Those in the cave continued exploring, and silence fell as they spread further apart. Edward had turned to the magician to ask his name, only to find that the odd man had disappeared. He shook his head with bewilderment. Had that man even been real, or had they all collectively lost their minds somehow? It didn't really mater anymore, since they had all made it out relatively intact. Except for Constance. Out of all of them, she had been the one to get the most hurt from their recent encounter. Poor woman.

Ed was so wrapped up in his thought that he nearly tripped over something on the cave floor, sending a deafening echo back the way he'd come. "Plummet," he hissed, hopping on one foot as he nursed his snubbed foot.

"Ya alright, lad?" called Conway, from somewhere past a series of giant salt columns.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine! Just need to watch where I'm going..." he trailed off as he started paying attention. He was at a wall, and before him was a pile of collapsed salt-rubble. The thing he'd tripped over was right next to the collapse, so he knelt and picked it up, like and good reporter would have.

"What is this?" mumbled Ed, peering closer at the thing. It was a cube in shape, made of multiple inerlocking pieces of what looked like wood. Wood? Of all things? Despite the strange material, it was oddly beautiful, and simultaneously maddening. It was like just looking at the thing was worming confusion into his mind.

One part of the block was not like the rest, however: a metallic bit which stuck out of one side. It looked suspiciously like a switch. Since he had only ever been called curious, and never cautious, he flicked the switch as soon as he recognized what it was. Then he yelped in a very unmanly fashion as the cube screeched. He nearly dropped the thing as it began to hum, but some instinct kept him holding on to it.

Blue light spilled from unseen cracks in the cube, lighting up the air around him. At first, he thought it was trying to kill him. He should have been dead by the time he realized what was happening, but he was still very much alive. Not a trap of death, then. What was it then?

Shapes were outlined in the air before him. Not simple ones like squares or circles, but vast, asymmetric and squiggly shapes. It reminded him of some of the maps he'd studied back at home before heading out. A map? Could it be?

It must have been. On the left side of the map was a set of outlines clustered together, surrounded by what he could only describe as a ring of light-static. The U.I. What else could it be? Of course, he was used to the U.I. being in the center of all the maps, but the shapes all still looked the same. "What in God's name have we gotten ourselves into?" he mumbled. 

It looked like the map was centered on a smaller island, which he could only assume was where they were right now. And further to the right...further to the right was several more islands. In fact, one of the outlines was so massive as to go past the edges of the blue light. What kind of island was the huge?

"Edward! What'n the ocean king's whores was that?" Conway and the others clambered up to him, stopping to stare at the blue light. "What is--"

"It's a map, captain!" Edward said, a sudden flurry of excitement breaking into his voice. "I don't know how, or what the hell made this, but it's a map. See, there's the U.I., and I think this is where we are right now." He offered the box to Conway, who gingerly took it and turned it over in his hands. "And to that side is a huge island, sir! Might even be a continent!" He trailed off as he realized that the captain was hardly listening to him at all.

"Whatcha thinking, captain?" asked one of his sailors.

Conway handed Edward back the cube. "I'm thinkin'," he mused, "we have a new headin' for the Garrloch. Ed, hold onta that fer now. See what else you can figgur out about it. Meantime, let's get back ta the ship. Ocean's waitin'."

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[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVUOtLLGv2w][u][ S T I L L  W A T E R S : 1.5 Days Since Departure][/u][/url][/center]
Back on the water. Edward had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, it meant safety from the land monsters. But on the other hand, now that he was away from the exploration, he missed it terribly. He and the others who had first discovered the cave--Armas, Luna, Constance, and Krauss-- had all been crowded together as they went. Luna had been dismissed by Officer Raoul temporarily, and Krauss, having no flights to make, was grounded for now. Constance was wounded, of course, and Armas...Edward wasn't sure why Armas was there.

He toyed idly with the map-cube, flicking it on and off every few seconds. The awkward silence was overwhelming. "So..." he finally said. "Does anyone want to tell me a story? I'm a reporter, remember. I have to have something to write about our intrepid explorers, right?" He tapped his pen against his notebook with some discomfort, trying to shake the feeling that he didn't belong.