>RESTRAINT OVERFLOW WITH ADAM! HE LOSES 1 LESS RESTRAINT NEXT TIME HE TAKES RESTRAINT DAMAGE![DEEP INTUITION] "Something's wrong." Ashley immediately gets up from her fishing spot. "Something's real wrong. Benedict, do you feel it?"
Benedict immediately snaps his gaze north. "A-Energy. Smells like rot, bloat. Foul, foul. It. It. Noticed me. Crew hasn't noticed it yet."
Shit. "Fuck, how dangerous is it?"
Benedict sniffs the air. His posture relaxes a bit. "Low levels. Stay calm." Okay, so it's not the Admiral, you know that at least. "Won't have to fight. If you don't. Don't. Fuck up."
"I'll stay behind then." Lex gestures at you four to go deal with the anomaly. "Nothing I can help with. I'll collect the fish."
You and your other three allies nod. No time to hesitate. You make a mad dash towards the bow of the ship, only slowing down to make sure you don't crash into any of the crew on this tightly packed ship. Soon, once you're at the bow, you see nothing at first. You and Adam glance back at Ashley and Benedict. They seem to be staring at nothing.
"Blink." Benedict commands. You do so-
https://youtu.be/Yjuk2YG9DqM - A PILE OF FORLORN FACES
First thing you notice is that the ship has stopped. Nearby crewmates are staring in the same direction as your other allies. There's something about five miles away from the ship that's slowly drifting closer and closer. It takes a while for it to get close enough for you to see what it is.
You damn near retch when you see what's in front of you now. You could've been tricked into thinking it was a small iceberg in the distance but up close, all you can see is their beady eyes staring up at you. A tangled mass of bloated, sea water filled corpses floats by the front of the ship. The mass is at least 300 feet wide and 200 feet tall so you can't even begin to count how many corpses must be inside of it. They're all dressed in salt encrusted sailor uniforms that are barely holding together.
That's not even the worst part. It's their expressions. They're smiling. Endlessly smiling, toothy grins stare up at you. The mass of corpses reaches their arms out to you. Most have completely rotted over, showing nothing but cracked bone, but what few arms still have flesh attached is dyed a sickly blue hue.
<span class="mu-i">With so little space and with no more coffins, they simply threw them overboard. What would it matter to the corpse?</span>
<span class="mu-i">There wasn't even a moment where we could've screamed. By the time we opened our mouths, the water flowed in like milk and honey.</span>
<span class="mu-i">It's so easy to die out here without anyone even noticing you were gone. One wrong step and the last time you see is your ship leaving you behind.</span>
Their mouths open up but no noise comes out of them. Is it because they're incapable of vocalizing or if it's because that's not what they're doing with their mouths?
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] What point is there to cry out when every ship that passed by them ignored them?