"Hmm…" I scrutinise my map, searching for some kind of clue. I need to secure the safest route through here for us.
We could try to go through the sections of the tunnels we did not enter. I strictly followed the compass, thinking we would find our path only if we took the sections it pointed at. Maybe if we explore those sections, we could eventually find the right direction… But who knows how long it will take us? With how vast these tunnels are, we could end up losing ourselves and eventually die of starvation.
The other option is to go to the top of the tower. With the materials we found, Vyswe'eyaga can make another canoe and ward it with the use of her crystals. Honestly, we have a better chance of finding our way then. But the water is infested with junjus, and it would be difficult to fend for ourselves.
What should I do? Which option is the best? How can I make sure we all live through this?
"Haa…"
I spring up from my stool. N'jobu, Sazayi have already dozed off. Ewa, Azikiwe, and Gamba look like they are too, but I doubt it; they must just be resting their eyes. Ike is still by the fire, wide awake, and acknowledges me with a nod with he looks up at me.
"You are not resting, eh?"
"None of us are," he says, motioning at the other mercenaries. "Have you figured our next step from here?"
I hesitate for a second. "I'm unsure yet."
He nods calmly. "Don't take too much time to think, though. The journey has been fairly smooth to this point, but it doesn't mean it will continue to be so."
"I know, I won't."
Behind him, on the other side of the hole, I notice the figure of Vyswe'eyaga. She is sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, appearing in deep meditation.
"What is she doing over there?"
"No idea. She's been like this for a while now."
I turn my attention back to Ike. He hasn't turned around, but I guess even in this position, he can sense if there is danger and immediately come to action.
"I have been meaning to ask, just why on earth did you decide to follow us this far? I know you're powerful, but why bother with such risk?"
For the first time, he looks away from the fire and directly at me. We stare at each other for a long time, then he shrugs.
"I have no idea." His cadence was calm, slow, and I don't know why, but I knew he was lying. And he knew that I knew. We both remained silent.
I leave him alone, walking toward the ledge and jump. I manipulate the air so that it carries me over to the other side, where Vyswe'eyaga is meditating. But I stop short.
She is sitting in the middle of a wide circle, filled with different assortments of Nchāren glyphs and symbols and smaller circles. The circles glow faintly, and I can feel the energy pulsing over my skin.
I look up to find her staring back, her face a pond of serenity, and I almost flinch. In the dark, the light she has for pupils shines brightly, more so than when they do in daylight. I find looking at her in the eyes a bit unnerving, most of the time, but also strangely mesmerizing the longer you stare at them.
Do all Nchāren people really have similar eyes to hers? Even though she confirmed it several times, I find it difficult to wrap my head around.
A nation of torch-like-eyed people… the more I try to imagine it, the less human it seems to me.
"Did you need something?" She asks.
I snap out of my musings and clear my throat. "No. I am…, merely curious about what you are currently doing."
"…Ah," she shifts in place, "umm… I am undergoing a survey of the perimeter. I am hoping that I can maybe find the proper method to overcome this problem."
"Huh, what do you have in mind?"
"Well, since it would be too dangerous to just collapse this wall," she points behind her, "I was thinking of conjuring a sealed bubble, similar to the spherical shield I made when we were on the canoe, only that this one would be breathable. It would function like a fish's gills, filter the oxygen in the water so that we do not suffocate."
"Oh?"
"Hmm, but you could do that," she looks at me pensively. "Since you can freely manipulate gases, it would be easier for you to separate oxygen atoms from the water molecules, and extract the carbon dioxide as we breathe, wouldn't it? Oh! But maybe you could remove all the oxygen atoms on the other side. Like that, the water would cease to exist, and the problem is solved."
I stay quiet for a heartbeat. "Erm… I fear I do not possess such a level of mastery." Oxygen atom? Molecules? Carbon dioxide? I don't even know what she's talking about.
She makes a puzzled expression, but nods along. "Right… oxygen atoms are highly reactive, while hydrogen is extremely flammable. It can only end badly," she sighs. "I do not even think I would be able to carry all of us, anyway. From what I have experienced with Ewa, another three warriors would drain me instantly."
She hums softly, and I just stare at her blankly, wandering about all the strange terminologies she just used. "Another idea would be to dig another tunnel over or below this one, but I don't have the essence pool required for such a task. I could also try to craft a Construct to do it for me, but with the materials at hand, it would be too small, and the excavation would take forever."
"Even if we gave you back all the medallions?"
She shakes her head. "I was taking them into account."
We both fall quiet for a moment.
"Then what about drilling a small hole at the top of the wall? We would let the water leak and slowly fill our side until its level equalizes on both sides."
Again, she shakes her head. "I have checked the pressure there, and it is too high. Another hole, however small it is would risk the whole wall to collapse; furthermore, the tunnel is flooded beyond the boundary of my senses. We would drown on the spot. Look."
She points at the stream of water leaking out of the wall and trickling into the hole.
"What a conundrum," I mumble, peering down.
I blink. "What was that?"
Down in the hole, I am certain I just saw something shift in the shadows. Was that a junju? But looking over at Vyswe'eyaga, she doesn't look like she sensed something out of place. I crouch down, trying to get a better view. But nothing.
I am about to stand up when the shadows shift once more. I hear a splashing sound, and something emerges from the shadows.
