Captain Grayson looked at the sky as the dragon and the massive weasel fought. In the distance, the Artibter rose up to try to follow the outlaw''s ship, but Grayson already knew it was too late. For the second time, Ortega put him on the back foot, and Ortega was getting away.


    Grayson stood in the cold wind as the old woman and the machine approached him from behind. He sensed them through the Path of Will long before they reached him, and he turned and sighed.


    "We''re going to have to sort out what happened here before we can pursue them," he said, focusing on the old woman. "Is there any chance you''re going to make it easier for me?"


    "Well, aren''t you a dearie?" the woman said, her smile not quite reaching her blank eyes. "What are you doing on my island?"


    "I didn''t think so." Grayson sighed as he turned to the machine. "What about you? What do you know about all this?"


    "Data not available," the machine chirped.


    Roar.


    Grayson glanced up and saw the massive weasel retreating away from Captain Drake, who had thrown his wings wide as he came in for a landing. Grayson shook his head as he walked into the snow to meet Captain Drake.


    Slam. Crunch. Crack.


    Captain Drake transformed back into his lizardman form in harsh crunching movements, the spasms fitting for a horror story. Grayson looked away as he waited for the lizard man to finish and only looked back to the other captain when Captain Drake spoke.


    Cuts and scratches covered Captain Drake''s scaled body. Several scales had been torn loose from his body, and a few of the wounds even seeped black blood. Captain Drake had been an entire barrel of surprises from their short time working together, but his dragon form was on an entirely different level.


    "I won''t be able to catch up to them now," Captain Drake said. "We''ve lost them."


    "I figured." Grayson spat. "You look like you''ve been through death and back."


    "I didn''t expect the giant flying weasel." Captain Drake shrugged. "I don''t know if it was working with them, but Ortega''s ship seemed to attack it before it came after me."


    "It doesn''t matter either way." Grayson sighed. "My ship''s lost, and when we return, I''ll have to report it."


    "I think we''ll have bigger problems," Captain Drake said. "The repercussions of that message alone will be a thorn in our side for an age to come."


    "You think people will believe it?"


    "It said that the broadcast reached every living person on Erth simultaneously," Drake said, narrowing his eyes. "That alone will spur many to believe it."


    "I always thought Roald was a liar," Grayson said. "They teach you about him in school. They even have a little rhyme. I don''t remember it anymore."


    "Well, we know that''s wrong now," Captain Drake said. "The Academy will have a field day with the message. They''ll have to accept it now that it is everywhere."


    "A new era," Grayson said, shaking his head.


    "All focused on one place."


    "Magnus Hortus," Grayson said. "The center of the Twelve Kingdoms, right next to Rockford and the Clink. The land of unending delights."


    "You''ve heard of it?"


    "Never been there." Grayson shrugged. "But I hear you can buy any experience you want there."


    "A land for nobility, not grunts like you or me." Captain Drake nodded.


    "Don''t lump me in with you." Grayson snorted. "I can''t turn into a dragon."


    "About that." Captain Drake turned a yellow eye on him. "Can I ask that you keep that a secret for now? Not even my superiors know about it."


    "It isn''t a curse?"


    "It is what I am," Captain Drake said. "My people were not many before I was taken from our world, but we could take the forms of smaller creatures as we pleased. It is the only way I fit in here."


    "Considering what you''ve done for me so far, it''s the least I can do." Grayson smiled. "We may not have saved my ship, but I can''t say we didn''t try."


    "Very true." Captain Drake''s mouth split into a serpentine smile, and a puff of smoke escaped. "Just don''t think that this is over."


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "I don''t understand why you''re so positive about this," Grayson said. "No matter how you cut it, we had Ortega and his crew right here, and we failed to get them. They succeeded in whatever they planned to do here and escaped."


    "That''s the short game." Captain Drake shook his head. "Look at it this way. I''m fairly certain that this island was the origin of the message. We have plenty to investigate here before we leave to figure out how Roald pulled it all off. Our report will be the one piece of information our superiors will have about what happened. We''re bringing back invaluable intelligence that only cost them one ship."


    "Hah."


    Grayson couldn''t help but laugh. From that perspective, Ortega stealing his ship was a boon. If his ship had never been stolen, he wouldn''t have been anywhere near any of this. Grayson would have retired in obscurity after his service was up and lived out the rest of his days on his pension. Now, he had an opportunity he would never have imagined. It was quite the change.


    "There''s the Arbiter," Captain Drake said, looking up at the approaching ship. "We''ll have to sweep the island for survivors and evidence, question anyone still alive, and then we can worry about making our reports."


    Grayson looked back to find the old woman, remembering all the talk about survivors, but when he did, he noticed she was gone. Somehow, she had slipped away from their conversation along with her machine. Grayson rubbed his beard as he looked back to the keep.


