It was close to sunset when Gennady came up on deck to chat with me for a bit. We discussed my progress in tinkering, and he allowed me to examine his bazooka-cannon weapon he said was the best personal weapon he had ever made.
"As you can see, the runes aren’t just etched into the surface of the mana crystal. It spreads out into the Annihilator itself— it’s a mixture of tinkering techniques, see?"
I raised an eyebrow, and turned to look at him. "I don’t recognize any of these patterns."
"That’s not what I was—" he groaned and shook his head. "Of course you won’t, lass. It’s not just advanced technique that’s far above your skill level, it’s also a special something I’ve… ‘invented’."
He nudged me not-so-subtly, and I remembered what he told me: he learnt magical spells and studied the spell circles to help create this ‘Annihilator’ weapon. In fact, it was specifically based on a powerful spell called ‘Annihilation’ that was supposedly capable of incinerating almost anything it struck. But I also remembered something else.
"Didn’t you say that it didn’t work?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
He hesitated. "...yes."
I gave him a blank look, as he quickly continued.
"Look, I have gotten all the theory down. I’ve even written a paper on it, and had it sent and reviewed by a friend of mine back in Jahar’taw. He said it should work, and I know it should work. But it’s just that whenever I try to use it…"
"It doesn’t work?"
Gennady threw his hands in the air. "You’re killing me, lass. Can we just talk about you and your tinkering?"
"I know that it’s going pretty well since you’re the one teaching me," I said with a wink and a grin. "However, if you want to know about the specifics— I still don’t think I can craft a proper weapon just yet. I probably could make basic mana tools, but that’s not what I want."
"You’ve made great progress in the amount of time you’ve spent doing this, lass," Gennady said, shaking his head. "Just don’t rush it, and you’ll be a great Tinkerer one day."
I smiled, and then paused. I slowly sat up from where I was seated in the deck of the ship with my back faced against a wall, and looked around.
A thin mist was slowly enveloping the boat, obscuring us further into darkness even before the sun had fully fallen. I walked up to Lisa who was talking to the Captain, and called out to her.
"What’s going on?" I asked.
"It’s a light fog," she said. "It’s normal in these areas. There’s nothing to worry about."
"But we can’t see," I pointed out the obvious. "What happens if we get lost— or worse, we get attacked while blinded?"
Lisa blinked. She exchanged a glance with the Captain, before turning back to me. "Aria, this fog isn’t a one way thing. If we spot someone in the fog, chances are that’d be the first time they spotted us too. There won’t be any attacks."
"How can you be sure about that?" I met the young woman’s eyes, and held it.
The white blanket thickened all around us as we entered further into the fog. Lisa fidgeted, then sighed.
"How can we ever be sure of anything, Aria?" she asked, and I cocked my head.
"We can’t," I said, responding instantly. "That’s why I’d rather take the safer route, even if it’s longer."
"But—"
I put my foot down. I did not want to argue about this; we were already fairly deep into the fog. And…
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a shadow. I squinted, peering carefully into the direction I swore I saw a movement in the distance. It was the nebulous outline of a ship. I pointed at it.
"What’s that?"
"That?" Lisa cocked her head. "It’s probably another ship crossing through the fog with us."
"And you guys aren’t worried?" I asked, drawing my lips into a thin line. "This is the perfect spot for an ambush, and we’re not even going to try and avoid them? Especially since it looks like they came from behind us."
"Aria…" The young woman sighed, rubbing her temples. "What do you suggest we do?"
"We go back and around," I said simply. "I’m not getting myself stuck in some stupid ambush by pirates tailing us because of this fog."
She hesitated, looking at me once over, before she finally acquiesced. She turned away from me and addressed the Captain with a nod.
"Turn us back."
"‘Scuse me, ma’am?" the Captain asked, raising an eyebrow. "You’re not really going to listen to this girl just because she asked you to?"
"I’m her employer." I folded my arms. "And by extension, I’m yours too. Bring us back."
"Just because of another ship?" He stared at me, his forehead creasing and his lips contorting to a frown.
"Yes."
He turned to Lisa, then back at me. "It’s just a ship. There’s nothing wrong with seeing other ships in the water!" he said emphatically.
"Not when no other boats dare to leave port." I watched as his brows slowly arched darkly over his forehead, and I frowned. "What seems to be the problem?" I carefully eyed the saber hanging around his waist.
"It’ll delay us by a day."
My eyes flickered as his hands lowered slowly to his hilt; it was a subtle movement, but one that I caught regardless. A realization dawned on me: I had been so worried about the dangers from the outside, I never considered the dangers from the inside. I remembered my conversation with Lisa from last night, and inched for my blade.
"You know," I said, changing the subject. "Lisa told me you guys have been out of
