Selen said, "Tazo's letter mentioned the place. That was what made me hurry here."

"Why?" said Vonn.

"Remember why I had that 'near-death' experience? I was carrying some kind of lightning-amplifying gadget near Grandbridge, and I got ambushed. The whole story never got explained to me, but... what if what I was carrying was a stolen piece of foreign technology from that border fort? A device that somehow fell into River Kingdom hands, so that someone smuggled it eastward in the talons of a junior, civilian courier that nobody would expect to carry something valuable."

Vonn's eyes widened. "An Aves kid got drafted to sneak secret military technology across the border?"

"Right: most people wouldn't expect it. So in a way this is personal. Some assassin from that fort is the reason I am who I am today."

Ralator said, "I suppose I should be grateful, in a way. Now that we've gathered, what do you propose to do about this situation?"

Vonn told them, "We go explain that any Kobold-only version of religion is a stupid one."

"With three airships," said the wizard.

"And guns."

Ralator laughed nervously. "That's one way of making a case. Vonn, we have long-term plans. What about your training programs, your buildup of tools? And Selen, your business? It's in both your interests to keep your heads down and continue to work, not to do this."

Selen's feathers fluffed up defiantly. "I brought my religion here. I won't see it be turned into something harmful, like spilling poison on a stranger's land."

Vonn nodded. "I don't think Kotta is directly responsible. But I'm here for more than my knowledge of machines. I'm better prepared than almost anyone to fix this, and it needs fixing."

"So be it," Ralator said. "The knowledge you odd ones carry is dangerous. You should live to continue using it responsibly."

#

Polestar couldn't fly along, due to his size and weight. He wasn't happy about that, once he understood what was happening. So he packed his saddlebags and set out on a northbound boat before anyone else departed, planning to wait in a town on the River Kingdom side of the border.

Ashfall confronted Vonn about it. "What are you dragging him into now? He hardly told me anything, except that half the shop was going to rescue Kotta."

"Not exactly," Vonn said, and his tail bristled. If word had spread beyond Ashfall and Birb, then it'd get back to the Baron before long too, and he might get ordered not to go. "We're just pulling weeds."

Three airships took off at dawn the next day. Vonn and Tazo in Concord, Birb and Selen in Three Lanterns, and Ralator with one of the Kobold apprentices flying Liberty Bell. Which left the headquarters of the Rising World Company abandoned but for Ashfall and some bribed help from the printer kids. To Vonn, the Company was mostly the people sharing the sky with him. They were six aeronauts bearing guns, spells, and hastily printed leaflets.

They flew northwest, leaving the river behind, soaring over the towns north of Shieldpoint and giving Grandbridge a wide berth. The villages they passed had people staring up in confusion and fright, though the Aves flew down every so often to wave reassuringly to people.

They made camp in a stretch of plains between two villages. As soon as they'd landed they faced an armed party including the local Baron, and had to assure that glowering Centaur that they meant no harm. And what were they doing out here and more importantly, up there? Testing the latest equipment for the Duke.

The unfamiliar Baron looked skeptical. "I've heard of the flying experiments. These look rickety."

So he let the group go, and didn't search hard enough to notice the wind guns. Vonn slept mostly in peace that night. He was doing the right thing.

#

The next day's flight took them to the border, roughly west of Grandbridge. The land ahead was hilly, a chain of hills from southwest to northeast that fed the Starry River with some creeks and served as a barrier to River Kingdom expansion. And at the pass through those hills sat a hilltop fort with a village at its feet.

"Thunderscar Pass," said Tazo. "It didn't take long to get here. Makes me uneasy to live this close to the Scaled Nation."

"That's the thing about fast travel. You get to see more of the world, but more of the world's problems."

The Kobold owners had shaped the fort from the hill's stone. Tazo admired it, pointing out clues to how spells might've been used to shape the walls.

Selen's sound-magic reached them. "We're spotted." Vonn wasn't sure how she knew. They were flying high enough that they couldn't easily be attacked, maybe not even by spells. On the other hand there was little they could do from up here. So as the boats flew near, a party of Kobold horsemen rode out from their fort to wave a green-smoking torch, the equivalent of a white truce flag.

"I guess we land," Vonn said.

The two apprentices in the third boat didn't have an easy way to communicate, but the team had their own small set of signals for when shouting didn't work. The fleet descended toward rocky, sunny ground at the foot of the hill.

A new figure rode out to join the waiting party. This one had dull yellow scales and a polished scaly breastplate and plumed helmet. Tazo pointed out a set of gem-studded bracers and other tools he wore, saying, "Enchanted things."

As Ralator's ship landed nearby he took time to compose himself, leaning against the wood and looking pale. "A user of magic isn't necessarily a wizard."

One of the soldiers rode closer and said, "Who goes there?"

The old wizard took the lead by agreement. "Ralator." He seemed to relish the subtle clatter of weapons and armor as the welcoming party shifted uneasily. "I come with my friends to ask about a hatchling named Kotta."

The yellow-scaled leader laughed. "Honored Mage, you come to us flying through the air and say nothing about it? Your vulin and aves companions must be the inventors who've been making a stir lately. Are you here to show off your work with them?"

Vonn growled. "Where is Kotta?"

"He is my guest. We've been having some fascinating conversation, and he's spoken highly of you." The commander waved toward the fort. "I see you come armed with your strange tools, but you have my word of safe passage. Shall we speak over lunch?"

Vonn left the apprentice and Birb to watch the airships, fearing that they'd be ransacked if left alone. Maybe he was a fool to have come here in such a showy way. What was he hoping to do, bomb the place?