Aramora

Chapter 32: Cursed With a Blessing

Warning: This chapter contains mention of sexual assault.

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It's maybe mid-day by the time they reach the bend that wraps around the eastern coast of the Ganil River, pouring out into the Orinas Sea from far below the walls of Balmoral. It may be day, but the storm has grown worse, leaving the sky grey and the sun blocked out as the rain continues to fall, rippling the surface of the water.

They've been successful in avoiding any attention from either Orc invaders or Dev'al Ordon soldiers. The barrier around Ecrin has yet to go up and the last thing they need is to be caught and end up getting dragged back to the Temple for deliberately going against the Grand Master's orders.

But even though they've remained unseen, Nisha still feels as though she is being watched. She checks the others to see if they may be feeling the same thing, but as far as she can tell, it's just her.

They make it to the other side of the bend, and as they approach they see as the ship comes into view. It looks rather old but still in surprisingly good condition. There's nothing all that special about it. As far as they can tell, it's a normal-ass pirate ship with a black skull-and-crossbones flag and everything. However, that doesn't mean it isn't a sight to behold for someone who has never seen a real pirate ship in person before.

Despite the gravity of the situation they're in, Nisha can't help but feel her heart leap a small bit as she takes in the sight, especially when she remembers that she is the one who gets to sail it.

Pyrea steps towards it and glances over at Nisha. "Well? Think you can manage it?" she asks.

Nisha eyes the ship and approaches it slowly, as if it's a beautiful creature in the wild that she feels almost timid being near it, afraid of accidentally scaring it off. She places her hand on the side of the ship and runs her palm over the wooden vessel, almost shivering in mere anticipation.

She looks it over carefully through eyes that will occasionally narrow and widen as she takes in the full sight and the small details. She nods to herself before she has to force herself to look away and glance back over her shoulder at the group.

"Give me a half-hour and I'll get it in working order. We'll set sail as soon as it's ready," she states and grabs onto a low-hanging rope, using it to climb up over the side and onto the deck to start getting to work.

Naomi watches her pull on ropes, climb the masts, reposition the angle of the sails and she feels a small burst of joy in her heart that brings a smile to her face.

She pulls her attention away from Nisha to see that the rest of the group has either sat down on the beach or have wandered along the bend to explore a bit while they wait. She notices Malachi make his way a bit further down the sandy bay that sits along the length of the massive Ganil River that separates the northern part of Aramora from the rest of the continent.

She decides to follow him and she sees that he has vanished into a small cave just off the coast. She enters it as well to see that it looks like someone had camped here at some point. There's a pile of burnt driftwood and shriveling beds of leaves. But something in particular catches Malachi's attention.

He kneels beside a stone wall of the cave and examines something. Naomi comes over and looks down at what he found, when she sees broken black, almost grey shards hiding within the sand.

She kneels as well and tilts her head curiously at the shards. "What is it?" she asks.

Malachi picks up one of the shards and turns it over in his hand a few times, letting the sand brush off so he can look the broken crystal over more clearly.