F
Fox of Spades
Guest
Ferris awakened to a crab scuttling across his back. The wanderer was half-buried in the sand, soaked to the bone as every part of his body throbbed. It felt as if someone had hit him over the head with a hammer, as if he were a fruit that'd been left under the sun to dry. Basically, this was the crappiest he'd felt in a long while and he would have remained sprawled out on the shore if not for the insistent nagging in the back of his head, Sylph trying to make sure he didn't die of a heatstroke.
With wobbly arms, Ferris pushed himself up and staggered to his feet. Arthur and Gael were nowhere in sight, but he noticed Meg lying eerily still, and for a split second, a wave of panic threatened to pull him under.
'She's still breathing.'
The wind spirit's words pulled him out of his daze and Ferris stumbled across the shore as he made his way towards the unconscious Meg. He'd traveled for nearly all his life, but never had he been in a situation as bad as this. Over the course of a boat ride, everything had gone to hell. Ferris placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder and gave her a shake. "Meg... wake up, we've got to find the others." We've got to make sure this island isn't a demon-infested hellhole.
Absentmindedly, the captain ran her fingers through Twinkleclaws' feathers. If she had her map and her compass, she would have been able to pinpoint their location, but unfortunately, her equipment had gone down with her ship and she was unfamiliar with the many islands scattered across Alencia's seas. She'd ferried adventurers from one dock to the next more times than one could count, but ever since the rift had opened up, places that weren't home to human settlements were hardly what one could call safe. People stopped wandering about aimlessly, and the islands were often left untouched and unexplored. "If I had my equipment, I'd be able to tell you. Right now, I don't have a clue."
The hopeful look on Arthur's face was snuffed out and he fought back a wave of worry.
"Do you think Ferris and Meg are alright?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but it was a question he had to ask.
The captain bit back a frown. She didn't want to sugarcoat her answer, but getting the man down wasn't on her to-do- list either, so she gave him a shrug. "You two know them best, but if there aren't any bodies yet, then we can hope for the best."
Arthur nodded dumbly, there wasn't much they could do now but search for help. They could build a raft, but he wasn't about to leave the island without Ferris or Meg and he doubted Gael would even consider the option.
"Well," the captain interrupted his train of thought. "We best look for them while the sun's still up."
