The next morning the sun finally broke through and the storm disappeared, giving everyone a sense of relief. Within a few hours another island was spotted, and the crew made their way towards it. This island lacked any obvious greenery and there seemed to be billows of smoke rising from multiple places across the dusty hilltops. The ship set anchor a ways out and from there, two rowboats were sent out to explore and replenish supplies.
"I doubt the lords stopped here my liege, there's no sign of anything living." Reepicheep pointed out from the bow of one rowboat. He led one boat while in the other sat Eustace, Edmund, Caspian, Lucy, and Raelyn.
"Right, well once we get ashore take the men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues." Caspian instructed as he rowed. Eustace's head jerked up in alarm.
"Hang on you mean the five of us." He pointed out. Caspian's eyes widened and he paused with his back to the boy; Raelyn giggled at his reaction. Everyone in the boat slowly turned to look at the boy in the back with incredulous expressions. Eustace deflated and pursed his lips in displeasure.
"Come on, please don't send me back to the rat." He sighed despondently.
"I heard that." Reepicheep retorted from the boat next to them. Eustace glowered and turned to face the other direction.
"Big ears." He sulked.
"I heard that too." Reepicheep's banter earned a snicker from everyone on the boat. However, Eustace didn't find it as amusing as the rest of them.
...
Once they pulled the boats ashore everyone began grabbing their gear to explore the deserted island. Caspian, Lucy, Edmund and Raelyn took off further inland while the rest of the crew pulled out the crates and barrels they hoped to fill. No one noticed the Eustace had slipped away.
...
Inland, the group maneuvered their way across rocky terrain being sure to avoid the cracks where smoke was floating out of the earth.
"So, we're not the first ones on this island." Caspian pointed out as he quickly made his way towards a large hole in the ground. Next to it a rope had been tied around a large rock formation before it lowered down.
"The lords." Edmund suggested.
"Could be." Caspian muttered. Raelyn frowned and leaned down to pick up a rock before dropping it down the cavern. Caspian looked at her in amusement as they listened to it descend past their viewpoint. Raelyn shrugged.
"I don't know what it's supposed to do…..I just read it in a book once and I've always wanted to try it." She explained sheepishly to the looks she was getting. Caspian nodded.
"It helps you know how far down it goes and maybe what the ground is made of." He explained gently.
"Oh." She hummed, leaning forward to look at hole. Edmund tensed and took a step closer to keep a grip on her waist worriedly. She smiled back at him and straightened up to ease his anxiety.
"What do you think will be down there?" Raelyn asked curiously. The others shrugged.
"Let's find out." Edmund offered, already grabbing the rope leading down the hole.
"Wait what if it breaks? We don't know how long its been here." Raelyn countered, biting her lip nervously.
"I'll keep a hold on the rope, make sure he doesn't fall." Caspian offered. Raelyn nodded and moved to stand by Lucy, her arms crossed over her chest tightly. Edmund gave an experimental tug on the rope before scaling down the wall of the cavern. Caspian held on tightly from the topside as the group watched the younger boy descend. Reaching the bottom Edmund glanced around the sprawling cavern, lit up by the cracks in the ground above. The cave was supported by columns of rock which jutted out sporadically. Below, there were various deep pools of water. Seeing that Edmund was safely on the ground Caspian began climbing down next, followed by Raelyn and Lucy. Edmund narrowed his eyes at Caspian as he helped the redhead down from the rope. Clenching his fists tightly he turned away from the scene and wandered over by the edge of the largest pool. He stopped, spotting a human statue in the water; posed as if it were frantically reaching for something.
"What's that?" Caspian asked, walking over to join him.
"I don't know. It looks like some kind of gold statue." Ed shrugged.
"That's an odd pose for a statue." Raelyn murmured with a frown. Meanwhile Ed had walked back towards the walls of the cave and yanked out a long root. He knelt next to the water and reached the stick towards the statue. However, he could feel the weight change and lifted it out of the water curiously. Before their eyes the brown of the root was rapidly being replaced by solid gold; slowly making its way down the wood. Ed held tight and watched it with wide eyes as the gold continued down towards his hand.
"Ed drop it!" Raelyn shouted in warning as he let the gold get close to his hands. Ed's eyes widened in realization and he quickly threw it into the water. The four of them looked at one another.
"He must have fallen in." Caspian realized as he took a step closer to the water.
"Poor man." Lucy mused.
"You mean poor Lord." Edmund corrected, pointing out the nearby shield in the pool.
"The crest of Lord Restimar." Caspian lowered his head in thought.
"And his sword." Edmund reminded, spotting the weapon in the water unharmed by the magic of the pool.
"We need it." Caspian muttered as the two boys prepared themselves to get it back. Suddenly Raelyn's head began swimming and her heart raced at the implication. The mist was nearby.
