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Fantasy The Devil's Meridian (Closed)

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Warren was soon filled in on the findings of the hut, afterwards of the findings in the surrounding ruins. Perhaps this had been the site of a major battle long ago? The damage sure pointed to it...that or a cataclysm. As for the survivor, he could potentially be a member of one of the more recent voyages into the Meridian. His judgement was prompt, sending Slater and a few soldiers to speak to the man in the hut, if possible. She had better linguistic skills than the rest of Warren's group, and would perhaps be be able to speak with him. The rest were tasked with investigating the ruins more, taking pictures and sketchings of their findings. And bringing back anything of note that could be brought back. A pair of petty officers were sent back to the ship to relay their current findings to the Jackal and the Commodore's vessel.
 
The teams had different encounters throughout their exploration of the island. Dos Santos and her crew were being stalked by a reptilian creature that had submerged back into the waters. With some pain in her voice, she ordered her men to shoot the creature dead as soon as it tried to attack again. Then she'll try to study it. She also made note of the deep pond. Perhaps it led to some cave system? It'd be a dangerous exploration so she'd need all teams prepared in this location.

Meanwhile, Alvarado and his crew were attacked by what seems to be a predatory or highly defensive plant creature. The captain scratched the affected areas on his arm, then ordered some of his men to start throwing water on the affected mariner. He then ordered the rest to shoot the plant while reading his revolver and then shooting the flower as well.

Meneghini's team on the other hand was quite lucky! Blessed with a beautiful visage of a crystalline pond with several beautiful flowers, some of the sailors looked back at the first mate wondering what to do next. And the Platine sailor just scratched his chin while wondering the same thing. He remembered at some point someone mentioning a blue lotus flower, who was it? Was it one of the sheep-shaggers of Albion? He looked at one of the crew. "...Hey Gonzalez! Go get that flower please." he said while pointing at one of the blue lotus flowers.
 
Having judged their first outing to be too dangerous to be worthwhile, Dobbs and company redirected their efforts to Islands VII and VIII. They arrived at around 2PM, coming ashore to buffeting winds, thunder and lightning in addition to the seemingly-relentless deluge. Just as Detlev had described, the two islands were seemingly identical to one another, being low-lying, covered partially in trees and shrubs, and occupied by odd-looking aquatic mammals which seemed fairly docile from a distance. There were also a few crabs scattered here and there, but nothing which would immediately suggest danger. They unloaded their equipment once again in a safe location.

---
​
Perhaps a bit impatiently, Grand Captain Kortova decided to move her crew on to the second island on her agenda, and arrived at Island VI at roughly the same time that the Prophet appeared at the next island over. This caused navigators on both ships to call on the Nixe for assistance determining their positions to ensure that they hadn't accidentally gotten off track, but a quick telegram was all that was needed to explain the matter. Their confidence restored, the Archangel began unloading its teams onto the barren beaches.

Like the one before it, this new Island was also bowl shaped, and even had similar features, like the tunnel on the far side, with one major exception. Here, there was a very large, throne-like stone chair inlaid with gold and red-stained glass, positioned in the exact center of the bowl. On closer inspection, the glass did not appear to be aetherine, but was rather inert and decorative. The gold, however, would be worth thousands of dollars if pried loose from the throne, and in the back of every explorer's mind was the ethical dilemma of destroying such an artifact. Surrounding it, there were large iron loops built into the ground, but their purpose was unclear.

---​

Flint and Rourke sprung into action the moment they had an opportunity to shoot the mummy, leveling their pistol and rifle, respectively, and firing multiple rounds. It didn't have the effect they desired, however, with the bullets passing straight through its dried and crumbling body bloodlessly and pinging off the stone roadway behind it. When they realized that their guns were having no effect on the creature, the men hesitated, unsure of what to do as it lunged at one and then another. They managed to overpower it together and throw it back to the ground.

At this point, Kuromaki stumbled in, still holding her neck with one hand while the other hung at her side. The glove had been removed, revealing the mutation's hideous progression. With a nearly crazed determination in her eyes, she grabbed at the mummy's throat with her free hand, her claws ripping straight through the bandage and ruinous flesh as she gouged it. The mummy gave one last shriek as it tried to lunge again, but the force of trying to sit up with such a large wound in its neck caused the head to rip loose from the body and hang from the spine alone, and the abomination fell lifeless to the ground for the last time.

The entire party stood in morbid amazement as the corpse imploded on itself, the remaining flesh turning to dust and soaking into the wrappings or else flowing freely with the rain into the street, leaving nothing but a skeleton behind. From inside its chest cavity, there was a metallic clink, as if something small like a coin or a piece of jewelry had hit the pavement. While the Alamannians tended to Kuromaki's wounds, one of Flint's men used a knife to cut open the strips of fabric, revealing a small gold charm hidden within the mummy's chest cavity. In the middle was a shard of pure black aetherine glass.

---​

While Meinhardt's men lugged the heavy goddess statue back to their skiff, the Alleghenians made the decision to send Slater to the hut to speak with the old man. As she approached, she thought about how long this stranger must have been stranded here, in this dangerous and remote place, without human contact. It was nerve wracking to wonder what the sound of a voice might do to an ear which hadn't heard one in decades, potentially. What if he simply had a heart attack and died on the spot? She ditched the thought and gently opened the curtain door.

"Sir, can you hear me?" she began, "please wake up."

The man stirred in bed, muttering something under his breath which clearly wasn't Alleghenian. Slater, knowing Sokrovian, thought she recognized a part of it and tried again, this time speaking the northern language. "[Sir, please wake up,]" she repeated.

The man's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment he lay frozen there, his eyes fixated on the side of the tent. Then, the color slowly drained from his face, his eyes went wide, and he turned, slowly, towards Slater. Now realizing that he wasn't alone, his mouth opened to say something, but the words simply eluded him. He stretched out a trembling, malnourished hand, which Slater took and held to assure him that this wasn't a passing dream. He finally spoke up, in Ruthenian, which only made partial sense to Slater. "[Oh... heavens, it's finally happened. Thank you, thank you, I won't die alone.]"

He broke into tears of joy.

---​

The entirety of Dos Santos' team kept its guns and lights trained on the deep pond, waiting for the crocodile to reappear. Their patience eventually paid off when the creature surfaced, and before it could even begin to lunge, a number of reckless shots were fired. Only one bullet clipped the massive reptile, but it was enough to scare it back underwater. Blood began to pool at the surface, but it was not clear how much damage had truly been done to the creature. The gunshots and chaos were followed by a long, very tense silence.

Elsewhere, Alvarado ignored the stinging of his skin as he lined up a shot, aiming directly for the evil eye at the center of the hostile vine's flower. With the pull of his trigger, he sent a single round directly into the yellowish sack and burst it open, causing the vine to flail about wildly in silence. The rash-producing fluid gushed from the wound like a garden hose until the the entire vine fell limp as if deflated. Thankfully, only a few drops managed to hit the men as they had already scrambled backwards a short distance. Now, they let out a few cheers for the Captain's truly impressive shot, and set about bandaging up the badly burned arm of their comrade, with plenty of healing salve to ease the pain.
 
Arriving at Island VII to yet more unfavorable weather, Dobbs and his team made their way ashore to Island VII and established themselves upon the island. The plan was to search VII thoroughly before heading to VIII, and that's what the man was intent on doing. Yelling over the deluge and thunder, Dobbs spoke to his team: "We are sweeping this island for every inch gentlemen! Let's get moving, we are burning daylight!"

And soon enough they began to push into the shrubbery of the island, pushing aside leaves and plants within their path. "You think this storm will let up anytime soon, Lonstray?" Dobbs inquired the scientist as they moved about. Lonstray gave a shrug as he spoke: "Hard to say. The weather equipment readings have been all over the place since we entered the Uncharted Zone. My guess is that it will take a whole day for conditions to calm down."

They pressed forward still, with the sailor in the front of the group whacking away at the vegetation in front of him with a machete to clear the path as best as possible.
 
Slater was shocked that someone could survive out here alone for so long, cautiously colding the man's hand. He was so old and frail, and she was barely able to make out bits and pieces of what he was saying. Her Sokrovian was a little rusty, in all honesty, which made understanding his Ruthenian even worse. She looked back to the opening and called for some petty officers to come and assist. They came rather quickly, weapons slung onto their backs as to not frighten the man. "Tell the captain we have Ruthenian survivor here." she said, as she tried to console the man as he cried.

The petty officers complied, moving back out to where Warren was standing with his arms folded neatly behind his back. When told of the man, he raised an eyebrow. "Ruthenian?" he asked. "Aye, sir. Lieutenant Slater confirmed it." replied the officer, glancing back to the small hut. Warren eyed the hut himself, before glancing over to the Commodore's men whom were hauling a statue back to the ships. Eventually, he sighed. The man likely knew about the area, and could probably tell them how he got stuck here. If he were in his right mind, of course. Alone, on an island inside the Meridian. Who knows what mental state he was in?

"See the man is fed and clothed. And get the doctor down here to check him out." he finally said, looking back to the petty officer. "Aye, sir. Should we let the Commodore know we found a survivor?" Warren nodded. "Its best we let Meinhardt know. And our Sokrovian friends. They can probably understand him better than we can."
 
