Friedrich and Marina sat on the damp and slippery deck of the Brass Stormer, pouring over the map. They’d veered close enough to the shore of Akatfall four days prior that they should be close to Orion Tower, yet there was not a sign of the either it or the island it rested upon.

Teleri was standing at the bow, keeping her keen eyes on the horizon, hoping that there would be some sign of the island. She had seen islands over the last couple of days, plenty of them, but none of them bore a distinct tower and most were doubtlessly uninhabited, save for perhaps monsters and wildlife.

Pheston was sitting by the wheel, doing no steering whatsoever. He would go whichever way he was directed, once Friedrich and Marina had worked out which way that was. He had given up trying to read the map himself, believing that it was his own poor navigation that had gotten them lost at sea.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Marina, scrunching up her face as she drew circles around the island marked on the map. “If we’ve calculated things correctly, we should be able to see the tower by now. We know for a fact the we’re west of Mercia.”

“To come all this way and wind up being stumped by reading a map,” said Friedrich with a sigh. “Do you know how many maps I’d read before we met?”

“Lots?”

“Lots. And every time I’ve gotten lost, I’ve found my way again quickly. This time, I don’t have the means to work out where we’ve gone wrong. Half the islands we’ve passed aren’t marked!”

Marina looked suddenly dizzy and swayed uncertainly for a few seconds before pulling herself together again.

“Seasickness?” Friedrich asked her.

“Magical exhaustion,” she said glumly. “I’ve been on the verge of fainting a few times today already.”

“Banish Shockwave for a while. We have no idea where we’re going.”

“If I banish him, we’ll drift aimlessly and end up more lost.”

“We’re already lost. I’m not sure how much more lost we can get.”

Marina pulled out a small potion from her bag. “I’ve been saving this for a special occasion,” she said as she uncorked it. “Sigurd gave me this in case I found it too difficult to bind Shockwave to this plane.”

“How many of those have you taken?” asked Friedrich suspiciously.

Marina flashed a sneaky smile at him. “Only two, but I’ve rationed them throughout the last couple of weeks.”

“And are there any side effects?”

Marina smiled and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if there are, Friedrich. I’ll brave them for you.”

Friedrich took the potion from her and thumped the cork back in place. “You’ve done so much for me already. Banish Shockwave and take a breather, please. I’d rather you brave being lost along with us, rather than get ill alone.”

Marina interlocked her fingers with Friedrich’s and squeezed his hand gratefully. It came at the same moment as Teleri looked over. The Alaurian pursed her lips and turned to the forward horizon. With a sigh, Marina let Shockwave slip away. The elemental fizzled away from his spot in front of the wheel and she immediately felt a wave of relief. Her tiredness was still there, but the strain that she had grown accustomed to now felt like an empty space in her mind that was most welcome.

She had come to realise that her greatest magical strength was her endurance. While she could deliver high-powered lightning magic in small bursts, conserving her energy and maintaining spells or using numerous low-powered conjurations left her with energy to burn. She could maintain Shockwave for days on end, but if she were to summon three lightning elementals at once, she would break concentration in a minute, leaving her spent.

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“I miss land,” sighed Friedrich, looking at Mercia. He could see Aktafall Bay and thought back to the hunt for the Butcher of the Bay. It seemed like a lifetime ago even though it had not yet been a full year.

“We’ll find something soon,” said Marina. “I think if we find another island along the way, we should all stop for a breather. I know we have plenty of food to spare, but some fresh meat would be nice.”

“What about—”

“Except for fish!” snapped Marina. “I’m so tired of fish! When I feel like vomiting, the taste of briny fish just makes it worse.”

“How angry are you with Sigurd?” asked Friedrich with a smirk.

“I’m not angry with him, I’m angry with Pheston,” said Marina, frowning and glancing over at the smith who was lying flat on the deck and staring into the clear blue sky.

“How did you not realise the seasickness cure was pickled ginger and rum?” asked Friedrich, trying to contain his amusement.

