What Lurks in Lake Ravok?

[Persona]

Fall 46, 512 It was a beautiful day on lake Ravok, absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining, and sky was a clear blue dotted by a few light, wispy clouds. A gentle breeze blew pleasantly across the lake. Clear blue water stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, it was dotted with the occasional fishing boat, drifting lazily along. A water glider zipped through this peaceful scene, carrying its passengers at incredible speeds, and leaving a small wake in the water behind it. There were only a handful of people on the boat, but it still felt crowded. A woman was chattering excitedly to the man next to her about rumors of some sort of lake monster. The man sighed and muttered something about the questionable veracity of Ravosalamen's tales, but it seemed the woman would not be deterred. She had, in fact, spread word of a great reward should anyone help her uncover this mystery. This promise is what drew Giph, Volinir, and Renalee here today. Little did the passengers know, but there was in fact something lurking just below them. A huge shadow moved under the boat, though the sailors were too busy to see it.

[Giph]

Giph had come prepared for the job, or at least as prepared one could be for hunting after rumors. But seeing as the job had involved a lake monster he had prepaired himself for contact with water. Lots of water, he had filled his two breath bags , that firmly hung from some cords that where knotted tightly at the bodyharnass he had girded around his torso. He had left his cloak at home, that would only get in the way when swimming anyway. He had his heavy crossbow over his shoulder, with the quiver girded around his right leg for easy access. Still, Giph didn't feel at least half as competent as he looked, especially with the kind of company he had, the kelvic that didn't even had the good sense to hide her purse in a city like ravok and the freak slave he had shot at a season ago. This wasn't going to be good, those non-human freaks where either going to screw everything up with their incompetence, or a grudge would let them turn to each other. Giph let out an annoyed sigh. This wasn't going to go that well. Giph looked outside of the boat, hoping that at least the nice view of the lake of ravok and the beautiful day would pull his thoughts away from the fact he was working with inferior beings on this case. When he did however he saw a huge shadow moving with them underneath the boat. Something that gave the boy the creeps. He gave both of his companions a quick nudge and pointed towards the water “Think thats our mark?” there was a tinge of nervousness audible in his voice

[Volinir Orchid]

It was nice to be out on the lake. Despite the less than friendly nature of what they were searching for, and the trigger-happy kid in the boat with him, Volinir wasn't just content, but absolutely thrilled. After all, Giph wasn't the only company in the water glider. He still wasn't entirely sure if the days after the festival were a hallucination or not, but if they were, they were a wonderful hallucination. Volinir's let his head tilt back, closing his eyes to enjoy Syna's warmth tickling his face, and his hand sought out Renalee's. Where there used to be a black sun tattoo, there was now nothing but smooth skin. There were citizenship papers of a dubious origin in his coat pocket, and a smile on his face. The day was beautiful, and they were as far away from the other nutcases as could be. Suddenly, Giph's voice cut through the calm, "Think that's our mark?" The Symenestra scowled and looked over the edge of the boat to see something dark under them. His brow furrowed further, and he shielded his eyes from the sun as his pupils diluted to their full, very large size in an attempt to see what was under them, "I'm not sure..."

[Renalee]

It was a lovely day to be out and about, something which the young Kelvic had planned on being the moment she woke up this morning. She wanted to go out of the city and get reacquainted with the surrounding area. If she was going to stay she had to start making an effort to settle in and that included getting used to this particular area and finding where the best hunting spots were. Ren had still to get out of the habit of lugging all of her belongings around so when she left Tarsin’s this morning her trusty backpack was slung over her shoulder as full as usual. She had slowly made her way over to the Docks, not in any real hurry, but still hoping that she didn’t have to wait around for a ferry for a very long time. In the end it turned out she wouldn’t be getting on a ferry at all today. The girl had just joined the few people waiting for the regular transport to and from Ravok to arrive at this side of its line when she noticed a rather strange group of people, arranging their own means or transportation aboard one of the water gliders. Perhaps four people looking for a quick way to get over the lake wasn’t strange in and of itself, but when you realized that two of the four were no other but Volinir and Giph you would have to reconsider. And that’s what Renalee did. Curiosity had made her approach the group and curiosity was the reason she was now on board of the rather unstable-looking glider headed out into the lake to supposedly verify a rumor about a lake monster. Or was it to kill a monster whose existence was already verified? Ren had gotten confused at some point during the explanation. What she did know was that the only monsters she knew of were in drunk sailors’ stories and she would be really interested to see if this particular one was real or not. The Kelvic stood awkwardly on one side of the boat between the two men she did know while the pair that had supposedly ‘bought their services’ were on the other side, enthusiastically discussing the reason for their ‘expedition’. Ren tugged at the sleeve of her blue tunic feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the silence that hung over the three of them. She didn’t know what was worse - the strange relationship that had settled between Giph and her, the unpleasant history that was between Volinir and Giph, or her own currently rather confusing feelings towards the Symenestra. As Volinir reached out for her hand in a gesture that seem to come very naturally to him Renalee panicked momentarily. She didn’t really know what to do about it and if she was quite ready to accept something like that. Luckily, a sudden nudge from her other companion saved her from having to make a decision. Her sharp eyes turned towards where Giph had pointed in the water, but if there had really been something there it was either gone or she couldn’t see it. Volinir sounded uncertain himself. Ren returned the nudge a little bit harder than she had received it, but the smirk on her face would hopefully let the boy know she was just being playful. “I hope you jump as quickly when there actually is something there,” she teased. Her eyes were still drawn to the water’s surface however, and she started wondering if she would indeed like to know if monsters existed. Perhaps a flimsy looking boat in the middle of a vast and deep lake wasn’t the best setting for such a discovery. “You must have seen the shadow of one of our sails or just a cloud of algae in the water.”

[Persona]

Despite Volinir's enhanced vision, he was unable to make out any details in the shape below the surface. It wasn't that it was too dark; by all rights he should be able to see it just fine. Before he had time to worry about that though, there was a high-pitched squeal from the other side of the boat. Those who turned around would see the woman, not frightened for her life, but apparently gleeful at the appearance of something long and slender rising from the water. The thing had a body like a snake, but on its head were two glassy orbs, which were strangely reminiscent of eyes. There was a faint fishy scent coming from the creature, which none of those present could quite identify. A cloud passed over the sun, casting a shadow over the boat. More clouds joined it as a mist began to rise on the lake. The mist was faint at first, but it soon blocked distant objects from sight. The city, the shore, even other boats were all obscured. The woman noticed none of this; she was too enamored with the creature. "Oh, it's adorable!" she told her husband, who did not seem to share her opinion. He tried to drag her away from the creature, warning that it might be dangerous, but she pulled away from him. "Don't be silly, this creature is harmless!" Her voice abruptly changed tone into the sort one might reserve for speaking to babies, Hello there, little guy. You're not going to hurt me, are you? No you're not." She reached out a hand to pet the creature. Meanwhile, a shadow fell across the three on the other side of the boat. It might have just been another cloud, but those who looked would see four similar but much larger creatures looming at least ten feet above their heads.