There were no words that Cloe could find to explain the ship or any of their questions. Taking a step towards the edge of the ship, she reached out her hand towards the barrier as far as she could go without falling off the ship and touched the yellow magical barrier. Her hand passed through it and touched the freezing water with her fingertips. Quickly pulling away, she took a few steps back, turning to Naram and Zaya with a realization of her own.

"The scholars said this ship was a prototype. Let's go see what they meant by that." Cloe suggested.

With that, she climbed down the ladder and raced straight over to the three scholars who were quietly talking in the main cabin. The first scholar had a fragment in his hand, the second had a piece of parchment, while the third had nothing at all. It was evident that everybody else in the room had already seen the ship and had more of an idea of what was happening.

"Why is there a barrier?" She began.

"That's the prototype. We created a ship that connected to a wind enchanted crystals. There are several smaller wind crystals on each side of the ship that the main crystal connects to. It was supposed to make a bubble around the ship and prevent it from sinking." The second scholar explained, "My name is Edward by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"My name is Jennat. We think one of the crystals on the other end of the ship was damaged so the connection couldn't be made. A good chunk of the ship began sinking and took the rest of the ship down with it." Jennat explained.

"The real question is, who damaged the other end of the ship? Each crystal had a protective metal casing to prevent any accidents." The last scholar explained.

"He's Nathan." Jennat said for him.

The captain was sitting on the chair, his head in his hands and a bottle of rum sat on the table next to him. One of the sailors was anxiously pacing about while the other one was fussing over the captain. Cloe's brow furrowed as she looked at their small numbers. By now the rest of the crew and passengers should have been here. This ship didn't have a large selection of passengers beyond the scholars but they had far more crew than what was present. Only a chunk of the ship had been filled with water so why were there so few people?

Seeing Cloe's attempt to test the strange yellow force keeping the water out, the uneasiness building up in his stomach grew. "Right…" He knew this ship was different from most, but he wasn't sure just how different it was. Back in the main cabin, he took a good look at the people there. Cloe did most of the asking while the men he recalled instructing him on how to load the expedition's findings answered. So apparently this ship had special devices built in that were supposed to cover the entire area just like what they saw outside. But for some reason, one side failed to work–causing the pitching and sinking earlier. From the way Edward and Jennat described it, the whole ship was supposed to be floating. They were convinced that there was damage instead of one part failing on accident, which made Naram wonder.

"Where is everyone else on the ship? Shouldn't there be more people here?" The nomad knew that there should be more people. At least those who were further away from the flooded end should be arriving about now, unless there was something stopping them. Was there more damage to the ship than the men here thought? "We're not sure ourselves. So far you two are the only ones who've showed up. All the crew coming aboard was told to head to the main cabin in case of an emergency." Nathan said nervously. 

Zaya was listening in on the people talking, but all she could understand was that there should be more humans here than there were now. The ship had stopped moving and was under the sea inside a strange yellow shining light. They were nervous and unhappy. Pushing herself up, she rested her front paws on Naram's shoulder. "So how are we going to get out of here?" Naram asked. The food and supplies they had wouldn't last forever. Also he didn't believe the strange barrier could protect the ship from attacks from sea monsters if one showed up. There had to be some sort of plan in case the 'prototype' machines failed. The scholars exchanged looks. Jennat spoke up. "Normally we'd be able to stay afloat until we reach land, but with one of the crystals malfunctioning, part of the special integrated system is offline. We believed we took all the necessary precautions to ensure this wouldn't happen." 

He let out a sigh in frustration. Being trapped under the sea was a terrible way to die. Your body couldn't be returned to be buried with your tribe, your spirit forever separated from your ancestors. He'd rather die under an open sky. "Can't someone just make one of those doors using magic to bring everybody out?" Naram knew there were shamans in cities who were able to travel between lands without a beast or boat. It was much better than waiting around trying to fix something that might be permanently broken. Edward quickly interjected: "I wouldn't do that if I were you–using magic will interfere with the barrier crystals and deactivate the wind barrier."

