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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4946120" data-attributes="member: 3285">Fair Salvage: ConclusionThe crowd roared as the designated executioner wrapped the noose tightly around Bijoux’s neck.  She was easy prey, muttering feverishly to herself, eyes rolling.  They bound her hands and feet so that she couldn’t glide to safety.  Then, with a mighty heave, they shoved her off the stone steps of one of the other towers.There was a flash of black and the rope snapped.  Bijoux was snatched out of the air by something moving fast.Sebastian flew all the way to the beach before he let Bijoux go.  He slashed open her bindings. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her.  “The card…the card forced me to do things…”Bijoux didn’t seem to hear him.  She wobbled steadily to her feet.  “They’re calling me,” she whispered. “They’re trapped between worlds.”“I killed so many.”  Sebastian fell to his knees.  “There were a dozen, I think, in Carcosa.  They didn’t know what hit them.”  He could still smell the stench of burning flesh.  “The King in Yellow forced my hand…”Vlad and Kham arrived a few minutes later, panting.Vlad put his hands on his knees.  “You have to leave.  The mob is coming this way.”Sure enough, the pool of angry fireflies that were the mob’s torches had transformed into a serpent of flame, winding its way through Freeport and towards the beach.  Kham stared out at the water.  “Uh, guys…”Vlad looked over at Kham. “What now?”“The water out there…it doesn’t look right.  It’s broken up somehow, like something…”“Invisible,” said Sebastian.  “The fihali have come to avenge their brothers.” He stood up and stretched out his wings, a good span of twelve feet.  “So be it.  I am not afraid to die.”“Are you nuts?” said Vlad. “Yep,” answered Kham.A glowing white cannon appeared in mid-air about a hundred yards out.  There was an odd whirring sound and the cannon’s barrel flared brighter.“I don’t think they’re aiming for Sebastian,” said Kham.  “I think they’re aiming for the mob.”The crowd had hit the beach.  Their angry shouts were audible.  “If they shoot now, it’ll be a massacre!” shouted Vlad.  He drew his sword, but knew that even Grungronazharr couldn’t stop the blast.“No!” shouted Bijoux.  “Calactyte, NO!” She launched herself in the air.  “We have to help him!”“What the hell is she talking about?” asked Kham. “Bijoux’s delirious,” said Sebastian.  “She thinks she’s back in Semar.” Vlad pounded towards the crowd.  If he could get there in time, maybe there was a chance…The fihali flew towards the cannon, intercepting the blast before it could expand further.  There was a terrific explosion that knocked them to the ground. For a moment, a white light as bright as the sun at high noon illuminated the beach. A great wail went up from the crowd.  Terrified, it quickly dispersed.  Vlad fell to his knees, his entire body drifting smoke that whipped in the shore winds.  Bijoux’s sacrifice was enough to slow the blast but not stop it. Grungronazharr absorbed what it could, but the explosion was too powerful.  Kham ran over to Vlad and felt his pulse.  “He’s alive.  Barely.” There was no sign of Bijoux.“They will never know her sacrifice,” Sebastian said sadly.When the light finally faded, a small, featureless boat parted the water.  More cloaked figures stood stiffly in its center as it propelled itself towards the beach, parting the water without oar or sail. Sebastian took a few steps towards the boat and waited. The black fihali stepped out of the boat, one by one.  They turned to face Sebastian. “I…I am sorry.”  Sebastian choked.  “I was mad.”“Who are you talking to?” asked Kham.  He couldn’t hear the other part of the conversation.“We cannot give you the Cannons,” said Sebastian. “Freeport needs them to survive.”The black fihali inclined its head, staring at Sebastian curiously.  “Bijoux’s sacrifice should not be in vain.  There can be peace between us, despite our past sins.  I will help you.”The fihali nodded.  Sebastian nodded back.“That is a very generous offer.  I will discuss with my companions.”  The dark-kin turned to Kham. “They need the cannons to attack a k’n-yan ship.  It too crashed here when the fihali homeworld was destroyed. But in light of Bijoux’s sacrifice, they are willing to use my firepower instead.  I offer it to them freely as recompense for the murders I committed.” “Murders?” asked Kham.  “In exchange, they will give us access to something called the Moonsilver Orb.  It can open a portal to R’lyeh. That’s our only chance to stop Leviathan.”Kham peered at Sebastian.  “You’re going to do this whether we go with you or not, huh?”Sebastian nodded.Kham flashed him a grin.  “It’s good to have the old Sebastian back.  I’m in.”“And me,” said a gruff familiar voice.  Beldin stumped across the sands, having just returned from Solanos Mor.  “It’ll take a dwarf to show you how to navigate the high seas.”</blockquote>

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