Kyra’s eyes were wide with pure excitement. Right now she was sitting in one of the diplomat rooms of Igbo. The inhabitants of this land…water place were trying to figure out what to do with this bubbly strange half elf. This half elf couldn’t stand it anymore. She needed to explore and see more of this place. It was a new place with new things to see and to experience. Kyra leapt off of her chair and began to look around the room.

The room itself wasn’t very special. It had a red couch, a blue rug, and lots of plants. In every corner there was some sort of potted plant. Kyra inspected these plants but they were just normal surface plants. She was itching to see what was inside the actual city. But they wouldn’t let her come on in until they were certain that she was safe.

And there was somebody else in that room too who appeared to be waiting to be let in. Igbo had a very strict policy for travelers it seemed. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that most visitors weren’t able to breath in water. Kyra had a way to deal with that. Several ways in fact but the way she found most useful was a simple water breathing spell called Breath of Ki. It was a spell she learned recently for this very purpose. In her bag, a satchel that had been especially made to be able to function in water, there were several greater mana potions. Thanks to those, she would be able to stay here longer. Kyra looked to the other person in the diplomat room.

“Hi! I’m Kyra! Have you been here before? Why did you come here? Are you excited to see this new place too? Do you know how long we will be kept here? Isn’t this place cool? Do you have family here? Or friends?” Kyra began a ramble of questions. 

Kyra was practically bouncing up and down in anticipation. She would be going to an underwater city soon. There had been so many times that her parents had described such places in stories and legends. This was the first time that Kyra would get to see a real underwater city. Where water was everywhere. This place wasn't protected from the water, they were one with it. That is what made it so fascinating. 

This was so amazing!  Chrysanthe never knew that the world beneath the waves was so vibrant. There were forests too, trees of coral and thickets of seaweed reaching hundreds of feet high. Though she was more in tune with the earth due to her heritage she could hear the kelp when their group of travellers were transported underwater. At first there was that nervous jittery feeling in her stomach when they sank beneath the surface, but soon she was completely taken in by the view. It was too bad she had to leave Strelitzia behind. The kalangitan would stay in a safe place on the coast. Antikythera was sending representatives to establish relations with the peoples of Onnen out of goodwill and forgiveness for the cruelty of a few rogue individuals. 

Cyril and Belen's mother had a goal to map the entirety of the new continent and add the information to the next improved version of the wayfinder's widgets. To start, they needed someone to know the lay of the land. That was when she came in. Uncle Walter taught her all she knew about the wilderness just as an old elf druid taught him. She could find paths in the densest of woods and read tracks from several different animals. Volunteering to record what she saw in Igbo, she was here in one of the luxurious staterooms. There were no stairs, open windows were the same as doors. There were paintings on the ceilings and walls showing merfolk culture. She could swim but air was the limiting factor in how far. For now she would have to wait before asking to meet with any officials. 

Chrys wasn't alone for long–an energetic girl her age came up to her and hit with a flurry of questions. When she was able to get a word in, she started with answers. "Name's Chrys! I'm here for work actually, it's my first visit too. I think they might let us go soon. Come to think of it, maybe I should've asked my brother to enchant my clothes to be water-resistant… Staying dry's going to be difficult. So why are you here Kyra?" The hood of her cloak was down showing her blonde hair tied in a slack ponytail. 

Kyra listened intently to what Chrysanthe was saying. So she was from the surface and she seemed to be from either Canelux or Parvpora. It wasn’t difficult to see that she wasn’t from Onnen. The natives in Onnen were less human looking than Chrysanthe. Which was fascinating! Unlike most of the newer visitors, Kyra was completely on her own. She was not sent to establish relationships or for any political reason. In fact most people that knew her didn’t even know where she was. She wondered whether this work that Chrys mentioned was dealing in politics or something. Chrys asked Kyra a question.

“Well… I’m here to find a mystical purple coral in order to open a door to save my beloved damsel in distress from a dragon.” Kyra declared dramatically.

After waiting to see Chrys’ reaction, Kyra plopped down on the floor.

“Just kidding. I actually came here because I wanted to see what this place was like.” She explained, “And I’m bored.”

