Stathis ducked beneath a mace strike, catching another on her shield and feeling the impact, stepping into it and forcing Pajaran off-balance. She cut with her own sword, angling it to catch the sunlight to try and blind Pajaran. Fighting on the ship had taken a bit of getting used to, with the rolling motion, but now it was second nature. Although they both kept glancing upwards, where Semari’s arm could be seen dangling off the edge of the crow’s nest – if she woke up, then the sparring would change suddenly to fending off her aerial attacks.

As Pajaran started to incant a spell, Stathis pressed the attack, her sword strike deflected by Pajaran’s own shield. Pajaran didn’t stop her prayer, the symbol on her shield flashing brightly before spectral energy peeled up from the deck, energy grabbing and dragging at Stathis’ legs, slowing her movement. It tingled, trying to burn her but easy to resist.

It was Stathis’ turn to go on the offensive – she used her own shield to smash Pajaran’s striking arm aside, twisting her shoulder to move inside of Pajaran’s guard. Then she struck out with the flat of her blade, feeling the energy still trying to burn and slow her. She caught Pajaran across the shoulder, a solid strike smacking through Pajaran’s armour, the spell-force immediately winking out as Pajaran’s focus was shattered. A follow-up strike cracked against Pajaran’s breastplate, knocking her backwards a few steps. She raised her mace to protect herself, managing a counterstrike that rattled against Stathis’ shield, before raising her hands.

‘I yield! Dammit, you’ve gotten good with that thing. This used to be a lot more even. All that time I was on ice, you were getting better.’ She chanted a swift prayer, steel-grey energy washing out to heal her wounds. Bright golden energy shimmered over Stathis as she healed herself, the healing energy barely visible in the bright sunlight.

‘So, you doing anything about her?’ Pajaran nodded her head downwards, towards Janaxia’s cabin.

Stathis sighed, flicking her blade through the air before sheathing it. ‘She’s still gloomy and pissed off. I’ve tried talking to her, but she’s not making it easy. And I think she’s getting spikier. But she spends all her time in her room, so it’s hard to be sure. And I’ve seen someone or something that looks like her, but kind of uglier and scrawnier a few times? I hope she’s not summoned some ghost or something!’

‘Oh, that’s Kivata. Her sister, that she dragged out here. She looks terrified most of the time, she’s quite hard to talk to. Semari says she’s actually a necromancer, although not a very good one. And that there was some kind of wizard’s duel or something between them, so now Janaxia owns her? Semari seemed somewhat vague on the details, but the woman seems pretty traumatised.’

‘That’s… almost a relief? Certainly better than a ghost or spirit! She’s scared the hell out of me a few times though, just a pale shape out of the corner of my eye before she vanished. Most move damn fast!’

‘I get the idea that the Uth Tremari household is not a very nice one, and that she and Janaxia were at the bottom. Janaxia ran off with you, Kivata’s been the bottom of the heap since, so she’s good at staying out of sight and avoiding attention.’

‘Don’t say it like that, it makes it sound like we eloped! I picked her up in a bar. Dammit, that sounds even worse, doesn’t it? Well, as long as she’s not going to do anything strange. Maybe she can help Hakara out?’

They headed to the raised deck, where Hakara’s spell-symbols had become even more complex. Now there were at least five different sets, in different colours of chalk, all overlapping and interwoven, glowing at different rhythms. A tent had been erected for her, to give some shelter from the elements, and the magical artefact Janaxia had acquired was there as well, behind more warding circles. Stathis and Pajaran both made sure to stay away from the glowing boundary, not wanting to interrupt or affect it.

Hakara smiled at them then waved a hand, her fingers twisting and bending, the different-coloured circles wavering and glowing. She had the distant and glazed look of someone lost in deep thoughts, or enduring on far too little sleep.

‘Uh, you doing OK, Hakara? I can hear you chanting sometimes. You look pretty exhausted. I don’t want you working yourself so hard you do yourself an injury!’

It took Hakara several moments to answer, her eyes glazed. ‘I think… I think I can manage. Although it would be nice to… sleep properly…’

‘I can imagine! Let me know if there’s anything to do to help. Don’t want you getting harmed. Do you think we’re protected still?’

‘Oh yes, I very much think so. It would take a substantial amount of effort and power to locate or target us. Once we land, then things may prove more troublesome but…’ Her head drooped for a moment before she collected herself. ‘…but we can resolve it when it happens.’ The circles glowed more brightly, vivid blue overpowering the other colours.

The ship rumbled and shook, sending them stumbling as wood creaked and rattled. Hakara lurched forward, magical energy flashing up around her and slowing her movement. An unearthly and eerie song started to sound out, soft and seductive. Stathis ignored it, tapping Pajaran on the shoulder to keep her focused as well.

Hakara’s body went floppy for a second before the magical circles started to glow even more brightly, multiple domes of power appearing around her, the enchanting song getting warped into a blurry muddle as it echoed between the shells.