    They couldn''t have gone far, and a full sweep of the island would eventually find them. He resigned himself to the additional work as they waited for the Arbiter to come down and pick them up.


    <hr>


    Firril lay Runa down in her bed, tucking her back into the covers before returning to the fireplace to stoke the embers one last time. Runa''s breathing came in labored breaths as she lay against the pillow, and Firril could tell. Her time had finally come.


    Clank.


    Firril closed the pot lid and stood, shuffling across the room to Runa and standing over her.


    "It was good to see that old codger again," Runa said, a smile crossing her face as her eyes fluttered open. "Twenty years waiting on his blasted plan, and he couldn''t even be here to see it through."


    "You did that for him," Firril said, pulling the blanket higher up to ensure it was right below Runa''s chin.


    "And I got to see Mari again, don''t you forget that!"


    If Firril could have smiled, she would. However, her flat, metallic face didn''t allow it. Instead, she stood up, picked up a bowl, and returned to the pot. She opened it and prepared to ladle another serving of soup for Runa.


    Clank.


    "Things are going to change now," Runa said, her voice quiet. "The time of us old people is coming to an end. A new generation will push through on their own journeys. They''ll find a way to change the world and make things better."


    "Do you think those outlaws will improve things?" Firril asked as she turned to bring the bowl back over to Runa.


    "I understand." Runa smiled weakly. "It''s hard to believe that a bunch of selfish people doing what they want can make things better. But you saw them when we first met. They could have killed all three of us. They didn''t. Instead, they indulged me. They helped an old woman back to her bed and reunited Mari with the ship."


    "But why did they do it?"


    "They wanted to know about Roald, they wanted power, and they all had something they wanted. There''s nothing wrong with wanting something, Firril. The only thing that can be wrong is what you do to get it."


    Firril didn''t understand, but then again, she wasn''t programmed to understand. She put a spoon into the bowl and brought the warm red soup to Runa''s lips. Runa sipped at it but didn''t even finish the soup in the spoon before resting back and closing her eyes.


    Firril stood, knowing she would need to wait to try and feed Runa again. This was their normal interaction. Runa''s time would come soon, and then Firril would be without even that purpose. Firril sat down the bowl on the table as she scanned the room.


    The books were the last record of Roald, the original copies of memories of his and Runa''s journey from the Erth to the New World. Though not every single one would be sent out to the rest of the world, the documents around her were the most complete collection of information on the Dark Meridian and the New World.


    "Fwah."


    Runa breathed out one last long sigh before going completely still. Firril returned to her, bending down to examine the woman. After a few minutes, she knew that it was all over. Runa was gone, and her purpose was fulfilled.


    "Initiate the final part of the plan," Runa''s voice came to her from decades ago. "When the plan is complete, we must burn down everything in this room. The information that is here cannot fall into the wrong hands."


    Firril trudged to the fireplace mechanically, reaching one metal hand into the embers and drawing out a burning coal. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the coal into the first bookshelf. Smoke briefly smoldered out of the books before an orange flame sparked along the pages. Firril reached down and picked up another piece of coal, throwing it onto another bookshelf.


    She repeated the process again and again until the entire room was blazing orange with flames. She didn''t feel the heat—she was a machine, after all—but she stayed long enough to know the room was ablaze.


    She left Runa''s body behind as she stepped through the burning wooden door and out into the stone hallway. The fire would be contained in the room and wouldn''t spread to the rest of the keep. Everything important, information that could only be found by journeying beyond Erth, went up in flames behind Firril as she marched down the stairwell and toward the park.


    She found Gary kneeling in the park, near the split body of the man who had worn golden armor. Gary''s body no longer released the steady hiss of steam it had earlier. He had shut down due to damage across his systems and would no longer move.


    Bullet holes were the problem, but otherwise, he was in one piece. That meant he could be repaired. He might be able to be Gary again. Firril nodded as she finished her inspection. There was hope that he could get up again, which would have to be enough.


    Firril reached down, pulled Gary''s hands away from his sword, and then pulled his arm over her shoulder to pick him up. She made her way out of the park with some effort, carrying Gary with her the entire time.


    She staggered her way over to the elevator to the pits and laid Gary down on the platform before she went to pull the lever. After she turned it and the platform started its descent into darkness, she found the time to finally talk to Gary, even if he couldn''t hear her now.


    Creak. Clank.


    "I may not be Runa," Firril said as she knelt beside Gary. "But I''ll try to bring you back to operation, Gary. We don''t have Runa anymore, but there are places we can hide while we wait for those people to leave. Once they''re gone, we''ll figure out what we''ll do together."


    If she could have smiled, she would have, but instead, she rested back in a sitting position as the elevator continued its descent.