Chapter 15: CH 14 “WaterWorks”

"For the aspect's divine mercy!" Iris cursed realizing that the ships either left or were swallowed by the waves.

 

"What's wrong?" The barefoot girl asked.

 

"It's just *sigh* I wanted to take one of the ships but now it seems we can't use them for travel."

 

"Like on water?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Like by itself?" Kia tilted her head.

 

"Well, yes if you are the passenger you don't have to work and can rest for the duration of the voyage."

 

"Wow! Sound like fun!" The girl's eyes sparkled upon hearing the elf's explanation.

 

Kia ran along the shore towards the sunken ship. Iris's superior hearing picked on words like rest or comfy pillow in between the small giggles that Kia let out. Iris shooked her head and followed her.
As they got closer Iris noticed the top half of the Crowsnest was sticking out from the sea, its slightly purplish wood was overgrown with barnacles and kelp.
Kia stopped and turned towards the sea lifting her hands towards the sea, her mouth worked silently uttering and inaudible to Iris's spell.

 

"What the..." Elf's voice got stuck in her throat kept there by the sight that happened in front of her.

 

The snow-white hands of Kia realised an invisible to Iris force exerting pressure on the area around the girl in the black dress. The previously clear skies were replaced with dark clouds and the air in between Iris and her was now populated with grey sand particles lifted from the beach in between which magic crackled and sparkled creating beautiful golden blue arcs of magic. The trees growing around the coast bent their trunks towards Kia causing horrible splitting sounds to be heard around. The calm sea turned to being violent and volatile in an instance, the water where the ship had sunk started to act strangely as the main mast rose higher exposing more of the ship's state.
The overgrown and neglected ship which once was the Yorg-Bergs most prized ship, the "Ancestral Flame" elf remembered.
As the sunken ship rose from its resting place, many separated pieces of it rose along it creating a dense cloud of debris.
The storm which was happening around them appeared to spare Kia, her ebony dress effortlessly defied the sounding gale.
The raised hands of Kia began to tremble to cause the area to somehow become more volatile until suddenly the magical induced storm reseeded when Kia who showed power beyond the realm of mortals collapsed on her back.
Iris who was finally allowed to get closer to Kia ran towards her. Kia who managed to sit back up was staring at her open palms with a questing look.

 

"Are you alright?" Elf asked while hurriedly looking over Kia for any injuries.

 

"Yes." The sitting girl answered with a neutral voice.

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yes."

 

Iris sat down on the grey sand beside Kia who leaned heavily on the elf's shoulder.

 

"That's good," Elf said after some time. "You are unharmed and that's all that matters."

 

"Mm." An unconvinced sound came from Iris's left.

 

"I appreciate the enthusiasm and not everyone can do what you can but it is okay to not be able to do something, you know?" Iris tried to cheer up the girl beside her.

 

Kia looked up meeting the elf's gaze. "Hhm," She then looks back with a small knowing smile.

 

The girls stay this way silently watching as the sun slowly sets. The full moon shone its silvery light to shimmer from the calm surface of the ink-black sea and Kia's rhythmic breathing synchronized with the waves which washed over the beach.
Iris noticed two pale blue flames emerge from the sea followed by gurgling noises. From where Iris sat she could see that the undead which came from the sea was once human, wearing some kind of sailor's uniform which barely held the bloated form of the undead.
The sight gave the elf an idea.

 

"Uh."

 

"Good morning Kia, slept well?"

 

"Myesh." She said unsurely while stealing a glance at the elf's thighs.

 

"That's great."

 

Iris waited until the girl fully woke up before speaking again.

 

"Kia, Can you make an undead that can carry us? Preferably on the heavier side."

 

"I-I think I can." Her hand started to gather a familiar magical mist.

 

"Wait-Wait! Just let me tell you what the plan is first."

 

Kia tilted her head questionably but the mist receded from wherever it came.

 

"Since we can't get any ships why don't we walk on the sea floor?"

 

 

Kia's face frowned upon hearing about the ship which she fail to lift but changed into one of amazement upon hearing the rest of elf's explanation.

 

"So we can still continue our journey!?"

 

"Yes, but we do have to walk underwater that's why I ask you are you fine with that?"

 

"YES!"

 

Kia's hands were again surrounded by the blue and golden mist but
reseeded when she rested her head on her palm.

 

"What are you thinking about?"

 

"About what undead to create."

 

"Something heavy and that can be left without worry."

 

"OH! If you stay here I will come back! Don't look!" Kia dashed into the forest excited about something.

 

After waiting for 5 minutes and starting to worry a bit about the whereabouts of the barefooted girl, Iris began to hear heavy footsteps coming from the forest accompanied by the trees being rustled and moved by whatever Kia had created.

 

"I AM BACK!" Kia burst through the foliage announcing her own arrival.

 

"Yes, I see" Iris came over toward the girl and started to dust off her ebony dress ensuring to smooth out any wrinkles which could have been on her immaculate dress.

 

"Stop Iris I am fine!" Kia huffed at Iris who ignored her creation walking up to them. "Look!" She gestured towards the hulking undead.

 

"OH." Iris straighten herself up and gazed toward Kia's undead. It was the Skeletal Patchwork which Iris had fought but its appearance was slightly different, over its entire body many holes and cracks were visible but were filled with a pitch-black substance looking like a mix between sand, soot and water taken from the sea beside them. The mix gave Patchwork an appearance of being covered in veins of pitch black.

