As Sir Barrihald readied the [Item Cards], Tristan felt a strange sense of peace. Peace at what was to come. He looked down at his hands; he could still feel the sensation of that woman pirate’s head cracking as he slammed it against the floor. The shudder that ran through her skull.

He knew one way or another, this was going to end in death. So far, he managed to avoid killing any of the pirates he ran into. That was because he was more focused on escape. But that was over now. If he wanted to get into that crystal room, he was going to have to fight.

To kill. And he realized, standing up as Sir Barrihald nodded to him, that he was okay with that. These pirates were no different than that first [Great Woods Squirrel] he encountered. They were monsters, slavering for his neck.

He would not let them bite.

“All right, lad,” Sir Barrihald whispered to him. He held two [Item Cards] in his hands. The slightest hint of movement and laughter could be heard in the room below. “Are you ready?”

Tristan nodded. He held a [Devourer’s Mandible] in his hand and two spares in his pockets; the carapace was too unwieldy and heavy for what was likely to be a fast and brutal fight. It needed to be quick or else they ran the risk of running into reinforcements.

The goal was to kill or subdue at least one pirate. Sir Barrihald thought that somehow they had some key on them that allowed them to use their decks, similar to what the employed guards on the ship had. Tristan cursed himself for not searching the bodies of the pirates he’d knocked unconscious earlier. Maybe if he wasn’t hungover and disoriented he would’ve had the presence of mind to do so.

If I can just get one key, Tristan thought, I can take control of this ship.

Sir Barrihald took a deep breath while Tristan squatted beside the hatch. It had a handle on the top to open it. “On three,” the older man said grimly.

“One.”

Tristan placed his hands on the handle.

“Two.”

He squeezed tight.

“Three!”

Tristan pulled the hatch open with all his strength as Sir Barrihald converted the two [Item Cards] and tossed them into the room.

One [Fire Source] and one [Water Source]. Those were Adept-rank sources, and as such the moment Sir Barrihald converted them, the glowing orbs pulsed and immediately tried to dissipate.

But not before they collided with each other mid-air, creating a cloud of steam that filled the room. Tristan hadn’t known this interaction was possible; apparently when two sources met, a reaction occurred.

Tristan dropped down into the room. Through the steam, he saw two pirates in a mechanic’s workshop of sorts; the pirates were shouting in confusion, disoriented.

He landed and immediately rushed the one closest to him. He tackled the brutish man down to the floor and thrusted with the mandible, right at the pirate’s head. His bandana flared red, its Armor consuming the blow, as Tristan reared back for another stab.

He heard the Attack coming before it hit. A blast of wind—another [Whirling Gust]--shoved him off the stunned pirate and sent him flying. He slammed into a metal counter painfully, his top absorbing much of the damage with a flash of red but still letting some through. Thankfully, non-card based damage didn’t deteriorate Armor as much.

The pirate he’d tackled stood up, growling. Tristan got to his feet, rapidly assessing the situation.

The room he’d entered was definitely a workshop of sorts. There were four long metal worktables bolted into the floor; one of them had plates of half-eaten food and drink on it. The walls were lined with slots to put [Item Cards] into but were now emptied by the pirates. There was nothing left in the room that Tristan could possibly use.

There were two doorways on either side; the direction he needed to go was to his left, towards the back of the floor. That door had been left open, revealing a changeroom of sorts, while the door to the right was closed.

The second pirate was a scowling woman with close-cropped hair. They were both directly in front of him, the open hatch behind the woman.

“You’re dead,” snarled the man, reaching for a card.

A strange noise came from above, like a monkey’s screech. Both pirates looked up as Sir Barrihald dropped down into the room and tackled the woman to the floor with a grunt.

In the distraction, Tristan ran forward and grabbed the man’s cardarm, shoving it off to the side. The man growled as Tristan pushed forward, slamming the pirate’s back against the edge of the table. He stabbed at the man’s head with the mandible again; the red Armor light flared, showing cracks as its durability decreased.

The pirate kicked him off, making him stumble back, and grabbed a card. He cast it, but the pirate’s form was sloppy. Tristan managed to duck to the side as a [Slashing Wind] screamed past and gouged a deep line into the wall. He twisted and slammed his mandible into the side of the man’s head. Again, the Armor flared, cracks deepening. The mandible shattered into bits.

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To his side, the female pirate grunted in annoyance. Sir Barrihald had flopped himself atop her, pinning her arms down with his and making her unable to reach her cards. The older man had his eyes shut tight and seemed to be muttering some sort of mantra under his breath.

The male pirate snatched a card off his deck then elbowed Tristan in the face, making him stumble back, his [Rockbiter Shellcap] helmet saving him from a broken nose. The pirate made to cast at Sir Barrihald, but Tristan managed to grab his arm and shove it up at the ceiling; the [Aerolance] cast, creating a spear of wind that rushed forward and dented a large hole into the metal ceiling.

