The fog was cool and comforting, but Keke would have preferred the relentless beating sun. For the last two days, she and her companion of convenience, Whelp, had been paddling aimlessly through the fog, unsure what direction they were going in. Before they were making strong progress as they could track their progress by the sun and the stars, but now as they neared the center of the Sea of Dawn the infernal fog had surrounded and befuddled them.
No that wasn't correct, noted Keke. These mists were not infernal in nature. They didn't have the evil taint or the suffocating presence that was associated with fogs and mists from the lower planes. If anyone would know it would be Keke. This cloud was had more of a magical than an evil nature. For one thing, it seemed to confuse even Whelp's strong magic. Her divinations and augury spells came up with nonsensical and contrary answers. Even the minor elementals she summoned to help power their canoe's small sail were quickly dissipated and released. Also it seemed to block her truesight, which in itself was an impressive feat.
Keke knew it had something to do with this region but wasn't sure exactly. She knew a brief history of it, something about a sunken continent and failed magics, but that was a copper a dozen in the grand scope of the Great Wheel. This was not the first magical wasteland she had encountered. Whelp seemed to know a little, but her knowledge did not help.
"I'm sure it's a residue of when Alphatia sunk. The great kingdom of magic had many spells on it, and when it vanished beneath the waves, many of those spells caused havoc with the oceans that have filled its void. "
Keke regarded her answer suspiciously. "I was on a boat before I was captured, and I'm pretty sure there were other boats in the area as well. I don't see them lost with us."
Whelp nodded. "Aye, it seems they had devised a system of navigating through these waters. In my arrogance, I did not give them enough credit and assumed anyone could simply sail through this region. Or more likely, they knew which areas where hazardous and avoided them. Regardless, we are lost it seems."
Keke shrugged as Whelp handed her several wafers, divine nourishment she had summoned. She did not like their holy scent but smiled insincerely anyways at the offer. Though Whelp's magic had sustained them so far, even Keke noticed the amount of food created had gradually diminished the deeper they sailed into the mists. Not that Keke worried. Hunger was a common thing amongst Demons and Asuras, it was one of their driving needs. Though technically they didn't have to eat, able to subsist centuries and even millennia without food or drink, they did feel the raw pain of starvation and thirst, and often acted accordingly to satiate and often over indulge those needs. Besides, her current body had more stored up food reserves in its hips, rear, and breasts than Whelp's. Keke was sure she could hold out longer than her companion, and if push came to shove, overpower her in her moment of weakness and eat her to keep away those desires.
Not that she desired that outcome. Oddly enough, Keke had begun to find Whelp a fascinating and confused mess the more she talked to her. She was silent and cold at first, but getting stuck on a canoe for days on ends eventually loosened her tongue.
At the start they didn't say much as they rowed in strong rhythmic pattern across the ocean. Keke was impressed that a human could match even her caged demonic strength and endurance as they sliced through the waves. While she had fought many foes, much bigger and stronger looking than Whelp, very few had the endurance she demonstrated. Whether it was natural ability, conditioning, or simply her magic sustaining her, Keke was impressed.
Though the second day was still clear, Keke noticed a crack in her companion's disposition, especially when they ate those plain wafers she summoned. First it was comments about the weather, boring. Then some light philosophy, some jokes, and even brief synopsises of each other's past. Keke basically told her that she had been relieved of her post recently, and would have been retired in her cottage except her 'friend' ask for aid. Whelp replied that she was on a quest, but was currently separated from her companions when they decided to rescue some frog people and islanders that they encountered. Keke noted that Whelp did not use any specific names, which was fine with her, everyone was entitled to their privacy especially herself.
The third day however was when the mists began to roll in around them. One moment they were cutting through the waters toiling under the bright beating sun, the next they were surrounded by a cool eerie breeze. At first they welcomed the respite, but then they realized they were lost without any ability to navigate. Whelp suggested they wait it out before they continued rowing and that was the plan for the next few hours. The next long boring hours.
As they waited, Whelp did not say more than she had revealed previously, but then she began to blab and blab. She talked about her past, her family, and her near non-existent love life, all framed by her inability to refer to something directly, as if she was still hiding something. It would have probably driven Keke to leap across the canoe and sink her teeth into her companion's neck except her story was so bizarre and amusing.
