“True but you have your freedom.” Avreel countered optimistically.
“Only because of Nina.”
Avreel thought about that for a moment then met her gaze with the naarabian girl. “I’ve shared my tale, what of yours?”
“It is uneventful until I met Nina. I was a pleasure slave for all of my life, owned by a rich human.” Rose shrugged her shoulders at that part. “When Nina was introduced to the harem she was playing the part of a frightened elf child. She quickly warmed to me though and once her family had what they wanted we were able to escape. After that the elves took me in and began training me. They taught me how to fight and use magic. They even helped me learn how to survive in the desert.”
The ship shifted just a little and after a moment the two of them spied Nina walking toward them. “I’ve got us on a straight course for the moment, I need a rest.”
“Once we arrived in the elven city they put Liostro, Nina and I on a task to find the artifacts he wears.” Rose stopped when she got to the next part. “I was captured by demons. I escaped and befriended the kurenai and once I was on my way we were captured by the patrol and the rest you know.”
Rose put a hand on Nina’s shoulder. “I’ll take over Nina, you rest.”
“Thank you.”
Rose stood and put Liostro’s head down on a bundle of clothes. “Look after him will you?”
“We could take him to the cabin now; I think he’s safe to move.” Avreel said as she inspected the red bite mark on his ankle.
“No, he likes the feeling of the cool breeze on his face.” Rose replied to Avreel as she ascended the steps and took the helm.
“Alright just don’t pour too much juice into it this time, last time you nearly shattered the hull.” Avreel called in reply then shook her head. She could not help but laugh remembering the look on Rose and Nina’s face when Rose had first taken the helm. They had nearly shaken apart with the amount of magic Rose poured into the ship. “Alright then my little surface cousin I’ve swapped stories with Rose how about yourself?”
“Ninanthia Sunmane wayward princess and adventurer at your service.” She said simply then grinned ear-to-ear. “Too much of a tomboy for my mother I’m afraid, that’s why she’s not as reluctant to send me on these dangerous missions.”
Avreel clucked her tongue in a rather unladylike fashion and smiled. “Princess eh? Then that’s one thing we have in common: being heir to a house neither of us wants.”
~~~~
The night wore on into the sea’s version of daybreak. Seeing that reminded Rose that she wanted to ask Avreel about the free-floating orbs that illuminated the cavern. She had opted to take the rest of the night shift because she had been sleeping so much and to add to that some things were puzzling her. She had been so dead on her feet when the creature had attacked but after it had died she felt reenergized, almost empowered. The question of who had been attacking her in the tunnels came to mind as well. She had her suspicions that someone powerful enough to cast a spell from afar would be able to awake the remnant of a dead slumbering god. Rolling that sentence through her mind caused her eyes to roll. “I can’t think of a more ridiculous statement.”
The light of the artificial dawn looked pretty against the shifting waves of the underground sea. As she steered them to and fro dodging columns and pillars stretching out of the water she made the observation that she liked being at sea. Her mind soon wandered back to her current problems though. Someone powerful wanted to visit her harm, she did not know why though. They had found the artifacts and she didn’t believe in the crazy prophecies and portents of dead scholars.
Avreel was the first to rise. She joined Rose on the quarterdeck and sat against the railing casually. “You’ve taken quite well to the vessel; you look to be a natural.”
“It’s calming actually. I finally feel as if I have the ability to steer my destiny instead of a hidden hand being at work.” Rose said thoughtfully after a moment of introspection.
“Speaking of hidden hands have you felt any other tampering since we’ve been at sea?” Avreel queried curiously. “If so I may be able to help.”
“No I constructed a spell that should prevent any further scrying or farcasting.” Rose replied casually.
“Truly? You are quite skilled; that is quite a complex feat.” Avreel replied with an arched brow. “Where did you learn such a thing?”
“My master, well he prefers the term teacher. His name is Leonidus and he is Nina’s grandfather.” Rose said with a smile as she thought of the old elf. “He taught me everything I know.”
“Leonidus?” Avreel said with surprise. “You jest.”
