…


    certain


    had


    Some sort of warrior deity the natives worshipped, then? He does look pretty impressive. Those are some massive muscles on a man. The crab helmet still looks silly with those stupid protruded eyes, though.


    [It is not exactly uncommon for island tribes to notice our bug-slayers fighting off the Swarm in the distance, and then believe those same bug-slayers to be guardian gods of the island,] [In my database, there are sixty-two records of secular island tribes worshipping bug-slayers as supernatural deities. At some point in time, perhaps several decades ago, the natives of this island must have come in contact with one of our bug-slayers donning Swarmsteel crab armour.]


    And… is that the same helmet the bug-slayer wore?


    [I do not believe so. The drawing on the ceiling has faded quite a fair amount, but the general shape of the boy’s helmet does not match that of the drawing’s helmet. I believe the boy may have simply recreated a weaker version of the helmet with lesser crab parts.]


    Why would he do something like that?


    [...]


    [... It is rude to keep a host waiting with their front door open.]


    I know.


    think


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    … The only ship off this island is the Marauders’ ship, I was only on Captain Antonio’s ship for two days when we were attacked, so the Whirlpool City has to be at least another two weeks’ sail away. There ain’t no way I can skate all the way there without solid ground to rest on in between, so… there’s no other choice, right?


    [You must commandeer the Marauders’ ship and sail off this island with it.]


    And I probably have to do it in a few days, too, When I saw them earlier today, they seemed like they were celebrating, yeah, but there were also a few of them doing repairs on their ship. If they ain’t leaving to raid because they ain’t done with their own repairs, they’ll probably be done in… what? Four days? Five days at most?


    [Three days. I noticed, too, that they were trying to patch up small holes in their ship’s hull—it would not take them more than three days to set sail again.]


    Three days, huh?


    [...]


    … I have to beat the Marauders in three days.


    more


    war—


    click really


    “... To el borde Vellamira, Marisol, my only daughter.”


    “If you’re reading this, you must be bored out of your mind sitting on Captain Antonio’s ship.”


    “Now that you’ve opened the lock on this first chapter, the next chapter’s lock will open exactly one month from now. Knowing you, if I gave you access to every chapter all at once, you would blow through the entire book and then complain about having nothing to do on Antonio’s ship. The man’s an old friend of a cousin of a brother of your late father. I don’t want to hear him nag in my ear once you guys get back to me.”


    “With that said, I’m sure you only opened this book because you’re itching to get up on your feet and dance—so have no fear.”


    “Mama is here to teach you an old Sand-Dancer’s technique, developed in old times of war.”


    “… I hope you didn’t skip to the last page just to read this message.”


    I didn’t, mama. Promise.


    “Well, whatever. You have plenty of time to stare at the diagrams while you’re on that ship.”


    “I’ve no doubt that, on that ship, you’ve already seen plenty of leviathans and horrors swimming beneath the sea’s surface. The deep blue is a scary stage, and I imagine you’re terrified of falling overboard while dancing on the deck, but know this, and keep it in your heart: the four techniques I will impart on you in this book can only be performed if you are truly fearless.”


    “You cannot fear the spin. You cannot fear the speed. It is an ‘explosive’ jump, Marisol. If you jump with anything less than a hundred and ten percent of your power, you will break your legs just as I had attempting to perform this technique a decade ago—but I have faith in you.”


    “You are nothing like me, after all.”


    “And this technique, if performed properly, is what an old Sand-Dancer would call the ‘War Jump’: to shatter every wall that stands in your way.”


    “... I pray you won’t have to use it on someone, but if you must, at least do it with all the explosive grace of a Sand-Dancer and tell me about it when you get home.”


    … A ‘War Jump’, huh?


    I don’t think it’s something I can do without practice.


    But if I can do it–


    [Even with their chitin armour, the Blackclaw Marauders will not be able to endure hits at such speeds,] [I believe it is worthwhile practising and perfecting this technique. You may only have three days to do it, but, frankly, I have already seen you accomplish the near-impossible. I do not believe this combat-oriented ‘War Jump’ —or even just learning how to fight—is completely out of your realm of expertise.]


    You’re complimenting me for once.


    [I merely told the truth.]


    You’re still complimenting me–


    [Please get to practising.]


    [There is no telling when the Blackclaw Marauders will return once they depart in three days.]


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