Night 65: Underground Lake

[dualistic]

[From here.]

This was all becoming a bit stale.

Especially the feeling of nausea that came with the transport. Harvey didn't want to think too hard on the implications of that. Just what exactly was done to their bodies when they were moved around like that? It couldn't be natural in any sense of the word, but it still beat trying to get down here the normal way.

His only real consolation was that he couldn't smell anything too well down here. It was a shame that they couldn't just keep on giving up that sense, but even Harvey realized how that wouldn't be "fair" according to Landel's rules. What really wasn't fair was the fact that they'd all been stuck in this place for weeks now, but...

Even he started to get sick of his own complaining, so he left it at that.

Once the other two seemed to have recovered, Harvey nodded toward the docks. "We know the drill by now, right? Let's make this quick." He needed to enjoy his voice while he had it, if that's what he was giving up.

Comments

/continues the delay train

[avengingfists]

"Ooh!" Ilia was surprised by the suddenness of the change. It wasn't a bad trade at all considering how dank the cavern air was. In fact, Ilia felt a little refreshed, able to breathe without having to deal with the smell of the clammy air.

Shooting her friend an apologetic look, Ilia carefully stepped down the dock and into the boat, still refusing to let go of her companion's hand. She wasn't afraid anymore, but she still didn't know if they could trust the skeleton man beyond taking them across the lake. She hoped to foster a continued friendly relationship for now, however. "Thanks for the ride. I'm Ilia, by the way. And this is... Muroi."

The skeleton might have been able to glean masculinity out of Seishin's given name. This lie was starting to become a chore to upkeep, but if it got them across the water Ilia wasn't going to let it go.

choo choo!

[trolltaker]

Names didn't matter much to someone who had been dead as long as him, but he was pretty sure this was the first time anyone had bothered introducing themselves in a long, long time. And coming from ladies as charming as these two? Well, that wasn't something that happened every day!

"Hah! Fantastic." As he switched his staff out for a paddle, he continued speaking with Prince Charming's voice. "I don't really care what you call me -- ferryman, skeleton, bastard, Charon, I've heard 'em all." None of them were terribly unwarranted, if he wanted to be honest with himself.

Once the two were settled inside the boat, Charon pushed away from the dock, the dark water gently lapping against the side of the vessel as they moved. "Either way, you'd better make sure to keep your feet and hands inside while we're crossing. The folks living in the lake don't appreciate bein' disturbed."

[unpriest]

Seishin had offered a polite nod of his head at the sound of his family name, but otherwise remained silent.

A ferryman with the name of Charon, was it? Though Seishin was hardly an expert on Greek mythology, he had come across the name on several occasions during his researches. A part of him was not fully certain whether to be darkly amused or unnerved as he wondered whether they would be ferried off to the Underworld. Be as it may, the trials that awaited them were best not to be underestimated, and for what could have been the hundredth time he had to wonder whether the end result was truly worth it all.

As Charon-san made his comment, Seishin dared to lower his gaze to the faces of dead people floating beneath the water's surface. The knitting of his eyebrows was the only outward sign of how unnerved he felt by such a macabre sight, otherwise retaining his nearly stoic calmness. At the same time he was startled by a morbid curiosity regarding the nature of the Dead in the water. They did not seem to be zombies of some sort...

If anything, it underlined that paying the ferryman's toll was indeed the only way of safely crossing this lake. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but wonder: what did it mean for whatever that was ahead of them?

[avengingfists]

There was no doubt that Ilia had heard of Charon. Mythologies interested her since they were often tied to natural events as ancient societies understood them. This one was used to explain the transition of life into death. Ilia wasn't sure she was ready to face death just yet... or was it a commentary on the last trial that had led them here? The fight in the coliseum had certainly brought them face-to-face with the realities of life and death.

"Charon, then," she said at last. Ilia was putting her's and Seishin's life in this man's bony hands. The least she could do was be polite.

She gritted her teeth, trying to stay as centered in the boat as possible. As rock-solid she could be, there were still some things that sent her skin crawling. Dead bodies in great multitudes was one of them. "They don't like it? I hope you don't mean they'll actually try to get us if we bother them..."

[trolltaker]

He really had meant it when he said he didn't care what people called him. Most of the names he'd rattled off were things he'd heard from anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Hell, 'hey you' worked just as well as anything else. After being dead for so long, a guy quit being so particular about details like that.

"Whatever floats your boat," the skeleton said with a shrug. "Heh! Get it? Floats your boat? I'm so funny."

Those people in the lake had a way of drawing attention from whoever crossed it, so he wasn't surprised when the blond beauty asked about them. (Tch, bunch of show-offs.)

"They might," he answered as he continued dipping the paddle into the dark water. "They might not. Depends on how unlucky you are. There's a beastie that lives there, too. Doesn't like being disturbed from its naps. Awful at cards. I'd avoid it if I were you."

[unpriest]

Seishin looked up to offer Charon-san a questionable glance as he mentioned the 'beastie', but the situation prevented him from actually voicing the question. He could only hope they wouldn't find out what exactly this 'beastie' was in another way...

And hopefully, it was not anything like Cthulhu...

Be as it may, it would seem the lake was more dangerous than he had initially expected.

[avengingfists]

"Er, ha ha ha..." Ilia could generally appreciate a pun in better circumstances. Here it was a little difficult. But she didn't want to offend their host and cause unnecessary trouble.

"Sounds like a lot of things depend on luck..." Ilia shook her head, unable to imagine what kind of thing could live down there with all those bodies. If it had been a normal creature, it likely would have eaten them all up by now, or at least caused the lake some turbulence. But other than the ripples moving away from their boat the water was silent.

"Sounds like a nightmare." She chuckled again, a little more confidence in her voice. "But if it's as awful at cards as you say, maybe it's not so bad as an opponent." Whatever it was.

[trolltaker]

"You obviously haven't seen how it gets when it loses at cards," Charon snorted as he continued rowing.

Soon enough, the torches from the other dock came closer, and the boat reached their destination.

"All right, ladies, this is your stop!" he told them. After setting down his paddle, he rummaged around at the bottom of the boat and mysteriously emerged with a small cloth bag. "Take these -- a present from me, heh. They'll make it easier for you to come pay another visit."

[unpriest]

The torches on the other side slowly came into view, and eventually they reached the dock without any problems. As relieving as that was, Seishin had to suppress another wince as Charon-san referred to them as 'ladies' again.

He glanced curiously at the skeleton man as he rummaged through the boat and emerged with a...bag? Seishin blinked at it, before taking it with a small amount hesitance. He wasn't fully certain what Charon-san had meant with his comment, but he offered a bow of gratitude regardless.

Seishin then climbed out of the boat and stepped onto the dock. No sense in unnecessarily keeping the Skeleton man, was there? He glanced at Silvestri-san, looking if she required any help.

[avengingfists]

"Someone should tell 'em not to be such a sore loser," Ilia chuckled, feeling a bit more at ease with the banter. And just in time for them to make port at the opposite shore! A wave of relief rushed through her and exited on a breath of air.

She followed the bag with her eyes a s Seishin took it, unsure of what it could possibly be and only partly suspicious that it might be a trick.

Casting one more smile Charon's way, Ilia followed Seishin up onto the dock, perfectly capable of disembarking on her own tonight. "Hey, thanks for the gift. I guess we'll be seeing you later, for now."

She offered him a wave, thankful to be done with the ordeal this night.