Night 60: Underground Lake

[razing_phoenix]

[From here.]Just like the last time, Guy's feet hit the uneven sand as he took in that unmistakable smell of dampness. This area was almost dead quiet when compared to the hallway that they'd just come from, but he still could make out the lapping of water and the creaking of the dock. All of those sensations just reminded him of the fact that they

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[full_score]

While Guy had a valid question, the more Claude thought about it, the less giving up his sense of touch sounded like a good idea. As a front-line fighter, he needed to rely on his ability to wield a sword. If he couldn't use his body to gauge how much force to throw into an attack, where would that leave him? Without something so crucial, he'd easily become a burden if they fell under an unexpected ambush -- and, judging by their first night in here, the odds weren't in their favor.

"On second thought, it might be better if I give up my voice tonight after all," he suddenly said. While he wished he could have had a little more time to think things through, he also knew there was a chance the skeleton would interpret Guy's words as verification that Claude actually wanted to hand over his sense of touch. With that in mind, he'd decided it was better to speak up sooner than later.

"Anise might need her voice to cast one of those fonic artes, right?" he pointed out with a concerned frown. "What if we get bounced back somehow and she winds up having to give it up as another toll?" This place didn't always play fair, and it was probably better to be prepared.

[trolltaker]

Before anyone had a chance to add anything else to the conversation, Charon cut in.  "Pleasure doing business with ya', Blondie," he said with an unnatural, grating laugh.  Then, as if to seal the deal, he knocked his staff against the dock.  The sound echoed off of the damp cavern walls.

"Anyway," he casually continued as he turned to look at Guy, "I normally hate answering Captain Obvious questions, but--" Pausing, he gave a raspy cough and cleared his non-existent throat.  The next time he spoke, his voice sounded eerily familiar -- just like the one he'd just taken as payment.  "Since I want to give this baby a test spin, I guess I'll be generous."

Growing quiet a moment, he considered how he'd sounded just then.  Not too bad, though not getting the chance to take Cutie's voice left him a bit disappointed.

"Oh--right, got distracted there, sorry," Charon continued.  "Anyway, like I said the first night you were lucky enough to find me, you can't pay with your sense of smell again.  That's boring, and this place isn't exactly a charity.  The other stuff, though?  Fair game, no matter how many nights you have to come begging for my help.  A guy made of just bones isn't going to be picky about that stuff."

Gesturing to the boat, he looked at the group.  "Either way, the toll's been paid, you've got your tickets, so climb aboard."

[razing_phoenix]

Guy hadn't really been ready for Claude to change his mind at the last minute like that. Giving up his voice? It seemed like it would be a tough burden to bear, but in the end Guy could understand Claude's reasoning pretty easily. So long as he could still nod, shake his head, and gesture to them, they would hopefully be fine.

Not that they really had a chance to reconsider, since the ferryman took his toll almost right after Claude made his offer.

Guy's gaze remained on Claude for a moment. This wasn't as bad as if he had lost his sight or something, seeing how that would have had some terrible memories associated with it, but --

Then the skeleton spoke up again, and it was with a voice that most certainly didn't belong to him. "What--?" Guy's head whipped over to stare at the ferryman, his shoulders stiff. While he'd realized beforehand that the skeleton took their senses for itself, this was the first time that it had been quite so obvious, and it was bizarre.

While Guy didn't really want to hear it in Claude's voice, he still made sure to pay attention to the explanation. So it seemed like other than smell, everything else could be repeated in subsequent nights. That was something they should keep in mind, then.

When the ferryman ordered them aboard, Guy sent Claude a worrying glance before taking the lead and settling on the far end of the boat. He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with listening to the ferryman talking with Claude's voice for too much longer.

[gald_digger]

Claude's reasoning was sound. In fact, Anise had considered that too, back when she was thinking up objections to him going before her. Being able to feel was vital to swordsmanship, and she needed a voice for fonic artes. This way, they'd all get to stay in good fighting shape.

