The Morinder
Day One
Julia woke to the smell of the sea. When she opened her eyes, the wooden roof of the boat greeted her. Hearing soft breathing next to her, she turned her head and Sirene was asleep with a smile on her face. Quietly slipping out of the bed so as to not wake Sirene, Julia was relieved to discover Sirene had left her clothed this time. She was quite puzzled to find herself almost consistently female though, even when she changed forms throughout the day. The last time she had ended up male was back at the Shadow Court in Valenca, come to think of it. As for her current one, a halfling was a nice change of pace, she supposed.
Throwing on a light coat present on a hook in the room, Julia opened the door to the cabin, and found the ship they were on was quite a bit smaller than she assumed. Opting to go up onto the deck, a dimly lit sky greeted her. It was not long before dawn, and she could see the horizon already. A man standing at the bow of the ship turned around as he heard her footsteps, and beckoned her over.
"Good morning!" He said with a smile. "You must be Julia."
"I am." Julia replied, nodding her head. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Captain Fairbanks, but you can just call me Jason." He answered. "I'm a... business associate of Tanya's. Rest assured, I'm a friend."
"So that's why you know who I am." Julia stated, to which Jason nodded. "Well, let's skip to better questions then. Where am I, and where are we?"
"You're in the middle of the Morinder Ocean, and you're aboard the Saint Liddell." Jason answered. "We left Port Nautitus last night, and we're about a week from Port Sulala, to answer your next questions."
"I notice there's no sails, Captain." Julia said, gesturing at the clear deck around them with no masts.
"Magi-jets." Jason said with a smile. "The latest in water magic technology, you know. I can replace an entire sailing crew with a water mage. Besides us, there's just 2 water mages, the cook, and my wife on-board."
Julia nodded and watched the waves and the sun slowly rose in the east. As the sun cracked the edge of the horizon, Sirene emerged from below deck, she inhaled the morning air deeply and sighed. She always loved the sea, and ocean voyages were a nice respite.
"I can't believe you named it after her." Sirene said to Jason as she stretched. "Do you have any idea how many years I fought her for?"
"Honestly, it is what it is." Jason said as he leaned on the deck railing. "Most Saints don't exist, or were exaggerated, aren't they?"
"Indeed they are. But Saint Liddell the Abandoned was just as big of a problem as the stories claimed." Sirene said as she continued her stretching. She wasn't wearing her usual robe, and only had a pair of pants on. "Many thanks to the make-up of your crew by the way."
"Hmm?" Julia asked.
"All women, except for Jason here." Sirene answered with a wink. "The water mage in the bilge is... well she's definitely cute."
"She's also married you horn dog." Jason reminded her.
"You brought it up not me." Sirene shot back, flashing a grin.
Julia laughed, she could tell this would be a fun journey.
Day Two
Tanya was slightly confused when she woke up to one of the water mages curled up with her instead of Sirene. She was even more confused to find herself suddenly in the makeshift galley and fully clothed, across from a smiling Sirene.
"Good morning, Mistress." Sirene said. "Do eat up."
"Explain what's going on. Why do I got a naked woman in my bed?" Tanya asked as she shoveled food into her mouth.
"Julia. Or rather, Julio." Sirene explained. "Seems the elf male form last night was exactly the mage's type. Don't worry I slept in the mage's bed."
"Is my life just a sex comedy now?" Tanya sighed.
"Kind of, yeah." Jason chimed in. "Better than it used to be though, no?"
"Hah! You got that right." Tanya said with a barking laugh. "So what's our progress?"
"Through the first archipelago." Jason answered. "Don't worry about my crew, they've been informed of your... condition."
"Will they blab?" Tanya asked.
"They know better than that." Sirene said, cracking her knuckles.
"What about your wife?" Tanya continued.
"Doris would carry a secret to her grave, Miss Tanya." Jason answered. "Don't you worry about her."
"Fine." Tanya said, eyeing Jason. "Plan remains unchanged. Your new base is Port Sulala. Sirene, where exactly is the Eternal Library?"
"I thought you might ask that, so I drew a map on the way." Sirene answered, pulling a rolled up piece of paper out from her sleeve. Clearing away the dishes on the table, Sirene proceeded to unfold it, revealing a map of the Eternal Empire. Port Sulala was clearly marked, as was the Imperial Capital and a few others, but deep in the sand dunes of the desert, was a star. "Behold."
"Sirene that's a week from the nearest road." Tanya pointed out. She was pretty sure most of the desert in that state hadn't even been charted yet.
"It is." Sirene said with a smile. "But don't worry, there's another... entrance of sorts, in the Capital."
"The Capital?" Tanya groaned. "No no no no no, why can't it be somewhere else?"
"We could always go to the main entrance in the desert if you wish to avoid the Capital." Sirene offered.
"That might be best. I've got a least thirty active death warrants in the Empire, so the last place I want to be's the Capital." Tanya said, exhaling.
"Thirty?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a long story." Tanya said, shaking her head. "But... we do have time."
"Your choice, Miss Tanya." Jason replied. "Shall we head up on deck?"
"Might as well. Mind you, I might have a face or two that isn't wanted by the Dwarves." Tanya said, starting to stand up, but changing her mind. "Jason I'm still tired, carry me."
"This again?" He said with a laugh. "You're lucky you picked a small form. Alright come on up you go."
Jason grabbed Tanya's pint sized body with easy and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, much to her mock consternation.
"You oaf!" She shouted with a laugh, as she jokingly smacked his back with her fists. "I'm a dainty princess!"
"You're a thug and you know it." Jason laughed, giving her a light smack.
"Damn right." Tanya said proudly.
Day Three
Julia awoke to a storm. The ship was being tossed about, and she hit the floor hard. Before she could even comprehend what was going on, the ship pitched and rolled, causing her to slam into a wall. Doing her best to get to her feet, she barely managed to open the door of her sleeping quarters, and staggered to the galley. Inside, Sirene and Doris were making an attempt to eat as the ship jerked about in all directions.
"Good morning Julia!" Sirene called out as the ship began to roll again. "Do hang on!"
"To what?" Julia shouted as she was thrown to the ground again. "What the fuck is going on?"
"The largest hurricane in a century!" Jason shouted, tumbling down the stairs of the ship. "We're making for the eye of the storm!"
"We'll be wrecked for sure! You're mad!" Julia yelled as she was pitched into another wall.
"The Gods themselves are telling us where to go!" Jason countered with a laugh as the ship continued to roll. "Lady Vordea, guide us through this storm!"
At this moment one of the water mages fell down the stairs as well, and didn't move again. Julia staggered over to the mage and rolled her over, relieved to discover she was still breathing.
"Who's even at the helm?" Julia shouted.
"I cheated a bit!" Sirene yelled. "I infused the ship with luck before we left port!"
"What does that even mean?" Julia yelled over the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship.
"Whatever you want it to!" Sirene answered, laughing. "Come on, we're close to the eye of the storm!"
Julia did her best to drag the unconscious water mage into her sleeping quarters, which at least had bedding to use as padding.