“Welcome aboard the Will of Winter, your Majesty!”

I smiled as I looked to Captain Frostknife, the Iceforged Swashbuckler who had come with the ship. He looked like a warforged, with cables and fibers connecting his body together, but, instead of steel, the plates that made up his armor were blue ice. This reduced the weight and gave them a bit extra protection. Of course, it wasn’t like he was naked. He wore clothes fit for exploring, and had a large, ornate coat, as well as a hat that stood out with the roc feather it used as a plume. On one side hung a scimitar, but on the other hung what looked for all the world like a flintlock pistol.

As I stepped aboard the wooden deck of my ice-hulled ship, I looked the Captain in his mechanical eye. “Good to be aboard, Captain. I trust everything is ready?”

“Aye, that it is. But I’m hoping you aren’t intending to keep everyone on board the whole time. The Will of Winter is not a large ship. She hits above her weight, no doubt, but more than just yourself and that starts becoming an issue. Even with just your black unicorn friend, that’ll be pushing the limits of how much we can hold. I count four more, besides you and your Ebonheart.”

“No worries, Captain. We’ll not be spending the nights aboard ship. Fartooth has a ship of his own, which can be brought out to aid in the defense, if need be. And the twins have a flying island, which they can add to the fun. It is slow, but has a fortress on it and plenty of room for people to live comfortably. We’ll use the island as our base, while the modifications your artificer made will take us in search of our quarry.”

Captain Frostknife nodded, accepting that. “As you wish, your Majesty. The crew is aboard, supplies are stowed, and the weapons manned and ready. Lieutenant Rimetouch has done his divinations, and he sees clear skies in our future, so that is a good thing. The Will of Winter stands ready to execute your will, my Queen. All we need is a target.”

“I never doubted you, Captain. As for a target, that depends on our fallen friend. She is our link to the rest of the hunters pursuing us, so she is the one who would best be able to give advice.”

As Frostknife and I turned our gaze to Sanvi, who had followed me aboard. She smiled, and said, “The best choice would be to strike at my sister and her daughter. They are a Swashbuckler and a Cleric, and formidable in their own right. However, they are likely to have attracted a large following of cultists or feverish followers by now. You would also have to deal with whatever local resources the church of Torm has to offer, but you should not need to fight the truly powerful beings of the land they’re in. So far, they have a decent fighting force, though they are not yet an army.”

Frostknife nodded slowly, and motioned for us to follow as we went belowdecks, to the Captain’s quarters. “Hitting foes before they have a chance to gather allies and organize a coherent defense is well and good, but if we’re to get the Winter to greet them, we’ll need something more substantial to target the teleportation magics on. Where are they located?”

“They are raising support for my father far to the south, in a land ringed by mountains which cut it off from easy access to the rest of the world, save by sea. However, the wyrm Chalranis and the Aurilblood Jungle is just over the mountains from them, so they are no friends to the Frostmaiden. This land of Halorad is fertile ground to gather an army of those who would like to hunt the champions of Auril.”

I nodded slowly. “And the dragon’s agents are focused mostly to the north, turning the southern desert slowly into ice as they approach Sinbara, looking to conquer that city. So, we are unlikely to receive any aid, there. But, if their goal in coming to this plane was to hunt me, then why go so far out of the way? The southlands are months and more from us by any normal means of travel, meaning that anyone they did manage to gather would take that time, or more, to reach Frostreach and become a threat.”

Sanvi shook her head. “It is impossible to know for certain, without actually talking to my sister. You were the most prominent force in the divinations, which is understandable, being a Twice-Born, but even so most information about you was hidden. My sister and her daughter may have decided that attacking another prominent servant of Auril would not only restore Torm’s image with the locals, but also serve to draw you out. And they would know that you have the amount of magic necessary for teleportation, even if they didn’t know whether or not you could actually do it.”

I took a deep breath, and said, “Then take us to the land of Halorad. We shall nip this army in the bud, before it can become an actual threat. However, I am wary of moving too closely, too quickly. We want to do this quickly as possible, of course, before they can draw in help from the rest of the hunters, but showing our hand too aggressively could easily backfire.”

Captain Frostknife reached into the nondimensional trunk in his room, and pulled out a large map of the continent, or at least the parts of it that had been commonly explored by those mortals brave (or foolish) enough to go searching for new secrets, and yet strong enough to actually make it back alive, and with enough intact notes that filling in the map was possible. “According to what information we have, the land has many cities, all close together around the numerous water sources in the area. Unlike some other nations, an attack on any of the cities of Halorad would get a unified response from the others within days. And a flying island is never anything but unsubtle, making some degree of stealth impossible.

