Maya sat on Charbrand’s bow, watching the gentle ocean before her intently. The ocean breeze rippled through her long hair and the young woman reached up to push her captain’s hat lower over her head.

Behind her, Patty practiced swinging her huge axe around as Cyll steered the ship. It had been just over seven days since the small crew had left Bulsen, and the only thing they’d seen since then was the endless ocean.

“You’re sure this map is good?” Cyll called to Maya, raising a hand to block the noon sun out of his eyes.

“It better be,” Maya growled. “It was pretty damn expensive. I didn’t fancy telling an information broker about my life story.”

Cyll wisely chose not to comment. He returned his attention to the sky above them, allowing his thoughts to drift with the salty ocean air.

Patty suddenly called out to them, pointing to the right of the boat and lowering her weapon. Cyll and Maya rushed over to Patty and followed the line her finger made.

“Holy shit,” Cyll whispered. Maya nodded mutely.

An enormous fog bank had appeared out of nowhere. It rolled across a huge portion of the ocean, almost completely blocking out anything within it. However, the three of them could still make out the dull grey traces of a rocky outcropping the size of a mountain.

“Is that your little outcropping?” Cyll asked.

“I’m afraid it is,” Maya said. She swallowed nervously and glanced once again at the map beside the ship’s wheel to make sure. The curse that escaped her lips only confirmed her fears.

“Turn the ship. We need to head into the fog,” Maya ordered them, spinning the wheel to the right.

Cyll and Patty burst into motion, turning the sails to catch the wind. The Charbrand smoothly pulled into a swooping turn and sailed directly for the fog bank. The fog seemed eager to reach them. Wispy strands of white cloud reached out and caressed the ship as it grew closer.

Within minutes, the gentle ocean sounds had vanished. The world was silent. Fog as thick as a heavy snowdrift swirled around the ship, obscuring their vision. The wind vanished, leaving only the slight momentum the Charbrand had to push it onwards.

“I feel like we don’t belong here,” Patty said, her hand tightening on the axe handle.

Maya tried to ignore the fact that she’d never seen the puppet scared before. She just narrowed her eyes and focused on listening. There was a gentle rushing noise coming from just in front of them.

The enormous, jagged rock formation was growing closer. As they approached it, the fog seemed to lessen slightly. The formation, together with the thinning fog, blocked out the light so completely that it might as well have been night.

With every tense minute that passed, the fog faded and the crew’s unease grew. Cyll peered over the edge of the boat, his hands clenched on the railing.

Charbrand lurched forward. An unseen force seemed to latch onto the ship, tugging it towards the rocky mountain. The wind, which had previously vanished, abruptly kicked up to max. A howling gale ripped across the ship’s deck, snapping the sails to and fro.

“Raise the sail! The wind’s going to destroy it!” Cyll roared, launching into motion. Patty and Maya took to the rope on the other side of the ship.

The three of them pulled the sail up and the ship slowed for a moment. The wind, infuriated by their act of defiance, doubled in strength. The fog continued to give way until it was little more than slight wisps of white cloud.

“I think I found our little whirlpool,” Maya said. Her words were lost to the wind.

A twisting vortex the size of a small city churned the water before them. Huge waves crashed against the ship, rocking it back and forth perilously. Rocky spires jutted out from the enormous whirlpool like teeth.

Cyll rushed to the wheel, turning it to the side with all his force. The Charbrand creaked in protest, but angled slightly to the side. It scraped past a large protruding rock with a disturbing screech.

“I think this might be a bad time to apologize,” Maya yelled over the howling wind. “In case the Broker was full of shit and all.”

“We’ll deal with it later!” Cyll yelled back. “Dead men don’t care about apologies. Patty, you’re stronger than I am. Come take the wheel!”

The puppet darted across the deck and took Cyll’s place. He squinted into the distance and jerked his thumb to the left.

“Start turning left. If I understood correctly, we need to get to the center of this whirlpool,” Cyll said.

Maya nodded her affirmation, but her eyes were firmly fixed on the hungry water before them. The Charbrand tilted down as they reached the edge of the whirlpool and started accelerating into the center.

“Keep her pointed straight towards the pit! It’s our only chance to avoid most of these rocks!” Cyll screamed. The howling wind had grown louder.

A rock tore through the upper part of the hull with a bone chilling shriek. A moment later, the powerful winds snapped several of the ropes holding the sail in place. It dropped about half way down, lashing back and forth violently.

The Charbrand continued to pick up speed. Another rock ripped through the hull and it quickly became evident that avoiding them was no longer possible. A sickening crack rang out, even through the storm surrounding them.

Maya lunged forward, knocking Cyll and Patty out of the way as the mast fell, smashing the wheel into thousands of pieces. Seawater stung their faces and eyes. Maya helped the two of them back to their feet.

Charbrand struck yet another rock. The ship dipped deeper into the sea as it took on more water, but the sheer speed it was moving at didn’t let it sink. Huge walls of water towered over them on every side. They were upon the eye of the whirlpool.

“Just in case we don’t make it out of this, it’s been fun!” Cyll called to them. “I’ll make sure the Broker pays for this!”

None of them got a chance to respond. The ship let out one final scream of protest. Cracks ripped across the deck and it shuddered. Maya, Cyll, and Patty grabbed each other’s hands to avoid getting separated as the ship lurched underwater, vanishing beneath the violent waves.