Upon waking, I heard Sarah whine softly. She was awake and examining her feet. I saw rough spots and small cracks in her skin. She was trying to heal them, but was not succeeding.
"What is wrong with me? Why won't these heal?" Sarah asked me, trying not to cry.
"I don't think healing is needed. Let me try something," I told her as I called for Set's skin cream.
I sat on her bed and gently worked the stuff into her feet and lower legs. She sighed as the skin softened and the cracks disappeared. We examined her after we were done. Callie, now awake, gave her assessment.
"Your skin is changing. Just like Set, you are having a growth spurt. Also, you may need to spend part of every day in the water."
Understanding, we got dressed and headed for breakfast. As we headed down, Sarah complained walking hurt. Fortunately, Set was strong enough to bear her to the eating area. During our meal, Callie and Envy assessed Sarah's shoes and found the cause of Sarah's pain. We became the center of attention as they magically altered them to cushion her changing feet. The aquatics were quite impressed.
After eating, we headed to the ramp. Sarah removed her shoes, hitched up her skirt, and waded into the water. The feelings she experienced made all of us gasp. With uncharacteristic abandon, Sarah dove into the deeper part and swam out of the outpost. The rest of us hurried around to the edge of Arvocan. Sarah's clothes were floating nearby. Bo and Dawn retrieved them as we looked and felt for Sarah. She popped up not far from us, a big smile on her face.
"Glorious! This is glorious! Oh, Sisters! Never, never have I felt so alive, so at home, and at peace. This is, truly, where I belong," she shouted from the water.
We all laughed, feeling her joy as our own. Set and Bo dove in and the three of them played long enough for her clothes to dry. We were not bored as they played. Sarah's retooled shoes were examined by the aquatics. Set's cream was scrutinized and the ingredients copied for reproduction for their use. Also, we were told of the tragedy of the Black Water clan:
Their area was a series of underwater caverns so deep, sunlight never shown there, hence the name "Black Water". Glowing sea creatures lit their world. Just like other merfolk, they patrolled an area around their grotto for poachers, invaders, and others who would do harm. Teraia, now Lust, plus others were on such a patrol when a violent sea quake collapsed the caverns of their grotto. All those inside were crushed and killed. Less than a dozen of the clan lived. Unable to rebuild the clan from the few who remained, each person went their separate ways. Some joined other clans. Some, like Teraia, went to find adventure elsewhere. Now, "Black Water" is a term used to describe a great loss of any life.
Sarah's "humanity" caused her to become embarrassed when she and the others tired of their play. She crawled as far up to us as she could and remain covered by the water. Between Bo, Dawn, and Echo, they provided enough concealment to get her out of the water and wrapped in a cloak. We sheltered her as she dressed. Her mood was much improved.
We were sitting by the water when Aoushlunia found us.
"Greetings, Sisters. The elders and I were discussing the Faerie door you proposed. We have examined our entire grotto and cannot locate a single suitable place for such a construct. We wish you all to also examine our grotto. Perhaps we are unclear of its requirements."
We accepted the invitation. Aoushlunia told us to return to the water's edge in about an hour for our "transport".
Inside the outpost, our swimmers complained of hunger. We had never seen Sarah eat so much. It seemed none of them could get enough until they stopped, some in mid-bite, and stated they had their fill. From Sarah's face, I feared she had eaten too much too fast. She kept from getting sick by sipping some tea.
Back at the water's edge, we found Aoushlunia outside an aquatic carriage. She explained that the grotto's entrance was a long underwater tunnel, too long for us to simply hold our breaths. This carriage could take us safely underwater to the dry part. We piled inside. Aoushlunia went to the driver's seat.
We traveled most of the way above water. We were all excited to see a real mermaid grotto. Aoushlunia warned us as we started to go under. True to her word, not a drop entered the carriage. During a turn, we got to see what pulled the carriage. Two extremely large sea horses were bridled and harnessed similarly to land horses, save they were vertical where land horses are horizontal. The carriage did not seem to be a great burden to them as they swam into the tunnel entrance to the grotto.
Holes and cracks in the in the roof made this part a twilight ride. Small fish and other sea creatures swam and scurried in the faint light. Callie told us, despite the broken roof, the tunnel was strong and safe for normal stresses. We came to a stop then rose up to a cavern. Two people placed a plank from the carriage door to the dry beach. We exited. Aoushlunia joined us.
"Ladies, my court is this way," she motioned for us to follow her.
They, obviously, dealt with Stahendrig as suncrystals and glowing grubs provided light to this cavern. Feeling out, I could tell we were still underwater, deeply underwater. Since Callie was calm, I knew this place was secure and sturdy. Cargo lay piled upon the dry area, heavy items close to the water while lighter ones went progressively deeper. We walked a corridor between this stuff towards a corner of the cavern. I felt a group waiting for us. We entered a smaller cavern with less than a dozen of elder merfolk "sitting" in a pool of water that was fed by a slow drip from the ceiling.
"Council, you remember the Sisters from the ritual? Ladies, my court," Aoushlunia introduced.
We greeted each other almost formally. Once done, we all sat on the stone lip of their pool to discuss Faerie doors.
"Sisters, do you know where you are, precisely?" one man asked.