 

"What's that?" Elf said touching the filling.

 

"Oh that, that is some soil infused with death mana so it's utilised more efficiently instead of creating arcs of exposed mana, you know the basics."

 

You are reading story Necropolis at novel35.com

"Aa." It was the only sound could utter.

 

"So when are we going?"

 

"Now I would say, I don't see a point to linger here.

 

Iris began to undress to only the underwear but halted in mids of it upon seeing the beet-red face of Kia who partially covered her eyes with her hands.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

"W-Why d-do you u-u-undress yourself?"

 

"To not get the clothes wet?"

 

"B-but that can't happen there are enchantments."

 

"Oh." Iris scrambled to put her clothes back on but Kia's face remained red.

 

The girls got onto the Patchwork's hands and upon getting themselves comfortable the once area boss silently began his long track towards the north. Slowly the monster bulk disappeared into the black depths of the southern straight. Iris did not feel the coldness of the deep sea, she could sense but it felt detached but she did feel a familiar cool touch of Kia. Iris used her magic to illuminate the darkness finding Patchwork's arm which held Kia drifted closer allowing her to lean on the elf.
She adjusted her position and allowed Kia to rest her head on her thighs.
When she lost the strength to keep maintaining her spell and the magnificent image was clouded by darkness she struggled back to see the sleeping undead for one more moment and the moment after that and the moment after that...

 

 

---

 

 

POV Change

"If there was no winter,
It's no secret,
We would melt of heat,
We would be tired of summer.
The snowman would not come
Not even for a day,
And the bullfinch would not sit on the firtree,
If, if, if ..."

 

I was driving in my wagon singing an old song my mom had sung to me many years ago until I heard a heavy *thump* sound somewhere in the trees. I stop and carefully listen to the sounds around me, there was the singing of songbirds trying to mate, the soft rustle of leaves on the sea breeze and unusually what I could swear are the voices of women.
The old folk always scared children about monsters in the woods but there were relatively nearby Marinya so the chances of meeting a pack of dryads were small, aspects bless so.
My interest peaks over my caution and I halt my donkey and jump from my wagon. I walk towards the sound which was coming from the sea. Who for aspects mercy would swim in the sea so far from a city?
As I was walking out from the bushes comes out two most beautiful women I have ever seen.
The first of the women was a girl with straight raven black hair and an extremely pale complexion. Her delicate features were clad in a light dress that looked as if it was consuming all light that touched it exposing only her arms and head on which two colour eyes of ghostly blue and molten gold were placed. Tempting their observers to think of them as jewels only to expose beauty superior to any jewel placed on whichever crown of the world.
The second woman was an elf taller than the two colour eye girl and of slightly less pale complexion with similarly black hair, braided like daughters of nobles or rich merchants.
She wore a grey leather jacket with matching pants similar looking to the ones worn by adventures. Her amethyst eyes instantly bore themselves into me and her silvery spear glistened dangerously in the light.

Two of them could be easily mistaken for vampires in such circumstances but the sun happily beams down on their exposed skin from above proving their innocence. Not like I could beat two vampires anyway.

 

"Huh!" I and the smaller girl made the same sound.

 

After a moment of silence, the girl in the black dress waved her hand shyly.

 

"H-Hi," I said

 

"Hello." The elf responded.

 

"Could I ask why such elegant ladies are in the middle of the woods?"

 

"...We were travelling and decided to set up camp." She stayed silent but eventually responded with hesitation.

 

"Aa yes I understand." I did not trust the elf's explanation but decided to go with it.

 

She spoke in a very old fashion accent of Common speech but she was an elf so that was to be expected.

 

"Kind sir could you tell us a way to the nearest city we appeared to be lost." Elf said relaxing her eyes off me. While the silent girl stared at her.

 

"Yea I could even deliver you to Marinya if you want, my wagon is there." I think I figured out why were they in the middle of the woods. Quite amusing.

 

"That will be appreciated."

 

We have walked back to my wagon and upon seeing my donkey the silent girl suddenly spokes a short sentence quietly to the elf. I could not understand the language that she spoke in, but it felt powerful, sending shivers up my spine. When we got close to Cana and my wagon she started to freak out resulting in me having to calm her down.

 

"Shh, everything is okay."

 

The silent girl's eyes are trained on poor Cana not breaking the line of sight but then the elf says something in the same language making the girl stop.

 

"Hanz Kawol, nice to meet you."

 

"Iris."

 

"ƘÏÆ?"

 

"W-what?"

 

"Siri." Elf translated the girl's words.

 

The girl looked at the elf questionably but she just nodded.

 

"Alright, here we go" I started my wagon again.

 

The two girls talked little as I noticed more focus on gazing at the endless corn fields. As we got closer to the city my aged heart started to ache from various thoughts.

 

"There are two cloaks under the basket you can take those."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yes, I am just remember to wear them when you walk in the city." I turn around to ensure if elf gets the message and she indicates that she does.

 

When we got to the gate of Marinya the line to get past the gate was shorter than usual.

 

"Kowal, Nice to meet you again. What you got there?"

 

"You know me, the same amount of fabrics and mead."

 

"Usual exterminators?"

 

"Nah, it's the first time."

 

"Alright, that's 10 silver coins in tax for goods." Said another guard.

 

I handed them their coin and say goodbye to the mysterious girls, later finding  2 silver coins in the back where they sat.