[As One River to Another] The Wages of Thalassophobia

[Pig Boy]

Ilaren listened carefully to Tristan’s experiences, which were very informative and thorough regarding what he’d been through in Melrath. She smiled softly at him, “You were probably right to pick up and leave then. It sounds like a frightening situation.” Ilaren sighed, “But now, if what you say has a grain of truth in what we’re facing here, it means those problems have come home to roost. This is why it’s important to stand and defend.”

Tristan was uncharacteristically gloomy, almost, and that did give Ilaren pause. However, she clapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, whatever it is, we won’t take any unnecessary risks. I have the utmost faith in Vivian’s tactical ability.”

“As for contacting the ships… They haven’t lowered their colors when boats approach. They tend to chase off any ships on the seas that we’ve heard from, but don’t actually attack.” Ilaren tapped her chin. “I wonder what could they be here for? Melrath is very remote, and has no discernable interest in this part of the world that I know of. They’ve always been isolationists as far as I remember.”

Ilaren nodded to Tristan and Gennadiya, “I leave the investigation of that vegetation to you then, whatever you decide, that’s how we’ll deal with it. Then, Gennadiya began to pray, as if asking for answers about the Creep.

Moseke didn’t answer directly, but at the same time would not deny one of her blessed followers a response. As Gennadiya meditated and tried to contact Moseke through prayer, she would feel her presence, as if she were standing right over her shoulder. She would see a heady darkness, in the middle of the jungle. A darkness from whence no light or life could escape. Her vision shifted to see small brown vines crawling out of that darkness. And then, dig into a rodent, consuming it with the spear of its thorny tip. Then the vision ceased.

Not a definitive answer, perhaps, but the best she was likely to get on this ship.



At Vivian’s question, on if they do crosss Valtharn’s path, Ilaren shook her head. “We can only hope she doesn’t turn her attention toward us. We have enough problems as is. But if you do, do not fall for any incitement to engage with her, and drag us into a broader conflict. Let her make the first move. From all of what we hear, she is still marshaling her strength and learning her abilities. She’s little stronger now than she was before.”

The soldiers stood to attention and then fell at ease when she relieved them of military decorum. She told them to make ready for the Delta, and hold it in a way that made defensive sense. Trusting to their seafaring capabiltiies, since she was not a naval officer or experienced in such matters, they did as she commanded, taking up a patrol route around the delta, and not anchoring just yet.

The ships grew more distant, and their colors were neither struck nor taken down. No acknowledgment of their retreat or attempt to close the distance.

When Vivian poked her head into the cabin, where the rest were observing the tattered banners, flags, and plant matter, Ilaren nodded at her commander, “Very well, I almost have a mind to send a delegate to speak to those people on those boats… But I’ll wait to hear back from Fin’s intelligence and observations. To see if there’s even anyone to speak to on there.”

That said, she had no further orders for Vivian, but would trust her as she said to command the ship’s movements and tactical situation.

“So, supposing that Vivian’s spirit friend gets word that there are ordinary people aboard that ship, would anyone like to serve as a delegation to greet them? Or shall I take on that duty myself?”

Fins, meanwhile, observed the waters beneath the ship, and around it. There was just some kelp, fish of course, and other aquatic life. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. No unusual spiritual emanations either, from what he could tell.

When Praetorum sent his own spirit to scout the above the deck for any unusual spiritual activity. Nothing besides what they were already aware of, would come back to him through their link. When Prae focused on the plant matter, he’d feel a definite spiritual deadzone around the plants, and maybe a touch of residual ephemera coming from the banners.

OOC

I will post again in a week. Let me now if you need a day or few more.

[Tristan Venora]

“Your shawl sounds very useful“, Tristan remarked when Gennadiya explained why she hadn’t accepted his hat before he put his own protective equipment on and made sure that everything was fastened properly. With a face mask, gloves, goggles and a hat that made sure that no Creep parts got into his hair, he probably didn’t look particularly good, but at least at the moment, the young man didn’t care. He’d rather look totally weird than end up dead!

“You are right”, he conceded when Genna insisted that they had to fight it. There were probably a lot of ways that studying those strange plants could go wrong, but ignoring them wouldn’t make the Creep go away. It would probably just make things worse. Besides, he had been facing dangerous situations before, and he had made it out alive and in one piece. Why, just the cycle before he had been in the Lightning Dome when it had been attacked!

