by L. Itram and Ben Yackley Main * Story * Setting * Cast * Illustrations * About * Comment

Chapter 13: On Schedule (Posted on 3/12/03 )

Kai slathered the last of the salve over Luen's shoulder. "That should do it."

"Are you sure that's enough?"

"It's a concentrated formula, Luen," the botanist explained patiently. "So I wouldn't have to use an entire jar on Viola every time she scraps her knee."

"Are ye implying I'm a klutz, Kai?"

"No, no, not at all! But - well," he said as he carefully capped the jar and put it away, "we're in a pretty risky line of work now."

"Aye," she responded, mollified. "An' the normal stuff does nae work as well on me."

"Not your fault. The natural reaction of opposing colors --"

"Spare us the lecture, Kai." interrupted Luen. "We have more important things to worry about now."

"You must be feeling better," commented Kai, sorting through the bag of vegetables.

"Enough o' that," snapped Viola. "What do we do about Auli?"

Kai looked at the remaining blue squash. Ignoring the arguments across the room, he dug his fingers into the soft rind and peeled off a chunk, then sniffed at the pulp within. "Hey, Viola ..."

"-- in a city this size -- aye?"

"How good's your sense of smell?"

"...why?"

Kai turned around. "Because you're the fastest and the quietest." He handed her the gourd. "And Auli probably hasn't taken a bath yet."

Viola sighed and took a reluctant sniff. It had a sweet pungent smell, like a pumpkin crossed with a strawberry. "The trail will be gone by morning. I'd best leave now." She glanced up at the small clock hanging by the window. The time was half past midnight.

Half an hour later Viola had come to the conclusion that Auli didn't know the city any better than she did. The trail meandered across half the city and got lost in back alleys, missing even the few shortcuts that Viola had discovered on her own earlier walk. She slowed down at the sound of muffled voices and peeked around a corner.

"-- don't know where they'd hide something like that, like I keep saying!" Auli was leaning against a boarded-up doorway, arguing quietly into her cupped hands. "There's no museums, so either it's in someone's private collection or they're still using it. You could've at least given me some leads first."

"Time is of the essence, Auli. You know that. More research would have required time we did not have." It was a man's voice, incredibly deep but smooth and polished, and muffled but intelligible. He spoke Levendish with a perfect Manaqi accent but a certain careful preciseness in his speech gave Viola the impression that he had learned it in school rather than on the streets. She mentally brushed away further speculation as Auli answered.

"I know that! You're not the one with three trigger-happy mages --" she spat out the word like an insult "-- on your tail! But if you can find out anything, I want to know, so I don't spend your precious time searching the entire city."

"I understand. I will do what I can, but do not wait around for my orders."

"Thanks. Don't suppose you have any friendly contacts here - I could use a place to stay in the meantime."

"Where are you?"

"An alley ... between Fifth and Sixth streets. Close to -- hang on, let me check."

Viola teleported up to a nearby balcony and held her breath as Auli stepped out of the alleyway, looked around, and then ducked back in again. "Close to Second Avenue." The transpositioner resumed her hiding place just in time to catch the response.

"Perfect. There is a house at Eighth and Second. Look for a stained-glass window with a rose. Tell her I sent you... I'll inform her to expect company."

Auli put something in her pocket, then stepped out of the alleyway and turned right. Viola rubbed her eyes tiredly and followed, making a mental note to get Luen to do the spy-work next time.

Sure enough, the stained glass window was exactly where the voice had said. Auli smiled at the tiny, elderly Levendish woman who opened the door. Viola was too far away to hear their conversation, but the woman did not appear surprised and they soon vanished inside. She crept up to the window; however, the stained glass blocked all but a very blurry pattern of light and shadow. Auli - along with the Shard and Luen's pouch of crystals - could be anywhere in the two-story house, and she was not about to teleport in there blind. She yawned and headed back to the inn. At least the trip had been fruitful, she thought, glancing through the darkened display window of a shop. They now knew where Auli was quartered, that she was indeed looking for something in Grandegear, and that she was working for someone else. The rest could be taken care of after a good night's sleep.

After all, it was nearly two in the morning. Well past Viola's bedtime.

A good night's sleep eluded the mages, however, as Grandegear's morning work bells forced them out of bed.

Luen squinted at the clock, then at the window, griping. "Six in the morning? Who in their right mind wakes up at dawn?"

Viola folded the pillow around her ears and groaned.

