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Riosia Island looms in the distance.
It's been a relatively uneventful five days on the ship, filled with days of helping Jaz around the ship and nights of resting and burying myself in Viola.
After I threw away those sandals.
The ship is dropping anchor off the coast, and my group and I huddle next to one of the smaller boats, getting ready to board it and row to the island. "How long am I giving you before I'm calling your whole crew a loss?" Jaz asks Viola.
Viola sucks her teeth, fists on her hips. Her white hair is braided in four sections down the back of her head, her tawny skin glowing golden in the light of day. She's wearing a tight black shirt with a leather vest over top of it, rigid black pants, and her well-worn boots. This type of outfit always makes me think of how she looked in the Race, except her clothes are much higher quality now. The woman from Dalery has grown up into a God. Her thighs are strapped with a blade each, and the blade she received from Himureal is sheathed in a bracer around her right arm so she can pull it easily with her dominant hand. Around her waist is a thin black whip that I swear I don't think I have ever seen her use.
Maybe she's just using it to hold herpants up.
I can't help but smile at the image she projects. Now that I know what is inside her mind and her heart, she looks less terrifying. Don't get me wrong, she is still a lethal force, but at least now I know it will not be directed at me.
"Give us three days," Viola says. "If it's been that and we haven't come back, chances are we won't be. And uh. If that's the case, good luck with Himureal, I guess."
Jaz punches Viola in the shoulder, and Viola barely moves at the impact. "You'll come back. All the shit you've encountered and nothing has managed to kill you yet. Doubt that island stands a chance against you. You're a plague upon Krillium."
"Ah," Viola says with a quiet laugh, "a plague? Well, I suppose I'll take my pestilence elsewhere."
"Shut up, asshole." Jaz's words and tone are sharp, but the corners of their eyes crinkle. "Just be safe, yeah? It's just us left now."
Viola's face falls, and her shoulders slump. I can see the effect Jaz's words have had on her, and the change is stark and immediate. It only lasts a moment, and then she's back, my vengeful God. "If Max and Link could see us now."
The two embrace, clasping one hand and patting each other on the back with the other. Then, the six of us pile into the small boat and get lowered down, with Plume and Tulip sitting in the middle and not rowing.
"We need a plan," I say through puffed breaths as my oar cuts through theclear blue water. "We can't just go in there crashing through the underbrush."
Viola grimaces from my left. "I'm hoping the magic within me will call to the other artifact and give us an idea of what direction to take."
"Do we split up?" Tulip asks.
"No!" Viola and I shout at the same time. Viola shakes her head and says softly, "Absolutely not. Zeph, you'll be responsible for shielding Plume, Morrow, you'll shield Tulip. Now is a great time to practice seeing if you can hold two types of magic at once."
"Is that possible?" Zeph asks from behind me.
"I've done it," Viola replies.
"But you're a God."
"Fuck, I had no idea," she deadpans. The joke provides some levity to this tense scenario. I'm not sure if I would have believed Viola was capable of making jokes when she first challenged me during the opening ceremonies of the Race. "Anyways, Plume, you will focus on Healing and if you can use some Flora in an offensive way. Don't even attempt Beast magic. It's all but worthless now."
I can see Plume out of the corner of my eye, and she's wearing an outfit very similar to Viola's. It's a strange look on her, but she still manages to present herself with a refined grace. She straightens her back and nods at Viola, graciously accepting her task.
Morrow turns to Tulip. "I'm going to ask again if you want to stay on the boat."
From behind me, I hear Tulipgroan. "Morrow, I fucking get it. I'm a human, and I can't fight with magic like you can. But I can still throw a blade. I can throw my javelin. I am not worthless."
"I didn't… I never…" Morrow stutters, realizing just how badly he messed up. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Neither do I," Viola says, not turning to look at either. "But Tulip is allowed to make her own decisions, and she has fought a Wendigo, Charybdis, and a minotaur. She has held her own. Now, do your part and protect her so she can."
Morrow, thoroughly chastised, is silent as we continue rowing.
"Mace and I will be the primary offensive magic," Viola continues as the shoreline of Riosia gets closer. "If I have the energy to throw shields up, I will, but don't count on it. Mace," she glances at me, "you will need to focus on Decay and Lightning. However, if you cannot manage small, pointed bolts, stick to Decay. Maybe blend the two if you're feeling particularly lethal." She doesn't know that I've been practicing my magic since I lost her, and I'm excited to show her my newfound control of Lightning.
"Again, if you can hold more than one magic, please do. And as I learned on the boat, thanks to Mace here, we can try out new combinations of magic that may not seem intuitive. Who knows what we may stumble upon?"
We bump up against the shore, jump out of the boat intothe ankle-deep water, and pull it ashore, well away from the water so the tides don't bring it in. We then get our first up-close look at Riosia Island.
