The Return #
Eight days pass in anxious waiting. Gaius stands on the cliffs, eyes fixed on the empty horizon. "If the boiler held, they should be here."
Suddenly, a lookout shouts: "Smoke! Look at the smoke!" The "Fire Ships" enter coastal waters, heavy with cargo, their black smoke plumes a triumphant signal against the sky.
The shoreline erupts in joy. A crowd runs toward the docks. Gaius embraces Aulus in a powerful bear hug: "We did it, brother! We cheated the sea!"
Marcus watches the celebration, a quiet thought in the back of his mind: "For now... we have won."