Chapter 4: The Waters of Menehune

"Well, no, he was recently kidnapped by ghost pirates," Admiral responds. "And before that, he drugged me and sold me to slavers, so I was sort of in the market for a new one, anyway." He sighs and shakes his head. "It’s not really about that anyway. I’m sure they’ll be fine without me. I just… don’t want to get left behind again. I would sooner take the debt, honestly."

"I... shit. Your first mate was not a great choice," Regan shakes his head, letting the disaster that was Admiral's first mate sink in. "For what it's worth, you wouldn't be left behind. We'd be with you. The issue with these choices is that in the others, we don't know what the downsides would be. With the riddles, at least we have an idea."

Admiral laughs, bleakly. "Aye, he certainly was not, that mutinous, back-stabbing son of a dog. Seemed like a good choice at the time though – skilled, smart, well-liked by the crew… but I suppose that was precisely the problem."

He appreciates Regan’s sentiment, but it does little to reassure him. He’s not afraid of being alone. He’s afraid of being abandoned by his crew again.

"Maybe Tasya’s right and there’s some clever way to have our herring and eat it too, so to speak," he suggests. "Leverage, like she said, or… that first option. If Jin gave up ownership of the ship, what do we reckon that means exactly? Maybe he could give up ownership to one of the other members of the troupe. Or, if Queen Naidra won’t allow that, perhaps we simply engage in a little piracy and take a ship that doesn’t strictly belong to us."

"Piracy? That seems like disaster waiting to happen, considering the circumstances," Regan muses. "And I don't think we'll be given an option of who to give the ship up to. As for leverage... it's appealing, but it isn't like we'll get Naira to just tell us how to gain power over her. Maybe the Fossergrim or the kids have ideas? We could always retreat, fall back to them and ask. But we face the risk that the same options may not be available to us when we return... so that leverage better be real strong."

"Falling back may cost us more than we gain," Tasya adds in exasperation, glancing toward Regan and Admiral. "It's possible that we could leave and return to find fewer options… or worse, different rules… that could be our loss. But—" she exhales sharply, tapping her fingers against her arm, "—Regan is on to something. The Fossergrim has been here in this feywild likely for a very long time. He may know a way to make Naidra listen without forcing us into some cursed deal."

"I don't suppose any of us have a way to communicate over a distance?" Admiral asks.

"What if one or two of us went to talk to him while the rest of us stayed? We could continue our discussion here while someone works a different angle... I feel like if we're here debating, she's less likely to change the game on us."

Regan glances at the mists.

"I hope."

"I could go," Admiral volunteers. "I can swim pretty fast so I wouldn’t have to be slowed down by trying to trek through the jungle." He gestures to the thick greenery pressing in on either side of the river.

Cordey perks up at the proposition. "Swim!? I may not be good at riddles, but swimming, that's my world. I'll swim with you Admiral." The large half sea elf's voice sounds relieved now that taking the fey mark doesn't seem to be on the table anymore.

"Alright... meanwhile, I'll stay here and debate with your crew about what we're choosing," Regan replies.

Cordey dives from the skiff first, the water rippling around his broad form as he stretches his arms with an eager grin, calling back, "Let’s make this quick Admiral—before some fey life in here decides we look tasty."

Admiral joins and as the current takes them, the mist thickens along the banks, swallowing their retreating figures into the shifting glow of the Menehune.


REGAN
Soon Tasya, Jin and the others continue to weigh the different choices offered by the fey queen

As the others debate their course of action, Regan notices the night time jungle silhouette that flanks the skiff. It remains eerily still—until a soft flutter of wings breaks the quiet. The dark figure of a small bird, perches on a low branch on a bank near the skiff. At first, it seems like an ordinary creature, tilting its head curiously at the adventurers.

Then, it speaks.

"Falling back may cost us more than we gain…"

The words are Tasya’s, spoken just moments ago, perfectly mimicked in her voice.

Another bird answers from the opposite side of the river, repeating in Admiral’s drawl, "I can swim pretty fast."



ADMIRAL
As Admiral and Cordey glide through the cool, shimmering waters, the enchantment of the waters of Menehune surrounds them. Schools of translucent fish dart past them, their bodies leaving behind trails of silver light. Strange, floating lilies drift just beneath the surface, their petals pulsing softly like breathing lanterns. A trio of river nixies, their hair woven with kelp and pearls, watch curiously from the reeds, giggling before vanishing into the depths. At one point, a giant dragonfly with crystalline wings hovers just above the water, its iridescent eyes tracking their motion until from the canopy, a great fey owl swoops down, its starlit wings swirling like the night sky. Silent and swift, its luminous talons snatch the dragonfly midair. Silver eyes meet Admiral’s—watchful, knowing—before it vanishes into the twilight above.

