The Judgment of Elias
The fires of the Hegemony ships are still glowing like dying embers in the distance as you head below deck. The crew is hushed. Even the rowdiest pirates know that betrayal usually ends with a long walk off a short plank.
Elias is huddled in the corner of a small holding cell. He looks up at you, his eyes red and puffy. He sees the Aether-Compass tucked into your belt and the new, heavy-duty belt pouches filled with volatile chemicals for your "Bombardier" rounds.
"Jake," he whispers. "The stone... it's gone dead. They'll know I failed. My sister... she's as good as dead now."
Miller stands behind you, his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. "The crew wants him out the airlock, Jake. We can't have a rat on a ship heading for the Isle of Hidden Stars. It's bad luck, and it's dangerous."
"I may be a liar but I'm not without honor, I promised him that will find a way to rescue his sister, and I will." You declared for all to hear.
The crew goes quiet. A few men grumble, and Miller looks at you like you've caught a touch of "sky-fever," but the authority in your voice shuts down any protest. You aren't just a pirate; you're becoming a Captain.
Elias looks up at you, trembling. "You... you'd risk the ship for her? Why?"
"Because the Hegemony thinks they own everything," you say, checking the cylinders on your Twin Tailwinds. "And I like taking things that don't belong to them. Besides, a Navigator who owes me his life—and his sister's—is the most loyal Navigator in the sky."
The New Mission: The Spires of Solace
The Aether-Compass is pointing North toward the Isle of Hidden Stars, but Elias explains that his sister is being held in the Spires of Solace—a high-altitude laboratory-prison that sits right in the path of the trade winds.
"We can hit the Spires on the way," Elias says, his voice gaining a spark of hope. "It's a refueling station for the Hegemony's 'Sun-Eaters' (their massive dreadnoughts). If we're fast, we can slip in, grab her, and vanish into the North."
Preparing for the Spires
You now have access to your Bombardier kit. Before you reach the Spires, you have enough materials to craft three specialty rounds.
Which "Oomph" are you brewing in the lab tonight?
The "Hull-Breaker" (2 rounds): Designed to punch through reinforced iron doors or ship plating.
The "Fog-Box" (2 rounds): Creates a massive cloud of thick, alchemical smoke—perfect for a fast extraction.
The "Spark-Plug" (2 rounds): An EMP-style shot that shuts down magical lights, palm-scanners, and automated turrets for 30 seconds.
Arrival: The Hanging Prison
Twelve hours later, the Cloud-Dancer hovers in the lee of a massive thunderhead. Below you, the Spires of Solace emerge from the clouds—three slender, ivory towers connected by shimmering glass bridges.
The security is tight:
Searchlights sweep the sky.
Clockwork Sentries (flying mechanical eyes) patrol the perimeter.
The Sister: Elias points to the middle tower. "The containment cells are in the 'Crown.' The only way in is through the landing docks or the ventilation shafts."
This is high-stakes, high-altitude chaos. You're blending the precision of a spec-ops strike with the explosive "oomph" of a master demolitionist.
The Preparation
Down in the ship's workshop, you mix volatile salts and liquid Aether. You decide to craft:
2 "Spark-Plugs" (To kill the lights and security).1 "Hull-Breaker" (To make your own door).
The "Screaming Eagle" Maneuver
The Cloud-Dancer hovers high above the Spires, hidden in the dark belly of a thunderhead. You, Korg, and Squawk stand at the edge of the cargo ramp. You're wearing "Cloud-Suits"—tight leather with canvas wings under the arms.
"On my mark," you mutter, pulling your goggles down.
Step 1: The Distraction You don't jump yet. You take aim with the Sky-Piercer, loaded with a Spark-Plug round. You track the rhythm of the massive fuel docks at the base of the towers.
Attack Roll: 21. The shot streaks down like a falling star, hitting the main power-relay of the docking cranes. BZZZT. A massive blue electrical arc ripples across the docks. Alarms blare, searchlights flicker and die, and every guard on the Spires looks down toward the chaos.
Step 2: The Drop "Now!"
You dive. The wind screams past your ears. The Spires rush up to meet you. You use your wing-flaps to steer, weaving through the path of the blinded searchlights. Squawk is a natural, tucking his wings to stay beside you; Korg is falling like a boulder, grunting with every course correction.
Step 3: The Entry You aim for the "Crown" tower's roof. It's a smooth, ivory dome with no doors—only a reinforced glass skylight. You're coming in too fast to land softly.
Acrobatics Roll: 18. You flare your wings at the last second, skidding across the dome's surface. You draw a Twin Tailwind loaded with your Hull-Breaker round while still in a slide.
