"Is that?"

"How is that possible?"

"You see it as well right?"

"Yes I do, you see it too?"

The two women muttered to each other as several of the adventurers standing guard around the parameter of the healing camp began pointing and yelling to one another. While Terri was thankful the humming they all heard wasn't the sign of a massive monster she was still felt uneasy at what she was seeing. It must have cleared the massive plateau to the east of Coppershield and was now passing the town and moving to place itself above what remained of the swarm. The monsters still on the field weren't smart enough to really consider their surroundings outside of what was directly around them, so the forces on the ground didn't have much chance to gawk up at what was above them. However, after the shadow cleared the forces battling the monsters, the temporary darkening of the area causing many to glance up, canisters began dropping straight down from. Some cheered as they realized what was happening, despite the bewilderment that had griped nearly everyone.

High up in the sky, out of earshot of those below, commands were being shouted, and dozens of soldiers began running about the 50 foot wide deck of the 350 foot long warship seemingly defying gravity. Soon canisters were being prepared and then rolled off the sides of the floating ship in what looked to be shallow troughs to fall on the swarm below. Despite the fact that the barrage from Ravenspire had finally stopped once the massive ship got too close to their trajectory lines the amount of firepower raining down was almost as unbelievable as it was.

"Make sure you stay avoid hitting the forces fighting the monsters!"

"Sir!"

Nearly a hundred people replied at once to the barrel chested and bearded Pul'kin near the two thirds length mark of the airship, his thick hands keeping the boat heading in a steady direction. He continued to receive reports from various spotters stationed at various spots along the handrail that encircled the ship, making sure everything was working as it should. Additional information poured in from the lookout posts located near the bottom of the ship, which were essentially windows that allowed them to look down at the battlefield.

"Signal the Ravenspire forces as we turn! Make sure they keep their siege teams under control."

"Sir!"

While now wasn't the time to praise his crew he was proud of their performance so far. Especially considering this trip of theirs couldn't even be considered a maiden voyage. Everyone knew this was more like a trial by fire with the hope nothing broke. Captain Degardo lifted his gaze to look at the bow of his ship, his gaze watching the massive propellers on either side, both fixed horizontally to provide the needed lift to raise the ship into the air. Receiving the signal from several engineers watching the moving parts involved he nodded and turned to gaze behind him, taking note of the matching horizontal propellers in the back. He grunted an appreciative thanks to the Keepers when he received another round of thumbs up before leaning forward to lift the cap on the engine room's metal voicepipe.

"How are our Nel' Ina levels?"

Several seconds later, after they had time to confirm their calculations, he heard a response from below echo up through the tubes.

"Sir! We have enough to remain in battle for approximately another three hours. If we stick to that time frame, or less, we will have enough to make it back without resorting to emergency siphoning."

"Good to hear, keep me posted if anything changes."

He heard the "Sir!" in reply right as he let the lid drop close on the voicepipe and began to adjust the levers in front of him.

"Here comes a fancy turn you lot! Hang on!"

There was a subtle shift in the humming caused by the four propellers before the ship began to slowly turn, almost in place, so that they could swing back around for another bombing run. As the ship drew parallel to the plateau's edge several crew members began signaling the Ravenspire forces as instructed. Degardo grunted several times as he continued to play with the levers, trying to ensure the turn was as smooth as possible.

"Heh, she handles decently enough. Much more interesting without having to worry about the wind and sales."

Of course, as if in queue a sudden gust of wind came up from between the plateau's to the east and he felt the ship suddenly lurch to the side.

"Woa there girl! Easy now, don't go trying to prove me wrong!"

Some concerned glances were sent in the direction of Captain Degardo which caused him to give them a toothy grin in response. Those that had served on his crew for some time groaned at his expression though they knew he was one of the best captains they could hope for. Some of the newly assigned crew members weren't in the know though and began to tremble slightly at the overly optimistic, and honestly, less than reassuring reaction from their captain. As the wind calmed so did the unnatural movement of the ship... the ship floating in the sky, and he smiled giving the steering station in front of him a soft pat.

"There ya go, I hope we can continue to get along."

He looked at the railing across the back of the steering station and smiled just a bit as the airship's name caught a ray of sun from over his shoulder. It had been painted in a light blue pigment and trimmed in gold. She had been named after the patron Keeper of the Eindale Kingdom, Evireal.

"Please keep us safe Evireal."

As the ship finished its turn the canister bombing started up again though after just a few minutes he began receiving reports that the swarm was beginning to retreat back to the mines that they emerged from. While they would have to consider the new monster numbers to see whether or it was still considered a swarm the fact the monsters were retreating was fantastic news.

"Keep the canisters rolling! We can't let the Kingdom's first airship be outdone by a bunch of adventurers and city guards!"

"SIR!"

Thus the day slowly came to an end, the remaining monsters retreating back to their hive behind the mines as the Evireal chased them and continued to rain down carnage from above. Right about the time the initial bombing run Terri left the healing camp and began running back to the Cloudcrest forces to make sure they appropriate routed any stray monsters without getting caught up in the aerial bombardment. Though, honestly, all she really had planned was to tell them to stay out of the way considering this was the first time anyone had seen such a thing a flying ship.