"Most Samselites," mumbled Kai, falling out of bed and feeling around for his shirt. "Gotta be awake hoo yee hum. Uh - to greet the sun, that is," he repeated after the yawn was finished.

Luen climbed out of his tub. "Don't see you looking bright and chipper, though."

Kai finally found his shirt, having not removed it the previous night. "Didn't see me going to bed with the sun last night, either. Could I borrow that?"

Luen looked blankly at his sleeping tub. "Sure, what do you --"

Splash

"Oh."

"Thank you," said Kai, drying off his face on the first thing that came to hand, namely his jacket.

"Any time... Still, an early start can't hurt. The faster we get to that house the faster we'll find Auli."

"Er, yeah. Why don't you go on ahead; I'll wait for Viola."

"Wait for her? What're you talking about?" Luen shook Viola's shoulder, and received an accurately thrown pillow in the face for his pains.

"I did yer spyin' last night, so leave me be," she grumbled.

"Look, we're all tired but --"

"I don't think she's tired, Luen."

"I am tired!"

Kai ignored the interruption. "The healing salve doesn't work as well on her, remember? And I'm thinking Auli might have put something on those daggers -- Viola was the only one who actually got cut."

"Yeah, sounds like something she'd do. Okay, I'll go scout around and you try and get her into shape in the meantime."

"I'll do what I can. How're you going to get in?"

Luen turned away from the mirror in which he had been studying his face and pointed at his forehead with a grin. "I'm going to do what my parents always wanted."

Rose opened the front door and beamed at the slightly scruffy Vadhan wearing an oversized shirt belted at the waist with a strip of cloth. "Good morning. Can I help you?"

"Maalevu Noraazi!" he exclaimed, bowing. "Are yoo ze ladi of ze houze?"

"Yes," she said slowly, "I'm Rose. Why?" She noticed an odd symbol tattooed on his forehead; it was the cup the Vadhans used to represent their chief god.

He bowed again. "Miz Roza, my nayme iz Ramzani Veleran, an' I am 'eere to sheyer weez yoo ze weezdom ov Nalu!"

Rose smiled back at him. She hadn't understood more than half his words through that thick accent, but he was obviously a priest of -- that's right, the Vadhan god of creation, Nalu.

"That's very kind of you, sir priest, but --"

Velari or whatever his name was brushed past her into the living room. "Ah, zo yoo hear ov Nalu, zen? Lore of za Edernal Vounzain --"

"Sir, if you're trying to evangelize --"

He looked shocked. "Evanjelize? No, no! I 'ave only zis day gum zu ziz ziddy ov zmoghe an' ghraim --"

"Of what?"

"Zmog an' grime," he repeated, "an' I zeeg ou' a zourze ov yurizy an' ghlenlinezz. Yoor 'ouse is --"

"Excuse me," she said, trailing after him as he looked around the kitchen. "A source of what?"

"Purity an' cleanlinezz," he repeated, exaggerating the unvoiced consonants in an attempt to be understood. "A pee-yoor zorze of wazzer. Wazzer," he explained, in case she hadn't gotten the idea, "ze ztuff ov live. Zat which we all rely on. Where zo yoo gez yoorz?"

"My water? Where do I get my water?"

"Yez!"

Luen continued poking around the house as Rose explained how her water was piped in -- something about steam and condensers. He nodded and made a few priestly remarks about cleanliness, inwardly wincing at his own horrible accent each time. He tried to remember as much as he could about the layout in the hopes that Viola could figure out a way to teleport in. He also tried to bustle about as much as possible so as to keep Rose from getting too close a look at his face. The makeup which provided his artificial wrinkles could probably stand up to close inspection -- Kai was turning out to be a man of many unknown talents, most of them involving bottles of questionable liquids -- but he didn't want to take the chance.

As he brushed past the stairs, his tail bumped against something small. He looked down. Two chroma crystals sat at the base of the stairs as if they had fallen out of the pockets -- or pouch -- of someone in a hurry. He scooped them up, then, daringly, handed them to Rose. "Yoo drovved zeeze, miz."

She looked blank for a second, "They're not -- " then she smiled and tucked them in a skirt pocket. "Thank you, I was wondering where they'd gone."

"Very brezzy -- pree-ty," he enunciated, "bood nod very uzeful. Zey will nod zave yoor live in ze dezert," he explained. Though they saved mine at least once... He tried a different tactic. "Yoo 'ave a woondervool wadder zyzdem. Do yoo dage boorders?"