The sound of the staff's thud was as ominous as ever, but what was even worse was the sound that came out of the skeleton's mouth after that. Anise was taken aback for a moment, flinching at hearing her friend's voice coming from the ferryman. She took a moment to absorb both that and the information he was giving them, and then sighed. "Now I'm really glad I didn't pay tonight."

Before boarding the ferry, however, Anise went to Claude's side, her hand fishing around behind her for something as she did. "I brought these just in case. You should take them," she explained before finding and producing a pen and two folded paper scraps. "We can probably get by on gestures, but if you need, you can use this!" So long as they didn't end up swimming again, that was.

Once those were handed over, she flashed him an encouraging smile and hurried over to the boat, settling into a seat with as much distance from Guy as was possible in such a small space.

[full_score]

Oh, hell, was the ferryman seriously using his voice now? Claude grew stiff at that realization. Really? Well, at least this beat paying over his sense of touch, although for a fleeting moment he wondered if such a price was worth not having to hear that skeleton talk like him. But, no...last night he'd realized he'd made a mistake by not quite thinking things through, so he was glad to at least get a chance to set things right this time around.

At any rate, thankfully the skeleton decided to clear up some of the confusion about how tolls worked. With that done, they were ready to be on their way. But, first, it looked like Anise had thought to bring along a pen and some paper just for this very scenario. Claude wordlessly raised his eyebrows at the offer before taking them with a grateful smile. Thanks, he mouthed, and he tried not to let the lack of sound unsettle him too much.

After tucking both items into his jacket, Claude climbed into the boat after his friends. He settled down beside Guy, careful not to jostle his seat too much. After flashing him what was hopefully a reassuring grin, he waited for the ferryman to take them across.

The sooner they reached the other shore, the better.

[trolltaker]

Once everyone sat down, Charon took his usual position at the back of the boat and pushed them away from the dock with his staff. The water gently lapped against from their movements, sending small waves across the dark lake. It was quiet -- and, thankfully for the group traveling with him, the skeleton wasn't in the mood to shatter tonight's relative peace. Considering how long he'd been stuck here alone, it almost surprised even him, but maybe that was what laziness did to someone.

Well, whatever. If they didn't wind up like the unfortunate creatures scattered across the sand, they'd likely be seeing him again anyway. Their luck was bound to run out sooner or later.

Charon chuckled. "Since there's nothing new to see this time around, try not to jump around so much, all right? I can't guarantee safe passage every time, and carrying on like a bunch of banshees like you did before won't help you."

[razing_phoenix]

As it turned out, Anise had possessed the foresight to bring some sheets of paper and a pen along with her. Guy watched as she handed those over to Claude, smiling at the sight. That was bound to come in handy at some point, though he also realized that they should probably rely on it as little as possible, seeing how they were going to probably be forced into situations where they wouldn't have the time to wait for Claude to write things out.

It was a relief nonetheless. Before long the boat had set off across the murky waters, and by now Guy knew better than to peer into it too closely. He thought that the remark that the ferryman made about their previous reaction to the waterlogged corpses was rather exaggerated, though he realized that there was no point in arguing about it.

Besides, it would feel strange to argue with someone who was speaking with Claude's voice.

"Don't worry, we aren't planning to rock the boat around or anything." In fact, Guy was staying pretty still. It wasn't like the boat was that large, after all, and he didn't need to brush against Anise by accident. That might end up with one of them falling into the water, and who knew what that would mean for them.

[gald_digger]

Aside from the short exchange between the skeleton and Guy, the ride across began quietly. Knowing what sort of things could await them on the other side, it was almost like the calm before a storm... though with Claude unable to speak, it was possible that the whole night was going to be much quieter than what Anise was used to.

Despite being reminded of the bodies in the water, Anise found herself gazing outward at the faces bobbing along near the surface. It was hard not to look, when that was really all she could see beyond the boat itself. If nothing else, they served as a somber reminder to stay on guard. Anise still didn't know what could have happened for them to end up like that, but what she did know was that she didn't want to find out the hard way.

