Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 188

       On that day, which was the sixteenth day of travel on the Boiling Ocean, Brie read the invisible journal using her magic.

       She was able to ascertain that the group had been searching for land out in the Boiling Ocean. The man was on the trip, and to her delight, he knew a bit of magic. In the journal, two spells had been transcribed. She knew that when she got back to civilization, she would be able to add them to her collection.

       Later in the day, she was able to notice something. It was impossible to notice from the ground, but from a mile above it was just barely visible.

       "There's something... strange." Brie said, while focused on the magical eye a mile above the boat.

       "What is it?" Cedric asked.

       "From all the way up, I see something. It looks like all of the water is moving towards something." Brie said.

       "Like what? Moving in the same direction? Isn't that just ocean currents?" Ella asked.

       "No, not like that. It's all moving towards a single point it seems somewhere in the distance." Brie said.

       "I'll transform into a bird and go take a look." Cedric said. With an emerald flash, he assumed the form of a massive eagle, and took to the sky. After a few minutes of waiting, he flew back down.

       "I see it too, she described it perfectly. All of the water is going somewhere." Cedric said.

       "Should we investigate?" Ara' Sei asked.

       "We probably should. I'll put my arcane eye out to go take a look." Brie said. She cast the spell and sat in focus for a few silent, awkward minutes.

       "I can't see anything yet, but I think we should follow it." Brie said. With Cedric's guidance, the group reoriented the direction of the boat to match the strangely moving water.

       As hours passed, the group began to feel it more and more. Whatever the water was doing, however it was moving, it was getting stronger.

       "We're moving really fast, I have a bad feeling about this." Cedric said.

       "Is there any way to turn the ship around?" Zerai asked.

       "Let's try it!" Ella said. They turned the ship around, and used Brie and Cedric to provide some wind. But, the ship couldn't move against the current.

       "We don't have a choice, we have to move with the current." Ara' Sei said.

       And so, the group turned the ship back in the direction of the current and continued. The ship was slowly accelerating. Ella and Eris no longer needed to use the sails.

       "Brie, do you want to take another look from above?" Cedric asked.

       "Sure." Brie said. She began casting the spell necessary for it. In the meantime, Ara' Sei extended her wings and flew above the ship. She hovered in place, and without a doubt confirmed the ship was moving at a far faster rate than normal.

       "This current is really strong, and you said it was going towards one point, right?" Ara' Sei said.

       "Without a doubt." Cedric said. Brie soon finished casting her spell. The moment she did, her face went white.

       "What's wrong?" Ella asked.

       "I think we've found it. If there is a death's mouth, this is probably it." Brie said.

       "Can you be more specific?" Eris asked.

       "It looks like a hole in the ocean, and all of the water's flowing into it. It's miles away, but it's huge. The hole appears to be well over two hundred feet across." Brie explained.

       "Do you know how deep it is?!" Eris asked. Brie shook her head, then dropped the spell.

       "Okay everyone! Let's not panic yet, what are we going to do?" Zerai asked.

       "Is there a chance we could get back to the island?" Ara' Sei asked.

       "I don't think so, we're moving really fast, and we're well over eight hours away from it." Brie said.

       "Is there any way for us to survive this?" Ella asked.

       "I have a spell that will let us breathe underwater, so drowning won't be a concern." Cedric said. He muttered an incantation, and the whole group briefly glowed with emerald colored light.

       "Anything else?" Ella asked. Looking around, no one gave anything else. The group was now about to go into death's mouth, and they didn't have much of a plan.