“Are you sure about this, Perry?” Hruk asked for the hundredth time as we climbed out of the first-floor window. “It’s not too late to turn back.”

“I’m sick of just sitting around and doing nothing,” I replied, scrambling up onto the roof. “We already waited an entire day. There’s a chance of the Seekers and guilds resolving their issues.”

Doctor Whoo awaited us in her full-bodied form. I climbed into her saddle and held out a hand to help Hruk up. My two units of strength wouldn’t be much of much help, of course. However, locking my feet into the stirrups helped anchor me and provide a handhold.

Hruk paused halfway onto Doctor Whoo’s back. She growled likely uncomfortable in the awkward position we ignored her. “I can’t swim, Perry,” Hruk whispered, nervously glancing at our targeted vessel. “What’ll happen if we have to escape into the water?”

“Doctor Whoo can swim just fine and I’m not too bad at it either,” I replied. “You cling to her and I’ll take care of myself.” I understood Hruk’s hesitation, but now, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He survived in Grog’s Table using clandestine methods. He snuck around, stole, and sabotaged to get ahead and prepare for our battle against Kraine. Now, he wasn’t just hesitant, but sounded fearful, too. “It’s now or never, mate. This is happening with or without you. Your presence will make things easier if things take a turn for the worst, but I could likely manage just as well alone.”

“It's difficult to like you sometimes, Perry,” he said, settling in behind me.

“It’s your fault for having too much Intellect. Not that I’d ever try to charm you, but too much Wit is bad for your mental health. The smarter you are, the less you think about it.”

“I wish you’d use your Intellect more and think things through.”

If I left it up to Hruk, we’d spend the entire night exchanging banter and not progressing with the plan. The nearby clock tower started its one-in-the-morning chimes when Doctor Whoo kicked off the roof. She spread her arms out wide and cast Updraft simultaneously. The blast of wind caught her furry wing flaps and lifted us high into the air. A soft yelp escaped Hruk as he wrapped his arms around my waist, clinging on for dear life.

“Loosen up there, bud,” I said. “Especially with the stone arm. It feels like getting fondled by a statue.”

“Sorry,” he replied, easing the grip.

The vessel was still someway away, and Doctor Whoo rapidly started losing altitude. Instead of activating Updraft once again, she used Tailwind. It hastened our progress and before we knew it; we were gliding over the water.

Several oil lamps and mana-powered lanterns twinkled on the many longboats, barges, and ferries. We spotted sailors drinking, gambling, and in a couple of cases, brawling. Despite the time, the general air involved merrymaking. As we approached our destination, I petted Doctor Whoo’s head. She cut off Tailwind and used Updraft once again. It lifted us into the air while slowing the forward momentum. Hruk yelped once again when Doctor Whoo banked to the right and broke into a gentle spiral.

Unlike the other vessels, the barge below had no lights besides one glinting from the highest cabin atop it—the captain’s quarters, I assumed. The rest of the vessel remained covered in darkness. It was perfect for me.

“Do you want to follow me or stay with Doctor Whoo as lookout and possible distraction?”

“You want to go below deck alone?” Hruk hissed into my ear.

“Well, my cloak only covers one person. If they have any hidden guards, they’ll detect you before me. Once I’ve located the aetherite, you can join me to smuggle it out.”

“I don’t like the idea of splitting up, but fine. Now that I’m bigger and stronger, it makes sense that I play the muscle’s role.”

"Yeah." I chuckled. "You're no longer tiny enough to slink around, anyway."

Doctor Whoo took her time descending on the boat. I didn't rush her since we wanted to land making no noise and she managed just that. We touched down on the side facing the water and covered in darkness. Hruk and I scrambled off and did a quick scan0+ of the area. He fished an Alarmed Light Sphere out of his pocket and threw it into the air. It stopped about ten feet above our heads and floated in place, but didn't emit any noise.

"That should alert me if the captain leaves his cabin or someone comes on board," Hruk whispered, peeking at the glass window above us with orange light leaking through it. A woman's laughter accompanied the glow, followed by a man's deep-throated grunting. "I doubt we need to worry about him, though." Hruk pointed at a set of stairs heading below deck on the opposite end of the deck. "There's your way down."

"I don't need it," I whispered, fishing out the Wand of Shaping and pressing it to the ground. The wood morphed, matching our inn's window. Then I fed Gram's cloak half of my mana, activating it, and shrouded myself in shadows. "If things go wrong, you and Doctor Whoo jump overboard and swim away, alright?"

