Saving the Caravan from Prydaen Pirates

The armed airship quickly scrambles into battle mode almost immediately, as the crew man their battlestations. Sakura moves to the front of the airship, keeing an eye on what's going on down below. She can see how swiftly the Prydaen can move in the open, and on the hot sands, as if their paws have adapted to the harsh desert conditions. Fortunately, the caravan had moved their wagons into a defensive circle, slowing down the pirates on the ground, and forcing them to make dangerous air drops. In essence, they were buying them time. The rest of the guild were now hitting the deck, donning grabbing their weapons and armor, and grabbing their adventure gear. Valnora, however, was still in the form of Bethyra, the belly dancer, so she had to keep the form in the dancing garbs. She did grab a pair of scimitars from the armory below deck, ready to defend herself, if needed.

Sakura watches the Prydaen Pirates become increasingly ****, as their airship approached, and tried to press their attack on the caravan. As they got closer, the guild can see the full extent of the Prydaen's abilities. They averaged at least 6' in height, with the forms of desert pumas, and they can move on all four paws, or just their hind legs. The males were big and stocky, with the elder ones sporting various manes. The females were reasonably smaller, but they made up for it with their speed and agility. The pirates look well armed, and well armored, and the pirates that were still on the airship began to move into an intercept course, hoping to give any of their brethren already on the ground some time.

The ensuing engagement was swift and brutal, as the guild could see how much battle-hardening the merchant guards have received. Janissa quickly moved to the lookout stations, picking off foes from above with her bow. Down on the deck, the rest of the guild engaged the pirates in hand-to-hand combat. As they began to turn the tide on the pirates, the surviving pirates began to retreat to their airship, which then began a hasty retreat. But as they did so, their few pirates remaining on the ground--sensing the tide was against them--took whatever they could grab, and leapt over the wagons, onto the open desert.

"Look at how fast they could run." Deraxle tells Sashya. "These locals are not kidding about their speed on the hot sands and rocks."

"Aye, and pretty adept fighters, if you ask me, Deraxle." Sashya responds, wiping the blood off of her mace.

"Deraxle?!" Sakura runs over to him. "The stragglers on the ground took some valuables from the caravan, including a couple of children! We've got to get them!"

"As long as this airship can keep theirs occupied." Deraxle nodded, and hopped off the deck, shifting into dragon form.

Sakura hops on as quickly as she could, with Janissa & Trini joining in. Deraxle quickly closed the gap between them & the fleeing Prydaen on foot, and Janissa can see how some of them have positioned the little hostages--using them to shield their necks and heads. Seeing that Janissa does not have a clear shot, Deraxle lets loose a fiery breath in front of the pirates, forcing them to stop to a halt. That gave Sashya the time she needed to cast a shielding spell over the hostages, while Sakura used her own magic to conjure up some vines, slowing them further, or stopping them in their tracks. Janissa then fires off precise shots with her bow, incapacitating but not killing the pirates. Deraxle then lands, letting his guildmates hop off to reach the hostages, before flying up, going after the pirate airship. A minute later, a loud pop could be heard, followed by the sight of burning cloth and ropes, as Deraxle had shot down the airship, and doing it in a way that would make the airship slide to a stop when it hits the ground, instead of crashing hard.

Minutes later, the guild regather, while the airship guards captured the remaining pirates. Then they checked the pirates' cargo, looking for stolen goods, and any intelligence on the whereabouts of the captured belly dancers. Speaking of belly dancer, Valnora, as Bethyra, grinned some, as she wiped the blood stains off of the scimitars she borrowed from the guards, then off of the fine silks of the outfit, as well as her fine skin.

"So," Cesar asked Janissa, "did we get the hostages alive?"

"We did." Janissa replies, seeing the parents retrieve their respective children. "Oh, the poor human & neko babies, so scared."

"Fine timing on your end." The caravan leader interrupts. "That was too close for comfort, and I never thought I'd see a Draconian Dragon out here. Unless, of course, that would mean....Sakura?"