- Location
- Washington, USA
First off, Foreboding.
Second, nice chapter. It's both a cool-down from the action of the last chapter, and a foreshadow to 'potential' issues coming on the horizon.
-
Going forward, links to content from Twitter (now X) will no longer be embedded. Pre-existing links should not be affected.
Favors Owed
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Second, nice chapter. It's both a cool-down from the action of the last chapter, and a foreshadow to 'potential' issues coming on the horizon.
tehcrash
Apprentice Supervillain
- Location
- Seattle-ish
Just to be pedantic, because this is MTG, those clouds could be forbidding.
Probably just a typo though.
Should be Possibly instead of possible. If you're really trying to make it seem like Atreus is waffling or being weaselly with his words in order to not admit fault you could change it to "Possible that could be a semi-valid point...".
Starting a sentence with because is also incorrect grammar, but that could be a deliberate stylistic choice to try and make Atreus' speech sound more natural. If it's not a deliberate choice, a good fix could be "Last time things didn't go so well for us." or "Just because last time things didn't go so well for us." depending on how you want to phrase it.
10
Sadly, I had been right.
The ship creaked loudly, protesting her treatment at the hands of the weather as she wallowed through the waves.
Ren clung to a support, her eyes closed tightly as Sheila hugged her. Ren did not like the storm. Not at all.
Turns out that as things got bumpy, Ren got seasick.
But she also refused my offer of a sleeping spell, so there wasn't much we could do about it, just hang on tight and wait it out.
Speaking of seasickness though, I was feeling more than a bit queasy myself, and clung to the other side of the same support, squeezing her hand.
She squeezed back and opened her eyes, "...C-can you check how much longer this will…"
Move? Now?
Nodding, I released the wooden support, carefully worked my way onto my feet, digging my silver claws into the wall so it only threw me around a bit.
Okay. Mission, find Alexis.
The crew I spotted seemed a lot more relaxed about the entire thing, laying in their hammocks or even playing cards!
Unpleasant or not, it can't be that serious of a situation then. But I sure knew I wouldn't like to try flying in the weather out there, it would be a pain in the neck.
Luckily in the heaving ship, I didn't need to go far to get to the captain's quarters, Sheila had claimed an area just a bit away.
Digging the claws on my silver hands into a beam, I rapped on the door only to get a 'enter' yelled out to me.
Waiting for the ship to shift over, I then pulled the door open and ducked inside, closing it behind me. Alexis looked relaxed in her hammock, a book in her lap and a small glowing… fairy? Sitting by her head providing her with light.
"Hey," she said with a grin, "Almost thought you and the others would be finding a bucket by now."
"...not far off," I admitted, digging the claws in for support, "Any idea how long this will last?"
She shrugged and got out of her hammock, "Likely won't last much longer than tomorrow," she said and made her way over to the desk, "Try to stay in your hammocks, it helps with the swaying. Also, this," she added and pulled a small box from the desk.
"What's that?"
"Herb, grows on the islands here. Chewing it makes sea sickness just go away," she said before she hesitated, "...At least among humans, dwarfs and elves. Nagas don't get seasick. I honestly have no idea what it does to dragons."
"I'm sure it's fine. Give."
She smirked, "Not sure… maybe it's like dogs and chocolate…"
I growled at her and she grinned, tossing the small box over for me to catch. I caught it with no real difficulty before I shrugged, "Even if it was, dragons are resistant to most poisons."
"That's useful," Alexis agreed, "But think about getting into the hammocks. I know it feels like it would be unsteady when the ship moves like this, but it really does help."
"Yeah, we'll gi-"
There was an almighty crash that rocked the ship. The deck just disappeared beneath my feet for a split second, my claws were torn from the roofing beam, and I was sent rolling across the deck until my back hit the wall.
"What the fuck!" I cursed and started to get up. Already people were yelling and Alexis was scrambling across the floor towards the door.
"What happened?" I yelled and struggled to my feet, when there was another almighty crash, and only my claws dug into the wooden wall stopped me from being thrown to the deck again .
"We hit something!"
The ship creaked loudly, protesting her treatment at the hands of the weather as she wallowed through the waves.
Ren clung to a support, her eyes closed tightly as Sheila hugged her. Ren did not like the storm. Not at all.
Turns out that as things got bumpy, Ren got seasick.
But she also refused my offer of a sleeping spell, so there wasn't much we could do about it, just hang on tight and wait it out.
Speaking of seasickness though, I was feeling more than a bit queasy myself, and clung to the other side of the same support, squeezing her hand.
She squeezed back and opened her eyes, "...C-can you check how much longer this will…"
Move? Now?
Nodding, I released the wooden support, carefully worked my way onto my feet, digging my silver claws into the wall so it only threw me around a bit.
Okay. Mission, find Alexis.
The crew I spotted seemed a lot more relaxed about the entire thing, laying in their hammocks or even playing cards!
Unpleasant or not, it can't be that serious of a situation then. But I sure knew I wouldn't like to try flying in the weather out there, it would be a pain in the neck.
Luckily in the heaving ship, I didn't need to go far to get to the captain's quarters, Sheila had claimed an area just a bit away.
Digging the claws on my silver hands into a beam, I rapped on the door only to get a 'enter' yelled out to me.
Waiting for the ship to shift over, I then pulled the door open and ducked inside, closing it behind me. Alexis looked relaxed in her hammock, a book in her lap and a small glowing… fairy? Sitting by her head providing her with light.
"Hey," she said with a grin, "Almost thought you and the others would be finding a bucket by now."
"...not far off," I admitted, digging the claws in for support, "Any idea how long this will last?"
She shrugged and got out of her hammock, "Likely won't last much longer than tomorrow," she said and made her way over to the desk, "Try to stay in your hammocks, it helps with the swaying. Also, this," she added and pulled a small box from the desk.
"What's that?"
"Herb, grows on the islands here. Chewing it makes sea sickness just go away," she said before she hesitated, "...At least among humans, dwarfs and elves. Nagas don't get seasick. I honestly have no idea what it does to dragons."
"I'm sure it's fine. Give."
She smirked, "Not sure… maybe it's like dogs and chocolate…"
I growled at her and she grinned, tossing the small box over for me to catch. I caught it with no real difficulty before I shrugged, "Even if it was, dragons are resistant to most poisons."
"That's useful," Alexis agreed, "But think about getting into the hammocks. I know it feels like it would be unsteady when the ship moves like this, but it really does help."
"Yeah, we'll gi-"
There was an almighty crash that rocked the ship. The deck just disappeared beneath my feet for a split second, my claws were torn from the roofing beam, and I was sent rolling across the deck until my back hit the wall.
"What the fuck!" I cursed and started to get up. Already people were yelling and Alexis was scrambling across the floor towards the door.
"What happened?" I yelled and struggled to my feet, when there was another almighty crash, and only my claws dug into the wooden wall stopped me from being thrown to the deck again .
"We hit something!"
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
And then it turns out that it does effect Dragons....
but what would be the most humorous to have the effects me?
severe Laxative?
Viagra?
Hallucinogenics?
Dragon-nip?
"Hit it back"
Would Digging work better here?
11
"Hit something!?"
There was no answer however; Alexis was already out the door, and I moved to follow her the best I could. Whatever we hit didn't seem to stick to us though as the ship kept swaying just as badly as before.
Pulling the door open to the deck, I almost ran into Mister Barlow. He barely spared me a glance as he almost flew down the stairs.
Going onto the deck, I quickly grabbed a hold of the closest rope. The deck pitched wildly up and down, large waves washing across the sides. Wind tugged hard at me, threatening to throw me to the deck once more.
"-regos!!"
I just barely managed to catch the last part of my name, and I turned towards the motioning figure, just barely recognizing Alexis' voice.
She pointed downwards, "-ek bel-!"
Motioning that I understood what she meant, I returned below deck, meeting Sheila and Ren on the way. "What's happening?" Sheila asked, "What was that jolt?"
"We hit something!" I said, "Alexis want me to check below. Stay here!"
Sheila nodded, "Be careful!"
Stealing a quick kiss from her, I moved past a crewman on the way towards the deck, and headed down another level.
No water in the upper hold, not more than what had come in through the door anyway. Yelling from below however, clued me in quickly that it wasn't that way in the lower hold.
Heading down the stairs revealed the truth. Water was already up to my knees and it had not been more than two minutes since whatever hit us, hit us.
Shit.
"Where's the leak?" I asked the closest crewman, and he quickly pointed before continuing to try to pull a dislodged reserve canon off his friend. Pausing, I grabbed the barrel and heaved it off him on the way past.
Moving into the next compartment revealed what looked like a massive... talon piercing the hull.
"...Mother fucker...."
The spike was easily a meter across and pierced straight through the ship, not even narrowing more than a fifth on the way through. Even with it through the hull and still in place, water was pouring in heavily around it as the men did their best to stem the flow with leather and planks.
What the fuck hit us? If that thing moves, we're going down.
"Bloody hell, move!" I ordered and when nobody listened, I stepped up and grabbed the closest guy by the back of his shirt, "Move!"
Two more thrown crewmen and some extra angry yelling, I snarled at them and then wove a spell of frost, throwing a stream of frost around and at the massive spike. Water crackled and froze in place around it, the massive leak starting to slow down.
"Get me that cannon!" I ordered as I poured mana into the frost spell, struggling to keep standing as frost crawled along the massive... whatever the fuck it was.
It didn't seem to still be attached to whatever creature left it here, or it would surely have pulled it loose by now. But the ice wouldn't hold forever.
