The castle beaches hardly seem to be a place for Red Dog's hearing on the charge of kidnapping, but, since all three Kitlets are obviously uninjured, the whole proceeding has a festive air.

There is great reason for rejoicing. Meowlokai has received both the treatment and the vaccine against the plague, many of doses administered by Chiripine and Purrette themselves. The reigning family's prestige has reached a new high, matched only by everyone's admiration for the Protectors.

Daisy, hoarse from having read all the reports from the Protectors' debrief logs, takes Red Dog's verdict from Veridia, but Alitrill intercepts it before Daisy can even unfold.

"It seems I was kind to him when he was an orphan kit with no money," Ali speaks out. "I bought him a meal and got him a job as a stock boy in the harbor. He always liked my drawings, from my childhood scribbles to my full paintings.

"I missed him when he disappeared from port several years ago. We never got to be close enough to be friends, but I appreciated the feeling of interest and caring he gave me whenever our paths crossed.

"When he heard what Hissman planned to force me to wed, even though I steadfastly refused, Reddy decided to rescue me. I think he knew instinctively I wouldn't go and leave my mother with difficulties, so he simply took me."

"Guilty as charged," Red Dog admits, "But I'd do it again. No one should be forced to marry!"

"You're guilty of being very high-handed, young feline, but not wrong," Veridia interrupts. "I was wrong trying to arrange prospects for my daughters, and I won't continue the practice. My Kitlets are strong and independent. They shall choose their own paths."

Ali unfolds the paper and gleefully yowls out: "Not Guilty!"

The verdict is met with much celebration, and various servants appear with foods for a luau. The Kapali Kittenz arrange themselves in the proper order and strike up a merry tune.

Barty, however, reaches to Daisy's paw and pulls her from the podium.

"Stay close," he murmurs and moves over to Vibrissa and Grumpus. "Have you noticed the ocean mists thickening? They're growing into dense fog and heading inland. It's not a natural fog, and part of it is heading to the tower where Hissman is being held."

Grumpus jumps to his feet just as an alarm bell rings from the port. "That's the Piazzan war ship. It's returned with more of the fleet, and it's throwing fireballs down by the port!"

Vibrissa is also quick to act, alerting the protectors. "Mages and alchemists among you! Deal with the fog and the fire balls."

"And the vines!" Daisy exclaims. "They're growing rapidly and snaking towards us. It has to be vile magic!"

Hissman's laughter echoes from the window of his tower prison. "My mages have come, and my troops! You can't hold me, and I shall take Vibrissa and her son as well. I shall see not just Balihee under my rule, but the Feline Faerie realm as well. I shall make you my slaves! I shall be Prince of Purrsia!"

Barty shakes his head. "He's seriously demented, but we'd better come up with some magical or alchemical solutions quickly. Hopefully, our Protectors can help us prevail...again."

(OOC: Details for this last challenge are in the OOC thread. Please post in character on this story thread.)

[Spoiler=Fog, Fleets, Fireballs and Vines, Oh My: A Steve Tale] [/spoiler] Sorn had long since zoned out from the hearing of whosit for doing whatever whosit did. Instead, he scanned the crowd for any signs of wealthy individuals who should be liberated from their heavy purses--after all he had a duty to help them. Soon he had to put off his plans to pilfer as his great skills were in need. He was especially miffed at the use of the word vile in regards to the magic done to the vines. If that bothered the stuffy bureaucrats then they would surely object to his craft. After stewing on this thought for a moment his lips curled into a cruel smile of absolute delight. He would show them vile alright. “I will help of course, yet I alone shall stop the fleet.” Sorn let out a malicious laugh. Oh he was going to relish in every single scream of terror. Now all he needed was to work on the incantation.

Alfred wasn't surprised that Sorn had called dibs on the fleet, but Alfred's attention was captured by the vines almost dancing towards them. The movement was strangely hypnotic and Alfred quickly blinked a few times to make sure he didn't fall under any kind of trance. "I've seen things move in this way before. They're usually things that only come out at night, so if I can mix the right ingredients then a daylight alchemic potion might do the trick although it might need a hint of weed killer to see them off completely." Rummaging in his bag, he started pulling out more vials and bottles than you would think was possible for the size of the bag itself.