“What?”
“That is the name of one of the four prophets and mages from an ancient legend my people have buried.” Avreel said in genuine surprise. When Rose gave her a questioning look she nodded her head. “Forgive me I forget you are not from the same place as I. Among our books are many tomes of ancient lore, some from the surface though they are few and far between. They are also forbidden in the city. The elders say they contain lies and deceit.”
“And you believed them?” Rose said with a growing grin.
“Of course not, lest I would be trapped in a dying house of brats and ignoble fools. Nay but I digress one of the tomes I had stashed away told of a great wizard and prophet named Leonidus. He predicted the fall of the gods and the great cataclysm and later down the line he predicted the return of the gods through the actions of a single person.”
Avreel stopped for a moment and inspected Rose with her eyes wide. When Rose did a double take at her gaze she wiped her face clean and lifted her hands. “Sorry I just remembered something.”
“I don’t like that look. That’s the same look Nina’s mother gave me when she learned my name.” Rose said quickly and squinted her gaze at Avreel. “What is it?”
“Nothing, just coincidence and circumstance.”
“You’re a terrible liar.” Rose countered quickly, not moving her gaze from the suddenly uncomfortable elf.
“Alright, alright the story tells of a young girl whose race has been all but destroyed. She would revitalize the world and bring the old gods back from the slumber of death.” Avreel noted that the ship listed somewhat for a moment as Rose made the realization of what Avreel was referring to. “Your race has not been destroyed, you’re still here.”
“Yes but how many other naarabi have you met in your life?” She said in almost a whisper against the whipping wind.
Avreel winced. “One counting you but my mother had obviously met one before.”
“Most likely your mother dissected her and bled her dry.” Rose regretted the accusatory tone the moment it left her mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think before saying that.”
“It’s alright; she was less my mother and more just my birth parent.” Avreel held up her hand and swept her fingers side to side a few times. “Forget about it.”
“Do the math, it is no coincidence I met with you. Your god even decreed that you should free and help me.” Rose paused for a moment and met eyes with Avreel. “We are living a prophecy; the elves were sure enough about it to send me on a wild goose chase looking for their lost artifacts.”
“Okay that is a little much for me to handle this early.” Avreel replied as she sat against the rail and put her hands on either side of her head. After a moment of mumbling to herself about prophecy and the fools that believe in it she looked up at Rose again. “This is heavy.”
“Indeed.” Rose replied, snorting in amusement. “Welcome to my day to day life.”
They rode in silence for a while, at least until Nina and Liostro came strolling up the stairwell toward them. Rose gave Avreel a look that spoke volumes about silence between them, or at least she hoped it spoke volumes. Maybe just a short blurb would help. She put on her best smile for Liostro as he approached her and locked his arms around her waist. “Good morning my hero.”
“This time it is I who must cal
l you the hero.” He said with a grin plastered across his features.
“I’m going to be ill.” Avreel said with a hand across her eyes.
“I’ve been feeling a little sick to the stomach myself.” Nina said with a hand on her midsection.
“Not sea sickness dear. Their sticky sweet greetings and fawning over each other is going to make me hurl a breakfast I haven’t had yet.” Avreel lifted her head up and eyed them. “What food do we have left?”
“Not much, mainly iron rations and stale water.” Liostro replied with a shrug. “Are any of the creatures that live in this sea edible?”
“A few, but there are many that cannot be ingested easily, this is a harsh environment so they all have some form of defense.” Avreel said as she stood and headed for the main deck. “I’ll check the hold to see if there were any supplies delivered to the ship recently.”
“I’ll come with you.” Nina spouted and rushed toward the departing elf. “You two be good now.”
Rose watched them go then set the ship on a straightforward course. Turning around she smiled when Liostro put his arms around her and kissed her lips fleetingly. She hoped that Nina and Avreel would be distracted in the hold for some time.
~~~~
“I swear those two love birds are going to drive me to the bottle before the end of this journey.” Avreel relayed to her younger companion harshly. “There’s no end to their theatrical nonsense.”
