The night rolled by, and we woke up at 4 AM. We didn't want anyone saying goodbye to us, it would be too painful. We silently crept to the docks, and there was a ferry waiting for us. It was to take us to the Isle of Morova, where we would rest and then take a ship to the Continent to the east. No one had really been there ever, but a chain of mountains lay there, and numerous valleys and cave. I hoped one of these landscapes would hold what we were searching for. We proceeded onto the Ferry, setting our packs down.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." said Cliff.
"Thank you, friend..." I said, patting him on the back, "This means a lot to me, if at any time you wish to turn back, your are free to do so."
"I won't turn back," he said.
The rest of the voyage was in silence. Not even the sea birds were out that early in the morning. We heard the waves splashing against the side of the ferry, softly and rhythmically. Occasionally we heard a small fish leap out of the water and splash back in. For how long we were in the boat, I did not know. My mind was on Karen, and the Flower we seeked.
"We have arrived." said the Captain.
Cliff and I picked up our gear and exited the Ferry. We walked to a small Inn and rented a room, since it was 9PM already. We fell fast asleep, and awoke at 6AM. We walked outside and got a small breakfast, then head down to the Docks. Our ferry, again, was waiting for us.
"Just so ye' know. We will be at the Continent of Ulsty in 3 days. Once there, you must quickly exit and run into the nearest building, you never know what wild animals are lurking around." the captain said.
Great, I thought. We would still have to wait a few days before starting our journey.
The boat ride was long. We spent our time talking about our plans and where we should go first. I had planned on immediately setting off to the mountain as soon as we arrived, but Cliff said this was ill advised. He suggested that we wait a few days and find out all we could, then set off. I agreed, yet I had a strange feeling about Cliff. He seemed so willing to help, yet I had only met him the other day.
"Cliff, why are you helping me," I asked suddenly.
"You seemed so desperate." he shrugged.
"Oh.." I replied, then we didn't talk.
The trip dragged on. A day passed in silence, with only a bird calling once in a while. I felt terrible about Cliff. He pitied me, which was the only reason he had joined me. Many times I started to tell him that he should turn back, but he refused. He said he had been meaning to leave the village soon anyways, and that he didn't turn on his word.
Another night rolled in. Dark clouds started to form in the western sky, and the captain ordered us to go down below the ship. We did as told, and within a few minutes, a torrential downpour started. We heard the captain shouting orders left and right. He told some to take down the sails, others to bring all cargo below deck. He rushed down, soaking wet, and advised us to put on life-jackets and to hold onto something sturdy.
"It's only rain, isn't it?" I asked.
The captain had a concerned look on his face.
"Well, it's a little more than that. No need to worry though, this is a sturdy ship, she'll pull through."
This did nothing to ease my nerves. We put on life jackets and I held on to a wooden pole.
"What an adventure this is turning out to be, eh?" remarked Cliff, he had an eery smile on his face.
"Adventure? More like a nightmare!" I said, starting to feel a bit queasy.
Suddenly, the ship lurched. I lost my grip and was flung into the side. The captain ran down the stairs, a flood of water following him.
"Out of the boat! Out of the boat! She's sinking!" he yelled.
I looked around me. There was already 2 inches of water on the ground, and it was rising at an increasingly fast rate. I ran to the stairs and slipped. I landed in what was now a foot of water. I felt a hand grab my shirt and pick me up. It threw me on the deck and I looked up. Cliff.
"Thanks!" I said.
"Don't mention it." he said, then he ran off to the lifeboat.
I ran after him but slipped again. This time, no one was there to save me. I slide down the stairs and below the deck. I was submerged in water, there was only a foot of air left. I quickly swam towards the stairs. I was almost there when.....*boom*
The door closed. I tried in vain to open it, but it was to no avail. I pulled with all the strength I could muster, but it was no use. I screamed, I could barely breathe. Then I was completely submerged in the water...
I was in a small cave. I looked all around me. There was water everywhere, yet I could breathe and talk normally in it. I looked over to a rock, there was a girl.
"Hello?" I called out.
