Sitting at the edge of the pier, an unfamiliar private ferry boat was waiting for a group of adventurers. The sun was overhead, and as uncomfortable as it was for Edmund who was wearing all black, it at least meant the weather was going to be clear for the entire trip.

"Seems that everyone who's showing up is here," Edmund declared, clasping his hands together. A staff was held in his hands as he spoke. "Awhile ago, I discovered an island. On it, I discorvered traces of witchcraft and sorcerery that looked extremely familiar. I wish for you all to see if there is anything that you can uncover."

Caius was leaning against a pole, arms crosses and a gourd in his hands. "Get in, get info, get out, kill anything that moves. It's a simple job. Edmund's not showing up, so I volunteered to lead the away team." He turned away from everyone to pull down his mask and take a swig, before repositioning it on his nose and turning back. "Simple enough right? Any of you seasick?"

The explanation of their task seemed simple enough. Saying nothing, Zendra chose to answer Caius' question by picking up the quarterstaff she had selected as one of her weapons for this trip and jumping on board the ferry.

As Balbadorf walked down the pier he stopped by Caius, "Do me a favor friend, If I ask you to I want you to knock me out. Don't ask why." Balbadorf looked uneasy as he stepped onto th ferry and took a seat on the floor of the ship.

Caius shrugged at the request. "Alright. As long as you can wake up." Edmund nodded, and waved them off as Caius lead them onto the ferry. It departed as soon as they were all on board and Caius nodded. After a few minutes of sailing, Caius began to speak. "This place was said to have been occupied by a witch before, who had a strange thing for twisting nature to her bidding. She would trap natural spirits, or try to twist life in a way that better suited her. While, I doubt this has anything to do with the previous encounters we've had with witches, it needless to say needs to be researched." Caius looked over everyone. "I'm not expecting much, but, if we DO find anyone living there, they shouldn't be much trouble. If so far we only know one person in Truce who stepped foot on this island, I doubt anyone living there is getting enough supplies to be a threat." he raised a brow. "Any questions?"

Zendra silently stared out onto the water listening to everything but not contributing anything of importance. If she had any objections or concerns regarding what she was hearing she would voice them but right now she had no issue with Caius' explanation.

There's an audible yawn as Garoth makes his way onto the deck "Yeah, one question... where did you say this was going? I fell asleep between some barrels..."

Balbadorf spoke up from his position on the floor, "Yeah, are we almost there?"

There's an audible yawn as Garoth makes his way onto the deck "Yeah, one question... where did you say this was going? I fell asleep between some barrels..."

Balbadorf spoke up from his position on the floor, "Yeah, are we almost there?"

Caius chuckled. "We're heading to some island Edmund of Gloucester seemed to be worried about. But it shouldn't be a problem." He nods at Balbadorf. "And don't worry. It's not a long ride. You strike me as a patient fellow. It shouldn't be long at all."

...Two and a half hours later...

"BALBADORF!" Caius had the cyborg mage pinned against a wall as he tried to slap his face and get him awake. "Balbadorf wake up dammit!" After a few failed attempts, Caius sighed and threw the man over his shoulder. They were at their location, anchored in shallow water where they could jump off and walk on shore. Caius turned to everyone. "Damn seasick bastard. Everyone ready?"

Zendra stood up, taking a look at the island they were about to set foot upon. After all that waiting she was actually happy to see land, though she hadn't made any sort of complaint for being on the water for the amount of time they were on it. Though having never been on a vessel of any sort she had felt strangely at ease.

The primary part of the island is its large pine forest, which seems to be a few hundred yards off of its sandy shore. The shore itself is baren of trees, though grass grows near, leaving only a few yards of sandy dunes before the ocean. Despite them having left Truce at noon, the sky was dark and the moon was shining. What once looked like birds in the sky were obviously now identifiable as bats.

Caius jumped off the ship, into the shallow wake, and trudged as quickly as he could until he got to the grass and plopped Blabadorf's unconcious body down rather carelessly, when he sat down and began to pour water out of his boots.

