Missteps

Chapter 78 – Fun in a Grotto

Seeing as the river wound itself straight through the village, it took nearly no time at all to reach it. Ander walked out to the middle of the stone bridge (that already showed signs of serious wear and tear), while Iados walked straight down to the water's edge.

"See anything dangerous?" Ander called down as he leaned over the bridge's railing. As he did a small chuck of stone broke off into the water with a 'plop'. He gingerly leaned back with a grimace.

The former pirate shook his head as he watched a dead fish get carried away with the muddy current. "If possible, this thing looks like it already came from a swamp." He kneeled down and put a hand in the cold water. "Wonder what Lia or Carric would say about this?" He wiped his hand on his pants. He pulled up the pocket flap and Mavi stuck his head out. "Has the water always been like this?"

The blond-haired fairy shook their head. "It's always been clear, and full of all kinds of fish."

Ander gave a heavy sigh from above. "Let me guess, it started to get murky around the time Jennavieve showed up?" The halfling started heading towards the duo, anxious to get off the bridge.

Iados was about to stand up, when something in the water caught his eye. "What the-?" He leaned forward to take a closer look, and then realized that a face was staring up at him.

The former pirate couldn't hold back his startled shriek as he fell back on his ass.

Ander came running around the end of the bridge. "What is it?" Mavi pulled himself out of the pocket and hovered in the air.

The akudaem pointed a violet finger towards the water, where the face still sat just beneath the surface.

Actually, it wasn't just a face, but a whole body. A beautiful young woman with long flowing hair, long eyelashes, and a beautiful face watched them. Her face was crunched in laughter as her slender hands covered her mouth.

"At least someone finds you funny." Ander muttered under his breath as he stepped closer to the edge. He gave a small wave, and the woman waved back as she got her laughter under control. The halfling turned to their fairy guide. "Is she a new addition to the valley?"

Mavi shook his head. He zoomed over the water, and waved enthusiastically. As he did, two more women appeared from the depths, both excited to see the fairy.

Iados got back on his feet. "Who are they?"

"The Water Women!" The fairy announced. "They've been here nearly as long as everyone else in the valley. The kids and I played with them a lot." To prove it, Mavi dived into the water and began to literally swim circles around the women.

The women playfully tried to catch the small form, coming close quite a few times before the fairy left the water.

"Can they leave the water?" Ander asked as Mavi shook the water off of him like a dog. "Do they have actual bodies?"

Mavi flew and settled on Iados's shoulder. "They have bodies, but they can't breach the water's surface. Rumor is that Tyren cursed them."

"What'd they do to piss her off?" Iados reached down in the water, and one of them women gently took his hand and shook it. He smiled as he returned the handshake, before pulling his hand out.

The fairy shook his head. "I don't know, and the women can't speak."

In the water, the women swam closer to each other and began to rapidly make signals with their hands to one another.

"They obviously found some way to communicate." Iados recognized the signals as a kind of language that he'd seen other water races use, but he'd never taken the time to learn how to communicate with it.

As the women's conversation died down, one of them moved closer to the edge, while the other two started downstream. The one that had moved closer, began to gesture for the trio on land to follow.

The akudaem raised an eyebrow, and looked sideways at Ander. "It's pretty much pirate policy not to follow a beautiful women in the water." His mind quickly flashed to the multitude of times he and other members of his old crew had gotten into trouble because of a pretty face.

The halfling waved him off. "They play with kids, how bad could they be?" He gave a nod to the woman, picked up his pack from where he'd set it on the ground, and headed off after the women.

Iados nodded to himself, after all it wasn't the worst reason he'd heard to ignore the policy. With Mavi hidden back in his pocket, he took off after their new guides as well.

The women led the men out of the village and into the wooded area. There were a few curves of the river, but it seemed to be a straight shot more or less. After nearly half an hour, they came to a rocky outcropping on the side of the river. An offshoot of water traveled through an opening. Next to the water was a sliver of land large enough for the land-dwellers to traverse into the cave beyond.

