On the surface of the Tuor Ocean the water was calm and tranquil, its sea-green color hiding what lie beneath. From above the ocean, one could endlessly speculate a myriad of possibilities as to what exactly transpired underneath everyday. Down below harbored much life, of plants, animals and sea races alike, all content to live out their daily lives as they had done for many decades prior.
In the black depths of the ocean where no sunlight shone through, dwell the site of a ship sunk long ago by a fierce storm that had once ravaged it mercilessly. It was here one of these oceanic inhabitants was found, idly exploring the area with curiosity with her sea friends, a dolphin and a fish by her side. In her hands, she held a shell illuminated with a bright yellow light to see what lay around her.
"Turquoise, look!" Waves exclaimed triumphantly. "I think I found something!"
"Oh, what is it, do tell!" The mermaid and Red the fish sauntered over excitedly to see what the dolphin had discovered.
In the darkened rubble, beneath crumbled rocks, seaweed and the remnants of a coral reef, there lay the remains of a ship, long forgotten to the rest of the world. Time and the sea had not been kind to it, encrusted with barnacles and overgrown with plants poking up every which way made it difficult to see clearly. Rust covered the once smooth workmanship of the traveling vessel, rendering it a dull blackened exterior that once may have been a real beauty to see. They all set to brush away a tiny bit of the rubble covering it in order to see better, Waves and Red in turn poking at what they could reach.
Turquoise eyed the ship in awe. It was quite a massive ship, most likely the remains of a once great fishing vessel or pirate vessel. The latter was more likely. In fact as the mermaid brushed away some of the debris covering one side of the vessel, the image of a skull and crossbones soon emerged, its chipped, cracked surface still appearing proud after all this time, a reminder of the fierce sea mercenaries who once controlled it.
The sea maiden thought she spotted something glittering toward the bottom next to the encrusted, seaweed covered wheel that once steered the ship itself. However it was too far to get to, for much rubble still stood between her and whatever it was that was shining so hypnotically down there. Turquoise directed her light shell down towards the source of the glittering object, trying to catch a better glimpse of what it could be. It looked like some kind of large jewel, but she couldn't be certain of this.
"Well, of all the unfortunate things!" the mermaid cursed lightly, very disappointed. "How am I to get to it now, I wonder?" Her companions had no answers for her regarding this and they looked almost as disappointed as Turquoise herself was.
Coralia, being an Ocean Spirit, often explored the various uncharted depths of the different seas and oceans around Le'raana. Whether she was just diving to dive, or exploring submerged ships and underwater caves made no difference to her. She loved the ocean and everything about it. It was beautiful and tranquil, and the plants and animals that thrived in it were beautiful as well.
The depths of the ocean, however, were often dark and mysterious, harboring little to no life. For many creatures, there was not enough light down there to survive. For others, the water pressure was too high, or the oxygen content was too low.
As she swam down towards the sea floor, she passed some glowing jellyfish, which illuminated the water just enough for her to be able to see clearly. In front of her, but farther down, she saw a sunken ship. As she moved closer to investigate, she noticed something she had overlooked the first time she glanced at the ship... what appeared to be a mermaid, a dolphin and a fish.
Curious as to who they were and what they were doing down here, but too shy to actually approach them right away, Coralia found a rock the jutted out of the seafloor and created a perfect perch from which to watch the activities of these creatures. She sat on top of this rock, crossing her legs, waiting to see what the mermaid would do.
Turquoise continued her attempts to get to the shiny glittering object at the bottom of the ship. However she was not having much luck in that regard. "By the ocean's unfathomable depths!" she cursed yet again, this time in a slightly louder tone of voice. "Oh, this is most annoying!" she exclaimed. The others were also trying to help out the mermaid but they too were not having much good fortune either.
Red at that point, noticed out of the corner of his bulbous eye, a shadow sitting on a rock illuminated slightly by the light from the shell Turquoise held. "Ah, hey Turquoise, can you shine the light over there?" he whispered, indicating with his little scaly head in the direction of the rock. "There's something over there, on that rock there." he continued in a quiet voice, unsure of what it could be. It seemed unlikely that it was a shark as sharks obviously didn't sit in wait like that. Perhaps another mer-folk? he wondered.
Turquoise, hearing what the little fish had said, swung the shell over in the direction indicated. One or two jellyfish also swam by the area giving enough light to see what looked like a human woman sitting on the rock. But of course, humans were not seen down here as they obviously couldn't survive for long, if at all. The idea was preposterous. On closer examination, the woman had some silver scales just barely visible on the backs of her legs and arms, sitting crossed-legged as she was, it was a bit difficult to tell for certain. She was neither a mermaid nor a siren, though that wasn't to say Turquoise had never seen other aquatic species before. They just weren't as common a sight. The woman's long golden hair flowed past her shoulders and back, wavering in the dark waters they were in, looking quite curiously at the trio.
