p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"Chapter 37/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Bereit)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"So far, the party had travelled a fair distance of the ocean. While the destination wasn't so clear to everyone, they didn't mind where it was. As long as they got what they needed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Though, Bereit had an idea on where Folgen's vision may take them. The reason? There was an island near his home. One entirely made of stone. The moment he saw it as they flew past it, he had a feeling they were returning to Ozean. He wasn't sure if he'd be ready to meet them all again. Especially with what was to come./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Hey, Bereit." Kurve spoke up, gently poking his face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit jumped a bit from Kurve's sudden voice. "O-oh, hey, Kurve. Need something?" He asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve adjusted his hat a bit. "You looked liked you were daydreaming. Though, with a frown. I wanted to make sure you were okay."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit ran his hand through his hair, with an unsure look. "Well... I'm just a bit nervous, is all. We might be heading somewhere familiar to me. Home, to be specific."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Oh. Ozean, right?" Kurve guessed right on the spot./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit had a slight surprised expression. "How did you know?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"My kingdom is very near to Ozean. Not super close though. My people sometimes watched you and your friends all play by the beach side." Kurve informed Bereit. "Did you ever see us watching from the distance?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's when it suddenly hit Bereit, the little folktale they had on Ozean. The 'Fish People.' Turns out it was Kurve's people all this time. "Huh, so that folktale was true after all."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folktale?" Kurve asked curiously. "We were a fairy tale to your people?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit tilted his head sheepishly with a purse to his lips. "Well... we didn't think that there would be actual people in the oceans, you know?" He explained./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"True, we always thought people living on the surface weren't real either. For a while anyway."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"How long is a while?" Bereit asked curiously./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Umm..." Kurve went silent for a second or two, counting his hair like tendrils. "Maybe a few thousand years."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"A few thousand!?" Bereit shouted suddenly, shooting off his seat. Kurve jumped in fear from the sudden outburst, which made Bereit sat back down and cleared his throat. "Sorry, a few thousand?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded, like it was a casual thing to mention such a thing. "I never realized it up until now, but I remember when you were a kid... as weird as that is to say."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You say that like you're my grandfather." Bereit commented, making them both laugh together./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's true." Kurve agreed, as he then looked down gently. "Hey, Bereit? When this is all over... do you think I could stay with you and the others?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit noticed his tone was somewhat serious. "Where is this coming from?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well... back in my kingdom, down in the ocean... I'm kind of a nobody. I have no future down there other than to be another person. Sure, I'm talented with all kinds of magic, but we don't any of that down there. But with you guys, I found use in myself. Like... I have a purpose." Kurve explained, before he put his hands together. "So... what do you say?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I don't see why I shouldn't." Bereit answered, seeing Kurve had suddenly showed an expression of pure happiness. "You're pretty cool to have around. Plus, I'm sure you'd love Ozean. Frankly, that's where I'm going once this is all over." Suddenly, Bereit would feel Kurve hug him tightly, like the sight of a little brother hugging his big brother./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve?" Bereit said in slight confusion./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit... you're the best." Kurve told him, hiding his big happy grin under his big hat./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (General)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"We're nearly there." Folgen told Cid and the co-pilot, standing between their seats./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Any suggestions on where to land?" Cid asked, keeping his eyes on the island that was a distance away from them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Anywhere near the trees over there." Folgen answered, pointing to the small forest of tropical trees that were at the very end of the island./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Who knew that there'd be a shrine here of all places." Cid commented./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, it seems my sister found another one in Ozean. The Siren. But Leviathan too... I wonder why it's there in such a secluded place?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Maybe because it's furthest away from all other places? And mostly surrounded by water?" The co-pilot suggested./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Maybe... I suppose we can always ask... if they're not as high and mighty as Phoenix's attitude." Folgen stated, putting a hand on her chin./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Let's hope. The attitude you give is enough to deal with." Cid remarked boldly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen scoffed and turned around. "Just land the damn thing when you can." She hissed, heading off to the cargo bay to prepare herself./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party was told right after that they were landing soon. After some time, they all gathered at the cargo bay./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Fallen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And why they stood there, waiting for the platform to come down, Fallen looked at Bereit from the corner of her eye, seeing Bereit had something of a hesitant expression. She had a feeling that he wasn't ready to see the kids yet. Only a feeling, though. But why? That's what she wanted to know./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Say something/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Remain Silent -/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"She wanted to say something... but she wasn't sure what to say. Instead, she simply patted his back, and smiled at him. And the reaction she was given, was Bereit giving her one in return. Like a 'Thank you.'/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The platform lowered before the party, and they all stepped onto the warm sands. Before Fallen could even see them coming, the children of Ozean soon surrounded Bereit, some even tackling him to the ground and hugging him tightly. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight, finding it so pure. Curiously, she looked at her sisters, wondering what they thought of this./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Tier had something of a regretful expression, remembering that she had these kids as hostages. And Fallen remembered too. She hoped the kids would forgive her for that. But she doubted it. How do you forgive someone for doing something like that?/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"As for Folgen, she seemed to be blushing at the sight, as if she was trying to hold back a scream of joy. Fallen had to guess she loved the sight. Who wouldn't? It was adorable. A far cry from all the other things they've been through recently./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Some of the kids even recognized Tier, as they suddenly looked scared, some angry. Before Tier could say anything, most likely to make an apology, Fallen stepped in. "Don't you worry, kids. She's with the good guys now. She won't hurt anyone." She promised them, having a big smile on her face, like a seal of approval./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Seeing her sister do that, it really made Tier happy to have Fallen as a sister. Despite all she did to her and her friends, she would still be as kind as ever to her own sister. Even Folgen. "Thanks sis." She whispered./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's when it hit her. Seeing the way the kids all surrounded Bereit, she felt like he should have the time to catch up with them. Before she could even speak to him, she politely asked the children practically sitting on him to move away. And finally, she got to speak to him, face to face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You go ahead and spend time with the kids, okay? Folgen and I will find the shrine ourselves." Fallen told him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"But-" He was soon stopped by her putting her finger up./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"No buts. Just spend time with them. I know you want to. Plus, you deserve it."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"There was silence from Bereit for a few seconds, before he nodded. "Alright, I guess I really can't bring myself to stay away from them."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Fallen smiled and then stood up properly, before she turned to the party. "Alright, let's head out." She then turned to her sister Folgen. "Folgen, lead the way."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Folgen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded gently, as she then went towards the small forest they flew by, the party following her. Folgen felt a sense of responsibility and pride, having people follow her. It was better than anything she had felt in a long time. With that happiness in her heart, she lead them to the forest, following the beach side./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You know, that sight of Bereit with all those kids was pretty cute." Vanessa spoke up, having a bit of blush on her face. "Makes you wonder how long he knew those kids for, you know?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I'd imagine since the day they were born." Zelkova commented. "They do seem pretty attached to him. Almost like he's a big brother to them all."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The way I see it, it's more than that." Scharf spoke up. "He almost seems like a father figure to them. I didn't see a single parent there when we landed though."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I noticed that too." Strake noticed. "Who knew Bereit had such a life, you know? First a member of the Frozen Hearts, and a father too."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I mean... I wouldn't jump to 'father' but he does seem to fit the bill." Scharf remarked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Either way... I can only imagine how he must feel, being with them again after all we accomplished." Imbir spoke up. "From dangers to relaxation."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Fallen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Fallen cancelled out the talking that surrounded her as she looked back at Bereit, who was now leading them all back to the village, all following him from behind. A part of her was kind of jealous, having such an interesting life. But she knew no one picks their life./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (General)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party kept their pace to the forest, enjoying the crystal clear waters that they walked past. They all never knew this place held such beautiful sights. To think Bereit came from here of all places. Being so secluded from cities, and the peace and quiet of nature being the daily sounds you hear, they could all get used to this. It was a miracle that a Lord like him didn't destroy this place./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party began to explore the forest of tropical trees, seeing coconuts and other kinds of fruits hanging off the top of them. Kurve was tempted to climb a tree and grab one, but he didn't want to fall and hurt himself. But Scharf used the butt end of his rifle and hit one of the trees, making one of the tropical fruits fall in front of him, catching it. "Thank you." Kurve told Scharf./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Scharf laughed gently. "No problem."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party soon went to the very edge of the forest, where Folgen could see the pillar ever come closer. "We're near it. So if there's trouble, get ready." Folgen warned the party./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Most nodded as a response, as they moved ahead. Through the bushes and giant leaves, they would come to the spot where the pillar would show their objective. But to Folgen and the party's surprise... there was nothing. Not a single thing. Just a circle of sand with a bowl shape./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen had a subtle shocked expression. "What? No, no, no this can't be right." Folgen stated in disbelief. "It's right here. It's pointing here." She sounded like she was desperate for everyone to believe her, as if there was a reason for them to not believe her./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I'm sure it did point us to the right direction." Zelkova spoke up. "Perhaps there's something we're missing."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"If it's ancient, chances are, it's gonna be some really weird and specific way of opening the entrance." Scharf commented, running his hand over his head. "The question is... where do we start?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve raised his hand. "Excuse me?" He spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I just remembered and I told Bereit this, but we used to watch his people for a long time. They used to worship Leviathan here. But it all crumbled with time."