents are going to head for Port Albert. If they need to, they can flee to the Sung isles from there. How is the battle going?”
“Very well, I think,” Murad said. “These Centrans aren't used to fighting in the desert. Their forces are pretty much all trained for close range combat, so we can easily keep a good distance from them. Looks like they are wearing linens as well... At this rate, if the heat of the sun doesn't stop them in their tracks, then the cold of the night will. My question is, no offense, when are these Elvaan supposed to show up? We can keep this up for a while, but in the long run, it will cost more lives than just drawing the Centrans close to the city and finishing them off with our archers.”
“I don't know. Hours, days. Just trust me on this one. The alternative is being caught unawares by a superior attack force,” Dalan said.
“I don't know how long we can do this,” Murad said, shaking his head. “Since I trust you, I'll give it a couple of days. After that, I'll proceed as I originally planned,” Dalan nodded.
“I understand. Whatever you do, be careful, though,” Dalan replied.
“What in Sharah's name is that?” a man standing next to Murad shouted, his voice choked with fear. “Boss, take a look!” Murad took the crude telescope and looked up at the sky to the east, where the man had pointed.
“An airship!?” Artemis shouted, looking at the large lozenge shaped object fast approaching the battlefield.
“Airship?” Dalan said, recalling the airborne vessels mentioned during his stay in Amaurea.
“Is it the Elvaan?” Murad asked, his brow wrinkled in grim determination.
“No, that definitely doesn't look like anything that the Elvaan Skyfleet would send. Its... well... its wooden,” Artemis said, a combination of disgust and amusement on his face. “Unless the Elvaan are mocking you and sending an old relic to deal with you, I don't know what to say,”
“Look!” Tobias shouted. the airship hovered over the battlefield and blasts of fire and smoke issued from the sides of what looked like a large sailing craft, which, instead of sails, was attached to a large elongated balloon. Eruptions of sand issued from the battlefield, flinging soldiers off of their feet. The Centran soldiers began to charge forward.
“Something is wrong,” Murad said. “That 'airship'. It is only attacking our forces,”
“Its Centran?” Dalan asked. “How did they build that?”
“Probably found and rebuilt it. There is a lot of lost technology from the Elvaan occupation a couple hundred years ago.” Artemis replied, shrugging. “That, or they strapped a huge balloon to a schooner,”
“Lourrdes!” Murad shouted, turning to his bodyguard. “Signal the men to withdraw!” Lourrdes nodded to another person who waved a large blue flag, waving it in the air. The airship approached the group quickly, its massive figure casting a shadow across the desert.
“What are we going to do?” Tobias asked.
“Looks like we are going to have to abandon the city,” Artemis said, sighing. “I would tell you to mount a defense with fire-arrows, but that would take to long to prepare. “summon all of your archers down from the walls. We are going to need some cover-fire to make a break for it,”
“You are kidding right?” Murad said. “You of all people can't even pull us out of this one? And what about the Elvaan?”
“That is exactly why we should pull out. We can fall back to Asyef and regroup. If we try to stand our ground, we will be wiped out by that airship. I'd hate to think of what would happen if the Elvaan showed up.” Artemis responded. Murad looked at the advancing craft which loomed overhead and his retreating soldiers, the back at Artemis and then to Dalan. I don't have any ideas, do what the kid said. Dalan thought. Murad pursed his lips, turned to the man with the blue flag and nodded.
“Do it! That thing is right over us!” Murad said. The man set down the red flag, turned to the city walls and picked up a yellow one, waving it in the air. A few shouts issued from the wall and a bustle of activity occurred as the archers began to run along the rooftops. Dalan looked up in surprise as a large patch of shade covered the sand in which he was standing.
“Umm guys, I think we have a problem,” Artemis muttered, drawing his knife. Why are they hovering above us instead of attacking? Dalan wondered. As he looked up, the airship changed its position, bringing its starboard side to bear on Akhmet's capital's sandstone city walls. No... Dalan thought. A series of deafening vibrations rippled through the air as the airship's cannons fired. The sounds of metal ripping through stone echoed across the battlefield as large chunks of the city's fortification were forcefully torn from the walls. Soldiers were blasted off of the parapets from the shockwave of the simultaneous impacts.
