Darkness. Absolute darkness.
Only one thing pierced the void—the soft, golden light emanating from the Tide Compass. Grak's lantern was out. All around them, besides the sound of their own breathing, there was a graveyard silence.
"So... now what?" Mara said softly. Her anger had been replaced by a weary, practical tone. "We're trapped in the dark."
"No," Aarav said. Everyone looked at him. He was sitting on the ground, Liora still unconscious in his lap. He held up the compass. "We're not in the dark. We have a light."
The golden glow of the compass illuminated their faces. Its needle was no longer spinning madly. It was steady, pointing in a clear direction.
Upwards.
"It's... it's pointing the way up," Kael said. "But up is the same way we came from. Where the Syndicate is looking for us."
"Maybe not," Aarav said, looking at the compass closely. "This is different. Before, its light was just a light. But now... now it's..."
He turned the compass slightly. When the light hit the wall, something strange happened. The joints between the stones on the wall glowed for a moment, as if the light were 'scanning' them.
"It's not just showing the way," Aarav said in awe. "It's making the way."
Grak moved forward to look. "The boy's right. This isn't just a map anymore. It's a 'key.' The Aether power within it is now 'reacting' with this place."
Liora slowly opened her eyes. "The compass... is it cleansed?" her voice was weak.
"Yes," Aarav said, smiling down at her. "Because of us. Because of you."
"But you're injured, Mara," Liora said, looking at her blood-soaked hand. "And I... I'm useless right now."
"Nonsense," Mara said. "I'm more dangerous with one hand than all of you combined." But the pain in her voice was clear.
Liora gathered her courage. She went over to Mara and sat down. "Sit."
Mara was about to protest when Kael placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sit down, Mara."
Mara glared at Kael but then sat. Liora placed her hand over Mara's wounded one. No green light came from her hand. She didn't have that much power anymore. She just closed her eyes.
"I can't heal it," she said softly. "But... I can stop the pain for a little while."
Mara felt the burning sensation in her hand slowly fade. She looked at Liora, a new, strange emotion in her eyes—gratitude.
"Alright, Key-Bearer," Grak said to Aarav. "Get us out of here."
Aarav stood up. He held the compass in front of him and started walking in the direction the needle was pointing. The golden light moved ahead of them, cutting through the darkness.
The path was strange. They weren't walking in a pre-made tunnel. The compass was leading them towards broken walls and dead ends.
"It's a wall!" Mara said when they reached a dead end.
"For now," Aarav said. He held the compass close to the wall. The light highlighted a weak spot. "Grak."
Grak didn't need to be told twice. With a single blow, his hammer created a hole in the wall.
Their journey began. It was a strange kind of teamwork. Aarav found the way, Grak made the way, Kael protected them, Mara directed them, and Liora... Liora was holding them all together.
After about an hour, they found a final ladder leading up.
"This is... the main sewer line of Smuggler's Cove," Grak said. "We've reached the surface."
Kael went up first. He removed the manhole cover and peeked out. Then he signaled down. "It's clear. But there's noise. The Syndicate is sweeping the whole cove."
One by one, they all climbed out. They were in a narrow alley, flanked by tall buildings. They could hear the shouts of guards in the distance.
"We need to get to the Starling Gale," Mara said. "Now."
"It won't be on the main path," Kael said. "They would have seized all of them."
"Then we'll go by the rooftops," Aarav said, looking up.
It was another insane plan, but they had no other choice.
They began to climb up a building's fire escape. Up top, the view of Iron Reef was even more daunting. A smoke-filled sky, rusted rooftops, and Syndicate guards roaming everywhere with torches.
"Look!" Liora said softly.
Before their eyes, in the distance, stood the Starling Gale. But it wasn't alone. Surrounding it were at least twenty Syndicate guards, and their leader... he looked like a different breed altogether. He wore heavy, black armor and held a massive, double-bladed axe.
"That's Vorlag," Grak said with a snarl. "Elara's most prized dog. He's not a man, he's a beast."
"So how do we get past him?" Aarav asked.
Mara pulled a small, round object from her pocket. "Distraction."
It was a small smoke bomb.
"I'll throw this behind them. When the smoke spreads, we run for the ship," Mara explained the plan. "This is our only shot."
"Be ready," Kael said, drawing his swords.
Mara threw the bomb. It flew through the air and landed in another alley ahead of the guards. Puff! A cloud of thick black smoke erupted.
"What was that?" a guard yelled. Vorlag signaled his men to check it out.
More than half the guards ran in that direction.
"NOW!" Mara yelled.
They all began running across the rooftops, jumping and leaping towards the ship. The wind whistled in their ears. The shouts of the guards below rose up to them.
They were close to the ship. Just a few steps away. Aarav was holding Liora's hand.
Just then, Vorlag, who had been standing near the ship, turned. He saw them. His eyes, visible through his helmet, turned red with rage.
"TIDEBORNE!" he roared like an animal.
He charged towards them, raising his giant axe. His speed seemed impossible for his heavy frame.
"Get on the ship! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!" Grak yelled, and moved forward to block Vorlag's path.
"Grak, no!" Mara screamed.
But Grak didn't listen. He stood like a mountain in front of Vorlag.
Vorlag's axe and Grak's hammer collided. KRRR-AAAANG! A spark so bright it momentarily blinded everyone erupted. The impact was so powerful that the entire pier shook.
"Go! Get out of here!" Grak yelled, holding Vorlag back with all his might.
Mara, Kael, Liora, and Aarav began to climb onto the ship.
Aarav took one last look back. He saw Grak fighting Vorlag, but Vorlag... he was stronger. He pushed Grak's hammer aside and brought his axe down on Grak's shoulder.
Grak roared in pain and fell to his knees.
"GRAK!" Aarav screamed.
Vorlag raised his axe for the final blow on Grak's head.
And just then, Aarav jumped. Down from the ship, towards Vorlag. In his hand was the sword Kael had given him.
The Master's game wasn't over yet. This was just the intermission.