Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands

by Starglider

Tinkernut

A mismatched group of creatures soared through the sky, high over the impossible floating river. A grey hippogriff stallion, hitched to a small cart completely full of fiery kirin mare, earth pony stallion and their tools, with a brown pegasus flying close behind. The village group (or 'beta squad', as no one other than Azure Feather called them) had left their ship and their friends on the seemingly uninhabited third island, and were making their way up to the second island, which held the gillman village of Witchway Marsh.

Reef Skimmer's wings thrummed as they slowly climbed, passing over a series of floating rocks and oxbow lakes, just hanging in the air next to the snaking river. The river actually crossed over itself in front of them, one twisting rushing ribbon of water sailing clear over the other. The flyers headed up over the top section and then settled into a glide, descending toward the marsh. There the river split again and again into a maze of little channels and ponds, stretching for several kilometres across the bulk of the island.

At one edge of the marsh proper the village was visible as a tight cluster of shacks and cottages, all stone and weathered wood and salvaged sheet metal, linked by boardwalks and surrounded by bits of salvage and wreckage. Further out individual dwellings could be seen in the surrounding woods, many with little fields or at least vegetable gardens. Where the village abutted the marsh was the harbour, a muddy pool where a few boats, tube-rafts and one rusty paddle-wheel steamer were tied up.

Gearshift's hooves are fidgety, as he looked out from the cart over the levitating surroundings far below, less taking it in and more giving himself visual noise for distraction. "Kinda anxious to work," he admitted, "...but being anxious won't get us there any faster. Should be a quick fixer upper, right Nutmeg?"

Nutmeg peered obliviously over the edge of the cart as Gearshift spoke, laying a hoof along her scaly shoulders, the fluffy red tip of her tail switching madly. With her branching horn, her thick red furry ruff, and her back covered in scales as golden yellow as her hooves, she was very much certainly something other than a pony. Her adjustable wrench was leaning on the cart beside her, leaving her free to stare wide-eyed. "Yeah it shouldn't be too— oh look, buildings!" she declared. "Wow that forest has a weird shape! I wonder why rivers are all wiggly? Is that a rope bridge? Is that a mill wheel?? Wow!"

Gearshift let out a gentle sigh at Nutmeg's... well... enthusiasm was the right way to put it. The kirin clearly needed to get out more! This should be a good experience for her.

Reef Skimmer brought the cart down slowly, aiming for the track connecting the village proper to the water mill, some way upstream. It seemed well maintained and currently clear of traffic, and less likely to cause a commotion than landing in the middle of the settlement. With just a slight bump - he'd had a fair amount of practice at this point - the little cart's wheels settled down onto the track and the hippogriff fell into a trot, continuing towards the village on foot. "Thought it best not to spook them, Captain." he said, looking back to regard Set Sail, who was still hovering a little way behind.

"Very good idea, Reef!" the brown pegasus said gratefully, reaching down and beating her wings to help Nutmeg and Gearshift vault over the side of the cart. "Anything we can do, to help you get ready?" she asked the pair. Although he didn't admit it, Reef was grateful for the sudden reduction in weight behind him. They hadn't flown far, but by Novo those tools were heavy.

"We probably shouldn't unpack until we see what we need to fix," Nutmeg said, from within the cart where she was standing on tip-toes to pull stuff out of it, "I'll just bring a tool saddle and my wrench."

Gearshift nodded in agreement, lifting a few things out of the cart and setting them on his back. "Yes, thank you! We have no idea what kind of a job this is. We didn't have anyone technically minded to talk to, so this'll be our own assessment."

The four made their way into the village: Nutmeg took the lead and dashing about, looking at the various bits of junked machinery sitting half-buried in the muck while the gill creatures stopped and stared. Here were rusted barrels that once held oil, implying refining, there was an incandescent lamp up on a building, implying electrical power. Gearshift trotted behind, trying to share her enthusiasm but stopping every few metres to return the stare of one of the strange fish creatures. "Really feeling out of my element here..." he mumbled, gazing at the fish creatures. "And what a shame it is for this place to fall apart like this..."

"Cheer up Gears," Nutmeg chirped, skipping along lightly beside him, "The more that's broke, the more there that we have to fix!" She gazed up and around at the fishy things watching them, waving a hoof at them in general and saying, "Hello!"

Gearshift chuckled at that. "Well, work is work, I suppose. It just gets me down when I see things fall to pieces." He didn't share Nutmeg's enthusiasm for conversing with the locals.

At the back of the group was the hippogriff, drawing the cart which clicked over the planks of the boardwalk, while Set Sail hovered overhead trying to keep everyone in sight. "Any sign of that Lightgrin character, Captain?" Reef called up to the pegasus.

"The who what now?" she called down to Reef, "I'm just looking for Brightfin right now!"