“Dalan, on guard!” Murad shouted, drawing his scimitar. Dalan unsheathed his sword as he noticed at least twenty ropes swinging down from the airship hovering above. Centran soldiers slid down from them, their swords drawn and at the ready.
“Jonathan, stay close! Tobias!” Dalan shouted.
“Hmph!” Tobias grunted, nodding and drawing his knife. Murad's body swayed in a rhythmic dancefighting stance, his scimitar gripped tightly in his right hand. Lourrdes and Mustafa stood on either side of him, holding their swords diagonally in defensive position. Dalan surveyed the cautiously advancing circle of Centran soldiers. I count twenty of them... There are ten of us. Dalan pursed his lips, holding his sword lightly out in front of his body, the tip of it pointing at the nearest assailant. The retreating Al-Mahid archers were drawing closer, but it was clear that they would not reach the group in time. My kind of odds. Dalan thought as he charged one of the soldiers, slashing his sword swiftly at his neck. Crimson blood splashed onto the sand as the soldier fell to the ground. Dalan looked to his left and saw another approach him, swinging his sword. Dalan sidestepped the attack, pivoting lightly and dragging his sword across the soldier's chest, cutting through chain mail and leaving a red gash in his side.
“Behind you!” Artemis' voice shouted and Dalan ducked, barely dodging a blade that whistled not an inch over his head. The soldier stepped in and followed with a downward slash, which Dalan pivoted out of the way of. When he turned around, he felt the hair raise on his back as a stream of energy erupted from Artemis' hand, knocking the soldier off of his feet. Dalan turned to see Murad, Lourrdes and Mustafa engaging seven soldiers at a time. Murad slashed his blade at a Centran soldier's neck. The soldier brought his sword up to deflect the blow, but Murad's scimitar cleaved it in two, slicing through the soldier's neck as well. His head rolled off of his bloodied body, which slumped to the ground. Dalan turned around to see Tobias lying on the floor, a gash across his arm. A soldier with a sword which glinted brightly in the sun raised his weapon, as if to plunge it down on Tobias.
“No!” Jonathan screamed maniacally, gripping his wand and squeezing his eyes shut. “M-m-malus karmis!” he stammered. The man who stood over Tobias erupted in blue flames, letting out a yelp of surprise. The flames receded as quickly as they had appeared, but Dalan wasted no time, quickly whipping his sword through the air at the soldier's back. The man turned around and caught Dalan's blade on his own. Dalan lashed out with his fist, striking the man in the cheek. He stumbled back in pain, wiping blood off of his mouth in surprise.
“I've heard about you... you are Sir Aramis, the white knight... Guilder Alex's brother,” Dalan growled.
“And you... Dalan Hafid... The treasure hunter. I really wish we could have met under different circumstances” The knight quipped as he rushed Dalan, who barely sidestepped a downward slash, leaping back out of the range of a horizontal one that followed. Dalan stepped forward swiftly, jabbing his sword at the knight, who stepped back, batting the blow aside.
“That swordsmanship,” The knight grunted. “Amaurean?” The sky above them erupted in a cloud of red hot heat and smoke and both Dalan and his assailant were thrown to the ground by the force of an explosion above. Pieces of burning wood rained down upon the sand.
“What the hell was that!?” Dalan shouted, looking up. The airship above them began to maneuver and Dalan could see a large fiery hole in its side.
“Oh, merde,” Artemis said, standing up and brushing the sand off of himself. “Thats them,” Dalan looked to the north. Six airships!? He thought as he looked up. Three of them were closing quickly, their flanks turned toward the wooden Centran airship which had now turned around and was fleeing to the east. Unlike the airship possessed by the Centrans, these lacked the large balloon like attachment and seemed to be suspended in the air by nothing at all, leaving billows of smoke in its wake. Another one? Dalan thought as he looked in the direction that the Centran airship was fleeing. Another airship, smaller than the other six, was approaching as well. Bursts of red-orange flame zipped through the air, issuing from the cluster of six airships and striking the retreating Centran ship, which began to slowly lose altitude. Magicks? Dalan thought. Dalan noticed that the Centrans who they were previously engaging had their eyes riveted to the sky. The white-armored knight turned to Dalan.
“What is this!? They who?” He shouted.