Balbadorf continued to lie on the grass as he slowly opened his eyes to stare up at the sky, he took a moment to get ahold of his senses, his head and stomach still trying to kill him.

Zendra followed everyone off the boat looking ahead into the pines. The island for the moment seemed like a peaceful ordinary island, but that could change and she didn't want to have her guard down if it did. She did finally have one question to ask though. "Caius, it was noon when we left and now it is night. We were not on that vessel for that long. Is this island located by the city under the false night, or is there something else at play here?"

Kent looked at the sky. He was a bit too worried about Balbadorf to look at it beforehand. "You're right. Edmund didn't mention anything about that, but he did say something about twisting nature. Dunno what to make of this." As Caius stook up, an arrow immediately whizzes past his head and he turns around with his sword drawn. "That however, is bad."

From out of the forest, one girl in tattered clothing and a bow points an arrow at the group. "Who are you?" she asked, somewhat trembling.

Garoth waited at the edge of the ferry til it stopped, practically stepping off the edge into the water. He makes his way up the beach from the shallows "At least it's cool... oh, hello there. I think I'll let someone else answer that." he gives a smile, or rather, continues to smile, which is carven on his face.

Balbadorf looked up at the girl without moving to suddenly, "Caius, she's moving, what do we do?" his voice is rather calm and disinterested.

Zendra spun quickly towards the attacker, cursing silently that they were out on the beach with little around for cover. "What is the meaning of attacking first and then asking? If your aim had been better do you think we would still give you an answer? Relax your weapon, girl, or you are going to cause an accident."

The girl immediately put her weapon down on the ground as Zendra shouted at her. As if the tables were turned entirely she put her hands up as if surrendering. "I just... I got scared." The girl shakes her head. "My name is Miranda. I've been here for awhile. How do you know about this place?" As she spoke, thunder began to sound as rain started, seemingly out of nowhere in the cloudless sky.

Caius raises a brow as he sheaths his sword. "Well this complicates things."

Balbadorf stood up taking off his suit jacket, throwing toward the ground in front of her, "We're here on the request of a friend, you can cover up if you wish."

Zendra didn't seem bothered or phased by the rain, instead she approached the girl cautiously, watching for some kind of sudden movement or reaction from the girl. "Good girl. I have interest in your weapon and wish to have a look at it." She said, taking a hold of it as she got near, "How did you end up in this place?"

Miranda nodded as Zendra took the weapon. "There was a shipwreck. I only really remember waking up here alone a couple of weeks ago. I found the shipwreck later, but nobody else seemed to be there. I'm assuming they all died at sea."

As she spoke, Caius studied her closely. He realised something. She had multicolored eyes. One green, one blue. Caius sneered as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Miranda picked up Blabadorf's coat and put it on. "Thank you, sir. It gets cold here at night."

Balbadorf sighed at Cauis' motion, "We were sent to investigate rumors of evil witchcraft. One way to tell a witch has been spotted in your case, would you care to tell us about yourself Ma'am."

The bow was not made by this girl's hand, or at least not made by someone who is struggling shipwrecked on an island. Though if her story was true it would be possible that it came from the ship and washed ashore with her. Most people were not that lucky though. She didn't seem very practiced with it either. Did she have to make her own arrows, or was she lucky there too? Wondering where the arrow ended up, Zendra surveys the beach only to end up spying Caius putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. So it appeared he suspected the girl. That was fine, though Zendra felt in need of more evidence in order to be swayed.

Miranda shakes her head. "I already told you what I remember happening." She backs up, "I don't remember anything! I swear! You're... you're not going to hurt me are you?"
"
Balbadorf looked into her eyes to see those of cornered animal, looking back to Caius, "If she is witch she doesn't remember." he looked towrds Miranda, "I'm sorry Ma'am if our appearance has frightened you. We won't hurt you."

Garoth looks the girl over quizically, but smiles (okay, so he never stopped) "I don't see any reason to. Not like you'll be materializing fireballs at us. We were expecting to find someone who might though."

