Myrtil in the Sky with Sunstones

Eighteen bloody months in the sky... And Old Ones know how many more to come.

Everything had gone perfectly. I had managed to sneak into the morning airship departing from Steelhead without being seen, and had found a comfortable hideout in a corner of the food storage. I didn't think the trip would last more than one week, maybe one week and a half at the most, even if the ship seemed to be quite slow. I assumed it was loaded with heavy cargo ; didn't really have the chance to check exactly what.

I was just napping, rocked by the regular buzzing of the machines, when suddenly the ship stopped completely, as if bumping violently into something, sending Flynn, Rupert and I rolling across the storage room to go crashing upside down into a pile of crates.
"What the hell was that..." I muttered while brushing the dust off my clothes, fearing we had met some kind of giant Air Kraken.
Flynn scurried back into my jacket's pocket, his pointy ears and fluffy red tail laying low, showing that he was just as concerned as I was. I carefully collected Rupert, my second carrier pigeon, and installed him into the vast pocket on the other side of my jacket.
I was going to climb up out of my hiding hole, when a growing sound of screams and shootings inspired me to freeze on the spot.
Something was obviously happening on the upper deck. Something I might not actually want to be involved in.
I fought with myself for a few minutes, and finally my dangerous tendency to curiosity took over and led me to climb up the ladder and open slightly the hatch door.
At first, I only saw feet. Big dusty, soothy, bloody boots right before my eyes. I slowly looked up along the blue puffy trousers and the red jacket and noticed with a gasp of horror that a huge sword and two holsters on each side were hanging from the large leather belt wrapped around the pirate's waist. The ambient noise was quite loud, and he seemed to be pretty absorbed into aiming at running people with the pistols he had in both hands, so I decided to take the risk of opening the hatch door a bit more, to have a better appreciation of the situation.
 I would not have recognized the ship even if I had seen it by daylight before. The deck was covered in laying bodies with streams of blood dripping from their open wounds and filthy bearded pirates neglectfully stepping right onto them to get a better shot at new victims. The sailors were falling like flies that would have been smashed down by a giant hand and I was starting to get slightly worried about what would become of my two little friends and I if the bloodthirsty sky pirates came to find my hiding place...
 Carefully, I climbed back down the ladder and closed quietly the hatch door behind me, then stood in the middle of the stock room and looked around. Apart from crates of food and barrels of alcohol and water, there was not much in there that could help me putting together a brilliant escape plan. At this moment, I wished my friends were with me. It was always easier when several minds were together and we managed to come up with great ideas even in the most desperate of situations.
Suddenly, an image of Triky appeared in front of my eyes. Triky with his pointy nosed mask and sparkly mischievous eyes, a cheeky smile on his lips and a bottle lightened with fire in his hand. And then I knew what I had to do.
 I decidedly walked towards a big barrel full of apples and started emptying it, throwing the fruits away until they were rolling all over the place. I then lifted the empty barrel and put it back down at the bottom of the ladder. Flynn had jumped off my pocket and while he was making the most of the laying apples, I turned towards the pile of smaller barrels of alcohol. I took hold of one and worked on the lid with my knife to weaken it. After this patient preparation, I could give a kick with my heel to smash it open and then carefully installed it inside the barrel I had just emptied. I then rummaged into my pockets to bring a small rusted metal box outside.
"Come on, Flynn!" I urged my squirrel while opening the box to pick up one of the matches.
The little rodent left the half-eaten apple behind him and jumped back into my coat's pocket, after climbing his way along my leg.
I rolled my sleeves up my arms and set to lift again the big barrel to bring it to the top of the ladder, rung after rung. That was no easy business I tell you, but somehow I did manage in the end, and found myself right under the hatch door, ready to open it and push the barrel outside.
I gathered the match I had set behind my ear and, after a fond thought for Triky, I struck it against the barrel's side and dropped it inside the alcohol. The sudden flame that rose was big enough, but the fire didn't venture yet outside of the bigger barrel and I hurriedly pushed the whole thing with all my strength against the hatch door to force it open and send the tricked barrel rolling on the main deck.
Luckily, the pirates were too busy to notice anything, and I could see my little firebomb stopping right in front of the pilot's cabin, flames escaping from the opening and starting to lick their surroundings.
When the fire began to embrace the door of the cabin, catching every little piece of wood that happened to be around, someone eventually noticed it and shouted : "FIRE!".
This triggered a big messy blur of pirates running towards the blaze to try and smother it, to no avail. The flames only grew higher and larger, dancing on the cabin's roof and climbing along the ropes, getting dangerously close to the balloon. Triky would have been very pleased indeed.
While I was admiring the inferno, the pirates were gathering everything they could and carrying it onto their own ship, seemingly ready to abandon the one they had attacked to its fate. That was my chance to leave as well. In the panic, nobody would pay attention to me.
After a bit of careful look out, I was sure that they were all too busy, and I quickly lifted the hatch door to dart out and run towards the edge of the burning ship, jumping onto the pirate's one without taking time to think about the fall I would have made if I had missed that jump. Once on the other side, I hurried towards a dark corner behind a pile of crates and kicked the rat that was hiding there to take its place.
Then I allowed myself to catch my breath.
Risking a glance through the wall of crates, I saw the pirates transferring the cargo from the Steelhead ship to their own. Some of them were storing it very close to where I was hiding and a few stones fell out of the crates, rolling behind them and stopping their course against my shoes. I picked one up and examined it with curiosity. This one was oblong, quite transparent with a hint of pinkish yellow. I pocketed it, shushing Flynn's cry of indignation to have to share his living-room with a piece of rock, and took another glance between the crates to see what was happening.
The flames had eventually caught the fabric of the balloon and the pirates had cut off all of the ropes attaching both ships together. Some of the men were pushing against the side of the burning cargo-ship with long sticks to get away quicker. The buzzing sound got progressively louder, and the pirates' ship swiftly moved away from its dying prey. I could almost see nothing of it but flames, engulfing the deck.
Suddenly, a loud bang resonated and the balloon disappeared behind a wall of red flames, the whole ship crumbling to pieces that were regularly falling down, soon followed by the main block, which whirled down into the sea with most of its cargo of sunstones.