Rose snatched on to the one word she could understand. "Boarders? Yes, this is a boarding house. But we're all full at the moment."

"Ooh, nod vor mee." He brushed past her and up the stairs, tossing out some comment about boarders and clean water. The upstairs hallway was unremarkable -- five doors, a small window at the end, and a scattering of cheerful but unmemorable little pictures. He banged on the first door he came to. "Alloo? Are yoo gedding enov wadder?"

"What the hell?" An annoyed male voice; not Auli. He tried the next one. "Alloo? Eez yoor wadder good?"

"Mister priest, please!" Rose glared at him from the stairway but she was neither young enough nor swift enough to chase after him.

The third door was empty; the others were filled with people who were, once again, not Auli. He bowed to Rose. "Zangh yoo, miz Roza. Yoo 'ave a loovely 'ome. I will be gooing now." Before she could protest, he slid down the stairs and out the door. "I moozt go an' zee zee negsd 'ouse. Zangh yoo!"

Rose spent a few minutes calming down her irate boarders and then hurried downstairs to finish breakfast. It was nearly half past six, after all.

It was nearly seven by the time Luen had finished removing his disguise and narrating his adventure. "I can't imagine her staying with someone else, so the third room must be hers. Is that map enough to get you in?"

Viola set aside her soup and picked up the hand-drawn plan of the house. "Aye, if I can get the height of th' second story. Do ye want me ta do it tonight?"

"If you're feeling up to it," he said after a pause. She was still in bed but certainly seemed to be in a better mood.

"I hope so. As nice as 'tis bein' waited on, Kai's frettin' is gettin' on me nerves. He went out tae pick up groceries fer breakfast."

"Let's just hope he doesn't run into Auli again. I don't want another fight. Speaking of fights, I heard something odd on the way back. Some old swordsmith was murdered this morning. Viola, are you okay?"

Viola coughed, "Aye, fine. Soup went down the wrong way." It couldn't be the same one, could it? ... Then again, how many swordsmiths were there in Grandegear?

"-- didn't think she was capable of murder!" exclaimed Luen as Kai walked in the door.

"Pico didna think she was capable o' robbery," pointed out Viola.

"Huh?" contributed Kai.

"Auli," they said in unison.

"Oh." He paused. "Wait, what?"

Luen explained, with Viola adding in comments about her own visit to the shop.

"An' I saw somethin' blue and shiny in back o' his shop."

"But, there are plenty of blue and shiny things," protested Kai. "Wait, you don't think she's going after another shard, do you?"

"What would a swordsmith be doing with a Shard of Heaven?" said Luen. "For that matter, what would Auli have against a swordsmith halfway across the world?"

"We willna get any answers just sittin' here an' talkin'," said Viola, pulling on her boots. "'Tis nearly seven o' clock."

Seven fifteen found Luen and Kai on the corner of Third Street and Eighth Avenue, outside a small building located in the center of an industrial neighborhood. Lukas Edgegrinder V, read the nameplate. Despite its small size, it was easy to find: he just had to aim for the uniformed guards.

"A tragedy, really, to see him go," said an elderly grey-furred Levendish gentleman who stood off to one side of the crowd, surveying the scene sadly through a monocle with teeth like a gear. "He was one of the last of a dying breed." He finally turned around to face the two mages. "And who might you be?"

Luen didn't need a formal introduction to realize that this quiet, well-dressed man was in charge of all the commotion across the street. "I think I know who did this. I just need one question answered." Kai stepped back, letting Luen handle the conversation while he examined the crime scene.

"Go on."

"Was anything stolen from the workshop? Something blue and possibly shiny?"

"Yes." The man's expression hardened. "Tell me who you are and what you know."

"I'm a mage -" Well, practically a mage, he told himself, "- from Featherglass." His companion raised an eyebrow but nodded at him to continue. "My colleagues and I have been chasing a thief named Auli Alcandor. She already stole a Shard of Heaven and a bag of chroma crystals -- including a few full traps -- from us. We ran into her last night."

"Indeed." The man paused as if puzzling over Luen's news. "Featherglass. Is my nephew Johan doing well?"

