The echoes from the rifle’s report continued to reverberate in the confined space.

Caleb ignored the sounds. He knelt down and slowly moved his free hand toward the creature who sat, unblinking and unafraid, on the sand before him. Then he extended his hand’s index finger as he whispered the magic words.

“Psst, psst, psst. Here kitty, kitty.”

The sleek, shorthaired calico cat looked back at him with shamrock-green eyes. A tri-colored tail swished with uncertainty. The tarnished silvery tag that hung from the cat’s threadbare collar read: BREENA.

“Hello, Breena,” Caleb added. “You’re a very brave kitty, the bang from that gun didn’t send you running. And you’re definitely the prettiest calico I’ve seen in a while, to boot.”

Breena leaned forward, sniffed the outstretched finger, and seemed to come to a decision. She got up and walked over to Caleb. Then she proceeded to wrap her way through and around his legs, rubbing his shins with her face and tail as she did so.

She let out a little miaow before settling back before him, allowing him to gently scratch her under her chin.

“Never have I seen the like!” Donal exclaimed. “You have a way with the wee beasties as well as the larger ones.”

Caleb laughed ruefully at that as he stood. “I learned how to approach kitties from Alejandro Ugalde, of all people. He may have been a drug lord, and a murderous thug to boot. But he did know a thing or two about cats. Which is what Breena is, so that hardly makes her a ‘beastie’.”

“I think Donal’s right about this one,” Sienna said.

“How’s that?” Tavia asked. “I don’t see anything unusual about this creature.”

“Me either,” Caleb said.

That’s not quite true, he chided himself. I can’t think of a cat who wouldn’t have run and hid after hearing gunfire. And Breena’s fur is interesting. So sleek and dense that it almost felt...what, oily?

“Oh, she’s definitely unusual,” Sienna pointed. “Look at that.”

Breena turned, her ears perked as if hearing something. She leaped into the water, paddling for a moment before bringing in her limbs and undulating her body like a seal’s. Then she dove underwater and came up with a fish in her mouth.

“That’s a very rare kind of feline,” Sienna added, as Breena brought her catch up to Caleb and dropped it, still flopping, on the ground. “She’s what we call a splashcat, so she’s at home both in and out of the water. And I think she’s auditioning for a place with us.”

At those words, a new entry popped up in Caleb’s Quest Window. He glanced at it quickly before closing it.

New Bonus Level Mini-Quest: Acquire a rare or semi-magical animal companion. XP Value of the next quest completed shall be increased by 10%. STATUS: IN PROGRESS.

Interesting, Caleb thought. Apparently, Tavia and Shaw don’t count under this quest. Perhaps because they’re sentient? Or that most people don’t think of a unicorn or griffin as a house pet?

“Well, if you were this ship’s splashcat, you’re definitely between jobs right now,” Caleb said, amused. “If you want to come with us, you’re hired. Go on, eat your fish. We’ve got enough food aboard the Spitfire for us right now.”

At that, Breena grabbed the fish again and gave it a chomp to the neck. As soon as it went still, she began to chow down on it. Caleb looked to the others, astounded.

“How much does she understand?” Tavia asked. “She seemed to respond to our Captain’s orders right there. Do they talk?”

“Na’ae, but I hear they’re quite smart,” Donal replied. “Having one aboard brings good luck, or so they say.”

“Well, ‘they’ say lots of things,” Caleb gestured towards the wreck. “I’m afraid Breena didn’t exactly bring her ship any luck.”

“Who’s to say she belonged to this ship’s crew?” Sienna pointed out. “From what we’ve seen, the Myrkur don’t keep pets. Besides, no one puts a collar on a ship’s cat. They’re on board for pest control, not for companionship.”

“Good point,” Caleb agreed. “All right, I still want to see what’s inside this wreck. Regan, you’re up front with me.”

The young man stepped up, though he looked abashed.

“My apologies for being disrespectful to you earlier, Captain,” Regan said, as he reloaded the rifle. “I was angry, and my mouth works faster than my brain.”

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Caleb said. “That was only one, and I’m sure you’ll correct it. Keep in mind that if that had happened in front of the crew, I’d have you flogged. At least I might. I’m not sure if I have anything on board the Spitfire to flog you with.”

“Oh, I’m sure Donal or Mister Noack could improvise something,” he replied, as he tucked the firearm away and drew his cutlass.

“Duly noted. Come on.”

Caleb had taken perhaps two steps forward when Breena dropped the remnants of her fish and moved in front of them. She let out a series of miaows as she paced back and forth. He knelt once more and tried to pet her, but the cat stayed just out of reach.

“What are you trying to tell us, Breena?” he asked. “Let me guess, Timmy’s fallen into the well again?”

“Who’s Timmy?” Sienna said, puzzled. “He sounds clumsy.”

“He’s just...I mean, it’s just a joke. From an old, old television show.”

“Ah, okay.” She paused before asking, “What’s a television show?”

“Tell you later.” Caleb got up and looked to the cat. “Sorry, Breena, we’re going inside.”

The splashcat made a sniff at that and stalked off.

Caleb traded a look with the others, to no additional comment. With that, he took a few more steps forward. He came up to the slanted pile of timbers that led up to the collapsed bowsprit and shook his head.

“Yeah. Definitely not climbing that,” he muttered, before stealing a quick glance at his Quest Window.

Adventurer's-Level Quest: Investigate the mysterious wreck located on the island. Note: Bonus Difficulty % is still to be calculated, based on what if anything is found there. STATUS: IN PROGRESS

So meeting Breena didn’t count towards any additional difficulty. Good to know.

