Trouble in the East
Chapter 7: The Water City
The group was up early in the morning to head out, and those from the Oasis wearing their new armor. This time Miura found Nicholas waiting in the dining room first. "Miura," he said to her.
"Hey," she replied, both blushing and getting nervous. Even though they had made up their minds, it was still a hard thing to do. The Drauk sat next to the Anuban.
"Listen, I-" the two both began and realizing they had started at the same time blush harder but grinned.
"You go first," she said.
"You sure?" he asked and the female nodded.
"Listen Miura… I…" began Nicholas but then at that moment, the rest came in which interrupted the male and caused him to curse inside his head. The guy sighed and looked to her. "I'll tell you latter."
"So then, can you tell us what this place is like?" Levi asked the male Anuban.
"Think of it as like an oasis but that's more water," Nicholas replied and left it at that. He was still annoyed that his talk with Miura had been interrupted.
"You okay Nicholas?" Tethi asked. "You seem crabby."
"Am I? I'm not."
"She's kinda right," Sol stated. "That last sentence one was abrupt and sharp."
The male opened his mouth and closed it after feeling Miura grab his arm. The guy looked to her and saw the female shake her head ever so slightly. Nicholas let out a sigh. "You're right, sorry. I just didn't get enough sleep last night."
"Excited for the trip?" Tethu asked.
"Let's just leave it at that."
The group finished up eating and then Nicholas led the way down to the lower levels of the palace. They went through a door and emerged in a different garage. There the group saw vehicles that were carriage shape and had wings on them. "Oooh!" Sol stated. "Sweet!"
"These will be used to get to the next area," the male Anuban explained.
"I never thought flying through the air would be possible," Esna commented. Her orb was out so she could see everything.
"Shall we?" Tethu asked and they all got on one that had enough seats for them.
"Hang on tight," Nicholas said as he was driving this thing. The vehicle moved out of the garage and into an underground runway. Everyone was buckled in and the Anuban punched it. The vehicle rolled down the path, gathering speed. Then it was through an open doorway and out into the air. Everyone else felt their breath catch in their throat, only to find that they were really flying and heading south.
"Holy…" Sol whispered as he looked out the window. He was at a loss of words.
Miura just looked down at this view in wonder. Her gaze then went to Nicholas and saw he had a smile on his face. "This is amazing," she said. "I never knew a view like this was possible."
"The only thing that would make this better is feeling the wind," he commented. "Nothing beats that."
The vehicle continued to fly and the group talked. But then they noticed dark cloud in the distance. These got closer and Nicholas got a frown while going silent. "What is it?" Tethi asked.
"Those clouds up ahead are going to make it impossible to go the rest of the way," the male Anuban explained. "We'll need to land and walk the rest of the way."
"Are they normal?" Tethu asked.
"No, and that's what bothers me. It may be due to the enemy."
The guy landed the vehicle right at the very edge of the storm front. The group got out with their weapons and saw they were at some grassy plains with bodies of water and trees. "No turning back now," Nicholas said.
"We're really going through that?" Tethi asked, getting closer to Tethu as there was something ominous about the storm clouds.
"Ha!" the male Anuban let out in a bark like laugh. "You fraid to get wet?"
The guy then took off and the rest shrugged before going after him. Soon they had pass the storm front and the rain had begun to fall on them. It wasn't bad at all, but something about it still didn't feel right. "Are the people up ahead Anubans like you?" Miura asked Nicholas.
"They're not at all," he replied. "They're totally different in how they're shaped. But they are loyal and kind with a love of the water. I think it would be better to see a Otcean for yourself. That's what their race is called."
The group soon reached a small bridge with two small tower like structures that were glowing aquatic green. These had trident like structures at the top. "Just beyond this bridge is where we'll find their city," Nicholas stated.
"Say hey there!" went a voice with a bit of an English accent. "All of you!"
The rest but Nicholas jumped and looked around. The guy smiled. "I should've known," he stated and looked up. "I see you're always above as usual Cyrus!" The said person jumped down which wasn't a big one and landed in front of the group. Looking showed it was an otter like being but the tail was more like that of a shark. There were even small fin like structures on the back upper arms and lower legs. The fur color was dull red and the person smiled, showing razor sharp shark teeth. The outfit consisted of pants but also an armor chest plate that appeared to be made of scales. The arms were exposed and on the back was some kind of fish hook like spear made of coral.
The male Anuban walked right up to Cyrus. "Now up high and down low!" Nicholas stated and their paws came together in a bond of friends and comrades. The two laughed. "Cyrus my friend, I didn't expect we'd run into you out here."
"What did you expect? I was told of your coming by your king and queen. I simply came out just so I could see you and your friends again."
"Then it'll be nice to have you the rest of the way. Let me introduce you to the others I've brought with me from the desert."
After they all were, Cyrus looked up ahead. "Well then, let's move out."
