Their only warning was a faint darkening of the tumultuous skies above them. Clouds swept in from the south, their shade greying further as the burden of water the clouds held threatened to burst from the delicate container in which the floods were contained. The rains were about to begin, and this boded ill for the oceanbound crew. Setzer glanced up, a strange sense of foreboding crossing his face before he and Kraken flitted rapidly about the small craft, dismantling the sail and tying boxes of rations down. Tiamat gazed at Setzer steadily, her own thoughts as turbulent as the black, starless waters were becoming. He was so...energetic. Like when first she had met him, and he and Garland had taken such pleasure from trouncing one another at games of chance. 'In fact..' she thought, sitting up in startlement, 'He almost looks..' Tiamat's thoughts were cut off (and reflected) by Kary's own words. "What are you so happy about?" asked Kary, expression marked by a distinctly green hue. Setzer's eyes shot up to meet with Kary, a wild, irrepressable grin dancing upon his lips as he seized a rather large crate, tossing it bodily to the center of the craft. "Happy?! We're in a violent, primal struggle for our lives, with only our hopes and our luck to give us guidance!" He screamed above the gusting winds, clenching the mast between tight, whitened knuckles. By this time, the rain had begun to fall in earnest. Kary stared at Setzer incredulously before grabbing the side of the boat in terror. "We're going to die." she announced almost as an aside to Tiamat and Lich. Just at this moment, an enormous wave rushed over the side of the ship, soaking all to the bone and nearly washing Lich off the side of the boat. Fortunatly, Lich's ability at precognition of the obvious had developed remarkably since Setzer had last seen him. The tip of Lich's scythe materialized in the side of the boat, narrowly missing fingers and toes alike, leaving Lich's body to be dragged along in the wild waves. Setzer howled out against the screams of the wind against him, crying to the forces of the storm that he, Setzer, would overcome this most basic of elements. His was without fear, and he had no doubts as to his destiny. For the first time in years, Setzer was once again in control of his fate...and of his luck. Lich, by this point, had crawled up his scythe Indiana Jones style, planting himself more securely beside Kary, who seemed to be having no troubles remaining seated with only a single arm to support her. "What a loony." he mumbled ominously as he stared at Setzer, totally disregarding the fact that in many circles, a walking skeleton could be considered a bit loony itself. And the storm raged on... **************************************** Hours passed. Time had become of far lesser importance than simply remaining with the ship. Setzer was wrapped tightly about the mast, his entire being focused on that one object. Nothing else entered his consciousness, and nothing would dissuade him from his task. The four Fiends looked at Setzer sadly. They had managed to jury rig several leather straps together, but there was only enough room for three. Kraken had of course volunteered away from one of the 'seat belts', being more comfortable in a the water which constantly swept over him than on dry land. Tiamat stared at the shivering, agonized Setzer. His leather coat was plastered wetly about his body, totally ruined by the salt water which consistently washed over the ship. Setzer had volunteered shortly after Kraken, claiming that if he wasn't meant to live...well, he'd just have to change his luck. It really didn't make any sense to her, but it didn't make any sense to any of the other Fiends either. She hoped fervently that he was all right, although she knew those hopes would be fruitless. Kraken stood before the mast, in the fore of the boat. The waters had calmed substantially from their earlier turbulence, and his concern was for Setzer, who Kraken was sure would not survive a night of this. That he had not lost consciousness alone was a tribute to Setzer's will. Kary's thoughts were, amazingly, not turned on how many times her hair would need to be washed to be rid of all the salt that had accumulated, but with that of Kraken and Tiamat. While she was normally flighty, and just a bit more concerned with her appearance than perhaps she should, she counted Setzer among her closest friends. Lich's thoughts consisted of faint flickerings...images, of a beautiful woman, long ago. Well, that, and purple bunnies. *************************************** Kraken stared out across the slowly calming waters.. "There! Land!" he cried to the others, pointing toward the dark horizon. Setzer had eventually fallen quite unconscious, but with the storm moving on further north, they were temporarily out of danger. Dawn was still many hours off however, and navigation was impossible. Kraken hastily re-erected the sail. Assigning Kary to direct the sail and Tiamat to control the rudder (Lich was sulking because it had been /his/ turn on the rudder), he called upon the powers he still retained as Fiend of the Water. Muttering soft, incomprehensible phrases, his tone gradually increased until finally Kraken cried.. "Elements and Spirits of the Water that still pay Me Homage! Serve your Master and Heed to his Wishes!" An enormous wave began to build behind the tiny ship, a veritable wall of blackness which seemed intent to swallow the quintet whole. Yet at the last minute, it seemed to slow, gathering up the ship within its curl. Kraken stood frozen at the helm, arms extended out in a regal gesture of power. Light burst from his palms like a burning frenzy, bringing a yellow flicker to the awe struck faces of all those conscious. This was the power of the Fiend of Water as he had possessed long ago, before their defeat by the Light Warriors. And it could mean only one thing. His orb was near. **************************************** Git stared dumbly at the shipwreck that was on his da's beach. He was a Doman refugee, fleeing here to South Figaro to escape the tyranny of the Empire. He had been certain that his future had held only sheep herding and an occasional jaw down at the Inn. But this day had brought him a surprise. 5 strangers in the crippled remains of what once was a boat. All were unconscious, probably from the rather large rock their boat had collided with. Two men, two women (and what women! Woo!) and one...well...thing. He had been just about to search the thing a bit more closely when it suddenly leapt out at him, grabbing him about the neck. "Tell me.." hissed Lich ominously.. "Why I shouldn't kill you now?" Lich's fingers tightened, as if to reinforce his point. "Oh, come off it Lich." mumbled Kary as she shook her head back and forth, blinking blearily. That had not been a fun ride. Kraken and Tiamat slowly stirred, while Setzer simply made faint moaning sounds from beneath the very same crate he had tossed to the center of the boat. Tiamat hurried over, throwing it off. "Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, looking Setzer over for injuries (and finding dozens, all totally non-existent). Setzer's hand fumbled in his pocket. Finding what he searched for, he drew out his deck of combat cards. With trembling, weak hands, he spread the cards out to Tiamat in his palm. "Pick a card." he grinned faintly before losing consciousness once again. "He's okay!" yelled Tiamat, promptly leaving Setzer to go check on the provisions. Meanwhile, Kraken had extricated Git from Lich's grasp and had placed his arm chummily around Git's shoulder. Git stared up at Kraken with wide, fascinated eyes.. "What happened? How did you get here? Where did the boat come from?" he asked rapidly, the questions tumbling out as quickly as Git could formulate them. Kraken took a deep breath, guiding the boy further from the other Fiends. Pointing Git to a rock, Kraken waited until he was comfortable. "Well. Sit right back and I'll tell you a tale. A tale of a frightful trip..."