Avice stood close, distracted by other people on the deck. She swayed slightly, zoned out and lost in thought.
Jade chuckled lowly, and tucked her dark hair behind her ear as she lit another match. The fire danced and she gazed at it for a moment. "They remind me of Urela," she said, placing the match inside the lantern, and closing the door behind it. *** Jack watched her carefully, his head cocked in thought. She seemed out of it, and while he suspected that it was just her medication, he still didn't like it. Her alertness was one of the first things he noticed about her. She may relax, but she was always ready for action, always ready to move. He closed the door to the last lantern and turned to her, and offered a hand to her. "I'm going to go look at this stuff. Want to come with?"
Avice snapped out of it and looked at him, then took his hand. "Yeah. Do we have any idea what it is? It looks weird."
"Absolutely no idea," he said. "It reminds me of some sort of tar or something, but I've never heard of magic tar." They walked over to it and he wrinkled his nose. He reached out his free hand tentatively, and touched it. The consistency was not unlike clay, and it left a small impression onto the material, but it was slimy and it left a dark residue on Jack's hand. He wiped his hand on his pants, and frowned. "That's weird. I'm not dead."
Avice watched it, cocking her head curiously. "I wonder where the ship is going." She let go of his hand to touch it, grabbing on to the railing. "I also wonder what it tastes like," she joked, raising it close to her mouth with a grin.
"Do not," he said. "It probably tastes like death and worms." He frowned. When he peered into the material, he recognized that it was translucent, but the ocean beyond was dark and unforgiving. "I wonder if you could cut through this," he said thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't try." Avice wiped the substance from her finger, and leaned on the railing. It was obvious she was still tired, but wanted to continue.
He looked at her, concern etched in his features. "Do you want to sit down or something?" Without waiting for an answer, he slid down the wall of the boat and sat down on the deck. "I mean, there's not really much we can do right now until we get... wherever we're going. And you're probably going to want to be ready when we get there." * * * Natalia and Rhys walked up to the stairs to her quarters, where they had often stayed up late to discuss plans regarding the journey. They had spent quite a bit of time together the last couple of months, and they had grown quite close. He nudged open the door and went over to her desk as she sat down. He pulled out a bottle of wine from under his cloak. "I was saving this for a special occasion," he said, shrugging. "I figured that sinking down into the sea to hopefully find a treasure that has been lost for centuries was as good a time as any." He poured the wine into two glasses, his back to her as he worked. He took a couple minutes, and Natalia was quiet, her mind swirling with several ideas running through her head. She glanced out the window, and gazed out into the darkness, lit only by the lanterns on the ship. "I must say," he said as he turned to her and walked over to her with two glasses in his hands. "You have continually impressed me on this journey, Natalia. We really couldn't have done this without you." She cocked her head, amusement crossing her delicate features. "I am the captain, Rhys. I would hope that I would be helpful to my crew." He grinned, passing the glass to her, his fingers lingering on hers every so slightly. He paused and then went to sit down, taking a sip of his wine. Natalia's heart beat quickly, and she realized that she was trying to prevent a flush from rising to her cheeks. Oh. She took a moment, and then stood up, walking over to her cabinet. Old habits die hard, she supposed, even though she doubted that it was necessary at this point. "I received a gift from a... erm.. 'retired' mage of Edolier, several years ago," she said casually, pulling out a small metal tin. Inside, there was a long, crystal, slender stirring stick. The light from the lantern was caught inside, and it shimmered across the walls. "It is supposed to add a century to any wine." She turned back towards him, holding it carefully in her palm. "Would you care to try it?" Rhys eyed it curiously, and his brow furrowed. "How does it work?" She walked over to him, and took his glass of wine in her hand, and stirred it three times. Then she returned to her seat and did the same to her own glass. "Now, try it." He took a tentative sip of his own glass and then nodded appreciatively. "That's.. fantastic!" he said, finishing his drink quickly and looking at her expectantly. She returned his gaze, and inwardly she frowned. His brown eyes were warm, but there was something wrong. Something false. She looked down at the crystal stick in her hands underneath the table. The tip had turned blood red, and Natalia's heart broke. Oh. Her eyes swept back to his, and she saw his waiting gaze. He was waiting for her to take a sip of the wine. He had almost gotten her, too. Almost. "Is something the matter?" Rhys asked, his face the image of concern. He stood up and walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You just went quite pale. Here, maybe you need to drink something?" He took her wine from the table and went to give it to her, but when he turned back, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and when he looked down, it took him a few moments to recognize that he had been stabbed with the crystal rod. He looked at her, and Natalia stared back, her eyes filling with tears. He stood, almost in shock, and then fell to the ground and died. Natalia stood in her quarters alone, trembling as she stared at the body. Rhys. It had been Rhys. Natalia choked back a sob, and took the poisoned wine and poured it out. Her hand shook, and her heart hurt. She shuddered, and then retrieved her stirring stick, wiping it off and returning it to its original box.
(I had to read that twice... I did not expect anything like that to happen oh my goodness) When he sat down, Avice joined. She looked relieved but pushed on for a more stoic expression. "I'm sure I'll be ready either way. I'm feeling alright," she said scooting over to lean against the wall.
(duh duh DUH!) "You had a concussion, Avice," he said seriously. "You have the right to make your own choices, of course, but I don't think that you should even be out here." He held up a hand, his palm facing her. "Here, try to hit me."
(I bloody called it!) Jared was relieved at the sight of the light. "Well okay then." He said, slowly making his way to find a lantern. He took one out of its post and attempted to get back to where he was, originally. "If you would do the honors?" He asked when he thought he was near Ellia again.
Avice shrugged. "Alright." She balled her fist and punched his hand. It was surprisingly weak, and she looked somewhat disappointed in herself. "I swear I can do better. . ."
(You totally did. When you said that, I was just sitting there thinking 'heck, he's figured it out') Ellia grinned, and lit the lantern carefully. She had small hands, but they had spent years tying various knots and her fingers deftly lit the lantern before she shook out the flame. The lantern flared and it lit up the dense gloom. "That's better!" she said cheerfully. *** He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I hold no small amount of respect for your fighting skills," he said. "But I think that you may want to sit the next one out."
(It was just a guess. Rhys hadn't been mentioned ever since he talked about the legend, so I got suspicious.) "Ahh... Thank you very much." He said to Ellia. "Now! What wonders lurk below these murky depths?..."
"If it's anything like what was out there," Ellia said, peering through the material, "I think I'd rather not know." The ocean beyond was dark and shadowy, but it seemed to be swirling around the ship as it sank. Wherever they were going, they were moving quickly.
After getting lost in the dark swirls of the water, Jared remembered the monsters they encountered. "Y-Yeah... Let's hope not...."
"It seems pretty empty, though," she said, peering through the fog. "I wonder how deep we are right now." Suddenly, almost in answer, there was a thud and Ellia stumbled. The boat had landed.
Jared managed to catch Ellia out of instinct, also almost falling over himself. "W-what happened? why did we stop?"
"I'm not sure," she said, straightening up. She frowned and glanced out into the water. It was difficult to tell, but it seemed that they had landed with a slight bounce. Ellia frowned. It seemed the material had absorbed the blow. The more she looked out, the less certain she became. "Jared," she said. "Come look at this. I don't think we're in water anymore."
