Caleb decided to empty out the fist-sized bag he’d found inside the former captain’s wardrobe. A small pile of gold coins clinked out onto his palm. He squinted at the pile for a moment before one of the windows still within his view updated.

Value of contents in hand: 32 standard gold crowns.

He considered for a moment. These ‘Extra Value Bonus Content’ bits of the universe he now lived in were useful, to be sure. But they were also misnamed, so far as he was concerned.

Some of the time, they offered more in-depth information. But in the case of his Sense Value of Coinage spell, he also needed the coinage to activate the spell in the first place. He didn’t like the implications of that.

There’s your incentive to acquire gold at any cost, he thought grimly. To gain more spells, to gain more power. The incentives in Jaladri drive someone from my world to act, to raise their level as quickly as possible. In a sense, the creation of a soul-draining empire like the Myrkur was almost a given.

Caleb scanned his Character Sheet and focused on the entries embossed with little gold numbers. First up was his Individual-Specific Specialty.

Individual-Specific Specialty: XP Edge - Enhanced 33% (20)

Next came the descriptors of his two Wizardly Sub-Specialties.

Weathermancy: This is a broad field of magic that allows a wizard to influence local weather conditions. It is useful both at land and at sea, though innate conditions such as ambient temperature or humidity will affect the power of the spell. (5)

Craft With Iron: This field of magic that allows a wizard to innately sense and influence small bits of metal. Extremely useful in resetting compasses, locating spare nails, or repairing navigational tools. (3)

Finally, there were the five remaining spells he hadn’t activated yet.

Dancing Lights (12)

Increase Ambient Humidity (13)

Decrease Ambient Humidity (13)

Sense Metallic Weapon’s Qualities (6)

Align Metal Object (18)

All of a sudden, the pile of thirty-two gold coins sitting in his hand didn’t look quite so big anymore. He let out a sigh as he saw how he had to spend the majority of the coinage.

It’s the most expensive item on the list, to be sure. But I need to know what my Individual-Specific Specialty is! That’s the one thing that’s been driving me nuts the longest, and it’s also the most potentially helpful.

He moved the tip of the coin pile in his hand to touch the (20). A soundless flash, and the pile grew lighter. New windows popped up. He touched them, moving the bunch of screens to one side in order to read them more easily.

Congratulations, Soul Traveler!

You have unlocked your Individual-Specific Specialty. This is, as the name implies, the special ability gifted by Lir and Danu to you and you alone. Doesn’t that feel special?

Your specialty’s enhancement increases along with your Level of experience. In the event of an untimely death (which we advise you avoid), your Individual-Specific Specialty shall remain at whatever level of enhancement you have attained.

XP Edge: This ability allows you to ‘burn’ experience points in order to increase the power of any spell’s intensity and/or duration. Once you’ve envisioned your spell, simply think or say Burn and your accumulated experience will be fed into the spell at the rate you require. In this manner, you can acquire a temporary ‘edge’ over more powerful opponents.

Lir and Danu’s Helpful Hints:

You can only burn the experience points you have accumulated under the field labeled Unspent XP. Once this reaches zero, this ability shall not function. You cannot ‘regress’ levels in order to gain more Unspent XP.

We recommend that you not use XP Edge unless in dire emergencies. Burning XP means that you will take longer to ascend to higher levels, where you’ll have access to more powerful spells.

Timing is everything with this ability. Once you accumulate enough Unspent XP, you naturally ascend a level and receive new spells and/or abilities. However, unless you’re very lucky, you can end up on a higher level but with very little Unspent XP left to burn at first. We recommend you continue fulfilling the quests in your Quest Window, preferably without resorting to confrontation and violence.

Amazing, Caleb thought. XP Edge is actually a pretty cool ability. And…be still my beating heart, even Lir and Danu’s advice was helpful for a change. I guess even stopped clocks are useful twice a day.

He looked over the other entries, then glanced back at the gold in his hand.

Value of contents in hand: 12 standard gold crowns.

Again, Caleb considered his options. Right now, abstract knowledge about his Wizardly Sub-Specialties was just a 'nice-to-have'. So that was out. And among the remaining spells, he began whittling down the possibilities.

He felt that he could figure out what two of the three spells under Weathermancy did, and they didn’t seem helpful at the moment. Plus, right now either of them were a single gold coin out of his reach to activate.

Increase Ambient Humidity (13)

Decrease Ambient Humidity (13)

He took a second glance at the Craft with Iron spells.

