22nd November 221 BNM

Late Morning

Glaceland, Grolstrom Fjord inland ice labyrinth.

Hidden hall

Stuffing any and every pocket he could, Irvin finally had all he could carry and still be mobile. He didn't want to tear his pocket stitches from weight of treasure inside them.

As he turned, the Fox realised what he'd been distracted from by his gathering of his fill of the treasure.

Captain Blythe stepped backwards, parrying the well wielded broadsword the Shetland Pony, Nayrington, swung to take his head off. The Gryphon replied with a slash, though the pony ducked backwards from the blade swipe, while drawing his blade back.

Blythe's wings beat to keep him upright, as he took flight to fully take advantage of his gryphon build. Surging around, Blythe hurled his hatchet at Nayrington's head, cursing as the pony ducked and let it imbed itself in the snow and coins behind him.

Blythe visibly panted though, he'd been a bit rash in leaping into combat with a newly replaced leg. His leg may have been healed faster by magic from Starswirl before this mutiny, but blood loss still tired him.

Noticing this, Nayrington was taking his time.

Knowing this himself, Blythe grounded again, using his wings just to keep his foreclaws off the ground in a bipedal stance, wielding his sword in two clawed hands against the charging Pony, the broadsword strapped to his forearm having much greater power behind it.

Blythe slashed, Nayrington parried, then a swift and brutal hoof to Blythe's face with the other forehoof, sending the Gryphon reeling away, stumbling on his new, and slightly aching wooden peg leg of just under an hour's experience.

Advancing, Nayrington slashed downwards, though Blythe met with a blade on top of it as he backed up, locking their blades on the ground. As Nayrington tried for another hoof punch, Blythe's other foreclaws leapt forth to catch the hoof, forcing Nayrington onto all fours with his sword leg digging into the snow and treasure.

Blythe brutally headbutted the pony, and as Nayrington reeled back with a loud yell, sword drawing back as he staggered, the caverns shook slightly yet again.

As he recovered, Nayrington saw a third figure scrambling towards the crevice hall's entrance, as a certain Fox second in command made his escape.

"IRVIN, YOU LEACH!"

"Take what you can!" Irvin merely shouted back, as Nayrington made to go after the Fox.

"Ye aren't going ta' leave your mutiny unfinished are ye!?"

A cackling insult preceded a blade whistling towards Nayrington's head, but the Pony backstepped a split second too late, as the blade caught his flying mane and a small part of his shoulder, leaving a small slice on it.

Gasping, Nayrington backed up, dropping his sword leg to the ground to rest it mid shock as Blythe gave a shallow breath, his sword down. But then Nayrington span around, and kicked with his back legs.

Blythe went hurling across the floor, slamming audibly into one of the piles of snow that now blocked off one of the beast holes.

Wincing, Blythe staggered towards the entrance, as Nayrington advanced on him, recovering his sword from the snowy ground and coins, a swift sword strike sending the blade hurtling from Blythe's clawed hand, and then beginning to send the Gryphon scrambling backwards in a panic to escape his armed opponent.

Bleeding slightly from the shoulder, Nayrington gave a small smile as Blythe staggered, and tripped over backwards on his newly pegged rear leg to fall on his back.

"Footwork in your fencing seems a little, shall we say, HALF hearted?"

Scowling, Blythe had a look of panic on his face as his eyes darted up and down from Nayrington, and his hooves.

As something shifted loudly behind him, Nayrington realized it was not his hooves, but the blocked beast hole the captain was staring at.

Spinning around in anticipation, Nayrington saw snow explode outwards as one of the creatures reared its ugly, scaly and wet black head, the seeking tongue lashing out to grab him from 10 feet away.

His sword slashed out, the tongue end flying off before it could fully wrap around him in a small spray of red blood, the creature shrieked horrifically as it recoiled back into the hole, as Nayrington turned to continue his bought with his foe.

A set of claws and wingbeat noises filled his ears as Blythe had tackled him, the Gryphon yelling as he pushed Nayrington backwards, falling to the ground just before the ice lip himself.

Scrambling, Nayrington felt nothing but ice, as he couldn't get an angle to stick the sword blade, mounted onto his arm, deep enough into the ice, to dig in. Blue and white ice like glass surrounded him, and he yelled as he slid into the dark abyss.

