“Calm down, Unknown.” Brine said with a cheeky smile. “No need for you to start glowing things up in here.”
Jewel felt her temper rising, but Galadriel placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a look that clearly said for her to calm down.
“So, I assume that if our potion won’t work, but you are glancing through that bit of paper there, that you know of a different potion that might work better. Would this be a correct assumption?” Galadriel asked, his chocolate brown eyes narrowed.
“It absolutely would.” Brine answered, nervously mussing his white hair in the process. “Coralia, I feel like it’s only right. You know you would do anything to save me or Dune. We have to do what’s right.”
Coralia sat upright very quickly and narrowed her eyes at her brother. “You can’t be serious.” She said with a shake of her head. “Father would have us thrown in the Deep and Mother, well, we would wish to be thrown in the Deep after she was done carrying out our punishment.”
“Brine’s right, Rae. We have to help.” Dune said simply. Both brothers were staring at a very torn Coralia and moments after, the mermaid let out an exasperated huff.
“Fine. Help them, but if this comes back to bite us in the bottom fin, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Coralia warned, before turning to Jewel. “And if you are not really trying to help your Dad and want the potion for some nefarious purpose, I will hunt you down myself and make you sorry for deceiving us. Got it.” Her pink eyes flashing briefly.
Jewel wasn’t at all threatened by Coralia’s words. One, because Jewel knew that between the two of them, it would be no contest with who would win. And two, because although Coralia was talking a good game, her aura was bright yellow, letting Jewel know that the mermaid was much more nervous than anything.
“We have told you the truth.” Jewel said simply.
“Give it to her.” Coralia instructed a very gleeful looking Brine.
Brine knelt before Jewel, handing over the scroll that he had just been looking at. “This will save your Father. And all ingredients are labeled as to where to find them and include a description of each, so you won’t have to figure out which ones are where.” He explained. “I have one of the ingredients here, but we will have to travel to the Deep in order to gain access to the other.”
Coralia snorted, both irritating and confounding Jewel. “What’s so funny about what Brine just said?” Jewel inquired.
“It’s not really funny, I just can’t believe how ridiculous this is that we are even entertaining the thought of traveling to the Deep to help an Unknown and her throng. It’s just been quite a day.” Coralia admitted.
“What is this Deep and why do I get the feeling that it won’t be that fun?” Galadriel asked.
“Because it is home to the most vicious, venomous, and downright evil creatures you could ever hope to never meet.” Dune offered. “It’s no swim through the reef, that’s for sure.” He said seriously.
“It sounds too dangerous.” Skye said, biting her bottom lip. “Surely, there is another way to procure the needed ingredient.” She said hopefully.
“Nope. Because the ingredient you need is a spike of a porkipuff and those are only found in the Deep.” Brine shrugged, as he carefully used a pair of oversized tweezers to pull some sort of orange-purple plant out of a jar and place it in a bottle. “This is the first ingredient you need. It’s sharkleaf. By itself, it kills any living thing that it comes into contact with, but once the potion is complete, it will be safe to consume.”
“Until then, however, don’t touch it.” Dune added with a smirk.
“Yeah, thanks for that Captain Obvious.” Ambrosia said with an exaggerated eye roll and gaining a broad smile and chuckle from Brine and Dune.
Sage, who had already taken the scroll from Jewel, cleared his throat, and moved closer to Ambrosia. “Okay, so from what I’m reading, this potion is specifically made for Slayer or the Corruptible’s poison. How is it that you just happen to have a copy of the specific potion needed available in your collection?”
“Oh, um.” Brine stuttered.
“Well, you see….” Dune began.
“Oh, for wave’s sake. I’ll tell them” Coralia said, standing up. “I had hoped you wouldn’t ask us, but clearly you’re the smart one of the group, so I’ll tell you.” She said, smiling sweetly at Sage and causing Ambrosia to visibly bristle. “We have a copy of that specific potion because everyone on the Council has a copy, in case they were to ever be injured by the Corruptible.”
“But the poison is quick-acting. So, how would the potion be able to be made at such short notice?” Sage inquired.