So there I was. Hiding on the sky pirates of the North Pass' ship. Heading to some unknown destination.
Well, this did not last very long of course. They soon discovered my hiding place and while I was sure they would kill me at once, it seems that I was lucky enough to escape that fate. Their boss was happy with the cargo of sunstones and did not suspect the role I had played in their hasty retreat. Apparently he thought they were in need of a ship's boy and that I could be that one.

And this lasted until now. Eighteen bloody months rubbing the deck, giving a hand to the cook and occasionally being part of raids. Seems like I'm a good thief and they won't let me go. I guess living on the streets of New Babbage helped me to gain a skill or two.
Anyway, I sent Rupert to warn my friends that I was safe and alive, even if in the hands of sky pirates, but that they should not worry because I would find a way to escape eventually.

I'm sure I will...

Tricks from the Past

This was on Hallow's Eve.

Everything was quiet in Steelhead. I had spent the week asking people around, trying to find Margo December, with no luck.
Tired and hungry, I had decided to find a place to spend the night, as it was getting dark. I would resume my quest later. I approached the entrance of the tunnels, not far from the city centre, thinking it would make a good hideout to sleep quietly.
The tunnels were looking quite dark and eerie in the night, and I hesitated.
A sound resonated in the silence, like the cry of an owl, startling me. I was ready to turn back and head towards the deserted city centre, when a huge fireball of flame lit up the entrance of the tunnel, splashing up and around the arch, like a firebomb going off. Blown away by the explosion, I fell on the side, in the grass.
The flames were already flickering away, but the atmosphere was filled with smoke, rising from the ground, and between two fits of cough, I spotted a smothered shape at the tunnel entrance.
"What... what was that?" I stuttered, while squinting to distinguish the tunnel entrance.
Slowly, the smoke cleared out, to reveal a short human shape, dressed in urchin clothes and wearing a big bakerboy hat. As he stepped forward towards me, I noticed his bare feet, and, looking up to his face, I recognized the black mask with a pointy beak that was covering it.
My heart missed a beat.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Him? Him! Right in front of me!
"T... T..." I hiccuped.
 "Are you ok?" asked the boy. "What you doing in the mud?"
Suddenly, all the feelings that had been building up during those last two years exploded inside me and I ran to him to hug him, shouting his name.
"TRIKY!!!!"


