A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 06

"And remember, it lands in the water. There's the Jainsun River that runs under Ealphamir, that should be the safest place." The Shipwright finished. "We'll try to get the docks cleaned up before you return."

"Wait..." I noted. "How do we land on the clouds?"

"Clouds are nothing but water. Even if the Cloud elves have worked their magic on them, it should be fine." The shipwright dismissed.

I really didn't like that 'should', but at this point, it was a little too late to protest. I just had to hope to God that they knew what they were talking about.

The final thing to do was distribute the rings that would ensure we had enough air to breathe, even at cloud-level elevation. The ring was a simple silvery band. I was nervous since the rings seemed to fit the slim fingers of my matrons and my fingers were incredibly thick in comparison. As I fed the tip of my finger into the band, it seemed to stretch and expand, until I nestled it at the base of my finger, where it tightened comfortably.

It was as though I had been breathing through a dusty pillow, and now my airway was clear. Even here the ring made breathing easy.

Man, athletes would have paid out the nose for something like this. Every breath gave you perfect oxygenation, it was almost funny to me how something like this was seemingly so simple here.

"Now, master," Diamiutar noted, pulling me aside. "Take good care of the rings. We can only afford to pay for these rings for a short time. You will have to give them back once you return."

"Wait... we're paying for all this?" I demanded quietly. "The ship...? My guns...? Why haven't I been included in these discussions?"

Diamiutar had nodded with each question. "As your Head Matron, maintaining your finances is my obligation. You were given significant vestiture of funds as a reward for your combat performances, and our home was awarded to us after your first victory. Additionally, the stipends of your battle matrons have been added to our funds. The traditional remunerations for conception and birthing of children will strengthen our financial situation significantly, but the greater part of these funds will only be made available as your progeny are born. We are satisfactorily able to meet our needs and provide you all you require, in addition to the promise of support from the Council of Elders. As such, I didn't feel it necessary to take your time with discussions of household finances."

I shrugged, " I guess that works... I had thought that maybe the Elven cities just didn't have money and currency."

"Oh, yes. We have our currencies. It is just... generally considered poor taste to discuss finances in front of your master, unless it is to beg forgiveness for failing to adequately manage the house's funds." Diamiutar admitted.

Well, that was one misconception cleared up.

I assured Diamiutar we'd be sure to take care of the rings, and we prepared for takeoff.

For takeoff, I didn't exactly want my matrons hanging over the edges so I sent most of them underdeck. The only ones to stay on deck with me were Mavrin, Sevrina, and Tavorwen. Mavrin and Sevrina, because they were my other potential pilots for this strange airship, and Tavorwen because I trusted her judgment and I wanted her support.

"Open the bay doors!" The Shipwright called, and the great doors in front of the ship swung open. "The skies are yours!"

The steering mechanism was a small pedestal with a crystal mounted on top, and levers spread around it to control the rest of the ship. I put my hand on the crystal to hopefully attune and get things started, only to be greeted by a familiar voice.

[[I am so ready for this! They made it so I can see!]] The Elemental greeted me.

[[Glad you are so excited.]] I replied. [[Do you know how this works?]]

[[This thing has wings. Simplest thing ever. The wind goes around the wings to lift things. Like helping a bird fly.]] The elemental sounded confident.

There was a lever to extend or retract the wings, and I pulled it to the first 'click', watching the wings extend from their 'Rested Landing' position to their 'Descent' position. The next click extended them to the "Slowing" position. This was the farthest the Shipwright had said we could extend them before we left the hanger.

[[They said this is the hardest part, they said.]] I told the Elemental. [[We have to get liftoff and out of the dock here with minimal wingspan.]]

[[Ha! Nothing a little wind can't help us with!]] The Elemental declared.

I could feel more than hear the ring behind us begin to hum with energy. Looking at the wings, you could see the beginnings of wind that didn't seem to touch the rest of the ship, or the onlookers as the ship began to shift.

"Come on," I whispered.

[[Doubter.]] Taunted the Elemental. [[See the power of the WIND!!!]]

With that, the wind around the wings increased, and with a groan, the ship began to lift. Upward and forward, and the bow rose over the edge of the basin.

The onlookers began to cheer and with a lurch, the ship began to pick up speed. The bay door opened towards a gap between trees and as we moved into the gap, the nose of the ship rose a degree or two.