“Chocolate covered nut bars.” Rain said angrily as realization set in. “They don’t have to worry about that because they don’t have to make it. You all have your own stash of a ready-made potion, don’t you!” She challenged.
Coralia’s eyes dropped a bit and she looked a bit sheepish when she answered. “We do.” She admitted. “Or at least, the Council leaders all do. I have no idea where my parent’s keep theirs, so please don’t ask. I’ve already said too much to you all, almost to a treasonous point.”
“So, let me get this straight.” Jewel said, standing and feeling her temper getting the better of her, and her powers just begging to be unleashed. “Your parents, who just acted like they wouldn’t give us any information on the Council, are actually on the Council. And the potion that we so desperately need is literally bottled up somewhere in this palace, but we are going to have to travel through this Deep place, risking our lives for one lousy ingredient to help make a potion that is already made? Is that what you’re telling me right now?” She demanded.
“Well, yes, but-” Coralia started.
“Nope. No, ‘yes, but’. As a matter of fact, you three just stop.” Jewel ordered with a wave of her hand that successfully froze Coralia, Brine, and Dune. Pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers, Jewel tried desperately to reign in her emotions, but it was really getting hard.
“Thank sparkles.” Skye huffed. “I swear I would have lost my temper if that Coralia had insisted on continuing to talk.”
“You’re definitely not the only one.” Ambrosia fumed. “I can’t believe that what we need is literally right here in the palace, and we can’t get our hands on it.” She said, her fangs gleaming as a sneer fell upon her face.
“I would ask if there was a spell to find the potion, but nobody’s powers seem to work here except for Hybrid’s and we all know how good she is as spells.” Jade said teasingly as she flipped her copper-colored hair behind her shoulder.
Jewel merely rolled her eyes at the Sorceress’ implication, but didn’t argue the point, because what could she say really, spell-casting was definitely not Jewel’s forte and she knew it.
“Well, be that as it may. I gotta say, Spitfire, your Keeper of Tempus powers are definitely improving. Your control this go around was amazeballs. Good for you.” Rain said happily.
“Thanks, Raindrop.” Jewel said, before turning to Sage and Zephyr. “Okay, before the freezing wears off, let’s get that bottle of sharkleaf and copy the potion down. I don’t think they will let us take the scroll back with us, and I definitely won’t remember that weird list of ingredients we need.”
“On it.” Zephyr said as Sage handed him the scroll. “Okay, we need the sharkleaf which we have. We need the spike of a porkipuff.” He read off as Sage jotted it down. “We need two dragon scales from two different dragons, we need a pinch of pixie dust, we need a strand of elven hair, the whisker of a ghoulrat, fourteen ice berries, two drops of fangbeast venom, and a cup of water from the Djinn realm. We will have to add the ingredients one at a time into a bowl mixed with the elements- fire, water, wind, and earth. And say the spell once everything is added, stirring seven times to the right, four times to the left, and again seven times to the right. Yep. Seems pretty straightforward.”
“Oh, yeah. Real easy.” Jade said, sarcasm lacing every word.
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“Love, the freezing is wearing off. They’re beginning to stir.” Skye observed.
“Okay, so here’s the plan. We’ll go and get this porkipuff spike. I’ll open the portal right after, and then we are getting out of here, so everyone needs to stay close. Okay?” Jewel instructed, speaking quickly before the three Merpeople unfroze.
Everyone nodded and retook their original positions as the freezing finally wore completely off. Coralia, Brine, and Dune all looked at each other with perplexed expressions, but Jewel acted as though nothing was amiss.
“Alright, well I think we are ready to go. Lead the way.” Jewel said as Coralia looked as though she knew something had happened but had no idea what.
“Very well. This way.” Coralia began, before turning to face Sage. “Oh….but leave the scroll with Brine. We can’t allow you to take it with you. I’m sure you understand.”
Jewel and Rain shared a knowing look, but Sage merely shrugged. “Absolutely. No problem.” He said, handing over the parchment to a very befuddled looking Brine. “Thanks Bro.” Sage said, clapping the Merman on the back.