By this time, all three had turned in the newcomer's direction, themselves wondering who she was. Waves and Red, apparently not seeing her as a threat, swam over to the mysterious sea lady wanting to introduce themselves to another creature of the ocean. "Wait up you two!" Turquoise called out to them, swimming right after them the shimmering jewel forgotten for the time being.
Red got there first and immediately playfully bumped into the woman with his body saying, "Hello! Who might you be, pretty lady of the sea?"
Waves and Turquoise soon caught up to the fish, expectantly looking at the silver-scaled woman. "Are you also here to check out the sunken pirate vessel?" the mermaid questioned. Waves in turn circled playfully around the woman, giving her a mischievous grin as she did so.
Once the fish began to swim over in her direction, Coralia realized that it would be too late to hide, as they had already noticed her presence. After all, she had no reason to hide from them, other than the small bit of anxiety that was building up in her from her shyness. As they grew closer, she started to get a small stomach ache, but she ignored it. She was prone to this happening from anxiety, and was used to it by now.
The mermaid and dolphin followed close behind the fish, but by the time they got over to her the fish had already asked her who she was. "My name is Coralia. I'm a spirit of the ocean." She replied.
The mermaid then asked her if she was interested in the ship that she saw before her. "Hmmm..." Coralia said with a soft smile. "Well, I didn't dive particularly looking for it. But it did manage to catch my attention, as well as pique my interest."
Coralia looked over to the dolphin, who was circling her in what appeared to be a playful manner. "What an odd group of friends you guys are! I mean, it's not uncommon for mer-folk to be friends with animals of the sea, but doesn't your group kind of break the food chain?" She gave a small, innocent laugh.
"Regardless, now that you know who I am, might I ask who you are? And since you brought it up, is there any reason that I should be particularly interested in this pirate ship?"
"Hi Coralia! I'm Red!" the little fish exclaimed.
"But he is not all red, just mostly." Waves quipped in cheerfully. "And I am Waves!"
"Who likes to make waves of her own!" quipped back Red.
Turquoise giggled at her companions' playful banter, before replying, "I am named Turquoise, of the Blue-Shell clan. It is not that common to see those who are not either mer-folk or sirens about. I have only ever seen one ocean spirit before. He was rather a sullen type though." she frowned at the memory, before her face immediately brightened again. "The ship, oh yes. It is rather a fascinating thing."
"Especially the jewel at the bottom!" Red piped in.
"Yes, the blasted jewel that none of us can seem to reach. Most unfortunate!" she huffed in irritation.
"Yes, yes, the jewel!" Waves grinned.
"A pleasure to meet you all, Red, Waves and Turquoise." Coralia said, also giggling at the fish and the dolphin. She smiled a warm smile. "It's always nice to meet other creatures of the ocean, especially ones as kind as you."
Coralia looked over at the ship. From here, all she could really make out was the outline, as well as the pirate symbol that Turquoise had uncovered. She removed herself from her seat on the rock and floated out into the open water.
"As for the ship, you said there is a jewel at the bottom? Could you show me?"
"Of course. Right this way!" Turquoise dashed off to the ship, her companions following after her.
The mermaid swam over to the place where she had seen the sparkly object and shined her light shell down in the crevice where it was lodged beneath the rubble. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger down towards it. The object in question shimmered a bright glowing green light. Whatever kind of jewel it was, it appeared to be quite large, about the size of two fists combined.
Coralia followed close behind as Turquoise led her to the ship. When they reached the spot where the jewel was located, she looked down to see it covered in rubble. It appeared to be just too far down to grab, and even if they were to be able to reach it, it was too big to bring out through the rubble.
"Oh, my! That is quite the predicament!" Coralia exclaimed with a smile on her face. "I may be able to help you out, however. I'm well versed in water magic, and since we are surrounded by water, perhaps there is something I can do to make it possible to retrieve the jewel. Would you like me to try?"
"Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" the mermaid exclaimed, now excited again at the prospect of being able to actually get the jewel. She couldn't wait to see it! Turquoise added in, "I also have some magic at my disposal and silly me I did not think to use it! So let us both try!"
She readied her shell for the magic to come while Red and Waves both nodded their heads up and down enthusiastically.
Coralia held out her right hand, and a vortex of water began to swirl around the jewel, lifting it up out of the rubble it was lodged in. However, there was still the problem of everything blocking their access to the jewel in the first place.
"See if you can do anything about that additional rubble. Any more power for this whirlpool could cause significant damage to the ship, and I wouldn't want that."
Turquoise held out the shell, still lit from within and began to conjure the magic needed to do as asked. The rubble surrounding the jewel was momentarily lifted in a mini-whirlpool of water, swirling around rapidly. She directed it over to the other side of the ship, and then promptly released the hold on the debris, making it fall down behind the ship where the four of them could not see it anymore. Most of it was composed of rocks and pebbles, as well as rusted chains and old swords of no real worth or interest to the mermaid.
