The airship fled into the night, and eventually the stars faded and dawn broke. The day wound on, and with the engines relatively stable, and no particular tasks or duties assigned or expected of him, Threadbare found his way up to the main deck and watched the landscape roll by.
There were things he needed to do, of course. And the most important one seemed to be getting answers out of Jean. But Harey Karey was keeping an eye on him now, watching his movements. She was probably afraid that he was going to betray her inevitable mutiny to Anne, or otherwise find a way to pull shenanigans.
And Threadbare did want to pull shenanigans, he really did, but they weren't the shenanigans that had anything to do with Karey's shenanigans. He had no way to communicate that to her though, and as the day wore on and he kept catching glimpses of the light reflecting from Karey's spectacles off to the side or behind him, he began to worry that she was straining Renny's illusions. And when she wasn't around, Gaston was usually down in the hold chatting with Jean. And given that he seemed to work for the same master, it was probably not a good idea to question her while he was within earshot.
So Jean was off limits for now. He'd have to wait until the pirates were distracted, or Karey was either dead or the new captain.
Which was a disturbing thought. The more he came to know these pirates, the more he understood them. They were people, and not entirely bad ones at that. But the lives that they'd chosen seemed to be lacking in a few areas; notably those that provided safe and stable options for retirement.
There were too many problems on that front to do anything about it at the moment, though. So Threadbare waited and watched the ground below, peering with interest as they crested the last of the Guzoverdee range in the northwest of Cylvania, and snowy slopes gave way to green peaks and hills that rolled down like giant's staircase to the vast northern forest that marked the beginning of what was once called the Brokecrown borderlands.
There were a lot of trees. But oddly, compared to the far depths of Cylvania's forests, most of the trees were much smaller. And there were large patches of scraggly meadow, filled with wildflowers. It was all rather pretty, but too Threadbare's eyes it looked... off.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he moved up to the front of the ship, where the wind was whipping loudly past, and it was hard to hear.
“Wind's Whisper Renny. Can you hide a few conversations in this spot? I need to talk with Glub.”
A few minutes later, the wind around him seemed to recede, and Renny said, “There you go.”
Threadbare spared him a grateful nod, before glancing back and around, taking stock of the deck. Karey was at the wheel, Anne was nowhere to be seen, and only a handful of pirates were minding the rigging. Glub was swabbing the deck, pushing a mop along in as plodding and golem-like a manner as he could.
“Wind's Whisper Glub. When you can, please make your way next to me. We can talk safely if you're within close distance.”
Your Wind's Whisper Skill is now level 27!
It took about half an hour for Glub to clean his way up the deck. Threadbare waited with the patience that came naturally to golems, and watched the long stretches of forest pass by. Occasionally the moss-covered stone of old ruins would poke out above the trees, but the pirates didn't stop to investigate any of the crumbling structures.
“That last one was a dungeon for sure, man,” Glub said, as he finally started mopping around Threadbare's patch of deck. “Heard about this place.”
“That's what I was hoping,” Threadbare said, making sure to keep his face forward, and his mouth out of the line-of-sight of the pirates behind him. “I would very much like to know what we are flying into.”
“Like in general where we are, or where the pirates are taking us?”
“Both. But I'm working on that second part. I would be surprised if you knew more than the few bits I've gotten from Jean. But if they've let slip anything around you...”
“Not much, man. They know they're headed toward a rabbit beastfolk nation, and they've been promised the weight of the ship in gold. So I hope they've got plenty of merchants 'cause that's gonna take a lot of packs of holding to carry away.”
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Threadbare digested this. That was rather a lot of gold.
“Now if you want the whereabouts we're currently over, this is like the far reaches of the Brokecrown Borderlands. There used to be a whole bunch of kingdoms and stuff way to the south and east, and this was a patch of bad lands between most of 'em. So when people had problems in those kingdoms, they'd flee here. Lots of bandits and rebels and stuff. Sometimes people would claim land and try to set up new kingdoms, and there'd be like little wars and revolutions and stuff. It always changed so much maps were pointless back in those days.”
“That matches with what Jean told me of Belltollia,” Threadbare nodded. “But I don't see a lot of kingdoms around here.”
“You won't,” Glub said, starting to shake his head then stopping. “Whoops, can't do that. I'm just a golem. Work work work. Uh... anyway... that's how it used to be. Then the dragons came.”
And all of a sudden the strange shortness of the trees made a lot more sense.
“Does anybody live out here anymore?” Threadbare asked.
