This thread will track the progress of the IHW: Dragons! Playtest run by B.F. The posts are written up by B., and posted by myself, for anyone who's interested. The year is 1811, and the location is the Northwest Territories of the new United States - the Great Lakes area. Specific Questions and Answers related to the playtest are posted in between session posts. Questions are from B., Answers by myself.

We'll start with a background, establishing main characters. B.'s group decided to play their main characters and their dragons only, which is one of several approaches to the game.

-clash
________________________________________

Initial Q&A

Questions and comments from the group:
 
Q: Do you need a separate ride skill to ride the dragons or does the one that you normally learn (to ride a horse) cover to ride a dragon also.

A: The standard ride skill applies to both.
 
Q: Is there starting money anywhere for character generation or is it if an item is listed for your wealth category (i.e., Middle Class, Gentry/Wealthy, etc.) you can just get it.

A: The latter. There is no money per se in the game mechanics - your wealth level determines what you can buy.
 
Q: Where do you list your traits and advocation ont he character sheet.
 
A: Anywhere handy. My group puts them in the upper right hand area.

Q: What's single stick?  curious minds want to know.

A: Single stick is an old English martial art using hardwood sticks of about a foot and a half long in each hand. The skills are directly transferable to Blade skill.
 
Q: Do all dragons have claws and bite?

A: Yes. They do regular damage base - based on size - without modifiers if the dragon breed doesn't have especially large and/or sharp ones.
 
Q: Is Edge for dragons and traits for humans?  Traits can be used 1 x per gaming session.  Edge is based off of %.  So if they have 20% they can use it 2 times at 10% or one time at 20%.  Is that also only renewed each gaming session?  If they use i one time at 20% in a game session but later in the same game session could they use it again (different encounter though).

A: Edges and Traits are a bit different. Edges are not a resource, and give a bonus every time the conditions are right. You don't use them up. Traits are as you say. They are a resource you use up. It;s up to the GM to approve their use. They regenerate next session.
 
Q: They were curious about why you have physical deterioration on the work sheet for character creation.  Now that I have some sleep I think I understand now though.  It's more for the older characters, etc.
 
A: Exactly. It's a way of self balancing the game. As you get older, you get more skilled, but your stats deteriorate and your Constitution goes down.

The first Dragon that my group did.
 

Breed:  Plainstalker – a cross breed from some of the American Indian breeds

Size:  Pony

Special Ability/Edges – Dive 2

                                    Swim 2

Breath Type/Times per Day/Damage:  N/A

IQ – 107

Armor/Outer Covering – 2.2 (light plates for outer covering)

Acceleration/ Max Speed – 3

Ceiling – 7

Attack Type and Skill/Damage –

            Claws – regular

            Club tail – +3/+5

            Bite – regular

Break - 3

Maneuver/Stability – 17/3

Constitution – 16

Diet/Habitat – Herd animals/grassy plains

Aggression – Looking for Trouble

Senses:

            Sight x1 – 50

            Smell – 45

            Hearing x4 - 65

            Touch - 45

            Taste – 45

Alert – 55

Observe  x2 - 50

Coloring, Pattern & Texture –

 The Plainstalker dragon is a blotchy mustard color with light olive highlights

Ornaments – throat pouch – sapphire colored, used during mating season

Characters

Lt. William "Will" Hunter
Nationality - USA

Str - 6
Coord. 10
Agy: 12
End. 6
Char: 8
IQ: 123
Luck: 2

Skills:

Firearms
Survival
Riding 8
Weather
Navigation
Blade
Alert 3
React 4
Swim
Leadership 2
Gymnastic 2
Dash 2

Weapons:

Cutlass
Dirk

Avocation:  Sportsman (dash and alert)
Traits:  Practical 1, Loyal 2, Studius 2, Audacious 2

Will's Dragon - Waukashannasey
Breed:  Sinnnissipi Drake
Size Mammoth
Special Ability/Edges:  Dive 2, Swim 2

BreathType:  n/a

IQ:  121

Armor/Outer Covering:  2.0 - Thick Feathers

Acceleration/ Max Speed:  +10/+13
Ceiling:  10
Attack Type and Skill/Damage:  Teeth +3/+55
                                                Claw +3/+50

Break: 4
Maneauv/Stability:  13/7

Constitution:  21  Vigor 20
Diet/Habitat:   Carrion / Lakes/Rivers

Aggression:  Quiet and docile

Senses:  Sight x2; Smell x4, Hearing x1, Touch x1

Coloring, Pattern and Texture:  Tipped graduation.  Mustard/off white feathers.  Burnt Orange Belly

Ornaments:  Barbed

Alert x2
Observation x3
Flying x1
Bite x2
Claw x1

Language:  Draconic and English

The Sinnissipi Drake is a relatively new breed of dragons which inhabits the central North American waterways of the Mississippi River drainage system.  More specifically, this includes the Ohio River basin, the Mississippi North of its confluence at the Ohio and part of the Missouri River Basins.  Known for its relatively calm and docile manner, the Sinnissipi Drake patrols the above natural waters as well as the Great Lakes, feeding off carrion and other finds of opportunity.  Bred for it's size and ease of training as well as its calm and intelligent ways, the Americans have recently begun to introduce these reliable dragons into their  air forces.  They are mostly seen in the western frontier of the United States.

Will Hunter's Background

William (Will) Hunter walked alone over 150 miles to be at one of the Western Frontier's recruitment and evaluation sites that was set up by the United States government.  Evaluated as intelligent and "sound of body", he and three others who also had passed the initial evaluations, were sent to Camp Detroit, headquarters for the Great Lakes Fleet.  There he received training and a re-evaluation of his potential.  Judged to be of above average intelligence and dexterity, he was sent with a few others to enter the Dragon Corps.  The other recruits who were not chosen were assigned to either the Great Lakes Navy or sent out for training in the Army.  Now a Wingman, he was assigned to a new dragon (frontier class) named Josephine, who was under the command of Captain Henry Pike.  Tasked with patrolling the Northern Border of the United States, Captain Pike and Josephine kept a close eye on the Hudson Bay Trading Company of Britain, British troops and ships, Native American Tribes, as well as all the normal events that occurred daily in an expanding frontier.  Josephine and her crew fought against the Pottawattamie and Winnebago tribes and their dragons.  By this time, William became more seasoned and cultured and continued to draw approval for his actions and conduct.
In 1810, Josephine intercepted an unknown large dragon over the skies of Wisconsin.  In a four hour fight that left Josephine injured and her crew with 50% casualties, the unknown dragon was downed with its entire crew lost.  Examination of the wreckage showed that it was transporting a British crew with enough supplies to outfit an Indian tribe.  Enough equipment survived to show without a doubt that Britain was interfering with the sovereignty of the United States by equipping certain hostile tribes located on the western frontier.  Evidence was sent East to Washington DC.  This battle resulted in a large turnover of crew, with the most severely being the 1st office that was medically retired after losing part of a leg, an arm and one eye.  Captain Pike temporarily promoted William to 1st office until a more experienced officer could be transferred west from the coast.  Later that year, news and orders from Washington changed all that.

All transfers were made permanent, as the Great Dragon Corp of the United States was in desperate need to grow enough to defend itself against a growing British invasion.  Experienced men were in short supply and until recruitment and training could supply enough men to man the rapidly expanding number of dragons, all ships must make do unless in critical shortages.  Josephine had lost a quarter of her crew (some had been healed and retired from duty) and their absence was made up by new recruits from the frontier, including some rare Native Indians.  William had spent over a year to get this new crew worked up and back to their accepted standards.  Fortunately, the frontier is a littered with enough incidents that assured that the crews realized that something bigger was coming up.  In early 1811, Captain Pike received orders promoting him to the Dragon Fleet based out of Boston.  William was promoted to Lieutenant after he bonded with Waukashannasey, a Sinnissipi Drake.  A huge party was then at Fort Detroit to celebrate all the promotions as well as a farewell to those they transferred out.  No one expected what happened next as an injured small carrier dragon landed in the courtyard....

Waukashaunassy' s Crew
 
Wingman Rebecca Southerland

                The Southerland family has always been a military one, proudly serving their countries for many a generation.  Rebecca's father is Senior Captain Richard Southerland, Captain of the whale size dragon known as Audacious.  Her father served heroically in the American Revolutionary War, but found the years after far too boring.  He soon gained a reputation as a rake and it is whispered that he fathered some illegitimate children.  Too valuable to dismiss, he was instead transferred to the Great Lakes and the frontier where it was hoped that the excitement would put him back into his old form.  Since the transfer, he has indeed regained his interest in his craft, although he still manages to "carouse" some while making calls on patrol.

                Rebecca is the third born and baby of the family (there are two sons).  While you could argue that Captain Southerland is as progressive as any frontier American Lancer (a word he prefers to pilot since Audacious flies himself), he still thinks that his sons should continue the family history of military career and glory, while the daughters should marry well and raise the next generation of Southerland family heroes.  Rebecca rejects this notion and considers herself one of the new breed of women who are equal to men in most things.  Since she was of legal age and the American laws are quite clear on allowing women to serve, Captain Southerland' s hands were quite tied as Rebecca stepped into the Armed Services recruitment office and signed up for duty on her 18th birthday.  It soon became clear that she did indeed have the Southerland family military talent, as she quickly progressed through training and began a rapid rise in promotions.  Her father is torn between pride in her ability and the desire to see her married and safe at home raising a family. He realizes that war is coming and knows firsthand the costs in human damage to come.  For the last 2 years, Captain Southerland has tried to be a matchmaker for his daughter on the sly, but she has found anyone her father introduces to be too old fashioned or overbearing.  She has concentrated on her duty at the cost of a social life, but she is quite happy.

                In 1811, she was transferred to the newly commissioned dragon Waukashaunassey at her father's secret influence to help train a new crew.  Her father thought that perhaps the relatively inexperienced crew and dragon would keep her out of danger.  In this he failed, as she was soon to find.  However, he has finally succeeded in obtaining someone that holds her romantic interest; Captain William Hunter.  Will doesn't realize that anything has developed between the two and Rebecca is far too much a professional to either act on or say anything.  She continues to throw herself into her dragon's and crew's needs, although the crew is just starting to notice that she is starting to improve her grooming and she has started to use some faint perfume.  She hopes to someday be promoted to dragon captain and then, as an equal to William, aggressively start to pursue him.  Until then, she realizes that by striving toward perfection, she furthers her goals of obtaining her promotion and protecting the man she loves.

                Rebecca is 5'6", 20 year old woman with fair skin and long red hair usually coiled in a single long queue that is strategically tucked under her jacket.  The long hair is a new addition since she "discovered" William, since before she kept it in a more practical cut.  Her eyes are green and seem to flash when she's angry (usually at the Feinstein cousins).  She doesn't know about Missitongaha' s relationship to her, but she is starting to notice obstacles that may be between her and her target (Will).  You don't want to get on her bad side, since she is more than willing to respond in a "mannerly" way, up to and including dueling.

Assistant Bombardier Maquoketa (Wild Horse)

            Assistant Bombardier Maquoketa (Wild Horse) was one of the new breed of frontier soldiers.  Wild Horse hails from the Illini tribe, who had been allies and reached treaties with the expanding Americans.  Their tribal elders had traveled east and seen what the growing country's power was and had decided to "ride with the victors" and not be broken like so many other tribes who resisted the western growth of the United States.  The US had intelligently embraced those tribes who freely joined their country and while they may still have some prejudice and disdain from the "coasties" to the east, the western squadron have long learned to admire and seek out talented Native Americans, who seem to have the knack to "eyeball" or just do something with great success.  They are a little more free form or lax in protocol, but usually can adapt to dragon board rules and regulations.

            Wild Horse has taken to dropping bombs like a duck to water.  He finds it empowering and even, although he won't admit it, fun.  How many Native Americans can boast of riding through the skies raining thunderbolts down on their enemy?  He has the uncanny ability to estimate where he should drop his charges, length of fuses, size and type of bombs, etc.  He drove his instructors crazy because, while he didn't always know the "book answers", his practical results were always the best in his class.  He just shrugs when asked how he does it and says in his slow English "I just know."
            Wild Horse is 6'0", a 25 year old Native American of the Illini tribe.  His shoulder length black hair is tied back with a buckskin strap and he usually paints his face in orange and blue if going into battle.  This practice is frowned upon by Rebecca but tolerated by Will, since the results Wild Horse delivers allows him a bit of leeway in protocol.  A large knife is always strapped on his belt, along side a huge tomahawk that Wild Horse calls "CaAhonaTal" or "spirit justice."  Enemy boarders soon learn you don't want to face an angry Native American warrior wielding two weapons.  Otherwise, Wild Horse is a laconic and usually silent person.  You just have to forgive the occasional war cry when he drops a bomb.
 

Sgt. Thomas Jenkins

            Sgt. Jenkins is an older career navy NCO who has transferred to the west when the east coast became to civilized.  Browned until he could almost pass as a Native American, his weathered face is highlighted by a pair of truly high sideburns that rise up to frame his mostly bald head.  He tends to speak in mottos and slogans with his men; something that causes them to roll their eyes when he's not looking.  However, they do respect his abilities and past.  They figure that if they listen (to the good parts), perhaps they can live to see their fortune and retirement.  He tends to stay apart emotionally with the crew figuring that most are going to die, the poor kids, so why try to get and know them.  He tends to sigh a lot when he is around the Feinstein cousins and has given up yelling at them.

            Sgt. Jenkins is a 5'6" 45 year old knurled piece of humanity.  His face is scarred by numerous boarding wounds and his left hand is missing the last two fingers.  He'll tell you that the other guy is missing a whole lot more.  He wears a cutlass, knife, and usually a pistol or two as needed.  His uniform is proper at all times and he seems to get along with Will (the kid has talent) and Rebecca (she has a good attitude), tolerates Wild Horse (grunts and shrugs), and usually disdain for the rest of the crew except for Sebastian (he is in a kind of awe by his education).

Sebastian Cole

            It is interesting to note that the most educated crewman is middle age, black former slave named Sebastian.  Brought over from England and the body servant of a wealthy ex-patriot English landowner in South Carolina, Sebastian was used as a sounding board by the eccentric philosopher.  Taught English, French, Spanish, Latin, and Greek, he was given free reign through his master's vast library.  Given emancipation shortly before his master's death, Sebastian soon found that an educated black man wasn't always accepted by those people on the east coast.  Drifting west, he eventually settled on military service as one way to explore new areas and learn new information.  Newly joined, he could rise up to officer class provided that the western squadron continues to have a liberal social policy that pushes for accepting one's worth based on their abilities.  As for now, he is the dragons' information specialist and readily aids in translating and being the dragon's purser.  He has begun to learn some Native American languages with the aid of Wild Horse.

            Sebastian is a 6'2", 38 year old thin as a rail African American who sports a closely cropped afro.  His cultured voice throws most people for a loop and his education usually provokes surprise and often fear (embarrassment) by newcomers he meets.  He still deals with prejudice on a daily basis, except by Waukashaunassey crew.  Sgt. Jenkins beat the living crap out of any who tried to do that.  As such, he has earned a grudging acceptance which is growing as his skills are being used for the crew's benefit.  He is even teaching some of the crew languages and social skills so that they can "communicate more easily" with certain women they may meet at their next port of call.  This program is becoming very popular as success grows.  He is usually armed with a musket and his fighting stick, a 6'long weighted stave.

Samuel Jones

            Samuel Jones is Sgt. Jenkins assistant.  16 years old and a crack shot.  He is also still a kid who is trying to fill Sgt. Jenkins' shoes (and failing).  If he lives, he could have some potential.

Robert Fulbright

            A 25 year old experienced crewman who probably is the most experienced on riding a dragon.  Quiet and assured, he is somewhat overwhelmed by the crew's youth and lack of training.  He is totally dismayed by the Feinstein cousins.

The Feinstein Cousins

            Maurice (Mo,), Laurence (Larry), and Joseph.  Bad things come in threes they say and in the cousins the saying does become reality.  They're not evil; in fact they are very good hearted, but what a bunch of bumbling morons.  If the Americans were not so desperate for men, Sgt. Jenkins would gladly arrange for some dumping of extra ballast one night.  Chased out of Philadelphia due to one of their failed businesses, they fled west where they heard a person could begin fresh.  Most people think they should have kept heading west; perhaps the Indians would have got them.  How they passed basic is a mystery, most people think that they just promoted them to get rid of them, and no one is happy to have them aboard, except the cousins who think they have it made now.  If something is going to go wrong, you can bet the cousins had some hand in it.  Wild Horse has banned them from getting near to either himself or his bombs; the waving tomahawk in their face convinced them.   Rebecca views them as a danger to the ship and captain, as well as an obstacle to her own plans.  She has tried to get them transferred, but even her father's influence isn't enough, everyone has heard about these idiots.  She will begin to assign them high risk assignments (go board that enemy dragon over there) in the hopes that they will heroically perish or get injured.  In the end, her ruthlessness may force her to take some more aggressive action to get rid of them (man overboard!)  For now, the cousins are trying to do right (usually failing) and it is only their unusual luck that has prevented them falling into a fatal incident.

Jebidiah Hawkins

            15 year old kid from the Appalachian Mountains.  A string pole of a boy, his Adam's apple tends to move up and down rapidly each time Jenkins looks his way.  He is still learning the harness, so to speak.  He is also secretly scared of dragons, although he loves the view when he is on one of them.

Abigail Hawkins

            14 year old kid, Jebidiah's sister.  They both look out for each other and to be honest, it's usually Abigail who is the tougher of the two.  She has already stabbed two men who attempted to "know her better."  They survived that part (she says she aimed poorly) and proudly attended their hanging outside of Fort Detroit following the trial.  She is in awe of Rebecca and has started to mimic her mannerisms and way of doing things.  She's even started that new fangled thing called bathing.

Benjamin Harris

            16 year old son of former Wingman.  Benjamin always heard dad talking about the adventures and figured the only way to shut him up was to go out and have some himself.  He has found the life as a crewman not quite what dad had said it was going to be, since he is a lowly crewman and not an officer.  He's starting to think that adventures aren't always as fun as they sounded as they were told by his father.

