We left off Chapter 1 with Namaari chasing down Raya and Sisu, who had just acquired a mysterious living mummy. After escaping into the water, they weren't out of danger yet, and Raya could see a boat they could use.
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Raya, Tuk-Tuk, and Sisu climb onto the ship, making it rock heavily.
RAYA : "Hello?! Is anybody here?"
A young boy quickly pops up behind Raya and Sisu, shoves chairs under them, throws a pop-up table in front of them, and slides up with a napkin over his fore-arm.
BOUN : "Welcome to the world-famous Shrimporium! My name is Boun, and I'll be your server today. Would you like to hear our daily specials?"
SISU : "Yes please!" She says with enthusiasm
BOUN : "We got shrimp. We got congee. We got a shrimp congee that won't quit"
RAYA : "The captain! Where is the captain?!" She asks desperately
BOUN : "Lemme go get him"
He walks away slightly, adjusts his hair, then spins around.
BOUN : "What's up, my new customers, I'm Captain Boun, the owner, chef, and Chief Financial Officer of the Shrimporium. How can I help you?" He was with a confident smile
SISU : "Well, I'm Sisu and -
Raya looks over the side of the ship, and sees the Serlots sprinting full tilt towards them.
RAYA : "And we need to get to Talon! NOW!"
BOUN : "I'm sorry, the Shrimporium is not a water taxi"
Raya holds out a handful of jade coins in front of Boun, who looks shocked.
BOUN : "Toi! That's a lotta jade!"
RAYA : "Half now, half when we arrive in Talon. Deal?"
He grabs the jade.
BOUN : "Clasp onto your congee, today's special is-- To-go!"
With a great flourish, Boun pushes the boat away with a long pole. But it floats away at a snail's pace. Raya sees Namaari and her Serlots in the distance, approaching fast.
RAYA : "Umm..... Captain Boun? Does this thing go any faster?"
BOUN : "Whoa, you didn't tell me Fang was after you! This is gonna cost you extra!" He shouts, seeing the fast-approaching riders.
SISU : "Don't worry, I got it!" She leaps into the water and transforms back into a dragon.
BOUN : "What is she doing?" He asks confused
Sisu grabs the bottom of the boat and starts kicking her legs and paddling her tail. The boat starts moving down the river at a steady speed.
BOUN : "WOAH!! What is happening?!!"
RAYA : "Uhhh.... My friend's a really strong swimmer?"
Namaari and her Serlots reach the riverbank. They watch as the boat motors away.
RAYA : "Bye bye, Binturi!" She calls out mockingly.
Namaari seethes in anger.
FANG OFFICER : "Princess Namaari. If they're after gem pieces, their next stop should be Talon. We can catch them there!"
NAMAARI : "We're not following them to Talon. We're going back to Fang. I need to speak with my mother, Chief Virana!"
The shrimp boat steadily floats down the murky waters of the Kumandran River. Sisu meanwhile enjoys swimming alongside the ship. She dives deep into the water and effortlessly glides around the fish and vegetation in the riverbed, basking in what she's missed out on for the past few centuries.
Raya leans over the side of the boat, panicking that Sisu has disappeared below the water's surface.
RAYA : "Sisu? Sisu??" She calls out in a whispered tone
Sisu resurfaces.
SISU : "Ahhhh....." She says, satisfied
RAYA : "Please! Get out of the water!"
SISU : "Uhhh..... I'm a water dragon. This is water. It's sorta my thing you know?....... You wanna come in?"
RAYA : "Someone could see you" She whispers worriedly
SISU : "Oh? Do you mean "Captain Pop and Lock" over there?..... What, you scared he's gonna challenge me to a dance battle?"
They look over at Boun as he bangs on some pots and pans, making a beat. Raya awkwardly dances to cover her talking to Sisu off the side of the ship.
RAYA : "Sisu, I saw people lose their minds over a dragon gem. Can you imagine what they'd do over an actual dragon?....... Look, we need you to make this all work. Until we have all the gems, you have to stay human. Please!" She begs
SISU : "Wow, you've got some trust issues"
RAYA : "Look, my father blindly trusted people and now he's a statue.
Sisu jumps onto the boat as a human.
