Chapter Three
Claire stayed in Cassius's cabin, spending most of her time sleeping, with lack of anything to do. Once she recovered from her miasma sickness, Raziel gave her permission to go to the deck of the ship. Reveling in the sea-salt breeze and the wide, open expanse of the sea, Claire leaned over the railing, hearing the raucous cries of gulls spiraling overhead in the glimmering sun. Drinking in all the sights and smells and sounds that the ocean had to offer, Claire then twirled around on her foot, turning towards Raziel.
"I love it here," she said. "Being out in the ocean. There's something calming about the waves."
The golden-haired Selkie gave her a smile, the kind that crinkled the corners of his eyes. "It's nice, isn't it? I love traveling out at sea." He then casts a far-off gaze to the ocean once more. "I never settle in one place for long. I travel with the currents and waves."
"I always wondered it would be like to leave the village," Claire said, staring out at the waves and wheeling birds above. "Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to travel on a caravan. I wanted to follow in my brother's footsteps and bring myrrh for the crystal. Before my father passed away…he forged me a sword for my thirteenth birthday."
Claire then folded her hands in front of her and bowed her head a bit. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't dwell on the past so."
She felt a hand clasp on her shoulder, and she saw that Raziel was staring gently at her. "You've got a lot on your shoulders, young lady. An apology isn't necessary, but I will accept a lovely smile."
He then grins good-naturedly at her, and Claire couldn't help but smile a little bit back. There was something about the Selkic man that was calming…maybe it's because he reminded her a bit of Samuel. Samuel, who always bore a grin on his face, no matter how hard things got. He simply accepted life as it is, and Claire never saw Samuel wallow in depression. Ever since Mintie and their mother passed away, he tried his hardest to keep on smiling.
"You are very kind," Claire said. "Your comforting words made me feel better. Thank you."
Raziel nodded, before he flipped a coin in the air and catching it precisely, before tossing it casually into the ocean. Claire watched the golden trinket land into the ocean with a vivid 'plop', before the waves carried it away. Claire looked questioningly at Raziel for a moment, wondering what this was about.
Raziel rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly before saying, "It's a tribute to Melusina, the maiden of the sea. We Selkies worship her."
"Ah, I see," Claire said with a soft smile, before folding her hands neatly upon her lap. "Can you please tell me the legend of Melusina?"
"It was a legend I've always heard when I was growing up as a young Selkic boy," Raziel said with an amused smile on his lips, apparently pleased that Claire was so keen about learning about Melusina. "She is worshipped as the goddess of the water, though in all truth, Melusina was a real person."
"She was?" Claire said in astonishment, finding Raziel's story more intriguing by the moment.
"Oh yes. She was very real. And she was the most beautiful maiden that I ever laid eyes upon."
"Was she a Selkie like you?" Claire mused aloud.
"Actually," Raziel said with a wink. "She was a lovely Clavatian woman. Most people associate Clavats with the earth, though Melusina was someone special. Water was her natural element."
"Are there more people like her?"
"Of course," Raziel said. "There are plenty of gods and goddesses that rule this world, though they decide to walk this earth in human form to understand what it is like to be one."
"I see. Thank you, Mister Raziel."
"It's no problem. Oh, by the way, Claire…"
Claire went to stand up and stretch her limbs, though she turned around to face Raziel when he called her name. "You're a daughter of the Earth. The goddess Gaia has taken a shine to you."
Claire nodded, blushing slightly as she watched the ship's progress towards an unknown destination. She rather liked Raziel, and she hoped that she would stay in his company for a long time.
-x-
When Claire made it back to Cassius's cabin, she saw the Selkic youth whittling away at a block of wood with a knife. The carving bore a resemblance to a Clavatian woman with a fair smile, and Claire was curious to look at it. "May I see your wood carving, Cassius?"