Ground Crew:

Crew Chief James MacDaniels

            This bearded wonder from the highlands of Scotland is a legend among the other ground crews at Fort Detroit.  Mainly known for his scheming money making plans, he is also for his knowledge of dragons and their gear.  Talking with a thick Scottish "bur", Jack as he's known, always has a few irons in the fire in attempting to obtain what he's looking for (usually just wealth, but also needed supplies for his dragon).  His most recent attempt is to form a venture with some local coopers and begin to distill whiskey off post utilizing oaken barrels they will produce.  He figures that between the soldiers and local tribes, demand should outpace supply and he should become rich fast.  That it is against regulations only means he needs to be careful.  His care for his dragons still takes priority, though.

 

Assistant ground crew Missitongaha (White Dove)

            This 5'2", 17 year old female is of mixed breed; part Illini Tribe/part English American.  The off spring of one of the local villages that have been visited by Audacious, White Dove is the product of one of Captain Southerland' s carouses.  This means she is the half sister of Rebecca, a fact that neither White Dove nor Rebecca know.  White Dove's mother was paid well to keep quiet and White Dove's "exotic" looks drove her out of her village and toward civilization.  She is an accomplished herbalist and leatherworker, so she has been assigned as Jack's assistant and harness maker.  McDaniel's looks upon her as the daughter he never had, at least he thinks he doesn't have any children.  When assigned to Waukashaunassey, she fell in love with the dragon and lavishes it with extra care and elaborations to her harness.  Unfortunately, she also is impressed with Captain Hunter (must be the uniform, just like her mother) and she tends to moon when the dragon is out on patrol.  Jack has noticed this and tried to keep her occupied.  His "nose is itching" that some trouble may brew up if Wingman Southerland notices her attraction toward "her" captain.  As it is, White Dove always seems to be adding some type of adornment o the harness (Indian items to ward off bad spirits), as well as spending extra time with the dragon, become friends with the dragon--become closer to the captain.  Rebecca has complemented White Dove on her work and dedication, causing White Dove to smirk mentally, and seems to be oblivious to her "rival".  If/when she comes to the conclusion that she has competition, things will get really interesting (weakened harness straps, demotions and transfers, etc.)  Of course Captain Hunter is oblivious to this growing disaster.

The Beginning – On Laboring Wings

The year is 1811

Time of Day:  High Noon

Location:  Great Lakes Squadron stationed at Fort Detroit

 
It had been a relatively quite day full of routine patrolling for Great Lakes while they observed shipping as well as intrusive and unknown dragons from both the North and West.  The day was interrupted however, when a lookout yelled – UNKNOWN DRAGON SIGHTED DUE WEST!

A few minutes later, a disshelved and exhausted dragon was seen being escorted by the Command Air Patrol (CAP) on duty.  The pony sized dragon landed heavily and nearly collapsed.  The Garrison personnel who rushed to his side noticed he had numerous untreated recent wounds as well as carrying the slumped over figure of its Captain.  The older dragons informed their Captains that the dragon was a Plainstalker named Jimmy.  Jimmy had only been at Great Lakes for five months where he had been utilized as a fast recon and fleet scout.

As the Captains and ground crew tried to calm Jimmy down a call went out for the Surgeon and Surgeon's Mate as it soon became apparent that Jimmy's captain was unconscious and non responsive.  Jimmy's Captain, James Buchanan Williamson, had to have his harness cut away before he was rushed to surgery.  As he was released from his well singed harness, it was noted that he was also suffering from severe burns as what looked like a gun shot wound.  Jimmy tired to follow the surgeon and James into the infirmary but collapsed due to his own grievous wounds.  The surgeons quickly turned around and with the help of the ground crew, were able to divest the badly singed dragon harness only to reveal numerous wounds of various natures.  The surgeon's mate looked at Jimmy with a scowl and said, "Dammit Jimmy.  I'm a surgeon's mate and not a miracle worker...but I'll try my best."  By sunset it became apparent that Jimmy would not make it.  He had used up all of his reserves to get his dear captain back to safety.  Before he died, Jimmy reported what happened.

Final Report by Jimmy:

We were patrolling the Northern Illinois Territory borders on the South shore of Lake Superior.  I noticed two incoming southbound dragons.  James gave the order to turn around to close so we could identify them.  As we got within range, we saw they were two English Thorn Dragons. They spotted us and we came under immediate attack as they each attempted to flank us.

It was a quick running battle but I managed to dispatch one of them.  That was when the second dragon took advantage and closed to engage.  Captain Williamson not only was shot by the opposing Captain but became a victim of an errant breath attempt by me.  At the last moment, the Thorn struck with its claws and pulled my muzzle off center, catching James.  I tried to turn away again but I could not turn far enough.  I DID manage to hit the Thorn and I last saw it flying back North on laboring wings.

You must see that I could not press the attack because I had to bring James back.  I immediately turned eastward and flew as fast as I could to bring him back.  Captain Williamson soon lost consciousness despite my frantic efforts to keep him awake.  I flew and flew all the while trying to get him to speak to me but he was silent.  By this time my vision was starting to blur and my wings felt like they were lead.  That was when I saw the imposing ramparts and landing field of Ft. Detroit.

With his story told, Jimmy gave a feeble bellow asking for forgiveness from James; his companion, friend and Captain.  With a deep sigh, Jimmy breathed once and then there was only silence upon the field.

After Session Q & A

Q: We have a question about energy for the dragons.  it says "each turn opens with the dragons producing the indicated amount of energy."  So how do we determine what that is.  We couldn't find it in the pdf.

A: That is the dragon's Acceleration rating.

Q: On the ACS sheet....what do you put for natural weapons.  Are you looking for just the name....or the damage and attack also, etc.

A: The Natural Weapons fields should hold the Natural Weapons damage modifiers. You can also put the name and the attack % alongside as well.

Q: Ace of Aces book ---- They thought it would be cool if can do something like that for dragons

A: Never played it. As I understand, it resolves the intersection of two maneuvers? Possibly. It seems a bit inflexible as to combination maneuvers.

Q:  Does failure in a manueaver, ie. Slip and skid, mean that the dragon must then attempt a successful skid roll or does it mean that the slip was performed sloppy.  For instance with skid do you just have to pay the 2 point cost instead of one.  And then if you fail a skid what happens....when does it all stop.....without hitting something.  When do you get out of the loop of failures without crashing or something.

A: On attempting a maneuver - i.e. a Slip - the maneuver cost is deducted, and the Pilot check rolled if necessary.  On a failure, the Slip becomes a Skid. The cost of the maneuver is deducted and another Pilot check rolled if necessary. On a failure, the Skid becomes a Spin. The cost of the maneuver is deducted and another Pilot skill check is rolled if necessary. On a failure, the Spin continues. The chain of failures can be broken only by a successful Pilot check, or hitting the ground. Replace Pilot with Flight for lone dragons without a pilot.

Q: You have different pluses and minus for breath weapons based on your angle for attack.  But you don't give any plus or minues for claw and bite attack.....they were wondering about that.  Would have thought that you would ie, similar to charge attacks in other games.  Of course I do realize that as GM I can give it to them if I want to but we did want the experts opinion.

A: The penalties and bonuses should be applied to Natural Weapon combat as well.

Session 2

There was silence after Jimmy gave his last breath and everybody looked in shocked.  They knew that dragons died, especially in combat, but they had never had one die in front of their eyes.  They looked at each other and felt totally inadequate.  With a roar that shook the very ground that they stood on, Waukashaunassey and Audacious took to the air and circled until they had enough height.  They came down in unison, one on either side of Jimmy and picked him up.  They slowly rose back up in the air with the dead weight and flew off with an escort of smaller sized dragons who had also taken to the air.  The dragons were gone for over half the day and the only thing that stopped an all out search for them was the remaining dragons who said they were grieving for their lost brave little lost brother.  In the early eve of the night, the distant thunder of mourning dragons could be heard echoing through the untamed forests of Michigan.  After the dragons returned, the only thing they would tell their captains was "he awaits his rebirth."  White Dove told Captain Hunter, when questioned, that there was legend of a sacred dragon burial site that only the dragons knew of and if the dragons could recover they lost brethren, they would take them there.  It was also rumored that certain breeds of dragons believed that they would be reborn to finish any unfinished business.  The dragons were sure that Jimmy would be reborn.

White Dove might have said more but she was interrupted by the surgeon who requested her assistance with Captain Williamson, Jimmy's injured Captain.  White Dove, an expert on herb lore, was asked if there might be anything she should think of to help him sleep which might not cause addiction like laudamin.  She prepared a potion for them but cautioned them in the dosage amounts.  White Dove and the surgeon looked down at the burned and fevered man who, even in his sleep was restless.

"Shall I call the Commodore?  He should be told about Captain Williamson's future."  White Dove asked.  Reluctantly the surgeon agreed and she left.  Soon Air Commodore Henry Urhquart strode into the infirmary and stared at Captain Williamson.  Putting his hands behind his back, he turned his stare to the surgeon who started to fidget.

"Report Doctor."

"Yes, well Henry, it's not good.  We cleaned up his face as best we could but he will still have horrible scarring.  If you look closely, you'll also see that the whole right side of his face appears to have been dipped in wax.  He will lose the sight in his right eye as well as the hearing since we could only salvage a nub for his ear."

Commodore Urhquart nodded slowly, looking at what was left of a man who he was privileged to call a friend.

"I'm sorry sir, but even if Williamson pulls out of this, you'll never be able to use him in flight again.  Given enough time you may be able to use him as an instructor...perhaps, if nothing else, as a reminder about the hazards of the Dragon Corp."  Doc looked up at the Commodore and took a deep breath before he gave another alternative.  "I know Williamson was a friend of yours Henry.  Please consider one other option.  He is in terrible pain and now without a dragon.  I could..."

"Don't say it Doc.  Not Williamson."

"Henry.  It has to be said.  You'd be doing the man a favor by letting me put him down.  He will not have a quality of life after this.  He'll be shunned by the public and..."

"ENOUGH!"  Taking a deep breath, Urhquart lowered his voice a decibel or two.  "Doc, I know you mean well, but...not yet Doc.  Not yet."

"It will only get harder the longer you put it off Henry."

"I know.  Dammit Doc, I owe him my life and I know there is more to him then just his pretty looks.  I'll consider it.  I promise."

Doc knew that he couldn't press Urhquart any further this time, just as he knew that he'd have to talk to him later about it also.

At 2100 hours, Air Commodore Urhquart called all the Captains together for an update of the day's events.

"It seems that there is movement from Rupert's Land..  We need to send out a scouting party over the disputed land by the western shores of Lake Superior."  He looked over his group and settled his gaze upon Captain Smith.  "Captain Smith, take Western Howl and explore that area.  I'm also assigning you Waukashaunassey and Broadsides as escorts.  Your mission is to observe and report on troop movement and settlement activity in the disputed lands.  You'll fly out of here and report to The Lake Superior Recon Wing out of the Illinois Territory side of Duluth for updates when you get there."

Commodore Urhquart looked at his captains and asked if they had any questions.  Will Hunter spoke up first.  "Sir, should we plan on taking our assigned ground crew with us since we will be based so far from Ft. Detroit?"

"Yes Captain Turner.  You may take them with you as long as it doesn't encumber or slow you down.  If you can't take them all with you, they will stay here and be temporarily reassigned to the main base.  Any more questions?"

"No sir."

"Very good.  In that case, if there are no more questions, you are dismissed."

The Wing Commander went to give William orders for a first light departure and William immediately went to tell his Wingman of their new mission.  After he briefed Rebecca, she went to address the rest of the crew while Will went to give Waukashaunassey the news.

Waukashaunassey raised her head when she heard William approach.  She had a determined glint in her eye, prepared to refuse again to talk about Jimmy.  Much to her surprise though, he had other news to tell her.

"Well my dear, they've assigned us a mission to the West.  They are sending us into the disputed lands around Lake Superior."

"Isn't that where Jimmy just came back from William?"

"Yes, it could be a very dangerous mission.  They have assigned us to join up with Broadsides as we escort Western Howl."

His order of escort did not go unnoticed by Waukashaunassey, noticing that he gave primary position to Western Howl.

"Are you bringing along extra food to share with Broadsides?  He always seems hungry.  His name fits him well."

"We are going to be stationed out of Duluth while there but you can expect to also forage for food while on patrol."

"That will be nice.  I have heard that there is good hunting in that area."

"Sleep well for we have an early start.  I'll instruct Mr. McDaniel's to increase your dinner tonight as well as an early morning breakfast.  You'll need your energy since our ground crew ill be coming with us too."

"I'll make sure to eat extra and not let Broadsides have too much of my extra."

Will chuckled as he left Waukashaunassey, knowing that Broadsides would be allowed to take SOME of her food but not all.  It was a game they played each and every mealtime.

The fort settled down after everybody made sure that the supplies were requested and inspections were done and soon it was the morning.

First light came and William found that Waukashaunassey was already harnessed and waiting for him at the landing field.  She perked up upon seeing his purposeful stride as well as the rest of the crew hurrying to catch up.

William looked around at his crew and then spoke to his Wingman.

"Are we ready to go now?"

Rebecca gave William a smart salute as she replied "Supplies had already been loaded and correctly secured, Sir."

"Thank you Miss Southerland. "

"My duty Sir."

"Very well then, you may board the men now."

Rebecca turns to the group and gestures to the Sergeant, a procedure they have all done many a time before.  With that signal, the Sergeant starts the boarding procedures and soon all three dragons were boarded and took off, heading westward to the frontier.

After Session Q&A

Q: This might sound stupid but ....Under the Dragon special abilities on page 112, it says dive and swim. Swim is obvious and but is drive as obvious? Is it air to water and/or is it surface to water to submerge or what. We were wondering why a dragon would need these (well the dive part anyway). The group saw as it could mean:  (and yes, sometimes they overthink things)

1.  diving as in diving for fish or food to surface from air

2.  diving from air to land on water or underwater

3.  from surface to water to just submerge themselves kind of like a submarine.

A: Dive as in dive like a pelican, for fish. Dragons with Dive and Swim have a bonus for diving into water and swimming through it. All dragons can do this, but those with the Dive and Swim Edges are good at it.

Q: On page 145, there was a question about distance and EU. In the straight, it says dragon flies straight and level. Costs 1 energy and moves dragon 2 per EU used. What does the 2 mean. What is your unit of measure? Is two hexes of 250 meters since p above it states when in a straight line flight, a dragon will go 250 meters or is it something else.

A: 2 X 250 meters, in other words, a half kilometer.

Q: If doing random scrum...our guys succeed they fail. We are now on their 6, correct? The book says....for each 5% or less success rolled better, the opposing dragon shifts by 1 clock number away from 6. To us, this reads as a penalty for spotting them since 6 is the position. What are we reading wrong.

A: This is to set up the initial position in a scrum. It's a way to set up where each dragon is at the beginning, and what direction they are facing. Roll an Alert checks.

IF THE PC FAILS, the Enemy will be on the tail of the PC's dragon.

IF THE PC SUCCEEDS, the dragon will be positioned 1 clock position away from 6 for each 5% (rounded up) in the margin of success.

Examples, where the adjusted Alert check is 65:

      PC fails. The enemy dragon is on the six of the PC.

      PC succeeds, rolling a 47. Margin of success is 18, rounded to 20. Enemy dragon is shifted by 4 clock positions to 2 o'clock.

Then you do the same for the enemy, to see their facing.

IF THE ENEMY FAILS, the PC dragon is on his six. this means that if both fail, they will be heading away from each other and never notice.

IF ENEMY SUCCEEDS, the dragon will be positioned 1 clock position away from 6 for each 5% (rounded up) in the margin of success.

The way this is written is extremely confusing. I blame lack of sleep.

Q: Dumb question again.....we will not argue that dragon could breath and climb and do maneouvers at high altitudes, but what about the human factor. If 1 unit of potential , which is 1,000 meters/yards, then that means 1 unit would be approx. 3300 feet. So what would you say all combat, maneouvers, etc. needs to take place at if they have humans on board. What is the max feet and/or yards that a person can stand without passing out.
- Is the unit of measurement on page 143 suppose to be meters or should it be in feet. The group thought it made more since if the potential would be 1,000 feet instead of meters.

A: The 1000 meter is wrong. One unit should be 250 meters in any direction. That's a cut and paste leftover from Wild Blue.

Q: I can't find in the index, etc. where it talks about if "dragon hit for 1" per damage table on page 166 what the "1" stands for. What do we subtract the "1" from. If the dragon also has armor/outer covering of 2....does that mean it takes to damage.

A: This table ignores armor. The one damage is removed from the dragon's Damage Track.

Q: Breath does x amount of damage. 100 pts, 200 pts. Per page 113...now with that 100 poits, how does it get divided up...and where does the table on page 166 come in at. According to 174 it says breath modifiers. So it's -10 from 1-2 for instance, is that -10 to hit? 10 less damage? Or is it % less damage, or something else?

A: The table on 166 is only dealing with muskets, rifles, and petards. It has nothing to do with Dragon Breath. I need to do another chart for Breath. Until then, use your best guess as to human casualties of Dragon breath.

The Solutions charts on p. 174  - i.e. those named Plan, Elevation, and Range Solutions - list penalties to the To-Hit roll of the dragon for Dragon Breath.

The Dragon Breath Modifiers chart on the lower left of that page modifies points of the dragon breath damage. If the dragon has a breath of 100, and the target is between 2 and 3 o'clock, damage is reduced by 20, to 80.

Session 3 - September 17, 2008

Four days later, the three dragons and their crews arrived at the Lake Superior Recon Duluth Station.  They were met by the scouts of the Duluth Station and upon verification of credentials, they were allowed to land and Captain Smith went to report in at the main office.  While he was doing that, the rest of the riders and crews set to work to establish a base for the visiting squadron and to make Western Howl, Waukashaunassey and Broadsides comfortable.

