22nd November 221 BNM

Mid-Morning [sunrise]

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord shores

Scurvy Blythe mooring site

Groggy from waking up, Siral clambered up the steps of the ship to the main deck, having slept aboard instead of on the ice and snow covered beach. The Black Unicorn knew the daylight hours were short, and if he was to try and suss out a way out of this fjord, past the inland current the fjord's mysterious whirlpool caused, he needed daylight to see it.

His hooves dragging slightly as he tightened his grey cloak, Siral rubbed a forehoof against his face, paying the fur-less scar lines all over his fur no heed. Out in the fjord, the white ripples of the massive whirlpool were as ominous as ever.

Seeing a few crew nearby trying to hunt for fish, with only little results thus far, Siral called out to them on the shore:

"Word from the others?"

"Nay, they camped out, sent a few back. They mapped the labyrinth, but now they're pushin' deeper into the main chamber they think!" The scabby looking Fox called out, while nearby his smaller Gryphon companion threw out another fishing line.

A few Shetland pony crew dug nearby into the shrubs they'd found growing in this desolate, snowy place, finding plant roots that were barely edible and not poisonous for them.

At this, Siral knew he had to check over the makeshift charts they'd drawn of the fjord again. He knew this wasn't normal landmass and sea behavior, yet he couldn't discover why.

Doubts about his own role in this whole endeavor, this voyage or Starswirl in general, were shelved while they were confined in this fjord.

Glaceland, Grolstrom Fjord inland ice labyrinth.

Hidden hall

They'd mapped every nook and cranny with the brown deck paint to show ways not to go, and finally they'd found what looked like the main chamber.

Old wooden posts, remnants of a makeshift Viking village by some guesses, were hidden within this deep ravine in the snow and ice, the cloudy sunlit grey skies a sliver overhead above the towering crevice walls.

Walking about the halls, the crew, first mate, Captain and Grey Wizard were puzzled. All around them, wooden wall remnants, and some sloping snow dunes, but nothing. No crevices to hide treasure in, no alcoves, and no intact buildings either.

Nayrington, the 3rd in command Shetland Pony crew member, asked aloud: "There's nothin' here!"

"Where's the loot!?" A cry went up from one of the lesser Gryphons on the crew, while another Pony on the crew yelled out: "We're trapped in this bay with no treasure to show for it!"

Sensing impending blame on either Captain Blythe, or him more likely, Irvin paced about on the snow dunes frantically, remarking aloud in greater volume each time:

"Where is it? Where is it!?"

Captain Blythe scanned with his own eyes, the grizzled Gryphon yelling aloud: "Spread out, search wherever ye can get to!"

"Cap'n, on the walls! Cave drawings, and writing!"

A random Pony crew member's sudden call attracted all eyes to the left, where a few larger wall fragments, overhung by an ice ceiling, had hidden from view a number of drawings.

Captain Blythe gestured for Starswirl, the wizard having the same idea himself, as he pointed to the writings and pictures while ordering the crew:

"Continue searching, the Wizard and I shall see to this."

The crew spread out across the snow dunes, as Irvin, curious himself, followed Captain Blythe and Starswirl. Nearby, Nayrington stomped his hooves in aggravation, ignoring how some wide pebbles shifted beneath the snow drift slightly as he continued to walk to a few wooden pillars.

Nearby, the crow's nest Fox boy, Little Max, called out aloud across the snowy cavern:

"Oi, watch for these ice 'oles! One misstep and ye'd be slidin' ta 'oo knows where!"

Nayrington glanced around, seeing one of those ice holes himself. It was the size of a pony, but strangely it had more frozen solid ice than snow around its edges, as if water had come up out of it and frozen solid to the lips of the hole.

The dark caverns stretching down into its slippery depths were enough to ward all the crew far from them.

Nearby though, as they rounded the corner of the wooden walls, they found the wall of writing and drawings, and someone sitting in what looked like an ice covered throne.

Suddenly drawing his sword, Captain Blythe pointed it at the Viking Armored Gryphon male in the wooden throne, the latter's head pointing down and motionless, his body covered in ice, yet looking as alive as an of them short of a moving chest.

Suppressing a slight heart attack, Irvin asked carefully: "Is he dead?"

Stepping forwards, Starswirl tried some blue magic, but after a few seconds, gave the frozen Gryphon Viking, clearly a leader of some kind, a swift kick to the lower leg:

"Yes, for a while now it seems."