Soon enough the gillman in question made an appearance, charging into sight with his webbed feet making a loud flap-thump-flap-thump on the wood. "Oh wow you're back!" he said "...and ya'll gone brought more po-knees. A... uh... unicorn and a... no-corn?"

Gearshift lifted a hoof to his face to snicker. "My favourite kind of joke; thank you. No, you can call me an earth pony."

"Uh... ok." The fish boy stared at Nutmeg and Gearshift for a second, before latching onto Reef Skimmer, ignoring the little pegasus overhead. "Uh, hi there Mister Hippo-griff, I see you done brought..." he stood on tip-toes, trying to get a look into the cart "...lotsa tools? Oh, oh, you're gonna fix the turret, right?"

Gearshift nodded at that! "That's the plan. Can we take a look?"

Nutmeg blinked cluelessly a moment, then touched a two toed hoof to her own horn saying, "Oh, right!" returning to all fours with a laugh, "Yeah whatever. They say some creatures helped you with some kind of cannon, but it was broken? So yes that's what we're here for." Looking around, she asked eagerly, "So where is it?"

"Uh, yeah, so..." Brightfin stared at Nutmeg, then looked around at all the gillmen oggling the visitors, remarking on their strange appearance and asking each other what it meant. "...if y'all could just follow me over here, uh, I'll tell ya what's going on... soon's we get a little privacy, y'know what I mean?" He gestured with one arm and headed through the village, out onto a track leading into the woods.

Gearshift tilted his head. What about this cannon could need so much privacy? It didn't sound like he had a choice though, so he followed along, whispering to Nutmeg "This is safe, right?"

"Heck if I know," the kirin replied, frowned at the gillman. Looking to the hippogriff, she asked, "Reef, could you keep an eye on the cart? I don't want take a bunch of equipment into an ambush."

That drew the ire of Set Sail, who immediately landed between them and objected: "No. Reef goes with you. I'll watch the cart."

Gearshift nodded, "Sure, works for me," giving a polite nod to Reef Skimmer.

Brightfin looked shocked. "Uh... Captain Sail? It ain't nothin' like that! No gilly doing no ambushing 'round here 'less the drow turn up, and they most always come at night." He looked around; the crowd hadn't followed them to the edge of the village, save for a couple of fish children who trailed behind the cart, watching the strange creatures.

Beckoning the visitors in close, the young gillman continued "See it's like this. My gran, that's Smoothfin, she done made a deal with the dirt sharks to fix up our turret like a year ago. They been on the job ever since, supposedly, couple of 'em up there right now. But I ain't seeing no progress, sure at first they did clean it up, but it's lookin' just the same today as it was lookin' a season ago." he said conspiratorially.

"So either those sharks ain't got a clue how to fix it, or they're seeing how much we're gonna pay 'fore they finally get 'round to it. I did tell my gran we's being ripped off but she was just 'Brightfin, these things take time, so they do.' But I ain't buying it."

Gearshift frowned. "Sounds like you got scammed good... but we'll give you a fully informed opinion once we take a look at it. Sound good?"

Nutmeg's gaze hardened as she listened to the fish-creature's tale. "Oh I've run into creatures like that before," she growled, "The first thing they do is try to lock legitimate companies out. This just got a lot harder. If they even think we can fix it, they'll keep us from getting close. If I'd have known that I'd have brought Sprocket. She's super good at that whole sneaking around thingy."

"Uh, well, it's our turret, and I'm the son of the chief, so... they'd better let us in or... you saying sneak around? Yeah, that's it, let's just sneak up and mosey, surprise 'em like. And ya know, if it comes to it, there's just two of 'em and..." he looked at Reef Skimmer, then Nutmeg Inferno "...we got a griffon and a magic elemental! 'Cause unicorns all got Magic, right?"

"My dear fellow, we can't just go attacking creatures without good reason. Aside from breach of first contact protocol," Reef said, in a tone that suggested there was nothing worse than breach of protocol, "what would that do to the prospect of diplomatic relations with these 'dirt sharks', not to mention your 'gran'?"

Gearshift nodded in agreement. "As cathartic as it is to give liars a smack over the head, we can't just shoot first and ask questions - we need to be certain of what's going on here first."

Nutmeg face-hooved, groaning, "I gotta learn to stop thinking out loud." Walking up to the fish kid and poking him in the chest, she said, "If you aren't kidding about these sharks, you need to fool them, not sneak up on them. You..." She stomped away, a flicker of flame going up her hooves as she grumbled, "I didn't ask for any of that. I fix things, not... creatures!"

The kirin stopped and took a deep breath. Turning around and marching back, she said in a calmer tone, "We don't even know these shark things are rotten like that. I'm just jumping right to... well, you remember the Manehattan Machining Company, right Gearshift?"