Sorn was now sitting cross legged on the ground with his eyes closed as he began to craft the incantation for his spell, yet at the mention of light magic, the drow's eyebrow rose, he opened his eyes and shifted his attention to Alfred. "This isn't going to be a spell similar to Angel light is it, poochy?" he asked, "because if it is, then it stops now."

"Nothing of the sort," Alfred replied, surprised that Sorn would even think he would consider using that after what happened in the greenhouse. "I'm thinking more of a targeted daylight, so it concentrates midday sunlight in one direction. If I can find the perfect ingredient then I should be able to make it only affect flora rather than us." He paused before adding, "but if you'd rather I didn't use light, then say so and I'll think of an alternative. There's rarely only one alchemic solution to a problem."

"Good to know your self-preservation is smart enough not to dabble in something that would result in me running my sword through you and roasting you on a spit like a suckling cave pig," Sorn replied with an almost disappointed lilt in his voice. "Carry on."

Ven’s hand went to the hilt of his sword as the fog began to roll in obscuring the invading fleet. He had packed poisons, but mixing caustic chemicals on the fly was not in his purview. “Sorn. You work on crowd control and I’ll cut them off at the source. Try not to blow me up.” It wasn’t a question, but Ven didn’t stick around to face Sorn’s ire at being more or less told what to do. Words were hard enough to muster and there wasn’t time to play semantics. Hopefully the sorcerer wouldn’t take it personally lest Ven lose the remainder of his tail to a wayward spell. Disappearing into the shadows Ven moved swiftly toward the docks. Ears trained forward he slunk intent on confirming any movement on the street was not first an innocent civilian before unleashing an efficient situationally lethal attack.

Galena chuckled at Sorn's nickname for Alfred. She shook her head with deep amusement at the next comment Sorn made as well. The imagery was good and she could literally see roasted Alfred on the fire, not that she wanted that delicacy. "Hmm..." she uttered as she began to think of solutions to the threat they were now facing.

Sorn waved his hand dismissively at Ven as he left. "Yes, I'll get right on that. Right after I vanquish the rest of the magical problems and whip you up a five course dinner whilst I'm at it, shall I?" He shook his head. "Crowd control indeed..." Then he laughed richly. Oh it was too perfect. His plan would do little to assay crowd control--quite the opposite actually. It was sure to create mass panic but then again Ven hadn't asked or waited to hear the rest of the plans. It was his own fault, the idiot. Sorn chuckled again as he resumed his little meditation to find the right words. It had been a very long time since he had summoned one and whilst each spell had been different, the incantation was still very important. He began to chant low in demonic tongue. The wind around him began to swirl, conjuring a darkness around him. Thunder cracked and rumbling from the ground began as Sorn hovered a little from his spot. The smell of sulphur was now thick in the air. He sliced his hand and blood dripped from it onto the ground.

“I summon thee with the blood from my hand, Come forth from your slumber deep within the land, Of ancient descendent and loving of treasure, Evil of the darkest night, with wings that span the greatest measure, Eyes bright like coin and a roar most fierce Come forth and mine enemy's heart freely pierce.”

The rumbling intensified and the ground opened up. It happened quickly. One second there was nothing but a small puddle of blood, then the blood was gone and a there was a large fifty foot black dragon flying above Sorn. The dragon’s roar was deafening and made the ground quake. Then it’s 20 foot wingspan created quite a bit of wind and she sped towards the fleet. She picked up one poor soul and crunched happily. Sorn was beaming gleefully as dozens of people began screaming and running in all directions. “Fleet’s taken care of,” he said in a sing-song voice, “What’s next?”

"Fireballs and the fog," Jean told Sorn, privately facepalming at his method of dealing with the fleet. She hoped that the dragon wouldn't be more trouble than help.

"You might struggle to run a sword through me if it affected you as badly as that Angel Light did back in the greenhouse though. You didn't seem able to counter that with anything at the time." Alfred resisted the temptation to poke his tongue out, and watched with surprise as Sorn summoned a dragon from... somewhere. Shaking his head slightly at Sorn relishing the theatrics of it all, Alfred did have to admit that Sorn seemed to have dealt with the fleet at least.