"You ever been in there?" Iados asked Mavi as the women gestured excitedly for the men to enter the cave. The hairs on the back of his neck had begun to prick up. Unconsciously his hand went to his back, to ensure that his quarterstaff was ready to go. Carric's sword that they'd picked up had been lashed to the side of his pack.

The fairy, who'd left the pocket as soon as they'd left the village, shook his head. "I don't think I even knew this place existed."

Ander pulled the circular circumluci out of his pack and quickly said a few quick words over it. The globe not only began to glow with a soft light, but it also rose until it hovered just a few feet above the wizard's head. "I say we go see what these women are so excited to show us." With a pointed look at the akudaem, he nodded with his head for his companion to enter the cave first.

The small path curved slightly as part of its downward descent. Both adventurers kept a hand on the rocky wall to help steady themselves on the slightly muddy ground.

Eventually the small cave opened up into a larger grotto. The small waterway swirled around and encompassed a rocky island in the middle, while it fed four small fountains in each corner of the square shaped room. The fountains weren't anything spectacular, just large basins with a spray of water that jutted out of the center of them. Globules of dim light sat balanced on the water spray, sending a mosaic of shadows crisscrossing about the room.

When the boys passed by the closest fountain, they saw a multitude of gems and jewelry littering its bottom.

Two of their Water Women guides swam swiftly further into the grotto, while the third stayed behind and gestured happily for the men to cross the stone bridge that connected the island with their path.

Since they'd followed them this far, the duo stepped out onto the bridge.

Halfway over it, Iados was the first to see the recessed hole in the center of the island. It seemed to be filled to the brim with seaweed, some of it compacted together, while other parts left in strands. The cold sweat began anew on the back of his neck and caused him to pause in his tracks.

The mound of seaweed had begun to move.

"Ander, stop!" The former pirate hissed as he reached out and yanked the halfling back by the scruff of his shirt.

"Let go!" The small wizard protested as he tried to pull free of the violet grasp.

Instead of obeying, Iados merely pointed towards the lithe figure that had begun to stand up from amongst the seaweed.

The figure was obviously female. They wore no clothing, but their modesty was protected by wide bands of purple scales that crossed their dark blue body. Damp strands of long hair hung flat against their head and against their shoulders. As the woman moved the strands out of their face, she fixed her turquoise gaze upon the men.

"Well well, it's been a minute since I had visitors." The woman's soft voice echoed softly against the walls of the grotto. She stepped out of the hole and made her way towards the edge of the island, where two of the Water Women were waiting. She settled herself on a large boulder, and reached into the water where one of the Women passed her a few stone sticks.

As the woman reached up and twisted her hair around the sticks, she gestured with her chin for the men to come closer.

She sighed heavily as neither men made a move to step closer. "Do I really look that threatening?"

The former pirate scoffed. "Past experience say 'yes'."

She rolled her eyes, before she got to her feet and did a twirl. "I have no weapons on me, nor do I have any claws or fangs with which to attack you." She gestured to the area in front of her. "Can't we pretend to have a little civility in this cave, and just sit and talk? It's been a while since I've gotten a chance to speak to anyone except the Women."

"Do you know what happened to this valley? Why it's so fucked up?" Ander asked hesitantly.

The woman grinned, and settled herself back down on the stone. "Oh, I'm afraid that I'm partially to blame for that. However, if you want my story, then you have to come sit with me."

The men shared another look, before Iados sighed defeated, and led the way to the other side of the bridge.

By the time they'd arrived, the woman had pulled out a small tea set provided by the Water Women, and was pouring clear water into the cups.

As Ander settled down on the ground, he noticed that unlike the waterway they'd followed down there, the water that encircled the small island was crystal clear.