Apparently Whelp had an arranged marriage, a rare thing amongst demons but not unheard of amongst the demon lords and their broods. This arrangement was brokered by her uncle to shore up their family's failing wealth and influence. She would have married some rich nobleman or something after her military enlistment or something like that was over. It sounded all pretty trite and boring to Keke, but apparently Whelp had some feelings for the man. Or at least she was undecided about it or not. That was all good, except that somewhere along the way she forgot to tell her uncle or her betrothed that she was no longer a virgin. She had lost her maidenhood to some scruffy rogue in a banana grove of all things, even before the contract was made.
The concept of keeping one's virginity was laughable to Keke, but she understood the concept of it. Though her violent bloodlust was the focal point of Kalikekeztra's being, she grudgingly acknowledged she had a sensual side. She couldn't name any of her previous lovers though, she guessed their memory was seared out of her brain during her centuries of 'reconditioning' in Taraksun's torture pits, but she did understand the mechanics of it all, especially when related to the prime planes. While demons and Asura used sex as a diversion, Keke knew that humans used it as a basis of their civilization.
While mortals would scoff at such a crude idea, Keke knew it was an axiomic truth amongst them. Sex leads to love, love to relationships, relationships to culture, culture to laws, and laws into society. And their so called society was the only thing that gave the mortals their strength. While demons were very individualistic and valued strength above all else, mortals needed their society, their institutions, and even their political entities called countries to stay strong. While some of the most powerful beings in the Great Wheel were mortals, Keke knew that they were merely the cream of the crop. Most mortals were pathetically weak, and only their rigid society gave rise to those powerful heroes that could challenge even the hordes Abyss. Which was probably one of the reasons that Taraksun wanted to invade the mortal realm so badly. Not only was it an easy way to harvest souls, but it would shatter the human's so called civilization and thus allow the Asura lord to go unchallenged amongst the chaff and sheep.
Which all brings to light Whelp's virgin predicament. Since humans placed such a high value and trust on their relationships, this nobleman was not going to be happy when he finds out he was sold a used bill of goods. Though Keke considered a non virgin an actual improvement, having experience and practice and all, she knew that some humans, especially the ones in the more rigid societies like Vinraj, thought of it as a devaluation of one's character. Keke didn't quite understand the concept, but she guessed it was like using a sword, newly forged from the blacksmith's anvil. Would it break, how would it preform, would it last me a thousand battles? Those questions and fears always intrigued Keke, and she guessed humans had a similar set of questions about those supposedly 'pure' of heart and body. Still, she preferred a battle tested blade. A 'seasoned' weapon that had no questions about its strength could be a valuable tool that could take countless lives if wielded properly.
"Why don't you just tell this guy that err….you aren't as wholesome as they think you are," suggested Keke. "At best he would renegotiate his deal with your uncle to reflect the ..umm current value of goods, at worse he would terminate your relationship, giving you a fresh start. Honestly, I think you should just get it over with, then you know if it was meant to be or not. Who knows, the pair of you still might slay countless lives…err I mean work out together."
Whelp stared at Keke in horror. For a second Keke thought she might have regrown her snake torso and sprouted back four additional arms, but after a brief self-examination she was disappointed to find it wasn't the case. " I..I think you are correct. I have met the man, and he's nice enough, but …there's more to this. I think he can overlook my maidenhood, but I don't know if I can give my heart freely to him."
"Eh? What are you talking about? Wait a minute…you aren't still in love with banana grove boy are you?"
"I…." began Whelp. She stopped, as her attention was diverted as she stared off to the side. Keke was confused at first, but turned her attention to what Whelp was staring at.
It was a large shadow, silhouetted in the mists. At first Keke thought it was a large rock or something, and they would dash their canoe into pieces, but they were going too slow for that. They could have easily avoided that obstacle if they wanted to, but as they neared it the shadowy object became more defined. It wasn't a rock, it was a ship.
Without debate, the pair paddled the canoe closer. Keke was drawn to it, partially from curiosity but more as a means to escape the mists, or at least use it as a respite. The thought of any dangers it might held was not a concern for her. Though Whelp did not say anything, Keke could see that her partner was more wary, more cautious of the whole situation, but to her credit pushed forward to this new obstacle anyways.
