Yvette stared at the vessel and felt her stomach do another small flip. She took a small, deep breath and then glanced to Gervas. “So… err… what do you think?”
“Are you sure you are going to be okay with your sea sickness?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the ‘ship’.
“I think my sea sickness may be the least of our problems,” she muttered.
“We’re not going far. If you can turn into something that swims, we should be fine.”
Yvette nodded and reached her left hand over to touch her bracer, making the small dots appear across it. She then paused and after a moment the scale appeared as well. It was a powerful reagent on its own and useful for transforming magic. While she wasn’t sure how, exactly, it would impact her spells, she figured it would be a good time to experiment with it. She closed her eyes for a moment and let her stomach settle, before casting the anti-seasickness spell and walking with him onto the vessel.
The vessel was a flurry of noise and activity, with the zmaj running in all directions. Incredibly old, it had been once known as the ‘Guiding Shell’ and it was clear enough why. The vessel was nearly three times as wide as most ships she’d seen, rising in the center and lower to the water on the edges, like a turtle’s shell. Supposedly it had once been a war ship of sorts, with thick metal plates covering it and well over a dozen ballistae. Over the years, much of the pieces had been torn off and used for other functions, leaving the ship little more than a creaking, damaged mess. The wood was old and gnarled, covered in small cracks. It creaked ominously with every step she took, but she suspected it was far more durable than it looked. The zmaj pounded across it with each step and if it was really that easily broken, one of them would have fallen through already.
In fact, once she was on board the vessel she found some of her anxiety beginning to melt away. Despite being on the water, the ship seemed to barely move, only lightly bobbing with the water. More importantly, she didn’t feel nauseous or sick. The spell was working. She gave a silent thank you to the heavens for that miracle.
“Come on,” Gervas said, taking her hand and slowly pulling her closer to the center of the vessel. The ship was designed for four sails, though only two in the center would be used. They’d only managed to salvage two working sails from the collection of old ships, at least that would fit the Shell. “How’s your stomach?”
“Feels pretty good, all things considered,” she said with a weak laugh. “Do you think this will work? I mean, I don’t think any of them have done this before.”
“It’ll be fine. They have a hydromancer for a reason. I wouldn’t trust this vessel out at sea without one, though. I don’t--” The ship suddenly jerked hard to the left, almost knocking him over and only stopping her from falling over because he grabbed and held her. “Are you okay?” he asked quickly.
“Sorry!” a voice rang out. “Going to try that again!”
Yvette didn’t move, held tightly to Gervas’ chest. Her heart was pounding and it was all she could do to not ask him to hold her tighter. This time, the ship began to move a little slower, without any wild jerks. She felt Gervas’ grip tighten on her, just a little.
“Yvette? Are you okay?”
“I… think so...” she whispered. Her stomach did small little flips and she could feel a small hint of nausea in the pit of her stomach. It was little more than an echo compared to the sheer misery she’d had to go through on their last voyage. She wasn’t sure if it was from the ship or from him holding her though. “Yeah. I’m fine. My stomach feels fine,” she said after a few more moments.
Slowly he let her go and gave her a gentle grin that made her heart leap. “Good. So the spell is holding. It’ll be a lot nicer this time, then.”
Yvette gave a light laugh. “Well, I don’t think it could have been any worse.” She tried to ignore that bit of disappointment when his arms left her. She quickly reminded herself that she needed him, she did not want to drive him away from her by showing those feelings that had begun to rise. No matter how desperately she wanted to grab a hold of him and never let go.
“Yvette? Are you okay? Your face is all red.”
She shook her head, trying to clear those ideas away. “Sorry. Just feeling a little queasy, still. The spell isn’t perfect, but it’s still effective. I’m sure it will pass.”
Gervas gave a swift nod before staring out over the sea. From the higher area in the center of the vessel, it was easy to see out. The mountains of Cragtooth Isle rose up on either side of them, an escort out into the deeper waters. They would never truly leave sight of them, of course. But they would be heading far enough out that they would seem far smaller. As of now, they towered over the ship and cast it in deep, dark shadows which made the water below seem ominous and almost deadly. She felt another shudder through her, every creak making her cringe. It had been so, so long since this vessel had been out at sea. Could it possibly hold? What if it fell apart beneath them?
She tried to ignore those thoughts, instead turning back towards the rear of the vessel. There, a single platform had been built, upon which one of the smaller zmaj, the tenogn, was sitting. The vessel’s hydromancer. Their eyes were closed and they were laying on their stomach. They seemed almost asleep, but she knew they were in fact focusing their magic on keeping the water around the massive vessel going smoothly. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it had to be for them. In front of the zmaj stood two far larger zmaj, the chiogn, guarding the smaller mage.
Yvette couldn’t help feeling a small rush of foolishness wash over her. When she had first found out what the tenogn were she had thought they were pets. But here, more than ever, it was easy to see just how valuable and important the creatures were. The fate of this entire voyage could depend on the small creatures and even if there were unlikely to be any threats, it was obvious that the zmaj were treating the safety of the small creature as a incredible priority.
The creature seemed to be doing a fine job as they were quickly drifting out, away from the island and towards the deeper waters. Despite her worries, the ship did not crumble to pieces while it went across the calm sea.
