No other dangers jumped out to attack as I closed in on my destination. I was now close enough to see what it was.

Massive chunks of stone and dirt floated above the ocean. At first, it was just off the ocean surface but as I got closer I could see it rose up higher, with huge chunks of land just floating in the air with no apparent means to keep them there.

It wasn’t uniform either but more like rocky outcroppings and small islands leading to a massive island near the center. I call it an island but it was enormous. I had once seen the smaller Hawaiian islands from above and this one island matched that in size. But I could see more off in the distance. Some were far higher in the sky than even this island.

One thing was certain though, the island was lush and inhabited.

A veritable jungle of connected vines – turned into bridges – clung to smaller outcropping islands. Each one sported small clusters of homes and what appeared to be… docks. But they weren’t normal docks, seeing as they floated in the air along with the ships moored to them.

Smaller vessels flitted between the clustered islands, some dipping toward the ocean below to catch fish, others soaring high into the skies and the strangely low clouds to catch… other things.

I skirted around the island as I took it all in. A few of the locals, none human as far as I could tell, glanced toward my ship with curiosity but nobody attempted to approach.

The population reminded me of the small islander cities in the Philippines. The people just going about their day and not worrying about the other issues of the world.

As I approached the northern end of the island I spotted a much larger city and port. This one sported an array of different ships, quite a few larger and more heavily armed than the Retribution.

I saw a couple that resembled the one I tussled with earlier in the day, docked and taking on supplies. There were a few that looked like odd dirigible constructs. Large balloons strapped above what resembled old wooden sailing vessels. There were even a few ships that looked like hot air balloons and one ship that looked like a wicker aircraft carrier, held aloft by massive feathery oars.

To say that the scene was mind-blowing was an understatement. But surprisingly it didn’t rank as number one of weird shit I had witnessed to date.

I did see some of the crew aboard the larger vessels eye me warily as I slowly closed into port. I also didn’t miss the fact that one of the dirigible ships carried the flag of the Guild. I would have to keep an eye on that one, I didn’t need any more trouble at the moment.

None of the ships was outrightly hostile as I entered the bay. Could you call it a bay if it wasn’t on the ocean? I didn’t know and didn’t care, so bay it was.

The city nestled in the bay was many times larger than the others I had passed and it sported a more industrialized theme than the simple wooden or thatch houses I had seen thus far. From that alone, I knew it must be a thriving port. I maneuvered my ship into an available dock. The cradle below easily held the weight of Retribution. Seeing as my ship was only a third of the size of some of the larger vessels, I had spotted, I wasn’t surprised.

Seeing as nobody had fired upon me here, I figured this city was a good place to get information and answers also repair my ship. I set the ship on standby and set the defensive measures to only engage threats aboard the ship. I didn’t want the controller going nuts and vaporizing half the town if some curious local wandered near. I also set instructions for it to maintain this altitude, even if the cradle broke, the ship would remain.

After that was done, I donned my armor, minus my helmet, and stepped out from the upper hatch and onto the open deck.

I took in the amazing view, spotting a rail-thin creature hurrying down the dock toward my location. I figured this was the dockmaster or something like it so I closed the hatch and leaped off the ship, landing lightly on the dock.

“Greetings, stranger, and welcome to Posa. We don’t get many metal ships around here, and I have never seen one quite like yours. What brings you to this humble port of the Avuilian Protectorate?”

I studied the weird avian creature. He, at least I think it was a he, was painfully slim and had a long neck, long thin bird-like legs but instead of wings, had a flap of skin that stretched between its hip to just above its wrist. The head sported a sharp pointed beak and four black orbs for eyes. I would say it resembled a heron but that was only due to the long thin neck and beak.

I cleared my throat, “I was exploring when I ran into some trouble, then I found this port and thought I may be able to stop and affect repairs.”

The creature's neck turned oddly as he examined the damage at the front of my ship. “I see, Pirate encounter then?”

“… Um, no, well I did encounter one of those as well, at least I assume it was a pirate. But the damage was my fault. I flew into a swarm of some unknown creature.”

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The creature chittered in mirth. “You must not be from around here, if you were you would have steered clear of the Gossamer swarm. They are harmless creatures, for the most part, but are attracted to mana updrafts. This makes them highly explosive when it's mixed with the natural gasses their bodies produce to keep them aloft.”

“Yes, well, I learned my lesson from that encounter.”

The birdman jerked his beak up in what I assumed was a nod, “as for the pirate, can you describe their ship. We have had a few reports of activity lately but it's always important to note any new encounters.”

“Um sure, it looked like that ship over there,” I said pointing to one of the steamships.

The bird’s head swiveled around nearly one-eighty to look at the ship I was pointing to, giving me the creeps.

“A cloud ship, hmm… It could be a few different pirates that I am aware of. Do you have any other insights into this attacker?”

I told the birdman everything I had seen, the decks, the guns, even how it tried to approach me.

