Alan let out a sigh of relief once the hunter was safely out of earshot. At any other time, a catfight would have been entertaining, at least, if one-sided. But no, he had to be stuck guarding two mad godstouched - any harm done to them on his watch would be on his head. Thankfully, both the hunter and the pirate leader seemed to be preoccupied. He’d expected a fight, but things had gone his way for once. Well, other than the Formicite - Suzi, had she said? - sticking around after the hunter’s warning, anyway, but he didn’t feel like making her leave.<br/><br/><i>Drip.</i><br/><br/>Finally, something clicked in Alan’s mind. The barrel he’d been tossing knives at was empty, so there was no reason for<i>anything</i>to be dripping. How long had it been happening? Since that horrible scraping sound had stopped, right?<i>Where…?</i><br/><br/>And there it was: a nail-sized hole in the ship’s hull letting in a small but constant stream of water. The same mythril hull for which the<i>Queen</i>had been named had been pierced somehow… but as far as he knew, mythril was the most durable metal on the planet. He couldn’t think of anything at sea that could possibly pierce a sheet of the stuff, especially when there’d been no collision.<br/><br/>Still, a hole that small couldn’t be too difficult to patch up. All he had to do was find some sealant, or, failing that, a hammer, some wood, and a lot of nails.<i>It’s just like you said. There’s no need to panic.</i><br/><br/>But there was. Even as he watched, cracks were beginning to form around the hole, creeping outward until the wall looked like an elaborate spiderweb. “Fuck,” he said loudly, his tone conveying significantly less disbelief than he felt. “<i>Fuck!</i>” That was better.<br/><br/>He spun on his heel. If the entire deck was going to flood, he didn’t want to be in it when it did. “You. Pirate woman. And… other pirate woman. We’re getting the rut out of here before the ocean becomes our grave.” With deceptively steady hands, he flipped the cell keys from his belt to his hand . “The captain may have my head for this, but no one, pirate or not, deserves the death the deep would bring.”<br/><br/>His blue eyes found Suzi. “It’s not safe here anymore. We need to head up if we want to live.”<i>And there’s no telling how much time even that will buy us.</i>As he rushed up the stairs out of the hold, he looked back over his shoulder. “I’m going to warn the captain. If there’s anything you care to take from the ship, I’d do it now. I don’t know if we can save her.”<br/><br/>He knew damn well that there was no saving her now, not if the entire brig flooded. It would only be a matter of time after that.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>Anaise downed most of the glass of rum with a zeal befitting a beached sailor more than a girl. Gwen did commendably, considering she’d never had the stuff before. She drank it slowly, making a face after each sip, but she seemed to appreciate the warmth it brought, judging by the way she patted her chest. It went a long way toward casting away the lingering chill that had settled over her after the scrying.<br/><br/>“Do you think the Captain knows something is wrong?” Tyora asked.<br/><br/>It was hard to say; though, as a brown-haired sailor rushed by, she thought that maybe at least<i>someone</i>knew what was happening. “I<i>hope</i>so,” she replied, and finished her glass of rum. “Although I don’t think telling him…”<br/><br/>But whatever she’d been about to say was interrupted by a roaring crash like thunder that rumbled through the ship. Anaise’s empty glass shook and tumbled from the table, shattering to the floor - and hers wasn’t the only one. She found herself on her feet without thinking, her hand again reaching for a sword that wasn’t there. “Well,” she said shakily, “He knows now.” She held her hand out to Gwen. “Come on. We’d better get our things, just in case. You too, Tyora.”<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>The fog swirled around Kiera like a living thing, even as her hidden Mortiferium glowed with insistent light inside her cloak. The heavy silence was broken only by a sound like whispers far too quiet to make out. No one answered her calls; indeed, no one seemed to be on deck at all, except a lingering shadow barely visible through the fog but always just out of reach. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.<br/><br/>Whatever it was vanished as soon as the rumbling started. The fog instantly seemed to lessen, revealing sailors scurrying about the deck in an organised panic. Not far from her, the captain was losing some of his composure.<br/><br/>“No rowboats? What do you mean, no rowboats? Everyone is accounted for, other than the sea-witch and--oh! Mr. Elridge, good to see you weren’t completely asleep up there. Start bringing up empty barrels from the hold. Gods know we will be needing them, with the boats cut.” He shook his head. “Sabotage on my ship! That I would live to see the day.<br/><br/>“Mr. Black! Get the black powder ready. We may need to blast the holds open and ride the flotsam if it comes to it. And Mr. Carraway! I want everyone up here in six, ready or otherwise.”<br/><br/>He brought out his pipe and glanced at Kiera out of the corner of his eye. “Ms. La Vayette. I don’t know what hell the<i>Queen</i>’s stumbled into, but it isn’t looking good for her. At this rate, she’ll be sunk within a half hour. No known islands nearby, no rowboats, and this hells-sent fog above it all.” He breathed in deeply and let out a ring of smoke, which he chased with another. “I hope you’ve made peace with the gods, hunter. I’ve failed this crew, but what more could I have done? Could I have saved this ship if I had just...” He shook his head, a slow, solemn motion. “No. But at least I can scream in defiance as death drags me below. And I will pry as many of you from his grasp as I can.”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>