SISU : "Hey. It's okay. We'll get your ba back. I got you, girl. Come on. Who's your dragon? I mean human. Because I'm gonna be human until - yeah, you get it"
Bowls suddenly slide onto the table.
BOUN : "Okay, who's hungry?"
SISU : "Ooo, I am!!" She claps excitedly
Boun ladles congee into two bowls.
BOUN : "Two house specials!! How spicy would you like it? Hot, hotter, or Boun-goes-the-dynamite?!" He says while spinning a bottle of hot sauce in his hand
SISU : "Bring on the heat!" She says with gusto
RAYA: "Yeah, no, no..... I don't think so"
SISU : "What are you doing?" Sisu asks confused
RAYA : "We don't know him, it could be poisoned!" She whispers to Sisu
SISU : "Why would he poison us?!" She says loudly
BOUN : "Yeah, why would I poison you??" He says, offended
RAYA : "First, to get my jade purse. Second, to steal my sword. And third..... Uh, I don't know... to kidnap my Tuk-Tuk!"
BOUN : "All good points, but if this is poison..... *slurps congee* You're gonna die happy!"
RAYA : "Yeah, thanks but, we've got our own eats"
Raya takes out her own jackfruit jerky and rips a piece off with her teeth. It's hard, chewy, not very good. Raya hands some to Sisu but finds her already shoveling down the congee.
SISU : "This is delicious! By the way. Not. Poison!....... But.... It's hot...... OH, IT'S REALLY HOT! Water! Boun? Captain Boun? We need water on deck!!" She coughs heavily
He brings her some water to calm her down, smiling at her reaction.
While she gulps down some water, an odd noise catches everyone's attention. They all look at Tuk-Tuk, who looks back at them confused. But it wasn't him that caught their attention.
It was a blanket that rose on his back, and the human shape beneath. The blanket slides off, revealing the mummified man.
BOUN : "AHHH WOAH!!! WHAT!?! You guys have a living MUMMY?!?" He shouts in fear
Raya unsheathes her sword and stands up quickly while Sisu looks at him, bursting with curiosity.
BOUN : "Fang is after you, and you also have a freaky mummy-man!! This is getting to be too much!"
RAYA : "I kinda forgot about this guy for a moment....."
The mummy slides off of Tuk-Tuk, hitting the deck with a crunchy thud. Everyone watches its every movement. It was clutching the thick blue book tightly in one hand.
Slowly, it climbs to its withered legs and takes a wobbly step forward. Everyone except Sisu shuffles back, away from it. Raya readies her sword to strike it down, but Sisu grabs her shoulder.
SISU : "Wait...."
The mummy shuffles toward them slowly, everyone gets more and more on edge. But it surprises them by stopping just in front of Sisu. Its off-putting crimson eyes endlessly watched only Sisu. It was hard to tell what it was going to do next, but they didn't expect what it did do.
SISU : "Hey there my name is-
???? : "Si...su" He says in a crunchy old voice
Reaching a limp hand up, it looked like it was going to touch Sisu's hair, but then stopped, as it coughed up some dry sand into its hand. It turns its attention to the river that they were floating on.
Taking one shaky step towards the edge, it stumbles forward and falls over the side of the boat. Landing in the water with a loud splash, it disappears quickly. Everyone rushes over to the side, looking to see where the thing disappeared too. A great whup travels through the water, causing an odd feeling to course through Sisu.
BOUN : "What in Kumandra was that!!" He exclaims loudly
RAYA : "Me and Sisu picked it up in some ancient ruin..... We think it's somehow involved with dragons..."
They watch, but nothing surfaces.
SISU : "I'm going to get him!"
RAYA : "Wait No!! It's proba-
Raya doesn't get to finish, before Sisu has already dived into the water, disappearing after the mummy. Raya facepalms.
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Sisu swims around quickly, switching to her dragon form for speed. Weaving between the many strands of underwater plants, she casts her gaze everywhere she can. Suddenly, she feels a strange pull, like the underwater current has shifted....... And a strange song was playing in her ears, sounding strangely wavy.
🎵The Light She brings - Joep Beving🎵
She quickly finds the source of this strange effect. The mummy, or what was once the mummy. He no longer looks dried up. Now his entire body looks rejuvenated. Tanned skin, and a very well-toned shirtless body. He was still holding his blue book.