"We can't shift it, sir! It's stuck!"
Do I have to do everything!? For fucks sake!
"I got it!" Ren yelled, and then screamed as she pulled, wrenching it loose from where it had gotten stuck, before lifting it up and dragging it over towards me with the assistance of a pair of crewmen through the shifting ship.
"Ren, make sure it doesn't shift. If that thing moves, we're fucked!" I said as I grabbed the cannon. Ren nodded and took over, casting frost spells at both ends of the spike. Kneeling down in the dirty water, I grabbed the cannon with both hands, pouring my mana into the cheap bronze. No time for anything fancy, just get the fucking thing working!
Come on… there we go. Shifting the metal in my mind, I sent streams of bronze towards each end of the intrusion into the hull. No way I would be able to shift it out and still keep the water out. But I could…
Standing up, I moved towards the tallon through the hull, along with the shifting metal, keeping contact with it as I kept working it. The metal strengthened under my enchantment, shifting, moulding into a pair of metal plates around each end of the tooth, covering the gashes in the hull. A bronze pole along the tooth assisted in reinforcing the structure, and spiked tendrils digging into the talon and hull kept it from moving.
"...There," I finally said and stepped back, digging my silver claws into the hull for support against the rolling of the ship, "That'll hold."
Ren grabbed me for support as the ship roiled, "You sure?"
"Absolutely not."
There was no answer however; Alexis was already out the door, and I moved to follow her the best I could. Whatever we hit didn't seem to stick to us though as the ship kept swaying just as badly as before.
Pulling the door open to the deck, I almost ran into Mister Barlow. He barely spared me a glance as he almost flew down the stairs.
Going onto the deck, I quickly grabbed a hold of the closest rope. The deck pitched wildly up and down, large waves washing across the sides. Wind tugged hard at me, threatening to throw me to the deck once more.
"-regos!!"
I just barely managed to catch the last part of my name, and I turned towards the motioning figure, just barely recognizing Alexis' voice.
She pointed downwards, "-ek bel-!"
Motioning that I understood what she meant, I returned below deck, meeting Sheila and Ren on the way. "What's happening?" Sheila asked, "What was that jolt?"
"We hit something!" I said, "Alexis want me to check below. Stay here!"
Sheila nodded, "Be careful!"
Stealing a quick kiss from her, I moved past a crewman on the way towards the deck, and headed down another level.
No water in the upper hold, not more than what had come in through the door anyway. Yelling from below however, clued me in quickly that it wasn't that way in the lower hold.
Heading down the stairs revealed the truth. Water was already up to my knees and it had not been more than two minutes since whatever hit us, hit us.
Shit.
"Where's the leak?" I asked the closest crewman, and he quickly pointed before continuing to try to pull a dislodged reserve canon off his friend. Pausing, I grabbed the barrel and heaved it off him on the way past.
Moving into the next compartment revealed what looked like a massive... talon piercing the hull.
"...Mother fucker...."
The spike was easily a meter across and pierced straight through the ship, not even narrowing more than a fifth on the way through. Even with it through the hull and still in place, water was pouring in heavily around it as the men did their best to stem the flow with leather and planks.
What the fuck hit us? If that thing moves, we're going down.
"Bloody hell, move!" I ordered and when nobody listened, I stepped up and grabbed the closest guy by the back of his shirt, "Move!"
Two more thrown crewmen and some extra angry yelling, I snarled at them and then wove a spell of frost, throwing a stream of frost around and at the massive spike. Water crackled and froze in place around it, the massive leak starting to slow down.
"Get me that cannon!" I ordered as I poured mana into the frost spell, struggling to keep standing as frost crawled along the massive... whatever the fuck it was.
It didn't seem to still be attached to whatever creature left it here, or it would surely have pulled it loose by now. But the ice wouldn't hold forever.
"We can't shift it, sir! It's stuck!"
Do I have to do everything!? For fucks sake!
"I got it!" Ren yelled, and then screamed as she pulled, wrenching it loose from where it had gotten stuck, before lifting it up and dragging it over towards me with the assistance of a pair of crewmen through the shifting ship.
"Ren, make sure it doesn't shift. If that thing moves, we're fucked!" I said as I grabbed the cannon. Ren nodded and took over, casting frost spells at both ends of the spike. Kneeling down in the dirty water, I grabbed the cannon with both hands, pouring my mana into the cheap bronze. No time for anything fancy, just get the fucking thing working!
Come on… there we go. Shifting the metal in my mind, I sent streams of bronze towards each end of the intrusion into the hull. No way I would be able to shift it out and still keep the water out. But I could…
Standing up, I moved towards the tallon through the hull, along with the shifting metal, keeping contact with it as I kept working it. The metal strengthened under my enchantment, shifting, moulding into a pair of metal plates around each end of the tooth, covering the gashes in the hull. A bronze pole along the tooth assisted in reinforcing the structure, and spiked tendrils digging into the talon and hull kept it from moving.
"...There," I finally said and stepped back, digging my silver claws into the hull for support against the rolling of the ship, "That'll hold."
Ren grabbed me for support as the ship roiled, "You sure?"
"Absolutely not."
Last edited:
- Location
- Belgium
Yeah! Water Kaiju ! The source of my trauma making me afraid of water! Also the ship will have no cannon left when Atregos finish with, of course they got dragons so it's kinda redundant.
12
The weather was a lot better. A slight breeze from the east, no real waves to talk of, and the sun shone from clear skies.
The storm had faded hours ago, and the waves had calmed, the wind dying down and the clouds clearing.
It had come as a relief for all of us, to be honest.
"How does it look?", Alexis asked the crewman that climbed back onto the deck via a rope. He sat down on the railing, and brushed his blonde hair back behind his long ears, "Not good, captain," he said, "The spike is jutting four arm lengths out of the hull. The other end is even worse, six lengths."
Alexis let out a curse but nodded, giving his shoulder a tap, "Good work, Adri."
"How's it looking?" Sheila asked as we walked up to them.
"Bad," Alexis said and shook her head, "We can't sail with that spike like that. It's killing our speed even if we could be sure the hull would hold."
I nodded, "Big 'if'," I agreed, "That patch is very sketchy, and while I think the patch will hold, I'm nowhere near as confident about the surrounding wood."
Alexis nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Pretty much what I figured as well. But we are going to need to remove it."
Ren frowned, "Can we even do that? That's a big hole."
Alexis looked towards another man I didn't know, "Mister Kalfer?"
The older man shook his head, "Nothing permanent I could handle at sea. Normally I would say we're lucky to even be alive right now, but maybe your friends could craft some sort of sorcery."
"Still lucky," I admitted, "It's… I don't know. The moment that thing is removed, that hold is going to flood in seconds. I'm fast at quicksmithing, but I'm not that fast."
Ren looked thoughtful, "Perhaps ice? Worked before."
"Can't if we want to remove it," Alexis said and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Damn it. Okay, there isn't much else to do about it, we're going to need to get her out of the water if we're to fix this."
Mister Kalfer shook his head, "If she holds long enough, it will take weeks to repair properly."
"I should be able to reinforce the hull," I supplied, "But I can't do miracles, I can only work with what materials I have."
Alexis nodded, "Do what you can," she sighed, "Mister Barlow, set a course towards the closest suitable island. Best possible speed."
They moved away, orders being shouted, and the crew bursting into action as Alexis looked to me, "I don't suppose you cracked that flying ship thing you were working on."
"Sure," I said with a shrug, "Want this bitch to fly? Can do that easily enough when not working on pure enchanting work. Using mechanisms, it's not that difficult if you're not being fancy about it. Do you have four tons of adamantium, about two thousand yards of sail fabric, two tons of mithril, about ten flawless gems the size of your fist, and a month or so to work? Oh, and a couple of fire elementals would be useful."
That got a slight laugh from her, "I'll check the holds. Just do what you can."
"Will do," I said and leaned against the railing, looking out over the sea as she moved off to get to work.
"Good work last night," I said and put my arm around Ren.
"Couldn't exactly help much with the rest," she said and leaned slightly against me, "...And it helped keep my mind off the seasickness, having something to do."
That got a small laugh from Sheila on her other side, "Oh, so that's how you fix that. Good to know," before she leaned forward, peering down into the water, "...You know, I bet we could remove that thing."
I eyed her, "What are you thinking?"
"Tuned magic shield," she said and looked at me, "Think you two could do that?"
I hesitated and frowned, "I… maybe?" I said with a frown, "Allowing matter to move through it but still keeping the water out," I said and looked down at the water, "I did read something about a water shield before, they used it in... what's it called? Vashj'ir? Never tried it, and it was a spell, not an enchantment…"
How did it go again? I'm going to need to recreate it.
"I need parchment."
The storm had faded hours ago, and the waves had calmed, the wind dying down and the clouds clearing.
It had come as a relief for all of us, to be honest.
"How does it look?", Alexis asked the crewman that climbed back onto the deck via a rope. He sat down on the railing, and brushed his blonde hair back behind his long ears, "Not good, captain," he said, "The spike is jutting four arm lengths out of the hull. The other end is even worse, six lengths."
Alexis let out a curse but nodded, giving his shoulder a tap, "Good work, Adri."
"How's it looking?" Sheila asked as we walked up to them.
"Bad," Alexis said and shook her head, "We can't sail with that spike like that. It's killing our speed even if we could be sure the hull would hold."
I nodded, "Big 'if'," I agreed, "That patch is very sketchy, and while I think the patch will hold, I'm nowhere near as confident about the surrounding wood."
Alexis nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Pretty much what I figured as well. But we are going to need to remove it."