Alfred pulled out several more vials and a small pouch. "I think this should do the trick," he muttered to himself as he didn't really think anyone else would be listening. Sitting on the floor, he took a small clear dish from his bag and placed it on the floor in front of him. "Two, no three spoonfuls of aphids, five slices of mutters, a handful of glitter to dazzle, three pinches of white sand to thicken the mix, a small drop of weed killer just in case, and give it a little stir..." Alfred looked at his concoction for a few seconds, stirring it a couple of times more before he was satisfied with the ghostly glow it was emitting. Carefully pouring it into a small ball-like container, he looked around. "Any takers to accurately lob this at the vines?"

"I can throw pretty well," Jean said, stepping over to take the delicate container. "And here we go!" She wound up like a pitcher and hurled the alchemical concoction at the vines. A direct hit! The container shattered, releasing a burst of directed light and causing the vines to wither and die.

"It worked! Great job, Alfred."

All the hair on the drow’s head stood on end as she felt a surge of magic from Sorn. Before Galena could even comprehend what had just happened, she saw the dragon seemingly pop out of nowhere. She rocked back on her heels and gasped in awe. ‘Sorn’s truly magnificent,’ she thought with a smirk. Coda nudged her ankle and said to her mind, ‘don’t let him hear you say that or he’ll think you actually like him and put on a show.” She purred while watching the dragon fly through the air magnificently.

The drow ducked for cover when another fireball landed on the ground. It seemed to explode into a mini volcanic eruption of flame and hot liquid lava. “Quick, Coda,” she yelled in her mind voice, “shield me while I get a potion.” She threw her bag on the floor ignoring everything around her and pulled out several different vials of potions that she had been gathering over the years. One was an ice potion that would quickly diminish the temperature of the area. She pulled out that potion. The next potion would actually end up helping to make it into a more harmless frozen rain than anything else more explosive and destructive. “Almost there…” she muttered under her breath while she fumbled with her potions. She quickly mixed them into a bowl, carefully stirring them in a counter clockwise motion while uttering the incantation that would help levitate the potion and spread it evenly in the air. “All right, Coda,” she said, “I’m ready. Drop the shield!” Coda obliged. On a whim, Galena tossed in one more aspect with a different tincture. This would help make it so that the team wouldn’t be frozen to death by the first part of the potion. She mixed it in and watched as the potion vaporized before her eyes and disbursed into the air.

Galena held her hand up while focusing on the small simple incantation that would help disperse, and levitate the potion. She was so focused that she could not do anything else. Coda looked around at Sorn but he looked rather busy, so she focused on Alfred instead—sending him a mental image of Galena potentially needing help. And watched as the werewolf received the message. Galena grunted with the effort but the mixture successfully went into the air above their heads and prevented more fireballs from landing anywhere directly near them. “Well, this won’t last long,” she admitted, “but hopefully it’ll be enough…” She gasped for breath. Looking around in a little bit of fear, she realised that it was holding—for now.

Sorn growled at Alfred and promptly pulled down enough of his shirt’s collar to reveal a rune laden tattoo. It was three swirls interconnected with little runes around it. “You see this. This is a rune to protect against sunlight. I’m currently working on augmenting it so it will indeed counter the effects of Angel Light. But just so you know, the reason it affects me more than Galena is because I served as High Priest to the Spider Goddess for three centuries. Creatures who serve the darkness do not fare well against the light—especially radiant light.” It never occurred to him that this was the first anyone of the group, with the exception of Galena, had even seen a single new rune on him at all.

A loud metallic crunch alerted the sorcerer to the dragon making quick work of one of the fleet boat, which was now looked more like a metallic rock as it began sinking. “Hmm…the fog…” Sorn uttered as he thought of how to deal with it. A quick tornado would probably do it, but it might also take one of his comrades as well.

Alfred was relieved that Jean was able to throw the potion accurately - his own skills were somewhat lacking, especially in an urgent situation like this. The directed light had little glittery sparkly elements like thousands of miniature disco balls all catching the light. If he had longer, Alfred would've sat and admired the light show, but he suddenly had the image of Galena needing help come into his head. Wondering if he'd ever get used to Coda's way of communicating, Alfred dashed over to Galena. He wasn't too sure what real help he could be, but he caught her by the shoulders as she started to fall with the effort involved in the incantation.

"That's working brilliantly," he said in admiration, resolving to master the art of getting his potions where they need to be.