"You–what?" Naram couldn't believe his ears. He glared at the men, barely holding back his anger. "What do you mean there isn't a plan in case it fails to float?! You–you!" The nomad started pacing the cabin, rubbing his face and holding his head. Turning around he jabbed a finger at the supposed 'scholars'. "This is all your fault! You didn't pray to the spirits to protect us out on the sea! I bet one of you made them angry or something!" 

Edward scoffed at his remark. "Be sensible! Your superstitions about spirits have nothing to do with this, clearly there's a logical explanation!" At this point Naram was too angry to listen to his reasoning. "Then why didn't you make another plan?!" The man was taken aback, leading to a short silence before the captain defended the scholars. "Our plan was ingenious. The only way it would fail is if something purposely destroyed something!" 

"WELL WHAT IF SOMETHING DID?!" Naram shouted. "If I die out here, my spirit won't be able to rejoin my clan or my ancestors! All because you put your faith in your ship!" The atmosphere was becoming tense, and Zaya's eyes widened. When she heard one of the men her human yelled at say that magic couldn't be used or the water being pushed out would come back in, the long-haired cat's body shook. Before she had been wondering what she could do to help, but if what she heard was true,–Zaya didn't know if she could help at all. When she had sacrificed a large portion of her power to become the nomad's spirit guardian, Zaya had accepted it. But now…the feeling of complete helplessness overwhelmed her. If one of them were injured, she couldn't even heal them without causing them all to drown. 

Something in the back of Cloe's mind was telling her that she wasn't seeing the whole picture. She had no doubt that Jennat, Edward, and the captain were all telling the truth. But she had a feeling they were all forgetting an important detail. Then she was told about how they were the only ones who showed up and a shiver ran down her spine. There was no way that all of them had drowned in the back end of the ship. Maybe they were trapped in a room or got knocked out? That shaking did throw her about. With that explanation in her mind, she felt somewhat relieved.

Her precious hope died when they mentioned that magic was unusable and they had no backup plan. Naram shouted at them for their idiocy and Cloe was half tempted to join him. Instead, she plopped down on a chair and began thinking through all the information they had been told. The only reason why the ship sank was that the chunk carried them downwards. Otherwise, they would have floated. That meant that even if the ship was underwater, it would have popped right back up if all the crystals had been working. The shouting from everyone grew louder and louder. The tension in the room was high and Cloe no longer could think with all that noise. She hopped onto a table and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"QUIET!"

All at once, the room fell quiet. Perhaps growing up with a loud family had taught her a thing or two after all? Cloe jumped off the table and approached the scholars.

"Would the crystals deactivate if we moved them?" Cloe asked.

"No. They only deactivate or activate with a specific spell or if they're broken. It's why we can't use magic now." Jennat explained, "But if we moved them, that part of the ship would fill with water."

Cloe gave them a nod then walked up to the captain who was clearly expecting a question or request. Instead, she slapped him across the face. Hard. The sound of the smack echoed through the room and the captain stared at her, stunned. She grabbed him by the collar and glared at him, eyes full of rage.

"I can excuse the scholars. They've never been on a ship before and belong in their libraries. But you are a captain. It is your duty to protect those on your ship. You should have seen this coming and been more careful." She said in a low bitter voice, "If anyone has died today, that is on your conscience. Do you understand me?"

The captain's face was full of conflict. A mix of embarrassment, shame, and realization at the horror of what has passed. He silently nodded and she allowed him to return to his seat. She turned back to the scholars, still showing a dark expression of both anger and dread.

"Now tell me… what was in that iceberg you brought in?" She asked simply.

For a moment, all of the scholars were quiet. They had no idea what this had to do with the ship. Edward was the first person to respond, though he had little idea as to why Cloe wanted to know.

"W-we brought in a specimen. We think it's an ancient ocean creature who died thousands of years ago and was frozen in Itjivut." Edward explained, "We were planning on melting it in a laboratory back in Adeluna."

Cloe gave a look to Naram and shook her head. Seeing as he was the only person in the room who had a lick of sense, she decided to tell him her plan.

"The flooded part of the ship is what's holding us down. If we were to make a smaller boat and surround that with crystals, wouldn't we float up to the surface?" She suggested to him.