Once some of that was out of the way, there was still the matter of the two heavy swords and a thick chain coiled nearby. She focused the energy again, and moved the two swords out of the way as well. However the chain appeared to be stuck to something and wouldn't budge. Turquoise could not move it any further and it was still blocking the way to the jewel. "By the ocean!" Turquoise cursed and immediately swam over to see what the chain was caught on. Waves and Red also followed the mermaid, and Red swam down into the crevice to attempt to get a better look as well.
Coralia noticed that Turquoise was struggling and stopped channeling the vortex to take a look with her. She placed the jewel gently back on the sea floor, then took a look at the problem. There appeared to be a large chain stuck on something.
"Well, that's a predicament. Can anyone see what it's stuck on?"
As the little fish swam down into the crevice to take a look, Turquoise leaned over as well along with Waves. "Oh wowsies, Turquoise, you gotta see this!" Red exclaimed in awe and excitement.
Turquoise directed the light from the shell to where Red was, and in turn saw what he was looking at. The rusted edge of what appeared to be a large treasure chest buried among yet more rocks in a deep corner of the ship deck also covered in lots of seaweed, could be seen. The chain was hooked underneath the massive gilded chest from what it looked like which is why it wouldn't move. Plus the rocks didn't help either. The jewel was lying nearby the chest and rock pile, now covered by the chain when Turquoise released the magical whirlpool.
Now Turquoise was more determined than ever to get to not only the jewel but the treasure chest too. "Alright, move back Red, Waves, I need to use my magic again to move this thing." Red peeked out from the crevice, his scaly face looking quite adorable in that moment as he wriggled his way out of there, back to the mermaid's side.
This would require more energy than before to move not only the chain but the entire pile of rocks and treasure chest as well. She had only ever used that much magic once before when she angrily sunk that pirate ship that had caught her. However this was a different ship she could tell and much older too, having been buried down here for quite some time, longer than Turquoise had been alive for she was certain. Of course, such a feat had taken a lot out of Turquoise and the shell she had used refused to work for some time afterwards. Hopefully this wouldn't require as much effort as that event had.
Turquoise relayed her plans to Coralia so hopefully the two of them would be more successful together than one individually could be by themselves. Once more she channeled her magic through the shell to create a huge vortex of water with which to move the debris. The fish and dolphin waited by her side, eagerly watching to see what would happen.
As Turquoise began using her magic again, so did Coralia. She increased the size and strength of her own whirlpool to try and blow some of the debris out of the way. She still didn't want to cause significant damage to the ship, so she refrained from using the full extent of her magic.
As they used their magic, the chain slowly but surely began to come loose. It would take quite some time at this rate, however. She turned to Turquoise. "I can make this faster, but the ship could suffer some damage. What do you think?"
As the whirlpool spun around, various sizes of rocks tumbling about within its watery prison, Turquoise concentrated a little harder to move the chain. With both the mermaid and the ocean spirit using their magic to move the debris, it was working but rather slowly. As she concentrated, the chain began to budge a bit more but seemed to be still stuck.
When Coralia asked whether or not she should use the full extent of her powers so as to be careful about not damaging the ship, Turquoise stopped the vortex and thought for a bit, pursing her lips. At this rate, they could continue as they were, which would take some time to loosen everything up or they could expend more force into their water magics but at the risk of damaging the ship, well more than it already was that is. It seemed like if they did continue about this the way they were, it may not make much of a difference, leaving the treasure chest and jewel in the darkness of the deep waters where they were for someone else to find instead. Apparently the mermaid's curiosity and lack of patience won her over, and she nodded her head at the ocean spirit and said, "Yes, let's do it."
And so she gathered more energy into the vortex to really make a dent in the pile of debris blocking her way to the prizes beneath. Much more quickly now, some more of the rubble loosened and then cleared away to reveal indeed a treasure chest encrusted with barnacles and bits of seaweed plastered onto it, however they ran across yet another obstacle. The chest was melded to the floor of the ship! At least the chain was now out of the way but in the process it nicked some of the workmanship of the ship deck. After stopping the vortex, Waves swam over there first, followed in tow by Turquoise and Red. "Open it!" Waves swam about excitedly, waiting to see what the contents were inside.
Turquoise proceeded to do exactly that and groaned when the lid would not move! "Well, darn it all!" she let out a frustrated sigh at this. Waves paced around in the water, seeming also disappointed at the unfortunate situation. Red simply let out bubbles of annoyance. Then a thought occurred to Turquoise. "Where's the jewel?" she wondered aloud.
When the mermaid began to increase the force of her whirlpool, so did Coralia. However, the force of their magic must have displaced the jewel. When Turquoise pointed this out, Coralia began to look around. Sure enough, the jewel was now floating through the water away from the ship and she swam out to grab it.
