Chapter 3: The Dark Fortress

"I second that Belvedere. Though, our current concern is to actually live on in the flesh. So to play it safe and feel out the undead here like Grimbly suggests sounds prudent to me."

"With our mystical weapons the creatures will fall like wheat beneath a scythe. I fear not this evil. I'll follow your lead, however."

"Leading from the rear, Xaka, I see! And here I thought that was the domain of noble born commanders alone!" Belvedere teases!

"A frontal charge I would lead, but soft hearted sneaking about? For that I defer to those more inclined by their nature." She snorts at her own retort.

"You wound us when you speak like that. Did you know?" Belvedere asks, putting a hand to his chest in faux-distress.

---

"This looks promising! If that boat is seaworthy, we might be able to get in thru the sea gate over there." Katie points towards the harbor. "Hopefully that's an entrance that's kind of been forgotten if they consider it secured." As the words leave her mouth, Katie can't help but wonder who the 'they' really are, and who, if anyone, is directing them.

> GO NORTH

It would be better than a tunnel. We should enter through the seagate then, if we all agree, but surely it would be manned with some guards? And as Katie says, IF the boat is even seaworthy.

"If not we swim. What can go wrong?" she says, then carefully knocks on the wooden hull.

"One, two, three, four." the man starts, counting out the paddles. Then he counts out his companions:

"One, two, three, four! Splendid. I shall take the busy job of keeping watch then, while you strong ones row us in! Shall we away?" he says, with a flourish; happy at having excluded himself from the manual labor.

"I'm ready! Sink or swim!" Grimbly grabs an oar for himself, then hands the steering oar to Belvedere.

"I guess you are ready, Grimbly." says Kendral a little taken back by Grimbly's extra enthusiasm. He shrugs inwardly and says, "Alright then, let's do this." as he grabs another oar.

Katie grabs a third and begins wading out to the boat. As she lays a hand on the gunwale, she calls back over her shoulder, "You all know how to swim, right?"

"Never thought about it," Grimbly says as he splashes after Katie. "I presume you can?" Turning back to the others he asks the same question.

"You all know how to swim in case we need to?"

Xaka wades into the water to pull e boat off the sand and walk it out once the others are in, until it's in deep enough water to float on its own. "Swimming is fun, we swam in the ocean all the time back on my island."

"Swimming is fun," Kendal agrees, "as long as it’s not with the undead."