Zendra finds the arrow embedded in the sand on the shore and pulls it free looking at the fletching and shaft as well as the tip. She returns to the group, moving close to Caius in particular, keeping her voice low enough so only he could hear, "She is untrained in combat. The bow and arrows were not made by her but they might have come from the shipwreck she is describing. Her appearance also seems to suggest that she has been surviving here for a short time. If she is a witch, it also seems odd that she would come to us so easily on her own and using such a means to attack us. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

Caius glares. "We won't attack. Not just yet." Lightning strikes one of the nearby trees, causing it to fall over. A large rustling can be heard in the woods as if it was getting closer. A deformed figure of what was once a man, but now looks closer to the shape of a gorilla charges towards them. Merinda immediately falls down and cowers, while the creature moves to attack Zendra!

Balbadorf readied a fireball in his hands but remembered Zendra's affiliations, "Damn." He cursed to himself as he charged at the beast.

Zendra's ears caught the sound of the creatures advancement just moments before it came charging out through the brush. There wasn't a lot of time to think or react, as it managed to quicly close the distance, allowing her only enough time to take a hold of her staff with both hands and thrust it towards her attackers head.

Zendra's lightning reflexes were able to catch the creature off guard as it was whacked in its head, disorienting it and sending it off course in its charge. "That HURT!" It shouted. As it continued staggering, it swung its arms, knocking back a few feet. This thing was obviously strong. "GET OFF OF MY ISLAND!"

Caius ran towards Miranda, and stood in front of her with his sword drawn, facing the beast. It wasn't easy to tell whether he was there to protect the girl or keep an eye on her, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable with his back turned to either of the threats.

Balbadorf rushes at beast attempting to grapple it to the ground to get some answers.

Garoth sighs as he watches all his allies just get in the way of any shot he has, rubbing the side of his pumpkin "HEY, WOULD ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER PLEASE JUST STAND STILL A MOMENT?! THANK YOU KINDLY!"

Zendra follows after the creature as it changes its course, coming up quickly from behind as it attacks Balbadorf. She makes a leap for its back, swinging the middle of her staff over its head and pulling it towards her. This could be a very foolish thing to try, however it had spoken. "Stop attacking, and we will make the trip here short." She hissed into its ear.

It was quickly becoming apparent through his struggle with the beast that Balbadorf was not going to be able to overcome the beast alone in a test of pure strength, but with the extra force the Zendra applied pulling it towards her, Balbadorf was able to pin the beast on it's back. As Zendra leaned down to its ear, the creature continued yelling. "She'd be mad! No! GET OFF! GO AWAY!"

"First rule of interrogations, focus on keeping us happy." Balbadorf said looming over the beast, "Who are you and who is SHE?" Balbadorf asked referencing the woman the beast spoke of.

Zendra held the creature tightly, gritting her teeth and waiting for him to answer Balbadorf's question. "She won't be anywhere as bad as us if you make us unhappy."

"The witch Sycorax! She owns this island! This is my island because my mother owns it!" He shakes his head vigerously. "I don't want her to be mad."

Caius picks up Miranda by the collar of her shirt and throws her next to the creature. "Who are you, and do you recognize this girl?" Caius glared, "Is she a witch?"

The creature shook his head. "She is not Syvorax, my mother is her!" He pants in fear of the thought of angering this Sycoraz woman. "My name is Caliban! I own this island, because my mother owns this island!"

"Caius have some decency. HEY PEPO!" Balbadorf calls over to Garoth. "Hold him down please." Balbadorf went over to Miranda to make sure she was okay and to help her up.

Garoth scoffs a bit as he walks over "140 lbs counting my pumpkin, holding down an ape... that's not really going to happen." he stands over the creature, seeming to wait or something, his flames flickering a bit.

As she is pulled up, Miranda clutches her arms around Balabdorf as she stares at Caliban. She focuses on him, something about her tells her that he did something horrible before, but she can't remember it. The more she stares, the tighter she holds onto the man comforting her.

"Where is your mother?" Zendra asked firmly, glaring down at the creatures eyes. She then flicks her attention to Garoth scowling, "Stop gawking and make yourself useful."