“Because, dear Friedrich, I have never had rum before. Or pickled ginger, for that matter.”

Friedrich could not control himself any longer and burst into fits of laughter. Marina scowled at him and started slapping his arm but it only made him laugh all the harder.

*

Friedrich swung his sword as the serpent leapt through the air. He cut the scaled beast’s underbelly from top to bottom, his mighty blade tearing the creature asunder and spilling its guts across the deck. It rolled over in the air and thudded onto the hard brass before sliding towards the railings. The sea serpent crashed into them and lay dying for several seconds before the life faded from it.

“A great victory,” said Friedrich, swishing his sword and flicking the blood from it. “Wouldn’t you say, Tierblade?”

“I loathe that name,” said Pheston, ascending the ladder. He was soaking wet, having been knocked into the ocean by the twelve-feet-long sea serpent. “Gramr. Now that is the name of a true Corobathian sword.”

“My sword, my name,” said Friedrich, sheathing his weapon.

Marina helped Teleri to her feet and the two approached the dead sea serpent. They looked at each other reluctantly and then Teleri sighed as she kneeled beside it, but Pheston stayed her hand as she reached for the beast’s wide gash.

“Allow me,” he said. He grabbed the serpent’s cut and pulled it apart. He then shoved his hands inside and rummaged around until he pulled a staff and a bow from its stomach.

“Thank you, Pheston,” said Marina, her cheek twitching as she accepted the blood and bile-covered staff.

“A loathsome creature,” said Teleri, taking her bow and descending the ladder to wash it in the seawater. She returned as a minotaur hoisted the sharp-toothed monster into the air and then threw it into the ocean. It splashed water onto the deck, so heavy was the beast, and then drifted along with the waves.

“Alright,” said Friedrich upon turning back into a human. “Back to it, crew.”

“Yes, Cap’n,” said Marina, giving him a salute. She held out her staff and conjured Shockwave anew and delivering a fresh burst of power to the Brass Stormer.

“How can we still be lost?” sighed Pheston. “I don’t mind a jaunt out into the ocean, but we’re at the point of ridiculousness.”

Teleri’s eyes widened as she scanned the horizon. She raised a finger and mouthed a few words that just wouldn’t come out.

“Eh?” asked Pheston, looking to where she was pointing. “I don’t see a thing.”

“Human eyes,” snarled Teleri. “I see a tower.”

“And we haven’t circled back to Akatfall accidentally?” asked Friedrich, praying they had not.

“I am certain we have not.”

Friedrich punched the air victoriously. “At last!” he cried, falling to his knees and punching the air over and over again.

“That’s step two of your masterplan out of the way,” said Marina. “Onwards to step three.”

“Infiltration,” said Teleri.

“Infiltration,” said Friedrich, climbing back to his feet. “Teleri, you can see it already and the rest of us can’t. If we’re lucky, that means we haven’t been spotted. As soon as you see the island, tell us, because we want to land as far from the tower as we can if we’re to have any chance of reaching it unseen.”

Pheston looked to the sun which was already hanging low in the sky. “Remember, we said we would wait until we had the cover of darkness.”

“You’re right,” said Friedrich. “We’ll get a little closer so that we don’t lose sight of the tower and end up in the wrong place.”

“Are you ready for what lies ahead?” asked Teleri.

“Not in the slightest,” said Friedrich, “but it doesn’t matter because we’re going in and we’re bringing my father back. I don’t care what it takes. Even if I die doing it, I’m saving him.”

“There will be no dying,” said Marina. “At least, not for us. The demons, however, will not be so lucky.”

“I concur,” said Teleri; her tone was spiteful. She loathed demons more than any of them and would relish the opportunity to kill as many as she could, but she would not do anything to jeopardise the mission.

Friedrich walked to the bow of the shop alone and stared in the direction where the unseen tower stood tall. “I’m coming for you, father. Your hell is coming to an end.”