"I suppose that the first thing I should do is introduce myself." The woman said with a smile as she handed each of them a cup. "My name is Morgen." She set down a third cup on the ground, with a knowing smile at the moving lump in Iados's pants.

The former pirate reached down and flipped open the flap. "She knows you're here buddy." He whispered down towards Mavi.

Morgen chuckled as the blond-headed fairy poked his head out of the pocket.

"The Water Women and I have no secrets." She explained. "In fact it was them who brought me down here after I was attacked." She took a large drink of her water, eyeing the still full cups in the men's hands.

Ander didn't make a move to take a sip. "You said that you were partially to blame for the valley's troubles?"

"Yes, well at least from what the Women have told me. I'm afraid that after the attack I lost all of my memories of my former life." She turned and sent a grateful smile down into the water, where three of the women hovered just under the surface. "They tell me that I was part of a group of five that entered the valley, looking to recover a Crann Arbora sapling."

"You were with Jennavieve?" Iados asked.

Morgen turned towards the water and signed to the women, waiting until she'd received a response before nodding to Iados. "It didn't take us long to realize that not only was the Crann Arbora no longer a sapling, but that Tyren had taken control of it. In addition to controlling its magic, she used it to imprison her lover, a Fey, within it."

Iados tilted his head to the side. "Like from the Fey Lands?" He glanced down at Mavi, who was bent over the side of his cup and drinking greedily from it. Seeing as it wasn't hurting the fairy, he took a tentative sip of his own, enjoying the feeling of the crisp, cold water going down his throat.

"I suppose so, if that's where Fey usually come from." She sighed and looked morosely down at the Women in the water. "Tyren is frighteningly jealous about the Fey. In fact, she cursed these women to stay trapped within the water just for even daring to gaze upon him. Not long after she stuck him in the Crann Arbora to keep anyone else from him."

Ander sat down his still full cup. "How does his plight relate to you messing up the valley?"

"According to the Women, our small group managed to speak with the Fey away from Tyren, and he asked us to free him. In exchange he'd help us recover whatever was left of the Crann Arbora, and help us leave the valley." Morgen poured herself another cup. "We ended up having to destroy the Crann Arbora to free him, but we succeeded. Afterwards, Tyren fled the swamps."

"After she attacked you?" Ander pressed.

Morgen shook her head. "I'm told that it was the Fey who attacked our group. Somehow he managed to separate not only our spirits from our bodies, but also tear our spirits." She gave an involuntary shudder. "The way that the Water Women described it makes me very glad I don't have those memories."

"Why would he do something like that?" Iados asked. He glanced down at the water, where the Women still focused their gazes on Morgen, now with pity in their watery eyes.

The scaled women shrugged her shoulders. "According to the Women, our bodies twisted into different forms," She gestured at herself, "while part of our spirits became these kind of shadow creatures."

A lightbulb seemed to have gone off in Ander's head as his eyes widened. He turned to look at Iados. "That's why the creatures keep reforming, because it's nearly impossible to kill a soul entirely."

Iados shook his head as he leaned in closer to the halfling. "Not soul, spirit. If they came with Jennavieve, then they'd be elves as well. I'm more concerned with why he's tearing the spirits. Wouldn't they be more powerful intact?"

Ander's gaze went unfocused as he thought. "Maybe not to him. Remember what Lia said, that the Fey were created by the god Ekolord sharing his blood with them and giving them a spirit? Elves aren't full fey, they're more like cousins. So he could be trying to pull out the pure-Fey part of them."

Iados grimaced. "And do what with them?"

"To go home." Morgen chimed in. She'd leaned forward, her arms resting on her knees as the two had conversed. "The Women tell me that he's been begging Tyren to let him go home for centuries. According to them, Tyren used the power of the Crann Arbora to seal off the valley from the outside world. Creating a world where not even the gods could find her."

The former pirate stood up. "I think we've heard enough. We need to get back to Lia and Jennavieve."