"This may well be the Viking Lord legends of this treasure spoke of. I guess he couldn't live without his treasure." Captain Blythe remarked with some satisfaction. At this, Irvin's strained voice sounded aloud as the Fox angrily returned back to the snow strewn grounds with the crew:

"What treasure? There's nothing here! This was for naught!"

As Irvin strode off, angered by the lack of treasure, Captain Blythe noticed Starswirl using his magic to melt some ice of the Viking Warlord body's helmet, seeing a crest upon its brow plating appear.

A crest drawn in red cave paint on the nearby rocky wall.

Turning back, as the crew searched in the main crevice hall fruitlessly, Starswirl shone his blue light on the wall, remarking to Blythe as he approached beside the wizard:

"I cannot read this old language entirely, but I recognise a few words. And that crest, this must be the Warlord who supposedly had the treasure."

"Aye, but where did he stash it all?"

Looking over the cave drawings and writings, Starswirl saw a few symbols and words that gave meaning to not just the treasure's rough location, but this fjord in its entirety.

Fortune…Upon this Earth…Hidden beneath my feet…Followed…Trapped…Guardian…Beasts…Treasure lured them…devoured…trapped...Grolstrom.

No escape…avarice…lure…greed for flesh…waiting…Grolstrom.

Not one coin…Senses it…Greed its lure.

Beware the Grolstrom.

The cryptic words also bore pictures, of a rough outline of the Fjord without a whirlpool in the middle, and a handful of drawn Viking ships sailing in. Another picture showed the Viking Warlord pointing to crew unloading and pouring piles of treasure out onto the ground.

But the next showed a blurred shape entering the Fjord, and wrecking boats, though one escaped out of the fjord. Next was a picture of the Fjord with the whirlpool, the Grolstrom as it was called. Long black lines like clawed hands with eyes extended from the fjord's drawn waters inland, grabbing crewmembers on the picture.

Grolstrom wasn't the name of the Fjord, but the name of the phenomenon that dominated the waters. Of whatever IT was that was making it.

Walking around on the snow in the main area of the crevice, Irvin scratched his head in aggravation, while nearby Nayrington gave him a few scowls. They were both angry that they'd come here for nothing.

"You got something to say, spit it out." Irvin growled, while Nayrington took a step forwards in challenge as he remarked:

"Yes, you coaxing the cap'n with the Wizards who tailed you dragged us here and there's not a single coin, gem, or even a sliver of-"

Clink.

The noise of clinking metal pieces stopped their argument before it started, while Irvin suddenly dropped down onto the snow as Nayrington drew back his hoof. Brushing the snow away, Nayrington's hoof struck it when he stepped where snow had already been brushed away by searching footsteps.

A glint of gold and silver pieces was revealed as Irvin brushed away the snow, and he pulled out a handful of coins to marvel at. Stunned at this, Nayrington called out:

"The Treasure! We've been walkin' all over it! It's beneath the snow!"

Not 5 seconds after that, all of the 20 crew were digging up the snowdrift, revealing more and more of the treasure as their excitement grew.

Kneeling down, as he brushed aside more snow, Irvin felt like weeping for joy as he pulled as many clinking coins towards his arms:

"Beautiful… No poor living, forever…"

Nearby, Nayrington salivated at all the gold and silver, as he recalled what those 2 Gryphons had said to him in the pub, the deal he'd made with them. One which he knew none of the crew would object to, nor would the captain and first mate, as they all were walking away with the treasure.

Glancing out at the excavated snowdrifts, Captain Blythe admitted to himself that the treasure was just as magnificent to behold as he'd imagined. A small country worth of wealth, one that would maybe even require two trips to take all of, or maybe even three.

Yet nearby, Starswirl was glancing nervously back at the cave drawings, and towards the treasure being handled more and more, be it getting pocketed or simply moved about.

"Captain, maybe we should leave this here, until we have an idea of how to get out of the Fjord."

Thinking smartly, Blythe knew the wizard was right: "Aye, this treasure's worthless as it was to the Viking Lord if we cannot get it out."

"I just hope Siral is having better time than we are." Starswirl remarked, though he thought he heard something moving too consistently to be crew among the treasure all of a sudden.

Turning from the drawings, Starswirl saw something shifting a lot of gold and silver coins that had been partially dug, but before he could even yell it out, Blythe had lunged forwards in a flying jump, sword drawn, as the unknown being wrapped its length around one of the Shetland ponies digging amongst some gold, yanking him screaming across the snow and coin strewn ground towards one of the ice holes.

"CAP'N!"

