Hope springs eternal

The riddle of the map continued to elude the Tidebreaker, even with Ray's help and advice. Hadama had enjoyed the chance to go on expeditions with his friend, but in the end he chose to return to where it had all started from alone. The mermanta swam to Aumakua and its shrine under a star-filled sky and swam up onto the beach of glittering sand, pulling his body as far out of the water as he dared. His tattooed scars were muted in the dark, the moon limning them in silver instead of gold so that they softly gleamed from his dark skin.

He bowed his head to the Shrine, first, asking for Safrin's blessing on his errand before turning to face the Mistbanks to the east.

The Map was retrieved from his pouch and held up to the horizon, first the front and then the back, as Hadama studied the image and reversed words printed on it from the glow of the moon and the Arclight's signature flares.

Open!

Nothing happens

Whenever Noah was in Torchline, he visited the shrine at the lighthouse. He hugged an offering of a bright bouquet of flowers tight to his chest to keep it safe as he teleported himself to the sands surrounding Aumakua. He didn't look too closely around him before he moved with purpose towards the shrine, for he was confident that no one else would be coming at this time of night.

But, Noah was often wrong.

He stopped short of the other and started to open his mouth, an apology formed on his tongue, but no words fell out as he watched his acquaintance pull out the map and inspect it. Realizing he was standing there in the sparkling moonlight with his mouth hanging open, Noah cleared his throat and stepped to the shrine, setting his flowers down before it. "I don't mean to intrude. Thought I'd be alone this time of night."

The voice from behind him was unexpected, to say the least. Hadama had seen no other person on the blessed isle when he had arrived, and had heard no footsteps from the tower, and so had thought himself alone. Late night prayers to the goddess of starlight were quite common here, however, and through his muscular shoulders rippled with a moment's tension at the shock it quickly eased away, even before he turned to see a recently-familiar face.

"You are not intruding," the Tidebreaker rumbled, inclining his head in greeting. "You are welcome here." He saw the flowers and quickly deduced the demigod's purpose, and a thoughtful look came into the mermanta's eyes.

"Hmm. When you have finished your prayers, I would ask a favor. Could you take this map to the top of the lighthouse and point it towards the Mistbanks in the Oerwoud, to the east?" He proffered the page of magic parchment solemnly. "And let me know if there is any change to it?"

While Noah had not been expectng anyone to be here at this time, he definitely didn't expect to be asked a favor. "Sure." He said, voice solid and without hesitation. He suspected that whatever the merking was doing, it ws probably on order of Safrin. This was her shrine, after all.

Noah took his time setting out his offerings and letting his prayers lift to the herald of his patron god. When he had taken the time he needed, giving and sending a prayer to Vi as well, Noah made his way down towards Hadama once more. "Anything I need to know about this map before I head up?" He asked, his voice the same steady, confident tone that he generally held.

Once he had word from Hadama, however, he did as he was asked. Noah worked his way up the steps of the lighthouse and settled into the window facing the east. He held the map up, and waited.

Hadama inclined his head in appreciation of Noah's swift agreement to the task, waiting with respectful patience as he meditated on the stars and Safrin while the demigod made his offering and prayers. Only once the other man returned did he hand over the map, and gave the question due consideration.

"Mm. Your insight would be appreciated," he admitted. "The kraken gave this map in trade. I suspect it is magic, but I do not know anything else about it." He unrolled the parchment so Noah could see:



"I do not recognize the island on it. I have taken it to the Mistbanks. To the Kuali'i Isles. Here, at the shore of Aumakua. And, thinking the colors were reversed like the words, to the Miana Pool. The top of the lighthouse is my last idea," he admitted.

Handing the map over, he watched Noah enter the lighthouse and waited with calm acceptance for whatever news the man would return with.

---

Noah takes the map to the top of the lighthouse and points it at the Mistbanks

This is not the correct location

The hunter expected something to happen. Hadama suspected there to be magic within the confines of the parchment, but as Noah unrolled it and looked east with it held up in his arms, nothing happened. He waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, when he felt like he had given whatever he was waiting for enough time, he headed down.