Ander nodded. "Now that we know part of the story, we can make Jennavieve fill in some of the gaps."

"Yeah, like how she's the only one who managed to not get torn apart." Iados turned to Morgen. "Can you leave this place? Maybe seeing Jennavieve would bring some of your memories back?"

"You're sweet, but no." Morgen leaned over and lightly caressed the surface of the water. "The Water Women won't allow me to leave. They're afraid that the Fey might still come for me. They say that I'm not as darkly twisted as my compatriots."

"What did they turn into?" The halfling asked.

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Morgen tapped her chin. "Two of them are some sort of undead, while the other became an angry little man."

"Good to know." Ander climbed to his feet. "One last question, do the Women know where Tyren fled to?"

"And do they know anything about a magic sword?" Iados added.

Morgen took a moment to speak with the women, before she turned back to her guests. "They don't know anything about a sword, but they say that Tyren headed towards Cornelia's manor."

The former pirate reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Wonder if she got there before or after Cornelia died."

"Guess we'll find out." Ander turned to Morgen. "Thank you for the information, but we do have to be leaving now."

Morgen tutted as she got to her feet as well. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. These women have worked so hard to keep me hidden here, and I can't let their hard work go to waste." She brought her hands up in front of her, and began to sign once again.

This time however, little globules of magic manifested into a spell. When she finished, the globules shot out into the water.

For a moment Ander was impressed, he didn't have much experience with wordless magic such as that. That feeling quickly left him however as the water around them bubbled to the surface and began to creep onto the rocky island, before bursting out into a large wall that completely blocked their way from the bridge.

Iados's hands went right to his quarterstaff. He glanced down at the small wizard. "Can you do something about that, or are we fighting?"

"Give me a minute," Ander grumbled as he turned to face the wall. He grabbed the crystal around his neck and began to speak his spell. A purple film covered his eyes, and he was able to see the threads of magic that held the wall together. The spell was relatively simple. With barely any effort, he used his own magic to reach out and cut the core threads. The wall sank back into the calm waters of the grotto as the film disappeared from his eyes.

"No!" Morgen screamed in frustration.

"Yes!" Iados shoved Mavi in his pocket, then turned, picked up Ander (pack and all), and threw him over his shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about." He praised the wizard as he ran off towards the bridge.

The bridge, which had been dry the first time they'd crossed, was now slick from the recent wall. It didn't take long for the unbalanced former pirate to lose his footing and go crashing to the ground.

The halfling cursed as he slid on the wet floor, down the other end of the bridge. He barely managed to stop himself from going into the water. He grimaced as his foot dipped into the cold water.

Three of the Water Women swam towards him, all three of them hungrily reaching for the submerged foot. Ander quickly pulled his foot out and scrambled back away from the edge. He brought his hands up, and a fiery cone blasted towards the women. With wordless screams all three of them dissolved into a mess of bubbles.

Up near the top of the bridge, Iados silently berated himself for the slip. Before he could get to his feet, he felt a stabbing pain in his back.

When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that Morgen had been lying about not having weapons. She stood next to her seaweed bed, a longbow in her hands, and a second arrow already nocked. As she let the arrow fly, Iados barely managed to dodge as it skittered off the stone next to his head.

The former pirate scrambled over to Ander, who pulled the arrow out of his back.

Iados grunted in pain. "You ready to make another run for it?"

"Actually, I kind of want to capture her." The wizard admitted.

"Are you serious? Why?" The former pirate hissed as he dodged another arrow. "Let's just run."

"So that we can interrogate her." Ander insisted. "Come on, are you seriously gonna tell me that the two of us can't subdue one woman?" To prove his point, he sent three blasts of pure magic in Morgen's direction. All three hit her in the chest.

"She's not the one that knows anything, it's the women!" Iados clarified as he pointed towards the water.

"True, but we can't speak with them, she can." The wizard got to his feet. "If they know anything that can help keep Lia safe, shouldn't we try to find it out?"