Very quickly though, the icy water at the bottom of the tunnel, like a pipe, gripped him like a lightning bolt, as the utterly freezing waters engulfed him.

Up on high, Captain Blythe scrambled up, catching his breath as he snatched up his fallen sword, while also grabbing his hatchet from the snow as he limped, and began to slowly run after a while, in the direction of the exit.

He was the last to exit the treasure halls.

Nayrington opened his eyes, he saw very clear water, despite the saltiness hurting his eyes.

In the dark tunnels, like a catacomb, he saw many other tunnels in the bone chilling depths under the ice, how the creatures had dug their way to what they sensed was a place laden with greed to prey off of somehow.

About 3 dark, serpentine shapes, with small stubby limps that made them look more like monstrous black newts stretched out, eels with stubby limbs, swam about in the dark waters. One of them swiftly turned to come towards him, the glint of teeth and a tongue he hadn't sliced off on this one filling his vision.

Bubbles flying, Nayrington lashed out his blade arm, hoping the first part of his body to enter its maw would harm it.

Teeth closed, and pain flared into nothingness for Nayrington as the water around him suddenly grew warmer for the briefest instant as his own blood filled it, as red amidst cold wet darkness was the last thing he sensed.

Late Morning

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord shores

Scurvy Blythe mooring site

As the crew stood at the ready on the beached ship, they saw the chests being hauled aboard by the 8 crew that had just arrived, 2 of the other crew in chains. They were waiting for Nayrington, their leader, to bring Blythe and Irvin.

The dangers out in the Fjord seemed forgotten on the crew as they stared at the treasure load the 4 chests they'd recovered held, 2 tonnes of treasure in total, made easier to lift with the crew's Shetland ponies having strong backs.

But staring out at the Fjord, then back at the treasure, Starswirl shook his head, remarking:

"Siral and I can teleport only a few each time, those chests would be an entire load in themselves."

Nearby though, Siral surveyed the Fjord, mentally thinking over the layout there. But there was also the pressing matter of where the hell Nayrington was with the Captain and First mate.

Siral and Starswirl couldn't help but notice the black eel like monsters seemed to patrol closer to the beach since the crew had come with the treasure chests, even more so with their pockets full of extra jewels too.

Siral however, had enough as he heard a few murmurs among the crew:

"Some way ta' magic the ship to not get sucked down in the current? We can deal with the creatures s'long we stick ta' the rim oh' the fjo-."

"NO! ENOUGH OF THIS!" Siral suddenly bellowed. The crew turned to the black Unicorn, as did Starswirl, who was taken aback by Siral's outburst.

"I did not come on this venture to see your lust for treasure blind you to the dangers this entire place is to those behaving like yourselves. Nor have I the patience to further indulge in such pointless, MEANINGLESS QUESTS WITH NO TRUE GAIN TO BE HAD!"

Livid now, as Siral stood his ground, the wizard bellowed: "You can consult my foolhardy colleague in helping you escape WITH your treasure, whereas I shall only help those willing to abandon this lure of those beasts waiting for anyone to set sail with even a single piece of the treasure!"

As he gestured with a hoof to the bay, Siral noticed a few daggers and swords being drawn among the crew, and one of the treasure chests being shut and stood by very possessively. The Black, scarred Unicorn stood his ground though, remarking to Starswirl:

"When this is done, I shall come and find you. I won't stand by and help in this doomed venture, the opposite of what YOU sought in this venture."

Without another word, Siral vanished in a flash of grey, though if one glimpsed hard enough, a slight grey flash would be seen on the other side of the Fjord, atop one of the ice cliffs overlooking it.

Stood by, shocked into silence, Starswirl turned to the rest of the crew, who looked at him pleadingly, though greedily too. The grey wizard cast his gaze towards the labyrinth entrance, seeing no sign of Irvin.

A faint shout came though, a grizzled voice:

"-utineers, scum! I'll quarter ye meself for this!"

Captain Blythe came quickly limping out of the Labyrinth, hatchet and sword in his foreclaws as he walked, his peg leg causing him ache now. Starswirl's expression widened with shock, as he had not seen Irvin come out before Blythe.

