Can my Little Mule's ramp lower any slower? Alright. Maybe I am being impatient. We are back at Maynard Mansion. It feels like I haven't been gone long. But, overall, over a rotation has passed since I left. Now I am back. Not for good. Just to run a little errand.

As I step out, I can see my welcome committee is already waiting. Awyn is standing there with a bemused look on her face. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn't know the need was mutual.

"Awyn. Good to see you."

"Lillyn. What are you doing here?" Maybe it sounded a little harsh to Awyn because she continues in a softer voice. "Listen. It is nice to see you, but did you clear coming back with the guild? Your spot is now taken up by Pa'Ulec. You can't just return and expect they make space."

"Relax, Awyn. I am not here to open up shop." Maybe my disarming smile is not disarming enough. Well, it is not like I practiced in front of the mirror. "Just here as a visitor. A little errand. Oh, and by the way. I've got this for you."

I still see the suspicion in her eyes as she takes a small device from me. But now, it is joined by confusion. "What is this?"

"Me paying tribute to a great idea. Remember your idea to create a device to store and share blueprints? That's it. And it works."

"It really is?"

Now my little portable blueprint library has all her attention. I can practically hear the gears in her head spin, clank, and compute. Time to ruin it. Just a little.

"I still claim ownership of the blueprint to it and expect you to honor it. Also, I'd like you to keep it a secret for now. At least, until I distributed it to the right people. This tech is not to be monopolized. I will give it to Iren, who then can distribute it to anyone in the guild. For a small tribute fee to me, of course."

"Lillyn, this is genius. It will change everything!"

"I hope it does," I say. Not boastful. Normally. Maybe a little relieved. "Iren asked me to find a way to make void-traders relevant again. Able to compete with traditional crafting. I hope this is it."

"It might. Together with that enchantment storage device." Awyn taps the device against her other hand. Lost in thought. But I get clued into her thought process a moment later. "You didn't just come all the way here to hand this to me, right? And if you ain't trading then what is it?"

"Right. Time for an announcement."

Leaving her standing, I march into the small village of tents. There are still many adventurers here. Resting before their next deep dive into one of the areas of Maynard Mansion. A pedestal that might have supported a statue is perfect for what I have in mind. The act of Becky giving me a hand climbing it already draws a few curious stares.

Alright. Time for my announcement.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please? My name is Lillyn and many of you know me. Today, I am not here to trade. My goal is to finance an excursion into Maynard's Wharf. I need forty-five adventurers. Each gets paid a thousand void-favors."

Well, that certainly got everyone's attention. Among the sea of adventurers are faces I know well.

"Lillyn. Lillyn. Lillyn," Dera intones as she steps forward while shaking her head. "I thought last time you learned it is better for void-traders to stay outside of hardened spaces. Granted, more people playing bodyguard is a wise choice, but that many might be overkill."

"Let me be clear about one thing," I say aloud in the campground. Addressing everyone and not just Dera. "I want just one item out of the wharf. Everything else you can split among yourselves. But be warned. My goal of this expedition will trigger a collapse. That's right. All hell will break loose. That is why I need so many of you. I won't leave with less than forty. One thousand void-favors for each of you and the spoils you find."

"This is nuts," Dera says after stepping to the pedestal. "You really got a death wish, Lillyn."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Becky teases her while leaning against the pedestal beneath my feet.

The glare Dera throws Becky is just shy of a killing spell. "Like hell, I will. Can't leave her to a hunk of junk like you, little puppet."

Becky is just giving her a knowing smirk. Well, they have to work on their animosity later. "So, you are in, Dera?"

Shaking her head once more, Dera gives a resigned sigh. "Yeah. Sometimes, you really act like you are all boobs and no brains, Lillyn."

"Wait until you find out what I want from the wharf."

Already, groups are forming up. Arranging in a waiting line. Excellent. Everything's coming together.

---

A bell and a half later, we are on our way. Marching like a little army towards the wharf. Around the mansion and towards a large gaping maw.

