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Salt and Blood - Chapter 45
🕑 Added 2024-10-16 06:32:07 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 44 | Table of Contents | Chapter 46 >>
1.45 - An Opposing Perspective
It’s possible to escape a convergence without clearing it, but that seems rather wasteful to me. People sail for months on end, hoping to catch a glimpse and find their fortune—why would you want to run when one thrusts itself into your lap?
-Quoted from Esperanza the Slick
Rose’s cry of pain had woken Felix. He’d been having a wonderful dream about grilled fish and salted mushrooms, only to open his eyes and see her tumbling down the rocks towards him.
There was no time to dodge before she slammed into his chest, knocking the breath from his lungs and making them both fall backwards over a ledge. The last thing he remembered from that brief awakening was seeing an unusually glib crab staring at them from a crevice.
On the plus side, he was able to resume his dream. Lounging on the deck of a grand ship, attended by servants carrying delicacies from the world over. Truly, that was the life he longed for. If he had to become a pirate to get there, he could stomach a little looting.
***
For the second time that day, Rose found herself rousing from a disaster induced sleep. This time she had far more aches and bruises and even shuffling into a sitting position made her muscles burn.
This time though, she wasn’t alone in her suffering. A grumbling Felix was buried beneath her—he seemed to have cushioned her fall. Thanks, buddy. Despite taking the brunt of it, he seemed in better shape than her, which was mighty unfair.
This time, there were no easy exits in view. A little light broke through a hole in the rocky ceiling, though it was barely enough to see by. Looking around, Rose discovered they were in a cave.
Rock pools littered the area, though there were no creatures to be seen. Their loud fall had scared the wildlife into hiding.
Stalactites clung to the ceiling, the silence broken only by Felix’s grumbling and the occasional drop of water falling into one of the pools below. Her goal of climbing the island seemed impossible now.
Climbing out of the cave was impossible—their fall had broken the ledge and the walls were too wet to grip. With no clear path, the only option was to explore the cave and try to find another route.
“Get up Felix, you’ve had enough sleep,” she quipped, prodding his ribs.
After a few more grumbles and groans he clambered to his feet and had a look around. “Where the hell are we? Weren’t we on the ship?” he muttered.
Rose wandered over to the nearest rock pool and bent down, peering over the edge. “We fell into a cave. We’re underneath the island right now,” she answered, splashing some water with a finger. “The ship needs some love, but she survived the crash.”
“That’s good. Would’ve been a shame for it to meet such a tragic end on the first voyage.”
As her finger swirled through the water, a few tiny fish darted across the pool. As the last fish was about to swim into a crevice, a crab darted out and snatched it between its claws.
No matter where she went, the circle of life seemed to play out the same. “Come on, let’s try to find a way out. There’s no use standing around,” she said, grabbing Felix’s hand and pulling him deeper into the cave.
“Wait, why are we heading further in? You know I hate creepy places like this,” he protested, unable to free himself from her iron grip.
“If you want to try and climb out, or wait for rescue like a damsel in distress, then be my guest,” she laughed, pointing at the small hole in the ceiling.
After that there were no more complaints. Light grew sparse as they went further in, quickly becoming too dark for the pair to see.
There was plenty of driftwood lying around to make a torch, however most of it was still soaked to the core from being in the ocean for Sylack knows how long. Rose eventually found a piece that might be dry enough to spark.
Some of her undershirt wasn’t quite soaked. It seems that her stint of unconsciousness allowed it to dry off from the storm’s kiss. Tearing enough off to burn for a few hours, she then sprinkled some of her gunpowder on the fabric.
With the extra spark, it wasn’t long before she was able to ignite the torch using a couple of sharp rocks lying around. A splash echoed in her ears; thinking something was emerging from the rock pools she whirled around, torch in hand, only to see nothing but still waters and wet rocks.
You have learned a new skill!
Crafting 0 > 1
A subtle grin teased her lips. At the rate Rose was accumulating new skills it wouldn’t be long before her status filled her entire vision.
When she turned back to Felix, the boy was staring at her with suspicious eyes. “What’s wrong with you, Rose?” he asked with a smirk.
“Nothing,” she answered. “Thought I heard something. You can’t be too careful in convergences. Dangerous beasts could be anywhere.”
He paled, the smirk vanishing in an instant. As Rose continued into the cave he started muttering to himself before sprinting after her, sticking far closer than before.
For all his charm and the bravery he’d displayed when defending Unrequited Love, Felix was a softie at heart. Actually, it was one of the qualities that Rose found most endearing about the boy. Compared to the brash and mouthy boys from her village it was a welcome change of pace.
***
Save for the dancing shadows on the cavern walls, there was little waiting for them as they walked. After ten minutes of advancing in the same direction, Rose halted when the path forward was blocked.
Looking in either direction there was nothing but jagged rocks and the occasional crevice far too small for a human to squeeze inside. In a couple of those small tunnels she spotted crabs, stubborn crustaceans, and the occasional starfish.
Life blossomed underground, especially in convergences. Rose had originally had little to compare to, with her only experience of nature being the countryside of Emerlan Isle.
Since exploring a bit more of the Bluestone Sea however, she’d realised that wildlife tended to be far more homogenous in the outside world. In these strange and miraculous pockets of energy though, the sheer variety and uniqueness of life was mesmerising.
Felix had been scrabbling around at the edges of the torch’s light when he yelped, which was preceded by the sound of clattering rocks. “I found someth-”
No sooner had he begun to speak his voice cut off, ending in something close to a high pitched squeal. Rose spun round, waving the torch to better see what had happened.
Felix was on his backside, scrambling backwards to escape a pale pink lizard creature that had grabbed his ankle in its mouth. There was a red welt on his face, explained by the creature’s long tail that was snapping through the air like a whip.
He was struggling with his belt, fumbling for the dagger he kept there. Crack. He yelped again as the lizard whipped his hands, stopping his futile struggle.
Rose had hesitated, but the sudden snap whipped her into focus. She rushed forward, waving the torch like a cutlass to scare the beast away. Creatures that dwelled underground shouldn’t be fond of fire.
At first it worked. The moment the creature saw the flickering flames it darted back into the shadows, letting Felix scarper away to hide behind her. All he’d lost was a little dignity.
However, it soon returned, advancing on them with ravenous eyes. Swinging the torch was enough to parry its attempts to strike, but with each failed attempt it grew more confident.
“Why are you behaving like a baby, Felix? We’re both competent,” she scolded, kicking him lightly as she did.
He mumbled something, then she heard a slapping noise. He’d hit himself on the face with both hands and now seemed to be awake.
“Sorry. It surprised me. I’ve never fought a wild beast before, only heard tales of them. Somehow a pirate is less terrifying,” he replied, stepping up beside her with his dagger drawn.
“They don’t value their own lives,” she agreed, drawing her pistol and taking aim with her free hand.
Moments later the lizard recoiled as a bullet pierced its shoulder, drawing a trickle of blue blood. Rose had to stifle a groan at the colour, praying this wasn’t an underlying theme of all convergences.
Despite the wound, the beast was undeterred—seconds after her shot the wound was knitting itself shut. The bullet clattered across the rocks as it was pushed out of the lizard’s flesh.
A fierce hiss echoed through the cavern. All they’d managed to do was enrage their foe. Gritting her teeth, Rose passed the torch to Felix and rushed to reload her pistol as the lizard darted forth.
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