Forsaken Blood [Weekly Updates]

Thirty one (I)

Captain Alexander lightly chuckled and lead Jimmy towards the small boat. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at them, a silent plea to be careful.

"Our very lives depend on it?" Graham asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rochelle shrugged and started towards the colourful treeline, "it very well could, you know? And besides Jimmy seems happy and that's what counts."

"Well I think you handled that wonderfully, Rochelle." Ford put in.

They all paused as they reached the edge of the forest and looked into the gloom and mist that shrouded the paths ahead.

"I think this is a bad idea." Graham mumbled.

"Well if you're scared you can stay back with the boat. I'm sure Ford and I can take om Eldritch by ourselves." Rochelle couldn't help the teasing remark especially since she knew exactly how Graham would respond.

And just as she expected, Graham huffed and stormed on before them into the silent darkness of the forest.

Rochelle took one last look back at the sparkling water and the soft sand before she followed after Graham and took her first step into the unknown wilderness of Caim.

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"Not here again..." Rochelle groaned rubbing her tired eyes as they emerged into the exact same clearing for the third time. No matter how far or in what direction they walked they always seemed to tumble out at the same place.

"The forest wants us to be here." Ford said as he untangled a fluorescent vine from his uniform.

Rochelle looked around at the treeline that encircled an outcrop of smooth rocks overlooking one of the gurgling streams. The rush of water was the only sound to be heard for miles around.

"But why? We've scoured this area but there doesn't seem to be anything important here." Graham grumbled shaking off some of the puce coloured leaves that stuck to his hair. The brilliant colours all around them were distracting but the only thing remotely familiar was the sparkling blue stream.

"Maybe we've been looking at it wrong." Rochelle mused aloud, her mind going back to a story Jimmy had told her on the ship. The water was the only thing that made any sound on the island, maybe it was a sign.

"Ford," Rochelle strode forward until she stood at the very edge of the fast flowing stream that surged towards the sea, "do mermaids really exist?"

The captain's brows furrowed as he joined her on the rocky bank, "I've met a few and...

Ford's eyes instantly brightened and he brought a finger to his lips to keep them quiet while he squatted down closer to the water, "...they are the most enchanting creatures I have ever laid eyes upon."

A glint in the water near the bend in the stream caught her eyes and Rochelle tried to keep the excitement from her voice as she asked, "truly? I've also heard that they are very helpful."

She had heard nothing of the sort. In fact from Jimmy's story she had learned that mermaids were particularly unhelpful and liked talking in riddles just to seem mysterious. But the one thing Jimmy had stressed upon was the merefolk's vanity. It had saved Ford and his crew on Valtura and it might get them to Eldritch on Caim.

"Yes, you have heard right!" Ford continued the charade, "I would still be stranded on Valtura if it wasn't for the benevolence of the mermaids!"

Not a complete lie but he didn't mention the fact that he had held their queen hostage in exchange for a means to escape. In response to his declaration Rochelle could've sworn the stream sparkled as if the Sun reflected off more than just the water.