The guildhall was still a work in progress but things were beginning to pick up. The locals gave them support and they were gaining their footing as a fledgling guild. Kaz's morning started the same as they always did. He woke up to give Noyiah a peck on the check as they began their duties.

One of the first things they did was to put up the guild request board. Although things had been slow to take off, what made this day different than the others was the lone request that had been pinned up on the board the day before. Luckily for them, one of the receptionists from the Rune knights heard what they were doing and left to join with them. Her job was simple. Evaluate the quests that come in and rank them, just as she had done in the knights.

This one...was an A-rank. And alongside Kazimir, Noyiah had agreed to take it with him. He was both excited to work with his love once again. They had been through a lot over the past year and there was no one he trusted more with his heart or to have his back.

He spent the morning in meditation. All he could think about was hoping it wasn't the return of the beast he fought before. Once he was done he rushed down to meet with Noyiah as a man just entered the guildhall.

He was dressed in a fisherman's attire and held his had scrunched up in his hands. His feet were close together and he stood with a slight bend in his back with his head forward as if to shyly call for someone.

"Uhmm...hello. I'm uh. Here about the request yo took. I have some more info. Well kinda. I mean its scattered stories. Some say Sea monster others say, mermaids. Either way we got a boat ready for you at the docks," the man said and then turned to wait for them outside.

Kaz stood up from his meditation and stretched. He dropped down from the ledge that faced the sun and stood at the front door to wait for Noyiah, who he assumed was more prepared than he was.

Once she arrived he snuck another kiss on her cheek and said, "Well alright. This is our first official Phoenix Feather Mission together." Kaz threw his bag over his shoulder and headed down. His wardrobe had changed over the past year. He now wore a blue gi styled robe with his some hints from his old clans uniform beneath it but still wore the checkered scarf.

They made their way towards the docks to see that the men were already loading up a ship for them to tack. Next to the ship was the three-person rowboat that Kaz had taken last time.

the option was theirs to have and Kaz looked at Noyiah, "We're sailing to a new cove. You want to sail out with one of them, take the rowboat or sail one of our warships out?"

Kaz asked, as one of the decommissioned warships that belonged to the rune knights sat in a less visible area of the docks. It belonged to the guild and was in good shape as it may have been decommissioned as one of Kaz's last acts as captain-commander.  

WC 530

Noyiah awoke with a smile as she felt the peck on her cheek, it was a nice way to start the day. Which she did rather Excitedly, but where there was excitement, there was also doubt and uncertainty, the last year was tough but good, nothing but improvement.  And she had agreed to take this mission knowing that she would have to head back into the depths of the sea, not an idea place for someone who felt anxious when she couldn’t see the bottom of the lake.  It was a level of nervousness that impacted her choices, but not her actions in the moment, but if there was something, she was not comfortable with it was deep water.

She got ready in one of her more water friendly outfits,  a purple sleeveless Top that hung to her rather tightly,  so that she was unhindered in the event she had to move fast, Fishnet like  tee-shirt underneath, so that she was protected from the sun,  the dark lines acting as a defection for her pale easily burned skin, but more so it made her feel like she was clothed while being able to still get a bit of Sun. she wore  a matching purple Skirt with shorts built in,  nothing to flashy  but it was  essential and light weight enough that she could swim and fight in, as for foot wear she didn’t have anything that was too good for the water other than a thigh high water resistant boot that held tightly to her and was rather flexible, it also didn’t feel like a hindrance to her mobility.  Lastly, she decided upon dark-blue/purple coat so that she didn’t get cold if the weather changed, and so the sun didn’t damage her skin.    Noyiah decided to keep her hair down but tied it back in a loose ponytail so that it wouldn’t get too messy when it got wet, or if it got in the way of her sight.

Noyiah moved to the front doors of the Compound where she received another peck on the cheek, which she happily accepted before following suit and started moving down the hill, her dagger sat at her hip this time, and she carried no bag.   She looked down to the Port where she picked out the few boats that were there, along the way she was given the options of each method of Travel.  She didn’t really like any of the methods, last time she had taken her gryphon, Sweets, but she was getting too near to her date she was supposed to give birth.  

