Little Fluffy Clouds

Dominic and diverse others had taken the information Aranel and Maghris had brought back about the press gang's boss, and raided the place, capturing several of the press gang, the boss, and freeing a good half-dozen prisoners.  While this was solid work, though, it didn't feel very adventuresome.

So the next morning Dominic and Maghris got Murai and Aranel to come with them to ask if Arnari had anything else.  They noticed, upon entering the half-elf's office, that the papers no longer looked like a poorly constructed tower tipping over, but were in different piles on her desk.  They also noticed a new map of Cliffshadow on the wall, with much finer detail.  The old map had fewer pins, and the new map had some pins, often with notes in them.

Aranel, with her head tilted slightly quizzically, sat in the wicker peacock chair like it'd always been hers.
Maghris, distrusting any other chair to accommodate his two fluffy tails, sat in the backless chair he thought of as "his".
Dominic went to the map of Duquesne and started studying it.
Murai, seeing this, sauntered over to the wall and leaned on it… shoulder touching the map of Duquesne.

Arnari pulled out 5 papers, from different stacks.  One of the stacks was untouched, presumably the one related to the notes on the map.  She started listing missions without preamble.

• Pirates Dream river, find something weird and make it dead, 100gp plus an uncommon potion.
• Hippogryph and gryphon eggs, 100gp/egg for hippogryph, 150gp/egg for gryphon, can trade for a mount, you will be paid more for better eggs.
• Followup of pressganging stuff.  A bunch of documents were found; there is for sure a second person running the operation in Cliffshadow.  Wymar wants them found.  Code-named "bard".

Aranel interjected, "Was this the sexy bard?"  Arnari snorted.  "Reasonable to assume so."

"Is there a possibility this person was at the Bardic Competition?" Aranel continued, and Arnari frowned slightly.  "Possible; but people were still getting press-ganged."

Aranel and Maghris described the bard for the others, since they'd been on the mission where he'd been described to Freelancers:  half-elf, black hair, soul-patch, nice ass.  He played the flute, drum, and shawm.  Arnari added, "this will pay 150gp, to find him."

• The very last mission:  Adrian Bryant of Church of Storms requests that Freelancers travel half-to-¾ day south.  There are reports of angry wind elementals on the cliff edge.  100gp each to go make sure they don't enter the Cliffshadow Harbour.

Given the history of Church of Storms asking Freelancers to help with the Daystar cult, the mission description did not match anyone's expectations.

Dominic:  I speak Primordial
Arnari:  you could talk to them… or, you might have to destroy them or drive them off.  They are not the most intelligent.
Aranel:  what if they're captured?
Arnari:  the mats for that are extremely costly
Murai:  "on a cliff side," are we talking halfway up into the sky, or are they hassling travelers on the ground?
Arnari:  it's east of the road to Mantzur
Aranel:  I really like the idea of capturing them and selling them to airship handlers
Murai <to Arnari>:  how costly?
Arnari:  the items are very rare
<Narrator voice:  we never worked out where air elemental ships are made.>
Maghris:  what about a bag of holding?
Dominic:  will suffocate
Aranel:  air elementals can't suffocate?   …neither can Murai.
Murai <startled>:  do Not put me in a bag of holding
Maghris:  if we do the elementals, I can try out Blaze!  So, elementals?
Dominic:  elementals
Aranel:  maybe the bard with the nice ass
Murai:  elementals but would be game for investigating

They decided to go to the Academy of Magic first, to see if one or more devices for capturing wind elementals would be available to borrow.  Then they realized they did not know who to ask.

Dominic:  Arnari, is there a contact?
Arnari:  who do you want to talk to?
Dominic:  who do you recommend?
Arnari:  your best chance if Assistant to the Dean, Sidama Gerbicho.
Murai:  will doing so make you look stupid?
<Arnari's face, normally calm and well-controlled, clearly showed that she'd long ago stopped worrying about this particular concern.>
Arnari:  asking never hurt.
Murai <relieved>:  we'll just say, "if you lend this to us, we will put an elemental in it."

