“Team floaty make big boom, boom has entered the Ashenstone City!” Fairy announced cheerfully.

Melly nodded at the apparition, then looked over the deck of the now airborne ship. It was fully locked and loaded with Melly as its captain. She gripped the wheel and steered the ship through the wind currents then focused on the sprawling city below. Even through the fading light of the day, she could clearly see the buildings below.

True to its name, Ashenstone City looked as if the buildings were crafted from the ashes of the dead. The outer walls were spiked and impossibly high, radiating red lights from some unknown source. They too must be enchanted.to

“Everyone at the ready!” she shouted.

Dog wagged his tail beside her. “Yup!”

The bandits below, led by Rupert were ready to fire at a moment’s notice, while Mistress Maim soared behind the ship on her giant golden Alicanto Andy.

The tall figure of Brian stood beside her at the Helm ready to leap off into open air on top of his own mystical flying creature. He had silently reassured Melly he knew what he was doing. But she still had her doubts. The Wolpertinger’s wings were so tiny it was unlikely that it could hover let alone fly.

“Alright Brian, remember to help Maim. Only, when she needs it,” she said.

He nodded, then patted the fluffy bunny beside him.

Nuecus ambled up the stairs and laughed. “Is it time for bloody fun?” he asked.

Suddenly, a wall of red light materialised in front of them. Before she could react, the ship glided through the magical barrier. A chorus of warning bells rang out in the city below.

Melly laughed without humour. It was indeed time.

The automatic magical defence system was online and ready to defend the Queen’s territory. Large humanoid stone figures whirled into action. Thousands of stone warriors stared upwards, all holding multiple spears ready to fire.

“Cannons load Thea’s ammo!” Melly shouted.

Rupert repeated the command to his men as they rushed about collecting the special payloads from Thea’s barrels.

“Thea was right.” Melly said, “There’s a ton of small ones!”

“I don’t see any blasted humans though.” Nuecus commented.

“I doubt we’ll see any.” Said a deep voice. To Melly’s amazement, it came from Brian.

“Um, what?” she asked.

“The only humans who live in this cursed city all live in or near the castle.”

Nuecus chuckled.

“Well, that’s great to know,” Nuecus said. “You know what that ruddy means?”

Melly nodded and grinned.

“Open fire!” she commanded.

The cannons exploded, sending hundreds of smaller iron balls from each cannon. They shot out in all directions like a hailstorm, falling towards the city of stone warriors. The defenders didn’t pause for a second to take cover. Instead, they all aimed their spears skywards and hurled them at the magical ship.

“We’re out of their range!” called out Rupert from below.

“Good,” said Melly. She peered over the edge and down at the carnage below.

Unfortunately, The cannons were only slightly effective. Aiming at such a distance was blurry at best and the only way to destroy the enchanted warriors was to destroy their gemstones. Melly’s team was playing a game of chance.

Scanning the mass of stone bodies below, she could see that only a few stone figures fell from the first barrage out of the thousands. Unflinching from the first bombardment the stone warriors continued to hurl spears unaware that heir target was too far away.

“Fire again!” Melly shouted.

She knew her job wasn’t to win this minor battle, but to buy Clem just enough time.

“Um, what is that?” Nuecus said, sounding concerned.

A shadowy figure rose from the Queen’s castle. With immense stone wings, a long tail, and burning embers for eyes, the monster opened its jaw in a sneer, eager for a fight.

“There’s no way that glorious thing could fly,” Nuecus said. “The stony lizard is way too heavy.”

As if to prove the old thaumaturge wrong, the giant stone dragon leaped into the sky and flapped its wings in defiance of gravity.

“At least it doesn’t look like it breathes fire,” added the old man.

The stone dragon opened up its mighty maw and set a Jetstream of bright red fire into the sky.

“Well at least…”

“Seriously, shut up!” Melly shouted. “You’re jinxing us!”

Nuecus gave her an innocent smile. “Oops!”

Melly sighed, exasperated then turned to her lemon clad air support.

“Careful ahead Maim!” she shouted towards the giant golden bird. “Don’t engage it directly!”

Melly watched as the Mistress bobbed her head in acknowledgement then dived towards the dragon. Somehow, Melly knew she was just about to witness the world's biggest game of chicken Fanswald had ever witnessed.

Brian hefted a large club over his shoulder and bounded on top of his fluffy companion. Wendy, the mighty Wolpertinger, was ready to help.

“You sure about this?” she asked the hunter.

Brian nodded and patted Wendy affectionately. The rabbit pawed at the wood of the deck and stretched its tiny wings. The two deer horns on top of its head somehow looked ready for battle.

“Good luck!” Melly said sternly.

Without a word, Wendy leaped off the edge and plummeted to the ground.

Melly froze, waiting for the beast to rise. However, that didn’t happen.

“Did they just die?” Nuecus asked.

“Um, I don’t,” Melly said unsure herself.

A colossal thud echoed from below as a bunny sized impact struck the floor.

“I, ah,” Nuecus mumbled.

Melly was speechless. She was sure the Hunter knew what he was doing.

Then she witnessed something her brain couldn’t quite comprehend. The Wolpertinger bounded high with its powerful legs and help from its magical wings. Wendy didn’t fly exactly. She bounced.

“Bouncy bunny is funny!” Dog said joyfully.

Melly burst out laughing as she witnessed the most insane form of flight known to Fanswald.

“How does he even stay on?” Nuecus asked just as bewildered.

Melly’s shrugged, then suddenly remembers the warriors below.

She gazed down and noticed a large bunny shaped hole in their ranks. Spears flew towards Wendy but she outpaced them and jumping outside of their range.

Then Melly looked up. Mistress Maim was nearing the stone dragon, with Brian close behind. A battle of the beasts was about to begin.

“Fire!” Melly commanded once more.

She ignored the carnage below and focused on prowess of the golden bird, Andy. She couldn’t help but feel envious. Even Melly’s insufferable mother had a flying pet.

Andy soared high above the dragon, twisting in the air with a precision only a lifetime of flight could grant. It was then Melly spotted the size difference. The Alicanto was huge but before the stone dragon, the golden bird was but a canary.

The one thing on Andy’s side was his overwhelming speed. Without a regular intake of metal, the gold obsessed bird was lightning fast. As soon as the stone dragon lunged, Andy veered away instantly.

With the dragon distracted, a bunny shaped assassin bounded up and onto its back. The blurry shape of Brain struck the stone beast on the back. The attack was enough to catch the dragon's attention. Wenny bounded off its back before the beast could swallow them whole.

It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse, and Melly didn’t like the odds.

Thud.

The ship jolted upwards as a spear struck the hull.

“What the?” Melly shouted.

She looked over the side and noticed that the stone warriors had given up on throwing volleys of spears and instead constructed mounds out of their fallen allies. Some warriors on top of buildings carried each other on their shoulders, creating humanoid pillars for added range.

“Aim towards the towering guys!” Melly shouted, pulling on a leaver forcing the magical ship to rise. “Bring them down!”

Another volley peppered the floor, sending shock waves through the ranks of stone.

“Come on, Clem! Hurry!”