A growl from Sorn made Alfred turn.... hang on, was that a rune on his skin? "Well if you need any alchemic assistance with that, even though I haven't really had any experience of working with runes, then I'm willing to lend a paw," he replied, hoping Sorn would catch the pun, given that Sorn had just shared more of his history than Alfred ever expected to learn. Also, Alfred was intrigued to learn more about runes.... just at a time when they weren't risking their lives.

"No offense, but I'm not entirely sure how much help you could be. These are drow and demonic runes I laid down. They are etched into my bones, similarly how my old runes had once been," Sorn replied matter of fact, "I'm thinking if I add another line or two that should do it... I'll have to tinker with the spell before committing to it. It hurts like a bitch. Each new set of runes nearly killed me..."

Sorn began to move around drawing in water and pushing it. Push and pull. The water in the ocean began to swirl. There was no real spell to this, or if there was, it was muscle memory by now. Sorn had always been proficient with elemental magic. Within moments he had a nice whirlpool going and the water began to draw the fog away from them--pulling it into the ocean and dissipating it. A few ships went down as well, but that only seemed to annoy the dragon who was having fun playing with her battleships. She roared at Sorn and her tail flicked, denting another ship and sending it crashing into its next door neighbour. At the rate of the ships sinking, the dragon would soon be out of toys.

"Fair enough," Alfred replied while trying to mask the shock on his face at Sorn's last comment on the runes, "although I might be able to help with something to dull the pain maybe? Unless of course the pain is an essential part of creating them."

Now that whirlpool was effective, although he had one niggling question. "What happens when the dragon runs out of boats to play with?"

"Perhaps," Sorn replied simply. Though he was not one to trust potions of any kind really. He held a deep dread of healers.

The sorcerer's eyes lit up with glee. "Why then she begins destroying the buildings and eating villagers of course." He plopped himself on the beach and pulled out some food from his bag. "Dinner AND a show."

"Sorn!" Jean cried in exasperation. "We can't let the dragon destroy the town! You have to banish her back to where she came from once she's done with the fleet."

“Of course I can let the town be destroyed,” replied Sorn as he began getting a fire going. Then he pulled out some smoked meats from his bag. “Want a chicken leg, Jean? Alfred?”

Teasing Jean, Galena smirked and walked over to sit by Sorn and grabbed some grapes from his bag. She popped some in her mouth. She smiled while watching the dragon fly effortlessly around the nearly decimated fleet, destroying as she went. Privately she hoped Sorn was actually joking about letting her destroy the town.

Alfred wasn't too sure what to believe when it came to the dragon, but the smell of food was too much to resist. Maybe it was being a werewolf, but alchemy always made him hungry. He gratefully accepted a chicken wing and found himself transfixed by the dragon. As a youngster he'd always wanted to have a pet dragon, and even though his cabin in the woods was suitably located away from population it wasn't a pet he'd ever achieved owning. Not that he'd want one to cause this much destruction though....

"Dear gods, you three. Fine, I guess Ven and I have a dragon to slay." Jean started going through her bag, looking for anything that would help in the upcoming endeavor. She hoped Sorn would change his mind, but the odds didn't seem to be on her side for that.

“Slay?” Sorn asked rather stunned, “come now, why would you attempt to do that? What has she done to you? Most of the bystanders are hiding so its less likely she’ll crunch on people. Is it too much to ask to let her wash down the boats with a few houses and shops? Metal is rather hard on the stomach.” Sorn smiled and patted a sandy patch beside him. “Come, sit and relax, Jean. Enjoy the show. There’s a few vessels left. Coda can contact Ven to come and join us.”

"Yes, it is too much. We're supposed to be saving the town, not contributing to its destruction." Jean looked up from her bag with a stern expression. "If you can't banish the dragon back to where she came from, and you don't want her killed, what would you propose instead?"

Galena looked at Jean in shock. "It doesn't have to be that final. For now, why don't we just sit back and enjoy the show." She looked over at Sorn and winked at him. "Besides I'm sure you have a perfectly great option for this beautiful creature." She waited for a moment and added, "Right?"