"So, what is that item?" Dera asks me before throwing a cautious glance back. Towards Becky who is tailing me. "Has it to do with Automata? Wasn't the miniature factory enough?"

"Indirectly. But, no. I need cash, Dera, and I know how to get it fast." Time to deflect a little. I don't want the real goal of this expedition to be known yet. "And I haven't gotten around to researching the factory. As you see, I managed to get my Automata moving anyway."

"In a manner of speaking," Becky chips in from behind. Startling me and Dera both.

"What does it mean by that?"

"She," I correct Dera. "I might have found a way to work around needing a core for them."

"She substituted it with a soul crystal."

"You did what?" Dera practically shouted before lowering her voice. "Lillyn, you can't just experiment on people."

"She is a volunteer," I say. But the look on Dera tells me she is not convinced. Well, technically Becky volunteered after the fact. "Tell her Becky."

"It was horrible!" Those words make me spin around to the Automata. Color me stunned. But the betrayal isn't ending. "First, she forced me into this body. Now, I am her dress-up doll for all kinds of lewd outfits."

"Lillyn!"

"I did not. Do not. Becky!"

Apparently, my embarrassment is comedy gold. To Becky at least. She is laughing up a storm. At last, she sets things straight. "I volunteered. And no, Lillyn didn't dress me up."

"Just wait until we get back to my Little Mule," I promise aloud. Shaking my fist at her. "Oh, I have some garments for you that you'll just love."

"I think you forgot that I own this body now," Becky says just to irritate me further. "Your chance to dress me up has passed."

"Are you sure you succeeded?" Dera asks with a playful jab in my rips. "Her routine for manners might be broken. Or I could adjust it for you."

Becky, of course, wasn't impressed. "You can try, little Deary."

"No one calls me that!" Sounds like Becky pushed a button with Dera. "Only- Some old guy who isn't here and probably took a hike. Like I told him a thousand times."

Uh oh. Do Nadare and Dera have a past? This might escalate quickly if I don't find something to-

"We are here!"

The shout from the front has the perfect timing. Pushing through people, I catch the first good view of the wharf. Damn, what a sight. The whole complex is like a maw. A cavern that goes straight down. It is roughly twice the size of a football field. The walls are covered in gangways and scaffolds. Beams and girders jut out everywhere and brace, lift or support random things.

From up here, the wharf is a hive of activity. I see the sparks fly of grinders or wielders at a few dozen places. Mechanics run around with material or tools in a confusing way. Like ants in their hill. For me, there is no rhyme or reason to it.

I can see a few projects in half-completed stages scattered throughout the wharf. None as impressive as the large ship that rests in a bay at the bottom of the structure. It is at least a hundred meters long and just about thirty wide. Dwarfing any Little Mule or Little Swan I have seen so far. The behemoth is tall too. From up here, I guess about five stories high. About half the height that the wharf cuts down into the earth.

According to the history told, this is the prototype for the final version of the Little Mule. What the void-traders are using is just a preview handed to the guild by Maynard. Just before the whole area turned into a giant hardened space.

The prototype was never completed and I doubt it will be. If the wharf has roofs, then I don't see them. Over the decades the ship was left open to the elements. And despite being in a hardened space, rain and other phenomena had their will with the ship. What once may have been shiny metal, is now covered in rust. Here and there are parts that had never been finished. Giving the elements ways to spread decay deep inside the bowels of the ship.

This prototype will never fly out of here. But for my plan, it doesn't have to.

"My goal is on the lowest level."

"You heard her!" Dera bellows beside me. Damn, she can be loud. "Cut a way down. The groups take turns. The two vanguards secure a level and then cover the sides until the raid has passed. Then it is up to the next two groups and so forths."

"Who made you leader, little Deary?" I can hear Becky ask from behind me.

Dera was having none of it. "Want me to challenge for the position?" Her question is underlined by her hand resting now on the hilt of her sword.

Before Becky can escalate, I better do something. "Becky. Behave. Lead the way, Dera."

