Chapter 8: Droplet

Shards and Teebs walked towards the center of the island to find the obelisk. The island was oddly shaped, with two mountains and a valley in the middle, as if something swung its massive arm into the side of it. When they finally found it, it was a sight to see. Obelisk wasn’t only massive, but it was broken and floating. It was as if it were floating on an invisible sea. Shards walked up to it and rubbed one of the symbols on it.

“Parnumay,” she whispered.

Suddenly, the obelisk’s symbols started to glow a bright purple. The floating pieces attached, as if they were magnetic, then a loud, booming sound came from it. Then it started to whisper very quietly, as if it were scared that someone would hear it.

“What is it saying?” Teebs asked.

“Umm…. ’Below, there is a chasm built from Old World. If you survive it, you shall obtain its treasures,’” Shards translated.

“Below where?” Teebs asked, looking under the obelisk.

“Hold on, there’s more…. ‘Look where the humans fear to tread in their own land,’” she said.

“Hm…. There’s a cave under Apple Grace's town square,” Teebs said, “I hear the townsfolk are terrified of it.”

“We should check there. Hopefully the items don’t belong to anyone living,” Shards said.

They walked towards the village and found the cave. It had a sign on it that said, “Do not enter,” but they entered anyway.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Shards said.

“Ask away,” Teebs said, ducking under a stalactite.

“If we don’t steal from living things, then why did we take the whisper shards from the docks?” she asked.

“We take things if we need them. We needed the whisper shards because you needed to use them for something,” Teebs said.

“Yeah, but why didn’t we take the box of Old World stuff?” she asked.

“That would’ve been out of greed. That’s one of Harma’s seven deadly sins. Or are there more than that?” Teebs said.

“There Are only seven. And since when have we ever abided by any laws?” she continued.

“Well, remember in Apra?” he said.

“Oh…. right…,” she said, shivering.

He was referring to the time where they were almost executed for trespassing on sacred grounds. Those Apran’s do not play around with their sacred things.

“We promised to abide by any laws on any land,” he reminded her, “And even a few of our own.”

“Yeah, I know. You know what? For a pirate, you keep your word for a while,” she said.

“Well, that’s mostly because my family has never broken a promise before,” he said, giving them some light.

The cave was a lot bigger than expected and the floor was covered with water, the fire’s light dancing on the ripples around their legs.

“Hm… Speaking of which, what is your family name?” she asked.

“As you know, my last name is 2000, so that would mean my family’s name is 2000,” he said.

“I mean why it’s a number, not a name,” she said.

“Oh. Uh… I guess it’s something one of my ancestors decided,” he said, sloshing through the water.

“Why did they decide that?” she asked, following him.

“Uh… something about people dying or being killed, it’s been awhile since I’ve read about it,” he said.

They came to a door that looked like it was untouched for decades. Teebs nodded to Shards and she covered her ears, nodding back. Teebs faced the door and placed a hand on it. He mumbled something and pushed on it. The door flew back, hitting the wall on the other side of the underground room. Shards uncovered her ears and walked in.

“See anything?” Teebs asked, catching his breath.

“Notes, pens, a few coins, there isn’t much here,” she said, looking around the room.

Teebs walked in and examined the room himself.

“There has to be something hidden in here,” he said.

“There always is,” she replied, looking through the shelves of books.

“So, while we’re searching, how about you tell me something about yourself?” Teebs suggested.

“Really?” She said, giving him a look.

“Just to pass the time,” he said, looking under stacks of papers.

“I’ve already told you just about everything I know,” she said, looking under the bed.

“How about something I don’t know?” he asked, smirking.

“What does that mean?” she said, smiling and chuckling a little.

“I mean, something personal. Something you’ve never said to anyone,” he said, looking behind a desk.

“Oh, okay. I was thrown out a band of thieves,” she said.

“You already said that,” he said.

“Hmm…. My eyes are red because I was cursed,” she said.

“Know it already,” he said, looking on top of the desk.

Shards was getting annoyed that he already knew a lot about her. But she couldn’t blame him, two years on the sea with just one other person can get pretty boring if neither talk.

“Try something personal,” he said, looking through the books.

Shards was silent.

“Shards?” he asked, looking at her.

She was looking down with her arms crossed.

“Are you okay?” he asked, walking over.

She nodded and smiled. She looked back down and stepped on a pressure plate. A door opened at the back of the room, showing a dark interior. She walked through the door and looked back at him.

“Aren’t you coming?” she said, a big smile spread across her face.

He followed her in, giving them some light. The room led down deeper into the dark cave.