Sisu couldn't help but be shocked at his transformation. Especially with the beautiful music radiating from him. Looking at him caused a distant memory to tickle her brain, but she couldn't seem to remember what it was.
His body hangs limply at the riverbed, a small stream of bubbles escaping his lips, bringing Sisu back to attention. Swimming quickly, she scoops and pushes him towards the surface. Almost forgetting to switch back to human form, she does so just before she reaches the surface.
Breaching the water next to the boat, Sisu shouts to get Raya's attention. Together, they pull them both on board.
BOUN : "WOAH!! I know water is healthy, but this is stretching it!"
Everyone looks at the newly fully reformed man. His long black hair braids dripped water onto the deck.
BOUN : "Wait! Is he not breathing? Shouldn't he be breathing..... I think? Do mummies breathe?!"
SISU : "Step back! I know this!"
She starts pumping his chest before blowing air into his lungs through his mouth. Raya places a hand over Boun's eyes to cover the scene. After several repeats, he shudders and coughs up several lungfuls of water onto the ship's deck.
Coughing and hacking, everyone backs away from him, giving him some room.
Coughing one last time, he suddenly freezes. His head then snaps to look at everyone, his bright crimson eyes scanning their faces. The change was so sudden that it made everyone freeze. His gaze rests on Sisu for a while, so intense that she can practically feel it on her skin.
???? : "Thank you for rescuing me" His voice was strikingly strong, yet light, like his voice carried tangible weight. Nothing like the dry crunching it was before.
It caused a shiver to go down Sisu's spine, and probably Raya's too.
SISU : "Y-Your welcome!" She says with a smile
SISU : "I uhh.... I'm sorry about your book" She says hesitantly
???? : "It's fine.... Water will not harm this book" He says, picking it up. True to his word, it looked totally untouched by the water.
Everyone stares at the man, unsure of what to do or say. He stands up slowly.
RAYA : "Woah!" She covers Boun's eyes again
RAYA : "I have some spare pants that you can use..... They might be a little tight, but you need them"
He looked down at his rapidly deteriorating pants and nodded.
???? : "Thank you... I guess my pants got old" He said again
Fixing his new clothing, just pants, as no shirt of Raya's would ever fit over his frame. Picking up a spare blanket, he threw it around him like a cloak and sat down at the far back of the boat. holding his book in his lap.
Just a flashing glance from him got everyone to relax the breath they had been holding. Sisu walks over to sit beside him. Boun goes off to do his own thing, and Raya watches them from a distance. Her hand stuck to her sword grip.
SISU : "Sooo..... How ya feeling?"
He looks at her for a few moments with a blank look. Then a happy smile puts her at ease.
???? : "I'm doing well enough, thank you for asking... And thank you for saving me from drowning once again"
SISU : "Oh of course! I'm happy to help-- Wait..... What you do mean again?"
He just laughs and puts his hand on her head, tousling her hair. She looks at him, squinting hard in thought. But she just shrugs her shoulders and smiles happily.
SISU : "So, What's your name?"
???? : "My name?.... I don't... remember..... It's been a very long time" He says with a sad voice, looking out over the water.
SISU : "Heyyy... It's alright big guy, I'm sure you will remember it soon"
Sisu pats his arm to comfort him, while Raya walks up with her own questions to ask.
RAYA : "So.... Why did you get locked away? Why were you left with a spear piercing you?... And better yet, how are you still alive?!"
Sisu looks at Raya worried, before looking back at the mysterious man, curious for his answer. Boun walks over, curious to hear his answer too. He looks at every one of them before answering plainly.
???? : "I fell in love"
His answer took everyone by surprise.
RAYA : "You..... Fell in love??.... With who!?! Who would you have to fall in love with to deserve that?.... That doesn't make sense to me... I think you're lying, what actually happened!?"
He sat quiet for a few moments, before looking at her with a heartbreakingly sad smile.
???? : "I fell in love... with a dragon"
Silence and shock covered the boat at his answer. Most of all Sisu, who was having trouble deciding on which emotion she should show. Whether happiness or shock.