"Hello?" aske Whelp as they approached. Keke gave the warrior woman an annoyed look. She would have preferred to stay silent, possibly ambushing the ship and its crew, but it did not seem to matter as no one replied.
As they pulled along its side, Keke could make out the vessel more clearly. From her brief nautical campaigns on the Styx, she identified it as a cutter from its two head sails. Not really a ship of war, but it could hold a small compliment of crew and more importantly, it was fast. It had the words Wavechaser on the side, written in the common tongue, and it looked like it was in good repair with a few minor protective enchantments on it as well.
The ship was anchored, and the pair lashed their canoe onto its before boarding. There was no sign of anyone. At first Keke looked for signs of a struggle, but found none.
"They were explorers, treasure hunters, or possibly adventurers," noted Whelp as she poked around the cabin. Keke wasn't sure how she made that leap of logic, but deduced it was from the maps, chests, and the lack of a proper cargo hold.
"Well, its ours now," smiled Keke. "Now we can get outta this place."
Whelp shook her head." Do you know how to handle a mast? Besides paddling, do you even know how to sail? Besides the crew didn't leave that long ago. Judging by the state of the ship, a day or two at most, maybe even hours. They might return any moment. "
Keke shrugged. She didn't want to wait for a ride out of this place. She wanted to leave now. She didn't know how to sail, but how hard could it be. She used to be an Admiral in the Abyss. Well, kinda…sort of. To tell the truth, her experience with Abyssal naval warfare, involved grabbing and stealing whatever vessels she could find that floated and jamming it full of demons and monsters. She would then direct such vessels to either crash into the enemy so they can fight in melee, or use them as transport to distant shores so they could engage in ...more melee. True, she always had Dretches, Piscololth, or Herozu pilot her ships, but it honestly didn't look that hard. Pull a rope there, move that big swingy log here, and it was all good. Sure, there was a high incident of ship wrecks amongst her 'navy' going from A to B, but she had an overall winning record in 'naval' battles she commanded in the Abyss. Even if she could get half her ships into boarding range, that was generally enough to ensure victory. She even had her entire fleet scuttled once against the famous Gelugon commander Reyzenhart, it was a pretty disastrous defeat, but she would often mention him when she needed the urge to 'name' drop.
Keke was about to suggest they try out the ship anyways, give it a test run, but once again Whelp's attention was diverted off to the side. The mists had parted,and it revealed an island of indeterminate size next to them.
Though it should have been obvious due to the anchoring of the ship, Keke didn't realize they were so close to shore. She should have heard the splashing of the waves against the rocks, but the mists appeared to have a muffling effect. That was strange, but not so strange when compared to the Rivers Styx or Lethea, or even the frigid oceans of Porphatys. At least no one lost all their memories, or the frozen dead didn't jump out of the water to drag you under.
Keke scanned what little shore they could observe from the deck. It was a barren rocky beach, filled with what appeared to be smashed cyclopean pillars inscribed with large arcane runes. It didn't take long until she realized what she was observing.
"I thought Alphatia sank," said Keke.
"I thought so too, " agreed Whelp. " When it first vanished decades ago, many explorers came and went to find remnants of that great civilization. Some came to recover some its grand knowledge, others to loot its treasures. To my knowledge none were successful. All they found was an empty ocean with strange magical quirks where that mystical island used to be. I guess we must have come upon a portion of it that did not fall beneath the waves."
Keke chuckled. "I think your treasure hunters had the same thought," she noted as she pointed to a small skiff pulled up onto the rocks. "So…unless you want to wait for them to return. I think we should go find them."
"This whole place radiates magic….but not the type I'm familiar with…."
Whelp seemed hesitant, which Keke thought was a bit funny. Her companion was a warrior priestess that could challenge the man in the yellow robes, and she was a caged demon in mortal form. What could possibly pose a challenge to them?
Without waiting for a reply, Keke hopped onto their canoe and began untethering it.
"C'mon…let's go. Since you don't want to pilot this ship outselves, we'll just find the original crew and get them to do it. Who knows, maybe we'll find some lost treasure while we're at it. At worse, you can tell me all about your banana boy while we're finding the owners of this ship," Keke said with a wink at her reluctant companion.