Panic surged as Blythe came down upon the black tendril, his sword slicing through it to send it reeling back down the ice hole, the Shetland crew member scrambling backwards as a piercing screech rang from the ice hole.

Seeing this, Irvin staggered up, dropping a pile of coins he was in the midst of shoving into his pockets with the rest he'd already done, as Blythe's yell rang in the hall:

"Back from the holes! Make ready for battle!"

"Demons!?" Nayrington suddenly yelled, the Shetland pony readying the blade he had mounted just now to his arm by a brace.

Readying his own blue magic, Starswirl peered around the cavern, making some gauges of the ceiling ice.

A black blur suddenly surged from another ice hole, bigger than the last, as another black tendril launched out to suddenly seize a Gryphon who'd stood too close. The tendril was the tongue of something bigger, and worse.

The sharp toothed, fishlike head on a long narrow body leapt from the hole, the tongue dragging the Gryphon screaming to the hole, and its teeth. Right as the jaws clamped down the black eel rushed back down, the splash of water far below drowning out the sailor's screams as he vanished from sight.

Coins clinked loudly as the sailors yelled in unison, as 3 more of the Eel tongues came tearing out different ice holes like snakes, coming for them. Seeing an opportunity, Starswirl fired a blue spell from his cover, far from any ice hole himself, the blue spell smashing the ceiling above 2 of the ice holes each.

Ice and snow tumbled down from the roof, the screeches of the giant eel creatures filling the air as they were blocked off, even buried entirely under the ice and snow cascading down their dug holes to the underwater tunnels they used.

3 other holes remained, with Nayrington back to back with Irvin as they slashed blades at one advancing tongue, the Eel creature lashing in and out like a snake from its hole.

Off to the side, Little Max, the crow's nest Fox boy, gave a yell of panic as a tongue lashed from beneath some coins and snow to yank him towards the springing maw of one Eel. A blue spell hit the Eel from afar, the tongue releasing him as Starswirl advanced, firing spells as the Eels while also at the ice and snow overhangs above their holes.

2 more sailors were lost to the Eels before all but the last hole was blocked off. Turning to holler to the crew, Captain Blythe felt a sudden yank on his foot as something black and slimy wrapped around his ankle, dragging him through snow and treasure.

He'd been too close, but Starswirl's spell hit the Eel's head that had sprang from the hole before it could bite down on Blythe. The tongue did not relinquish him though as the Eel retreated, and Blythe roared in defiance, the Gryphon stabbing his blade into the snow just before the lip of the hole, and holding on with a single clawed hand, barely, as he half dangled over the edge of the cavernous hole. The Eel hissed unseen below him, blank black and grey shining eyes amidst toxic black and blue fishlike scales, as it held onto his leg with its tongue, tensing as it readied to spring up again.

In a heartbeat, the blue magic that had hit the roof of the ice cavern above did its work, as a series of ice blocks cracked and made ready to come tumbling down from above.

Acting in a heartbeat, as he sensed the creature's tongue holding on, tugging on his leg, he made his choice. He couldn't reach the tongue with his small hatchet and still hold onto his embedded sword with the other, but he could reach something to free himself.

Reaching down swiftly, right as the creature tensed to spring forward and engulf him in the hole, Captain Blythe took a breath as he swung his hatchet down towards his lower leg.

Hot pain engulfed him, blinding him, but he was free, and he felt the creature seem to spring back by the sudden lack of tugging. Swinging his hatchet up, he dug it in, and in a fit of adrenaline, the grizzled Gryphon captain all but leapt out of the hole, rolling as he heard ice boulders come tumbling down into the hole he'd just been trapped inside the mouth of.

A faint screech sounded as the last Eel was blocked off, though not without claiming something of a victim.

If anything, settling his suddenly white hot leg on the snow, and the cold metal of the treasure that engulfed the floor, was a relief.

Captain Blythe, his leg bleeding profusely from his self-amputation, was dragged to the shelter, where the frozen Gryphon Viking king lay on his throne. Taking the initiative, Irvin called out to those still alive:

"The crew of the ship may be in danger, somebody must go back and warn them to get inland fast, but avoid any holes like those by a long way's!"

1 Fox ran back, the crow's nest boy, Little Max, as he was the fastest among them aside from the Gryphons, though flying wasn't an option in the maze.

30 minutes later

Captain Blythe was gasping for breath, but alive, as Starswirl's rapid magic set to work on the Gryphon captain's leg stump, attaching a makeshift wooden peg leg forged from a piece of the Viking structure pillars sticking from the snowy halls around them.