[[Oh, this! This is FUN!]] The elemental cackled. [[Just wait until everyone back home hears about this. They're all gonna be so jealous.]]

I had to admit, it was exhilarating. The wind was starting to rush around us as we picked up speed and elevation. It was like a roller coaster, except with only minimal safety measures. I couldn't imagine the rails would be too safe if anything happened.

As we cleared the elevation of the tallest of the trees, I pulled the lever to fully extend the wings. The nose of the ship leveled off, but the wings caught the wind and lifted us, more like a helicopter than an airplane. I could see the wind energy of the elemental surrounding the wings, lifting us, and pushing out the back of the ring, to give us thrust.

Without thinking, I let my hand drop from the crystal. Sevrina, Mavrin, and Tavorwen had moved to the upper deck, and I stepped up to join them. The ship continued to rise, and while it was hard to tell speed, we seemed to level off.

"This is amazing!" Sevrina celebrated.

"Truly, this is amazing." Tavorwen agreed.

"Oh, they said that our Hiersver partners should be able to join us," Mavrin noted, pointing to a few perches at the front. "If we circle back... we should be able to... call them. Master, who is steering the ship?"

I blinked and looked back at the unmanned helm. "Um..."

I rushed back and put my hand on the crystal.

[[What's the big deal?]] The elemental asked.

[[Don't we have to... you know, stay here and steer?]] I replied.

[[I mean, you can. But... I can see where I'm going.]] The elemental replied. [[I don't exactly want to hit anything.]]

"Um, it says it can handle it," I explained.

"WHAT can handle it?" Mavrin demanded.

"The Elemental," I repeated.

[[My name is 'Dust Cloud'.]] The elemental declared.

"Dust cloud?" I asked.

[[... close enough.]] Dust Cloud accepted.

"Dust Cloud?" Tavorwen pressed.

"That's what the elemental said its name was," I explained.

"It can... hear us?"

I nodded. "It can see too."

"Could you turn around so we can get our partners?" Mavrin asked.

[[What did the Pointy one say?]] Dust Cloud asked.

"Oh, right. Dust Cloud can't understand you." I realized. "Mavrin asked you to turn around so they could call their bird partners to join us.

[[They have birds? I like birds.]] Dust Cloud accepted, and the ship began to turn.

We circled back over Ealphamir, and the two mages made a series of gestures and spoke a word, and moments later their Hiersver partners rose from the trees and quickly gained elevation. When the Hiersver reached the ship, they seemed to see their perches with ease.

[[Which way do we go?]] Dust Cloud asked.

After consulting with Tavorwen and a map, we set course to the North-West.

As we reached a cruising altitude, we realized one slight problem. With altitude came a drop in temperature, and quickly it became evident that clothing designed for the surface was not particularly set to deal with the temperature difference in the elevation. Cloaks were pulled tight around them, and being underdeck was much warmer. I created a little fire in my hands to keep me warm and that worked pretty well for me, so I managed the helm.

Because Dust Cloud was fine keeping our course, I was able to walk to the edge and look over. Down below, we were far from reaching the edge of the forest, and I could see us approaching the western end of the mountains that Tavorwen and I had been forced to hike over to get to Ealphamir from the Temple of Ages, though, if I had my mental map right, the place we had crossed was far to the east.

It felt as though we had gotten to quite the cruising speed but looking at the ground beneath us, it seemed the wind in our face made it feel like we were moving far faster than we were. I would guess we were only moving at around 30 mph, but if we could keep that up, that wasn't bad for overland travel. It was faster than I could walk.

"Are you alright up... Oh, that's warm!" Mavrin moaned and huddled next to the handful of flames I had, Sevrina was right behind her.

"Master, if we are to fly through the night, we should take turns watching the helm," Sevrina interjected.

"I'll take the first round of duty at the helm." Marvin volunteered.

"Will you be warm enough?" I worried.

Mavrin gave me an exasperated look, then gave a whistle. Her hiersver flew down from its perch at the prow and, with some guidance, it nestled down where Mavrin could sink into its lightly glowing warm feathers. The contented look on her face as she sunk from the frigid, high-altitude air, into the warmth of her hiersver's feathers was nearly orgasmic.

"I'll be fine, Master," Mavrin declared, resting a hand on the crystal to take control of the vessel.