Ren frowned, "Can we even do that? That's a big hole."
Alexis looked towards another man I didn't know, "Mister Kalfer?"
The older man shook his head, "Nothing permanent I could handle at sea. Normally I would say we're lucky to even be alive right now, but maybe your friends could craft some sort of sorcery."
"Still lucky," I admitted, "It's… I don't know. The moment that thing is removed, that hold is going to flood in seconds. I'm fast at quicksmithing, but I'm not that fast."
Ren looked thoughtful, "Perhaps ice? Worked before."
"Can't if we want to remove it," Alexis said and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Damn it. Okay, there isn't much else to do about it, we're going to need to get her out of the water if we're to fix this."
Mister Kalfer shook his head, "If she holds long enough, it will take weeks to repair properly."
"I should be able to reinforce the hull," I supplied, "But I can't do miracles, I can only work with what materials I have."
Alexis nodded, "Do what you can," she sighed, "Mister Barlow, set a course towards the closest suitable island. Best possible speed."
They moved away, orders being shouted, and the crew bursting into action as Alexis looked to me, "I don't suppose you cracked that flying ship thing you were working on."
"Sure," I said with a shrug, "Want this bitch to fly? Can do that easily enough when not working on pure enchanting work. Using mechanisms, it's not that difficult if you're not being fancy about it. Do you have four tons of adamantium, about two thousand yards of sail fabric, two tons of mithril, about ten flawless gems the size of your fist, and a month or so to work? Oh, and a couple of fire elementals would be useful."
That got a slight laugh from her, "I'll check the holds. Just do what you can."
"Will do," I said and leaned against the railing, looking out over the sea as she moved off to get to work.
"Good work last night," I said and put my arm around Ren.
"Couldn't exactly help much with the rest," she said and leaned slightly against me, "...And it helped keep my mind off the seasickness, having something to do."
That got a small laugh from Sheila on her other side, "Oh, so that's how you fix that. Good to know," before she leaned forward, peering down into the water, "...You know, I bet we could remove that thing."
I eyed her, "What are you thinking?"
"Tuned magic shield," she said and looked at me, "Think you two could do that?"
I hesitated and frowned, "I… maybe?" I said with a frown, "Allowing matter to move through it but still keeping the water out," I said and looked down at the water, "I did read something about a water shield before, they used it in... what's it called? Vashj'ir? Never tried it, and it was a spell, not an enchantment…"
How did it go again? I'm going to need to recreate it.
"I need parchment."
13
Carefully looking over the enchanted circle on the inside of the hull around each end of the bone spike, I slowly nodded to myself, "Okay. I think it's ready."
"Are you sure?" Alexis asked, "Because if you're not, the hold will flood almost instantly.."
"Think so?" I said, and glanced back at her.
She looked about as impressed as Sheila did when I was being evasive, so I continued,
"Really, it works," I said, "I tried it with a cup of water. It'll be fine."
That didn't seem to reassure her much, but she nodded anyways, "Okay, you know your stuff. I'll let Ren know she can get started," and headed up the stairs.
I turned back to the spike and touched the bronze, retracting the spikes digging into it as well as loosening the metal around each end slightly.
I could see the water outside through the softly shimmering shield, but none came pouring in. Awesome, it worked.
I mean, of course I knew it would work, but it's always fun to see your creations actually function outside of testing!
Keeping hold of the bronze bar, I felt the ship move slightly, and suddenly the bone spike started to move. It shifted slightly, before starting to move, slowly sliding clear of the hull, disappearing out through the shimmering water shield.
Moving over, I gave a helping push to the last bit, before looking out into the water with a grin as I spotted Rengosa. She turned to look at me in turn, winking as she held on to the bone spike, swimming with lazy movements of her wings and tail.
Smiling, I gave her a wave, and then pointed upwards.
She nodded and started to swim out of view, as I pulled back and put my hand on the bronze bar again, starting to shift the metal around to cover the holes.
I trusted the enchantment to hold, but no need to tempt fate. As the metal closed over the second hole, I stepped back and looked at the results with a frown.
Two metal disks, edges digging into the wood on each side of the ship, fused to a metal bar between them for support.
All of it enchanted for strength and durability.
That was about as good as it was going to get with what we had. Shaking my head, I moved up to get to work on the wood around the disks as well. Can't quicksmith wood, but I could still strengthen it some.
XXXXXXX
"Okay! Lower it down!" Barlow yelled as I walked up the stairs from below deck. The bone spike was hanging from a pulley system in the masts.
"You're keeping that thing?" I asked Alexis as I walked up to her.
"Hell yeah," she agreed with a grin, "That things basically a ton of good ivory. No way we're just dropping it into the ocean, so I asked Ren to bring it back up instead."
Well, free money was free money.
"How did it go?" she then asked, as I walked over to where Ren was laying on the deck. Ren shifted her wings and lifted her head as I got closer.
Reaching to scratch behind her nose horn, I turned back to Alexis, "Went pretty well," I said, "I covered the breaches with enchanted bronze, and also did what I could to reinforce the wood around the holes. It'll hold for the moment, but you should really get it fully fixed when possible. It'll hold for a while, but I wouldn't rate it against another storm like a couple of days ago. The bronze would hold, but I wouldn't bet much on the wood around it."
"I'd have to agree, Captain," Kalfer agreed as he joined us, if joining us being standing at least three meters away from Ren, "I don't know anything about the kind of sorcery Mister Atregos can do, but I do know ships. We need to find a beach to get this repaired for real."
Alexis rubbed the bridge of her nose, "...We don't have weeks."
"It's that or risk sinking, Captain."
She sighed and then nodded, "...Fine. We'll look for a suitable beach we can careen her onto for repairs. Closest island is our destination anyway."
"Well, look on the bright side," Rengosa said, "We can still search for… whatever it is we are looking for even without the ship. We can fly faster than the ship travels, anyway."
"Yeah, that's true, "Alexis admitted before looking towards me, "How close do we have to be before you can scry?"
I shook my head, "Well, considering I have no idea what I'm looking for, where it is, or what it looks like or even if it's magical, being closer to the island than not would be good. But just so you know, if it's a normal map or something, we might just be screwed," and then grinned and hugged Ren's head as she bumped it against my chest.
Alexis nodded and sighed, "Do your best."
"Are you sure?" Alexis asked, "Because if you're not, the hold will flood almost instantly.."
"Think so?" I said, and glanced back at her.
She looked about as impressed as Sheila did when I was being evasive, so I continued,
"Really, it works," I said, "I tried it with a cup of water. It'll be fine."
That didn't seem to reassure her much, but she nodded anyways, "Okay, you know your stuff. I'll let Ren know she can get started," and headed up the stairs.
I turned back to the spike and touched the bronze, retracting the spikes digging into it as well as loosening the metal around each end slightly.
I could see the water outside through the softly shimmering shield, but none came pouring in. Awesome, it worked.
I mean, of course I knew it would work, but it's always fun to see your creations actually function outside of testing!
Keeping hold of the bronze bar, I felt the ship move slightly, and suddenly the bone spike started to move. It shifted slightly, before starting to move, slowly sliding clear of the hull, disappearing out through the shimmering water shield.
Moving over, I gave a helping push to the last bit, before looking out into the water with a grin as I spotted Rengosa. She turned to look at me in turn, winking as she held on to the bone spike, swimming with lazy movements of her wings and tail.
Smiling, I gave her a wave, and then pointed upwards.
She nodded and started to swim out of view, as I pulled back and put my hand on the bronze bar again, starting to shift the metal around to cover the holes.
I trusted the enchantment to hold, but no need to tempt fate. As the metal closed over the second hole, I stepped back and looked at the results with a frown.
Two metal disks, edges digging into the wood on each side of the ship, fused to a metal bar between them for support.
All of it enchanted for strength and durability.
That was about as good as it was going to get with what we had. Shaking my head, I moved up to get to work on the wood around the disks as well. Can't quicksmith wood, but I could still strengthen it some.
XXXXXXX
"Okay! Lower it down!" Barlow yelled as I walked up the stairs from below deck. The bone spike was hanging from a pulley system in the masts.
"You're keeping that thing?" I asked Alexis as I walked up to her.
"Hell yeah," she agreed with a grin, "That things basically a ton of good ivory. No way we're just dropping it into the ocean, so I asked Ren to bring it back up instead."
Well, free money was free money.
"How did it go?" she then asked, as I walked over to where Ren was laying on the deck. Ren shifted her wings and lifted her head as I got closer.
Reaching to scratch behind her nose horn, I turned back to Alexis, "Went pretty well," I said, "I covered the breaches with enchanted bronze, and also did what I could to reinforce the wood around the holes. It'll hold for the moment, but you should really get it fully fixed when possible. It'll hold for a while, but I wouldn't rate it against another storm like a couple of days ago. The bronze would hold, but I wouldn't bet much on the wood around it."
"I'd have to agree, Captain," Kalfer agreed as he joined us, if joining us being standing at least three meters away from Ren, "I don't know anything about the kind of sorcery Mister Atregos can do, but I do know ships. We need to find a beach to get this repaired for real."
Alexis rubbed the bridge of her nose, "...We don't have weeks."
"It's that or risk sinking, Captain."
She sighed and then nodded, "...Fine. We'll look for a suitable beach we can careen her onto for repairs. Closest island is our destination anyway."
"Well, look on the bright side," Rengosa said, "We can still search for… whatever it is we are looking for even without the ship. We can fly faster than the ship travels, anyway."