“First of all, I will see if it resembles any plants that I know”, he explained his plan to Gennadiya – and to Ilaren and the other people that were present, of course. “Following that, I will see if it reacts to any substances that are harmful to plants. Since it does at least look like a plant there might be something that can harm it. There are different weed killers and algaecides that we can try. And if none of the usual things work, there’s alchemy. Fire would probably destroy it for good, but I wouldn’t start a fire on a ship. Too much wood”, he explained and shrugged.

“What do you think?” he asked.

A few moments later, when Gennadiya started to pray, he fell silent and inclined his head deeply in order to join her prayer to Moseke and in order to pray to his own Immortals – and especially to Vri, because the Creep would consume everything if it was successful, mortal and spirit alike, including those that the Immortal of Love held dear.

Upon hearing what Praetorum had to say about Vitra, he furrowed his brow. “Vitra was stabbed. Lanneisse, Vitra and the Creep are connected. Why are they in Rharne though?” he asked, although he didn’t really expect an answer. Finding out why all this stuff was happening in Rharne now was one of their goals that trial, more or less.

“So do I”, he replied when Ilaren said that she had the utmost faith in Vivian’s tactical ability and returned the smile. “And you are right. It’s important to stand and defend. Thank you”, he said, referring to the fact that she had said that he had probably been right to pick up and leave then.

To be honest, sometimes he had had his doubts.

It hadn’t only been about himself though, but also about his family.

“I have no idea what they could be here for”, he admitted to Ilaren. “If they were refugees, they would have contacted us and asked us for help, wouldn’t they? Something must have happened”, he continued before he abruptly addressed Chester.

He had just had an idea.

“Chester, you are a proud and brave Melrathi spirit. You probably lived in Melrath much longer than I did. You were with Ashling, Jasper and me that trial when Jasper had the vision about the Sleeping Heart. Do you remember anything that might help us now?” he wanted to know and continued, “Can you hear any sounds coming from those ships?”

“You can make yourself visible if you want to, by the way”, he added and smiled. He hadn’t just called his spirit companion proud and brave in order to make him more inclined to answer his questions; he truly thought that Chester was a proud and brave Melrathi spirit.

Chester was great!

Ilaren wanted to know if anyone would like to serve as a delegation to greet them should there be ordinary people on the ship though. Tristan considered the question for a moment before he replied, “As far as I know, I’m the only gardener here. In my opinion it would be more beneficial if I studied those plants.” He wasn’t saying that because he was afraid – if there were real people on those ships, there probably wouldn’t be a reason to truly be afraid – he just wanted to be where he would be most useful.

So, with that thought in mind, he looked at Gennadiya for a moment and waited if she had something to say before he took a closer look at the plant samples and at each individual part. Most plants could be grouped and differentiated according to the appearance of the stems, leaves and flowers or bulbs. The samples’ physical characteristics would hopefully give him a clue as to which plant family he might be dealing with.

The plants’ reproductive structures especially would help him figure out what exactly he was dealing with – apart from what seemed to be dead Creep parts. Plants of the same family had similar traits – and they often had similar weaknesses. This was, obviously, not an ordinary plant, but it was at least plant-like. If he knew which plant it resembled the most, he would hopefully be able to figure out which substances could be used against it.

In order to be able to fight your enemy effectively, he thought and produced a magnifying glass so that he would be able to see the small details, you had to get to know them first.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian nodded at Ilaren when she mentioned sending a delegate out to the becalmed ships. "If there's anyone alive and not clearly hostile, they'll at least be able say why they're just sitting there. He hasn't headed out there quite yet, I had him make sure there wasn't anything unusual happening underneath our own ship first." she said, her tone calm. As she said that, she got the report back from Fins and nodded to herself, before telling the shark dog to go check out the becalmed ships, starting with the waters around them before he tried to get a look at their decks. "Speaking of, Fins just gave a report. Nothing unusual in the waters around us so far, so he's headed to check out our visitors." she said, her tone calm.

