Melita knew the right people to lean on for a good trade, and the pearls provided enough buying power for her to purchase delectable delights in bulk for the Torchers to cart back to the Court. Meat for grilling, fresh fruits and vegetables for snacking or grilling or dessert - and, of course, pastries to round the meal off. Fresh juice was plentiful, and she was even able to secure some supplies of beer, wine, and liquor to liven things up! After jury rigging some simple tables from leftover supplies, the spread was laid out under the rising moon and glowing lanterns.
Speaking of lanterns, Maeve's keen eye for detail and decoration brought the exit of the tunnel into seamless balance with the rest of the garden.Between the night blooms and the lanterns the well's broad opening - enough for three merfolk abreast, in case two were aiding an injured comrade - was clearly illuminated so no drylander should stumble into the calm and deceptively deep water by accident. The light was clear enough that those arriving from below would be able to see the distance to the surface even in the dark, guiding their rise and making the fountain's healing waters easy to access at any time of day or night.
Even in the darkening waters Yuna was able to find the seagrass and transplant it safely, providing both a living decoration and a future home for fish and small sea creatures to liven up the tunnel made with Safrin's blessing. Some even came along for the ride, clinging to the grass stalks and already beginning to acclimate to their new home.
Hadama took one of the underwater lanterns filled with bioluminescent plankton and collected one of the corals they had brought up from the deeps. Carefully and with gentle hands he applied the mussel glue to its base and then set it along the wall attached to one of the ribs. It was slow, delicate work, but eventually there was a small but promising darkwater reef that would eventually grow to hide the bone supports and stabilize the sandy soil between them.
Surfacing into the fading sunset, he gave those who had helped a grateful bow and then looked to Melita and the spread she had acquired. "Words are not enough to thank you for what we did today. But there is food and drink, and we have all earned a celebration. Please, help yourselves."
And so they did, eating and drinking and making merry until the exhaustion of the day caught up with them and they wandered back to homes on land and undersea, leaving the new passage to the healing fountain to sparkle silently beneath the stars.
This concludes the PQ! Thank you all so very much for sticking with it <3
~Fin~
Speaking of lanterns, Maeve's keen eye for detail and decoration brought the exit of the tunnel into seamless balance with the rest of the garden.Between the night blooms and the lanterns the well's broad opening - enough for three merfolk abreast, in case two were aiding an injured comrade - was clearly illuminated so no drylander should stumble into the calm and deceptively deep water by accident. The light was clear enough that those arriving from below would be able to see the distance to the surface even in the dark, guiding their rise and making the fountain's healing waters easy to access at any time of day or night.
Even in the darkening waters Yuna was able to find the seagrass and transplant it safely, providing both a living decoration and a future home for fish and small sea creatures to liven up the tunnel made with Safrin's blessing. Some even came along for the ride, clinging to the grass stalks and already beginning to acclimate to their new home.
Hadama took one of the underwater lanterns filled with bioluminescent plankton and collected one of the corals they had brought up from the deeps. Carefully and with gentle hands he applied the mussel glue to its base and then set it along the wall attached to one of the ribs. It was slow, delicate work, but eventually there was a small but promising darkwater reef that would eventually grow to hide the bone supports and stabilize the sandy soil between them.
Surfacing into the fading sunset, he gave those who had helped a grateful bow and then looked to Melita and the spread she had acquired. "Words are not enough to thank you for what we did today. But there is food and drink, and we have all earned a celebration. Please, help yourselves."
And so they did, eating and drinking and making merry until the exhaustion of the day caught up with them and they wandered back to homes on land and undersea, leaving the new passage to the healing fountain to sparkle silently beneath the stars.
This concludes the PQ! Thank you all so very much for sticking with it <3
~Fin~
