[b]Jackdaw![/b]

Everything goes still. Well, almost; the whirlpool’s still churning, but almost lazily. It’s child’s play for Ailee to lift Lucien up and start bringing him over to the raft.

But you know the price, right? Everything’s going to go bad if you choke, or if you offer an insult. She’ll rage and drag you down, thrice insulted, in a towering fury.

Make your sacrifice, make your offering, and I promise you: Ailee and Lucien will make it to the raft, and Coleman will be able to dock at the Tyrian Spire, and you’ll all survive. You just need to make good.

***

[b]Lucien![/b]

Farewell, faithful shoes! Far you came, into a dark and wild place, and now you will rest, beloved, in the grasp of a watery tart forever. What is the benediction of the faithful accessory, gone for good?

***

[b]Ailee![/b]

From here you can get a better look at your goal, the Tyrian Spire. Once, it may have been a glory in red marble and mottled white, its interior walls lined with more books than you could ever read in one lifetime. Coleman says that in the basement should be a way to get down deeper into the Heart...

But that’s going to mean spelunking in the drowned levels, isn’t it? Uuuuugh. And what’s worse, you see, from high up in the tower, through a broken window, a delicate trail of smoke. It’s not abandoned.

***

[b]Coleman![/b]

The raft shudders, but you’re holding her true. Sasha, on the other hand, is starting to get agitated. Bad agitated. You’re not in her to settle her down with a stroke of your claws over her curves or a twist of a spigot to release gas. What’s your surefire way of calming her down in situations like this?