The skywright’s apprentices’ saws were already tearing into the Hourglass’s deck as Twila and Charlie walked down the ramp. Twila’s heart hurt as she watched them cutting into her beloved airship. She took a deep breath. She had to focus on something else. “Charlie, what are we shopping for?”

“Armor, Twi.” Charlie waved at the threadbare shirt and cracked leather harness Twila wore. “You realize that even if you’d gotten a good hit on Vayne, his greatcoat likely would have taken the blow just fine, right? You’ll need better than you’re wearing if you want to swordfight, and you’ll practice in it, too. Then we’ll need to pick up practice swords and pistols and spend the rest of the ship’s gold. Of the hundred twenty-five, seventy or eighty should be for upgrades, with the rest for supplies.”

“What else does Hourglass need?” As far as Twila was concerned, the Hourglass would be perfect after this refit. Engines that worked right, a condenser that made enough myst, and a bit of brass color over her naked hull were just what the airship needed. All she had to do was survive watching the disassembly.

Charlie stared at Twila for a moment and then started walking toward the door. “You really think she’s the best ship out there, don’t you? She needs more guns, and you won’t get them as easily here as you did the last pair. Cannons are regulated in most ports. But a [Puckle Gun] or two? That, you could buy easily.”

“A [Puckle Gun]?”

“They’re repeating mystshot guns. You clamp the mount to the ship’s rail or a tripod, then use it as a miniature cannon. Most are nine-shot models, manually turned, with a trigger to fire. They’re good for repelling an attack or supporting your own, and I’d love to have four, but that’s out of our price range. One or two isn’t.”

“How do we get them?” Twila was intrigued. Despite the funny name, the gun itself sounded handy. She could put them on the quarterdeck or at the Hourglass’s waist. “And how big do you have to be to use them? Some of our crew is on the small side.”

“We’ll ask around and find a second-hand merchant. The Gibson Company owns the patent on them, and they’re not likely to be very happy about seeing us. Maybe the seller will know if Marianna can operate it.”

Seapike’s jet-black rocks gave off a pleasant warmth, and Twila reached out to touch the vast, dark spire. The stones were jagged and rough, with little twisted ridges running across them. She stared at it. Then she kept walking. “Why is Seapike black? The other spires are mostly white or gray. I asked Anton once, but he said he didn’t know or care.”

“That’s a good question, Twila. Keep your ears open. Someone around here has to know.” Charlie seemed to be paying more attention to the signs. She grabbed Twila’s wrist and pulled her into a building with a needle and thread on its wooden sign. She spoke quietly. “Since you’re a big-shot skipper now, you’d best dress like one.”

Twila shrugged. “I’m still a [Mystgineer], though. Whatever we buy, I’ll get it dirty and ripped up.”

“Not if you’re willing to spend on it. This’ll be easier to explain if we pretend to be an aunt and niece. Most ship rats can’t spend what you’re about to,” Charlie whispered.

Twila nodded. The plan made sense, given the money she had.

Charlie turned to the room. “Anyone here? Looking for work? The young miss needs some clothes made–it’ll be a custom job, very lucrative.”

An absolutely ancient-looking woman woke up in the corner. She blinked, pulled a set of goggles down over her eyes, and slid a hat over her head. Two gizmos hung from it, one over each ear. She blinked, her magnified eyes looking like a bug’s to Twila, who giggled. “Repeat that. I didn’t catch it.”

“We’re traveling by airship. Miss Tighe here needs two sets of clothes. First, a [Workwoman’s Dress], something like mine. That can be pre-made, so long as it fits her. Something that looks nice on her.”

Twila rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress, like Auntie Charlie’s or not.

Charlie glanced at her and continued. “The second needs to be custom-tailored. She’ll need a greatcoat like mine, but sized for her. There are rumors of pirates, and I want to keep my niece safe if we should be attacked.” Charlie shrugged off the coat and handed it to the seamstress.

“Um, Auntie Charlie, I don’t want the dress. I’m happy in these clothes. We need to get going.” She stood up, only to be caught by the old woman’s talons. She tried to pull away, but the old, wrinkled fingers were too strong.

“Oh, Miss Tighe, is this your first time getting fitted? I’m an old hand at this–you can just call me Gwen. So, the first thing you’ll need to do is meet me in the back–measuring’s a very private thing, as I’m sure your auntie knows. We’ll get a shoulder, a bust, a waist, a hip measurement, and height. Then you’ll be on your way to a brand new [Platejack Coat]. There’s just…the matter of cost?” The old woman looked back at Charlie expectantly.