At that, the four Freelancers left Arnari's office, and walked the few blocks to the Academy of Magic.  Unfortunately, Sidama explained to them that such items were very costly, and were not just left to idle at a school for training wizards.  She further noted that a more appropriate institution to have such a thing – in Cliffshadow, anyhow – would be the Church of Storms.  So, that was a bust.

The Freelancers went back to the tavern, and got their mounts as well as Bee-opatra, picked up some rations, and left on the road southward.

Maghris flew above on his giant bat Blaze, while Murai and Dominic were on the skylith on Dudley and Grgnak.  Aranel, lacking any mount, alternate riding pillion on the two canines.  After a couple hours, the road wandered a bit west, so the Freelancers peeled off to stay near-ish to the cliff edge.

Maghris, from his vantage above, did his best to scout, but of course he was also enamoured of the thrill of riding a flying mount close to the edge of the skylith.  But he still did pretty well, and after another three house, the Freelancers were in the area Adrian wanted them to check out.

The cloud tops were below the skylith's outward-facing ground, and as a result the breeze brought little tendrils of wispy-ness from them.  Aranel, who by this time was so very done riding around on the back of someone else's oversized canine, gazed at them, and frowned, thinking she saw a wyvern.  Maghris looked at the wisps, and puzzled over whether it was clouds, or fog.  Dominic and Murai, though, saw small elementals.  They looked like… the air, but they were bouncing around the blowing fog.

Aranel:  I do believe there's a wyvern over there…
<The wind gusted, and now it looked like a giant bunny.>
Aranel:  …nevermind.
Dominic:  I want to try something, if you'll indulge.
Maghris & Murai:  okay
Dominic:  I don't want to fight near the edge of the skylith.
Aranel:  but, wait.  Why do you think we're fighting?  It wasn't really a wyvern.
Murai:  there are air elementals near the edge of the cliff.
Dominic:  I want to cast dust devil.
Aranel:  what will it do?
Dominic:  draw them away from the edge.
<Aranel stared where Murai had indicated, and finally saw the small elementals.>
Aranel:  why not just say, <in Primordial, loudly, projecting like only a bard can> HELLO!  We See You!!!
<Dominic waited, to see if they reacted.  Two came over to the Freelancers.>
Small elementals <in childish voices, in Primordial>:  hi!  Hi!  Can you fly?  We'll fly with you?
<The elementals were bouncing, like little happy clouds, with hints of rainbows.>
Aranel <in Primordial>:  sadly we cannot fly right now.  We're wondering what you doing here!
Small elementals:  playing!  The wind is nice here!  And, our parents brought us.
Dominic <in Primordial>:  could we talk to your parents?
Small elementals:  yeah!  Parents!  Parents!

The two elementals bounced away, flying fast, and chasing each other, almost doing loopy loops.  They went over the cliff and down.  The Freelancers looked at each other, and around at the terrain, which was scrub, some grass, with some windblown trees a couple dozen feet back.  One tree was closed, only 15' away.  Dominic went to it and attached a rope, which he held onto.

Murai didn't move, nor did Aranel.  Remembering Maghris did not speak Primordial, Aranel told him about the exchange.  He flew up about 40' on Blaze.

At this point three person-sized air elementals floated up over the cliff.  They flew the same speed as the small ones, but much more direct and deliberately.  They arc'd 200 meters over the cliff, and came down to stop gracefully in a row, 20' away from the Freelancers.  They did not look like happy fluffy clouds, but twisters, with lightning playing around them.  They too spoke in Primordial, and their voices were the voices of the winds.

Center:  why are you here?  This is our place, these are our winds.  Go away.
Aranel:  we are here to figure out why you are here.
Left:  nice calm breezes <gestured at the children, playing at the cliff's edge.>
Dominic:  do you intend to stay here?
Center:  if the winds are okay.  We need nice winds <also indicated children>
<Aranel used message to relay this exchange to Maghris, above.>
Aranel <in Trade>:  we don't care if they are here
Murai <in Trade>:  we need to warn them.  <in Primordial> we wanted to warn you not to go near the harbour, where there are airships.  It will not be safe for the fluffy ones.
<Murai, despite their best efforts, and being a Wind sagani, was not terribly persuasive.>
Aranel:  that really is why we are here.
Right:  oh maybe we should go south, then
<The other two air elementals puffed up like cats, the lightning more dominant.>
Center:  why wouldn't it be safe for our fluffy ones?!
Left:  what would you do to thems?
Maghris <in Trade>:  what did you say to them?!
Murai <in Trade>:  I just told them to avoid the harbour.
Murai <in Primordial>:  we would not do anything to the fluffy ones, but the winds would not be safe, others might do things, and there would be ships.
Aranel:  the ships sometimes ride the winds, and sometimes against them, they might not see the fluffy ones and strike them, or even you, causing harm.