Later that night, Captain Smith called everybody together.

"Captains, since we are in unfamiliar territory, we need to do a shakedown flight under independent command to familiarize both our dragons and our crews with the immediate surrounding terrain around the fort.  You will fly not more then 2 hours out and then return.  You will avoid conflict unless it is deemed that you have a high chance of success of damaging the enemy while avoiding casualties.  You will depart at dawn."

With that as their dismissal, the captains spread the word of the dawn flight to their crews and everybody finished settling in and retired for the evening for a good night's rest.  That was...everybody except McDaniel's.  Retiring when everybody else retired was a lost opportunity to McDaniel.  He waited for an hour after everybody else retired and then started scrounging for materials.  Even Jack didn't have an idea what he was looking for.  He just scrounged for anything.  He knew that if he couldn't use it, he'd trade it for something that he could.  Will had given up on asking where things came from long ago.

The next morning Will and his group were assigned to travel west along the southern shore of Lake Superior.  They were to familiarize with every inlet and bay where enemy ships may have clandestine rendezvous.  They were about an hour out from base when Waukashaunassey spotted a dark object flying in the sky.  Upon closer visual observation, he noticed it was a Sylvania Swift, a dragon the size of a draft horse.  That breed was known to be readily aggressive.

"William, there is a Swift fast approaching from the West.  What would you like me to do?"  Waukashaunassey asked.

"Turn and engage my dear.  Miss Southerland, beat the crews to quarters."

"Aye aye Sir."  With a turn of her head, Miss Southerland gave Sgt. Jenkins the Order.  "Sgt. Jenkins, load muskets, prepare to volley."

"Aye aye Ma'am."  Sgt. Jenkins replied.  In his bellowing voice, the orders were soon heard by the rest of the team.   "Time to wake up boys.  Load muskets and prepare to volley."

Soon the Swift was within visual eyesight of the humans and Will noticed it was flying approximately 1,000 feet below them.

"Waukashaunassey, start an accelerated shallow dive."

"Yes William."

"Men...Present. ..Aim..." William held the last part of the firing sequence until Waukashaunassey was passing on the Swifts port side then..."FIRE!"

 The crew had been holding their shots until they got the fire command but as soon as it was said, they let off their volleys.  Coming down from the dive, plus the advantage of the sun being behind them, gave Waukashaunessy' s crew the necessary initiative to strike true.  They hit the Swift but their shots didn't seem to have any effect.  The crew riding on the Swift was another matter entirely.  Through the smoke, they saw one of the airmen had slumped in his harness while the remaining airman and its Captain reeled from the wounds it received from the musket ball damage.

The Captain of the Swift knew he wasn't a match for the mammoth sized dragon that was chasing him.  He doubted that he would make it home with over 1/3 of his crew already down.  He gave the order to do a climb reverse turn, hoping he'd be able to climb higher as he headed back to Rupert's Land.  The Swift made the maneouver without any problems and sped as fast as he could back home.  While the Swift was doing the reverse climb, the two remaining crewmen fired upon Waukashaunassey to little effect.

His maneouver didn't go unnoticed by William's team though.  "Captain, the Swift is hoping to out climb us and head back west." Reported Miss Southerland.

"Climb and prepare for volley as the dragon presents then. Miss Southerland. "

"Aye aye Sir."

"Sgt. Jenkins, prepare for volley as the Swift presents."

When firing from dragon back, it was their custom to have their rifles rigged to be able to drop after they used them and still not lose it.  This way they could pull their side arms out and not take the tedious time out to reload the rifles.  This is what Waukashaunassey' s crew did.  They pulled out their sidearm and fired when they got within range of the Swift.

At first the smoke prevented them from seeing what the results were but it quickly dissipated in the wind caused by the dragon's wings.  The shots were true again and the Swift's captain could now be seen slumped over in his rig and a cry of anguish from the Swift pierced the air.  The Swift, now with all the riders slumped, continued onwards towards its home base in Rupert's Land...until it heard the Feinstein cousins.  Seeing all the riders slumped over, the Feinstein's gave their version of a battle cry -- "Wauka Wauka Wauka."   They raised their pistols in the air in triumph of actually hitting their assigned target, but soon their cheers faded away.  The Swift had been planning on course to go back home, but upon hearing the taunting war cry, it flared its wings and as his air speed dropped (high yo yo maneouver), found himself behind Waukashaunassey.  It snapped at Waukashaunassey' s tail and bit down as hard as it could.  The bellow from Waukashaunassey sounded almost as good as the sweet flood that dripped down into the Swift's mouth tasted.

William shouted "Borders away!" but it was not needed.  Sgt. Jenkins, Fulbright, and Wild Horse had their melee weapons in hand almost before Will had the words out.  Wild Horse led the leap and landed with a wild WHOOP next to the downed captain.  Jenkins and Fulbright weren't as lucky and had to quickly scramble for a hand hold lest they fall to their doom.  Jenkins managed to catch hold of the harness of one of the Swift's airmen and quickly snapped his carabiner onto it.  Fulbright caught hold of the harness but was rapidly slipping off.  Jenkins managed to slow his decent long enough for Fulbright to snap his carabiner on the last position of the harness.

Wild Horse then took out his Tomahawk and held it up to the slumped captain's throat and yelled to the Swift..."LAND...NOW! "

After Session Q&A

Q: The group has petitioned the GM to run Dragon Games while at Fort Duluth.  This is a series of maneuvers that are designed to show off the training of the dragons and crew.  A mini game can be done when visiting dragons come for prolonged stay (more then 1 week).  I told them we would do it.

There will be two different competitions.  Singles and pairs.  On the Pairs some of the events will be boarding procedures and on both it will have flight paths and obstacles as well as targets to hit, etc.  Not sure what I will have for the prizes of it....besides the glory of course.Q:

A: I suggest giving Notice. This would be what the military would give someone who won - say - a gunnery competition.

BTW, this is a WONDERFUL idea!

Q: Some of the suggestions for events have been:

1.  Fly from point a to point b - have a target to shoot
from point b to point c - have another target but perhaps have to pull off a specific maneuver.
fly from point c to d - (repeat from b to c)
fly straight back as fast as you can

They would have groups or sizes of like dragons going against each other.

2.  Boarding maneuvers and of course repelling of such
3.  A special breath weapon category.... distance and damage (like kinds going against each other)
 and
4.  open aerial w/ pilot -time to shine and show off your best aerial maneuvers within a specific amount of time.
5.  open aerial without pilot --- come on...we KNOW it's all about the dragons...let them go solo in aerials
6.  Flying formations.  Precision at (hopefully) it's best.

One of the squad from Ft. Detroit that went to Ft. Duluth has an acid breath weapon.  That should be pretty impressive to see him show that off.

A: Six kinds of awesome, B.! I love it!

On Laboring Wings – Chapter 4 -  The Price of Defeat

September 17, 1811
Location:  An undisclosed location 1 hour flight out of Ft. Duluth.

Scene:

The Swift landed with Wild Horse, Jenkins and Fulbright aboard its back and Wild Horse holding the hatchet to its Captains throat.  Upon landing it was discovered that the captain and two crew members of the Swift had perished upon the journey to the ground.

William Hunter saw that his men had landed the Swift and talked to Waukashaunassey .  " Please land nearby Waukashaunassey and we will tend to your wound as well as see to our crew's disposition on the Swift."

"Yes William.  I would like that because my tail hurts."

"Be proud my dear.  You have shed your first blood for the cause of liberty in our Republic."

"I'll be proud William even though it hurts.  Don't tell the others I said it hurts."

"I won't my dear and that was a job well done.  Rest assured, the commodore will hear about your bravery."

"Don't tell Declaration that I complained about how much it hurt."

"Don't worry.  When we return to Ft. Detroit, only your bravery will be mentioned amongst the Great Lake Squadron."

Waukashaunassey and her crew landed facing the Swift in order to keep a watchful upon it as Will jumped down to examine the damage to her tail.

"Well Waukashaunassey, it appears this won't leave you a scar but I'm sure the pain is not enjoyable.  Give us some time and I will have the crew bandage it up.  Miss Southerland!  If you would, supervise both Hawkins in bandaging Waukashaunassey' s battle wounds while I will direct myself toward our prize."

"Certainly Sir.  Miss and Mr. HawKINS!  Report to me with bandages for Waukashaunassey. "

The brother and sister team quickly grabbed the bandages and rushed over to Miss Southerland. When they reached her the brother/sister team announced in unison, "Reporting as ordered ma'am."

"Very well.  Let us see to our dragons need.  Follow me."

The three of them went to look at Waukashaunassey' s tail having learned to be cautious around wounded dragons, even if they were your own.  The threesome approached and began to evaluate the bite on the tail.  The bite wasn't as deep as they first thought and after cleaning and binding it Waukashaunassey felt a lot better.  Miss Southerland nodded her head.

"That should do us well.  The bleeding is under control and we should be fine until we see the doctor back at base."

Miss Southerland turned walked over to William to give her report.

After hearing Miss Southerland report, Will turned his attention toward the Swift.  Before walking up though, he gave the order for the Feinstein's to reload all weapons and "try not to shoot anybody while doing it."

The Feinstein's answered in unison with an "Aye aye sir."

By this time, Jenkins and Fulbright had finished unlashing the riggings on the Swift while Wild Horse kept his tomahawk at the ready against the enemy captain's throat.  Upon seeing Captain Hunter advance, he shook his head in a negative fashion.

William turned his full attention to the Swift though.

"My name is Captain William Hunter of the dragon Waukashaunassey, and you sir are my prisoner."

"What happened to my captain?"

"If I may, let me check on the condition of your crew."

"Be quick."

William nodded and slowly walked over to the side of the Swift and made a big production out of doing a thorough examination of the three riders of the Swift and then walked forward again.

"I am sorry, but it appears that your brave Captain and crew have perished under our gunfire."

The dragon howled into the northern wilderness, a counterpoint to the emptiness that quickly filled his heart.  All the battle and vigor drained out of him in that yell and the dragon collapsed to the ground, trying to huddle around his captain's body which had been gently lowered to the ground.  Waukashaunassey' s crew did not interfere and let the dragon grieve for a couple of minutes.

Sgt. Jenkins laid out the spoils of war upon the ground and was standing by it when William walked over to look at it.

Even without the Captains Jacket with the epaulettes of gold upon it, it was clear that the Captain had come from a well to do family.  From his Cocked hat to his silk hose leading down to his calf high black leather boots that were barely scuffed, he spoke of money.   William picked up the silver flask laid out and sniffed, finding out that it held some cognac that no doubt had been smuggled in.  Lying next to that was the Dragon's Logs that most Captains kept while on a mission.  He looked through it and found that there was a very accurate map drawn of the area they had just covered.  The Captain also had a saber with damascening on it and a wire wrap silver hilt, a chronometer, and a flintlock pistol with a fancy knob in the shape of a Swift Dragon's head.  William shook his head at all the pomp that was shown just on this one man.

The items from the rest of the crew were something more like what William usually ran into.  It came to 2 cutlass', 2 flintlock pistols, 3 daggers, and 2 muskets.  Of course when back at the base, the tally would also include the Swift itself and the rigging upon it.

Without turning around, William called for Miss Southerland.  "Miss SoutherLAND!  See that Cole inventories the spoils of war and get them packed up as soon as possible."

"Aye aye Sir."

Miss Southerland did a smart turn and looked over in the general direction of the crew.  "Purser Cole...please inventory these items and afterwards make them secure for our return to Ft. Duluth."

"Aye Ma'am."

The Swift finally turned it's head to stare at William.  William couldn't help but think what would have happened if the tables had been turned, but it was not his decision to make—such was the price of defeat.  As he made a mental vow to never put Waukashaunassey in such a position, he finally spoke to the Swift.

"I am sorry that you had to suffer such a great loss.  However I am sure that you realize that we both fought honorably.  I am sure your captain realized that this outcome while not wished for was a possibility. "

"And will you kill me now too?"

"Of course not.  You will fly back to our base and be offered shelter until my superior arrives and adjudicates your disposition. "

"And if I do not?"

"Then, according to the articles of war, as long as I remain within those said  articles, you are required to act within the guidelines of a prisoner."

"Those are not dragon guidelines."

"Those are the guidelines of the British Empire and those are the same guidelines that your captain swore his sacred oath to.  Are you saying that your captain was foresworn?"

A big growl emanated from the Swift's throat and he started to stand up.

"You will NOT talk about Reginald like that."

Waukashaunassey did not like the tone the swift was using and hissed loudly as her head brushed past William to stare directly into the Swift's eyes.

"You and your captain knew the risk entering into this profession and you both took an oath.  Live up to your captain's oath and do not disgrace his memory!"

The barbs flared on the Swift as it snap at Waukashaunassey admonishment and snarled.  "I know my DUTY."

William knew that he would have to step in before both dragons fell to fighting as each defended their captain's honor.  "Let us transport your brave captain and crew back to our base where we may begin plans to allow them to return to their countrymen for burial."

Without taking his eyes off of Waukashaunassey, the Swift carried on its conversation with William.

"What will happen to me at your fort."

"That is up to my commander to determine.  However, he is an honorable man who will follow the articles of war."

Miss Southerland walked up to Captain Turner's side and coughed to get his attention.  "Pardon my interruption sir, but may I offer a suggestion."

Captain Hunter raised an eyebrow and turned toward his wingman.  "Miss Sutherland if you please, can you offer an solution to this conundrum in this solution?"

Miss Sutherland stepped back a pace of two so she wasn't as close to the two dragons.  "Sir, if my timing is accurate, we are expected to be back at base in 30 minutes." She paused until William told her to go ahead.  "If we are NOT back by then, Audacious and/or Broadsides will be sent out to look for us.  They know our assigned flight plan and if we just wait here for them...I'm sure the three dragons can easily persuade the Swift to follow them to our base."

"Good thinking Miss Southerland.  I agree that our reinforcements should be here shortly.  However I am sure that this brave dragon here realizes his responsibility to both his oath and captain."

"Certainly sir, forgive the intrusion.  I will get the crew on Waukashaunassey."

"If you may, stay by my side while we discuss with our valiant opponent."

Miss Southerland brightened up and straightened up her shoulder and nodded.  "Certainly sir, it would be a pleasure.

Captain Hunter turned back toward the swift and asked "I must ask you sir again, do you surrender honorably or must our conflict continue."

The sound of gun hammers being pulled back was heard and Sgt. Jenkins voice burst thru the silence.

"Now steady men....Stead-EE! "

The Swift lowered its head in submission but at the same time spoke to William.

"I did not surrender.  YOU stated I was a prisoner.  I will accept being a prisoner BUT keep that mammoth tail out of my face lest I develop a taste for its foul tasting feathers."

William managed to keep the retort that was on his lips, not an easy feat considering how easy defending Waukashaunassey came to him.

"Very well.  Miss Southerland if you please.  I will give you command of our prize.  Please take Wild Horse and Sgt. Jenkins and accompany us back to our base."

"Aye sir."

"We will follow behind you since you know the way. Once we get within spotters range Waukashaunassey will take lead so as no misunderstanding occurs.  We will transport our valiant fallen opposition."

The Swift quickly  interrupted Will...

"*I* will take Reginald on me!"

"Very well.  You have earned that right.  Would you like your other two crewmen as well?"

"No.  I will take Reginald."

The Swift stood up fully and reached out her claws around Reginald's body, scooping him up along with the dirt underneath him thus preventing anybody else getting closer to him.

Captain  Hunter turned  to Purser Cole as he said..."Mr. Cole, would you please honorably secure these two warriors to Waukashaunassey so we may return to base.

"Aye Captain."

Cole turned to the Harris and Jones. "YOU heard the captain...secure all items to Waukashaunassey and prepare for flight."

Soon everything was secured on both dragons and they lifted off to return to Ft. Duluth.

They did not run into any more problems on the return trip although, as they approached their encampment, they noticed there was activity as Audacious and Broadsides appeared to be reequipping themselves.

Over in one corner of the base, six hatchling Hummers, now the size the large cats, were getting their first lessons in flight causing the adult dragons to chuckle at their antics as well as the captains.  However that was interrupted by the loud warning bell that began to sound as Waukashaunassey became more apparent to the base.  That was soon followed by the sound of drums beating to quarters.

The crew by that time had approached close enough to see the startled expressions of their fellow Dragoneers.  Captain Hunter gestured to Miss Southerland to land first and pointed toward the far end of the empty landing field.  She nodded her understanding and soon landed as guards hurried over to them.  Waukashaunassey interposed herself between the guards and the Swift as a precautionary action.

Captain Turner dismounted Waukashaunassey, and said "My dear, if you would stay here and make sure that the Swift is not disturbed unduly, I will deal with the base commander as well as the commodore."

"Of course, William.  Miss Southerland should stay on the Swift though because they are prone to snap and you humans are smaller and therefore might be tastier."

William went to find the commander and tell his tale, intercepting the soldiers as they ran forward toward the unknown dragon.

"Gentlemen if you please."

The Sergeant in command of the troops stopped by Will and saluted him.

"Sergeant, this Swift has been taken prisoner and is under our control.  You may set up a perimeter but leave it some distance Waukashaunassey and her crew will make sure that it stays."

"Aye sir."

The Sergeant turned to his troops and called towards his men.  "Jonsey!  You will set up a perimeter at 200 yards.  No man may approach closer to that without permission of an officer from Waukashaunassey.  Do I make myself clear?"

"Aye sir."

The troops continued on and set up the perimeter while William gave his report to the commander.

After Session Q&A

Q: As is our want on game night, we usually start out with questions and/or a discussion of something.  The discussions can be nonsensical or completely serious.  This week we had a bit of both.

One of the first things that came up was what do you call a group of dragons.  There is a pride of lions, a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows.  What do you guys think a group of dragons is called?    Upon doing a Google search, I found that according to some mythologies, a group of dragons is referred to as a "Clan".  This was due to the fact that Dragons were believed to be sentient creatures (we all know that is true—grins), thus if they traveled together it was because they chose to be a part of that clan for more reasons than just being in a "group".  While my group liked Clan, they thought a "Storm of Dragons" would be much better.  Any comments on that?

