The ground flew away as the airship steadily rose, splitting the wind to approach the clouds.

  “That went pretty well!” Jerry said with a smile, lying on the deck with arms sprawled to the sides.

  “Well, my ass!” Marcus replied. His hand was on his chest, and he was panting. “We almost died thrice!”

  “But we made it,” Laura added. “All of us.”

  He turned toward her. “Who even are you?”

  “I’m Laura. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “All mine, but the question stands. Who are you? Why are you here?”

  She smiled at Marcus, her chest still trembling from exhaustion. “I overheard you in the town, figured out your plan, then hid in the manor to join you. I apologize for being indirect, but I was afraid you’d refuse me if I asked outright.”

  “Of course we would.” Marcus frowned. “This is business, and tight one, too. We cannot let random people join us—even if they’re hydromancers.”

  “I was in need,” she said, eyes mellowing. “I know I overstepped, but there was no other way.”

  “Come on, Marcus,” Jerry said from the deck. “Don’t be grumpy. You know what they say; the more the merrier. Where’s the harm in taking her along?”

  The treasure hunter struck him with a glare. Jerry smiled in response, standing up and heading toward Axehand’s fallen form. Overcharging him like that had taken a toll on both of them, and that’s not even mentioning the previous injuries the undead had sustained. The enigma of his disobedience to Jerry and resistance to Maccain remained, and it looked tantalizing to solve, but healing Axehand took priority.

  The double-skeleton’s bones started squirming as the others carried on with their discussion.

  “I owe you my life,” Laura said, gazing earnestly at Marcus. “I won’t betray you in any way. I mean no harm.”

  “Let’s all be friends.” Boney strolled over, spreading his bony arms wide. “It’s not like we have a bone to pick with each other. Since Laura’s already here, why make things difficult?”

  “That’s right.” She gave a flowery smile. “I don’t have a single bad bone in my body.”

  Everyone stared. “Did you just—”

  “I can pay, too,” Laura continued. “Not much, but I can give you everything I have. All I ask is that you drop me off anywhere in the Dead Lands.”

  Marcus hesitated, alternating his gaze between her and the large sack of taels he’d brought on board. “You don’t need to pay,” he finally said. “Just…who are you?”

  “I have that question, too,” Boney said. “Why are you trying to get to the Dead Lands? You’re a hydromancer, right? You could live a comfortable life in Edge Town, or Milaris, or wherever you want.”

  “If only it was so simple.” She gave a sad smile. “There are dangerous people after me. I needed to escape, and the Dead Lands is the only place where I can stay hidden—or, at least, the only such place I can reach.”

  “Dangerous people, huh?” Marcus frowned as he looked at the far-off ground. “I understand now. That’s fine; what’s done is done, just don’t cause us any more trouble. We’re in the same boat, anyway.”

  He glanced at Laura knowingly, and she smiled in gratitude.

  “Still, if you go the Dead Lands, you’ll die,” Boney noted. “Aren’t you afraid of the Curse?”

  “I have my ways.”

  “And what would those be?”

  She raised a wood nettle necklace.

  “Oh…” Jerry sighed, standing up to inspect his work. Axehand grunted and stood up as well, gazing at Jerry with purple eye flames before turning and limping away—he wasn’t fully healed, but Jerry was spent.

  “You saved us all, Axehand… On behalf of everyone, thank you.”

  The double-skeleton looked back over his shoulder, grunting once. He then sat down, grabbed his flask, and started drinking.

  With a relieved sigh, the necromancer turned to the others. “I’m sorry, Laura,” he said, “but wood nettle doesn’t work—it’s only a superstition.”

  “It works if you’re smart about it. The explorers of Alabaster have discovered how to make actual, working medicine against the Curse—the prejudice isn’t all hollow.” She smiled.

  Marcus frowned. “How do you know that? It’s supposed to be a tightly guarded secret.”