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And you think the entrance is still here?" Imbir asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"It might be, if my memory is correct." Kurve stated, as he then went off, as if it was apart of his plan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party waited for Kurve to return, sitting down and admiring the scenery around them. Scharf decided to be generous and fetched some fruit for everyone to enjoy. After a few minutes of waiting for Kurve, he returned with his hat filled with water. He then dumped it right in the middle of the sand circle. He was silent for a few seconds, before he looked at everyone. "We're gonna need a lot more water..."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span lang="en-CA"As you'd expect, time had passed during their little work on getting the water to the sand circle./span/span/span/spanspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" Though, the group took advantage of the situation and got coconuts to try the milk that was held in it at the same time. Opinions were mixed. In the end, they filled the sand circle with water. And once they did, there was a rumble beneath their feet. A bit of panic happened, as if this was gonna lead to someone getting killed, but the sand circle absorbed all the water they dumped on it. And soon, a door opened. And moss covered stairs were revealed to them, leading to total darkness./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Wow, that's pretty dark." Tier remarked. She then turned her head to Kurve. "Got a light?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Please, allow me." Folgen offered, as she then tapped her staff on the ground twice, a small flame going up her staff and forming into an orange light. With that, she made her way down to lead the party once more. And if the stairs weren't a sign of forgotten history, what they found next was an even bigger sign./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"What they were met with was a massive, submerged shrine. Water filled it to the platform where the party stood. Seaweed, moss and a few fish were in the water, as well as a statue of the Divine they were looking for. Leviathan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, that's just great. Not only is our possible place to check for an Erpel now impossible, now getting the Leviathan might be impossible too." Scharf commented. Scharf turned to look at Kurve, after he thought about something for a few seconds. "Wait, can't you-"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Breath underwater? Yes." Kurve said proudly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You're full of surprises, aren't you kiddo?" Scharf commented, gently ruffling the boy's hat./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Hold on." Imbir spoke up. "What if there are water monsters down there?" He suggested in a worried tone./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I have my magic." Kurve told him. "In fact, I can probably provide waterbreathing to one of you guys. Kinda like... a bond spell... or something." Kurve wasn't sure how to explain it. "So... who wants to come?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I will." Folgen immediately volunteered. "I brought us here, it'd only be fair if I did the rest of the heavy lifting."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You've come a long way, sis." Tier spoke up, with a confident grin. "Honestly, I'm glad."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen chuckled quietly. "Whatever you say." But deep down, she was happy to hear that. "Okay, Kurve, I'm ready."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded, before he motioned his hand down, indicating she needed to knee before him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Folgen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen did as such without any hesitation. She watched as Kurve brought his tendril like finger to her neck, before he began to quietly chant. She didn't really understand some of it, since he was really quiet. But she got some words, like 'Lung' and 'Fish.' She then felt Kurve jab her throat, before there was a cooling sensation to her throat. "Ow, that hurt." She said, doing her best to keep her tone gentle./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I had to. Sorry." Kurve apologized. "But you can breath underwater now." He added, to at least draw a silver lining./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Right, thank you." Folgen replied, as she eyed the water below her. She took a deep breath, before she jumped right into the water, the fish spreading as soon as she did. Kurve gave his hat to Fallen, before he jumped in as well./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They both looked at each other, seeing their hairs and clothes float with the water. "So... where do we start?" Kurve asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen had a surprised look seeing he spoke underwater so easily. Folgen didn't want to try though. But she saw Kurve made an insisting gesture./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well..." Once she spoke, she thought it was pretty neat. It was like a dream. "Well, let's start..." She looked around, seeing there were four paths to take. "We'll start with the right hallway. I'm not sure what we're to find, but we're not gonna figure things out by doing nothing."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded in agreement, as they soon went down the first flooded hallway to the right of them. All they saw was stone, walls and ceiling. Though, they witnessed movement at the very end of it, a room. They didn't get a good look at what moved, but they were sure it was something dangerous. But they hoped they were wrong./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The two swam forward until they came to an open room. There was decorations that were torn and had some moss on them. Fabrics hung off of the room or were nailed to the walls, while some were broken and floating about. They also found a big wooden dresser, though the wood was rotten. There wasn't anything of significance here it seemed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Doesn't seem to be anything." Kurve announced./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Despite what Kurve said, Folgen decided to check the dresser. And the moment she opened it, a shoal of Piranhas came out and swam around her. They bit at her skin and through the fabric of her cloak, but Kurve shot lightning around her and managed to kill the few that were biting her. The rest swam away, all the way back down the hallway they came from./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Are you okay, Folgen?" Kurve asked, seeing the bite marks that were scattered along her arms. It seems that's all they could get./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I am, thanks to you." Folgen thanked him. "Guess we've got some monsters to deal with after all." She said in a very unhappy tone. With that in mind, she swam out of that room and back to the statue room. With a few seconds to think on where to go to next, she decided to go to the second room to the right, that was just left of the hallway they just came from. She kept her staff close as she swam in./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They soon came across more rooms, which seemed to be bedrooms. There were no skeletons or anything. Just floating objects and broken decor. Nothing held anything worth noting, so they continued to the end of the hall, to find one last room. Though, it was just as empty as the others. They both sighed in slight annoyance. With that in mind, they swam back and began to explore the other two hallways, starting with the second to the left, right next to the statue of Leviathan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Kurve asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, I don't see the door to the Leviathan's realm. So I'm guessing... we need some kind of key. Or find some kind of switch." Folgen answered. "At least, that's a guess. I haven't seen many shrines that have either."