"Careful…..somethings not right." She warned them, her head whipping around to try and find the source.
"We'll be fine, no need to worry." Ed assured easily, not looking at her as he pulled out his own sword. Caspian kept a tight hold on Edmund's arm while the man stretched out the other in order to slip the tip of his sword under the handle of the other in order to fish it out.
"Your sword hasn't turned to gold." Lucy pointed out.
"Perhaps because the swords are magic." Caspian suggested, pulling Edmund farther from the pool. Edmund swung the weapon around, allowing Caspian to grasp it.
"He mustn't have known what hit him." Lucy remarked sadly. Edmund frowned in thought.
"Maybe….or maybe he was onto something." He mused. Raelyn shot him a sharp look out of the corner of her eye. Edmund set his sword down and began looking around the cave floor for something.
"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked skeptically. Edmund picked up a seashell and gently touched it to the water. Quickly pulling it back up he set it on the ground, watching it turn into gold. As if in a trance Ed stared at the new shell, snatching it up and looking at it in awe. Raelyn frowned worriedly at the expression on his face. She didn't like it at all.
"Ed…what are you staring at?" she asked, taking a step towards him. Ed blinked owlishly and glanced back at the water, ignoring her question.
"Whoever has access to this pool, could be the most powerful person in the world." He muttered thoughtfully. Raelyn fidgeted anxiously as his eyes grew even more enamored with the object in his hand. The knot in her stomach began to grow as she watched him intently. Raelyn glanced over to her left and saw Caspian glaring at Ed suspiciously. Edmund whipped his head around to look at his sister.
"Lucy…we'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do or who to live with." He explained with a dark undertone to his voice. His eyes shot over towards Raelyn, who shifted away from the look.
"We could have everything we would ever need. I could take care of you." he insisted eagerly. Raelyn tilted her head and frowned in confusion.
"You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund." Caspian told him. Edmund scoffed.
"Says who?" he asked wryly, staring at the shell once more.
"I do." Caspian warned. Edmund slowly turned his head towards the older man, his eyes narrowing in contempt. He stood, grabbing his sword tightly in his hand. Raelyn quickly grabbed Lucy's arm and moved her away from the two of them, worried about what was going to happen. It was quickly becoming clear that they were no longer in their right minds.
"I'm not your subject." Edmund sneered.
"You've been waiting for this haven't you. You've been waiting to challenge me; you doubt my leadership." Caspian scoffed with a menacing grin. Edmund quickly squared off, chest to chest with the prince.
"You doubt yourself." Edmund snarled.
"You're a child."
"And you're a spineless sap." At the growing tension Lucy quickly stepped forward.
"Edmund…." She tried to break them up, but Edmund roughly pushed her aside.
"Caspian stop this." Raelyn tried. At the sound of her voice Edmund whipped his head around to stare at her intently.
"It's always Caspian you look to for help isn't it. Him or just yourself. Don't act like you still need me anymore. You're becoming just like everyone else. Forgetting me and going after the 'real' heroes. Well I'm not going to just sit by and let it happen anymore." Edmund growled, whipping back around to face Caspian even more furious than before. Raelyn stared at him, shocked by what he had said to her.
"I'm tired of playing second fiddle. First it was Peter and now it's you. You know I'm braver and more capable than both of you." Edmund snarled at Caspian who was watching with a demeaning grin.
"Why do you get Peter's sword? Why do you keep stepping in for Raelyn? I deserve a kingdom of my own. I deserve to rule! And I deserve to take care of what's mine." Edmund continued, his voice becoming louder and louder.
"You think you're so brave…..prove it!" Caspian demanded, shoving the boy back. Edmund released an enraged battle cry as he swung his sword; ready for battle. The two men clashed weapons, snarling at one another.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Raelyn shouted, lashing out with two beams of light to knock the swords from their hands. The two froze and looked back at the girls who were staring at them with wide eyes.
"Look at yourselves. Can't you see what's happening? This place has tempted you. It's bewitching you." Lucy pointed out tearily, looking between them with disappointment.
"This is exactly what Coriakin was talking about." Raelyn pointed out, much quieter than before. The boys remained silent as they let the news dawn on them.
"Let's just get out of here." Lucy suggested, heading back towards the rope. Raelyn glanced between the two boys and shook her head. She followed Lucy but paused in front of Edmund who watched her with apologetic eyes.
"I thought you knew me better than that. Do you really think I would treat you like you were nothing?" She whispered harshly, not allowing the tears to overflow. Edmund swallowed thickly, not knowing what to say. With a sigh she continued onward, not turning when Edmund called after her. As he watched her begin climbing back up Edmund stared at the shell still clutched tightly in his other hand. He quickly tossed it back into the pool. Sheathing his sword he headed up the rope, dreading the conversation that was bound to happen.