Gearshift nodded: "Mmmm, yeah, true. Sometimes the job really IS that hard, and it can be hard for non technical folks to tell the difference. Hence why I wanna retain judgement until I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Uh, so, uh, what y'all wanna do?" Brightfin asked, staring at his chest where Nutmeg has poked him as if it might catch fire. "Turret's up in the old barn, on Wickerwish Spit, over the rope bridge. If the sharks are inside, they ain't seeing us comin', lest they're outside taking lunch... but that's be alright, 'cause then y'all could just sneak in the back!"

"All we need to do is get a decent assessment of the repairs needed," Nutmeg said thoughtfully, sinking to her fluffy haunches, "If the sharks are legit, that'll let us know. And if not, then we can make a plan to repair it, to present to the chieftess so she knows what they're doing to rip her off."

"If our destination is on the small outlying island, I would think it best I fly over." Reef Skimmer pointed out. "I doubt this cart will fit down a rope bridge."

"We're not going to... we can't just sneak in," Set Sail said with a frustrated snort, "That would be wrong!"

"But... it's our barn! And our turret!" Brightfin said, uncertainly. "Ain't it wrong that some sharks can take our coin, not that we got a lot to spare mind, and don't even fix our gun?" he finished, indignantly.

Gearshift grinned at the captain. "It's also wrong to filch out on repairs duly invested in you. If they're legit... they'll understand and laugh it off. If not... they might never let us to the turret if we ask." He shrugged. "I think the calculus makes sense, but what do I know?"

"Yes but...!" Set Sail fidgeted wordlessly on her hooves, trying to figure out how he was wrong. "If we get caught, then the chieftess and the land sharks will hate us!"

"Caught doing what?" Gearshift insisted. "We won't have broken or stolen or lied about anything. If they're good mannered folks they can laugh it off; just like I said. If they're real good mannered folks they'll talk tech and we'll solve it together!"

"Uh, don't worry 'bout gran, I'll just tell her it was all my idea..." Brightfin whispered, looking less and less sure of himself. "but yeah I don't know 'bout the sharks, the 'Chief Exec-you-tiff', well he came on all charming and gran thought he was the best thing since fileted fish, but I didn't like him, not one bit." The fish boy sighed. "I... don't wanna get you folks in more trouble, not when you already got a bunch of drow to fight."

"Okay, so suppose we're going to sneak in, when the sharks are out," Nutmeg said, "Gears and I will need some paper for schematics, and a lookout to say when they're coming back. You said they left for... lunch?"

Brightfin perked up at Nutmeg's enthusiasm. "I dunno exactly when, but... yeah, every time I saw them eatin' it was out on the hillside, usually they get a little fire goin'. Guess I could chat 'em up... say, if Captain Sails comes maybe they'd wanna chat to her for a bit? 'Cause they've never seen a po-knee before, ya know?"

"I don't want any part in this..." Set Sails groaned, going down on her belly to bury her head in her arms.

"Ooh, hey," Nutmeg said, perking up, "They have an airship too, don't they?"

"Uh... yeah, yeah they got at least two." Brightfin confirmed. "There's a real shiny one that Firesteel, uh, that's the 'chief exec-you-tiff officer', so he said, anyway yeah he came on the shiny one then there's a scruffy one, it comes to trade, and change out the mechanics they got over here every once in a while. Most times, it's us trading fish and vegetables for parts and repairs, we ain't so good at smithin' here."

Trotting over to Reef Skimmer, the red brown and gold kirin sized him up before saying, "What if one of us got spotted snooping around on their ship, right around their lunch break? They'd have to check to make sure nothing was stolen. Maybe a creature they're familiar with, like someone who looks like a griffon sort of?"

Shrugging, she added, "Alternatively we could set off a smoke bomb, make them think their ship's on fire," before elbowing Gearshift: "Heh, remember the Manehatten Machining Company?"

Reef frowned and clicked his beak. "Perhaps that would work, but I must confess I didn't see any sign of an airship on the flight in." Looking at Brightfin, he asked "Is their ship here now? Hidden, perhaps?"

"Oh there we go. Of course they just got dropped off instead of parking here." Nutmeg sighs, shaking her head bleakly and eliciting a snicker from Gearshift.

"Uh, no don't think so, it was here, uh... three weeks back?" Brightfin said uncertainly. "Comes 'bout every four weeks, shouldn't be long 'til we see it again. But..." he glanced at Nutmeg excitedly "...you got smoke bombs? Like in the Secret Ninja Commando Comics? That's so cool!"

Gearshift chuckled. "Well, smoke bombs aren't so..." he began, but trailed off knowing Nutmeg would be eager to explain.