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I suppose there's only one way to find out." Kurve stated confidently./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Right. Just be careful. We still have those Piranhas to worry about." Folgen reminded. She was then given a nod as a response. She soon swam forward with Kurve, following her from behind./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Another hallway, but this one had no rooms and it was slightly shorter in length. They came to a room that was rather large. It looked like some kind of library. It had tons of scrolls and books floating about, some rogue pages ripped and floating./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Look for anything that might seem like some kind of switch or key." Folgen informed Kurve, as she swam higher up and started looking towards the ceiling. Kurve looked around the floor, seeing nothing but books and scrolls, as expected./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"However, Folgen came across a curious object. It looked like some serpent like tongue, with some kind of key shaped metal at where it would connect to the mouth. She raised an eyebrow, thinking this was an odd object indeed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"FOLGEN!" She heard Kurve call for her. She swam as fast as she could, seeing Kurve was being attacked by that shoal of Piranhas. She swung her staff forward, as she then swam for the Piranhas and swung at them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"It made them move away, but they clearly meant to kill this time./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Alright, we need to dispose of them quick. Who knows how many more of them there might be." Folgen told Kurve./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve began to emit lightning magic in his hands. "I'll try and keep my lightning concentrated so it doesn't shock us."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The piranhas swam towards them, but Folgen swam forward and held her staff close. "Phoenix, lend me your strength!" She called out, as her staff became a fiery spear. The water began to boil around the spear-tip. It scared the Piranhas, but they remained where they were./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"She swung at the them, as they jerked away from each of her swings. Some of them managed to bite at her wrists again, Kurve shocking them, killing them upon hit./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen swung at them some more, but they kept dodging her attacks. She swam away, getting some distance from the incoming bites. "This isn't working!"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve looked at his lightning emitting hands, knowing it would take a while to kill each of the Piranhas with just lightning. "Folgen, I've got an idea." He then switched his hands to an icy mist. "It won't freeze them, but they'll slow down enough for you and I to get some good shots."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded. "Let's lead them to the hallway!" She suggested, as she then turned around and began to swim away, Kurve following right after. He slowly let a mist of ice emit behind him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The Piranhas followed, chomping at Kurve's boots, but they were slowly getting more and more frozen. And just when they were as slow as they could be, Kurve looked at Folgen. "Now!" He /br /Folgen and Kurve turned and began their attack. Kurve shot small lightning bolts, killing Piranhas one by one. And Folgen was slashing them with her spear, occasionally thrusting her spear./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"One by one, they were killed off, but some managed to escape from their planned out attack. They were silent for a few seconds to make sure they were clear of anymore enemies. "I think we did it..." Folgen spoke up, as she made her staff retreat from it's current form./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Thank the Divines... Piranhas are scary." Kurve commented. It seemed there was some form of sea creature that scared him. "So... now what? Did we even find anything?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I did, in fact." Folgen answered, as she showed the object she found previously. "Looks like some kind of key. And I got an idea on where it goes."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded. "Lead the way."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They soon left the hallway and returned to the shrine room. She swam up to the surface and looked at everyone else, seeing they were sitting down. "Guys, we might be making progress." She told them, showing the strange object she /br /"What the hell is that suppose to be?" Scharf asked, looking closer./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Observe." Folgen answered, as she turned around and swam towards the statue of Leviathan. She looked back at the object, before she swam to the mouth and looked right at it. She examined the mouth, seeing there wasn't a tongue. She placed the object, inserting the key part right in the small hole that was there./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"A loud click was heard, as then the statue began to rise. The sounds of stones grinding against stone, but it wasn't as loud since it was water, as well as moss beginning to separate from the walls./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And what was behind the statue was the entrance to the Leviathan's realm. She swam back to the surface, looking to her sister. "Come, sister. Leviathan awaits."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"But what about the water? What if Leviathan's realm is all water?" Fallen pointed out the possibility./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Good point..." Folgen agreed, as she put her hand on her chin. "Tell you what, I'll go through. And if it's submerged, I'll swim back out to let you know. And if not, well, just follow along." Folgen said her plan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Okay... good luck, sis. Be careful." Fallen wished her./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded, as she then swam down and looked at the doorway to the realm's bright light. A blue light, to be specific. She gulped quietly, as she then began to swim slowly towards the door, her eyes getting blinded by the light./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Save the game up to this point?