A: Nope. I usually use the names used for military aircraft - Flight, Squadron, and Wing. Use whatever you like.

Q: THAT discussion was mild though compared to what came next.  That was the discussion on what does one do with a captured dragon.  The group was split on what was "assumed" to be the correct thing.

It was no surprise that we broke it down into some general situational conditions.  Did the Captain and/or crew of the dragon die?  Where they captured and also live?    What is it that the crew is risking life and limb for when they jump from one dragon to another.

We'll bypass the typical generic answer of "you're a soldier and if you're told to capture the dragon you will...no questions asked" since that would cut my discussion short and I can always fall back on it.

The topic of parole came up then.  Using the definition of parole that means, "Word of honor, especially that of a prisoner of war who is granted freedom only after promising not to engage in combat until formally exchanged" (http://www.answers. com/topic/ parole), would certainly be an option.

If the dragon's Captain is killed, it is doubtful if they would want to bond to anybody else.  Why would you bond to somebody that killed your Captain?  So then your choices are parole or kill the dragon?  Putting it into your breeding program has it's own risks.  Do YOU want to oversee a dragon that is uncooperative?  Just bringing up some things that I hadn't really thought too much about until it came up in game.  By the way, I came up with the following standard practice for my game.

a)      take dragon prisoner – first and foremost

b)      if Captain is dead, re-impress or ransom the dragon

c)      if Captain is alive – opens options for bargaining/ransom

d)      if crew is alive – prisoner which opens opportunity for parole or bargaining

A: I wrote this in the latest version of the game book:

Capturing Dragons

A dragon may be taken alive by the following means:

    * Killing and/or capturing all the crew and officers
    * Capturing the captain
    * Snagging a smaller dragon with a much larger one
    * Forcing a dragon down to the ground

At this point, a dragon may be treated in one of several ways by the capturing party:

    * The dragon may be traded for other prisoners, dragon or human.
    * The dragon may be persuaded to work for the capturing nation for rewards. These tend not to be trusted.
    * The dragon may be paroled, and allowed to breed with dragons of the capturing nation.
    * If the captain has died, the dragon may be persuaded to take a new captain from the capturing nation. This is the best option, but depends drastically on circumstances.

These options are all roleplaying options. They depend on the individual dragon's nature, the care and honor it is given when captured, the degree of animosity between the sides, the personality of the old captain, the nature of any replacement captain, and a number of unidentifiable factors which may come up in play.

Dragons are impressed by:

    * Gold and glitz, and shiny things.
    * Honor, though they don't really understand it the way we do.
    * Good food and plenty of it.
    * Respect.
    * Learning.
    * Kindness.

The bond between a dragon and any subsequent captain is never as powerful as that between a dragon and its first captain. The GM is encouraged to deal with captured dragons as would best suit the group's game.
 
Q: If you are doing this time period, they feel that it is important that you point out periodically (even if it is just a a couple of sentences) that the time period actions are different then what most people might be used to.  A lot of people might be used to the idea from other games they might have played that when the enemy falls, YOU get the spoils of war.  That isn't necessarily true since you need to turn it in to your superior, etc.  The trickle down theory is at its best here.  Obviously, if you got part of the spoils and could improve your station in life, etc. from capturing the dragon, you might be willing to take more risks.

A: Good point! I'll put something about that in the intro

Q: Since we mentioned about the spoils of war, let me bring up another question.  (Weren't we just full of curiosity?)  It says in the rules that you can go up in wealth categories at most once per year with the balance being considered wasted on poor investments, hobbies, and useless fripperies.  When they have a smaller prize as in this case with the Swift, how would that break down?

A: You add up all the prizes you've accumulated during the year, of whatever type, and compare that with the amount needed to advance.  Remember that Quantity can make up for lack of quality - four of any given category equals one of the next higher category.

Q: In the index at the back of the .PDF page 2, it ways Psionics (use of in combat, 69)....Ummmm.  You might want to take that out.  You did take it off the list in the front of the .PDF since it goes from 68 to 70.  (grins)

A: That's a cut and paste mistake, indeed! Thanks for pointing it out!

Q:Last, but certainly not least, what exactly does the Dragon armor number mean and what is it useful for then?

A: The dragon armor is used in dragon vs dragon battles. It's an initial layer of protection from bites and gouges and gores. It won't prevent a bullet from penetrating, unfortunately.

Session 5 - September 17, 1811


When Captain Hunter went to give his report, he was curious as to why Western Howl and Broadsides had also returned early.  (Report to be posted later).  He found out that Smith and Tate had returned early because they saw movement along the western shore of Lake Superior.  Between them they counted a force of 12 dragons looking to be no larger than verdant viper size.  Instead of engaging, they returned early to alert the fort and await the return of Waukashaunassey so they could concentrate the squadron's power.

Parmington frowned.  "This is quite unusual.  We have not seen such a large storm of dragons before.  Something must be afoot.  Your base must have had an idea this would happen and that is why you were sent out west.  Most of my current dragons are either on extended patrol out west or helping train the latest batch of dragons.  I would send some of them but we need to keep a close eye on the young dragons at this point in their development.  I'll check with the trainers and see if I can send anybody out to you.

Smith:  Quite right sir.  I am confident that my squadron can handle the matter.  We're used to being outnumbered but we've never been out fought.

Parmington:  Very well then. The fort shall, of course, be put on alert with this news and take any necessary precautions.  I leave you to your duty sir....Dismissed.

Smith turned to Hunter and Tate.  "Gentlemen we have our mission.  Report to your dragons, make ready for flight.  I'll signal for takeoff and we'll form up at 1000 feet on me."

Tate and Hunter:  Aye aye sir.

Smith:  Gentlemen....good hunting...dismiss

The other two captains saluted and turned to each other and shook hands.

Tate:  We'll give them hell Will.

Hunter:  You can count on that sir.

With a purposeful stride, the two captains left to go brief their crews.

As Hunter headed back to the landing field, the relief crew for the captured Swift could be seen gently coaxing it toward an empty dragon den. It was still clutching the dead body of its captain in its claws, refusing to give it up yet.

Wingman Southerland, upon spying William's return, presented herself and saluted.

Southerland:  Sir.  I have been relieved in regards to our captured dragon.

Will:  Excellent.  Was their any problems?

Southerland:  Not for our concern sir.  It still refuses to let go of its captain but that's their problem now.  A dragon handler has been called to help ease the transition period for it.

She allowed herself a small smile at that thought.

Will:  very well.  Return with me to Waukashaunassey.  It appears that our day has just begun.

Southerland glanced over and looked up at him and arched an eyebrow.  Sir?

Will:  it appears that there is a large storm heading our way.

Southerland looked up at the bright skies and knew he was referring to a pack of dragons.

Will:  it appears we will be winging ourselves northward to intercept the enemy as soon as we can make ready.

Southerland:  With your permission sir, let me confer with Sgt. Jenkins to make sure all everything is squared away.

Will: Carry on Miss Southerland

Southerland veered off and headed toward Sgt. Jenkins who had been carefully supervising the Feinstein cousins as they reloaded muskets and pistols.

Will approached Waukashaunassey.  "How are you feeling my dear?"

Waukashaunassey:  My tail feels as large as broadsides right now.  Does it look bigger?

William blinked but knew better then to answer that question so he tried to change topic very rapidly.  "It appears that our country needs us again.  So it's once more unto the breach my dear."

Waukashaunassey: This fight is going to be much tougher isn't it?

Will:  I'm afraid so but you've already shown your courage and skill.

Waukashaunassey:  when do we leave?

Will:  Here comes your crew now to board.

While Will was chatting with Waukashaunassey and informing her of the mission, Captain Jonah Smith approached Western Howl's Lieutenant Thomas Blumberg.  Captain Smith was an older man in his early 50s and had a confident air about him.

Smith:  Well Thomas, it appears that good King George is up to his old tricks again.  He's got his eye on these northern woods and has sent a large flight of medium dragons down to stake his claim.  It appears that we have a good fight ahead of us.

Blumberg:  Excellent sir.  I was a might jealous on Waukashaunassey' s luck this morn.

Smith:  Don't begrudge them their victory; it's always nice to win your first battle.  By the way, keep an eye on her and let me know if you see any problems arising later on.

Western Howl – I'll keep an eye on her Jone-ah.

Smith:  YOU keep your eye out for yourself.  You'll be quite busy in a short time from now.

Western Howl:  They will not be a match for me.  *I* can do both.

Captain Benjamin Tate chuckled upon hearing Western Howl as he passed on his way to his dragon...Broadsides.

Tate walked up to Broadsides and his second in command, Bombardier mate George Franklin Jefferson...freedman from Virginia

Tate:  Well George, looks like we have quite a tussle.  You'd better pack an extra lunch for the crew.

Broadsides turned his head and stares at Tate...

Tate:  and Broadsides and myself of course.

George:  Sir, will that leave enough room for the equipment?

Tate:  If need be we can always leave Airman Flippin behind.

George:  I'll make sure that Flippin feeds Broadsides BEFORE we take off.  Be careful though, he is hiccupping from his last meal.

Tate:  Look lively there because we are soon to be lifting off.

George quickly departed, not bothering to salute with the ease of long years dealing with Tate, to get everything in order for a quick departure.

The dragon den was a hive of activity while preparations were being made.  Within 30 minutes all three dragons had raised their ready flags.  Western Howl rose first followed by Broadsides and then last, but not least, Waukashaunassey. They slowly circled the fort gaining altitude upon reaching their planned height, headed north.

They were 40 miles from the fort when a flag arose from Western Howl stating "enemy spotted".   The sound of beating to quarters quickly followed and was heard by all.

The British formation appeared to be variations of two different breed.  6 of a hippo sized and 6 of a draft horse size dragon.  Their colors ranged from striped deep blue and aquamarine to a tipped gradation of crème de menthe to verdigris. It was soon apparent that they too had spotted the Great Lakes Squadron.  Both sides began to change their formation.  The Great Lakes Squadron went from a V formation with Western Howl at point to a reverse formation with Waukashaunassey at the nadir apex.

The enemy storm transformed from a tight formation and spread out to offer a broader front as they attempted to envelope the north flying Americans.  As the British dragons engulfed the three larger American dragons, Western Howl let off a breath attack of concentrated wind which appeared as if it was a horizontal tornado.  A tornado that swept over a spotted copper and Verdigris dragon, tearing two crewmen off to spin downwards into their deaths and slapping two crewmen sharply into the dragon's already straining harness.

Two other dragons moved to within range of Broadsides but he had a reach advantage and as they moved closer, Broadside roared and a stream of concentrated acid landed on a hippo sized dragons of brown gradations.  The browns captain and his crew roared in pain as the head airman took the brunt of the acid.  By doing so, he also ended up being a semi shield for the other airmen.  A Blue British dragon, which had previously climbed to gain altitude, shook his head back and forth over his injured comrade and gently breathed a spray of water in an attempt to wash off some of the acid that was on his acid burned compatriot.

By now, all the dragons were within range and the smaller dragons were anxious to fill the air with the vengeful return breath of the Empire's anger.  Two dragons broke and breathed on Broadsides letting lose a firestorm of retribution.   Will and Waukashaunassey feared what the result would be when they heard the screams coming from Broadsides. By the time the smoke cleared a hellish scene of devastation was revealed as Broadsides screamed in agony a counterpoint to the shrieks of agony of the remaining surviving crew voiced.  Airmen Flippin was crisply charred and would serve no more and Captain Tate appeared to be burned as well.  Luck must have been on the Americans side that day since it looked like only one the fire breathers had hit.  One must not forget that these dragons did not fly alone.  Their crews were also setting up to fire upon the Americans.  The firearms barked in unison from both sides and the air was filled with dragons doing evasive maneuvers.  Perhaps it was all the maneuvers that caused people to miss but for whatever reason, everybody was still in the fight.

By now, the British thought they had seen all of the dragons who had breath weapons and judged, rightly so, that Broadsides should be the main target.  The signals went up and from the right flank two dragons took on Broadsides with twin torrents of air.  "Stead-E men," shouted Captain Tate, as soon as he saw the air arching over to them.  Airmen Davies and Kendall quickly hooked another line up to Broadsides but Hardy and Jenkins were too slow.  With horror, they saw Hardy's body pulled up and away from Broadsides and then his tether snapped.  He didn't have a chance to fall down to his death though because the wind breath took him across the maw of a tipped copper dragon who immediately snapped at him, impaling Hardy on his teeth.  Broadsides didn't wait for the wind to die down but instead breathed crosswise it and let the enemies' breath weapon help carry his acid over to the tipped copper, revenging Hardy.  The acid left its mark, killing two of the airmen outright and wounding everybody else, including the captain.  It quickly retreated, after that.

To be continued....

Stormy Skies – Part 2 – the battle continues

As the battle continued, Waukashaunassey noticed some enemy dragons
starting to climb and with the urgings of Capt. Hunter he rose to
challenge them. Spotting a tipped crème de menthe enemy named
Vivacious, who was running interference for another dragon who was
beginning to prepare to drop grenades on the Americans, Captain
Hunter gave the order for a climbing reversal and told
Waukashaunassey to attack as the enemy presented. Rolling up behind
the tipped dragon, who was deeply focused on broadsides below him
because he had just shown his deadly acid breath, Waukashaunassey
attacked with his claws and tried to bite the enemy dragons tail.
The young American dragon, however, had misjudged the distance for
the bite and missed as his claws dug in deep and raked down the
enemies back. With screams of agony and shock, one of the British
crewmen was disemboweled as another was flung off screaming
frantically. As Captain Fillmore master of Vivacious, looked back,
both captains gave command for the crews to fire. A large cloud of
smoke issued forth as both sides discharged their weapons. When the
sulfur cloud had dissipated, it was revealed that both crews had
suffered large losses as two of Waukashaunassey' s crew slumped
unresponsive in their restraints while four others bled from various
wounds. Vivacious had suffered even more grievous damage as no
remaining crew on her back remained upright and the smaller dragon's
wings had numerous perforations and damage. With an agonizing cry of
loss and pain, Vivacious began a steep plummet to the rocky shore
below. Vivacious couldn't safely land due to her injuries, and as
she passed over the rock below her wing tip dipped and she pin
wheeled violently across the cold hard shores of Lake Superior,
flinging and smearing her crew over several hundred yards. By the
time she stopped, there was little left to recognize of the once
proud battle dragon of the British forces.

Below this conflict, the main battle continued as two British dragons
arrowed in on broadsides. As Razorwind attacked from Broadsides port
side, his squadron companion, Incendiarus, attacked from starboard.
Captain Tate gave orders for Broadsides to turn to the port and
engage Razorwind with both breath and musket fire. Taking a deep
breath broadside spewed his sizzling acid breath on the smaller
dragon, while the American crew set off a ragged valley. Swept by
both acid and lead, Razorwind was stunned to see all of his crew and
captain collapse. Razorwind, grieving over the loss of his crew, was
wracked with pain and anger. Turning on Broadside, Razorwind voiced
his grief in a breath of despair that howled his recent loss.
Unfortunately, clouded by pain and anger, he missed his intended
target and managed to hit Incendiarus. The errant breath unseated one
of Incendiarus airmen and wounded another one while disrupting
Incendiarus attack on broadside.

The American Squadron Leader, Western Howl, spied an amber ridge
dragon named Little Big Horn, obviously for the amber colored horns
that adorned his head. Pointing with his spy glass, captain smith
pointed at the British dragon and said, "There you go boys, I see my
next powder horn has shown up." With his crew cheering, Western Howl
gently banked and lined up the enemy dragon directly ahead. With a
howling roar that was louder then the flapping of wings and musket
discharge from his back, the American dragon attacked Little Big
Horn. All three crew members were removed from the British dragons
back, whether from wind or lead no one would ever know. Being of the
nervous sort and without leadership or guidance, Little Big Horn
sharply banked and began rapidly winging his way back northward.
Seeing all the crew down and the quickly shrinking British dragon,
Lieutenant Blumburg yelled up to his captain. "Captain, I think your
powder horn is running back to his momma, King George." Captain
Smith shouted over the loud laughter from his crew, "Steady men, this
battle has just begun...Reload. " The chastised crewmen focused back on
reloading their muskets and were pleasantly surprised to hear their
captain add, "Besides, you owe me a new powder horn." The Captain
hid his own smile when he heard his crew shout back to him in
unison, "Aye Aye Sir."

Now it was time for Britain to represent their empire. Captain
Gervais on Incendiarus cursed Razorwind for spoiling his shot and
ordered his dragon to perform a flip turn to bring Incendiarus back
online to attack Broadsides. Meanwhile, one British dragon had
remained unimpeded on his attack run towards Broadsides. His
Majesty's dragon, Indomitable, dove in and although lacking a breath
weapon, Captain Swynburne ordered his airmen to present arms and fire
as they came along side. However, the air had started to become
choppy with the wildly maneuvering dragons and highly disruptive
breath weapons resulting in a clean miss on Broadsides. Broadside
was not out of danger yet. Coming out of the sun, Captain Chauncey
rode the proud dragon Tornado which streaked down and let off a
single concentrated cone of British hot air which swept across
broadsides back and crew. Jenkins only had a second to gaze in
horror as his crewmates strap parted with a snap and Braddock began
his final decent. Turning forward he also noticed that besides
himself, only Captain Tate and Bombardiers Mate Jefferson showed any
signs of life.

Western Howl couldn't come and help Broadsides since he found himself
attacked from three different directions as Sharptail, Flamewing, and
Typhoon maneuvered in while Maelstrom, a fourth dragon, started to
ascend from beneath Western Howl and would soon join the fray.
Flamewing's fire breath past aft of Western Howl as the wind currents
became more disturbed while the epic battle continued. Sharptail, a
young dragon who was brought along merely as a link boy for Captain
Cotts, missed with his small bite when Western Howl looked like he
was going to bite HIM in return. Typhoon saw his opportunity and set
a stream of icy cold Atlantic water toward Western Howl.
Unfortunately the icy water overshot Western Howl and it turned into
an instant cloud when it crossed Flamewing's fire breath. A pale
grey ridged dragon by the name of Invincible rose to challenge
Waukashaunassey. While it lacked a breath weapon, it did not lack in
courage as it closed and began to ready its claws.