As the shouting in the cabin kept rising, Cloe's terse shout quelled it in an instant. As the men were cooling their heads, she went straight to the point and asked directly about the limitations of these crystals keeping them alive under the cold waters. Their situation although dire, wasn't without hope. As long as the crystals weren't damaged like the one where the flooded part of the ship was, they would still work. Naram exhaled slowly, relieved. Zaya's eyes dilated a bit less now that the shouting was over, but she still felt tense. From what the people were saying, they needed to make a boat and put the things that created the yellow light on, then they could safely return to the surface. But the string of bad luck they were experiencing wasn't over yet.

Taking command of the situation, Cloe interrogated the scholars who had went out with him to bring back those old pieces of broken objects. The nomad crossed his arms as he watched. Apparently that heavy chunk that they told him to load up onto the sleds had something frozen inside. He thought it would be a miracle if it wasn't fully melted by the time they reached the southern Adelunian coast. It was still warmer inside the ship than outside, and they wouldn't risk leaving their precious cargo above deck. If they were in a better situation, he'd ask what was the use of bringing back an old beast's corpse–however he didn't interrupt. All this effort for a frozen corpse…he shook his head just thinking about it.

"That would be our best bet to get out of here alive." Naram replied in response to Cloe's question. If what Edward said was correct, that is. He highly doubted the wisdom of these scholars after seeing their supposed fool-proof ideas fail. But this was their only chance now, they had to try everything while they still could. "We can start building the boat above deck. There's still space now and once the crystals have been brought over, we can try floating up." He threw a glance at each of the others, clearly not letting go of their lack of foresight. "–And if we can, we should try to at least see if there are others still alive in the parts of the ship that are currently dry." As far as this expedition went, they might as well abandon the artifacts. They didn't need the extra weight.

Naram was on the same page as her and that was all she needed. She agreed with him on the search for survivors though she doubted they would find any. The others seemed to have lifted their own hopes through Naram and Cloe's plans. The sailors and captain were immediately on their feet and going through the supplies they had managed to drag to the room after the ship had crashed. The scholars were already getting out a map of the ship to show to Naram and Cloe. They spread the map out on a nearby table as Cloe drew close to take a look.

"If we go to the furthest end of the ship and work our way back, we can collect the crystals without getting in too much trouble." Cloe planned as she pointed at the map for the others to see, "Naram and I will collect the crystals and search for survivors. The rest of you need to work on making that boat."

The choice of who to collect the crystals was obvious to her. Naram and Zaya were the only two people she trusted on this ship to get the job done properly. Though Zaya was only a cat, she was a smart kitty who could potentially be very useful. And the cat was too cute to leave behind. Snatching one of the pens, she scribbled a number next to each crystal location then rolled up the map and handed it to Naram to hold onto. Then she snatched some rope from the room and also dumped it on Naram to carry. Edward, one of the scholars, approached both of them with a serious expression held onto his face.

"I'm coming too." Edward declared.

"If we need a moron we'll let you know," Cloe said.

"You'll need somebody who can help you get those crystals out without damaging it." Edward pointed out, "Look… I want to fix our mistake. I was the head of this project and it's my responsibility to see it through."

Cloe briefly looked to Naram then back to Edward and let out a small sigh.

"Fine. Bring that medical kit and lantern."  Cloe gave in.

Once the supplies were gathered, she gave one last look to the scholars and sailors then took her step into the unknown.

Since these scholars and the captain had the most knowledge regarding the ship's functions and survival on the sea, it made sense to Naram that they should stay behind and work on their escape route. He didn't expect the scholars to be capable fighters, while the captain needed something to compensate for his poor sense at planning. Their numbers were limited, so they needed to make do with things as they were. Zaya slipped back into the bag slung over the nomad's shoulder, feeling sorry for herself and everyone. Unbeknownst to the humans, she was still trying to cope with her sense of helplessness. She briefly poked her head out when Cloe gave her human a map, noting the symbols drawn on it. 

