The Spitfire sailed on, finally drawing abreast of the three bombards in the fortress above.

Caleb spoke softly, just loud enough so that Tavia and Shaw could hear him.

“Be ready. Just as we planned.”

The unicorn bobbed her horn, while the griffin made a low chuff of acknowledgement.

The next few moments passed in a molasses-slow drip of time.

“Your orders, Captain?” Quinton called from below.

“Hold your fire!” Caleb finally called. “It looks like we’re not going to take any shots from up there. Have your crew remain at their posts, though. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in the harbor ahead, at least not until–”

A deep, percussive boom! came from overhead and to the right as one of the bombards fired off. Caleb looked up, searching for the high-arced projectile as it plunged towards the ship. He got a quick glimpse of the large, boulder-like stone against the bright sky.

It plunged into the sea just astern of the Spitfire, throwing up a massive spray of water with a roaring KATHOOM! Droplets rained down across the quarterdeck. Breena let out an annoyed hiss and scurried for cover.

A new window popped up in Caleb’s Quest Screen.

New Adventurer's-Level Quest: Survive bombard attack and neutralize fortress. Quest difficulty shall be altered depending on outcome. STATUS: IN PROGRESS.

“Tavia, Shaw!” Caleb ordered. “You’re up!”

With that, the unicorn moved to touch her horn to the griffin’s flank. Her horn glowed soft gold. Shaw jerked as if he’d received a shock of static electricity. Caleb squinted and saw that once again, Tavia had bestowed several buffs on her griffin friend.

Existing Buff / Debuffs:

Physical Abilities Reduced by 25% from Age-Related Limitations.

Received Temporary Paladin-Specific Defensive Enhancement:

50% Resistance to wounds from all distance and bladed weapons.

33% Resistance to crushing, burning, freezing, and acidic damage.

25% Resistance to mind control and most poisons.

15% Resistance to any exposure to disease.

Shaw unfurled his wings and hurled himself into the sky. Caleb didn’t watch his progress. Instead, he bent over the rail and shouted down to the gun crew.

“Mister Quinton! Have your gun crew target that fortress’ guns!”

“Aye, Captain!” came the return cry.

A boom as the Spitfire’s cannon returned fire. Caleb straightened up and put the spyglass back to his eye. The return shot flew straight and true. It struck the base of the fortress with a crump, throwing up chips of stone and a cloud of dust.

Better than I’d hoped, he thought. That fortress is at such a high angle, it’s hard to hit the enemy’s guns. But maybe that made the gun crew up there think twice about shooting at us?

He leaned back slightly to sight on the bombard’s muzzles. They hadn’t moved. Just as he focused in on them, a second badoom! echoed across the bay as the next of the fortress’ guns fired.

Caleb made a snap decision based on what he’d seen.

“Hard to steerboard!” he ordered, and Donal spun the wheel accordingly. He called up the two spells he’d held in his mind and cast them.

Wind Cast, Minor Wind Shift, Minor

Caleb had no choice but to goose the two castings using his XP Edge skill. That boosted the breeze to a buffeting wind. He then shifted it to catch the half-sized sail at a better angle. The Spitfire leapt ahead, forcing everyone aboard to brace themselves.

The stone from the second bombard landed twenty yards to larboard. The kersploosh! was impressive looking at that distance, but not nearly close enough to wet the decks. He glanced back up at the fortress, where the third gun’s muzzle bucked in a flash of flame and yet another badoom!

Shaw arrived just after the muzzle flash. The griffin was a golden blur as he dove down into the fortress’ ramparts. Caleb reached out with his mind and shut down his spells. The sloop lurched again as she slowed drastically.

“Hold your fire!” he called down to the frantically working gun crew. “Shaw’s up there now!”

“Captain,” Donal asked breathlessly. “Your orders?”

“Steady as she goes,” Caleb replied.

The final stone arced overhead, landing far ahead of the Spitfire’s bow with a splash. Caleb went back to watching the fortress, but once again there was no movement from up above. Finally, he made out Shaw’s avian form as he lifted off and heading back towards the sloop.

He let out a breath of relief. A similar breath or sigh was duplicated a moment later by the entire crew as no further bombard shots came their way.

“Three points larboard, keep us in deep water,” he ordered Donal, before calling down to the gun crew a second time. “Get our cannon ready for a second round, we might need it. No firing except on my orders.”

“Aye, Captain,” Quinton called back. His gun crew returned to preparing the weapon.

“By Lir’s beard, is that all they plan to throw at us?” Sienna asked, incredulous. “A single salvo?”

“Now who’s fit to throw the jinx on us?” Donal replied. “Pray that’s all that comes our way, salt up!”

The two plucked a pinch of phantom salt from before them. Then they made a motion as if to throw it over their shoulders. In the meantime, yet another window popped up from Caleb’s Quest Screen.

Adventurer's-Level Quest: Survive bombard attack and neutralize fortress. Quest difficulty has been downgraded by 60%. STATUS: COMPLETE.

Well, that’s just great, Caleb thought. But I’d rather take fewer points without damaging my ship or losing crew right now. If those bombards had been aimed and kept on shooting, there’s no way we’d have gotten away unscathed.

