[Lake Krome] The Heart of Lake Krome

[Val Valencia]

117th of Ashan, 718

*Common*

Several Days Prior

“Did you hear?”

Val lifted her head from the cart, moving Door off her chest and into her lap as she did so, to face her current companion. “Not unless you tell me.”

“Don’t be cute, girly, this is nels we’re talkin’ about!”

“I probably could use some, so spill.”

“That Kateline de Vlamin’—“

“Whose that?”

“A Lady of Krome. She lost her necklace. Real fancy sort, got it tossed into a lake when she pissed off her lover—“

“That sucks.” Val replied succinctly, missing the look of slight irritation as she nuzzled her cat.

“Would you let me finish, girly?” At the apologetic wave the man continued, “So she wants it back, willin’ to pay five hundred gold nel to whoever finds it.”

“Oh! Maybe she’ll be able to get it back then! That’d be nice for her.”

“Theres somethin’ wrong with your head, girly.”

Val just smiled and shrugged, even she knew how unlikely it would be to find a necklace in a lake but…she did need new bracelets and skirts. The dancer leaned back and eyed her companion curiously, “Where’s Krome anyway?”
Val stared at the expanse of lake before her in wonder, it was far larger than she’d imagined but she also hadn’t imagined the view. With the world finally having realized its Ashan, the sun caught the water just right, heating the surface of the pool and allowing one to see down into the shallower waters.

“Look Door! It’s gorgeous!” The cat pranced between her legs before cautiously pawing at the water, Val copied with a giggle, skirts immediately soaking up the water. “Oh.”

The water was cool but the skirt went with the water block her view and weighing her down the farther she walked. Without a care for any others Val stripped her shirt and tossed it towards the shore, her sodden skirt following after. Free of her cumbersome clothes the dancer set to work, squatting in the shallow waters to begin picking through the stones with Door following her along the waters edge curiously.

It didn’t take more than a break for the dancer to realize this would not be even remotely easy when she picked up the the shiniest lump to examine it closer only to find—

“Its…a rock.” Val pursed her lips and chucked yet another stone behind her, this was not going to plan. The dancer had hoped the sunlight would make the jewelry shine, allowing her to pick it out from the stones with greater ease but it was everything that shone beneath the water. It made pinpointing the hues of color even more difficult than normal for her.

[Val Valencia]

The heat had started out soft but now bared on Val, she could feel the prickles of sweat begin to bead along her neck, regardless of the water cooling her legs. Door had long since given up trudging through the water, curled up under the shade of the cart, watching. Shoes was grazing by some trees, uncaring of much aside from food, leaving the dancer to her own devices.

But her own devices were going slowly. Very slowly. Mentally she’d sectioned off what she could, going back and forth in the shallow waters, picking up anything of a brighter shade of yellow, blue or gray than the rest. So far Val had found nothing but some very pretty stones, some of which she debated keeping as she meandered along the water. If the thought of giving up crossed her mind, Val refused to give it more than a passing chance. At this point she was invested! If she had to search the whole lake, she would. If only to say she had.

“There has to be an easier way to do this.” She muttered, gazing out at the water. It was still gorgeous but entirely unhelpful. With a pout the dancer sat in the water and leaned back, hiding herself from the heat as she stared at the clear skies. Her arms spread out she swirled them through the water thoughtlessly, splashing waves in her own face without a care as it caught on her arms until she bolted up right, “It catches! Door, I’m so stupid!”

Val jumped up, sloshed toward the cart, digging around haphazardly until she found what she was looking for. A fish net. “This will absolutely work!”

Realistically it would probably do nothing except pick up rocks but it didn’t stop the dancer from prancing to the water joyously as if she’d discovered the answer to life itself. The cat not far behind, chasing the moving net until it hit the water with a heavy drag. It was probably on the third or fourth time Val had used they net and she certainly wasn’t trying to fish but some flip in and around the net, fleeing the crazed woman in the water.

It took less than a break for the net to be too heavy to drag through the water, leaving the dancer to sort through the stones and fling them away from her this way and that. Some of them she tried to skip, amusing herself with the splashes the made and wincing at the irate shaking of fists from the few fishers in the area. It would have been too easy for the net to catch anything the first time but Val still pouted when nothing caught her eyes as a necklace.

“Again!” She commanded herself, rallying her stubborn spirits with a shout and tuneless hum as she once more began to drag the net through the water, not paying attention as she dragged it with her back towards the lake. Which is precisely how she and the net stepped off a sudden drop, with no time for Val to even cry out in surprise when the heavy net of rocks dragged her under the water.

[Val Valencia]

Though the dancer was terribly fond of water, she was also a terrible swimmer but that never stopped her trying. Today was far from the exception, giving her the chance to see how long she could hold her breath as she was dragged towards the bottom of the lake. The air seeped from her lungs, watering replacing it for a few trill until she had the presence of mind to release her net. It didn’t stop the panic or the burn in her chest as her arms floundered toward the light of the surface. Her eyes burned with effort but her body sunk the more she floundered, the lack of air seeming to make her heavy.

It was not as if she was ready to accept death but the brush of her feet against the slick lake bottom shocked her, pure instinct is what saved her. Val kicked off the bottom with her arms and legs swimming like a frogs, desperate in her attempt to reach the top as swiftly as possible. When she broke the surface, Val gulped air before she slipped back under, hands scrabbling along the underwater edge. She used what little strength she had to grip the watery ground and drag herself to shallower waters, shoving her head up the moment she could touch the ground.