The air elementals did not reply, but stood in a huddle, conferring.  Aranel took the opportunity to message Maghris what was happening in more detail.  Dominic was silent, but no longer hanging back next to the tree.  Aranel tried to gain some insight into their thinking, but as far as she could tell, something about Murai's accent had made the elementals not believe them.

Finally they turned to the Freelancers again.

Right:  what if we go south?
Left <muttered>:  it's not as nice in the south
Dominic:  that would avoid any potential for harm to come.  You're perfectly fine here too; we're worried about the harbour.
Center:  no one will bother our fluffy ones, if we stay here and don't go to the harbour.
Dominic:  that's how this works!

At this point, the fluffy ones had noticed Maghris, and there were five flying around him and Blaze, making fluffy-cloud sounds of delight.  Maghris' ears flattened a little.  Aranel cast message again, telling him "They are trying to play."  Maghris nodded, and dropped 20' closer to the ground; he had Mr Zircon fly around with them, admonishing the homunculus not to hurt them.  The fluffy ones immediately tried to start a game of tag with Mr Zircon.

Everyone watched, and it was very cute.  After a few minutes, Dominic called to them, "Would you like extra wind to play with?"

All the little elementals turned to Dominic, crying "yes! Yes!"  So the druid, casting a sardonic eye at the three person-sized elementals, lined himself up with a clear space, and cast gust of wind, creating a steady stream of air 10' wide and 60' long.  The fluffy ones played on it like it was a children's slide, which for them it was.  They had so much fun, even the adults joined in, and Mr Zircon, although he wasn't as fast.  Bee-opatra also flew along it, and everyone was entirely delighted.  The spell lasted a full minute, so it ran out before anyone was bored.

The Freelancers smiled at each other.  Mission accomplished.  But, it was late in the day.  Murai proposed, in all seriousness, they camp nearby to keep an eye on the fluffy cute ones.  But, air elementals don't sleep.

The next morning, the Freelancers told the air elementals that sometimes someone might come visit, to check on them.  And Dominic did the airslide again, to the delight of the clamouring fluffy ones.  Then they took their leave.

Maghris, who was in an exceptionally good mood, led them straight back to Cliffshadow in about 5 hours' travel.  <Narrator voice:  because Justin's nat 20 on survival gave everyone a good mood.>  They decided to go directly to the Church of Storms to report into Adrian Bryant.

It had been a while since Aranel, Murai, and Dominic had visited the Church of Storms, on the day after they'd been attacked; and Maghris had never been.  The Freelancers were asked to wait in the courtyard, because of Blaze; as Adrian strode out to meet them, they saw he was wearing nice, storm-grey robes, with silvered sparkly lightning bolts worked into the weave, and not much indications of the attack, many primes ago.

Maghris explained to Adrian in excruciating detail, how cute the fluffy ones were; the conversation they'd had; how they liked having gust of wind to play; and how they should be checked on, from time to time.  Adrian had clearly been prepared to be told an entirely different outcome, and was visibly relieved at Maghris' tale.  He had come to meet them prepared, and counted out 100gp each, saying almost by rote, "Please give Arnari the Freelancers' Cut, that's 10gp each."

Then he rocked back on his heels.  "I'm happy to hear they won't mess with the harbour," he told the Freelancers, then grinned.  "I'm extra happy to hear how cute and fluffy they are."  He crossed his arms and bounced on the balls of his feet, looking around the courtyard.  "I'm considering," he said slowly, "Getting Waiola to cast gust of wind to play with them.  Maybe it would cheer her up," he said softly.

Aranel smiled, lightening up the entire mood.  "Certainly cheered us up when Dominic did it!"

They all looked at Dominic, and for once, he did not look disappointed.