The crew clearly thought the same, and while the 2 restrained crew gave sighs of relief, the others quickly scrambled to restraint their captain in a very brief swarm of fists and rope. Despite his threatening stance, Blythe was not in good shape right now.

Dragging Blythe aboard, he spat curses as he also recollected their boss's demise:

"Yer Nayrington, e' screamed like a welp as one of the beasts burst from its buried pit, and after he cut off its tongue, ah shoved him down into da' abyss, where it fled, to his doom! An' he had it easy, ye are gonna be wishin' ye had his fate, aftah ah get-."

"Oi, tie 'im!" One crewmember, the makeshift leader this time, a young Gryphon, called out. The crow's nest fox boy, Little Max, ran forward to ring the rope around the mast, tying Blythe in place, though Starswirl noted an air of uncertainty in the boy, and other crew, now that their leader who inspired them to mutiny was dead by Blythe's hands. Standing off to the side, Starswirl asked Blythe:

"Where's Irvin?"

"Little bugger scampered off with half a ton o' treasure in his pockets. Ah' must've missed him somehow, or he hid. Greedy little bastard."

Standing with his face towards the Fjord, Starswirl mourned Irvin for a moment. Not the Fox himself, he hadn't proven himself. But he wondered if this journey was for naught, like Siral said just then. This journey had proven a disaster, more so than the mess with Nahia in the jungle centuries ago.

But this mutiny was founded off the idea to profit off growing political threats which included Equestria in a potential for great conflict with the New Gryphon Empire. That itself raised questions of where Starswirl had his priorities.

As he introspected, Starswirl only barely heard a few curt voices from the crew, as Blythe fell quiet:

"Well Wizard? Will ye help us?"

Staring at the crew, Starswirl saw minds, once nothing more than people who lived off of their line of work, albeit its illegality, that had been poisoned by this veritable wealth. Siral had been right, this treasure was cursed, marked by the beasts as a lure.

And Irvin had fallen too, like Nayrington, though Irvin was more self-serving, wishing to have the wealth but not answer to a higher authority.

Blythe was the only truly innocent face, that and the 2 crew among them tied up too, and there was potential for sense recovered among the crew who had lost morale with Nayrington's death. Deciding on a compromise, hoping it would work for the best, Starswirl gave a small sigh, as he worked his blue magic on the ship, and on the treasure chests.

"Listen, I have tried what I know. Those creatures are lured by the treasure, as they lure prey, YOU, for them. The chests will hide the treasure from their senses, known and unknown. Any and EVERY piece of treasure you have collected must be put inside the chests. These creatures are like dragons guarding a hoard, they know if you have any of their treasure on your being."

As the sail masts and hull flared blue slightly, before dimming, Starswirl remarked: "This ship will sail, until it is out of the way of the current caused by the big creature, as if on still water. It won't protect against attack, if the creatures sense living beings or treasure aboard here. No magic I have will be able to protect this entire ship if they decide to swarm the ship. I can save the crew if that happens, but not the treasure."

"We're takin' this out with us." A few stern voices followed, as a few pirates were already taking out many gems and coins from their pockets and other places and throwing them inside the chests.

Seeing their decision, Starswirl remarked idly, even pleadingly: "I'll remain behind, go where Siral went once I see you're through. Heed my advice, it'll protect you from the beasts."

Starswirl however, thought to himself that the spells he'd implemented, if done right, would only protect against what they'd seen so far out in the Fjord.

His hoofs clacking, Starswirl took a gaze back at the ship as he stepped onto the shore from the plank, watching as it was pulled aboard before he focused on the ship with his horn.

Slowly, the snow and sand shifted as the ship slowly slipped into the water, the oars already setting to work from those aboard in the lower decks.

Turning, Starswirl focused his magic senses, trying to find his supposed exemplar of generosity, a failure in his mind.

He sensed, and he found Irvin's presence. Behind him.

Turning around, Starswirl saw the Scurvy Blythe now 50 metres away, moving steadily as if on still water, just as his spells did. But he sensed Irvin was aboard the ship.

The fox had snuck aboard somehow, out of view, likely while the crew were arguing as they loaded and fawned over the treasure, and as Siral and he had been looking to the bay for solutions.