After the whole ordeal was over, Flint, Rourke and the rest of their men stood silently in the rain as they watched the mummies corpse melt into dust and disappear. "Bullets don't seem to be effective, sir." Rourke said silently, "perhaps we should move forward with melee weapons". Flint nodded and turned to Rask and Von Paning, the two pioneers who were carrying sturdy hatchets. "Rask, Von Paning, you two take point. We'll explore this tomb to see if..." Flint didn't manage to finish his when a clink could be heard from inside the skeletal remains. Motioning for one of the sailors to cut open the strips of cloth, Flint stood beside him to get a glimpse at whatever it was that made the sound.
As the sailor parted the cloth, Flints eyes became wide, if it was excitement or dread he could not determine. It was if some unholy curiosity compelled him on this mission. He slowly picked up the charm and studied it. The design was not similar to the one the young soldier had worn in his dream, but the black aetherine was quite familiar, even down to it's shape. As Flint studied the charm with a stern expression, Rourke came up beside him. "Some sort of new mineral, sir?" He asked. "No, it's aetherine glass" Flint responded coldly. Rourke looked at his captain with a quizzing gaze as Flint stood up and turned to his men. "This is black aetherine glass" he spoke, showing the charm to his men. "Most of you already know that aetherine is supposed to be red. Well, after consulting with the Commodore, I've come across information that black aetherine is linked to necromancy and undeath". His men listened intentatively, looking to each other and the skeletal remains in the middle of their circle. The pouring rain and the silence gave the gathering quite a serious tone. "As we all know now, the undead are no longer the legends of ancient people. They are real, and we'll have to deal with them. But to fight an enemy, one must know them" Flint continued, his men nodding in agreement. "Thats why we have to find out what's hidden away in that pyramid. Knowledge, tools, weapons... Anything that will help us stay alive and keep the dead were they rightfully belong."
The ziggurat Flint pointed too was no welcoming sight. Sitting high up in the burial city, pelted by rain and occasionally illuminated by lightning, it conjured up images of the citadel of darkness from the old alamannian folktales. But his men were determined, more or less. If the captain was willing to go in his advanced age, so would they. Some were motivated by possible treasure, others by pride and some by sheer peer pressure.

With the men rallied, Flint ordered Rourke to assemble the men and slowly begin their.march to the central building. With that arranged, he turned his attention to the ensign. "You've suffered terribly" he began as he looked down on Kuromaki, "If you wish to return to the ships, I will not hold it against you." He said tersely, nodding to the ensign and the scientist before turning around and joining his men. The alamannians could take care of Kuromaki and prevent her from following them up to the ziggurat. But from what he had seen so far, the Shinjuku woman was not about to let her share of any endeavour go to someone undeserving. He had a feeling she would come along.
 
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"D-damn it!" shouted Dos Santos as the creature hid under the deep waters once more. Nobody knew where the shot landed and if the creature was slowly bleeding to death or if it was cautiously waiting for the first mistake of its prey. "I say we keep on shooting the water!" said one of the younger sailors, before getting slapped in the back the head by a more mature member of the crew. "And waste valuable ammo? Don't be stupid, boy! I say we try to leave now." the old woman looked at the rest of the crew as some of them agreed until Dos Santos spoke again.

"We had to walk through knee-deep waters, if we try leave now it might attack us again." The rest of the crew looked at each other, she had a good point, they didn't know if the creature was dead or lurking through the more shallow areas. "...then I'll go ahead and test the waters." said the sailor, everyone looked at her as she approached the waters again, with her gun ready to shoot should the creature appear.

Meanwhile, Alvarado was tending to the rashes caused by that strange flower creature. While the rest of the crew rested, Alvarado and the researchers her brought along looked at the creature. "...do you think you can get it down from there for study?" asked the captain while the scientists looked at it. "I think so, but we'll need some protective equipment we left in the camp." Alvarado nodded and then looked at everyone in his crew. "Alright! as soon as you all feel a bit better we gonna keep moving, Pinto said he saw a building not far from here, and we are going to see what it is." After a few more minutes of resting, Alvarado's crew continued onwards towards the mysterious structure.

The third team led by first mate Mancinelli continued to look around the beautiful pond as one of the researchers in the crew studied the blue lotus flower one of the sailors grabbed for study. "I swear... someone during a meeting said something about a blue lotus, but I don't remember who." said Mancinelli while looking at the plant. "Hmm... well, I'll ask around later, for now lets continue onwards, if we don't find anything else we'll go back to the camp!"
 
Like before, the Sokrovian vanguard inspected the area in their protective diving suits before the secondary team, in their thick waders, followed after with equipment and as an additional set of eyes. The throne was the clear location of interest, but only a few of the secondary team lingered around it while the vanguard continued on into the tunnel to see what awaited inside. A few more men examined the seemingly bare bowl once more to try and determine what it was even for. From atop the bowl, riflemen and the teams holding the rope attached to the vanguard remained vigilant, though a small team of eight riflemen were given permission to search the perimeter of the barren island around the shore.

"Who puts a throne in the bottom of a pit?" Anastasia asked, eying the decorated chair from the edge of the bowl. Williams was close beside her in case she stumbled forwards. "I don't know, captain. There are loops along the ground there. Holdings, I think. Like something you put rope through on a deck." For this reason, the chair disturbed him when this realization came to him. It put him in mind of an electric chair, as he had seen a demonstration when it first arrived in Sokrovy nearly a decade ago. Why there would seemingly be holdings around a chair in the bottom of this bowl was beyond him. He was no studied archeologist.

Captain Kortova did not seem to have such a fear, and was in fact somewhat enamored by the strange creation. "This is a perfect location for another group photograph. Myself, on the throne, and the gentlemen from the search teams can crowd around. The firm leadership and their diligent workers together. Ah, its so dreamy, isn't it? Let's go down there, lieutenant."

Williams frowned but gestured for an entire team of riflemen to accompany them - another eight men, and a couple of sailors with pistols. One helped Anastasia down the incline by holding her hand. Williams spoke quietly to the sergeant and explained if anything happened, to just grab her and take her back up the bowl. While he was curious to inspect the ruins personally as well, his first and foremost duty was her safety. On the other hand, paranoia about a chair was about as silly as it got.

They made their way down to the throne while the vanguard and most of the secondary team disappeared back into the tunnel to explore the interior. Only a couple of the secondary team remained outside, most looking over the bowl, while two took measurements and composition reports of the throne. Before Anastasia had a chance to hop onto it, he directed one of the sailors to do so to test the seat. "To make sure it isn't filthy, captain," he said neutrally. "It could be covered in dust... or something."

If the chair seemed "clean," he'd let Anastasia hop onto it so a few photographs could be taken.

"Oh, and gather around with some of those boxes. We'll pry this gold and glass off afterwards. It'll tarnish being stuck here forever. At least we can take it to a museum and find other more useful applications. After all, if we don't take it, the next people here will. Maybe we can leave some pretty glass behind. It's useless, right? That's what I thought."

She prepared for her photo-op while a couple sailors dug through their tool bags for chisels.
 
It was hard to say why, but as soon as Dobbs began to lead his team onto Island VII, he felt a sense of purpose unlike anything else in his life. It felt like... destiny. Despite the howling wind and rain, they persisted, cutting a path through the brush with gallant strokes until they began to see something breathtaking on the other side. It seemed to almost shimmer with beauty every time lightning flashed in the sky, and when they emerged from the trees it became obvious why.

It was a structure made of marble, the first Altanic structure they had seen constructed of the beautiful stone. It wasn't clear where the material had come from, but it was utterly magnificent and had held up well against the elements over the centuries. First, there were a series of obelisks forming a perimeter, followed by a large circular plinth on which columns supported a ring of brass-lined marble, engraved with what appeared to be the phases of the moon. The men of the Albionian team began to shout and celebrate even before they reached its steps, but Dobbs himself was speechless. If he survived the expedition, such a find would probably put his name in the history books, and if there were artifacts within, his legacy could only grow larger. But at the moment, that somehow mattered little to him. He walked up to the plinth, up several steps, and found the interior so pristine that it appeared like a white void.

Stepping into it, the sound of his rejoicing team faded away behind him, and he only heard his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing. Not even his boots against the marble floor reached his ears. And then, out of nothing, there was a voice.

"Jonathan Dobbs," he said, "you've come from a far away land to learn what happened here."

Dobbs came to a stop and looked around himself. There was no marble structure, no surrounding island. He was standing alone in an endless white expanse, and after he had turned a complete circle he found himself face to face with a winged man. He had gray skin and horns, and looking upon his ghostly face seemed to suck the light out of the corners of his vision. Power seemed to radiate from his presence alone.

"I am Astrius; I am a god. You are standing on ground that's sacred to me and the people of Altanis, may they forever rest in the peace they were denied on Earth. I want to help you know the truth, what happened to us. But I am nearly expired. I need your help as well, or else our suffering may have been in vain... Appearing like this is difficult, but I can give you a gift that will make it easier. Please forgive me, there is no time to answer questions right now. But you will have the chance in the near future, I promise."

Dobbs couldn't speak, he felt paralyzed and rooted the floor. Astrius raised his hand and a golden light appeared behind his head. He spoke words in a language Dobbs couldn't comprehend, and a sort of power reverberated through his whole body. The god lowered his and and the sensation subsided.

