For the st week, we've been w oeam on and watchtower. Zeb has mostly fihe tower, with it standing at about sixty feet tall, so that he has a detly clear view down the mountain. In that time, we've seen the eagle three more times. Oime, it circled above our area for a while, and we ended up w inside for a few hours until it tinued down the mountain.

  The hardest part of the on is the only part that is left. The copper base for the boiler. The pn is to melt copper into a thick disd the and pound it to the right shape over a stone hemisphere. This on has its own risks as well. If any part of the pressure chamber breaks, then I'm likely to be bsted by shrapnel and killed. This is why I'm hoping that the two inbuilt failure points work.

  The first is a se at the top of the chamber that is slightly thihan the rest of the chamber, but slightly thicker than the sed failure point, which is the oion that I'll stone shape out as the firing valve. In the case of failure, I'm hoping that one of those two pces fail first, and spare me the worst of it exploding.

  It took six days for us to shape the copper dome, and to attach it to the steam on. As much as I'd like to do a test firing of it, I'm ed that if the sound is too loud, the eagle might choose not to fly over the area again for a long time, which would make the whole on useless.

  The on boasts a ten foot barrel, and a seven internal diameter barrel. Ihat, we've put over fifty single inch diameter spheres of darkstone, all packed tightly with pnt matter, to help them seal the barrel better when they're propelled out. The barrel has a basic aimiicule aligned with the length of it, to help me aim. Attached to the barrel is the boiler chamber, which measures two feet across, and thirty iall inside, not ting the domed bottom and top. We've already loaded the chamber with a few gallons of water to boil. The boiler is mounted on a U-shaped bracket close to the barrel at the ter of mass, and attached via stone bearings. The stone bearings won't st forever, but for a few uses, they'll get the job done. Then the whole thing is mounted again on a rger bearing system to allow it to rotate left and right, with the boiler chamber having a free hanging basket made of stohat charcoal burn in no matter the orientation.

  All we're waiting for now is the eagle to leave down the mountain, and we'll see how well this works.

  We waited almost a whole day, and the eagle left a few hours before su. With that, I lit the charcoal fire uhe boiler, and begin using a rudimentary fan to help make the fire burn hotter. Zeb climbed up the watchtower, and started to watch for the eagle. We built the ht o the watchtower so that Zeb point with a long stick to give me a good idea of the dire to aim, so that I'm close before I fire.

  With that, we waited. I shoveled new charcoal into the boiler basket a it stoked as the minutes dragged into hours. Then, as night was getting ready to set, Zeb gave the signal that he could see the eagle, and I aimed the on. I'd been hearing the water boil for a while leading up to this, so I'm certain that there is at least some steam pressure within the vessel.

  As I waited, ready to rotate the on to aim, I heard the eagle let out a loud screech, like I'd heard it make before. I also heard a deeper yelling than before apanying it. Soon, I saw the eagle, and quickly rotated the on at it.

  What I saw as I aimed I could barely process. The eagle, while not badly injured, had areas that were seemingly damaged and singed by fire. As I got lined up, trag a little bit ahead of the eagle, from the eagle's talon, a fireball burst out, hitting the eagle on its chest, and the eagle screeched again as it flew.

  Deep down, I probably processed what was happening, but I couldn't actively think about it. I have to fire this on. I only have a few seds. I get the on into position, double check, and stone shape the opening.

  The sound that follows is a loud bst, followed by a loud whoosh and burst of steam, as all the pressure escapes from the barrel. I 't see as the steam cloud pletely covers my vision. It's unbearably hot now.

  I dash out, and realize that I only hear a ringing sound. I look up. I don't see the eagle in the sky. I also don't see Zeb ichtower. Disoriented, I look around for a few seds as the ringing starts to subside, and I'm startled by something hitting my back.

  It's Zeb. How did he get down here so fast? I look at him, aalking, but I 't really make out what he's saying. He seems to be able to tell I 't uand him, but he points along the side of the mountain, then begins pulling me along.

  After we travel for a minute or so, the ringing fully subsides. I feel like I start tain a bit of my posure. He's probably bringio where he saw the eagle fall, which means I probably hit it. I ask, just to check, "Did we hit it?"

  "Yeah, we hit it. We're rushing to go help Zaka first though. The eagle dropped him before crashing further up." Zeb replies.

  I think for a moment, what does he mean Zaka? Then I finally process the se I saw before. The fireballs, and the eagle having singed ses. It'd grabbed Zaka, and he fought babsp; I mean, I 't say for certain it was Zaka, but it sure matches his description. I start to move faster as my bance is regained, and we begin running ahead.

  Soon, we find Zaka, badly bloodied, on the ground. His body is covered in tiions that are bleeding, likely from falling through the trees as he fell. There are also twer sshes across his torso, and his clothes are in tatters. The worst injury though by far appears to be his leg. The l seems pletely obliterated.

  I hurriedly tear what I from his clothes, and tie a tour around the destroyed leg. He's breathing now, but uncious, so I know he's alive, but I recall my fight with a goblin where I nearly died, and the blood loss nearly killed me afterward. The tour may not be enough, he's bleeding a lot from the various cerations as well.

  We've got one real option here. We o stop more bleeding, which means we o cauterize the wounds. I heft Zaka over my back to carry him. He's quite rge, but I think I manage. I tell Zeb he o go and make a few ft stones of various widths matg Zaka's wounds, a a fire going in the house, thehem hot. I'll be behind him carrying Zaka.

  Zeb runs ahead as I carry Zaka back through the forest. In the distance, I hear the eagle cry out repeatedly. I have no idea if it'll die from what I did or not. It might recover if I leave it for too long, but Zaka is the priority right now. After a few minutes, I make it back to the cave and bring Zaka in my house, and pce him on the dining table. The fire is going, and Zeb has a few of the stones sitting in it, while he's shaping more to pside. I elevate Zaka's damaged leg, which thankfully, isn't bleeding nearly as muow.

  I grab the cooler end of the rgest stone, but it's still hot enough it damages me and I begin to slowly lose hitpoints as I hold it for a few moments, then stop losing the hitpoints. I bring it over to Zaka. For the rgest wounds, I think this is absolutely necessary. Those twashes o be dealt with, or he'll bleed out. They both don't seem to go deeper than the muscle thankfully. It'll damage him immediately when I do this, and the shock might kill him, but if we don't do this, he'll bleed out. Thankfully, the tour seems to be w as well. That leg will almost certainly need amputated when he recovers enough to hahat happening.

  I push the hot stoo the first wound, and hear his flesh sizzle as I move the stohrough the wound. It smells awful, and by the time I've fihe first wound, the stone has cooled too much to use on the wound. I go back to the fire, and grab the rgest stone rod, again ign my own pain. Zaka's breathing has gotten more shallow as well. I bring the stohrough the wound, searing the flesh and preventing more blood loss. After the two major wounds were treated, I decided that cauterizing the smaller wounds would do more damage than good. Instead, I sent Zeb out to get a bucket with water, and needle leaves from the trees.

  Inside, I craft a moderately sized mortar ale. The i is to make a paste that I use to seal the small wounds. All the while, in the distance I hear the eagle screeg.

  Once Zeb es in, I show him what I pn to do with the paste. I then give him instrus on how to handle Zaka's leg once he's done. Keep it elevated, and looseour, and if it starts to bleed, apply pressure until the bleeding stops. Now that Zaka is as well treated as I get him, that eagle o be taken care of before it recovers enough to fly. I grab my spear and buckler a out towards the screeches in the night.