The Captain's rear lion leg on the right side was gone just below the knee joint, and Starswirl had magically cauterised and healed it enough to bandage it rapidly. In this cold climate, infection was at a minimal risk.

Magic from Starswirl soothed Blythe's pain, enough that the Captain was conscious enough to do a head count.

They'd lost 7 crew to the Eel creatures, leaving only 13 including Irvin and Nayrington, and the crow's nest Fox boy, Little Max, who had run back through the 1-and-a-half-hour trek of labyrinth back to the ship half an hour ago. If he had run the whole way, he'd be almost there by now.

Sitting upright, as he winced through his phantom leg pains, Captain Blythe called aloud:

"Cap'n, you should head back with whoever does it, you aren't in the best shape to help us haul the treasure back."

"Nay. Leave this accursed treasure, we shall come back when we are better prepared for-."

"This treasure is too big to leave alone, now that we're here! We've come too far to give up now!" Irvin protested, the Fox gesturing to the gold literally all over the place. The Gryphon captain was in no mood for debates, as he stood up, steadying himself quickly on his new appendage by still having 3 limbs to stand on, needing to raise only 1 to make his pointed claw to Irvin:

"We are leaving! We weren't prepared. Ah'm normally one who won't back down from a fight but this time we should take your usual cue and make a retreat while we can, and take only small handfuls AT MOST."

Sparing a glance back to the writings on the wall, Starswirl had his doubts about taking ANY of the treasure at all.

Then, echoing in the crevice hall, a sword was drawn.

Irvin's purple eyes burned into Captain Blythe's, the Fox's hoarse voice clearly showing he was in too deep here:

"We aren't giving up this treasure! And you're not in any condition to say otherwise!"

"You dare mutiny against me!?" Blythe was outraged, as he pulled out his own sword, now standing on his new, aching peg leg and a good lion leg and eagle leg each as he held aloft the blade.

"Until you see sense, yes! If we are going to make a hasty retreat, we're going to take what we can for ourselves, even if we have to go between ship and here many times, so we DON'T have to come back to this Fjord." Irvin remarked loudly.

Around 3 of the crew murmured in agreement, eying the treasure they were standing upon, but 2 of the crew, a Pony and a Gryphon, stood away to side with Captain Blythe. But as Irvin noticed this, he heard Nayrington unsheathe his own blade in a forehoof, pointing out in a snide tone:

"I'm afraid neither of you will get your way. We will leave now with what we can carry, and as per an agreement I made in port a few days ago, you two shall be handed over to the New Gryphon navy, and we shall be allocated a part of this treasure when a full fleet force arrives to claim it for their empire."

As Nayrington spoke, 5 of the crew, having most of them himself, pulled out swords in support of him as he continued:

"Everyone, but you two 'officers', will get more than we would have under either of your plans in the long run, and full pardons to make life for us rich and without prices on our heads."

Pointing a blade as Nayrington, but not taking his eyes off the simply greed blinded Irvin, Blythe spat at the Shetland Pony: "Treacherous Nag! Cursed treasure is not worth the trouble."

"What is wrong with you?! The writings by the Viking Warlord himself say these creatures are using this treasure as bait for greedy ones such as you all! Listen to your captain, he can see sense!?" Starswirl exclaimed, forgetting that Irvin was supposed to exhibit generosity while Captain Blythe if anything was the one with his head on straight at the moment.

"He's lost a leg and blood, he's delirious!" One scrawny Pony crewmember, among the 5 sided with Nayrington, yelled, as the 3 sided with Irvin took up stances against those sided with Nayrington, whilst the 2 with Blythe took a few steps back.

Captain Blythe scowled, bellowing aloud as he charged, limping only slightly as he raised his blade: "Yer traitors, the lot of ye!"

Standing back, Starswirl saw the group clash, but given the numbers, Blythe and his 2 were very quickly overrun as Irvin and Nayrington's groups formed an ever so brief alliance, restraining the Captain and the 2 crew he had allied with him to the ground.

Leaping away as Blythe and the Gryphon and Fox were restrained, Irvin knew Nayrington would come for him next, and he offered a bargain as he saw the 3 sided with him getting into combat with 1 other crew each, while Nayrington walked towards him with another Fox in tow:

"Hold on a moment, if we arrange things, I can be captain, and you can have my rate, and we don't go to the New Gryph-."

Surging forwards, Nayrington yelled out as he quickly clashed with Irvin's sword, but before Irvin could counter, a tremor rocked the cavern to distract him. Nayrington swept Irvin's paws from under him with a kick, and knelt down on the Fox as a blue flash reminded him of a certain Wizard who hadn't interfered for some reason.

