[Nuu™™]

A flaming fireball shot towards the ground, moving fast. Luckily for its inhabitant, it came to rest in a small lake, killing the fire. A dwarf struggled from amoungst the wreckage, and apart from some bruises, cuts and burns, he seemed relatively unscathed, probably because the cabin had been somewhat protected from the fire and the impact. He dragged himself onto the bank, and tried to work out where he was. It was night in this part of Earthia, and there was no sign of inhabitants in this area. After a while he got up and began searching for some sort of life.

He found it all to quickly. A road ran across a nearby ridge, and he followed it. He did not know that this road was infamous for highwaymen, and soon a group of riders appeared in front of him, pistols in their hands. Drakien was in no mood to be held up. They fought for a bit, and before long Drakien knew that in his current state, he was weaker. And by the looks on the highwaymen's faces, they weren't going to let him surrender alive. Then, out of nowhere, Drakien was saved once again. A machine Drakien had never seen before appeared out of the darkness, shooting fire from cannons on its sides. "Get in." shouted the driver, and Drakien didn't really want to argue. He jumped on the machine, which was still attacking the higwaymen, and they drove off, to safety.

Drakien turned the driver, and was surprised to find she was a young girl, not the brave knight he was expecting. She gave him a grim smile. "Aquiella Thymolae, daughter of inventor and trader Darius Thymolae at your service." She reached out to shake his hand, which she did. "M'lady, is there anything I can do to repay you for saving my life?" Drakien asked. "No no, I am capable of looking after myself, thank you. Where are you headed?" Drakien gave a pained look. "I really need to get back up into space, actually. But I have no starship, so the nearest Starport would be good." Aquiella stopped the machine. "Where is your starship?"

It was early morning by the time they had dragged the starship from the lake. Aquiella needed to refill her machine (Drakien now knew it was called a traction engine) with water from the lake, and so by the time they set off the sun was high in the sky.

*Drakien and Aquiella leave The Caeriu Hills*