A last glare at Becky and Dera turns around to instruct the groups further. I ignore the chuckle from behind me and get moving. Nine flights of stairs downward don't sound that bad. However, this wharf was probably designed by Maynard. I doubt we can take the straightforward way of one staircase that leads from top to bottom.

And I am proven right just two levels lower. The spiraling staircase we took down had rusted away. Leaving a gap of three floors down. Most of the adventurers probably could make the jump down without too much hassle. Well, not me. I'd probably get skewered on the debris below and die in a heartbeat. Contrary to all these adventurers I only have about five thousand and a little bit of spare change on top as health points.

Nope. The long way it is. Well, I am paying them all a thousand void-favors. They can work for it, right? The next path down is a quarter around the wharf and then we step on a large freight elevator. Not all the way down mind you. Apparently, the contraption is damaged at the top and bottom. And slow to boot.

Gotta wait until the first two loads get down. And while I wait for the elevator to move up again I can hear the sound of fighting below. Behind me too. Actually, all around me. But with forty-five adventurers - and Becky - I am cordoned off well far away from any fighting.

And by the time I am down, all the fighting is done. At least, close by. Two groups are still here. Guarding the elevator and looting whatever they find. As much as I wish to continue right away, Dera is making us wait for the last quarter of our raid to arrive. At least I can spy a bit of fighting in the distance. If that is all the action I will see today, I'd be happy. But I doubt it.

Once our raid is complete again, we move backward again. Just a few levels deeper. Our goal is the same staircase as before. But now we have bypassed the damaged part.

At last, the ground floor. Well, the wharf's ground floor. Nine levels below ground. And here I am again surprised. Stabbing into the rock from all sides are hangars I hadn't noticed from higher up. Plenty of workspace for all kinds of strange experiments. A lot of workers too. Barely any Automata. A good thing as our crowd quickly accumulates aggression from those poor souls trapped in the hardened space.

"Make a perimeter!"

The shout by Dera brings order to the chaos of our raid. Most of the groups line up as a half-circle around me. The wharf's citizens crashing against it like a wave against the shore's cliff. A weak wave. One or two workers for every group of five adventurers.

At last, I am free to move around. Not that there is much space. Most of the floor area is taken up by the large ship. Rusting away in its moorings. Standing close to it - and from below - it looks even more impressive. A behemoth of a forgotten time.

Strange. This one has eight landing gears. The Little Mule or Little Swan only have four. Even the larger versions. What other secrets does this mountain of rusting scrap hide? I doubt I will find out.

As luck will have it, the point we emerged from is close to the nose of the ship. It dips down. I can see that here is the ramp that could be lowered. It is also low enough for me to touch it without straining myself.

"So, Lillyn, we are down here," Dera stated the obvious. "What is the item you want to get or are you just here for sightseeing?"

"I am standing right beside it."

As I turn towards the ship, I hear Dera say "You can't mean-' and not much more. It is time to concentrate on putting this rustbucket of wannabe ship into my inventory.

Putting both my hands on the large ship, I start to concentrate. At once, I feel resistance. One that I haven't felt before. Even when I dematerialized the miniature factory. The ship is resisting me. Worse. I start to get a headache and my limbs start to feel tired.

"What are you doing to my baby!"

The roar breaks my concentration. That and the stomp of metal against metal. Something large is heading towards us. A moment later, a hulking figure rounds a corner. No, that isn't right. A giant construct. But not like the Automatas. More exoskeleton than anything else. I can see some old guy in it. Flint and steel hair and an impressive beard. Dressed in a fine tailored suit like a gentleman, but it was worn down and filthy. Splattered with oil and other fluids. The leather apron worn over it clearly had failed its duty.

The monstrous construct stopped a few meters before our defensive line. "Intruders! How dare you lay hands on my Little Bear! You will pay for it with your life."

To mark his words, the man lifted his arms up and twin tongues of napalm shot up in the air. Just the passive heat rolling over us has some adventurers take involuntary steps back.

"Stay back everyone. This one is mine!" Becky shouted while taking off into a sprint towards that steel abomination. "I always wanted to kick Maynard's ass."

