Ursay sends Esmerelda to one of the eastern peaks to survey the valley. Her plan is to try and organize the people of the valley into a resistance against the invading dragon men. She and the Guardian decide to climb above the cloud layer to the top of the mountain and get a look around. Esmerelda gets her fist look at the world above the clouds. She sees that there are two moons. One much larger and or closer. They witness a sky ship waiting just above the cloud layer. After a brief meeting with a second ship the sky ship turns towards them on its way out of the valley. She and the Guardian manage to climb aboard by grabbing on to some dangling rigging as the ship passes over their hiding spot. They climb aboard and dispatch the 6 crewmen. After capturing the ship, they discover that the ship was a courier delivering a message to the emperor. The message suggested that the Dragon men were searching for Esmerelda. They also found a goblin named Gronk who was enslaved on the ship as an engineer. He is responsible for operating the magical engine that powers the sky ships. They decided to free Gronk and he agreed to stay on and show them how to operate the ship. They flew the ship further east to enter Ursay’s hidden cavern from the outside. Unsure of what to do with the second ship, they decide to anchor it with Ursay’s ship, the Gryphon and plan their next move.

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