Spirits in the Material World

[Brian]

"So be it," the spirit replies genially.  "I will tell the great spirits of the void, and we shall do as agreed; you will take this obstruction, and in return, be granted our favor."

And with that, the void spirit floats upwards, high enough to diminish into nothing more than a shimmering point of light.  Then, with a screaming and tearing sound, it expands into a ring -- through the ring, the vast inky star-studded blackness of space is clearly visible, along with an enormous swollen sun, blood-red and wreathed with leaping solar flares which arc back inwards, like a half-born tentacle-covered monstrosity threatening to eat the sky whole.

But the vision is only there for a moment, and then the space is filled with a gigantic silver cylinder.  Lights wink on at regular points across the length of the thing, and smaller sections appear to be rotating in different directions.  The flare of brisance escapes the rear of the ... craft?  It is a craft, Bjorn realizes distantly, just able to make out the plaque reading, H.M.S. Starflare near the prow, beneath a bridge that looks down on the ground, glass windows reflecting the bloody red sunlight.

Then the void behind the ship vanishes, and a klaxon sounds from the Starflare.  The central ring about the ship appears to be dotted with canons, and one of these begins to move around as though searching for a target -- a second later, beams of light spear down through the moonlit (though moonless) night, searching across the grass.

Shutters half-close across the ports at the rear of the ship, spraying the thrust of brisance backwards to brake, as the craft -- somehow -- stays aloft.  The klaxon doesn't diminish, and Din falls flat on his rear, gawking at the sight.

The void spirit, momentarily vanished, reappears, emerging from the light and reflections scattered across the Starflare.  "We are glad to be rid of it," the spirit says happily.  "What do you wish?"

[Bjorn]

Bjorn is nonplussed for a second, but rallies quickly, and as he begins to speak, calls out through the embers for Kerwhizzle.  "I would ask of the fire spirits -- Kerwhizzle in particular," he does his best to reproduce the name properly," that they prevent fires from breaking out over this plain.  And so I ask that you lend your voice to that of Kerwhizzle, so that none of his brethren shall argue when he speaks against the rules of nature."

[Brian]

Kerwhizzle appears in the lingering flames, ember-like-eyes blinking at Bjorn in interest.

"This is agreeable to me," the void spirit replies.  "And to you?"

"The bargain is struck," the fire spirit concludes.  "You are wise and faithful; the spirits know now that your bargains are desirable to their causes."

Both spirits shimmer for a moment, then the void spirit dwindles.  "I return now," the void spirit says.  "Unless further bargains must be made."

[Bjorn]

"In time, I hope," Bjorn replies, "we might speak again, and forge bargains to both our joy.  At this time and place, however, there is nothing of you that I would ask.  Unless there is service I might do you, then, go with all of my gratitude."

[Brian]

The void spirit winks away.  Kerwhizzle makes a chuckling noise.  "Good," the fire spirit says.  "And for our bargain, I shall restrain the fires from hurting your people, or your land?"

The Stareflare's klaxon shuts off, one of the beams of light centering on Bjorn, Din, and the fire spirit.  Four anchors begin ratcheting towards the ground at points near the prow and stern.

Din continues to gawk.

[Bjorn]

"Let it be from harming the land," Bjorn answers.  "The people will be swift enough to keep the fire from harming them, and so long as the land lives, so might they."

He waves casually at the massive ship, and then looks over at Din.  "This would not be a prudent time to leave," he advises.  "The men aboard the ship might be nervous."

[Brian]

"Very well," Kerwhizzle replies.

The anchors hit the ground at roughly the same time, eliciting a quartet of ground-shaking impacts.  Din can only stare in a stupor as the the ship lowers itself.  It's going to take a bit to get closer, but now Bjorn can get a real sense of the thing's scale -- it's 500 meters long, at least.

"W...what," Din finally manages after the ship has come closer.  "What is that?"

[Bjorn]

"I am no entirely sure," Bjorn replies, his eyes sweeping the ship, studing it to the best of his ability.  "But it is not of the Church, I am certain.  Had they even half of the skills to build such a thing, then their attempts to cow us would have been much more dramatic.  And it is named 'His Majesty's Ship the Starflare,' which makes me think that the craft comes from Anabara, of which the spirit of Mr. Shuker spoke.  While they might not yet be our allies, they should become so."

Looking back to Kerwhizzle, he bows.  "To bargain again with you, o Flame, has been a pleasure of which I am unworthy.  If there is ought that I might do for you, you have only to speak; if you would leave, then you go with my thanks."

