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The storms return, which gives them the freshwater they need, but are hell
to sail through for a ragtag group of non-sailors. They knew that there
would be skills which none of them possessed, but they didn’t think it could
be this. Regular domes aren’t big enough for these long-haul trips. Sailing
seemed like such an unlikely challenge. They figured they would be literally
separated from the rest of the hunters—as they indeed are—which would limit
the amount of space they had to work with under Treasure Hunting Dome. It
didn’t occur to them that they would end up in a place like this.
They’re making a lot of mistakes, but at least they’re not getting killed
for it. They just need to find land. Even if it’s not where they’re meant to
be, it would be nice to have a break from the water. Four days of this would
be hard on anyone, even genuine sailors.
They do manage to fish during lulls, which is where Elise shines since that
was one of her early skills. She has never fished in an ocean setting, but
it’s not too hard to adapt. While these creatures are fully organic and
edible, they are not real fish. They literally don’t have normal complex
brains. They were very simply programmed to swim pseudorandomly and react to
stimuli, such as each other and the light. It’s only the basics of cognitive
function. They don’t even feel hunger or pain. Hopefully not.
Minotaur and Miracle find even that almost too far past vegetarianism but
they’re too hungry for their pride, so they partake as well. One thing is
they’re not entirely sure it’s true in this case. That was Elise’s
experience, and how it works in most of the galaxy, but it’s entirely
plausible that these are regular fish. That would not be illegal, whether on
Castlebourne or in the stellar neighborhood. However, she doesn’t think they
are because they don’t fight the catch as hard as something which evolved to
survive would.
Finally, after the relentless struggle, they see something. It’s not land
that they can stand on, but they rise above the surface. Tall rocks, looking
almost like fingers, are scattered all over in their path. A fog rolls over
the water, but not so thick that they can’t see how eerie the obstacles are,
nor the means of avoiding them.
“It looks like we could go around,” Jolanda muses, looking at Minotaur.
Mino stands on the bulwark and holds themselves up via a rope. “That’s the
question. If this were a movie, there would be some contrived reason why the
characters have to go this way. That’s where the MacGuffin is. But the
audience would be screaming at them to not be stupid. So far, this hunt has
felt very movie-like. While the challenges have not been specific analogs to
any story we’re familiar with, at times, it does feel like we’re meant to
play into the tropes, rather than try to outsmart them.”
“Should we take another vote?” Jolanda offers. “Be safe, or follow a path?”
“I will warn you,” Minotaur goes on, “something bad will probably happen if
we go in there. We’ll shipwreck, or someone will fall overboard. These early
consequences are designed to show how high the stakes are, so the audience
feels something for the survivors. How much loss there is after that depends
on the subgenre and age targeting. I’m not saying we should vote against
that, but we still don’t know what we’re looking for, so the motivation to
go this way is a little bit lacking from my perspective.”
Their fearless leader stares at the horizon and at all the deadly, jagged
rocks. It does look like an obstacle course that the gamemakers expect them
to play straight. But the possibility that subverting those expectations
actually gets them what they need is a tempting offer. Elise can see the
debating raging in Rage’s eyes.
“What are ya thinkin’, boss?” Miracle didn’t seem like the type to defer to
anyone else, let alone another person with a strong personality, but since
she came back with a new face, she’s been a team player. She doesn’t have an
ego anymore. Elise almost wonders if it’s not really her. While researchers
tried in the early days of mind- transference development, they never
figured out how to prove identity when anyone can look like anyone. It’s a
risk you live with since the technology couldn’t be stopped.
“We came here for a goal,” Rage begins. “We each signed on not even knowing
what that goal was. Not only is it possible that that’s exactly where it’s
waiting, but if we take the safe route now, we’ll be defeating the entire
purpose. We decided to go north, let’s not head east or west now. I’ll hear
arguments against, but I don’t wanna vote.”
No one says anything. Colley doesn’t look like he agrees, but he’s also
missing Laise, which may be making it hard for Elise to read his facial
expressions.
They raise anchor once more while Zelda is climbing back up to her perch.
She continues to direct them as they begin to navigate the deadly rocks. To
the starboard side, Elise sees something moving in the fog. She moves over
and squints. At first, she sees several heads bobbing around each other
until she realizes that it’s a single monster with multiple heads in the
distance. She has heard of this before. Colley once spoke of the famous
story. She runs over to the port side where she sees the second monster, or
part of it, anyway. A dark mass is swimming in circles just under the
surface. Neither is making any attempt to attack the boat. For now, it
appears they chose right.
“What?” Jolanda questions. “What is it? Do you see something?”
Elise looks up to Zelda, who is regarding the underwater monster with her
spyglass. She lowers it and meets Elise’s eyes. Then she quietly returns to
her work.
“Nothing,” Elise replies to Jolanda. “It’s just beautiful here.” Why did she
choose not to tell anyone about it? What did it matter? If the monsters
aren’t going to attack, why not prove that this was the right call? Maybe
because they don’t know that yet, because straight ahead could end up much
worse. After all, those monsters look pretty casual for having missed a
meal. Or maybe she just liked keeping a secret with Zelda.
They continue sailing between the rocks. It isn’t easy, but they keep a
close eye on that water at their respective posts, and don’t ever run
aground. They go slowly so the fog never obscures something they can’t
avoid. Gradually, they realize that it’s lightening up, and they can see
better with each passing moment. Then comes the cave. The opening is more
than large enough for them to sail right on through, which means that is
exactly where they need to go, as scary as the darkness might look from out
here.
“What are we thinking?” Miracle asks. “Is there a monster waiting for us?”
“No, there’s no third monster,” Elise slips up and says.
“What do you mean?” Rage questions, a puzzled look on her face.
“Nothing,” Elise answers. “Steady on, or...whatever you’re meant to say.”
“Steady on!” Rage shouts up to Minotaur, who has been steering lately.
They enter the cave. It becomes so dark, they have to navigate with
lanterns. But then they see a glow up ahead. Is this it? It can’t be it.
Hrockas wouldn’t have offered to get them out if there were only two more
challenges ahead. It’s pretty significant, though. It’s a gargantuan pile of
treasure. Real, physical, golden treasure.
What a disappointment.
