“What else is out there?” I asked Val as we flew in. “In the Great Abalone, I mean, or whatever.”

  Val chuckled. “Daniel you make me feel like a children’s tutor sometimes. Yes, there are many things in the Great Abalone Sky, both legendary and otherwise. Arthur of Avalos has his secret castle out here they say.”

  “My brother’s name is Arthur,” I said reflexively.

  “I didn’t know you had a brother. Well, is your last name Avalos or Camelot or anything like that?”

  I thought back to Lancie, who’d given me Camelot as her last name and may have been made by this Arthur Avalos fellow.

  “Not even close.”

  “Well then you’ve got nothing to worry about!”

  “What else is there out there? Like real stuff, not just legends. We’ve got King Arthur in my world too!”

  Instead Val shouted. From a cloudspire to our left a spinning whirring craft emerged. It was either a huge insect or an aircraft. It had a bubble dome in the middle that was either its head or where the pilot sat. That would definitely be my target. Val had the same thought though, leaping from my back onto the approaching craft. She grabbed a hold of it as they both plummeted, then tapped it with the pulse hammer.

  The explosion tossed her away. I swiped her out of the sky and we went on.

  [Experience Gained: +525 XP (Combat)]

  [LEVEL UP: Daniel]

  [Driften Waker: Level 11]

  “Don’t blush, Daniel! You’re doing great too!”

  The Fool’s Errand by now had strafed the fleet of seven remaining fighter craft--they were fighters, not bugs or something--and cannons fired.

  “I kinda wish I had my flight suit,” Val muttered.

  “You don’t need it. Just keep doing that and I’ll catch--agh!”

  I had to veer suddenly as a missile hissed out of nowhere past us, arcing adroitly. I flew in a parabola and grabbed Val and then deployed her like a red missile at the onrushing squadron. Plunk as she stuck the landing.

  I wished I had a cool technique I could use to actually destroy stuff, but I’d have to just try to cling to these things and punch them with my fists.

  Between the laser drill and the pulse hammer Val made short work of the craft, and the remaining six added more missiles to the mix. I again plucked Val from midair and this time we landed on one of the squirming hullcrabs. They were barely bigger than these crafts. It was like a stealth assault group. If i hadn’t been topdeck with Val they would’ve gotten off free missiles at the ship…

  Well, that was lucky. Scrambling and climbing on the hullcrab, I looked up just in time to see the missiles approaching.

  “Duck!” Val shouting, kicking me into the air as the missiles sunk into the beast and detonated.

  Chunks of metal and burning crab spattered everywhere. The dragonfly crafts spun out briefly. That was chance enough for us to take to the air and have Val rip one of the pilots out of their craft and threw him aloft. I nabbed the guy, and managed to also let Val land straight onto my back to ride again. The remaining crafts pivoted again, perhaps intent for easier prey.

  [Experience Gained: +3075 XP (Combat)]

  [LEVEL UP: Daniel]

  [Driften Waker: Level 12]

  [LEVEL UP: Valietta auz Varlanes]

  [Jewel Reaver: Level 26]

  “Let’s kill the rest!”

  “Nah,” I said. “Not worth our time. Should we save some of this meat?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “You’re going to eat bandit hullcrab? Not a chance, Daniel. You can imagine what they were feeding these things. Please don’t give Brufo any ideas.”

  I turned to fly back. A giant, red-glowing mawed face like a demon moon was churning up from below toward the Fool’s Errand. Val screamed in my ear. It was nightmarish! I cast a glance backward at the dragonfly ships, then pushed on toward the Fool’s Errand.

  We landed on deck just in time to get eaten.

  [Area Boss approaches: Lithic Apex Mimic]

  AAAAAAAAUHH was the sound as the smoldering red shadows of the inside the monster moon cascaded over everything. Then the ship collided with the wall of its… throat, and, wood creaking, ground to a shaking and spiraling stop as the engines sputtered. Finally they shut off. Sleipnir came out on deck, and everyone else too.

  We looked out across a scarlet scene out of an apocalypse film. Shacks of flotsam and driftwood cobbled in places. A few rudimentary scavenged buildings. Many wrecked ships, of which the Fool’s Errand definitely looked the best. When Lorlux came topdeck he wiped his brow with a kerchief.

