The torrential sound of retching accompanied the soft, lapping waves of the ocean as they hit the side of the medium-sized boat. The dusky elfwin gripped the handle on the starboard side of the boat for dear life as she emptied her stomach, regretting her earlier decision despite the warning of the others. On her left, the markswoman was patting her back comfortingly—not that it was any help.

"I told you donuts weren't an ocean food," chastised Alma.

"That has… erp… nothing to do with this…" Hwalín struggled to get the words out. "It's this bloody dinghy. Couldn't you have found us a better boat?! Bleh!"

"Hey, this boat ain't so bad." Alma looked around at the small ship they had hired to take them from Rexport to Mitra, Hwalín's home, nestled in the country of Ulthar where Derleth had told them to go to find the cult. It wasn't exactly a dinghy per se, but it was rather small. Enough for them to move about the deck comfortably and admire the open ocean while the captain is up top on the bridge, ignorantly steering them toward their destiny. "I know it's not exactly a party boat, but it does the job. Actually, I'm kinda proud of myself at how well I'm handling myself. Never been out on the ocean before. No idea how to swim. One small accident and I'd probably never be seen or heard from again…" She peered over the side, taking on the impossible challenge of looking into the deep depths to see just how far they go.

"I didn't see you complainin' when I brought them doughnuts aboard! It must be by some bloody miracle you ain't pukin' your guts out too!"

"Yeah, but I only had one. You wouldn't stop stuffing your face. Wouldn't it be better for us to ration them in case we get shipwrecked or something?"

"In that case, we'll just eat you."

"What?! Me?! Screw you. I'm not going down without a fight. Besides, you're the biggest one here. Imagine how meat you could give us."

"Over my dead body. Eh… Literally." Hwalín laughed. "Alright, if I happen to kick it somehow during all this, then sacrifice my body for your consumption."

"Wow, really? That's sweet. Wait… What about Q? It's not like she needs to eat. Maybe we… eat her." Alma glances over at the eldritch woman awkwardly, who is at the moment on the bridge annoying the captain.

"Ergh, no. You're gonna make me spew chunks again. Who knows what her alien meat would do to us. Reckon I'll just starve if it were just me and her. Not that it'll ever come to that. I'm sure she'd get us out of it. She always does."

"True that. Big Q's always been our lifesaver. If it weren't for her, I'd still be stuck on that weird planet. I wouldn't actually be able to bring myself to eat her…"

"The planet with that spooky black sun? Still sounds bloody bonkers to me. Still wonder how you even managed to cook up a portal to a place like that anyhow. Good on ya for surviving though. Still ain't sure how you pulled that off, but I'm proud of you."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oh yeah… Now that I think about it, Q did mention something about a lack of atmosphere…" Alma looked uneasy for a moment, struggling to remember how exactly she stayed alive at all during her trip. She then reached in her pocket for something, but her hand wrapped around nothing. "Who knows how things worked there. Maybe it was normal. It all feels like a dream now anyway and the less I'm reminded of that place the better." The markswoman reached into her pocket once again, this time feeling something cold and hard brush against her fingers. She pulled out a small figurine of an alien reptilian, sitting in a way only a human could.

"Oi, what's that?" Hwalín pointed to the odd statuette in Alma's hands. "Looks pretty bizarre. That one of Macha's servants or something?"

"No, it's… something I picked up from that other world. It was in some kind of stone temple. My guess is some religious trinket from when intelligent things still lived there. No idea what it was for… Heh, kinda funny it showing up now. I forgot all about it and when I checked my pocket earlier, I swear there was nothing there…"

"Mate, I've seen your room. I'm shocked you can find the arse-end of… well, you. I bet you're always finding random crap in your pockets."

"I mean, sure, but it's weird I hadn't—"

"Alma! Hwalín!" Qu'l-Nia was calling from the upper deck, the breeze blowing through her platinum hair. She waved down at the both of them. "Is not the ocean here wonderful? It stretches far beyond what this mortal shell's eyes can see."

"Oh… Yeah…! Totally!" Alma smiled back awkwardly.

"Should've seen what she was like on the way over." Hwalín leaned over to whisper to Alma. "She suggested swimming the whole way. I think that woman sometimes forgets to come down from her godly throne to roll in the muck with us mortals, aye?"

"The captain here says the waters around here is guarded by 'the deep ones'! Frightening sentinels of the sea! The folklore surrounding the oceans is always so intriguing, I cannot get enough!"

"T'ain't no folktale." The voice of the sea captain buzzed through the speakers as he spoke from the radio on the bridge. "Them deep ones rise from the briny deep to protect their territory. Small ships got to be cautious when they're crossing this part of the lugubrious seas, on account of there are monstrous things down below that should never see the light of day. Hollow things, with thin frames and scaly flesh that swim faster than any creature known to man. They attack and raid sailing vessels and kill everyone aboard, if not simply sink their ship and drown them as sacrifices to their ancient deity."

"Fascinating!" Qu'l-Nia smiled back toward the captain who kept his eyes out at the water as she steered.

Alma turned back toward the side of the boat, leaning slightly over the edge while playing around with the small figurine in her hand. The waves continued lapping mysteriously against the side, hiding dark secrets. She wondered if maybe the stories about these deep ones were nothing more than mistaken cases of gold elf sightings. Their kind were rare and almost never ventured out from their sea homes. They weren't typically hostile to land dwellers, but these things can't be said for everyone. The ex-soldier's focus shifted from the statuette to the waters below—an odd glint catching her eye. Two of them. Four—Dozens. All moving rapidly in unison somewhere beneath the water from one side of the ocean to the other. Almost like a march. As her eyes focused, she noticed the shimmering pairs were all following something ahead of them. She hadn't noticed it at first, thinking it was just a trick of the roving waves. What appeared to be an enormously dark mass moving impossibly fast across the ocean floor. Somehow, it seemed to be getting larger. It was then that she noticed it was rising.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.