Sitting down in one of the pew like chairs surrounding the inner sanctum of the council chamber rooms, all of the city councilors were seated in the front of the room all next to each other, fronted by a large table. Flanking the table stood guards in shiny golden plate mail with pikes in each hand, acting as silent sentries.

In front of the table of the councils stood a large space with a red and yellow embossed rug, where people were standing one by one and petitioning the council.

Akylek looked around behind him and saw many public looking officials with their attachés, fervently taking notes.

The last of the petitioners asked their questions of the council, and an old man in a flowing white beard and purple robes stood up, within the center of the councilmen.

We are gathered here today, he intoned, to speak of recent developments. I would like to welcome the captain of the kingdom guards Jesse D’silver and the sky marshal of the airship forces Iokl. We have urgent developments that need to be heard here today.

Late this morning, a prisoner has arrived via captain Roofous airship Blueze. This prisoner is very different from the others that arrive for various crimes we see here within Acrium. We were brought in on war crimes against humanity, which in this day and age, is regrettably all too common. He is currently imprisoned within the hall of justice, awaiting trial. The evidence against this man is insurmountable, and currently in session we have five witness’s that first hand saw this man commit his crimes, and we have audio confirmation recorded by one of the crew members on the airship Blueze. Just an hour ago, we received word from the kingdom of Mir that we actually have in custody a high-ranking ambassador and they are demanding his return.

His crimes are as follows, and he begun to read a litany of a crime list that seemed impossibly long, and each crime more grievous then the next, after reading the list of crimes, he continued to say.

We have strong evidence to prove that the man, at no point during his visits to numerous cities produced any paperwork, or verbally acknowledged him a representative; ergo he forfeits his rights to diplomatic immunity.

The man is imprisoned on international law, and one kingdom cannot dispute this, when this law is observed by every kingdom.

Our hall of justice is a center point to the modern world of truth and law, and many vicious criminals and political prisoners are sent here for justice from all over the world, including up until a few years ago the Kingdom of Mir.

Personally, I see justice as the one thread holding the rug of the world together, and if we send the prisoner back to Mir, it will set a president that all criminals of Mir are beyond the law.

Now keeping this prisoner here to stand trial will create a few problems, the kingdom of Mir, might see this opportunity as the final catalyst in their embargo and sanctions upon as, has the reason they need to take over the city.

As well, as they might decide to take revenge on us, on the various prisoners that hold on drummed up charges.

 

 

 

61.

 

I would like to put it to a vote to decide on what we should do, all councilmen are now required to raise their right hands in affirmation of their decision.

 

The long flowing purple robed man glanced behind him at the various councilmen and asked if they understood the gravity of the situation that was placed before them. They all nodded their heads in acquiesce. The long flowing man asked those who thought that they should adhere to their values as a society and keep the merchant to stand trial for horrible crimes against humanity, every councilmen raised their hands.

There was no need to ask for the second option.

 

The long flowing bearded purple robed man addressed the suddenly murmuring audience. This will probably incur repercussions, but I believe we did the right thing here today and every councilman is commended for adhering to the values and law that we so righteously preserve here today. All captains are required to meet in special session in my inner chambers after this meeting is concluded.

I would like to personally address the witness’s from the villages of Burg, and Fedora.

We would like to offer you sanctuary here in the city, although I doubt you would find much dispute with the current state of affairs. I will give the lot of you two options to decide that you would like to do on your future.

Now before I do, Captain Roofous has requested that if you wish, you can join his crew on the airship Blueze, and travel on his airship you all seemed so fond of.

As he was addressed by the councilmen, captain Roofous Blueze stood up at the back of the chamber and nodded at Akylek.

Secondly, if you wish to eke out your own living in the city and create a new life for yourselves, the council is prepared to disperse to you all five thousand gold crowns to create your own business if you do so wish, and procure yourselves private living space.

 

If you would like to join Captain Roofous Blueze Airship Crew turn to page 62.

If you would like to take the money and eke out a living in the Kingdom of Acrium turn to page 66.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62.

 

Captain Roofous waits for Akylek and company after the meeting and escorts them to the quarters in the city that is allocated for his crew.

Roofous congratulated Akylek and his friends, and told them, he had hoped that they decided to serve under his command and do some good in this world.

The dropped off their belongings in the Blueze barracks and Roofous escorted them to the training center of the airship academy to participate in an accelerated training program.

 

The next few weeks progressed very fast, as Locke, Choppy, had shown get aptitude in command council entry, as being naturally twins, they have always shown a great sync between themselves.

Feldor also showed a great interest in navigation, or more specifically working in the lookout tower, analyzing weather patterns and guiding the ship by the sky, if any of the system were ever to fail.

Lasha, of course was good with her hands, and found the electronic controls and nature of the ship to be a little bit concerning. She decided to work in the artillery department, crafting and helping administer the various ballistae and armory of the ship.

Akylek had shown interest in strategy and captain Roofous himself, requested Akylek as a level headed young man, to join his bridge command crew to study under the great captain himself.

As weeks progressed tensions in the city as reached an all time high, where for the first time the Air barons have attacked the sovereign nation of Acrium, and war was quickly escalating. The kingdom of Mir was very unhappy with the decision of Acrium to keep their ambassador, and a public proclamation was made to the general public that people should board their houses up, and seek shelter in the underground catacombs if anything drastic happened. The Population was being drilled in how to survive an all out assault, which was becoming more like an imminent possibility.

Akylek and his friends graduated the program at the airship academy and joined the crew of the airship Blueze, and departed the next day for a mission on another island a day’s journey from Acrium.

