As Twila started to run down the cavern, Charlie grabbed her shoulder. “I know you want to hurry, but let’s slow down and think a moment. We’re between him and his boat, which means he won’t be able to leave unless it’s through us. If we take it slow, we’ll be ready to catch him, but if we run off with a half-baked plan, he’ll hear us coming and be ready for us instead.”

Twila froze. Charlie’s advice felt right. There wasn’t any way for Vayne to leave–not without getting through them. And the man was dangerous. If she’d only…beaten…Harris through luck, what would the Endeavor’s skipper be like? Going slow and being sure would mean not walking into an ambush.

And yet…

She couldn’t help but feel like Auntie Charlie didn’t have her back. Not entirely. She’d always taken the Hourglass’s crew for everything she could from the moment they’d docked in Shimmertower. She’d negotiated a cut of their profits, filled the crew with her people, and put herself in a place of power on board.

“We’ll go slow,” she said slowly. “Go ahead and lead us, Auntie Charlie.”

The woman gave no sign of being annoyed. She seemed happy to be in the lead with Twila’s guns behind her. They started into a tunnel, but not the one they’d rushed into. Purple lights flared as Charlie passed them, then winked out behind Carter. The tunnel stretched on, curving slowly in a rhythm. Light on, pass the support, light off.

Just as Twila had gotten used to the rhythm, Charlie stopped suddenly. Twila skidded to a halt, but Carter bumped into her. “What?” Twila asked.

“That’s what.” Charlie pointed. “I nearly tripped over him, and whatever did it, it’s probably still a problem.”

Twila followed the finger into the darkness. A pirate’s freshly-dead body lay on the tunnel’s floor, a myst wound in his side. She looked away, feeling a shiver down her spine.

“See? Going slow is only going to help us. See that brass on the wall? It’s a trap. Probably shoots something. Step across that space across from it, not into it.” Charlie demonstrated, holding out a hand to help the others across. Carter took the hand, nodding in thanks. Twila jumped the gap by herself, landing poorly and falling to a knee.

Charlie shook her head. “Skipper, there’s no need to decline help. Your crew knows who’s in charge, and you don’t have to act tough or strong.”

Twila brushed off her knees. Do they know who’s in charge? She wondered. And which of us do they really think is the skipper? “Let’s just keep moving,” she muttered.

“Your call.” Just before Charlie turned to keep moving, Twila saw her brow furrow but couldn’t figure out why.

The recently-dead pirate wasn’t the only one they found as they kept pushing through the tunnel–especially after it started branching out. Twila began to slowing down, and Carter tilted his head as he squinted down one path. “Ideas?” Twila asked, looking at Carter, who just shrugged.

“I have one,” Charlie started. Twila nodded. “From what I see, the pirates tried the right-turn trick. It’d work, but in a maze like this, Vayne must’ve had a lot of bodies to throw at it, or they were cautious. He’s only got a few minutes' head start on us, so they must’ve marked the route somehow. Bet you a wheel they opened up myst cartridges and spread them on the ground, Carter.”

“You’re on.” Carter slapped his hand into Charlie’s and shook it while Twila pressed her lips together. They had to keep moving. She pulled her [Myst Lens] over her eye.

“Well, did I win?” Asked Charlie, smirking.

“Yeah. You win. How do you know all this?” Twila asked, eyes narrowing under the [Myst Lens].

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s keep moving, skipper.” Charlie held her open palm to Carter, who slapped a coin into it. Then she motioned for Twila to lead. “I’ll keep a sharp eye for you, Twi.”

Twila clenched her jaw and fidgeted with the butt of [Anton’s Paired Pistols] as she stepped forward. But Auntie Charlie’s expected betrayal didn’t come. After a second, Twila started walking up the tunnel. The faint purple spills of myst snaked into the main path, and Twila checked her pistols. Both were loaded and ready.

“What is this place?” Carter asked, wide-eyed. “It’s amazing.”

Twila had to agree. The tunnels hadn’t just been carved. They’d been polished until the [Mystwork Lantern’s] glow bounced off each surface. They weren’t mirrors, but the purple light traveled deep into the cave’s depths. Offshoots and side tunnels dotted the main tunnel like holey cheese.

“The barkeep at the Tarred Siren called this the mystmaze,” Twila said.

“I can see why,” Carter whispered

“I sailed with a skipper back in my days on the Revenge. He went off the port side toward the end, before I cut myself loose. He’d go on about places like this but couldn’t point to any on a map. He said his old skipper had built them.” Charlie stepped over a skeletal body. “Looks like not everyone in here is recent.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“The barkeep said they sent a crew down, but they didn’t come back up.”

“No, they did not. Anyway, Skipper Tanner would go on and on about these treasure troves, but without the map, he never could find them. There are so many little islands in the Sunset Sea. But with your map, we could find them.”

Twila glanced back at Auntie Charlie with narrowed eyes and side-stepped a dead pirate. “Auntie, how much do you want this treasure?”

“If it’s the same treasure Icklen went on about on his way to the locker, I’d want it quite a bit,” Charlie replied. She looked straight into Twila’s eyes. “The gold he talked about? It’d be enough to set us up for life–probably high up on Seapike, too. Even split with you all, it’d still be a fortune.”

“I see,” Twila said. Her stomach twisted. She had to get to the treasure first. Then, maybe, she could make sure Charlie played by her rules.

“What’s wrong, Twi? We’ve already agreed on how to divide the treasure, right?” Charlie asked.

“No one talked to me about dividing up treasure,” Carter interrupted.

“Nothing’s wrong. Just…keep an eye out, okay?” Twila ignored Carter’s interruption and started walking through the mystmaze again. Little purple lights started flaring up around her again. She maneuvered around a pair of skeletons that looked like they’d been crushed by something, careful of where she stepped.

The mystlights grew closer together until the cavern glowed brightly. “I think we’re getting close,” Charlie said.

Twila started jogging.

“Twi, stick with us,” Carter tried to grab her wrist to slow her down, but she pulled free and kept up the pace. Stalactites and stalagmites had connected to form pillars, and stone walls broke the room into sections.

Twila ran around a corner and saw a pirate with nose rings, brown tricorne, and a scraggly beard. He started to stand up from his rock. A flash of purple erupted from behind Twila, and the man fell backward.

Twila scowled over her shoulder at Charlie but kept running. The older woman fell back one pace, breathing heavily. Then another. Twila smiled between breaths. She was winning.

The treasure room glowed purple and gold in front of Twila. Mounds of crowns, masts, and wheels covered the floor, while jewels, necklaces, and dozens of gold, bronze, and wooden statues littered the cavern’s floor. A figure in a feathered, wide hat looked over the assembled hoard and knelt to grab something. Twila’s heart soared momentarily, then plummeted; Vayne didn’t have the treasure, but he’d claim it soon!

Twila drew her [Heatblade] and one of [Anton’s Paired Pistols] and charged into the room, ignoring Auntie Charlie’s cries to wait. She could only think of one thing; getting to the treasure! She pointed the pistol his way, ready to shoot as soon as she was close enough–

A whooshing roar ripped upwards behind her as she crossed the treasure room’s threshold, and Vayne came up with a piece of the treasure. A wall of myst had sprung up between her and her crew! She looked over her shoulder but couldn’t see a way through. She was trapped!

[Sky Captain] Vayne turned, bowing at Twila. He held a golden cup in his left hand while his right drew a long, lightly-curved saber. “A ship rat thinks to be claiming my treasure, and now she walks into the mousetrap itself? Best be careful, girlie–here there be monsters!”

[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]