Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The night breeze was cold, and Shard looked toward Miss Princess at his side, whose dress was obviously not warm. But as a Five-Ring Sorcerer, she was unlikely to catch a cold easily.

They found a small boat moored at the northeast end of the pier. As soon as they boarded, the boatman, wearing a straw hat, rowed them away from the pier. This was just a small wooden boat, of course, not the vessel to take them to the high seas.

There, in the harbor of Coldwater Port, lay a double-decker steam cruise ship, its deck alight with brilliant lamps. A smokestack rose from the deck, and the flag of Carsonrick fluttered in the wind.

From the outside, it looked like a private yacht belonging to a wealthy merchant from Carsonrick, who had invited some thrill-seeking guests for a party tonight. In reality, a powerful local Circle Sorcerer from Coldwater Port City, who had bribed the harbor management, was holding an auction of sorcerer items on the ship tonight.

The use of such a small vessel to board, rather than waiting for the cruise ship to dock for guests, was due to the special nature of this banquet. The invitation in Miss Princess's hand allowed for up to three people to accompany her, and if Shard hadn't showed up tonight, she had planned to attend the auction alone.
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The small boat silently cleaved through the waves, bringing the three of them to the steam yacht moored in the middle of the harbor. They arrived in the darkness, and upon the boatman's signal, a small steam engine on the deck operated, lowering a cargo platform connected by ropes. After Shard and Miss Princess stood on it, the platform ascended quietly, accompanied by the noise of the steam engine, until it was level with the deck. Shard, ever the gentleman, offered a helping hand to the girl whose golden hair seemed to have faded in color as they stepped across the gap.

Behind them was the flickering gas lights of the port, and before them, the calm seascape under the night sky, adorned with three crescent moons. Lights shone everywhere on deck, and guests, like Shard and Miss Princess, wearing masks, either gathered in groups to admire the seascape, clustered around tables playing cards, or, for those who came alone, stood by the long table picking out food.

The sound of a violin and the deep tone of a French horn rose together, as the band in one corner of the deck played, masked men and women nestled into each other and began to dance.

At a cursory glance, there were already close to 50 people on deck.

"It seems the organizer of the auction is really something. Are they a High Ring Sorcerer from the New World or one of the local powerhouses of Coldwater Port? Oh, Miss Princess, how many sorcerers might there be here?"

The girl in the mask adjusted her dress:

"Not including us, roughly around ten. Invitations are not issued lightly, one must not only have money but also be reliable. Do you know that the church likes to pose as illegal sorcerers, issuing various tasks in the black market, and then seizing the opportunity to capture those lawbreakers?"

In the Outlander's homeland, such an act was known as sting operation.

Miss Princess finished straightening her dress and looked at Shard, adjusting his tie for him:

"Let's go have something to eat. The boarding time is almost over, and the cruise ship will be departing shortly. Once we leave the coast, the auction will officially begin. We can't get a list of the goods in advance, all the items are only revealed when the auction starts."

"No worries, there's a slim chance of finding what I want here."

Shard said nonchalantly, he was just here to try his luck and broaden his horizons; whether or not to make a purchase wasn't important to him.

Shard and Miss Princess arrived just in time, and not long after they boarded, the moored cruise ship set sail, heading for the open sea, expected to return to Coldwater Port by midnight in four hours.

The ship's movement caused the lights of civilization to grow weaker, the dark and profound sea seemed ready to swallow the group whole. The dull sound of the steam whistle echoed around them, thick black smoke billowed from the smokestack, trailing with the night wind toward the stern of the boat.

Drifting away from the civilized gathering areas, the ancient and profound darkness made Shard feel somewhat uneasy. Although the ship wouldn't actually venture deep into the ocean, just moving away from Coldwater Port, for an Outlander like him, being distant from the fires of civilization in such a world was still worrisome.

"Miss Princess, do you know how to swim?"

To avoid being accosted by boring individuals, the two now stood by the railing on the deck, looking at the night view. The gold-haired girl in the mask swirled her wine glass, while Shard carried nothing.

"Of course, why do you ask?"

Shard didn't mention his slight anxiety about the ocean at night:

"Do you think... this ship could suddenly hit an iceberg?"

"An iceberg?"

Even with only his eyes showing through the holes in the mask, Shard could guess the surprise on the other's face:

"Do I need to remind you that we are currently in Coldwater Port, on the West Coast in the central north of the Old Continent, not in the Far North. Moreover, it's summer now... an iceberg? Why would you ask such a question?"

She chuckled softly, and Shard also sheepishly shook his head:

"Just a little worried, that's all. But speaking of icebergs, would you like to hear a story?"

Turning to look at the deck illuminated by candles and gas lamps, at the moment it was just an ordinary masked ball on a cruise ship, where men and women with different thoughts were engaging in conversations, playing cards, admiring the view, or dancing in a corner of the deck. The melodious sound of violins relaxed Shard a lot, and the auction was to take place in forty minutes:

"To pass the time, I thought of a love story about a cruise ship, the ocean, icebergs, and jewelry."

"Sure."

Miss Princess nodded and gently swayed the slender wine glass filled with grape wine in her fingers before lifting her mask to drink it down.

The young girl suddenly flashed Shard a playful smile, then with a light toss, the wine glass was thrown straight into the sea. She casually flicked her hair:

"I love hearing stories, but if it's boring, you'll have to join me for a drink."

She looked at Shard with a twinkle in her eye:

"Even though you claim you can't drink alcohol, one glass shouldn't be a problem."

"Of course, I'll start then... isn't it a bit ominous to tell a story of a shipwreck on board?"

Shard asked somewhat worriedly, but Miss Princess didn't care, her voice drifting into Shard's ear with the wind:

"If you don't tell the story, then I'll just go straight for the wine, what would you like to drink? Sparkling wine? Oh, that's for kids."

"Of course, I'll tell it. But I need to give this story a nice name... Hitting an iceberg? No, that's not elegant at all... Poor Boy and Rich Girl? No, that won't do either... A Shipwreck Caused by Infidelity? No, that's not acceptable; the two things aren't related."

Shard muttered to himself, not wanting to name that ship on board—it would be truly bad luck. Miss Princess watched him with a smile, clearly enjoying the moment:

"Does the jewelry you mentioned have a name?"

The Female Sorcerer asked softly, and Shard nodded:

"Heart of the Ocean."