"Smoke bombs are easy to make," she told the kid amiably, "They're basically just failed bombs that don't blow up and just burn in their case. Anyway, it's probably for the best. They might have a little more of a case against us if we're actively sabatoging their stuff. That only worked when I uh..." Nutmeg looked to her companions, in particular Set Sail, before saying quickly, "...didn't get caught... and on that note Tinkernut Enterprises had no involvement with the incident at the Manehattan Machining Company."

Reef stared at the kirin. "Sabotage? I thought we were here to fix the device, not sabotage it?" He looked over his shoulder at the cart. "I suppose you won't be wanting these then, if you're going to sneak about."

Gearshift shook his head. "No no no, the sabotage is wholly hypothetical! And yes, no tools for the time being, thank-you."

Nutmeg was shaking her head as well. "We came prepared for the wrong job, you know? Maybe we should go back and get Sprocket and stuff. And yeah I meant like they'd be mad if there were soot stains and lots could go wrong."

"You're not going to fix it?" Brightfin said sadly. "Alright, can't blame a gilly for trying can ya? Guess since you've got your tools here an' all, mayhap you could take a look at the Goldy's generator? Been out since the last drow attack. Oh and the steamer's not workin' right, if y'all are used to fixin' airships a normal ship shouldn't be much trouble, right?"

"Have some patience, guy!" Nutmeg told the much taller fish creature, "We just need to meet again a few days later, then we'll have a better idea what to do. Plus it's nice to have something to look forward to. You don't want to rush it when you got scam artists lurking about. Tell you what, if we can't get to the turret by next week, I'll have the whole crew over here setting up shop."

"Now y'all sound just like grandma." the gill boy said, kicking at the ground and sulking.

"Huh, wish my grandma had gotten into corporate espionage," Nutmeg murmured, staring into space with a thoughtful expression.

"There's a difference here," Set Sail told the boy, stepping up to him seriously, " Whatever we do, I know my crew'll do it right. You don't have to agree, but pay attention and see if we don't follow up on our promises. No offense to your grandmother, but... the difference is we haven't given up."

All this political nonsense was too much for Gearshift. Couldn't they just fix stuff AND not have to worry about predicting the possible inner minds of a third party? "Broken generator? That sounds like a walk in the park. May we see it?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes... just... don't let anyone know we were here," Nutmeg cautioned, "If the sharks are good guys, then it won't matter, but if not... I don't want to have to deal with paranoid scam artists.'

"Uh, yeah, yeah sure, uh, Goldripple's shop's just over there." Brightfin said, cheering up a bit. "Her generator runs all the street lights, 'least when it was working it did. Uh, I'm sure she'll keep her mouth shut, she's sick o' paying through the gills for them sharks to fix stuff, she'll be right pleased to find folks who'll give her a fair price, for sure."

Nutmeg gave Gearshift a cloven-hoof bump, "Awesome, looks like we didn't waste this trip after all!"

Gearshift clumsily bumped back. "Hah, yeah! Man, nothing like interpersonal affairs getting in the way of a perfectly normal job, right?"

"Indeed." Reef Skimmer broke in "...and perhaps while the engineers are looking at that, we could address the issue of this 'fin rot' condition? I took a look at that sample you gave me, and one may have an effective treatment, if we could consult your local doctor?"

"Treatment?" Brightfin asked, uncertain. "Uh, I can take you over to see Reedsalve, she's the only full-time healer 'round these parts, knows more than any other gilly 'bout fin rot and such, that's for sure."

"Capital. Lead on then, my good fellow." Reef said, carefully manoeuvring himself and the cart around to head back into the village.

"Hey! Reef!" Nutmeg protested, running after him. "You're taking our equipment with you!" she whined, "Let's at least keep this cart outta sight, okay?" She reared up onto the back, trying to stop the hippogriff wandering off with their tools.

"Uh, don't fret there, miss unicorn." Brightfin said. "Goldie's got a stock yard round the back, with a good strong fence, she's sure to let you tie up in there, once she hears you're gonna fix her generator!"

"Oh, uh, capital!" Nutmeg said, sheepishly releasing the vehicle.

---

With the cart parked and the engineers happily dismantling the old generator, Reef Skimmer was free to investigate the gill people's medical issue; Set Sail followed along, preferring to learn more about the natives than watch Nutmeg clean a commutator. Brightfin lead the mismatched pair away from the village and down a path into the swamp.

"...and Trade Wind's doing his best to hobble about the sickbay," the hippogriff doctor was saying, "but his hind legs have to stay in casts for oh, two more months I'd say. With that sprained wing, he's more or less bedridden..."

"Two months?" Set Sail exclaimed unhappily, fussily flicking her tail, "And there's no way he can take over as captain until then?"

"Perhaps now the ship is stabilised, one could ask Nutmeg to look into cobbling together a wheelchair," Reef suggested, "but he needs to take it easy, no harsh duties or long journeys."

