Twila reached for her pistols. There, right across from them, was Vayne! The pirate who’d beaten them to the treasure below Three Peaks, who’d almost killed her and managed to sneak away. And she’d caught the bastard at port!

“Twila, remember the rules. There’s no fighting here,” Charlie said, touching the young skipper’s shoulder. “Just bring us to the dock. We’ll have to fight him with something other than guns, swords, and cannons today.”

“But when are we going to get a better chance than right now?” Twila muttered through gritted teeth.

“We don’t have a good chance now,” Rackham pointed up into the hollows above the port. “You think there’s a chance those aren’t trapped? You start pulling triggers, and I promise you won’t be alive when the sun comes up tomorrow, and neither will anyone on board this airship. If you’re interested in getting us all killed, go right ahead. But I won’t be part of it. Let me off first.”

Twila ground her teeth and squeezed the ship’s wheel until her knuckles hurt. “Drop the drag-cloths and anchors. I’ll put us right in the gap between the Harpy’s Wing and that brig-of-war. That’ll show him.”

The Hourglass squeaked in between the two ships, with Twila making tiny changes to its direction. It came to a stop feet from the narrow wooden walkway around the cavern’s edge—ship rats from the Harpy’s Wing scattered to avoid the impending collision, only to relax as the sloop halted above them. With the ship secure, Twila shouted orders. “Alright, rats! Get some support beams going. I’m going to put her down right here! Make sure the guns are safe and secure your belongings. We’re only here until we get what we came here for!”

“And what did you come here for? What business does an upstart brat with a dubious claim to her ship and crew be having at Broken Rock? Surely it’s not to be turning pirate? For did I not offer you the chance back at Three Peaks?” Vayne scooped off his hat and threw a wide, exaggerated bow, feather almost touching the ground. “Nonetheless, welcome, Skipper Tighe!

“And welcome to you, too, Mister Rackham. Did you be thinking of throwing in your lot with these rats before Three Peaks or after, I wonder? And will you be finding smoother waters if their course doesn’t feel right? You’ve fallen far, Rackham. All the way from my left hand next to Harris, now you be conspiring with the very same rats you once gave orders to.”

He pointed to a pair of ship rats aboard the Harpy’s Wing. “You two. Make sure those knots be good and tight.”

“Twila, if the Hourglass is secure, you can leave it here. Ickes’s men are everywhere, even if you don’t see them. No one would dare board another skipper’s ship without permission here,” Rackham said. Charlie stared at him for a minute, then nodded.

Twila sighed. She looked up into the well-lit crevices and eroded holes. Could she see men hiding up there? If she could, the Hourglass might be safe here. “Alright. We’ll leave the Hourglass here.”

“Will ye be joining us in our walk up to the village, then?” Vayne asked. He flipped his hat back onto his head. “No doubt Rackham’s told you all the rules. There’ll be no fighting here, not against each other, but the Tide comes in high here. Two pistols be better than one.”

The [Sky Captain] across the way carried his weapons. Sword, pistols, and gizmos. Twila reached up and touched her brow, where the cut he’d given her had formed a small, red scar. She breathed and blinked until the fight with him went away. Then she nodded slowly. “I don’t trust you. But the Sable Tide is worse. No treachery or funny business?”

“Agreed,” Vayne said, winking. “Alright, rats, we’re leaving once the Hourglass be settled in and its crew be ready to travel. In the meantime, let’s be talking on firm stone, Skipper Tighe. Bring your quartermaster and that treacherous worm Rackham as well.”

He swaggered down the gangplank and waited, shouting orders. “Lanterns. Bring all the lanterns we can carry. The Tide will be deep tonight!”

Twila grabbed her gear. All of it. Everything she could carry went into her pockets or clipped onto her [Platejack Coat]. In the ship’s hold, her crew was doing the same. Becca almost drowned under a dozen half-finished gizmos. Where had she had the time to build them all? Carter, by contrast, carried virtually nothing. A pistol, a dagger, and a few gizmos—the same ones he’d had before they even left Iswixel.

“Where’s your fighting gear? Your gizmos? Anything?” Twila asked.

“This is what I have. We were supposed to fly back to Iswixel, so I bought nothing. Besides, this seems like a friendly port. Or at least, one where we won’t deal with Gibson the whole time we’re here.”

“This is on the way to Iswixel, though, Carter,” Rosie said. She’d grabbed Anton’s journal and the map. “We need to stock up before the long flight there. Be patient.”

“Whatever, I’ve been patient for a long time.”

Stolen story; please report.

At last, both the Hourglass’s crew and the Harpy’s Wing’s crew were ready to go. Twila lit her [Mystwork Lantern] and pushed the dial to its largest setting. Others did the same, and before long, the docking cavern glowed a purple that pushed the infringing twilight back into the furthest recesses.

Recesses that started to move as night closed in, and that reeked of musk and guano.

“We’ll be staying together, Skipper Tighe, at least until we reach the village,” Vayne shouted over the nearly-deafening screeching. They walked up a narrow tunnel single file, accompanied by constant ticks as their lanterns consumed myst. “There be a place in the village to refill your batteries, so burn those lights bright, you salt-crusted rats!”

“Why are you here?” Twila asked. One hand wrapped around her [Mystwork Lantern], the other around her sword’s hilt.

“Well, after you ran me off the treasure on Three Peaks, what was left of my crew and I did some thinking. And a pirate with a ship’s boat is still a pirate. So we chased down a little sloop moving slow and filled with copper ore, sold it at Shimmertower to a Gibson governor who had things to say about a similar ship—” Twila gulped, remembering the heist, and blinked and breathed. “—And then set course for Broken Rock. This be the best place to get a ship re-named and re-lined so she’ll be unidentifiable. The Harpy’s Wing be overdue for a refit regardless.”

“Now, I’d be asking why you’re here, but I’m sure it be because Rackham has some damn-fool plan to betray me. Or to betray you, or Ickes, or maybe all three of us. “ Twila glanced at Rackham, who glared back as Vayne continued. “The worm’s probably figured out a way to come ahead no matter his choices, but it’ll catch up with him someday.”

“I’m here to meet my friends from the Sow and Carrot, Vayne. I’ve washed my hands of your foolishness,” Rackham said. He took a swig from his flask.

Conversations died down as the Sable Tide’s shrieks and the sound of massive, flapping wings filled the air. Rosie pressed against Auntie Charlie, looking for shelter from the rising tide. Charlie grinned. “We have so many lights here you could see us from Smallfield. The Tide won’t come near.”

“Right you be, Kerr’s rat. We be safe as long as the lights burn. But we must hurry before rats start running low on myst.”

The two crews half-jogged up the tunnel, Vayne’s voice egging them on faster and faster until they finally arrived in a well-lit hollow deep in the shattered precipice. Lights burned in the windows and hung blazing from ropes in a net of light. A few houses had been carved into the tuff. And right in front of her, Twila could see a wooden wall with a bit of brake-cloth strung across a gap. A wooden sign hung across the front as well.

‘The Skipper’s Doom Tavern’

[Twila Tighe, Ship Rat Mystgineer, Equipment Level 1.33 (Myst 12/12, Hit Points 1/2)]

[Head - Empty]

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

[Chest - Platejack Coat (lvl. 2) Plated Coat (passive) +1 Hit Point]

[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 - Nola’s Embrace (lvl 2) Unknown Effect]

[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 - Condensing Battery Mk. 2 (lvl. 1) Myst Storage (passive) - 12 myst maximum, requires condenser to refill; Condense Myst (passive) - Condenses 1 myst/6 ticks]

[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]