“Over there,” Donal said. “Back amidships, there’s a hole in the side of the hull.”

Caleb led them further along the side of the ship, away from the collapsed bow. Sure enough, a hole wide enough for three people yawed open before them. The deck planks above remained intact, making the interior pitch black. The smells of decaying wood and seaweed emanated from within.

“Tavia,” Caleb said, “Can you shed some light on this situation?”

“Of course,” she nodded and her horn winked on into silver-gold phosphorescence as they went inside.

Their steps and the unicorn’s hooves made a dull, hollow sound as they stepped off the beach sand and onto the wooden planks that made up the interior. The floor slanted slightly down, as the schooner had come to rest tilting to one side. Caleb found himself having to tread carefully lest he slip.

The interior was a jumble of wooden splinters and rotting scraps of cloth, though most of the debris had all been tossed forward from the ship’s impact onto the land. The floorboards creaked unnervingly underfoot. Caleb did his best to ignore that and noted the rusty, blunt metal hooks that jutted from the ceiling.

“Attachments for hammocks,” he noted. “We’re definitely on the berthing deck.”

“Aye,” Regan agreed, as they proceeded further inside. “And if there’s no bodies, the crew must’ve gotten off safely. Or they had time to take their dead with him.”

“Looks to me that the only thing dead is the ship itself,” Donal said. “Perhaps if they had time to evacuate, they took whatever they were carrying, too.”

The light from Tavia’s horn shifted as she swung her head back and forth, as if trying to pick up a scent. She made another equine snort and tapped one forehoof in thought.

“There’s something here,” she finally said. “A source of dark magic.”

“All right,” Caleb announced. “Then it’s time to go.”

“But there’s also light magic. An artifact, I think.”

Caleb held up a hand. “Belay that last order, then. We could use something like that.”

“Yes,” Sienna agreed, as she moved to join him, “but if there’s anything here, it’s got to be in the hold, on the next level below us. And I haven’t seen any way to–”

Suddenly, the sharp snap! of breaking planks echoed inside the derelict ship at Caleb’s feet. He danced back a step as the plank next to him split in half and fell into the darkness below. More boards followed suit, making a pop! pop! sound as they gave way.

Sienna tried to leap out of the way as the floor simply fell apart around her. The board she made it to held for a half-second longer before it too disintegrated. She let out a startled yelp as she fell out of sight.

“Dammit, no!” A tiny part of Caleb’s mind remembered what to do if someone fell through ice. He got down on the floor and crawled on his knees and elbows over to the edge of the hole. “The rest of you, stay back! More of this floor’s going to go if we put too much weight on it.”

Regan and Donal’s faces had both gone pale, but he heard a double Yezzir from the two of them.

“Sienna!” Caleb shouted. “Are you all right?”

He got a tiny, dust-clogged cough in reply. Then a groan. He relaxed just a tiny bit as he heard Sienna’s voice come from the blackness below.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Nothing hurt worse than my pride. Can’t see anything down here, though.”

“Hold on, we’ll get you out in a second.” Caleb called back over his shoulder. “Tavia, can you get over here? We need more light.”

“I weigh more than anyone present,” the mare pointed out. “I believe it would be a bad idea for me to put additional strain on this bad planking.”

Caleb cursed as he realized his folly. Instead, he mentally searched through his spell list before bringing up the one he wanted.

Dancing Lights

He conjured up two of the glowing spheres and sent them down below. Immediately, he caught sight of Sienna. She stood, covered in dust and rubbing one knee, only ten feet below him.

“By Lir’s beard,” she gasped, as she looked around. “There’s nothing but bones down here.”

Caleb craned his neck to look down and through the hole. A chill ran down his spine at the sight of piles of smooth femurs, broken rib cages, and human skulls. The bones gleamed dully in the dim, bobbing light of his spell.

That same bobbing, unsteady quality to the light almost made him miss it. A movement within the piles. It had been so slight, at first Caleb thought he’d imagined it.

Maybe that was a rat, he thought, even as his stomach turned at the idea. Please, let that have been a rat!

Another movement, a distinct quiver. This time he couldn’t blink, couldn’t stop looking. Something within the heap of dried bones was starting to animate them.

Now Sienna noticed it too. The color in her face drained away as she realized what the bones were assembling into. She groped at her side, pulled her cutlass, and saw to her horror that the blade had been snapped off at the hilt.

“Donal!” Caleb cried, “That pack of yours, did you bring any rope?”

“I think so,” Donal replied, as he tore the pack off his back and started going through the contents. “Yes! Yes, I do!”

Sienna had calmly shot a Myrkur sailor in the eye when escaping Deephold Port. She’d assembled the Arrenmar into a crew under Caleb’s watch. And she’d led one of the two boarding parties against the Taipan.

That same brave woman let out a scream as the first set of glowing skeletal figures rose up before her. She dropped the broken sword, pulled her two pistols, and squeezed the triggers. The double bang! blew off an arm at the shoulder on one and knocked a rib askew on another.

It only slowed them down.

“Donal!” Caleb shouted. “I need you and Regan to tie off that rope and throw it down the hole!”

“Aye, but Captain–”

“Do it!”

With that, Caleb got up. The boards groaned dangerously underfoot. Part of his mind gibbered in fear, while another told the first to sit down and shut up.

This is suicide! We can’t go down there! We won’t get back out alive!

We have no choice if we’re going to save Sienna! Besides, this says piratical flourish all over, it has to work!

Caleb turned his cutlass on its side so that he could hold the blade in his clenched teeth. The dull taste of metal filled his mouth. Then he pulled two of his three pistols, gripping one in each hand.

With a muffled shout, he jumped down to confront the monsters below.