He tilted his head at the response, though if he was taken aback it didn't show on his serene features. He simply dipped his head in acknowledgment of the correction with a murmured: "I see." It wasn't his place to change her mind, though he made note of her opinion to avoid future misunderstandings.
Her question wasn't entirely unexpected after her earlier reply, though the request for help was a little more surprising. Hadama dove beneath a particularly large swell and surfaced again with water streaming from his hair and face as he considered the size and draft of her boat. It was possible...
There were other elements at play as well as he stretched out his magic to calm the waters around the canoe and swam slowly around it, giving himself more time to think. Returning to the place in front of Amanda he reached a decision and nodded slowly. "I can guide you," he agreed. "The caves by the lighthouse are too shallow to fit your boat in. But there is one..." He turned to face the shore, looking over the shadowed cliff face and the rocks below; some poked boldly above the waves and hid vicious riptides around them while others lay in wait with their hidden teeth that peeked just above the surface when the water pulled away. One wave could carry the canoe safely over the top of some of them. The next could drop the boat in a trough and impale it, if the sea was unkind enough. The cave was a little distance away and protected by both kinds of stones, both large and mostly-submerged, that had fallen into the sea in ancient times and been weathered away to sharp points ever since.
But the merman had magic of his own to protect the little craft from mischance or folly, and he turned back to Amanda with another nod. "What will you trade for it?"
Her question wasn't entirely unexpected after her earlier reply, though the request for help was a little more surprising. Hadama dove beneath a particularly large swell and surfaced again with water streaming from his hair and face as he considered the size and draft of her boat. It was possible...
There were other elements at play as well as he stretched out his magic to calm the waters around the canoe and swam slowly around it, giving himself more time to think. Returning to the place in front of Amanda he reached a decision and nodded slowly. "I can guide you," he agreed. "The caves by the lighthouse are too shallow to fit your boat in. But there is one..." He turned to face the shore, looking over the shadowed cliff face and the rocks below; some poked boldly above the waves and hid vicious riptides around them while others lay in wait with their hidden teeth that peeked just above the surface when the water pulled away. One wave could carry the canoe safely over the top of some of them. The next could drop the boat in a trough and impale it, if the sea was unkind enough. The cave was a little distance away and protected by both kinds of stones, both large and mostly-submerged, that had fallen into the sea in ancient times and been weathered away to sharp points ever since.
But the merman had magic of his own to protect the little craft from mischance or folly, and he turned back to Amanda with another nod. "What will you trade for it?"