Luen just stared for a second. Not only had the comment been completely out of the blue, but he suddenly realized just who he was talking to. Johan was the cheerful, if slightly immature and clingy second year failure who Kinto had adopted as his personal nemesis. This, then would be his uncle, Johannes Silverfox, the Chief Engineer - or was it Engineer-in-Chief? - of all of Grandegear. In short, the man who operated the city like the vast machine it was. "I -- last I heard. I'll tell him you said hello."

Silverfox nodded in thanks. "Good. I've already sent an order to the docks. No ships are to depart until further notice. We will catch this Alcandor."

Luen looked doubtful. "She could be anywhere in the city by now."

She was, in fact, at the docks, though not as a potential passenger. She had booked passage on an outbound steamer but the order had come in before her ship was due to leave, leading her to look for alternate means of transportation. The ferries were shut down, much to the annoyance of the tourists, and, of course, one could not simply walk out of Grandegear.

Seven fifteen found her heading toward the industrial piers, used by cargo ships. A frantic conversation with her boss had resulted in the information that Pier 7 would have a conveyance she could use to leave. And Auli wanted to leave very badly indeed! She was carrying stolen goods in a city which was nothing more than a clockwork trap and -- she hastily adjusted her veil as a guard hurried by -- someone had tipped them off. Probably the mages. The penalty for murder would be more than just a few years in a small room... It was that last aspect of the crime that worried her the most. She didn't even know the poor man.

I'm not a murderer! I don't go around killing people! But how was I supposed to know the old man was a night owl? And what was I supposed to do when he came at me swinging that sword? The plan was to go in, get the blue grindstone and get out. Killing wasn't part of it! Davro better not be playing games this time.

She could see Pier 1 in the distance. That meant 7 couldn't be too far along; she just had to follow the curving road that led past each of the docks, following the numbers. Simple. Just a few more minutes and --

BOOM!

A shipping crate exploded in front of her. Standing in the center of the wreckage was a familiar Tximisti shape, orange in color, and wearing gleaming copper-plated armor.

"You?!" How stupid she'd been! Only three mages last night and the Ertseti boy was new.

Kinto squinted at her. "I know you!"

For a brief instant Auli considered bluffing her way out of the situation.

"Y'r that library thief from Almanaque!" He took a step forward, clutching his staff, but he seemed more confused than threatening. "Are you th'reason th'docks are closed, then?" Another thought struck him. "Waittasec ... Luen said th'shard was stolen."

Auli gave him a mad grin. This, at least, was familiar. She reached into her skirt pocket. "I know," she said, throwing something at the ground. In an instant she was hidden in a thick cloud of smoke.

Running boots clattered behind Kinto. Without turning around, he hollered, "That was her!" and dove into the smoke.

Seven fifteen found Viola in a neatly furnished anonymous room. Auli had obviously slept here, but she not bothered to unpack -- or had already left. Tossed carelessly beneath the bed was a half-full pouch of crystals. "Didna want them after all, hm?" She glanced inside at the little stones, then frowned. Wasn't little-Nhaal in a checkered rock? Viola stretched the quilt over the rumpled bed and carefully emptied out the pouch. Chroma crystals of all colors but ... did maginaria crystals look different? There was no black-and-white stone, that was for certain, and these all looked approximately the same size. Auli's comment of the night before came back to her.

"I could say the same thing. But something tells me I'll have to be more direct and take it back myself."

Viola laughed as she returned the stones to the pouch. Auli had her maginaria back, much good may it do her!

Silverfox shaded his eyes against the early morning light and looked up at the rooftops. "She was spotted at the docks, but escaped."

"How -- " Luen followed his pointing finger and saw the flash of semaphore flags, mounted on gears along the rooftops, signaling out messages in a language only Johannes could read.

"There appears to be a Tximisti elementalist after her as well."

"Kinto! He's early!" Luen turned to the older Levendish. "We'll catch her for you, just you wait!" Without waiting for a response he slithered off as fast as he could. "C'mon, Kai!"

"Coming!"

Johannes watched the pair with a sad smile. "Wait?" he mumbled to nobody in particular. "Where do those boys think they are? This is Grandegear: everything according to schedule."

Auli sprinted down the wide walkway that connected the ferry station with the piers on either side. She could hear the sounds of shouting and running feet behind her, but the street ahead was empty. Naturally enough - all the early risers were at work and nobody else would be out and about at quarter to eight in the morning.

