Lorlux enlisted me to clear the way of trees as the Food's Errand carefully navigated through the sky canopy. I borrowed Val’s laser drill. If you know what you’re doing it’s trivial to sever the air sac from the tree, causing the tree to fall and the air sac to float up into the sky.

  By evening we had left the jungle and storms of the Western Current behind. The winds picked up. The clouds spread out into windswept blue horizons.

  What do you do? I sat on my bed with the lance and wondered about its secrets. “What do you think this lance does, Val?” I called through the hole in the wall.

  “Kills stuff,” she called. “You need to find a [Sage] to find out exactly. There are bound to be some in Aeven.”

  “Did you see that it said Weapon slash Companion? What’s that about?”

  “Yeah, that was weird.”

  “Hey, Val? Is everything all right? Last night I dreamed you were crying--”

  “I dreamed it too. I just had a really bad nightmare before that. I’m going to go to bed now. Good night Daniel.”

  “Good night Val.”

  I set the lance on the bed and carefully got up, leaving the moss kitten sleeping. I went topdeck and found Brufo teaching a flying monkey to fish. The monkey had my fishing rod! There had, as I recalled, been one monkey I’d really laid out with a punch. The telescope monkey! But why hadn’t he flown off when he woke up?

  Brufo, noticing me, held up a hand to forestall my anger. “I know what you’re thinking Daniel, but don’t be so hasty. Without Tamiro, I lack a quality fisherman to source my cooking ingredients. Give Kola Junior a chance. Also, his wing is broken, and we’re stuck with him for now.”

  “Kola Junior?”

  Brufo shrugged. “Got anything better to name him?”

  “I think it’s fitting. I was going to try to fish but I see you’ve got your hands full.”

  Heading back to my room again, I intended to go to bed. But instead in my room I found a silver-haired girl in flowing, armored robes with the moss kitten in her lap, purring and blooming.

  She was slight, her bangs formed side locks, and were tied with pink ribbons. Her eyes were luminous silver.

  “Um, hello?” I whispered. “Are you part of the crew?”

  “The kitten summoned me!” she exclaimed.

  Val was snoring quietly in the background.

  “Summoned?”

  She smirked. “I wished it was you Daniel, but yes. Maybe next time it will be.”

  “Wait, how do you know my name?”

  I recalled Val holding the laser drill to my neck when I first met her, when she thought I was a sky pirate spy. Was this what a sky pirate looked like?

  “I can hear you, you know. Even when I’m metal. I’m Lancie!”

  “Oh, aether! Are you saying you’re the lance I got?!”

  “Oh so I am yours then! I was worried I was going to be the cat’s. I still love you Mossy,” she said to the kitten smoochingly.

  “I’m glad you two are getting along. Lancie, it’s night and people are sleeping--”

  “I completely understand. I have had other masters before you, and they too desire sleep. I will guard you.”

  “You don’t sleep?”

  She smiled.

  “I’ve been sleeping for a long, long time Daniel. I want to be awake for a while. You can sleep though. I’ll guard you and Mossy.”

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  [New Message: Crew Member Invite (Fool’s Errand)]

  I went to the menu and sure enough there was a message for me. I opened it. Lancie leaned in, looking over my shoulder.

  Daniel, I extend to you an invitation to join the crew of the Fool's Errand. The current crew number is 5. You would be the 6th, and entitled to a fair cut of any salvaged gains or generated loot found by any of the crew, captain included. I await your reply.

  Capt. Lorlux

  “Daniel, if you sign that contract, you’re forfeiting me! Who are these Fool’s Errand crew anyway? Is it that Val and that Black Chef fellow? What about Mossy?”

  “Mossy is just a cat I think. Yes, Val and Brufo and a few others.”

  “It wouldn’t be wise to do that anyway,” Lancie said smugly.

  “Why not!?”

  “We’ve already bonded. If we were to separate while you are still alive my powers would wane, and thus I’d be much less valuable. As an item. You would not be the first master to try to sell me off.”

