After a short jaunt, we arrived at the docks. Unlike the city proper, they were empty—almost empty. Bathing in the sun on a stone altar was a sphinx the size of a normal house cat.

“Already?” Shadara whipped her head back and forth. “This has got to be the smallest floor with the smallest sphinx ever.”

The sphinx slowly got up and stretched as she did. “Don’t let size fool you. Size is not everything.” Did she just add a syllable to everything? “Greatness doesn’t care.”

I joined Shadara in looking around. “Is this city all there is? Why does it feel like people are avoiding this place?”

“Not at all, Rina.” The sphinx sat down, her tail flicking back and forth. This port is only the start. Out there is the test.” She waved to the ocean with a wing.

Resting out in the water were three large ships. They looked like old trading ships I saw in history books. Each of them had three masts, and their sails were tied up.

Killa looked around. “There’s got to be some way we can gain some levels before we attempt this. Are there dungeons in the city, bellow it maybe?”

The sphinx continued, “Ships on the vast sea. Captains unique; trials await. Fourteen days to face.”

She started pacing along the edge of the altar. “Freedom’s yours, children. Challenge at will, your pace set. The journey is yours.”

The sphinx grinned as she eyed us like prey. “The full course is set. Arrive in time to succeed. Captain’s word guides true.”

Her eyes focused on me as she paused and gave me a wink. “Challenge ahead looms. But avoidance is unwise. Difficulty climbs ahead.”

All three of us just stared at her.

“What?” Shadara shouted.

The sphinx’s fur along her back started to rise as she muttered, “Unbelievable.”

The sphinx took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few moments. “I’m telling you your options. You must choose a ship to take you to your destination. The captains are unique, but each of them knows where to go. You can challenge yourself to push yourself harder by challenging the islands you come across. You can arrive at your destination early, or you can use this time to grow in power. The choice is yours. But everything is going to get much more difficult from now on.”

Shadara threw out her arms. “Why didn’t you say that? What was all that stuff before?”

The sphinx flexed her claws as her fur rose to a peak along her spine. “It’s called poetry, you ignorant flea farm.”

It’s not any poetry I’m familiar with.

Killa grabbed the panther woman. “And what lovely poetry it was.” She pulled Shadara back with her before whispering, “Now isn’t the time to make the sphinx angry. “ She held up a hand to silence Shadara before she could respond. “Size is not everything. That was her warning to us. Now keep quiet if you aren’t going to say anything nice or apologize.”

Shadara pouted but stayed silent.

I bowed slightly to the sphinx. “Thank you. But what happens if we do not reach the destination in fourteen days?”

The sphinx folded her wings to her side as she sat down. “The ship will return here without you.”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

The sphinx rolled her eyes. “Why do some people have to be so simple.” She let out a heavy sigh. “You’re out at sea standing on the boat one moment, and the next there’s no boat. You’re going to get wet. Hope to whatever deities you revere that an island is very close. Without a captain, you’ll never reach the final destination. Without a ship, you will certainly die.”

Killa stepped up. “So we have to swim; that’s not a big deal, right girls?”

Shadara nodded. “I can swim.”

I swallowed. “Is this a bad time to say that I can’t swim?”

They both turned to me. Shadara pinched the bridge of her nose. Killa covered her mouth as she held in her laughter.

I rubbed my stinger arms together behind me. “I never had a reason to learn how. I never went anywhere with water.”

Killa patted my shoulder. “I can teach you. Don’t worry. It’s not that hard, I promise.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t swim. My body is too heavy. All this metal my body’s made out of will sink me like a lead brick.”

Shadara tilted her head. “Then that means we have to just make it within the time limit. Simple as that.”

The sphinx waved to a small rowboat tied to the dock. “Your chariot, challengers.”

I tip-toed to the small boat behind the other two. As I gingerly peered into the water, I noticed several dozen fish swimming around. I pointed to them as I turned to the sphinx. “Are the fish edible?”