The ferry station loomed up on her left. A few annoyed and bored tourists milled about; they pointed and stared at the commotion. Auli waved at them as she sprinted past. At least I made someone's day more entertaining, she thought, turning back to the business at hand. Just a few more steps and she would be out of this clockwork trap and into a boat and their careful planning would turn against them -- with all the docks closed indefinitely it would take them hours to assemble a crew. Just a few more steps and she would be in the safety of...

Pier 2?

Uh-oh. This could take a bit longer than anticipated.

Still, she wasn't caught yet. Auli might not know the city but she knew how to run and there was nothing between her and number 7. All she had to do was keep ahead of the pursuit.

Viola strolled down the road toward the inn; for the first time since her arrival, she was paying less attention to the scenery than to her thoughts. The avenue separated Grandegear proper from the docks which reached across the bay toward the distant shore of Maglatan, but the picturesque beauty was lost on her.

She was thinking about Lukas Edgegrinder. A complete stranger had died and she was upset. Why? Well, for one thing she would never see the unique sword he had promised her, and now she was entirely without a weapon of any sort, having sold him her old one. (Whether or not Viola could have used that old sword was not a matter she wasted her time considering; it was, after all, merely a pointed metal stick.) This annoyed her but it was not the source of her melancholy. Edgegrinder, the greatest -- and possibly the only competent -- swordsmith in Grandegear. What did Grandegear need with a swordsmith? The man, she realized, was the last of a dying breed. He, like Viola herself, should by all rights have lived during the time of the Great War where his skill could be praised and his death worthy of his life. Struck down while wielding in heated combat one of the very swords he forged, that would have been a fitting end! Not dispatched with in secret by a common criminal, treated as a mere nuisance to her plans. Auli's thoughtlessness -- her callousness -- angered Viola. She probably didn't know anything about the man, probably mistaking him for the caretaker or a night guard.

Still, the end was finally near. The docks had been closed off -- according to a guardsman Viola had stopped outside of the rose house -- and a young man, a Vadhan mage, had given Chief Engineer Silverfox a description of the culprit. There was nowhere for Auli to run now; the guards were probably in hot pursuit. She fancied she could hear their shouting, though the street was deserted. Auli would be captured, Edgegrinder's death would be avenged and the Shard would return to its proper owners, namely Viola and her companions. I hope they tell her it was Luen who tipped off Silverfox. That would be a neat and fitting finale. What I wouldn't give to see her face then!

The sound of shouting was getting louder. Viola looked up as a crowd rounded the curve of the road and granted her wish. At top speed.

Number 3.

A lightning bolt zipped past her face and grounded itself in a nearby crane. The Tximisti elementalist must have realized that clear streets also meant no bystanders to worry about. Auli began weaving back and forth across the street, making herself a tougher target. She had no alternative - she had to keep running.

Number 4.

The frequency of the lightning bolts increased, the mage finally deciding to do with quantity what accuracy alone could not manage. Fortunately she needed to spare only minimal attention for the empty road ahead.

Number 5.

The road, as a matter of fact, was not empty, though Auli didn't realized this until after she'd collided with her fellow pedestrian. Apparently someone else did have a good reason to be out and about at eight in the morning. Auli glanced at the woman in black and realized that, once again, she'd forgotten to count her mages.

"Hoi, Viola! Good to see you again!"

"Likewise," said Viola, matching Kinto's pace with the occasional short-range teleport to make up for her shorter stride. "Where is she heading?"

"Beats me. She's gotta slow down sometime, though. Hey, can'cha just, you know, zap ahead'f her or somethin'?"

"Ahead of a movin' target? In the time t'would take ta fix on her location she woulda gone past already. Or, if I was really lucky, I might materialize ha'way through her!"

"Eew. F'rget I asked. Guess I'll have t'do th' zappin' myself!" He sent off another lightning bolt to emphasize his point.

Number 6.

"How was yer trip?" asked Viola.

"Ugh, don' ask. Least we got a nice tail wind yesterday so it ended early. I hate boats."

"Once we get out o' this city ye won't have ta see any more ever again."

"And that'll be too soon!"

Number 7.

Auli was slowing down now, looking out at the docks every so often as if she expected to see something there.

"And yer aunt?" asked Viola. "How was she?"

"Mad, but not as mad as I figured. We finally came to an understanding."

"Is that why ye picked up that shield?"

"Wha? Oh, no. That's a goin' away present from her."

"So ye don't get yerself killed?"

"Somethin' like that. Is she gonna run 'round th'whole city or what?"