I only follow the fight for a few moments. Becky got this. Hopefully. At least she is drawing Maynard away from us. And now I can finally put a face to the pervert. What? He is one. Have you seen the Automatas? Oh, right. You can't.

Anyway, back to the ship. Once again, I lay my hands on the prototype. What Maynard called his Little Bear. Doesn't look like a bear to me. More like a chunky centipede with a deficit in legs.

Of course, the ship is still resisting me. It shouldn't. My void aptitude should be high enough. With all my willpower I urge it to dematerialize and it just doesn't want to budge.

"Lillyn. Lillyn!" The shouts belong to Dera.

How long did she call out to me? Exhausted, I pause. Looking at her. "What?"

"Are you nuts? It is impossible to itemize the whole wharf."

What was she talking about? I am only going for the ship.

The fuck-

Behind her, I see chunks of gangway manifest again. As if something had chewed it up and now spitting it out again. No, not something. Me. Damn. Why? I only target the ship. Why does Besona think I want the wharf too? It should count as separate, right? But they are locked together as far as Besona is concerned.

Locked.

Damn, I am stupid.

"Dera, I need all the pipes and cables disconnected. And those clamps on the landing gear. I need them gone too."

Kudos to Dera. She doesn't take long to think my request through. "Alfir, Komena, Igbeda, and Lerofsky. Take your groups and decouple the landing gear clamps. Start with the furthest away and work your way backward. Mehsin and Beroll. Each of your groups takes a side. Have your mages blast away those pipes and cables from afar. Stay close, Everyone else, brace for incoming. I doubt the wharf will take this lightly."

The group leaders reacted at once. Gathering their companions and splitting off. Heading towards their respective objectives. With four groups jogging away along the landing gear and two groups starting to blast random bits that connected the ship to the wharf, only three groups remained around me. Hopefully, that was enough. The raid now was spread pretty thin. Something I hadn't planned for. Even Becky was off somewhere. We still hear her fighting, but she must have lured Maynard and his mecha-exoskeleton into one of the hangars.

"The first clamp is off," Dera remarks, just as an unholy scream echoes through the wharf. It is hard to pinpoint where it is coming from. Sounds like it comes from all around us.

Movement suddenly comes into the levels above us. The parts we didn't clear on our way down. Hundreds of mechanics and technicians must have been trapped here as the place became hardened space. Now, all those poor souls are on the move. Enraged. Screaming for blood. It is them, with a voice as one, who make their displeasure known.

"Told you it would cause a collapse."

"I know," Dera snaps at me, before turning back to her fellow adventurers. "Stand firm. Don't let them break through."

As the enemies stream downstairs and gangways, I am reminded of zombie movies. The masses that flood malls and other popular spaces of showdowns. Except these weren't undead. Neither were they slow. The first crashed into those adventurers standing ready with shields. Even they had to step a pace back or two.

Now the massacre is starting. Most of these poor lads had never been strong. Just civilians caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. But there are many of them. For each slain by my raiders in bloody gore, two more arrive.

All that violence is a little bit much for me. I turn to look at those groups who were going for the landing gear, but the view isn't better. The furthest pair of landing gear had been freed. The groups are working on the next pair, but the progress is slow. They too are besieged by enraged workers. Just how many had Maynard employed?

Yes, they managed to decouple the second pair. And the two independent groups are returning. Hopefully, because they disconnected everything. With their number back at the main group, I feel slightly better. Damn, I have known a collapse would happen, but this is more opposition than I have anticipated.

Still, it doesn't look bad. As far as I can tell, none of my adventurers has died yet. A good sign, I hope.

"Two more."

Dera's comment made me glance back and sigh in relief. Six landing gears had been freed. Now, only one pair remains. And this one is close to the main raid. That means both groups can support each other.

It is hard to see because of all the fighting around them, but I think they managed one more.

Come on.

Come on.

Yes.

"Lillyn, do your thing," Dera says. A little too late. My hands are already on the ship. Time for another try.

With all my willpower I command this ship to collapse. To turn immaterial and part of my inventory.