"Together, we will end this evil web Wulfera has woven," Astrius said, and then disappeared in a flash of golden light.

When Dobbs blinked, he was standing in the center of the marble plinth in front of a statue of Astrius which was obviously too large to move. Before it appeared to be a lectern, and markings on the floor were arranged in a semicircle around it. In the center of the ring above, an elaborate brass panel was installed with thousands of small holes and grooves depicting the stars above and the constellations mapped by the Altanic civilization. There was no denying it; this was an ancient academy. But what just happened? Dobbs had clearly had some sort of vision, and Astrius spoke of some kind of gift? He didn't know how to even begin to investigate it.

---​

Meinhardt was absolutely dumbfounded when he learned of the survivor within the hut. "Are you joking? The hut was obviously built by a previous expedition, but I never would have believed that there was someone living in it!" He walked with purpose towards Commander Warren, but his thrilled expression faded as he learned that the survivor was a septuagenarian Ruthenian man that they could barely communicate with. Then, however, his expression brightened. "Detlev! Somebody get Detlev over here, he speaks Ruthenian, I nearly forgot!"

By the time Lieutenant Detlev arrived, Slater managed to interpret that the survivor's name was Igor Ivanov, a sailor from the lost ship "Muscovy" under Captain Demid Sokolovsky, and he had been living on Island I for nearly 50 years. Detlev introduced himself in fluent Ruthenian, bringing even more joy to the old man that he could now converse freely with someone.

"[I never gave up hope,]" Ivanov explained. "[I always told myself, 'you're going to see home again, someday,' and in my dreams, the memory is so vivid. Thank the gods for these dreams. I'd have had nothing to get me by without them. I have so many things to ask you-"

Detlev patted the man on the back, "[Slow down, old man, slow down,] he chuckled. "[We'll get you onto one of our main ships tonight and you can tell us all about what you've been through, and we'll tell you what's been happening elsewhere. If you can learn some new words, our friends on the Archangel might be able to take you in.]"

"[Well, until then, if you want to pick this old man's brain, then feel free. I suppose I know these islands better than any man alive. I've been to all of them, over the years, but I haven't left these two in the last ten of 'em. I'm too old to paddle the old raft all the way to the third island.]"

The head researcher beckoned for Meinhardt and Warren's attention, and the officers listened as he explained Ivanov's offer.

---​

While Captain Flint described the significance of the black aetherine charm found in the mummy's body, Kuromaki sat on the ground with a medic from the Nixe who set about dressing, stitching and bandaging her bite wound. Although she had bled quite badly due to a punctured vein, once it was all finished, there was nothing physically preventing her from continuing. However, once the adrenaline had worn off, she was obviously shaken by the encounter. Would they encounter more horrors like these within that ziggurat? [Undoubtedly,] she found herself thinking. Despite the fear, looking down at her exposed hand reminded her of why she was so determined to explore in the first place. She slipped the glove back on as Flint encouraged her to stay behind. Once his words had been translated to Alamannian, she shook her head. "Ich muss mit dir gehen," she answered.

"She says she must go with you," one of the assistants clarified.

The whole group picked itself up and moved on with a new reluctance to leave the road, arriving at the base of the pyramid at around 1PM, and took roughly an hour exploring the ruins around the base layer in search of an entrance. Using field notes from a previous expedition, they knew that they needed to locate the remains of a temple with a collapsed roof. Once they had found it, it was a matter of finding a safe entrance through a narrow opening between two slabs which would not cause them to fall or become trapped in the room buried beneath. This was finally accomplished, and at around 2:30, they had all climbed into the crumbling, half-buried temple structure to find a room so badly damaged by water that the ancient inscriptions, reliefs, and wall paintings were utterly ruined.

Much more importantly, however, they stood before a square opening to an intact underground passage which simply faded into darkness, as it was perfectly straight for several hundred feet and there were no light sources to speak of. Both the Alleghenians and the Alamannians began to log their movements, both for the sake of redundancy and to allow them to split up later without causing delays, if need be. Rask and Von Paning took point, and on they went.

Guided by the light of their lanterns, the walls and floors gradually lost their time-weathered appearance. Images began to appear along with legible, but still un-decoded, inscriptions beneath. They appeared to tell a story that was meant to be read as one walked into the pyramid, but due to the damage to the temple entrance, the beginning of said story was missing.
​
A dark-cloaked man with a large tome in one hand and an hourglass in the other stands aside another, with golden eyes, a book of his own, and a scale in his other hand. They are looking at each other. The cloaked man's head is bowed while the golden-eyed man seems to look over and beyond him, his expression fierce. A ship on the ocean is beset by a sea monster of some kind, and hundreds of small figures, sailors or fishermen, it seems, are in the water. Ugly, fish-like creatures are depicted below the surface, dragging them down, drowning them. Wulfera, beautifully depicted in relief with gold and precious gems embedded, is shown above the sea, a column of flame descending from her sword through the ocean itself. Her expression is mournful. The first two men appear again. The golden-eyed man is both stabbing and embracing the cloaked man. Winged skeletal creatures with blackened bones surround them. Then, the cloaked man is depicted among them, winged as they are. The golden eyed man is praying above the cloaked man on the ground. The cloaked man rises from the ground and the winged dead are gone, but now the cloaked man is shown to have the face of a skull. In the following image, the cloaked man is burning the tome while Wulfera looks on. In the next scene, the monstrous creatures of the sea are climbing the beach of a coastal city, brandishing swords and apparently casting magic. The people of the city are fighting back. Off the coast, two sea monsters are fighting, and one has the face of a skull. In the sky, another brilliant relief depicts Wulfera impaling a winged mermaid, with her sword in glorious fashion. The humans are victorious. Finally, the final images in the tunnel depict Wulfera and the golden-eyed man directing the construction of the pyramid together. An angelic figure is placing the cloaked man atop the pyramid, and above them, he is once again depicted with wings, among other winged skeletons, this time looking upwards as if departing.​

"Hold it!" Rask shouted as they reached the end of the tunnel. They were looking at a moderately-large chamber which contained statues of Wulfera, the cloaked figure, and the golden-eyed figure, but the latter's face was destroyed by some ancient act. Rask took a knee, shining his flashlight along the ground to observe the cut and height of the stone. "That's a pressure plate, right there..." he declared, tossing a bit of dirt across the floor. Much of it caught on the almost invisible lip of the pressure plate, revealing its size and location.

"Good catch," Von Paning concurred. "Everyone, walk slowly and follow our lead."

The two guided them through the likely-trapped room to the far side, where the halls branched in two directions. Kuromaki and the Alamannians decided to continue following the Alleghenians and their expert sappers. They took the path on the left, first, which brought them to a winding, upward tunnel. As they walked, Kuromaki received a translation of the researchers' thoughts on the images down below:

"[The goddesses Wulfera and that winged mermaid were likely deities of the land and sea, respectively. They seemed to have fought a long and difficult war against each other, and Wulfera won with the help of a scholar who visited the afterlife. This scholar may have used necromancy to win the war, and his body is interred here now. Unless it was metaphorical, his tomb is actually near the top of the pyramid, different from those we've seen elsewhere in the world.]"

"[Then we should keep climbing upward so we can find that tomb,]" Kuromaki replied. "[I'd imagine a great scholar mage would have some extraordinary possessions to pass on.]"

The assistant nodded. "[Yes, but if he was a necromancer, then perhaps the mummy we faced earlier was a sort of guardian?]"

Moments later, the whole group entered a room on the second level. Here, the architecture seemed in rather good condition, with many items made of wood still standing as they did many centuries prior, as they were far from the elements the entire time. Slowly and carefully they began to explore the chambers, which seemed to make up some kind of communal living complex. There were many small implements such as cups, plates, and pitchers that suggested that this place was either occupied at one point, or that the Altanic people believed in an afterlife in which the dead would need these things. There was even a large bath in the middle which was long-devoid of water. All throughout the narrow rooms, the outside walls were absolutely covered with a grid of semicircular stones with simple inscriptions, and the researchers unanimously agreed that they were, in fact, grave markers for people whose bodies were interred within the pyramid.

They turned another corner and found a second fork in the path. Between the two forks was a gigantic suit of armor standing at attention. Its armor was made of rudimentary steel with a silk lining, and numerous runes decorated its chest plate. Its spear was firmly planted on the floor in front of it, and inside the helmet, a realistic mask made of painted clay gave the appearance that the armor was occupied. As they approached to examine it, however, the statue twitched, rattled, and very slowly, leaned forward to examine them. Then, it lifted its spear from the ground and took a step forward, shaking centuries of dust from its body. The researchers backed away quickly as it picked up its pace, taking up the spear in both hands. The Alleghenians had been preparing for a melee, but they were easily out-ranged by the long spear and several were struck by its old and rusted blade as it approached the officers.