When Ilaren floated the idea of going over to the strange ships herself, Vivian shrugged. "That will depend on what the situation over there is like, frankly. If it's a purely diplomatic situation, then you going over there makes sense. If they're in need of a medical expertise, then it's Gennadiya. If it's a military situation, myself or Praetorium would make sense. If there's weird plant things happening, then Tristan's expertise on the matter may make him the best choice." she said, her tone calm. She knew that if it came to a fight, Ilaren was more dangerous than either herself or Praetorium, and probably a better commander even, but she was also Rharne's ruler, and thus far more vital to the city. She suspected Ilaren was aware of this though, so she didn't feel the need to state it outright.

"I'm going to head back above decks until Fins reports back. In the event of new developments, I'll keep everyone informed." she said, before giving Ilaren a half bow and leaving the cabin. Of course, she wasn't going up there just to keep an eye out for any potential trouble, or even that it was where she was supposed to be right now, though both were reason enough. Vivian was aware that she was not personally familiar with Rharne's naval capacity, and that would never do if she was to command this vessel in the event of a battle. So she sought out the ships captain and asked to be filled in on what the ship was capable of, should they get into a fight. Their soldier compliment, any ship board weapons or other defenses, medical and repair capacity, these were all things she needed to know.

[Gennadiya Lyosha]

Genna also dressed up in the protective gear swapping out her own head wear. She didn’t mind that she looked a bit silly, but she had dressed in similar ways may time for surgery. The medic was one who listened and watched, she didn’t have a problem speaking up but she liked to collect data first. It was one of the skills that being a doctor had taught her. Diagnosis a problem sometimes required keeping from making to quick of a judgement.

She nodded at Tristan’s explanation about his research process. “Sound process.” She said, and dug in her bag for a note book to record what was tried and the results. She paused and said. “I assume that there is a stove on board this ship used to cook. We could possible run experiments with fire in that. It will be designed to keep the heat of a flames contained.” She offered to his last statement. She studied the plant. “I am not as familiar with the anatomy of a plant as people, but lets make sure it has all of the usual parts.”

Genna sank into her prayer and received a vision. Which told her a number of things. One Genna had been a idiot and forgotten that due to whose ship this was there was only so much that Moseke could do. The fact that she exerted the effort and sent a vision also stated how seriously she took this. She recognized the vine as a live (barely) version of what they were studying.

Her mind still partly on the vision. Genna looked at Tristan and Ilaren. “I am sorry my lady Ilaren. I should have asked you first before reaching out to Moseke. Moseke has sent me a vision of a globe of darkness in a jungle, and a tendril reaching out from it. I am not a botanist but I would say that is another confirmation that this isn’t some odd sea weed.” She looked between the two of them. Something was nagging at her brain, and then suddenly her own dirri hummed at her.

‘I can help as well.’ She said musically toting.

‘You are right.’ Genna said. She thought for a moment. ‘Can you go deep into the water. See if you see anymore of these vines, or a darkness that seems off, it would be a lack of light darkness, but something of its own. What ever you do don’t approach it.’ Genna’s concerned thoughts came out. The spirit went about its work. Genna said. “I have sent Nayeli to the sea floor to see if she see’s anything around there.” She looked at Ilaren and Vivian. “If we need it, my Ymiden mark allows me to play with light and hide things for a period of time.” She offered by way of contribution towards contacting the ship.

“I am of course willing to help with any diplomatic mission. Vivian is correct that anything medical would be my department, but I also make a study of people’s behaviors as well for a diplomatic I could certainly be there an see if I think something is odd.” She said.

Finally the thought niggling at the back of her brain developed. There was this creep, something that consumed life, and spirits even. They had heard about it from Tristan, and that included Ilaren. It was something Genna noticed about Immortals that the often tried to solve their problems themselves, and as someone guilt of that her self on a number of occasions. Moseke would of course be aware of such a threat as it would ping on her domains. Ilaren not so much.

She looked at Tristan her eyes thoughtful. She worked to for a plan. Multiple domans would be require. If the plant couldn’t be destroyed by normal or alchemical means maybe they could call upon the Immortals. Daia and her domain for companionship to weave the multiple domains together for the task. Moseke domains of Life and Nature woven with Ymiden’s domain of rebirth to change these vines so that instead of consuming the fought the creep, they protected life. Maybe a bit of Ziell’s domain of peace to help calm and fight the creep. Maybe this was something that by themselves no one Immortal could truly defeat, but together. Vri as judge of the dead. Ilaren whose realm this was would be a must. It was complex idea.