“Eh, one of the reasons it got so many unwanted people was because most of it was full of wilds and monsters and dungeons and dangerous stuff. We're in like the new frontier part of it. But I know where we're going, I think. We've been following a river, and it's one I've followed before.”
“We are?” Threadbare started toward the side of the deck, then stopped. He wasn't sure how much space Renny's noise illusion covered.
“Oh yeah. No matter where we go the river's always in sight. It's a nice streak of blue right along my magic map. But I guess you can't see that... Anyways, we keep following this, the first settlement we'll come to is a place called Queen's Ford.”
“Have you been there?”
“Nah. Uh...” Glub circled Threadbare, and started on the right side of the deck. “I'm gonna have to face their way soon if I stick to the pattern. The crew might see my mouth moving and stuff. So if you got anything more to talk about, like now's the time.”
“How big is it?” Threadbare asked.
“Like a few hundred. Big for this part of the wilds. Oh! This might help. There's not much between it and Belltollia.”
Threadbare pondered. “I wonder how long it will be until we reach it?”
“Maybe tonight? Never flown this way before. I'm guessing by the parts of my map that I can see with the skill.”
“That does help,” Threadbare said, as Glub moved out of his line of sight. “Thank you very much. Please stay safe. Whisper me if you need help or saved.”
Glub didn't reply, but Threadbare knew his words had been heard.
It was good to have an old and reliable friend along for this adventure. Allies were in short supply on this vessel.
Turning, he saw Karey's spectacles glint as she stared at him from her spot on the wheel. Then pointedly turned her gaze to Glub. Then back to him.
It would be better to say, Threadbare thought, that trustworthy allies were in short supply.
He simply nodded to show that he'd gotten the point, and once she looked away he forced himself to walk casually, and ambled his way belowdecks.
In time she would come after him, he knew. And when he checked, Gaston was down sitting next to Jean, playing cards with her through the bars, so there was no point in questioning her right now. Instead Threadbare retreated to his quarters.
“Oh bless me,” Renny said, as they got inside and shut the door. “That was a lot of strain. Do you mind if I use that crown again?”
“Not at all,” Threadbare said, passing over the golden laurel wreath that he kept under his hat. It was a very special item, because it let him rest. Not sleep, mind you, but lay down and recharge his energy like most organic people could. Normally golems had no way to do that, so it took them longer to restore their spent energy pools. The laurels were one of the few shortcuts he'd found to help with that which didn't involve Shaman skills.
“Left one's open,” Midian said. “Or is that port? No, it's sherry. Brandy? I don't know.”
She was sitting on the right-hand bunk, grinning ear-to-ear. Her eyes were sad, though.
Renny took a look, hopped up on the left-hand bunk, and drew the curtain. “Activate Rest. Good night, I don't feel like talking sorry Midian.”
“I could talk,” said Threadbare, moving so he could see the light through the keyhole. “If that's what you want to do, Miss Midian.”
“Miss Midian? No, they won't miss Midian. No one will. Well unless they're trying to hit me. But you can't miss what didn't exist in the first place. Unless you thought it did. Some lies are best left lying. Some flies are best left flying. Where are we flying to?”
“A place called Queen's Ford. Do you know it?”
“Queen's Ford. Queen's Chrysler. Queen's Honda... no. Not sure what we're driving here. Hope the tires are good. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Dragons in the rear view mirror are larger than they appear.”
The elf's eyes focused on Threadbare. “Would you like to know about Queen's Ford?”
“So you do know it?”
“I don't yet. I will soon. Just give me... time. Heh. As if I haven't had enough already. Short Vision.”
And with that the strange elf passed out, slumping back into the bed, seemingly asleep.
“She's an Oracle!” Renny burst out, then clapped his hand over his mouth. “Whoops. Sorry.”
“It's all right. Your voice is pretty quiet,” Threadbare said, keeping his eyes fixed on the keyhole. “Just stay put and rest. An Oracle, you say?”
“Yes. I know the skill she used. She'll be out for about an hour, more or less. With maybe a dream that can help us.”
That sounded good, so Threadbare settled in to wait.
Unfortunately it wasn't what happened.
What happened was that Midian snapped bolt upright a few minutes later, a thin scream escaping from her lips. “Too many! Too many too manytoomanytoomany—” she broke off and looked at Threadbare with haunted eyes. “I'm sorry. Your call cannot be connected as dialed. Please try again. Yourself, this time.”
And then before he could react, with elven speed and grace Midian leaned forward and booped him on the nose.
“Grant Vision,” she said, and everything shifted as the world changed...