[Freezair]

It had been a devil of a day.

It had seemed so inconspicuous to start. Ailbhe and Ciara were heading out on an oceanic adventure, ready to look for the leviathan that had felled a ship out in the Nodia Sea. They could fly, so it wasn't like they were in that much danger, right? But the dark tentacles that had lashed out of the sea did not agree. And they had found themselves dragged into the briny deep, down into a mysterious sea beneath the waves, where stalked invisible creatures that preyed on the minds of Evelonians.

But they had a newfound ally: A Trumpetter who claimed to be one of these Abyssal Ones, at least in part. Now he lead them through the streets, warded against mental incursion (or so he claimed), seeking the other sailors who had been dragged down with them.

[Freezair]

Ailbhe sniffed the air as they moved. "Hey. Yuh smell that?" she asked. There was indeed a strange smell in the air--something like the smell of the sea, mixed with rotting fruit and burning metal. And the tangy, musky smell of a sweaty human.

"Look!" Ciara dove down slightly to point. "It's that guy from the boat! Calvin!"

And indeed it was. In the canyon between two tall buildings, the human sailor known as Calvin spun back and forth, brandishing a knife and gritting his teeth.

[Freezair]

He looked as if he were fighting off an onslaught, though of course, nothing could be seen by looking directly at him.

Rory looked appropriately shocked, however. "There's no doubt about it! He can see them! Yet instead of being consumed by fright, he fights with all his might! Quickly! Let's go aid him!"

The Trumpetter took a deep breath. A strange, mournful sound began to issue forth from the holes in his tail-shell. It was low and sad, but Ailbhe and Ciara felt their hearts grow calm at the sound of it. It was a wholesome sadness, like that of the winter solstice or the fall of the last flower petal.

[Freezair]

Calvin whipped his head around in shock, then craned upward to follow the sound. "Hey! It's the two Kitrells!" he called. "Who's that guy with you? Did they make that sound? The things went running as soon as they heard!"

"No time to explain," Ciara said as they flew down to him. "Well, some time. But we're looking for everyone who got pulled down. This guy can help us escape, but we want to make sure we get everyone out."

"If we even can," Calvin grumbled. "This place is crawling with those little bastards."

[Freezair]

"Believe me when I say they mean you no harm, though they have the power to cause it," Rory said.  "The longer you stay, the more harm they may do to you. Come with us! We will ward the way."

Calvin put his hands on his hips. "How do you know this stuff?" He stared for a moment before shaking his head. "Never mind. I'll take all the help I can get."

"Let's try to hurry back to the docks," Ciara said. "Better to wait there, I think."

[Freezair]

They took off, with Rory leading the way.

He continued to make his soothing drone as they traveled. Ciara turned to him in curiosity. "Why d'yuh keep doin' that? Yuh weren't doin' it before."

"It's true. However, your friend Calvin can see them. For his peace of mind, I'm keeping them further at bay then I needed to with you."

Ciara didn't believe that there was anything so scary you'd die of fright just by looking at it. However, she knew how terrifying it could be to face impossible odds. How many creatures were there around them, then, that Rory had to force them away?

[Freezair]

When they reached the docks, however, not all was well.

Only two people remained, lying cowering on the ground; they were coiled up around themselves, covering their ears while tears streamed from their eyes. One whimpered softly. But they were all that were left; the others who had originally wanted to stay had apparently decided they didn't want to stay that badly.

Rory cursed softly. "More to track down," he said. "Can you two go searching? I need to stay here and attend to the humans."

[Freezair]

Rory sung a soft ward over the flinching people. A thin bubble of sound seemed to descend around them. Slowly, the people within began to uncoil. Ailbhe and Ciara stayed long enough to watch, then flew off looking for the others.

Ailbhe's ears picked up a high, shrill sound that did not sound like Rory, and Ciara's eyes followed along until they spotted it. Someone had unwisely tried to crawl inside the windows of the buildings. Two someones. Now, they were screaming, gripped in the throes of agonizing hallucinations.

[Freezair]

As they neared, they felt the twinges of madness. This was a different color--this was the horrifying pink of vomit blurring their eyes, along with a stomach-churning metallic noise. They quickly backed away and called out for Rory.

"Quickly! Ovuh here! We found summore of the sailors!"

Rory's tail whipped around with a whistle. "I built a bubble over those two over there. Stay within! I'm not great at casting mobile wards on people other than myself. I don't want you getting paralyzed with fear on me." With that, he hurried off to rescue them.

[Freezair]

"There were still two more who stayed behind," Ailbhe said to her sister. "An' we don't know where the other two went--the Evren and the Dalma. Hilda and somebody. I know he said to wait, but do yuh think we oughta go lookin'...?"

"It's too dangerous tuh go lookin' without Rory," Ciara said with a shake of her head. "Who knows what might happen if we get ambushed by the Abyssal Ones. We could get paralyzed with fear! Or even go crazy!"

"I know," Ailbhe said. "But jus' thinkin' about the othuhs wanderin' around out there..."

She was suddenly cut off by the loudest noise she'd ever heard.

[Freezair]

It was like rocks falling down a mountain. It was like a metal door the size of an airplane opening. It was like a thousand Leebras roaring in sync. And it seemed to come from everywhere at once--every opening in the city screamed, the bubble overhead vibrated, and everyone fell to cover their ears.

Then the center of the city began to rise.

The very buildings themselves lifted from the ground. Fissures opened up in the streets of the city, and different parts of it rose skyward. But there was a vague order to it--two great lines of structures rose parallel in one place, two more perpendicular to those sprouted up below, and on top, a vast cluster of shapes.

Almost like the body of some titanic creature.

[Freezair]

"Ooooh, shi--"

An abrupt tug at her tail cut Ailbhe off. It was Rory, pulling her back. "We've got to get moving!" he shouted. "My mother always suspected, but now... gah! There's no time!"

"What about the others?" Ciara shouted. "We still need to find them!"

"I can stay behind," Rory shouted. "Let me at least get you out of here!"

Ailbhe and Ciara both gave him a steely glare.

"...Oh, fine," he said. "I can't guarantee your safety, though. Let me at least get the rest out of here!"

[Hunt Complete]