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 I'm surprised she was real." 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 very real." 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 Capital City 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.
"Your choice, Miss Tanya." Jason replied. "Shall we head up on deck?"
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!"