Anneli: The voidmaster of the crashed ship Sidereal Companion. Her sister Nomi just betrayed her in front of a whole group of very, very, very bad folks, including two goblins, a troll, and a great wolf.
Nomi: Anneli's older sister. Apparently she serves the orc god of anger, Rahbarl.
Fingar: The shipmaster of the Sidereal Companion. He's cornered, right along with Anneli and the female dwarf.
The female dwarf: She had been found by Anneli and co. as she was about to killed by said goblins, troll, and great wolf.
Thungal: The conflict mediator of the Sidereal Companion. She was just knocked out by Nomi and fell a good two stories to the streets below.
Salt: The plucky daughter of Spar, who had branded him as an oathbreaker.
Nomi apologized to Anneli for the deception, who told her she didn't know who her sister was anymore. Nomi pleaded for the little toy sword that Anneli had. Rahbarl, the orc god of anger, wanted the sword, and if Nomi and the others got it from Anneli she, Fingar, Thungal, and the female dwarf could walke away, scott free. Anneli told Nomi that was never going to happen. She lunged forward, cut Nomi with her sword, and pushed her down the stairs, on top of the great wolf who had been sneaking up the stairs to ambush Anneli and co. The great wolf fell over, onto the goblin who had been riding him, and Anneli heard a sickening snap. The troll, who had been standing just outside the window, tried to hit Anneli and Fingar. Anneli, Fingar, and the dwarf dodged to the side and then smashed through the wall, landing in the street below. The great wolf gave chase.
The dwarf was the weak link in the chain, far as the chase was concerned; she was injured and shorter than Anneli and Fingar, not to mention stupidly slower than the wolf. Anneli yelled at the dwarf that she wouldn't die here, that she needed to run! She kept cajoling the dwarf, helping her push harder than she ever had in her life. Fingar just plain old grabbed the dwarf and pulled her along. They managed to to outrace the great wolf. After getting out sight the female dwarf took off her shirt and tossed it in the opposite direction they ran, into a nearby building. The great wolf, already behind, was thrown off by the additional scent as he rounded the corner. After a short search he found the shirt, but it was too late. They were far away.
As soon as they slowed down Anneli felt a crushing sensation. All of a sudden she was down down down down DOWN, crushed under the earth. There was a Darkness Anneli found herself in it was a living force complete unto itself it was all around her and was reaching for- Fingar finally snapped Anneli out of it. She had collapsed, screaming in a high guttural voice that was unearthly. The dwarf asked her what happened. Anneli described what happened to her and the dwarf blanched: that was a visitation from Leviathan. Anneli was the third person in recorded dwarven history to survive the experience; the other two went crazy! No one else had ever met Leviathan and stayed sane.
As they discussed the incident Fingar started, yelling Thungal's name. He immediately started to head back. He told Anneli and the dwarf (who now had Fingar's shirt on) that time was of the essence and that principles demanded they go get Thungal, immediately.
"I didn't forget about Thungal", Anneli clarified. "I had to decide who to save and couldn't bring back everyone. And we need to get our bearings before going back."
"No, nobody should have been left behind! That's ridiculous, we're not waiting."
"You're not thinking tactically. Have you ready of Highlord Myra's works on it? We can't use our emotions in this."
"I didn't know she had written anything on tactics. Highlord Myra was a master chef, her book on flan is amazing!"
"How do you..." Anneli shook her head. "You're not being smart about this."
"I'm not being smart about this? The smart thing to do is to leave now, because the longer we wait the more certain we are of losing Thungal. We need to move now!"
"Jumping in half-cocked doesn't work as often as you-"
Fingar exploded. "You sound nice, but what sort of sense does a person who thinks to check the mast of a void ship for sabotage actually have?" Anneil tried to get in another word. "No, no, you're done here" Fingar insisted. "You don't care about Thungal at all."
"No, that's not true! I don't want to rush in like an idiot; that doesn't mean I don't care!"
Fingar threw up his hands "Right up until they move Thungal. And when that happens we'll lose her. You can't do that. We need to move now."
"Fingar, look around. We're nowhere near home. We don't know anything about where we are."
"That's not an excuse, that's more of a reason! We need to move now, while we know the ground. They'll meet up with their friends and we'll have an even harder time."
"Um, yeah, there's a lot more of them" The Dwarf commented.
"All the more reason to go now!" Fingar insisted. "Ah, I've had enough talking with you about this. I'm leaving." And Fingar stalked off. Anneli and The Dwarf didn't move.
Anneli and the dwarf found a nearby building and sat down, wearily. Anneli remarked that all her friends where gone. The Dwarf said they would be return. Anneli asked how she could be so sure. Salt told her that she had abandoned her father before the dragon had showed up. She was still looking for him. But she would find him. And Anneli would find her friends.
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