"Come closer." the girl said.
It was Karen...
"Karen!" I yelled, running towards her. She shook her head.
"You can't touch me, or I'll be gone. I have to tell you something." she said.
"What...what do you mean gone? What, please tell..." I said.
"It's....*muffled talk*....he.....*more muffled talk*....be careful..." she said.
Something was trying to keep her from talking. She was struggling to talk, but couldn't.
"Jack, I love you." she managed to whisper.
"WAIT" I called out.
I lunged at her, to try and grab her, but she disappeared before I could get to her. I was left bewildered at what I had just observed. Then I woke up.
I was floating to the bottom of the ship. All of a sudden the ship crashed into something, bubbles rushed up in a frenzy, and I opened my eyes. I saw a rock had poked a hole in the side of the hull, just enough for me to swim through. I swam through with just a little leeway, then slowly but surely made my way up to the surface.
I broke the surface with a huge gasp. I could barely breathe because the waves kept crashing on top of me. I struggled to look around but all I could see was water in the pitch dark night. I gasped for air, then finally got my hands on a piece of driftwood. I hung onto it for dear life, and just tried to stay afloat. I felt myself getting weaker...and weaker...
"JACK!" I heard someone say as I was shaken into ice cold water.
"What?" I asked.
"Jack, we have to get out of the water." I heard Cliff say now.
"Ok..." I said, letting Cliff drag me as he quickly swam.
We were fortunate enough to only be several miles off the coast of Eastern Continent. If we had swam just a hair different then the direction we took, we'd never have found any land. We ran out of the water and up to beach to a small hut. We pounded on the door.
"Coming, I'm comin'." an Old voice said, "OH! Deary me! You ducklings are soaking wet! Come in! Come in by all means!"
"Thank you," I said.
"No need for thanks, you'da done the same thing." she replied.
The lady gave us a hot bath, then she gave us some warm, dry clothing. We got changed and were immediately served steaming cups of hot cocoa, which we gratefully drank.
"Thank you so much." I said again.
"Well...your welcome." replied the old lady, "Oh how rude of me! I'm Anlecia! What are your names?"
"I'm Jack, and this is my companion and fellow traveler Cliff." I said.
"Nice to meet you," grunted Cliff.
"Well, you need rest. I suppose floating asleep out in the freezing rain didn't give you much relief." she said, urging us to a bedroom.
We walked in and there were 2 fluffy beds. We each got in one and fell asleep.
The next morning, we woke at 8AM. We woke up to a huge breakfast of bacon, sausage, biscuits, pancakes, waffled and strawberries. We ate all we could and complimented Anlecia on her cooking. She said she had had a lot of practice and had been perfecting it over the years, and it showed.
After breakfast, we were given yet another hot bath, and a spoonful of some wretched medicine to keep us from getting sick. I told Anlecia about Karen and my journey, and she said she had heard of the flower. She said she heard it was in a mountain called Voray's Peak. I lost some of my hope. Finding a flower in a forest is on thing, but on a mountain is a totally different situation. We would need climbing gear and if we lost balance we may fall to our death.
"Are you sure that's where it is?" I asked.
"Yes. A man came back saying he saw it, but he couldn't reach it." she responded.
"Oh, I understand." I said solemnly.
"Well, we better start out and get supplies if we want to save Karen..." I said to Cliff.
Cliff had a small glare in his eye, which quickly faded, "Right, let's go"
I figured the glare in his eye was just fear of the mountain. We walked into the nearby town and gathered ropes and other equipment like food, clothing, blankets, and anything else we could carry. We found an eager traveler, who would be passing by the mountain on his way to a neighboring village, who was willing to carry us. We were to start out the next day before dawn.
The night rolled past. Soon it was time to go. We rose and gathered our things, then we got in the back of the man's cart. We fell asleep, however, not even after 5 minutes after we started. We didn't awake until the man shook us and led us down a road. He pointed to a small path that led into a forest.
"That's the way to go to get to the mountain. Follow the path through the woods, you can't get lost."
We thanked the man then walked into the forest.