When she'd had enough, the girl looked back to the inside of the boat and let out a small, barely audible sigh. She didn't enjoy sitting quietly for such a long time, and the skeleton's reminder that they were no longer guaranteed safe passage left an uncomfortable bit of tension in the air. Inwardly, she was just praying that the ride would be uneventful to the end.

[full_score]

Claude wanted to come out with a grumpy retort, especially with how annoyed he was getting from hearing that skeleton use his voice, but he clenched his jaw and kept quiet. It wasn't like speaking would do any good, anyway, thanks to the toll he'd paid. But when he thought of how much better off they'd be if he had his sense of touch, his frustration ebbed a bit.

Instead, he silently listened to the sounds of the ferryman's paddle breaking into the water and pushing them along. The stillness of the caverns unnerved him. Claude could practically feel the nameless faces peering at them from the dark lake, their gazes burning into him, but he did his best to ignore it.

If they were lucky, they wouldn't have to find out firsthand what had happened to them to wind up like that.

[trolltaker]

"A wise decision," Charon quietly said to Guy with a small chuckle. "Very wise indeed." They didn't want to wind up in the water, after all. And as dull as it could get with only short-tempered spiders and silent faces to keep him company, it was better that they not test his patience with a bunch of unnecessary flailing.

With little else to add, the ferryman was content with paddling them across the lake. Of course, it was hard to keep from humming a mindless tune just so he could keep listening to his spiffy new voice. If there was one thing he was better at than playing cards or rowing boats, it was entertaining himself.

Thankfully, they didn't have to endure his noise for too long. The other shore soon came into sight, its torches flickering and casting unsteady, fitful shadows around then. Charon brought the boat to a halt and linked it to the dock. When that was finished, it didn't take long for the three of them to move onto the shore.

"No presents from me this time, kiddies," he said as he climbed back into the boat and idly checked over it. "But if you don't die, maybe we'll run into each other again soon, huh?" With one final bark of a laugh, he waved and pushed away from the dock with his paddle.

[razing_phoenix]

Despite all the grief that had come before it about the toll, the actual boat ride turned out to be very quiet and very short. That was fine by Guy; he wasn't exactly interested in chatting with the ferryman, and his whistling had been oddly eerie in the way it had echoed off the cave walls.

When the boat docked Guy waited for the others to disembark in front of him, following them off as he stretched and looked around. It was the same as he remembered it. Before he could even respond to what the skeleton said (and he kept having to stop himself from looking over at Claude when he heard that voice), the boat had disappeared from view.

That was probably for the best.

"So..." He drew forward, glancing at Anise because he realized that he'd been mainly relying on her for input, seeing how Claude was temporarily mute. "Last time we went through that door," he said, pointing out to the one that was directly to the left from the dock. It looked like there were three more. Did they have to go through all of them? "Any preferences for where we go next?" It wasn't like they had any criteria to choose, so they might just have to make a random decision.

[gald_digger]

Anise followed Guy's gesture with her eyes, noting the door they'd already passed through. After a moment of consideration, she looked back up at him to answer. "Well... It doesn't really matter, does it? So let's just go through this one," she suggested, waving her hand in the direction of the rightmost door. No particular reason; it was just the one that caught her eye at that moment. All the doors were equally mysterious, so it was probably best if they didn't spend too much time deliberating which to take.

With that, she started on her way to the door, stopping once she was close to allow time for last minute objections or for simply gathering their courage. If the next trials were going to be anything like the last ones, they had to be prepared for anything.

"Let's just, um, watch our feet this time," she advised the others with a light, sheepish grin, remembering that terrifying first step beyond the other door.

[full_score]

Although Anise had given him some paper and a pen, it wouldn't have been practical to go fishing for all that just to give his opinion about something none of them knew much about. Thankfully, neither Guy nor Anise seemed particularly inclined to think too hard about it. At the end of the day, they were all just making a bunch of guesses down here, weren't they?

Upon hearing Anise's warning, Claude gave a silent nod in agreement. Since they had no idea of what to expect, they needed to be careful. Tightening his grip on his sword, he reached out to push the door open. He led the way inside, but moved slow and deliberate enough that it would be easy for them to stick close together.

((To here.))