As it starts to dematerialize, I nearly shout in triumph. But it is not done yet. The ship is large and the strain to itemize it is even stronger.

Just a little more.

You can do it, Lillyn.

Uh, oh. I am starting to get tunnel view.

My body starts to hurt.

Come on. Just a bit more.

Nearly done.

I just need to-

---

Ouch.

My head is killing me.

Where am I?

My Little Mule?

How did I get here?

"She's awake!"

The shout is fuel to my headache. Damn you Dera.

Ah, there she is. Beside my bed.

And I guess the shout was for Becky?

"Take it slow."

I still push myself up. "What happened?"

"We were at the wharf, remember? You tried to put that giant ship into your inventory."

"Tried to?" Fuck. I didn't succeed?

"Well, it is gone," Becky says as she comes into my bedroom. Suddenly it is very crowded. "We don't know if you succeeded or not."

Alright. Time to check my inventory.

It is there!

'Little Bear Prototype - Severely Damaged'

"Yes!" I shout out as I sink down in my bed again. "I got it. It wasn't all for nothing."

"Great. I hope it was worth it," Dera says while patting my shoulder. "You gave us all quite the scare."

"How long was I out?"

"About twenty bells," Becky answered instead. "They had to carry you up while all hell broke loose. Even some of the industrial robots tore themselves from their anchored places to hunt you down."

"Twenty bells? We've got to get moving. Maryn might be out by now."

"First, you might want to pay the adventurers that risk their lives for you."

"Right, Dera. Right."

---

Two bells later, all forty-five adventurers are paid. My Little Mule is up in the air and on the way back towards the pyramids.

"Well, now I am nearly broke," I say before taking a sip of tea.

Yes, the horrible one from Becky. It smells bad, but it tastes good. Not like licorice at all.

"That piece of junk better be worth a lot or this might still have been for nothing," Becky added. But then grinned. "Well, not for nothing. I finally kicked Maynard's ass. He'll think twice before respawning again."

"I don't think he has a choice in that regard." But Becky was right. This trip had better be worth it. "Let's see."

> Little Bear Prototype - Severely Damaged <
> This ship was commissioned by a wealthy void-trader family and designed by the legendary inventor Maynard. However, before this prototype saw completion, it was caught within a hardened space. Progress slowed and eventually reversed as the weather took its toll on the ship. What remains is only useful for a scrap yard or a foolhardy void-trader. <
> 1.217.793 void favors <

"One million and-" Becky is eyeing me for my sudden outburst. I mean, I knew a ship of that size was worth a lot. Even as scrap. But this? Way past my estimate.

I'm rich, baby! Got the motherload. This should fuel my research needs for a while. Heck, I might go for a few luxuries. A bigger Little Mule might be nice.

Foolhardy, ha! Whoever came up with that description is a fool. Over a million void favors. Suck it, Besona. This round goes to me!

What was that? A shudder went through my Little Mule. Nearly threw me out of my seat.

"Does that happen often?"

"No, Becky. Not as far as I know."

Something is wrong. Even my instinctive connection to the ship is muted. Alright, Besona. I am sorry. Didn't mean to rub my victory under your nose.

"Maybe there are answers in the cockpit?" Becky suggests.

Seconds later, I am more confused than ever. "The auto-pilot has changed destinations and I can get it to reboot. Wherever we are flying, it is two days away. Shit! Do you think it's the Western Empire? Did they hijack my ship?"

"I doubt it," Becky says after a moment of contemplation. "See the sun outside? We are flying southeast. Away from the Western Empire."

"It's got to be something else then. Got it. I can call someone. Maybe Iren? She is the guild leader of the town I started in." But a quick check dashed that hope. "Blocked."

"What is still functioning?"

We checked everything and the answer is not promising. Everything in my living space - kitchen and bath - and my research bench. We are trapped and hauling somewhere else. Away from Maryn. And more importantly Myra.

The only thing I can do is put something on the research bench and wait.

I guess I will talk to you all once we arrive.

Wherever that is.

Wish me luck.

Or pray.

I think I'll be needing it.