“The Elvaan. Look, if we are going to get out of this alive, we're going to have to do this together,” Dalan said, looking around. There were twelve Centran soldiers remaining, along with a handful of Al-Mahid soldiers under Murad's command. Ropes dropped from the three airships, which were no more than ten meters away from where Dalan stood and elves clothed in light brown robes, lined with brown leather rappelled down into the sand. More than I can count... Dalan thought. Not good.
“Dalan!” Artemis shouted. “Crossbow!”
“Gotcha,” Dalan said, sheathing his sword and drawing his crossbow, resting it against his side. He remembered hearing during his stay in Amaurea that even Elvaan telekinetics couldn't block a projectile if it traveled quickly enough. And I guess Artemis thinks that this thing is fast enough. A large portion of the Elvaan soldiers began to glow a fiery red, rods extended in their outstretched hands.
“Umm, Artemis!” Dalan shouted.
“Shut up and shoot! I'll handle the rest!” Artemis replied. Dalan squeezed the trigger, releasing a storm of bolts into the crowd of magicians, some of whom held their hands out, but to no avail. Five of them fell to the ground, but more than twenty still emanated with an eerie red glow, energy coursing through their bodies.
“Tobias, get down!” Dalan shouted. Artemis stepped out in front of Dalan, calmly putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back out of the way. He then held up his other hand and closed his eyes. Blue tendrils of energy snaked off of his body. What the hell is that? Dalan thought, looking at Artemis, whose body glowed a bright, almost blinding blue. Another kind of Magicks? Artemis' lips creased into a grin.
“Give me your best shot,” Artemis laughed. A stream of fire erupted forth from the row of magicians. Dalan shielded his eyes as streaks of flame shot toward him. When he opened his eyes, Artemis had his hand outstretched, an immense storm of fire pouring from the staffs of the Elvaan magi and buffeting up against what seemed to be an invisible wall.
“Keep... shooting...” Artemis managed, his body clearly strained. Dalan gritted his teeth and reloaded his crossbow, firing another volley of shots. Through the storm of fire, he couldn't see whether his shots were hitting their marks. Dalan reloaded once more, emptying another clip into the inferno. He thought he heard a few screams a short distance away, yet the wall of flame continued to flare out at Artemis, stopping mere inches away from his hand. “Damn...” Artemis said, falling onto one knee, his hand still raised. The flame continued to stop short of Artemis' outstretched hand until finally, his body went limp, collapsing into the sand. No! Dalan shouted. Streaks of fire flew past him as he threw himself to the ground, shielding his face. So, this is it... Dalan thought. pretty bad way to end it, huh? He thought. The heat around him became almost unbearable and then slowly began to subside. Dalan could hear a distant popping noise over the ringing in his ears and shouts and cries of agony from the direction of the Elvaan ranks. A huge explosion shook the ground and Dalan looked up to see one of the Elvaan Airships fleeing to the north and the other two repositioning to bring their weapons to bear. What are they aiming at? Dalan thought as he turned around, he saw the small airship he had seen earlier, its white metal plating glinting in the air. At the four corners of the ship, rotor blades spun, positioned around a central balloon that was painted the same white color as the ship. It is engaging the other airships!? Dalan thought. As he looked up, a flurry of black objects flew from one of the four cannons on the side of the white airship, attaching themselves to the side of one of the larger craft. A large explosion issued from the ship and it attempted to turn so that it's damaged flank was not exposed to the small, swift craft, which jetted by and turned around for another pass. Dalan noticed that the small airship was raining a flurry of small projectiles mercilessly upon the group of Elvaan soldiers around them from large repeat-firing emplacements on the deck of the ship. Guns? Dalan thought, remembering the projectile weapons that Claude had wielded in Centra
“Who is that?” Dalan asked. Artemis, his robes charred, attempted to stand up, but fell back into the sand. Dalan ran over to him, slinging Artemis' arm around his back and helping him up. Artemis winced and Dalan noticed that his arm was covered with burns. Otherwise, he seemed unscathed. How in damnation did he survive that? Dalan wondered “What did you say?”
“The... Greykein?” Artemis repeated. Could that be... Dalan thought, looking up at the ship, which was flying back towards them, its starboard weapons coming alongside the remaining unharmed airship. six ropes dropped over the port side of the ship and a few men and women slid down them, their feet braced against the side of the ship. Five of them had rifles in their hands, spraying death upon to the Elvaan forces. Dalan looked at them closely and noticed an older grey haired elf shouting orders to the others hanging from the ropes.