"Of course I do not wish her killed. She's done nothing to warrant it. I brought her here and she's an innocent," Sorn replied. "And it would take at least ten of me to banish her. It's infinitely harder to banish something as big and as highly powerful as a dragon than it is to summon them." He bit is lip and watched the dragon decimate another ship. He shook his head. "I had planned to let her do what she wishes to afterwards..." he said honestly. Then Sorn sighed. He would defend the dragon if it came to it, which he hoped it wouldn't because that would mean having to hurt at least one of his friends. "I could shrink her," he said, "and then when this is over I could take her somewhere isolated and then return her to her normal size. Unless she wished to remain with one of us as a companion." He said the last bit more as a hollow joke.

Swallowing his piece of chicken, Alfred looked in shock at Jean's suggestion. He knew he'd not been paying complete attention while he was eating, but how could he have missed spotting Jean getting uneasy with what the dragon was doing? Alfred was about to jump to the dragon's defence just as Sorn explained the difficulties in banishing it. Letting out a relieved sigh that this majestic creature wasn't going to be slaughtered, he thought for a moment. "How isolated would the area need to be, if the dragon agreed to stay shrunk and wanted to remain with one of us?" Alfred asked, not wanting to build his hopes up too high yet as he's read that dragons were famed for being very particular about who they would pick for their companions... and more to the point, how does someone communicate with a dragon - that wasn't mentioned in any of the books he'd read.

Galena leaned back and smiled while trailing her fingers in the air. She liked what Sorn was saying.

Sorn shrugged. "It really depends on how small I can shrink her. If she's horse sized, then she'll need a lot more space than say, dog or feline size. The larger the lifeform, the harder it is to shrink. And she's also highly magical so that will also make it significantly harder. If she was about horse size, ideally I'd say about 100 acres for her to roam contently. However, she might not need that much space. It's kind of guessing game. She would want at least one outdoor cave and perhaps a cave-like room if inside. I'd have to ask her if she decided to stay with someone. And I'd probably spell the area so the house and trees didn't catch fire. She'd want something she could burn but that's what firewood is for."

Alfred quickly worked out the dimensions of his land, plus the field next door that he knew he could acquire if necessary (the nearest landowner had been unnerved by the distant sound of howling on a full moon and was looking to sell their ground). "If she'd be happy to have a werewolf as a companion, then I'd gladly take care of her. I should have enough space, and I can get a couple of caves installed ready for her. Of course if she doesn't feel comfortable being a companion to a werewolf, then we're kind of back to square one again."

“Well a werewolf is a dark creature so she might like you. She’d likely choose you or me if she was to choose one of us. Galena is too rooted in good despite being magically changed to a drow. But if she doesn’t choose one of us then I will take her to somewhere safe and set her back to normal after we are finished with the mission.”

Alfred watched the dragon destroy one of the final boats and tried hard to not smile too broadly at the way she was enjoying herself. "That sounds fair, I wouldn't want her to be at risk if she didn't choose to be with either of us." He had a feeling the dragon would pick the darkest creature of them both, but at least he knew that Sorn would look after her.

Just as the dragon was having fun with one of the last remaining ships, Galena's potion began to fail. Some of the fire seeped down and sizzled beside Jean's foot. Sorn swore. "Of course," he muttered as he quickly thought of the right words to weave into a spell on the fly. 'Fireballs scorching by the beach, mutate in the air into fireworks out of reach.' He rolled his eyes. That was lame but seeing has he had little time to prevent them from becoming barbequed he went with it. Suddenly fireworks began to erupt all over the beach as the fireballs transformed the moment they were lobbed into the air.

Yet Sorn had no time to waste because the crunch of steel alerted him to the very last ship being sunk by the dragon. The sorcerer quickly sat on the ground and started work on shrinking the dragon. Sorn hadn't told them exactly how much power it took to change a fifty foot dragon into a horse size or smaller, yet he could feel himself weakening as he worked. The dragon came towards the group and was indeed growing smaller and smaller as it did so. When she landed in front of Alfred, she was horse sized and by the time Sorn opened his eyes the dragon was dog-sized.

"If you'd like to stay with one of us," Sorn said softly in drow, "I suggest the werewolf, he's very keen on you." The dragon came over to Alfred and nuzzled him with her nose. Meanwhile, Sorn collapsed onto Galena's lap.