"And I just purged," Sevrina whispered in my ear. "It will be far easier for me to rest, once I have been blessed by your seed."

Well, I didn't need to be told twice. I wasn't sure we were quite a mile-high yet, but I'd always wanted to join the Mile-High club. It was hard to do so when almost every flight I'd been on was on a military vessel where even if there were mixed genders, there was no way it was happening. Now, however, I was the only male on the ship, and with the exception of the two maidens, Ulamir and Zanantha, and I supposed Amura, everyone on board was a matron of mine. Amura seemed to enjoy watching me make love to my other matrons, and Ulamir and Zanantha had already done so on my trip to the plains.

That's how I discovered that for Wood Elves at least, the 'Mile-High Club' was a mind-busting thing to enter. Everything was different. The smaller orgasms that most women loved drove my matrons to want me more, those were strong enough as I railed Sevrina, that it was a good thing most of my matrons were sitting down already to watch. By the time I started cumming deep inside her, the only ones on the ship capable of coherent thought were me and the maidens. It was a really good thing that Dust Cloud was mostly handling the ship themself.

Sevrina had it the strongest, and after about twenty minutes of straight chain-orgasming, she came down from the high, enough to pass out and sleep. I pulled blankets up and over her, and let her sleep.

"Oh, Gods..." Tavorwen gave a shuddering moan as her brain started rebooting. "I wasn't even the one receiving your affections... and that was the most powerful I have ever felt that."

"Well, I guess welcome to the Mile-High Club." I laughed.

"Mile-High?" She asked.

"Um, a Mile is a unit of distance where I'm from, and... well, the way it goes is the altitude makes sex better, but since so rarely is their privacy, most people don't get to... you know." I explained awkwardly.

"Oh!" Nauveir exclaimed. "You were aware it would come on so strong?"

"Not really," I confessed. "The... females... where I'm from seem to like it, but it isn't THAT much better."

"Lucky us." Amura breasted in a wistful, and not entirely with it, way.

"You should rest, Master," Creadean instructed. "Mavrin will man the ship for now, but you should be rested in case anything happens."

"What could happen? We're almost at cloud level in the sky." I laughed. "And I haven't seen anyone else with flying ships."

My matrons sobered up real quick.

"Master... We could be attacked by dragons, or wyverns, or any number of flying dangers. We are by no means the largest thing in the skies. Nor the most dangerous... well, perhaps excepting you." Risavis noted. "For example, the hiersver... I spoke to the stable hands that care for them, and the reason they work with the Vorith is because they are too small and weak on their own."

"But those things are eagles the size of horses!" I exclaimed in dismay. "You're saying they are SMALL for this world?"

"Yes."

Fuck me. I mean, I had seen elephants, and a Bull African Elephant was way bigger than you think it would be, but if the fiery birds my two magical matrons rode were small for this world, what was big?

"Wait," I declared. "We've fought a dragon before. It wasn't that big. Would it really attack this ship?"

"That was a forest dragon. They are nowhere near the largest. If they were as large as a mountain dragon, they would struggle to move among the trees." Tavorwen explained.

"But... it's yards and yards... er..." I tried to think. "It's like a Cord or two between each tree!" I think that was right. A Knot was 8 inches and 50 Knots made a Cord, so 400 inches, that was like 11 yards.

"Still too small for a mountain dragon." Tavorwen asserted.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ!" I breathed.

If mountain dragons got that big...

"What do you do against a dragon that big?" I demanded.

"If you are smart, you find a really good hiding place and something to cover your scent... and then you pray you weren't the one to offend it," Creadean stated definitively. "Almost the only thing that kills a dragon is another dragon. Though... your great bow did scare the one in the forest. Perhaps you could kill one."

"What kind of weapons do we have on this ship?" I demanded.

The elves exchanged a look then lifted swords and bows in answer.

"You mean they didn't even put a catapult or ballista on this?" I groaned.

"That would be a lot of extra weight." Nauveir pointed out. "And we're all warriors. We can defend the ship."

I rubbed my temples, even though the cooling sensation of my magical stress relief stopped the headache I knew I should have.

This would have been the PERFECT opportunity. Mounted weapons could pass almost all their recoil onto the mounted platform. Hell, you could make gunner seats that had triggers disconnected enough from the actual firing mechanisms that aside from a sight jostle, firing might as well mean nothing. I had been trying to figure out how I could get firearms for my matrons and this was one way. Instead, we were flying, essentially unarmed, towards the territory of foes bigger and more dangerous than anything we'd faced before.