"Starswirl, you have a choi-…WHERE'D HE GO!?"

Another slight tremor rocked the cavern, only shaking loose some snow from high above the crevice opening slightly.

A few moments earlier

Standing as he stared at this pointless fight, Starswirl made ready to intervene as he saw that Nayrington's group were incapacitating the others, likely for greater bounties for their hopeful collection from the New Gryphon navy.

New Gryphon had been spending much on military as Equestria relations deteriorating into more resource and territory wars, or on and off small scale wars of prestige against varying Equestrian nobility territories. It made sense they'd have an interest in treasures with small countries' worth of wealth if they existed.

As he saw Irvin knocked down, Starswirl felt a tremor, coming from the direction of the exit.

In a blue flash, Starswirl focused on the ground above the crevice.

In an instant, he was up in the snow ridden, windy surface, blurred mountains far to the east, and the Fjord to the west.

In a few more blue flashes, he was teleporting to the Fjord.

Glaceland, Grolstrom Fjord inland ice labyrinth.

Hidden hall

Tied up, Irvin struggled as Blythe scowled at him from across the hall. Nearby, Blythe's two loyal crew, the Gryphon and Fox, were also tied up. Irvin's 'loyal' 3 had sided with Nayrington, meaning the Shetland pony now had 8 working to load up small treasure chests that could be carried between two crew each.

Overseeing it, Nayrington made a passing remark as he stood near Irvin:

"It's the most profitable way, I'm sure you'll understand."

"I wish those monsters had snagged you." Irvin remarked, to which Nayrington replied offhoofedly: "As I wish upon you in turn."

"Ye can't get far without getting' past the whirlpool, and any creatures out in the bay."

"The other Wizard is sure to have solved the whirlpool problem in the space of a day, and those creatures aren't too much a danger to us once aboard the ship, or in the shallows where we are moored."

Straining with his ropes, Irvin ignored Nayrington as he walked by, sifting through some snow for some of the coins to pocket himself. The crew were almost finished loading the chests, as the 8 assorted foxes, Gryphons and Horses began to carry them to the exit, but not before Nayrington ordered the 2 last ones to give their chest to one of the Shetland pony pair who had only one chest. The Gryphon and Pony pair understood Nayrington's desires as they picke dup the 2 crew loyal to Blythe:

"Lock them in the brig, I'll bring Blythe and Irvin myself."

The loyal Gryphon and Fox were escorted away, still restrained, leaving only Nayrington with Irvin and Captain Blythe, the latter scowling heavily at both of them. Walking over, as another tremor was felt, Nayrington pulled the two up, untying them from the post but not unbinding them.

As Blythe was pulled up, he noticed the cut bindings that Irvin kept around his wrists, his lockpick blade vanishing into his compass in his back pocket. The Fox faked being restrained still, but to spite Nayrington, Captain Blythe said nothing.

Irvin followed, dragged by a rope Nayrington held around his forehoof, while Blythe was pushed forwards at sword point, into the exit.

"You two are so short sighted, I seek to maximize profit out of this all."

"And be indebted to a higher authority, even if New Gryphon pays you well for the treasure and us." Blythe remarked, his disdain for higher authority evident. Irvin meanwhile, glanced backwards at the treasure floor, deciding to act now:

"I'm willing to let your treachery go, but the Cap'n may not. I have some loot to pick up while you enjoy."

Irvin's paws sprang apart, the ropes flying as they'd already been cut, while Irvin shoved Nayrington out of the way to then swing his sword downwards, slashing open the ropes as Blythe, acting on knowing Irvin's idea, span around to reveal his forelimbs.

The ropes fell, but before Blythe had even drawn his sword, Irvin was scrambling back to the treasure hall, while Nayrington made to gallop after him. But a livid Gryphon stood behind him, sword and hatchet clasped in clawed forepaws as he spread his wings to help him stay upright more, ready to flail any weapon he could.

"Irvin is greedy upstart, but ye are a dead mutineer!"

Charging forwards, Captain Blythe's wingbeats helped him steady upright on his bad rear leg, while Nayrington clashed swords and blocked or ducked hatchet swings, the latter weapon still stained from the captain's own desperate amputation of his leg.

Further back in the cavern, as the clangs of swords and metal coins flying during the fight echoed, Irvin had crouched down and began filling any pocket he could with gold, silver and jewels.