When Sorn's head fell in Galena's lap, she was a little surprised. She hadn't realised his power was drained so low. Coda sent her a mental nudge. 'Don't worry, he's fine. He just needs to rest for a while,' she said in her mind voice to Galena and those within the group who were perceptive enough to receive the communication. 'He may be out for quite a while.' The silvox was beside Sorn so she curled next to him on the opposite side whilst Galena stroked his hair. She gazed at the fireworks and watched them without any worry for a moment and then let out a long sigh.

It took Ven some time to return to the group. Partially singed and somewhat bloodied the mercenary drug himself up the hill where the rest of them seemed to be having a picnic. His expression melted from exhaustion into a glower. “Taking a break? Half the town’s still on… fire…” His eyes fell on the dog sized dragon and his lip curled back in disdain. Words failed him as he stood there not knowing if he should even bother asking for an explanation, or just walk away. After a moment he let out a labored sigh and turned his back on the party. It seemed that the fires in town were being extinguished since the beach had been reclaimed and all the boats had been reduced to driftwood. No sign of vines or fog remained but it did little to lift Ven’s spirits. The collateral damage was staggering. This didn’t feel like much of a win.

Alfred certainly couldn't deny that Sorn liked to put on a show, with the fireballs turning into fireworks. Watching the dragon getting closer, Alfred wondered if his eyes were tricking him as the dragon appeared to be getting further away... no, she was getting smaller and closer. Before Alfred could say anything the dragon started nuzzling him and he lost a few moments sitting next to the dragon, gently stroking her head, wary of moving too fast in case she changed her mind about him.

Ven's comment made Alfred look up, and the werewolf felt a little uncomfortable that he'd been so distracted with the dragon that he'd not given the safety of the town any real consideration. He hadn't even noticed that Sorn had passed out until he heard Coda mention it. Shaking his head to try and focus on the matter in hand, he wondered if there was anything they could do to rectify the situation.

Galena noticed the awkwardness in the group and decided that she wasn't going to sit around twiddling her thumbs. She gracefully stood up and unceremoniously picked up Sorn and started walking towards the town. “Well,” she said to everyone “I'm gonna find a tavern to put Sorn into bed and let him sleep this off. You're all welcome to join me in the tavern and get some food and check on the town’s people to see if they need help. Otherwise you can stay at the beach.” Coda fell behind Galena and looked at the group momentarily before turning and following Galena who was carrying the unconscious sorcerer.

Grateful for Galena taking charge, Alfred stood to follow her. Food still sounded a great idea, but he really felt he should offer a paw to the townspeople to repair any damages caused by the fireballs. "Want to come and help?" he said to the dragon, knowing that she probably didn't understand the language, but he thought it was right to ask anyway. The dragon nuzzled into his hand, which he took as a 'yes' and he jogged to catch up with Galena with the dragon flying alongside him, while making a mental note to actually name his dragon - he couldn't keep calling her "the dragon" all the time.

Jean fell in behind Galena. She was relieved that she didn't have to slay the dragon after all, and made a mental note to thank Sorn, who had clearly extended himself further than she anticipated.

Ven followed the rest at a distance, once back in town he went off on his own to help put out remaining fires or carry injured to the emergency medical tents that were starting to pop up. He would reconvene with the group at a later time, they weren’t difficult to track down. Right now he wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

: :

Frieda' heart sank, If only Aicha was still part of their team. Where had their mage gone to? Had she finally found her missing sister after all these years of fruitless searching. Tears flooded Frieda's eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her paw. Despite Aicha's surly outward demeanor, the weasel-girl had managed to break through and touch the Mages heart. Still, they weren't friends, but they weren't antagonists either.

There was no time for further reminiscing, Frieda had to act immediately. She gathered the Chaos team up and ran off to the castle, Frieda knew right where Purrette's lab was located. She grabbed several large tomes, from the bookshelf and laid them out on the lab's podium. "We're going to assemble everything from the potions that Purrette has already crafted. By blending the effects, we may have a chance of defeating this enemy...since I have no magic myself."

The Mischievous Angels turn to each other. "Okay, don't panic! We got this!" cries Jeice who has that determined look on her face. Anna winces. "I guess it's time for me, Calie, and Jilly to whip up some potions to help combat what's coming. I just hope I don't screw it up." "You'll be fine, Anna." Jilly lays a hand on the apprentice's shoulder and gives her a gentle squeeze. "You have been improving under my guidance and I'm confident we will prevail!" Juana and the others nod. "Yeah, we got this! We just need to gather up whatever ingredients you might need! I do have a few vials of magical waters from my home lagoon if you need a base to mix with."

