We left the motel, heading toward the port. The sun was setting, and eerie beastly noises echoed in the distance.

"The Crystals are spawning," Malii said.

As we reached the port, the sky darkened rapidly, and the streets were deserted.

Uabo, the fisherman, was waiting on his boat, accompanied by a young Watoo female.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I nodded, and we handed over the payment to the female Watoo before boarding the vessel. Malii pulled me aside as I climbed.

"Be careful, both of you," he said.

"Don't worry, we'll bring her back," I assured him.

Taking our seats at the front of the flying boat, Uabo released the anchor, and the boat ascended. The rotors spun rapidly, and we soared into the clouds. The village faded into the horizon, and in the distance I spotted tall, red-glowing crystals on some platforms, accompanied by massive creatures, though I couldn't make out the details from afar.

As the boat was getting higher and higher, I had to stop looking down, I decided to join Uabo in the captain's cabin.

"Thanks for helping us," I said as I reached him.

"I'm helping myself," he replied. "I'm almost certain you both will die there. I just hope I survive."

"We won't die, trust me," I commented.

He just shook his head without replying and we both stood in silence for a moment.

"Rest up; it'll take about two hours to reach Kage's ship," he advised.

I nodded and left, sensing that Uabo wasn't much for small talk. I went and sat next to Carol.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

"I suppose, and you?" I replied.

"I guess so."

Glancing at the sky, she continued :

"You know, back on Earth, I'd never have imagined I'd end up on a flying ship, piloted by a giant talking rat. This whole place is so bizarre, yet I strangely start to feel like I belong here."

"Never played games before?" I asked.

"Not really. My husband and daughter tried to get me into it, but I never quite understood the point. And now, look at me – a warrior, slaying goblins and bandits with a war hammer."

"You adapted quickly," I said.

"Maybe, but something changed when we were transported here, or maybe it's the Stats that transform us over time, it's affecting our bodies but I think also our mind."

"I had the same feeling," I said. "When I arrived, I thought I'd conquer this place, thanks to all those hours spent playing games. But it turns out it's not that simple."

"You're doing fine!" she said.

"I thought I'd be a hero, wielding magic and defeating enemies left and right," I confessed.

Carol chuckled, and I continued :

"When you mentioned feeling powerful at breakfast, I thought I'd feel the same right away. But when the first road block happened - two goblins attacked me - , I froze. I was terrified, and they easily dodged my attacks. It was then that I realized all the power in the world wouldn't help if I was paralyzed by fear."

"You learned, and you've been doing pretty well," she reassured me.

Thinking back to the deck, I recalled the appearance of the three bears.

"I had no choice, and something just clicked. I didn't want to die," I said.

"Again," she added with a smile.

"Yeah, die again."

Suddenly, Carol asked :

"How did you die?"

"Cleo hit me with her car. She was drunk or on drugs, I am not quite sure," I replied.

"And she died too?"

"It seems so. The accident was brutal."

We sat in silence for a moment, and I felt this might be the right time to learn more about Carol's past.

"What about you? You mentioned a robbery gone wrong with Sam," I asked.

She looked away, pausing before answering :

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Yeah, this teenager rushed into a convenience store. I was there with my daughter, just grabbing some quick groceries on our way back from her school."

Carol paused, staring down, then continued :

"Someone... some idiot thought they could play hero and confront the kid, trying to stop him. Things got messy real quick, and shots were fired. I got hit in the stomach by a stray bullet. I bled out on the floor."

Another long pause followed. I allowed her the space to share when she was ready.

Finally, she took a deep breath and said :

"The cops showed up, guns blazing, and they killed Sam. But I couldn't be saved in time. I died in the ambulance."

"I'm sorry," I said.

Carol nodded.

"Well, here I am now, trying to go back and save my daughter."

"At least she didn't get hurt during the attack, right?" I asked.

Carol fell silent, gazing at the sky.

"Yes, she was fine, just scared," she replied.

We remained in silence, sitting together as the boat continued on its journey.

It took about 2 hours, just as Uabo had said, but finally, Kage's boat came into view. To be honest, it looked more like a floating fortress than a boat - a massive cube covered in metallic walls with giant balloons keeping it afloat. Two imposing cannons adorned the front, and guard towers stood at each corner of the camp.

"Alright," said Uabo. "I'm going to lower my boat from here, and then get as close as possible. Once in position, we'll use the catchers to create a path. Turn off all the lights."

We hurriedly turned off all the lights on the boat, taking advantage of the cover of the night and the clouds that helped us remain relatively hidden. So far, attacking under the cover of darkness proved to be a good idea.

Uabo brought the boat much lower to avoid direct sight from Kage's camp and continued his approach. After about 30 minutes or so he positioned it beneath the floating fortress. He stopped the boat and released a bunch of those 'catchers' - the name of the drones we saw earlier.