There was another worrying grinding crack of wood as the boat rocked and shook again. The crew that Stathis could see were all slack-jawed and numb, staring into space. ‘Hakara, you OK?’

Hakara blinked at her several times, before managing to summon up the strength to talk. ‘Yes, I think so. I was not expecting an attack like that, but I included some protection anyway.’ She patted the domes, her palm flattening itself against shimmering energy. ‘Although I think I should remain here, to maintain the spells. And I have little energy left, to be honest, so would be of little help in a fight.’

‘Yeah, that’s fine. We’ll go see what it is.’ Stathis shouted up at the crow’s nest. ‘Oi, Semari! Get down here!’

The arm twitched and withdrew itself from view, before Semari rolled over the edge, catching herself on the rigging just before slamming into the deck. She winced and stuck a finger in her ear. ‘Wassat? Bloody loud!’ She shook her head as though keeping herself distracted. ‘Doesn’t sound like a Janaxia thing.’ Before Stathis could respond, she’d run to the front of the ship, then stopped and looked back at Stathis. ‘Uh, you might want to…’ She trailed off, head dropping before she recovered herself. ‘Might want to look at this!’

Stathis and Pajaran both moved to the prow, weapons at the ready. One of the soldiers was there as well, slack-jawed and dazed, only responding when Stathis clicked her fingers in front of him several times, and the confusion left his eyes.

Emerging from the water to the side of the ship was a floating island apparently formed of coral and seaweed, strangely bubbling shapes formed by the coral looking almost like a castle, with walls and towers. The singing was coming from a cave, a dark passageway that went downwards into the whatever-it-was.

‘There’s no land mapped on the chart, ma’am!’ The sailor was looking slightly panicked as the ship creaked and groaned again.

‘Go check to see if anything’s broken below-decks. We’ll deal with this. Uh, whatever this is…’ He nodded and moved away. As soon as he moved more than a few paces away from her, his posture suddenly slumped and he stopped moving, the singing continuing. Stathis sighed. ‘Right; Pajaran, Semari – stay close. Any idea where Parth or Vrintar are?’

‘Dunno, think Vrintar was below decks somewhere? Parth was talking to the captain or doing some elf stuff in the galley. Seems to be talking to him a lot, not sure why.’

The sailors were gathering together and moving towards the island, all moving in listless shuffling steps as they climbed over the edge and dropped onto the seaweed-covered coral. It squelched under their feet, and then part of the island shifted with a loud scraping noise. Another dark passageway appeared and the sailors started moving into it, disappearing from view.

‘Hopefully they’re OK.’

‘Whaddya bet that Janaxia’s been whammied as well?’

Stathis shook her head. ‘No bet – anything seems able to charm her! It might shake her out of her funk a bit though. And no, this is not the time to discuss it.’

Semari rolled her eyes. ‘Fine, but I still think you should go for my suggestion.’ She made a crude gesture with her hands. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

‘At the moment? Her creepy powers go weird, destroy the ship and we drown. Or we’re stuck here, with whatever lives inside there. I’ll deal with Janaxia – somehow – just not right now. Let’s deal with this first!’ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling and feeling the power within herself expand, doing something to counteract the enchanting song, but only in a small bubble around herself. ‘Stay close, I think I can do something about that song. Everyone ready?’

Pajaran raised her mace high, an aura of protection appearing around herself. ‘Guess so. Take charge, brave leader.’

Semari sniggered. ‘Yeah, let’s go punch devil-fish or whoever’s in there!’

They jumped off the ship and moved onto the island, most of the crew already having vanished in the cave. The seaweed was wet and slimy underfoot, Semari’s face showing displeasure as her bare feet squelched against the slimy plants. There was other life between the green fronds – starfish, molluscs and dead and dying fish, trapped on the coral as it rose.

Stathis stamped on it a few times – the thing felt solid, at least as far as she could tell. They progressed into the passageway leading into the island, the air rank with a salt-scent. Stathis focused on her blade and it started to glow, shedding a warm and sunny light into the darkness, revealing that the walls were of coral as well, pocked and flecked with holes and curves. Semari went to poke a finger into a large one, before thinking better of it and moving away. In the passageway, the sound echoed strangely, beautiful and haunting but without any words she could recognise.

They kept moving down the narrow passageway, Pajaran and Stathis both holding their shields high, eyeing the dark holes in the coral suspiciously, although there were no signs of anything dwelling in them. The passageway wound downwards, the only light the glow from Stathis’ blade, without any signs of what might have crafted this place, the walls all formed from coral.

It didn’t take long until the snaking passage ended. The light illuminated a larger, open space, a watery blue glow coming from somewhere up ahead. The smell of salt and rotting seaweed was lessened here, the air fresher, although the singing still continued.

