Got out late, had a volunteer op, family showed up, had a big chat session, other stuff got delayed, etc... it happens. I doubt I'll be putting up much, although it's better than nothing.
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Kazo looked around, then entered the interior of the gondola again, making his way to the bridge. The dwarves among the bridge crew looked at Kazo for a moment, then went back to what they were doing previously. Kazo smiled, and looked at a pipe that led up the wall and along the ceiling. Kazo grabbed hold of the pipe, and dangled from it, pulling himself as close to the ceiling as he could manage. He silently crawled along the pipe, until he dangled right over a control panel, a dwarf stationed at it. There was a big mug of rum sitting in the specially designed spillproof mug holder. The dwarf retrieved the mug to drink from it... Kazo dropped down, and landed with an intentionally loud clang, right behind the console, causing the dwarf to jump and lose hold of the mug. The dwarf dove after the mug, resulting in him faceplanting the floor, but in return, preventing the mug from spilling. The dwarf got up, hand over the top of the mug, then slammed the mug down on the console, grunting loudly and angrily. The dwarf looked around, but Kazo had already snuck away. Kazo stood just outside the bridge, snickering. The dwarven obsession with alcohol was one of the most interesting phenomena to observe... some compare it to a liquid version of a religious idol... some say the dwarves deep down inside believe that alcohol is the life blood of the gods. In actuality, apart from a stubborn devotion from generations before, each individual dwarf has a different combination of reasons, likely rooted in some sort of fundamental, primal desire and value. One of the dwarves inside pushed several levers all the way forward after observing the surroundings and a map, resulting in the engines roaring up to their full output. Kazo walked back out into the open area at the side of the gondola. Straight forward, four aircraft were approaching from the town ahead. The aircraft buzzed by, turned around, and approached the airship from behind. They flew up alongside the airship, slowing until finally they assumed a linear formation with the gondola. Each aircraft had an open cockpit with a dwarven pilot inside, two pairs of wings, the pair on top further forward than the bottom pair, two engines, one on each side, mounted between the top and bottom wings, propeller in the rear, a fixed landing gear, and at the front of the cockpit, a mounted heavy automatic crossbow, the bolts fed into it from a drum attached on the side, the bow driven by a belt which attached the drawback mechanism to a heavy electric motor within the body of the aircraft. A stiff tailwind blew, and as the airship flew forward at full power, the heavier-than-air escorts in formation with it matching the speed. Likely the airship sped up to avoid having its escorts fight to stay aloft.
The airship and its escorts seemed to glide across the cloud tops, the suns rays piercing through to meet the airship and its escorts, bouncing off. Kazo smiled as a powerful wind blew across the platform he was standing on, the roar of the airships engines mixing with the sound of the aircrafts engines. Kazo felt curious as to how the dwarven pilots would react to the unexpected, seeing as, though they were very much unlike their cave adapted brethren, they had likely been used to the same routine for quite a while. Kazo stepped back... then ran forward, leaping off of the floor and into the air, thousands of feet separating him from the ground. Kazo 'shut' his eyes and smiled as he felt the wind pushing him back. CLANK! Kazo landed atop the top wing of one of the nearby aircraft, grabbing hold of the leading edge of the wing. Kazo resumed viewing, and saw the aircraft dip down, then bob back up into formation, the pilot speaking, "What the...?" Kazo snickered, then leapt over the gap to the outermost aircraft, the wind causing his path to be curved. The aircraft dipped, then bobbed back up. The pilot of that aircraft spoke, "Whoa, hey!" Kazo smiled, and leapt back to the first one, the aircraft dipping, and bobbing back up again. The pilot grunted annoyedly. Kazo then leapt again, soaring through the air spread armed, the only force he felt being the wind. Kazo landed gracefully, turned, and stood, waving his tail about. Long-jumping over unreliable gaps was always a fun challenge of accuracy. Kazo thought about the aircraft... why would four aircraft be chartered here? Perhaps he would find out...
... as if on cue, they appeared. Five aircraft emerged from below the clouds, ascending rapidly. Four of them were aircraft that appeared similar to the escorts of the airship, only their wings were directly one over the other, and they had one engine mounted in the front of the fuselage. Their automatic crossbows were linked to the engine mechanically to prevent the bolts from striking the blade. The fifth aircraft emerging was larger than the rest, carried aloft by 3 pairs of wings, pulled forward by 3 engines, one on each side and one on the front of the fuselage. On this aircraft, a dual automatic crossbow was mounted. They were all painted black, their tail fins marked by the laughing skull of a kobold, a red glow in each eye socket. On the larger aircraft, the front was painted to give the image of a grinning shark, ready to devour its prey. Kazo smiled.
This could get interesting!
