It was still dark when Soren came back and shook Rylan awake for his shift.

Yawning, Rylan made his way up to the deck, where he was surprised to find Ezra behind the steering wheel.

Seeing his expression, the red-haired man chuckled and planted his prosthetic—still a work in progress—on his hip. "Did you think only Halloth could man the helm? There's not much to it, son. It's just spinning a wheel."

He demonstrated by batting the wheel left and right with his good arm, the motions small enough not to cause a noticeable sway in the ship.

A smile crept over Rylan's face. "I guess I'm just surprised they trusted you with this much responsibility."

Ezra let out a bark of laughter, then quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. When he removed it, he had a pitiful look on his face. "You wound me, milord. Such a vicious attack on an unarmed man... and here I thought I was facing an honourable Thar!"

Despite himself, Rylan felt his smile slip a little, and he couldn't stop himself from glancing down at Ezra's prosthetic.

Ezra let out a sigh. "Still too soon for jokes, eh? I've been trying some puns on Holly, but she doesn't enjoy them either."

"Sorry," Rylan said reflexively. "It was funny, I just..."

Ezra nodded. "It is what it is. When they pulled me out of the wreckage, I thought I was about to float off to the Spiritvale. Frankly, I can thank Lady Lunis that I'm still alive; we all can. Compared to that, losing an arm is a minor deal."

Rylan could see the sense in that.

Lunis, the Great Spirit of the Night, was by some considered to be the arbiter of luck. Personally, Rylan had always felt the concept of praying for luck to the patron of thieves and murderers to be a bit... off-putting.

He supposed it wasn't too strange for a former pirate to worship her, however.

"You know," Ezra said after a moment, sounding a little hesitant. "It's going to take some time for the Soggy Shepherd to be fully repaired and to be honest, I'm not sure Holly and I will be on it when it leaves again."

"Really?"

"Well, we're getting on in years," Ezra said with a shrug, scratching at his greying beard. "And we've managed to save a hearty sum from our wages over the years. I'm thinking of maybe starting a little eatery in Cliffport. Nothing too fancy, just a cosy little place in the lower ring."

"That sounds lovely," Rylan said earnestly. "I'll definitely come eat your cooking sometime."

"I was actually thinking you might like to be my sous chef for a bit," Ezra said. "This wouldn't be for a while yet, obviously," he hurried on. "But I've very much enjoyed cooking with you, and I think I have a thing or two more to teach you... if you're interested."

Rylan smiled, feeling a surge of warmth in his chest. "I can't make any promises right now, but I'll think about it. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Though to be honest, you'd be doing me the favour, son," Ezra said with a wink. "Quinthar with the Cooking Skill are a hot commodity, you know? Anyway, you've let me ramble on for long enough. Why don't you get up there and check our bearing, hmm?"

Rylan nodded and moved to the rigging. He made his way up the side of the floater, passing the driftline, then swung his legs over the railing and walked to the front of the top deck. Standing there underneath the stars, a breeze ruffling his hair, Rylan could not imagine ever getting sick of sailing the clouds.

Even in the dead of night, Cliffport was still easy enough to spot thanks to the Eye of Auris. The famous lighthouse stood on a rocky outcrop a little ways out from the city, and shone a beam of shimmering colours that swept across the surface of the cloudsea.

Supposedly, the light came from an orb of glowmetal as tall as a grown man, that used up a full Cube's worth of mana a night.

Rylan called down to convey the need for a minor course correction to starboard, and, after watching the ship shift ever so slightly, settled in for his watch. It would be hours yet until dawn, but Rylan didn't mind in the slightest.

By the time dawn broke, the city skyline had gotten much closer. The blossoming light of the rising sun painted the roiling clouds in hues of pink, purple, and gold, and allowed Rylan to make out some more detail.

Cliffport's famous limestone cliffs were a light grey, and their impressive height was further embellished by the crenellated stone walls built on top. The next level of walls rose above that, demarcating the transition from the sprawling lower ring to the classier middle ring, where the affluent citizens lived.

A final, third level of walls rose even higher to guard the inner circle, the home of Quinthar and nobles.

While the Knackered Hag was in the lower ring, given the chance, Rylan definitely wanted to take a look around the upper sections of the city as well. He knew access to those was restricted somehow, but he figured it shouldn't be too hard to get in for a Quinthar like himself. Although it might have to wait until the matter of his debt had been cleared up.

