Prince of Blood

4. A Rocky Descend

The mood had dropped to a bleak grimness. Although the oddity of Hongjoong's sudden reveal, nobody doubted his words for even a second. As soon as he had explained, all the previous struggles seemed to make too much sense for them to question it. If Liv had reached out her poisonous tendrils to this place, too, not only Yongguk's story finally added up, but also her intentions. She had wanted to lure them to this place, and this was where she would see it to an end.

Hongjoong assumed that this new memory had initially been a dream. He had dreamt about Liv sometimes during their journey, and it had always been weirdly detailed and informative dreams. She had always told him things that his brain would not have been able to fabricate itself, and her influence was showing.

She had led them here, knowing fully well that this was where their search for release from the curse would take them. They did not doubt anymore that she was here somewhere, watching them all the time.

"It makes a lot o' sense. Who knows what 'er part o' the deal entailed. 'er wanderin' around in this realm, trapped with the demons an' dark magic fits 'er well." Yunho had grimly looked out over the lake and towards the castle. His words had some of them nodding darkly, while Hongjoong just stared ahead blankly.

"Will we 'ave to kill 'er again? Or will that worsen things further?"

None of them had an answer for Wooyoung's question. It could have been anything, but Seonghwa suspected that the dark magic here would threaten their plans significantly with a witch as powerful as Liv around.

"It does nay matter. We will get rid o' 'er, once an' fer all. An' if it takes a little longer because o' that, so be it." Hongjoong's voice was stern and left no room for further questions. The crew silently waited for his call, all murmurs dying down. A while passed in uncomfortable blankness.

By the time that Hongjoong finally rose to his feet, Seonghwa had nearly lost himself in the view of the rocky hills that circled the still lake. It was weird, feeling the wind in his hair and yet not seeing the lake ripple the slightest. No fish had broken the body from underneath, and no outer forces disrupted the perfectly still surface.

Something told Seonghwa that they should not dare try to swim through that. While he saw nothing and the waters seemed pretty shallow, he got the feeling that there was something. Maybe not a monster, perhaps not hidden currents. Maybe it was just the water that would not let them go again once they dove in.

However, at Hongjoong's quiet command to move, Seonghwa ripped his eyes away from the ominous picture. He rose with the others to group around their captain.

"We will go in there an' play into 'er 'ands. If we see anybody, we will fight. It be either 'er or the umbras, or both. If we can end it all 'ere as we be speakin', that be jolly."

Worried, the crew nodded. When nobody spoke up to argue against this decision, Hongjoong took it upon himself to march down the edge of the crater first. The others followed with Seonghwa going last and keeping an eye on the crew.

The descend was interrupted by steep slopes and porous stones that broke away under their feet regularly. The crew kept their eyes and hands near each other at any times, everybody taking care of the person in front of them. Seonghwa found himself catching a stumbling Jongho multiple times. Their balance on the waves did nothing to help the current predicament.

It was not too cold in this world, but also not too hot. The temperatures were on the chilly side but not as bad that the pirates would fall sick. Still, Seonghwa found himself sweating profusely by the time they reached the lower level. The wild grasses led up until the very edge of the lake that they now approached.