------
Yvette gave a small yawn, trying to keep herself from nodding off. It wasn’t any surprise that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
They had been out at sea for hours now, the island small but still within view. Once they had arrived at deeper waters another zmaj mage had walked out to the bow of the ship and cast a sending spell. They had done it a multitude of times before resting.
From there it was just a waiting game to see if they received a response. Yvette wasn’t very hopeful, to be honest. While she expected that the merfolk would, eventually, respond, she didn’t imagine they’d have an answer for a while. She wasn’t even sure that the message had been received. It was a blind sending, without any idea who they were sending the message to. They just had to send it out and then wait, hoping for a response.
She was quickly beginning to regret coming on this voyage. As hopeful as she had been that there would be an instant response, the fact there hadn’t been one yet was quickly making her suspect there wouldn’t be one at all today. It--
Her thoughts were scattered when she realized she was having trouble seeing the island off in the distance. Even worse, the water was beginning to get a bit more wild. She heard a few light hisses and growls, before the hydromancer raced out from below deck, once more taking its place on the platform of the ship.
“What in the world?” Gervas muttered, staring out towards the right side of the ship. She did as well, squinting.
Finally, she could make it out. It looked as if a cloud had come out of the water itself, thick fog rolling over the waves. “W-what’s that?” she asked, reaching out to grab Gervas’ hand.
“Fog,” he muttered softly.
“I can see that. I mean, it wasn’t here a minute ago. Was it? It can’t just come out of nowhere like that, can it?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” he said softly. The water around them began to calm down, the ship returning to its gentle, rhythmic bobbing. The ship began to turn aiming back towards the island. Unfortunately the fog washed over them before the turn could be completed.
Yvette held her breath and listened, her fingers holding Gervas’ tightly. Her mind went through every story and myth she had heard of about the sea. Monsters that struck from the mist. Ghost ships that would ascend from the ocean, tear a ship to pieces and then leaving nothing but a torn, barren vessel in their wake. Sea monsters that rose up and devoured ships whole.
She swore she could hear more creaks and the billowing of sails outside of their vessel. Voices. The splash of something moving out there. She expected their ship to rise out of the water, torn in half by some massive leviathan at any moment. She narrowed her eyes, struggling to peer through the thick fog that encircled them on all sides, but it was so thick she couldn’t even make out the ends of the ship, let alone what lie beyond. Even the sun struggled to give them light through the thick mist.
Then, just as quickly as it had come, the fog washed over them. The sun could once again be seen through slightly clouded skies and, before long, even that cover was gone. The cloud of fog seemed to have continued on, leaving the vessel untouched. She let out a sigh of relief, leaning against Gervas. “Is… that normal?” she asked gently.
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I don’t think so. But I’m not familiar enough with sea travel to say.”
Yvette nodded and looked around. No one else on the vessel seemed sure of what to do now, either. Of what that could have been. It didn’t seem dangerous, at least, so that was a small comfort. She relaxed and watched the mist while the sun slowly beat on it, more and more of it evaporating with each second. Before long, it was gone entirely, revealing nothing but clear skies.
Nothing happened, they were all okay. She could hear mutterings among the zmaj, though they spoke in dragon tongue and she couldn’t understand it. She suspected they were as confused as she was. The Shell began to sail back towards the mainland, slow and cautious. There was an air of tension lingering now, despite the lack of any attack. Yvette wondered if that was a natural phenomenon, or if there had been something far worse in store for all of them. She knew one thing, though. If they made it back to land, she didn’t want to leave it again after that.
“Yvette, you’re hurting my hand,” Gervas said.
She flushed and let his hand go, looking away from him. “S-sorry. Right. Err. So… I guess that means today wasn’t a success, right?”
“It doesn’t seem like it.” Gervas looked around cautiously, before leaning in and whispering to her. “I haven’t seen anything suspicious, either. I don’t think anyone is intending to try and end us now. At least on this trip.”
Yvette nodded, giving him a weak smile. She supposed the mist would have been the ideal time to try it if they were going to. She then tensed up. What if the mist had been made by the zmaj? It had come so suddenly. What if it had been intended to be cover while finishing them off, but somebody had messed up?
She quickly shoved the thoughts away and shook her head, berating herself for such foolish, paranoid thoughts. She really had to learn some self control before allowing her mind to truly get away from her like that.
Nothing had happened. It had just been a mist, nothing else. In a few hours, they’d be back on dry land and there would be nothing left to worry about here out on the sea.
------
Yvette stared at the small ship, slowly making its way towards the shore. Her heart was pounding, anxiety rising while she held onto Gervas’ hand as tight as she could. If she was hurting him, he didn’t seem to notice.
Their focus was entirely on what was ahead. A small ship, more like a dinghy, housing only a single person. Her clothes were torn and damaged, her hair wild. But there was no doubting what she was when she stood tall on the vessel.
The staff held in her right hand was an obvious sign of her position. The way the water parted for her, pushing the boat forward as if it was being rowed by a dozen seamen. The blue robes she wore. The way her long hair was cerulean and seemed to shift between the different colors of the sea, while her eyes glimmered like gold. All of it painted a clear picture.
A mage had come to Cragtooth Isle. The question was, why was she here?
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