The Land Below our Feet III (Legacy)

BAY

Casheon´s teeth rattled uncontrollably as he and his last living companion balanced precariously aboard the shrinking piece of ice that they had been using like a raft with the intention of reaching the continent’s shore while they eagerly tried to stay afloat.

The woman who sat beside him was trembling twice as hard as he did, and the numb arm that she kept extended before her with an open palm shook violently with every wave that lunged at them, threatening to sink their makeshift watercraft.

-Don't even think about it, mage! – Casheon hissed in a menacing low voice, nodding at the blue-haired woman’s faltering limb, then gesturing invitingly at the pocket in his hip – If you let us drown you won’t get your next fix, I will give it to you once we make it to the bay, I promise… Now, come on! You just have to push a little more, and we’ll be in the clear!

-You and I both know that you ran out of Elixir days ago, Cash – The Sapphinx crisply responded, her body shuddering convulsively with each bitter cackle that she let out – You hold no power over me anymore, you moron! I’ve already gone through the withdrawals and the whole f*****g agony! So, trust me, if I didn’t want to make it alive to that bay just as much as you do, I would already have let this bloody thing melt and swallow us with it.

Casheon became instantly silent, knowing that there were far worse things that she could do if she were to put her mind to it.

-We still got your kids – He boldly reminded her, stealing a cautious glance at her strained face, then at the foggy horizon.

-And that’s the reason why you are still breathing – She grunted back at him, then squinted her eyes and gasped in excitement when she saw a dark outline timidly emerge up front – Now shut up, and look! I think we’re finally here…

Her index finger had been earnestly pointing at the blurry silhouette of a beach when the last part of her sentence was choked by the gurgling sound that replaced the previous cheerfulness in her voice as they abruptly collided with a massive chunk of glacier that they had both failed to see, and which had sent them flying to the inclement gelid waters that dragged them down, oppressed their lungs, and overall felt like a million of tiny needles were prickling their skin.

“This is it” – Casheon thought to himself, as he was aimlessly being pushed and thrown around, discerning the approaching coasts from time to time only to be engulfed yet again by the furious tides. A manic grin creeping on his face as he felt the liquid flooding into his nose and reflected on the irony of such a pointless demise – “This is how I die.”

He would die along a complete stranger... He would die beside the only member that he hadn’t even chosen to be part of his missing crew.

Caheon had put so much thought and effort into selecting his scouting team, whilst the Sapphinx widow had simply been forced to accompany them by the king... He would have preferred to have added another one of his soldiers to the group instead of a drugged sorcerer, but none of that mattered anyway.

Those four elite men he’d so carefully picked to join him on that trip all now rested at the bottom of the sea, so maybe it had all been for the best.

Having covered the majority of that strait’s distance, Casheon had learned that their mission had been doomed from the start… The ice was too thin, the visibility was null, and as if that wasn’t enough, it seemed like the Bhertang itself was fighting them back somehow!

If it couldn’t drown you, it would freeze you later. It doesn’t matter, you’d still die... He had soon realized that in utter horror, as he had helplessly witnessed the light in the eyes of four of his greatest warriors expire, one by one.

“That’s what’s going to happen to you now, and you deserve it” – The little voice in his head whispered tauntingly – “It was just a matter of time, and you already knew that. There is no way out.

It was true. He couldn’t go back to Ruhavk without the Vessel's whereabouts… King Hanta had been very adamant about it. And that goddamn bay seemed impossible to reach, even now, even when he could see it growing bigger and bigger before his exhausted eyes with every struggling breath that he managed to inhale from time to time.

-No! – Casheon screamed, or at least that’s what he tried to do, before a large gush of water smacked his face like a punishing slap.

But in that fraction of a second, he had made up his mind. He was going to live… At least for now.

So, with that little spark of renewed impetus, he began purposefully kicking his arms and legs in the direction of the rocky bay, using the impulse of an incoming wave.

The momentum that he gained was enough to push him forward for a good stretch, and just as he was beginning to get tired from all that frenzied crawling, he found his footing... Luck had finally looked his way.

The boots on his feet felt like a ton of bricks as he difficultly waddled his way towards the shore, coughing and shivering violently while the chilly wind blew relentlessly against his drenched clothes.

The rush that still coursed wildly through his nerves had him laughing uncontrollably by the time the breaking waves barely licked his aching calves, but his frenzied cackles would suddenly end when he saw it... The blue-haired woman floating on her face.

“She’s not your problem, Cash” – The voice told him – “She was never part of your crew anyway… Besides, she was dangerous, she’s better off dead.”

He could have simply kept walking and left her there. He could have let nature run its course and allowed that poor slave to have a much-deserved peaceful end. But he didn´t.

Instead, he dragged her lifeless body to the grainy sand and pumped her chest over and over until a warm stream of salty water burbled from her open mouth.

“She’s not waking up” – His mind screamed at him in panic as he pressed his ear against his chest – “Maybe she’s already too far gone!”

-She is not, she is breathing – Casheon exclaimed aloud, as if to push his doubts aside – She is going to be all right!

“If it can’t drown her, it will freeze her” – His inner voice reminded him – “This strait is cursed, it will kill her either way!

-No! Not this time, I won’t let it! – Casheon's voice resonated around the deserted coast. Reaching for the inert woman and beginning to rip the soaked garments off her – We made it! We are no longer in that stupid strait”.

The flames of the modest fire he’d lit were casting warm shadows over their intertwined bodies when he felt her stirring in his arms and he immediately loosened his embrace and jumped aside.

The sudden awkwardness of the situation twisting his tongue as he hurriedly scrambled to sit up and put sufficient distance between them.

-I- I… I had to take your clothes off to save your life – He fumblingly explained, tripping on his words while he clumsily averted his sight from her naked body and looked at his own – M-Mine too, see? It was the only way to keep us alive!

-I know – She murmured in a raspy voice, rolling her eyes at him, then staring at the flames distractedly – Thanks.

-W… What’s your name? – Cash spoke again after a silent while, stiffly offering her his cold hand – I’m sorry, I never asked.

-Zhenzi – She hoarsely replied, taking his palm and shaking it with suspicion, then curiously looking around the rocky beach they were sitting on – So, what the hell do we do now?