Western Howl found himself surrounded by four enemy dragon's knifing
in from all sides. Captain Smith glanced at the battle and did a
quick evaluation. Sizing up the loss of Broadsides crew, he realized
that reinforcements would be needed if any of the American Dragons
were to survive. "Lt. Blumberg, we will close on the Firebreath and
engage. Signal Waukashaunassey to withdraw and seek reinforcements
from Ft.
Duluth." Lt. Blumberg gave the order for Mr. Hohenhus, a Dutch
immigrant who was in charge of Western Howl's signal flags, to raise
the withdrawal and seek reinforcement coded signal flag to
Waukashaunassey. While Mr. Hohenhus was presenting the appropriate
flags to Waukashaunassey, Western Howl bore in on Flamewing, his
mouth agape with death and determination. Western Howl's breathe
blew ill wind as the incredible damage he had dealt to Flamewing
prevented his own crewman's shots from striking true since it blew
the British dragon off its intended course.

"Broadsides, " croaked Captain Tate, "We must keep the enemy engaged
so the youngster can seek reinforcements. If I fall in battle, I
know I can trust you to uphold our honor and the freedom of these
United States. Do you understand?"

"Yes Benjamin. I understand. I will stay for I have not yet begun
to fight. Remember I too gave an oath to defend this country with
breathe, bite and claw." That being said, Broadsides inhaled and
aimed for Incendiarus, catching all of its crew and captain in a
sizzling shower of corrosion. The remaining crew, Jenkins and
Jefferson, fought back their tears that had arisen with Broadsides
words and straightened up their backs while preparing to fire on
Incendiarus. As they discharged their weapons, they knew they were
firing upon burnt husks of valiant enemies.

Upon Lt. Southerland voiced a clear soprano voice, "Sir, Flagship
orders are to return to Ft. Duluth and seek reinforcements. "

"Damn" captain hunter muttered as he kept an eye on the mad
atmospheric whirlwind of deadly dragons all around him.

"William? Can't we stay and help Broadsides?"

"Our orders are clear. Make best speed to Ft. Duluth dear. We'll
protect your tail, never fear. We'll attack and as soon as you
strike, we'll do a diving reversal on our way to Ft. Duluth."
Instead of firing, the crew secured themselves for when
Waukashaunassey did the reversal. With claws stretched out to rake
Invincible and her mouth opened wide, Waukashaunassey closed and
attacked. This time she did not miss and with a snap of her jaws,
she decapitated two of the airmen in one bite. Her own surprise at
finding human heads in her mouth caused her to miss with her claws
and as she finished her maneouver she spit out the heads with the
comment, "William, remind me not to do that again. I don't like
foreign food."

"If you don't eat them, it's not considered food my dear."
Waukashaunassey would have answered but she was still spitting out
the remains of the gore from her mouth. Instead she just kept quite
and flew as fast as she could towards the south and Ft. Duluth.
Invincible started to follow but with most of its crew injured and/or
decapitated, the paranoid dragon refused to follow its captains
orders and turned around to head back north to Rupert's Land.

Razorwind, having spent all of his breath attacks, prepared to bite
Broadsides in retaliation for killing its crew. His gaping mouth
closed on empty air as Broadsides out maneuvered him. That set up
Broadsides to be in range of Incendiarus final breath attack which he
took advantage of. The British dragon unleashed his hellish breath
upon Broadside and his remaining crew. The battle was taking its
toll on the dragons as Incendiarus undershot Broadsides. It was now
Brightfang's attack to try and grab another snack, finding American
blood quite tasty after eating Hardy. Broadsides flipped up his tail
quickly to try and protect his remaining crew. Brightfang's airmen
were prepared though and fired as the American target presented.
Jenkins saw the danger and quickly unsnapped his rigging so he could
throw himself in front of his captain. Struck by three musket balls,
his limp body cart wheeled off Broadsides broad back and lazily
tumbled toward the distant ground. Indomitable, the British dragon
that was always ready to strike closed, but Captain Swynburne gave
the order to prepare to board instead. The airman readied their
weapons and unsnapped their carabineers as they followed their
Captain's orders to board the enemy dragon for capture. A large acid
spitting dragon would be a coup for the British forces of Rupert
Land. Harrison, Jumpton, Landers, and Folkes gathered to the port
side of Indomitable as the two dragons matched speed and height. The
valiant soldiers took their leap of faith as a well trained unit with
hands outstretched toward the American harness. Harrison's left hand
strongly grasped a leather rung, failing to notice that it had been
well damaged by previous British assaults and as he fell to his
death, he had a look of surprise on his face. Jumpton did not live
up to his name and fell short by several inches, plummeting past
Broadsides. Landers was next and should have shown his crewmates how
it was done since he easily made it to the back of Broadsides drawing
his cutlass with a flourish after he landed. Seeing Landers make it,
Folkes was full of confidence which quickly dissipated in the wind as
he totally missed and screamed all the way down to his death.
Tornado, the last dragon on Broadsides, was preparing to breathe when
Captain Chauncey saw Landers jump on the Acid Spitters back so
instead performed a slip maneouver and glided in behind the American
dragon, preparing to breathe in case the boarding failed.

The command dragons of the opposing forces prepared to continue the
battle. Maelstrom, the commanding dragon for the British forces, had
now closed within range and shot a watery cone at Western Howl, the
American Command dragon. Johnson and Johnson, the twin airmen aboard
Western Howl were blown clear of their seat on Western Howl and
exited this world together as they came into it. As Kirkyndyll and
Danis were slammed back against their equipment, they discovered that
they were the only two airmen to be wounded from the watery attack.
As the crew on Maelstrom back fired, Trapper and Skinner were thrown
backwards with gaping holes in their chest as the British muskets
struck true. The Smith brothers (Aubrey, Charles, and Thomas) as
well as Morgan Umber reeled from British shots that merely grazed
them. Flamewing, having expended all of his breath attacks, realized
that all but his captain had perished, refused to continue the
engagement despite Captain Fuller's insistence broke, and veered
northward. Typhoon had also expended his water attack but did not
break and as he closed and presented, his crew volley fired but badly
missed as they began to notice parts of their squadron had disengaged
and began to head back north. Typhoon was determined to stay in the
battle until his captain gave orders to withdraw and managed to
snatch up Airman Alice O'Neill and discarded her after he crushed as
if she was beneath his notice. There was only one dragon that had
not attacked Western Howl this time around and it was link boy's time
to shine. Unfortunately, Sharptail a young and nervous dragon
disagreed and flared in resistance. As his captain insisted, his
flare turned into a stall. His overcompensation caused him to fail
to recover from his stall as he started to spin out of control.
Captain Cotts was frantically trying to regain control but was
unsuccessful Sharptail continued his death spiral toward the rapidly
approaching ground. Sharptail's crew pleaded for it to pull up out
of the death spiral which only further confused Sharptail. Sharptail
looked like an auger going through hard wood as he smashed into the
ground putting itself, its crew, and its captain out of their misery
in a crater of destruction.

At the end of the round, a loan American dragon was hastily fleeing
southward in search of needed reinforcements. By now, there were
only two dragons on Western Howl (typhoon and Maelstrom) and five
still on broadsides with one lone enemy border facing off between a
captain and his bombardier mate.

To be continued.

Stormy Skies – The Finale

Waukashaunassy had left the battle scene upon orders from Captain
Smith. As they made their way to Ft. Duluth, Captain Hunter gave the
orders to bandage the wounded, secure the dead, and reload. Glancing
back toward the quickly disappearing battle, Captain Hunter noticed
the English Dragon that had been attacking him had retreated from
battle and no other British dragons were in pursuit. Fighting back
the urge to ignore the orders from the Flagon (Flag Dragon), William
turned back south and urged Waukashaunassy to fly as fast as she
could. Most of the crew, knowing that they were needed back at the
battle they just left was quiet. Only Joseph Feinstein, who was the
most injured, could be heard cursing his wounds all the while as the
other two Feinstein's assured him that they would back up his battle
bragging rights...for a fee. Rebecca, once she made the rounds of the
crew, reported back to Captain Hunter that Waukashaunassy' s crew had
been stabilized the battle damage and re-engage as needed. Captain
Hunter slowly turned his head and looked at his first officer, "Thank
you Miss Southerland. Tell the crew well done." Miss Southerland
nodded to the Captain, wanting to say something but realized that the
captain felt like she did and yearned to head back toward the action
but new sometimes an officers duty weighs heavily. She turned away
from the captain and went from crewman to crewman, checking them and
offering them soft words of encouragement and praise.

Back at the battle, Western Howl still had two British Dragons facing
off against him. Maelstrom, a dark blue and aquamarine water dragon,
and Typhoon a dark blue tipped water dragon. The toll of the battle
had begun to be felt as all the dragons were now moving more
sluggishly through the air. Western Howl did a lag roll to the port
and as he cut the corner he rolled up behind the sharply turning
Typhoon. With his final attack breath, Western Howl voiced his anger
and frustration upon the British invader and missed as the violent
maneuver pulled his head off line with the enemy's tail. Western
Howl's crew then fired upon Typhoon. Typhoon had been feeling
slightly smug since it had just dodged Western Howl's bad breath but
it was cut short by the stinging impact of musket fire as a well
coordinated volley swept along its flank. Several rounds had hit
Typhoon causing some injury but the crew finally felt the sharp edge
of battle as one crewman's head exploded, splattering the remaining
crew. Two other airmen had been grazed and they merely wiped away
the blood from their face and prepared to return fire.

Typhoon found himself out of breath, both physically and as a weapon,
but gallantly headed his Captain's call for a somersault. He started
his somersault and strove to end up behind Western Howl's tail. As
he succeeded in his maneuver, his mouth opened wide and snapped shut
on empty air. Despite the violence of the grandiose British
maneuver, their well trained crew let off a well aimed volley that
flayed Western Howls back, striking both crew and dragon. Western
Howl grunted in pain while two more airmen slumped lifelessly upon
his back while four others reeled from minor wounds.

Now it was Maelstrom's turn that had been waiting patiently for his
opportunity to strike the struggling American Flagon. Maelstrom took
a deep breath and as Western Howl reacted to the damage done to him
by Typhoon, Maelstrom struck. Upon Western Howl's back, Messers
Smith and Umber were washed overboard, their attempted cries for help
were well drowned out as if they were caught in a North Atlantic
storm. Airman Jacobson managed to grasp his harness tight enough to
prevent a similar mishap. The volley from Maelstrom's crew went
astray as the spray from its breath obscured the American target.

Broadsides were in the middle of a field of opportunity but two of
the dragons were holding back since a British airman had managed to
board him. That did not stop Broadsides from breathing upon
Incendiarus. Incendiarus founded himself coated in caustic burning
goo and seemed to eat its way through his scales and leaving his
nerves raw. Wracked with pain, Incendiarus' only thought was to dive
into Lake Superior and try to wash off the acid. He tried to do a
diving reversal only find himself in a spin as the acid had managed
to eat partially though his starboard wing membrane. He tired to
pull out but to no avail. Distracted by the caustic solution on his
body, Incendiarus became disoriented and was unable to stop his
spinning decent. He managed to position his falling body over the
water, only to discover that it was the shallow end and his head met
the bottom. For a few seconds in time, his body was perpendicular
before it slowly tilted back, falling into deeper water and splashing
it all around.

Bombardier Mate George Franklin Jefferson had his musket ready when
he saw British airmen Landers make the successful jump and fired upon
him. The impact of the hit sent Landers reeling but did not stop him
from advancing and slashed his cutlass across his chest. Captain
Tate would have shot at Landers also, but did not have a clear line
of sight as Jefferson and Landers struggled.

Razorwind, the copper and jet British Dragon, who had been driven mad
by the loss of his entire crew, had decided to take a bite out of the
American dragon. With saliva dripping off of his fangs, his gaping
jaws snapped shut and just barely missed both Broadsides and
Landers. As he pulled his head back, the air was rent with his cry
of disappointment and frustration.

Indomitable, the British Flagon, attempted to bite Broadsides as he
dodged out of the jaws of Razorwind. He managed to bit the tip off
of Broadsides tail, causing Broadsides to howl in pain.

Western Howl turned to face Typhoon as his crew fired. When the
smoked cleared, he was pleased to see that there was only one airman
upright along with the captain and bombardiers mate. His attempt to
bite though was thrown off by the remaining smoke.

Typhoon decided to return the favor and attacked Western Howl with a
bite. His bite was successful doing minimal damage but having the
moral victory. His remaining airmen as well as his bombardier's
mate, fired upon Western Howl but the strain of the battle was
showing its affect in their miss. Seeing that his remaining crew was
losing their will to fight, Captain Linden attempted to disengage
long enough to rally his dragon and crews morale. He quickly
realized that with Typhoon being damaged, only one of his airmen
alive, he would better serve the British Navy by disengaging which he
did with a heavy heart.

Maelstrom's crew voiced their derision of Typhoon's retreat and vowed
to retain the honor of the British and closed into musket range. The
muskets rang out with the volley of doom as two more of Western Howls
crew slumped and another two absorbing wounds. After hearing the
volley go off, Maelstrom extended his claws and raked them across
Western Howls starboard rear leg.

Captain Tate, on Broadsides, noticed that Jefferson swung his empty
musket at Landers, the border, and badly missed. This gave Captain
Tate the opportunity to fire his pistol at Landers but,
unfortunately, missed. Landers laughed at the American captain as he
slashed at Jefferson but quickly shut up when he too missed.
Broadside quickly took stock of the remaining enemy dragons before
making up his mind to breathe on the British Flagon, Indomitable. It
turned out to be a good choice, as he acid breath caught the Captain
dead on, immediately turning his skin into a melted wax figure.
Bombardiers Mate Baring, jerked back in horror almost ignoring the
fact that he was splashed with acid as Captain Swynburne writhed in
his death throws.

Indomitable roared in pain and grief when his Captain no longer
answered his questions nor gave him orders. Bombardiers Mate Baring
tired to convince Indomitable to leave the field but he would not
hear of it, quoting to him that he was the Flagon and would NEVER
voluntarily leave. To prove that he still displayed a British stiff
upper lip, he bit hard into Broadsides flank. Even though the bite
did relatively little damage, Broadsides grunted at the dainty nibble.

Razorwind, see another British dragon flee was even more incensed.
His anger appeared to be interfering with his attacks for he missed...
again. Tornado, the ash gray tipped British dragon that had so far
stayed out of the conflict, so his opportunity and came close enough
to breath on Broadsides. It had not seen combat before, and in its
haste to prove itself his only breath attack today went wide of his
intended target. His two airmen let off a volley from their
muskets. Captain Chauncey, seeing his crew and dragon miss, knew
they would have to do better next time...if there WAS a next time.

Brightfang, the one who ate Hardy before, decided it might try and
snack again on the American appetizers that were flying around him.
They proved to be too elusive for him this time, but he wouldn't give
up. His remaining crew took their attack but hadn't counted on the
rapidly diminishing enemy crew and missed.

Broadside surprised the British with yet another acid attack and
finished up destroying the British Flagon crew. Jefferson swung
again with his musket, using it as a club, and connected solidly with
Landers leg, causing him to buckle. Captain Tate shouted to
Landers, "Your Captain has fallen. Surrender!" Landers looked over
at his Flagon and realized that Tate was speaking the truth when he
saw the carnage.

In the meantime, Western Howl faced off against his last opponent,
Maelstrom and deeply dug in his claws before flying away carrying
with him a huge chuck of muscle. Western Howls remaining crew fired
and cheered when they saw two British fall over.

Maelstrom whipped his tail down and slapped Western Howl on the head
in retaliation for the bite while his crew fired once again but
without hitting anything.

Indomitable lived up to its name and in spite of the loss of his
entire crew; he bored in to continue the battle. His claws raked
across Broadsides hide as he left bloody furrows.

Razorwind, his rage still over riding his natural instincts and
training and started to attack any dragon that came close regardless
of flag.

Tornado the brave little dragon trying to survive its first battle,
maneuvered for a quick rake while his crew fired. His immature claws
screeched loudly as it scraped along Broadsides flank as every one
cringed. The musket shots missed mostly due to the cheering of the
crew for Tornados first battle blood.

Brightfang, still hungry for human flesh, once again tried to bite
the nearest American but managed to get Razorwind when he was flying
past. The crew, who was originally going to fire upon Broadsides,
quickly turned their muskets on the rogue Razorwind. They too missed
and found themselves staring into Razorwind's gaping jaws. Razorwind
snapped at Brightfang who managed to swerve out of its way.
Brightfang was now furious at Razorwind and would no longer listen to
Captain Pomeroy. He took after Razorwind as they fled the field.

Broadsides noticed that he now had only two British dragons to face.
His target...The British Flagon. He used his last acid breath to
strafe along Indomitable' s entire length. Indomitable roared in
agony and immediately broke off his engagement. When he turned,
Broadsides noticed that Indomitable was in critical condition. If it
hadn't been for Airman Landers still being on his back, the remaining
crew would have taken a shot at the retreating Flagon. Tornado's
Captain Chauncey gave the order to sound signal to disengage and
escort the fleeing Fleet Flagon. Captain Tate, once again, demanded
surrender from the lone British Airman Landers which was now readily
given.

Western Howl's crew noticed the signal for withdrawal but didn't let
down their guard and fired upon Maelstrom while Western Howl
attempted one last claw. He was successful and his claws tore open
the leg of Maelstrom as it tried to retreat. When his crew and
finished their volley, they could see the captain of Maelstrom had
been severely hit as it too withdrew from the battlefield.

Western Howl flew over to Broadsides as his Captain (Smith) used his
speaker horn to hail the smaller dragon. "Captain do you need
assistance."

