"...Right."  Well, so much for a peaceful solution...  Still, a moment's thought had Ellen convinced that she might at least be able to get the ship clear with minimal bloodshed on both sides.  She didn't particularly like lying, but in this case, it was probably warranted...  "Okay.  Tell them that we need to convey that message back to the rest of our people, and ask that they don't approach any closer to the ship right now."<br/><br/>At least it was a lie of omission, rather than an outright fabrication of facts.  Her basic plan was to get back to the ship, warn Ermon and his crew of the danger, and convince them to retreat and go around the lands these people inhabited, ideally marking the danger on his map so that future airship captains would be warned of the danger as well.  She'd also inform the captain of the offer, though, even if she was expecting him to dismiss it out of hand.<br/><br/>The griffon-riding genasi would undoubtedly pursue, of course, but likely not too far, and even if they didn't give up, wiping out one group was better by far than having to wipe out however many would come after them if they kept on their current course.  It would also be more likely to leave things open for negotiation in the future, something Ellen still had an interest in, given that this talk of a 'Garden in the Clouds' sounded like something worth seeing.  She really wanted to find out more about their religion as a whole, but given that the airship couldn't exactly stop and hover in place, they were kind of on a time limit...