Flint and Kuromaki moved away from each other, and the armor followed Flint. Swinging hard, it nearly missed the Alleghenian captain completely, but did score a glancing blow to his arm which didn't cut. From behind, Kuromaki rushed in and shoved the creature as hard as she could. Surprisingly, this worked as the huge undead guardsman stumbled under the weight of his armor and fell to its knees. The mask came loose from its face and shattered on the floor, revealing a mummified skull beneath the helmet. It rose from the ground slowly and shakily, as if it couldn't quite handle the weight of its own armor, before turning around to face Kuromaki. By that point, however, she had already sprinted away and hidden behind a pillar, her heart pounding. Now Flint had an opportunity as the creature moved to locate the Shinjuku officer.

---
​
The Platense sailor stepped up toward the deeper part of the waters, her rifle trained on the surface as she looked for movement. It wasn't a good decision, as the creature burst forth at such a speed that the sailor had no chance of reacting in time, and its massive jaws clamped down on her legs. She was swept off her feet as the crocodile whipped her back and forth, rolling in the water as gunshots rang out once again from the edges of the clearing. Most of the bullets hit the water instead of the reptile, which released the unfortunate sailor before snapping its jaws again at the next nearest one. This time, however, it caught only air between its knife-like fangs and turned, splashing as it slinked away towards the trees. Streaks of blood were visible on its body, and it seemed that the crew had finally scared it off.

They raced in to find that the sailor's legs hadn't just been punctured; the crocodile had practically bitten them off, crushing the bones inside and leaving them sticking through the fleshy pulp that was left over all around. She had already lost so much blood that she was in shock, and within seconds, she ceased to live as the shallows turned crimson. Dos Santos knew that if they were to leave their comrade's body here, it would likely be consumed by the crocodile, and so she would need to decide whether to carry it for a proper burial at sea, which could slow them down and attract more predators, or leave the sailor as a tribute to the massive beast they had unwittingly angered.

Alvarado's team, meanwhile, proceeded to the stone structure spotted by their scout, Pinto. It turned out to be a ruined husk of a building which lacked a roof. As they began aimlessly picking through the stones, they heard a splashing noise from the more flooded section of the jungle and turned, just in time for the same massive crocodile to burst out of the trees, already enraged and bleeding! As they already had their guns out and were on alert after the vine attack, Alvarado and his men unloaded on the creature, and it slid to a stop with blood gushing from its numerous holes just a few feet from the Captain's boots.

Elsewhere, Mancinelli and his group carefully placed the lotus flower into a cloth bag before gathering their things to move on. As they entered into the darkness of the jungle canopy again, however, they had a sense that they were being watched. Then, out of nowhere, a howler dropped from one of the trees and landed on Mancinelli! Its huge, multi-jointed legs wrapped around the man completely and gripped him like a spider grips its prey, and its wolf-like jaw opened almost 180 degrees with a horrifying howl before snapping closed on the man's face and neck. He screamed in agony and terror as the others weren't sure how to react, as shooting the animal would likely harm their comrade. In seconds, the howler had struck an artery, putting Mancinelli's life in imminent danger!

---
​
On Island VI, the small team dispatched to the edge of the island made a long circular trek along the shoreline, looking for anything of note, when they spotted what at first appeared to be a stone sarcophagus built into the rim of the bowl. When they approached, they found that it was too small for an adult body, and was marked with an odd symbol which resembled a circle with a downward-facing triangle within. All around the piece were small stones engraved with strange runes, and brass plates of unknown purpose. Experimentally, they pushed on the edge of its lid and found it surprisingly lightweight for its size, and soon realized that it was actually a stone-lined chest which had once had metal hinges on the back, but had long-since rusted away. The contents within, however, were preserved, and caused the men to gasp with astonishment.

Over in the bowl and unaware, the sailor Williams had selected to test the throne for Grand Captain Kortova stepped up and took a seat. Nothing happened as he sat on the throne for a moment, although he was met with a mild sense of dread as he watched the others gather equipment that would destroy this ancient artifact. He got up, shook his head, and immediately felt better about it. The Grand Captain then stepped up, running her hand along the armrests of the throne in admiration. The gold was really quite captivating, and she could hardly wait to get it into the Archangel's cargo hold. But first, she would be the last person to sit in the ancient chair. She positioned herself regally on the throne while urging the camera operator to hurry up, and the crew squeezed in for the photo shoot.

Outside the bowl, the contents of the chest were revealed. Inside were what appeared to be the skeletal remains of a child, or a woman of very small stature. She was dressed in a purple silk garment which was fabulously, ornately decorated with hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of tiny amethysts and gold beads. Her arms were crossed over her body, and along with the gold rings on each finger, each with tiny studs of what also appeared to be amethyst, there was an ancient musical instrument which appeared to have been similar to a lyre, but was now missing its strings. The strangest thing of all, however, were the deformities apparent in the bones. The body had some sort of tail, and the skull had large, sinister fangs, and horns which curled tightly at the sides of the head like one would see on a ram.

As Kortova sat on the throne, she felt the same note of dread her subordinate had felt, but it increased ten fold at the exact moment the lid was lifted on the chest. Everything in her field of view changed: the sky became a vivid red, and the ground an abyss of dark purple which seemed to swallow her, at the bottom of the bowl. Her crew vanished into thin air, and instead she found herself being looked over, judged, even, by a young girl with dark gray skin and demonic features, including a terrifying set of golden eyes. She spoke in an otherworldly voice: "Oh, ho ho ho... it's been centuries, but they've finally sent a treat," she said, licking her lips. "Perhaps their empire came to an end, and they forgot about us? But now they've found us again." She approached Kortova, who was frozen in terror, and set her hand down on the arm rest just next to the Grand Captain's sleeve. "They didn't even tie you down, either... That would normally be a sign of eagerness. But you seem scared. ...Are you sure this is what you want?"
 
As Dobbs returned back to the island and regained control of his body, he patted his chest and looked down on himself before tightening his hands a few times. Bewildered, he looked around for a few moments before looking back at the statue in front of him. He could not even begin to comprehend what exactly just happened. Was it his mind playing tricks on him? Or was it actually... real? It was too vivid to be a mere simple illusion. He found himself staring at the statue as Lonstray and the rest of the team joined Dobbs inside the structure. Dobbs himself quickly ordered pictures be taken and any markings to be catalogued, sending both assistant and sailor scrambling to following the scientist's orders. Once that was done, Lonstray walked next to Dobbs to speak: "An incredible find! This is... absolutely magnificent captain!" Lonstray spoke as if he was a child in a candy store. Unlike Dobbs, Lonstray had plenty to say as he looked around with sheer awe.

Dobbs could only half-listen to Lonstray as he continued to look at the statue before whispering under his breath, "Astrius...". The name rolled off his tongue with both awe and a seemingly unquenchable curiosity. Was this the man I saw in my dream before? Dobbs thought to himself as he tried to make any connections to what he had experienced earlier.

Shortly after, Dobbs returned his attention to Lonstray and gave a smile. "Indeed. This is a great discovery... let's see what secrets we can uncover here."

And the two men quickly got to work after.
 
Warren approached alongside Meinhardt, and promptly asked about the first and second islands that they were on. The man had been there for an extensive amount of time, and likely had thoroughly explored this and the next island. "Any interesting things he can tell us about the island we're on, as well as the next one?" He'd ask about the next pair of islands afterwards once the question had been answered.

Back outside, Slater began to wander around the ruined settlement as the rest of the Alleghenian and Alamannian sailors moved about. She had her notepad out once more, scribbling down notes regarding their findings so far. One survivor from a previous expedition, a Ruthenian, and a large iron statue of a winged mermaid. A rather interesting piece, really. As she moved about, she began to make small sketches in her notes of any notable writings or carvings in the ruins of the settlement. If it looked suspicious or important, she recorded it in her notes.

Meanwhile, Riddle had found himself playing the part of the organizer, making sure that the Alleghenian sailors stayed in line and did what they were told. He stood with his Annihilator at his side, watching the men as they dug through bushes and debris in search of anything unique or notable. Soon they found themselves among the Alamannians group, talking (if they could) and examining the area around where the iron statue had been discovered.
 
Flint followed behind his pioneers with his electric searchlight focused on the mural that decorated the long corridor. The humans, they managed to beat back horrors from the deep? But only after resulting to foul sorcery that defiled the dead. Flint shook his head, such a price was debatable at best. They had given up their own life, their humanity even, to secure that victory. And now they were still here, guarding the ruins of a kingdom that had fallen long ago. The thoughts raced through his head as he tried to make sense of it all. In his dream, he had lamented over the fall of Alleghenia and the young soldier he had gunned down had worn a black aetherine crystal. Would Alleghenia use the power of the undead to secure a fatalistic victory in the name of Wulfera? Was Warren destined to join them? Would he have to face them, even if his dream made him feel like victory was unachievable? Flint could not find the answers to these questions, and he continued along with his group whilst brooding silently.

After passing the pressure plate and it's trap thanks to the seasoned pioneers, the encountered the communal burial hall. Flint, although not a man of the scienses, was quite learned. He had remembered reading about cultures that had elaborate mausoleums, where the living could go to spend time with the departed. Whilst this practice was still documented in some parts of the world, Flint found it to be rather outdated.