The huddle together. There are just four of them now, and they are a little worse for the wear. "What is the plan?" Didi asks, glancing at a fireball as it whips past them. "Don't worry, " Aodh says, pulling his flute from its pouch. "Sliocach and I will give all our fey and sprite magic to this battle. And I may know a little trick to keep that crew busy." He grins and moves to the side to begin to play a tune, infused with irresistible magic. Spring grins "If only Tea was here to see that. Wait no...she'd probably forget and go start dancing with the crew on the boat. But it might have been worth the trouble of hauling her back to just to see it."

"Okay", Cream interrupts "Shall I begin a spell over here? I have just the thing to finish off those ships." Cream ran her hands together as she stood before the protector's ancient power circle. It had been a while since she had been here on this land and felt such power coursing through her veins. Time was once again of the essence as they had some powerful forces to be reckoned with so she began to chant:

"I call upon the ancient protectors of the north, I call upon the ancient protectors of the south, I call upon the ancient protectors of the west, and I call upon the ancient protectors of the east"

She begins to glow brightly and she can hear the air crackling with power as she begins summoning the elements and prepares to create her spell-infused potion for invisibility. She pours some into her wand and the rest into a vial, carefully setting it aside with tongs. "Watch that" she warns her companions. "You can drink it to get the concealing effect but you can also apply it to objects for an interesting effect, Things such as the fleet for example. However, when you drink it you run the risk of some effects I haven't quite yet figured out fully. I'd ask for a volunteer to experiment on, but I suspect the crew on the fleet will have to be our guinea pigs today." She laughs and throws the spell toward the ships in the bay.

"Well..." Spring says as they all begin to vanish in patches, "That certainly looks like it's keeping them busy". She turns to Didi "You are good with water- how about you work on the spells for the fire, and I'll take the vines. Cream, do you want to see if you have anything else for the fleet and Aodh, I already know you've got some ideas for the fog! Let's do this!" The Peppers work together quickly as they can to aid the other Protectors in defending their position against the threats. Didi is quickly swirling up any watery defense she can find, and Cream and Aodh are working against the fleet and sometimes the fog. Spring, the Ranger who is most close to the plant magic, has driven back the vines around them a good distance. It's all going well until the ground is swarmed with rabbits, attacking the vines as they've never had anything better to eat. With a small yelp, Didi and Cream jump on a crate and glare and Spring. "BUNNIES! You really had to call in EVERY SINGLE LIVING RABBIT for this??" Spring snorted. "Yes, and I'll probably be disowned. We all know how much the Empress Nyota hates them. She banned them all, and I think they must all live here now, from the looks of it." Aodh nods "I think I agree...and no disrespect to the favors they are doing us now, but...I think that they can stay here when we leave."

As Gator saw the fog start to roll in, she hurried to grab her satchel as she ran towards the door, she yelled to her friends "I will be back as soon as I can, I have to gather some items" she ran as fast as she could to forage in the woods nearby. As she ran, potions ran through her head. There were herbs for potions and elixirs, moss used in healing ointments and flower petals that would be needed. As she scanned the area she carefully grabeed items high and low, that anxious knot in her stomach pushing her to move as quick as she could. She would be relieved to be back with her friends as they put their heads together to stop this.

Gator flung open the door, flush in the face and gasping for air, she stumbled to the table and poured out the contents of her satchel. "I think I have everything we need", she said in between gasps. Gator bent over holding her knees for balance, her breath slowly coming back to her. Looking up at her friends she said, "where do we start?"

Gator reached for the laptop, leaning forward she used her arm to push all the items she grathered aside, some items tumbled to the floor. Wanting plenty of room for everyones laptop. "Violet, this just may work!" she said as she settled into a chair next to her friends. "I remember reading about rifts and how they can create an opening" .... her mind began to drift as she conteplated the situation. "I think I like it! Travelers, what do you all think?"