Indeed, to afford hardware such as that larger aircraft, they must have a very profitable 'business' out here... The dark aircraft all aimed and fired simultaneously at one of the four escorts. There was a loud panging as several bolts found their mark. All four escorts' engines roared to full, and they darted forward, the one being fired upon parting from the group. The four small dark aircraft roared by the zeppelin, chasing that single escort up into the air. The escort seemed to be attempting a loop, but this only made things worse. The four pursuers fired all at once, bolt after bolt after bolt sinking itself into the engine of the escort as it reached the top of the loop. The escorts engine erupted in a plume of dark smoke, the propeller ceasing. The escort aircraft then plummeted in a spin toward the ground, a trail of black smoke behind it. The four dark aircraft turned sharply away from one another, regrouping in the opposite direction... much to their dismay to find the three remaining escorts flying right at them full speed. The escorts opened fire and the aircraft were taken by surprise. The dwarven escorts flew a collision course with the dark aircraft, which, along with the flying bolts, caused them to scatter. The escorts used this to their advantage to get behind the dark aircraft, chasing them relentlessly, firing away. The dark aircraft turned sharply, rolled and maneuvered to the best of their ability as their tails and wings were pelted by bolts, but they couldn't shake their pursuers. Meanwhile, the larger of the dark aircraft flew over the top of the envelope, its shark-faced front grinning down menacingly upon the airship below. The dwarves inside of the bridge, already panicking, saw to their horror the dark, tri-winged aircraft take a position immediately above them. PANG! PANG! PANG! The tri-winged aircraft turned away sharply, an escort aircraft buzzing by it, firing until it passed, trailing grey smoke from one of its engines. A dark aircraft, trailing dark smoke, its engine sputtering and putting, passed close to where Kazo was standing, and turned away, firing at the escort. The escort aircrafts damaged engine burst into flame... the escort went into a flat spin, and a few moments later, a tank on the side of the aircraft exploded, blowing both wings off and sending the aircraft into a tumble toward the ground. Kazo looked up... Another escort aircraft was pointed straight down, diving right at the dark aircraft. The escort fired, and as the dark aircraft pulled up, its already heavily damaged engine burst into flame. The dark aircraft flipped and fell backwards, the escort zipping downwards, and pulling up, turning to face the tri-winged aircraft that was now turning to face the front of the airship.
Kazo saw the crew of this aircraft... the pilot of the tri winged aircraft was a kobold, wearing a tied down top hat and wearing a grin, a deep scar across his cheek. Three accomplices sat behind him, crossbows ready. The escort opened fire, shortly after, all three of the passengers within the large dark aircraft fired their personal crossbows at the escort, 2 of them missing. The two remaining dark aircraft, both trailing dark grey smoke, the engines sputtering occasionally, one trailing a stream of leaked fuel, dove down and rolled in the air as they fired at the escort. The escorts engine sprang several new streams of grey smoke, and the cockpit became rather bloodied. The two dark aircraft pulled up in opposite directions as a limp body fell from the now uncontrolled escort aircraft. The last escort pulled up sharply, chasing one of the two remaining small dark aircraft, the dwarven pilot yelling as she fired. Meanwhile, the airship was futily yawing to and fro in an attempt to dodge... the tri-winged dark aircraft fired its dual crossbow into the gondola of the airship, specifically targeting the bridge, breaking the glass and sending bolts throughout the bridge. Some of the dwarves took cover... some of the dwarves drew their crossbows and fired at the aircraft despite the bolts whizzing by. The tri-winged aircraft pulled up, and roared by, banking to turn for another pass. Meanwhile, as the last escort fired upon its target, said target slowed, and pulled up sharply enough to lose the escort, rolling right side up afterwards, the escort flying high up, then coming back down... but then her target had just pulled up as well, and was now about to start targeting her. The second smaller dark aircraft turned and fired as it ascended. The other aggressor fired as she fired at it, and with bolts coming from two directions, her aircraft was further pelted all over. One of her engines ceased, and engulfed itself in black smoke. The escort aircrafts fuel tanks leaked a trail of smoking fuel, flame visible on the wing. The dwarven pilot used her one remaining engine to spin the aircraft in an intentional flat spin, firing as well as she could at the dark aircraft immediately behind. All but one of the bolts missed... and that one bolt lodged itself right into a vital component. The dark aircrafts engine violently ceased with a loud BANG! The last escort aircraft's fuel tank spewed flame for a moment, then the entire aircraft blew apart, some of the parts leaving individual trails of smoke as they trailed downward. At the same time, the dark aircraft was falling from the sky...
This left only one heavily damaged small dark aircraft, the tri-winged dark aircraft, and the airship. The larger aircraft descended upon the gondola, now thoroughly pincushioned by the aircraft's dual crossbows. The large aircraft held steady just above the gondola, and the three passengers tossed ropes over the side of the aircraft, sliding down, crossbows drawn, and landing upon the top of the gondola. The aircraft then drew away afterward. The three kobolds boarded through the broken windows, finding the dead bodies of several dwarves on the bridge laying in pools of blood... one with a bolt through the head, another with one bolt through the chest, one through the leg. A dwarf sprung out from behind one of the control panels, but before he could fire, one of the kobolds loosed a bolt. The bolt spun through the air, and struck the dwarf in the head, killing him before he could fire. Two of the three scouted the bridge and proceeded back, the other proceeding out, to find Kazo. This kobold immediately fired at Kazo, the bolt striking Kazo in the head, and ricocheting off. The powerful hit caused Kazo to step back a bit. It actually stung some... his adamantine was slightly dented by the impact. Kazo was tempted to retaliate, but this kobold might be a valuable source of information on the state of the west. Kazo spoke, "I think we should talk first!" The kobold replied, "... what the hell?!"
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This was done late at night, and stretched even later into the night, so I hope I did a decent job on the combat. If not, at least this would be relatively simple to redo.