As they cleared the communal chamber, they encountered a fork that was guarded by a huge armored warrior. Believing it to be purely decorational, the party was taken aback as it rumbled to life and assailed them. After a brief exchange, Flint found himself looking at the back of this golem as it turned it towards Kuromaki. He found himself overwhelmed. Bullets had not worked on the mummy, and only when Kuromaki had torn its throat away and severed its head had it expired. Images from his earlier dreams flashed before him as if to offer him guidance. Shooting the creature in the chest would be of no use, thanks to it's armor. But... Perhaps it was as simple as killing a man? Shooting it in the head may kill it as any other human being. After all, they had once been human as well. But did the charm with the aetherine glass within their chest now hold their entire life-force?

Flint let his instincts make the decision, raising his pistol and firing at the warriors head, hoping to destroy the skull and whit it its unholy power.
 
"DIOS SANTO!" shouted one of the sailors, as she rushed to her dying compatriots side. Another one began to scream his lungs out at the rest of the armed crew, berating them for their poor aiming. "IDIOTAS! IMBECILES! Que no saben como disparar on arma?! PELOTUDOS!" Dos Santos was in pure shock. The poor woman bled to death while some of the crew tried desperately to keep her alive. "...S-She's gone" said Dos Santos while looking down at the body.

"...She bleed out. Nothing we can do anymore... f-fuck... FUCK!" she shouted while holding her head. Never expecting to see such gruesome death. The youngest sailor then pointed his finger at Dos Santos, who simply looked at the man confused. "Y-you! It's your fault, you and your cursed hand!" Dos Santos eyes grew wide, looking at every other member of the crew with growing anxiety. "I... I... d-didn't do anything!" she said while raising her hands. However, one of the marines slapped the back of young man's head. "Have you lost your god damn mind? Marta died because she thought the beast was gone. It wasn't! That's it! The doctor even warned her to not go into the water!"

The rest of the crew nodded and seemingly agreed with the man, making the young man look down in shame. "W...what do we do with Marta's body." asked the other researcher in the team besides Dos Santos. "...I don't know. I really don't want to leave her here and let that animal feast on her body. But... and I'm sorry if this offends some of you... her body might slow us down and even attract more animals." The crew went quiet, some of them looking down at their fallen companions body. But as some of them began to talk about their options, Dos Santos thought of a possible solution to mask the scent of the body. "...Unless, we use some clothing to mask the bloods scent?"

"We won't be able to mask all of it, but it might work until we get to the edge of this flooded jungle." The crew did not question her, as some of them began to take their shirts off and wrap Marta's body with it. It might work. Dos Santos hoped it would, but the thought of another crocodile in the water sent chills down her spine. "...We'll go back to the camp now. Please, I need all of you to remain alert. We don't know if that thing might come back." And with that, the group tried to go back to the camp.

Meanwhile...
Alvarado and his men were looking at the derelict building, some of the researchers with him examining the stones and the general style of the building. But that was cut short as a rampaging creature came out of the flooded jungles nearby. Alvarado rushed out of the building just in time to see his men shooting at the creature until it died just a few feet away from the captain. Alvarado looked at the beast and its sharp teeth, but didn't take any second chances, and shot the creature's head two times with his revolver. "...The animals and even the damn plants in this place are too hostile. We need to prepare better if we want to move on. For now we will go back to the camp!"

Meanwhile...

On the other end of the island, Mancinelli was being brutalized by a ferocious howler. The rest of the crew was not sure how to dispatch the creature and save the first mate, until a courageous woman in the group charged with her rifle in hand. Attempting to stab the beast with her bayonet and shoot it in the side, as to not harm the first mate and try to save him. Each minute they didn't tend to his severe neck wounds, the more likely he'd die.
 
Kortova was smirking to herself as the sailors gathered around, despite the odd feeling of... dread, was it? A very heavy, somewhat soul-crushing sensation, like when her favorite horse died. The sudden surge of the feeling momentarily shocked her and the transformation of the world around her happened so quickly it took her a full second to truly realize what was even happening. Her face was locked into a slackening grin as her eyes went wide and her body still. The crimson sky, the surrounding disappearance of the ground only to be replaced by a fathomless expanse of an eerie purple. And... and the thing.

She shrank back into the throne as the creature approached, her hands starting to shake as she remained rigid and frozen. This didn't look like any angel she had seen in her dreams. No, this looked like a demon, or some other monster. Grey skin, horns, fearsome eyes.

"W-w-w-what?" She stuttered once it spoke, looming over her and only a few inches away. "G-go away, I'm a m-m-master fencer!" For good measure she slapped her hand against the hilt of her straight-saber, but it was at too odd an angle and the thing too close to her for it to even be drawn; she merely brandished the scabbard weapon like a shield as it remained chained to her hip. For good measure, she also drew up her legs to shield her body. Her heart was racing and she was breathing fast enough that she felt a little light headed as she stared up at the creature. They weren't immediately intimidating per se - the wolf creature things on the first island in the dark were nightmarish, and even the giant snake was pretty scary. But a person that wasn't a person, an actual talking person, was something else entirely. Her words were startling, saying things like treat and speaking of tying people down, but she posed a rather innocuous question. Are you sure this is what you want?

"W-what is this? Who are you? Where am I!?" Kortova questioned back quickly. "I-I'm a grand captain! I just... just s-sat down in this chair, why am I here!? Where...." She dared take her eyes off the girl to take a peek over the armrest and into the darkness that was surrounding her below, causing her to scoot as far and hard back into the throne as possible, as if she was floating up above nothing and only a light wind could send her toppling over.

She couldn't quite rationalize what was happening. This certainly felt far too real, too sudden, to be any dream or hallucination. It had to be magic, or something like that. And this person - maybe they were an actual person, but had been transformed from the aetherine glass. Yes, yes that had to be it. Nothing so extreme like a demon or monster, that would be ridiculous. And since she hadn't been attacked yet, she carefully looked back at the creature and cleared her throat as she tried to remember her etiquette lessons. What do you say when you meet a new person?

"M-my name is... Anastasia...." She said weakly and with a half-whisper. Try not to cry, try not to cry, you'll look weak, don't cry....

---

The sailors eyed the entombed skeleton with astonishment. This was clearly not a human, but the clothing and jewelry seemed to indicate it was something - or someone - important. A few of the men dared to linger over it and examine it closer, none daring to touch it, as they studied this phenomenal discovery. The skeleton itself had to be priceless and the decoration was probably worth more than a pretty penny. On the other hand, that would be very clear grave robbery. Or was it archaeology at this point?

One man slowly grabbed his bayonet and was going to poke the skull when the corporal grabbed his hand to stop him. "I don't think that's a good idea, eh?" He spoke with the long vowels and accent of a man from the Sokrovy-Alleghenian borderlands, and one of the more common accents among the population.

"W...what should we do with it?" Another asked, still looking it over. "Is it, like, real? I've seen something like this at a circus before but I thought it was fake...."

"This one is real... I think," the corporal said again. "Eh... let's just leave it alone for now. Let the officers figure this one out."

"Well, shit, do we get anything for this?" Another asked, this one with a heavier Ruthenian-leaning accent. "Blyat... this covers the explorer's bonus, right? That's gold in there. And real gems."

It took the squad another minute of astonished examination of the skeleton before they departed quickly, leaving the lid open, and running back to the main gathering to report on what they found.
 
Captain Dobbs and his men had barely begun to explore the extraordinary site when they felt an unusual chill in the air that made the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end. They all stopped what they were doing and began to search around for the source, not noticing the way the pooled water on the ground was moving and shifting in ways which didn't make sense. That is, until a mound of water began to rise in defiance of gravity itself, forming a growing blob that eventually reached four feet in height and eight feet in diameter.

Dobbs felt something unusual when he looked at the rolling ball of water- something separate from fear, or fascination. He could see a faint blue glow within the creature, concentrated into a core roughly the size of a volley ball. He asked whether Lonstray or anyone else could see it, but they couldn't, and the Captain began to wonder if this was the "gift" that Astrius had promised him. He had little time to think about it, however, as the giant gob of water began rolling in his direction, as if sentient! As it neared, Dobbs leaped out of the way, and the water slowed to a stop and actually changed directions to follow him. The entire landing party began shouting and swearing in fear and exasperation at the development.

---
​
Ivanov nodded as Detlev spoke to him, and smiled with a rosiness in his cheeks. He didn't seem to care about the rain or the standard line of questioning, but rather seemed thrilled just to have someone to talk to. "[Oh, yes. These two islands, I know the best. When I first came here, back in '71, I fell overboard while our ship was battling an enormous sea monster at the far end of the chain. We were the only ones left because a typhoon hit the fleet after we left the Castle Island. I watched my ship get wrecked from the shore of the last island, but we Ruthenians don't go down without a fight. The damned creature died from our cannons, and I've always wanted to report it to the motherland to let the people know who their heroes are. Anyway, it took me a few days to get my bearings right. I built a raft that could help me swim, and I went back out to the hulk looking for other survivors, but I didn't find any. Instead, I found those men rotting in a way that just didn't seem natural...

"[I gathered up as much supplies as I could and ate a big meal once I got back to the other island. I couldn't eat there on the ship because it stunk to high heaven. I tried to survive for a few more days on that island but I had to relocate in search of better food. I tell you, most of these islands are filled with creatures I can't even describe. This land is one shade off of hell itself. I reached the second island in the chain, that one over there-]" he said, indicating Island II which wasn't far away, "[at the end of my second week, and I found that it was full of coconuts and scuttling little crabs with decent meat in them. That's been the main part of my diet for a long time, but I've gotten lucky once in a while and caught some good fish or birds. The biggest thing I miss is salt and spices.

