[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/8ZVoSBE.png[/img][/right]

[color=lightseagreen]"What!"[/color] Gale barked in surprise, her arm disabled by Izzy's hold. She swung her head back, an expression of rage and alarm on her face. Their scythe whirred and screeched as she flung them around for another turn. [color=lightseagreen]"Let go, you idiot!"[/color]

Elliot would see the change in his peripheral, haunting in the light of the obelisk: each of the children, in a moment, dissipated into an ethereal, reflective shimmer -- the light passed through them, as if they had never been there. In their place, huge and ghostly figures rapidly took shape.

[color=7ea7d8][i]"Mates on the shore, 'tis I, Ms. Isabellia!! Away from whence ya came, for more monstrosities arrive! Worry not! We will --"[/i][/color]

Izzy's proclamation was cut off when the scythe was very suddenly yanked out from under them. She might catch a glimpse of huge blue eyes and translucent, ripping fangs before she was flung off into the open air.

The little girl among the frothy rocks, moments ago, had pulled down her fox-head hood. She had quickly transformed herself into a great and monstrous ghost-fox -- translucent and shimmering in the light -- that towered over Elliot. Though the fox appeared incorporeal, its jaws proved quite the opposite when it leaped into the air and sank its teeth into Gale's scythe. With a great fling of its head it tossed the scythe and its two riders like ragdolls into the deep of the cold sea.

Izzy hit the water with a painful [i]crash[/i]. Cold water enveloped her, fizzing with the impact, and for a few moments it was unclear which way was up. Water filled her mouth, her nostrils, her lungs --

-- and yet, she could breathe.

The boy, meanwhile, had become a ghostly, enormous eagle. With a gleaming wingspan the eagle rushed to the griffin's rescue; it caught the second scythe from behind and, with a mighty aerial maneuver, flung it away from the shore.

Meanwhile, the longer Elliot pressed his hands to the obelisk, the brighter it became -- until the light forced him to close his eyes.

The fox and the eagle both landed neatly on the rocks; they were children again, shielding their pale faces from the light.

The light was suddenly gone -- but the expected gust never came.

When Elliot next opened his eyes, he would find his hands were pressed against the armored chest of a man, who stood just at Elliot's height -- if not slightly shorter. His muscled arms were folded stiffly, his yellow hair was spiked and shimmering, and he glared at Elliot with such a scowl of hatred that Elliot might be sure he was about to die for his assumptions.

The obelisk was gone.

The little Kith girl gave a shriek of alarm, and with a few leaps the ghostly fox returned and raced across the stones toward the shore -- where the Hollows swarmed hungrily around the trapped griffin.

[h3][i]Meanwhile...[/i][/h3]
As Ifor ran along the sand under the starlit sky, the shouts and shrieks and howls faded behind them. Soon enough, there was nothing to be heard but the calming rush of the breaking waves, the hiss of the foam on the beach. The ambling Hollows seemed to have stopped their chase -- they had been distracted by easier prey.

The narrow strip of beach seemed to stretch ahead for miles. Far in the distance, a bright green light shone like a beacon.

To the left were dunes and a rocky wall slick with moonlit algae. At places, the wall seemed to be lower or gentler in its slope, allowing a glimpse of the flat field of mushrooms above.

All was quiet and dark.

Should Ifor and Golde decide to continue forward for a few hours, the rock wall would become higher and more formidable. Eventually they might spot something in the water ahead: a low pile of boulders that extended out into the ocean. The waves were forced to break against the stones, so the water nearest to the beach remained calm and still. Gulls squawked overhead, floated on the water, pecked at the shells on the beach.

A long wooden dock extended into the still water, protected by the rocks. Tethered to the dock were a few modest fishing boats, some filled with tackle and rods, and a couple sailing boats with furled sails. At the very end of the dock, the figure of a man sat hunched with a fishing rod.

From the beach, opposite the nearest end of the dock, a wide cavern entrance had been carved neatly into the cliff face. Inside, more boats were stored on racks, illuminated dimly by glass bottles filled with a blue gelatinous liquid much like the jellyfish residue that had got on Ifor's boot. The cavern extended deep into a tunnel within the rock.