The Wonderground

25 - Sky Rats

Strongbark's council address was disturbed by muffled shouts coming from the battlements. "What is going on up there?" he demanded. He heard panicked speech but failed to make out the words.

All four quarter bells began ringing at once. "Oh no," whispered Nyssa under her breath.

"Incoming!" screamed a voice over the incessant clanging. Something smashed into the exterior and shook the tower. A broken, jagged lump of yellow stone fell from the ceiling and crashed into the centre of the chamber, narrowly missing Montana Falconbone.

Two Forest Kingdom archers appeared behind Strongbark. "What is it, Captain Arquiera?" he asked the taller of the two women.

"Sky Rats, sir," she replied. "One ship. We think it is the Ephemera."

"The Ephemera?" remarked Samudra Neverstorm in shock.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Banza, the second archer. "Lilacbeard. He is back."

"Peacock?" said Montana furrowing her brow. "Parrington Peacock? I thought he was in prison?" she queried. "Did he escape?"

Silence.

Clavis Majstar stared pointedly at Larix Strongbark who sighed, closed his eyes and gave a resigned nod.

"Stories of his capture may have been exaggerated," admitted Majstar sheepishly. "To keep the public at ease."

"Exaggerated?" barked Falconbone. "More like a downright lie! Did you know about this Samudra?"

"I most certainly did not!" replied the Ocean representative. The others shook their heads.

Nyssa tried to explain. "News from Bird Island was that he was dead. Murdered by his own mutinous crew. Our informants had heard nothing for months. It made for suitable propaganda to proclaim his capture."

Samudra Neverstorm stood. "Your aide knows about this?" she uttered in disbelief. "This gets better and better!"

She was interrupted by a gut-wrenching scream as one of the battlement guards dropped through the hole in the ceiling and crumpled awkwardly across the stone bench.

"Is he dead?" cried Nyssa. His face was covered in blood. Amelia knelt beside him. She wrapped her shaking hand around his wrist and leaned in close. She felt his warm breath against her cheek and sighed with relief. "No," she said with relief and felt a weak pulse against her fingers. "We need to get him out of here."

"We all need to get out of here!" wailed Elliot as more stonework fell around them. The room darkened as a bulbous shadow spread across the floor. They gazed through the tower opening and spied an airship floating into view and blocking the sun. It was like nothing they had ever seen before.

Slung below the balloon was the hull of an ornately decorated galleon, suspended from countless ropes and floating effortlessly in the sky. The prow of the ship was carved in the shape of a hybrid beast with a rhinoceros head, dolphin tail and wings of a kestrel. Two rows of gun ports ran the length of the hull, pointing downwards towards them.

The main deck of the ship carried three copper domed tanks and an intricate series of pipes leading to three identical flues that pointed upwards at the balloon envelope. Blue-green fire was issuing from each one. They reminded Charlie of Bunsen burners from Mr. McDonald's chemistry class. The roaring flames licked upwards towards three metal ringed openings in the underside of the balloon.

Mounted on the side of the balloon was a chimney that coughed plumes of acrid black smoke into the atmosphere. A single grubby white flag flapped and snapped below the ship's bows. The red outline of a rodent was painted crudely in the centre of the material.