The sun was nearly setting, and a beautiful pinkish hue adorned the horizon and kissed the clouds. Curt and his friends had been traveling for an entire day, having left Fillmore early that morning. Now they approached the base of the Jorgian Mountains. They would finally be able to gather the last of the myrrh they needed and return to Brighton. The joyful thought of returning home brought a smile to Curt's face.

"The myrrh tree is about two hours up the mountain trail," Mark stated.

"Let's just hope we don't run into any trouble," Paul said cynically.

The four friends continued on for another half hour, beginning the ascent into the mountains. As they made their way along the trail, the mountain trees and foliage grew thicker. Soon they were traveling under a dense canopy of tree branches. All of a sudden, Curt stopped the wagon.

"Hey, you guys hear that noise?" Curt asked.

"What noise?" replied Autumn.

"Listen," Curt said.

Everyone listened for a few moments, and, sure enough, they all heard a noise that sounded like a soft rumble or whirring.

"It sounds like it's coming from the sky," Paul noted.

"Curt, move the wagon up to that break in the trees ahead," Mark suggested.

Curt nudged the nu forward until the wagon was just under an opening in the tree branches overhead. The sound had grown louder, and everyone looked up at the sky. The sound continued to grow until it was almost a deafening roar. The leaves of the trees began to stir, and suddenly the four friends saw a large craft fly slowly past.

"What the heck is that thing?" Paul said in amazement.

"It looks like some sort of boat or something...only it's flying," Mark noted.

"Look at all those rotating windmill things. Do you suppose those are what make it fly?" Curt added.

"I don't know, but it's incredible!" Mark answered.

"Where do you think it's going?" Autumn wondered.

"Not sure, but I have a good guess...the myrrh tree," Curt replied.

Curt quickly set the nu into a trot. An hour later, they finally neared the location of the myrrh tree. Once again the roar of the craft could be heard, although it sounded like it was gradually quieting. Curt turned the wagon off of the path and drove into the thick forest. After a few minutes, he stopped the wagon.

"Alright...Mark and I will go scout out the area and see what's going on," Curt stated.

"Be careful, you guys," Autumn cautioned.

Curt and Mark slowly made their way through the brush until they were near the edge of the clearing where the myrrh tree stood. There in the clearing, they saw that the large craft had landed on the ground. They were now able to clearly see the craft in the pale light of dusk. Shaped like a large sea ship, its hull was made of wood and metal. The ship had three masts of various heights. In the place where sails should have been, there were many large propellers at different height intervals on each of the masts. The propellers were no longer spinning, and yet there was still a dull roar coming from the ship. There were several wing-like projections on the side of the hull. The ship appeared to be resting on stabilizers that projected from its lower hull down to the ground.

"That thing is simply massive," Curt commented. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"No. I didn't know such a flying craft even existed," Mark replied.

Curt and Mark continued to hide and observe. A few moments later, they saw a tall man exit from an opening in the ship's hull. Two soldiers followed closely behind, carrying a large metal box covered with buttons and gauges.

"I recognize that man. His name is Felix. He was once a dragon knight like myself," Mark shared.

"Hmmm...this may be a pretty serious situation then, huh?" Curt asked.

"I don't think we'll be able to take them on, Curt. Besides...Felix and I are not on very good terms. We'll have to wait to see if they leave," Mark said, shaking his head.

The two soldiers set the box down near the myrrh tree, where a number of other supplies and boxes were already sitting. The soldiers began to connect wires and tubes to the various pieces of equipment. Once they had finished that task, one of the soldiers began to chisel holes into the myrrh tree, while the second soldier followed behind, connecting a tube to each hole. Meanwhile, Felix sat a large crystal orb atop the box and waited for the soldiers to finish. Finally, the soldiers completed their preparations.

"Alright, men. Set for charging. It'll take about an hour for the mechanism to fully charge. Remember protocol...extraction can only occur for one hour once the process begins. Then we have to wait four hours before another extraction. Guard shifts will last four hours. James, you'll start," Felix ordered.

"Yes, Sir," James replied.

Felix and the other soldier returned to the ship. James pushed a button on the large box and then stood guard. The box slowly began to make a low rumbling noise.

"Mark, this must have something to do with the new myrrh collection services that your dad mentioned," Curt said.