Captain Tate shook his head and merely replied, "We have one
prisoner. What are you orders sir."

"We will land, tend the wounded, remove the dead, and hold till
relieved."

"Aye Aye sir."

Both dragons landed and soon were busy removing dead weight.

American Butcher's Bill from this Battle totaled out at:

Waukashaunassy – no damage
Crew 13:
2 dead (Hawkins and Harris)
3 wounded (Jenkins, Jones, and Joseph Feinstein)

Broadside – Light Damage
Crew 8:
6 dead (Hardy – eaten, Kendal, Davies, Braddock, Flippin,
Jenkins)
2 wounded ( George Franklin Jefferson, Captain Tate)

Western Howl (American Flagon) – Hindered
Crew 25:
19 dead (Donner, House, Miller, Schaeffer, Hus, Byrnes,
Burnes, Barnes, Jonson, Johnson, Danis, Trapper, Skiner, Smith A,
Smith C, Smith T, Umber, O'Neill, Jacobson)
3 wounded (Hampstead, Vander Hoan, Kirkyndyll)

British Butcher's Bill

Incendiarus – lost with all hands aboard (3)
Vivacious – lost with all hands aboard (3)
Invincible – crew 5 - 2 down; 3 wounded
Little Big Horn – crew 3 - 3 down
Flamewing – crew 3 - 2 down; 1 wounded
Sharptail – lost with all hands aboard (6)
Typhoon – crew 6 – 3 down; 3 wounded
Razorwind – crew 3 – 3 down; dragon has turned feral
Brightfang – crew 6 – 2 down 2 wounded; last seen chasing Razorwind
Indomitable (British Flagon) – crew 6 – 6 down; dragon critically
wounded; 1 crew captured
Tornado – crew3 – 0 down, 0 injured (British Admiralty board will
investigate)
Maelstrom – crew 6 – 3 down; 3 wounded

Reinforcements

September 17, 1812

Waukashannasey finally saw Ft. Duluth's flag in the distance and
informed Captain Hunter. Captain Hunter, without turning around,
raised his voice and shouted to Mr. Cole.

"Mr. Cole. Raise our flags and signal...contact with enemy. Prepare
for immediate sortie. Casualties on board."

"Aye aye Sir." Replied Mr. Cole as she quickly started to raise the
appropriate flags. As they approached the fort, the faint peel of the
alarm bells rose to greet them and hurried activity was spotted on the
landing field.

"William, will we be staying long?" Waukashannasey asked.

"No my dear, we are going to leave our dead and seriously injured,
grab some supplies and extra crew if available and return to the
battle as soon as possible."

"Miss Southerland, please see to our ground crew. We will take them,
as well as a large amount of harness material, with us when we return
to battle. If our fellow dragoneers are still up we can help."

"Mr. Cole, if you would, assemble a party to remove our fallen
comrades and make an assessment on whether or not they will be able to
continue the fight."

All the crew acknowledged their orders and Waukashannasey arrowed in
toward the landing field as a small group of officers waited for their
arrival. With a tired backing of wings, Waukashannasey settled onto
the field. Immediately one of the officers stepped forward to greet
William.

"Sir, Colonel Parmington requests your presence as soon as possible."

Captain Hunter turned toward Lt. Southerland, "You have your orders;
we should leave before the next bell."

"Understood Sir." Lt. Southerland turned to the crew and began
shouting orders.

With a graceful dismount off the back of Waukashannasey, Captain
Hunter turned back to the junior wingman and nodded. "Lead on."

As they passed the group of offices, William noticed that they fell
into step behind him and yet had not said a word. Their demeanor was,
however, apprehensive. He had not yet reached his destination when he
was passed by Crew Chief McDaniels and his assistant White Dove who
were running toward Waukashannasey. As William and his entourage
entered the command post, he noticed the hallways were busy with
people trying to appear like they should be there. The sea of bodies
parted for him as he walked straight into the Commander's office.

"Captain Hunter reporting as ordered Sir," William said in a weary
tone. Colonel Parmington looked up from his paperwork and was silent
for half a minute before replying "Make it quick son."

William took a deep breath and then started into his report. "Our
flight of dragons intercepted a storm of 12 smaller British dragons
heading south. Captain Smith ordered us to engage and a ferocious
battle ensued. All of our dragons, and I believe theirs too,
sustained some type of damage. I was ordered back by Captain Smith to
bring reinforcements. " Colonel Parmington put down his quill and
stared at William. With eyebrows that were arching rapidly upwards,
he quietly said, "Are you telling me that Senior Captain Smith ordered
you to leave the battlefield before the outcome was certain?"

Captain Hunter, not familiar with Colonel Parmington mannerisms,
merely responded with a smart "Yes Sir."

A profound silence settled upon the room while whispers in the hallway
had started. Col. Parmington continued to stare intently at Captain
Hunters face.

The silence was broken by a forceful "Well then. Let's bring those
reinforcements he called for and we had better be in time." The
ending words not spoken were "or else" but everybody in the room heard
it loud and clear. Col. Parmington turned to the other officers who
were looking in from the doorway. "Captains report to your dragons,
signal readiness. I want this sortie to be off the ground within 10
minutes. Fellow dragoneers are counting on it and YOU'LL be damned if
they get any of our dragons!"

The hallway had already started to clear now that orders had been
given and by the time the captains left Col. Parmington their path was
clear. The sortie was lifting off the pads within minutes and they
wheeled northward with Waukashannasey in the lead.

By the time the reinforcements reached the location where the battle
had been, both Western Howl and Broadsides had their harnesses off and
emergency repairs, as well as healing, had started. Upon sighting the
American reinforcements, flags went up from the back of Western Howl
signaling that the enemy had fled but a standard post battle patrol
should still be set up.

Mr. Cole signaled back that the patrol would be done by the 23rd Recon
Wing led by Captain Cooper. Captain Cooper set his wing of 5 draft
horse sized dragons into formation to patrol the skies while Captain
Jeremiah Bullfinch landed his medical dragon (CureAid). CureAid had
come with the 23rd Recon Wing and carried the flight squadron's
surgeon and surgeon's mate as well as extra airmen to fill in gaps as
needed on Broadsides and Western Howl.

Waukashannasey also landed close by and both Captain Hunter and Lt.
Southerland dismounted to report in.

Will offered a parade ground salute to Captain Smith as they
approached. "Sir, how may we assist you?" Smith grinned up at the
fresh captain and with an exhausted voice replied, "I see that you
brought our reinforcements. Well done even though it appears that the
others decided not to wait for your return." Smith pointed to a group
of dragoneers sitting and laying around a large campfire. "Please
direct the medical personnel to where our wounded have been
stationed." Lt. Southerland, who had been standing at attention
behind William, leaned in and whispered to him, "I'll take care of
that sir." She turned and quickly kept her word.

Captain Smith filled in the other captains on how the battle had gone
as the medics did what they could. Captain Smith tasked William to
explore the ruins of the two enemy dragons, Sharptail and Vivacious,
who had fallen in battle to see if anything of value, information or
equipment, could be salvaged.

Captain Hunter nodded and quickly gathered Lt. Southerland, Mr. Cole,
Wild Horse and the 2 uninjured Feinsteins as well as Fulbright. He
left Abigail Hawkins (who was mourning the loss of her brother) to
look over Jones, Jenkins and Joseph Feinstein...her injured crewmates.

As they walked over to the two still warm dead dragon bodies, one
thing was obvious. The tipped crème de menthe that had been on
Waukashannasey was too mangled and had left a wide long debris field
as it pin wheeled across the ground. The damage was devastating
enough that only a few coins, twisted metal that had once been
weaponry and harness, and two gold horn tips remained. Captain Hunter
and his crew just stared at the wreckage, knowing that even though his
had been an enemy, it was always a possibility that such a fall could
happen to them also. Captain Hunter took a deep breath and ushered
his crew over to the Dark auburn dragon that had crashed near the
shoreline and had broken its neck as its head hit the bottom. The
water had somewhat cushioned it's equipment and dead bodies so the
crew started to put everything on the beach. Lt. Southerland was in
charge of getting it organized while the men brought the salvage to
her. Wild Horse stripped down to his breeches, causing Lt.
Southerland to blush and quickly turn away to intently study the
already salvaged items. Wild Horse took the belly cargo net which was
relatively all in one piece and kept diving into the lake to retrieve
items from the cold grasp of the lake bed. William had set the
Feinsteins to set up a fire and they managed to it in only 20
minutes...a personal best for them. Wild Horse kept diving down into
the lake bed for as long as he could stand the cold water and finally
walked to the fire with his cargo net dragging behind him. Mr. Cole,
who had been taking inventory, quickly draped a blanket over his
shoulders for some immediate warmth. Wild Horse nodded thanks to Mr.
Cole and handed him the net so it too could be added to the growing
pile on the beach. Inside the net was:

Various leather straps that had been salvaged from the broken harness
Various coins of the British Empire
Steel Talon Sheaths
1 pair of goggles that somehow had not been broken
1 fleece lined leather duster
3 leather gauntlets
3 wool mittens
1 set of wool stockings
1 penny whistle
The cargo net
6 muskets
4 daggers
1 cutlass.

Mr. Cole finished his inventory of the salvaged enemies equipment and
told the Feinstein's, under Wild Horse supervision, to bundle it up
for carrying it back to the main makeshift camp.

After William and his crew returned back to the base camp, he reported
to Captain Smith for further orders. Jonah Smith waved him to have a
seat with him and Benjamin instead of standing all the time. After
William had settled down, he started to question him on his findings.
"William, were you able to salvage anything?" William shook his
head, knowing that Captain Smith really meant did he find anything to
indicate the enemies' next intentions. "Well sir, we found nothing in
the form of information or intelligence on the enemy forces. We did
manage to recover a few personal items from both the crew and dragons
but nothing of any large significance. Their impact was just too
tremendous for much to survive." Captain Tate muttered "That's too
bad. They were worthy foes actually." William had to agree with that
and then remembered that the crews were saying that Jonah Smith was
looking for a dragon with horns. "Oh, I hear you were looking for
dragons with horns sir. One of them did have horns." Jonah perked up
at the news.

"Really? Was it amber colored?"

"Sorry sir. It was a crème de menthe color, not amber."

"That is too bad. The boys then still owe me a new amber colored
powder horn since it flew away from us. It should help keep them
alert in battle."

Captain Tate had to chuckle at that. Captain Smith looked around and
then back at his fellow captains. "We'll stay the night gentlemen
while we get rested up and the harnesses are fixed. At first light
we'll take off for our fort. There shouldn't be any threat from
Rupert's Land since we gave them a good what for! I sent one of the
recon dragons back to report to Parmington and its replacement
returned shortly before you did William. They are going to send out
the Pony Express squad on a penetration raid. The British could be
extremely vulnerable now and a hard blow could shatter their will to
fight."

Captain Tate nodded and reminded them that they needed to address
their need for replacement crews since until then, THEY would be
somewhat vulnerable.

William turned to Captain Smith remembering that he said he had sent
off a message back to the fort. "By chance sir, did you request crew
placement in your message back to the fort?"

"Yes and I included the ones you lost also in the butchers bill. If
either of you have anybody in mind, Ft. Duluth can forward word to Ft.
Detroit in its next dispatch. Sleep on it but let us now retire for
the evening since we have an early flight."

William thanked Jonah and went to tell his crew to retire for the
night. The crew was glad to hear that since by this time they were
all exhausted and were looking forward to getting back to the Fort.
Watches were set up with the majority of it being handled by the 23rd
Recon squad.

Early the next day, feeling much refreshed, the valiant dragons and
their crews returned back to Ft. Duluth.

September 19, 1811

The air was heavy when the group returned to Ft. Duluth. Yes, the
Americans had been victorious but at a cost and that cost was now
being tallied as the newly fresh graves testified.

Colonel Parmington's runners were waiting for them and soon Captains
Smith, Tate and Hunter were escorted to Colonel Parmington's Office.
When they entered they saw six other Captains waiting for them.

Colonel Parmington looked up at the new arrivals and motioned for
them to take a seat. With a cough to clear his throat, he motioned
for his aide to pull out the map of the area.

"I will expect your written reports within the next hour Sirs. I am
pleased to see that even though there were casualties you all have
managed to return. Rupert's Land is getting more aggressive and it's
time that we remind them that we too have our eyes on that track of
land they tried to take. That brings us to the topic of your next
mission."

"I have a plan that hasn't been tried. If it works, it might make
the difference in this constant struggle we find ourselves in. I am
sure that your studies and training have covered penetration raids.
We shall be doing such a raid on Ft. William which is located just
inside of Rupert's Land. Ft. William has long thought it impossible
to be the target of such a raid since it is so far away from us and
the smaller dragons just do not have capability to get there, conduct
a raid, and return all in one night."

"As you know, a project of mine has been the breeding of the small
dragons called Hummers. We have carefully hidden their existence
from Rupert until they were properly trained. I have 10 such dragons
ready for assignments now. We will not send all of them out on this
raid in case they do not return. Captain Smith, if we could impose
upon you and Western Howl to act as a carrier for four of our dragons
as well as for you and Waukashannasey to carry two Captain Hunter."

Parmington waited for what he knew would come and as the men opened
their mouth to speak he held up his hand for silence. "I know what
you're going to say. Your harnesses won't accommodate your men as
well as the dragons and you would be partially right." Parmington
stared into the eyes of each of the captains in turn before
continuing. "We have a modified harness that has been fitted which
takes up less room. You would still be flying with less crew. We
have a few dragons the size of Waukashannasey at Ft. Duluth and while
not flying as long as you would be Captain Hunter, have managed to
safely transport two Hummers. Using that as our basis, we modified a
harness for a dragon the size of Western Howl Captain Smith and
believe that four Hummers can be safely transported. The Hummers
have the ability to lift off vertically so you would not have to land
and take off. When they reach their departure point, they will
simply "lift off".

Colonel Parmington continued on while the others absorbed some of
this new information. "The average Hummer weights approximately the
same as three full grown men and the new harness weighs less then the
older version. That would mean, Captain Hunter, you would need to
cut your crew down by approximately 7-8 men. I'll leave it up to you
to decide which ones. Captain Smith, you would need to cut your crew
back by approximately 13-14 men. I will also let you determine which
ones."

Colonel Parmington waited for a few minutes to field questions before
introducing the other Captains in the room.

"Excuse me Sir." Captain Tate finally interjected. "You do not wish
for Broadsides to be a carrier too?"

Colonel Parmington shook his head. "No, Captain Tate, I have another
assignment for you. You will have escort duty and be guard for the
group. Broadsides breath weapon will have, no doubt, been reported
back to Ft. William. We will count on that and hope your presence
will make them hesitate. On the other hand, it could also draw them
all to you. If that happens you might be on your own."

Seeing that there no further comments or questions, Colonel
Parmington turned to the six Captains who had been silently waiting
throughout his briefing. "Captains, introduce yourself and your
dragons BUT keep it short. I know very well how you can wax poetic
about your Hummers given half the chance." Everybody in the room
could tell by the warmth in his voice that he too could talk about
his "pet project" at length.

The first Captain stood up and nodded to the others. "I shall start
us off then. I am Elijah James, Captain of Scarlet Flame." Captain
James took a sketch of a pony size dragon with the name Scarlet Flame
at the top and laid it on the table. Scarlet, like all Hummers, can
lift vertically if she wants to as well as the conventional manner.
She is named both for her Scarlet throat pouch as well as for her
breath which she can use 3 times each day." Captain James sat down
and another of the captains stood up. Shortly, all the captains had
given their names as well as their dragons names and extra abilities
if any and a sketch. The Pony Express Squadron consisted of:

Captain Name Dragon Name Dragon extra ability
Elijah James Scarlet Flame Fire, 3xday
Jared Sidell Union Flyer Chameleon Skin
Olav Solberg Skyshadow Chameleon Skin
Amanda Pierros Grey Talon Chameleon Skin
Frederick Bridgeland Missegawa Night Vision
Willerm Anderson Brilliant Ice Water, 3xday

Colonel Parmington thanked the captains and put up their dragon
sketches on the wall. William noticed that the Captain had other
sketches up as a "wall of fame"

"Now that you have all been introduced," Colonel Parmington
continued, "You will take off at Dogs 2 Bells (5 p.m.) You should hit
Ft. William around Mid 4 Bells (2 a.m.) That will give you time on
the trip to periodically rest if needed. The Hummers will fly in
between just above treetop level to about 60 feet. Your primary
targets will be the dragon dens with secondary being any other
building. Use up your bombs and then get out of there. Do NOT
engage otherwise. Let the Ponies do their job and get back as
quickly as they can to the larger dragons. Once you rendezvous with
the larger dragons again, have them settle back on the large dragons
back to be carried home."

Colonel Parmington knew his orders would not sit well with everybody,
but he would not back down now that his decision had been made. With
a hard fist he struck his table, throwing all the markers off the
campaign map. SLAAAM! "THIS...WILL...BE...SETTLED... .DISMISSED! "

As the Captains left to go tell their crew about the mission, Captain
Smith shook his head mournfully and looked over at William. "After
that last battle, cutting back on crew won't be a problem." Captain
Hunter nodded. "Give me 10 minutes to cull my crew for this new
mission and then hopefully my ground crew will have the harness
exchanged by then. I'll meet you at Pri-Fly (Dragon Central - DC) in
approximately 15 minutes to firm up target details. Let me bring my
bombardier assistant along. Wild Horse has a God given talent on
always hitting the target. We'll ask his opinion looking over the
map of the target."

Captain James thought for a moment before speaking. "Wild Horse.
Isn't he that Indian with the big metal Tomahawk?"

Hunter turned and smiled. "Why yes...he is."

"Well then," Captain James replied, "If he's half as good as all the
tales, we would be willing to listen to what he says."

Captain Hunter went over and offered his hand to Captain
James. "It's good to see another American willing to recognize a
man's worth based on his ability and not his birth. I'll see you all
in 15 minutes."

Lt. Southerland noticed William shaking hands with one of the other
Captains and thought it signaled that his meeting had broken up and
she could now report.