"Yeah, that's true, "Alexis admitted before looking towards me, "How close do we have to be before you can scry?"
I shook my head, "Well, considering I have no idea what I'm looking for, where it is, or what it looks like or even if it's magical, being closer to the island than not would be good. But just so you know, if it's a normal map or something, we might just be screwed," and then grinned and hugged Ren's head as she bumped it against my chest.
Alexis nodded and sighed, "Do your best."
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
Kind of an odd question, but how do dragons swim in this?
the mention of wings being used to swim made me think of them swimming like Puffins and Petrels...but Dragons are kinda reptilian, so i'm also thinking of Crocodiles and lizards
Think... Mantaray-dogpaddle--croc
14
"Land ho!!"
I glanced up towards the lookout at the top of the mast, before getting up and stretching from where I had been sitting by the bow of the ship, trying to keep out of everyone's way. Sheila, sitting next to me, closed her book.
"Any progress?" she asked with a smile.
"...Bit," I admitted, and offered her my hand, pulling her up, "But it'll be a while yet until it's ready."
"Well, it's looking good at least," she said, and looked at the silver ring on my right ring finger. "You should be making more jewelry at least, you're not bad."
I grinned, "Might as well make it look good," I admitted, "As soon as I have it figured out, I'll make you and Rengosa some."
"Nice."
Sadly, what I had come to think of as a Wand-ring or… Sling Ring… I like Sling Ring… was not exactly easy to figure out. Sure, a single effect wouldn't be that difficult, but I wanted variety.
Throwing fireballs was nice. Being able to also cast a shield spell was way, way better, especially when you couldn't easily wear other enchanted gear like vambraces. Neither Sheila or Ren was much for wearing a lot of armour.
"What now?"
"Now, I plan to check with Alexis if she minds if I have a fly around and scout out the island," I said and squeezed her hand, "I'd offer to bring you along, but the tree bitch took my armour and its saddle."
Sheila nodded and gave me a impish grin, "Oh, want me to ride you, huh?"
"...That's mean," I growled, and pulled her close, "When we're stuck on this ship."
"Won't be soon, though," she teased, and reaches up to run her fingers through my hair, "Now get going, didn't you have a job to do?"
Stealing a kiss, I growled at her before pulling back, "I suppose I do."
Winking at me, she returned to her book, leaving me to head along the ship to Alexis. She looked towards me when I got close, "Good morning."
"Morning," I said, "Mind if I take a flight and have a look at the area?"
"Go for it. The faster we find that we're looking for, the better."
Nodding, I turned and ran towards the closest railing before diving into the water below. Hitting the water, I sank below the azure blue surface. Returning to my real form, I dove deeper before turning upwards, using my wings to drive myself faster upwards until I breached the surface.
Beating my wings hard, I climbed out of the warm water and up into the sunlight. It felt amazingly good to be flying again, feeling the wind and sunlight on my wings.
Climbing higher and higher, I circled above the ship once, before climbing as I headed towards the island in the distance. I still wrapped myself in a Blurr illusion, just in case there was somebody there that could spot me.
Beating my wings harder, I rode on the wind as I gazed towards the island in the distance. Well, let's give it a try though. Maybe we're lucky?
Closing my eyes for a second, I cast the spell allowing me to see magic, then opened them again.
I stared at the island for a long moment before I sighed. No immediate 'look here, dumbass' bonfires of magic.
Well, that would just be too much to hope for, wouldn't it? Well, I suppose then it wouldn't be enough of a challenge, would it?
Okay then. Beating my wings, I flew towards the island while peering down into the ocean's clear blue water. I could actually see the bottom from this altitude, which was awesome. Not only would that give me a chance to spot any possible shipwrecks or other obstructions, it also made for easy hunting. Because in every ocean, there were sharks, and sharks was tasty.
Wait, what was that?
Banking around, I circled and peered down into the ocean at an arm of a reef. What was that, that looked like…
Giant squid.
Almost as large as I was. I had never had giant calamari before, but that thing was a bit big… I really didn't want to be wrapped up and pulled under.
But then again… there is no way that thing had magic. Besides, I did have this entire bronze left front leg strong enough to crush stone. I mean, there had to be some kind of pro for having that thing.
Circling again, I peered down at the thing swimming across the reef.
There.
Folding my wings, I dove like an osprey.
I glanced up towards the lookout at the top of the mast, before getting up and stretching from where I had been sitting by the bow of the ship, trying to keep out of everyone's way. Sheila, sitting next to me, closed her book.
"Any progress?" she asked with a smile.
"...Bit," I admitted, and offered her my hand, pulling her up, "But it'll be a while yet until it's ready."
"Well, it's looking good at least," she said, and looked at the silver ring on my right ring finger. "You should be making more jewelry at least, you're not bad."
I grinned, "Might as well make it look good," I admitted, "As soon as I have it figured out, I'll make you and Rengosa some."
"Nice."
Sadly, what I had come to think of as a Wand-ring or… Sling Ring… I like Sling Ring… was not exactly easy to figure out. Sure, a single effect wouldn't be that difficult, but I wanted variety.
Throwing fireballs was nice. Being able to also cast a shield spell was way, way better, especially when you couldn't easily wear other enchanted gear like vambraces. Neither Sheila or Ren was much for wearing a lot of armour.
"What now?"
"Now, I plan to check with Alexis if she minds if I have a fly around and scout out the island," I said and squeezed her hand, "I'd offer to bring you along, but the tree bitch took my armour and its saddle."
Sheila nodded and gave me a impish grin, "Oh, want me to ride you, huh?"
"...That's mean," I growled, and pulled her close, "When we're stuck on this ship."
"Won't be soon, though," she teased, and reaches up to run her fingers through my hair, "Now get going, didn't you have a job to do?"
Stealing a kiss, I growled at her before pulling back, "I suppose I do."
Winking at me, she returned to her book, leaving me to head along the ship to Alexis. She looked towards me when I got close, "Good morning."
"Morning," I said, "Mind if I take a flight and have a look at the area?"
"Go for it. The faster we find that we're looking for, the better."
Nodding, I turned and ran towards the closest railing before diving into the water below. Hitting the water, I sank below the azure blue surface. Returning to my real form, I dove deeper before turning upwards, using my wings to drive myself faster upwards until I breached the surface.
Beating my wings hard, I climbed out of the warm water and up into the sunlight. It felt amazingly good to be flying again, feeling the wind and sunlight on my wings.
Climbing higher and higher, I circled above the ship once, before climbing as I headed towards the island in the distance. I still wrapped myself in a Blurr illusion, just in case there was somebody there that could spot me.
Beating my wings harder, I rode on the wind as I gazed towards the island in the distance. Well, let's give it a try though. Maybe we're lucky?
Closing my eyes for a second, I cast the spell allowing me to see magic, then opened them again.
I stared at the island for a long moment before I sighed. No immediate 'look here, dumbass' bonfires of magic.
Well, that would just be too much to hope for, wouldn't it? Well, I suppose then it wouldn't be enough of a challenge, would it?
Okay then. Beating my wings, I flew towards the island while peering down into the ocean's clear blue water. I could actually see the bottom from this altitude, which was awesome. Not only would that give me a chance to spot any possible shipwrecks or other obstructions, it also made for easy hunting. Because in every ocean, there were sharks, and sharks was tasty.
Wait, what was that?
Banking around, I circled and peered down into the ocean at an arm of a reef. What was that, that looked like…
Giant squid.
Almost as large as I was. I had never had giant calamari before, but that thing was a bit big… I really didn't want to be wrapped up and pulled under.
But then again… there is no way that thing had magic. Besides, I did have this entire bronze left front leg strong enough to crush stone. I mean, there had to be some kind of pro for having that thing.
Circling again, I peered down at the thing swimming across the reef.
There.
Folding my wings, I dove like an osprey.
15
I was waiting on the beach as the ship approached and dropped anchor. After finishing the surprisingly combative meal, I had circled around the island a couple of times without locating the missing ship.
This would be significantly trickier than I liked. How do you find a ship that may or may not be missing?
Grumbling to myself, I dug my claws into the sand.
If the ship hadn't actually sunk, but instead found what they were looking for here and continued on, there would be nothing here to find.
The question is… what would they have found? I didn't see any major magic hotspots. But if they were following a map or something that guided them, there had to be something here for it.
Hmmmmh.
Turning my head, I looked back towards the jungle. Was there something in there? Up towards the mountain in the middle? Something hidden?
There had to be something here.
A boat approached the beach from the ship and Alexis jumped out of it as it got close to the sand, grabbing a heavy satchel before approaching as the men she brought started to unload the small boat.
"Find anything?" she asked as she got close.
"Giant squid. Was tasty."
"...Find anything 'relevant'?" she sighed and dropped her satchel onto the sand.
I shook my head, "Sadly no. No magical beacon standing out, no obvious shipwrecks I could see from high altitude."
"That would have been too easy, wouldn't it?" she said, and patted the tip of my snout, "Oh well. We'll be spending a couple of days unloading the ship, and then pull her onto the beach during high tide. We'll have weeks to search the island while we're making repairs."
"...It's a big island," I said and bumped my snout against her hand, "If there isn't anything to scry for or anything that stands out, it'll take more than a couple of weeks to search this place."
Alexis grimaced, "...Yeah. But that was kinda the plan before you, Sheila, and Ren happened by. Anything you can do to speed it up would be great," she said and lowered her hand, "This was never going to be fast or easy."
"Few things worth doing are," I agreed and stretched my wings, "Speaking of the ship, I might be able to make some improvements. If nothing else, some wind enchantments on the masts controlled by a guiding stone by the wheel should be useful. Let you make your own wind."