  “A girl has her ways.” She looked at Jerry. “And, if possible, I ask that you don’t pry too much.”

  “Sure. Everyone’s got their secrets.”

  “Jerry!”

  “What? She’s with us now; we should trust her. Let’s just travel together until we find a nice, civilized place to drop her off.”

  Laura smiled again. “Sure!”

  Boney sighed in helplessness. “Oh, Master… That’s so wrong I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine.” Jerry laughed. “Anyway, all’s well that ends well, right? We even got some money for our trouble, right, Marcus?”

  “Indeed…” Marcus gazed at the sack of taels, love in his eyes. “So many… Between me and your undead animals, we must have brought a few thousand worth of taels… This is a dream.”

  “The mice…” Jerry’s eyes suddenly took a sad tint. “I thought they would join us, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. With any luck, they’ll escape the guards and live happy unlives in the sewers. I’ve already released them from my control.”

  Marcus frowned. “Having wild undead in the sewers sounds like a terrible idea.”

  “Don’t worry; they’re good kids. They won’t bother anybody.”

  “If you say so, I gue— Ah! Crap, the fuel! We reached altitude, why didn’t anybody tell me?!”

  Marcus suddenly turned around and headed for the center of the deck, where the fuel barrel was still attached to the balloon through a pipe. Grabbing a valve at the end of the pipe, he turned it with some difficulty, and the airship’s ascent decelerated before coming to a gradual stop.

  “You four”—he turned to the Billies—“what are you sitting around for? Unfurl the sails already, we need to go before they send flying wizards after us!”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “There are flying wizards?” Jerry’s mouth opened wide as Marcus directed the Billies to the sails, pointing at the ropes they had to pull. Thankfully, the moon shone bright tonight. The four of them climbed up the two masts like monkeys, and a few minutes later, with a whooshing sound, two white sails dropped and instantly filled with wind.

  The airship, now holding a mostly steady altitude, sailed forward.

  “You need to explain how this works tomorrow, Marcus,” Jerry said, stepping beside the treasure hunter.

  “Sure. Look, Jerry! The wind is on our side; it’s blowing to the Dead Lands!”

  “That’s great news, isn’t it?” The necromancer smiled, crossing his arms behind his back. Below their airship, Edge Town was illuminated by countless small torches, making for a magical view if one only looked down. “This is wonderful…but I wonder, Marcus, can we enjoy it, or do we need a nice view permit?”

  The treasure hunter turned around. “A what?”

  “A nice view permit.”

  Marcus’s eyes narrowed. A moment later, he groaned. “You heard me through the mice, didn’t you?”

  “I did.” Jerry finally released the smile he’d been holding.

  “Heard what, Master?”

  “Don’t tell him!”

  “Marcus was spotted in the manor by a maid, and his excuse was that he was looking for a circus permit.”

  “I see. Let me guess; he didn’t have a good excuse permit,” Boney replied without missing a beat.

  “I panicked, okay? Leave me alone.”

  “But do you have a leave-me-alone permit?”

  Marcus groaned. Jerry smiled.

  “Jokes aside, Marcus, is there anything else you need to do right now?”

  He looked over in suspicion. “No. Why?”

  “There’s something I need to talk to you about…” he said, glancing at the large sack of taels.

  “What? You’ll get your fair share.”

  “That’s not it. That money was originally stolen from the town, right? The count embezzled them, so logically speaking, they belong to the townspeople.”

  Marcus narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like where this is going,” he said. “You’re not touching my share.”

  “But you saw how poor they are,” Jerry insisted with a smile. “You’re practically stealing from beggars.”

  “The count stole from beggars, and I stole from the count. I don’t see your point. What do you want to do anyway, throw them down?”

  Jerry smiled. Marcus blinked.

  “No,” he said in growing horror. “You want to throw them down.”

  “It’s the right thing to do,” said the necromancer. “This money belongs to them. It will be useless where we’re going, anyway.”