Caliban struggles, but seems to be held back by something. "In the middle of the forest, you will find her home. Please don't go there. She would learn that I failed and she would be angry."

Garoth continues to just stand there over the gorilla "Oh, then maybe I'll just let these mind ropes go and let you hold him down yourself..." he says this last bit with a smile... no wait, all of it.

Zendra gave Caius a questioning look, as if silently asking if there was anything else they needed to ask this creature. She also wasn't sure if they planned to let him go or kill him on the spot so he didn't go back running to warn his 'mother' of their presence here. In the end, it would be Caius' call.

Balbadorf looked down at Miranda, "Ma'am why don't I take you back to the boat so you can lie down? You seem to have had a rough few weeks, I'll can make you something to eat?"

Caius looks down at the creature, and then between Zendra and Garoth. He sighs, as he needs to make the right decision. "I am going to leave you alive," he said, almost hesitantly, "But know this, if you come after us with any malicious intent after this moment, I will end you." With that he sheaths his sword.

Miranda nods towards Balbadorf as he leads her off to the boat. They can hear Caius behind them speaking of their plans. They would tie up Caliban and leave him on the shore until they had finished exploring, and if Miranda felt better in an hour or two, she would accompany them to see if she remembered anything. It was beginning to look like this trip was a lot more complicated than first planned.

Caius crossed his arms as looked at the rest of the people on the hunt. "Everyone ready to set out?" It had been about an hour. Miranda was overlooking the ocean with a thermis of tea in her hands, and Blabadorf's coat draped over her shoulders.

"You all want help?" Miranda asked, turning her head around slightly. "Caius said that I should come along if he thought I could."

Garoth sent another rock spinning out toward the water "Well, it should be fine. Anything cool you can do?"" he gets up, dusting his body off before lifting his pumpkin from the sand, dusting that off as well before planting it back on his shoulders.

Zendra picked up her staff and pulled herself up to her feet. "That decision is up to you." Zendra said, turning to the girl, "Though if you would prefer safety then you should chose to stay here. There is no such guarantee of it if you follow."

Balbadorf looked over at Miranda,"If you want to come I will do my best to keep you safe should anything go wrong." He told her as he threw her a reasurring smile.

Miranda nodded to Zendra. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I've had enough of that island." If Caius disapproved, he didn't say anything. With no objections they were off onto the island once more.

Caius had seemed sober this entire trek, and even he wasn't quite sure if that was a good idea or not. Eventually, they got to a small abandoned hut. "Uncharted island my ass..." Caius muttered to himself. He motioned towards the others to open the door as he took a drink.

"I think uncharted just means nobody put it on a world map, not that nobody lives there." Garoth shrugs and moves up, heading to open the door as the place was obviously abandoned.

Balbadorf looked at Garoth, "Step out of the doorway when you open it." he looked disinterested in the wellbeing of the Pepoman.

As the door swung open, a few small forest creatures such as squirrels and a raccoon ran out. The room was unlit, but contained a desk, a small bed, and a few hooks on the wall that seemed that they were once used for weapon display. An empty bookshelf was also seen, with only a human skull with a burnt out candle in it's mouth left.

As the door swung open, a few small forest creatures such as squirrels and a raccoon ran out. The room was unlit, but contained a desk, a small bed, and a few hooks on the wall that seemed that they were once used for weapon display. An empty bookshelf was also seen, with only a human skull with a burnt out candle in its mouth left.

"Nothing. Or so it would seem." Balbadorf stated as he entered the hut searching for what could not be seen.

Garoth walks in and looks at the skull "What a shame, to let the flames of life burn low." he leans in and blows off the dust.

Zendra entered the hut after Balbadorf, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness. It didn't seem as though someone had been here for a long time considering the animals that vacated the building upon garoth opening it. "Do you see anything that might interest?" She asked.

As Garoth blew on the candle, it immediately lit itself and began to glow a deep, blue flame. Caius entered after everyone, arms crossed. He raised a brow at Garoth. "The hell did you do?"