As Genna thought she watched and recorded what information Tristan passed to her and helped where it was needed why the studied the vine. Information would be the first critical part of this fight.

[Praetorum]

Praetorum listened thoughtfully as Ilaren explained a little more of the situation. “They chase off ships without attacking?” He asked, frowning. “Could they be protecting something? Or protecting people from something? Would it be possible to point out on a map where these ships have been seen and where they’ve chased off other ships?”

“I do agree with Vivian,” he said after the commander popped in to give her opinion, “that the delegation we send should depend on the situation, but I would like to go with whoever ends up going. Just in case things go wrong, I should be able to get myself and others out of danger.”

With that done, he turned his attention to the plants and banners, frowning as he focused his spiritual sense.

“That’s odd,” he commented. “There’s a hint of ephemera on the banners—I think either something spiritual was used on them or spirits clung to it, which probably isn’t that unusual in Melrath—but there’s absolutely nothing around the plants. That’s… unusual.”

There was something itching at his mind, some idea connecting everything Tristan had mentioned to what was happening here, but Prae couldn’t quite land on it.

He needed to test something.

Unknotting his tail from around his waist, Prae raised it until the end of it hovered near the table. From out of the tip of his tail, his other diri, Sap, emerged, shadowy and birdlike as it blinked curiously at him.

“Sap,” Prae said softly, “you’re a spirit of draining and devouring. Can you look at these plants and see if their… function, I suppose, is in any way similar to yours? Don’t touch them, or the empty space around them, just in case, but can you see if these plants might... consume ephemera?”

[Pig Boy]

“My dear Duke.” Chester purred, as he was summoned to show himself before the group. The glowing, feline spirit was heard by all present, as Chester loved nothing more than to have an audience to his speech. And truth be told, he was rather glad that Fins had departed the ship at least temporarily. The dog shark vexed him terribly. “I couldn’t say whether anything then might help us now. Critical thinking is not my forte. Now if you want me to communicate and make someone understand your side of things, that’s something I can do. As for sounds… hmm..”

Chester bent his ear toward that far ship, and sure enough, his eyes began swirling with curiosity. He heard what was on the ship, and thereby so did Tristan. They were… singing. Something about a Heart, going on. It was directed toward the sea creatures, telling them to stay clear of the Heart. A song or tale of warning. It told them that the Heart had come to consume, to devour.

Chester gasped, suddenly showing his fear, “I believe… I will go back to the Beneath now! But yes, there are Mervarians on that ship, they are commanding the sea creatures… to do as you heard, Tristan. May I please excuse myself to the Beneath now?” Chester made big black eyes at his bond-mate, pawing the ground uncertainly.

As Tristan examined the plants, he would note that they bore a striking resemblance to Ivy vines. Not only that, but had small motes on its flesh for growing leaves and possibly blossoms, but these were currently not attached to anything. It definitely resembled a menacing and invasive style of Ivy.

Most of the plants seemed to be of the same variety, or at least bore this characteristic of vines and motes. However, it also appeared to bear different marbling of its veins and dermis. As if different plant species had been shaped to conform and adhere to this shape.

When Gennadiya sent the water spirit to the sea floor, at first things were murky, unclear. Even on this Saun season, which nevertheless was mostly overcast and heavily raining. But eventually the spirit felt more than saw, through its concept of water. Although it was a lake spirit, and not a sea spirit. It saw a vast array of oceanic animals. Fish, squid, mollusks, and other kinds, turning away from a pivotal central place. They were fleeing something.

If Nayeli ventured against the grain, toward that center, she would feel herself begin to fray. It was Gennadiya’s call whether she’d send her further, and risk her spirit’s health, and possibly even her existence. As she neared this center, her ephemera began to shed as if it was being siphoned by a ghost or similar entity.

Gennadiya could call her back, but she had only moments at the rate that it was being devoured.

Praetorum summoned his spirit, a diri Sap. Shadowy and birdlike. It was a spirit of draining and devouring. Yet as it looked upon the plants, it felt a strange pull. Praetorum would sense that. “Yes… It is hungry… Please, may I touch them? Such hunger, such… power. We…”

“Yes, ephemera, lifeforce, everything.” The diri spoke with a heavy voice, as if drunk as it neared the plants. “Please, may I touch...”