“That is not a problem,” Siora said, from the doorway, where she, her sister, and Fartooth were all standing. With a smile, she continued. “When we purchased the Hidden Palace of House Faydark, it came enchanted with a Mirage Arcana spell. When we wish it, the island will appear as a cloud to outside observers. It won’t hide the structures or people on the island, of course, but unless someone is already flying up with us, that is hardly an issue.”

Frostknife nodded, once, taking in the information. “Well, that certainly opens up options, Lady Siora. But how fast does your island move?”

Vestele answered for her sister. “Normal walking speed, I’m afraid. While it isn’t terribly bad, it also isn’t very good. We could fly faster than that with our own wings. The other ships would be able to outpace us easily, and there would be no flying away from an opponent who overmatched us, unless they were completely ground-bound, and, even then, it would be chancy until we retreated out of fireball range.”

Fartooth nodded. “However, between the Will of Winter and the Kobold’s Guile, we should be able to hold off any attackers, at the very least, or perhaps even drive them off. And if we add our own abilities into the mix? Then the island is a very defensible base, requiring flying foes to assault, much less take. And how many in the southlands can actually fly without the aid of magic?”

“A good point, my friend,” I smiled at the little kobold. “We can plan on driving off the enemy, if and when they appear, while using the island as a base. And, if that is the case, then teleporting to somewhere central in the country, rather than the borders or outskirts, would make a far more effective move than trying to sneak in. It will call attention to us, certainly, but that attention will almost certainly be backed by our quarry, and they may reveal themselves.”

“A good start,” Siora nodded. “However, there’s always the chance that they may need a bit more goading than that. If they don’t reveal themselves for the sight of two ships and a flying island appearing in the air, then perhaps some kind of declaration of intent would be in order? Call them out by name, shame them in front of their followers. Do something to draw them out and put them at a disadvantage, where they have to face us, or lose any legitimacy or trust that they may have built with the locals.”

“There is just one thing to keep in mind,” Vestele interjected. “The magic for creating flying ships came from Halorad, initially, at least in this world. They are likely to have flying ships, and flying warships, of their own. Those ships can fly through the mountains, sailing the skies over mountain passes, or so it is said. They won’t be easy to take down, despite everything we’ve said so far.”

That put a cool splash of reality on the plans we were making. If they could actually come and fight us at the same altitude, ship to ship, then we were at a greater risk than we initially believed. That said, it wasn’t like we could back down, now. There was too much at stake for that.

“Right,” I said, and took a deep breath. “Right. So, we can teleport to somewhere near a city, but not the largest city. That will let us get the lay of the land, and figure out what is going on. That will let us at least be a little sneaky, right?”

Fartooth made his chirping laugh, shaking his head. “You are still thinking like an adventurer! You’re a queen now, your Majesty. You just popping over to ‘get the lay of the land’ isn’t going to fly. Rulers of countries don’t just do that.”

“He’s right, Mel,” Siora nodded. “And if things are as they appear, and the locals are being stirred up against the forces of the Icedawn, then they will be irate at you coming openly into their territory. But it is less damaging to come in, claiming you’re on the work of your goddess, than trying to hide who you are while riding around in such distinct vessels. The time for hiding in a crowd is gone, girl.”

“Your Majesty, there might be a way to get the best of all worlds,” Frostknife started. When I motioned for him to continue, he said, “Lake Helorad is in a central location to the country of Helorad, according to my map. This ship is sea-worthy, as well as sky-worthy. If we transport the ship to a body of water, like the lake? A ship on the lake, docked to an island? Even if the materials and looks are essentially otherworldly, no one will immediately try and focus all their attention on our ships.

That will get us a little breathing room, or at least it ought to. And if we have to reveal the ships can fly, that’ll be another disappointing loss, but an acceptable one. The main thing now is to ensure that we can start asking questions at one of the nearby towns, hopefully drawing out or enemy in the process.

The Captain nodded, and pressed a button near his chair, before speaking into what looked like some kind of microphone, with the artificer’s mark upon it. “Lieutenant, it is time to go. Have the helm put us in the waters outside Zulasiir. As quietly as you please. We need to be quiet, until it is time to be loud.”

Understood, sir. Teleporting in three, two, one…

The next moment, there was the white flash of a teleportation spell enveloping the ship.