Taking the M's Out of Tombmesa

Discovery, Exploration

Myska's Menagerie get to Tombmesa and find more than they were expecting.

Continuing the previous day's tactic, Astrid flew through the easier midday while Chupta took the book end shifts while training her. On the flight down, the party slowly became more aware of the Shrieking Flats. While they never entered into them, the growing proximity was marked by a surrounding tinnitus Arriving to the large plateaus of rock that formed the Mesas, the Airship scanned overhead to find the ravine that the dwarves had dug out. With buildings carved in a few tiers to either side of the dugout, Tombmesa formed a miniature mountain valley similar to the mountains that surrounded New Derth's central mountains.

Once more, Chupta lowered the ship as far down into the singular roadway through the town. He went so far as to lower the ship into mesa to allow the divinations to reach as far as they could. Once the ship was fully dipped and halfway through it's run, the companions began to notice signs of life in the village. The village was covered in dust from the nearby Shrieking flats that filled the air with drifting sediment. Despite that, there remained soft footprints in the dust. As they puzzled through this revelation, a clamor filled the air as dust clouds billowed over the walls and and rooftops.
  A hundred snapping thwaps could be heard as a plethora of thuds and tears riddled the ship. From hidden murder holes in the mountain side or under dust covered tarps, volleys of shots were being take from the town on either side. Some of the attackers had given away their position on the reload. Many were using the rifle-like stone-throwers that combined the aspects of a crossbow with a sling.
  As the balloon of the airship came under fire, Chupta did his best to bring the ship up as fast as he could. Use the hull as a shield, he started to climb out of the mesa once more. Astrid sent down a globe of darkness over one troop to reduce the attackers as Millie used his levitation magic to try to keep the increasingly damaged balloon from collapsing in on itself. As the ship got out of the ravine and turned back north west for the wastes, the Menagerie escaped the ambush with an operable vessel, even if more fuel would have to be burned to keep the balloon fully inflated.
  Just trying to get out into the desert and away from the attackers, Astrid took charge of the ship again as Chupta conjured up Jafi to fly back to Tombmesa and investigate. By the time the bat got back, he looked upon a gathering in the town. A mixture of people with orcish and goblin bloodlines, pure or not, filled the street with a few human or demihuman anomalies. At the far end, the helmed tiefling stood with a small gathering of advisors as she gave a speech.
  The tiefling congratulated the gathering on fighting off the vessel. She did not know what purpose the ship truly had here but they had done well for protecting their territory. If they were enemies, the fight was necessary. If they were sympathizers, their blatant actions of flying in unannounced had be reacted to with proper measure. The speech then broadened to the greater purpose of fighting for brethren against those of overbearing might that think they can do whatever they want as well as defending the glamour of the land itself.. The gathering was dismissed with the promise that the leader would be investigate the airship herself.
  Turning back to her advisors, the tiefling inquired who among them would join her for a midnight rendezvous with the airship. A heavily armed gnoll assured her that if she needed cover, it would be provided. The goliath excused themself from the mission with other work still needing to get done today while the orc wanted to running some training exercises to correct some marksmen that proved to not be up to par.
  Disbanding, the advisors separated. The tiefling headed into a mountain hall into the mesa seemingly to prepare. Jafi followed after. While he did his best to go stealthily, from a side passage a goblin popped out to snatch up the bat hungrily. Protecting Jafi, Chupta channeled a Shocking Grasp through the bat to utterly fry the goblin in the Hall. Chupta then dismissed the bat as attention was sure to be drawn with the massive electrical discharge.
  Chupta had conveyed the speech to everyone but not the secondary encounter. With the knowledge that they would be having guests in the night, the companions found a spot to set down two hours flight into the desert and prepare.
  Okay, I like to hide puns and in-jokes in the title but this one is pretty dense and I don't want to forget it. The M's could be Myska's Menagerie and how they were driven off from Tombmesa. However, if you literally take the Ms out of the word, you get Tobesa which sounds like To-Base-uh and it is the base of the Scales of Justice. I'll let myself out now.