Alexis made a thoughtful sound, "Huh, pocket wind mage. Useful."
I settled down again, "Also, since the hull is going to be out of the water, I can work on it too. I should be able to reinforce it for you, but it would take a few days and it needs to be intact for it. Might turn a couple of cannon balls or another one of those bone spikes. Wouldn't be impenetrable, I have neither the time or materials for anything that fancy, but I could make it handle a shot or two."
"...Now that would be worth a couple of extra days," she admitted, "Could you do shields?"
"Easy enough, did an entire city once against siege weapons lobbing stones the size of horses," I agreed, "But I need some large gems for the power management, and about your weight in silver. Think you can do that?"
Alexis looked thoughtful, "How many, and how large of gems?"
"For a ship your size…. grape-sized and as flawless as possible. Now, mind that it wouldn't be invulnerable, and it'd burn out eventually if it kept being stressed. But it would handle at least a couple of broadsides."
"One way?"
"If you want to be able to shoot back, I'd have to be fancy about it. That's a big maybe."
Alexis frowned and played with the end of her braided hair, "...Even just having it for emergencies, being able to negate a single salvo at the right time… that could be the difference between winning and losing a fight."
I nodded, "Could be. But keep in mind it wouldn't be instantly up and down, not without a much larger magic capacitor. And that I definitely can't do without a better metal than silver. Not without it getting too big to be practical"
Nodding, she bent down and picked up her satchel again, shouldering it "Well, keep thinking about what you can improve. Anything that'll make this easier would be helpful."
"Will do."
She paused and looked down at my bronze left foreleg, "How's it feeling?"
I flexed the claws in the sand, "Miss my old one."
This would be significantly trickier than I liked. How do you find a ship that may or may not be missing?
Grumbling to myself, I dug my claws into the sand.
If the ship hadn't actually sunk, but instead found what they were looking for here and continued on, there would be nothing here to find.
The question is… what would they have found? I didn't see any major magic hotspots. But if they were following a map or something that guided them, there had to be something here for it.
Hmmmmh.
Turning my head, I looked back towards the jungle. Was there something in there? Up towards the mountain in the middle? Something hidden?
There had to be something here.
A boat approached the beach from the ship and Alexis jumped out of it as it got close to the sand, grabbing a heavy satchel before approaching as the men she brought started to unload the small boat.
"Find anything?" she asked as she got close.
"Giant squid. Was tasty."
"...Find anything 'relevant'?" she sighed and dropped her satchel onto the sand.
I shook my head, "Sadly no. No magical beacon standing out, no obvious shipwrecks I could see from high altitude."
"That would have been too easy, wouldn't it?" she said, and patted the tip of my snout, "Oh well. We'll be spending a couple of days unloading the ship, and then pull her onto the beach during high tide. We'll have weeks to search the island while we're making repairs."
"...It's a big island," I said and bumped my snout against her hand, "If there isn't anything to scry for or anything that stands out, it'll take more than a couple of weeks to search this place."
Alexis grimaced, "...Yeah. But that was kinda the plan before you, Sheila, and Ren happened by. Anything you can do to speed it up would be great," she said and lowered her hand, "This was never going to be fast or easy."
"Few things worth doing are," I agreed and stretched my wings, "Speaking of the ship, I might be able to make some improvements. If nothing else, some wind enchantments on the masts controlled by a guiding stone by the wheel should be useful. Let you make your own wind."
Alexis made a thoughtful sound, "Huh, pocket wind mage. Useful."
I settled down again, "Also, since the hull is going to be out of the water, I can work on it too. I should be able to reinforce it for you, but it would take a few days and it needs to be intact for it. Might turn a couple of cannon balls or another one of those bone spikes. Wouldn't be impenetrable, I have neither the time or materials for anything that fancy, but I could make it handle a shot or two."
"...Now that would be worth a couple of extra days," she admitted, "Could you do shields?"
"Easy enough, did an entire city once against siege weapons lobbing stones the size of horses," I agreed, "But I need some large gems for the power management, and about your weight in silver. Think you can do that?"
Alexis looked thoughtful, "How many, and how large of gems?"
"For a ship your size…. grape-sized and as flawless as possible. Now, mind that it wouldn't be invulnerable, and it'd burn out eventually if it kept being stressed. But it would handle at least a couple of broadsides."
"One way?"
"If you want to be able to shoot back, I'd have to be fancy about it. That's a big maybe."
Alexis frowned and played with the end of her braided hair, "...Even just having it for emergencies, being able to negate a single salvo at the right time… that could be the difference between winning and losing a fight."
I nodded, "Could be. But keep in mind it wouldn't be instantly up and down, not without a much larger magic capacitor. And that I definitely can't do without a better metal than silver. Not without it getting too big to be practical"
Nodding, she bent down and picked up her satchel again, shouldering it "Well, keep thinking about what you can improve. Anything that'll make this easier would be helpful."
"Will do."
She paused and looked down at my bronze left foreleg, "How's it feeling?"
I flexed the claws in the sand, "Miss my old one."
16
The stars and moon shone far above us. From the distant crackling fire, strains of some stringed instrument intermixed with the smell of roasting pig. The crew had been delighted at the chance to catch fresh meat from the surrounding forest.
On the other side of the fire, the ship could be seen lying on the beach, held on its side by thick ropes tied to nearby trees.
It had been amazingly impressive seeing it hauled onto the beach; it took a ton of teamwork, pulleys, and rolling tree trunks. But up the beach it went.
I had to admit, it was amazing. We of course helped to haul on the ropes, but mostly we just did what we were told. We might have made things easier, but they would have done it without us.
Other than that, Ren and I mostly spent the days flying around and searching the island. Nothing so far, which was not encouraging to be honest. But right now, I just wanted to relax, my wings were burning.
It had been a long time since I needed to fly for days on end, especially with the limited thermals of even a warm ocean.
Rengosa shifted, resting her head across my neck to look over Sheila's shoulder and read her book. I had my head across Sheila's lap, and the book was resting along my snout, between my nosehorn and my eyes.
I didn't mind being a bookstand, especially when it came with Sheila scratching beneath my eyes and behind my horns as they read.
Ren shifted the glowing globe of light she was conjuring a bit to the right to keep the pages lit and I closed my eyes. It was getting cooler since the sun had gone down, which was nice. Not a lot though, what this place needed was some snow. Maybe a glacier.
"Hey you lot," Alexis said as she walked up, "Cook says the pig is almost done roasting. Anyone hungry?"
Rengosa shook her head, "Found a shark earlier," she answered and I snorted in agreement,
"Strange deer thing."
"Why aren't I surprised," Alexis said and shook her head, taking a drink from the bottle in her hand, "You, Sheila?"
"I'll have some," she agreed, and then looked at the bottle, "Of that too, if you don't mind?"
Grinning, Alexis moved and dropped down to sit next to her, offering her the bottle, "What are you reading anyway?"
"Oh, just something I picked up on Ea-by the twisting nether!" Sheila started to answer, before choking out a curse as she took a drink from the bottle, "What is this!?"
"A kind of rum, they make it from nuts that grow on the islands," Alexis said and retook the bottle for another drink, "...Okay, admittedly it's a bit of an acquired taste."
Sheila did a small shudder, "I hate it."
"Want some more?"
Sheila sighed and then nodded, "Yes please," and took another drink while shuddering, "Fuck, that's awful."
"I know, right?" Alexis agreed with a grin, "You want some, Ren?"
Ren shifted and lowered her head, opening her muzzle. Alexis grinned and poured some on her tongue. I could feel the other dragon shudder against my other side before she growled,
"Yeah, that's bad," she agreed and relaxed again.
"Atreus?" Alexis then asked.
I shook my head slightly, "After those reviews? No thank you."
"Ehh, pussy," Alexis teased.
I growled at her and Sheila laughed and scratched beneath my left eye before turning to Alexis,
"So, you said something about food?"
"Yeah, come on," she said and got up, taking another drink, then poured some into the open mouth of a grimacing but expectant Ren.
Sheila reached up and used Ren's nosehorn to pull herself onto her feet, then wandered off towards the fire with Alexis with a "Be back in a bit".
Ren let the light spell run out and relaxed, her head across the back of my neck, "...How do you want to search tomorrow?", she asked after a moment.
"Not sure," I answered and shifted closer to her, "But I think we have just about searched most of the area around the coastline. So it's either search further out or search the interior of the island."
Both would be annoying. One was covered in jungle, and we had no idea what to look for. The second would be over deeper water, and as such, it would be harder to spot anything from the air.
"Let's try the island," Ren suggested, and nuzzled at the top of my head, "I'm bored of water."
Sounded like a plan to me so I shifted to nuzzle back.
On the other side of the fire, the ship could be seen lying on the beach, held on its side by thick ropes tied to nearby trees.
It had been amazingly impressive seeing it hauled onto the beach; it took a ton of teamwork, pulleys, and rolling tree trunks. But up the beach it went.
I had to admit, it was amazing. We of course helped to haul on the ropes, but mostly we just did what we were told. We might have made things easier, but they would have done it without us.
Other than that, Ren and I mostly spent the days flying around and searching the island. Nothing so far, which was not encouraging to be honest. But right now, I just wanted to relax, my wings were burning.
It had been a long time since I needed to fly for days on end, especially with the limited thermals of even a warm ocean.
Rengosa shifted, resting her head across my neck to look over Sheila's shoulder and read her book. I had my head across Sheila's lap, and the book was resting along my snout, between my nosehorn and my eyes.