There was a door on the left side of the room. It opened suddenly. Water did not come pouring into the room due to magic. But the hallway that the door led to was filled with water. The merman who opened the door was on the water side and waving at them to come one. He was one of the people who had helped them get there in the first place. The half elf turned to Chrys with a smile.

“I assume you already have a spell that can help you breathe underwater. Since ya did get down here and all. If you need any mana potions, give me a heads up. I’ve got enough to share.” Kyra lifted up her hands to her own throat and began to mutter a few words.

Her hands glowed brightly and specs of magic began to swirl around her throat. More and more magic swirled around her throat until it stopped. The Breath of Ki spell was complete. Dashing through the door, she splashed into the other side. Moment flew her forwards a bit and she ended up knocking into the merman. “Sorry!” She said, air bubbling from her throat. Her face lit up with glee.

“I am breathing! Underwater!” She said in delight, “This is the best day of my life!”

Kyra began to swim around the room and inspect every little detail. Of the hallway. Kyra also had one of those magical masks they gave to surface dwellers but she wanted to breath underwater. This was one of those few times the spell came in handy. Kyra turned back to Chrys and gave her a look.

The look seemed to say, -Well? Are you coming?-. 

Kyra was a joker alright, just like Belen. Though Belen was more likely to keep a straight face until somebody found out. "Oh, you got me! You know that's something that could really happen. Dragons like collecting things and they like things that are valuable. I can imagine one asking for something really rare for ransom." Her brother Efrain had a small one as his assistant, but he was more interested in tea and reading than hoarding gold. She laughed. "Well I agree with you there. I bet these folks are going to get a lot of tourists now people know of Onnen. Hopefully things will stay peaceful." The door opened and one of the merfolk came to let them enter the rest of the city. Taking her things, she wrapped them up extra tight and made sure her storage box was sealed.

Kyra offered to share some of her stock of potions to which Chrys nodded in thanks. "I will, thanks! Well, time to go for a dive!" Putting on a pair of goggles, she slung her bag over her shoulder and dove in. Entering the water, she waved her arms and legs to propel herself. The goggles were especially helpful in keeping water out of her eyes, and everything had a bluish tint when submerged. Sound was harder to hear with the water making everything muffled. Following after Kyra, she stopped by the merman and asked him when she could meet with someone to deliver an important item.

"A delivery? You can hand it off to one of our couriers to send it for you. As long as you know the recipient it will reach them within the day. You'll find one by tracking down any mermaid with this particular uniform." Chrysanthe shook her head. "No, it's not just a delivery. It's a special gift from an important person in Parvpora." The merman understood. "Oh I see! Well then I'll be happy to call someone to ensure the gift is specially sent so it is received in person. Welcome to Igbo, traveler. If there is anything you need, we will be happy to help." Waving goodbye after arranging the special delivery, Chrysanthe felt much better. The gift in question wasn't much, but it was more than that. It was supposed to be a symbol of the peace negotiations between the Sisters with Onnen. It was a beautiful sculpture crafted from gemstones and resin depicting the Celestial Reverie–the first mother, then the sister moons descending down to encircle a great tree upon an orb representing the world. The orb had the symbol of Antikythera carved into it, to remind future generations of the Overseer of Luck's support of the world's unity.

Outside it was something to get used to–no streets on the ground, people moving through the 'air'. Was this how birds felt in the sky? She kicked her legs to catch up with Kyra. "So where first? The castle city is bigger than I thought, I doubt we'd see it all in a day. Good thing I'll be here for a while."

Realizing that she couldn’t see very clearly, Kyra used her mythic polymorph spell. Flashy magic was not necessary for this spell. Instead all that happened was that her eyes morphed to be similar to how a mermaid’s eyes were structured. Cool water surrounded her body and allowed her to float. She had been a fish before. And she had been a bird. But this was the first time that she could feel like flying while remaining, mostly, in her original form. Although she only changed her eyes, technically she wasn’t fully in her original form anymore.

One thing that was annoying was the fact that the water made it harder to pick up on conversations that weren’t right next to her. She enjoyed eavesdropping on people. Why did water have to ruin that? The water city was amazing. Homes made up of colorful coral and stone filled up the city. How did they manage to get all this together? Coral was awesome but could be delicate sometimes. Then again, they lived down here for who knew how long. Of course they would have figured out what to make their homes out of. Kyra grabbed the shoulder of a random mermaid.