Once she had it in her hands, Coralia swam back to the ship, placing the jewel down gently. "Well, that takes care of one of our problems." She said with a smile. "Now, what to do about that treasure chest?"
When Turquoise saw the jewel she was instantly mesmerized by it. She swam over and picked up the jewel and studied it. It was rather huge, and shone a bright green light from within. "Wow, an emerald!" the mermaid was fascinated by the beautiful gem she now held, her two companions going ooh and ahh over it too. "Not just any emerald either, this one here is enchanted!" she stared at it hypnotized. Turquoise rather loved shiny things and this was no exception.
"A magic emerald, whee!" Red the fish exclaimed in joy. Waves also bounced her head up and down, letting out happy sounds as well.
"I wonder what kind of magic it holds." the teal-haired sea maiden wondered aloud. "It looks and feels quite powerful, whatever it is."
"Perhaps there are clues about it on the ship?" Coralia said with a bright smile. "After all, I'm sure if they were in possession of it they at least had some idea of its worth. I feel it would be difficult not to recognize this as enchanted."
Turquoise turned her attention back to the treasure chest for a moment, thinking. "Well, since we cannot open the darn chest, maybe there's a key on board as well? I very much would love to find out what's inside." She cradled the emerald in her hands, gazing at it fondly before turning to the ship and swimming over to the other end, moving her light shell along the way searching for clues of any sort. Her companions Waves and Red followed suit, with Waves poking at stuff here and there, and Red turning his bulbous eyes this way and that, to find anything of interest.
There was a small opening leading underneath the deck so Red swam into that to look around some more. The opening was barely big enough to fit Turquoise and Waves so after a time of trying to squeeze through they gave up and waited for Red to come out. Turquoise shined the light into the crevice to see where Red was and to try to catch a glimpse of what else may be there. After several minutes had passed, Red came bounding out of there with a thin glass case gripped in his mouth. He handed it to Turquoise and said, "Lookie, a case with something inside it!"
Turquoise quickly opened the case and found a worn and faded piece of parchment rolled up inside that she swiftly undid to take a look at what it may show. The symbols and pictures however were confusing, but in the corner at the bottom left, showed a rough sketch of the jewel and unfamiliar words underneath that that she couldn't make out for it was written in a strange tongue and partially worn away by the sea water too. Waves and Red peered over her shoulder to also take a look.
"I can't make this out at all." Turquoise said in confusion. Picking up her light shell again from the ground, she brought it closer to the paper to try to see better the markings that covered the document.
While Turquoise explored one side of the ship, Coralia went to explore the other side. The ship was massive, and Coralia knew it must have been magnificent to behold while it was still functioning.
As she swam around the ship, she looked for anything that could be used to open the chest. "Where could the key possibly be?"
As Turquoise continued to look over the worn piece of parchment, trying to decipher its meaning, Waves sneaked another peek at the treasure chest in front of them. The key hole was rusted, and seemed to show a fairly decent sized hole in which to fit a key of some sort. The question remained, where was this key?
"Ah, I give up! I cannot make any of this out!" Turquoise threw up her hands exasperated, rolling the parchment back into the glass tube and capping it securely. She handed it to Red, who carried it for her in his mouth as both the mermaid's hands were full, one hand carrying the shell, the other carrying the magic jewel.
They continued to explore the ship searching for anything that could be used to open the chest. Waves thought she saw something poking out from beneath a couple wooden planks, and nudged Turquoise's hand to get the mermaid's attention, indicating her head in that direction. Turquoise saw what the dolphin was looking at and swam over to take a look.
Positioning the light from the shell in that area, she saw the rusted edge of what looked to be a key! Excited, she immediately grabbed the object after setting down the enchanted emerald and held up the item in her free hand. It was indeed a key, a plain brass one, its once smooth surface now covered with much rust and some seaweed.
"Found a key!"
Upon hearing her declaration, Coralia swam over as fast as she could. Seeing the key, she examined it for a while before speaking. "It surely looks like it could fit. Shall we try it?"
"Yes, let's!" Turquoise wiped off some of the seaweed covering the key, looked at it more closely for a second and then swam over to the chest and tried the key in the key hole. It was a bit difficult at first, but soon the key clicked into place and she turned it excitedly, wanting to know what lay inside. Red and Waves held their breaths in anticipation.
Turquoise then opened up the chest and this time it gave way revealing its contents. She gasped in astonishment, her companions also going ooh and aah over everything. Inside was gold coins and silver coins all mixed together, with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds scattered all through the interior, peeking up from the plethora of coins they were buried in. Some of these coins spilled onto the sea floor as they continued to look over the treasure. There was even a couple silver necklaces and as Turquoise sifted through it all, she came upon a jeweled scepter too. The scepter was decorated with black and white shimmery stones and was very beautiful in its craftsmanship, however there was no magic that could be felt from it. It was just an ordinary jeweled scepter, obviously stored in with everything else because of its value. Indeed for it looked to be worth a small fortune.