"Sir!" She offered with a parade ground salute, "What are your
orders."

Captain Hunter returned her salute before replying. "We need to
lighten Waukashaunassy' s load for this mission. You will have to
inform the following crew that they will have to remain at the fort.
Inform Mr. Jones and the Feinstein's that they will remain here under
the command of Sgt. Jenkins." Rebecca tried to hide her wince but
Captain Hunter noticed and offered her a small
smile. "Unfortunately, Lt. there comes a time in an officers duty
that unpopular orders must be issued. Your time has come. Although
there is no doubt that Mr. Jones and the Feinstein's will appreciate
their time at Ft. Duluth, I fear that Sgt. Jenkins may offer some
resistance. Of course, I am sure you can overcome any man's
resistance."

Lt. Southerland offered a slight start and seemed to search for
words. Finally she stammered, "Aye Aye Sir. I'll make sure it gets
done." As she left Captain Hunter to tell the crew the news, her
mind was going a mile a minute with all the different possibilities
his words might have offered."

William headed off to the side where Wild Horse was seen to the
removal of unnecessary weight. "Wild Horse. I see that the new
harness has arrived. Are there any complications with the orders?"

"Captain Hunter. I have removed all unnecessary items. I have made
sure that we still have Night Fire and reloads. My Tomahawk and
knife are sharpened and ready. I AM going. There are many coup to
count tonight."

Captain Hunter hesitated on informing Wild Horse about
Waukashaunassy' s exact role on the mission with discretion being the
better part of valor, i.e., he liked his hair. "Come with me. You
are to look at the map and give us your opinion on the enemy's fort
layout. Your tail as a bringer of fire from the skies has spread far
and wide. Perhaps tonight your story will grow a bit longer."

Wild Horse grunted and said something in his native tongue which
Captain Hunter still hasn't learned and waited as Captain Hunter
inspected Waukashaunassy' s refit. "How are you feeling my dear? Are
you ready for tonight?"

"There has been a lot of talk about what will happen tonight, but I
won't believe it until YOU tell me."

"We're trying a new tactic, but it has a sound basis. You and the
other premier dragons will be carrying some of the Hummers into range
of the British base. At the crack of dawn they will bombing Ft.
William, hopefully striking a critical blow that will force the
British where they belong."

As she slight preened to the word Premier, she had to ask, "Is that
why I have a new harness?"

"Ft. Duluth, on behalf of your country, is asking your assistance.
They wish you to support two Hummers instead of your normal crew in
order to complete the mission."

"This new harness is lighter. Does it look good on me."

"My dear, you look good in anything."

Waukashaunassy preened more and let the ground crew finish their
adjustments. Captain Hunter smiled as he bid adieu to
Waukashaunassy saying that he had go meet with the other captain but
would return before departure time.

Captain Hunter and the other captains all arrived at DC within
minutes of each other and sat down to find out their primaries. Lt.
Jones, adjutant to Colonel Parmington, had the map of Ft. William
pinned up on a wooden wall well illuminated by oil lanterns.

"As far as we know, this map which was done four months ago,
accurately represents Ft. William today." He then read through each
buildings description, pointing out not only the Dragon Dens and main
barracks but the warehouses and other buildings of important as well.

The Captains gathered around the map and several drew sketches
utilizing quills and parchment that they had brought. After several
minutes, and several consultations between the Captains, everyone
seemed to turn and look at William and Wild Horse. Lt. Jones filled
in the silence with a "Your opinions Sirs?"

Wild Horse glanced at Captain Hunter who responded with a quick nod.
As Wild Horse strode to the wall, Captains Smith and Tate offered
each other a slight smile at the Hummer captains uneasiness. Wild
Horse ignored everybody as he strode to the wall and looked at the
map carefully for a few moments. He then turned to Lt. Jones and
pointed at the map. "The sun rises here?"

Lt. Jones nodded, "Yes it does."

"You plan to attack before sunrise?"

"That is our intent."

Wild Horse stared at the map for another minute. "You can not bomb
the pens (number 4) located here and expect to win for they are made
of stone. Before the sun rises, the wind is usually calm. I have
read the clouds as they tell me that the winds will blow from the
sunrise in the warm lands (Southeast). If we are to succeed our
target should be these buildings instead (buildings 12 and . Other
then that, any fire these buildings (9) will do our enemy's great
harm. The birds have whispered that the snow will come soon."

The Hummer captains glanced at each other and after a few moments
seemed to nudged Captain Jones forward to address Lt. Jones. "But
Sir, wasn't our main objective suppose to be the Dragon Dens?"

Lt. Jones looked over at Wild Horse and Captain Hunter and raised an
eyebrow. Wild Horse just snorted as Captain Hunter replied. "Unless
you and your dragons can carry far heavier war load then I think,
your attempt to bomb a stone structure at night will probably result
in failure. No doubt you would do some damage but the target you
seek would still be flight worthy afterwards. Our overall goal is to
break the British forces ability to wage war in this area. The best
way to do that is to deny them supplies, shelter and other resources
for this upcoming winter."

Captain Tate nodded. "The dens are a small target easily missed in
low light. If you take out the dragon's captains, they will have to
retrain their dragons to fight with new ones."

Captain Smith interjected, "Besides. If you missed the dens your
fire and explosive would be wasted on empty ground and stone.
However, if you target the structures indicated by Wild Horse, any
misses have a good chance of landing on nearby buildings. I have
learned with my experience that while audacity is important, it is
more important to look at the overall picture. I would suggest Lt
Jones that after we take off, you remind the Colonel that stone
structures like the Dragon Dens is near indestructible from a one
shot aerial strike."

Lt. Jones looked at all the captains and looked again at the
map. "Are you sure about your conclusions? " The captains didn't
hesitate with their "yes" while Wild Horse gave another one of his
grunts. After a brief pause, Lt. Jones turned and said... "Sirs and
gentlemen...Good hunting and Godspeed" and then exited the room.

Captain Smith turned to the other captains, "All dragons will lift at
Dogs 2 Bells. The carriers will head northward toward the objective
while the Hummers will lift shortly afterwards and approach their
assigned transports. The following dragons will be assigned to
Western Howl as their carrier: Union Flyer, Skyshadow, Scarlet
Flame, and Grey Talon. Brilliant Ice and Missegawa will be assigned
to Waukashaunassy for their carrier. Captains prepare your dragons."

The Captains all responded with an "affirmative" and a salute as the
meeting broke up.

Dogs 2 bells came quickly after that and soon the carriers and
Broadsides, their escort, rose in the darkening skies. Lt.
Southerland was pleased to note that the female Captain aboard Grey
Talon had been assigned to Western Howl. Shortly afterwards the
Hummers showed their ability of vertical take off and rapidly lifted
off the landing field and climbed northward toward their rendezvous
with their respective carriers. Within minutes the Lt. Southerland
reported that the Pony Express was rapidly closing from the
stern. "Congratulations, " Captain Hunter said to Lt.
Southerland, "You have the honor of being part of the first known
dragon landing upon dragon in these United States. Have you thought
of a protocol that might assist us?" Lt. Southerland' s eyes got big
and she stammered for awhile and then seemed to compose
herself. "I'm sure I'll think of something by the time they get
here." Mr. Cole, with a chuckle in his voice, turned and
announced, "Sir, our Hummers are requesting permission to land."
With her back straight and her fingers crossed, Lt. Southerland just
nodded. "Permission Granted Mr. Cole." With a startled look at Lt.
Southerland, Sebastian turned to Captain Hunter with an incredulous
look. It was now Lt. Southerland' s turn to have a chuckle in her
voice as she added "The Captain and Waukashaunassy might prefer them
to land one at a time." The captain turned and said to
Waukashaunassy, "Steady as you go my dear. These Hummers are
supposed to be right smart flyers. Let us see if they are up to YOUR
standards."

"I have seen them in flight William," Waukashaunassy
replied. "Besides being tiny, they are quite agile."

"Mr. Cole. Please indicate the landing site for the first dragon."

"Yes Captain."

Unhooking his carabineer, Sebastian strode purposefully forward
across Waukashaunassy broad back and turned to face Sternward. He
reached down and quickly refastened himself with an ease only seen by
seasoned dragoneers. "Sir," he said. "I have given this task some
thought while we were at Ft. Duluth. If you would permit me, I might
be able to offer some additional information to the Hummers who are
landing."

Captain Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Indeed Mr. Cole, please proceed."

"Sebastian pulled two flags out from his belt and placed one in each
hand. As he faced sternward, Sebastian kept a running commentary on
his actions. "Captain, as the smaller dragon approaches, I will
mimic his position in relationship to Waukashaunassy' s back.
Hopefully in case he is in error, I can correct and guide him to a
firm and safe landing without jeopardizing each others crew."

"Most interesting Mr. Cole. Have you reached mutually agreeable
signals with the other captain?"

There was a slight pause and a tightening of Mr. Cole's shoulder as
he realized that at least part of his brilliant thinking had a gap.
Captain Hunter managed to hide his chuckle as he noticed the
stiffness in Mr. Cole's shoulder. "That's ok Mr. Cole. No need to
reply since I am sure you very busy right now."

Missegawa was the first Hummer to come in to land on Waukashaunassy' s
back and approach faster then expected. Mr. Cole at first appeared
quite content on Missegawa's progression but as the dragon became
increasingly larger, began to frantically make slowing down motions
with the flags. Missegawa, not knowing that signal, slowed down to a
hover over Waukashaunassy' s back and bent his head down to talk snout
to face with Mr. Cole.

"I do not know what that means. Does that mean to try again?"

There was general laughter amid both dragons as Mr. Cole said, "No,
permission to land granted."

"Oh." Missegawa said and gently settled down on the Starboard side of
Waukashaunassy' s back. "That was fun. Are you SURE I shouldn't do
it again?"

Captain Bridgeland patted Missegawa on her neck. "Now Missey, you've
done well. Remember to save your strength for the mission so you can
see the big explosions. Settle down while Brilliant Ice comes in for
her landing." Missegawa quickly grasped tightly onto the special
harness and folded her wings and settled down, thus helping to reveal
the remaining landing space for Brilliant Ice. With a loud "WHEEEE"
the small white dragon rapidly flew down next to Missegawa, not
waiting for permission nor flags and latched tightly on to the
remaining back harness. She stretched her neck up to look at Mr.
Cole and asked "Brilliant Ice reporting for duty." She then turned
to Missegawa and said, "That's MUCH more fun then landing on the
ground. I can't wait to do it again."

Mr. Cole turned as he stored his flags and simply said, "Sir. Our
dragons are on board."

Lt. Southerland was grinning from ear to ear to finally see the
composed Mr. Cole nonplussed by the situation presented. "Thank you
Mr. Cole, perhaps you'd enjoy seeing the spectacle from another
viewpoint. Western Howl has four of them to land."

As Brilliant Ice followed Missegawa's example of folded wings and
crouching position, Waukashaunassy turned her flight position
slightly to allow everybody to watch the Hummers landing on Western
Howl.

Captain Hunter raised his voice, "Mr. Cole, proceed then to signal
our dragons are on board, ready to proceed."

"Aye aye sir."

As he flagged Western Howl, it was his turn to observe the enjoyment
of smaller dragons landing on bigger dragons. He watched the
spectacle of watching four dragons trying to land simultaneously on
the large dragons back. Western Howl though, wasn't going for it and
with a flick of his tail, waved two off on their approach. The
remaining two dragons managed to have a hovering debate over Western
Howls back on who got the first position. That was quickly settled
as Captain James, the head of the Hummers, shouted for the position
and Scarlet Flame quickly settled in. If a dragon could pout,
Skyshadow did, as she settled into the second position. Amanda
Pierros, aboard Grey Talon, chuckled and shouted to her teammates, "I
thought that females were supposed to go first." She cast a broad
grin toward Captain Sidell on Union Flyer, the other Hummer who had
yet to land. With an equally broad smile, he doffered his
cap. "Certainly Captain, I wouldn't want it to be known that *I*
didn't have proper manners...after you ma'am."

General good humor was heard amongst all dragons within ear shot as
Grey Talon arrowed in and settled swiftly down behind Skyshadow.
Within minutes, Union Flyer had joined her. The squadron then
increased speed Northward, led by Broadsides.

To be Continued...

On Laboring Wings – Bombs for Breakfast

September 19, 1811 –

The chimes had sounded Dog's 4 (6 p.m.) and all the dragons were in
the air safely secured as they headed out to Ft. William. Nothing
much stirred as they winged their way above the ground. Missegawa,
who had been riding on Waukashaunassey, commented on a wolf pack she
had noticed down below at Forenoon4 (10 p.m.). Wild Horse looked
down and noticed the large wolf pack (15) was led by an unusually
large wolf of unusual coloration and grunted in agreement with
Missegawa. "Sequanc'Ha runs early this season. It bodes well for us
tonight." The crew traded glances but didn't say anything when
Waukashaunassey chimed in with, "It's nice when Sequanc'Ha runs with
you but it is better when Waukashaunassey flies with you." Wild
Horse only comment was a grunt which was open to interpretation.
Captain Hunter, always loyal to his dragon, commented that he always
went with the sure thing and patted Waukashaunassey on the neck. He
then turned and carefully approached the Captains of Missegawa and
Union Flyer so he could inquire what their bombardment attack plans
were.

Frederick Bridgeland, the captain of Missegawa, looked over at Jared
Sidell and smiled. "Well sir, we plan on keeping it simple. Fly in
fast, drop the bombs, and return to our perch here as soon as
possible. This is our first try at this and hopefully we can cause
mayhem and destruction somewhere in between."

"So you are just planning one pass over the fort then?"

This time it was Captain Sidell who answered. "That is correct
Captain Hunter. These delightful companions (patting Union Flyer on
his neck) have been trained to just go in, have us release on the
first pass, and get out before they know we are there. We'll be
going in barely over tree top clearance. Hopefully we will be able
to time it in between the round of their dragon watch. It WOULD be
foolish of us to think they wouldn't have posted a watch by now."

William nodded at that. "What I plan to do is to unhood a lantern
one hour after you take off or if we see explosions or flames from
the target. That will allow you to pinpoint our location quickly and
accurately in the dark. A half hour after tha, we then turn and
slowly head back to the fort, still keeping our lantern unhooded but
allowing us to make a egress from the battle. Landing at night may
offer you some difficulties so we plan to keep the lantern lit until
both of you have been secured."

Missegawa raised her head and looked snout to eye with
William. "That is acceptable but just don't wave the lantern too
much else I'll do worse. Jared and I will take off first and fly
ahead since I can see in the dark better."

At First 6 (11 p.m.), Lt. Blumberg signaled for everybody to fly down
to take a break. Immediately the Hummers, one at a time, stood up
and opened their wings as they unclenched from their perch. They
used the bigger dragon's forward motion to allow them to vertically
rise up and go down to land separately from their carrier. After all
the dragons had landed at the designated resting place, the captains
once again gather around to discuss tactics and recovery protocol.
All the captains thought that William's idea about the hooded
lanterns was good and Captain Smith said he would implement it on
Western Howl also. They rested for an hour before taking off again.
It was First 8 (midnight) by now and the dragons and their captains
were quiet as they knew they would part company at Mid 2. The
captains on the Hummers checked their equipment and bomb release
cords one last time. Lt. Blumberg changed to flags to indicate the
time so as not to make undue sound. As he raised the flag to
indicate Mid 2, the Hummers once again raised off their carriers
backs. Upon lifting off of the carriers, they slowly descended and
gained speed as they lost altitude until they were a mere 50 feet
above the nearest treetop. They hoped this would delay being spotted
by any possible sentry, whether airborne or walking, the parapet of
the fort. The two carriers did a race track oval pattern while
Broadside circled slightly higher and a pattern flowing opposite of
Waukashaunassey and Western Howl. This allowed all three dragons to
keep each other in sight while also allowing a 360 observation of the
surrounding skies.

The Hummers only slowed down long enough for the chameleon skinned
ones to change their coloration to dark green and black/brown. They
were led by Missegawa with her night vision with Scarlet Flame, the
fire breather, taking his position astern. As they approached the
fort, Missegawa (Missy) spotted an elephant sized sentry dragon
flying a couple 2000 feet above them. She assumed it was possibly
flying above the fort and she hovered in place until her cohorts
joined. Through shadowy arm gestures, the enemy sentry was
identified and located to the remaining Hummers. The Hummers formed
up in a single line 300 yards apart and started their bombing run.

Mid 4 (2 a.m.)

As Missy cleared the last tree which surrounded the clearing around
the fort, the sky was lit up by a star rocket ignited by the flying
sentry dragon. At the same time, Missy was surprised to note two
alert guards aiming on the parapets facing her run. As she flew
directly over them, they fired their weapons. Kapow...Kapow. Missy
lucked out as speed and distance won over musket accuracy and was not
injured as she lined up and picked her target building, one of the
warehouses just north of the trading post (number 11). Since she had
been startled by the musket fire, she missed her target and the bomb
landed harmlessly to the right of her intended target, exploding on
an empty yard to the east. Since they carried two bombs each, she and
her captain had one more chance to redeem themselves. As Missy
arrowed northward, just clearing the rooftops of the forts buildings,
she released her second and final bomb at the north end of the fort.
Her target this time was one of the Fort Soldier barracks (9).
SUCCESS! Her bomb went through the cedar shingles on the roof and
exploded inside. The occupants, just awakening to the alarms being
sounded, found themselves dodging both shrapnel and flame as the
small bomb exploded within. However, due to the small size of the
dragon, the bomb lacked enough force to have a large impact on the
soldiers and it merely stunned some rather then killed. Those who
were not stunned were kept busy putting out fires and dragging
unconscious comrades out of the building.

