Chapter 4: The Waters of Menehune

"And the strip of leather with the words. I doubt she needs them, but honestly I want nothing to do with anything related to that mirror," Regan adds. "Plus, I'd hate to be possibly seen as not living up to our end of the deal. Not how I do business."

Plus I have the words memorized... just in case.

Upon Regan's mention of a fey child getting trapped, Queen Naidra freezes—not in fear, but in calculation.

Her hand stiffens slightly on the mirror. Her eyes flick—too fast—to the mist in the direction of the brook. Just for a breath.

Then she smiles. Cool. Composed.

"Children are... resilient."

A pause.

"Still, I’ll will see to them. This child who was consumed… was he returned unharmed?"

She accepts the leather strip from Regan with a graceful sweep of her hand, then inclines her head to Admiral in quiet, sovereign acknowledgment of his bow and confirmation of agreement to her demand.

Jin exhales—sounding slightly anxious. He leans toward Admiral and says under his breath:

"Let’s get out of here before someone changes their mind."

"He was unharmed. I wouldn't even say he appeared traumatized. You know how kids are," Regan says, rolling his eyes a bit. "Everything is exciting. Better safe than sorry though.

Thank you for your time, Highness. Be well."

With that, Regan sets about assisting the others in getting the skiff moving. Jin spoke true -- while most fey won't outright lie, their capriciousness and their ability to manipulate are virtually unrivaled. Waiting around for a chat wasn't worth the risk.

Admiral nods in agreement with Jin and picks up an oar, similarly anxious to get out of here before the Queen changes her mind.

As Admiral nods in agreement with Jin and grips the oar, the Queen steps back through the misty veiled dome she summoned.

Mischa's concerned voice breaks in as the dense misty veil surrounding the skiff dissipates. The Queen is gone. (No fey seem to currently be around.)

"We should rest soon," Mischa says, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion. "Just for a little while. We’ve been moving without sleep, and the skiff won’t outrun a mistake made from weariness."

She glances up. The mists are thinning just slightly above the river, revealing the faintest violet blush creeping into the sky—pre-dawn light filtering through the fog.

Jin hesitates, then shrugs, sinking back onto the bench.

"Fine. But no setting up camp. We’re not giving the fey any more reason to linger."

Admiral is still feeling good, if a little worn out from all the swimming, but looking around at all the tired faces, he nods. "Sure! Let’s find a safe spot to tie up the skiff and take a short break."

Regan sits, staring off the skiff and watching the passing scenery for signs of trouble.

"I know we're running a little ragged, but does anyone know how far we need to go yet? I'd feel safer resting outside of the fey territory."

Mischa's concerned gaze shifts to Tasya (who does look tired) as she responds to Regan, "I know we can push our bodies, but its our minds I'm worried about. Rest helps guard the soul from malignant forces that would scry into memories locked away."

Jin throws up his hands and shifts toward the bow of the skiff.

"I have no idea how far we have to go!" he snaps. "Sounds to me like my grandfather tucked away our ship far deep in this fey world madness!"

In a flare of frustration, he gives the lantern hanging from the bow a sharp knock with his palm.

The lantern, previously a simple, unassuming object without oil or flame, rocks slightly… and then stops mid-swing.

Then the lantern silently emits a faint ambient glow.

Jin pauses, looking up river, astonished. "Do you see that!? A pale beam of light piercing through the mist! A path!?" he exclaims.

No one else sees the beam.

Then Mischa, rests a hand on Jin and closes her eyes searching for his experience in his mind:

"The lantern didn’t flare for us. It flared for you, Jin," she replies. "It's not light you see. It's memory…"

"Let’s press on a little ways and follow this path Jin sees," Admiral suggests. "Seems unwise to ignore a sign like that and I, for one, would like to know where it leads. Besides, Regan is right. It’s dangerous to linger here any longer than we have to."

As the party gets the skiff gliding up the river, Jin confirms that the narrow beam remains pointing ahead.

Admiral, rowing near the bow, feels the hum of Reaver in concert to the odd occurrence of the lantern’s faint ambient glow bending strangely as his body shifts closer to the lantern while rowing. The pulse of Reaver at his his side is perfectly timed with the almost imperceptible change in the lantern's glow. It seems to Admiral that his blade, Reaver, and lantern, now awakened by Jin, acknowledge a recognition.

During a brief break in the rowing, whilst everyone else is resting their arms for a minute, Admiral draws Reaver from its sheath and holds the old, corroded blade close to the lantern, curious about this reaction he's noticed.

Bringing Reaver close to the lantern causes the gem on Reaver's pommel to swirl fiercely, while it does, Admiral can also see the beam of light that Jin sees.

Regan notices the gem swirl, as does Tasya.

The weary acrobat apprehensively asks Admiral, "What...is your blade? I remember when you appeared next to Mischa and me in the sewer tunnel...that gem...it swirled, just like that. It gave me a vision of a crackling portal. "

Mischa looks around nervously. "Tasya! Don't forget this fey jungle has ears," she whispers sternly.

Regan narrows his eyes a bit at the gem, but only says, "Mischa speaks true. Let's keep non-essential chatter to a minimum, yeah?"

"It belonged to the old captain of the Whisper," Admiral answers Tasya. "He left it to me when he died, along with the ship. I don’t think I should say much more than that where we might be overheard." He dissipates the sword into mist with a flick of his wrist and picks up his oar again. "Onward, then?"

"Sooner the better," Regan agrees, grabbing his own oar and beginning to row in time with the others.

The party keeps conversation to a minimum as they row the skiff up the river. Over a number of hours of travel, dim blue light of dawn gives way to warm sunny light of morning. As sunlit day takes over the night, it becomes too hard for Jin to 'see' the light beam of Oceana's lantern, but Admiral can still feel the hum of Reaver, confirming that the skiff moves in the direction the lantern leads.

With the skiff gliding silently, eventually the river widens and the glassy surface of the large Menehune Lake can be seen ahead. A soft wind curls through the air, carrying with it the sound of flutes, chimes, and distant laughter. The sky above is a gentle turquoise, scattered with clouds like pulled silk. Then—emerging from misty treetops—the party sees it:

Spanning across a cascading double waterfall is an arching stone bridge, overgrown with ivy and adorned with fluttering banners of soft seafoam green. Above it rise gracefully tiered towers and houses that nestle like bird’s nests among flowering trees and mossy cliff faces. Light glows from within, each window like a gentle lantern, golden and warm. Paths of woven vines and hanging gardens connect one dwelling to the next, and bridges arc out over the air, strung with streamers made of drifting water and moonlight.



At the edge of the lake, the skiff points toward a carved stone landing--on the far end of the water body--where a staircase rises into the bustling heart of a celebration. All around, fey of every sort mingle and meander: dryads twirl in floating blossoms, pixies trace glimmering loops in the air, and satyrs pluck lyres on drifting platforms of reed and wood. Even pleasantly dressed boggles, oddly refined in tiny top hats and vests, offer confections at carved root-stalls. It looks like some sort of fey festival.

And as far as Admiral can tell from Reaver's energized connection to the Lantern...they must continue through the fey chaos.

Regan stops rowing and simply sits, looking at the utter chaos before them. No one notices his eye twitch briefly. His words are simple.

"I am NOT dealing with that shit."