"Ohh..." Set Sail pawed the floor in frustration, "Why couldn't I have been the one who broke my leg? I'll ask Nutmeg about the wheelchair, definitely. I guess until then I'll just have to keep trying to keep things together until we get a real captain again."

"Sails..." Reef began, before sighing. Perhaps now was not the time to have that conversation again. "One is certain you will hold things together quite splendidly." He winked and gaped his beak open in a smile, then frowned. "Oh... one more thing. That pegasus stallion, Clashing Hail - the one who lost his feathers? His wings are growing fingers! With skin webbed between, exactly like a bat!"

Seeing the captain's look of shock, he sympathised. "Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself, I can tell you." He cocked his head, giving the pegasus a strange look. "Regrettably the medical literature on bat ponies is rather scant; I know of their existence, but... ponies don't just change subspecies, do they?"

"Clashing Gale," Set Sail corrected, "And that's... I mean I heard of spells that can change ponies a little for special occasions like Nightmare Night, but the crazy thing is his feathers. They were just... totally empty, like something sucked all the pegasussy...stuff out of them. I keep my bigger feathers in a box, y' know most of us do in case a pony needs a quill or something. They don't just crumble into dust, without some crazy lightning striking them, or... or something."

"Indeed? Yet Cloud Cutter, with otherwise very similar symptoms, experienced nothing of the sort. No physical degredation, at least..." Reef frowned again; he had no way of determining what 'pegasusy' stuff may or may not be present, but the mare could fly so surely... ? "In any case, Mr... Gale is still unconscious - I've been feeding the poor fellow fruit juice through a straw - but he's been tossing, turning and stretching, so I'm optimistic he may wake up soon."

The pegasus just stared forward, lost in thought as they headed down the final boardwalk to their destination. It was a building set a little way apart from the rest of the village, looking like two small stone cottages joined together and extended by a ramshackle collection of salvaged wood and corrugated iron. Dense forest surrounded and seemed on the brink of enveloping the scarred, worn structure.

The young gillman headed in through the open door and the group soon found themselves in a consulting room of sorts, lined with jars, bottles and strange charms and statuettes, a few of which gleamed with a dim glow. In the centre of the space was a low wooden table; decades of vigorous scrubbing had failed to prevent the wood taking on the stains of thousands of injured patients. Against one wall was a workbench, where a gill woman had been grinding away with a mortar and pestle.

As soon as she caught side of the new arrivals she dropped it, started at Reef and Set Sail in turn, then clapped her hands. "And what's this you've brought old Reedsalve today, Brightfin? A griffin, it is! And one of those po-knees, it must be! Oh such a treat, such a treat." She shuffled over, apparently fearless, and began peering closely at Reef's beak, then wings, then hooves. "Big as a southern griffon, but what's this? Hooves, these are!"

Set Sail kept back, staying close to the door... just in case. She shot a furtive glance at Brightfin, then watched the gill-woman doctor poking and prodding at Reef Skimmer before saying, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm c...aaptain Set Sail and this is Reef Skimmer. He's actually a hippogriff, but I don't know if you have those in your lands."

Brightfin looked embarrassed. "Yeah, uh, Reedy look they just arrived and see, they're guests and they're from a big ship full of creatures that're gonna help us fight the..."

"Hippo-griff?" The old gillwoman's gaze settled on the brown pegasus. "Never heard of a hippo-griff, is that being the third breed besides northern and southern griffon, is it?" She advanced on Set Sail, eyes bright. "And aren't you a cute little thing, yes you are." Reedsalve said, looking like she might pinch the pony's cheek.

Set Sail unfortunately only managed to make herself look more adorable, fluffing out her wings in distress and shrinking back with big green eyes stammering, "Y-y-yes b-be that as it may..."

"Ahem" Reef cleared his throat loudly, casually half-spreading his wings in a way that just happened to place one between the gill woman and her specimen. "Junior Surgeon Reef Skimmer, officer in Queen Novo's Navy, hippogriff of Mount Aris, at your service." he said formally, his initial amusement at being on the receiving end of the examination for once evaporating when he saw Set Sail's discomfort. Making a mental note to ask about the native griffon subspecies later, he continued with "So one understands you've been having some trouble with this 'fin rot' condition."

"Oh yes, it's a terrible thing, so it is." Reedslave said, trying in vain to find a way around Reef's wing. After a few seconds she gave up and turned back to the hippogriff. "Resists every cure old Reedsalve knows, so it does. Now you'd think some undine paste would clean it right up, wouldn't you. Takes an age to make, but works like a charm on cuts and burns and bruises of every sort." Her webbed hand went to her head, touching the fin there and showing the same tears and holes as all the other fish creatures they'd seen. "Not so for the fin rot though, no not at all."