I didn't mind being a bookstand, especially when it came with Sheila scratching beneath my eyes and behind my horns as they read.
Ren shifted the glowing globe of light she was conjuring a bit to the right to keep the pages lit and I closed my eyes. It was getting cooler since the sun had gone down, which was nice. Not a lot though, what this place needed was some snow. Maybe a glacier.
"Hey you lot," Alexis said as she walked up, "Cook says the pig is almost done roasting. Anyone hungry?"
Rengosa shook her head, "Found a shark earlier," she answered and I snorted in agreement,
"Strange deer thing."
"Why aren't I surprised," Alexis said and shook her head, taking a drink from the bottle in her hand, "You, Sheila?"
"I'll have some," she agreed, and then looked at the bottle, "Of that too, if you don't mind?"
Grinning, Alexis moved and dropped down to sit next to her, offering her the bottle, "What are you reading anyway?"
"Oh, just something I picked up on Ea-by the twisting nether!" Sheila started to answer, before choking out a curse as she took a drink from the bottle, "What is this!?"
"A kind of rum, they make it from nuts that grow on the islands," Alexis said and retook the bottle for another drink, "...Okay, admittedly it's a bit of an acquired taste."
Sheila did a small shudder, "I hate it."
"Want some more?"
Sheila sighed and then nodded, "Yes please," and took another drink while shuddering, "Fuck, that's awful."
"I know, right?" Alexis agreed with a grin, "You want some, Ren?"
Ren shifted and lowered her head, opening her muzzle. Alexis grinned and poured some on her tongue. I could feel the other dragon shudder against my other side before she growled,
"Yeah, that's bad," she agreed and relaxed again.
"Atreus?" Alexis then asked.
I shook my head slightly, "After those reviews? No thank you."
"Ehh, pussy," Alexis teased.
I growled at her and Sheila laughed and scratched beneath my left eye before turning to Alexis,
"So, you said something about food?"
"Yeah, come on," she said and got up, taking another drink, then poured some into the open mouth of a grimacing but expectant Ren.
Sheila reached up and used Ren's nosehorn to pull herself onto her feet, then wandered off towards the fire with Alexis with a "Be back in a bit".
Ren let the light spell run out and relaxed, her head across the back of my neck, "...How do you want to search tomorrow?", she asked after a moment.
"Not sure," I answered and shifted closer to her, "But I think we have just about searched most of the area around the coastline. So it's either search further out or search the interior of the island."
Both would be annoying. One was covered in jungle, and we had no idea what to look for. The second would be over deeper water, and as such, it would be harder to spot anything from the air.
"Let's try the island," Ren suggested, and nuzzled at the top of my head, "I'm bored of water."
Sounded like a plan to me so I shifted to nuzzle back.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
Eh, i'm sure there are heaps of stuff they can do in the water.
Get some fish...
check sunken shipwrecks for loot.
look for the local equivalent of Atlantis?
17
You have any idea how boring flying around and looking down at trees gets after a week?
I do.
The island wasn't even that big in the grand view of things, but it still took some forty minutes to fly across it. At least flying slow so you can focus on the ground.
After two days of flying around and keeping the spell to see magic active, I had gotten annoyed with it and made Ren and myself a pair of goggles that did the same thing and fit our real forms. Nothing special, just some glass, bronze and leather. But they worked.
Have to make some of those for my mortal form too, could be useful at times, even if most places they wouldn't be. Too much magic around, would be like wearing night vision goggles at noon.
But here, they worked well… and should give us a better chance at spotting something. Anything.
Or so we'd hoped, at least.
So far, it hadn't helped do anything except give us a couple of false positives. One was a buried treasure that contained some magic baubles. At least that one had improved the mood of Alexis' crew.
Beating my wings twice, I rested on the wind as I peered down at the forest below. Tree. Tree. Tree. Rock. Tree. tree.
...Fuck, I'm bored.
Motion at the corner of my eye drew my attention and I looked over to see Rengosa suddenly bank sharply to the right in the distance. Did she find something?
As she did another bank, circling an area and looking down towards the ground, I banked around to fly towards her.
Either she found something unusual, or she found dinner. Either was worth investigating.
"You find anything?" I called out to her as I moved around to fly alongside her left side.
"Maybe. Something… shiny," she answered and banked again, "Not magic. Metal… can't tell what it is, too many branches."
I nodded and started to look for somewhere to land. Landings in forests are… annoying, "There. Clearing."
Ren banked and led the way, and I followed her down, beating my wings hard as I pulled up before settling down next to her on the forest floor.
Turning into my mortal form, I rubbed the back of my neck as I pulled one of the magi-guns from its holster as I looked around.
Silence. No sounds.
Not overly surprising, that's normal in a forest when we're in our real forms, at least at the start. Birds and such usually calmed down once they realized we weren't interested.
"Which way?"
Ren turned into her mortal form in a cloud of spell smoke, before pointing towards the right, "Saw it somewhere over there."
Nodding, I slipped the weapon back into the holster, "Lead the way."
Then it was off into the forest. This part was especially thick as well with heavy undergrowth.
Ren made an annoyed sound and turned back into her real form, before continuing forward through the heavy bush. After that things went a lot smoother.
I Followed along behind her, but she soon paused and half-turned to glance back against me, "Found something."
"What did you…" I asked as I moved up next to her, before I spotted the path that had been hacked through the undergrowth, breaking branches and clearing it for travel. Not a well traveled path,but this was somebody forcing themselves through the jungle, "Oh, hello there. Yeah, this is a definite something."
Nodding, Ren turned into mortal form and looked each way along it, "...Uphill I'm thinking? That's in the direction of whatever it was."
"Yeah, let's see where this leads."
Grabbing one of the magi-guns - and I so have to find a better name for them - with my left hand, and my dagger with my right, I followed Ren up the path.
It didn't take long until we found what it was that she had seen. A man was lying on the path, his head towards the direction we were coming from, a sword in hand. Ren moved up next to him, sniffing the air, "He's been dead for a while. Week, perhaps two or three?"
Something had been eating him.
"Yeah," I agreed, "Not even fully decomposed yet," I agreed as I walked up to her, frowning down at him, "...Shot in the back."
Ren nodded and reached to roll him over. He was wearing some kind of uniform. She glanced at me, back up the path, then back to me, "I think we're on to something. We should get the others."
"Agreed."
I do.
The island wasn't even that big in the grand view of things, but it still took some forty minutes to fly across it. At least flying slow so you can focus on the ground.
After two days of flying around and keeping the spell to see magic active, I had gotten annoyed with it and made Ren and myself a pair of goggles that did the same thing and fit our real forms. Nothing special, just some glass, bronze and leather. But they worked.
Have to make some of those for my mortal form too, could be useful at times, even if most places they wouldn't be. Too much magic around, would be like wearing night vision goggles at noon.
But here, they worked well… and should give us a better chance at spotting something. Anything.
Or so we'd hoped, at least.
So far, it hadn't helped do anything except give us a couple of false positives. One was a buried treasure that contained some magic baubles. At least that one had improved the mood of Alexis' crew.
Beating my wings twice, I rested on the wind as I peered down at the forest below. Tree. Tree. Tree. Rock. Tree. tree.
...Fuck, I'm bored.
Motion at the corner of my eye drew my attention and I looked over to see Rengosa suddenly bank sharply to the right in the distance. Did she find something?
As she did another bank, circling an area and looking down towards the ground, I banked around to fly towards her.
Either she found something unusual, or she found dinner. Either was worth investigating.
"You find anything?" I called out to her as I moved around to fly alongside her left side.
"Maybe. Something… shiny," she answered and banked again, "Not magic. Metal… can't tell what it is, too many branches."
I nodded and started to look for somewhere to land. Landings in forests are… annoying, "There. Clearing."
Ren banked and led the way, and I followed her down, beating my wings hard as I pulled up before settling down next to her on the forest floor.
Turning into my mortal form, I rubbed the back of my neck as I pulled one of the magi-guns from its holster as I looked around.
Silence. No sounds.
Not overly surprising, that's normal in a forest when we're in our real forms, at least at the start. Birds and such usually calmed down once they realized we weren't interested.
"Which way?"
Ren turned into her mortal form in a cloud of spell smoke, before pointing towards the right, "Saw it somewhere over there."
Nodding, I slipped the weapon back into the holster, "Lead the way."
Then it was off into the forest. This part was especially thick as well with heavy undergrowth.
Ren made an annoyed sound and turned back into her real form, before continuing forward through the heavy bush. After that things went a lot smoother.
I Followed along behind her, but she soon paused and half-turned to glance back against me, "Found something."
"What did you…" I asked as I moved up next to her, before I spotted the path that had been hacked through the undergrowth, breaking branches and clearing it for travel. Not a well traveled path,but this was somebody forcing themselves through the jungle, "Oh, hello there. Yeah, this is a definite something."
Nodding, Ren turned into mortal form and looked each way along it, "...Uphill I'm thinking? That's in the direction of whatever it was."
"Yeah, let's see where this leads."
Grabbing one of the magi-guns - and I so have to find a better name for them - with my left hand, and my dagger with my right, I followed Ren up the path.
It didn't take long until we found what it was that she had seen. A man was lying on the path, his head towards the direction we were coming from, a sword in hand. Ren moved up next to him, sniffing the air, "He's been dead for a while. Week, perhaps two or three?"
Something had been eating him.
"Yeah," I agreed, "Not even fully decomposed yet," I agreed as I walked up to her, frowning down at him, "...Shot in the back."