The group followed him. They noticed that there were now some kind of blue lanterns that glowed along the path. There was another bridge that was crossed and up a few hills. But then finally at last, they saw a road with arches that were colored blue that led to a huge city with parts of it in the water. It was like the one they had left but affiliated with the element of water. There was also what appeared to be a huge lake of some kind that was by this as well with a huge wall in front of it. "Whoa…" Tethu exclaimed.
"Oh wow…" Esna from her orb commented.
"This is…" Miura stated.
"Yes, our next destination," Nicholas said. "Welcome to Aquatic Cove."
"Come, I'll show you to the king and queen here," Cyrus commented.
The Otcean male led the way and while the city was beautiful with different shades of blue, everyone could see the residents here were troubled. Nobody laugh or even smiled. They quickly went on their own business. "This is depressing," Esna whispered from her orb. Cyrus had shown when meeting her could see and hear her.
"Yeah, ever since these rains came," he replied.
"Will the rulers here be able to tell us about it?" Nicholas asked.
"Yes. We've already got a very good idea what's causing it and where the source is coming from."
The second male led the way to palace where the rulers were at and to the throne room. The place was just like where the first rulers had been at, but this time the thrones themselves were in the shape of water droplets. The male had the exact same fur color as Cyrus while the female was brown in color. They looked tired but upon the group entering the room, their eyes seemed to come to life with fire and hope. Their bodies straightened up a little more than before. "My king and queen, they've come," Cyrus announced.
"They're timing couldn't be any better," the female Otcean said to the older male.
Nicholas knelt before them as did the others. "Ralis and Oren…" he stated. "It's good to see you again."
"Young Nicholas, excellent," the male Otcean said. "You and the others arriving is like a light in the darkness."
"Thank you your majesty," the Anuban replied. "Let me introduce my friends."
When the introductions were finished, Tethu turned to look at the rulers here. "So then… can you tell us what's going here?" the male Seedling asked.
"Yes," Ralis answered. "The source is coming from a temple nearby. Something or someone is making this endless rain fall. While we of the Otcean view water and air as one, this is too much. If this keeps up, then very soon, the waters behind the levis will flood, not just wiping out our city, but damaging the surrounding areas as well."
"How much time do we have?" Nicholas asked.
"Give a week, maybe two. You can reach it easily though so as long as your group leaves within a day or two, then that should be more than enough time to go into the temple and stop the rains from flooding."
"And this has affected the others living here," Tehti commented. "They looked pretty depressed."
"It's more like fear," Oren replied. "But once you stop the rains, then you shall truly see the beauty and wonders our city has to offer."
"That's something to look forward to," Miura said.
"Then we'd better prepare tonight," Nicholas stated. "In the morning, we'll head out."
"Very good," Ralis replied. "And one more thing… If you do so, I think you might find a surprise or two."
"What do you mean?" Esna asked. Her orb was still out.
"It would be… better to wait and see." The water spirit nodded, but somehow she felt certain it had something to do with her. This also proved without a doubt the rulers could see and hear her.
The group once again had rooms prepared for them. There wasn't much else to do but to wait until tomorrow. Nicholas met with them all in the banquet hall with a map of the surrounding area. There was also a drawn picture of the outside of the temple. "So then, while there is no map of the place inside here, Cyrus gave me a valuable tip," the male Anuban said. "We need to find the values inside and activate them. Doing so will caused the water that's spewing out to stop. Those values control it."
"So you're saying they're off which is causing this?" Levi asked.
"Yeah. And apparently electrifying arrows will do the trick. That's where Tehti comes in with her crossbow. We need to find each one and have her fire at them. Once we get them all, that should do the trick for making the rain stop."
"What about whatever caused them to shut off?" Levi asked.
"Nothing! We go in, we activate them, beat whatever it is, we leave."
"To say is easy, to do is another thing," Tethi stated.
"Perhaps," Nicholas replied. "But I know we'll do it. In any case, let's get some sleep tonight. We're going to need it."
The night wouldn't be over just yet. The group went to their rooms after dinner, but Miura hung back which made Nicholas stop before he went in his. "Miura, is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes," the Drauk replied. The female then looked up to the male Anuban since her head had been down. "Well… no there is one small thing."
"And what might that be?"
"I can't help but feel nervous."
"It's okay," Nicholas reassured her and placed one paw on her right shoulder causing both to blush a little. "I won't lie by saying I'm not a little. But we'll make it through this. And then… I think I need to talk to you about a couple things when this temple is cleared okay?"
"You promise?"
"Of course." Miura gave him a kiss on the cheek causing both to blush harder.
"Good night Nicholas," she whispered.
"Good night." He watched her go into her room before falling into his bed with a smile. The next day Cyrus caught up with Nicholas and handed him something that the first male said would help. The Anuban then met up with the others. Their supplies, arrows, and weapons were ready and after eating, headed towards the temple which was nearby the city. The outside didn't look like anything too suspicious other than that it was part of a mountain that was partially submerged underwater. But the group could sense that something was wrong. With a nod, they all went in.