Set Sail peered around Reef's wing at the older biped's fins, her face fully of worry, saying, "Oh no, that's terrible! Have you ever seen anything like this, Reef? You learned medicine under the sea, right?"

Reef Skimmer looked back to the pegasus: "Not exactly like this no, but one did manage to acquire a specimen on our last visit, and let's just say I'm glad I brought a decent microscope on this trip because... ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself." Turning to the gillwoman healer, he explained "As the captain said, one is something of a 'healer' oneself, and I might be of some assistance in this matter." His ear tufts pricked up with curiosity, "Just so we're on the same page though, could you describe this 'undine paste' treatment?"

"You haven't heard of the paste?" Reedsalve sighed. "Not too surprising, that isn't, 'cause it takes nine separate herbs to make. Six of 'em only grow in the marsh, they do, and three of those only sprout for two months o' the year. Ain't no undines involved, that's just what they call it, they do." She snorted. "Guess on account of the magic, folks thought we healers must be boiling down spirits or something."

"Magic you say?" Reef frowned, before staring off into space. "If it promotes dermal regeneration in normal injuries, but fails for this condition... ah, I believe I have a theory as to why! Would you mind demonstrating, to establish a control before we try my proposal?"

Set Sail stepped back as the two started engaging in some fancy medical terminology that she only half understood, but the brown and blue pegasus smiled in satisfaction because she knew she could count on Reef to solve this aquatic conundrum.

"Control?" Reedsalve said, confused. "No controls round here, this ain't no steamship, it isn't." She grunted. "You want to see what happens when undine paste goes on a rotted fin? 'spose there ain't no harm giving it another try. Brightfin!" The young gillman jumped; he'd been fiddling with one of the glowing carvings. "Get up on that table there, Mister Griffon wants to see something."

Meanwhile, a soft filly's voice came from just behind Set Sail: "They say you're a po-knee but you're sort of like a deer with a bit of marsh rail aren't you?" The pegasus glanced behind her to see a little gill child staring at her with wide eyes, a worn-looking stuffed otter held tightly in one webbed hand.

Looking over her shoulder, Set Sail turned to the much less tall and imposing filly. "I'm not sure what a marsh rail is," she said amiably, "But deer have two toed hooves, so that's how you can tell the difference, see?" Holding up a hoof for the child to look at, Set Sail asked, "Do you know what a zebra is? They're probably our closest relatives. Or maybe you have changelings?"

The gill girl looked down shly. "Uh, no I don't know zee-bra, or, uh, change-thing, maybe it's a kind of goblin? 'cause it sounds like a kind of goblin." Her gaze travelled up to Set Sail's hoof and then to her mane. "I like your hoof. And you have pretty... stuff, on your head. I love blue and I love purple and I love it." She beamed.

"My mane you mean?" Set Sail replied, lifting that hoof to touch what she thought was a rather dishevelled blue and purple mess, "Well thank you!" Giving the girl a grateful smile, Set Sail asked, "What's your name? My name's Set Sail. Like a sailboat."

"Uh, I'm Lakeshine, and this is Sij..." the girl holds up her stuffed toy. "Sij-gill the otter, he's a good otter, aren't you Sij?" she said, nuzzling the toy's button nose. "What you saying Sij?" She gave Set Sail another shy look. "Uh... Sij wants to know, do you live in the cliffs with the griffons? Or do you fly up and visit them or do they fly down and visit you?"

"Oh, well I'm pleased to meet you too, Sij," Set Sail said politely, "Reef Skimmer left the cliffs where his people live, to live with us. On a different um... island. So you noticed my wings, did you?" she continued, briefly spreading a wing in demonstration, "They're what make me a pegasus pony. Other ponies live on the land like you, but pegasus ponies mostly just live in the clouds."

"Uh, sure, no problem Reedy, uh... this won't hurt will it?" Brightfin asked as he parked his butt on the central table.

Not bothering to answer the young gillman, Reedsalve dug around in a cupboard and retrieved a large jar, mostly full of glittering green slime. "Now watch close here." Grabbing one of the young gillman's head fins with one hand, she scooped out a little glob of slime with the other and rubbed it into the tattered membrane. The whole appendage glowed with a soft green light, which slowly faded away over the course of the next minute. "See if that were a cut or a gaze it'd clear right up, but with fin rot, nothing does work, not undine paste nor gobblepod saliva, not even chompy worm extract, if you can believe that!" the gillwoman healer said, frustration evident in her gargling voice.

"Rubbing in some spirits, that's the drinking kind not the ghostly kind, well it seems to help a bit but it ain't no cure, it isn't. Only thing I ever did see cure the rot is some secret remedy the ents used to sell us, but we ain't had one of their ships visit not for near on a decade now, no we haven't." She snorted again. "Never could get 'em to tell old Reedsalve the secret, not for lack o' trying... or maybe they did and it just didn't make no sense, the way those ents talk!" Her chuckle sounded like a stream tricking over rocks.