If Starswirl had wandered along the shore, to a small rocky alcove a hundred feet away, he'd have found fox tracks leading to where the Scurvy Blythe's bow had been sat on the beach, where he'd climbed aboard out of sight.

But now, Starswirl stared at the ship, knowing, hoping, that Irvin had heard his warnings to the crew. He was sure the penchant for eavesdropping meant the fox had known what to do.

30 minutes later

Late Morning/Midday

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord, ice rim cliffs

Scurvy Blythe

Below decks, Irvin had double checked the chest's locks. He'd indeed overheard Starswirl on deck as he waited here, while the chests were stowed down here. And despite his misgivings, he'd stashed his pocketed jewels, every one, inside the nearest chest just before they set off on the water.

The Fox waited inside, tense as the ship creaked through the water, the magic making their trip as smooth as still water, the rowers working slowly to not cause much wake.

Up on deck, as he was tied to the mast, Blythe had been sure to hook his claws into the rope binding him, working slowly. At last, he felt a rope snap, and the bindings slackened. He could escape now, but he decided to wait and see what happened.

Nearby, he gave a quick wink and gesture to his own ropes to the tied up 2 crew members, who understood the message. But they were just as tense as everyone on the ship.

Crew not down below working on oars stood on deck, ducking to avoid the gaze of the creatures in the Fjord. They prayed the spells Starswirl had would hide the treasure from them. They had emptied their pockets of every coin and gemstone into the chests.

Out in the Fjord, the roiling waters at the centre of the contained Maelstrom beckoned, yet by Starswirl's magic they sailed as if on still water, hugging the ice cliffs of the marauding shelf on the north side of the Fjord as they sailed to the channel mouth they were sucked through.

Ducking low, high above in the crow's nest, Little Max shook as he saw one of the creatures pass close to the ship, turning away like a fish circling in a pond. Another dark shape flittered towards the ship, snaking towards them, though this one was deeper down, less pronounced, and disappeared slowly.

The ice cliffs creaked ever so slightly, as the rushing of the maelstrom, caused by the massive unknown leviathan giant beneath the Fjord, inside a massive underwater sinkhole, echoed in the bay.

Staring out towards the roiling white waters, one Fox breathed slightly as he backed over to the side of the ship away from that, the side facing the immense ice cliff. He could have sworn he saw a flash of teeth down in the deeper well of that massive whirlpool.

Leaning back, catching his composure, the Fox breathed calmly, while nearby, he saw a few other crew staring out as well.

As he stared out, he heard a faint splash, and his throat tightened very quickly at the louder noise, though he dismissed it as just an oar too roughly splashed.

Something wet and slimy then touched his paw on the railing ever so briefly, and the Fox's heart seemed to stop.

The dark grey/blue fleshy tentacle then launched around his neck, choking him, the flesh wet, cold and exuding a sticky resin on its ends. His gulping scream was enough to alert the crew, right before they saw him yanked overboard by the much bigger than normal tentacle, different from the tongues of the creatures seen swimming about.

Dragged into the freezing depths, pulled through the water at great speeds, the Fox crew saw it through the stinging saltwater, HER.

Grolstrom herself.

An immense beast, bigger than any ship, castle-like in size. She was like the smaller ones that were her spawn in ways, but bulbous, fat off prey, sitting at the bottom of a blindingly deep, piercing blue well in the undersea earth. Smaller jueveniles and males, like they'd faced, swam about her, some heading for the ship he was dragged from.

The Fox crewmate felt his lungs ache, and water flooded his lungs, drowning and unconscious before he could be thrown to the current up top to be drawn into Grolstrom's gaping maw as she sucked down the water.

Her immense gills filtered the water she sucked out, leaving only what solids she consumed to head down her mighty, cavernous gullet, where the bodies of sailors and would be treasure hunters had rotted, even that of the mighty Viking Warlord's crew who gathered the treasure she now coveted as her lure for more of the tasty prey.

Her mighty current sucked up many sea creatures, but those who sailed aboard the wooden not-living whales were ones of varying tastes she'd grown a liking for.

More of her many tentacles from her base, dozens of them, continued to stretch out in all directions, though some she moved to the ship she'd found as a food source now.