  “But it’s taels! They’ll be useful when we return!”

  “ If we return. In any case, this money belongs to Edge, not us. We just retrieved it from the count. Are you really going to steal from the poor?”

  “But…” Marcus took a step back, eyes swiveling from side to side. “No. Stop. You can’t do this to me! What if they land on someone’s head?”

  “They’re coins—at most, they’ll give people a bump.”

  “What if they get stuck on the rooftops and remain useless—or worse, people climb up to get them and end up falling to their deaths?”

  “Now you’re just grasping for straws, Marcus.” Jerry laughed. “It will be fine. We’ll find more money elsewhere, and if we don’t,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “when we get Dorman’s treasure, you can just have a portion of my share.”

  “But your share is tin—” Marcus stopped himself, taking a deep breath. “You can’t do this to me!” he yelled, grabbing the sack with both arms. “I worked so hard for this! I wanted it so bad!”

  “Right is right, Marcus.” Jerry smiled.

  “Personally, I could keep the money,” Boney said, “but I have to side with Master on this one.”

  “Me too,” Laura added, nodding.

  Marcus pointed a finger at her. “Who said you could talk?”

  “I gave her a speaking permit,” Boney said from the side, making Jerry chuckle. Laura shrugged.

  “I’m just expressing my opinion.”

  Marcus looked around. “But…my taels…” he whimpered. Facing all those stares, he had no choice but to buckle. He pouted, helplessness coloring his voice. “This is so unfair.”

  “Look at the bright side,” Boney said, gently prying the sack from his hands. He pulled the cord open and walked to the railing, gazing at the town far below—in the darkness of the night, and from this height, the houses were barely even visible. They were already a thousand feet into the sky.

  Marcus trembled, holding himself back. Boney took a deep breath. “For the town of Edge…you’re a hero.”

  And then, he emptied the sack into the wind.

  “NO!” Marcus cried out, leaping at the railing to grab a single coin, but the rest were already spiraling downward, driven apart by the winds. “I don’t want to be a hero! I just wanna be rich!”

  The coins fell despite his pleas, and he could only snivel as he held on to the one he’d managed to save. “Goodbye, my shinies…”

  Jerry laughed.

  And then, with the night wind on their sails, victory in their hearts, and a new person aboard, they crossed over the Wall.

  They were in the Dead Lands.

  ***

  The people of Edge Town would never forget that night.

  The world-shaking sounds of combat hadn’t long died down when plinks came from the rooftops; first one, then a downpour—and they stopped as quickly as they came.

  People peeked through their windows—and, in the town of the poor, the streets shone with coins bathed in bright moonlight.

  “What the—” Many jaws fell. And then, the people celebrated, for the gods had blessed them and rained money in their time of need. It was a moment of release. Come morning, the temple of Manna had never seen more worshippers congregating before its altar.

  News of the count’s death spread like wildfire. His children were recalled to the capital, and with no one of age to inherit his position, the townspeople quickly urged the female commander of the Wall, Hypolite, to assume leadership. She was an earth spirit, and her only desire was to fight the undead in the name of Gaia. The town’s progress would benefit her, so she’d do her best.

  The manor’s vaults were ransacked, and all the money was put to good use. With a capable leader at the helm, Edge Town’s downcast look quickly changed, and over the next few months, a new breath of life was infused into the town.

  Nobody knew exactly what had happened that night in the manor, calling their mysterious savior a hero—and those in the know opted not to reveal that this hero was a hated necromancer.

  The abandoned, colorful tent in the town square was taken down two days later, but stories about the undead circus would remain in circulation for a long time.

  As for the protagonists of those stories, they would only learned about Edge Town’s future a long time later. By the time the coins had landed, the airship had already crossed over the Wall and into the mysterious Dead Lands.

  Jerry and his friends were heading to new, wonderful adventures…in the most dangerous place the world had ever seen.

  My guy knows a place.