“Yeah, I like them too.” Nina said with a giggle as she followed Avreel down the long stairwell from the main deck to the hold.
Avreel couldn’t help but smile at the young elf; she was more astute than any child she had met thus far, including herself at that age. She could only attribute it to good education and the hand of an intelligent parent or two. She did indeed like the three of them more than she was willing to admit openly. Just talking with Rose the day before and sharing even mildly intimate details of their past was more than she had ever been able to do with someone from her city, even her family. Avreel led the way down into the hold and scanned the contents of the ship. “We’re in luck; someone delivered a cache of supplies and cargo to the ship not long before we got here.”
“Good because I’m getting tired of hard bread and oily sausage. At the rate I’m consuming it I’ll never grow another inch.” Nina quipped and hopped off the stairs to look at the nearest crate. “Silks?”
“Aye, deliveries to our sister city beyond the distant shores.” Avreel replied as she inspected another crate. “Spices and perishables, here’s what we’re looking for.”
Looking for something to open the crate with she failed to see the standard pry bar that usually inhabited the hold. Lacking anything else useful she drew a dagger from her boot and slid it under the lid of the crate. A few minutes of prying and leverage loosened the lid enough that she could get her fingers underneath. She and Nina lifted the lid and let it clatter to the boards below their feet. The inside of the crate was dark so she conjured a light to float by her side. “Alright we have, cinnamon, shrieking powder and preserved toadstools, quite the delicacies.”
“Gross.” Nina made a face and stuck out her tongue in emphasis.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Avreel said as she took several jars of cinnamon and stuffed them into her pack. “This stuff goes great on fresh baked rolls.”
“I’ll make sure to tell the chef that.” Nina replied sarcastically from the other side of the hull as she pried the lid off of another crate, this one was short and square, low enough for her to get good access to it. Once the lid was off she smacked her lips loudly. “Eggs! Wonderful, I’ve not had a fresh egg in so long.”
“What?” Avreel replied, somewhat startled. Once she had a look at them she hastily grabbed the lid and put it back on. “Help me seal this quickly!”
“What? They should be good for a while right?” Nina said as she affixed the lid back down on the crate.
“Those are dragon eggs.”
“What?” Nina took out her dagger again and began banging the nails back into the crate. “Seal it! Seal it quickly!”
“What the hell do you people do with dragon eggs?” Nina shouted at Avreel as they finished putting the lid back on. “Are you nuts?”
“I don’t know! It’s illegal to poach and ship eggs from shadowdrakes.” Avreel replied and eyed the crate warily. “These crates bear the seal of my house, what the hell was my mother thinking?”
“Profit I’d guess.” Nina cleared her throat and moved on to the next crate. “I’m not sure what this word is.”
“Ah, you’ve stumbled upon the best crate of all.” Avreel replied. “The fire wine.”
“Oh certainly fine for those of us who drink regularly but I’d much rather keep my liver where it belongs. She moved on to the next crate and began prying the lid off. “I think this says meat.”
“Ah, Zorus flanks. Those are wonderful grilled over an open flame.” Avreel inspected the lot of the meat and nodded in appreciation. “We should be able to cook some of these once we hit the shore. It would do us some good to have a nice meal before the next creature tries to devour us whole.”
“Yes, that way it gets all of its daily monster nutrition right?” Nina said with a giggle as she veritably skipped over to the next crate. “Dye? Who ships something as simple as dye?”
“Tantus, the next city over, resides in a series of caverns devoid of much life. Our dyes come from the remains of insects and creatures that frequent our caverns. They sell exotic colors to us too, much to the delight of the fashionable noble murderess.” Avreel said with a flourish and a grin. “You have to look good while you’re stabbing someone else in the rear.”
“Oh sure, what would the other cold blooded killers think if your blouse doesn’t match the bloodstain?” Nina rolled her eyes and laughed as she pulled several of the stranger colors from the crate. “I’ll take some of these, I’m sure that Marna could work wonders with them.”
“Feel free, they are of my house you know.” Avreel winked and went about her business with the next crate. “Weapons and armor but nothing else special.”
