“Get up, Skipper.”

Twila screwed her eyes shut and pushed her face further into the sand. She wasn’t getting up yet. As far as she cared, she was never getting up again. “No.”

“How many did you kill?” Auntie Charlie asked as she knelt next to the redheaded young skipper.

“Two,” Twila groaned. “I killed two people today. That’s three. Two pirates and the guard in Shimmertower. I’m staying here.”

“No, you’re not.” Auntie Charlie grabbed Twila’s collar and yanked her to her feet. She stared at Twila’s face, hers wrinkling in concern. “You look terrible, Twila. Let me help.”

Auntie Charlie continued talking as she used her jacket’s hem to gently brush bloody sand off Twila’s face. “Rosie got one pirate, and I got three–along with the one in the cave. Rojir got another one near the mooring line, and the crew on the ship killed three and captured another one. That leaves one still out there, at least, but he won’t return here. The ship’s re-moored. Becca cut one of the lines so they could actually defend the Hourglass. All in all, we got off lucky. Rojir’s more cut up than you, but he’ll live, and Marianna bruised her whole back when she fired a blunderbuss, the tiny thing.”

“I don’t care,” Twila muttered.

“You’d best start caring soon, Twila. Your crew needs you. They’re checking the bodies for useful gizmos and equipment. Let’s take a look at this big guy.” Charlie stood, grabbing Twila’s shoulder firmly with her free hand.

Twila flinched and pulled one of [Anton’s Paired Pistols] to point it in Charlie’s face. The woman tightened her grip until Twila’s shoulder ached, rolled her eyes, and snorted. “Oh, now you’re ready to shoot someone? Put it away, girl.”

Twila stared at her quartermaster, finger on the trigger. Then she broke and shoved the pistol back into her bandolier. “Fine,” she mumbled as she let Auntie Charlie guide her to Harris’s body.

The big pirate lay out a few feet away. Twila felt a wave of gratitude toward Charlie–the woman had covered the mystshot wound so Twila didn’t have to see it.

That gratitude disappeared a moment later. “He had some interesting gizmos, a pistol, and a sword that might be better for you than that cutlass. They’re yours. All you have to do is pull them off his body,” Charlie said. She let her hand slip off Twila’s shoulder.

Twila fell to her knees, staring at the man she’d killed. “Do I have to, Charlie?” She glanced up with pleading eyes, but Charlie met them with a steely gaze and nodded.

Gingerly, Twila reached out and started unhooking Harris’s myst battery with shaking hands. Its chamber dwarfed hers, though it had drained completely empty during their fighting. She unclipped it from the man’s harness and set it aside. A small, round device was clipped just a touch lower. Twila examined it.

The round device glowed a faint bluish-purple, even without any source of myst. Its casing was quartered–alternating silver and copper sections–and the frame and cogs were brass. When Twila touched it, a tiny flare of myst crossed Harris’s body.

“That’s a [Myst Absorber]. They’re not common,” Charlie spoke up. “They’re great for pirates…people…who want to fight up close, since they dissipate mystshot.”

“Give it to Rojir,” Twila said. She pulled the gizmo off Harris’s harness and tossed it toward Charlie.

“Alright, skipper, I’ll do that.”

Twila pulled the man’s last gizmo from his chest, plugged it into her battery, and stared at it. It was a brass cup filled with dice with glass windows. She shook it, and her myst battery ticked. The five dice clattered, and when they came up, she had three fours, two ones, and a six.

“What’s this? A rigged dice set?”

“Maybe. We’ll have to use it to find out,” Charlie said. “Now, the sword and pistol.”

“I don’t want the pistol. I have [Anton’s Paired Pistols].” Twila returned to where she’d been lying in the sand and picked up the sword.

For such a big man, he’d used a downright dainty sword. Its hilt was embossed brass, and its blade was surprisingly clean except for the sand and blood on it. Twila held it out gently. It fit her hand much better than the cutlass, so she shoved the new straight sword into her belt and handed Charlie the [Chain Cutlass]. “Put that and the gun on Hourglass. Hopefully, we won’t need them.”

The older woman tucked the sword away. “I’ll keep the sword. That’s all he had. Let’s get back to Hourglass. Rojir’s checking the other man you killed and meeting us on the beach.”

The whole crew, it turned out, was meeting Twila and Charlie on the beach. Rojir bore a few wounds wrapped in cloth as he deposited a musket, a mostly-intact greatcoat, and a gizmo on the beach next to a small pile of plundered weapons and devices. Charlie tossed the [Myst Absorber] toward him. “That’s a gift from the skipper. It’ll keep you safer.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“So what do we do now?” Rosie asked.

Twila glanced at Auntie Charlie, who patted the sand. “Sit down, ship rats. The skipper needs to make some choices.”

None of the ship rats looked very happy. Becca and Carter stared off into space; Jamis glared at the pile of weapons, and even Marianna sat still and didn’t fidget.

“Alright, Twila,” Charlie started. “You’re the skipper, so you’re in charge here. We need to go after that [Sky Captain] before he figures out how to get the treasure. Who’s going?”