“Uh, yeah.” Brine said a little uncertainly. “No worries.” He said as he placed the scroll back on the shelf and grabbed a long tube-shaped container. “Here. You’ll need this for the porkipuff spike.” He said, handing it back to Sage who muttered his thanks before placing it in his knapsack.
“Alright, well. Let’s go. And try not to cause such a scene this time. We will be traveling quickly, but stealth is going to be our best friend so no riding the waves to the Deep. Got it.” Coralia said bossily.
“Whatever you say.” Jewel said, her hands up. “We’ll go at your pace this time. Even if it is a bit on the slower side.” She added with a smirk.
Coralia’s eyebrow raised, but instead of retorting back, she pursed her lips and hurried out of the room.
Jewel smiled as she followed the Mermaid out of the palace. Regardless of their inability to sway the King and Queen to their side of things, she still felt as though they had succeeded. They were at least one step closer to being able to save her Dad and she now knew who at least two of the members of the Council were.
And at this point, they only had to find this last piece of the puzzle before returning to the Meadow and figuring out where to go next. Sounded simple enough, and hopefully, it would be.
Chapter Ten
Into the Deep
Jewel had mixed feelings about the group’s expedition to travel to the Deep and obtain a porkipuff spike, seeing as they had no knowledge of the area and no experience with what they would be facing, but so far the only ones who appeared to really be on edge were Coralia, Brine, and Dune- who at the moment had their weapons drawn and were glancing about wildly as though something was going to jump out and grab them at any moment.
Jewel and the rest of the group were back in their bubble-skeleton’s. The protective layer was no longer soundproofed, however, and it was now extra strong thanks to Jewel’s little magical reinforcement that she had placed on everyone’s before leaving the palace. At this point, it would take a whole lot to penetrate through the bubble-skeleton, but it wasn’t as though Jewel was all that worried, because the scariest thing they had come across so far in Aquatica had either been spotted when they first arrived or while they were at the palace. As of that moment, the group was just enjoying a nice, slow, leisurely swim. Well, a kind of swim, since the bubble-skeletons were kind of like a floaty device. But as long as everyone kicked every few seconds, the bubble-skeletons kept them off the ground, and gliding through the water quick enough to keep up with their three Merpeople guides, which wasn’t all that hard since their guides seemed to be moving painstakingly slow.
“Are we there yet?” Rain grumbled. “Because At this pace, we aren’t going to make it before the tide shifts, and then we’ll be in trouble with the royals.”
“We’re already in trouble with the royals, Princess.” Frost said with his signature scowl.
“Chocolate sauce.” Rain said exasperatedly. “I know that Snowball, but it’ll be worse if we’re not gone.”
“I definitely don’t want to see worse, although I am curious as to what that would be, considering that the Queen wasn’t going to give Green the antidote for the truthteller bug that bit her. Bit of a shady group in my opinion.” Galadriel said. “Although, since Green did break their door, perhaps Queen fish fin felt like that was her very own personal form of payback.” He chuckled.
“It wasn’t the whole door that I broke, just the door handle, first of all.” Jewel said defensively. “But I personally think I did them a favor. I mean, come on, who built that beautiful palace and then puts piece of sharp coral for door handles. Serious construction flaw if you ask me.”
“Ugh, I’m with Rainy over there. When are we going to get there?” Jade whined.
“We’ll get there, when we get there, you two. So quit with your whining.” Ambrosia scolded.
“Well, how will we know when we’ve gotten there if we don’t even know what it looks like?” Jade asked the very annoyed Vampiress, who ignored the question completely. Jewel figured it was to irritate Jade, but it was also probably because she didn’t have an actual answer.
Being curious herself, and not wanting to hear anyone else ask when they were going to arrive, Jewel called out, “Um. Coralia?” She paused for a moment. “How much longer until we get there?”
“Shhhhhhhh!” The Mermaid hissed, quickly swimming over to Jewel.
O-kay. So, we need to be quiet. Fine. We can talk like this, so I ask again- how much longer will it be until we get there? Jewel asked telepathically.
We’re already here, genius. Coralia rolled her eyes. But where we need to go is right over this dune, so for water’s sake, be quiet. The last thing we need is to wake up all the creatures who hopefully are sleeping right now. Oh, and whatever you do- do not touch the bottom floor. It is home to thousands of flesh-eating sandbeetles and that bubble you’re in won’t stand a chance against them.
