The Rossem Project is close to success, and will allow a hand picked expedition to explore other worlds, searching for the threat that faces the planet Tharia, but as they begin their mission they discover that there are many other threats out there...
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Relations between Saturn and Thomas were strained during the two weeks it took to repair the silver ship, but the two wizards kept out of each others' way as much as possible and things remained fairly peaceful, much to the relief of the others.
Drenn and the soldiers spent most of the daylight hours exploring the surrounding cityscape, hunting for food and keeping an eye on the southerners. On one occasion, happening upon a caravan of traders, Matthew and the priest joined up with them for a couple of hours, pretending to be fellow travellers from a distant city ("You can probably tell we're not locals from our accents"). Some careful questioning revealed that the area surrounding the spaceport was indeed shunned by the locals because it was inhabited by monsters, who captured anyone who strayed too close and put them to work in their settlement.
The Tharians were relieved to learn that no monsters had been seen for nearly fifty years, following a tremendous battle in the sky between 'fiery dragons', but they remembered the Felisians' account of the Masters being driven off Veglia several times by their enemies, only to return some years later. The silver ships of the almost indestructible giants could return to planet eighty one stroke five at any time. The sooner they got the ship fixed and left, the better.
The trickiest part of the repair operation took place towards the end when the felisians said they were ready to fuel the ship. "Fuel?" asked Matthew in confusion. "What's that?"
"Like food," replied Tager Yee. "Ships are like horses. They'll carry you wherever you want to go, but only if you feed them. We have fuel making machines back on Veglia, but we haven't found any here, so we're going to have to take fuel from the other ships."
"Like taking food from the stomach of a dead horse," said Thomas with a grimace of disgust.
"Exactly, but the fuel these ships use is very dangerous. If it's not handled right it'll blow up like a hundred of your fireball spells. You humans had better get well away, just in case. We'll tell you when it's safe to come back."
"How far away?" asked Saturn.
"Two of three miles, to be safe."
"By the Gods!" cried Matthew in astonishment. "That's some explosion!"
"How much danger will you be in?" asked Timothy anxiously.
"Well, the fuel's normally pretty safe, but it gets a little unstable if left unused for too many years. Don't worry, we're experienced at using this stuff. We'll be careful."
"See that you are," said the cleric seriously. "I'll be praying for you."
"I also," agreed Drenn Pietar.
The felisian commander nodded gratefully and began giving orders to his men.
The Tharians filed out of the spaceport and made their way to a fallen skyscraper in whose ruins they could shelter. They crouched there for a couple of hours, but they didn't like not knowing what was going on and so Saturn crept out, back to a neighbouring building which he climbed until he was high enough to see the silver ships, looking like toys in the distance. A few moments later he was joined by Drenn, and a moment later by the rest of the Tharians, none of whom wanted to be left behind.
