Though the vast swamp stretched from horizon to horizon, the flight of the Gaping Maw was not without occasional sights in the distance. On the fourth day in the air, a large temple of seemingly ancient construction came into view in the middle-distance. Hundreds of steps approached the peak from all four faces of the pyramidal structure, which was topped with a large square platform rimmed with obelisks. The weathered gray bricks were overgrown with plants, and the whole temple appeared crooked as if one side were sinking into the swamp.
On the fifth day, the ship detoured around a hideous gouge in the surface that descended down into a shadowy abyss. The ravine was miles long and hundreds of feet wide, and lined with waterfalls and hanging plants spilling over the edge from the surrounding swamp. As the day’s travel drew on, more such ravines could be seen in the distance — each as dark and foreboding as the first.
When Hedley came to assume his post in the crow’s nest, Eli wanted desperately to ask him about the temple and the ravines, but he had learned by now that Hedley would rarely discuss two separate topics in the same interaction. The man seemed to either avoid conversation altogether, or apply himself wholeheartedly to a single topic until he was too burnt out to speak of anything else. Eli had something else he wanted to discuss with him, so he begrudgingly suppressed his curiosity about the landscape for.
The birdman landed on the post that extended out from the stern-side edge of the crow’s nest and greeted Eli with a curt nod. Eli returned the silent nod and began nonchalantly gathering his things in an attempt to pretend that his incoming question wasn’t premeditated. When he picked up his open notebook, he pretended to be reminded of something from the content of the page.
“Oh, would you mind taking a look at this for me? It’s the rune set I’m thinking of using for my new staff.”
As Hedley propped up his staff in the corner, he twisted his head and leaned over to peer at the notebook in Eli’s outstretched hand. He initially seemed disinterested, but Eli saw the attention growing in the man’s eyes as he looked over the page. There was a basic drawing of a staff in the middle of the page with various lines extending away from different sections, each one leading to a pattern of runes elsewhere on the page. Eli knew he had hooked his fish when Hedley abruptly squinted — he had seen the error Eli had intentionally placed.
“You’ll blow the damn thing up on the first shot,” Hedley observed.
“What?” Eli feigned concern and shock, twisting the notebook back around to look over it with his mouth slightly agape.
“Give me that,” Hedley snatched the notebook from his hands, removed a small vile of ink from a pocket, and took a seat at the basic wooden table in the corner. After a moment of twisting his head around to inspect his own shoulder, he plucked a slightly damaged feather and dipped it into the ink.
“You’ll need at least another set of constriction runes,” the birdman said as he began scrawling runes on the page, “and this— what is this? Your amplification runes should be spaced out at least twice as far.”
Eli had of course known he would need more constriction runes, but the point about the amplification runes was new to him. That was exactly the kind of guidance he was hoping to eek out of the old man before he caught on to the act.
Hedley grumbled as he continued crossing out runes and etching his own, “listen, kid, if you try channeling this much power with Elven runes you’re either going to get a dud or a bomb. I’m partial to my own ancestral runes, of course, but even Grand Clerical runes would be better at handling the power than Elven runes.”
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“The Grand Clerical alphabet has channeling runes?” Eli asked curiously. He knew it did, he just hadn’t had the opportunity to learn them.
Hedley sighed, “yes, I guess I’ll write those down for you too. Can’t have you going and killing yourself on the first test fire.”
Hedley abruptly stopped and shot his eyes to the sky outside the crow’s nest. He dropped the quill and shoved himself out of the chair before rushing to lean over the half-wall and stare intently into the distance.
“What is it?” Eli asked, his demeanor instantly shifting to serious as he picked up the long spyglass from the corner and placed it to his eye, attempting to follow the birdman’s gaze.
Hedley swiped the spyglass from him with one hand as he extended his other beyond the half-wall and launched a flickering flare of red magic into the air, “get below deck!”
“What’s happening?” Eli asked.
“Go!” Hedley shouted as he readied his staff.
Eli sensed fear in his voice and promptly made his way to begin climbing out of the crow’s nest.
“Stop!” Hedley shouted at his eyes snapped towards the bow, “it’s already too late, you won’t make it in time.”
“In time for what?”
“Shut up, get your staff ready, and stand back from the edges.”
______
Meredith was manning the helm out of habit more than anything. The ship’s rudder did nothing to steer it in flight, the sails took care of that now. Someone still had to issue orders to the deck crew, however, and it just felt right to grip the wheel as she did so. The bright red flare caught her attention immediately as it soared from the crow’s nest towards the stern of the ship. Within seconds of snapping her head around to look behind the ship she had spotted the approaching threats.
The first mate drew in a quick but deep breath before bellowing as loudly as she could, “BALROGS!”
The deck crew immediately began tying down ropes and securing sails. Those without urgent tasks to complete were already sprinting towards the stairwells, while the rest followed after the instant their emergency duties were complete. The Shark Titan burst through the door of his cabin and spun around to face the first mate on the quarterdeck above him.
“They’re coming from behind,” she shouted as she drew her swords.
“Bastard monkeys!” the captain growled, then turned on a panicked pirate sprinting past him towards the stairs, “you! Wake the quartermaster, and slap him sober if he’s drunk!”
“Aye captain!” the pirate shouted without slowing his sprint.
The captain leapt from the main deck to the quarterdeck in a single bound and stepped up beside his first mate. He eyed the fast approaching flock of balrogs — their thickly muscled bodies hanging limply from the flapping leathery wings that carried them through the sky.
“Is this a good enough emergency?” the captain asked genuinely.
The first mate rolled her eyes as she answered harshly, “pull the damn chain!”
The Shark Titan smiled and stomped over to the helm, where he unwrapped a chain from its post and yanked it hard. At the rear of the ship, at what would normally be the waterline, the hull began to segment and move. Sections slid out of place on either side, turning on tracks to move around the corners of the stern and reveal the hollow ends of two large metal cylinders. Small flames lit within the dark cylinders — and a second late erupted into infernos. The ship lurched forward as powerful jets of fire launched from the cylinders, propelling it faster through the air.
The captain cackled over the thunderous roar of the engines, “I love this ship!”
Another flare launched from the crow’s nest — this one towards the starboard bow.
______
Iris was sitting on a crate in the cargo hold reading one of her books from the Giantrock Library when she heard mechanical stirring from deeper within the ship. Looking up from her book, she cocked her head in curiosity as she listened closer — and was then abruptly flung backwards and sent tumbling to the floor. She landed in a heap and climbed to her feet with an angry sigh.
“What was that?”
A tear ripped open in her palm, and confused tones came the void within. Iris picked up her book with the torn palm and sucked it into the void, then blipped to the crew quarters above. Thoroughly rattled pirates were sprinting down the steps in droves and spilling out into the deck.
“What’s going on?” she asked one of them as they sprinted by.
“Balrogs!” he shouted, his voice trembling in fear as he stumbled and nearly fell.
“What the fuck’s a balrog?” she called after him.