"[Now, to get to the point... You can tell that something terrible happened here to whatever people lived here. All those markings on the stone bricks, if you check the angles, they seem to line up with some point in the sky. I've broken open a few of the ones that glow, and they're full of these orange minerals that seem eager to catch fire. I've used them for just that, too. They're pretty useful, just, pick 'em up and throw em at the ground and they go off, even in the rain. I think the people who lived here burned to death, and I've dreamed about it sometimes. A... creature in my dreams once told me so, and said the gods of these islands would never help me because I couldn't repay the favor, seeing as I don't have a ship of my own.]"

Ivanov sighed. "[Let's see, what else... That statue those Alamannians were handling. I tried praying to it, once, to see what would happen. I had terrible nightmares for days afterward, with crazy music and laughter, and I skinned myself alive once. I, uh, never touched it again after that. There's another statue just like it on the other island. The buildings over there are more intact than the ones over here, and there's some kind of structure there that might have been a temple at one point, but there's a huge piece of stone that fell onto it when the city was destroyed and even when I was young and strong, I couldn't budge it an inch. I don't even know if you all could do it unless you've got draft animals. There's a lot of hot glass over there. You know, the red kind.]"

Detlev nodded. "[We call that aetherine, now.]"

"[Uh-huh. Well if you see that stuff, be careful with it. I picked up a shard once that had this little symbol on it, and I swear I almost sprouted gills. I was sick for a week before my neck went back to normal and I've avoided it ever since. I think the dull ones and the ones without markings are safe to handle, but I've no use for them.]"

"[Thank you sir,]" Detlev said. "[We've got some food with good spices, just ask the man over there,]" he said.

While Detlev explained everything Ivanov had told him to Warren and Meinhardt, the two crews picked over the ruins once again in search of new discoveries. While lifting some stones in a destroyed house, Warren's crew discovered a small cache of silver bars, each about the size of a pack of gum, while Meinhardt's crew located an intact mosaic image of the winged mermaid, wielding a trident and using it to direct ships in a storm.

---​

Captain Flint raised his pistol and took careful aim. He wasn't sure if his bullet would even pierce the enemy's helmet. Even if it did, would shooting the mummy in the head do more than shooting the previous ghoul in the body had done? He pulled the trigger, and luckily for all, the bullet went straight through the metal helmet and into the skull before impacting the opposite side of the helmet and tumbling out of the front. The giant staggered heavily, growing much slower as it let out a terrifying bellow. It turned and hurled its spear at Flint as hard as it could manage.

It missed, and the spear broke apart as it hit the wall, leaving the steel tip embedded in the stone while the wooden shaft splintered apart, with some pieces landing far down the hall. Now empty-handed, it began to march toward Flint once more, but this time, Flint stood his ground and fired several more shots at the mummy's head. After the second or third bullet, he scored another direct hit, right between the eye sockets. All of a sudden, the creature dropped to the ground and began crumbling to dust, just as the first one had.

Kuromaki finally came out of hiding once the commotion had settled. At this point, she had quietly decided not to leave Flint's side until the pyramid exploration was finished. It would do her no good to discover a cure for her curse if she couldn't leave the ruins alive with it.

---​

Two of the three teams from the Correntino began backtracking out of the jungle after repeated attacks from wildlife and the resulting misfortune. They had decided to retrieve the body of Marta, their fallen comrade, despite the risk of blood luring even more animals. However, with the body tightly bound by layers of cloth around the legs, they were able to stem the trail of blood for a while, at least until they soaked through. Thankfully, by that point, they were close enough to the ocean that the risk of attack was very low. Her body was brought aboard the ship while the crews rested and commiserated in camp together.

However, the third group would be further delayed, as it was still dealing with a howler attack. Mancinelli's life hung in the balance as one of his crewmates ran in for a bayonet charge. Unfortunately, just as she neared, the creature tightened its grip, hard, which caused its victim to collapse on the ground. The sailor spun around, driving the bayonet into the creature as it was busy sinking its teeth into Mancinelli's neck again, and pulled the trigger several times to shred the howler's innards. Practically everyone dove onto the corpse, tearing it loose from their friend and using their hands to hold the wounds closed until they could be stitched. Mancinelli gradually went still and fell into a coma, but when the group finally returned to camp, at roughly 5PM, and laid him down inside a tent, he was still breathing.

Everyone sat around in misery for a while. All this death and injury and all they had to show for it was a little blue flower.

---​

The Grand Captain's questions came as a surprise to the demon, whose bemusement only grew with each passing second. "You don't know..." she thought aloud. A moment later, she stifled a malicious chortle and merely grinned. "I must be the chosen among chosen, then, if you mean to tell me humans have come from the faraway lands to access my shrine of all shrines, and put such an adorable little know-nothing runt on my seat of alteration... Anastasia, your name is as beautiful as serendipity itself. My name is Ishra, and you have come to a rather unholy place. You see... I was a human like you, once, until I sat in Rescilla's seat, who in turn sat in Elteran's, and so on, all the way back to the Chambers of Loken where the Queen of Queens once sat.

"We all have our ways of serving, whether it's in the mortal realm, luring the wicked, or the lustful, or the simply simple types such as yourself into the basins for corruption, or in the beyond, as I do, carrying out the work of altering souls." Ishra's eyes seemed to grow hungry as she spoke the word. "I also cultivate naether with all the others in the Ashes, of course, but when this little ritual happens, intentionally or not, I appear. And it's been so, so long since I've gotten to have some fun with a virgin soul like yours!" She gripped the armrests with each hand in order to both lock Kortova in as well as balance herself as she leaned in, so close that she could practically touch the Grand Captain with her nose. "Untainted by amateurish sorcery, stabbing at riddles the human mind is unequipped to solve... Oh, but I ramble-" she said as she set her golden eyes within inches of Kortova's.

The Grand Captain saw nothing but the gold irises of her captor and felt an unnatural sinking feeling, an inability to resist. An almost hypnotic tranquility settled down over her as she went slack in the ornate chair. "You want to live forever, don't you?" Ishra spoke. Involuntarily, Kortova nodded in reply. "You want to... use that royal blood of yours. You want to be queen of Sokrovy!"

Kortova's head was spinning. Could the demon read her mind? Or was it simply seeing the memory of her dream, two nights prior? "Y-yes." Kortova sharply inhaled. The words escaped her lips on their own.

"We can make that happen. All you have to do is promise to serve us. Your sisters, your brothers, Loken, and the Queen of Queens. Say yes, and you will be everything you ever wanted. Say yes, and you will never regret it! Say yes, Anastasia! Say yes! Say it. ...You don't want to know what happens if you say no. Oh ho ho ho ho ho! That is, if you can even remember how. But you don't, do you? You've forgotten, haven't you?"

Kortova blinked. Whatever the demon had done, whether it was hypnoses or mind control, or something else entirely, Kortova could not even remember the opposite of the word "yes."
 
Dobbs felt adrenaline rush into him as he dodged the sentient water, yet it continued to chase after him with a relentless pursuit! Lonstray and the rest of the team were not only bewildered but also gravely concerned for their captain. Some of the sailors reached for their pistols, but Lonstray stopped them. "You idiots! It's made of water! I doubt we will be able to hurt it as is. Start searching for something, anything!" This caused everyone to look for something, whether it be a mechanism or a tool, to help stop, if not slow down, the water. Dobbs meanwhile continued to run as his mind raced: What the bloody hell is going on?!? he thought to himself. This doesn't make any sense!

He tried to look around for answers, anything really, that would be able to help him but in his rush he wouldn't be able to concentrate properly. Damn it, think, think! And then he realized something. The center of this entity... there was something there. Perhaps that was the thing that was making this thing come to reality. Perhaps if he grabbed it and removed it...

Dobbs quickly stopped, and turned to face the water as it closed in on him. Lonstray cried out to run, yet Dobbs did not hesitate and instead ran towards the water. He took a deep breath, and with his hands outstretched in front of him he lunged towards the water and towards whatever it was he felt inside of it.
 
Anastasia squirmed under Ishra's gaze. The girl's words were burning themselves into her head even as she didn't grasp the full context and history that clung to them. Names she did not know. Altering of souls. Corruption. Sorcery. It sounded like the speech of some demented witch from the old tales, or a theater production. She was both curious but afraid, unwilling to deal with this danger alone while wanting to know more. Ishra was far too close, far too domineering, to be someone entirely innocent. Innocent of what? She didn't know. Of anything.

Saying she was simple and had a virgin soul did enough to bolster a small ember of indignation within her, for she would have yelled at anyone else who said such things to her. She was Anastasia Kortova! No one, not even some weird thing could say such things to her. And yet, she could barely move or utter a word. It wasn't a battle she surrendered to entirely willingly. When she fully met the demons wonderful gold eyes again, she found that she was starting to slip away from her own conscious thoughts.

Yes. Live forever. Become queen. Yes. There was nothing that could possibly be said except yes to such propositions. There were other desires but those were such important ones. Of course the answer was yes, would always be yes, nothing but a fully resounding and irresolute yes. She didn't want nor could ever fathom declining.

