Echoes of Lost Farbosheia

As the ethereal song of the merfolk washed over them, the companions clustered around the rails of the Lady Jezebel, to behold a thing of wonder.

"I think that's the tip of a huge pyramid poking out of the sea" Ricmo marveled. "How?"

"It was probably built when all this was dry land." Whisperleaf marveled. "The scholars and sages say that in the far past, millennia before the world had heard the name of Annwyn and its Empire, the seas were much lower then they are today. This massive archipelago we call The Thousand Islands was mostly a single continent, that spanned from Gianthome to The Southern Reach. The sages call it Lost Farbosheia."

Tello nodded agreement. "The climate was much colder in those days, more of the world's water was locked in ice at the poles. An artifact of the slow precession of the poles. Your great northern groves were fields of ice when this pyramid was built, Druid."

Interestingly Freddy argued the point. "I was taught that theory at The Ensemble, but the bardic college believes that, in addition to the natural cycle, there was also a supernatural trigger to the way the world changed. We don't have any historical record of those times, but there are hints lost in old songs. Songs like this one."  

The lyrics were difficult to translate, even with the gift of tongues that Red Alice had bestowed on them. The melody was alien. Whisperleaf concentrated and then translated a fragment out loud.

Our world is broken

Our star is falling

The portal's open

The end is calling

Our time has come

"It's a song of Lost Farbosheia I believe. A lament." Freddy murmured

Whisperleaf nodded. "The nature of the world is change and the change seldom has a single cause. You could easily both be right." He continued "In those days, legends say,  the cruel Yuan-Ti ruled over the land and enslaved the other races, forcing them to raise mighty pyramids to dark gods. The Serpents are long gone, however their monuments, seeped in blood and magic, still remain, defying time and decay. My suspicion is what we see before is one of these pyramids. Or the tip of it anyway."

Merus, who had uncharacteristically came down from the crow's nest to join the conversation, nodded agreement. 

"What we see is indeed the tip of a massive pyramid, descending many hundreds of feet to the sea floor. The sea is so calm and clear it is easily seen from above. There is an entire sunken city dozens of fathoms below us. A city that was once mightier then Valoria or Haven Towne. And merfolk live there. Many merfolk."

"Well the song doesn't appear hostile." Dakhir commented. "At least none of the crew has attempted to jump to their death over the railing. My understanding is the mer-people are no more evil then any of the Races, just very isolationist."

"They seem to be ignoring us. Just singing. Some religious ritual? Maybe we should just keep going? Still they might have information for us..." Ricmo deliberated. 

"Get us a little closer" said Freddy. "I will introduce us in a way they will find pleasing."

 "No mermaids Fred." Ozraeline admonished. "Seriously. Not one. Mermaid." Freddy just smiled.

The Sturg effortlessly spun the mighty wheel, turning the Lady Jezebel's prow to starboard, to pass well to the side of the sunken temple. The wind at deck level was completely still, the sea like glass, but still the top gallants of the ship managed to catch enough breeze to propel them lazily forward. 

Freddy made his way to the prow, unlimbering his guitar and listening carefully to the song the merfolk sang, taking note of the complexity of the music. After a few moments he began to play along, careful to enhance and accompany the song not to overshadow it. 

As Freddy's guitar joined the mournful chorus, the merfolk momentarily stumbled in their song, but then, recovered. 

"Quiet among the crew! Shiver the sails, hold us here." Ozraeline ordered quietly. "Let him play."

Freddy looked up briefly from his playing. "I've never heard this in its entirety, just fragments. The merfolk's memories are long. Very long. Or so it was claimed in my college. They sing to remember a world that once was, that now is lost beneath the waves."

For a timeless moment the ship hung there, perfectly balanced, motionless, held between sea and sky, sails carefully set to play the forces of the wind against itself, while the crew listened. A part of Dakhir's mind was carefully watching for signs the merfolk were exerting domination over the crew, but he sensed no magic, just music. And so, they listened while Freddy played and the Merfolk sang. 