Cassius paused in his movements, seeming to bristle like an aggravated wolf, though he simply gave a shrug and he tossed his handiwork to Claire, who caught it deftly. Claire examined it from all angles, admiring the worksmanship that was put into it. After seeing this wood carving, Claire knew that Cassius had clever hands. He could shape and mold the wood into whatever form that he liked, and this little idol of a Clavat woman held such a serene air to her.
"Is this Melusina?" Claire mused aloud, before gently handing it back to Cassius.
Cassius snatched it away from her, before he began working upon it with more vigor before, wood shavings flying n disarray. "What's it matter to you?"
"I was curious, is all," Claire said before she settled down onto the bed, folding her hands onto her lap while she continued to watch Cassius work. "Raziel told me the story about Melusina."
Cassius seemed to pause for a moment, as though regarding Claire's words, before he grunted a bit and added the finishing touches to the piece. Once he was finished, he looked over his handiwork with some satisfaction, before he nodded again in approval and tossed the wooden idol towards Claire. Claire caught it deftly, blinking in surprise. "Is this for me?"
"S'not like I have any use for it," Cassius said with a grunt, before he made his way out towards the open deck. "Do what you want with it."
"Oh, um…Cassius!"
The Selkic youth paused when he made his way above deck, looking towards Claire expectantly. Claire fidgeted with the hem of her dress before saying, "You looked kind of happy working on this wood carving. You're very talented."
Cassius seemed to fumble with words, bristling again in every line of his body, before he eventually relaxed a little and said, "I guess, I just carved what I saw."
It was then that Cassius fled the scene, leaving Claire alone with the wooden carving in her hands. Upon closer inspection, however-Claire thought that she saw her own face staring back at her.
-x-
"We're landing on the shore," Raziel announced, to which Claire was quite relieved. She overcame her seasickness and wobbliness on the ship, though she still missed having solid ground underneath her feet.
"That sounds lovely," Claire said while clasping her hands behind her back, hair swaying from the breeze. "Where will we be going?"
"We're headed to the Mushroom Forest," Raziel said. "I should like to stock up on some materials and collect artifacts, if there are any."
"Have you ever travelled with the caravans, Mister Raziel?"
"Once. That was a long time ago, though. My only home is the open sea."
"I see," Claire said, sensing more behind his statement and decided not to pursue it. Instead, she changed the subject. "I heard stories about the Mushroom Forest. Mushrooms as big as trees everywhere, a whole forest of them."
"It is true, what the stories say. There's a giant marboro that I want to extract poison from for a certain alchemic recipe."
"You're an alchemist? How fascinating!"
"I suppose you can call me that, though I mostly think of myself as an explorer or an adventurer," Raziel said with a smile, before the ship landed in the dock. "We shall travel the rest of the way by foot. Claire, how good are you with a sword?"
"I had a sword given to me by my father, though I'm afraid I've never seen combat."
"Well, it's about time to put your skills to the test, for you will be helping our little merry band of sailors go through the Mushroom Forest and help fight monsters and collect treasure. Sounds like a fun adventure, doesn't it?"
"It's almost like being in a caravan," Claire mentioned, before he expression became a little more downcast when she started remembering about Samuel and the caravan that failed to return to their village.
Raziel patted her shoulder and said, "There, there, Claire, it is all right to mourn, though one mustn't dwell on the past for too long, all right? You are among friends now, and we will take care of you."
Claire gave Raziel a bright smile in turn. "I know. I'll try my best to work hard and pay my debt to you."
-x-
When they entered the Mushroom Forest, which was filled with oversized mushrooms as tall as trees and caps as wide as village huts stretching throughout the area, Claire breathed in the air and smelled the earthy, spongy scent of fungus, but also the smell of the burnt remains of campfires from caravanners that have traveled through Mushroom Forest recently. Raziel examined the campfire remains and salvaged a piece of bronze among the spoils that he found. He put it into the knapsack that he carried around, before saying, "It's not stealing if they left it behind."
