We ascended a mostly intact rampart and peered down at the chaotic scene below.

"Maybe we should jump?" Carol suggested.

"You first," I replied with a smile.

She grinned back. "There might be more of those boats around. Let's check other parts of the camp. Surely, that can't be the only escape route for them."

Surveying the area, I noticed that most of the camp was engulfed in flames, except for what seemed to be the Captain's quarters.

"Over there," I pointed out.

We swiftly made our way to the sheds and entered. Inside, despite the simple and quite dirty outside, the room was surprisingly well-decorated and clean, almost luxurious. A table with gold accents sat in the center of the main room, surrounded by assorted chairs. Two staircases led to rooms at the back.

As my health cooldown finished, I used another health patch, bringing my health up to 54 and feeling my legs healing further.

"I'll check the rooms," Carol said, climbing the stairs.

I nodded and headed towards a back room that appeared to be an office.

Scouring the room, I found a considerable amount of gold - almost 1000 pieces - and more health patches. Apart from that, there wasn't anything else of significance. I used more health patches as the cooldown allowed.

Carol returned a few minutes later, excitement evident on her face.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, holding a Purple Gem in her hand.

It emitted a gentle, pulsating glow, as if containing a liquid inside. It resembled the Gem of Abzu. I used FOCUS on it :

"Purple GEM of Fenrir - Category II

+5 Strength

+25 Vitality

+5 Dexterity

+5 Luck

Unique Power: 'Fenrir Dash' - Summoning: Fenrir. Cooldown: 24 hours."

"A purple Gem," Carol mused. "Similar to the one from Abzu, but this one is from Fenrir, like the mythological wolf."

"Well spotted!" I replied.

"Do you want it?" she offered.

"I think you found it, so it's yours to keep," I said with a smile.

She beamed and promptly slotted the gem into her armband.

"Do you think it can help us get out of here?" I wondered aloud.

"I doubt it. Considering its name, it's probably related to a wolf somehow, and I've never used a summoning Gem before," she replied thoughtfully.

As we looked around, I noticed the door window facing a large balcony.

"Maybe there," I suggested, approaching the door.

An explosion rocked the area, and Carol rushed outside to see the camp shaking even more.

"The burning balloon exploded, and the camp is falling faster than before. The fire spread to the second balloon," Carol reported with a worried expression.

"This isn't good," I said.

"We're still far up, but it's certain we're going down," she explained. "If we were at full health, do you think we could survive the fall?"

"I don't think so," I replied.

"Come on! There must be a way," she pleaded.

I finally opened the door from the office that lead to the balcony, revealing a small flying boat in sight.

"Carol!" I shouted. "Look, a flying boat!"

She joined me, and we observed the small yet intact escape boat. It resembled lifeboats on big ships, but with two small rotors in the front and back.

"Do you know how to pilot it?" Carol asked.

"No, but we don't have a choice."

Another explosion shook the camp as we tried to keep our balance.

"We don't have time to be picky," I said, boarding the boat.

Carol followed me.

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The main seat had a panel with a big green and red button and three levers.

"It looks pretty straightforward," I said.

I experimented with the levers to understand their functions, and then I pressed the green button.

The rotors hummed to life, and Carol quickly detached the two ropes holding us, setting the boat in motion. She smiled at me, shouting :

"Whooo!" as our flying ship distanced itself from the plummeting camp.

I consulted my map to orient the boat toward the village, then settled next to Carol.

"Hey," I said, "Thanks for coming. I know it was a crazy battle, but I'm glad you were there."

"It's ok. I wanted to come, and now way I would have let you come alone. We're a team," she replied determinedly.

I smiled at her.

We spent some time in silence as the boat kept moving. Using health patches whenever possible, I was back to full health. We were both exhausted and mostly kept quiet.

My thoughts returned to Danalii as I gazed at the sky, unable to shake the feeling of defeat.

We were unable to save her, and this entire escape plan turned out to be futile. Danalii sacrificed herself to protect us, but it barely worked. I can't help but feel like I failed; it was my plan, and I couldn't prevent this tragedy.

Cleo's rapid surge in power and her mysterious glowing eye, along with her hybrid class, remain puzzling to me. Once we find ourselves in a safe place, I'll definitely seek answers from the guide Gems. Perhaps Patate or Calexa would have some insights.

Despite my weariness, I couldn't help but whisper Danalii's name, lost in thoughts of her and her selfless act :

"Danalii..."

Carol's gentle voice interjected, "You know, it wasn't your fault, right?"

I looked at her in silence.

"There was nothing we could do. Cleo, or Keres, or whatever her name is, she was WAY stronger than us. Something was off," she said reassuringly.

"It's her eye, I think," I replied.

"Her eye?"

"Yes, it was glowing purple."

"Like when she vanished," Carol recalled. "What the fuck was that?"

"I don't know. Did you use FOCUS on her?"