And then the song ended, the crew as one, heaved a great sigh of loss that the music was over. And the merfolk turned their attention to the Lady Jezebel. A contingent of the creatures swam toward the ship, led by one who carried an air of authority with him. While they carried weapons, they carefully kept them pointed downward in an unthreatening fashion. They stopped a respectful distance away from the ship, within easy hailing range, and then the leader bowed and greeted them.

"Good morrow surface dwellers. We greet you in peace this day."  he said gravely. He spoke Common, though with a strange accent and odd intonations. Whisperleaf bowed back to him. "Greetings Sea Father" he replied. "We also come in peace, and celebrate this chance meeting as one of beauty and friendship."

The merfolk, won over by Freddy's song, were quite friendly. They were eager for news, and for trade. While implements of iron were useless to them, they greatly valued anything made of silver or bronze, being unable to work metal or stoke forges themselves. In return they offered fresh fish, beautiful pearl and shell jewelry, and news of the ocean world. 

"We met a group of Triton Knights a few days ago" Ricmo related. “They said they were on a quest to kill a kraken?"  

"Aye" the Merfolk king (who was styled The Neptune) replied. "All the undersea is talking of it. Such a beast has not been seen in these seas in many years, and it is wreaking great havoc. I hope those noble knights find and slay the beast, but I doubt they will, for it is mighty. And cunning."

Whisperleaf and Dakhir exchanged looks.  They knew from personal experience exactly how mighty and cunning. And they both felt a fair amount of guilt about the fact that they were probably at least indirectly responsible for it being here. 

"I blame the god." Dakhir murmured under his breath to Whisperleaf. "That god is a dick." 

Dakhir had been worried about that Kraken for a while and had finally decided to have a talk with his Grandmother about it. He tried in general to avoid annoying his Patron, or attracting her attention in any way, actually. He happened to be in her good graces lately though, due to a few favors he had been in position to do for her, and thought the Kraken was worth the risk. So he had performed the beseeching ritual and had asked a boon. Fortunately, she had been in a good mood that day and had granted him The Gift of the Depths. In theory this should allow the heroes to take the fight to their foe's home turf. 

They hadn't really had a chance to test this new boon yet, so when the Merfolk invited the Jezebels to tour their city, the heroes eagerly accepted. Dakhir called on dark powers, the sun dimmed for a moment and the smell of brimstone wafted across the ship. And the way Undersea was open to them. Water could now be breathed as easily as air, and they could travel through the ancient, sunken city freely.

The underwater journey was awe inspiring. The city was massive, and beautiful in its solemn decay. The merfolk were excellent hosts, and Whisperleaf and Radiant managed to repay their hospitality by healing various ailments that plagued the underwater folk, including a sick child near death. They asked no payment for these services which further endeared them to the water people.

  

The merfolk showed themselves surprisingly knowledgeable about events in the surface world, as well as the Undersea realm. The Neptune explained this was somewhat out of self defense, since despite the separation of the Undersea and Surface, problems in one did have a tendency to leak into the other. But mostly, it was out of curiosity, the Undersea had its gossip mongers, trade routes and information flows, and the doings of surface world, alien as it was to the Undersea dwellers, were always popular stories.

The Merfolk for instance had a pretty decent idea of the location of Cerro Ricco, more accurate than the charts Ali and Blue Archie had managed to cobble together by interviewing sailors from Puerto Lejos who claimed to have been to the lost mine. The merfolk even gave the Adventurers directions to another of their settlements, closer to the mysterious mountain, and the gift of a beautifully carved mother of pearl amulet they said would mark The Lady Jezebel as a friend to the Mer-people.

And so with cheerful goodbyes, renewed will, and stern purpose, the Lady Jezebel set sail once more. Toward The Mountain That Eats Men.