Ren nodded and reached to roll him over. He was wearing some kind of uniform. She glanced at me, back up the path, then back to me, "I think we're on to something. We should get the others."
"Agreed."
Oh .. My .. Ghods....
Atreus making a sensible decision?!? *sniff* Our little Dragon boy is growing up, we're so proud! *dabs at a tear*
18
It took a while to get Sheila and Alexis. We followed the path down to the ocean first, which would make it a lot easier to find again. Especially as it was basically impossible to see from the air, it was pure luck that guy was there for Ren to catch the metal of the sword glinting in the sunlight.
Otherwise we could have been flying back and forth over it for weeks, and we would have never spotted it.
Alexis dropped onto the sand, stumbling for a second, "...You have to get a new saddle," she said, gripping the edge of my wing for support, "I'm not doing that again."
"Wasn't that difficult, was it?" I asked as I turned my head to look at her, before turning back to mortal form.
She stared at me for a second, "...I'm not even going to answer that."
Sheila jumped of Ren as they landed next to us, "This is it?"
"It is," Ren confirmed, and transformed back, "The path starts at the edge of the forest, there," she pointed.
Alexis nodded and started towards the trees.
Following the path took a while. A lot longer than flying, but at least it made sure we didn't lose it.
Eventually we got back to the fallen body. Alexis paused, looking down at him, "Aridia Navy. Fuck."
"Maybe not," Ren said, "He was shot in the back."
Alexis shook her head, "They were still here before us. We're behind, and with the ship damaged..."
"Well, if they get their hands on the McGuffin first, we just have to take it away from them," I said with a smile.
She grinned briefly and nodded, "I suppose we would," and then moved further up the trail, leaving us to follow.
Pulling on my mana, I started summoning one creature, and then another, bringing Witcher and Paladin into existence alongside us.
Alexis glanced back towards me, "...Smelling trouble?"
"Yeah."
Turning forward, her hands started to glow, and soon we were joined by an angel walking along next to her.
Pulling my weapons, one magi-gun and my dagger, I peered out into the forest. So, if they were hunting this artifact, I could see why they came here. That made sense.
What didn't make a lot of sense was why that guy was dead and why he was shot in the back.
That meant somebody else had been here, too. Somebody who might not have left yet. And quite frankly, I may have gotten a tiny bit annoyed with getting my tail kicked in every bloody fight I got in.
Fuck that.
Might not be up to going up against somebody like the tree bitch… not yet. But eventually… and then I might go back and have a chat with her about the armour she owed me
Or I'll burn her bloody tree to the ground.
"...Didn't see that from the air," Ren said softly as we walked up to a ruin. It looked like it had been there for a long time.
"Too short, too many trees," Sheila said next to her as she scanned the jungle.
It looked like a temple of some sort. Pillars holding the broken down roof mostly up, statues of… cthulhu? Or cthulhu's sister, going by the boobs.
I pointed at the statues, "...That can't be a good sign, can it?"
Alexis glanced at them, "Zelria. Goddess of the sea," she commented as she walked into the temple, "Still worshiped in parts of the world."
"Real?" I asked with a frown as I walked along next to her, looking around.
"Think so. At least, prayer can have effects here," She commented, and made her way towards what looked like an altar, "Enough to make me be respectful of them in their houses."
"...Sensible…"
We had enough trouble without getting an angry god on our tails. Especially a goddess of the sea when we traveled on a bloody ship.
Alexis went down on one knee by the altar, and put a gold coin on it. She stayed like that for a second before getting up again.
"Okay then," Alexis said and looked up towards the statue behind the altar, "Now then. Atregos, you're the archaeologist among us. Closest we have anyway."
...You're the expert on these things, Alexis...
"Fine, okay," I said and looked around, "Okay, we're looking for something. I doubt the thing was here, so there has to be some kind of map or clue. Do you see anything that's related? Anything at all?"
Ren frowned at the ceiling, "What would we be looking for?"
"Oh," Alexis said and snapped her fingers, "Weather, waves, storms… anything to do with the sea."
"In a temple to the goddess of the sea?" Sheila said and sighed, "Where do we even start?"
Otherwise we could have been flying back and forth over it for weeks, and we would have never spotted it.
Alexis dropped onto the sand, stumbling for a second, "...You have to get a new saddle," she said, gripping the edge of my wing for support, "I'm not doing that again."
"Wasn't that difficult, was it?" I asked as I turned my head to look at her, before turning back to mortal form.
She stared at me for a second, "...I'm not even going to answer that."
Sheila jumped of Ren as they landed next to us, "This is it?"
"It is," Ren confirmed, and transformed back, "The path starts at the edge of the forest, there," she pointed.
Alexis nodded and started towards the trees.
Following the path took a while. A lot longer than flying, but at least it made sure we didn't lose it.
Eventually we got back to the fallen body. Alexis paused, looking down at him, "Aridia Navy. Fuck."
"Maybe not," Ren said, "He was shot in the back."
Alexis shook her head, "They were still here before us. We're behind, and with the ship damaged..."
"Well, if they get their hands on the McGuffin first, we just have to take it away from them," I said with a smile.
She grinned briefly and nodded, "I suppose we would," and then moved further up the trail, leaving us to follow.
Pulling on my mana, I started summoning one creature, and then another, bringing Witcher and Paladin into existence alongside us.
Alexis glanced back towards me, "...Smelling trouble?"
"Yeah."
Turning forward, her hands started to glow, and soon we were joined by an angel walking along next to her.
Pulling my weapons, one magi-gun and my dagger, I peered out into the forest. So, if they were hunting this artifact, I could see why they came here. That made sense.
What didn't make a lot of sense was why that guy was dead and why he was shot in the back.
That meant somebody else had been here, too. Somebody who might not have left yet. And quite frankly, I may have gotten a tiny bit annoyed with getting my tail kicked in every bloody fight I got in.
Fuck that.
Might not be up to going up against somebody like the tree bitch… not yet. But eventually… and then I might go back and have a chat with her about the armour she owed me
Or I'll burn her bloody tree to the ground.
"...Didn't see that from the air," Ren said softly as we walked up to a ruin. It looked like it had been there for a long time.
"Too short, too many trees," Sheila said next to her as she scanned the jungle.
It looked like a temple of some sort. Pillars holding the broken down roof mostly up, statues of… cthulhu? Or cthulhu's sister, going by the boobs.
I pointed at the statues, "...That can't be a good sign, can it?"
Alexis glanced at them, "Zelria. Goddess of the sea," she commented as she walked into the temple, "Still worshiped in parts of the world."
"Real?" I asked with a frown as I walked along next to her, looking around.
"Think so. At least, prayer can have effects here," She commented, and made her way towards what looked like an altar, "Enough to make me be respectful of them in their houses."
"...Sensible…"
We had enough trouble without getting an angry god on our tails. Especially a goddess of the sea when we traveled on a bloody ship.
Alexis went down on one knee by the altar, and put a gold coin on it. She stayed like that for a second before getting up again.
"Okay then," Alexis said and looked up towards the statue behind the altar, "Now then. Atregos, you're the archaeologist among us. Closest we have anyway."
...You're the expert on these things, Alexis...
"Fine, okay," I said and looked around, "Okay, we're looking for something. I doubt the thing was here, so there has to be some kind of map or clue. Do you see anything that's related? Anything at all?"
Ren frowned at the ceiling, "What would we be looking for?"
"Oh," Alexis said and snapped her fingers, "Weather, waves, storms… anything to do with the sea."
"In a temple to the goddess of the sea?" Sheila said and sighed, "Where do we even start?"
19
"Anything?" I asked Ren as I walked up to her. We had spent hours searching the place with no luck. No hidden chambers, no hidden magic.
Nothing.
She shook her head, "No…" she sighed and turned to me, "Nothing."
Damn.
Putting my arms around her, I let her lean against me, "...Kind of humiliating," she admitted quietly, "A bunch of uneducated mortals figured this out, and we're having problems."
I chuckled and pulled her tighter, "We'll figure it out. Assuming they didn't take it along with them."
That got a small sigh from her, "...Yes, I suppose so," before she frowned slightly, tilting her head slightly.
"...What?" I asked and looked at her before turning my head to follow her gaze, "What did you spot?"
"Not sure…" she answered and tilted her head the other way, "I've seen those dots somewhere before, but I can't place where."
"Where?" I asked as I looked at the wall above a small statue of the tentacle-faced goddess holding a… globe.
Letting go of Ren, I approached the statue to get a closer look. The goddess was holding the globe in her tentacles, but now I could see she was looking at it intently.
"Is that a pearl?" Ren asked.
"...Maybe?"
Reaching out to touch it, I ran my fingers across it. Smooth, no grooves. Hmm.
"You guys find something?" Alexis asked as she joined us, Sheila right behind her.
Ren shook her head, "Not sure. Those spots just caught my eye," she said and pointed at the wall, "Not sure it's something."
Alexis looked up and then looked thoughtful, "That's the Serpent."
I turned to her, "Huh?"
"One of the constellations," She said and backed up to get a better picture, "Why would a constellation be in here?"
Ren nodded, "So that's why I recognized it! One of the sailors showed me."
Well, good luck to him if he thought that would help him with Ren. See, I'm civilized.
"Is it somehow related to the goddess?" Sheila asked and looked at the statue.
"Not really."
"Is it in the right direction?" I asked as I peered down behind the statue. For a squid face, she had a nice arse.
...Don't smite me.
"What about the orb?"