"Hey wotchit!!'" he screamed, as I was smothering him. "You missed me then?"
My eyes were blurred with happy tears. I stepped back from him but still holding onto his arm to make sure he would not disappear again.
"Not a bit, you idiot!", I replied, sweeping away the humidity in my eyes with the back of my free hand. "How on Earth is that possible???? How are you here???"
 Triky stepped back, his cheeky grin changing to a smile of thoughtful adult demeanor.
"I dont know, I... She... All I know is that I'm allowed one hour with you. A gift... I guess it's important somehow."
 "One hour?" I repeated, arching an eyebrow. "That's not much!" I glanced at him, suddenly concerned. "Do you mean that you are a kind of... ghost?"
But Tricky was already darting off towards the town centre, giggling. He turned to shout back: "I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE WITCHING HOUR!"
"Dammit!" I muttered before running after him as fast as I could. "WAIT FOR ME!!!"
 "COME ON I WONNA BURN SOMETHING!" he shouted back.
 I couldn't help a smirk, remembering all the things that had been burnt in the past when Triky was around.
We spent the next half hour running around town, me mostly trying to stop him from burning stuff, and laughing as he was knocking on doors before running away, but in the end, we somehow found ourselves near the watermill and decided to take a break and sit by the riverside.
The moon was out and full, lighting up the river side in silver light.
I put a hand on Triky's shoulder and gave him a serious look. "Now we need to talk."

"Talk?", he replied, "What about? Arnt you having fun? Did you see the look on that guy's face when his cat ran in with its tail on fire... PFFT hahaha... i crack myself up."
I couldn't help smiling at the thought, but tried to recompose my serious face. "That was very funny and we had a really great time, but time alas is going quickly and you will soon disappear again... I would like you to tell me what you remember, what happened before you met me in front of this tunnel. You were saying "she" gave you one hour back here. Do you know who that is?"
" Oh man, ..." sighed Triky..."I dunno, it was just a feeling. I just woke up and that's the feeling i had."
I stayed quiet a few moments, to observe him closely, before asking :
"There is something else... Triky, do you remember Willard Steamweaver?"
Triky reacted at once : "But that's my name, how did you know my name?"
 "Because I met you when you were an old man." I explained.
" No one calls me Willard, thats a duffuss name", he stated.
"I couldn't agree more", I nodded.
Triky frowned slightly : "Myrtil you are being strange, what's wrong with you?"
I sighed. "I would like to just play all day like you, but my friends' lives are in danger. The whole of Babbage town is in danger. And I think you could stop that, just by telling me something, but I don't know what..."
 Triky paused for a moment. "This is like a dream, I'm not dreaming am I, you say I'm a ghost?"
I tilted my head , looking at him sadly, before slowly nodding. "Yes, I think you are... You must be... "
"Two years ago, you see", I continued quietly, "Willard, your other half, came back from the moon and found you. You were reunited, and you died together... I thought I would never see you again..."
"This is Hallow's Eve, and here you are, but just for one hour..." I finished, my voice trembling.
"I dont remember" said Triky softly, "but now I feel something else...I miss you, and I miss other people. I can't remember them but I miss them so much... I didn't want to go... but I had to?"
I shook my head : "No, no you didn't want to go and I don't think you HAD to! This Willard, HE wanted to die, and the only way he had to was to take you with him..."
I tried to fight back the need to cry again. "Everyone misses you Triky. I miss you every day. Every day I regret not having managed to stop that..."