Restraining his curiosity about the 'ents' for now, Reef Skimmer explained his theory. "Ah, well as I said I acquired a sample, prepared some slides last night and it took a 400 lens to get a good look at the hyphae..." Seeing Reedsalve's blank look he explained. "The mycelium, that is. Fungus?"

"Fungus? Like mushrooms? Don't see no toadstools growing outta Brightfin there..." the gill woman muttered.

"Ah well, you see those are just the fruiting bodies, and not all fungi have them..." Reef was explaining "Long story short, the tissue is shot through with... roots, let's say, too small to see, and my guess is they're soaking up the magic from your salve. You're healing the fungus as much as you're healing the patient, so to speak, and the result is a stalemate."

Reedsalve stared at Reef Skimmer, then the fin in question, as if trying to make out the 'roots'. "Now I'd call you mad 'cept that there's a lick of sense in the notion that tiny roots are to blame, that being that if anyone can deal with unruly roots, it'd be the ents. But say that's so, what are we gonna do about it? Anything I've got poisonous to kill roots is gonna put a gilly in a bad way as well, so it will."

"Indeed!" Reef Skimmer said enthusiastically. "This is where I may be able to render assistance; I did try it in a petri dish and cell damage seemed to be minimal, while the mycelium was..." the hippogriff said as he dug around in one of his saddle bags. His claw emerged holding a sizable bottle of dark brown glass. "Aha! Here we are: eight percent hydrogen peroxide. Ten minutes topical application of this, then why don't you give your 'undyne paste' another shot?" Brightfin gave a little yowl and grimace as the griff applied the clear fluid to his fin; tiny bubbles fizzed as it sterilised the membrane.

In the corner, Lakeshine was staring at the brown pony's pinions. "Oh I love your feathers. Uh, pig-asus... es.. us... uh, they're, uh, pigasus means 'poknee with wings'? So a poknee that isn't a pigasus is just a talking deer but with big hooves'?" She looked at her toy again. "That makes sense, doesn't it Sij."

"You're pretty clever, Lakeshine!" Set Sail said, trying not to blush at all the complements, "Yes a pegasus means a pony with wings. Other ponies are like deer, except with only one toe to each hoof. It has to be big so that I can stand on it without it tipping over." She tipped over a single hoof in demonstration.

"Uh, ok." Lakeshine said, staring at her own relatively huge webbed feet. "So..." she began, before grimacing at Brightfin's yowl. She stared at the two healers fussing over him for a while, before turning back to her new friend, trying to think of something else to talk about. "Uh, so, um... do you and your griffon have a flying party, 'cause you both have wings? 'cause when me and Chillwater get together we sometimes have a swimming party." the girl asked, before adding by way of explanation "Chillwater saw you down by the river, she told me and that's how I know you're called a po-knee."

Set Sail's enthusiasm dimmed a little bit, as she recalled the flying party that she and Reef had after their last visit. "Sometimes, yes," she said, "I haven't met Chillwater, but I'm glad she remembers us. Does she like purple and blue, too?"

"Chillwater likes red." the little gillgirl replied firmly, nodding. She held up the stuffed otter to her ear, pretending to listen. "Sij says he's never saw a pony or a griffon before and not me either. Mummy said the griffons used to come here on the way to the temple but now they just go straight to the temple. 'Cause there were some griffons in the tagern when the bad goblins attacks and they put nets on the griffons and the griffons didn't like that and... now they don't come any more." The little gillgirl looked ready to cry at the prospect, before cheering up suddenly. "But you came! Are you going to the temple or just your griffon?"

"His name is Reef Skimmer, and he's a hippogriff, not a griffon," Set Sail explained, with a look over to the excited doctors. "You can tell because he has hooves on his back legs. Griffons have cat paws." With a purse of her lips she added, "We're new here, so we don't know where the temple is yet. We might visit it, but I like this place too. So many friendly creatures here." Giving Lakeshine a serious look, she told the child, "The bad goblins tried to scare us away too, but we're not going to let them. We're going to do everything we can to make sure you're safe and... that creatures can visit you again."

"Hippo-griff has hooves at the back. That makes sense doesn't it Sij" Lakeshine said, nuzzling her toy's nose again. "Sij is really scared of the goblins but I told him they can't get us in the bubble. I like the bubble but sometimes the goblins come when I'm really tired and then it's not fun to swim there. And sometimes... I forget Sij-gill and mummy said I couldn't go back and get him... and that's why he's so scared now." The gillgirl looked on the point of tears again.