“Miss Tighe has her own money, which she’ll be spending on this. Twi, I’ll be across the way, buying some things for your training. Have fun!” Auntie Charlie headed for the door as Twila glared at her. Was her quartermaster enjoying embarrassing her like this?

“Right,” Gwen said. She shut the door behind her. Then she uncoiled a worn measuring tape. “Off with your harness, that bandolier, and your pistol belts. You can keep the breeches and shirt–you young girls are skittish, and we won’t need perfect measurements. And I saw your reaction to the idea of a dress. Is it a worry about your feet getting caught up in it or you being unable to move right?”

Twila nodded. Her face was red as she pulled the harness and bandolier off. All her gear–even her myst battery–peeled off with it, leaving her feeling shivery. No one had seen her without her equipment except Rosie in a long time–unless you counted Auntie Charlie, Marianna, and…Jamis, who’d broken into her cabin. “I do a lot of moving around. Pants are better than dresses, anyways.”

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“Let’s…agree to disagree.” Gwen plugged the end of the measuring tape into her myst battery, and Twila saw thin lines of myst snaking across its length. The tape lashed out and wrapped itself around her shoulders. She wiggled against it, and Gwen looked up, jotted down a note, and slapped Twila’s hand scoldingly. “Stop it, or it won’t fit right. Lift your arms.”

Twila did, then grabbed the measuring tape when it wrapped around her chest. “Nope, I’m done. I don’t need new clothes this badly.”

“Stop. I’ll make you a deal. You don’t want stuff that gets in your way? I’ll make a [Platejack Vest] instead. We’ll ditch the trailing bits, everything past mid-thigh. I’ll still need these measurements, but it’ll have less loose fabric than what your aunt was wearing. Do you agree, little miss?”

Twila thought about it. Then she let go of the measuring tape. “Deal. I want a high collar to keep the sun off me. And short sleeves, but they don’t need to be armored.”

“I can do that pretty easily. Now let me work, little miss.” The measuring tape tightened again. Twila fidgeted a bit, but the rest of the measurements went smoothly. “Wonderful. And I may have a good dress in your size as well.”

“Don’t want the dress.” Twila glared into Gwen’s stare.

“Of course you don’t, but your aunt asked you to get it for your trip. She must have a reason, so you’ll try it on and show it to her. You can wear it back to the ship you’ve booked passage on, or your inn room if you’re not staying on board.” The old seamstress bustled out of the back room and started reading numbers to herself while Twila made plans to escape. She’d almost finished buckling her harness back on when Gwen came back. And she was carrying an abomination.

It was green. That was the only thing going for it. The buttons and laces covering it made it clear that it was not, in fact, a practical dress. And it was so poofy. “That’s not a [Workwoman’s Dress], is it?” Twila asked.

“No, it’s better. It’s a [Two-In-One Dress]. I don’t make [Workwoman’s Dresses] anymore. Put it on, and I’ll show you how it works.” Gwen left the room.

Twila started working on her escape again as soon as she was gone. It’d be easy to rush out past the old seamstress. Then she stopped. She eyed the [Two-In-One Dress]; the name piqued her curiosity. She quickly undressed and pulled the dress on. Sure enough, the laces were hard to tighten.

She struggled with it until it was how she thought it should go. Then she slung her bandolier across it–the skirts made the harness impossible to wear, which was going to be a problem. She gathered her weapons and harness and entered the shop’s front room.

Auntie Charlie stood talking with Gwen. She had a pair of obviously-dull practice swords tucked under her arm, which she shifted as she looked over at Twila. “That’s the [Two-In-One Dress] you were telling me about? How does it work?”

“Oh, it’s quite simple. This is the formal dress. Once it’s on right, all the little miss will have to do is feed it some myst, and it’ll change to a working dress.” Gwen bustled over and started tightening laces and fixing buttons. Twila went right back to squirming, shooting looks at the old woman as the dress got tighter and tighter around her waist.

“Alright, put some myst into it. You’ll be a lot happier after, little miss,” the old woman said.

Twila did, her myst battery ticking three times. The dress shifted slowly as myst traveled through tiny brass tubes Twila hadn’t noticed before. Places that had been too tight loosened, an apron formed–with a wide pocket up front–and the material seemed to thicken and grow tougher. Twila wore a smaller version of Auntie Charlie’s dress when it was finished.

“There, that’s not so bad, is it?” Gwen asked.

Twila thought about it for a minute. It wasn’t as bad as the first dress, but…

“No, I still hate it. It’s time to go back to the Hourglass. [Puckle Guns] can wait,” she said. “How much do I pay you, Gwen?”

[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]