“Claude!?” Dalan shouted in disbelief. The six of them let go of their ropes, dropping to the ground, slightly to the left of the last seven fighters that remained in the Elvaan ranks. Claude made a hand motion to the other five, who nodded and fanned out, spraying bullets into the midst of the remaining Elvaan. A few bolts of electrical energy and fire shot forth from their ranks, knocking two of the newcomers down, but the flurry of bullets overwhelmed them, kicking up clouds of dust as they impacted the sand. When the dust cleared, Dalan could see that the Elvaan troops all lie prone in the sand. Dalan took this opportunity to survey the battlefield. Many of the Centran and Al-Mahid soldiers lie dead on the ground. Murad, Lourrdes, Tobias and Mustafa ran up to Dalan and Artemis. Jonathan and the knight that Dalan had fought lie prone in the sand. Dalan ran over to Jonathan.
“Jonathan! Jonathan!” He shouted, shaking the young man's limp body. Dalan looked up and saw a thin young brown skinned man with wavy black hair looking back at him. Unlike the others who had joined the battle, he possessed no rifle, only a pair of silver hilted knives which were tied together and tucked into his belt. The man kneeled beside Jonathan, feeling his wrist with a gloved hand. He nodded and looked up at Dalan.
“He'll live. We need to get him help right away, though,” The man said.
“Dr Algathier?” Tobias and Artemis said, looking at the man in disbelief.
“What are you doing here?” Artemis asked.
“I would ask you the same thing, but now probably isn't the greatest time,” the man replied casually.
“Dalan!” Claude shouted.
“Claude?” Dalan said, eyeing the old greykein elf in disbelief. “What in damnation are you doing here?”
“Same thing as you, my friend,” He replied, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his white collared shirt.. “I figured this would be more useful than going along with you lads on foot. I was wondering where you lads would be, but then I saw that deft display of magick. I figured that there was a good chance that it was Artemis, so I decided to drop in. Just in time, I might add,”
“I'll say,” Dalan said laughing. Claude's forces busied themselves forming a line between their position and the battle, which still raged on between the Elvaan, Al-Mahidi and Centran troops in the distance. A lean, muscular greykein woman lay on the sand, looking across the dunes through a small hand-held telescope
“Well, things are looking more bleak than I expected,” Claude sighed. “I'm not sure my ship, The Vincent, can outgun six Feuer class warships. She is just Jacht class, a pleasure cruiser. Even if she is the fastest airship in Elvaan space. I did what I came here to do,”
“W-which was, old man? Every time you show up, you seem like more and more of a kauda.” Artemis stammered weakly.
“You know, your witticisms don't have the same effect when you can't even stand up on your own two feet,” Claude mused. “And I suggest you get a new cloak. That one has more holes than a sand bug colony. Anyways, would any of you like to come with us? Things look like they wont end too well around here,”
“Yeah. You know what they say about he who fights and runs away,” Artemis said, attempting a smile.
“I would have to agree with Arty for once,” Dalan shrugged.
“Me too,” Tobias ventured.
“Sadly,” Murad said, walking up to the crowd. “I am going to stay,”
“What?” Dalan asked, his mouth agape. “Why?”
“Well, for one thing, it is my job to protect this place. If I flee, I won't get paid, you know,” Murad said, forcing a smile.
“Look at that, though.” Tobias said, pointing at the battlefield. “You will die!” And what about you, Lourrdes? Mustafa?”
“We Protect Murad,” Mustafa nodded.
“Oy. The big guy is right I reckon. Don' worry. We'll take care 'r this mess. Do what you have ter,” Lourrdes chimed in.
“What about the knight over there?” Claude asked. “As long as you don't fight for the Elvaan, you are welcome aboard,”
“He's dead,” Dr. Algathier said, walking up to Claude. “The kid will live though. We should bring him onboard. I can't do too much more than stabilize him out here in the desert,” Dalan walked up to Murad and clasped his hand, then caught him in a bear hug.
“Kill some elves for me,” Dalan said.
“Better than them killing me,” Murad replied. With one last roguish grin he turned and walked towards the battlefield, Mustafa and Lourrdes flanking him on either side.