Garoth looks up in surprise "I, uh, blew on it... that's never happened before." he looks about worriedly.

Zendra proceeded to the weapon rack and examined it, then looked down to the floor where an array of footprints were. There were animal tracks there, but the tracks of a human that was not among their group presently. "That girl was in here. This is where she got that bow."

Caius nodded to Zendra. "That'd explain it. But how come there'd be a bow here if everything else seems to be missing?" As he said that though, the ground beneath him seemed to shake slightly. A seven pointed star began to glow on the floor, shaking away the dust and revealing a wooden trapdoor that had previously gone unnoticed. "Well, if that's not witchcraft, I dunno what is." Caius kicked open the door and looked down. "Who wants in? This where the fun starts."

Balbadorf looks at the rest of the group, "Anyone here any good at stealth and infiltration?" he expectantly looked over the group.

"I'll go." Zendra approached the trapdoor, peering down. She had no idea what would be found below but there didn't seem to be any progress to be made waiting around here.

Caius shrugged at Balbadorf. "Infiltration? Yes. Stealth? Not so much." Heating nobody declining, Caius went down into the trapdoor after Zendra. The hole went down deeper than expected, until a cave complex was found. Rushing water could be heard from nearly every direction, yet, the only way to go was forward. Seven more blue candles marked the way, each marked with a different letter.

Balbadorf followed soon after Zendra sliding down the ladder to land silently at the bottom. He crouched down keeping close to the wall, moving forward.

"I've got a lantern for a head, and a tendency to set things on fire." Garoth moved his way down the ladder after the rest "Great for spelunking, but pretty much horrible for sneaking."

Zendra moves quietly through the cave complex, ears straining as the sound of rushing water filled her ears. With its presence, she began to relax, moving a little more casually as the water would drown out much of the sound her footsteps would make. She paused at the candles briefly, noting thier marking but unable to tell what they were. Unfortunately while Zendra had finally mastered the language here she handn't learned how to read most of it. Something else caught her interest though, and she moved towards the door, pressing her ear against it.

Zendra could hear the rushing water meeting up in the center of the room in front of them in a large pool. Caius crossed his arms as he examined the candles. "Hey, Balbadorf, Garoth you two like fire, right? Light these, I don't have any matches with me."

Balbadorf looked up at Caius, "Maybe we should attempt to keep any unwanted attention off of us. And keep it down." He placed his finger over his lips to motion to him to keep silent.

Everything beyond the door was converging into a pool, however the pool wasn't filling. Zendra pulled her ear from the door and tested the handle to see if it would open.

Garoth shrugs a bit before nodding "Really, I doubt we need more light than what I'm already giving off."

Caius shrugs. "Probably a good idea anyways. Unless someone can tell me was Bestose means." Caius moved towards the door, which wouldn't budge with Zendra's pulling. Caius looked at his hand and raised an eyebrow at the door. "If this is magically sealed, maybe instead of the candles..." He raised a hand to the door and activated the rune of silence. Zendra's hand could feel the door no longer locked, but Caius was blown several feet backwards with a huge blast of mana.

Balbadorf looked over his shoulder towards Caius, "You alright Caius?" He moved slowly towards the door ready to evade if another blast came as he moved to open the dooor.

Zendra let go of the doors handle, turning to look at Caius as he fell with a look of concern. "What happened?" She had not seen something like that before and wantd to know if it was normal before proceeding.

"He set off an alarm, and got knocked flat on his ass." Garoth just smiled broadly (though, as we've established, this is a normal feature), he turns back to look at the door "Really though, he looks fine, we should see if anyone is inside and/or noticed us."

Caius Pushed himself back onto his feet and readjusted his scarf to still mask his face. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine," he said. "The door was magically sealed, so we should be fine now." He walked forward and drew his sword. "Get enough alchohol in your system and your bulletproof. Hardly felt a thing." He nodded to Zendra. "Open it up and get ready, this door was locked for a reason."

Balbadorf stood next to the door ready to breach into the cavern's inner sanctum, he stepped right into the door's path, kicking it open.