He was never going to be poor or hungry in life, and though he had not been truly poor or hungry for years, he had no desire to pass up this chance to be rich forever.

And Blythe was more concerned with decapitating the greater traitor than he himself at the moment.

22nd November 221 BNM

Late Morning

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord shores

Scurvy Blythe mooring site

The tremors had started very suddenly, as Siral was awoken by the sound of the earth shaking, despite the sea moored ship not feeling it.

On shore though, crew scrambled aboard as they saw a pair of fishing crew snatched from their perch by what looked like monstrous black eels, getting ready weapons. Siral formed a protective shield, though he merely saw the silhouettes of the eel creatures swimming offshore.

The Fox boy, Little Max, had come running out of breath to them, crying of black fish snake beasts. But as he saw them hiding on the boat, the boy was quickly brought aboard the decks where it was safer. The Eels weren't quite tall enough to reach the top decks, and the ship had to be defended.

A blue flash from a hilltop nearby saw Siral recognise Starswirl incoming, as the Grey Wizard bellowed:

"The Grolstrom! It's growing, get ashore, beach the ship!"

Turning around, Siral noticed at long last the source of the tremors.

The whirlpool, the maelstrom, or Grolstrom as it was known, had grown in size, the white water raging and actually dipping slightly in the centre of the Fjord, the confining ice channel to the west of the Fjord's mouth to the sea now much stronger in its current.

Blue and Grey magic engulfed the ship, forcibly dragging it ashore enough to actually beach it, out of fear of the creatures of the force of nature.

The creatures that made their home here, the eel creatures, were merely the much smaller males, or juveniles.

In the bay, deep inside the Blue Hole that existed there, were many small channels that had been dug underwater by the same creatures, many different tunnels. A colony of what could only be described as a type of bizarre mixture of sea serpent and gigantic octopus.

And as one swam by near the boat, Starswirl got a good look at it, as its serpentine, eel like upper body had long trailing tentacles behind it. But out in the bay, was the true worrying sign.

Each colony had a spawning member.

The maelstrom, the Grolstrom, grew in side, and in the center, barely visible, was a series of writhing larger tentacles, and a set of faintly visible teeth protruding at the centre of the dip in the swirling ocean.

"Gods have mercy on us…" One sailor murmured under his breath as others prayed or backed away in horror at the sight, blocking their exit from the bay.

Now it all clicked, as Starswirl remarked aloud: "They're like dragons, they use greed to grow. But they don't feel greed for materials, they use it as bait for prey to feed on."

Siral clenched the railing as he asked: "Are the others coming yet?"

Starswirl said nothing, as he turned back to look towards the labyrinth.

Inside, the 8 and the 2 prisoners with the 4 chests of treasure scampered back, while further inside, unknown to anyone, Captain Blythe and Nayrington did battle, while Irvin scrambled to gather what he could of this immeasurable wealth while they fought.

Avarice was the lure of this Fjord and its creatures, and they'd fallen for it hard.

At this stage, knowing that he had to see the exemplary being show generosity, Starswirl thought Siral had a point that this entire venture was a waste of time. He didn't see how they'd get of here altogether without him teleporting them all, but what would that accomplish? The desire for wealth, and lack of letting go of greed by everyone, would still be here.

All Starswirl knew he and Siral could do was try and keep the crew here safe, in case the creatures made any moves on the beached ship, and try and find a way through.

Meanwhile, greed consumed those still fighting in the cavern, or those coming back with loot the creatures were all too aware had been taken. They had marked every coin as bait, and like a dragon's hoard, they knew when it moved.

The Ancient Grecians had encountered a creature like the 'mother' out in the Fjord in straits they sailed once, the Charybdis they called it. This, the Grolstrom, had them trapped better than its legendary, smaller race member, had done, just as it did the infamous Viking Warlord nearly 300 years ago.

A trap it implemented as well now as it had always done. The Warlord's words had been right, as this colony of Leviathans had cornered him and his crew for the same reason, only one ship making it out to tell the tale before this maelstrom trap was fully set up.

Beware the Grolstrom, for greed was their lure, for their own greed of flesh.

Author's Notes:

Irvin has come too far to give up this all when the wizards presented an opportunity for one big haul to make him rich forever, and Nayrington's deal with the new Gryphons strikes with many crew for it making them rich and unwanted men.

Captain Blythe meanwhile loses and limb but retains his senses amidst this all, while Starswirl leaves as the bigger picture of the Fjord rears its ugly maw beneath the waters, a female Leviathan, along with its smaller, Eel like spawn and males.