“Hi!” She said, “Where are things and how do I get to them?”

The mermaid was confused only for a moment before she realized what Kyra was actually wanting.

“Oh, you need directions! The eastern district has markets and entertainment. The west districts have residential homes.” The mermaid explained and pointed the direction that Kyra would need to go for each one.

“Thank you!” Kyra said with a smile. The mermaid left.

Meanwhile Kyra was thinking up of what she could do here. Chrys managed to catch up to her. Company! That was just what she needed! That would help make the visit even better and less awkward. Kyra looked Chrys in the eyes.

“We need to go to the Eastern district. There are markets and entertainment there. Once we arrive, we must find the biggest party and act irresponsibly for the rest of the evening.” Kyra said without a hint of humor, “And by irresponsibility, I mean to dance until we drop and drink until we can’t remember anything.”

A smile appeared on her lips. “It’ll be fun.”

She attempted to take Chrys by the hand and drag her to where the eastern district was described to be. 

Kyra's suggestion was sudden, and Chrys had to take a few moments to catch it all. "I'm not against parties or anything, but getting completely knocked out cold on the first day is kind of a shame. Why don't we look around for the best places to go in the district, then find a party? Even if we're guests there's still danger like in any city. Let's scope out the lay of the land first. If we're joining a party we should make sure we're not with the wrong people." Chrysanthe wasn't as reserved as her brothers, but she wanted to make sure she was safe while having fun. After all she was technically on duty, being sort of an ambassador. "I don't mean to put a damper on your fun Kyra, but I am supposed to be working right now." She explained to the other girl with a smile.

It was pretty surprising when she thought about Kyra's decision on how to spend the first day in a new city. Maybe she was the type who went from place to place looking for what fun could be had. "Hey Kyra, what do you like to do in your spare time? You look like somebody who's traveled a lot all over." So far the half-elf girl was her only acquaintance here, so why not get to know her better? They were both from the Sister Continents so they'd have something in common. With the gentle currents around them, it was easy to forget that being pulled along was easier here than on land. She had to remember to kick to stay in place or she'd drift off somewhere.

Schools of small fry swam around them completely unfazed by the strangers in their path. In the distance, larger creatures pulling shell-like chariots carried more affluent folk around the waters. "Hmm…it's still bright out. Want to see if they're giving any tours about the city? We can swap stories while somebody gives us a ride around town. I've never seen a squid that big before!" A large cephalopod with ten tentacles was harnessed to a giant snail-shaped shell large enough to carry a small group. There were seats built into the upside down shell, and to enter one needed only to float down. The vivid striped pattern of auburn and cream was a beautiful way to show off the shell's spiral. Chrysanthe had to wonder, were the shells crafted or did they come from giant sea creatures of that size?

Kyra had forgotten again. Not everybody was in the same position as herself. In fact her situation would be described as odd to anybody else. Instead of appearing disappointed or upset, a smile was on her face.

"Fair enough." She said with a genuine attitude, "I wouldn't want to get you into any sort of trouble. After all, what fun is there if nobody is enjoying themselves?"

The half elf was fairly surprised that Chrys wasn't trying to leave or avoid her after the previous statement. Was she one of the few people who would be willing to take Kyra on? Listening to Chrys, Kyra was able to figure out that the girl was by herself here. Earlier she had stated she was there for work. Now, instead of meeting up with somebody or going to an inn, the girl was hanging out with a new acquaintance. She must have been here on her own. Perhaps they both were by themselves here.

"I have traveled quite a bit. I like to go to celebrations in my spare time. As a bard and a dancer, I'm able to get paid at parties. I also enjoy them quite a bit." Kyra said with a smile, "Although I'm sure you've already figured that out. I enjoy writing stories and learning more. With a world opened like this, there are thousands of different stories told by hundreds of different people. What about you? What do you like to do in your spare time?"

Remembering to kick her feet to stay in one place, the half elf continued to listen to her.

"A tour sounds nice. It'll make getting around here easier." She said with a smile.

Suddenly the half elf saw the giant squid. Her eyes widened in amazement as she observed the large sea-creature. Attempting to grab Chrys' wrist, she swam towards the shell that held seats.

"Let's go! We can ride a squid!" Kyra shouted out loud.