"An orb like that would usually show sunrise," Alexis said, and bit her lower lip, "...Go in the direction of the serpent at sunrise?"
Sheila frowned, "That's a bit of a stretch."
"Yeah…"
"Oh hey, a mark," I said as I looked at the back of the orb she was holding, "Looks like a whirlpool."
Alexis grinned, "That has to be it. A direction and a mark that's usually used for the power of Zelria. That has to point us in the direction we need to go."
"But what time of the year?" I asked with a frown, "Don't constellations move with the time of the year?"
Alexis shook her head, "Not here."
"Oh. That's handy."
"So we know where to go then?" Ren asked, "I assume the direction is from here? What's in that direction?"
"We'll see when we return to the ship, I didn't think to bring any maps," Alexis said, and headed for the exit, "Let's go."
Sounds like a plan.
Nothing.
She shook her head, "No…" she sighed and turned to me, "Nothing."
Damn.
Putting my arms around her, I let her lean against me, "...Kind of humiliating," she admitted quietly, "A bunch of uneducated mortals figured this out, and we're having problems."
I chuckled and pulled her tighter, "We'll figure it out. Assuming they didn't take it along with them."
That got a small sigh from her, "...Yes, I suppose so," before she frowned slightly, tilting her head slightly.
"...What?" I asked and looked at her before turning my head to follow her gaze, "What did you spot?"
"Not sure…" she answered and tilted her head the other way, "I've seen those dots somewhere before, but I can't place where."
"Where?" I asked as I looked at the wall above a small statue of the tentacle-faced goddess holding a… globe.
Letting go of Ren, I approached the statue to get a closer look. The goddess was holding the globe in her tentacles, but now I could see she was looking at it intently.
"Is that a pearl?" Ren asked.
"...Maybe?"
Reaching out to touch it, I ran my fingers across it. Smooth, no grooves. Hmm.
"You guys find something?" Alexis asked as she joined us, Sheila right behind her.
Ren shook her head, "Not sure. Those spots just caught my eye," she said and pointed at the wall, "Not sure it's something."
Alexis looked up and then looked thoughtful, "That's the Serpent."
I turned to her, "Huh?"
"One of the constellations," She said and backed up to get a better picture, "Why would a constellation be in here?"
Ren nodded, "So that's why I recognized it! One of the sailors showed me."
Well, good luck to him if he thought that would help him with Ren. See, I'm civilized.
"Is it somehow related to the goddess?" Sheila asked and looked at the statue.
"Not really."
"Is it in the right direction?" I asked as I peered down behind the statue. For a squid face, she had a nice arse.
...Don't smite me.
"What about the orb?"
"An orb like that would usually show sunrise," Alexis said, and bit her lower lip, "...Go in the direction of the serpent at sunrise?"
Sheila frowned, "That's a bit of a stretch."
"Yeah…"
"Oh hey, a mark," I said as I looked at the back of the orb she was holding, "Looks like a whirlpool."
Alexis grinned, "That has to be it. A direction and a mark that's usually used for the power of Zelria. That has to point us in the direction we need to go."
"But what time of the year?" I asked with a frown, "Don't constellations move with the time of the year?"
Alexis shook her head, "Not here."
"Oh. That's handy."
"So we know where to go then?" Ren asked, "I assume the direction is from here? What's in that direction?"
"We'll see when we return to the ship, I didn't think to bring any maps," Alexis said, and headed for the exit, "Let's go."
Sounds like a plan.
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
something something statuassque.
i dunno, pretend i also said something else clever to make it worthwhile.
i dunno, pretend i also said something else clever to make it worthwhile.
20
Wood is not that difficult to enchant. It even took enchantments relatively well, and was somewhat easy to work with. Not as much as something like Dwemer metal or even adamantium, but still very easy. One reason why it's one of the materials you start learning enchanting on.
But a ship is made of a hell of a lot of wood.
Couple of days work for each side of the ship, especially as I didn't have any shortcuts like magic dust. Now, normally I would consider that cheating, but it would more than cut the time needed in half, with no decrease in quality.
So I rather wished I had some.
Dropping back down onto the sand, I stepped back and looked up at the ship. Done. Finished.
As strong as steel.
Well, mostly. Close as I could make it at least.
"Done," I said, turning to the shipwright who had been watching, "I think that's pretty much it, isn't it?"
Kalfer nodded, "Just waiting for the tide tomorrow. You managed to make it stronger?"
"Strong as steel. Not sure it'll actually turn a cannonball other than at long range, but it'll sure handle them better now."
He looked thoughtful, "...How would we conduct repairs if the hull is harder than steel?"
"Carefully. It's self repairing as long as the hole isn't too big. Though, I also made it slightly corrosive on the outside. Should keep all the sea-life from attaching to the hull."
Kalfer looked doubtful and hmmhed in though before he nodded, "I'll inform the Captain."
"Great."
Stretching, I looked up towards the stars. Soon we'll be back on the ship, a couple of days of loading everything back up and getting her back into the water. Then we'll spend weeks cramped up onboard again on our way to our next destination. An island a week away was in the right direction, according to Alexis.
I'd bow to her superior navigational skills. She was the one that had her own ship after all, mine crashed.
Though in my defense, it went up against an entire demon army.
Cracking my neck, I headed a bit down the beach, and then returned to my real form. If we're going to be spending a week or more onboard the ship, I'm going to stay in my real form until then.
As for now, I'm hungry.
Spreading my wings, I took to the air.
XXXXXXXXX
The sound of yelling woke me the next morning, and I forced my eyes open. It didn't seem like panicked yelling.
Sunlight seared my eyes and I quickly closed again before risking another look.
Oh, it was just the crew getting ready to get the ship back into the ocean. Ren shifted and rested her head across the back of my neck, "...Should we help them?" she asked.
"They'll be fine," I mumbled back, closing my eyes again.
Digging my claws into the warm sand, I sighed and yawned before relaxing again. Nope, screw that. They can haul that thing into the water without our help.
Splash!
Gasp! Scrambling backwards, I spread my wings in surprise as Ren did the same with a growl. Opening my eyes revealed Sheila standing there with a now-empty bucket,
"Sheila!" Ren protested.
Sheila just grinned, "Come on you two, we're going to help pull her into the water. I suspect some dragon power would be just as appreciated getting her back in as it was getting her out."
I grumbled at that and yawned, stretching my wings again. Ren on the other hand moved up to Sheila and rubbed her head all over her shirt, getting a squeak in response.
"...Fine, we're awake now anyway," I admitted, and moved up to Sheila, "We might as well give them a hand."
Sheila finished pushing Ren away from her with a laugh, "Yeah, I thought so too-eep!"
I gave her a big slobbering lick across the face.
She did not look amused.
But a ship is made of a hell of a lot of wood.
Couple of days work for each side of the ship, especially as I didn't have any shortcuts like magic dust. Now, normally I would consider that cheating, but it would more than cut the time needed in half, with no decrease in quality.
So I rather wished I had some.
Dropping back down onto the sand, I stepped back and looked up at the ship. Done. Finished.
As strong as steel.
Well, mostly. Close as I could make it at least.
"Done," I said, turning to the shipwright who had been watching, "I think that's pretty much it, isn't it?"
Kalfer nodded, "Just waiting for the tide tomorrow. You managed to make it stronger?"
"Strong as steel. Not sure it'll actually turn a cannonball other than at long range, but it'll sure handle them better now."
He looked thoughtful, "...How would we conduct repairs if the hull is harder than steel?"
"Carefully. It's self repairing as long as the hole isn't too big. Though, I also made it slightly corrosive on the outside. Should keep all the sea-life from attaching to the hull."
Kalfer looked doubtful and hmmhed in though before he nodded, "I'll inform the Captain."
"Great."
Stretching, I looked up towards the stars. Soon we'll be back on the ship, a couple of days of loading everything back up and getting her back into the water. Then we'll spend weeks cramped up onboard again on our way to our next destination. An island a week away was in the right direction, according to Alexis.
I'd bow to her superior navigational skills. She was the one that had her own ship after all, mine crashed.
Though in my defense, it went up against an entire demon army.
Cracking my neck, I headed a bit down the beach, and then returned to my real form. If we're going to be spending a week or more onboard the ship, I'm going to stay in my real form until then.
As for now, I'm hungry.
Spreading my wings, I took to the air.
XXXXXXXXX
The sound of yelling woke me the next morning, and I forced my eyes open. It didn't seem like panicked yelling.
Sunlight seared my eyes and I quickly closed again before risking another look.
Oh, it was just the crew getting ready to get the ship back into the ocean. Ren shifted and rested her head across the back of my neck, "...Should we help them?" she asked.
"They'll be fine," I mumbled back, closing my eyes again.
Digging my claws into the warm sand, I sighed and yawned before relaxing again. Nope, screw that. They can haul that thing into the water without our help.
Splash!
Gasp! Scrambling backwards, I spread my wings in surprise as Ren did the same with a growl. Opening my eyes revealed Sheila standing there with a now-empty bucket,
"Sheila!" Ren protested.
Sheila just grinned, "Come on you two, we're going to help pull her into the water. I suspect some dragon power would be just as appreciated getting her back in as it was getting her out."
I grumbled at that and yawned, stretching my wings again. Ren on the other hand moved up to Sheila and rubbed her head all over her shirt, getting a squeak in response.
"...Fine, we're awake now anyway," I admitted, and moved up to Sheila, "We might as well give them a hand."
Sheila finished pushing Ren away from her with a laugh, "Yeah, I thought so too-eep!"
I gave her a big slobbering lick across the face.
She did not look amused.