“I’m fine.” Alex didn’t sound fine. “It is just that this whole fighting the demons thing is harder than I originally expected.”

  “Yes,” Fufi nodded. “There were not as many demons here for people to level up on but we have to keep moving before a rge force can focus on us.”

  “How are you doing on your levels?” Fufi asked, sounding excited.

  “Oh,” Alex paused. “It’ll be a while yet there are some major things to overcome before the next level.”

  “I’m sure you can do it.” Fufi cheered. “I believe in you!”

  Alex felt guilty keeping secrets from Fufi. She kept to herself for the trip back, mostly staying in her bunk.

  Ariel and Marina came to try to cheer her up but she just put on a fake smile that wasn’t fooling anyone and the concern about her wellbeing grew in the day and a half it took to get back to their isnd.

  Luckily, the dream catcher didn’t break so Alex didn’t have any more lewd dreams.

  Much to everyone’s surprise, as well as a warm reception when they returned with some leveled up people, there were actual slips for them to dock the boats into.

  With Ariel’s help, flying back and forth, there was no confusion in where they should disembark their boats for the budding fleet.

  Upon her return to the crafting district, where she typically parked her carriage, Alex observed individuals with leadership roles delivering speeches from boxes to a gathered crowd, discussing what she perceived to be trivial political matters.

  A heated debate arose when one of the people rescued from the town suggested returning to beg for the demons' forgiveness. The old man from the sleep demon’s town vehemently opposed this idea, since he was outraged by the permanent slumber inflicted upon the majority of the popution. His earlier vow to forsake the kingdom was clearly not made in jest.

  Alex discreetly made her way past them, finding soce in an area filled with the sounds of crafters at work. She then produced a card, which transformed into her familiar carriage.

  She thumbed through some of the books that she got from the dungeon about clockwork dolls, but couldn’t really put pen to paper because of the stress about some demon having her sailor doll and was using it to invade her dreams. She really needed to find a way to stop that.

  As she and Fufi tucked in for the night the magical girl stared at the dream catcher, making sure it was still intact before nodding off.

  The next day, Alex got up and cleaned the carriage fitfully. She then got changed into her toy making outfit. She looked at the bnk page for what should be a life-sized clockwork doll and grumbled.

  Books were opened and all the pieces were there but she just couldn’t take that first step because of anxiety about the demons.

  “I really need to do something about that missing doll.” Alex wrapped her arms around herself and headed the short distance to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

  “The one that got captured?” Fufi strutted into the room. “How can we get it back?”

  Alex sighed. “I’m not sure but staying here isn’t going to fix that problem.”

  “I’m worried though.” Fufi fretted. “A true succubus is a tier 3 demon. I don’t think either you or Ariel are ready for that.”

  “Who is a good match up then?” Alex snapped.

  “Mister skeleton for one.” The fmingo offered. “I’m fairly sure he’s immune to the vast majority of that demon's powers.”

  “He got frustrated about how slow we were going and left to fight a whole kingdom of demons by himself though.” Alex shook her head. “I don’t understand how any sane person could think like that.”

  “To be fair.” Fufi expined. “He’s not human, and as an undead being a person too is a bit questionable.”

  Alex let out another sigh. “I get it, trying to humanize things is a mistake. But I want to at least make some progress in getting that doll back. Can we not contact the thieves guild or something?”

  “You think thieves are so organized they have a guild?” Fufi let out a little chuckle. “But there is some merit there, we have quite a few scouts we picked up along the way. There might be some sympathizers in the capital that we could try to discreetly contact. I’m just not sure how to do it without getting noticed.”

  “Nevermind.” Alex shook off the light jab. “Thinking of fantasy tropes from fiction. I suppose we do have some scouts and rogues that might help though if none of the natives are willing to stick their necks out for us.”

  The pair went and met with Ariel and some of the other people from their little fleet down at the drydocks. The orca was already pulled out and some of the masons were applying new cement to the damage in the hull from the iceberg collision.