"Wow!" the mermaid breathed in awe, the dolphin and fish echoing her sentiments. "This is most certainly a wonderful find!"
"Indeed, it is." Coralia said as she looked at the contents of the chest. "However, one thing remains unanswered."
She looked at the original jewel that they had found, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Why was this jewel kept separately from the rest? One would assume that they would all be kept together, safely locked away in the chest."
"Good question. Maybe we can discover more about it by this piece of parchment that Red found. It seems to tell about the jewel however I cannot make heads or tails of it." she huffed in exasperation, frustrated at her inability to read the paper which very well could tell what the gem was and what its powers were to boot.
Red swam over to Coralia and nudged her hand with the glass tube in his mouth which contained said document. "Maybe ocean lady can find out more and read it?" he asked hopefully, big wide eyes looking at her innocently.
((I have a generic plot for the mystery of the jewel figured out so if you have a question about it, feel free to PM me. The jewel is quite powerful and there is a reason why it was left out from the rest.))
(Sounds good to me. If there's any extremely important details I should know, PM them to me. Otherwise I'll just follow your lead.)
"Ocean lady? I do have a name, you know!" Coralia said. She really wasn't offended, and she hoped the fish didn't take that the wrong way. "But I can see what I can do."
She took the paper out of the tube and pushed it out into the water before her. It unraveled itself and floated there perfectly. The ink appeared to have been caused to run by the water, but Coralia could easily remedy that. She started channeling some magic into the document, and the water went into the ink, which began to undo the process it had gone through and reform legible words.
Red detected the teasing note in her voice so he knew the ocean spirit wasn't really offended. He gave Coralia a cheeky grin and watched with the others while she channeled her magic into the paper. The lettering repaired itself before their very eyes and soon the words could be read.
"The Gem of Wishes." Turquoise read aloud, the caption under the sketch now readable to her. Eagerly, she read the rest of the document. "It says here it can grant wishes to whomever holds the stone while stating a particular wish out loud. As long as one's wish does not go against liable probability, your wish is sure to be granted. But beware, if doth make an improbable wish, be prepared to face the consequences of your actions." the mermaid read the words, greatly fascinated by this new found discovery.
"It also reveals the origins of the jewel saying it was created in the lands of The Enchanted Isles by one of the goddesses of magic and sorcery many moons ago, circa 500 years ago." She looked up at them all excitedly. "What do you propose we do with the jewel?" she asked the group.
Waves looked at the jewel with a mixture of awe and uncertainty. "Well, maybe we should leave it be?" she questioned hesitantly. "Although it is a pretty jewel, I would hate to leave it behind."
"True, who knows what kind of destruction it could cause if the wrong person got a hold of it." Turquoise pondered a bit before replying again. "But just think of the rewards too! If we could use its powers safely, it would be a huge boon! Or I could simply just hang onto it and not use it?" she frowned, thinking.
Coralia thought for a moment. "It would be best to take it with us. Should someone else discover it, it could have horrible consequences."
Coralia had no desire to use the jewel for herself, but she wanted to make sure the ocean would be protected, and something that powerful couldn't just be left there.
Turquoise nodded and snatched up the jewel again from the sea floor. Waves went around to another part of the ship to see if she could find anything else of interest. Meanwhile, Red gazed at the jewel curiously, and quipped, "Yes, we take it with us! Not sure about magic use but it very valuable and purty too."
Turquoise smiled at her fishy friend and replied, "Yes, it is very pretty and would make a nice addition to my collections."
She frowned as she thought of the jewel's potential destructive abilities, not sure exactly what could be considered 'going against liable probability.' Reading the note again didn't reveal any more insights about it, so she tucked the parchment back into the tube and handed it again to Red to carry. It would prove a useful item to take with as well, as it explained the jewel's purpose. And goodness knows the trouble humans could create with an item such as this, however it seemed highly unlikely that a human would discover it here if they did not take the gem with them, being as far down as it is.
She went over to the chest and plucked one of the silver necklaces from inside and clasped it around her neck. "Too bad there is no mirror nearby." she pouted. "Oh well." she surmised and looked over the contents again, eying the scepter with interest. She grabbed that up too and twirled it around a bit, admiring the handiwork of everything. The smooth metal it comprised of bore a slight sheen and she could almost see her eyes reflected in its somewhat polished surface, magenta colored eyes looking back at her. The stones covering it seemed to be onyx or obsidian or perhaps both, the white stones being milky quartz and white pearls. The top of it featured a small glass orb of dark blue. Overall it was simply lovely to look at. She had to take it with her as well.
