37. The Fourth Woman

A Middlesea fireship bears down on Kinch’s captured goblin vessel, loosing incendiary ballista darts. Kinch’s attempts to signal are ignored as the first shots miss and the third comes true, threatening to set their deck ablaze with Axaene fire.

Norrigal hurls her enchanted staff to swat incoming darts, holding the weapon aloft despite the pitching sea. When a struck dart bursts, the staff is drenched in Axaene jelly, ignites, and, even after dunking into the sea, burns until it shatters, briefly spraying burning fuel that singes Malk and starts minor deck fires.

The fireship swings broadside to unleash a full battery. Kinch abandons cover, shouts frantic allegiance to Middlesea, and as one overeager ballisteer fires, he leaps high, the flaming dart hissing beneath him. The audacity and timing check the attack; the first mate stays the volley.

The Middlesea crew cheers, boards, and welcomes them as friends. They douse Kinch with water as he coughs and jokes about earning whiskey, marking a sudden turn from imminent destruction to rescue, though at the cost of Norrigal’s lost staff.