“Why do we have to go after him at all?” Carter asked. "We could just skip back in time and get the treasure before him.”

“Now you believe us?” Rosie glared across the circle.

“Well, yeah. Why else would there be pirates down here?”

“It’s just not right, Carter, to suddenly believe,” Rosie muttered.

“Stop. We’re not going back in there,” Twila said. “I’m done with the killing. We’re taking Hourglass back to Three Peaks and finding a courier job.”

Rosie’s one-eyed glare shifted from Carter to Twila. “Twi, you’re just giving up? Just like that, after a fight that we won?” She shook her head. The others looked shocked, disappointed, and angry as well.

Only Charlie looked calm. In fact, she was smiling. “As your quartermaster, I’m going to veto that decision. I’ll give you a few reasons, though. First, [Sky Captain] Vayne can’t have much crew in there, but if he realizes his pirates didn’t take the Hourglass, he’ll leave on the ship’s boat we saw in there. Second, this is our best chance to get the treasure there. It sounded like Vayne and his crew cleared the way and couldn’t remove the treasure. And third, you’re forgetting someone in there.”

Twila thought, furrowing her eyebrows. Then her eyes widened. “Coatless!”

“Who’s missing their coat?” Jamis asked.

“No, Coatless is a selkie. The [Sky Captain] has her coat, so she’s stuck doing whatever he wants. We’re getting her back, right, Twila?” Rosie asked.

“Yeah, we’ll go save Coatless and get the treasure too. I want Rosie, Charlie, and Rojir again. You know the way. Let’s go.” Twila pointed.

“I’m vetoing that too, Twila.” Charlie stood up. “I’ll go with you, or Rosie will, but we’re no longer leaving the Hourglass without a pilot. The next time she’s attacked at berth, we’ll just have her take off. And with his injuries, Rojir shouldn’t be fighting anyone. Neither should you.”

Twila glared, her stomach churning. Was Charlie trying to get the treasure before her? She’d thought the woman would be trouble before when she’d brought the street rats in. Now she was proving it. “I’m going. We’ll take Carter and Becca. Rosie, you’re in charge of Hourglass–keep her safe for me.”

If she could trust anyone to help her with Auntie Charlie, it was them.

Auntie Charlie didn’t seem to notice. “Let’s trade out those [Pocket Condensers], then. Shore party, take what you need. Ship party, get all this on board. Skipper, they should go to one mooring line in case the few pirates we missed come back.”

“That’s a good idea. Rosie, make sure you’re only using one line, and stay at the wheel.” A thought occurred to Twila. She winked at Rosie. “Actually, circle the mountain, nice and low. If you figure out how those pirates got the Endeavor inside that cave, hover outside. Don’t go inside, though.”

Rosie nodded. “Got it, skipper,” she said, glancing at Auntie Charlie. Twila couldn’t see her look, but surely her best friend was on her side in all this?

[Twila Tighe, Ship Rat Mystgineer, Equipment Level 1.33 (Myst 1/15, Hit Points 1/1)]

[Head - Empty]

[Eyes - Myst Lens (lvl. 1) Myst Sight (passive) See own status block and others’ classes]

[Chest - Ship Rat’s Harness (lvl. 0)]

[Waist - Apprentice Mystgineer’s Bandolier (lvl. 1) Deep Pockets (passive) - Equip an additional Gizmo]

[Legs - Canvas Overalls (lvl. 0)]

[Gizmo #1 - Loaded Dice (lv. 2) - Roll the Bones (active, 1 myst/roll) - gain a random myst enhancement; Skill - Trickery]

[Gizmo #2 - Anton’s Pocket Watch (lvl. 4)] Redo (active, 5 myst/5 seconds) - redo the last five seconds of time, with knowledge of what’s happening (1 minute to reset); Skill - Piloting]

[Gizmo #3 - [Pocket Condenser (lvl. 1) - Condense Myst (passive) - Condenses 1 myst/5 ticks; Skill - None]

[Gizmo (Belt) - Mystwork Lantern (lvl. 2): Mystlight (active, 25% failure chance, 1 myst/attempt) - start the light; Adjustable Light Aura (sustained, .5-2 myst/tick) - light a variable area; Skill - Perception]

[Myst Battery - Myst Battery Mk. 2 (lvl. 1) Myst Storage (passive) - 15 myst maximum, requires condenser to refill]

[Weapon/Pair - Anton’s Paired Pistols (lvl. 2) Smoothbore Myst-Shot (active, 1 cartridge/shot) - fire a ray of heated myst; Rapid Shots (active, 2 myst/shot) - fire twice/tick; Skill - Marksman]

[Weapon #2 - Heatblade (lvl. 2) Heat (active, 1 myst/tick) - cause the blade’s edge to superheat; Skill - Acrobatics]

[Weapon/Pair - Empty]

[Skill #1 - Trickery 2]

[Skill #2 - Perception 2]

[Skill #3 - Piloting 4]

[Skill #4 - Marksman 2]

[Skill #5 - Acrobatics 2]