“ I guess we can take the row boat,  I wouldn’t want to put these men out another days haul, they’ve suffered enough already. “ she said  a hint of uncertainty lining her voice, mostly due to being such a small boat on such a large ocean and she was not ignorant to the creatures that roamed the depths.  

She would make her way down to the docks with Kazimir and look at the warship that sat in the bay. “ we should really put a new coat of paint on it and present our guild mark, I think people would feel safer if we did” she reasoned as she climbed into the row boat and  waited for Kazimir to do the same before she  would flip the line and untie her end  before picking up a pair of paddles.  “ last time it was just a nasty little bugger,  one of those Gryndylow’s  little beast with a octopus like body and a row of teeth like a shark.  But nothing Sweets couldn’t bang off the rocks a few times and put it out of its misery” she explained her past mission before taking a deep breath and getting ready to help row out to the cove they had to reach.

Outfit:

[WC - 643]

Just as he had thought, from her attire she was more than prepared for any eventuality. She met him at the doorway with enthusiasm as the two were ready to make their way to the docks. He noticed she didn't have a bag and when Kaz thought about it, he really didn't need one either. A force of habit more than a necessity, really, he thought as he fiddled with the sting of the back that ran across his right shoulder. He didn't have anything inside it aside from some sandwiches and rope.

They had no griffons to take with them this time. Although if anything happened it would have been nice as it could have saved them from some swimming. But they were finally about to have some baby griffons whizzing around so it was a happy trade-off.

He stopped to wait for her response to his question. Either would be fine for him and he had taken the rowboat last time. He nodded, "Rowboat it is then. I'm sure this time it'll hold together," he replied nonchalantly hinting at the fact that when he went out the boat had been destroyed but he didn't seem worried in the least. it was thoughtful of her to think about the extra work it would put on the crew.

"Oh,"he replied as he lifted his foot and placed it on the rowboat, ready to hoist himself in. The boat bobbed subtly in the water. He looked at their warship. "That's a great idea. Maybe we can get the whole guild together and make a day of it and then set sail," he said, nearly lost in his thoughts again before snapping back to the moment with a smile. He tried to hold the boat steady as she positioned herself and then he climbed in after.

She already had a set of paddles in hand and Kaz grabbed the second pair. The sailors came up, wishing them good luck and gave them a push to send them on their journey. "I've never faced one. They have always sounded...unsettling," the thought gave a shiver to the wind mage. Something about the combination of tentacles and a humanoid-like face with a gaping maw was a gross. "I'm glad you came back okay. Last time I was out here it was a big squid that I had to put down. I had to work out some ways to use wind against the sea," he said shaking his head and then dipping his paddles into the water and pulling backward in sync with Noyiah to send them sailing.

"I hope it'll be something less terrifying this time around. For both of us. I don't know why this place is so dangerous."

They rowed further and further away from the docks toward the small cove that was their target. It was a different one than the one Kaz had been to before. Astera was showing itself to be populated with them all along the coastline. As the got closer the fish beneath the boat became fewer and fewer.

Once they turned between the rocks that guarded the entrance to the cove, there were a couple of quick splashes. Two large fins flicked back into the water sending human-ripples. Kaz rose up his paddles and brought them into the boat. He peered into the depths trying to see what it was that made that movement.

On a large rock poking out of the water, something slithered back into the sea. With a quick enough glance it would almost look like a human's body with the tail of a fish.

outfit:

WC 620
Total WC 1150

As he mentioned that he was sure the boat would stay together, Noyiah had the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.  Her only solace in this was that she knew Kazimir could fly with his angelic wings, and if she was stuck In the water he would likely save her.  But the idea of the boat breaking apart was not something she found particularly exciting, but she did well to hide her unease.
“ it would make for a nice group bonding project”  she would reply after her suggested it, with a nod of approval.


After she explained the last issue that had come up for her, he said a bit about the issues he dealt with, which seemed like she got the better deal. mental images conjured for her as she watched herself trying to fight off a giant Squid with a dagger and a Gryphon didn’t seem ideal. She shook her head and replied to his comment “that sounds Poetic almost, using the wind against the sea” she repeated softly   lost in her own thoughts now of the possibilities they were bound to face.