Shaw arrived overhead. He circled once, then furled his wings and came in for a landing with a thump of his paws.

“What’s the news, Shaw?” Caleb asked. “How many Myrkur did you run into up there?”

“Nay, I ran into nothing but these!” the griffin said, in a disgruntled voice. He opened a leonine paw. Three little buttons of charred wood lay in his palm. “One of these lay on the floor next to each of the bombards.”

“Let me see those,” Tavia said. She lowered her head, sniffed the objects, and then closed her eyes. Her horn glowed faintly for a moment, as did the buttons.

“What do you think?” Caleb asked.

“These bits of wood are magically enchanted, much the same way as my beads,” she announced. “I enchant mine to release their magic after a set amount of time, once a certain condition is met.”

“Let me guess: They have to be bitten into by a unicorn.”

“Well, they must be bitten by me specifically, but you are correct in principle. These buttons are charged with a small fire spell, set to invoke at a certain time or when a condition is right.”

“Like a ship sailing into range,” Caleb concluded. “These could have been set into the touch hole at the end of the bombard, where it could touch the gunpowder. When it ignited the powder, then the gun’s recoil would knock it off onto the floor next to the piece.”

“That bastard Ozul,” Sienna cursed. “He must’ve set up this booby trap.”

Tavia stamped a hoof at that. Shaw likewise let out a growl.

Caleb rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. That conclusion didn’t set right with him.

“No,” he said slowly, “I don’t think it was Ozul. He fully expected to beat us, or at least take us down with him when they used that dragon.”

“Who, then?” Sienna asked.

“Whoever’s in charge of this island. Ozul took every man the Myrkur had with them. If the ruler here found out about that, then they could easily have gotten into that fortress. Then set up the bombards with an automatic trigger.”

“Certainly, they could perform those actions,” Tavia said. “But as to the why, I am still in the dark.”

“‘Tis the same for me,” Shaw complained.

“To see what our reaction was to being fired on by the Myrkur,” Caleb answered. “To see what kinds of weaponry we had on board, and our reaction time. And that tells me that they’re interested in seeing just who can beat those cultists in a fight.”

Sienna thought about it for a moment. “Say that you’re right. How should we proceed?”

“We continue on. We project strength. Anyone who wants to cause the followers of Myr problems is a friend of ours. And they might be generous in trading for a new sail.”

“I agree,” Tavia said, and Shaw bobbed his head along with her. “That sounds prudent.”

“I’m with you as well, Captain,” Sienna added.

“Good,” Caleb said. “Sienna, I want you to put together an honor guard of our best-dressed men and women. A small enough group to fit into the longboat, or to receive our visitors here on the sloop.”

She nodded and went down to the main deck to collect her personnel.

“And what doth thou wish of I or Tavia?” Shaw asked, a trifle grumpily. “It sounds to mine own ears that combat is not in the offing.”

“Maybe. At least we can hope not,” Caleb said, which made Tavia brighten and Shaw to scowl accordingly. “I need you both to flank me, either here on the quarterdeck or when we’re ready to meet visitors ashore. Having the two of you in close proximity makes me look rather powerful. Es muy macho, as one of my friends would’ve said.”

“Aye,” Donal agreed. “You are the Master of Monsters, after all.”

“I shan’t ever get used to being called a monster,” Tavia complained. “I am a paladin, Kirren take me! But I shall bear it, if it helps our cause.”

“It does for now,” Caleb consoled her. “Donal, you’re on to something there. If you or Sienna introduce me, that’s what you should lead with.”

His helmsman nodded and kept the ship on course. Ahead, the bay broadened out into a mist that quickly burned off, revealing the far shore.

A neatly laid out town sprawled out across the base of Gilarska’s harbor. To Caleb’s surprise, it was easily as large as Deephold Port, if not larger. The seaward-facing side wasn’t quite as extensive, with a handful of merchant ships, fishing boats, schooners, and even a ketch or two at the docks.

Still, the landward side was impressive, with earthen or timber-framed houses. Each dwelling was topped with green shingles, as opposed to the reddish ones back on Irongrasp. Donal let out a low whistle as he caught sight of what topped the wide hill above the town proper.

A veritable palace took up most of the summit. A rectangular stone wall with drum-shaped tower on each corner surrounded a steep-sided central building. The spires, roof tiles, and tops of the wall crenellations gleamed gold in the sunshine.

“Praise be...” Donal said, in wonderment. “Did they...did they gild the castle up there?”

“If they didn’t dip it in gold, that’s one good paint job,” Caleb agreed.

“Captain, it seems that you were right,” Tavia said. “It looks like we’re going to be formally received.”

An extra-wide dock came into view ahead. Workers hustled to move the odd fishing boat out of the way and swept the boards clean in preparation of the Spitfire’s arrival. A set of guards marched up to the edge of the structure, remaining at attention as a man stepped onto the dock itself.

He wore a rich purple cloak edged with gold. Deep-set eyes that said too little sleep were set in a pale face edged with a thick brown beard. A golden circlet of a crown perched atop his head.

“Well, this is getting interesting,” Caleb remarked, before looking to his griffin and unicorn friends. “It looks like we’re about to meet Jaladrian royalty for the first time.”