The light of the full moon illuminated the shoreline as Jim and Melody snuck a small rowboat into the crashing waves. Melody perched herself at the bow of the boat, leaning eagerly forward as if she could will the boat to move faster. Jim was stationed at the stern, rowing steadily while watching Melody carefully. Although the strange glow had disappeared, she still had a wild look in her eyes. He could not fathom where - or what - the stone was leading them towards; he felt a growing sense of unease the further out from land they progressed. Neither of them spoke a word for quite some time, the only sound was the constant lapping of water against the hull.
Eventually, several peaks of black rock appeared on the horizon. Melody pointed directly at them, whispering, "There..."
Several moments later, they had arrived. Jim carefully navigated the small boat around the treacherous waters until they approached the mouth of a dark cave. He stopped and waited for direction from Melody. She looked around uncertainly, searching for some kind of sign. A subtle glimmer of light emanating from deep within the cave caught her attention. She turned to look at Jim, before nodding towards the cave. He obediently took them forward and into the darkness.
Before long, the boat grinded to a halt atop a bed of rocks. Melody carefully stepped out of the boat and surveyed the area. Jim tied the boat off on a stalagmite and followed quickly behind. Years of experience on several spaceships had trained his eyes to adjust quickly to dark environments. He wondered if Melody's mermaid heritage had granted her a similar advantage, imagining that the depths of the ocean must be as dark as space.
The pair continued deeper into the cave, keeping an eye out for anything that could be a clue. Finally, Melody halted in her steps to examine the wall.
"What is it?" Jim could make out strange markings on the wall, like some language unknown to him.
"This is Atlantean text..." Melody traced the letters with her finger.
"Is that the language of the merpeople?" Jim wondered aloud.
"No, they speak Atlantican. Atlantean was the language of Atlantis," she explained. "I used to visit my grandfather in Atlantica once a year specifically to attend school and learn about their language and history. I'll never forget one particular lesson...
The Atlanteans were the land dwelling cousins of the merpeople. The King of Atlantica at that time, my great great grandfather, signed a treaty with their King, and as a sign of goodwill, he gifted their king a trident similar to the one that my grandfather has. It was imbued with the ocean's power and possessed miraculous healing abilities while providing a constant source of energy. I was told that the Atlanteans later betrayed the treaty, and as punishment, the king of Atlantica took back the source of power and sunk their entire kingdom. It makes no sense why their writing would be found here though...we're nowhere near the original site where the city sank."
"Can you translate it?" Jim felt it important to stay on task, even though his curiosity was extremely piqued by this revelation. What he would give to be able to explore the sunken ruins of an entire civilization!
"Admittedly, I'm a little rusty, but it says something to the effect of... 'the treasure shall only be obtained... by a child of the land and sea...'" she trailed off as the importance of the words struck her.
"...like you?" Jim completed her thought. He didn't necessarily believe in fate or prophesy, but the coincidence was too good to be true. After all, how many other mer/human hybrids could there possibly be?
"This is just too weird," Melody looked around the cavern for more clues. All she could find was a small opening in the floor that was filled with water. As she approached the pool, the water began to glow, casting an ethereal glow around the cavern.
"Well, that seems like an obvious invitation, no?" Jim nudged her playfully.
"I suppose there's only one way to find out," she pushed him into the water with a laugh. He resurfaced immediately, sputtering water as she continued to laugh at his shocked expression.
"I can't even believe you just did that!" he couldn't help but laugh too as he pulled himself up onto the edge.
"In all seriousness though, you'd better wait here; I have a feeling that wherever that leads, it's going to be a long swim," she mused as she began to remove her shoes. Jim did not at all like the idea of Melody swimming down into the unknown, but they didn't have any other choices. Now he really wished he had been able to bring his rebreather on this journey.
"Don't worry Jim, I promise I'll be careful," she told him as if reading his thoughts. Before he could say another word, her nightgown dropped to the ground beside him as he heard a splash!
Melody dove headfirst into the pool and shot several feet downwards, pumping her legs to swim quickly. She could clearly see that she was in a tunnel that started to even out the deeper she dove, the water never losing its luminescence. As she continued making her way down the tunnel, she noted that it was beginning to widen out and slightly curve upward. The deep breath she had initially taken looked as though it would be sufficient.
With one more pump of her legs, she broke the surface and breathed in the stale, musty air. The tunnel had led her to another, bigger cavern, with Atlantean text all over the walls. She climbed out of the pool and onto rock so smooth she could have mistaken it for the marble floors of the duke's palace. Several yards from where she emerged from the water, she noticed a wide staircase in the center of the room. Cautiously, she made her way up the stairs on the slippery surface. As she drew nearer, she realized that what was waiting at the top was a tomb.
Now at the highest point in the room, she could just make out from the text on the stone slab that this was the tomb of a king...the Atlantean king? Morbid curiosity overtook Melody as she shoved the cover aside just enough to view the coffin's contents. A huge skeleton adorned with a crown of petrified coral greeted her, but that was not the most interesting part. What instantly grabbed her attention was the silvery trident that laid next to the king. She hesitantly reached out to touch it, and as she did so, the trident began to faintly glow with the same light that had beckoned her into the cave. For just a moment, she was afraid and drew back slightly. Then she steeled her nerves and grabbed the trident, wrenching it from the grip of the long dead king.
A brilliant light burst from the trident, momentarily blinding her. Simultaneously, the cavern began to rumble and shake as rocks started crashing down on all sides. It was a trap!
Jim waited impatiently at the water's edge, a million different scenarios running through his mind. He hated being so utterly useless, powerless to do his job and ensure Melody's safety. He began to pace back and forth, until his thoughts were interrupted by a shaking sensation in the ground.
"Oh no, Melody!" he started kicking his boots off, intending to dive in after her. Suddenly, in a flash of light and explosion of water and rocks, he was thrown backwards onto the ground. He stumbled back to his feet and looked around wildly. "Mel?! Is that you?"
Finally, a figure began to take shape in the clearing dust. It was Melody! He rushed to her side and gently grabbed ahold of shoulders.
"Are you okay? What happened down there?"
"You won't believe this," was all she said as she slowly raised the trident in front of him.
"What the...is that the Atlantean King's trident?" his eyes were wide as he took in the glow emanating from the impressive weapon.
"It is...it seems that this is what was calling to the Sea Stone," she explained. "I think I finally understand what my grandfather gave to me..."
Jim nodded in mutual understanding.
"The power of Atlantis."