When the Way Out Burns

I don't know... Same reason as you, probably.

Wait... is that one of your friends hiding on the opposite deck?

Huh? Is that Isidro? I guess he really did come back.

See, I told you. I mean, even I couldn't stay away.

Of course he'd come back when he saw the fire. He's my best amigo, after all!

What about me?

Why did I have to come too?

Um, to help put out the fire?

Ugh...

Wake up, señora!

Perlita... Where's Nene? You shouldn't have come back.

I set it free in the Flat. It may be weak, but better out there than getting killed by mutineers.

We can't just leave you here.

Nothing... just gave me some drugs.

You could have fled. You would have lived.

I didn't take you for someone who would give up so easily.

Now that we're all here, don't we have better things to do than just talk? You know the Salt Flat better than anyone else, señora. Is there anywhere we can go?

How big is our group?

Twenty-four.

Excelente. Enough to commandeer a ship.

Which one?

La Conquista.

That's the oldest one, slower than the newer salt ships.

But I know it best.

Besides, because they consider it an antique, it will be lightly guarded. All the easier for us.

I'll take eight men up to the deck and get rid of the sentries. The others will go in through the side with Elysium and deal with the rest.

What about me?

Stay with Señora Juana. She's... not at her best, and won't be able to move as quickly.

Okay.

What's that noise?

Argh—

Ngh—

My aching bones... Maybe I'm getting too old for this.

The guys on the deck are out cold. I tossed 'em overboard.

Good. Climb the mast and be ready to hoist the sail at my command. We'll need full speed on the double.

You done over there?

We got the ones below deck.

A hand, please.

Now we wait for the boss.

Search inch by inch. By the Alguacil's orders, we must find the compass.

We've turned every room upside down, but haven't found anything remotely like it.

Keep looking. Don't miss a single nook or corner.

Yes, sir.

Señores, the Alguacil has issued new orders. A squad is to come with me to pursue the fleeing alchemist.

And why are you the one delivering the order?

What's wrong with that? We're still working together according to our agreement.

Very well. Wait here while we muster the men.

Gracias.

What is Javier doing over here?

No idea, but he's gotten rid of the warrior priests for us, even if he didn't mean to.

When they leave, we can continue behind those tents.

They won't be able to see us from any of the salt ships.

I can see you've become an expert at sneaking through our base.

Ngh...

Hang on. We're almost there.

Okay...

Go on to the deck first. I need to fetch something from the lab.

Be quick.

A ship from the old era...

Does your desire for the compass point towards the source of the calamity, the ocean?

Where did I leave it...

You.

...You.

It is you who has been leading the raids.

And it is you who has been repairing the compass.

People always tell me to look for the good in others.

The truth always proves them fools. When first we met, I knew you intended to take the compass for your own sinful alchemical research.

I was right.

The compass is no more. I'm still trying to scrape what's left of it off the transmutation table.

That black mud? No, that is not the true compass. Your lies have no purchase here.

Must the Inquisition spill so much blood for each thing it loses?

You know that the compass corrupts the heart.

It's nothing more than a tool for sailing the seas.

Sailing the seas. Hah.

Those who attempt to elude both judgment and the reins of morality often seek out thorny paths that few have walked, and distant shores that none have reached.

As if their accomplishments could offer sanctuary for their sins.

I don't recall sinning.

Harboring a thief, feeding upon the remains of the townsfolk, assaulting a cleric of the Inquisition, associating with bandits who menace the town... Is that not enough?

Pretexts and framed crimes.

And now you begin to deny your sins.

All who have sinned will desperately deny it. I was no exception.

But I learned to accept my sins, and thus discovered the path of atonement.

My life was born from the evils of cannibalism. My very being is a sin. I am unworthy of the liberation of death.

But you were once pure and upright, before desire corrupted you. You have the right to die.

I will free you.

You're insane...

I don't have time for this!

Strange. Why isn't Isidro here?

It's all right. He must be somewhere on the ship, so everybody's accounted for.

Just waiting on your orders, señora.

Hoist the sails.

We sail.

This ship...

(Mierda, Juana doesn't know this lunatic is in here!)

(He'll be nothing but trouble once the ship starts moving.)

Everyone involved in this futile escape attempt is on this ship, correct?

Shut it.

This is where it ends for all of you, along with this sinful vessel of the old era.

(This is getting me nowhere... I have to do something...)

*cough* *cough* Argh! Ugh!

...Thorns?

Finally! You were starting to scare me when you went down to the lab and didn't come back.

I ran into someone from the Inquisition there.

I thought we cleaned out the cabins.

I don't know how he got there. He just came in all of a sudden looking for the compass, and wasn't in a mood to negotiate.

I had to blow up the lab to eject him from the ship.

Him and half of this ship!

...Good work.

Is there anything from the lab left, though?

...Maybe?

Very well...

We're going into the Skeletal Reef. The ocean lies just beyond that.

You might have one last chance to repair the compass before we arrive.

S-Señor Silver! The Alguacil is still on that ship! We must come to his aid!

No...

No one could survive an explosion like that.

But the Alguacil...

I said, no.

Will we let his martyrdom go to waste, sacrificing the living for the sake of the departed?

But what if he's still—

Aarón needs you now more than ever. Take inventory of the confiscated supplies, and round up the prisoners.

This is an order.

Steady! You're gonna snap the mast in two!

Are you trying to crash the ship on those bones and have us hang on them to dry like human jerky?

Full left rudder!

—Full left rudder!

Damage to the starboard side! Another hit from a steam blast, and this ship's going to fall apart!

The skeleton formations are getting denser! We'll crash if we don't steer this just right!

The erupting steam means we're close to the Skeletal Reef.

They won't dare go in there!

But do we? The steam blasts will punch through us like a hot knife through butter!

Better than the Inquisition, at least!

...Ugh!

...

Weedy! You're an engineer! Do something!

This is my first time on a Golden Age ship, never mind one that's been modified beyond recognition! I need time to figure out how it works!

Do we abandon ship? We might survive if we jump right now!

Are you loco?! You'll be impaled by saltfins in less than a minute!

—Señora!

We're done for...

No, we're not.

It's been so long, old friend!

Señora...?

W-We're on course again!

*pant*... *pant*...

I... I'm alive? Do I have all my body parts? Am I hanging off a piece of bone?

You said... YOU SAID YOU ONLY NEEDED ME TO PUT OUT A FIRE!

Well, figuratively... right?

What's the situation, Thorns? How much of the lab is left?

...

...

I managed to salvage the transmutation table. The outer casing is gone, but the output's stable enough...

As for the probes... this is the only one left. Pretty worn, but still usable.

And we still have a little bit of alloy and Originium, scavenged from the antiques. I don't know if it's enough though...

Anything I can help with?

Are your fingers as thin as a probe needle?

At this rate, they might be soon. We don't have much food on the ship...

...Let's go find some.