[i]Hang on a second there. [/i]

Sudden realization dawned on Krea. She had to get across the goddamned river? [i]SHE?[/i] 

[i]Nope, nope, nope, nope [/i]swished around in her head. Slowly, her head creaked downwards to angle her eyes towards Seth’s belongings. She thought she had heard him say something about bringing his stuff over when she could. Krea blinked once, then twice, recognizing that this was one of those moments when her brain chose to indulge in the art of selective hearing. 

Already, Seth had propelled himself straight into the river with a courage Krea could only dream of having – when it came to water that is. A hopeless swimmer, Krea had a ridiculous if not firm belief that she was cursed at birth to have properties akin to that of a rock. Whatever she did underwater, her face was bound to get very acquainted with the seabed – or river bed, in this case. 

Just as she was about to plonk her butt right on the bank of the river with the intention of watching Seth humor the drake (while providing moral support since it was practically physically impossible for her to get across without drowning thrice), Valon pulled out an impressive wizardly trick from his pointy hat (figuratively, of course) that left Krea stunned. Subconsciously, she drew her hands up and clapped like a mentally defective seal on too much ale.

“THREE CHEERS FOR THE OLD MA-“ She clamped her mouth shut before Valon could twirl around to vaporize her with a nasty fireball. Finding her feet, she untucked her tail, snatched up Seth’s belongings and bolted straight to the nice, convenient bridge of ice that the wizard had summoned over the river. 

Slippery ice, at that. Extremely slippery ice. 

Acutely aware of the uncomfortable distance between the edges of the ice bridge and her, Krea took a tentative first step onto the shimmering white surface. She steadied herself. The next step followed, and the next. She was now halfway across the bridge and about to reward herself with a proud mental pat on the back, when all of a sudden, the sound waves that erupted from Valon’s being startled and jolted almost everything in the vicinity. 

The next moment, Krea found herself diving head first, on her way to commune with the fishes. 

[i]Gurglegargleglurggg…[/i]

Krea felt the currents tug at her body, pulling her further downstream. Her face barely broke the water’s surface, and she was still clinging desperately onto her weapon and Seth’s items, obstinately refusing to let go. Another rush of water crashed unceremoniously into her face and she went under, feeling the tip of her spear scrape against the river bed. Perhaps the river wasn’t as deep as she had expected it to be. Just as she was about to ditch all their belongings, a sudden loud thud on her back, followed by the subsequent interruption of her abrupt journey down the river, signaled that a large rock had halted her course.