(This is tennis, not an update. There's still time to get in more stuff before the update, which will be tomorrow evening.)
Rose,
Yuri's voice twitches in your head.
Yuri: "Is that chef supposed to be my new host? He looks a little... damaged. And I poked around in your head; he's important to you."
You think-speak, knowing the book can hear you.
Yuri: "Two minds in one body doesn't work. One smooshes the other. Like pressing a flower in a book. You can preserve it, but it's... you know, flat."
This is worrying news. It seems Yuri can't take a body without ousting its former occupant. It's like he's some kind of haunting spectre--a body snatcher.
You run past Erasmut, who has taken to lifting the decks off of ships in pursuit of his playmates. You are able to bring Wallace to the warship.
Wallace (Pulling away from you): "What are you doing, girl? Why have we come this far from the ship? Those blasted frogmen will get us out here, not to mention the giant dragon!"
You point to the captain of the warship, and Wallace just drops his jaw.
Wallace (To the captain): "Uhh... hello there."
Zataka,
You do note a gaping hole in the ceiling. Seawater should be flooding into the chamber, but it remains perfectly sustained above your head. It is as if a powerful force is twisting the water around the temple, preventing more from gaining entry.
...But then where did all of the water that's currently IN the temple come from?
You take the grateful crewman with you out into the hall, which is a straight line of similar chambers leading to a stairwell leading DOWN.
There's nothing particularly interesting about these chambers (the doors are closed, so you can search them if you wish). You notice, however, that the bizarre WEED increases in concentration the further down the hall you look. By the stairs the walls are absolutely coated in it.
As you head in that direction the pendant dances with more fervor.
Sancireph,
After careful scaling, you reach the top of the ship ruins. Victory is within reach!
But... where'd the sword go? It's like it just vanished.
With some quick thinking, you stab one of your swords into the wreck and place your hands on it, shouting "I let all the oxen free!".
Erasmut turns in your direction and sees you.
Erasmut: "Aww man! How'd you get up there so quickly?! I... I..."
He lowers his head sadly.
Erasmut: "Two out of three? Three out of five?"
His eyes are almost pleading.
Erasmut: "...Okay, you win."
Down on the ground, you see a grand symbol of darkness form on the ground. From it, a score of crewmembers appear. Odd... GOLDLEAF and ZATAKA are not among them.
Erasmut flies to the far end of the grotto and curls into a spiral, sobbing.
It seems you've won the ship.
Goldleaf,
You start walking east, towards the port city. The sun is in your eyes, so you turn your vision to your feet, relying on your footprints to guide you.
The desert isn't sandy, but rather an arid plain of cracked rock.
As the sun beats down on you, you begin to see mirages on the horizon. Thankfully your scry magic is potent enough for you to shrug these off as illusions.
It's going to be a long walk, you can't even see the city yet.
Still, something's bothering you. There's a single raven flying in the air above you. You swear that it's following you.
Granberia,
Gigamander plummets towards the grotto like a meteor. However, when she notices the blade in her hand is WYRMKILLER, she flinches and deflects her trajectory with a gout of flame.
She crashes into the sea, creating a giant spherical pocket of steam. At this point, Salamander breaks from you, returning you to the form of Granberia.
Salamander: "Wyrmkiller?! Dammit Beri, do you know what I went through to get that sword away from you?"
Wyrmkiller: "Come now, Salamander. Don't you want to join my crusade?"
Salamander: "Ugh, I almost fell for it too. Get out of my head, beast!"
You finally recognize that the Wyrmkiller has been TALKING to you. That's sort of odd, isn't it? For a sword to have an agenda? Most of them go about cutting things or killing things, but this one's talking about a crusade?
You ask Salamander what she means about separating you from the sword.
Salamander: "Black powder, Beri? You think I wanted you stranded on some island? It was worth it to get you apart from that thing, and now you're swinging it around again!"
You both look around and notice that your pocket of air is being maintained by a thick shell of ice around the edges.
Salamander: "Oh... oh no."
Undine: "I thought I told you to get to work."
The walls of ice erupt jagged spears of frost, narrowly missing you. More are forming to launch.