"Sisters, do you know where you are, precisely?" one man asked.
"Yes, sir," Callie began, "We are five and three-quarter miles from land, one hundred twenty-six and one eighth feet below the surface of the ocean, one and one tenth miles from the entrance of this grotto, and under nineteen and five eighths feet of stone."
The merfolk silently stared.
"You did say 'precisely', sir," Callie reminded him.
They burst out laughing. The man was jabbed a few times for his question. When they could speak, another addressed us.
"As you can see, obviously, this dry part of the grotto is precariously fragile. Your Faerie door, we fear, would undo its balance and ruin all we have managed to salvage."
It was our turn to laugh. They, however, did not see the humor.
"Council," I began, "your fears, while understandable, are unjustified. Faerie doors do not damage the place where they are located. Not a stone nor a grain of sand need be moved nor disturbed."
Confused silence. I found a painting nearby and demonstrated that it, like a Faerie door, did not require a hole in the wall to be attached. It took a bit, but they seemed to understand.
"So, if no doorway is carved, how is it constructed?" the first man asked.
"The Faerie build it out of magic. Once a place is chosen, they work from both sides to open the door on this realm and attach it to a door in the Faerie Realm. It is, then, almost permanent," I told them.
" 'Almost'?" Aoushlunia repeated.
I explained how it could be removed, moved, or sealed.
They talked for a few moments, trying to reach a decision on this matter. Finally, they decided to allow it.
"Excellent, excellent, always looking for a challenge," an unknown female voice sounded, echoing in the cavern.
We all looked around. Not far from us, a silver circle appeared on the floor. A "young" female Faerie rose up. She wore very little, just enough pale yellow material to cover her breasts and groin. The bag at her side covered nothing. Coal black hair, dark orange eyes, and caramel skin, she stood eye-to-eye with Gretta. Her perfect teeth shown starkly white when her dark lips smiled.
"Greetings, all, greetings to one and all, I am Sella, door builder by trade and vocation. Aloriana, the Faerie Queen, told me to keep an ear out to the River Mouth Clan in the event the Sword Sisters convinced them to allow a Faerie door. So, where shall it go?"
Once they got over their shock, the council began discussing location. Changing from tails to feet, they led us all around the grotto. Knowing now that no physical hole was needed to construct the door, it simply became a matter of being able to reach it from both land and water. It took some time, but we all agreed upon a spot at the water's edge that even legless merfolk could get to easily.
"Good, good, good, wonderful spot. Now, my turn," Sella stated as we backed out of the way.
She began pulling small nails out of her bag. She touched them to the wall, forming a tracing of a doorway. She adjusted its width to accommodate long tails and fins. When she was done, she stepped back to admire her work.
"Now comes the important part," Sella said to no one in particular.
She took out a long, wand-like crystal. She touched the end to the center-top nail. Both crystal and nail began glowing. Sella pulled back, drawing the light with her. She proceeded to weave a string of light back and forth until every nail glowed and a web of light filled the doorway. With the crystal still glowing, Sella wrote, in Faerie, the location of this new door. The web strands expanded and filled the frame with a solid light. The light shifted to the familiar shining silver. Talris walked through.
"Greetings, all. I am Talris, Keeper of the Doors. This door is to only be used by non-Faerie in emergencies. Calling for help while near the door will alert me and I will open the door. Tell your clan that I can tell liars from those truly in danger. Trying to fake injury or distress will not succeed. Any questions?"
"Who can get in from your side?" one man asked angrily.
"Only those with a legitimate reason to visit your grotto. No one can bypass me from one Faerie door to another. Even gods must see me to open these doors."
Satisfied, the council thanked Sella and Talris, who walked through the door and it "vanished". The merfolk examined the wall to make sure Sella's nails had not weakened the stone. No marks could be found. To remember its location, Aoushlunia scratched the merfolk words for "Faerie Door" into the rock.
"Sisters, we thank you. We shall not have a Black Water in our grotto with a Faerie Door here now. Let us get you back to Arvocan. It is nearly nightfall and others have wondered about your location," Aoushlunia told us.
We said our good-byes and returned to the carriage. Aoushlunia stayed behind, sending a frog-man to drive the carriage back. The tunnel out was pitch black since no sun shone through the riddled ceiling. Even above water, the ride was in near total darkness. Arvocan's lights were a welcome sight. Sarkin and Corina met us at the water's edge. They told us that many feared we had grown bored with Arvocan and left without a word to anyone. We assured them we still loved Arvocan and had not yet decided on our next move.
We ate at a leisurely pace, explaining many times where we had gone and what we had done. By the time we went to our room, we were all exhausted.
Days 347-350 (325-328):
These few days have sort of melded together. Sarah woke, ate, and swam every morning to keep her feet and legs healthy. The rest of us found small jobs to occupy ourselves. Set was now up to my chest when he sat back on his tail. His fire melted every metal we could find. His ice was shattering stone. His lightning was beginning to branch, hitting more than one target at a time. The compounds his tail barb could produce astounded all of us. Even grown sea dragons could not match him. A second barb was slowly erupting on the opposite side of his tail. It was unclear if it, too, would produce the same types of compounds. We traded components, scales, feathers, and talents for replacement garments and unique aquatic items.
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