Oh, well, thanks a lot for telling us earlier about that. Jewel sent back, hoping her thoughts emitted the snark she was going for, and put a little more distance between her and the ground. Anything else we should know before we get over this dune?
Nope. Just assume everything that moves will either try and eat you or is poisonous. The porkipuff is quite large and will be somewhere on the middle shelf. Its spike’s will glow, so you won’t be able to miss it. But be quick when you pluck it’s spike out and don’t let the tip break your skin. Its poison will shut down your nerves, paralyzing you, and then you’ll probably get eaten by something else. So, just don’t let it happen. Coralia warned.
Great. Thanks. Jewel sent back, as she watched the Mermaid rejoin her brother’s in two thrusts of her shimmery sapphire-colored tail fin.
Jewel turned to the group and telepathically passed on what Coralia had said. Immediately, everyone in the group distanced themselves from the ocean floor, far away from the flesh-eating beetles.
Once they reached the top of the dune, everyone froze. What was before them was the epitome of what Jewel had originally thought the Deep would look like. A wide, deep, dark abyss with the promise of death-defying acts should anyone decide to swim down into it.
This is it. Remember, the middle shelf. Glowy spiky thing that you don’t want to break skin. Got it. Coralia said seriously.
Yeah, got it. Jewel replied. Um, just how far is it down to the middle shelf, anyway?
For us, it’s just a few thrusts of our fin, but for you, I’d say that it’s about five hundred feet. My advice is to swim down directly in the middle. Try and stay away from the walls and just keep an eye out for anything that moves. Coralia answered. Oh, and better to not use your powers while down there. You’ll just wind up attracting unwanted attention from the creatures.
Jewel rolled her eyes at Coralia and turned back towards the group. Jewel connected everyone’s minds together once again, so they could discus
s how to proceed.
Well, Coralia has warned against using my powers while down there, which I don’t completely disagree with. This is going to be a stealth mission and my powers pack a punch, but I’m not sure if stealthy is an adjective I would use. Also, I don’t know where this middle shelf is that we need to get to, so teleporting is out. I’d probably end up appearing right where a bunch of venomous creatures would be, so I think I’ll pass on that. Now, I don’t think anyone is going to like this, but I don’t think everyone should go down with me. It’s way too big of a risk for even one to do it, but if all of us go we are bound to wake something up that will end up bad for us. So, I’ll go because we’re here to save my Dad, and I have my powers, so I can teleport us out if need be. Jewel offered. Using my powers to get down there might be a no-go, but I don’t see why using them to get out of there would be an issue.
You’re not going anywhere without me, Gem. Frost said, his gunmetal blue eyes daring Jewel to argue, which Jewel didn’t get the chance to do, because Ambrosia stepped in.
We are on a time schedule, so this is how this is going to go. Frost, Galadriel, Teagan, Sage, and I will accompany Jewel down to the middle shelf. And before anyone argues, here’s why……Frost and Galadriel will become Protectors at some point in their lives and this is the epitome of what their whole purpose is. Teagan and I have the best chance of leading everyone because our vision isn’t affected by darkness. And Sage will be going because I trust that he can find what we are looking for the fastest. Now, that leaves Skye, Zephyr, Ryker, Rain, and Jade to stay behind and make sure we are okay on our end and that these three don’t pull anything funny. Ambrosia motioned to the three Merpeople who were literally back to back and watching every single inch of the surrounding area. Now, we shouldn’t be gone for more than fifteen minutes if all goes well, but when we succeed, we are really going to need to get out of there quickly. I for one, am all too ready to go back to the Meadow. Peace and more peace.
Everyone promptly agreed with Ambrosia’s logic and Jewel took a deep breath before breaking the connection with the five staying behind on the dune. She hated to do it, but the last thing she needed was to get distracted while she was down in the hole of horrors. She also used her magic to form an invisible chain-like connection between her bubble and everyone else’s that would be traveling down into the abyss with her. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get lost or separated and this was the best way to make sure that didn’t happen.
The Council Page 14