The akudaem hesitated another moment, but eventually stood up with a grumble. "That's a low blow, and you know it."

Ander shrugged. "It worked."

"For now," Iados unhooked his quarterstaff. With another glare down at the halfling, he took off running towards Morgen.

With a cackle, Morgen fired another arrow at the violet form.

Iados easily flicked the arrow out of his way with his quarterstaff, before he slammed the wooden weapon against the side of her face. He didn't give her a chance to retaliate as he kicked her once in the gut, and punched her in the nose.

"Ow!" Morgen cried as she brought a hand up to her nose that now dripped red blood. "That is not how you treat a woman."

"It is when the woman hit you with an arrow." The former pirate reached out to smack her again, but this time Morgen was ready and dodged the attack.

With a sneer, she grabbed the quiver and arrows from its place at her feet, before turning and diving into the water with it and her bow.

"Stay alert!" Iados yelled back at Ander. He slowly turned as he examined the water around the island. Even with the dim lighting, his eyesight was still better than the halflings. He did not feel comforted as he noticed the piles of skeletons scattered around the bottom of the clear water.

The former pirate was not comforted by the fact that the women seemed to have vanished into thin air. He watched as a couple of the Water Women appeared in a swirl of bubbles along the surface of the pool.

The only thing Ander saw in the water was the glaring face of a Water Woman.

Suddenly the sounds of pounding footsteps came from down the tunnel. Both men turned towards the sound, ready to face the next foe.

They weren't ready to face a familiar red-head.

"What the hell?" Ander lowered his hands as he took in the form of a disheveled Carric. "Where did you come from?"

"Glendaia." The ranger answered as he looked around.

The wizard didn't say anything else. He knew that the Goddess of the Ley Lines had a soft spot for the red-head.

Carric made eye contact with Iados on the other side of the bridge. "What's going on?" He yelled. By the size of the bloodstain on the former pirate's back, he figured it wasn't anything good.

"There's a bow-wielding woman somewhere in the water that wants to kill us." Iados informed him. "Ander wants to capture her, but I'm not too keen on that plan."

Before Carric could comment, Morgen jumped out of the water and onto the far shore of the rocky island. She groaned as she caught sight of the red-head. "Great, more people I have to kill."

"You could just let us go." Iados suggested.

Morgen held her bow up. "And let you use me as a bargaining chip to keep this 'Lia' safe? No thank you." She fired another arrow right at him.

Iados let his anger build up within him. With barely a second thought, he'd reached up and plucked the damp arrow out of the air. The wood began to smoke in his grasp as he twisted his arm back, before flinging the arrow back at Morgen.

The attack wasn't very strong, but it was enough to make the woman gasp as it pierced her abdomen. A couple of the Water Woman had reappeared in the water behind her, and the water churned as they desperately tried to reach her.

"Cool trick," Carric stated as he jogged up next to the akudaem. "My turn." He pulled out an arrow with some sort of tangle ball on it instead of an arrowhead.

"Where'd you get that?" The former pirate asked. He also noticed that the ranger had managed to find a new set of boots.

"A friend." Carric grunted as he loosed the arrow towards Morgen.

Unfortunately the ranger's skill with the new type of arrow wasn't that good yet, as it failed to cross over the seaweed bed.

Ander's groan of frustration was almost drowned out by the sound of the tangle bag erupting in a mess of netting.

"I bet that would have been really cool." The small voice of Mavi squeaked out from within Iados's pocket.

Carric sent a raised eyebrow to Iados as he nodded down at the pocket.

"That's Mavi, we'll do proper introductions later." The former pirate explained.

"How hard is it to capture one woman?" Ander asked exasperatedly as stomped to the top of the bridge. He sent another volley of magic arrows towards Morgen, pushing her feet and ankles back into the water.

Immediately the Water Women grabbed hold and tried to pull her into the water with them.