  Her steely eyes flashed.

  “It did not end well for that idiot Jereth. He sold me to some idiot sky traders who got wrecked in the Western Current. The last thing I remember was the captain fighting a giant cyborg ape. I must have been added to the loot tables then. So, Daniel, what will it be?”

  “I’m not going to sell you,” I said, too sharply. “Sorry. I mean, can’t I give you up? What if I just say you are free now? You seem like a person, not a lance.”

  “That’s not how it works. An [Aether Weapon] bonds for life.”

  I sighed, then yawned. “All right. It’s late for this. Let me sleep on it. Good night, Lancie.”

  “Good night, Daniel.”

  Lancie sat cross-legged on the floor facing the open hallway. I hesitated, then took off my jacket and climbed into bed.

  In the morning Valietta confronted me. I had overslept and apparently Lancie continued her vigil through the night.

  “Daniel, who is this girl?!”

  “I’m Lancie Camelot. I’m his weapon!”

  I sat up. “Val, this is that lance I got as loot from King Kola. I left it in the room with moss kitten and I came back and she was here!”

  Val watched the lance-turned-girl. “Don’t cause any problems. Daniel, you’re responsible for her!”

  She marched down the hall.

  “Hmph.” Lancie stuck up her nose.

  “Let’s just say Lancie that before you were here we had a LOT of new crew members. I can’t stress how many monkeys were aboard this vessel.”

  “It is how my old master died. They were fearsome beasts. And you beat them, Daniel!”

  “Well, I had help from just about the whole crew to do it. Hey, Lancie, are you hungry? Let’s go see about some breakfast.”

  Then I remember the crew invite. I brought her down and introduced her to Brufo, who served her a banana and mango parfait in the kitchen once I’d introduced them.

  Brufo had a new assistant, another flying monkey.

  “This one’s wings look fine!” I complained.

  “He is a diligent little fellow. I have taken him as my sous chef for the time being.”

  I excused myself and went to see the captain.

  “I have a stipulation. I can’t part with this loot I just got.”

  Lorlux croaked. “Let’s see it then Daniel. Where is your loot?”

  “That’s the thing. Overnight it transformed into a girl. A companion. She claims to be an [Aether Weapon], and she’s already bonded to me. A lifelong bond.”

  “Consider this: the airship has been very damaged by the explosion and crash into the sky jungle. It will be rather expensive to repair. As much as I’d like to assure you we will do no such thing, in truth we must see what the future holds.”

  A firm maybe, in my eyes. I thanked the Captain for his time and found the resident aether weapon still in the kitchen.

  “It’s not all up to me, but I’m going to try not to sell you Lancie.”

  “Hmph. Could you not just take me and off to fabulous adventure? Why do we even need these guys?”

  Brufo stopped his food prep and turned to glower at her with his arms crossed.

  “Lancie. He doesn’t even know what year it is. However powerful you think he is, he is also clueless about Weywyrd. No offense Daniel.”

  “None taken.”

  “Daniel, are you…an [Aether Weapon] too?”

  “No! No, I don’t think so anyway. I didn’t grow up here. I grew up on another planet, called Earth.”

  This prompted her to ask what was a planet. I put my head in my hands. “It’s a faraway place, that I can’t get to anymore. No one here knows about it.”

  “We’re more alike than I realized,” Lancie concluded, looking sympathetically at me. “If I can get you home, if there’s a way, I’ll do it. I promise. You do want to go home, right?”

  I…didn’t know. What exactly did I want? Before I could answer that, Kola Junior came gibbering down the hall, startling us all with his yapping. He was gesturing to his telescope and hopping around. Brufo’s sous chef gestured for us to follow.

  Topdeck, Kola Junior took us to the foredeck and pointed out a gleaming star on the midmorning horizon, northward. He hopped up and down, hooting.

  “Is that--?” I asked.

  Val snatched the telescope and peered through it.

  “Land ho!” she shouted.