“I’ve seen many ships go down, but I’ve never had occasion to time it,” Ingram said, blue eyes scanning the fog. “And none of those were mythril-clad. If the<i>Queen</i>were any other ship, we’d have a half-hour, I’d guess, until she was too vertical to stand on.” He spoke to Tyora through clenched teeth. “But with things going as they are… I can’t say for sure.”<br/><br/>Slowly, the panicked affairs of a doomed crew fell into place.  With Urd’s help, questionable-looking but serviceable rafts were born from tables, boards, and planks. Large barrels that had once held rum or water now stood in a grim line across the deck. But rafts and barrels were not boats, and only the most determined of the crew didn’t toss an uneasy glance or two toward the murky water lurking beneath the mist.<br/><br/>The captain’s eyes narrowed at their former captive’s approach. She was a pirate of significant renown, and for a moment he was tempted to place their troubles squarely on her shoulders. Still, the fog - and the<i>Queen</i>’s slow death - had to be a force beyond any one person, let alone a pirate’s curse. Her release was not a problem; it was unconscionable to let a prisoner drown, no matter their crimes.<br/><br/>“Captain, I see that what we observed below deck was not the whole of the problem. Things are not going well up here either. You would not have seen my first mate by chance... Or a formicite girl? I would hate for them to be blown to smithereens in your haste to scuttle your ship.”<br/><br/>Captain Ingram shook his head and took a long draught from his pipe. “Mr. Carraway should be along again shortly. I had him do another sweep of the ship to see if he can find any stragglers. I have no intention of abandoning ship before I’ve done what I can to assure the safety of her passengers.”<br/><br/>Almost on cue, Daniel emerged from below decks, heading a small host of passengers. “‘Less someone’s hiding particularly well, this should be everyone,” he said. “Most came peacefully.” He shared a glance with the captain.<br/><br/>“Most?”<br/><br/>Daniel tilted his head. “They know it’s not going to be pretty,” he said in a low voice. “Braving the sea in rafts and barrels… probably no land nearby, and weeks before anyone knows for sure we’re missing. Don’t much fancy starving to death in a barrel, but I fancy drowning even less.”<br/><br/>“If there’s hope, Mr. Carraway, it comes from this fog. You don’t often get fog far from land. And even if the fog is cursed, someone needs to have done the cursing. As long as they aren’t below the waves, we may have a chance.” He tapped his pipe against the side of the ship. “If I’m right, they’ll need the Raven, Mr. Carraway.”<br/><br/>“I’d hoped…”<br/><br/>“I know.” Ingram eyed Maddy, then scanned the near-chaos unfolding on the deck. “Your friends - any sign?”<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>There was nothing Anaise could do. She’d<i>tried</i>to reach out with magic, tried to seal the breach in the ship… a little hole shouldn’t have given any mage much pause. But whenever she tried to use magic, the<i>presence</i>was there, closer every time. Something about it was<i>twisting</i>the mana around the ship. She’d noticed it before, a little, but she hadn’t been able to place exactly<i>what</i>it was doing until Gwen had tried to seal the hole with a barrier. At first, it seemed like she’d succeeded. For a moment, the rush of water into the flooded brig had stopped. Then, suddenly, her eyes had snapped open and she’d stiffened, giving a little mewl. The barrier had wavered and died. Gwen’s flushed face had told her everything.<br/><br/>Even if that<i>thing</i>hadn’t been searching for them, it was impossible to concentrate on maintaining a spell when casting felt like… like<i>that</i>.<br/><br/>And so here they were, stuffing two barrels with clothing for padding, a bit of food, and a flask of water each. Gwen’d had the bright idea of connecting the two barrels with rope, which at least meant they’d probably end up in the same place at the same time, even if that place happened to be the bottom of the sea. Anaise shot Tyora a glance that she thought might be hopeful but probably just came across the complete opposite. If the barrels got free of the fog, at least, maybe she’d be able to use magic properly again. All she had to do was call up a little breeze, and… and they’d still be impossibly far from land.<br/><br/>“This is ridiculous,” she said.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>