Epic Tale - Chapter 9 - Part 1

The surface port of Zarina was much less of a port than it was expected. The vast reef sourrounding it worked as a natural breakwater and the area it was build on was very shallow. The water was almost as smooth as a mirror except for the shipping channel. A small assembly of buildings and bridges built on piles were all the port contained. The highest structure was some kind of watch tower, basically made out of an old mast with a roofed crow's nest. The whole port consisted of three rings: an outer ring of bridges, forming  the pier. The second ring was made by the different bulding and the third consisted again of bridges. The middle of the so formed misshaped circle was empty, only some cranes projected into it, their load hidden in the dark water.
As the Sangue Padre moved closer to the port, Lyra noticed the shipping channel became a dark band moving through a much lighter area. When the ship came near a lighter area, the calm water was clear enough to observe the life of the coral reefs below them.
But when the ship was about to moor, the crew was too busy to have an eye for the maritime beauty below them. Out of a near hut, dock workers came running to assist, followed by a sedately ambling harbour master. His complete hairless head was home of a natural, jovial smile. His body shape, however, implied he was an excellent swimmer. The harbour master carried some papers with him and waited next to the gangway. The pilot left the ship along with the guard and exchanged only a few word with the harbour master. It was most likely that he was already informed about the important events.
Somewhere at the backside of her brain, Riddle wondered why they weren't about to get arrested. After all, they tried to hide a wanted outlaw. But then, who knew what Captain Chenbeard and the watch captain had agreed on.

"Welcome to the surface port of Zarina.", the harbour master announced with a booming voice. "Her highness the queen wishes to talk to you personally regarding the successful capture of prince Leith."
Only slowly the pirate left the ship, looking for any hints if this was a trap or not, while the captain and co-captain talked to the harbour master.
The majority of the crew wanted to see the capital of the selkie kingdom, so the crew was split into those able to swim and dive and those who couldn't or did not want to.

The harbor master brought them to the inner circle next to one of the cranes. "Zarina is down there, hard to miss.", he said.
"Hey Riddle! First one in gets to deal with the guards." The trickster heard a voice behind her and saw Reaper grinning, standing there with his bare chest and his black wings out, shadows thrashing around them. "Over we go!" He winks at her and then dives over the side into the sea.
Surprised she looked after him. The harbor master was shouting something, but Riddle wasn't listening as she jumped into the water.

She immediately regretted it as she was surrounded by cold and blurry vision, but continued to dive down. Soon the pressure hurt on her ears and trying to equalize it had only the effect of losing air. The urge to breathe in increased with every stroke, but all Riddle could do was breathing out. There was nothing but bluish-green darkness around her. A sheme was moving below her, coming closer. But she couldn't see enought to make out who or what it was.
She suddenlfy felt the watery darkness closing around her completely. A rush of coldness went over her skin an then into her whole body and out of surprise, the trickster let out some more air, only to relise her lungs were emptied.
She tried hard to surpress the urge to gasp. Riddle had stopped moving and now headed up again. She couldn't have been very deep, right? Still she wasn't sure if she could make it back in time.
Something dark was hovering in the water directly abover her and it was big. She couldn't move out of the way, but all she cared for was moving upwards right now. The sahde closed around her and suddenly her head broke through the watery surface.
Her screaming lungs gasped for air and before she could say a word, she heard the harbor masters voice: "Where is the other one? I don't want anyone of you to drown."
"I ... think ... he's ... fine.", Riddle mutters, traying to calm her racing heart with deep breaths.
Wherever she was now, it was dark inside, but she felt an arm closing around hers and was pulled onto a seat made of leather. On her back she could also feel rough leather as she leaned back.
"You're such an idiot, Fiddle!", she heard Sparky hissing next to her.
"Have to agree with Sparky on this.", Aslansa's voice sounded on Riddle's other side but she was sure he was grinning.
"What can I say, Reaper challenged me.", Riddle tried to joke.
"That's why you are an idiot.", Sparky snapped. "Reaper can't drown, unlike you."
Lady Riddle decided not to answer while the diving bell she was obviously in, moved further down.
It was dark first, but then, a blue light came from somehwere beneath them and lightened the inside of the bell, enabling Riddle to see the insides. She was inside a diving bell made of a strange grey leather and wood. The light became brigther and brighter and soon sourrounded the bell.
"Don't run away.", the harbor master said jokingly and slipped from his seat into the water. A short while later he came back and tied the end of a rope made of sea weed to one ot the wodden crossbars.
"Just hold on to the rope and nobody will get lost.", the man said and dived away again. One by one the pirates followed him.

With blurred vision but ground under her feet,  Lady Riddle followed the rope and was reliefed to find out the way she had to take was rather short when her hand broke through the surface of the water. Looking around she found herself with the rest of the crew in a cave. The water around them was still illuminated, casting strange patterns onto the walls. Most of the cave was filled with air, the part filled with water was an almost perfect round circle near one of the walls. The wet pirates climbed on the smooth and dry stone ground. Since the water barely reached their hips and the border wasn't high, it was no problem.
Forgotten Reaper was already waiting there.
"Hey Riddle, looks like I won.", he grinned after the trickster had dry ground under her feet again.
"Looks like I had a handicap, since I need to breathe every once in a while.", she replied and looked around.
She now could see that the cave was larger than she had expected at first. What looked like a wall first, where several rows of natural pillars. Also, their surface wasn't rough stone. Instead it was moistly shimmering and covered with shells and some sort of algas or moss growing on it. There were other small pools in the floor, all of them filled with water and shining blue.
"They have some sort of algas doing this.", Reaper explained her as he noticed Riddle staring at the water. Before the trickster could answer or ask how he knew that, the harbor master's voice filled the cave. If Riddle had ever partaken in a school trip, this would remind her of one.
"One more short diving tripe and we're there.", he said and led the pirates through an opening in the stone wall. The path was framed with a thin groove on each side, filled witht he glowing sea water. Every now and then there was a third one connecting them, creating a curved pattern on the floor. The path led into a second cave, where there was another pool close to a wall. This time, the smooth walls were carved with ornamented pictures, decorated with colourful shells and stones.
"You can't get lost, just keep heading upwards.", the harbour master said, slipped into the pool and dived through an underwater hole on the cave wall.
"You heard the man. Is anyone in for a race?", Reaper asked, but nobody agreed. One by one the pirates got in the pool and dived out
The did not reach a tunnel, but a shaft filled with water. It was big enough to move around freely but small enough not to get lost.
The sudden pressure on the ears was unusual at first, but it decreased as the pirates swam upwards.
When they reached the upper end of the water column, they found themselves in a huge room. The walls were all flagged with pastel-coloured stones. Lamps formed like fragile jellyfishs lighted it. Serval hallways branched off, some of the entraces were highly decorated with pillars melting with the wall and detailed ornaments. Two guards were standing next to one of them.
The water column ended in a basin and flat stairs led onto dry ground. A group of three selkies were already waiting there. Two of them wore the uniforms of the guards. The third one was dressed with a strange reddish cloth that shimmered in the light like the scales of fishes or wings of butterflies. The harbor master was stadning beside him. most uniforms lose dignity once they're dripping wet, but the one the bold selkie was wearing didn't. He turned to the wet pirates.
"May I introduce you to Skuvur. He'll take care of you from now. Now if you excuse me, there is a port to watch over."
He indicated a bow towards Skuvur and the pirate crew before the vanished into the water.
"I sincerely do hope you don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Let me show your guest rooms.", Skuvur said.
He led the way and the two guards followed the pirates through one of the richer decorated entries.