The sea tiger disappears under the sea where he came from. My four companions and I stare at each other wondering if it is really over. I don't believe the beast is dead, but he is gone--the battle is over for now.
"What was that thing?" Mara asks in a shout over the wind.
"I don't know." I answer. I've seen sea monsters in my studies, but none that match the description of what we saw. I feel we are breaching new territory among these islands.
I hear a strange muttering and turn to Malcolm who is standing at the vessel's helm. He is turning increasingly more pale and a faint shade of green. He clutches his left arm and drops to his knees.
The halfling, Bren, who is closest to our guide, rushes over to aid him. When he looks back at us I see it, a raw, festered gash across Malcolm's forearm.
"He's bitten." Bren reports.
I hear my own gasp as Malcolm begins to seizure.
"Does anyone know first aid?" Mara asks.
Without a word Flynn the gnome walks over to Malcolm. I can't see exactly what he does, but within a few minutes he has wrapped the wound of a now apparently stabilized Malcolm. Flynn and I move him from the helm to rest in the stern of the boat.
"Let's kill him," Aramir declares, "throw him overboard."
"No." I surprise myself with my intensity, which gets an odd look from the ranger. "He is our only guide, he may be of more use to us."
"We do not know what he will turn into, and he's a liability as it is."
"But he is stable now, he may not turn into anything. If we kill him it will be in cold blood and I do not want that on my hands. Besides, we still don't know where we are going or what else lies in these waters."
"Perhaps. I still think we should throw him overboard." Aramir grumbles and stalks to the bow of the boat. I won the argument for now, but we would keep a very close eye on Mr. Malcolm.
Mara, with the most sea faring experience, takes command at the helm. She gains control of the boat, but only moderately. It feels as if the waters have a mind of their own, pulling us on a specific course away from our destination.
The boat shudders but then stabilizes. We are riding the "ghost currents" now. They pull us towards the island, despite Mara's command.
Malcolm whispers to me in a hot slur as I lean over him, "trap...under...the ship." I can barely hear him so I lean closer. He weakly points toward a small, dark island to the south--Spider Island, where legend says people go to be eaten. I do not like where this is going.
Barbarrel the dog growls as the boat rocks. A strange creature climbs aboard our boat on the starboard side near the bow.
The first thing I notice about the creature is that it is not aggressive. "Don't harm it." I shout to reach across the boat. Aramir lowers his bow, but does not disarm it. No one else moves.
I've seen this kind before, though I cannot place the name. He is both fish-like and arachnid. He has scales over his skin, but maintains eight legs and a handful of eyes scattered across his face. Two fangs protrude from his lips. This species dwells in dark, damp places and does not associate much outside his own kind. So what is he doing here aboard our ship?
The creature speaks, I recognize the language--Aquan, but I only understand a few words. Luckily, Aramir is fluent.
"What do you want?" The ranger asks, a bit too harshly to sound peaceful. I really need to brush up on my Aquan.
While the creature speaks his haggard response I leave Malcolm's side to stand next to Aramir, perhaps some of my diplomacy will wear off on him.
Thankfully, the fish-spider of a creature gets to the point. Aramir turns to the group and explains with a sigh, "He's asking us to help his people. He wants us to go to a shallow dungeon on Spider Island and retrieve a pearl that lies in the tomb. They believe this gem contains all the souls of their dead ancestors. The lizard fold stole it, but they can't fight them, though I can't get why."
He paused briefly while that information sets in. Then he looks a little cross when the creature speaks again. "Either we help them or we die."
"So they will fight us, but not their own enemies?" Flynn spat.
Aramir actually chuckled. He translated when the creature continued, "No, he says he has our boat in his web and he will simply crush it and watch us drown in the undertow."
"Well, when you put it that way." Mara shrugs. I honestly wasn't sure if she meant we should fight or drown--she is a very good swimmer, she might just survive these crazy waters.
"So we don't have a choice then, we have to fight." Aramir pronounces.
I looked around to all the heads nodding with various amounts of enthusiasm. So our fate was set, we now had a new quest.
...
Missed an installment? Catch up on the adventure of Morrow Island...
Chapter 1: It Starts...
Chapter 2: The First Battle
Chapter 3: On the Docks
Chapter 4: Getting Nautical
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