Eventually Reef gave the all clear; the fin was washed clean and Reedsalve applied her paste again. This time the effect was more dramatic; as the green glow spread over the fin, the holes and tears in the membrane slowly began to close. The two healers watched intently as the fin healed before their eyes, although it lost most of its colour in the process.

"Remarkable!" Reef exclaimed, referring to the paste rather than his own treatment. "And there we are, some bleaching but don't worry, that will grow out. I'd recommend topical alcohol for at least a week to keep the head disinfected, but otherwise... well, it seems sometimes medical science has to give magic a helping hand." he finished smugly.

"Oh praise the Skylanders, it's cured, it's really cured, it is!" Reedsalve clapped her hands for joy, before giving the hippogriff a shrewd look. "So... how much will you be wanting for this per-ox-hide?"

"Well, erm..." Reef glanced at Set Sail for guidance, but the pony seemed to be enthralled by one of the native children, and likely not listening to the conversation. "One is happy to donate that bottle to a worthy cause, of course. That said... one does have quite a few patients back in the infirmary and the expedition is running low on medical supplies so... could I convince you to part with that jar of 'undine paste'? Then perhaps... I could talk to our engineer about making enough peroxide for your whole population."

Set Sail was oblivious of any skilled negotiating Reef might be undertaking. Her attention was focused on the fish girl, who she regarded with drooping ears. "May I see Sij for a moment?" the mare asked, holding out a crooked foreleg to place the toy in.

Lakeshine stared wide eyed at the pony for a long moment, then hugged her toy tightly, before extending him towards Set Sail, her arm trembling.

The pegasus took the otter in her hoof and sat on her haunches, lifting a wing to nibble at, until with a wince she pulled out one of the smaller feathers. Combing her other hoof through her hair to draw out several loose strands, she twisted them together into a colourful little makeshift twine, which she used to tie the brown feather to the side of the otter's head. "Pegasus feathers can't do much," Set Sail said, holding out the doll for the girl, "But they are known for being able to protect otters. If he has that, then I don't think the bad goblins will be able to find him."

Lakeshine snatched her toy back. "Wow, that's amazing! I love what you made and now Sij isn't afraid no more. Uh..." the fish girl akwardly stepped close to the pegasus, looking at the floor, then put her arms around Set Sail's neck and hugged. "Thank you Set Sail Boat, thank you."

"You'd let go of this for free, you would?" Reedsalve was saying sceptically. "No it's a fair trade, so you say, old Reedy can always make more paste but we ain't got no other cure for the rot, so..." She handed over the jar. "Keeps for 'bout a year, loses potency after the first few months though. And don't go using it if you've already basted on the gobblepod saliva, 'cause that'll make a real mess o' things, so it does."

"Indeed. Do not combine with 'gobble pod saliva', I'll make a note." Reef said dubiously. "Well, please accept my thanks! I'm sure this will be of great use to the Expedition. I'll be sure to drop by and see how the treatment is going, and let you know when we can make more peroxide."

"Oh, thanks to you, mister hippo-griffon, thanks due to you." Reedsalve said, staring intently at her newly acquired brown bottle of peroxide.

For her part, Set Sail stiffened at the hug, but managed not to pull away. "No problem, Lakeshine," she said once she was free, with a smile on her muzzle, "If you'll excuse me, I think my friend might be um..." she looked over to Reef Skimmer, "...finished with his thing, and I need to check on him. You take care, okay?"

"Oh... uh, so... bye bye miss pony Set Sailboat! See you soon!" Lakeshine waved.

"Erm, are you ok down there Captain? Shall we go check on Nutmeg?" Reef asked.

"Yup, I'm just fine," Set Sail said as she trotted up to Reef's side, "That sounds like a good idea. Better make sure she isn't setting fire to the uh... heh heh," Set Sail's attempt at humour sputtered to a halt, and she just meekly added, "Better see if she and Gearshift need anything from us."

Author's Note:

This story is a collaboration between myself (playing Reef Skimmer), Ferret (playing Nutmeg and Set Sail), Patashu (usually playing Summer Scribe, but taking Gearshift here) and Spearmint (playing Azure Feather - though absent from these scenes), based on an online RP.

This segments were extra RP we did outside of the usual schedule, with me as the GM. Spearmint didn't have a character in the village group, so the first one was myself + Ferret + Patashu and the last me was myself + Ferret 1:1. Sometimes things don't quite go as planned - the party unexpectedly bailed on confonting the dirt sharks - but that's part of the fun! The bit with the gill girl was just to provide some interaction for Ferret as I rattled off the pre-written gillwoman healer bit, but it turned out adorable.

Illustration by DomiDeLance - scene has mysteriously changed to night time, but all is forgiven because Lakeshine came out so cute. Alas this is Domi's last pony artwork - she's moving on to other challenges.