“the sea is a place mankind can’t conquer, we can only abide by its wishes and hope for the best when upon it” she said snapping back into reality, as she summed up a few paragraphs of the books she had been reading. She would dip the paddles into the water and begin once Kazimir was set and ready to do the same.


As they cross across the water Noyiah took comfort in being able to look at Kazimir during their trip, with everything going on it had felt like their older days at the Runeknights,  if they weren’t off doing something different all the time they were together on a mission. Not that it was all bad she still got to sleep next to him most nights, which was more then some people.  she  did her best not to glance over the side of the boat  into the depths, after all it would stir her worried mind and cause her panic.  As it was she felt like she was sweating far more then before.  And at some point she would ditch her coat into the boat, wrapping it over the seat beside her.


As they reached the cove Noyiah  didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of anything other then the fins as her back was turned to the front of the ship as she rowed. As Kazimir lifted his paddles so did she, tucking them into the boat and getting ready to look around.  She wasn’t sure what sort of dangers lurked in these waters, but she could easily imagine creatures with hundreds of eyes or thousands of teeth.  Everything out there had an advantage to being in the water, but she knew if they didn’t fix the situation then they would quickly be out of food for the town, after all most of the food in Astera was provided by the sea. “ did you see where the splashes came from” she asked softly   twisting her neck to see where they were coasting slowly towards.
 
[WC 527]
[MY Total – 1170]
[TWC -2320]

Kaz wished the moment had felt more poetic than it was. His memories were messy and wet from the encounter. Something that he hoped he didn't have to do again. He wasn't looking forward to a possible deep dive into the sea once more.

She spoke true again about the relationship between man and the sea. Being out in the vastness of it on a small rowboat hammered that point in. It was a majestic scene but with the thought of at any moment, it could change its mind from calm waters to raging tsunamis.

"The sea is a delightful place. But only for a brief visit," he smiled at a simple joke about the perils they could potential face and had faced at sea before.

He caught her occasional glance towards him which was all the more comforting. He missed doing things like this with her. With the building of the guild and all the work that went into, their lives changed very abruptly. He wished they had more time together to enjoy the simple things more. Be the wind mage rest assured that things were going to calm down and they'd have more of that simple life they wanted.

Kaz squinted his eyes at the water and leaned to the left and then to the right to peer in the deep blue darkness around them. "Only briefly it looked like something with a fin but something that moved from land into the water."

The boat suddenly rocked, as something bumped it from beneath. The boat lifted half a foot higher as the strange shape returned to the depths. "Not again," Kaz said with a worried tone as he reached out to brace Noyiah's back in case she started to fall.

Then there was another bump with a fin splashing out of the water next to them. Kaz began to gather up wind around himself when a masculine voice called out from behind them, "Leave now," if they looked behind them they'd only see a fin submerging once more.

A voice came from a different direction, "Hurry. It comes." Another this time feminine voice called out and vanished the same way. They had yet to lock eyes on these enemies, but it seemed they only meant to scare them away or perhaps warn them.

Kaz stood up in the boat to get a better look of things, "Back to back we can probably catch them surfacing. What do you think they want," He asked with his head on a swivel, waiting for them to emerge once more.

After Noyiah spoke, Two human hands eased out of the water and held on to the part of the boat in front of her. It was blurred but there was a human's face and torso just beneath the surface. The being pulled themselves up, water washing around their face as the broke the surface. "Save yourself our war is not..." The person's head jolted back as his body was yanked downward. His face twisted in shock and horror. His hands clutching the side of the boat. A second tug tore his hands from the boat with pieces of the wood still in his grip.

UNderneath the man, the water was clear enough to see that it was a different species that rose to the surface and latched onto the merman. It was only for an instant but it was visible before it drug the merman into the darkness.

More ripples swirled in the water around them. Faster than the gentle fins had done before.