. . .

“We are flying! Look Tobias!” Dalan shouted as he stared in awe out of a long rectangular window. Below, he could see people, who now seemed ant-sized, moving about around the walls of Akhmet. The desert stretched out as far as Dalan could see and he noticed small oasis villages further off through the dunes.
“Yeah,” Tobias said, a far away expression on his face.
“This is crazy. Where did you get this ship, Claude?” Dalan said, turning to the old elf who reclined in a wooden chair with a plush red cushion behind an almost excessively long wood paneled desk, the center of which was embroidered in a gold circle, inside of which were inscribed two crossed golden swords and a silver shield. A coat of arms of some sort? Dalan thought to himself as he turned to Claude, who was pouring himself a cup of tea from a silver teapot which sat upon one side of the desk.
“I designed it actually,” He said, picking a biscuit off of a golden tiered stand which sat not too far away. “Didn't build it all myself of course. A team of engineers from my home nation of Hesse did, under my direction, of course.” Claude gestured at the golden stand, which contained three levels of plates, each of which were stacked with various small sandwiches, pastries, creams and jams the likes of which Dalan had never seen before. “Are either of you hungry? Feel free to help yourself to anything you please,” Dalan's mouth began to water at the thought of the delicious looking food. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when the wood panelled doors at the far end of the room opened up and Dr. Algathier walked in. He nodded to Claude, then turned to Dalan and Tobias.
“Jonathan and Artemis will both be fine,” Dr. Algathier announced. Dalan breathed a sigh of relief. “That Jonathan in particular. He was quite injured, but he is recovering very well. Should be back on his feet by tomorrow. Is he a healing magick affine?”
“Yeah,” Dalan said, nodding. “And Artemis?”
“He is fine. He has quite the mouth though. He demanded that he was fine and told me to let him go before he... Well, that is a different story. His body was just worn out from excessive ethon channeling.”
“Excessive what?” Dalan asked.
“Ethons,” Tobias replied. “The energy waveform that allows affines to modify the matter around them, thus enabling them to perform 'magicks'”
“So I see you have done your homework since I've been gone,” Dr. Algathier smiled. “Yes. There are two factors in magick related self injuries. Some peoples' bodies contain low levels of ethons and thus, it takes an excessive amount of strain to produce 'magick' without a spectacular channeling device such as a well made wand. Others have very high levels of ethons within their bodies, but either their bodies cannot channel them without damaging themselves, or they are simply not skilled at channeling magick, which ends in the same result. A combination of these two cases results in all kinds of internal injuries,”
“And I assume the latter happened to Artemis?” Dalan said, remembering the telekinetic barrier that Artemis had created. He saved our lives. Dalan thought.
“Hmm,” Dr. Algathier said, looking up at the arched ceiling. “Not quite. When we came to your aid, we saw Artemis using telekinesis to defend against a unit of Elvaan magicians. His channeling skills must be very well honed, not to mention his ethon density. And his body has the best channeling properties I have ever seen. I am surprised that a half-elf's body even contains such a high concentration of ethons. Most non-humes don't have the ethon density to pull off such a feat. Anyways, as long as he doesnt try stunts like that too often he will be fine. He is back up on his feet. I couldn't keep him from-” Dr. Algathier was cut off as the door opened once more. Dalan turned to see Artemis, wearing beige Elvaan combat robes and a tall elf with brown hair and grey splotches on his face walk into the room.
“Boss,” The tall elf said. “We've got a problem. The Elvaan are pursuing,”
“And they don't look very happy,” Artemis chimed in. “Well, actually, I can't tell from this distance, but I would imagine...” The elf cut him off with an annoyed glare. Claude sighed, pushing his chair away from the desk and walking over to the window next to Dalan. Although there were no enemy airships in sight, Dalan had noticed the ship had sped up and that the land beneath them was flying by more quickly than before.
“You are needed on the bridge, Commander,” The elf said, walking up to Claude.
“Yes, I know,” Claude said, a far away look on his face. “Dalan, Artemis, Tobias. I am terribly sorry to ask you this, but would you mind helping out on the deck? We might get boarded, so we can use all of the help we can get, since my crew numbers at only thirty,”
“No problem,” Dalan shrugged, reaching for his crossbow.