She leaned in a little closer as she rubbed her head, "can we try both?" Looking around to see what they others thought. "Chanting the spells as we create the rift ... "

"Gatorgirl yes lets chant some olden ones on them..do you have one and what would we need to mix up or hold while we do this. That is a great idea..i think that would truly discombobulate them once they are stopping because they don't know where they are or where they are going!! Great idea you have there!!..Let us put it in play right away after we cripple them~"violet said talking with Gatorgirl .

So as she looks at what Gatorgirl had gathering. They are all items we need to hold while we chant. SO as everyone Bowed their heads over their laptops.

Gatorgirl got busy mixing up theSquid Ink to coat each vessels windows blacking them up. A few sprigs of moonwart to line the moon up on the complete other side further to confuse the vessels. Next i gather her petrified wood which at the last point will petrify the vessels.Our Marble Mortar and Pestle has these items in there to grind together into a fine powder.

"okay we are ready now"..they start to pass a pinch of this and three each magnetic stones (also known as humming stones made of hematite..they will blast right through them now that they are petrified and poof them right into a powder and POOF..GONE!! "while we chant after our laptop attack all the travelers were instructed to roll the three magnets in one hand where they will hum as the three nagnets chime in one hand and hold tight the bit of the potion powder they were each given.

"Alright we only have a few minutes left to get this all done..so right after hitting on the laptops remember to roll the stones in one hand and tightly grip the powdered blend we made ok!?" Violet said for one last time. Everyone hit thei laptops as instructed then one hand rolloing..the other holding on tightly..we start to chant an old war heroes chant of attack and conquer. ""Let the ink along them run while the moon tips round the sun.

Now spirits of the woods defy Just let them all then petrify

Let our humming stones just shatter All thats left burst into matter.""

They followed this chant while gazing slight fearfully through the fog at the vessels. After two rounds of chants and ones that others were chanting a well in other rooms..a huge cheer went up unanimously hugging and hooting as they was the vessels disintegrate one by one.

"Whew that was to close for comfort but we DID the job all together with Chooks spells you need all be proud of yourselves tonight!!" hooted Violet...she felt like doing jig to OZ's the wicked witch is dead..and thought hey WHY NOT and started to sing as we all felt a great relief and joy as we had poofed the whole troop.

Then we all quickly ran to meet ll else of us to make sure they were not needing our help with their spells.

Chook started thinking. She knew she was no mage, magic user or scientist but surely she would be able to help out her team members in some way. She knew she was able to rhyme words to a certain extent so maybe that was the answer. Put spells into poems. She began .....

FOG Smog or fog I banish thee Into the fire Of the magic log.

Smog or fog Get far away Back to the sky Go and unclog.

Smog or fog You are not wanted Take your mist Go enter the bog.

Smog or fog This spell is done You are no more No epilogue.

Chook pondered upon what spell you could devise for the fleets. Sheets, heats, beats .... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... here goes.

FLEETS

Many fleets of sailing ships Appeared of nowhere Out of the wisps.

Ships beware I cast on you A spell to fool And you ensnare.

No fleet can know A warriors' might When chips are down It means a fight.

With weapons or words Tis all the same Your time has come Your life is done.

With this spell Your ships will founder And in the sea They will flounder.

My spell is cast And you will die Without your masts The end is nigh.

Regretting not being an alchemist or mage yet a simple ranger Willow grabbed her sword and began cutting the vines allowing Ninger her dog to have a nice snack on them. She sincerely hoped others that are able to make potions and spells will be able to get the rest. ((Willow is just a ranger so hope others can add))

Now time for the fireballs. After concentrating for some time Chook came up with a spell which she hoped would work.

Fireballs

Fireballs, fireballs Come on you all Under my spell You all will fall.

Balls of fire Havoc unwanted I cast onto you My heart's desire.

Streaks of light Flames in the night Into the sea I banish thee.

The last one, Chook was very happy with the thought.

Vines

Vines, vines everywhere Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo Ninger will get you I declare Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

Vines entangle and begin to strangle Izzy wizzy, let's get busy With my magic you will mangle. Izzy wizzy, let's get busy.

Your growth I plan to stop Abracadabra, Alakazam And soon enough you will drop Abracadabra, Alakazam.

Vines stop your growing My spell is cast Without a doubt I will start mowing.

...................................

Chook's work is done She worked her best Now is the time For drink and rest.