WC 500
Total WC 1650/2,000

enemy:

His expression and tone of voice told her they were not in a good spot, which fed to her Anxiety about the sea’s depths,  as the boat rocked Noyiah would lose her footing and  slide back onto her butt her hand instinctually lead out to the side of the boats, and she felt Kazimir’s hand brace her back so she didn’t fall any further

The Voice from the water Called out for them to leave, Noyiah Shot back to her feet as she drew her dagger in her right hand keeping the blade pointed downwards as she held it closer to herself in a defensive stance.   She held an expression crossed between worried and confused.  She could feel her heartbeat raising in beats and each thump of her heart seemed to drown out the sounds around her and made it harder to spot where things were coming from.  She took a Few quick breaths in as she tired to regain control of her heartbeat.   As the feminine voice called out for them to hurry Noyiah found her field of vision starting to Blur Around the Edges, if she didn’t get control of herself, she would faint at this rate.  Luckily Kazimir Said something, which she just obeyed without a second though, his suggestion might have been the only thing that kept her mind in the fight.  Instead of being able to say anything she would nod and take a deep but shaky breath in as she fought of her staggered breathing.

Tow hands  Latched the side of the boat, and Noyiah’s dagger Reflexively moved up  towards her shoulder as she readied a strike, but the Creature started to speak, and Noyiah hung on to each word as he spoke it, as something in the water wrapped around his legs and reefed the humanoid down into the depths Noyiah’s eyes Widened as panic started to set in.  her left hand shook and trebled from the fear of the depth as she watched the man disappear beyond her sight.  

Suddenly a Bell rang out,  as her hand slapped at it multiple times, remembering she had a way to sense  any creature,  but as the bell rang out she found no solace in the bells toll,  as it was an earth based magic and she was in the water the bell seemed to find nothing.   But the echo of its ring started to fight off the fear.  The chime continued ringing at a rhythmic timing which sounded like a soft lullaby.   The fear in Noyiah melted away slowly as she felt the comforting chimes.  the Bell Seemed to ring a different tone as something approached and she could feel this one despite not being rooted in the ground.   As it got within 25 feet, she could pinpoint where it was coming out from.  Noyiah would Point in a direction, the first bit of movement they could see  had fins, and appeared to be trying to escape.  Noyiah shifted I the boat to look from that direction as it approached she would hear a second chime right behind the first “  Quickly Come here! “ she would loudly command the female humanoid, getting ready to pull her from to the boat, even  if wasn’t in their best interest she was more worried about the creature that followed it.  And she didn’t want to see a repeat of the last person.  She started to reach over the side of the boat when noticed the dark patch of water behind the whitish  blur of the humanoid woman.   It gained on her quickly. “ shes not going to make it” Noyiah said quickly before she, without Regard for herself  Dove into the water towards them,  her dagger still clutched in her hand as she swam towards the woman, who in turn swam towards her. She was no longer operating under a plan, purely the instinct to help, a pure but foolish motive.

As she Rapidly swam through the water, the bell chimed still in its comforting Rhythmic lullaby, it seemed to push Noyiah’s fears away, but made her reckless.  After she reached the  woman she felt the tug of the creature  as the woman started to get yanked down,  but Noyiah fought hard and kicked her legs  counter the pull for the a short time. With them both Struggling against the creature it seemed to struggle to bring them both under. Suddenly it let go and the woman and Noyiah started towards the boat.    She could feel it leave her bells Radius   before  it seemed to circle back in a charge.   “ get in the boat” she demanded for the woman between breaths and gulps of air.   Noyiah watched as the woman swam effortlessly to the boat and pulled herself up the side,   Next was Noyiah  but as she reached the side of the boat  she felt a pain in her leg as something pieced into it and started to pull down,  her eyes winded  as she managed to grab the side of the boat.  The force was enough to start to pull her under as each of her fingers started to break free from the boat.

[WC 860]
[TWC 2030]

Item used at A Rank - Mana 1850/2050:

Kaz's back bumped against hers. He could feel her erratic breathing in her shoulders. He looked over his own shoulder and made a small turn to try and console her when it came. A creature emerged from the depths to face them and was just as quickly pulled back down. Before he could say anything she pulled out her bell and rang it. Once, twice, repeatedly as if to give herself some control and comfort in the situation. Her hands trembled in a way that he had never seen from her before. Something about this hit her harder than usual. He wanted to put his hand atop hers but she focused on the ringing bell.