"Rest, master," Risavis advised. "You can take comfort in the fact that, unless a foe uses clouds as cover, Mavrin should see them from a great distance. We should have a great deal of time to prepare for them."

I didn't expect to sleep, but I laid down on one of the few beds big enough for me, and with my head awash in the cool soothing energy that washed away all my fears and anxiety, I was able to do something that had been a rare occurrence during my life on Earth: I took a nap. It was a very good nap, actually. I didn't wake until well into the afternoon.

Below, in the lower decks, there was only me, Amura, and Laliera. Both of them had what appeared to be double-layered cloaks and they were doubling up clothing layers to help with the cold, though below deck somehow stayed a pleasant temperature, I suspected magic.

Above deck, the elves had likewise doubled up layers, sometimes more, but were managing despite the cold. The sun was low enough in the sky, with the moons continually swirling, that I knew it was getting later in the day. Sevrina was taking her turn to man the helm, though in all likelihood Dust Cloud could have kept us going without issue.

Looking out, we were nearing the end of the Elven forests, and the mountains were much closer. The sun was starting to set and the orangey hue put shadows in sharp relief on the ground below. We had gained a bit of altitude and would be able to clear the mountains with room to spare. It was quite the view of the world.

To the West, I could see the beginnings of the plains, to the east and the south, the forest stretched as far as the eye could see, to the north and northeast, the mountains blocked further view. These were young mountains, like the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, harsh and jagged, not worn smooth by the passage of time.

Looking up at our level, the low clouds floated just below us, I couldn't help but think about what dangers could exist. Was there really such danger this high in the sky? I'd seen too much to really doubt it, but once you reached cruising altitude, even the missiles that could reach you, back on Earth, took long enough to do so that we'd have time to reach.

"You look worried," Tavorwen noted, coming to lean on the rail next to me.

"Well, I admit, I wasn't a member of the chair... I mean, Air Force, back home. The only times I really was in an aircraft was to get from one point to the other, and it was usually short trips. Sometimes we got dropped by helicopters near a strike point, but more often we either rode in on land vehicles or, if stealth was needed, we hiked in for miles to avoid drawing attention." I confessed. "So, I'm a little out of my element here."

"We should be aware, but the likelihood of an attack on an unfamiliar vessel in the skies such as ours is not high," Tavorwen assured me. "Most creatures avoid strange new things."

I shrugged. "Or they come to investigate. And you said dragons could always be a problem."

"It is true. Many dragons could cause a problem for us, but not all dragons are so violent or malicious. Records say cloud dragons once existed in harmony with the Cloud Elves, and called each other friends. Though cloud dragons have been aloof for the better part of a millennium, they still have never caused problems for anyone."

"How many types of dragons are there? Mountain, Forest, Cloud?" I asked.

"That we know of or that legend speaks of?" Tavorwen asked.

"Let's start with known dragon types." I decided.

"Well, there are more types of friendly dragons than hostile ones. The cloud dragons, coastal dragons, fire dragons, frost dragons, mangrove dragons, river dragons, and the sand dragons are all generally friendly." Tavorwen noted, ticking the seven varieties of dragons off her fingers. "Also lucky for us, the friendly dragons usually have more robust populations than their aggressive kin. Though, friendly dragons do not take kindly to being manipulated and usually keep their distance because... too often their friends look at them more as shields and protectors than as friends."

"As far as the less friendly dragons go, there are forest dragons, ice dragons, mountain dragons, and swamp dragons..." she trailed off.

"What? Is something wrong?" I pressed.

"Well, it feels wrong not to mention the last kind of dragon, just because no one has been able to confirm their existence," Tavorwen explained.

"What type of dragon is that?" I laughed.

"Lava Dragons." Was her reply. "Legend says eons ago, they wreaked havoc on the world so horrendous that all others, both the humanoid races and goodly dragons combined to drive them back to the lakes of molten rock from whence they came. They tried to call upon the dragons that had not turned against them, but even though these malicious dragons had not turned fang and claw against the lava dragons, the lava dragons had done nothing to earn their assistance either. So they were defeated and slunk back into the fiery pits of their birth and have remained there to this day."