"Oh no you don't!" Iados threw down his quarterstaff and ran off to the other side of the island, easily vaulting over the seaweed bed. He took hold of Morgen's arm and tried to pull her out of the water.

"Will you just die already?" Morgen hissed angrily at the violet man. With her free arm she made more of the magic-filled motions from before. This time the water bubbled up out from the seaweed bed and spread over the island.

Iados felt the rumble under his feet as the water sloshed over his boots. The force of the water as it formed its wall was enough to force Morgen from his grasp and send him stumbling off to the side.

He heard a yell, and saw Carric go crashing into the water out of the corner of his eye. He ran over and reached the half-elf just as he managed to pull himself out.

"Where's Ander?" The ranger asked he coughed cold water out of his lungs.

"I don't know, I think he's on the other side of the wall." Iados strained his eyes to see through the wall, but it was bubbling too much to make anything of it. The wall was long enough that it completely bisected the island in half, with just a few feet at the beginning of the bridge open to get to the other side.

Suddenly Carric paused in his coughing. He put a hand up to his ear. "Did you hear that?"

"I can't hear anything." Iados grimaced as he turned his attention back to the water. He saw one of the Water Women, just waiting for them to get closer.

The ranger took off running for the bridge. With a leap he made it onto the bridge, and quickly scanned the other side of the island.

No sign of Ander.

The sound of thrashing caught his attention as he turned his gaze towards the water. His stomach sank as he saw the halfling being pinned at the bottom by one of the women. The circumluci shined like a beacon under the water as it illuminated the halfling's struggles.

The ranger quickly ran back to the edge of the wall. "Ander's trapped in the water!" He yelled at Iados.

The akudaem felt his blood freeze as his mind drifted back to his earlier conversation with the halfling. "He can't swim." He said to himself. With fear in his eyes he locked eyes with Carric. "He can't swim!" The former pirate took off running, nearly knocking Carric out of the way. He barely hesitated on the other side before he dove into the water.

Immediately two of the Water Women were on him, attempting to pin back his legs and arms. Beneath him, Iados could see a second Woman swim up to Ander and try to pry his mouth open.

Up top, Carric grabbed a quarterstaff out of his magic quiver and started stabbing the Water Women holding Iados with it.

"That's not very fair." The sound of Morgen's voice floated across the bridge. Carric watched as she sauntered towards the middle of the island, obviously in much better spirits than before. The water wall had vanished.

"Who says we're supposed to fight fair?" The ranger's words were punctuated by his stabbings. Down below, the small fairy had flown out of his pocket and was sending little bursts of light at the women holding down his friends.

Carric's efforts were stopped by an arrow as it sliced a path across his shoulder. He turned and glared at Morgen, who stood there was a satisfied grin, bow in hand.

"Listen," Carric threw down his quarterstaff and picked up his longbow. "I don't know what kind of insult Ander threw at you to make you want to kill him, but I promised Jun I'd bring him back alive." He nocked his own arrow, took a moment to mark her magically, and then sent it flying towards her.

Morgen dodged it, but didn't expect the ranger to ready a second one so quickly.

The next arrow buried itself in her upper thigh. She screamed in pain, and collapsed to the ground. Blood gushed heavily out of the wound, even as she tried to use her hands to stifle it.

When she saw Carric prepare another arrow, she quickly did her magic signs again, this time with fear in her eyes. The wall went up, and blocked her completely from Carric's view, once again bisecting the island to keep them apart.

Through his mark Carric knew that she was still on the island. He turned his attention back down into the water.

Iados had managed to lessen the number of women attacking him by one, but that still left two on him.

Ander only had one Water Woman holding him, but his mouth was wide open.

The ranger switched back to the quarterstaff and jumped in the water.

The women were quite swift in their natural element, and hard to hit. The one holding Ander released him so as to block Carric's path.

