As Krea watched Seth haul the maiden to safety and dry land further up downstream, she felt a tug of jealously. [i]No fair![/i] She grumbled inwardly. She hated water, and she wanted out. [i]Now.[/i]

Then, she caught sight of Valon propelling towards her in what she considered was a record-breaking swim, to which her heart skipped a beat with relief and in anticipation of her return to the dry, homey soils of the earth once more.  

However, Valon’s furious swimming had caught the attention of the drake, which promptly pursued the thrashing, splashing trails left by the wizard with a newfound interest. Krea wondered if he took a fascination in the fact that dinner could walk on dry land, cast spells, [i]and[/i] swim. Unbeknownst to the girl, that was far from the truth. The drake, being young, brash and proud, merely wanted to test his might against the escaping party – no river could stop it, oh no.

“RAWWWWWRRHHHHH!” their two-headed winged pursuer bellowed. It was then that Krea realized that she ought to get rid of her spear, temporarily, or else Valon could have a hard time trying to get them both to Seth and his damsel-in-distress. Thus, with a powerful, well-aimed throw, the warrior let loose her dangerous, pointy weapon, sending it flying in Seth’s general direction.

“Uh oh,” Krea muttered, before she felt stiff fingers clamp onto her arm for the second time that day. Unceremoniously and without further ado, Valon yanked her off her precious rock and compelled her into the deathly waters. 

With the river contributing to their rough-sailing yet speedy descend downstream, soon, they left the drake behind as they had hoped. Moments later, they reached the shallower and calmer bit of the river through which Seth had monopolized to get his fair maiden and himself onto the river’s bank. Krea, upon securing a firm hold onto solid ground, made herself useful for once and hauled herself out, before dragging the water-logged old man onto dry land after her.

“Well, that was maddening,” she concluded. A quick glance around confirmed that they were all utterly, shockingly drenched.