"I was never close to her, did you?"

"I did, and she had two names, two levels, and two classes," I explained.

Carol remained silent for a moment, then suggested :

"We need to ask Patate."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," I replied.

She lay back on her seat, concluding :

"We need to rest now and grind tomorrow. We need more levels."

I smiled at her newly acquired gamer lingo.

"Sounds good," I said.

Both of us lay there, yet thoughts of Danalii and Cleo lingered in my mind.

Suddenly, I noticed something in the distance.

"There!!" I shouted.

A series of light flashes caught my eye.

"What is this?" I pointed.

Carol squinted, trying to make out the sight.

"A flying boat? That looks like Uabo's boat," I remarked.

"The coward came back? Maybe I won't kill him," Carol replied.

As the flying boat approached, we saw Malii on the front deck, waving at us.

"Malii!" I exclaimed.

Our boats came together, and we boarded theirs. To my surprise, Tabi was there too, his pistol pressed against Uabo's head.

"What the fuck happened here?" Carol inquired.

"We saw his boat coming back at full speed but without you," Tabi explained. "We asked him nicely to rush back here!"

"You are using all my best fuel!" Uabo complained.

"Shut up," Tabi retorted, pushing the pistol stronger on his head.

"We need to go," Malii said. "But where is..."

He glanced at our escape boat and realized it was empty.

"Malii," I began, looking away, unable to face him. "Danalii..."

"Where is she?" he asked, his fear betraying his assumption.

"She didn't make it," Carol said sadly. "She saved us but turned into some sort of statue."

Tears rolled down Malii's face as he gazed at the sky.

"You left her?" he questioned.

"She was gone," I explained. "She saved us, using some water..."

"She did it for you," he interjected, his emotions overwhelming him. He waved his hand to silence himself, moving away, unable to say more.

"I'm sorry," I said, wanting to comfort him, but Carol held me back, urging me to let him be.

I nodded, respecting her advice.

As the boat headed towards the village, Carol and I sat on the front deck, Tabi holding Uabo at gunpoint, and Malii in the back of the boat still gazing in the direction of the camp.

"I need to talk to him," I said. "This was my plan, my failure-"

"No, you don't," Carol interjected. "There was nothing we could do. We did our best."

"But Danalii was taken because of me," I retorted.

"Maybe, but you forget something important."

I looked at her in silence as she continued:

"You, I, Cleo, Sam, no one wanted to come here. We were brought here against our will."

I pondered her words for a moment. While I knew that, it was still my actions that triggered the kidnapping of Danalii, and my plan that failed, and...

"You are thinking too much," Carol suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"It's just... it's difficult to ignore it," I replied.

"I am not asking you to ignore it, I am asking you to spend your energy where you can actually do something," Carol explained. "This rage, this guilt you have now, use it to gain levels, to get stronger, and then kick Cleo's ass."

I looked at the tall French woman; she wasn't defeated at all. She was using this rage to motivate herself.

"I am not like that, never been," I said.

"Then you will be killed, or people close to you will," she replied.

She smiled at me and resumed:

"Listen, Simon, you did your best, you tried it all, and it wasn't enough. They were stronger. Cleo burned that whole place to the ground to kill you. She obviously became really strong, while we were running around trying to help people. We need to focus on getting stronger."

"I can't just ignore it; I couldn't just leave Danalii as a prisoner," I said.

"Of course not, because that's who you are. But my point is that you need to learn from it."

"I don't follow you," I said.

"We failed because we weren't strong enough. Now, our goal is to get stronger so that next time, we won't fail, we need to refocus on ourselves."

I looked at her in silence, again shocked by the simple way she was seeing things.

"I'm going to become super mega strong and kick Kage's ass into another world. Then we're going to destroy Cleo and Sam, and I will be able to save my daughter," Carol said, as she reclined on her seat, closing her eyes.

I stared at her, suddenly realizing that her daughter was maybe the reason why she was so determined, while I had no one really to care for.

I saw myself once more as this hero that I really wasn't. This was not my story, my adventure, I wasn't 'special'. If I wanted to kick asses, I needed to put the time to get stronger, to gain levels, find better loot. I had a lot to catch up.

The rest of the trip, we stayed silent, my head racing with thoughts, trying to make sense of it all while considering Carol's perspective.

After about an hour or so, we arrived at the fishermen's village, and as the boat anchored, Tabi finally lowered his pistol.

"You can keep the money," he said to Uabo.

"Considering we rushed there and the fuel I burned, I would hope so," the Watoo replied.

Malii disembarked without a word, then as I stepped back on the platform, he hugged me, surprising me.

"Thank you. I know you gave it your all, and I know it wasn't your fault," he murmured softly.

"I...I am... I am sorry," I stuttered.

He released me and expressed a sad smile, trying not to cry.

"Let's get some rest. We all need it," he finally said.