Iridia stormed onto the top deck with the cannon over her shoulder.

The mechanical men had mostly returned to their ship and had swarmed Kaleb, trying to pin him down as he rumbled from below.

“Load me!” Iridia parted her feet and took a strong stance, “Quickly!”

“Now there’s a ship faring lass!” Wurtheim cackled and danced with a jolly swagger, pointing and clapping. “Get 'em, girl!”

The gunner set the shield of cannon balls down and took one up, “Worm the cannon!”

Another crew had seemingly taken the initiative to follow with the loading tools, he wormed the cannon, clearing it of debris first, all the while Iridia gritted her teeth, she watched the automaton ship start to gain distance, seemingly finishing its task of stealing away a member of their crew, fortunately, Kaleb was perhaps not too easy to subdue and more iron men had tried to wrestle him in the growing pile.

“What’s going on, c’mon I can’t stand here all day!” Iridia glanced over at Morgan who had a worried expression painted on his face, safe now from the iron men, but still watching his master sail away and the woman he loves stand in harm's way with a cannon perched on her shoulder.

“Takes time, me love, what you fink these fings fire all fast like?” The gunnery man used the sponge to swab the muzzle. “Don’t want it blowing your head off!” The powder monkey shoved the canister down the tube and rammed it home with practised skill.

Kaleb had managed to stand somehow and was shoving back the Iron men. He looked across and could see the Veil Breaker had already begun to drift away, or perhaps the ironclad he stood on was fleeing, it was hard to tell. His skin smoldered with light smoke from the energy shock he had been subjected to, however, he healed fast enough and shrugged away the stinging sensation, hammer in toe he began to swing wildly.

Iridia huffed, “C’mon, they are escaping, we can’t catch them!” she watched Kaleb try to push his way through to try and dive overboard, but each time they overpowered him, struck and shoved him down. They did not seem intent on killing him though, they pulled their strikes and restrained their aggressions appropriately.

The powder monkey had moved behind her to pour the powder in, “hold still!”

It was hard for Iridia to stand still, waves had picked up and the wind had become choppy, the warm breeze was cooler than before, yet she would not notice in the heat of battle.

“Light the cannon!”

Iridia aimed at the controller atop the Kaleb had tried to climb, narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth. The sizzle of the fuse crackled in her ear and she bellowed in preparation for coming shunt.

The gunpowder exploded in the cannon and sent Iridia reeling back, she screeched in agony as her shoulder was dislocated, her fingers broken and half her face torn away. Her vision burned a white hot fury and the ringing in her ears screeched like a banshee.

Morgan charged down the steps, “Iridia!” he was concerned for nothing, not even if her aim with the cannon was true. He knelt over her, taken aback by her visage, her face was a shredded mess, but before his eyes, of course, it healed. Even though this was predictable, Morgan would harken back to that moment he saw her die against the tree with the bolt through her heart and always held a spikey stone of doubt within his chest that radiated the suggestion she might not wake up this time, that self-healing would not happen, the divine would lose its grip.

Her eyes fluttered, concerned not for herself she spoke softly and with a croak, “Did I hit it?”

Morgan glanced back, the controller was still intact. “No…” he said.

Kaleb had a closer look at Iridia’s efforts, and though she had not struck the controller, that damned pole that had given him the shock took the brunt of it, quite a hit. The pole was dented and the controller disc atop was flickering madly. Sparks flickered angrily and the pole groaned.

“You hit the controller…thing…my lady.” The powder monkey was pointing and jumping excitedly. “Fire another shall we?”

Iridia sat up and shook her head, she cracked her shoulder and clambered to her feet with the support of Morgan. “Another? Sure…sure…”

“I don’t think we’ll be needin’ another!” Flencer called back, gripping the railing and looking at the ironclad, “It’s going to topple!”

Kaleb managed to stumble out of the way, the tower and controller let out a moan and fell like a smithy's hammer on an anvil, the automaton ship rocked violently and shook itself free of several Iron men, they sploshed in the water and disappeared into the deep blue.

The controller was whirring and becoming more erratic, it was like a daytime fireworks display, the lights were flickering, till they became a single colour. A bright red that lit the iron deck up, it honked angrily and began to vibrate.

“That doesn’t seem–” Kaleb did not finish his sentence; the controller exploded, sending bits of automaton and shards of jagged iron in all directions. Kaleb was sent along with them. He crashed into the water and began to sink. Fortunately, he was only lightly armoured in a simple thick leather tunic and pants, fashioned from several outfits to fit his large size, this allowed him to swim comfortably.

The hot sun struck the surface of the water, Kaleb looked up, he was reminded of his last visit with the Demon, and if he drowned here he would not be returning from beneath its toe.

The crew of the Veil Breaker erupted in cheers, two of the seamen had lifted Iridia in the air and were bouncing her merrily. They sang a simple song:

Oh, Paladin! Oh, Paladin, we love our Paladin!

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She’s our Paladin, our Paladin, we love our Paladin!

Though not as enthused as the crew, she took the moment of spontaneous rapture to scout the sea for Kaleb who had been flung off, when she could not see she called to Flencer. “Kaleb, where is he?”

Flencer raised his hands.

Iridia waved, “Stop! Stop, find Kaleb, now you pack of Gobo apes!”

Wurtheim was looking over the edge at the debris floating on the surface, the Ironclad had dipped under and had fallen away at great speed.