/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Yes/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"No/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Bereit)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"So far, the party had travelled a fair distance of the ocean. While the destination wasn't so clear to everyone, they didn't mind where it was. As long as they got what they needed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Though, Bereit had an idea on where Folgen's vision may take them. The reason? There was an island near his home. One entirely made of stone. The moment he saw it as they flew past it, he had a feeling they were returning to Ozean. He wasn't sure if he'd be ready to meet them all again. Especially with what was to come./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Hey, Bereit." Kurve spoke up, gently poking his face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit jumped a bit from Kurve's sudden voice. "O-oh, hey, Kurve. Need something?" He asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve adjusted his hat a bit. "You looked liked you were daydreaming. Though, with a frown. I wanted to make sure you were okay."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit ran his hand through his hair, with an unsure look. "Well... I'm just a bit nervous, is all. We might be heading somewhere familiar to me. Home, to be specific."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Oh. Ozean, right?" Kurve guessed right on the spot./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit had a slight surprised expression. "How did you know?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"My kingdom is very near to Ozean. Not super close though. My people sometimes watched you and your friends all play by the beach side." Kurve informed Bereit. "Did you ever see us watching from the distance?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's when it suddenly hit Bereit, the little folktale they had on Ozean. The 'Fish People.' Turns out it was Kurve's people all this time. "Huh, so that folktale was true after all."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folktale?" Kurve asked curiously. "We were a fairy tale to your people?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit tilted his head sheepishly with a purse to his lips. "Well... we didn't think that there would be actual people in the oceans, you know?" He explained./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"True, we always thought people living on the surface weren't real either. For a while anyway."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"How long is a while?" Bereit asked curiously./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Umm..." Kurve went silent for a second or two, counting his hair like tendrils. "Maybe a few thousand years."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"A few thousand!?" Bereit shouted suddenly, shooting off his seat. Kurve jumped in fear from the sudden outburst, which made Bereit sat back down and cleared his throat. "Sorry, a few thousand?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded, like it was a casual thing to mention such a thing. "I never realized it up until now, but I remember when you were a kid... as weird as that is to say."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You say that like you're my grandfather." Bereit commented, making them both laugh together./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's true." Kurve agreed, as he then looked down gently. "Hey, Bereit? When this is all over... do you think I could stay with you and the others?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit noticed his tone was somewhat serious. "Where is this coming from?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well... back in my kingdom, down in the ocean... I'm kind of a nobody. I have no future down there other than to be another person. Sure, I'm talented with all kinds of magic, but we don't any of that down there. But with you guys, I found use in myself. Like... I have a purpose." Kurve explained, before he put his hands together. "So... what do you say?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I don't see why I shouldn't." Bereit answered, seeing Kurve had suddenly showed an expression of pure happiness. "You're pretty cool to have around. Plus, I'm sure you'd love Ozean. Frankly, that's where I'm going once this is all over." Suddenly, Bereit would feel Kurve hug him tightly, like the sight of a little brother hugging his big brother./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve?" Bereit said in slight confusion./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Bereit... you're the best." Kurve told him, hiding his big happy grin under his big hat./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (General)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"We're nearly there." Folgen told Cid and the co-pilot, standing between their seats./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Any suggestions on where to land?" Cid asked, keeping his eyes on the island that was a distance away from them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Anywhere near the trees over there." Folgen answered, pointing to the small forest of tropical trees that were at the very end of the island./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Who knew that there'd be a shrine here of all places." Cid commented./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, it seems my sister found another one in Ozean. The Siren. But Leviathan too... I wonder why it's there in such a secluded place?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Maybe because it's furthest away from all other places? And mostly surrounded by water?" The co-pilot suggested./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Maybe... I suppose we can always ask... if they're not as high and mighty as Phoenix's attitude." Folgen stated, putting a hand on her chin./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Let's hope. The attitude you give is enough to deal with." Cid remarked boldly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen scoffed and turned around. "Just land the damn thing when you can." She hissed, heading off to the cargo bay to prepare herself./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party was told right after that they were landing soon. After some time, they all gathered at the cargo bay./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Fallen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And why they stood there, waiting for the platform to come down, Fallen looked at Bereit from the corner of her eye, seeing Bereit had something of a hesitant expression. She had a feeling that he wasn't ready to see the kids yet. Only a feeling, though. But why? That's what she wanted to know./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Say something/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Remain Silent -/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"She wanted to say something... but she wasn't sure what to say. Instead, she simply patted his back, and smiled at him. And the reaction she was given, was Bereit giving her one in return. Like a 'Thank you.'/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The platform lowered before the party, and they all stepped onto the warm sands. Before Fallen could even see them coming, the children of Ozean soon surrounded Bereit, some even tackling him to the ground and hugging him tightly. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight, finding it so pure. Curiously, she looked at her sisters, wondering what they thought of this./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Tier had something of a regretful expression, remembering that she had these kids as hostages. And Fallen remembered too. She hoped the kids would forgive her for that. But she doubted it. How do you forgive someone for doing something like that?/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"As for Folgen, she seemed to be blushing at the sight, as if she was trying to hold back a scream of joy. Fallen had to guess she loved the sight. Who wouldn't? It was adorable. A far cry from all the other things they've been through recently./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Some of the kids even recognized Tier, as they suddenly looked scared, some angry. Before Tier could say anything, most likely to make an apology, Fallen stepped in. "Don't you worry, kids. She's with the good guys now. She won't hurt anyone." She promised them, having a big smile on her face, like a seal of approval./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Seeing her sister do that, it really made Tier happy to have Fallen as a sister. Despite all she did to her and her friends, she would still be as kind as ever to her own sister. Even Folgen. "Thanks sis." She whispered./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"That's when it hit her. Seeing the way the kids all surrounded Bereit, she felt like he should have the time to catch up with them. Before she could even speak to him, she politely asked the children practically sitting on him to move away. And finally, she got to speak to him, face to face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You go ahead and spend time with the kids, okay? Folgen and I will find the shrine ourselves." Fallen told him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"But-" He was soon stopped by her putting her finger up./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"No buts. Just spend time with them. I know you want to. Plus, you deserve it."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"There was silence from Bereit for a few seconds, before he nodded. "Alright, I guess I really can't bring myself to stay away from them."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Fallen smiled and then stood up properly, before she turned to the party. "Alright, let's head out." She then turned to her sister Folgen. "Folgen, lead the way."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Folgen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded gently, as she then went towards the small forest they flew by, the party following her. Folgen felt a sense of responsibility and pride, having people follow her. It was better than anything she had felt in a long time. With that happiness in her heart, she lead them to the forest, following the beach side./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You know, that sight of Bereit with all those kids was pretty cute." Vanessa spoke up, having a bit of blush on her face. "Makes you wonder how long he knew those kids for, you know?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I'd imagine since the day they were born." Zelkova commented. "They do seem pretty attached to him. Almost like he's a big brother to them all."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The way I see it, it's more than that." Scharf spoke up. "He almost seems like a father figure to them. I didn't see a single parent there when we landed though."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I noticed that too." Strake noticed. "Who knew Bereit had such a life, you know? First a member of the Frozen Hearts, and a father too."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I mean... I wouldn't jump to 'father' but he does seem to fit the bill." Scharf remarked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Either way... I can only imagine how he must feel, being with them again after all we accomplished." Imbir spoke up. "From dangers to relaxation."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Fallen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Fallen cancelled out the talking that surrounded her as she looked back at Bereit, who was now leading them all back to the village, all following him from behind. A part of her was kind of jealous, having such an interesting life. But she knew no one picks their life./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (General)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party kept their pace to the forest, enjoying the crystal clear waters that they walked past. They all never knew this place held such beautiful sights. To think Bereit came from here of all places. Being so secluded from cities, and the peace and quiet of nature being the daily sounds you hear, they could all get used to this. It was a miracle that a Lord like him didn't destroy this place./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party began to explore the forest of tropical trees, seeing coconuts and other kinds of fruits hanging off the top of them. Kurve was tempted to climb a tree and grab one, but he didn't want to fall and hurt himself. But Scharf used the butt end of his rifle and hit one of the trees, making one of the tropical fruits fall in front of him, catching it. "Thank you." Kurve told Scharf./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Scharf laughed gently. "No problem."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party soon went to the very edge of the forest, where Folgen could see the pillar ever come closer. "We're near it. So if there's trouble, get ready." Folgen warned the party./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Most nodded as a response, as they moved ahead. Through the bushes and giant leaves, they would come to the spot where the pillar would show their objective. But to Folgen and the party's surprise... there was nothing. Not a single thing. Just a circle of sand with a bowl shape./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen had a subtle shocked expression. "What? No, no, no this can't be right." Folgen stated in disbelief. "It's right here. It's pointing here." She sounded like she was desperate for everyone to believe her, as if there was a reason for them to not believe her./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I'm sure it did point us to the right direction." Zelkova spoke up. "Perhaps there's something we're missing."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"If it's ancient, chances are, it's gonna be some really weird and specific way of opening the entrance." Scharf commented, running his hand over his head. "The question is... where do we start?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve raised his hand. "Excuse me?" He spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I just remembered and I told Bereit this, but we used to watch his people for a long time. They used to worship Leviathan here. But it all crumbled with time."