The Nine Bishops

Mika told Zaya a little about her situation, omitting the critical parts about being a former Filth and having no coin to her name. When Zaya probed for more details, Mika begged off, promising to tell her more at another time, perhaps with a visit after she settled into Monsoon.

Aware that she still had important matters to attend to, Mika left her new friend with the map of Monsoon in hand, which was helpful in orienting her to the streets and canals of the city. The map was very detailed, outlining every building in Monsoon with a legend that showed different codes for inns, housing, guilds, streets, canals, and other landmarks.

The War Eagles’ guild house was a couple of streets off the beach. The map was especially helpful now, as the streets were denser in that area and would have been difficult to navigate without it.

After an hour or so of walking, Mika knew she was getting close even without looking at the map. She could no longer see the water over the rooftops, but she could smell the salt air and hear waves crashing.

Finally, the buildings parted and she found herself staring, mesmerized, at the sea. For Mika, who had never seen such a vast body of water, it was serenity itself. Soothed by the cool ocean breeze, she stood, two flights of stairs above sea level, looking for a way to get down to the beach. A long boardwalk and a waist-high wall separated her from the sand. Finally, she found a staircase leading down to the beach and began to descend it slowly, hearing the crunch of loose sand under her feet. When she got to the base of the stairs, she doffed her shoes and dropped her bag. Feeling the sand between her toes, she relaxed immediately.

She looked around and thought it odd there was no one else on the beach, though the weather was perfect. The breeze felt delightful in the afternoon sun. Mika began walking towards the sea slowly, sinking her toes into the sand carefully with each step. She stared into the thick fog that hung over the water just offshore. Curious to know what might lie beyond, she walked closer to it.

The water was cold, but not too cold. Mika, standing ankle-deep, enjoyed the sensation of the small waves crashing onto her feet and walked in a bit deeper. She had no intention of trying to swim, but she was drawn in farther and farther. All she knew was that she wanted to know what was beyond the fog.

Before she realized it, Mika was completely submerged, her feet still planted in the sand as the water lapped over her head, seemingly unable to turn back for shore. She held her breath as long as she could, but she was running out of oxygen. Eventually water got into her mouth.

She was drowning.

Yet, Mika did not panic. Despite her current predicament, she felt strangely euphoric. Soon enough, her eyelids started to feel heavy. She lost all sense of euphoria and began to lose feeling in her body. She was seconds from passing out. Ready to accept her fate, she closed her eyes and closed off her emotions.

Strangely, she felt the sensation of being grabbed.