If Caius said he was fine, then he was fine and Zendra would question it no further. With his nod, the woman turned back to the door with the intention of opening it but found that someone else was already in the process of handling things. She simply took a step back, mind wandering back to the water that was on the other side.

"Oh, so you all are here? I was wondering if my boy would fail at stopping intruders." A voice could be heard as the whole group entered. Water flowed down from every wall and between every crack in the floor, into a large basin that seemed to never fill. At the other end of the large room, across the basin, was a witch in dark blue robes that seemed to flow like water, and eyes as cold as ice. "But, I will say, without Miranda here, things have been a bit tough. Perhaps I need another witch..." Her gaze fell on Zendra. "What a perfect candidate." From beneath her feet, a Gyser sent Zendra to the other side of the room, face to face with the witch. Next to the three left, the water seemed to rise into vaguely huminoid shapes and lunge at them, attempting to grapple the team and drown them in the elemental's bodies.

Garoth's eyes flicker as he builds a pillar of flame at his feet "Oh, I see how it is, I don't get to be a witch candidate, but she does? Now you've gone and hurt my feelings." his flame spreads a bit out to the side as his eys flare and flicker more brightly.

Zendra felt the direction of water flowing beneath her suddenly make a violent change, and before the woman could react to it, it breached the ground beneath her, sending her forcefully to the other side of the room. The woman landed near the witch, rolling into a low crouch. She looked at the woman, clenching her teeth.

Balbadorf began to breathe rythmically, attempting to raise his body's heat in case he does get engulfed. He attempted to slowly make his way around the basin, his eyes not leaving the elementals

"Now now, girl, don't be so angry. You even have a staff! Good to come prepared. Just repeat after me: 'Setebos is risen.'" Water danced around the witch until it formed seven spear like ice shards around her, all pointing at Zendra. "Don't make me push you. It's just three little words."

Caius attempted to cut through one of the elementals, but his sword was all but useless. When he threw his runed fist at it, it passed right through like the sword. The witch was controlling this, not any innate magic, and so he was completely unable to fight them efficiently.

Garoth found his pillar of fire to be effective. The elemental closest to him was immediately incinerated into steam as it approached. Another one, however, whacked the pumpkinhead from behind in attempt to throw him into his own trap. As for Balbadorf, the water at his feet seemed to rise as a strong current tried to pull him into the abyss of the basin.

Balbadorf's faux arm shot out attempting to grab at anything to keep him from going under. Whilest struggling to hold on he atttempted to envelop fire around his legs to ward off the water.

Garoth gave a yell of surprise as his head was bonked, rolling off his shoulders while his body took the moment to turn and swing at the elemental, blowing at the flames and encircling them around his head like a small protective wall "So much for a fair fight!"

Zendra pulled herself to her feet as the witch pointed spears of ice at her. She was not pleased at all by the threat. But no amount of threatening was going to make her do something she didn't want to if she could help it. "I'd sooner sever my own tongue. Show your push." She said, taking a hold of her staff with both hands. "And know that I will push back!"

The witch didn't seemed too pleased. She attempted to manifest another gyser behind Zendra to launch her into the spears, but Zendra was able to sense the water based attack, and dodged it expertly, jumping out of the way, blasting the witch back into a wall of rushing water. As she was distracted, the spells she was maintaining began to weaken.

The water elementals seemed to strike less precisely, many more throwing themselves at Garoth's shield and incinerating instantly. Balbadorf was able to grab a crack in the wall, and with the witch currently preoccupied, now was his chance to run towards Zendra's side and help her out. The only one still having trouble was Caius, who was slowly trying to lead the elementals towards Garoth for him to take care of.

Balbadorf regained his footting and began to barrel down the walkway towards the witch attempting to knock her out of her focus with a well aimed punch.

Zendra charged towards the witch after the gyser hit her seizing the opportunity to attack the woman with a flurry of strikes as soon as the water had dissapaited, aiming for anything she could be it the woman's face or torso.