It was not comforting to either of the men that the small body made no attempt to move up to the surface.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Iados managed to squeeze out of the women's grasp. He immediately swam to the bottom of the 6-foot pool, grabbed the wizard, and make a beeline for the surface.

Both Mavi and Carric blocked the women from his path.

The former pirate was not gentle as he threw Ander as far from the water's edge as he could. He'd barely managed to haul himself out before he started doing compressions on the small chest.

Behind him, Carric burst to the surface and quickly clambered onto the rocks, with Mavi riding the magical light ball of the circumluci right behind him.

"How is he?" The ranger asked as he scrambled to Ander's side.

"He'll be great once we get the water out of his lungs." Iados grunted. His efforts were rewarded by a sputtering Ander. The former pirate helped turn him on his side as water dribbled out of the wizard's mouth. "You're ok," He whispered soothingly as the small body tried to remember how to breathe.

"What about Morgen?" Ander croaked out.

That's when Carric realized that he couldn't feel the presence of his magical mark. He looked over his shoulder towards the island, and saw that the water wall was gone.

"Look after him," Iados said as he clambered to his feet. Slowly he made his way over the bridge. Down in the water, the women seemed to be upset, with a couple of them trying to climb onto the land.

He saw the blue-tinged figure of Morgen in her seaweed bed. As he approached, he picked up his quarterstaff that he'd discarded earlier, and held it out in front of him.

As he drew closer, he saw that it wasn't needed.

Morgen laid sprawled out in her bed. Blood still pooled under her from the wound in her thigh. He knelt down to take a closer look. In one hand she held a broken arrow shaft, while its arrowhead jutted out of her wound at an odd angle.

He gave a heavy sigh. He looked back over his shoulder at Carric, and shook his head.

Sprawled on the rocky island next to the bed, were Morgen's longbow and quiver. The quiver held about six or so arrows in it. He collected the spoils and headed back to his team. He considered trying to swipe some of the jewels from the fountain, but decided not to press his luck as he was stared down by the Water Women.

When he got to the other side of the bridge, Carric had Ander on his back, and was trying to loop a pack across his front.

"Got you a little something." The former pirate said as he approached. He knelt down and started to store what gear he could in Carric's magic quiver. He couldn't tell if Morgen's quiver was magical or not, but he went ahead and lashed it to the side of the ranger's pack.

"Thanks," Carric said as he watched Iados pack up without any urgency. On his back Ander was quiet, but alert. "So, how'd the two of you end up down here anyway?"

"We followed the Water Women," Iados explained as he went across the rocky landing and picked up a few of Morgen's arrows. At least one of them was bloody.

"The women didn't seem murderous." Ander muttered. "What are you doing down here?"

Carric readjusted the halfling. "I watched the two of you enter the forest and started to follow."

"A 'hail' would have been nice, we would have waited." Iados gathered up the rest of the packs, slung them across his body, and then gestured for Carric to lead the way out of the grotto. Mavi tiredly sank back into his pocket.

"You two were too far ahead of me for that." The ranger explained. "Besides, it was a matter of luck that I managed to see you. I'd only just managed to get back."

"Where did you go?" The former pirate asked. "Last we heard you were being pulled through a portal." He was extra careful with his steps on the way back up. With the light of the circumluci so close, it negated his extra good sight, and he did not want to slip again. They were all aware that they were being stalked by the Water Women in the waterway next to them.

Carric chuckled. "When we entered the valley, I vanished from Glendaia's sight and she got scared. So she sent this mermaid to search for me. Instead of just reporting back that I was safe, this mermaid decided to bring me to Glendaia instead."

"So how'd you get from Glendaia to here?" Iados asked. He could see the opening of the cave just ahead of them.

The ranger grinned to himself as the memories came to the forefront of his mind. "That is a story for another time. Let's just say that I ran into even more shenanigans."