More splashes, and their cover had been blown. The 'mother' leviathan had probed the ship out of idle curiosity, not sensing treasure but always curious about this strange being that managed to overpower her current.

She sensed smaller beings riding it, and she knew that this was a ship, and also knew they were the greedy prey that always came, like they always were.

Greedy prey that she sensed had no treasure was still prey.

More grey/blue tentacles, 3 of them, leapt out of the water like snakes, as the crew flew into a panic.

Sword were drawn, but it was a doomed battle. Sailors were snatched up, until the ones rowing came up on deck, leaving half down below to put their backs into it.

Straining on deck, Blythe sprang from his bindings as he saw the two crew that were loyal to him struggle with theirs, the Captain freeing himself going ignored by the other crew. Bending down, Blythe cut through one Gryphon's bindings, while he set to work on the Fox's.

As soon as he undid the fox's bindings, a black tentacle snaked over the deck, a few sword marks on it, wrapping around the ankle of the Gryphon, yanking him away.

Leaping forward, Captain Blythe felt the creature's immense pull, as the Gryphon screamed at his leg being nearly pulled from his socket. But Blythe had endured a lost limb and blood, and was tired. Snapping back, Blythe helplessly saw a loyal crewmember pulled overboard, as others around the ship fought tooth and blade with the larger tentacles.

One of the smaller black eel creatures leapt onto the bow, snagging a Shetland pony in its maw while others hacked at it as it slipped back overboard, water spray and utter panic and madness consuming the deck.

The ship rocked as more creatures attack, and Blythe simply backed into a corner with his sword, as the other loyal crewmate he freed, the Fox, scrambled to help the others.

A tentacle, one of the 'mother's' ones, slithered over the deck towards Blythe:

"COME ON YOU DEMON!"

It lashed out like a snake, but Blythe let it wrap around his arm before he swung upwards with his sword, slashing it off, leaving only the tip stuck to him as it writhed at losing its sticky tip.

Captain Blythe felt more rocking, as below deck one of the smaller creatures began to bite at the ship's underside, intent on sinking it.

On high, Little Max cowered in the crow's nest, out of reach, but not danger. A tentacle coiled around in pursuit of a crewmate, its bulk catching the main mast and wrenching back as it grabbed the crewmate in its hold, snapping the treetrunk thick beam like a twig.

Right then, a large pair of tentacles had moved under the ship, and had seized it around the bow and stern, holding it in place. The rowers couldn't fight this power, nor could Starswirl's spell.

But Grolstrom was after the prey, not the boat, so it kept it there.

The ship rocked, and Max did nothing but scream as he fell in the crow's nest towards the ice cliff, thrown from the crow's nest on impact, the mast wedging into the ice cliff in a steep slant as Max clung onto the ice cliff 100 feet up with his claws.

But his hold wasn't good, and the boy screamed as he fell, falling just behind the stern of the ship, where not a few seconds later one of the smaller creatures was upon him under the water, teeth and maw engulfing him in his end.

Late Morning/Midday

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord shores

Eastern Beachhead

Staring in horror, Starswirl saw the sailors being picked off, realising why the spells had failed. He didn't prepare for everything this creature had because he didn't know everything. Grolstrom was more than any of them thought, as were her younger ones and males as seen in the chamber.

The magical 'scent' of greed was merely a tool to allow her to more easily find prey, the treasure also a lure for them. She could curiously probe like any animal, and she had a much bigger size than bargained for.

As the mast collapsed, and the ship became locked in place near the ice cliff, Starswirl made his mental steps to teleport to the ice cliff just above them.

Late Morning/Midday

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord shores

Western Ice cliff overlook

Stood atop it, Siral could see it all happening, and he could see the immense size of Grolstrom the Leviathan for himself.

As soon as he'd arrived here, he'd had doubts about their survival, even if he had stayed to help. He couldn't have forseen what exactly they were up against.

A creature of terrifying power that used greed to fuel itself, to lure prey to it, to track them, and make life easier for itself.

A magnificent horror the world.

Siral saw the ship locked against the cliff now by the half collapsed mast over the small gap of water between the vertical ice and the ship, and the unseen tentacles holding it in place.