Sense Metallic Weapon’s Qualities (6)

Align Metal Object (18)

He could only afford to unlock one of the spells in this category, and once again, it didn’t seem that useful at the moment. It might tell him more about Lord High Captain Delacroix’s enchanted sword, but it sure wouldn’t help him in a fight.

That left just a single option.

Dancing Lights (12)

He had no idea what this did, so it was a pure matter of chance if it could be helpful. And whatever it was, he had enough to activate it. Feeling resigned to his choice, he touched the remaining coins to the (12). A flash, and his hand emptied even as a new screen appeared atop all the others.

Dancing Lights: This spell allows you to conjure up to four globes of light in midair, each the size of a flaming torch or lantern. These lights can be of any color and can be sent anywhere within sight of the caster. However, larger distances will dissipate the spell's potency. Lights will continue to remain in existence for five minutes per level attained by the caster.

Caleb looked up to see Tavia staring at him in astonishment. He waved all of the screens away with a single gesture.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You made a pile of coins vanish from your hand!” she said, amazed. “Did you just perform an illusion, or did you transport them somewhere else?”

“The latter. Maybe. I think they went to some celestial collection plate, to be honest. Apparently, I have to pay to learn about some of my spells, or aspects of my abilities.”

The unicorn chewed that one over.

“I suppose it makes sense. I have to ask Kirren to replenish my magic every night. I pay with my faith, you pay with coins.”

“Um, about that,” Caleb said. He took a breath and hoped what he said next wouldn’t raise Tavia’s hackles. “I found that gold in the former captain’s wardrobe. It wasn’t a lot, but I think it would be better if we didn’t speak of–”

“I agree, we shall keep this between ourselves.” Tavia raised an eyebrow. “I disapprove of anything but forthrightness, Caleb. But I understand the situation we’re in, and I have worked with humans before. Should we truly escape the Myrkur’s clutches, the presence of gold will always work on men’s minds. It is good that what you found is now gone.”

“That’s settled, then. Did you find a spyglass?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. But I’m willing to bet there’s one in the watertight case marked MAPS & LOGS. The catch on the edge is hard for me to undo.”

“Yeah, I don’t think most catches are made for cloven hooves.”

Caleb went over to where the case sat atop the lowest shelf. It was wide and shallow, reminding him of an attaché case set on its side. Instead of wood or metal, it appeared to have been made from the scaly, greenish hide of some reptilian creature.

He slid it out, undid the catch, and opened it.

A stack of folded or rolled parchment took up half the interior. A palm-sized magnifying glass and some chewed pencil ends took up more space. So did a drawing compass and a straight edge ruler.

In between lay a brass spyglass, half-extended but perfectly serviceable.

“Now we’re in business!” He snatched up the device in one hand. “Come on, we need to identify what our lookouts are seeing astern of our vessel.”

But as soon as they went to exit the cabin, Caleb heard a call from the lookouts above that sent a chill down his spine.

“Sail ho!” came the cry.

“Dammit, I was afraid of that,” Caleb cursed, as he and Tavia emerged onto the quarterdeck. Shaw had returned to looking over the steerboard rail on the main deck. He looked up as soon as he heard Caleb’s voice.

“Alas, ‘tis a sail,” the griffin called. “Mine own eyes can make out a giant square sheet with a dark spot just below, where it alights upon the water.”

That got a frown out of Caleb.

“If you see that shape, it means we’ve got a square-rigged ship coming up on us.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Tavia asked.

“It’s possible. I mean, lots of ship types are typically square-rigged. Unfortunately, that includes frigates.”

Sienna and her trio of armed men gave way as Caleb and Tavia clambered up the steps to the afterdeck. From the highest deck on board the Spitfire, Caleb could just make out the pinprick of a shape against the bright shimmer cast by the triple moons.

A squeak as he carefully slid the spyglass open, allowing it to telescope to its full length. Then he held it to his eye. The magnified image leapt instantly into crystal clear detail.

He saw the bleak, stern face of a woman carved out of dark wood.

The woman’s jaw and cheekbones jutted out unnaturally, as if part of a death mask. Her hair was a wild mass caught in a phantom wind. A pair of predatory wings emerged from her back, each lined with feathers carved into razor-sharp relief.

Her eyes glittered blood red, lit from within like lamps powered by demons.

All that work, all that detail in wood and Lir-knew-what-else, had been pressed into service for the vessel’s figurehead. It jutted out from beneath the pursuing vessel’s bowsprit as if it were an evil talisman. To leave no doubt who or what was coming for them.

Caleb felt as if his stomach had turned into a single icy slab.

“The Myrkur have found us,” he announced, as he lowered the spyglass from his eye. “That’s Delacroix’s frigate. It’s the Stone Angel.”