The catchers deployed and floated, creating a long rope leading to the camp walls.

"I'll go first," I said.

Carol nodded.

One after another, we used the rope to climb and reach the outside walls of the fortress. The moon provided the only meager light, and it was barely enough to make out our surroundings.

I reached the wall and began to climb it, still impressed by the strength I had gained thanks to my Stats. Once atop the ramparts, I quickly scanned the courtyard but couldn't spot anyone. However, I noticed two to three Watoo bandits stationed at each guard tower. Everything appeared quiet and dark, with barely any lights.

Carol joined me on the rampart, and together we carefully surveyed the area.

The camp looked like an empty box forming the courtyard, the interior walls were covered with small metal sheds stacked upon each other, interspersed with stairs and ladders - the typical Watoo building style we had encountered before. Each corner had a guard tower with doors leading to it from the ramparts. One of the sheds on the second 'floor' was noticeably larger than the others, most likely the captain's quarters. On the opposite wall, across the courtyard, a large metal door was guarded by four goblins, one of them dozing on a chair.

"That must be the cells. Probably where Danalii is," I whispered, pointing in that direction.

"We should take out the guards on the towers first," Carol suggested.

I nodded.

We silently made our way to the first tower on the left, climbed the stairs, and swiftly dealt with the two guards - one crossbow bolt and one knife to the head, the same technique we used in Bawa's camp.

After looting the bodies for their gold, we hid them and moved on to the other towers. It took almost an hour to clear all of them, as we proceeded cautiously, ensuring we wouldn't be seen and covering our tracks.

Once done, we moved closer to the big metallic door.

"Alright," I started. "These goblins may be lower levels, but there are four of them. We need to somehow separate them--"

"I can take all three with a single swing," Carol interrupted confidently.

"But they will see you coming."

"Not if you distract them."

"We can't afford to make noise," I pointed out.

"I have a plan," she grinned. "We both go to different sides. You take out the sleeping one with a bolt, further away from the others, so they don't see the actual bolt. When they turn to investigate, I'll rush them and kill them quickly."

Considering the goblins' positions, her plan made somewhat sense. The sleeping one was on the left side of the door, with his head turned away from the other three who were chatting on the right side. I could hit him without the others seeing the bolt in his skull. I wanted to let her make decision as well, and she seemed confident in her plan.

"Alright, it's a bit messy, but we don't have time to come up with something better," I finally agreed.

We moved stealthily to our positions. Carol positioned herself on a ladder against the right wall, and I crouched on the left.

SIMON : Ready?

CAROL : Ready.

I shot a bolt directly at the side of the head of the goblin sleeping on the chair. He fell, dead. Unfortunately, the force of the projectile carried him forward, and he dropped to the ground on his side, the bolt clearly visible lodged in his temple.

The three other goblins turned to look at him in surprise just as Carol leaped from her position and swung her hammer, decapitating one and crushing the chest of another. The third one managed to shout:

"AALLL--"

Before he could finish, my second bolt hit the back of his head, and he collapsed, his body convulsing.

I joined Carol by the bodies.

"This was a reckless plan," I remarked.

"It worked," she shrugged.

"It did NOT work," I said.

"It didn't work the way we planned, but it still got the job done," she replied, smiling.

We quickly moved the bodies and did our best to hide them next to nearby crates. One of the goblins had the key to the large metal door, and we unlocked it, proceeding inside.

The door led to a short hallway, illuminated by a nearby room. We moved cautiously, staying low and as much as we could in the shadows. I leaned against the end of the hallway and peered inside. The room was filled with jail cells lining the walls, and a desk sat at the center, where a Watoo guard snored loudly.

I shot him in the head, and he fell backward. We entered the room and checked the cells.

"Danalii?" I asked.

All the cells were empty except one.

The Priestess stood up, her dress dirty and damaged from lying on a straw mattress.

"Simon?" she shouted. "You shouldn't be here; it's a trap."

"We know," I replied. "But we're getting you out."

Carol found the cell key on the guard and opened the door. Before I could say anything, Danalii leaped forward and embraced me tightly. She started to cry without saying a word.

I hugged her back.

We stayed like that for a moment until Carol cleared her throat.

"I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but we should move," she urged.

I nodded, and our embrace came to an end.

Danalii turned to Carol.

"Thank you, The Bonker Berserker," she said with a smile.

Carol smiled back.

"Time to go!" Carol announced.

"How are we going to get out?" Danalii asked.

"We have a boat waiting for us. We need to leave now," I replied.

Surprisingly, Danalii grabbed my hand and smiled at me.

"Let's go," she said.

We made our way back to the hallway, but just as I was about to open the door, I heard a loud, authoritative voice from behind.

"What happened here?" the voice demanded.

"Where are they, they should be guarding this door!" another voice responded.

Carol and I exchanged worried glances.

"Fuck," I cursed.