"I don't know about this map." Noah said, rolling it up and handing it back over to Hadama. "I pointed it east, I held it out in all different ways, and nothing happened." Noah crouched at the waters edge, resting his forearms on his knees. "What else have you done?"

Hadama waited patiently, and as the wait grew longer he felt a cautious optimism that perhaps it meant that something had happened and Noah was taking notes...

But when the demigod returned it was without excitement. There was only a quiet sense of resignation as the King accepted the parchment back and slid it back into the protective tube he carried it in. He tilted his head at the question, pausing as he considered what he had told the other man already.

"The other four places I mentioned," he said simply. He grew silent and thoughtful for a long moment before admitting: "I will ask Safrin next season. The shapes on the map may make more sense from above."

Noah sucked his bottom lip in in thought, trying to remember the places that Hadama had already told him. He had been so focused on seeing if the map would do anything that he hadn't held on to all the names, but he didn't want to look more of a fool before the merking. He made a little hmm sound that was full of contemplation, looking off into the dark distance.

"Safrin would be a good help, I think." He replied, keeping his eyes sweeping slowly over the vast black horizon. "In the meantime, we could possibly try somewhere else? What about that island?" He asked, pointing out at the water. In the murky darkness, keen eyes could just barely make out the shape of trees blocking the dotting stars.

Noah's insights were of great interest to Hadama and he was willing to wait however long the demigod needed to consider other options. He and Ray had made only a little progress on their own - mainly in crossing off potential locations it could have been - and it was past time to seek other viewpoints on the unexpected quest that had found him.

He did not know if Noah had a winged form that could be brought to bear on the problem, but he was open to suggestions and had nothing to lose. When the Sentinel pointed out a nearby island Hadama turned to consider it, eyes narrowed against the night. He nodded slowly after a moment, recognizing the isle though unfamiliar with its interior for the obvious reason. "Yes," he agreed. "Hold onto my shoulders. If you do not mind getting wet," he added, a spark of mischief in emerald eyes for a moment before the shift flowed over him and a great oceanic manta floated in the shallows, flat enough to only barely scrape his belly against the sand while his wings stretched nearly thirty feet from tip to tip.

If Noah took him up on his offer the manta would propel them swiftly across the channel, staying at the surface and moving with surprising speed for something so large until they came upon the shallows of their destination and he eased up nearly on to the beach for Noah to disembark.

Getting wet wasn’t going to be a big deal. Noah bent down and took off his boots, socks, and rolled up the legs of his pants halfway up his calf. He was already dressed the rest of the way for Torchline’s weather with a thin linen shirt just covering his torso. Tucking his boots behind a rock so that, hopefully, they would still be there when he came back, Noah waded into the waters and mounted the massive ray.

Traveling in the water this way was new for Noah. It was exhilarating and, in all truth, fun. When they approached the island Noah moved off of Hadama, carefully avoiding his long tail, and settled just in the shallow waves of the beach. He held his hand out to the merking, asking again for the map.

Once the map was in his hands, Noah moved up the shore and closer to the denser foliage of the island. He unrolled the parchment, lifted the map, and pointed it east towards the Mistbanks.

This is not the correct location (aka board)

The short swim was enjoyable, though the unaccustomed weight of a passenger made it more difficult than Hadama would have expected. He had to work harder, and the odd drag of the water against Noah's body did strange things to his momentum. Perhaps he could recruit Harper to help him train until it became easier... but they made it to their destination without incident. He had to shift back to access the map case and hand it over, but it allowed him to sit higher in the water and peer through the moonlight to see if anything happened when Noah held the parchment up.

...But there was no reaction. The map remained unchanged and Hadama subsided thoughtfully into the water, briefly submerging himself before rising again to meet Noah's return. "Thank you," he said simply. He was grateful for the demigod's assistance in marking another location off, at least. It was small progress, but it was progress of a sort nonetheless. "Where will you go after this?" It was night in Torchline, and though the skyships at the port might have slowed until morning, there would be plenty of parties to partake in that were just warming up... if Noah was into that sort of thing.