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And you think the entrance is still here?" Imbir asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"It might be, if my memory is correct." Kurve stated, as he then went off, as if it was apart of his plan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The party waited for Kurve to return, sitting down and admiring the scenery around them. Scharf decided to be generous and fetched some fruit for everyone to enjoy. After a few minutes of waiting for Kurve, he returned with his hat filled with water. He then dumped it right in the middle of the sand circle. He was silent for a few seconds, before he looked at everyone. "We're gonna need a lot more water..."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span lang="en-CA"As you'd expect, time had passed during their little work on getting the water to the sand circle./span/span/span/spanspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" Though, the group took advantage of the situation and got coconuts to try the milk that was held in it at the same time. Opinions were mixed. In the end, they filled the sand circle with water. And once they did, there was a rumble beneath their feet. A bit of panic happened, as if this was gonna lead to someone getting killed, but the sand circle absorbed all the water they dumped on it. And soon, a door opened. And moss covered stairs were revealed to them, leading to total darkness./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Wow, that's pretty dark." Tier remarked. She then turned her head to Kurve. "Got a light?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Please, allow me." Folgen offered, as she then tapped her staff on the ground twice, a small flame going up her staff and forming into an orange light. With that, she made her way down to lead the party once more. And if the stairs weren't a sign of forgotten history, what they found next was an even bigger sign./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"What they were met with was a massive, submerged shrine. Water filled it to the platform where the party stood. Seaweed, moss and a few fish were in the water, as well as a statue of the Divine they were looking for. Leviathan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, that's just great. Not only is our possible place to check for an Erpel now impossible, now getting the Leviathan might be impossible too." Scharf commented. Scharf turned to look at Kurve, after he thought about something for a few seconds. "Wait, can't you-"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Breath underwater? Yes." Kurve said proudly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You're full of surprises, aren't you kiddo?" Scharf commented, gently ruffling the boy's hat./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Hold on." Imbir spoke up. "What if there are water monsters down there?" He suggested in a worried tone./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I have my magic." Kurve told him. "In fact, I can probably provide waterbreathing to one of you guys. Kinda like... a bond spell... or something." Kurve wasn't sure how to explain it. "So... who wants to come?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I will." Folgen immediately volunteered. "I brought us here, it'd only be fair if I did the rest of the heavy lifting."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"You've come a long way, sis." Tier spoke up, with a confident grin. "Honestly, I'm glad."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen chuckled quietly. "Whatever you say." But deep down, she was happy to hear that. "Okay, Kurve, I'm ready."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded, before he motioned his hand down, indicating she needed to knee before him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"3/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"rd/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;" person (Folgen)/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen did as such without any hesitation. She watched as Kurve brought his tendril like finger to her neck, before he began to quietly chant. She didn't really understand some of it, since he was really quiet. But she got some words, like 'Lung' and 'Fish.' She then felt Kurve jab her throat, before there was a cooling sensation to her throat. "Ow, that hurt." She said, doing her best to keep her tone gentle./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I had to. Sorry." Kurve apologized. "But you can breath underwater now." He added, to at least draw a silver lining./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Right, thank you." Folgen replied, as she eyed the water below her. She took a deep breath, before she jumped right into the water, the fish spreading as soon as she did. Kurve gave his hat to Fallen, before he jumped in as well./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They both looked at each other, seeing their hairs and clothes float with the water. "So... where do we start?" Kurve asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen had a surprised look seeing he spoke underwater so easily. Folgen didn't want to try though. But she saw Kurve made an insisting gesture./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well..." Once she spoke, she thought it was pretty neat. It was like a dream. "Well, let's start..." She looked around, seeing there were four paths to take. "We'll start with the right hallway. I'm not sure what we're to find, but we're not gonna figure things out by doing nothing."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded in agreement, as they soon went down the first flooded hallway to the right of them. All they saw was stone, walls and ceiling. Though, they witnessed movement at the very end of it, a room. They didn't get a good look at what moved, but they were sure it was something dangerous. But they hoped they were wrong./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The two swam forward until they came to an open room. There was decorations that were torn and had some moss on them. Fabrics hung off of the room or were nailed to the walls, while some were broken and floating about. They also found a big wooden dresser, though the wood was rotten. There wasn't anything of significance here it seemed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Doesn't seem to be anything." Kurve announced./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Despite what Kurve said, Folgen decided to check the dresser. And the moment she opened it, a shoal of Piranhas came out and swam around her. They bit at her skin and through the fabric of her cloak, but Kurve shot lightning around her and managed to kill the few that were biting her. The rest swam away, all the way back down the hallway they came from./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Are you okay, Folgen?" Kurve asked, seeing the bite marks that were scattered along her arms. It seems that's all they could get./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I am, thanks to you." Folgen thanked him. "Guess we've got some monsters to deal with after all." She said in a very unhappy tone. With that in mind, she swam out of that room and back to the statue room. With a few seconds to think on where to go to next, she decided to go to the second room to the right, that was just left of the hallway they just came from. She kept her staff close as she swam in./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They soon came across more rooms, which seemed to be bedrooms. There were no skeletons or anything. Just floating objects and broken decor. Nothing held anything worth noting, so they continued to the end of the hall, to find one last room. Though, it was just as empty as the others. They both sighed in slight annoyance. With that in mind, they swam back and began to explore the other two hallways, starting with the second to the left, right next to the statue of Leviathan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Kurve asked./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Well, I don't see the door to the Leviathan's realm. So I'm guessing... we need some kind of key. Or find some kind of switch." Folgen answered. "At least, that's a guess. I haven't seen many shrines that have either."