A flutter within her offered warning. Some instinct, or intuition, ringing a little toy bell in a vast empty expanse to warn her something was amiss. She tried to latch onto that. Serve whoever these people were? Presumably forever? Ishra could grant so much but she put so much emphasis on saying yes, even pointing out she couldn't remember the word she considered saying. Surely there were stipulations? There always were, she could never say yes to something without knowing about the deal. How many contracts had father shown her how to read and sign... she hadn't even a pen on her!

She squirmed a little more, making a formless sound with her throat as the formation of words failed. Instinct, desire, and something else - Ishra - were pushing her to say yes. It was already on the tip of her tongue. What other words could she possibly say. Images of her dream flashed back into her mind, of her as a queen of supreme power, of the angelic motifs, and the one word Meinhardt was able to attach to it - Wulfera. Wasn't the dream already a promise from her? A premonition?

"W-w... w... W-wulfera...?" She struggled to say, wondering if that would invoke anything, or simply delay the inevitable of the answer that was already fighting its way to be spoken.
 
The demon's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Kortova's response, her predatory smile subsiding a bit. "What about her?" Ishra replied. She backed away a moment, giving Kortova the chance to breathe and think more clearly. "I see... in your dream..." Ishra pondered aloud. "But you only have a fragment of the truth, my dear. Don't let it control you and make you a victim of your naivety. How should I put this, hm? Your Chief Goddess is our Queen of Queens. We demons of alteration have pledged our allegiance to avoid annihilation, and so we've become trusted allies of Wulfera. How ironic, no? But let's not stall any further, now. The way I see it, Wulfera selected you to come to me, and now I'm offering you what you desire in exchange for serving the ones who serve the Queen of Queens.

"Call it a shortcut, if you want, because believe me, if you think that tracking down Wulfera herself and begging her for the same treatment with no string attached will be easier than saying that one, simple word, 'yes,' then you deserve what I have in store for you."
 
Riddle and Slater inspected the silver bars that the Alleghenian sailors had found. Rather small, really, but could be used for something, potentially. Better than nothing at all. Afterwards, Slater made her way over to where Meinhardt's men were and sketched out the mosaic image that they had discovered. This winged mermaid goddess seemed to be a rather hostile one. Either that, or a rather vengeful one. Riddle soon found her, sketching away in her notebook, and finally spoke. "...Why don't you just take photographs of things like the others?" he asked, letting his Annihilator hang at his side once more. She glanced towards him, pausing her sketch. "Because I like drawing things." she replied, before returning to her work.

Riddle grunted. "Never fancied myself an artist. Or much of anything beyond a sailor." he muttered, looking towards the mosaic where the Commodore's men were. "Everyone deserves a hobby, Riddle." she stated, smirking. He shrugged. "Guess so." he muttered, before stepping away. Returning to where the Alleghenians were. Slater watched him walk off, before adding the finishing touches to her drawing and tucking her notebook into her coat.

Warren glanced to Meinhardt, once the old man finished his stories and explanations. "...Well, if the ruins on the next island are more intact, we should head over there. Maybe the temple ruins there can shed more light on the winged mermaid. And we could collect a few samples of the marked aetherine for one of the scientists to study."
 
Hiding the nervousness he had just experienced, Flint's face was as unfazed as a statues when he released the empty magazine into his had before putting it away and installing a fresh on into his pistol. The men remained silent for a while, before someone let out a holler and the group began cheering for their captain. Flint was as stern as ever, never taking his eyes off the huge armor that now lay filled with dust on the floor. "Masterson" he spoke sharply which made the men go quiet. He looked at one of the sailors who had opened up the mummy, nodding for him to get to work on excavating the fallen guardians corpse. As the sailor quickly set to work digging through the rotted garments and steel plates, Flint turned his attention to the pioneers. "Continue down the corridor. Report back as soon as you encounter anything of note". Rask and Von Paning saluted their captain and were immediately on their way down the tunnel where they had first encountered the guardian.

As Masterson continued looking for a similar charm, Flint kept looking at the empty armor. What their captain had done was not lost on his men. Destroying the head of the undead was enough to slay them. They we're relieved that they could rely on their fire-arms again. Flint then looked to Kuromaki, as she recovered her composure and emerged from behind a pillar. "I suppose I am in debt to you for orchestrating the distraction" he said in a positively dry, professional tone as he turned his focus back to Masterson and the guardian.
 
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Anastasia whimpered slightly and held her hands to her head, as if that could shield away the demon evidently peering into her thoughts. You're rude! She thought immediately, trying to recollect her thoughts and process everything the demon was saying. So Wulfera was evidently at the top no matter which way you looked at it, or so Ishra said. She didn't even expect to find Wulfera - ever - and had figured her to be nothing more than a long dead idol left alive only in fragments, dreams, and stories. Yet all of a sudden she was apparently very real and alive, somewhere, and these demons were servants of her. Well, their looks didn't matter that much, but to try and steal her allegiance and make her subservient somehow... that was for peasants, not royalty! A queen does not serve anyone else. Though there was still an aristocratic hierarchy....

She took a moment to calm herself a little further, hands still on her head. "What... what does serving any of you... mean? E-everyone else is meant to serve me... I don't know any of you people! Or what you do, or what you are, or... or... or why any of this is the way it is! You're not even supposed to be actually real. Just... just weird history and dreams!"
 
Captain Dobbs, emboldened by his incredible encounter with Astrius, decided to leap at the rolling water! As he collided with its surface, he felt himself being pulled into it, towards the center, so that he was trapped within a sort of bubble without any air. He set his eyes on the bluish glow, however, and kicked while reaching toward it. He felt a current within the water, a resistance, as if the creature was trying to force him away, but he overpowered it, and just as he was about to run out of breath, he felt his fingers wrap around an unseen object. He gripped it, and felt a shudder run through the fluid. With a hard pull, he destroyed the coherency of the elemental, and it dispersed as regular water, depositing him somewhat roughly on the ground.

He opened his hand, expecting to find some kind of trinket, but instead he merely found a bluish aura that dissipated in the wind. Dobbs had just pulled the life energy directly out of the monster's body.

---
​
Meinhard nodded. "I agree. The other island seems like it could offer us a lot more insight on this winged mermaid, and I'm sure Dr. Dos Santos and Ensign Kuromaki would both appreciate any knowledge we can gleam from those stones."

By the time the crews had returned to the Nixe and the Jackal, the rain was finally beginning to subside as thunder and lightning continued to harry the Ossuary Islands. Ivanov settled in to the Nixe temporarily and was treated to another delicious meal, over which he told numerous stories of his incredible survival story. It was roughly 4:30 in the afternoon by the time they had reached Island II, and the two crews spent more time unloading than before so that they could later make camp on the beach or in the village with the extra equipment.

Just as Ivanov had described, the village on Island II was in better shape than the ruins on Island I. There were clearly distinct "buildings" here, rather than sparse walls and foundations, and the almost fully-erased remains of cobbled streets between them. It would take some exploration, however, for the crews to find the treasures and locations Ivanov described, and even once they found the temple, there was still the question of how they could enter it.

---
​
Rask and Von Paning crept up the rising corridor to the left of where the armored mummy had once stood, using their flashlights to carefully search for traps. As they neared the top of the incline, Von Paning stopped. "Hey, look at this," he whispered, pointing to an almost invisible tripwire running across the pathway. It was no more than half an inch above the floor.

"Aye, good catch, there," Rask said as he stepped over the wire. As soon as his foot hit the ground, however, there was a hollow clank. He realized too late that the tile on the opposite side of the tripwire was, in fact, a pressure plate, and he was immediately struck in the torso by a crossbow bolt. He was knocked off his feet and slid a ways down the corridor, crying out in pain. To his luck, however, the bolt had missed his heart and other vital organs, and could be extracted. While a medic tended to him, Von Paning located a safe route into the following chamber.

Down below, Masterson sat up from the corpse and presented Flint with another black aetherine charm as Kuromaki joined them. She shook her head in response to Flint's assertion that he owed something to the Shinjuku officer for providing a distraction. She told her translating assistant to tell Flint, "I should just get a gun of my own."

The two officers and their accompaniment climbed up the passage to the next level. They seemed to be nearing the top of the pyramid, but here they met a great surprise. The next room up was some sort of internal garden, with plants which somehow grew in the total darkness of the chamber. The floors and walls were coated with vines, and tiny channels to the surface outside allowed rainwater to seep in, hydrating the plants. Their leaves were totally white and shriveled, as if they were vestigial organs, leaving nothing but miles of gnarled and twisted trunks, roots, and branches. There didn't seem to be an obvious exit to the next passage or chamber, either.

---​

Ishra rolled her eyes at Kortova's whining. "Are all faraway people so blissfully ignorant of our past? Someone uncovered my shrine, which means they've seen my remains. Even if you don't want to believe what I'm telling you, the simple fact of the matter is that everything I've told you so far is true. But... you do make a good point. How could anyone be a half-decent servant to the Queen of Queens if they haven't even experienced half of what this world has to offer?" She narrowed her eyes again and gave Kortova another slimy grin. "You live in a reality where power is simply a matter of how many heads nod along in agreement when you open that stupid little mouth of yours. You expect people to serve you because of your name and your lineage, but when it comes down to it, all they're really doing is tolerating you."

