Turn 62

    "Keep us clear of it. Evasive maneuvers," Val tells Pham, trying to appear calm. "Maybe we can slip under it... Any chance we can outrun it if we need to Brother Pham?" His mind races trying to remember everything he can think of about krajen and what to do about them. The _Distraction_ could be torn to splinters if they don't act quickly...
    Pham immediately concentrates on getting as much speed out of the Distraction as possible. With little to dodge around out here, he puts a priority on speed. Using everything he has learned about this ship and about spelljamming over the course of the past year, he tries to coax more speed from the vessel, feels a slight surge then a hesitation as man and magic reach their limit.
    "Captain, I'm making best speed. I can't see - are we gaining?"
    They are, much to the relief of the crew. Alais rushes onto the deck with his wand out.
    "Alais, Pham, what do either of you know about these things?" Val asks when he sees the wizard appear. He is hoping the urgency of the situation will keep Alais' response short and to the point.
    Meanwhile, Emmett is busy setting and loading the ballista, getting it ready to fire before Val orders the shell dropped - no point in giving the beast any warning - and cursing the fact that the overlarge crossbow could not simply be kept loaded without damaging its tension.
    Once prepared he yells out, "Ready to fire when the shell is dropped. I recommend we hit it as often as possible to warn it off." He's never faced a krajen before, but he hadn't heard of them being smarter than large animals - a few painful hits should direct it to find other food, he hoped.
    Val is silently thankful that Emmett has already prepared the ballista and is standing ready. After a slight hesitation, he scrambles back to the turrett himself to lower the shell, which simultaneously raises the weapon into position clear of the hull. "Ready when you are," he tells the half-man as he runs his fingers through his hair, an obvious nervous habit. At Emmett's nod, he begins to open the dome, as ibn Fadil and Nyala, who had been off-duty and asleep, arrive ready for anything.
    Emmett starts to spin the turrett as needed, taking aim on the krajen as soon as it's visible, but holding his fire until he hears advice from the wizards and the order from Val.
    "Pham, you got any blessings you can lay on us before this thing gets too close?"
    "A little busy here, Emmett - the helm's taking all I've got!"
    "Fire!"
    The bolt leaps away, only to be shunted harmlessly aside by the massive creature's thick hide. No matter; the _Distraction_ is pulling away from the threat, leaving the krajen's tentacles waving angrily at the loss of even so small a meal.
    A few days later they encounter another ship, the rastipede vessel _Profit_, inbound toward Bral. The two ships exchange news. Ibn Fadil notices a peculiar atmosphere about the vessel, suggesting that the journey has been made in a state of some tension, and suddenly recalls the rumor heard on Bral about the Arcane being difficult to find these days; rastipedes often work closely with the tall, blue-skinned people. Attempts to question them on this result in the rastipede suddenly forgetting how to speak Common with any clarity.
    Some weeks after that, as the _Distraction_ prowls along the edge of the sphere looking for a portal into the Flow, the alarm sounds again, alerting the small ship to a far greater danger this time.
    "Hammership aft, closing fast, captain," Yestin reports grimly, his gaze fixed out the rear port on the weapons deck. "Alais is on helm," he replies to the just-awakened man's unasked question. "I think it's the _Magnus_."
    

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