The excitement Maia felt soon turned to boredom. Most people think that every moment of an adventure is exhilarating, but the truth is, even on adventures you have to sit in a passenger seat of a caravan for hours with nothing to do. At first, she was fascinated by all the strange flora and fauna and frogs the size of small dogs, but you can only see so many 24 foot mushrooms before you’ve seen them all. Spend a whole day on it, and anyone, besides perhaps a botanist, would want to do something else for an hour or two. Boredom on an adventure is still much more enjoyable than boredom in an office.
Eventually, the sun sank into the horizon, which only made the already opalescent sky more vibrant. Maia was sure there was some science behind the strange color of the sky, something in the atmosphere or ozone, but admitted to herself it didn’t matter. It was the most beautiful sunset she had seen. Zephyra refused to let her help make the fire, which she said was because it was her first night and she should enjoy it, but Maia suspected she just wanted to stretch her legs for a bit looking for firewood. It was actually because Zephyra was patrolling the area for any threats, but Maia would sleep better not knowing those were possible on her first night.
Maia sat against Bessie’s flank and looked up at the stars wondering if they were the same one’s she would see in her world.
“They aren't,” Thatcher said intuitively from the map next to her. “I checked too when I first got here. Just wait until you see the moon, it looks impossibly close. No matter how much I've tried I can’t figure out where this place is, but it’s not in the human world.”
“I think I’m kind of glad it's not. Humans would spoil it,” said Maia thoughtfully.
“You’re probably not wrong,” Thatcher chuckled. They sat in silence while they waited on Zephyra to return and build a fire. She soon had her pots and pans out and started making something from some sort of leaves she had brought back from her patrol and meat they had stored in the caravan. It wasn’t long before they were eating a delicious dinner that Maia thought resembled a curry, but what it was made out of she had no idea. It was probably best that she didn’t know that at least part of it was made from a frog like one of the ones she saw earlier.
After dinner, Maia asked them what she should expect when they arrived in Shiverdawn.
“I don’t know that you’ll really believe it until you see it. I know I didn’t,” said Thatcher.
“I feel like I’m open to anything after what I’ve seen so far. Zephi, have you ever been there?” Maia asked.
Zephi, who had insisted they refer to her by her nickname now, stirred the pot, refilling Maia’s bowl, despite her protests, “Well, I have been a couple of times. They know how to make some of the most unique seafood dishes. But the constant drizzle does make it seem kind of melancholy in the city under the Falls. I’ve never been to the actual island above it, but I don’t know if anyone has in decades.”
“There’s a city under the waterfall?” Maia asked, confused. “How are we supposed to get there? Couldn’t we just go around it?”
“The thing is, Shiverdawn Falls is really two places: the city below and the island city that floats above it. The water from the island runs off the side of the island creating perpetual rain on the city below.” Thatcher explained.
“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” Maia responded.
Thatcher rolled his eyes, “You are laying on a griffon right now. I think you should be able to suspend your belief a bit. I haven’t even told you about the citizens yet.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Maia sighed and tossed a stick in the fire, “Lay it on me.”
“I’m going to assume that phrase means I should tell you. Because of the constant rain, it’s known to be home to descendants of merpeople. They can’t dry out there. Some still have webbed fingers and gills. But most just have patches of scales.”
“Like Ariel, merpeople?” Maia asked intensely.
Thatcher hesitated and replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about, but I assume so.”
“Like person up top and fish below?” Maia asked, leaning closer to the map.
“That’s a grand simplification, but yes.”
“Wow.” Maia sat back in amazement, trying to imagine what it would be like to meet a mermaid, wondering what their skin would feel like. What she hadn’t considered is that it depends on the race of the merperson. It is a common misconception that they all have scaled tails and wear seashell tops. Some have shark aspects, others scales, and in a few rare cases, tentacles; and shockingly, most prefer not to wear seashells or anything at all. You try swimming with sharp shells tied to your body and see how modest you’d be.
“I think a new place calls for new outfits,” Zephi said excitedly, “I’m going to start on them tonight.” She gathered up her pots, and ran into the caravan to begin sewing.
“No one here is what you expect,” said Maia to Thatcher, who was making chattering noises at Trelli.
“That’s one of the best parts about this place. You can be whoever you want here, and no one thinks anything of it,” Thatcher replied.
~
The next morning the group set off soon after dawn after Zephi fed an unknown carcass to Bessie, and Thatcher had rerouted around a nearby nest of fireflies, who literally lit fires when they felt threatened.Even Trelli had flown off to gather more poisonous herbs. Maia wasn’t sure how she could contribute so she just waited by the caravan and tried not to make eye contact with Bessie as she ate. It was times like these where Maia really missed having a working smartphone, then she could at least pretend she was doing something productive. She knew she was capable of more than this, but she wasn’t even in her own world, and even the fireflies could injure her.
She felt marginally better when they were back on the road. Zephi told her stories about her days as a warrior and the various weaponry she was proficient in, but also how to make Doritos with supplies you could find in the Between. Someone or something had brought a bag with them a few years ago, and Zephi had been determined to recreate them. She could also make Cheetos, gummy bears, and Twinkies. She said her Twinkies were actually made of better ingredients, but it took away from the guilty pleasure of eating them. Maia was pretty sure she would like Zephi’s better, and she was right, Zephi’s were like eating a cloud made of sunshine.
Thatcher taught them some bawdy songs he had learned from pirates, though he wouldn’t give any details about how he had ended up on a pirate ship. He was embarrassed that he lost a bet in a tavern and was forced to become a cabin boy for several months. The songs were pretty creative and involved positions that Maia hadn’t even read about on the internet. If Maia didn’t know better, even Bessie blushed when he started the song about griffons.
They continued swapping stories until it was time for them to stop again for the night. Once they had dinner, Maia brought up something she had been considering since that morning.
“Hey Zephi,” she started hesitantly, “Could you maybe train me?”
“Oh, sure, this is an easy recipe!” Zephi replied, stirring the remainder of their stew.
“Uh, I don’t mean cooking. Though, I probably learn how to do that too. Could you teach me how to fight?” Maia said quietly.
Zephi exchanged a look with Thatcher, who seemed to be smothering a smile, “I think I can do that.”
“Thanks,” Maia said, going back to her stew.
“We start after dinner. Hurry up, we need to get you started learning forms right away.” Zephi said, sternly, but with a glint in her eye. Maia wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into as she gulped down her last few bites.