She grinned. “They are as edible to you as you are to them.”

“But I can eat everything my teeth can chew.”

Her grin widened. “So can they. And I can assure you, their teeth are unstoppable.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Shadara paused as she was about to put her foot into the boat. “What’s stopping them from eating the boat?”

The sphinx shrugged with her wings. “Nothing but the taste.”

I furrowed my brow. “What about metal?”

“It’s never stopped them before,” the sphinx said with a giggle.

Okay, I’m officially terrified now. But we can’t stop here because of me. I looked down at the rowboat. “Can that thing really hold all of us? There’s enough space, but will it float?”

Killa gracefully flowed into the boat, barely disturbing it. It lowered into the water several inches, but wasn’t in danger of falling below the waterline. She held out her arms. “If it holds me, you’ll be just fine. I weigh much more than you. Just take it slow and easy.” Her lower body clung to the front of the boat while an arm wrapped around a post. “We’ll catch you if you start slipping.”

Shadara reached for me. “If you want, I can set you in.”

I took a deep breath. I moved to the boat with shaky legs. I can do this. I leaned forward with the tips of my toes barely touching the wood. My lower arms gripped Shadara as I used my upper arms to stabilize myself on her shoulders. As if I weighed as much as a child, Shadara lifted me by my armpits and gently placed me in the small boat. My entire body stiffened as I worried about capsizing.

Killa reached for me, wrapping me in one soft, gooey hug. “Sit down and don’t move too much.”

Shadara slipped in between me and Killa and sat on the bench, pulling out the two oars. “Keep your eyes on me and don’t look in the water. It will help.”

I sat down, gripping the railing, and hooked my stinger arms under it at the same time. Who knew I could be so scared of water? It probably doesn’t help that all-consuming, predatory fish surround us, and I have no way to keep myself from drowning.

Shadara gave Killa a nod. The slime woman released me and grabbed the rope, tethering us to the dock. Her grip dissolved the section of rope before she pushed us off with a smooth shove. The boat rocked back and forth as we floated away from the docks. Shadara dipped the oars into the water, one after the other, in a steady rhythm.

The sphinx watched us leave before lying down again. A quick glance back showed the docks disappearing behind the city buildings. The horizon of the ocean was our only view past the large ships. If my heart still worked, it would’ve been ready to burst.

Shadara tapped me on the shoulder. “Keep looking at me until I tell you it’s safe to look out.”

The ship furthest from us unfurled its sails and began turning out to sea.

Killa hummed. “It looks like one of them is leaving. I wonder who’s on it? Will we see them later?”

I tightened my grip on the surprisingly durable wood. That boat has to have Nyx on it. “Both look identical to me. Just take us to the closest one, please.”

Shadara nodded as she rowed. “Of course. Just relax and remember, no sudden movements.”

I relaxed my grip as much as possible. As I started to breathe easier, I couldn’t help but notice Killa’s gaze turned back to the ocean. “What’s wrong?”

The slime woman hummed. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just reminiscing. I miss sitting on the bottom of the ocean, learning magic.”

Shadara picked up the pace. “Let’s just get on the boat before something bad happens.”

Sitting and keeping my eyes on Shadara, who kept smiling at me, helped. It kept my mind off the dangerous liquid our tiny wooden vessel kept us safe from. Before I knew it, we were bobbing next to a much larger ship. A rope dropped down from above.

Seeing the lifeline, I reached for it, rocking the boat with my sudden movement. Killa’s body waved with the rocking. Without hesitating, I began to climb. My strength surprised me. I was pulling myself up, hand over hand. However, the more I climbed, the more the rope swung.

Having four arms should make this easier. But I still only have two hands!

Your stinger arms can still grant you extra stability. Stab them between the planks of wood, and you can hoist yourself up with them.