After being in dim light for so long, the twilight of the valley was still bright to their eyes. The small group quickly put some distance between the water and themselves, not stopping until they were far away from the judgmental eyes of the Water Women.

Stopping just on the edge of the wood clearing, Carric gently set Ander down on a stump. "Where's Lia?"

Iados gratefully set down the packs. "She's off with Jennavieve getting some protection bracelet from the fairies." The former pirate suddenly stiffened and began to scan the sky. He reached down and gently pulled Mavi out of the pocket.

"Come on, I was sleeping." The small fairy protested with a yawn.

"Listen, can you make that protection ring by yourself?" Iados asked hurriedly.

At the mention of the ring, Ander seemed to understand the former pirate's sudden urgency. He quickly got to his feet and also began to scan his surroundings.

"What's going on?" Carric asked.

Mavi shook his head. "It takes at least two of us to make it."

Iados cursed. He pointed the fairy towards the ranger. "Do you think he's fey enough to get the creatures attention?"

"I'd say yes." Ander supplied as he pointed towards the forest. Just barely visible in the shadows of the tree, was a large creature. It stood on four spindly legs, and had a large mid-section. Its pointed snout was pointed right at the group.

"How are you on spells?" Iados asked as he pulled his quarterstaff.

"Not good," The wizard said. He also wasn't sure on his ability to run, as his legs still seemed to feel like they were made of gelatin. Turns out nearly drowning took a lot out of a person.

"This the same thing that attacked us before?" Carric asked as he reached for his longbow.

"One of them," Iados explained. "They're pretty hard to hit."

A new sound hit Carric's ears. He turned around to see what it was. "What the-"

The ranger barely had time to curse before a giant, shadowy raven came careening out of the air. One of the giant talons wrapped around his torso and plucked him off the ground.

"Shit!" Was all Iados could say as he felt the downdraft from the creature's wings as it took off in flight.

Ander threw a bolt of fire after it, but it was easily dodged as the shadowy creature took off with his prey.

The three of them watched in silence as Carric and the shadowy raven disappeared off in the direction of the swamps. The large shadow in the forest vanished.

The former pirate cursed again and kicked at the ground, bringing up a large clump of dirt.

"That's not going to help." Ander admonished as he collapsed back on the stump.

"We were right here!" Iados shouted.

"Yeah, but it's not like we're at peak fighting level. May I remind you, one of us almost died?" The snark was highly evident in the wizard's tone. "Right now all we can do is meet up with Lia, rest, and make a plan to save him."

The former pirate groaned and buried his face in his hands. "She is not gonna let us live this down."

Ander didn't have a comeback for that. After another couple of minutes, they loaded up their gear (including Carric's) and started their long trek.

It became very obvious, very soon, that both of them were tired. After a long day of fighting, the fatigue was beginning to catch up with them as the adrenaline wound down. They'd barely made it to the edge of the village before Ander had to call for a break.

The duo, with Mavi fast asleep in Iados's pocket, settled down against the wall of a building and shared a small snack. Their still damp clothing clung to them, and had cooled quickly in the air. Both of them shivered as a breeze passed other them.

They were so tired that they didn't hear the figure come upon them.

"Now, I thought I told you to be careful around the river."

Iados looked up tiredly, and saw Peggy (the woman who'd been curt with them before) staring down at them with a scowl, hands on hips.

The former pirate only sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "You never said why. We would have appreciated a warning around the murderous Water Women."

Peggy hung her head, some of her brown hair coming loose from its leather cord. "They didn't use to be murderous." She contemplated the sight of the two of them for another minute, before she hmph'ed with a shake of her shoulders.

"Come on, get to your feet." She grabbed Iados's arm and hauled him to his feet. She started grabbing the packs and hanging them on the former pirate. He didn't have the energy to argue, just to look at her with a questioning look.

When he was decked out in all the gear, she gathered Ander (who was on the verge of sleep) in her arms. "Follow me, we'll get you sorted for the night."