"We can do this," he whispered to her just before her bell chimed and she pointed across the lake. Kaz barely caught a glimpse of the fin that dipped into the water and moved towards them. "Seems we are caught in the middle of something," he spoke aloud, thinking about the possible conflict between these beings.

Noyiah yelled out for the feminine creature to come to them. Kaz leaned over a bit and extended his hand, ready to help whenever it arrived. She was thinking with her heart. There was clearly something in need of help here just as much as they were. Noyiah reached over the side along with Kaz but quickly pointed out yet another creature. One giving chase.

The wind mage stood up straight, ready to cast a spell to give them more time. His hands moved in a circle that stopped mid-motion as Noyiah dove into the water. "NOYIAH" he yelled out at her brazen surge of heroism. A cold chill ran through him at the danger she had put herself in.

Kaz clapped his hands together to feel the vibration of all that was around him. He felt the ripples from Noyiah, the mermaid and the creature that gave chase. Kaz brought his arm back to cast a spell at what was chasing his ally when he stopped and turned. The wind still gathered around his fist. He felt a creature rushing to the surface. It leapt from the water with claws ready to strike. Kaz swung his hand sending a blast of wind ripping into the beast. He felt their presence coming more and more.

Another jumped out and he cast it aside, all the while Noyiah had broked free from her own battle and made it to the boat. Kaz sent a blade of wind at one more, cutting its arm off when the boat dipped as the mermaid pulled itself on board.

Whirling around he reached out to give Noyiah a hand and with his other hand, gave the mermaid a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Before his hand reached her, there was panic in her eyes. Her hands clung to the side of the boat, pulling at the wood.

Fury filled the wind mage's eyes as he dove over, Noyiah and into the depths of the water. He took a large gulp of air before his face hit the sea and his body was submerged. His sudden appearance startled the creature and he pulled its claw out of her leg.

A reptilian menace but Kaz didn't study it long before he took action. It was slow, but Kaz made a circle with his arms. The creature was faster. it darted between the mage's arms and dug a claw into his side. Luckily his think robes took most of the hit. The mage dashed backward with a current of air in the water, sending him under the boat. His spell motion complete he thrust his hands forward and two cones of wind sprung outward. Even in its natural environment, the blast was too fast for the creature. It engulfed him and sent him reeling. The second cone veered off striking another that had arrived.

The spells created small brief whirlpools in the water and Kaz reached out a hand to climb back into the boat. He slumped over wet onto the side and spit out water.

"well, that was something. Are you two alright?"