The journey itself took a short time, as Akylek was becoming familiar with the social system on the ship and bringing to understand what a captain was daily faced with.

They dispensed medial supplies and picked up various supplies and food from the tiny island nation, and headed back to Acrium, an uneventful trip.

As they neared Acrium, the crackling sounds of the radio and global chat network the kingdom had established was strangely silent. Usually on various channels, there were all sorts of chatter, as various transmissions were being fed around, and navigation positioning systems with the ground control towers were eerily non-existent.

Feldor called in from above to the main deck lieutenant Ashandra and relayed to her that flashes on the horizon were being viewed, something was amiss in Acrium.

By the time the information reached the bridge, more deckhands relayed various sightings to the bridge on explosion orienting from Acrium. Obviously the radio network as been sabotaged, which can mean only one thing, invasion.

 

63.

 

The raced towards Acrium engines full speed, as the captain ordered all hands to battle stations.

The city was in view now, and it was under siege. Various airship battles were occurring and blasts strafed the sky above the city in a lightshow unseen.

Troopers from the various blood red Air Baron ships were rappelling down to the city to engage the town’s militia at hand to hand combat, as ships flanked each other and opened fire from their main batteries.

The airship Blueze streaked into the fray, firing its main cannons at one of the lead ships, that had been already damaged, and it brilliantly exploded in a splash of vibrant colors.

The Air Barons of Mir dominated the skies vs. the kingdom of Acrium Airships well coordinated defense strategy.

Another Air baron ship exploded under fire from the batteries within the city from the main crystal spires.
Akylek had never seen such a conflict between people before, hundreds of people died with each explosion, and Akylek wondered if the men dying even know the real reason why they did, where they came from, what drove them to leave their families and join the army.

Things like this were fleeting, as the instinct to survive ran dominant in Akyleks mind.

It was obvious that the kingdom of Acrium airships were not able to communicate attack strategies, but the air barons were able to, putting them in the upper hand.

Explosions strafed the city, as various buildings exploded.

Captain Roofous had various deckhands running orders to the various departments, commanding them to turn this direction, to fire at such and such a target, and Akylek watched the scene unfold in front of there ship in growing horror, as it was apparent that Acrium airships lost half their number.

Akylek realized suddenly what he had to do. Running to the bridge command councils to fetch Locke and Choppy, he asked them where their supplies were from the Mystic Shoppe from the city of burg, and also ran to Ashandra who oversaw the peddlers supplies hey have confiscated when they arrested the merchant outside the ogre settlement.

Fetching the supplies from the depot within the main body of the ship, he heaved various crates down to the armory where Lasha was franticly shouting orders at the various artillery battery operators, smoke and dispensed casings lay everywhere.

Akylek ran to Lasha and told her of his plan.

He intended to coat the shells for the ballistae in the exploding alchemist ingredients that once blew up three village huts when Akylek as a young boy accidentally dropped a crate of supplies, and was lucky to survive, by being thrown into a large well by the finial shockwave of the explosion.

He mixed various ingredients into a large pitcher and coated the ammunition to be fired.

Lasha knew Akyleks prowess with alchemist ingredients, being the son of the village mystic and trusted his judgment in what he was doing, and gave him all the support he needed.

She thought to herself, that if anyone was able to save them, Akylek would.

 

64.

 

Loading the ammunition into the batteries, Akylek asked her to relay the information, to shoot in the center of an approaching formation of eight air barons firing upon the city.

The Main batteries shook the entire ship as they launched the alchemist batteries.

Akylek watched outside one of the ports of the shot arcing from the Blueze ship to the center of the approaching air barons, the shot exploding hitting the ship in the middle on the bow, the shockwave from the explosion, reverberated in all directions after the blast. Sending an immense shockwave that engulfed every ship within the cluster, ripping their sails, and shaking the ships to their very foundations.

Akylek through up his hand up in the air shouting, as the shockwave sent every one of the eight ships crashing into the waters surrounding the island.

Captain Blueze himself came running into the armory room to see what actually happened. As the shot they had fired, had never been an official battery casing.

Akylek quickly told the captain that he had mixed some of his father’s alchemical ingredients into the ammunition. All from a mishap he had as a child in mixing the wrong things together, and creating a large explosion in the village.

The captain slowly digested this information, and clapped Akylek on the shoulder.

Boy do you know what this means, he said. With your innovation to the artillery shells, we might just win this battle, how many more can you make; the city is in need of our support.

Just then the ship rocked with explosions, and Lieutenant Falsetto from the engineering department suddenly ran down and informed the captain that the air barons were specifically targeting this ship. The captain ordered Akylek to make as many shells as he could, and told the armory room and Lasha in particular to fire at will and take as many out as they could.

 

The next few minutes slowed down entirely. Each moment becoming hours in duration, as Akylek used all of his concentration to mix the right amount of chemicals together under the rocking of the ship due to explosions, and the accelerated direction shifting that the captain was order the ship to take in defensive maneuvers.
Akylek finished two more shells, and Lasha carefully targeted her shot to take as many ships out with the shockwave as possible.

It was only a few moments, but in the hours that it took for each shot to be fired, and for many ships to be sent down into the depths of the ocean from the shockwaves that engulfed many ships in close proximity the air battle was over.

The air baron ships that were left fled in every direction toward the mainland, seeking to escape from the hellfire that emitted from the airship Blueze.

Akylek hugged Lasha, as their well coordinated teaming saved the day, they jumped up and down in celebration as the twins choppy and Locke ran downstairs to join in the celebration.