Sometimes So Frigging Sick

- "Enjoy your namesake, kiddo," Peri smiled and ruffled Umikaze's golden-red hair. The fresh sea wind blew gently, and her hair was flying in the breeze. They had traveled for a while now, and she could feel the melody of Sarevok's soul, tuned next to hers. It was a sweet and melancholy melody at the same time. You have never been happier than this, brother... yet the knowledge of her death clouds your skies. Know peace, brother. Gods know you deserve it.

Sarevok curled his hands around Peri and Umikaze. I know what he is thinking about, Peri thought. That he will never have children, and he wonders what they would have been like. She said nothing. She knew Sarevok was determined to believe that he would always mourn for Tamoko.

- "It is supposed to look great when we approach the isl..."

Suddenly, a horrible grumbling from the depths of the ocean, the water a raging mass, the ship a helpless toy tossed aside!

- "What the..." Peri had time to utter before Sarevok grabbed her waist and Umikaze like a vise, the rest of the family rushing towards them, colliding into panicked and screaming people. They barely had time to grasp each other, holding on for dear life, when the ship capsized, tossing the people on the board to the mercies of the wallowing mass of waters.

Peri's eyes and nostrils and mouth were full of water.

- "UMI! UMIII!" she tried to scream but no sound came out. Frantic, she dried to think of a way to give the child what remained of the air in her lungs.

It all had happened in mere seconds, and the next thing Peri knew was that she could breathe air again, coughing salty water, checking on her child. Umikaze, too, coughed, and after clearing her lungs started screaming a frightened howl. Only then Peri took a look around her. Imoen and Winski were pale and concentrated, their eyes closed, casting a levitation spell and gearing the family upwards from the water masses. Jelena chanted a prayer, her eyes regarding the chaos with horror. Sarevok's eyes glowed, and he followed his mother's gaze.

The water was roaring as a monstrous mass of impenetrable rock had risen from the depths. The creature had a vaguely humanoid shape, but it was huge as a mountain and merely crushed everything in its wake, smashing the passengers of the ship with its fists. The ones still alive tried frantically to swim away, but the maelstroms pulled them to depths, and the rest drowned. Even the warriors could feel the supernatural malevolence oozing from the thing.

- "What IS that thing?" Peri whispered.

- "I have no idea, but it is evil to the core... there is nothing human or natural in it," Jelena said.

- "We must flee from it, quickly!" Winski said. "Before it notices us. Fortunately it doesn't seem intelligent."

- "Sarevok flees from no man or beast!" Sarevok bellowed indignantly, rummaging his bag of holding.

- "Don't be stupid!" Winski snapped, already gearing the party away from the creature, towards the Kozakura coast. "You want to fight an animated mountain without any knowledge of what the thing is? We must find out how to fight it, and what it is."

- "Don't talk, Winski, you will need all you've got for the spell," Imoen said. "I hope we won't have to swim... Umi can't."

- "I will pray to Ilmater it will not come to that," Jelena said gravely.

They were silent for a moment, trying to take the situation in. Umikaze's wailing had ceased into infrequent sobs, and Peri comforted her absentmindedly.

Sarevok, still frowning with displeasure, kept gazing at the mountain creature that advanced with a storm in its wake.

- "It is heading for Shou Lung," he said. "It could destroy the whole country if not stopped."

- "Right now," Peri said, "what matters is that it is going that way and we are going the other way. Winski is right. Not even we could last long against it unless we know how to hurt it. Figures, doesn't it. Here we stand on the deck of the ship, FINALLY on our way to Kozakura, even the weather being good... and lo and behold, up from the water emerges a pissed-off magical mountain that drowns our ship! No, no, no... here I thought that the children of Bhaal would even ONCE have a break, just enjoy a nice boat trip and have some frigging NORMALCY in our lives for once. But what was I thinking? Has it ever been so? Will it ever be so?"

- "Peri, you are babbling," Sarevok said.

Peri grinned like a corpse.

- "I am sometimes so frigging sick of being a Bhaalspawn," she sighed.