Scarlet Flame was next in line and heard the musket fire so was not
as surprised. He passed the top of the parapet to the sound of alarm
bells instead of musket fire and lined up his bomb run on the fort
below. Captain Elijah James had earlier picked the Fort Soldier
barracks just south of the trading post. He was off of target though
and went to the West of the barracks and missed with the bomb.
However, as he flew over, Scarlet Flame let out with a fire breath
whose flames licked across the wooden shingles on building number 11
(trading post) and set it afire. Captain James counted the
obligatory 3 count before releasing the second bomb. The second bomb
hit the fort soldiers barracks north of the enemy's ready room and
did moderate damage. Captain James was pleased to note that it
looked like they might have some difficulty in quickly putting out
the fire from the second bomb. He was less then pleased to note that
the soldiers on the north parapet had observed his bombing run and
several muskets were trained on him as he approached them. He was
relieved though to find that they hadn't had enough time to fire
before he had cleared the wall and disappeared into the surrounding
darkness.

Third in line was William Anderson aboard Brilliant Ice. By now
Captain Anderson and Brilliant Ice, as well as the rest of the
Hummers, knew that the fort was aware of their presence. The sentry
dragon had not made it down to the fort yet so there was still hope
that they could get more damage done before its arrival. They had
hopes for an unchallenged attack fell as more and more lights sprang
from the fort and the fort became like a giant ant hill that had been
kicked with a large number of soldiers scurrying left and right.
Their attention, however, was brought back to the battle when they
found themselves staring down at the maul of a British 12 pounder.
As both dragon and pilot swore in a most unseemly way, the cannon
discharged throwing a cloud of canister up and toward the raiding
American dragon. Mortally struck by numerous canister balls, the
dragon weakly said to its captain, "Sorry Frederick, I will no longer
be with you." Sadly, the pilot could no longer respond since he had
been struck directly in the chest and was missing most of his upper
torso. Brilliant Ice, in one last heroic effort, dropped his wings
so that he dove upon the offending battery, destroying gun, its crew
and immolated himself. The two resulting explosions blossomed into a
fiery fountain headed mushroom of death and embers.

Grey Talon, piloted by Amanda Pieros, was witness to the end of
Brilliant Ice and with grim determination, resisted the buffeting
caused by the large explosion and concentrated on her bombing run.
Grey Talon explained "Amanda, that was Brilliant Ice....he's
gone!" "Just stay on target Talon," Amanda chastised. Amanda had to
deviate to the west to bypass the still glowing gun emplacement which
brought her unfortunately over the two guards who had been manning
one of the forts main gates. Presented with a rapidly growing
target, both guards lifted, aimed, and discharged their muskets as
the dragon presented. Kapow..Kapow. The balls whistled on either
side of Amanda as she crouched low over Grey Talon's back. She
pulled the release cord and the first bomb hit building number 3
(enlisted dragoneer quarters), not her original target, as Talon
swerved back on its original bombing run, she dropped the second
bomb. This bomb also didn't hit the original building but it did
manage to hit building number 7 (senior station officer quarters).
Both buildings number 3 and 7 were made of stone as well as wood but
even so, the enlisted dragoneers quarters sustained moderate damage
while the Senior Station Officer Quarters was badly damaged as flames
could be seen shooting through numerous windows. As they passed over
the remaining part of the fort, the night was filled with the sounds
of random musket shots, the beating of drums and the shouting and
screams of pain.

Sky Shadow, next in line, was captained by Olaf Solberg. By now the
fort was fully awake and Captain Solberg could see many a soldier and
gun crew standing ready. "Damn", he swore. "If we live through
this, we're moving in the positioning on the next run." Sky Shadow
quickly analyzed the risk factor of this maneouver (IQ – 137) and
spoke up. "Olaf, I'm aborting this run." Captain Solberg grunted as
Sky Shadow did a climbing reversal and began to maneouver for a more
favorable attack vector.

Union Flyer, captained by the young Jared Sedell, was the last to fly
in with his bombs. Crossing low over the parapet, they managed to
shrug off those rounds that hit from the perimeter guards. As they
entered the interior of the fort, the swirl of smoke and shadows
mixed with the flicker lights from torches, the flames from burning
buildings, and the bright lights from stout British soldiers made the
scene a hellish one. It became more hellish as they approached the
main headquarters for a squad of British soldiers had drawn up in
square formation just to the west of the Pri–Fly and ready room. As
Union Flyer came overhead they fired in volley. Flailed by numerous
musket balls, both dragon and captain were doomed. They disappeared
in an explosion of guts and glory as flesh and fire rained down upon
their killers when their unreleased bombs detonated from the musket
balls.

Meanwhile, Sky Shadow and Captain Solberg circled westward climbing
into the darkness as they observed the glowing light from within the
fort which backlit the British sentry dragon which had dove down on
Captain Pieros and Grey Talon. Captain Solberg and Sky Shadow were
known for their on the fly tactical analysis. "I suggest Olaf, that
we circle to the North, climbing as much as possible. Once we're due
North of the fort let us head South making a high altitude bomb run
as we rendezvous with Western Howl."

Captain Solberg agreed but had to point out that Grey Talon was going
to be engaged by the British sentry any moment. Sky Shadow
understood since he knew that Solberg had a personal interest in
Captain Pieros. Being known as the more intelligent, Sky Shadow
pointed out another thing that Solberg missed. "If you look just a
little bit off to the port you'll see Scarlet Flame closing in
quickly from the sentry's stern. I don't know if he'll be able to
take him but he'll make sure that his tail will get singed." Solberg
felt better now and agreed with Sky Shadow. "Right you are then,
let's concentrate on our part and make sure our parcels get
delivered."

At a much higher altitude, Sky Shadow stopped and hovered. "What do
you think Olaf?"
Olaf looked down and replied, "A little bit to the starboard." Sky
Shadow, with a slight tilt and an increase in the beat of the wings,
moved slightly. "How about now?"

"Perfect" replied the captain with a broad grin.

"This one's for Brilliant Ice and Captain Anderson" Olaf replied as
he released the first bomb. As they waited, they noticed that they
missed the buildings by a long shot, which caused Captain Solberg to
quickly revise his earlier statement. "Hmmm. It seems that one
wasn't for Brilliant Ice but instead it was for Union Flyer and
Captain Sidell since it landed upon a formation of British troops in
the landing field...scattering bodies left and right. Perhaps you're
right Sky Shadow, we should have gone more to the port side." Sky
Shadow slip streamed to the left as he chuckled and got into
position. The bomb was released and disappeared beneath them. "Sky
Shadow hovered and looked down to see if they hit something. "I hope
we hit something this time Olaf." KABOOOOOOM. From such a high
altitude, the bomb penetrated through the partially destroyed roof
and detonated in the Senior Station Officer Quarters. Even though
this building was made of stone, after two bombings, the building was
now smashed with only the stone walls remaining standing and was
surrounded by the bright flames of its interior. "Well done
Sky." "Thank you Olaf..." Sky Shadow would have said more, but at
that moment, a pair of Congreve rockets flew past, detonating. Sky
Shadow looked at them with a calm and composed expression and
shrugged off the distraction. "As I was saying Olaf...it is time to
get out of here."

To be continued

Next Episode: Catch me if you Can...the chase is on

September 20, 1811 – Dog 2

While Sky shadow and the rest of the hummers were dropping their
bombs, Waukashaunassey, Broadsides and Western Howl were tracing a
lazy race horse pattern one hour to the south. The night air was
cold but clear as the quarter moon was chased by high cirrus clouds
heralding an early winter. Captain Hunter stood silently on
Waukashaunassey' s back, his silk scarf streaming behind as
Waukashaunassey glided silently through the Northern Minnesota
night. He glanced over at Lt. Southerland but said nothing. Lt.
Southerland kept glancing to the north appreciating how close the new
harness forced her to stand next to the captain as the night remained
quite. As the second bell of the dog watch sounded, Rebecca startled
slightly and glanced once again to the north.

"It's difficult isn't it?" Captain Hunter asked in a low voice. The
silence stretched for another 30 seconds before Rebecca
replied, "What is Sir?" Once again the silence stretched out. "The
waiting Lieutenant...the waiting for what you know will happen."
Rebecca thought for a minute before answering. "No sir, I've always
been able to wait for what I wanted." It was now Williams turn to
glance down at his Lieutenant. "I see." Rebecca waited for more but
that was his only reply. The darkness covered Rebecca's smirk as
well as Williams chagrin. "At the next bell, please hoist our signal
lantern and we will turn south upon orders from our Flagon." Rebecca
made sure that she kept her tone professional as she replied "Yes,
Sir." Rebecca turned to Sebastian Cole and repeated his orders and
nodded in the darkness when Sebastian replied in an affirmative.

Western Howl danced the round with the other two dragons, while
Captain Smith commanding eyes faced north and the other crew's eyes
searched the other compass points for something unusual. "A quiet
night Blumberg, isn't it." Captain Smith commented to his
Lieutenant. "I wonder how well this is going to work. It has great
potential but it's never been tried before. What do you think?" Lt.
Blumberg nodded and wondered himself if it would work. "If we can
really achieve surprise and drop accurately we should really be able
to put a bee in that British bonnet. Hahahahah" Captain Smith
chuckled along with his first officer and the rest of their
crew. "From your lips to the great Jehovah ears, Lieutenant. May
they have that great success that we both hope of." Lieutenant
Blumberg silently echoed that hope. "Well sir, we'll know soon
enough. We have one bell before we should see some sign from the
North."

On Broadsides, Captain Tate turned to his Bombardier's Mate George
Jefferson. "How are our replacement soldiers that we got from the
fort doing Jefferson?" "They are as frisky as a new hatchling and as
skittish as a cow at Broadsides feeding time Sir." Captain Tate hid
his smile by stroking his long moustache. "I see. Do you think
we'll have any problems with the new men?" "Don't worry sir,"
Jefferson replied, "Give Broadsides and me enough time and we'll turn
them into fine dragoneers."

Captain Tate turned his head to his newly bevretted Lieutenant. "I'm
sure you'll do fine Jefferson. Let us hope that our small comrades
to the north fare as well as you have." The silence stretched once
again as the two men turned back to their vigil.

Meanwhile, in the North, Missegawa winged south as fast as she could
while Frederick Bridgeland glanced over his shoulder. To the north,
flickering flames as well as a few columns of smoke indicated that
the raid had netted some success but whether or not they had
succeeded would take some more time. "Hurry my dear...look for a light
to the South. You should be able to see one by now."

"There...I see two...no one...no definitely two lights to the south."

"Excellent! Let us hurry and land first so we can toast to our
success once we return to the fort." It would only be later that
they learned the cost of the raid.

As Captain James and Scarlet Flame winged sharply back south, Scarlet
Flame said, "Sir...I have two breaths left. Can we go back?" "No my
dear, our orders are to head south. Rest assured you may have a fine
opportunity to use your breath as we return to your carriers. Keep
an eye out for any enemy dragons."

Grey Talon was barely clearing the treetops as he raced south, his
camouflage blending in to make him ALMOST imperceptible. The larger
enemy dragon had spotted them and was closing swiftly from astern.

"Can you go any faster Talon?" Captain Peiros commented, knowing that
the larger dragon would soon overtake them.

"I could try."

"Would it make a difference if I told you there was a BIG enemy
dragon fast approaching from our stern."

"Why didn't you say so! Hang on." Grey Talon beat his wings faster
as they skimmed the high pines of Northern Minnesota.

Sky Shadow also had noticed the large shape chasing Grey Talon and
pointed it out to Captain Solberg. "Olav, it looks like Captain
Pieros is in trouble, we should go to her aid." As Sky Shadow dove
to intercept, he couldn't help but add the comment, "You have
feelings for Amanda don't you Olav?" Captain Solberg was momentarily
flustered. "Now is not the time to talk about my feelings for her
Shadow." Sky Shadow merely snorted, "It is always the right time to
talk about mating. We'll rescue her and she can still be your
mate." Captain Solberg decided it was better not to comment, ruing
the day when he had confessed his feeling for the female captain.

Not every dragon can be as smart as Sky Shadow, and in every military
there are those who, through the lack of ability or talent, are given
the worst details. This was the case with the elephant sized dragon
pursuing Grey Talon. D'umbo Durante would normally be assigned to a
front line dragon wing against the French due to his size but while
his body grew, his intelligence had not. That was how he found
himself and his captain assigned to the backwater front against the
rag tag Western American forces. Once assigned to Rupert's Land
dragon corps, D'umbo rapidly unimpressed his commanding officers and
soon found him and his captain assigned to those duties that no one
volunteered for. On September 19, 1811, he had once again pulled
night watch and was unfortunate enough to witness the Hummer raid.
Being the good soldiers that they were, and falling back on their
basic training, Captain Jasper and D'umbo released a star rocket as
soon as they had spotted the Hummers. Now they were in pursuit of
Grey Talon who seemed to blend into the Northern forest as well as
D'umbo did the skies.

"Two can play at that game" said Captain Jasper as a mottled pattern
appeared on D'umbo's wings and back. "Let's keep on this dragon.
I'll fire rockets at intervals so that our fellow dragons can follow
us and bring them to justice." D'umbo's airmen presented their
muskets, just waiting to get within range knowing that if they saw a
dragon in front of them, it was an enemy dragon and they could shoot
at will.

Missy and Frederick, still ahead of the others, raced south and after
a hard hour of flying could differentiate between the two white
lights flying south ahead of them.

"Waukashaunassey is the dragon on the starboard side sir. I think we
can reach her in 15 minutes."

"Very well," Captain Bridgeland said. "I will signal her as soon as I
can." Grabbing a pre-lit hooded lantern from his saddles side,
Bridgeland raised it making sure it was facing southward. An
answering flash from Waukashaunassey' s back brought a sigh of
relief. As Captain Bridgeland quickly stored the lantern back, he
patted Missy's neck.
"Let's go home my friend. They are waiting for us."

"Sounds good Frederick. I wonder how our squadron did."

"We'll find out eventually my dear but for now, let's get to
Waukashaunassey so you can rest."

"I will like that for this has been a long flight. We can also tell
them how the raid went."

Scarlet Flame continued to fly south while Captain James kept an
anxious watch out toward the North. "Our carriers are to the south
sir. Within 20 or so minutes we should be able to tell the
difference between Waukashaunassey and Western Howl."

Captain James smiled as he spoke up. "That shouldn't be too
difficult Scarlet, they ARE different sizes after all. Perhaps if
you are not feeling too fatigued, you can circle above them until the
rest of the squadron has returned. That way you can back up
Broadsides with your breath if you need to."

"That would be good Elijah. I will keep it in mind when we get
there."

Grey Talon had just started to relax when a large figure pulled
alongside her and fired s as they overtook her on the port side. The
discharging muskets of the British ready dragon were answered with
screams of pain and defeat by both the American dragon and its
captain as they crashed into the heavy forest. The British crew,
after a stunned moment of silence for an actual successful maneouver,
raised a ragged cheer. "Huzzah!" "Huzzah!" "Huzzah!" As they began
to pat each other on their back, thinking perhaps their luck had
finally turned, Sky Shadow struck from behind. With an enraged roar
he bit down upon the cheering crew plucking on from his perch and
shaking him like a rag doll before flinging him away. "AMAAAANDA!"
Olav yelled. "You'll pay for that." Olav vowed at the British force
as he urged Sky Shadow to close ranks again.

"Did you hear that Elijah? It sounded pretty close by."

"Turn around Scarlet. We'll see if our comrades need your help."

Scarlet did a flip turn and headed back to see what the commotion was
about. She noticed a larger dragon seemed in combat with Sky Shadow
and she rushed to his aide.

Both D'umbo and his captain were equally paired being neither
aggressive nor too intellectual. They had their one victory and
decided that they didn't want to die before they could toast to it.
Giving the order for his crew to reload, the captain also ordered
D'umbo to return back to base as he released his last star rocket
hoping that someone on his side would see it. Olav growled when he
saw D'umbo turn and withdraw from the battle field. "Come back here
you coward and fight like a gentlemen." Sky Shadow echoed his
captain's growl. "These British are churlish rogues and have no
honor. Let me at them." Driven by anger and grief for his captain's
loss, Sky shadow managed to snatch D'umbo's captain as he flew by.
Flaring his wings, he stopped in mid flight, allowing D'umbo continue
on. He stared directly into the opposing captains eyes and
said. "All's fair in love and war" as he clenched his talons and
ruptured the captains body in a shower of gore and justice.

To be continued...
Next week: To absent friends...

On Laboring Wings - letter to Henry Clay from his nephew Gerald Auston Clay

Most Honorable Uncle.

It is with thanks to the almighty that I am able to write you this
short missive on the subject of Ft. Duluth. Often the news does not
get to our loved ones in as timely of a manner as we wish. Due to
the kindness of a dragoneer courier, you should be receiving this
news shortly after the events occured.

Ft. Duluth is no more. Ft. William came down with fire and brimstone
from all directions. Annilihation, I am convinced, was in their plan
from the beginning and while they did, we returned the favor.

This all started when we chose to defend that free land of Ruperts.
It had been observed that Ft. William had been making moves into the
land and we could not let that happen.

In the darkness of night, a raid was called for and our small dragons
made their way to Ft. William. We only hit the officers quarters and
yet they blew up our valient dragons and their riders. Uncle, it
could have ended there, but it did not. Four days later they came
into our homes with dragons as well as 4 gunboats, 150 regulars, and
a sloop that they had captured from us earlier. It looks like they
were planning this for some time Uncle for they armored her and put
guns on her.

The guns took out the main gates of the fort and the regulars stormed
in. My valiant brothers spilled their blood to defend their
homeland. Not one...not two...but THREE waves of regulars stormed
our fort after one of their dragons had taken out our cannon. We do
not have enough food nor shelter to stay the winter. Commander
Parmington died standing alone in front of the rookery...defending
the hatchlings. He knew he faced death but he faced it with a yell
of defiance and honor.

By my best notation, The English lost 90% of their invading force while we
lost 88%.
Do not let my fallen comrades go forgotten Uncle. Carry their tale
to those that need to hear it.

This is all I can write now Uncle for the courier needs to leave as
soon as possible. i find myself with an annoying cough and now
without a home. I pray that the good Lord will see fit to keep me on
this world long enough to write you again.

Your faithful Nephew,

Harold