The captain’s nest has been spared little better than the rest of the Sasskiana, though it is evident that some efforts have been made to restore it to a semblance of working order, though the smell of smoke and burnt flesh is still in the air.  As you shuffled through the door, Thrane is already present, discussing some matters with some of the other crew members, though their voices a too low to make out anything in particular.  Amongst those already present are the familiar faces of Illoryn Shast, Mellisan Nakillos, and Tassil Lornfel.<br/><br/>When it is evident that no more people will be coming, Thrane waves away those with whom he was engaged in discussion with.  He regards the assembled crowd without much sentiment, but at last he nods with satisfaction.<br/><br/>“My thanks for your attendance,” he begins, his voice firm and his tone measured.  “Less than I had hoped for, but more than I expected.  I will not again relate events to you – I’m sure you are all very familiar with them by now.  To say we are in a bad way would be to put it mildly: though the damage to the ship is fairly severe, it is not the sort that will prevent us from getting air-born again, but even so, we are without clue as to where we are, and thus, how to get back home.<br/><br/>“We all have our work cut out for us, and for now they are twofold.  The most obvious is restoring power to the ship; the meteorite shower devastated the elemental chambers, but fortunately, I have it on good authority that at least two of them are still working.  However, in the chaos, the elementals within escaped and cause a good bit of damage in the process – they’ll either have to be found or else replaced – without which, this ship is going nowhere.  Though we only need an elemental of air to get us flying again, we’ll also need one of fire to return functionality to the rest of the ship – lighting, hot baths, hot meals, making the Sasskiana’s hull resistant to fire – you get the picture.  Some of you will have to go into the surrounding lands and find such, in addition to obtaining wood and supplies to fix the hull.”<br/><br/>“The rest of you will be required on ship to take care of an issue that has arisen in the cargo hold.  The Sasskiana, whilst a vessel built for exploration, was also one made to gather certain rare components and... specimens for those who helped to sponsor the building of this ship.  During the confusion, most of these broke loose of their confinements.  Usually I’d send the Free Companions to deal with an issue such as this, but many crewmembers have become somewhat unruly in the aftermath of this chaos – I can’t afford to have profiteers exploit this situation any further – already, some of our supply closets have been broken into and items missing.”<br/><br/>“Comrades.<em>Friends</em>.  I need this ship back in order and I need it to happen as quickly as possible.  Things must be returned to a semblance of normalcy if we are to begin to extricate ourselves from this mess.  Shortly I will see you into your respective groups, so prepare yourselves for assignment and you duties.  That will be all.  Thank you.”<br/><hr/><br/>Almost three-quarters an hour after the meeting in the Captain’s Nest, Thrane calls forward<strong><acronym title="Bibliophilia">Kivana</acronym></strong>,<strong><acronym title="Chulanowa">Ngidi</acronym></strong>,<strong><acronym title="Jecter">Roderick</acronym></strong>, and<strong><acronym title="Ghostwheel">Razma</acronym></strong>to serve in capacity as part of the Sasskiana’s expedition into the surrounding wilderness to secure workable wood to repair the ship with, and, hopefully, find a new source of elemental power.  “The ship can take flight with only an elemental of air, but finding an elemental of fire will also be of great benefit to the other functions of the ship,” he reminds you before seeing you off.  “Illoryn will nominally be in charge of this expedition, so follow her lead, whilst Tassil Lornfel will provide such assistance as he can whilst remaining with the main body of the logging group.”<br/><br/>Before heading off, Thrane hands over two small obsidian pyramids, each as large as a playing ball, and capped with gold upon their edges.  “Touching one of these to a weakened elemental can forcefully seal it within and render it safe for transportation back to the ship where we can place it inside the elemental chambers.  Don’t lose them.  Remember, only an elemental of sufficient size is useable – if it’s less than the size of a tree, don’t bother with it, you’ll just be wasting your efforts and our time.  An air elemental is your priority; if you can get a fire elemental, that would be good, but don’t risk your lives to do so.”<br/><br/>You exit the ship through a ramp from the one of splintered walls.  Below, a group of roughly ten men and women await below, shifting cases and otherwise being organised by Illoryn and Tassil who have already gathered below.  A large makeshift cart has been made to bring back whatever timbre that can be found.  Illoryn is the first to approach.<br/><br/>“Well, if you people have anything left to do, do it soon: we set out within the hour.  Just be prepared for anything.  This may look like a jungle, but… well who knows, we’re far from home and there may be surprises, eh?”<br/><br/>With a swish of her green cloak, she leaps off to organise a few final details.