Aside from the great bluff that supported the city, there were a few more outcrops of rock around it, with varying levels of fortification built on top, and one of them holding the famous lighthouse.

There was only one more thing that rose above the driftline, which looked the least interesting, but was at the same time perhaps the most impressive, as it was entirely manmade.

The great dyke had been built in an oblong shape to cordon off the Cloudhaven Fields, a large section of arable land that lay only a little below the driftline. Most of the city's food was produced on floating rice and mistweed plantations, of course—there simply wasn't enough land available for such cheap crops—but the Cloudhaven farms were still a great source of fruits and vegetables for the city, and it was also where much of the cattle were kept at night.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Rylan had never realised the dyke was crenellated, however, let alone manned by armed guards. Truth be told, it looked more like a giant fortress than something built to keep the fog out...

The serenity of the scene was broken by a cacophony of quacks and flapping wings. Rylan stood to attention as the noise rapidly grew louder, before a massive flock of ducks suddenly burst out of the fog on the starboard side.

The question of what was driving them to such a hurried flight was swiftly answered when a marlin came leaping out of the fog at great speed and speared a duck on its sharp bill. Rylan watched in awe as the rest of its pack followed, one majestic fish after another leaping through the flock they were hunting, some with more success than others.

[Uh-oh,] Arphin said. [Boss, we've got incoming!]

Rylan's eyes widened as a rather late marlin attempted one final leap after the disappearing flock. The twenty-foot-long fish soared in a grand arc that just missed the last couple of ducks... then came heading straight for the side of the floater like a massive, fleshy dart, its pointy bill leading the way.

Rylan's legs moved even before he'd made a conscious decision. While the floater could be repaired even in mid-flight, they couldn't afford to lose too much of the gasified Aetherium he'd worked so hard to obtain.

Thus he started up a Skill. Mana spilled out of the warm ball below his sternum and rapidly flowed down his legs, all by itself. He urged it along impatiently as he snatched up a coil of rope anchored to the middle of the deck.

Never slowing down, he leapt up onto the railing, then activated Jump. The mana gathered below the sole of his left boot burst forth, sending him flying forward and off the ship, his path intersecting that of the marlin.

He met the creature in mid-air, just barely managing to get his right foot in front of him in time.

The second his foot made contact with the creature's cheek, he released the second store of mana, turning his Jump into a Flying Kick.

The burst of mana thankfully did its job. Thanks to its airy flesh and spongy bones, the marlin's size belied its weight. Thus, Rylan was able to redirect it towards the right, as he in turn went flying off to the left.

He rushed through the air and then plunged into the fog, the slack rope rapidly unfurling behind him. Fog fog fog!

Rylan had just managed to lock his feet around the rope when, with a jarring twang, it pulled taut. Thankfully, he managed to hold on, and then he was swinging.

He smacked into the side of the floater with a muffled thump, his Mana Shell flashing white as he bounced off. The second smack was already quite a bit gentler, and after the third, he finally came to a halt. With a groan, Rylan braced his feet against the side of the floater and started to climb back up.

[Boss, that was awesome!]

'Thanks, Arphin. I'm glad at least someone got to see it. No one else is going to believe that happened!'

Back up on the top deck, Rylan took a moment to catch his breath. He stayed vigilant of any more sudden leaping marlin, but after a while of nothing, his eyes automatically drifted back to the approaching skyline.

Only a few minutes had passed when the creaking of the rigging broke him from his reverie, and he glanced back to find Tamina swinging her leg over the railing.

"Hey. You all right?" she asked. "Ezra said he heard weird noises from up here."

Rylan nodded. "All good. Just had to kick away a marlin that was intent on burying his nose into the side of our ship."

She let out a snort, moving to stand beside him with her arms across her chest. "Well, if you're making jokes, I guess everything must be fine."

Rylan let out a deep sigh.

[Woah! I think you were right, Boss; she didn't believe you!]

"By the way, why didn't you wake me?" Tamina continued. "Your shift ended at dawn."

"Sorry," Rylan said, shooting her a smile. "I was going to, but... I couldn't tear my eyes away."

Tamina hummed, leaning her elbows on the railing in front of them. A lock of deep-brown hair that seemed to have escaped her braid fell over her brow, and she idly brushed it off her bronzed forehead. Her bright-green eyes almost seemed to glow in the morning rays, and if her skin had lost any of its deep tan during the weeks they spent beneath the fog, Rylan wasn't able to tell.