Kortova's brow furrowed with a mixture of indignation and hurt, which Ishra delighted in. "Oh ho ho, yes! Because, when push comes to shove, you've left the world you know behind. Your crew, those knuckle-draggers, could throw you overboard in the dead of night, never to be seen again, and say you merely disappeared. And who wouldn't believe them? The rest of your fleet is as ignorant of this sea as you are. But... I can give you a taste of real power. The kind that isn't lent by followers, but wielded by the worthy." She held up her hand, and by a mysterious rotation of the wrist, made a coin appear between her fingers. It was made of rose-colored gold, and inscribed with the same strange symbols found on the obelisks outside.

"This is my token," Ishra explained. "Carry it with you for the next seven nights, and never let it leave your possession. If you do, you'll grow stronger each time the moon rises, until the seventh, in which your soul will be fully altered, and you'll become like us. If the offering isn't to your liking, then throw the coin away before the seventh moon and you will return to normal. But if you do, this coin will become inert, and the deal is off. My brothers and sisters will haunt you for the rest of your life. Enjoy!" she finished, tossing the coin into Kortova's lap.

Suddenly the Grand Captain was surrounded by her crew again, back on the island as she had originally found it. The camera flashed, capturing a look of distress and bewilderment on her face just before she became aware of the burning feeling between her clasped hands. She opened them up to discover the rose gold coin in her palms, unsure of what to do.
 
Almost out of breath, and soaking wet, Dobbs was panting heavily after diving into the water construct and was surprised to see there wasn't anything physical within it. As the blue aura blew away with the wind, he was questioning what exactly he had done in the first place. Did... Astrius have something to do with this? he thought to himself as a few sailors checked up on Dobbs, patting him on the back and asking if he was alright as they picked him off of the ground. Dobbs nodded and recomposed himself, looking around with a renewed vigor. "Let's keep searching for anything of interest here." Dobbs spoke, leading to the sailors to disperse from him. Lonstray was, however, unconvinced that everything was alright and instead walked up to Dobbs with an inquisitive look. "What exactly was that captain?" he asked.

"...I'm not sure. I felt like I grabbed something... the thing that I saw before."

"You mean the thing only you could see?"

"Yes. That... whatever it was, it wasn't... tangible. Not really. I'm not sure how to describe it."

Lonstray looked at Dobbs for another moment, looking over the captain before speaking up again: "Alright then. I'll have to inquire more about this later."

Dobbs gave a nod before returning to the task at hand. Finding anything else of interest in this place.
 
Grand Captain Anastasia Kortova gasped when reality suddenly shifted back to its normal state for her. The flash from the camera momentarily stunned her and those nearest her glanced at her to see if she was alright. A few more questions were immediately raised when her complexion, a mere few seconds ago nominally pale and giddy, had immediately shifted to being flushed and bewildered. She quickly hopped out of the seat, keeping the coin concealed in her hand, and waved some air at her face.

"T-that chair... something is wrong with it," she said accusingly, eying it over. The sailor who sat in it before concurred, and everyone took a few steps back from it and looked at it in a similar accusatory manner. "Not a very good chair if... if it makes you feel bad." She was still trembling slightly and stuffed her hand, the coin held tightly by it, into her jacket pocket. "I need a moment to rest... lieutenant, would you help me back up?"

Lieutenant Williams obliged, naturally, and with a few more sailors made their way back up the bowl and to the makeshift little camp. Sailors continued holding the ropes tied to the distant vanguard members, and marines milled about the perimeter. There was a commotion when the patrol team was spotted running back to them, and the squad quickly approached Kortova, Williams, and a few of the other officers on the shore. They dived into an animated explanation of what they had found. Anastasia was seated in her campaign chair and went a shade more pale when they described the appearance of the skeleton they had found. Ohhhhh... ohhh my goodness. She wanted to tell someone, anyone, about what she had seen and had happened but she knew it would likely put her in a very suspect light. For one, making a deal with a demon-like creature did not openly sound like a good idea. She still wasn't sure if it was smart to follow through with this coin. Years ago, she recalled reading about her grandfather's involvement in the attempted Ruthenian coup, and how favor had been curried with numerous aristocrats through a wide array of offerings and deals. This coin seemed something like that. She escaped by not saying yes, but was instead given this... magical item, and she figured it would at least put her on somewhat equal standing to Ishra. You'll become like us. It sounded a little ominous but it was better than serve us. Still, there was a promise of great power - and the stipulation that if she didn't like it, throw the coin away. The haunting part of that wasn't very appealing but it was still an out if she wanted it. Not an entirely terrible deal....

Some cold soda was brought out for Kortova, but she made the sudden decision to bring out more. "Everyone has been working so hard! Everyone deserves a treat," she declared. They didn't have enough to do this even a few times more, but she realized very quickly she was going to need to be seen as more than just a captain if things started to change for her. And her appearance, too. The coin was not aetherine but there had already been other transformations in the fleet.... She needed to be prepared. Ishra was right - the crew could do whatever they wanted to her and she couldn't stop them. Curry favor. Just like grandfather. Win them over. Not everyone took a cold soda, but it made for a fair snack, and soon enough a few dozen sailors were enjoying these bubbly beverages - herself and Williams included.

"We'll have that chair stripped of gold soon," Williams reported, watching some of the sailors prepare their tools before going back down. "W-wait! No... no, leave it as it is. The same with the skeleton. We... we shouldn't touch any of it, I think. Leave it all as is. For now." The squad who discovered the skeleton seemed a little disappointed, but their spirits were raised when Kortova mentioned they all earned their explorer's bonus. A meager few dollars per man, but it could add up if they continued to find discoveries. It was an idea her father had suggested to cultivate competition, and she realized it was a pretty good idea. The squad departed with orders to close the casket back up.

She sipped on her soda and eyed the lieutenant. He seemed to be a good guy. Obedient, intelligent, dependable. But would he understand?

"Lieutenant... what made you come along?" She asked out of the blue. "Are you a treasure hunter?"

Alexey Williams scratched his chin as he thought back to the naval board selecting him to be the second when they were assembling a bridge crew. He could have denied it, certainly, but there was a lot of pressure to accept. Lots of little bonuses added in, and some not so veiled threats about the future of his career if he denied. They had praised his grades and good record in the service, but he had never thought he was that great.

"Ah... I suppose we all are," he answered deftly. "Like you said, there is treasure to be had and this is an excellent opportunity to enhance our national prestige. Sokrovy will be an even greater nation one day, I don't doubt." Hopefully my retirement is good enough to enjoy it.

"Absolutely!" Kortova beamed. Maybe he is a patriot, she thought. "We... we should have dinner. So we can, um... talk about the expedition." Williams eyed her blankly. She usually ate alone in her cabin. "And make sure there is room for me at the officer's table, too! I think I should get to know the others a little more."

Williams sipped a little more of his soda. "Good idea, captain."

The Sokrovians continued their exploration carefully, and Kortova put out the word to scour the entire island for anything else they could find. And to not sit in any chairs if they found some.
 
The group had come to a complete stop at the entrance to the garden. Flint, flanked by Rourke, Kuromaki and some of his men, stood at the door and illuminated the chamber with their flashlights and lanterns. As the pillars of light danced over the twisted roots, gnarled branches and sickly leaves, it instilled in them a slight dread. The ziggurat had mostly possessed the interior that one could expect from an ancient tomb. But the garden was different. It was out of place and the unnatural looking flora made it even more foreboding.

As Flint continued to examine the room, one of the Alamannian scientists had spoken to the translator, whom then spoke to the Captain. The scientist had theorised that when such a contained area was filled with growth, the air might be hazardous. There was also the issue of the shadow mass. In the earlier rooms and corridors, it had been dry and dusty which would have made the substance easy to spot. In this room, however, it could be lurking anywhere, dripping from branches or hiding under the leaves. Flint shared the concerns for this room, but would need to be explored anyways. "Mr Rourke" He said whilst turning to the lieutenant, "I trust you'll be able to handle this. Look for anything of note, especially an exit". Rourke agreed to be the first to go on and made himself ready. Borrowing a gasmask from the injured pioneer, he suited up, made sure his body was covered and tied a rope around his belly. It was a shame that they couldn't perform a canary test. The pioneers had some aboard the ship, but as they were exploring a temple above the ground and not subterranean locales, the birds had been deemed unnecessary. With his pistol primed and searchlight at the ready, Rourke stepped into the garden and began looking around.

Whilst Rourke explored forward, Flint ordered Von Paning to take two mean and circle back to the fork to see what lay at the end of the other corridor. As Von Paning and the two sailors went on their way, Flint took out the black aetherine charms. Inspecting them for a brief moment, he handed one to Kuromaki. "I must ask. The treaty dictates Alamannian ships have a Shinjuku ensign follow their captains, but why Meinhardt? Surely there would have been more comfortable assignments?" He asked, whilst looking her over properly for the first time during the expedition. Despite all that had happened, she still carried herself stoically, and the sharp features of her face bore a flat expression, hiding eventual fears beneath a mask of discipline. "Or perhaps you are not one for comforts?" He concluded, raising an eyebrow.
 
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