We fled through the streets, and I cannot recount the horrors I witnessed there. The invaders were everywhere, and many times I thought they would set upon us next, only for a contingent of pirate defenders to trot into view and engage them in battle, or for a fleeing civilian to catch their eye as more tantalizing prey.

We ran and ran, until we reached an odd, bell-shaped vessel.

“Inside,” my mistress barked out. “And hurry!”

I clambered inside the small craft, and Madame Fog followed, closing a hatch behind us. I could still hear muffled shrieks from the chaos outside.

“Are we truly safe here?” I asked.

My mistress did not answer, simply staring forward with her lips pressed into a line.

Then came a terrible silence, followed by an even more terrible noise...