K-BOOM.
The specialty round hits the center of the skylight. Instead of shattering the glass into a thousand pieces, the "Hull-Breaker" uses a shaped charge to punch a perfect, man-sized hole straight through the reinforced pane.
The Interior: The High-Security Ward
You, Korg, and Squawk drop through the hole, landing on a plush red carpet in a silent, sterile hallway. The air smells of ozone and expensive perfume. This is the "Golden Cage" where the Hegemony keeps its most valuable "assets."
A single Clockwork Sentry (a floating brass eye with a needle-gun) spins around, its lens glowing red as it detects intruders.
"Intruder. Identify. Intruder—"
You don't just disable the sentry; you turn the entire hallway into an electromagnetic dead zone.
The Blackout
You slide across the red carpet, drawing your second pistol. You fire the Spark-Plug round directly into the central power conduit on the ceiling.
CRACK-THOOM!
A massive wave of blue static ripples outward. The Clockwork Sentry sparks, its brass eye spinning wildly before it clatters to the floor, dead. But the surge does exactly what you intended: the magnetic locks on the Stasis Pods groan and disengage. The heavy glass lids hiss open simultaneously.
The Awakening
Three figures stumble out of the pods, coughing as the stasis gas clears:
Elara (The Sister): A young woman with the same sharp eyes as Elias. She's wearing a scholar's robe and immediately grabs a heavy brass lamp as a weapon.
Valen (The Disgraced Knight): An older man in tattered under-armor. He looks like a veteran of a hundred battles.
Vex (The Tinkerer): A small, twitchy Goblin with grease-stained fingers who was likely being forced to build Hegemony tech.
"Who are you?" Elara gasps, squinting at you through the flickering emergency lights.
"Jake Calson," you say, reloading your rifle with a metallic snick. "Your brother sent me. We're leaving. Now. You coming, or do you prefer the cage?"
Valen the Knight looks at the dead sentry and then at you. "You've got a gunner's hands and a pirate's heart. Lead the way, Captain. I'll crack skulls for anyone who stands in our path."
The Problem: The Rising Tide
The "Spark-Plug" killed the local power, but it also alerted the entire tower. You hear the heavy clank-clank-clank of Steam-Golems—armored mechanical guardians—climbing the outer walls of the tower to seal the hole you made in the roof.
Your Escape Routes are Closing:
The Roof (Blocked): Two Steam-Golems are currently clambering over the broken skylight, blocking your exit to the sky.
The Main Lift (Dangerous): A squad of Sun-Soldiers is coming up the elevator. You can hear the lift bell chiming.
The "Leap of Faith": There's a balcony overlooking the fuel docks. It's a 200-foot drop, but the Cloud-Dancer is currently circling the tower below.
The Maintenance Descent
The Hull-Breaker round works beautifully, and your tactical fall into the maintenance tier buys you the breathing room you need. You lead the group through the maze of hissing pipes, successfully bypassing the Steam-Golems.
But as you reach the Great Exhaust fan, you see the problem: the Sun-Soldiers weren't just following you—they were waiting. A squad has emerged from a side hatch, cutting off your path to the fan. Their leader, a high-ranking Lictor in polished black plate, levels a heavy Aether-repeater at your chest.
"Nowhere left to run, Calson," the Lictor sneers. "The vents are sealed. Surrender the prisoners."
Initiating Plan B: The Grand Dive
You don't even blink. You look at your crew and give the signal: the two-finger tap to the goggles.
"Korg, grab the Tinkerer. Valen, take the girl. Squawk... be the wings."
You don't head for the fan. You turn toward the secondary pressure-release hatch—a thin metal plate designed to blow outward if the tower's steam pressure gets too high.
"Plan B!" you roar.
You fire a standard shot into the manual release valve. The pressure behind the hatch is immense. WHAM! The hatch doesn't just open; it is jettisoned into the sky, creating a massive vacuum of rushing air.
The Leap
The Lictor's eyes widen as he realizes you're actually going to do it. You grab Elara's arm, and together, the entire group leaps out of the jagged hole in the side of the tower.
You're in freefall. The Spires of Solace look like needles against the dark sky above.
The Catch: > Miller is a genius pilot. He's seen the "steam-burp" from the tower and knows that's your signal. He banks the Cloud-Dancer into a steep dive, matching your terminal velocity. The ship's massive Cargo Nets are deployed like the wings of a titan.
THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.
One by one, your team hits the reinforced rope netting. You're the last one to land, rolling into the coarse hemp just as Miller pulls the ship out of its dive, the G-force pressing you into the deck.