"I thought you were enjoying the view?" Tamina asked, raising a brow at him.

"Still am. I just found a better one," Rylan replied, feeling bold.

A small smile graced Tamina's lips, and she lightly bumped her shoulder into his. However, her smile quickly faded again, as she settled her gaze back on the horizon.

"I, ehm, I've got something for you," Rylan said after a moment, trying not to show his nerves.

Tamina blinked, glancing over in surprise. "Oh?"

"It's nothing much," he continued hurriedly, reaching into his pocket. "Just something I found, back in the ruins of Aeloria Waeld. And I thought... well, that it would look nice on you."

He revealed the silver hairpin.

"Wow, you found this?" Tamina said, her brows shooting up as she reached out to trace the shape of the little bird at the top.

"Well, I had a little help," Rylan said with a wink, tapping Arphin's handle.

[Aww, that's nice of you to say, Boss, but I didn't do all that much. You're the one who had to do all the digging. I could tell how hard it was by the amount of gross moisture your skin was excreting!]

Meanwhile, Tamina's eyes flicked down, and she clicked her tongue. "Right... the perfect spy. I can't help but wonder what else the two of you found out."

"I'd really rather not talk about it," Rylan replied, trying not to grimace.

Thankfully, Arphin was getting better about respecting people's privacy.

Tamina bit her lip, and lifted the proffered accessory off his hand. "Thank you. It's very sweet."

"You're welcome," Rylan said with a smile. "I, ehm, I know you probably have to leave and go find Vidric once we make land, but I was thinking, if you gave me an address, maybe we could write sometime?"

Tamina closed her eyes for a moment, looking up at the sky for a moment as she inhaled then sighed deeply.

Rylan felt his stomach drop. "I mean, if you don't want to that's fine, I guess," he started to mumble, but Tamina raised a hand, bidding him to stop.

"It's not that I don't want to," she said slowly, turning to face him. "However, I cannot make plans to contact you... as I require you to come with me to Thistlebloom."

Rylan blinked. "What? I'm not... I'm not going back to Thistlebloom, you know that."

"I'm afraid I must insist, Thar Cloudgift," she intoned, raising a brow and staring at him intently. "If you do not come with me willingly, I will be obliged to forcibly detain you."

Rylan stared at her, flabbergasted.

[Boss, what's going on? Do you need me to stab her?] Arphin sent, tugging lightly at their node as if he was about to Recall.

'No...' he sent back after a moment. 'I know she's acting very weird but... I don't think she really means it?'

Tamina's posture was still perfectly relaxed and non-threatening, entirely belying the contents of her strange and overly formal words. Moreover, her raised brow seemed to be trying to tell Rylan something.

So Rylan paused, and thought.

"Back at Thistlebloom, you were down there in the marina looking for me," he started slowly. "You even ran after me into the fog and off a cliff. The only way you'd go that far would be if Vidric had explicitly instructed you to assist in the search, to help capture me and bring me back, or something similar. Are you telling me those orders are really still in effect, after everything?!"

Tamina just kept staring at him, not moving a single facial muscle.

"What am I saying," Rylan muttered, shaking his head. "Of course they are; Vidric hasn't been around to give you new ones! But... you don't actually want to take me to him, do you?"

Tamina cleared her throat, and continued speaking in the same stiff, formal manner. "I shall expect you to stand ready for departure upon our arrival at Cliffport. The Great House of Talon shall be very cross with you if you hide from me or attempt to flee."

Rylan felt his mouth go dry.

[Boss, what's going on?! Why is she saying this, isn't she our friend?]

'She is, Arphin,' Rylan replied numbly. 'She's telling us to evade her, so she won't have to try to take us back with her.'

[Oh...]

"Would you actually do it, if I didn't run?" he asked softly. "Would you try to bring me back with you? Or would you break your Contract?"

She just gave him a rueful smile, then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Thanks for taking me on this crazy adventure, Ry. Somehow, I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit." Then she kissed him on the cheek, turned around, and walked to the rear of the top deck.

Rylan stared after her, his eyes growing hot. He wiped at them with his sleeve, then moved to the rigging and started to climb down.

Cliffport had grown large on the horizon, and they would probably reach the port in an hour or three. He'd need to be ready, because he wasn't going back to Thistlebloom on anything but his own terms.

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