The two make a turn and swim back into the Babbling Brook. The brook joyfully continues the tune Admiral hummed earlier but this time a new verse is added.

Heroes return on silver tide,
Fate flows where the lost ones hide.
Bound in song, a secret deep,
Kept where Nai Nai’s echoes sleep.

The brook ripples, its melody fading into the current.


The falls soon loom ahead.

Upon reaching the cavern behind the falls, Admiral drags himself out of the water, spluttering and out of breath, weighed down by his water-logged fur and clothes and his tired muscles. He calls out to the Fossergrim, his voice echoing through the tunnels. "Ahoy! Fossergrim! Are you here?"

ADMIRAL
After a moment the fossergrim is seen stepping through the arch at the back of the cavern that once had two red glowing lanterns hanging. The lanterns are no longer there.

"My friends! You have returned." Aldran's eyes shine with happiness. Noticing Admiral's water-logged fur he adds with delight, "And you swam through the falls. Exhilarating is it not?"

But as he takes in their expressions his brow furrows with sudden concern. "But why?"

"So, we have a couple of options... what's the deal with the lantern anyway?" Regan asks, keeping the conversation about their choices going. He isn't sure how much this Naidra is aware of, but he will keep up appearances on the chance that she is not as all-aware as he suspects she might be.

"We were hoping you might be able to help us in our negotiations with Queen Naidra," Admiral explains. "She’s blocked our way to the Lake and we’re not too keen on any of the ‘bargains’ she’s presented us to get past her. What do you know about her?"

REGAN

Mischa begins to respond to Regan, "Martin at the shipyard said the lantern was given to him for Lady Oceana's guests and the the fey would recognize it as..."

She stops abruptly as she realizes that her own voice echoes from the jungle trees. Also, the other party members' voices echo snippets of the party's conversation from the trees.

Reagan notices more rustling—more birds, many more. The air fills with disjointed echoes, phrases originating from the river banks, echoing off the water, out of order, twisted, almost mocking.

"What's the deal with...A deal… a loss… what if one of us… forced…your first mate... hope…"

The voices overlap, growing faster, eventually they overlap so much that the sound becomes more like eerie laughter than individual voices.


ADMIRAL
Aldran’s expression shifts the moment Admiral speaks Naidra’s name. His usual warmth dims, and his gaze flickers toward the empty archway where the red lanterns once hung. The cavern seems quieter, the water at his feet unusually still.

"You seek help negotiating with Queen Naidra," he murmurs, his voice measured, careful. "But you do not understand—her bargains are not about power. They are about her duty to the River Court."

He pauses as if to weigh the weight of continuing this conversation.

"It is not my secret to tell," the Fossergrim murmurs, almost to himself. But then he looks upon Admiral and Cordey who had fought to reclaim this place sacred to him, and at last, he relents. "And yet, if ever there is a moment for truth, it is now."


"I do believe Naidra is not solely in love with her power nor is she wicked." He turns toward the cavern pool, where water droplets swirl lazily in the air from the crashing water of the falls. "She has not gazed upon these falls in years," he continues with a sadness in his tone. "Not out of cruelty, but sorrow. This place is a wound she does not wish to reopen." His eyes flick to Admiral and Cordey, searching. "And yet, here you stand, dragging the past to the surface."

"We don’t mean to dredge up things you’d rather forget," Admiral says. "But these are treacherous waters… metaphorically speaking… and we could really use your expertise to navigate them safely."

ADMIRAL
"This place, the falls, is a wound Naidra cannot bear to reopen," responds Aldran, the fossergrim.

His voice lowers. "For it is where she hid her greatest defiance against the River Court."

He steps forward, his form shimmering, his voice quieter now, fighting a reluctance. "I have little desire to be the one who reopens the wound for the Queen."

Aldran pauses for a moment in reflection and then continues, "But I do owe you a debt, and since I do, I will share with you knowledge that will give you the leverage you seek."

"I only ask that you proceed with the Queen privately and not in front of the Court." He passes a burning and pleading glare at Admiral.