Claire had to wonder about that, though she did not rebuke Raziel for it. Selkies had a different philosophy on life after all, and they took whatever they could. The piece of bronze that Raziel found as a freebie was also something that Claire was curious about-if only she could have her own fire and forge, she could try smelting various things from it. Her father let her help forge some of the weapons that he created, and Claire was certain that she could create a sword out of it, perhaps. Bronze was a safer material to work with rather than the materials mythril and orichalcum—that took higher levels of blacksmithing knowledge and proficiency to do so.
Cassius trekked ahead in the Mushroom forest, staying just at the edge of the protective circle that the chalice provided for them. He seemed to be in a hurry for something, though Claire couldn't decide what. Luna carried the chalice with her strong, steady arms, uncomplaining as she followed alongside Raziel. Claire examined their surroundings and wondered what kind of monsters they would encounter in this place. It was just like the stories, as Samuel has told her, but stories and the real thing were entirely different. Would she be able to wield the sword her father gave her on her thirteenth birthday? Claire clutched at the pommel of the sword tightly and thought about her father working on the blade in a frenzied madness.
Keep calm, Claire told herself When it comes to the moment to fight, do not hesitate. Strike a monster in their vital areas.
She then kept on repeating this mantra over and over to herself, before the group finally stopped for a moment, coming across a giant mushroom cap sunk into the ground. Staring at it curiously, Claire then watched as Cassius trekked on ahead, jumping onto the bulbous cap-before springing into the air with an acrobatic flip and landing on the ground with elegant grace. Raziel applauded Cassius, to which Cassius grumbled a bit and said, "No big deal."
"I think he was showing off," Raziel then said as an aside to Claire, to which Claire giggled and Cassius only looked more irritated. "Well, it's your turn now, Claire. Just go on the mushroom and jump on it once. Cassius will be there to catch you."
"Okay," Claire said, a little bit nervous about jumping on the big mushroom cap. Cassius sprung up so high and managed to land gracefully on his feet, but how was she to manage this? "Here I go."
Claire then bounced on the mushroom cap, and with a giant spring she was launched straight into the air. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and gravity started to pull her down towards the upper ledge, where Cassius was awaiting with open arms. She closed her eyes, frightened of being dropped-though Cassius's strong, steady arms held and braced her from falling from the ledge. Claire opened her eyes, and saw that Cassius was blushing as he picked Claire carefully and put her on a more secure place on the upper tier of ground, before pushing her back slightly and muttered something under his breath.
"Pardon?" Claire asked Cassius to clarify, to which Cassius blushed even redder.
"…your dress. I could see under your dress," Cassius said, before slapping a hand to his face and just looking so embarrassed that he might die.
Raziel and Luna came up together, with Raziel flipping onto the ground silently on his feet like a great big cat, noticing both Cassius and Claire's reddened faces.
"Look at you two," Raziel said while shaking his head in a playful manner, though there was a bright shine of mirth inside his blue eyes. Cassius muttered for Raziel to shut up, and Claire simply said nothing while holding her hands to her face in mortification. Did Cassius really look up her dress while she was jumping up from the mushroom? Never mind fighting monsters-Claire couldn't handle this little mishap with Cassius and herself.
"We're going on a grand adventure," Raziel said in an enthusiastic tone. "Let's look more lively about it, shall we? Oh! Away to the marboro that we go! To extract poison from its breath for an alchemic recipe~"
"Only you would go on a trip to the Mushroom Forest just to extract poison from a marboro," Cassius muttered under his breath, to which Claire giggled a little as she looked to her newfound friends with wonderment. With Raziel leading the way, they all entered into the heart of the Mushroom Forest, where unseen dangers lay ahead of them.
Author's Note: Been a long time since I updated this. It's been long overdue, though I have this chapter written at least, might as well post it. I think my writing has degenerated from when I last wrote, but oh well. I guess I'll try to get things updated with this story once more.