The sailors had stopped bothering rowing, and decided on fighting instead.

A fool's wish.

And yet, with his magic, he saw many things.

Starswirl teleporting in steps to the ice cliff top just above the ship.

And he saw a certain Fox emerge from the decks, a medium sized sack over his back and tied as he scrambled upwards.

Late Morning/Midday

Glaceland, Grolstrom fjord, north ice rim cliffs

Scurvy Blythe

Down below deck, as the ship was going to chaos, Irvin knew the sad fact. This venture had cost them so much. The ship, the crew, their unity. This whole venture had divided them, and the Wizards had seemingly realized this and left while they could.

He didn't blame them.

But he damn well wasn't going to leave empty handed, as he opened up the treasure chest, and had finished loading up the small sack on his back with as much treasure as he could carry without slowing him very much. He'd be rich after all this, whatever happened.

Though he wished it hadn't ended like this, he had many fond memories of this ship, he and Captain Blythe, what a pair they made, and because Blythe lost his senses in pursuing this once in a lifetime opportunity, along with his leg, Irvin had few regrets.

Lifting the sack over his back, tying it off so his arms were free, Irvin felt the ship begin to tip as the creatures began to pierce holes in the lower deck. He hated to imagine what became of the rowers if any were down there when the breached.

Dashing out onto the deck, Irvin ducked as a piece of railing went flying by a tentacle slamming down a crewmember before dragging him overboard, but as he looked up, he saw what he knew was his way out. He was a good climber after all, he kept his claws long for good reason.

Leaping up, Irvin grabbed a long rope and hook, knowing he'd have to freeclimb, and he leapt up onto the half collapsed mast to clamber up its length, up and towards the ice cliff it leant against.

Down below, he heard a faint yell:

"IRVIN! SOME FIRST MATE YE TURNED OUT TA' BE!"

As he clambered up, he spared a glance downwards, seeing Blythe staring up at him with a look of hatred, his wing bent badly from one bad blow in combat, sword in hand as he sliced another tentacle trying to get him. The ship was nearly gone of crew, and he was still fighting, though he was cornered.

Irvin kept the rope handy, looping it through the hook to throw it, hooking it over a small upwards jutting lip of ice that was sturdy enough to hold even a few tonnes.

With how long the rope was, Irvin knew he had plenty of length to get up the 200-foot cliff, and a small ice ledge two thirds the way up to rest in safety before he made his way to the top.

Leaping off the mast, he began to climb, but he felt the weight of the treasure in his satchel become heavier than it really should be as he climbed. A few telltale screams dragged his eyes back down as he reached the ice ledge 150 feet above the ship, out of reach of anything.

As he climbed up, he saw one thing, and failed to see something above him.

Up above, Starswirl had flashed into existence, seeing Irvin clamber up to the ledge 100 feet below him, clutching the backsack full of treasure no doubt, a few dozen pounds at least in weight he'd somehow hauled up here.

But Irvin's attention was below, as the last of the crew were being finished off, and Blythe stood on the rear of the ship, as it slowly began to sink. The old Gryphon seemed to surrender to his fate.

The Fox looked at the rope, and in a fit of panic, he hoisted it slightly and swung it in the direction of the ship, bellowing down:

"CAP'N, grab the rope!"

Up above, Starswirl was surprised, but since both Irvin and Blythe didn't wish to reply to authority, they had more in common than those who'd mutinied under Nayrington.

Grabbing the rope, Blythe began to grip, but to his predicted avail, Irvin couldn't hoist Blythe up, even if he used the ice ledge as a winch curve. The Gryphon swung into the ice cliff slowly, climbing up the ice cliff slightly as he saw the ship begin to finally completely go under.

"CLIMB, FLY!" Irvin's shout echoed as the shrieks of the creatures pouncing on the few crew caught swimming in the water piercing the air. Down below, Blythe gasped, as his wing, broken slightly as an attacking creature tentacle had thrown one debris too hard against it, didn't work properly. His wooden leg scrambled for purchase, meaning he was trying to climb with only 3 non-wing limbs, his 2 wings useless with only 1 not broken.:

"AH CAN'T! LEAVE ME, AH KNOW YA WOULD!"