On hands and knees the dancer threw up water and bile while crawling until the water was shallow enough for her to let her shaking body collapse without drowning herself more. Her animals snuffing through the water to see what all her fuss was about before huffing away, having found nothing of interest but their dramatic owner. There was several blissful bits where Val and air became reacquainted before a thought struck her suddenly, her little gasp sending her choking and sputter again but happy with her newfound knowledge.

“I—can sink!” She sat up shakily, ready to make another attempt even if her body was too tired to even contemplate it. Val could power through the shakes, her lungs would have to make it one way or the other. With a shake, the dancer tried to get all the tingles out of her body, giving herself a bit to make sure she was done coughing, and still able to hold her breath.

“Cassion, let this adventure not drown me and I swear I’ll practice my swimming more.” Val whispered then gave a little grin to the water as well. Maybe that way it’d take pity on her. Without a second thought Val sucked in a deep breath then stepped off into the darker water, her body sinking enough to cover her head but floating itself until she pushed the air out. It was like when she was drowning but with purpose and it worked! Her body sunk like the rocks weighing down the net until her feet brushed the slime and weeds below. It was dark the this far down but a faint light glinted between the waves, giving her some blurry picture. Mostly just blur but she knew what she looked for. A specific shine that she was sure not overgrowth wouldn’t cover.

It was strange to try and walk beneath the water, the force of it pushing against her worse than attempting to wade above it. It seemed to sap her energy quickly, forcing her back to the surface before a full bit had passed.

“I wish—“ Val gasped to no one as she used her arms to paddle herself a bit farther, “I had gills.”

Then she sunk herself again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And—

There!

At this point Val was mostly dunking herself, holding on to the shallower ground to hold her body under water and give her something to pull herself back up. It worked beautifully, since right on that same dip of the watery hill was the shine she had been searching for. Unable to catch her breath enough to dive back down the dancer used her toes, hooking the chain on her toe then dragging it closer before dragging herself to shore.

“I found it!” She called to anyone who cared to listen, giving it a victorious wave of her arm.

[Val Valencia]

The ride into Krome was blissfully chilly as the sun and breeze dried her but the damp of her undergarments kept Val cool. She hadn’t bothered to put her clothes back on, too tired to put the effort in, just saddled herself in the cart and let Shoes pull her into through Krome. It was no wonder that when the dancer finally jumped out of the cart in front of what she had been told was lady Vlamings house that no one wanted to let her speak to the woman.

“I’m not homeless!”

“Now, Miss, no one said you were—“

“But you look like you think it,” Val protested with a stomp of her foot, “you aren’t even listening to me and you told me about a cheap inn! I don’t need an inn because I have a tent and Shoes wouldn’t fit in an inn, I tried but I was trying to tell you I found her necklace. She wanted it back right?”

“I—Yes.” The man said warily, eyeing Val all the more harshly while she continued to ignore it to the best of her ability and held out the trinket.

“Just ask her if this is it, its shiny and I found it in the lake, please?”

“Very well, wait…” the man look inside then at Val, “out here.”

If she took offense the dancer didn’t show it, curtsying with dramatic flourish in thanks before leaning heavily against Shoes until the door reopened. The woman stepped out with only a blink at Vals disastrous appearance, “I am Kateline Vlamings, and I wanted to thank you personally for trying but this is not my necklace. Though I do appreciate your effort, here,” She held the necklace out to Val, “you should keep it. You found it, after all, maybe you will find its owner.”

“Oh,” the dancer took it with a slump of her shoulders, “I’m sorry it wasn’t your necklace.”

“An easy mistake but silver does not ruin in water like bronze.”

Shaking off the disappointment, Val held out her pruned fingers with a smile, “Maybe its good its gone, who wants rotten memories of a bitter guy who can’t handle a woman like you.”

“Its not memories of him that I want it for but perhaps you are right to some degree. Oh, before I forget myself, take this,” she held out a her hand to Val once more, pressing the cool coins into her hand, “its not the full sum but I do appreciate your trying.”

Val squeezed the nobles hand reassuringly, taking the few nels with a smile, “Then I hope someone better at swimming finds it or gives him a good kick in the balls for doing something so rude.”

Kateline looked as if she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scold the dancer but settled on a wary smile, pulling her hand away with a wave, leaving Val with the nel, battered necklace, and another quick thanks.

“No problem, maybe I’ll try for you again another trial!” Val wasn’t sure if she would but she hoped the idea that others might try or that she would again would take away the sting of failure from them both. A glance at the nel and necklace told her it wasn’t all that bad of a small adventure anyway. And she hadn’t drown, it counted as a good trial.

[Whisper]

Val Valencia

Awarded Points

15
These points can/cannot be spent in magic

Awarded Knowledge

Endurance: Holding Ones Breath
Swimming: How to Sink
Swimming: Frog Stroke
Strength: Dragging a Net Full of Rocks
Fishing: How to Drag a Fishing Net
Acrobatics: Using Your Toes to Grip Objects

Location: Lake Krome
Location: Krome

Awarded Extras

Loot & Losses	Injuries
+30gn	None
+1 Bronze Pendant
-1 Fishing Net
Renown	Devotion
None	None

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Comments

Once again, Val showing her potential to be a force to be reckoned with! Very lovely. I have upped your loot of gold nels because I think her efforts are worthy of more!

If you have any questions, comments or criticism about your review, feel free to send me a PM and we can discuss it.
Thank ye.