  “How are you Alex?” The little fairy greeted the fellow magical girl.

  “A little anxious but okay.” Alex smiled half-heartedly. “What are you doing?”

  “Dun was flipping out at all the sloppy work that people in this sorry excuse for a shipyard have been doing.” The fairy chuckled. “It has been quite entertaining.”

  “What do you think about taking some of the ships out and heading to check if the flying cloud can be pirated?” Alex asked the fairy.

  Some heads turned and started eavesdropping at the mention of taking the ships out to fight more demons.

  Alex surveyed the group, a flicker of concern in her eyes. "Alright, listen up, everyone. This mission is going to be different. We are going to try to be stealthy. Not like the st two times, where we practically announced our arrival with a symphony of explosions and the screams of fleeing demons." She paused, letting her words sink in. "If we make a big mess with all the most powerful demons in the area, it'll draw more attention than we can possibly deal with. We need to be surgical, precise. In and out before they even know we were there."

  A roar of agreement erupted from the mostly male contingent, their voices a mixture of boisterous enthusiasm and a touch of impatience. "We can do it!" they cheered, eager for more action, for the thrill of the fight. The memory of their past, more boisterous skirmishes still fresh in their minds, fueled their eagerness. They were a force to be reckoned with, but Alex knew that was only true against imps and tier 2 demons.

  Alex held up a hand, bringing the noise down to a manageable level. "I know you're all itching to get back out there, and believe me, so am I. But we need to be prepared. So, how long do we need to get ready to set out again?" She wanted to go right away, her instincts screaming for immediate action, but experience had taught her that haste could lead to disaster. She figured it would take a couple of days at least to ensure everything was in order, every bde sharpened, every spell prepared.

  Ariel, pying the role of pragmatist, flew forward. "When I talked to Dun, he said that they would need a couple of days to go through everything and do maintenance. The 'everything' includes a full check of our enchantments, and making sure our gear is in top condition. Plus, the transport needs a thorough inspection after our st little… excursion." A slight smirk touched her lips as she recalled the state of their vehicles after the st battle. "He wants to make sure we don't have a repeat performance of the 'nighttime iceberg' incident."

  They rested up, created more ammo, Alex helped make a couple more of the clockwork mechanisms that worked in the propulsion systems for the hulls. It was becoming apparent with the influx of people that the hull production was going to quickly outpace her ability to do enchantments, let alone that the metal salvage was decreasing. The boats had to go further out and it became deeper and more difficult. A couple more bits of metal wrecks were getting dug out with help from the dredging machine

  The day of departure came. The newly-repaired Orca along with 10 clockwork shipped set out on a cool morning.

  Ariel hovered over the orca, her wings shimmering with crystalline frost, her pirate outfit fluttered dramatically in the wind. She barked orders in her squeaky voice. “Wind them up! Ten-minute intervals. I wanna see everyone maintain positions, no one falls behind!”

  Sailors scrambled, winding the keys below deck. The clockwork mechanisms ticked and the fleet came alive with motion. The combat cssers double checked their gear, people were arguing about who would get the most levels out of this excursion. It looked like no one seriously believed that this would be a stealth mission.

  Two days passed at sea. People kept watch, discipline was maintained. And the waters were quiet. They anchored just off the enemy's territory. The ships bobbed like patient beasts.

  Ariel stood on the prow of the Orca, her winds folded, her breath forming snowfkes that drifted into the wind. She considered the next step in their pn.

  Alex sat alone with Fufi fidgeting with her ‘belt’ awkwardly.

  The combatants gathered on the deck, they whispered of levels and paced back and forth hoping that they could get some action and levels soon.

  Ariel turned to the crew. “Tonight we pn, and tomorrow if things go right we can strike, seize the rgest ship that the kingdom of Jass has ever built.”

  “Don’t forget we have to find my doll.” Alex muttered, though everyone remained acting like this would be some epic raid.