Kaleb was frantic, he did not care to catch breathe, instead, his quarry was Zale, or the soul that was infused in the Hammer, the hammer alone was a mere weight on a stick compared to the head of his house, selflessly bound to serve the house instead of enjoying the deserved rest of a true hero, a hero that Kaleb believed himself not.

There it was, Zale had lit the beacon within himself and the hammer shone bright. Kaleb swam towards it, bubbles escaping his mouth, air running low, even a Paladin with self-healing could not survive drowning, a weakness you might say.

The Hammer sank quickly and Kaleb followed after. The beacon dimmed and the low blue glow emitted instead. “Kaleb.”

Kaleb could not respond under the water.

“Kaleb let me go, you cannot follow so deep, you will surely drown.”

Kaleb ignored and swam deeper, focused on saving his master from the torment of eternal silence at the bottom of the ocean.

The hammer released a deep orange glow, “Kaleb, you return, I was proud to serve, my sacrifice is worth it, it is what I was born to give.”

Kaleb couldn’t hold on any longer, his vision blurred and he gagged, helplessly he reached out for the Hammers hilt, but it had passed into the darkness, the glow a distant light in the ocean's unending fog.

Struck with sorrow, Kaleb cried, yet the sea would take the tears for itself and that sadness would never be known to any that looked upon his face at that moment. He began his ascent, clawing at the sun as it rippled above.

“Captain, I think that’s him!”

Kaleb was taken aboard the Veil Breaker, and on the deck he was revived by a few mighty pushes against his chest. He coughed up a lungful of briny water and sat up quickly, “ZALE!”

Iridia was kneeling beside him while Flencer and Morgan were standing across, forlorn in the face.

A few hours passed and darkness had taken up its watch in the sky, Iridia had finally plucked up the courage to approach Kaleb who was sitting alone in his cabin room. She eased the door open, the creaking wood whining as her head poked through the gap. “Kaleb…” her voice was a whisper.

He looked up at her and paused, thinking upon what Zale might have him do or say at this moment. A moment of ponderance guided his heart to an invitation, Zale was always ready to talk and share, perhaps a trait he should have learned time ago. “Enter, Iridia.”

Iridia slipped in and gently closed the door, her swagger had departed and instead, she took up a mousey stance, hands behind her back and head bowed in respect and condolence. “I’m sorry about, your Hammer…your master.”

Kaleb took in a large gulp of air through his nostrils, holding back the tears that were trying to flee from the corners of his eyes, he must be stoic for the sake of the young one if anything. His voice cracked but he maintained composure as he spoke, correcting his neophyte, “Our hammer, our master.”

Iridia nodded and sat slowly. She opened her mouth to speak once more but Kaleb took the moment.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, you were the hero of the day.”

“Well…I.”

“I am proud of you, I couldn’t ask for a better student.”

Iridia smiled some, “What will we do without Zale?”

“Seems I am the master now, before I could hide behind that hammer, I could seek his wisdom in the privacy of my insecurity.” Kaleb rolled his shoulders, “Now I am the hammer, and you will be its wielder, no?”

Iridia thought a moment, “I still have more to learn before I can be what you are.”

Kaleb chuckled, “Very wise you are for your age, Iridia, you are correct you do have much to learn, but you have learned much more than I did when I was your age…all I knew was to strike a foe down and teach him what justice meant.”

“I think Zale is proud of you…”

“Zale has been let down since the moment he was infused.”

Iridia cocked her head and watched Kaleb's face. He was looking at the the table that sat between them, the whoosh of the ocean soothed her agitated spirit and the swinging lamp caused the soft shadows to dance around the room.

Kaleb looked at Iridia with deep eyes, “Zale has long been a house most unwanted. It was once magnificent, hundreds of us patrolled the streets, guarded the emperor…Zale was an old-fashioned Paladin hero, he slew the giants of old.”

“What happened?”

“When Zale was entombed in that hammer, so was his influence. The other Paladins did not like being lorded over by Zale, so, there was a revolt, it was bloody and the imperium acted fast. Zale was split into many smaller houses which were dissolved over time. Zale remained and only by the Emperor's inscription do we still exist; as if to reminisce over the golden era of true Paladin heroes.”

Iridia nodded, “So why did you join Zale?”

Kaleb pinched the bridge of his nose and smirked, “I joined Zale because most of the houses did not want me.”

“Why? You’re…well you’re pretty strong.”

“My father…I shall perhaps tell you another time.”

“Who was your father?”

Kaleb ignored the question, “The House of Zale was an offer presented to me…which would ensure I need not become a front-line Paladin…it was what I considered the easiest way to live.”

“Is that what you desire?”

“It’s what I desired, quickly I came to learn that with my new authority came with it the hatred and disdain from all those generations ago. So I embraced the role.”

Iridia chuckled, “Both of us expecting simpler lives…now we are sailing across the world, looking to sing a song into a sword to slay a Demon.”

“I lost our master.” Kaleb sighed.

“It’s time for a new one…” Iridia bowed her head and left quietly, she could see Kaleb was tired of speaking. “Good night, Master Kaleb.”

Kaleb bowed his head back and stood in respect, “Good night, Paladin Iridia.”

Iridia was filled with a glimmer of light, Kaleb had called her Paladin many times, but this was the first time he meant it.