RAYA : "A-A Dragon?!... Your saying.... That you... Fell in love.... with a dragon?" She said, disbelief in her voice
BOUN : "WOAH!! Really?? Just how old are you? The dragons have been all turned to stone, like.... Five hundred years ago!"
The man jumped up at this, you could tell he was worried and shocked. Before settling back down in his seat, looking depressed.
???? : "Five hundred years...." He said in a soft voice
SISU : "H-Hey.... Listen... It's going to be alright.... I'm sure you can see her again.... I think?.... Uhhh, well, the point is, me and my best pal Raya are going to collect all the dragon gem pieces!"
???? : "Dragon gem pieces?" He asks confused
SISU : "Yeah! So we can boom the druun away!" She says happily
His eyes widen in shock, and he stands up.
???? : "Druun!?! The Druun are here!?!! WHERE!! What!? How!!" He shouted, looking crazy-eyed and hyperventilating
A long ancient spear, the same one that Raya and Sisu pulled from his body, suddenly appeared in his hand like magic. It seemed to make a heavy and deadly hum as it moved through the air.
SISU : "Woah woah woah!! Calm down, big buddy!..... We're safe on the river.... They can't get us here!"
They just realized how tall he was, now that he stood at full attention. He was a head and a half taller than Raya.
RAYA : "Just what do you know about the druun?!" She asks, filled with suspicion. She was close to drawing her sword.
He looks down at her.
???? : "You want to know the whole story?"
???? : "I wasn't just cursed for my love.... I was cursed to walk the Abyss.... Cursed to fight in a dark foreign place that no living soul should ever want to be. Many twisted evil things call that place home..... The druun is one such creature.... I was forced to fight these creatures in thousands upon thousands of battles, over and over"
???? : "I couldn't lose... I could barely remember why it was so important.... It would have been so simple to just give up and die or lose my mind like other souls that ended up there.... But I didn't... Because I had someone that I loved so dearly, that I would suffer in darkness for half a millennium!"
???? : "I was cursed to suffer.... and It wasn't for any other reason than that I was treated with Fear" The last words dripped from his mouth like poison
He shivered, and sat down, seeming to shrink in size. The spear that he summoned, disappeared just as quickly somehow.
???? : "I-I'm not trying to scare you.... or deceive you.... I-I just...... I need some time to recover.... I am sorry..." As he talked, he coughed up a small amount of dry sand onto the boat deck.
Curling up on the bench, he hides his face in the blanket and holds his book close to his chest. Everyone just looks at him shocked. They all knew there was probably more to the story, but after seeing and hearing how traumatized he was, they thought it best to leave him alone.
SISU : "You are not alone..... you have us" She says to the man, but gets no response except a quick look.
Everyone awkwardly shuffles away. Boun went back to guiding the boat with his pole and Raya went to check on Tuk-Tuk. Sisu walked away to the other side of the boat.
Time passes in silence and the sun sets, casting the land in a blanket of darkness.
Raya stares at the purple glow and movement of druun ominously sweeping through the trees on the shoreline. Tuk-Tuk's visibly shaking from seeing them, Raya pets his head to calm him down.
RAYA : "I know buddy, it will be okay"
BOUN : "You know, during the day, you can almost forget they're here, but at night.... This is why I never leave the boat"
RAYA : "You're a smart kid"
BOUN : "What are druun anyways?" He asks, hoping it isn't too sensitive to set off the huddling man in the corner.
SISU : "A plague born from human discord.... they've always been here.... Waiting for a moment of weakness to attack. They're like the opposite of dragons... Instead of bringing water and life to the world, they're like a relentless fire that consumes everything in its wake until there's nothing left except ash and sand"
BOUN : "They took my family"
Sisu takes flowers, walks to the edge of the boat, and drops four flowers into the river.
SISU : "They took mine too...."
Boun joins Sisu, takes some flowers, and does the same. Raya walks over and casts one single flower into the river for her dad. It's a solemn yet unifying moment.
Nearby lights from Talon catches Boun's attention.
BOUN : "Looks like we're here!... Sooo..... Where are you guys headed after Talon? I might be headed there too" He says, sounding hopeful
........TO BE CONTINUED!!!!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>