Panting, Irvin thought of everything they had been through, how he'd done so much with Blythe, how he'd been the one person on the ship who'd treated him as valuable ever since he'd been born and lived in poverty, seeking employment, taking him in as everything but an equal partner, as he was captain.

And it was Irvin who suggested this place when they acquired the Wizards, and now they were here, their ship and crew lost, and the only treasure left that which he now had in his sack.

As he felt how heavy the sack was all of a sudden, Irvin then spared a quick glance at the rope, and then the ledge it was looped around. He wasn't strong enough to pull it, he couldn't lift Blythe's weight.

Scowling, raging to the open air, the Fox bellowed aloud:

"ARGH! DAMN ME FOR A FOOL!"

As he bellowed, he knew the rope would slide as he needed, and he made sure Blythe was holding on tight, the Gryphon's claws wrapped around the rope as a last form of comfort.

Holding the sack of treasure on his back, Irvin leapt off the ice cliff, the rope turning taut as he saw Blythe give a yell of surprise as he was quickly yanked upwards.

As he passed Blythe, Irvin gave a quick look of acceptance, as he made sure to keep the treasure as weight on his back, to pull his true friend and partner in life and crime up to safety. Blythe had seen sense before he had, he deserved to live.

And Irvin knew the treasure he'd hoarded would help him do that if he gave up claiming it. The water rushed up to meet him, and just before the cold water gripped him, Irvin saw Blythe grab the Ice ledge, managing to scramble upwards.

In a last glimpse, he saw Starswirl standing higher up, face aghast with shock.

Cold water slammed around him, and Irvin released the sack of treasure he'd hoarded, and had given up along with his life potentially, to help someone who deserved it.

The wreckage of the sinking Scurvy Blythe, and shadows of swimming creatures filled his visage, as he saw the sack of treasure, a potential life he could have lived with ease forever, vanish into the cold, wet darkness below him.

At peace, Irvin began to wait for the inevitable teeth as shadows began to move towards his idly floating form, his better cold resistant fox fur doing the barest minimum to keep him from suffering as much in the frigid waters.

Blythe stared down at the water as the splash dissipated, shocked for words at Irvin's utterly selfless, and uncharacteristic sacrifice to save him.

But on high, as soon as Irvin had leapt, Starswirl felt an all too familiar pulse in his mind, a purple aura overcoming him as the Fox leapt off with the weight of treasure no longer a selfish desire, but something to give up in a way to help a friend in the direst of need.

The Grey Wizard snapped out of his daze, but before he could do anything, he saw the splash dissipating too, as shadowy forms moved in amongst the water.

Further away on another ice cliff, watching from afar, the Black Wizard stood in awe at this turn of events. Such a turnabout, he had proven himself as an exemplar of Altrusim, generosity of the highest regard of self-sacrifice of his interests of gain, and along with it, his life.

The shadows moved in towards the last survivor of the shipwreck, floating just a few feet below the water, treading underwater to not be dragged towards the center immediately by the current. Starswirl had charmed the ship, not the crew, though the charm was gone now the ship had sunk.

If he was to be taken, Irvin wanted a creature to do it itself.

He had no regrets, none.

Still, the small part of him that willed survival meant Irvin began to kick towards the ice cliffs he could see behind him, as the shadows drew closer.

Surfacing, ignoring the sights of those 2 wizards and his captain who could see him, shivering only slightly in the frigid waters, Irvin saw a few black shapes drawing closer, as he backed against the ice.

Drawing his sword as the Fox continued to tread water, backed against the 250-foot ice cliff, he felt he could at least claim an eye or two from one of the smaller beasts in death for himself.

Take what he could after all.

Author's Notes:

Fox fur in comparison to the coats of others on the ship [Shetland ponies/Gryphon feathery/lion], would handle frigid waters better. Not well, but better.

Next chapter will finish off the GENEROSITY ARC, but it will also be a transition chapter for our two wizards, as some feelings expressed and before here come to final fruition at last, some matters and places left unattended for too long by either of them.

And the final arc, KINDNESS, before the Equestrian Civil War part, which will be a second half or slightly longer of this story, won't play out like any of the others did. Things will have 'changed' a bit in many ways.