Grabbing the other necklace, she handed it to Waves to carry as the dolphin came swimming back, apparently not finding anything else to bring back. "Now, it's a shame we cannot take the whole treasure chest with us. I imagine it is too heavy and bulky to carry around. What to do, what to do?" An idea occurred to her and her face brightened. "Oh! I can lock the chest and hide it, and take the key with me! That way no one else can pillage it while after we're gone!"
Waves nodded her head enthusiastically, as did Red. "I approve of this idea." Waves piped up in a squeaky voice.
Turquoise laughed and patted the dolphin's head affectionately. 'Then that's what we'll do then." she decided in finality.
Locking the chest and pushing it under some rocks and other debris, situating a few strands of seaweed over top it, she put the other necklace around her neck as well and handed the scepter to Waves with Red carrying the glass tube with the note inside it in his mouth. Handing Coralia the enchanted jewel of wishes, the mermaid herself carried her light shell and the key to the treasure chest. "We can come back later to explore some more." she told them. "Now it's off back to my home in the kingdom. Perhaps Lady Starlight is able to find out more about this jewel and exactly what it can do."
((Lady Starlight is an NPC mermaid that will be playable by both of us. She serves as seer, healer and adviser to the kingdom and its king and queen.))
(Gotcha)
Coralia placed an enchanted bubble around the jewel so that it would float by her side, rather than her having to carry it. Her light clothing flowed behind her as she swam. At the mermaid's mention of a kingdom, she became curious. She had explored the ocean quite often, but never once had she come across a kingdom of any kind. Perhaps it was because she was never looking for one.
"You live in a kingdom?"
"Oh yes, a very beautiful kingdom. Its name is the Kingdom of Greenwaves and is ruled by King Goldwater and the Queen Her royal Highness Jadette, also known as 'the light of the sea.' Her beauty seems to know no bounds." Turquoise frowned, recalling her envy of the queen's fathomless beauty and sighed. She could never hope to live up to Queen Jadette's gorgeousness ever.
"Some say the Queen was blessed by the sea goddess of beauty herself. It appears to not be far from the truth." she explained as the four of them swam through the waters, the hue of the ocean getting brighter and bluer the further they went.
"I know many mermen and other aquatic folk have desired her but that is simply not possible. The Queen is loyal to the death to the King and would never betray his trust. That is not to say some haven't tried though." Turquoise laughed, recalling some of the scenarios she had witnessed of the Queen's rejections of her various admirers, some of these events where she had turned them into water frogs and toads because she got sick of dealing with them. However she was far from mean or malicious and it was simply to teach those few a lesson. It worked and they never bothered her again after the magic was lifted.
They continued swimming through the salty waters of the ocean to get to where they were going, Turquoise admiring the necklaces around her neck every now and then.
Coralia kept eyeing the jewel to make sure it was staying in the bubble and nothing would happen to it, but she was listening attentively to everything Turquoise was saying. "It sounds like she's a good Queen."
Coralia began to wonder about just how beautiful this Queen was. Coralia was far from unattractive, and when she would go onto the beach to get away from the water for a while, men would often notice her and approach her. She knew just how annoying that could be sometimes, and it sounded like the Queen was far more beautiful than even Coralia. It could only be assumed she had it a lot worse.
"Is it all merfolk, then?"
"No. While merfolk and sirens make up the majority of the kingdom's inhabitants, there are others such as sea shifters, selkies, kelpies, marids and other water djinn and the occasional water spirit. There are even a few octopus men and women as well." the mermaid explained.
As they swam they passed by several schools of colorful fish, stingrays and even a whale at some point. Shrimp and seahorses they also passed by. "We should be almost there." Turquoise told Coralia. "Just a little further."
Coralia kept herself just behind Turquoise so she wouldn't get lost. Unlike Turquoise, she hadn't taken anything from the wreckage, so she just looked over at the gem every so often. "Really? That's interesting. I haven't really interacted with many races other than humans and merfolk. I'm rather shy, you see."
"Have you not met any more of your own kind?" Turquoise questioned curiously, looking behind her at the ocean spirit. "Where do you call home then?" Looking back ahead, she continued speaking. "The kingdom of Greenwaves is filled with many beings and creatures as I've mentioned before, so I've interacted with many of them, although the only ones I am really close to are Red and Waves here." Indicating her head at the dolphin and fish who were swimming along beside her, listening to the conversation between the two.
"Yes, we great friends!" Red quipped up, Waves bouncing her head up and down enthusiastically.
Turquoise laughed giddily at her friends' antics and smiled. "Yes, we most certainly are."
"I live in a small underwater cave, hidden on the side of one of the islands that are part of the Yoreiqi Isles." Coralia said. "It's hidden rather well, and as far as I know no one else has found it yet."
"Ooh, hidden cave!" Red blew out a couple bubbles as he said this. "You live all lone in this cave?"