The witch attempted to get back to her face before she was caught off gaurd by Zendra's vicious attack with her staff. After being hit several times, she was knocked back once more by Balbadorf's follow up. With a screeching yell, she shouted at them, "Fools! Do you know who I am? I am the Sea Hag Sycorax! Nature itself bows to my will!" Her skin seemed to melt off as a new form, bloated like a corpse left in the ocean.

The steam around Garoth changed direction, flowing around the men in the room in attempt to stangle them, becoming the only vapor available to breath.

Zendra could feel a tugging on her spirit, as if she was drawn to the witch. She felt slightly weaker as she braced herself once more. "You're not a powerful mana source, but you're enough for what I needed..." A wall of ice began to seperate Sycorax from the world around her as she began chanting. The basin began to fill, and as it did, Zendra felt an unimaginable pain.

Balbadorf looked to Garoth,"Pepo we need to be careful too much steam could burn the people in this room." saying this hoping to help the others in the room, Balbadorf charged at the witch's shell, hoping to break throught with his right hook.

"AAAAAUUUUUURRRRRRRGH!" Zendra screamed out until the air emptied from her lungs and she crumpled to the ground, entire being enveloped in pain. She gripped her staff, as her body instinctively insisted with everything to curl up into a ball on the floor where she was, but she made every effort she could to fight it. "Hhhngh!" She grit her teeth and strained to get back up onto her feet, vision blurring. She would kill the bitch! She would slice her open and offer lungs to the dogs! She would lop off her head and send it down river! she would... Zendra fought to stand upright using her staff for balance. "hhhyyyyeh....hnnnnnAAAURGH!" She managed to take one step towards her only to be overcome by the pain again.

as soon as the ice shell shattered, Zendra's pain stopped, and the basin stopped filling. Sycorax smiled. "You've helped me plenty. But you're too-" Sycorax's gloating was cut short by the knife currently in her chest. She tried to laugh, but popped like a water balloon in a violent explosion, sending water in all directions.

The water in the basin grew darker as a a face could be seen beneath it. Teeth emerged from the water, and from the maw a powerful geyser blasted against the cieling, knocking boulders into the pool below. The water rose higher and higher as the assault of the large, unseen creature attempted to break free of the cave. As the cieling grew higher and rocks fell, the team began to float up to the surface.

The rocks above turned from stone, to clay, to dirt, until eventually the creature forced its whole body upwards in a massive geyser of water, sending the team flying with it. The found themselves caught in midair, a friendly voice assuring them that they'd be okay. "Don't worry... just... don't look down."

the extremely loud sound of a Jinsaka chopper with the letters "PDF" could be seen, and before long the team found themselves in it's safe hands, watching the ferry Edmund below hired being crushed by a huge sea monster. The sound of Miranda could be heard as she saw the soaked crew enter, and their reaction to traveling so quickly in such a short time.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "As soon as I found the emergency button, I pressed it. I didn't know if you all would be coming back soo... I panicked." "Good thing too, Mistress!" The ever perky voice of Ariel the air spirit responded. "If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have been here in time. Who knew that one witch could summon an elder demon?"

Zendra took a few steps into the chopper then collapsed onto one of the seats, still reeling from the onslaught of pain earlier and adrenaline rush but alive.

Most of the team took the oppurtunity to rest. Caius was the only one who seemed incapable of it. He was possibly the one who did the least work this entire outing, despite signing up as the leader. What was really keeping him stirring, however, was flying. Caius leaned back in a chair with a barf bag in his hands. Ariel perked up. "I can change the air pressure for you to-" "Don't. Magic. Me." "Gotcha!"

Zendra watched quietly as Caius emptied the contents of his stomach into a bag, then shook her head. "I think I can use a drink." She said to the man, finally beginning to relax a little, "What of you? have you any need to keep your ear out the bar tonight?"

Caius shook his head. "I can't... I'm good... drinking is... bad for your system... like sudden changes in altitude." Caius turned his head away from everone as he vomited, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and pulled his mask back up before leaning back. "Best not combine them..."

"Very well." Zendra replied, turning her attention to the window. Hopefully getting from the island to Truce would take less time than it had for the trip there.