Naram was handling the length of rope to create a makeshift lasso which they could use to secure themselves should the ship destabilize again when one of the scholars approached. When the man stated he wanted to assist them with reclaiming the crystals, he raised an eyebrow. He supposed they could use another pair of hands. With no more objections, the three people set out in a race against time. Naram hoped they could find more people to speed up the building back on the deck, but he understood not raise his expectations too high. Not everyone might have been as lucky as them.

Backtracking through the tilted ship was difficult with the walls and floor all askew. The nomad found himself bracing against wall fixtures with his hands to stay upright and avoid falling. There was junk lying around in piles as some rooms had their doors unlocked at the time the ship went down, causing them to slide out into the halls. There was smashed wood and obstructions everywhere. There wasn't water in the area they were in right now, so he pounded hard on the doors that were closed. "Anyone there?!" He was hoping that whoever was still inside was at least conscious. Zaya's ears twitched as she listened, taking in the scents in the air. There was a strong seawater smell that hung about, mixed in with other things she couldn't describe.

Cloe followed Naram and Zaya as they backtracked through the ship. Her steps were taken carefully as the halls were littered with junk and broken pieces of furniture. The lanterns of the ship flickered and she could hear an echoing groan of wooden beams from further down. When Naram pounded on one of the doors, she could hear shuffling of something on the other side. 

"I think someone's in there!" She exclaimed excitedly. 

The more people they found alive, the better. Cloe allowed Naram and the scholar to try to break down the door seeing as they both had a bit more muscular strength than she. The room inside was once a bedroom but now looked like a pile of junk. The ceiling of this room had a giant hole in the top where a piano from the upper floor had slammed through the ceiling during the crash. The piano was half destroyed. The smell of blood filled the room. Underneath the piano was a hand, the only visible part of the person left. Cloe covered her mouth to stop the scent of blood and to hide her shock. She had never seen a dead person before. Her life as a barmaid showed her a few fights but they were never deadly. She almost puked. Thankfully, she managed to step out of the room to give herself a moment to breathe. 

The hand itself was cold and whoever was under that piano was most certainly dead. The rest of the room was destroyed as well. The bed's frame was in two pieces while the cupboard had fallen over with all of its clothes and other contents decorated the floor. There was a small envelope with a letter from this sailor writing home to her two daughters about the new job she had gotten. 

Cloe realized she likely had seen that person on the ship earlier. Only an hour earlier that person had been alive and walking around the ship. Now they were long gone. Taking in a few more breathes, Cloe began to gather herself. 

The sight of such a gruesome death came as a shock to Cloe. Naram however, was able to stomach the scene. He said nothing while she left the room, understanding how she felt. Life on the plains wasn't easy and as a hunter he had seen death come to animals countless times–but it wasn't the same when it came to humans. After he checked that the person who had been in this room was deceased, he checked the area for anything he could bring back to give the captain. He didn't know who else was on this vessel, but that man should know. The least the nomad could do would be to send the victim's family something to remember them by. Carefully taking the letter that would never be sent otherwise, he exited the wrecked room and chose to seal up the door after they were all out. He took out a hunting knife and made a mark on the door as well. This ship would soon be claimed by the sea, and they needed to know which doors they had explored before.

Seeing Cloe looked a bit pale, he waited a bit before asking. "You alright?" Seeing death for the first time was always the worst. Often it came unexpected, leaving you spinning like a leaf in water. He remembered what happened when his sister was found dead. The other tribesmen found her first, and they tried to stop him from seeing the body. Naram recalled how he had pushed them aside and burst onto the scene, only for his legs to give out when he saw what was left of her. She did not die a quiet death. Even death by illness was not so terrible compared to what he saw that day.

Once everybody had regrouped and had some time to process what they had experienced, Naram urged them to keep moving. Their time was limited before the rest of the ship took on too much water, and it would be best to reach the crystals before then. Expecting more rubble blocking their way, he drew his szabla to hack away at any wooden debris. The less time they wasted, the better. Anything that couldn't be cut to pieces would need to be moved aside. "If you see anything useful as we go, grab it. Just make sure you don't take too much, we can't afford to be weighed down." 