[Brian]

"I will leave, then," Kerwhizzle replies.  "I think we shall meet again; it is well to bargain with you."  And with that, he winks out, leaving nothing more than glowing embers behind.

Shortly, the ship comes to a halt some 20 meters overhead -- and then, one of the cylindrical portions unfolds like a ramp, spilling light out onto the grass.  Three men in crisp military uniforms troop down the ramp -- the one in the lead is wearing some medal (likely of rank) on each shoulder, along with a slightly cooler general's hat (the other two have what look like sailor's caps).  Their coloring is all gray, and the leader has a pistol holstered at his side.  The other two have rifles slung over their shoulders.

"Sweet release," the leader says, looking around at the bottom of the ramp, probably fifteen meters or so away from Bjorn.  This man has glittering, pale green eyes, and a thin mustache.  His hair is dark, where it peeks out from beneath his cap.  His eyes go to the witch-doctor.  "Now, you don't look like a churchman to me.  So, where are we, if you don't mind me asking?"

The two men with the apparent leader peer into the darkness, where lights continue to search for other targets.

[Bjorn]

"I'm not entirely sure what you'd call this place," Bjorn says, dropping into a proper english accent.  "You're some distance from Anabara, though.  The Church is trying to make a strong push into these plains."  He nods off in the direction of Rinaldo.  "There's a knight of the Church, travelling by himself, not too far off that way.  You're likely to draw his attention with all this, I'm afraid.

"Gestur Bjorn Christianson, at your service, gentlemen," he continues, proferring his hand.

[Brian]

The man with the general's hat smirks.  "How about that," he says with a sigh.  "Well, he is no threat to us.  Let a single knight come after us."  He takes a deep breath.  "You're right, and we are from Anabara."

He marches right up to Bjorn and accepts the hand, offering a hearty shake.  "I am colonel Westley Riggins, theoretical leader of this expedition.  Equally at your service, if it's possible.  Captain Vega runs the ship.  Sorry for bursting in like this, it's rather a long story ... but we've been adrift a bit too long.  We need to find a place to restock.  Our water and food supplies won't hold out much more than two months, but we are equipped for trade; would you like to come aboard and discuss the layout of the land?  Perhaps where we might find a nearby trading post that's not controlled by the church?"

[Bjorn]

"The one concern with the Churchman, I'm afraid, is that we've put ourselves in the position of having a rather direct disagreement with the Church, and your rather abrupt appearance here might lead them to draw certain conclusions.  Mind you, Colonel, if you're not particular perturbed by the Church following those lines of thought, it might be that we have quite a bit to talk about.

"But as for your need for supplies, I feel quite confident that something can be arranged."  He beckons Din forward.  "This is Din, a representative of the local people.  You'll understand, I'm afraid, that my own position is something in the lines of 'military consultant,' and I can't really authorize anything in my own right."  He shrugs, looking apologetically at the Captain.  In the spotlight, it's unlikely that the mist in his eye sockets can be mistaken for anything else.

[Brian]

Westley doesn't seem the slightest bit perturbed by Bjorn's appearance.  He rubs his chin.  "Well, if he's alone, I'm afraid for political reasons we may have to capture him.  Wouldn't really do to have him letting everyone know we're here--"  He snaps around to one of this two guards.  "Get those lights off!"

"Sir," the left guard says, saluting quickly, then dashing up the stairs.

Turning back as the lights wink out, leaving only the dim non-moon illumination, Westley continues, "We're on a mission of exploration and discovery, but as I guess you've noticed, the ship is prepared for a less warm reception, too.  Still, we aren't here to precipitate an act of war, so we'll try to be reasonable about things."  Then he turns to Din.  "Master Din, might we arrange some sort of trade?"

Din blinks.  Repeatedly.  Finally, he says, "N'Boru, the eldest of our village could answer that question."

Westley nods.  "Well, if there's a knight out there, no reason to stand around.  Care to come aboard so we can discuss this in more comfortable quarters?  I've a bottle of brandy I was saving for our arrival ... well, here, hopefully.  But after so long, any arrival is a welcome arrival."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn quickly looks over at Din to gauge his likely reaction.

[Brian]

Din seems amiable, if totally blown away.  Likely to him, even knowing what Bjorn does, it's easier to accept that these people are just very odd spirits, with some funky spirit-house that flies.  And is made of metal.

"We....  We will bargain with you," Din agrees, nodding.

"Capital!"  Westley wheels around and begins marching up the stairs.

The craft is metal, but treated somehow so that the stairs are white.  The outer hull gleams silver, but the inside is sterile and clean -- at least what can be seen when looking up.  The guards motion Bjorn and Din to follow, heading up the walkway themselves.