"Yes, I'd like to know that too." Turquoise glanced behind her again at Coralia. "That must get awfully lonely. I know I would get lonely living all by myself."
"Without us to keep you company? That would be very sad, me says." Waves put in.
Turquoise smiled at the dolphin sadly. "Yes, it would be." she agreed.
The four of them soon arrived at their destination. "Here we are, the Kingdom of Greenwaves!" Turquoise announced as the silver gates to the kingdom came into view, a sentry on either side of the gates guarding it.
Coralia took a look at the city. It was truly marvelous, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Turning to Coralia, she smiled and said, "It's beautiful."
"It sure is." the mermaid agreed. She swam up to the guards at the gates, one a merman with a large halberd, the other a sea elf sporting a wickedly sharp scythe. "Hello, sir guards. My friends and I would like to enter the kingdom if you will. I am Turquoise, and these here are my friends Red, Waves and Coralia", indicating her head at each in turn. "While most of us live here already, Coralia is a visitor from afar wishing to see the glorious beauty of our home."
"Do you have a pass?" the merman asked.
"Oh, yes of course, how silly of me to forget." Turquoise plucked the sand dollar that served as a pass with her name engraved on it from her teal colored locks of hair and showed it to the gate guards.
The guards looked at it carefully before nodding their heads in consent, the sea elf saying, "You may pass then."
Opening the gates for the group the four of them swam in, towers of marble standing majestically in the near distance, coral reefs situated here and there, and the inhabitants who lived here could be seen swimming around, going about their normal day-to-day activities in the kingdom. A kelpie child swam past chasing a mermaid child with a pink tail playfully, the mergirl shrieking happily as they played their game of chase. A merchant merman could be seen selling his wares at the local market, goods containing many gems, pottery, necklaces, bracelets, and other such trinkets, while another merchant, an octopus woman peddled her wares of silk enchanted dresses, seaweed shawls, and hair pins made of mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli.
A town crier could be seen shouting out the daily news nearby, while a water djinn held his fortune telling and wish granting services in another area, a large crystal ball displayed proudly in front of his stall, purple cloth underneath it surrounded by quartz crystals of many colors.
Overall the sight may seem overwhelming for first-time visitors, but Turquoise propelled them onwards toward the palace. "Come on, we are going to meet with Lady Starlight and talk to her about the jewel we found. Let's go!"
Coralia was in awe of the city and its beauty. She hadn't expected it to be anything like this. There was far more activity going on than she had prepared herself for, and she found herself watching everyone going by with curiosity about what they were doing.
However, another thought crossed her mind at the same time, and she pulled the jewel closer to herself. She didn't expect any trouble, but just in case someone saw the jewel floating out by itself and thought it might be nice to take, she didn't want to leave it unattended.
"Lead the way. I'll follow close behind."
Turquoise led the way, followed by Red and Waves, with Coralia in the back. They made their way to the palace, many of the inhabitants of the kingdom giving them quick hellos and nods as they swam by. Five minutes later, they arrived at the large doors to the palace, another couple of sentries standing guard there.
"Well, here we are. Ready to go in and meet Lady Starlight?" Turquoise asked. "She lives in the palace as one of the advisers to the King and Queen. We may even see their Royal Majesties as well if we're lucky."
Coralia nodded, then asked the question that had popped into her head almost instantly. "Is it really so easy to get into the palace?"
"Well, not quite." Turquoise replied. "We have to acquire permission from the sentry guards first. But I'm sure they'll let us in! We just need to state our reasons for entering. A magic gem for Lady Starlight to analyze should be enough of a reason." She turned towards the doors and the guards again. "Come on!"
"I see." Coralia said with a smile, following Turquoise to the doors. "I must say, it is quite intriguing to think about what this gem might be able to do."
"I agree! So let's find out, shall we?" Turquoise excitedly swam over to the palace doors, Red and Waves following at her sides.
Waves asked the mermaid, "What if they won't let us in?" she asked worriedly.
"Oh, hush you! No negative thoughts! Of course they will!" Turquoise was so sure and hopeful, that the thought of not being allowed in hadn't really occurred to her. After all, they had a darn good reason, right?
Turquoise swam the last couple feet over to the guards, two merman with long swords and shields, alert and at attention as the group approached. "Halt!" The merman on the right commanded them. "What business have ye here? Visits to the inside of the palace are restricted to the nobility, advisers and staff only. Unless you have a good reason for entering, please move away now."
Turquoise was ready for this and was quick to give an answer. "By all means, your royal guards. My friends and I here found a very large magic jewel that we would like the Lady Starlight to examine so she can tell us more about it, and if possible what is to be done with it."
Both guards rose an eyebrow at her statement. "Magic jewel?" the merman on the left questioned dubiously. "Where is this magic jewel you speak of?"