Timidly, I folded one stinger arm forward. Piercing the bladed tip horizontally between the boards was easy. After an experimental pull, it felt solid, and I could hold myself up with one stinger arm.

These things are stronger than they look.

I stabbed my other stinger arm above the first and pulled myself up. Killa tapped me on the back of my leg. “Keep going. You’re doing great.”

Using my stinger arms to pull me up while climbing the rope at the same time showed me how hard it was to keep track of four moving limbs simultaneously.

Orange, remind me to use these stinger arms more often. We can do a few training sessions while I sleep to practice with them.

Agreed. You need more practice with them. We have several training exercises planned for you.

Eventually, I found a rhythm to it all, and exhilaration filled me. I pulled myself over the railing of the large ship. Looking around the deck, I didn’t see anyone. Killa flowed up the rope like she could reverse gravity and reformed next to me.

Her head swiveled like mine. “This ship has a crew, right?”

I moved towards the center of the deck. “Hopefully. I don’t know the first thing about sailing.”

Shadara joined us as she flipped over the railing. “Three of us can’t possibly manage a ship of this size. Besides, the sphinx mentioned something about a captain.”

“Three lasses climb aboard with ask’n’ the captain first. Manners of landlubbers be deterioratin’ of late.” The over-the-top pirate accent bellowed across the ship. “Ye best be drop’n’ to yer knees ‘n’ beg for forgiveness.”

Shadara pointed to the mast behind me. “Did that sail just talk?”

I turned around and jumped. The sail unfurled to reveal a large, horned toad wearing just a captain’s hat. His fat, yellow belly, and dark green skin were covered in warts. He was more than twice as tall as me. He landed on all fours with a heavy thud. His beady red eyes with horizontal black slits darted to each of us in turn.

The panther woman crossed her arms.

Killa clapped. “Amazing. A talking toad. How’d you do it?”

He rolled his eyes. “This pirate be havin’ more magical blood than ye can imagine. ‘N’ who ye be callin’ a toad, slime?”

Shadara groaned. “It was rude of you to call him a toad when you can clearly see he’s a frog.”

His eyes narrowed on Shadara. “Ye be thinkin’ this pirate be a frog? Ye be more foolish than I thought.”

I walked up to him. “Please forgive us for not asking before boarding. We didn’t know. However, we need passage to our destination. Can you help us? The sphinx said you knew the way.”

He hopped past me to the raised section of the ship. “Ye stand aboard my Puddle Jumper, ‘n’ you be speakin’ to Captain Webster. But aye, I know the place ye be seekin’.”

Shadara snorted. “Webster? Puddle Jumper? Am I dreaming? If I am, please someone wake me up.”

The toad’s mouth cracked open. His tongue shot out towards Shadara. I extended my arm blade and stabbed his tongue before it reached her.

He glared at me. “Ye dare draw me blood? Ye dare strike the captain?”

I shook my hand. “You tried to hit Shadara.”

Captain Webster flicked his tongue off my arm before it fully returned to his mouth. “Ye got spunk. I like that. I could be takin’ you lasses. But first, introductions.”

I snapped my arm down, whipping the blood off it before retracting it. “My name is Rina.” I pointed to my sworn sisters as I introduced them. “That’s Shadara, and this is Killa.”

“Killa what?” the toad asked.

Killa folded her arms. “Kill whatever I want. Is that good enough for you, Webster?”

“It’ll be Captain Webster to ye,” he said. “I be expectin’ proper respect.”

I held up my hands and stood between them. “We don’t need any more fighting. We need him alive to take us to the end of this trial. This is his boat. You don’t have to like him, but please don’t antagonize him until we reach our destination. Then we can discuss this again if you both really want to fight that badly. Okay? Please?”

Killa stepped back. “Anything for you, Rina.”

I turned to Shadara. “You too.”

She put her bow away. “Since you asked so nicely.”

I finally turned to the toad captain. “How long will it take to get to the end, Captain?”

He turned his head up. “Five days.”