Then, something shook the boat, and everything went off kilter. The banners flew off the shelves, and the plant fibers went scattering across the room.

A great roar arose from what sounded like afar. Past the ship, and toward the greater ocean beyond.



Vivian was of course on duty, on deck when it occurred, and had a front-row seat to the chaos. A great bulbous mass emerged from beneath the sea. It was dome-like at first, around twenty yards in diameter. It almost seemed like a small island. But as its mass tapered to a neck-like appendage, and several limbs, she realized what she’d been looking at was no mass of island or rock or anything of the like. It was a head, the head of a great beast.

Around the beast, a circle of frothy water expanded beyond. The waves left by the movement shook the boat, and began to push it toward the shore, near the rocks of the Zynyx Delta.

“Avast! Steer away from those rocks! Commander, shall I order the boat to move out! What are your orders?” The head mariner asked her.

Meanwhile, Fins was surveying the boats. The diri reported back, that there were people aboard the ships, and they appeared normal for all intents and purposes. However, they were mostly still, and a song could be heard over the roar of the beast’s emergence as it rose behind Fins.

The men shouted at each other, and soon rushed to their stations. They would carry her orders out to the letter, whatever she needed this boat to do, they would follow.

Off Topic

I will post again around the 25th of September 2022. Posting quicker as players will get me to post faster as well. Thanks!

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian had been learning about the ships capabilities when the ship suddenly shook, sending her into a railing. With her reflexes enhanced by Palenon, since she was definitely sober for this, she had no trouble grabbing onto the railing to steady herself. Of course, that meant she got a good view of the very large thing coming up out of the water ahead of them. "Oh, brilliant." she growled, her nerves frayed as the waves pushed the ships towards the shore. However, the head mariner knew how to run his ship and he had them pulling away from the rocks before she even fully realized that's where they were heading. Then he looked to her for orders and Vivian took a moment to analyze their situation before responding.

Thanks to Palenon just generally speeding her up when she was sober, it only took a moment before she turned back to the head mariner. "Get us away from the shore, if that thing moves the wrong way, it could beach us. We'll want room to maneuver, but do not put us between this thing and those strange ships. If it comes to a choice between the strange ships and the shore, go for the shore." she said, her tone calming back down as she slipped into the familiar mindset that accompanied a battle. "Get us ready for a fight but don't engage that thing unless it makes a move first. If it's non-hostile, it's in our best interest not to provoke it." she said, before pausing as she got a report back from Fins. "There's something wrong with those ships, the people on it are still. Have everyone keep an ear open for a strange song, it could be what was used to calm those ships." she said, calling Fins back by summoning him as a Brightgleam weapon.

Once the sharkdog was back, she dropped the weapon, returning him back to normal form, and sent him below decks to report to Ilaren, as she really needed to stay above decks for now. The Warden familiar nodded and bounded below decks, dipping briefly into the water to take physical form beforehand. Fins went to Ilaren's cabin, hovering into the middle of the group. "An unusually large sea creature has surfaced, but doesn't seem to have deliberately attacked yet. The people on the strange ships all look normal, but they're still and there's a song in the air around them. Vivian has us moving away from the shore so we can maneuver, but the head mariner has orders to keep us from getting caught between the ships and the creature. She's also got the ship preparing for a fight, but gave orders not to attack the creature unless it's clearly hostile. They've also been ordered to keep their ears open for a strange song." Fins reported, his tone direct and blunt, very nearly the same one Vivian herself used when giving orders in a fight.

Fins paused for a moment, then spoke up. "Lady Ilaren, with your Sound Domain, you may well be able to counteract the song if we start hearing it. Otherwise, I'm not offhand what we can do about it if our sailors start hearing it. If you have any advice, Vivian would greatly appreciate it." he said, his tone calm.

[Tristan Venora]

While Vivian headed back above deck, Tristan stayed with Gennadiya, studied the strange plants and listened to the healer speak. When she proposed that they use a stove to run experiments with fire, he nodded. “That’s a good idea. Maybe you could help me with that?” he asked, wondering why he had not thought of that himself, and added, furrowing his brow a little in the process, “I hope we won’t run out of samples. There are a few things I’d like to try.”