“They’re all metal!” Nina said with a startled look. “This crate would be worth a fortune on the surface!”
“Really now.” Avreel said with a smile as she scratched her chin.
Her thoughts were taken from her abruptly as the ship rocked violently to one side, forcing both Nina and herself to the ground. Luckily for them the crates were secured tightly so they did not slide. Recovering herself she stood and began walking for the stairs to the main deck.
“What by the many hells is Rose doing up there?” Nina cried out as she attempted to follow the older elf.
“That wasn’t Rose, something hit us!” Avreel cried out once more as another jolt rocked the ship. “We have to get to the main deck quickly!”
Chapter 14: Out to Sea
Avreel’s head crested the deck just in time to feel the ship skitter forward. Cursing everything around her and more she stepped off of the stairs to the hold and into the archway of the quarterdeck. The ship reeled again under her feet. Luckily she caught herself and Nina with an outstretched arm. Once they leveled out again Avreel quickly climbed one of the two stairwells next to her and turned around to get a good look into the water. She could see large dark shapes swimming alongside the port side of the ship. “Netherwhales! They shouldn’t be this close to our plane though.”
One of the large creatures crested the waves long enough for her to see its true form. It was indistinct like she was watching dark but solid water fight against a similar current. It didn’t seem to be hindered by their wake either. Its skin looked sleek and shiny and the massive bulk made her think she could swallow a contingent of soldiers whole.
As she looked up at the wheel and its pilot she could tell that Rose was hanging on for dear life and she was visibly shaken. Liostro was gazing over the side while simultaneously trying to keep his balance and hang on to the ra
il. “Rose let go of the wheel!”
“I can’t!” Rose yelled back at her and almost lost her footing when another of the creatures brushed against the aft of the ship.
“You have to!” Avreel said as she ran toward Rose and grabbed her arms, to her surprise she couldn’t pull Rose off of the wheel. “They’re drawn to you; I’ve only read about this in books, I’ve never seen it myself!”
“If you’ve read about it then tell this thing to let me go!” Rose shouted angrily at Avreel.
“It never mentioned not being able to let go of the wheel!” Avreel tugged on the naarabian’s arm again in an attempt to pull her hands off of it. “Damn it all to the hells! Roll with their hits so they don’t cave in the hull, if we go down here we’ll never reach the adjacent shore!”
“I don’t know if I can, it’s hard to steer the ship.” Rose tugged on the wheel, only getting minimal success for her effort.
“Controlling this ship is more mental than physical. Whatever is happening must be magical in nature, it has to be. If that’s the case you’re more than capable of defeating or even controlling it.” Avreel addressed Rose directly, putting her hand on the scared girl’s shoulder. “Concentrate on the ship, feel it. A live elemental was destroyed to create it. This ship is a living being. It can feel everything you do, open your mind and connect to it.”
Avreel stood watching and holding on tight as another whale brushed against the side of the ship. Her attention was drawn to their current course, if Rose didn’t get control of the ship they would run right in to one of the stone pillars that held up the cavern. “I hate to be pushy when you’re trying to concentrate but if you don’t do something quick we’re going to slam face-first into the rocks up ahead.”
Rose opened her eyes briefly and tried not to let the looming rock formation disrupt her. She could feel the ship’s presence but there was something more, someone was controlling the ship and suppressing its will. She could feel a little anger welling up inside her. Someone wanted her dead and she was getting fed up with their little games. Since she knew her assailant was attacking her and she had the power to spare she used a small amount of her stored magic to trace the web of the spell that was being used to track her. They stretched through the ship and out into the waves even touching the whales themselves. As her consciousness flowed along the delicate strands of magic that surrounded them all she noticed that all of them redirected themselves back to her physical body. Before she could trace them any further she felt a resistance pushing back against her. The wielder of the magic was strong, enough so to bar her from tracing it any further. Redirecting her attention she began severing the filaments one by one in order to regain control of the ship. Each one took intense concentration, and as she cut the first few she felt the attention of the user redirect itself to her efforts.
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