"Don't worry," Hruk replied. "We will." Doctor Whoo chuffed in agreement. "Just keep your Mana Sense active down there, alright? Gnomes love traps. It might be why they don't bother with onboard security."

"Will do. If any get in my way, I'll get you to disable them."

Then I dropped into the darkness, leaving my companions behind. Following Hruk's advice, I scanned my surroundings with Mana Sense first, then used an Alarmed Light Sphere to illuminate the area. Unlike Hruk's version, it floated half a foot over my right shoulder and followed me as I moved.

The hole had dropped me square in the middle of what looked like the barge's kitchen and dining room. A stove with a fist-sized crimson aether crystal sat in the middle of its flat metal top and a wide-brimmed exhaust port hung over it. Counters covered in empty crates, a knife block, jars, and baskets stretched out on either side. Pots, pans, and other utensils hung over them. A table big enough for twelve sat in the middle of the room, with an especially large chair on the far end.

I wasted little time in the room, but noted the aether crystals' location. It appeared worth stealing, too. Hruk could likely craft a badass weapon out of it.

The door leading out of the kitchen took me into the crew's quarters. Ten neatly made cots sat around an odd shrine featuring a tapestry that gave me the creeps. It featured a giant blood-shot eye surrounded by curling wisps of smoke. Several eyes peeked out of it at me, too. They were smaller and either unfocused, bleeding, or drowsiness.

"Oth?"

The area around the tapestry featured unlit candles, an ornate knife, and a torso-sized slave that reminded me of Kraine's sacrificial chamber. My initial assumptions proved correct. Oth was a deity or an entity along a similar vein, and the Seekers either worshipped it or were seeking him.

"Bloody cults," I whispered, scanning my surroundings for a way down. When none appeared, I pressed the Wand of Shaping to the wooden floor and opened another window heading to the floor below.

This time of heading straight down, I stuck my head through the hole and scanned the dark room with Mana Sense. Just as Hruk had warned, several bright energy signatures lit up, highlighting circuits running all around the deck. After ensuring nothing was moving, I pushed the light Sphere through the hole.

It illuminated the deck, showing off the cargo hold. I didn't spot any obvious trap mechanisms, but made a note to avoid the areas with high concentrations of Mana circuits. Two sections of the hold stood out to me more than the others. One glowed with a multitude of colours, suggesting it housed aether crystals. While the other had a strange smoky purple and pink aura that resembled Mind Mana but not quite. Elements of black intertwined with it, making it feel extra strange. The mana pulsed the same way large chunks of aetherite did when releasing poorly stored mana—according to Hruk's teachings, anyway.

My thick-soled, giant feet didn't make a sound as I dropped down into the cargo hold. Rune covered the crates towering around me and I recognised the scripts on a couple of them. I didn't have enough knowledge to identify individual runes or the syntax. However, the arrangements resembled Hruk's self-destruct system. Strong mana signatures leaked through cracks, too. I suppressed temptation and carried on towards my mark.

Scribing Mastery has progressed to Novice Rank 6!

Mana Sense has progressed to Journeyman Rank 1!

The aether around the crate thickened to the point of getting noxious. It reminded me of the wyvern smoke from my bracer during its first activation. I didn't turn away, though. The light within the container took shape, and it resembled a large cluster of aetherite but also featured a smoothed oval shape standing on its end.

Somehow it didn't surprise me that the mana circuits on the container had warped and burned. The energy within had likely overloaded them. Holding my breath, I flipped the container open.

"Jackpot," I mumbled. It was as I predicted. The watermelon-sized box contained a giant chunk of aetherite sitting on a red velvet cloth. Purple and black veins of light pulsed within, giving off the strange mana signature. An oblong, smooth stone of the same black sat in its centre and the aetherite clung to it. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that I wanted it.

Then, just as I reached for the container, the barge shook. Yelling and shouting sounded overhead, followed by an enormous boom. The barge tilted violently, almost throwing me off balance. Several crates slid off their stable resting places, banging against others. Bursts of purple sparks and icy mists escaped the containers or the mana circuits on the floor and an ear-piercing alarm sounded from the deck above.

If that wasn't bad enough, the crate directly behind me rattled. It stood twice as tall as me, and the sound of grating chains and metal scraping against wood sounded from within. A loud growl followed, making my heart thump at an almost alarming rate.