"I think you're right," Mark agreed. "Let's head back and tell the others."

Curt and Mark quietly returned back to the wagon. Once there, they filled Paul and Autumn in on what they had observed and heard. As they were all talking, they suddenly heard a rustling sound in the brush. Everyone tensed, preparing for the worst, when out of the brush stepped a moogle.

"Stiltz?" Curt said in shock.

"Hey, Curt! So we meet again!" Stiltzkin cheerfully greeted.

Curt and the others relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't scare you all, did I?" Stiltzkin asked.

"A bit. It's not very safe around here right now. Did you see that flying craft?" Curt returned.

"Actually, I did. I was just on my way to see what all the ruckus was about. I was over visiting my family, and we all heard a big noise. When we came out to see what it was, we saw that ship thingy flying overhead. I saw it go in this direction. Do you know where it is?" Stiltzkin shared.

"Yeah, we just came back from spying on it. It's just up ahead in the myrrh tree glade. Some soldiers are doing something with the myrrh tree...some kind of collection process or something," Curt replied.

"Oh no! I heard rumors about that. Titan Corp. was going to take over myrrh collection. I think it's a bad idea. You're not supposed to take more than you need," Stiltzkin commented.

"Hey, Stiltz...maybe you can help us with something. We can't go near the myrrh tree with those soldiers around. Do you think you can take our orb and gather myrrh?" Curt asked.

"Hmmm...maybe. Let me go check it out first," Stiltzkin said.

Stiltzkin set out in the direction of the myrrh tree. Curt and the others waited for a while until Stiltzkin finally returned.

"Yeah, I think I can help. Only one guard. I'll be right back," Stiltzkin quickly said before he rushed off in the opposite direction.

Again, the four friends waited for a few minutes until Stiltzkin reemerged from the foliage.

"Ok, I'm ready. Give me your orb. Will you guys be ok without it?" Stiltzkin asked.

"Yes. Curt and I have these small pendants. They are strong enough to protect us all," Mark answered.

"Good. Wait here," Stiltzkin said.

Paul handed Stiltzkin their crystal orb, and then Stiltzkin walked off.

"I sure hope he knows what he's doing," Paul said.

"I trust him, Paul," Curt stated.

Stiltzkin reached the edge of the clearing and paused for a moment. He let out a soft chirp, and a few seconds later, another moogle hopped out of the brush on the opposite side of the myrrh tree. The moogle walked over to some equipment and began to rummage through it. Hearing the moogle's mischief, James walked over to see what was happening, caught sight of the moogle, and shouted. He began to chase the moogle, who set off running around the ship. Stiltzkin seized the opportunity to creep up behind the myrrh tree and collect myrrh. He then quietly snuck back into the forest. Meanwhile, Felix emerged from the ship, having heard the commotion outside.

"James! What the hell are you doing?" Felix asked sternly.

"Sir, a moogle...he...he was fiddling...with...with the equipment," James said, out of breath.

Felix looked around, but the moogle was nowhere in sight.

"Quit fooling around, and get back to your post!" Felix ordered.

"Yes, Sir," James replied sheepishly.

James walked back to the myrrh tree and set about reorganizing the equipment. Felix returned to the ship, shaking his head. As James inspected the equipment, he noticed that it was covered with myrrh. He looked around suspiciously and scratched his head in thought.

Back at the wagon, Curt was thanking Stiltzkin, who had just returned. Suddenly, another moogle walked out of the brush.

"Hey, Stiltz! How'd I do?" the moogle asked.

"Splendid, Mosh, splendid! Curt, this is my brother, Mosh," Stiltzkin introduced.

"Hi, Mosh! Am I to understand that you helped us get the myrrh?" Curt asked.

"Yup, I sure did. Nothing to it really. Just gave 'em the ol' run around...literally," Mosh said with a chuckle.

"You should have seen him, Curt! Anyways, I'm glad we could help you all out. We'd better be getting back though...and you all should probably split too," Stiltzkin recommended.

"Thanks again, Stiltz. You're a lifesaver," Curt said.

"Don't mention it. Besides...someday I may need you to save mine," Stiltzkin replied.

"I'd do it gladly!" Curt affirmed.

Stiltzkin and Mosh scampered off into the forest, while Curt and the others got on the wagon and began the drive down the mountain.