"Everything has its time and place", said Tricky with a half cocked smile. "Don't be upset for me, where ever it is that I am... It feels nice, I don't feel alone."
I looked up at him, trying to find out what he was really thinking. "I... just wish it didn't happen, I don't know why it had to..."
I could not fight it any longer and started to sob silently, my shoulders going up and down, uncontrollably : "It is just so hard to lose a friend..."
I let those words die in the silence of the night.
"But..." I tried to smile, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. "But I am happy if you feel nice where you are. Just never forget that you will never be alone."
 Triky smiled. "Dont be sad Myrtil, you can't change the past because the truth is you live now, right now, and right now today you and I, we had fun, because when we are together we have fun, and everytime we ever meet, we will have fun. And in the future we will have fun and burn stuff, that's if we meet in the future, because I don't know if where I am now future exists, it's all a dream to me Myrtil, it's all a dream."
 As he was talking, the meaning of his words was slowly penetrating my mind, and starting to lift me out of my sadness.
I smiled back to him spontaneously and nodded softly: "You are right Triky, we will always have fun, wherever, whenever... Everytime you are here. And I am sure I will see you again, even if it is in a dream."
Triky paused, suddenly looking distant. "My time now is almost over... I can feel her."
I put a hand on his shoulder in reflex, as if to keep him back from "her".
"Wait, let me see if..." Triky lifted his hand up to his face. And for the first time, he removed his mask.

 His face was very pale, with rose red lips, a small round button nose between two pitch black eyes, from within which sparkled the brightest unnatural light.
Triky leaned close to my face, innocently peering into my eyes before whispering "Look."
My own eyes widened and it was as if I was under a spell, unable to move away from his look.

As I was looking deep into Triky's eyes, my gaze went further than I ever thought possible. I felt strange, but calm, while traveling into his eyes, from the darkness towards the light. The closer I got, the brighter the light was, until it broke up into smaller globes of light. My gaze traveled closer and closer to one of the globes, to the point where I could see within the floating ball of light, what looked like a small unborn child. All around me were other globes of light, and an overall sense of calm. A sense of female compassion.
I felt like all sadness and angst had vanished, to be replaced by serenity.
Then I heard his voice surrounding me. Triky's voice, soft and loving :
"There is a time and a place for everything Myrtil, but you still got choices, the future is not set in stone."
And with a gasp, the lights lifted and I found myself alone by the river side.

I stayed sitting there for a while, thinking about it all, over and over. I knew those globes of light, I had seen them before. I smiled to the moon. After two years of confused mourning, I had eventually seen Triky again. I had been able to tell him how much I missed him, how guilty I felt for not preventing what had happened. And he had brought peace in my heart at last.

 Finally rising up on my feet, I walked towards the tree my pigeon had elected as a temporary home and called softly, waking the bird from his sleep : "I have a job for you, Bob."
Dipping into my pocket, my hand found a piece of paper and a small pencil, and I scribbled a few words before rolling the paper into a really tiny tube. The pigeon stepped onto my open palm, and I installed the roll of parchment inside the small metal canister attached to his leg. "Here, bring that to the others!"
Bob took off and my eyes followed his little silhouette, growing smaller and smaller against the full moon.
I smiled again.
Tomorrow at dawn, the first airship departing for New Babbage will have a stowaway.

Leaving my hometown

Things have gone too far this time and Jason Moriarty attacked Nat and Gadget with blue lightnings.
The Thirteen and Below are scheming in secret, Tepic working hard to find some equipment, and Gadget recruiting Miss Avariel's help to build the aetheric trap in which we hope Moriarty will fall...
Strange capsules have arisen all over the city, seeming to be grown from the ground, and change at dark into horrid growling monsters full of teeth, their big eye following you...
The story written by the automaton displayed at the City Hall is appearing gradually, but backwards. And the closer we get to the beginning, the more people are dieing... Parts of it make me think something is wrong, or something is going to happen. The newest page describes Mister Tenk handing over a sack to Mister Mornington. A sack that Sebastian gave him. And in the last page of the book, I wish I had listened to Triky. Both events, as far as I remember, did not happen yet. I can't recall Triky saying anything to me in the context of a disastrous future, and Triky died two years ago... As for Sebastian, I have no knowledge of him giving a sack to the Mayor. And Sebastian disappeared after the Beast was used to host Moriarty's brain. I believe he might have returned to his tomb, along with the other knights of Malkuth.

I will be sneaking into the next airship departing to Steelhead... I want answers, and think Miss Margo December, Loki's grand-ma, could give them to me. I have not seen her around New Babbage lately, and Steelhead was the town she came from, so this might be my best chance to find her... Triky was a part of Willard Steamweaver, who Margo was engaged to. And she was a member of the Thirteen Club, before becoming slightly nuts... Even if the trip leads to a dead end, at least I would have tried something. I just can't stay sitting around knowing that my friends are marching to their death.

Wish me luck.