The Floating City

The twins had rationed out the firebombs.  There were five left – two for the kitchen, two for the boiler, and one for an emergency.  Sabreur bemoaned the fact that he had not through ahead and brought more, but really, how could one anticipate to have to blow up a stove that had fused with what used to be skimmer crewmen?  At least he had brought enough to sink the skimmer.

"You alright with this?" he asked his twin.

"No," she replied.  The stove sat huddled in the darkness, the only sign that it was more than just a stove the long gouges where it had drug its twisted body after them.

"You've shot pirates at point-blank," Sabreur said.

"They weren't twisted abominations," she replied through gritted teeth.

"So it's okay to kill normal people but not kitchen stoves."

The absurdity of the situation sunk in and Langley was spurred to action.

"Oh bloody hell with it!  1 2 3 4 5!"

And she stepped into the kitchen.  The oven's eyes lit up, both pairs fixed on Langley as she tripped the trigger on the bomb and readied to throw.  The glowing mouth gaped open as the twisted bits of metal and flesh that served as arms lunged forwards, dragging it across the flooded floor.  Langley put one foot forwards, readying her throw, and kelp wrapped about her ankle.

She went down with a cry.  The stove lunged forwards, the sound of metal tearing against the floor drowning out Langley's frantic cries of "It's armed!  It's armed!"  And the small firebomb lolled about until Langley's frenzied kicking finally connected and threw the bomb into the air and away from her.

The stove caught it in one arm and swallowed it.  The light vanished as its jaws shut tight.  And then Sabreur grabbed Langley, hauled her back, and the two went diving into the other room as the firebomb went off with a muffled bang.  A few seconds later another explosion followed it, sending fire and shrapnel through the open doorway, shaking the very foundations of the skimmer and causing the walls to groan.

"Did… did we get it?" Langley finally asked in a shaky voice.

In answer, Sabreur crept forwards, pausing only when he kicked something under the water.  He reached down and fished it up, holding up a twisted piece of metal that could have been any part of the stove, now blown beyond recognition.

"You know," he said, tucking this in his satchel, "I'd be a lot happier about the boosted 'mancy in this ship if it weren't for how close we are to my own explosives."

"We'll be at a safe distance when you blow the ones on the hull."

And that made him smile.  Cautiously, the twins entered the kitchen.  The stove was no longer there.  Instead, there was only a scorch mark and steam where the explosion had evaporated the water, and charred pieced of metal embedded in the walls, floor, and ceiling.  The kitchen pantry was rattling and soft gibbering noises, like a nest of squirrels with the flu, were coming from it.  They slowly died down and the doors stopped moving.  The chain held.

"I think the kitchen is clear," Langley said.

Sabreur eyed the cabinet carefully.

"I think you're absolutely right," he replied.


The hatch to the next level was bolted shut and took some work to pry open.  Sabreur finally pulled a canister out of his satchel and poured some black glop on the hinges, which promptly devoured the metal.  He then scooped it back up and put the lid back on.

"Um," Langley said, "When did you find time to grab a piece of, er, the captain?"

"I dunno," he replied, "Thought it would be useful."

And he pulled the hatch up and peered into the darkness below.  It was most likely the crew quarters.  Langley swallowed hard and looked at Sabreur.  Then she nodded slightly and jumped.

"Laws of pyromancy!" she shouted as she hit with a splash, her feet slipping out from under her and she found herself bobbing in chest-deep water, "It's COLD!"

"Great."

And a moment later her brother splashed down next to her, rapier out.

"Well, there goes all hope of using our pistols," she muttered, toying with the piece of quartz around her neck.  After a moment it lit with a soft yellow light that refracted strangely in the water.  The two glanced around.  It was indeed the crew quarters.  The loft beds had been smashed off the walls and debris floated all around them.  In the far corner was a massive shape, dark brown and from what Langley could see, appeared to have ivory horns protruding from its skin at random.  She could see the knobs of a spine.  It was breathing slowly and appeared to be asleep.  Sabreur shifted nervously.

"I say we let it sleep," Langley whispered.

"So it can wake up when this ship explodes into a cataclysm of fiery destruction?"

"…yes."

"Good plan."

Langley turned to find the door that would lead into storage.  She leaned against it, trying to listen through the wood for anything on the other side.  All she heard was a low, rhythmic rumble.

"I think it's snoring," she finally said, "I can't hear anything else."

"It?  Meaning Fangley over there?"

"…yes."

Sabreur moved slowly through the water, holding his satchel above his head.  It was technically waterproof but he didn't want to take chances.  Submerging it might prove to be more than it could handle.  The monster was even more impressive closer up.  The arms were about as long as its legs, which were jointed like those of a cat.  Cords of muscle fairly rippled along its hide as it breathed.  It had a small whip-like tail, like that of a jackal.  It was almost impossible to determine what kind of creature it had been before the hot spot hit but Sabreur decided to estimate a fusion of dog and human.  Maybe plural on either account.  He turned to leave it and something latched onto his leg.

This was more than just kelp.  These fangs were much larger and went right through his pants and into the fleshy part of his thigh.  It also pulled and with a cry he went under the water.  Langley sloshed her way towards where he had vanished, the bright red trails of blood marking where he had been pulled under. The wildly swaying light of her necklace made it almost impossible to see.  She wanted to yell his name but the cry froze in her throat.

The water churned and for a moment Sabreur broke the surface of the water, gasping for breath, and there was a flip of a mottled tail and a purplish fin and, swearing like any good Stormrider, Sabreur was pulled back under, grappling his opponent.

Of course, all this noise just had to wake up Fangley in the corner.

The beast shifted, peering around the room with dull eyes.  Its ear twitched and the three eyes finally managed to focus on the churning water in the middle of the room.  It turned, ponderously, unable to stand up straight, and Langley watched with horror as it dipped a forearm into the water and came up holding both Sabreur and a manta ray in its four-clawed digits.  Sabreur squirmed and finally kicked the ray in its fanged maw and fell out of Fangley's grasp.  He hit the water and Langley ran to pull him to his feet.  He was limping badly and the two retreated as Fangley's jaw dropped and it crammed the struggling ray into a mouth filled with wildly serrated teeth and bit down.  There was a resounding crunch and after a second the ray stopped moving.  Fangley swallowed and it vanished, fin, tail, and all.  Then the creature belched and curled up again, apparently happy with its meal.  A few seconds later the room vibrated with its snoring.

"If I weren't a Stormrider," Sabreur whispered to his sister, "I think I would have wet myself just then."

"If you weren't a Stormrider," she whispered back, "We wouldn't be here."

Sabreur bandaged his leg while Langley fussed with the door that led to cargo.  It wasn't really a proper bandage, more just something to keep the blood from leaking out all through the water.  The bites were deep and the salt water brought the concept of salt in a wound to new levels.  He managed to limp along, however, as there really wasn't much choice at this point.  Langley had finally managed to budge the door and it was open, staring into a gaping hole that used to be the cargo hold.  The floor had been decimated and small clusters of wood floated here and there.  The water was clear and Langley could see the wall extend below them, a containment to keep the water from reaching the boiler room.  It was possible to get through.  A bit of hydromancy could keep the water in a solid state long enough to open the door into the boiler room and keep the cargo hold from flooding it.

Of course, that assumed the dozen or so rays the twins could see swimming through the water wouldn't try and molest them.

"Do… do you think," Sabreur finally said in a small voice, "That Fangley is still hungry?"

First Previous