Amerigo sat in the darkness, unable to move. The cavern had completely filled with water, extending along back towards the refuge Amerigo didn`t know how far, and he was weighted down by rocks. Hook-Mouth and Net-Bound had detained him, laughing their vicious chuckles as they were avenged from events on the reef.

　　His light had gone out in the struggle, sealing his fate. Once submerged in darkness, he was at the mercy of the low-light-loving deep water merfolk. They had toyed with him, helpless and alone. Amerigo only did his best to protect his vitals in the blind fight. Their sadism taking a higher priority to outright murder, they wrapped him like leftovers and left him to stew in his injuries. Evidently, they had more pressing matters. They didn`t even bother to pick up his hat and put it back on his head.

　　As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he had seen the occasional forms slip past in the direction of the refuge. Mostly the serpentine forms of swimming merfolk, but then one huge thing, its wake tugging powerfully at Amerigo and his anchors. After that, he felt distant tremors coming from that way, too. He wondered if the two things were related.

　　Before too long, the merfolk returned. Amerigo could see in the gloom that one was carrying something.

　　What had looked at first like a complicated bag of potatoes turned out to be his friend, limp and lifeless.

　　Amerigo found his reason to struggle as the merfolk tied weights to the body, snickering at the bubbles coming from their victim.

　　He silently tested his restraints, desperate to get his friend above water again. As the merfolk left to leave again, one noticed the gnome wriggling and tapped his fellow. They watched gleefully as they connected the dots between the two helpless creatures.

　　Hook-mouth picked up Chicken and moved to place him next to Amerigo in a sign of mock compassion.

　　Chicken settled on the rocky cavern floor, falling from neutral buoyancy like a rag doll in slow motion.

　　The two merfolk hissed their hideous laughter once more and swam back to the refuge.

　　It was at that point that Fen had finished snipping through the handcuff knot, freeing Amerigo`s hands. Though his arms were still bound to his body, he could barely reach around to touch Chicken`s hand.

　　The moment he did, the unconscious kobold changed imperceptibly. He slackened. He began to inhale and exhale the salt water like air.

　　He was no longer drowning. Amerigo shared his gift with his friend.

　　Amerigo exhaled his own tense breath, and Fen crawled back into the ropes to start on the much thicker ropes binding Amerigo`s arms.

　　The two merfolk came back in much lower spirits. They were squabbling, though Amerigo couldn`t make out what they said in their bubbly speech.

　　Net-Bound spoke for a while, growing more animated, before Hook-Mouth reeled back and hit him on the side of the head. At a short command from Hook-Mouth, and a pause to rub at the injury, the two turned to their captors, each picking up one.

　　Amerigo prayed silently for Chicken to wake up. He didn`t know where the merfolk were taking him, but he knew it wasn`t anywhere good.

　　The two merfolk swam confidently and continuously through the cavern system all the way to the ocean. The one holding Amerigo kept adjusting his grip, causing Fen to move slightly to stay out of sight, hidden in the bindings.

　　If Chicken ever regained consciousness on the trip, he wasn`t showing it. Did the merfolk think he was carrying a dead body?

　　The tunnels were winding. At times, they were cavernous, and at others there was barely enough room for both merfolk to swim side by side. Amerigo didn`t know how long they had been travelling before the first stop, whereupon they each set down their charge.

　　They rested for several hours, refueling on whatever food they carried with them, which they carried in pouches that either adhered to their body, or were natural pockets in their skin.

　　Amerigo`s gaze fell again on his friend.

　　The blessing can`t last forever, a voice said sadly, just to Amerigo. He`ll eventually need to breathe air.

　　Nonetheless, he maneuvered closer to touch his friend again, renewing the gift.

　　During the rest period, Fen could also resume cutting Amerigo free. It was slow going, as crab claws are meant for guillotine grabs, not saw work. When travel began again, he hid deeper in Amerigo`s clothes.

　　Several times they stopped like this. Amerigo tried to time the stops and the travel, but without sunlight he couldn`t tell if the merfolk were inconsistent, or his own counting.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author`s consent. Report any sightings.

　　It was after either the fourth or fifth stop that they finally breached the caverns and were released into the open ocean.

　　The vaguely round sunlit circle grew as they neared the exit. It was a grey light. Not bright by surface standards, but blinding after the time in the caverns.

　　Immediately upon exiting, Amerigo watched as the one in front, the one carrying Chicken, was ambushed by a purple eight-pointed star.

　　The ambusher latched on his back, immediately shifting colors and textures wildly, wrapping its arms around its victim`s body.

　　The merfolk carrying Amerigo panicked and dropped him. He fell slowly through the water as his escort brought his weapon to bear with both hands.

　　The attacked merfolk swung his limbs wildly, giving a bubbly scream. As Amerigo looked down at his bonds to locate the weak point Fen created, the armed merfolk was debating how best to defend his partner without skewering him in the process.

　　After a few tugs, the ropes broke, freeing everything but his legs. The ocean felt good on his cramped body. He kicked like a dolphin and swam to assist his friend.