The force of the Attack, directly cast from hand, pushed Tristan and the pirate backwards. Tristan fell and hit his head on the ground hard, but the pirate managed to catch himself at the edge of the table. He ripped another card from his deck, but Tristan recovered in time and gripped him by the leg, yanking hard.

The pirate collapsed with a grunt. Tristan scrambled forward, converting another mandible, and thrust it down at the back of the pirate’s head. His bandana shattered in a spray of red light, unequipping and revealing a heavily tattooed skull.

“HELP!” bellowed the female pirate with shocking loudness. “HELP, WE’RE GETTING—” Sir Barrihald headbutted her, making her cut off.

Shit! Tristan reared back to end the pirate.

The man rocked to the side as Tristan thrust down, making the mandible strike the metal floor. It broke into pieces, and the pirate twisted, grabbed a card from his deck, and slammed it against Tristan’s chest.

The [Aerolance] cast, and Tristan was sent flying backwards. He slammed into the wall, groaning, as two more Attacks followed up and shattered his top. He slid to the floor, feeling something break in him. He coughed blood, bright spikes of pain rupturing within him.

“Tristan!” shouted Sir Barrihald. In the moment of distraction, the female pirate managed to twist and shove him off.

She got to her feet and angrily launched a barrage of Attacks at Sir Barrihald, who deftly rolled out of the way of one but got hit by the others. His equipment flared red as he slammed into a table so hard he dented it. The older man dropped with a groan, his suit jacket, which had been a tailored [Greatshell Body], shattered.

The door leading towards the engine room slammed open. Two more pirates came through, gawking at the sight in front of them.

Tristan struggled to his feet. Every breath was agony. He could feel his lungs filled with blood.

Still, he pulled out his last mandible and converted it. Raised it up at the four pirates arrayed before him. Didn’t flinch as they pointed their cards at him.

“You’re a tough bastard, I’ll give you that,” said the male pirate he’d been focusing. “It’s a shame you’ll die here. Cap’n would’ve loved you on the crew.”

Tristan spat blood and grinned. “I’m not dead yet.”

“Ho, you layabouts!” shouted Sir Barrihald suddenly.

Tristan’s blurry eyes slid over to the man as the pirates turned. Sirr Barrihad was on his feet, blood leaking down the side of his mouth. In his hands, he clenched a converted [Fire Source] and an [Air Source]. A savage grin stretched his face. “Never turn your back on a man giving his all.”

Tristan met the older man’s eyes in horror. Sir Barrihald’s smile softened.

“My good lad,” he said. “Give Rivingtol my regards.”

The pirates all cursed as it dawned on them. Tristan scrambled for the door beside him. The male pirate threw his drawn card at Sir Barrihald.

[Slashing Wind] sliced straight into Sir Barrihald’s bare chest just as he slammed his fists together.

The two sources erupted in a maelstrom of fire as Tristan leapt through the open door to the next room. Fire scorched his exposed back, making him cry out.

You have assisted in defeating [Adept | Low] cardbearer Haron Gunn.

You have acquired 2x. Adept Perkshards.

A part of him was slightly disturbed he’d gotten Perkshards for killing another person. The greater part of him felt grim satisfaction.

Tristan stood. He was delirious, his vision blurry at the edges. The workshop room was filled with falling cinders and stank of burning flesh. He stepped through and saw the charred remains of Sir Barrihald slumped on the floor. In front of the man were the burned bodies of the four pirates.

Tristan peeled off the blackened equipment of one of them and found a metallic disc clipped on the inside of the man’s pants. Unharmed. He grabbed it in his hands.

A sensation like a weight being lifted off his shoulders enveloped Tristan before fading. He sucked in hot, ragged breath, and summoned his deck. It formed around him, and he cast [Healing Concoction] on himself. As always, the heal targeted his most severe wounds, his internal wounds in this case.

When the rush faded, the minor wounds he’d acquired were still there, and his back was still burnt, but he was otherwise fine. He clipped the disc on his belt and tucked it inside his pants like the pirate had.

Five [Binders] greeted him. Tristan bent down painfully and picked one up.

Would you like to absorb Haron Gunn’s [Binder]?

Tristan thought, Yes.

With a flash, the [Binder] disappeared.

Tristan went through and snatched the other three pirates’ [Binders] before stopping above Sir Barrihald’s beside his body.

Tristan bent down and lowered his head. They had contemplated using his sources to bombard them from afar, but throwing them meant the sources dissipated too much to do any real damage when they collided. Clutching them in his hands, thereby retaining much more of their energy, created a stronger explosive yield.

It was suicide, though. And Sir Barrihald had done it for him, though they barely knew each other.

“I’ll get this to Rivingtol,” he whispered to the man. “Thank you for saving my life.”

He absorbed Sir Barrihald’s [Binder] and stood, his deck swirling angrily around him.

It was time to free the ship.