"I'll be fine." She spoke decidedly to Naram, as if to convince herself more than to convince him.

Cloe reached for Zaya and pulled her out of the bag. Poor Zaya was cuddled and petted as she regrouped with everyone. Naram had the right idea of moving onward. There was nothing they could do for the dead now. Cloe still kept Zaya in her arms as she stomped through the wreckage. The cat was fluffy, comfortable, and adorable. She would not be separated from the cat.

Meanwhile Edward had been collecting resources like scraps of rope or anything that could be useful. He had been bothered by the death but was more worried about pianos or wreckage falling on top of their heads. He felt sympathy for Cloe but was more focused on the mission at hand. Edward helped clear the way for the rest of the group through the wreckage until they came across the deeper part of the ship.

The stench of seawater mixed with coal and a hint of blood hit their noses as they neared a hole in the ship. The hole led to a deeper part of the ship due to the angle the ship was at. A shortcut. Cloe leaned over to look into the hole but could only see darkness below. Reaching over to a broken wood board that had come from some part of the ship, she peeled off a splinter of wood. Using the lantern, she lit the splinter of wood on fire and dropped it into the hole. The little light plunged into the darkness and fell for some time before dropping into the water at the bottom with a sizzle and splash. During the time of its falling, Cloe had thought she had seen something in the darkness.

Something moving. Instantly a familiar feeling crept into her mind as she placed Zaya on the ground and reached for the rope they had brought. She tied one end of the rope to make a circle. A person could sit in the circle comfortably and wouldn't fall as long as they held onto the rope. Then she tossed the other side to Naram and Edward. Taking the lantern, she gave one look into the hole. Edward, confused by her actions and by her intentions, tapped her on the shoulder and picked up the rope.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"We need to see if this is a shortcut to the crystals at the very end." Cloe explained, "I'll sit in the circle and you two will hold onto the rope and SLOWLY descend me into the hole. Once I'm there, I'll use the lantern and check out what's down there." 

Zaya had been resting with her eyes closed when a pair of hands pulled her out from her bag. The long-haired cat looked up to see Cloe holding her close, like how children would hug their parents or something that made them feel safe. Although she couldn't use magic lest the ship's remaining protections break, Zaya let out a purr to help calm her nerves. She would need to hold back and help the humans the best she could. If helping them feel happier would ensure they would be safe, then Zaya would do it. The cat allowed herself to be carried, keeping her eyes and ears alert. There were so many smells here, probably due to the changes of seawater coming in. Naram had no objections to Cloe holding Zaya. They were all here to see the crystal recovery was done. 

Naram was listening in silence as Cloe used a method to determine how far down the fall was into the hole. From the sound of the smoldering fire going out, water had already seeped in below. Zaya herself was watching too from a safe distance. The wood was broken and not too stable, and there wasn't an easy way back up if they went down. Her nose and whiskers were moving rapidly as she was detecting a new smell, something different from the humans she had met so far. She didn't know what is was, and her eyes couldn't see that far. But something about it made her fur slowly rise, and her stomach began to tense. The smell of salt and seawater was stronger than before, with something else too. The cat's pale green eyes looked with worry at Cloe who was doing something with the rope. Was the human going to go down there? It wasn't safe, after all human eyes weren't as good compared to hers. Anxiously she started to paw at Naram's leg, pacing in circles around the hole Cloe was planning to descend into.

Naram unknowingly shared Zaya's concerns, but he knew that they had to try everything they could while they still had time. "Alright, we'll also try to secure some of the rope behind something to give more leverage in case our grip starts to wear out." He said with reluctance. With some thought, he then offered her his szabla. "We don't know what's down there, but if some of the sea creatures have managed to get in, you can use this to keep them away." Out on the plains, the nomad relied on his bow more for self-protection. The szabla was only used when fighting came too close. "If anything starts to go wrong, just yell and we'll pull you back up as fast as we can." Zaya was mewing and pawing at his leg, throwing glances at the hole while her tail showed her nervousness. He reached down and patted her back, trying to help calm the cat down. It would seem she wasn't too fond of the idea either, but they didn't have time to spare.