Cinnamon Bun

Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty-Four - Doesn't Look Like Much

It was a bit past noon when Sally the Scallywag called out from across the deck. "Land ho!"

"We're flying over land, you blockhead!" Joe shouted back.

"You know what I meant, and you're the blockhead for not catching onto my context clues... squarehead!" Sally sniped back.

I held back a giggle, because while it was funny, and I didn't sense that they were actually upset with each other, it was hard to insult someone without sounding kinda mean. "What did you spot?" I asked Sally as I left the wheel and started across the deck.

Sally grinned, making sure to show off some of her smugness to Joe who was cording some rope nearby before she turned and pointed down and gestured with a spyglass. "There's a town up ahead, Captain Bunch!" she said. "Small one, looks like it might be what we're searching for."

I reached the rails next to the starboard figurehead and leaned out and over the void. Squinting, I could make out what Sally had seen. We were soaring along the coast (so really, Joe was only partly right) and this part of the coastline was mostly straight except for a few natural beaches and large cliff faces that jutted out over the sea. There was a town up ahead. It was right there, along the coast, small and unobtrusive.

The town wasn't much to see, even when Sally passed me the spyglass. I could only make out maybe a dozen faint trails of smoke and only the barest signs that there were any buildings.

"Nice catch," I told Sally. "Keep an eye on it, just in case. Joe, want to go around and alert the crew? Let Amaryllis know first, and maybe the rest of the away team?"

That was the main group of my friends who tended to be the ones to jump into trouble when the need arose. Or just because it seemed fun.

I got back to the helm. It probably wasn't wise to leave it unbunned for too long. There was a lock on the wheel, but having someone there was still the best move, even if the weather was pretty nice. The warm air around here contrasted nicely with the cooler winds at our altitude, though I could have used a bit less humidity. It was making my ears fluff up something fierce.

We had lunch while the town slowly grew closer. Calamity and Desiree came out with bowls filled with reheated leftovers and we chowed down on lentils and stew while moving ahead at a good clip.

When the town became a little more visible, and after I confirmed with Amaryllis that this was probably Blackwatch according to the maps we had, I cut down on the throttle and eased off on the gravity engine, slowly bringing the Beaver lower and slowing us down a fair bit.

Steve picked up a set of semaphore flags took a position at the starboard bow, ready to signal to the town that we were going to land. It was pretty clear as we approached that they didn't have much air traffic here. The closest they had to a landing zone for airships was an empty field not far from the edge of town.

It was that, or we tried to hook onto the town's little belltower, and I was worried that it wouldn't like an encounter with the Beaver's mass, so I brought us around and settled over the field. At least it didn't look like it was being used for anything at the moment.

Maybe it was a grazing field being left fallow? The grass there looked like it was almost hip-high.

We dropped anchor, and then reeled them in even as the ship was lowered until our keel was hovering just over the tallest grass. Then we dropped two more, smaller, anchors for stability. We'd stake those down later.

"Looks like some of the locals are eyeing us up," Calamity said.

I covered my eyes and squinted, and yeah, there were some folk off by the edge of the field. A few farmers, it looked like. They had pitchforks and straw hats and looked like they weren't sure what to think of us.

"Hmm, maybe I should go say hi, before the whole crew hops off?" I said.

I didn't want to come out and just say it, but I'd felt like maybe the people of Southerfell weren't as... cosmopolitan... about different species as we'd gotten used to. Having all of my friends jump out of the Beaver might worry the locals.

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So, I asked Awen and Calamity to accompany me over, while Amaryllis, Desiree, Caprica, and Bastion prepped for a short mission away from the ship.

We tossed a rope ladder off the side, then hustled down to the ground, landing in the grass and the slightly muddy earth beneath. "Nice place," Calamity said.

"Really?" Awen asked.

It was always kind of jarring, going from the Beaver to ground level. I went from being able to see leagues away, to being able to see across the field and not much else. I shook that feeling off. "It's probably for farm animals to graze," I said.

"Probably full of ticks," Calamity said.

I wrinkled my nose at that. Would Cleaning magic work on those?

"Hello!" I called out with a wave towards the nearest farmers. They were still staying on their side of the fence, but at least most of the pitchforks had been spun around, tines poking into the earth instead of pointing at us. My friends and I waded across the long grass. I might have been able to hop past it all, but I didn't want to spook anyone.

One of the farmers raised a hand in greeting. "Hello?" he replied.

I grinned. Contact! That was as good as shaking hands sometimes. "Sorry for bothering everyone," I said as I came closer. "Who does this field belong to? I wasn't able to ask for permission from the air, but it's better late than never, right? We can afford to rent the field for a while, it that's what it takes."

The farmers looked between each other, then one of them, a shorter, older fellow, was pushed forwards. "Well, missy, this here's grazing land, mostly. No one really owns it, though we use it for a few things."

"When we set out sheep to sell 'em, this is where we hold them," another one said.

"Oh! Well, that's nice. Maybe I can make a donation to the town, then?" I asked. "Just something to say 'thank you' and to keep any hard feelings at bay?"

The farmer rubbed his nose. "I suppose that'd be fair? What're a buncha city folk doing here?" I couldn't help but notice the looks they were giving Calamity and my ears. They definitely found us a little weird. But that was okay! They might find us weird, but at least they didn't seem hostile.

"We're from a little further out than Southerfell," I said with what I hoped was a nice smile. "We're mostly chasing rumours! Actually, we were hoping to find something here? Or maybe someone to help us?"

"Rumours?" the old farmer asked. He traded a look with his friends. "About the dungeon?"

"No? But it might have something to do with that," I said. "We're Explorers. Um, we're looking for anything connected to the Black Avatars!"

The men all shifted, and I knew I'd struck something. Maybe a nerve, or maybe paydirt. It was hard to tell. "Don't know much about that," the old man said. "This is Blackwatch, the name's probably just a coincidence."

"It is?" I asked. "Darn. We heard a story that there used to be a big fortress around here, but one day it up and left."

"Buildings don't just take off and fly, young missy," he said.

I stared at him. Then I slowly turned to glance at the building-sized ship parked behind me. "Um, I mean, I guess they don't, most of the time?"

"Maybe you ought to talk to the village head," he said. "He'd know more about that."

"Sure!" I said. "We're also really good at fixing dungeon-related problems, you know? That's kind of what the Exploration Guild does, and we have half a dozen members here. Has there been a local dungeon that's been acting up?"

"Only a few small breakout--" the man was cut off when a second farmer kicked him in the shin. "--I mean, nothing we can't handle. Don't need no help."

"If a dungeon is releasing monsters, then it's on the edge of becoming a real problem," Calamity said. "Ny'all don't want to see something like that escalate. Especially close to your fine lil' town."

I nodded along. "You'll need more than a few pitchforks to take care of something like that. And Southerfell, and reinforcements, are a ways away. We might be able to help, and we're free!"

***