　　Chicken had been dropped, and the weights were pulling him down. The merfolk under attack was now trying to use both hands to pull his clingy attacker off of him.

　　A grey bullet sped from cover and slammed into the armed merfolk before speeding off. It brandished the spear in alarm before dropping the useless spear and using both hands to remove the sticky assassin.

　　Tentacles peeled off four by four, and eventually it was hurled away. As it jetted away, Amerigo recognized it as Orlith, the surly octopus whose stash yielded Fen`s pipe shell.

　　The gnome took up the dropped spear from below and brandished it at the two merfolk. Saethru, the grey bullet from before, coasted between the gnome and the merfolk.

　　Defeated again, Hook-Mouth and Net-Bound retreated.

　　When they were alone, Amerigo used the crude stone tool to cut the ropes from his legs and the weights from Chicken.

　　As he was considering how to administer to his friend, still unconscious and floating in the void of the ocean, a great shadow floated by. The keel of a ship headed west.

　　****

　　"Man overboard!" came the cry from the crow`s nest. "Starboard side!"

　　There had been no sign of other ships, wrecked or otherwise, but here was a body waving up at whoever was on the Hereafter, clinging to some kind of metallic flotsam.

　　Tweesly idly watched the extrication of the stranded person from the water and was as intrigued as anyone else to find the man wasn`t a full sized man, and the strangely metallic flotsam was some kind of lizard person dressed in rags.

　　Once on board, space was made for the tiny people, as the lizard seemed to be all drowned.

　　Everyone had turned out to see what the mysterious stragglers could be. The captain, sitting on the stairs that led to the helm, looked on in mild disinterest, while Gorestomp stood at ease above him, watching events as one would watch grass grow.

　　Tweesly spotted Cookie standing closest to the mess while still above decks, stirring something in the pot he held in the crook of his arm.

　　The halfling brothers had found themselves in front of the crowd, being too short to look on from over anyone else`s shoulders.

　　Tris, against all known laws of social convention, hovered slightly over the pair, looking intently at the unconscious one.

　　At a few subtle hand gestures by the tiny man in the beard, who Tweesly noticed was dressed in some kind of clothing made of seaweed, the lizard he was kneeling next to coughed up a load of sea water and sat bolt upright. The small man made some calming gestures as the lizard, clearly shaken, desperately made sense of the situation.

　　A nod from the captain initiated an announcement from Gorestomp.

　　"All unnecessary personnel are to stop being nosy and clear the deck at once."

　　Curiosity subdued the grumbling as the crowd returned to work as usual.

　　Before they could clear off, the captain lazily raised a finger, the rest of his body remaining still, at which point Gorestomp added, "We`ll be taking volunteers for housing the rescues. We need blankets, pillows, and something for them to sleep in."

　　Tweesly responded, not taking his eyes off the panicked forms. "We can bed them in Navigation, sir."

　　****

　　Less than an hour later, Tweesly had two of his desk drawers removed from his desk, emptied, and set on the floor of his room. They contained a feather pillow and homespun blanket each, and each also contained the now sleeping lizard and gnome that had been pulled from the drink. While preparing these beds, not once had he seen the gnome leave the kobold`s side. Not once, Tweesly realized, had he heard the gnome speak, either. Whatever these two had endured, it was enough to wear them out completely.

　　When the beds were made, Tweesly sat on his hammock less than a foot away and studied the pair in silence. There was something enchanting about the pair that he couldn`t put his finger on. He felt an indescribable connection to them.

　　Before he could pin it down, he heard his door creak open. The halflings appeared around the door, their eyes locating the mysterious pair and, with exaggerated care, stalked inside.

　　"Any news from them?" James asked.

　　"No. They went straight to sleep."

　　"Any guesses what it was?" the halfling asked in the voice of someone with several gold pieces on the line. Tweesly gave him a look causing him to backpedal. "Fair. They`re lucky to be alive, I suppose. They can rest until they`re ready."

　　"Could be a good omen, o`course," his brother said. "Look at those scales. Might bring us good fortune."

　　Trevor watched the light play on the lizard`s scales as its chest moved in the breathing of its sleep. It wasn`t shiny enough to cast reflections on the wall, but it looked to Trevor like flowing gold.

　　He dropped his hands to his thighs and stood up.

　　"It`s our last night this far out East, but we aren`t getting home unless I finish my navigation report." He spoke quietly, as to not disturb the sleepers.

　　James and Yggril pushed back out of the room, taking the hint. Trevor walked to the book case and unlatched the swinging arm, freeing the books, which nonetheless took no notice. He coaxed a few out and into his arms before detaining again those that remained.

　　"You`ll let me know when they start talking?" James asked timidly.

　　Trevor put the books down on the desk and, nodding in affirmation, hurried the halfling out and shut the door.

　　He sat down at his desk and spread out a scratch sheet, opening one of the tomes. He plucked a quill and uncapped his ink well with a pop, deftly dipping his pen inside.

　　He took one more look at the two figures in the drawers of his disemboweled desk. He wondered how far from home they were, and how much further the Hereafter would be taking them.

　　Trevor began his opening notes for the navigation of the Hereafter.