Dear Reader, Getting a story out of Shrilynda is no easy task, but when presented with the opportunity, I couldn't turn it down. I think you'll agree with me the risk to life and limb was worth it. However, Shrilynda was adamant I retell the story t...
Getting a story out of Shrilynda is no easy task, but when presented with the opportunity, I couldn't turn it down. I think you'll agree with me the risk to life and limb was worth it. However, Shrilynda was adamant I retell the story the way it was told to me, which made things more than a little discombobulated. Since I was so excited to have access to the story at all (and to be able to leave with both my memories and limbs intact), I agreed to order it her way. I did label the parts for your sake, reader, although if you try to read in that order, you might be taking your life into your own hands. Shrilynda has ways of knowing these things. It's probably best for you to just try to make sense as you go along.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
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Part 6 of 7 - The Beginning of the End
Bubbles churned, obscuring the view through the portholes, but the light grew brighter as the submarine gurgled to the surface through the choppy water.
"Are we dead?" stuttered Esmona, gripping the crocodile-carved table with white-knuckled hands. Even her magenta-dyed hair seemed a shade paler than before.
She was being melodramatic, but with good reason. They had just been pulled across an ocean by a magical octopus of sorts. The pirate had insisted on coming, however, so the fault was her own.
Quita screeched angrily, pinging from one end of the submarine to the other, looking for a way to escape. Esmona managed to clamp down on the monkey when she leaped down in arm's reach. Partly due to the strange connection Esmona had with the beast and partly due to a bowl of chestnuts and mashed bananas, Esmona was able to pluck the runestone from the antsy monkey. Exhausted, the little thing fell asleep face first in the bowl. Her task was complete, so the obnoxious creature could go drown herself for all Shrilynda cared.
Just as things had almost settled, the submarine gave a lurch and a shudder. Shrilynda grabbed onto the edge of the bench herself to refrain from being pitched onto the floor. Massive purple arms slid past the circular windows.
"It's leaving?" Esmona's voice was strained. "How were you planning on getting back to Bayselle?"
Shrilynda hesitated. The last thing she needed was a panicked novice dark Sorceress stealing her way home. "I have ways of traveling," Shrilynda said vaguely.
"That I've seen," Esmona muttered. "Why didn't you use them to get here if you could have avoided all...that."
In her head, Esmona must have had a vision of pleasant, instantaneous travel. Unfortunately, finding a magical spot in the ocean required more extreme measures, such as hours of being hauled along in a sea creature's massive tentacles while it sped through the dark of the deep ocean. Shrilynda was probably even less excited than the touchy pirate about the cramped travel arrangements, but the discomfort was worth the potential reward.