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I suppose there's only one way to find out." Kurve stated confidently./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Right. Just be careful. We still have those Piranhas to worry about." Folgen reminded. She was then given a nod as a response. She soon swam forward with Kurve, following her from behind./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Another hallway, but this one had no rooms and it was slightly shorter in length. They came to a room that was rather large. It looked like some kind of library. It had tons of scrolls and books floating about, some rogue pages ripped and floating./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Look for anything that might seem like some kind of switch or key." Folgen informed Kurve, as she swam higher up and started looking towards the ceiling. Kurve looked around the floor, seeing nothing but books and scrolls, as expected./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"However, Folgen came across a curious object. It looked like some serpent like tongue, with some kind of key shaped metal at where it would connect to the mouth. She raised an eyebrow, thinking this was an odd object indeed./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"FOLGEN!" She heard Kurve call for her. She swam as fast as she could, seeing Kurve was being attacked by that shoal of Piranhas. She swung her staff forward, as she then swam for the Piranhas and swung at them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"It made them move away, but they clearly meant to kill this time./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Alright, we need to dispose of them quick. Who knows how many more of them there might be." Folgen told Kurve./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve began to emit lightning magic in his hands. "I'll try and keep my lightning concentrated so it doesn't shock us."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The piranhas swam towards them, but Folgen swam forward and held her staff close. "Phoenix, lend me your strength!" She called out, as her staff became a fiery spear. The water began to boil around the spear-tip. It scared the Piranhas, but they remained where they were./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"She swung at the them, as they jerked away from each of her swings. Some of them managed to bite at her wrists again, Kurve shocking them, killing them upon hit./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen swung at them some more, but they kept dodging her attacks. She swam away, getting some distance from the incoming bites. "This isn't working!"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve looked at his lightning emitting hands, knowing it would take a while to kill each of the Piranhas with just lightning. "Folgen, I've got an idea." He then switched his hands to an icy mist. "It won't freeze them, but they'll slow down enough for you and I to get some good shots."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded. "Let's lead them to the hallway!" She suggested, as she then turned around and began to swim away, Kurve following right after. He slowly let a mist of ice emit behind him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"The Piranhas followed, chomping at Kurve's boots, but they were slowly getting more and more frozen. And just when they were as slow as they could be, Kurve looked at Folgen. "Now!" He /br /Folgen and Kurve turned and began their attack. Kurve shot small lightning bolts, killing Piranhas one by one. And Folgen was slashing them with her spear, occasionally thrusting her spear./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"One by one, they were killed off, but some managed to escape from their planned out attack. They were silent for a few seconds to make sure they were clear of anymore enemies. "I think we did it..." Folgen spoke up, as she made her staff retreat from it's current form./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Thank the Divines... Piranhas are scary." Kurve commented. It seemed there was some form of sea creature that scared him. "So... now what? Did we even find anything?"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"I did, in fact." Folgen answered, as she showed the object she found previously. "Looks like some kind of key. And I got an idea on where it goes."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Kurve nodded. "Lead the way."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"They soon left the hallway and returned to the shrine room. She swam up to the surface and looked at everyone else, seeing they were sitting down. "Guys, we might be making progress." She told them, showing the strange object she /br /"What the hell is that suppose to be?" Scharf asked, looking closer./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Observe." Folgen answered, as she turned around and swam towards the statue of Leviathan. She looked back at the object, before she swam to the mouth and looked right at it. She examined the mouth, seeing there wasn't a tongue. She placed the object, inserting the key part right in the small hole that was there./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"A loud click was heard, as then the statue began to rise. The sounds of stones grinding against stone, but it wasn't as loud since it was water, as well as moss beginning to separate from the walls./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"And what was behind the statue was the entrance to the Leviathan's realm. She swam back to the surface, looking to her sister. "Come, sister. Leviathan awaits."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"But what about the water? What if Leviathan's realm is all water?" Fallen pointed out the possibility./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Good point..." Folgen agreed, as she put her hand on her chin. "Tell you what, I'll go through. And if it's submerged, I'll swim back out to let you know. And if not, well, just follow along." Folgen said her plan./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Okay... good luck, sis. Be careful." Fallen wished her./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Folgen nodded, as she then swam down and looked at the doorway to the realm's bright light. A blue light, to be specific. She gulped quietly, as she then began to swim slowly towards the door, her eyes getting blinded by the light./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Save the game up to this point?/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"Yes/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"No/span/p