What is it you really want, a Soulmate or just a Perfect Warrior?

Where we finally get to hear (bits of details about) the Prophecy, and get to encounter an even bigger boat... underground

~~~~~~

...Volunteering to pull the boat for an hour wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Really, really far from the stupidest mind you, but still not very smart.

“Are you feeling all right Alice, you look like you’re flagging a bit.”

“Tired, divn’t get enough kip last night Laya, not much longer on our turn though, right?”

“Feels like we’ve done about an hour. And ‘Laya’?”

“Well Aerie and Allie sound way to similar to be practical once all the fighting that we’re clearly ganna have starts up and-“

“~Let the bodies hit the floor, Let the bodies hit the floor, Let the bodies hit the floor, Let the bodies hit the *tish~tish* FLOOOOORRR!~”

“What, in the name of all the gods, is that noise?”

“That el-tee, is the alarm on my magic noise box I done set when we started towing. So that’s an hour for us, time to wake the boys and let them have their turn.” At my suggestion, the other two marines each lean over, scoop up a double handful of water, and dump them over Häming and Iason's heads.

“Man Overboard!” – Iason

“What are you idiots playing at!” - Häming

~~~~~~

It takes us nearly five minutes to get them calmed down, everyone switched places and us moving again, and another five for me to get and eat some actual food... Okay, so its meat that’s so well done it feels like chewing leather (and that’s not a happy memory), but I think I need something other than sugar in me, starting to get a little loopy.

Everyone’s awake, and seems aware of things, time to get some smegging answers. Phone (that has no signal), iPod and Tablet set up to get everyone on video, right, let’s do this; “So, can someone tell me what this prophecy thing is all about? If it’s why I’m here, I should probably know a little about it. I mean obviously not the bits that knowing would prevent me fulfilling it, but the rest?”

“Yes, you probably should.  A lot of it is identifiers, which will be handled back at court, the actual prophecy parts are focused on a single event, a turning point in the current... conflict.” Häming is avoiding looking back as he speaks... knows more than he’s letting on?

“That’s all well and good, but then raises the further question; what the smeg is the ‘current conflict’? In case you divn’t notice, I ain’t from around here.”

“There is a cabal of Necromancers, Dark Sorcerers, Liches and others of similar persuasions, currently conquering the various petty kingdoms on the west side of the Altanth Ridge, most significantly, all the ones with good troop landing sites on the Western Vinder River, meaning it is incredibly difficult to help the few still independent ones.” It comes out in a bland monotone, as if Aerilaya is channelling a BBC newsreader.

“Oh... I think I’d like to go back to not knowing please...” And that’s without knowing how bad it is geographically... I need a map... and maybe a history book.

“If you are the subject of the prophecy, you won’t have to fight all of them, just a specific battle, that will supposedly weaken them in some way, so that they can be beaten in a conventional war.” Tiny bit of warmth in her voice... still a bit unsettling though, especially with how warm and silky her voice was before this.

“That’s not very reassuring... and I guess asking any specifics would be refused because you aren’t sure what I’m supposed to know or not?”

“That, and that there’s things you need to know that Iason can’t if things are to work, and also that saying something wrong might make things worse, it has happened before.” Hmm, getting a bit of a feeling like Häming is the real leader here, sound like he knows way more about what is going on than everyone else...

*BLLLLAAAARRRRPPP*

“As fun as this conversation is, could you leave it until we are back at the ship, it’s only a mile till the water is deep enough to use the motor, and I suspect the Comm...” Whatever the lieutenant was saying is drowned out by the sound of cannon fire. “Correction, the Commander is getting angry.”

At the cannon fire, everyone else got nervous, which killed the conversation (that the constant sound of air horns and cannons made conversation impractical didn’t help either). Iason and Häming speed up a bit, the rest of us keeping quiet except to point out obstructions in the way... well the others did, I took advantage of some passenger time to listen to some music and type out as much as I can remember about everything that’s going on and all my earlier hypotheses so I don’t forget any of it.

~~~~~~

Once we reach the channels where it’s safe to use the Outboard, our pace goes from lethargic all the way to plaid... or at least it feels like it. After a while the cannon fire drops away, and we just here the blarps of the air horn.  The light is getting brighter, but it’s not a natural daylight light, more a sort of icy blue/grey aura, lighting up the tunnel from the distant end, and also from this glowing moss like stuff that has started appearing on the walls.

Then, without any warning, we blast out of the reasonably sized tunnel we are in (about the size you’d expect for an under river road tunnel), into what has to be the main channel. It is MASSIVE, like smegging huge! The sides are so wide and the roof so high and the water so deep an entire American Carrier Group could get through here... side-by-side. The walls and roof and the sides underwater are all completely covered in the same moss stuff from the little tunnel and these crystal growths mixed right in amongst it, taking the glow from the moss and turning it into a rainbow of light.

And sat in the middle of the channel, about five hundred yards downstream of us, is a warship. It looks a bit like HMS Victory, if Victory had 6 gun decks and was painted purple. The marines seem relived, and Iason looks a little pleased with himself.

“Behold, the Flagship of the Imperial Fleet, the Pauldronius, named for my grandfather. So Allie, what do you think?”

“Well... That is a most majestic vessel, First Rate.

Looks a little pompous mind, bit like the house of some arrogant cattle baron.

Well organised, guards arranged with overlapping sightlines, no apparent blind spots.

- ANACHRONISTIC WEAPONS IN THE FORECASTLE, SHIP-TO-SHIP MISSILE LAUNCHERS INTEGRATED IN STRUCTURE, MULTI-BARREL AA GUN ON- -

...What the smeg was that!” Nope! Nope! Nope! “What did you freaks do to me! Whats goin...”