Leviathans Silk

Twin expanses of endless blue stretched out before Ixchel. An existence once confined between the canopies of the rain-forest expanse and a layer of verdant ferns and fungi that carpeted the forest ground was faced with the vastness of the open ocean. The captain of the merchant vessel Ixchel had booked passage on was carrying cargoes of cacao beans from the sweltering lands of the the triple alliance to the more temperate locale of Fiore. Though the many religious orders of the triple alliance had once been in possession of much gold it had long dried up as a source of trade due to both greedy prospectors and the desire for Western amenities that it could be traded for.

Thus the priests of Huitzilopochtli had relied on the Fiorian citizens relatively newly-found taste for chocolate of both the eating and drinking variety. Even a superstitious and wary captain can be enticed to harbor a larger than life walking effigy of sacred stone with enough financial motivation. So it was that Ixchel waited on the deck of the ship - the salty wind tossing her obsidian tresses. Beside her loomed all nine feet of Tlatocan resplendent as only a piece of living art can be.

Many thoughts passed through the young sorceresses mind, dreams and fears, goals and fancies. But this contemplation was broken with a sudden unexpected sound - that of a most unusual horn. Fashioned from the shell of a large mollusk - possibly a conch of prodigious size the blast could doubtlessly be heard for leagues around. Were any other ships in the area such a hail would be easily identified as a call to attention. Her eyes searching for the source of this call -Ixchel's vision finally alighted on the point of origin. A figure somewhat humanoid in appearance but clearly no man. Encased in a crimson carapace and clutching the conch horn in one over-sized pincer the being displayed characteristics of both crustacean and human. Unbeknownst to Ixchel the shoreline of Lavanitir was relatively close - there was a chance that the crab-mans call would attract more attantion from the port cities denizens.

A light bouncing almost lost within the usual bustle of the port town preceded a man’s exit from an alley into a crowded main street. Lahkey had bedded down in that particular place because of a nice crook in the buildings that provided some cover. He had also acquiesced a tennis ball, which had served as a rather delightful implement of entertainment. As the darker man emerged, his brightly embroidered robe an emerald and glimmering gold beacon of his presence, he yawned and stretched with a flourishing motion. One of his eyes peeked open well before the other, giving a cursory glance to the passing street folk as well as the incoming ships; half the fun of lounging around Lavantir was seeing the different people, what people brought in, and borrowing some of what he could without asking. Naturally, he stayed vaguely near the docks when at all possible, because they were an interesting and helpful place to be. Many he had seen before had returned, though some familiar vessels had made way for new ones. A smaller craft, one whose particular name he had forgotten, was docked and empty of all crew. Rather tempting.

As he was debating whether or not to make off with what goods may lay in this small ship, something being contained in a couple burlap sacks, a horn sounded. It was sudden, surprising, and enough to catch his attention. As Lahkey scanned the horizon, producing a delightful little telescope he had acquired from a drunken captain, he spotted a rather odd creature of crimson far out in the ocean. It appeared to be a bipedal crab, the source of the noise being what sounded like a shell in its hand. That was something to be noted, but not an inherent reason to depart just yet; what if it wasn't actually a crab man, but some strange kind of uninteresting phenomenon? It was too far to determine anything definite.

However, there was a rather sizeable boat coming toward the port city as well, and some large gray mass was standing on it. Clearly, it was no structure for the ship, and although it too lacked any detail at this distance, there was some smaller, darker mass with whipping black tendrils in front of the thing. Hanging his head in with a half dejected sigh, Lahkey realized he was intrigued; even though he had no comprehension of what was on the boat nor what was blowing the horn, regardless of his magnified examination, each were unique phenomenon deserving explanation.

This was an adventure worth stealing the boat for. The wind had just started breezing in toward the thing as well, a lucky moment to take advantage of.

Lahkey sprinted to the craft, leaping to it as soon as his legs could carry him, and promptly scurrying to untie the single square sail. It was capable of carrying maybe fifteen people at maximum capacity, but a couple times the lucky man had sailed similar craft alone. The boat had started out toward the apparent adventure, and although it had seemed like a delightful idea, there was an inherent danger in sailing alone into the ocean at a potential threat. Dribbling his tennis ball rapidly from hand to hand, not a care in the world, the mage started to make his way toward the bags. It was miscellaneous traveling and selling cargo, nothing valuable but at least an apple to steal for breakfast. It was eaten on the prow of the ship, the lime green and shining gold kaftan denoting his presence aboard the small craft as he crunched into an apple of similar coloration. "Mmm. Sweet."

With a gurgling sound brine was expelled from the humanoid crustaceans gills. Stalked eyes swiveled taking in both Ixchel and the newcomer Lahkey sailing aboard his ill gotten vessel. With a surprisingly cultured voice for an aquatic monstrosity the crab man addressed all present.

"Children of earth, my master Hi-Liang wishes to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his arrival in Fiore from parts abroad. As such he cordially invites you to his palace beneath the waves where you will join him in sampling the delicacies of the ocean and sharing in his merrymaking."

From the ocean beside the crustacean servant a gigantic pearlescent shell emerged breaking the surface. Attached to it's front were two seahorses of prodigious size. In addition to spiny protrusions along their spine these beasts of burden bore antlers to rival that of any stag. Motioning to the chariot with its free claw the crab servant spoke the last of his piece.

"While in my masters kingdom you may breath water as you would air. Also do not worry about your belongings as they shall be made waterproof as well. However I do warn you that such an opportunity is not something I shall be offering again. Either visit the undersea kingdoms or return to your business forever wondering what you have missed. To accept the offer simply walk over to the clamshell - you will find the surface of the waves to be as solid a footing as one could hope.

Allowing a few seconds for this information to sink in somewhat Ixchel finally noted the presence of another vessel. It's captain and sole occupant didn't look Fioran - indeed he bore more resemblance to her own people than the snow white denizens of Fiore.

Hoping to make eye contact with the new arrival Ixchel gave the man a puzzling look as if to ask what he made of the situation and what his desired course of action was. Rushing into something like this could be a bit hasty but if the occupant of the lone sailing boat was set on heading to this underwater kingdom then Ixchel would have to follow and make sure he stayed safe regardless of whatever boons might be granted to visitors.

And with that the new arrival made his way from his small boat onto the aquatic carriage. Steeling herself Ixchel made the first step out onto the water. Surprisingly it held as if it were solid ground. Even Tlatocan's immense weight was held by the enchanted foam. Embolded by this development several sailors followed suit making their way into the seahorse drawn vessel.

Whether this offer was legitimate or a trap Ixchel had little choice in the matter. As a potential savior of her people she could not shy away from danger. Besides those who died submersed in water went to the realm of the storm god Tlaloc - the heaven of the blessed drowned. Far better ones soul arrive there than the shadows depths of Mictlan or even worse the primeval abyss that was Xibulba.

With Tlatocan and the sailors the shell had become somewhat crowded. No sooner had Ixchel found a comfortable place for herself than the platoform began to sink downward into the ocean. Turning to face her fellow passenger Ixchel attempted to strike up a conversation with the man.

"Greetings traveler. My name is Ixchel - priestess of the triple alliance. I take it you must be a seasoned adventurer to possess such high spirits in so bizarre a situation. That is unless the sort of thing is common in this part of the world? "

Around the party shoals of rainbow colored fish could be seen swimming. Sharks prowled the depths completely ignoring the enchanted vessel and it's occupants and octopi peeked their heads from beds of coral. In the distance could be a seen the outline of a palace built on the seabed. Crafted from mother of pearl it shone with greenish light reflected from the surface.