wc 650
Total wc 2300

His words would have been comforting if she had focused on them, but her deep-rooted fear of the waters depths was enough to distract her, reducing her from a rational person with a solid plan, to a bundle of nerves acting on instinct
~~~~
The Mermaid managed to get on board because of Noyiah’s distraction.  Once she did she flopped over to on side to try and help out as well,  and when Noyiah surfaced she attempted to grab her hand and help pull her on board,  but the snake like Creatures claw Pieced her leg and proved to be too much  for her to hold because of.

Noyiah started to sink into the depths, which sparked her fear as she kicked and swung her feet around wildly in attempted to break free from its hold.  Amongst the bubbles and spiraling water she noticed Kazimir had jumped in right around the same time the creature let go of her leg.   Noyiah wanted to help more but she was no use in the water and she knew that.    In a Moment of Clarity, she swam for the surface but an Odd noise caught her attention.  It was faint and sounded like it got faster and grew near. The bell continued to chime  even under water, but the ringing was indicating other presences, it was  calling to the earth and it sounded like the earth called back through a loud  Whale like Sound that rung out in Noyiah’s ears,  Though it likely wasn’t heard by anyone else without an affinity to earth magic.

After she got to the boat the mermaid helped her in as she coughed and hacked to get the water from her lungs.  Once she was able to control herself again, she moved to the edge of the boat and watched as Kazimir used his Magic to create a large current that sucked the creature away.  

It never seemed to matter what they got themselves into Kazimir could handle almost anything, and for the most part she found he often did,  she contributed very little to the fight, other than pulling him into harm’s way to protect her, which she would have done again if given the option, mostly because there wasn’t anything out there he couldn’t seem to handle, and it was the right thing to do.

As Kazimir made it to the boat both the mermaid and Noyiah would help him into the boat, he stayed knelt over, likely tired from the fight, and asked if they were alright. “  im okay, just a minor wound” she would look to the mermaid who seemed unharmed, though she would also answered  that she was fine.

“ thanks for coming in for me,   for a second I thought I might have been a goner.” She would say  rubbing his back softly.  The sound echoed out around her again as she listened and seemingly went on alert again, though her bell remained silent now.  “ what is that?” she asked looking about the water.   The mermaid would look around but then shrug as if she didn’t see anything.  If Kazimir questioned it she would shake her head and say it must have been from being in the water, the air pressure in her ears playing a trick on her.
After a few minutes of calm with no other incident  Noyiah would look back to the mermaid and ask “ so what now?, we were sent here to stop something from scaring away all the fish and attacking the fishing ships,  and I can assume your not doing these things and if you were, I would imagine an event like this would change that knowing it harms to the people who helped you.”  She said casual as she talked back and forth with the mermaid, who would tell them that it was the Reptilian creature that was scaring the fish away.  After a bit Noyiah would pick the paddle back up and pull the boat to a rock spire and let the mermaid off the boat.    She would Wave to them goodbye, though you could tell she was quite sad about the man of her species being dragged to the depths.  

It was something Noyiah pondered quite a bit, thinking about the noise she heard,  it sounded familiar  yet so odd. And the Mermaid, how she had just lost a potential loved one to a creature like that, what would have happened if her or Kazimir fell during todays mission.  Her face hid none of the thoughts as she seemed quite disturbed with the events that had transpired.  She kept her coat over herself like a blanket as she shook a bit from the thoughts she had,  her Nerves quite shot from the whole ordeal.

Nevertheless they started their way back to the Harbour, where she would look at the giant warship,  it was likely her choice next time. At least the boat hadn’t broke like Kazimir talked about at the start of their expedition.  “ ill go talk to the Quartermasters and let him know things are going to be fine, and then ill get me leg looked at by a Physician, but I think I need some time to process” she said softly, before pecking Kazimir on the cheek and heading into the Harbour to find their Informant. turning back to wave to kazimir and put on a fake smile
[EXIT]
[WC -888]
[TWC- 2918]

He was relieved when she said she was fine, his tension slumping down with him in the boat, "That's good. You really scared me there." He looked at the first mermaid he had ever seen and Noyiah seemed to have a good grasp on reaching out to the creature. He sat back as she led the way in discussing things with her. It seemed as though they were caught in a battle with the other creatures that had been fought off.

Kaz snapped his head around to see what Noyiah was talking about but couldn't see anything there. Turning back to her he said, "I don't see anything either." Noyiah seemed to dismiss it as nothing but Kaz could tell something had really rattled her this time.

Once they finished their talk, Kaz had the feeling that the fish would be returning to normal once more. All would be well again at last. Kaz followed her as the picked up the paddles and rowed back to the harbor. Another mission was complete and they were safe aside from some minor injuries. All the while Kaz kept glancing at her leg and pulled a bandage from his bag to quickly wrap it up in something temporary, "This will heal nicely. Just have to stop the bleeding."

As they rode he saw her shudder and the grim look on her face of concern. "Noyiah. Things are going to be okay. I promise. I'll always be by your side." He wanted to old her to make sure she was okay but she seemed distant and lost in her thoughts.

As they got to the peer. Noyiah stood up and spoke about what she wanted to do. He smiled at the peck on the cheek but was worried about her nonetheless. "I'm here if you want to talk about it," he said and touched her arm one last time before she strolled off. She looked back with a smile and after over a year of time together he could tell when she was faking one. She needed time to process and he'd knew she'd be okay.

WC 350
Total Wc:2650