Umbardoven Olosalor watched from the peak of the foredeck as it approached Aloth, his elven face showing the calm serenity his species was noted for.
His mood was also common for his species, the acceptance of inevitable sorrow to come, of parting with long time companions, knowing he would never see them again as their short lives neared their end. None of his crew of human adventurers were likely to still be alive by the time he returned to this planet some few decades in the future.
Although, he allowed, his ship's dwarven captain probably would be. But Brugnael Duskbelt's beard was mostly grey now. The gruff dwarf never complained but Umbardoven's keen perceptiveness had caught the occasional unguarded grunt as the dwarf levered himself from his seat or rare wince as he took his turn at the windlass, the stubborn dwarf refusing to acknowledge the ravages of time.
On the other hand his crew would be able to spend their last years in comfort, the Pterolycus having had the great good fortune of running across a small cache of Precursor artifacts while on her never-ending journey of exploration. The astrogation data she had amassed alone would fetch a king's ransom from the Arcane. No, he could rest easy that his faithful crew would not be destitute when they returned planet-side.
He continued his contemplation as Pterolycus entered atmosphere, planning for the extended refit and upgrades needed after nearly 30 years in space. Although the ship magically regenerated hull and rigging no doubt Aloth's clever shipwrights would have created more useful innovations he could integrate into his ship. With the precursor artifacts secreted in his library he could (and would) command the best of whatever magic the Arcane possessed as well.
His smile was somewhat predatory as the ship settled onto the land port of Ansbury, one of the larger city states on Aloth.
ooOoo
Kolur sighed and cracked his neck as he relaxed against a boulder.
"You would think glowing rock outcrops would be hard to miss," he complained mildly as he sipped from his canteen. He slipped a strip of jerky from his pouch and tore off a hunk with his teeth.
"It's been over four hours," he continued, chewing to vent his frustration. "Not one damned flicker have we found. I told you we should do this in the dark."
"If you had studied the treatise Councilor Dulan gave us you would know luxite weathers, my husband," Jia said pointedly. "The only time an outcrop glows is when it has been freshly broken."
She nibbled a small wedge of cheese, peeling back the wax coating to get at her meal.
"Weathered luxite is dull grey and waxy looking. Hardly something we would find in the dark of night—though I dare say we would find broken bones easily enough stumbling around the mountains."
"You know you're better at that scholarly stuff," her husband waved a hand idly. "So how do we spot it?"
"By continuing to do what we have been doing," Jia said drily. Kolur sighed in resignation.
"Don't suppose that treatise had any useful cheats in it?" He asked hopefully. "You know, like where exactly luxite outcrops are found, or a spell that finds them?"
"Of course there is such a spell," Jia said with a smile. "It is third level for sorcerers or wizards."
"Great! Why haven't you cast it? Be a lot easier!"
"Several reasons," Jia said sweetly. "Most importantly I do not know it. You know perfectly well sorcerers only gain a limited number of spells, unlike wizards or clerics. Other spells were more important to me so I learned them instead."
"Yeah, but you're a divine soul, right? Doesn't that give you more spells?"
"It gives me a wider selection that is true," Jia shook her head, "but it doesn't allow me to learn a greater number."
"What about your book of ritual magic then?"
"That particular spell cannot be cast as a ritual, my husband. Besides, I would need to find a wizard that possessed it. The only wizard I ever trusted to teach me ritual magic was Eleniel and she would not have known such magic. Space-faring elves spurn spells that require a planet."
"Yeah, they're a snotty bunch," Kolur agreed. "Still, would have been nice. Wave your hands, chant a few words, and bam, problem solved."
"My husband, I love you dearly but when it comes to magic you are an idiot," Jia chuckled. "First the spell only has a limited range, perhaps 60 feet. So we would still have had to search on foot. Second, depending on which version of the spell we used we would need a small sample of weathered luxite, a bit of loadstone, and a cup of vinegar for each casting—all of which would be consumed. The other version of the spell requires a 10 pound chunk of weathered luxite. Which, while not consumed, would not be convenient to lug around.
"Finally, the spell requires concentration—leaving me utterly oblivious to any dangers for an hour at a time. Not to mention even tripping over a rock could make the spell fail from simple distraction."
"So—no such thing as a free lunch then?" he asked with a grin. He finished off his jerky and stood up. "Guess we better get back to the slog then."
ooOoo
Balasi yawned, utterly bored. He'd been scanning the skies for hours. The only break he'd had was when he had to feed his sister who was trapped in the helm. That took maybe 10 minutes because they both knew he needed to be on watch. He'd eaten his own lunch on deck, dutifully staying by the forward ballistae even though he'd not seen anything larger than a pigeon all day.
He'd heard enough stories from his parents to know adventures were mostly dull. If you were lucky you got some pretty scenery that you got to study in great detail, since it took days for the scenery to change to something new.
Of course, nothing happened while you were watching. Of course not. Monsters weren't stupid, after all. They would never attack you while you were alert. They attacked after a long day of nothing much happening or better yet just before dawn when your guard was down because you'd just spent your entire watch sitting and staring at everyone else asleep while trying to keep your own eyes open…
After two weeks of doing exactly the same thing.
He tried not to think about sitting here for the next month, but his treacherous brain kept moving his eyes to the angle of the sun, willing it to drop just that much quicker so he could do anything else but scan the skies.
He loved life aboard the Morning Dove, he really did. He wouldn't trade it for the world. It was just times like this he loathed.
He wondered if Linny was as bored as he was.
ooOoo
The fact she wasn't bored but entirely content would have annoyed her brother had he known it. Keeping the ship flying (or rather, hovering) took enough concentration she wasn't in danger of falling asleep. Not to mention the ship was constantly taking in its surroundings exactly like a curious puppy watching the world go by in wide-eyed wonder.
It amused her how the ship's spirit pointed things out to her constantly. A swaying tree, the flight of a bird from one branch to another, that flash of light on a stream peeking through the leaves, everything caught the ship's attention.
Checking the snoop she noticed her parents had moved further around the mountain and drifted to follow.
She found herself remembering how her mother had been so surprised when Eleniel told her she could feel the ship's spirit. She still couldn't believe her mother couldn't! The spirit was so frisky it couldn't be ignored, constantly poking her mind, filling her with its joy. How could her mother not feel that?
Sighing she let herself return to watching the ground as the hours passed.