A pair of hands extend to my face., I want to step back but it is too late—the hands are closing in around my neck. Then a detonating sound erupts, the ground quakes, and I trip heavily on my backside.
I look up, panting, to find a spear wedged on the flange of the pit. On the other side, Ike is standing, his left arm extended past his shoulder in a throwing motion.
I gape before me. Stuck under his spear is a creature the likes of which I had never seen before. It looks like a crossbreed between a fish and the familiar features of a human, a human woman. It is lying belly down, flapping its tail, and thrashing against the ground in an effort to free itself from Ike's spear.
Hands run over my shoulders—Vyswe'eyaga, helps me up, and we step away from the creature, her face drained of blood.
"This is… S-she is…"
"You didn't sense this junju?"
She nods gravely. "Her presence was suppressed. But, this is not important right now," her eyes dart back to the junju, her expression switching between perplexed and anxious. "I can't explain, but we must leave. Right now."
"What just happened?" Sazayi calls out, but skids to a stop at the sight of the thing in front of us. "Guys, are you alright?"
It is then that the creature pushes a deafening cry, so sharp and high-pitched that I feel it in my whole body. Then the sound stops abruptly. Ike is now on our side, on top of the junju, his hand soaking wet with a black liquid on the spot where its head was once. He had hit it so hard that nothing remained of it, only a dark pool of blood.
"No," Vyswe'eyaga breathes, "Y-you shouldn't have done that. She was—"
Another sound emerges, like the sound of rushing water. I whip my head around at the wall, it's shaking, and I feel the cold sweat running down my back.
I am yanked off my feet, and the world turns upside down for an instant before I find myself on my knees… on the other side of the hole. Before I can understand what happened, Vyswe'eyaga marches at the front, chanting in Nchāren language as glowing symbols are formed on the ground. At the same time, the wall collapses, and water bursts out, almost colliding with us before a wall springs up shut before Vyswe'eyaga.
"Let's—"
The wall explodes, water flooding from all directions.
~~~~~~~~~~~
An ethereal barrier flares before me just as the water crashes against it. The impact sends me reeling, and in an instant, the shield flickers out, leaving me helpless as the current sweeps me away. Frigid water floods my mouth, stealing my breath. I claw toward the surface, lungs burning, arms thrashing as the current tosses me like a rag doll. Each time I break through, gasping for air, the torrent drags me back down, its icy grip choking me mercilessly. The roar of the torrent is deafening, drowning out every thought except survival.
And then I am falling. The plunge ends in a brutal crash, another body of water swallowing me whole. My strength falters: I let myself sink, desperate for even a moment to gather what remains of my will.
Suddenly, a hand seizes my clothes, jerking me upward. Air floods my chest—I can breathe again.
I don't know how far the current has carried us, or where. But as I resurface, sputtering and wide-eyed, I realize I've been delivered into a completely different place.
"Follow me."
I look toward Gamba who is already swimming to the nearest shore, and follow his lead. I am coughing and panting at the same time, taking deep, delicious gulps of air when, at least, I am on solid land.
"What… what of the others?" I ask once I have calmed down, and he motions behind me.
"Over there."
Ewa and Vyswe'eyaga have already reached land, while Ike and Azikiwe are helping N'jobu and Sazayi to swim to shore.
A vast cavern opens up to my view. With its walls rising high and oddly symmetrical—This place was man-made. What affirms my hunch are the sculptures carved on the walls. But I am unable to tell what they illustrate due to the large patches of moss and vegetation clinging to the stone. Light filters through the natural aperture, spilling into the cave. The light dances on the still surface of a subterranean pool, turning the water into a mirror that perfectly reflects the cave's grandeur.
"Wow…" I whisper. This place is majestic.
I quickly snap back to my senses when a scream pierces the relative silence.
It is Sazayi. He is frantically thrashing with his hands, trying to stay afloat while a force unseen tries to continuously drag him down. Ike is already swimming back to him while Azikiwe is hurrying to shore with N'jobu.
I am about to make a step forward, but Gamba quickly pushes me further back—just as Azikiwe and N'jobu are joining us.
Then I see it. Just as N'jobu is about to reach us, trailing behind Azikiwe, a hand emerges and closes in around his ankle. By the time I try to warn him, he is on the ground—and about to be dragged back—but Azikiwe reacts quickly and his sword is planted in the creature's back. Soon, the clear water turns dark and murky, and the corpse floats aimlessly.
"It's another one of those."
A shadow flies past us, and Ike lands behind us with Sazayi over his shoulder.
"What the hell?"
N'jobu staggers back. I look over, and my skin crawls. The pond shudders, its surface breaking into ripples as figures emerge from the depths.
Slender, graceful, almost human. But they are not human. Their skin is of a sick greenish colour, mottled with rot, barnacles, and strands of clinging algae. Milky eyes fix on us, unblinking, hungry, and wearing ravenous, toothy smiles too.
Then behind them, the water rose. Rising so high that we are completely shrouded in its shadow. The water swirls and shapes itself into the vague figure of a half-woman, half-fish creature.
It glares down at us. Eyes gleaming with blinding rage and madness.
"It was her."
I glance beside me, finding Vyswe'eyaga standing there, shaking, her fingers clenching tightly on her staff, staring in both shock and terror in her eyes. I had not realised that she and Ewa had joined us.
"What do you mean?"
"She is the entity I sensed in the mist."