“That sounds like the Creep”, he murmured, his gaze momentarily darkening, when she shared her vision with them. Of course, he had already pretty much known that they were dealing with the Creep before, but hearing it from yet another source made it worse somehow. If he were a little more paranoid, he’d be wondering if the thing was following him!

“I think that it consumes spirits, or at least their energy”, Tristan remarked, thinking about what he had learned in Melrath again, when Praetorum shared his observations with them before he turned to listen to his amazing spirit companion Chester.

When the diri admitted that critical thinking was not his forte, he smiled a little despite the direness of the situation because he was just so very fond of him. A moment later, when he heard what was on the ship, the expression on his face already became serious again though.

“With Chester’s help”, he told the others, making sure to acknowledge the diri’s invaluable contribution. “I was able to hear what was on the ship. They are singing, something about a heart, going on. It is directed toward the sea creatures, telling them to stay clear of the Heart. It is a song of warning. It warns them that the Heart has come to consume and devour”, he continued in a serious tone of voice.

“Of course, Chester”, he told the diri when he asked for permission to excuse himself to the Beneath. “Take care and stay safe”, he added before he asked, as Chester’s question had just had a somewhat ridiculous and most likely impossible idea, “I don’t suppose we can just send the Creep into another dimension where it won’t be able to cause harm?”

Regardless of the answer, the young man eventually realized that the strange plants resembled an invasive style of ivy which gave him an idea. “I need water”, he informed the others.

Provided that his request was fulfilled, he would measure one cup of borax, dissolve it in water, add soap, a bit of white powder and a yellowish liquid – a binder - to it and fill the mixture into a spray bottle. “These plants resemble an invasive style of ivy. If I wanted to get rid of normal ivy, I would use a solution made of borax, water and soap and spray the ivy with it. Ivy is sensitive to borax, and the soap will help the weed killer stick to the ivy. Since this is the Creep rather than normal ivy, I’ve added something to strengthen the effect and make the weed killer work faster and given it an alchemical touch”, he explained, his tone of voice professional now, and proceeded to spray one of the samples with it.

“Provided that this works, and provided that the Heart surfaces, spraying it with great amounts of alchemically strengthened ivy killer might stop it, or at least weaken it. If it stays underwater, we could try injecting the solution. I don’t suppose you have harpoons? I’m not sure if my crossbow bolts work underwater”, he admitted. “Ranged weapons coated with a solution might hurt it though”, he decided. Of course, there were a lot of hypotheses and guesswork involved at this point, but Tristan started to feel better about the whole thing, nevertheless. He had always enjoyed coming up with all kinds of crazy things, so a part of him was actually in its element. Until a great roar could be heard, and the boat started to shake at least.

“What was that?” he asked, spread his legs in order to avoid losing balance, grabbed the edge of the table and looked around, slightly panicked. When Vivian’s Warden familiar appeared and explained what had happened, he asked, “Do you know what kind of sea creature it is? It’s not a whale, is it? As for keeping the sailors from hearing the song, I don’t suppose they could just stuff something into their ears?” he asked.

His suggestion was a bit naïve, he supposed, but it was the only one he had been able to come up with so far.

[Gennadiya Lyosha]

Genna nodded as Tristan agreed with her assessment that the use of the kitchen stove should help to contain the fire, and open that option for fire to use in experimentation. Genna looked around at the samples they had on hand and nodded her head. “We will have to be careful with out stock, since from what I understand of this Creep thing, none of us is going to actually approach it for more.” Genna began to gather some supplies to test and prepare the oven. “I will get the stove set up, and then we can decided what specifically we test on, though I will cut a small piece off and see how it burns.” She said by way of explanation. How something was consumed by fire could say a lot about it structure.

It was while Genna was slicing the root that Tristan proposed his vine killing idea. Genna paused and listened. She wasn’t much of a gardener but she could see the logic in using something that effective on a similar substance. Healing worked that way as well. She nodded her head. “It think that would be a good test. If it works then we have a solution, but even if it doesn’t kill it, we can learn a lot of how similar or different they are for each other.” Genna had spent cycles studying the flame monsters and had learned much by compare and contrasting.

