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A sparkling, crackling whoosh of fire from the tip of her pipe interrupted her It leapt up to the ceiling She cried out a curse and dropped the pipe she’d loaded with black powder She staht, but soon the gunpowder burned itself out

"Dammit, second one this week"

Kip was round-eyed "Are you--are you in danger?" he asked

"Of course I am," she said "But I’m very hard to find And I’m very well protected"

"I found you no problem"

"That’s because I meant you to find me, little Guile Besides, haven’t you seen ht he’d been watched

"Black clothes, silver shield sigil? Hood, then perhaps they’re alrabbed another pipe off the wall and tamped it full of tobacco "Nohere were--Oh, never"Here’s the catch"

I knew it!

"I won’t let you take a card until you’ve lived it"

"Lived it?"

"Lived the memory in the card Like before In case you lose it, I don’t want thoseyour worth-a-fortune original cards, how about I take copies? You know, like people usually play with? Nor scratched the side of her nose with her new pipe’s stem "That is… that is thetime It would also allow me to put the blind man’s marks on the cards, which would make Lord Guile far more likely to allow you to use theht of using cheap cards Janus Borig was so s Hi smart; it was the opposite

"Great," she said cheerily "Well, let’s make you a deck"

Chapter 53

Back into the sa iht ti, but he had to learn Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap

~Gunner~

Captain Burshward is a bit crabbed thistwo of his alley, his excellent rowers, his rich cargo, and histo ask you one more time, Cap’n Burst Wart," I say "I need that chain key" I scowl "I suppose that wasn’t a question, was it? But that was"

The captain and his brother and two officers are seated, hands tied behind their backs, on the gunwale And on this galley, it is a gunwale Their two cannons are propped up on it It was only twenty years ago that all ships were thus, before sounports In a mere two decades, the idea spread all around the Cerulean Sea--but unwale are less accurate left to right, and of course, they can’t shoot low--ships have to stay far out, because if they get closer, they’d just be blowing away each other’s rigging When fighting oar-driven galleys, that isn’t the best way to cripple a ship

The captain looks furious, his brother gray despite his naturally ruddy coari folk, fro, burlyand braided Matrilineal Sons a disappoint drink reat sailors Worthy of respect for being able to shoot through the Everdark Gates

It is one thing that Captain Gunner hasn’t done Yet

"Where is the chain key?" I ask, real nice like A finger’s breadth froalley slaves’ chains, belowdecks Not to free them or some such silliness, but because the oars are locked in place It isn’t common, or I would have prepared for it

’Course, it is just a chain We can get through it We have tools; we have powder I can e in probably three minutes, and most likely not even set fire to the boat or kill anyone But a key’s faster