‘Everyone, stay close, and let’s find out what’s happening.’

The open space was covered with loose sand over stone, with remnants of what looked like architecture scattered about the place – Stathis could see a few columns, fluted and ornamental, but not attached to anything else and tilted at crazy angles, along with a few statues, brightly painted and coloured, dressed in styles and fashions Stathis didn’t recognise.

They kept moving towards the blue glow, still somewhere above them, the light shimmering like it was shining through water. Stone-cut steps emerged from the sandy floor, looking strangely fresh and un-weathered, bright flecks of quartz in the stone adding to the rippling effect of the light. Stathis led them up the steps, glad of the others for support, and that Semari was actually staying close and not charging ahead. She paused before reaching the top of the steps, gesturing to the others to stay back as she carefully peered over the top.

It was a large and open platform, with stone pillars supporting an ornately decorated tiled roof. She could see a few doors leading into small rooms off to one side, but the focus was a wide pool, from which emerged a glowing blue coral, branches bright with blue light. The crew were all milling around uncertainly, their posture still limp and passive. Vrintar was easy to pick out from amongst them, standing above most of them. There was no sign of Parth or Janaxia.

The singing continued, resonating around the place, making Stathis wish she had some earplugs. There was a liquid splashing sound, and a female figure pulled itself from the water. Long, sea-green hair flowed from their head, wet enough to pull itself to their body, showing their curves just as well as one of Janaxia’s dresses. A crown of coral sat upon their brow, with a dark blue gem set in the centre, while chains and wires of gold wound from their fingers, up their wrists and arms, showing brightly against their dark skin. Their pointed ears had multiple piercings, more gold wound through and about them, chains flowing softly through their air.

They said something in a flowing, liquid language that Stathis didn’t understand – it soundly similar to Parth, but the tones were more reminiscent of the surf and wave of the ocean, rather than the swelling growth of the woodlands. Beside her, Semari nodded to herself. ‘That makes sense.’

‘What does? Can you understand what she’s saying?’

‘Yeah. Can’t you?’

‘No! So what’s she saying?’

‘Oh, that it’s been some time since they awoke, and they’re glad of some company. That they’ll be looked after, and that some of them are quite attractive. You know, like the sort of stuff Janaxia looks like she’s going to say, although without sounding as evil. Although she normally wears at least some clothes.’ Semari paused. ‘Oh, and that she and her sisters are going to enjoy themselves.’

‘Wait, did you say “sisters”? So there’s…’ She was interrupted by a harsh burst of sound, like angry waves breaking on the shore, and glanced back down the stairs. There was another person there, looking similar to one from the pool, except this one was wearing armour and, most importantly, had a bow in their hands, nocked and aiming at Stathis, with a blade at her waist. She said something, Stathis trying to smile back in what she hoped was a reassuring and calming way, before she hissed at Semari. ‘What’s she saying?’

Semari didn’t answer, but spoke back to the woman, her words in the same sibilant and aquatic language. The dialogue continued, Stathis shifting uneasily, not wanting to escalate to violence yet, as more words were shouted above her, although none sounded angry.

Eventually, Semari said something that made the woman laugh, although she didn’t move the arrow away from them, before Semari spoke in a language that Stathis could understand.

‘She’s a bit freaked out that we’re not affected by the magic. I told her that you’re a bit weird and noble and tend to ignore anything you don’t like. And she wants you to put your sword away.’

‘Try not to make me sound like an ass. Any idea what’s going on?’

The woman turned her head, just for a second, too quick to take advantage of, and called into the darkness, another one appearing. This one was probably a mage, judging by the wand they held, crystalline tip glowing with power, a chunky bracer of iron on their wrist, studded with glowing gemstones. The archer gestured with her bow, giving a clear command as Stathis slowly sheathed her weapon, the sunlight blinking out as the weapon slid away. Pajaran tucked her mace away, sliding it into the loop on her hip. The archer gestured again, up towards the top of the platform, as the other one gestured with her fingers, beads of energy forming at the tips of each of her fingers, blue light reflecting in her large eyes.

They all stood and began to move up the last few steps, up onto the platform. Stathis kept her arms raised, away from her sword-hilt, not wanting to provoke an unneeded fight.

‘Semari, can you talk to them? Tell them we’re not a threat?’

Semari turned to talk to the archer and said something, that must have been the wrong thing or startled her. An arrow shot out, Semari just barely dodging it and catching it out of the air, her hands twisting and sending it flying back, to embed itself into the shoulder of the mage, interrupting whatever spell they were casting, the beads of power guttering out. They immediately incanted something else, a beam of ice hitting Stathis, chilling her body and slowing her reactions as she drew her blade, the archer nocking another arrow and shooting, Pajaran barely getting her shield in the way to block it. The arrow embedded itself into the shield, and then a chaotic brawl started, the edge of the platform a sharp drop downwards, everyone close together.