  “Luckily the Fool’s Errand was just repaired,” Lorlux said. “Over-repaired even. If we can get that mouth open and flare engines we should be able to fly right out.”

  That seemed like a big if.

  I set down the pilot guy I’d been carrying, who’d begun to wriggle. Val took the opportunity to pounce on his chest and whip out the power drill. I also deployed Lancie, who sneered at the guy.

  Val opened the visor, revealing a pair of terrified red eyes. Then she ripped his helmet off. The guy’s hair was violet slashed with red.

  “Who the hell are you and who’s this crew that jumped us?! What’s this lithic hunter boss?”

  The man gulped. He didn’t look much if any older than I was. “I--I’m Tanzan. My crew--”

  “Hold on,” Val said. “You’re really telling me your name is Tanzan.”

  He nodded earnestly. “That’s right. This crew well we go by the Crab Crew these days but it’s been other things. We only have four hullcrabs…This moon thing isn’t really ours, it’s an [Area Boss] that’s easy to avoid if you know to look for it. Which you tourists sure didn’t! But…we don’t mean you any harm, now.”

  Some more people had climbed over the rails of the ship, surprising us. A translucent man and a black lithe dragon man. The black dragon cleared his throat. Val stood the pilot up and let him go.

  “Uh,” Tanzan said, smoothing his hair. “Newcomers this is Captain Drajan, and Luneth, our own personal [Storiographer].”

  The black dragon man bowed. “Pleasure. Pleasure. What the crew member Tanzan said is right. I invite you formally to Crab Crew.”

  [New Message: Crew Member Invite (Crab Crew)]

  You are welcome to Crab Crew. But if you want to blow up more crabs, we will have a problem. Do you understand?”

  “It was their missiles,” I muttered to Val who shushed me.

  “On my warrant,” Lorlux said solemnly, “I vouch for their good behavior. For now they are a part of my crew, Drajan.”

  Drajan nodded serenely. He looked at Sleipnir.

  “Chrome brother, you look like you’ve seen better days. It has been several millenia since I have seen one of you. How fares old Barbados?”

  “I would not know,” Sleipnir said softly. “I have been gone from the home for nearly as long. Only in the last ten years did I wake. What of the honorable Null?”

  “The void keeps no record. Tell me of Weywyrd,” Drajan emplored, but Sleipnir waved him off.

  “Another time, dark brother. For now we must tend to our ship. Surely you understand.”

  “Your ship?” Drajan said chuckling. “Do you recall what happened? You are our salvage now. But since we’re a democratic bunch, I am going to let you join the Crab Crew. How does that sound? Better than the alternative, I hope?”

  Sleipnir made a whirring sound and let out a puff of steam. “Calculating: correct. We will comply.”

  “You have my word,” Lorlux said. “Come tomorrow morn and we shall parlay. The group is tired from our travels, and we would welcome a time to rest.”

  The dark dragon man shrugged. “Suit yourself. For now welcome to Stonestomach. We’ll postpone the tour. Dripp’s Tavern is over there on the little knoll, and that old hollowed out metal steamship is some communal housing, if your place doesn’t suit any of you any longer. I’m up on that spire there in the little tower.”

  They turned to climb back down the ship. Tanzan tried to leave too, but Val grabbed him. He tried to call out but I covered his mouth. I didn’t know what she was going to do but it likely involved him shutting up for now.

  We put him in the refurbished boba shop for now. I finally saw what Wilia was talking about. It had been rebranded as Heart Boba Shop in flowing heartwood detail. Even the tables and chairs were brand new, beautifully carved and finished wood.

  “Hey! Hellllpppp!” he shouted as Val carefully closed and barred the door despite his pounding.

  The intercom went off, Lorlux summoning the crew to the Navigation Room.

  “I give us until sundown tomorrow before things go sour. They’ll want to raid again at night. That means tomorrow somebody’s got to get that mouth open. I don’t know how, and I don’t need to know. Sleipnir and I will stay here and the moment it opens we’re going. That means Daniel you’re on rescue duty if someone’s left behind.”