Auli glanced back at them. Number 7 was her destination and she seemed to be considering the relative advantages of continuing on versus doubling back. As a result, she wasn't looking where she was going and nearly ran into yet another mage. Or two.

"Give it up, Auli!" hollered Luen, waving his empty chalice in what he hoped was a menacing fashion. "You're surrounded!" Kai followed close behind; Viola noticed he was holding another blue squash.

"Auli, down here!" It was a woman's voice coming from the docks. Auli looked left, then right, then sprinted toward the new voice. The mages followed with the guards close behind.

"Luen!"

"Feeling better, Viola? Whoa, thanks!" he caught the pouch, nearly tripping over Kai in the process.

"Apparently she didna need it. Nhil is gone, though."

"Go figure."

"She's got a boat!" shouted Kai, the tallest.

Auli sprinted down the stairs to a small side-dock where the tiny woman from the boarding house sat waiting in an equally small boat. But what a boat! It looked as though it had started life as sleek black two-person yacht which had then been handed over to a mad jeweler turned geometer. Lines, angles and complex geometric shapes were inlaid along its sides in gold, interspersed with carefully carved runes. At the junctions of many of the lines tiny gems and semi-precious stones of various colors were set. Rose sat in front of a tangle of wires and stone beads which could only be the control panel.

"A geomancer's boat?" exclaimed Viola. "That's insane!"

Insane or not, it was Auli's only escape and she took it. As soon as she had leapt into the back, Rose waved her hands through the mess of wires and the boat glowed into life, bright pulses of multicolored light flowing through the runic diagrams on its side. She slid the beads along their wires as if calculating on an abacus and the boat smoothly pulled away from the dock and was out to sea before the crowd knew what was going on.

"Well, aren't you going to follow them?" demanded Luen.

"I'm afraid we have nothing that fast as yet," said a quiet voice from the back. The crowd of policemen parted to let Silverfox through.

"How did you get here so quickly?" asked Kai, glancing at the Inventor General's cane.

"I took the most direct route," he explained, "Rather than the path of least resistance..." The guards glanced at each other, trying to figure out if they were being chided or made fun of. "As I was saying, we have nothing that fast as of yet. However, if you wish to follow her -- and I see no reason why you would not --" The mages nodded silently. "-- then I can lend you one of the fastest boats we do have. The ladies appear to be headed south, toward Levend, or so I would assume. Bring them to justice and you will be well rewarded." He paused to glance at each of them. "Though I suspect you need no such incentive. Henrik, Olaf! Show them to the Swift; it will be theirs until further notice. Now if you will excuse me - I have a funeral to arrange." He sighed and turned away, walking slowly back toward the city.

"Come on, then," said one of the guards. "We'll take you to the boat."

The Swift was a small steamboat parked at Pier number 8 -- which just happened to be right next to Pier number 1. As Kinto pointed out, Auli could've saved herself the tour around the city; Grandegear was circular.

"She got away anyway, didn't she?" grumbled Luen.

"Not fer long," said Viola, stepping into their new boat.

"Are you coming with us?" asked Kai as the guards gave them a quick tour.

"Us? No way!" said the taller one - who was apparently Henrik. "Don't worry, this is a modern conveyance. A single seasoned sailor could handle it."

"Then count me out," said Luen decisively. "My experience with ships is strictly limited to holding still and hoping the salt water will go away fast."

"And none of us are seasoned sailors," explained Kai.

Olaf, the shorter one, grinned. "What Henrik meant to say was a single sailor or four idiots. You'll be fine. Just keep the boiler running and point her the way you want to go."

After a few explanations they were under way. Kai took over the galley while Viola browsed through the navigational charts, noting all the likely ports on Levend and privately glad for another chance to show off her skills with straightedge and compass. Kinto was delegated official coal-shoveller, occasionally aided by Kai, between setting up his equipment in the galley. Luen eventually decided to take up the helm. The piloting room was enclosed on all sides by glass, which meant none of the spray of the ocean could get inside - either on the maps or on Luen himself. He shouted into the speaking tube that connected the rooms aboard the Swift - "Everyone ready?"

"Boiler's stoked an' ready!"

"I think I'm all set up in here..."

"Aye, captain, ready when ye are."

Luen winced slightly at being called "captain", but pulled the throttle anyway. Soon, the small craft was headed at full speed over the horizon, away from Grandegear and into the cold waters of the Southern seas...