It was then that Genna’s full attention was pulled to the bottom of the ocean as her beloved Dirri reported the evacuation of the ocean’s animals, and like her mistress Nayeli studied it, but Genna instantly felt her being to unravel, and in a moment of panic she shouted mental and verbal. “Nayeli, get out of there!” She pulled her beloved companion back to her. “Come to me!” Genna would have been the first to admit her own hypocrisy in this situation. She her self and once willingly used her ability to delve into the depth of anger and hatred, and had only been saved by Ymiden. She couldn’t let her spirit make such a sacrifice. Especially since Genna had the information she was curious about. Nayeli used her bond with Genna to retreat.

Genna turned to look at the Illaren, but before she could speak she was tossed around with the rest of the ship. In her panicked state she wasn’t able to catch her self and flew against a wall, and fell to the floor. She slowly stood up feeling herself bruised from the impact. Her eyes hardened as control came crashing into place. She looked at the Immortal. “It is here, and the bottom of the ocean.”

A number of reports came in at this point and Genna paused and listened to the various reports. She then spoke, her voice calm as she waited for Nayeli to join them. “I could feel my Dirri Nayeli energy, essence, what ever you want to call it being consumed. I have told her to get back here, but based on everything that has been reported it sounds like the creep. And if suddenly one of the great creatures of the deep has surfaced, maybe it is fleeing for its life.” She paused to let that sink in. “It sounds like those ships are connected to this Creep, if they are warning we need to know what they know to fight this, if they are helping it they might be some type of anchor for the things.” Genna paused and looked at Tristan and Ilaren.

[Pig Boy]

Inside the cabin, Tristan was busy about finding a 'solution' to their Creep problem. When tested on the plant matter, the alchemically enhanced borax solution seemed to, do something. The slimey plant matter began to harden, almost as if it was petrifying. Then it cracked, and fell into dust. Whatever it was this plant was made of, whether Creep vines or something else, he appeared to have found something that worked against it.

Nayeli of course heeded Gennadiya's warnings, and returned to her immediately. There she was able to be deployed however the healer wished, and was unharmed by the corruptive influence that had almost lured her in.

Praetorum however, had disappeared during the Horn blast that tore through the air. In a peal of thunder, and a crack of lightning he was yoted off the boat. To where? No one could tell, he and his diri of consumption was gone just that fast.

As for Tristan's questions, Chester certainly had no answers for him. He was already hiding in the Beneath, where he thought it was safe.

Ilaren frowned as she stepped into the midst of the healer and the alchemist. "Tristan, I think you may be right, that is a song of warning, not of domination." She turned to Fins. "Tell Vivian, we must work together with the other ships to take down this creature. Ready the harpoons, and follow her directions to the letter!"

She turned to Tristan. "Can you apply whatever mixture you made, and weaponize it? Can either of you do something to deliver that solution to the creature?"



Vivian's first instinct, to steer the ship away from the large creature, and also not to get between it and the Melrathi turned out to be a fortunate decision, for Ilaren's flagship. The creature's form became more clear, and as its bulbous head rose from the depths, it began sinking just as soon as it appeared. Where it's head went, a large whirlpool began forming around the diameter of its large head. The watery depression dipped down, until it showed a toothed maw, upturned at the sky. Then, a loud, wooden sounding blast shredded the air, like the horns of the Beneath had been sounded, and all of reality was tipped upside down. The horn inspired

dread

, and anyone who heard it that lacked discipline would have a difficult time moving about the boat. Let alone communicating with each other vocally.

The blast of sonic fury persisted for a few moments more, then subsided. There was a moment of calm on the air, and then large tentacles rose from the waters near one of the closest Melrathi ship, and began battering it's hull, tearing mariner and soldier alike from the decks of the boat. There were shouts and the singing was disrupted.

The diri of the waters that were present would feel the sparse sea life coalescing now on that center, the great Kraken-like creature that had torn through the air with its sonic blast. They responded to its call, almost, as small tentacles moved and worked beneath the surface. They crept along, through the water, into the underside of the ships. It couldn't reach Ilaren's Flagship yet, as it was too far away, too close to the shore.

But the Melrathi ships were in obvious peril in deep waters, subject to the storm that was brewing in the skies.