"Coralia over here has it in her possession." Turquoise glanced over at the ocean spirit as she said this, and motioned with her hand that Coralia should bring the jewel over for the guards to take a look at so they would know Turquoise spoke the truth.
Coralia pushed the jewel, which was still being held in her magical bubble, over towards the guards so that they could inspect it. While it was a very large and beautiful jewel, there was still no way to prove to them it was magical other than the paper they found, and anyone could just write something down and claim it to be true. She hoped that looking over it would suffice.
The guards inspected the jewel from within the bubble with interest. "Where did you acquire this?" one of them asked Turquoise and Coralia.
Turquoise replied enthusiastically, "In a sunken pirate ship far from here, in the deeper parts of the ocean north of the kingdom!" She didn't mention the other treasure they found though, choosing to keep quiet about that, for now anyway. "Red here has the paper that tells about it! Red, if you could..." she gestured for the fish to bring over the glass tube with the document inside.
Red quickly complied and Turquoise undid the stopper on the tube, unrolling the parchment to show the guards. The two mermen examined it without saying much. "Pirate ship, eh?" one questioned. "Alright then, this looks legit. You may enter."
Putting the paper back in the tube and capping it securely once more, the doors were then opened for the group to go on in. The palace inside awaited as the guards let them go through.
Coralia simply smiled and nodded at the guards as she passed. She followed Turquoise into the palace, waiting to be shown where to go.
Leading the way, Turquoise and her friends moved into the entryway where the throne room was, moving past that and to a side door on the right side of the gold and silver thrones themselves which seated the King and Queen of the realm. The royals were not there however at this time. That was not unusual, as being the leaders of a Kingdom required more effort than sitting on a throne all day. Three more guards were positioned inside near the throne room, watching the group as they went by while still maintaining that alert, distant look that sentries were required to have.
Heading over to the door which was comprised of rock crystal, Turquoise knocked lightly on its surface. "Enter." A rich feminine voice called out from behind it. Turquoise pushed open the door, going inside the moderately-sized room followed by her companions.
"Greetings, Lady Starlight." the mermaid greeted an older mermaid, but still retaining much youth and beauty about her countenance. Lady Starlight's blonde-yellow hair shone in the water, her indigo eyes looked at the group with both curiosity and calmness evident. Her tail was a rich copper-red color, many fins sticking out from it, her bosom upheld by two yellow seashells bound in white cord. A purple flower decorated her long yellow tresses. Overall, she was beautiful but not nearly as much as the Queen. Waves and Red also gave their hellos.
"I apologize for disturbing you, but my friends and I have made a most exciting discovery! We thought to make use of your brilliant expertise on this magic jewel we found." Turquoise gestured towards Coralia and the bubble that the gem was contained inside of.
((Remember that Lady Starlight is an NPC we both can play.))
Coralia pushed the gem to Turquoise and smiled a nervous smile at Lady Starlight. At the moment, she had nothing to say, mostly because she couldn't find the words. Coralia was still shy around new people, and she was nervous since Lady Starlight seemed to be important. It would be a little bit longer before Coralia felt comfortable enough to talk to her.
Gesturing to the bubble-encased jewel, Turquoise then pushed it towards the Lady Starlight for her to examine. Lady Starlight took it in her hands, then looked to Coralia before saying, "I'll need to look at this more closely but I cannot do that inside this bubble. Would you kindly please disperse the bubble so I can accomplish this task?" she asked of the ocean spirit kindly.
The elder mermaid then asked Turquoise, "Was there anything else you discovered about it in the meantime?"
"Yes, there is this document we found with it." Turquoise told her. Red handed Lady Starlight the tube with the paper inside it which she unrolled to lay flat against her desk and bent down to get a closer look at it. However the adviser still needed to look at the gem itself after the magic containing it had been dispelled first.
Coralia smiled at Lady Starlight. "Of course."
With a wave of her hand, the bubble disappeared, leaving the gem exposed.
"Thank you." Lady Starlight said. "I'll take a look after I read the document."
The other mermaid quickly read the document handed to her, before looking up at the group. "Where did you find this?" she asked them.
Red piped up before Turquoise could answer. "In a pirate ship, we did!"
Waves bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically. "What Red said!" the dolphin squeaked.
"A sunken pirate ship." Turquoise added in, noticing how Lady Starlight's eyebrows rose at the mention of a pirate ship.
"I see." the elder sea maiden commented, before rolling the paper back up. "Do you mind if I hang onto this document and the jewel for a day or two? I would like to divine what I can from them using the resources available to me. However I can try to do a small reading on the jewel itself if that is what you would like." she awaited for one of the group to respond.
"Yes, please do." Turquoise answered. The adviser placed her hands over the gem itself and soon her eyes took on a hazy gray as she delved into the mists of time and space. Turquoise and friends waited while she did this.