“Going by this information it was probably the Forsooth, captained by a Jerboa by the name of Grulaine. Honestly, you are lucky to still have your ship and your life. The man is known to be ruthless and cunning. We suspected he was back in the area when another merchant ship went missing a few days ago but this only confirms it.”

“Why not just fire at every cloud that gets near, surely that would deter the pirate?” I offered.

“Perhaps but the cost in ammunition would be untenable. The mists today are rather sparse but they can quickly cover the entire kingdom, making travel difficult unless you can fly above the mist layer. Even then, there are only a handful of ports that high up, making the pirates that hunt among the mists a real concern for any merchant's vessel.”

“Fair enough,” I conceded. “My name’s Paul by the way.”

The creature nodded, “you may call me Glak, I am the port master. I see your ship is armed?”

“It is,” I replied slowly, “will that be an issue?”

“No, but if you would like to make money, there are bounties available for the pirates. Seeing as you survived an encounter with one of the more vicious ones around here, perhaps you would be interested in taking on some of those contracts.”

“I’ll think about it, for now, I’m just going to explore the city.”

“Certainly. The docking fee is ten credits a day. Will the rest of your crew be joining you?”

I was about to say I had no other crew but stopped myself. “Not at this moment. They have to affect repairs on some internal systems.”

The birdman nodded again and waved me on. “Enjoy the city, Captain Paul.”

I should have really fixed my ship first but this was too interesting of a situation to pass by. Besides, it wouldn’t take me too long to cut out the damaged armor and replace it. Most of the armor was flat panels and I only needed to cut the required size from my backup stock. A plasma cutter would make quick work of that.

To say the city was rowdy was an understatement.

I spotted at least ten different humanoid races present. I learned that the dockmaster was a race called a Dormian. I also learned what a Jerboa was. They were tall beastkin that looked a bit like a mouse, fox mix, with enormous tufted ears and long thin tails with a poof of white hair at the tip.

The city had quite a collection of these Jerboas around and from my estimate, they were all taller than humans. They were also quite an eclectic mix. Most sported short light brown fur over their entire bodies. At least I assumed it was their entire bodies as they didn’t wear much in the form of clothing, the women even less so than the men.

Some wore a three-pointed hat, with slits cut in it for their ears to protrude through. The hats, as well as the creature's ears, were usually highly decorated. I didn’t know what if any significance the decorations had. As for their ears, some had dozens of ringed piercings, so many in some cases that the long upright ears drooped over from the weight.

Going by how other Jerboa treated the Jerboa with drooped ears it seemed like a sign of station or respect.

Their clothing wasn’t any less garish. Usually made with clashing colors, both bright and loose-fitting.

On the contrary, the Dormian or bird people were much more reserved in their coloring and choices of clothing. As far as I could tell, those two races made up the majority of the people in the city, with a smattering of other races mixed in. I even saw a few humans, though I doubted they were from Earth.

With that in mind, I looked for a staple of all ports, a bar.

It didn’t take too long to find the establishment. It was just off the loading area of the dock, past a large billboard with the words “Bounty Board” written on it.

I stopped in front of the board and looked at the pictures posted. There were quite a few wanted pirates, more than I thought possible. The rewards ranged from a few credits to ten thousand credits. Turns out Captain Grulaine wasn’t even on the higher end coming in at a six thousand credit bounty, dead or alive. It made me wonder what the other people on this list did to garner that large a bounty.

I didn’t grab any of the sheets as I wasn’t sure I wanted the responsibility at the moment. Instead, I headed into the bar, which was quite busy for it only being past noon. I found an empty table and ordered a drink when the waiter came by.

For the next few hours, I just sat in the bar, drinking and eating as I listened in to the conversations going on around me. I learned quite a bit by just being perceptive.

Turns out pirate activity had increased significantly since the isles of fog were transported to Earth. At least that was what the Jerboa called the floating island chain. There also seemed to be some tension between them and the Avuilian Protectorate, although, it didn’t seem to be enough to affect trade relations. It also turned out that Posa – the port I was currently in – was a small port town within the island chain. That probably explained why pirate attacks were more frequent as it was on the edge of the territory.

I didn’t get a complete picture of the size of this area but from what I overheard, some ships would sail for weeks before reaching their next port. Depending on how fast these ships moved, this island chain could be larger than the entire United States.

I lifted my drink to mull over this information as the bar quieted and all of the Jerboa turned toward the door and the newcomer that had just stepped inside.

This new arrival was also a Jerboa but smaller than any I had seen thus far. If I had to estimate, he stood less than five feet tall. The Jerboa also sported a greying muzzle but you could hardly tell through the light tan fur. The last thing of note about this newcomer was the ears. Both had so many earrings that they hung limply on either side of his head and jingled lightly when he walked.

Despite the age and appearance of this Jerboa, he had sharp eyes that took in everything within the bar. His eyes locked onto me and they stopped.

“Well, this can’t be good,” I muttered.