It became clear to Stump Smash very quickly that he'd make quite a terrible pirate. The stillness enjoyed by the ent was quite juxtaposed by the constant moving in the Astronave. As ships went, the Astronave was one of the greats, but it was not large enough to make the journey feel completely settled. Yet, he couldn't complain for multiple reasons. For starters, his experiences on the Dread Yacht were dire by comparison; on one occasion he got so seasick that he fell overboard and had to be retrieved later. No, that was unlikely to happen on the Astronave; it was far smoother. Plus, all of Skylands was in jeopardy, or so they feared, so this was no time for the pursuit of comfort.

The ship flew through the air for a few days before it hit the sea. The journey became considerably bumpier from that point, but Stump distracted himself with a book he'd found in the lowest deck (where all the food, water and valuables were stored) regarding the fundamentals of portals, written by a few expert scholars in the field of whom Stump had never heard of. The read was quite intrusive for beginners, but Stump continued to read regardless. He picked up a few facts, though most left his head quite soon afterwards. It was a field which he was very unfamiliar with, but he strived to make sure there was not a repeat of prior events.

Every day was the same meal, of course. Fish upon fish upon fish; it was quite lucky (if you like fish, that is) that Squalo was quite so good at tempting fish onto his rod, for it gave them plenty to eat. Chill was unimpressed by Bam's cooking, however, and even Cali began to turn her nose up at the food as the journey progressed. It wasn't so much the cooking for Stump, but the huge quantities of salt being used. By day 13, in fact, it seemed like there must be more salt than fish. By this point, the other spirito souls were becoming bitter to Bam as well, bidding him to turn down the salt. And when, on day 14, it was clear that he had not taken the hint, the children's criticisms were set loose upon him, leaving him no choice but to alter his recipe.

Oro was still quite drained in the first few days of the voyage, but a week-or-so into her recovery, she began to play with the children. By this time they'd entered the water, so she helped out by prying barnacles of all shapes and sizes from the ship's hull. She didn't speak often and still spent most of her time in the crow's nest, but the development was noteworthy.

The expedition made the group extra-aware of how reliant they were on the portals. Clearly efforts made after the last incident had not been cautionary enough. To go from one place to another in an effortless moment was quite the luxury bestowed upon the Skylanders, but how was it that the next best thing was a multi-week long cruise? Regardless, there was one who really did not mind it in the slightest and that, quite naturally, was Cali.

"Ah, there's nothing quite like the feeling you get above deck, huh?" She asked Stump Smash in the last few day. They were sat on deck, watching the spirito souls perform their tasks seamlessly. Stump was particularly transfixed on Luna, the most skilled of the children. What was interesting about the children was that instead of a robe, they wore coloured gowns and woolly hats. Yet, Luna was different still, choosing often to keep her lilac hat on while her siblings kept theirs on for as little time as possible. Indeed, Mera and Uovo were much more intent at throwing their hats at each other like cannon balls. He turned to Cali and smiled.

"I think you might be enjoying this a little too much, Cali," Stump joked, causing the pair to chuckle.

"Oh, but you know I'm a sucker for adventure," she replied. Excitedly, she searched her mind for a good example and, upon finding the perfect story, she grinned, "Did I tell you about the time I was stranded underground for eighteen days?" Stump had not, but he knew at once that he was in for quite the daring tale. A few minutes in – at about the point that Cali faced off with several rock walkers in a pitch-black cavern – Chill sat down at the table and listened in. It was the first time Stump had seen Chill the entire day, as she had made sure to make herself useful around the entire ship (though she often avoided Bam). He, too, would have helped out but it seemed to him that he wasn't nimble enough to perform the majority of the tasks he might have been assigned. Cali, meanwhile, became quite acquainted with Luci and could be found in the captain's quarters discussing their trajectory.

"You know," Chill eventually disclosed, "I once spent a year on a ship a little like this."

Cali tilted her head, "You did?" She asked, almost shocked.

"Yes," she replied, "in my youth I was a low-ranking crewmember of the Avalanche." Stump looked to Cali and her expression was golden; her eyes were wide and appeared to be making no signs of shutting. She was shaken by this news, clearly, though Stump had did not know why.

Cali eventually spoke. "Well, I knew you were a legend, but that's just showing off," she said. She then turned to Stump Smash, "The Avalanche is a fleet of hundreds of gorgeous ships – all ranging in size – that are crewed to defend the snowfall sea from plundering pirates."

"Was," corrected Chill with a frown. Calinodded slowly. This was something Stump did understand; Chill's hero andmentor, the Snow Queen, was kidnapped never to be seen again, leaving herempire in ruins. It still stood but was weakened without their queen and someareas were even occupied by cyclopses. The general consensus was to not discussthe matter with Chill, hence the discussion drowned into silence. Chill soonstood up and left, leaving Cali and Stump in bitter unease. However, it was stilla notable discussion. Chill had never opened up to Chill and Stump quite likeshe had regarding the Avalanche. Cali's stories picked up soon after that untilthe day was done and they returned to their quarters.