Only about an hour passed since the mutiny. Inside the dining room, the few survivors were being patched up. Elias sat with Kristen as he got bandages wrapped around his cut.

"Y'know what's weird?" He said to her

"I barely felt it.. well until now.."

Kristen poked his bandaged arm.

"The cut?" She asked

"Yea.. like it hurt, but not as much as I'd expect.." He said as he held it.

"Probably the heat of battle, y'know?" Kristen replied

The Captain walked in shortly after. He looked around and made sure everyone was bandaged and fixed up.

"Listen up. The Dragonfin are on our tails. I have caught sight of them." He said "But they're lagging behind- probably preparing themselves.. so we have to be ready too."

"What's the plan?" Flecks asked from across the room

Captain Rae stood for a moment. His hand rubbing his chin. Everyone in the room awaited orders.

"Alright so we're approaching the continent. There are going to be many sea spires sticking out from the ocean. We can use those to cause them to crash.." He said, sounding like he was making it up as he went.

The remaining crew stared at him, and tried to picture how this was going to even work.

"How are we going to accomplish that?" Tsuni finally asked, breaking the silence.

Captain Rae was silent. But he was still stirring some idea up in his head.

"If I... remember correctly.. the south sea howlers hunt and perch around these waters.." Captain Rae mumbled aloud. But he seemed unaware of everyone in the room. He walked back outside as he thought.

Elias turned to Kristen with confusion and fear.

"Uh.. south sea howlers?? What? Another pirate group to worry about!?" He whispered to her.

From behind, Adira approached.

"No.. they are ravenous beasts.." she whispered back. "They are strange creatures that lure in airship pilots and crewmen to their doom."

Kristen giggled. "You can't be serious, Adira. Those are just myths! Legends created by you guys to stop us from exploring."

"Those Librarians really hide everything from you City-dwellers huh?" Adira struck back

"Creatures, Continents, People.." Adira said with a stern face. She paused for a moment. "and now ..Magic?"

Chills ran down both Kristen and Elias's backs as she said that. She said it with such seriousness, as if important parts of their life were unknown to them.

They stared at each other for a moment. Elias was tempted to ask Adira to prove it right here, right now. But they were interrupted.

"CLEAVERS! OUT NOW!" Captain called from outside on the deck.

The massive Dragonfin ship was back, moving parallel to theirs. It was still a great distance away, but it was approaching. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be getting swarmed by what looked like vogels- small flying creatures that were usually only found on beaches, stealing trash and food.

Tall spires could be seen in the distance getting closer as the airship sped through the sky.

"Get ready to raid the ship, guys! Grab your weapons, and pack your bags!" Captain shouted

Everyone hurried to their rooms to grab their things. Elias and Adira headed to their room. When he got there he rummaged through his bag, removing any unnecessary items, and only keeping the extra clothing.

"Adira- what-"

"I think they're being swarmed by the Howlers! This is our chance to leap!" She interrupted.

Swarmed? Howlers? She can't be serious. Hearing that from Adira, he didn't know what to believe.

Suddenly Kristen barged in through the door, causing Elias to jump. "Hey are there any grappling hooks hanging around here? We need as many as possible!"

She continued talking, but her words became more and more jumbled. Meshing together. Something began echoing in the back of Elias's mind. Beautiful, beautiful singing.

"Elias? You heard me?" Kristen waved her fingers across his face to no response. She started snapping at him. His pupils expanded twofold, and he seemed to be in some euphoria.

Suddenly Adira gets in between them. "The damn howlers are here! Cover your ears!" She shouted as she went under her bed and pulled out some specialized headgear. She hands one pair to Kristen, and puts a pair onto Elias, who quickly returned to his senses.

"Their called Soster Phones- they can block out the enchantment" She said as she put them on herself.

"Okay.. Ill put on your goofy looking cap." Kristen said jokingly, slowly sliding them over her head. "But honestly- I'm still skeptical."

"Let's just get out of here!" Adira hollered

All three of them came out to the deck, where the Dragonfin ship was extremely close. Most of the remaining crew stood on the higher deck, ready to swing over to the enemy ship. Each one donning their Soster phones.

The howlers were beginning to transfer their attention to them now. The creatures swooped and flapped around the deck of the ship. They looked like imps, but they didn't have arms. They had fully developed wings in their place. This along with the wings on their backs. They were amazing flyers. Their eyes had a greenish glow to them. Most noticeably, they were very beautiful- males and females of their kind were in great shape, being extremely physically attractive. That was their weapon.

Elias and Kristen followed Adira up the stairs where the crew was swinging off the ship. Captain Rae was one of the last ones there.

"Looks like y'all are jumping with me!" he shouted as he gripped a tough rope hanging from the balloon of the ship.

He held on for a while, then leaped. He zipped through the air and let go of the rope at full velocity. As he was in the air, unsupported by anything- no gliding suit or parachute- Elias was terrified. A fall from this height was certain death, even when it was ocean below.

How was he going to do this?

"Alright- lets do this!" Kristen shouted as she grabbed a rope that was connecting the balloon to the deck. Elias watched her and Adira swing over with ease. They didn't need to let go of the rope anymore as the Dragonfin ship was getting even closer. They both turned around quickly to keep an eye on Elias.

"Elias hurry up!" Kristen Shouted

Another crew member bolted from behind Elias and leaped without the aid of a rope. The ship was that close. Elias jumped directly after him, and the ships collided. He landed on his feet, though he quickly toppled to his knees before standing back up.

The wooden ship was quickly damaged. One last crew member ran out from the interior. He wasn't wearing his Soster phones, and he was clearly in a trance- dribbling from the mouth.

Without hesitation, he leaped off the edge where the two ships weren't touching and plummeted to his death. The Howlers followed hastily.

Shortly after- the old Cloud Cleaver ship collapsed in on itself and detached from the balloon. The body of the ship also plunged into the ocean.

"We're dropping like flies.." Kristen uttered under her breath.

"C'mon we need to get this ship under control." said Adira

They ran to the main deck of the ship. It was much fancier than what was on the previous. The floor was a fine cement, and the guardrails and walls were covered in a white plaster. Not to mention all the space. Though it was unexpectedly empty.

"Where is everyone?" Elias whispered as they started to tip toe across the deck.

"Either they abandoned ship, or they were Howler bait" Adira replied

They run into Captain Rae. He was facing the other way, looking down at a corpse. As they approached, Elias got a better look at it.

It was disturbingly wrinkled and shrunken. As if it was sucked dry of blood and guts til it was shriveled to skin and bones.

"Is that..what they do?" Elias asked wearily.

"Yes. They use a magic that is designed to suck the life energies from living creatures." Captain Rae said "it's a truly evil force"

"Guys!" Kristen shouted "who's controlling this airship!?"

"I got Tsuni and Flecks looking for the wheel... this skipper is massive, so i made em split up.."

Captain Rae then looked up and sounded as anxious as Kristen. "Oh no! Spread out! Look for the control room!"

When Elias finally pulled his attention away from the shriveled up body, he looked up and saw a spire. A tall dark brown rocky spire that protruded from the ocean.

They were headed straight for it.