Mímisbrunnr

The small respite helped the mages and Carla move on. Lala was largely okay. Was it because of the bird perched on her shoulder?

The time to ask questions could come later. Arriving on the coast and seeing the longship, Kazi understood he had another job.

"Ugh, it's so far…" Carla murmured. "Are we gonna have to go on the water to retrieve it—oh."

Kazi walked on water, at least that was the illusion he gave. By concentrating magic on the bottom of his feet, he was able to create shapeless balls of magical energy that acted as a staircase. Whether it was the sky or the water, he was able to walk on top of it all. He pretended not to hear the mutters of surprise behind him and casually reached the longship, which had been a good twenty feet away from shore.

"Jeez, she really messed it up." Kazi dropped into the ship. Several planks had gotten splintered. "The damage isn't too bad though. Good thing she used wind magic. I can't imagine what would have happened if she blasted it with a Fire Ball."

Overall, the damage wasn't too bad and concentrated in the back rather than the front. The ship itself was perfectly serviceable, including the sail. There was some leakage, however.

"Good thing I had some leftover wood."

In ten minutes, he patched up every little splinter and hole and brought the ship back to normal. Then, with a simple, "Gale Burst," he brought the longship back to the others on shore. There was an unexpected person among them though. An agitated woman in a lehenga with her arms crossed and a special necklace.

"Oh, Noor, you're back." Kazi did not yet step off the longship and smiled down at her. "Did you find whatever it was in the well?"

Noor seemed to hate his smile. "Okay, so apparently, there's a riddle. I'm shit at riddles."

"A riddle? For what?"

"To climb inside the well, duh. It's stupid, it asked me, 'I am a well without an owner. What am I?' What does that mean?"

"A-a well, right?" Lala said.

"That's what I said! But nope! So what else could it be?"

While the mages shrugged and struggled for an answer, Carla climbed onto the ship. She did not want any part of the well stuff. As a matter of fact, she didn't want to fight at all after what happened with the martial artists. Her bones and muscles ached like hell. Fair enough. 

"An echo," Kazi corrected. He stepped off the longship and onto the shore. "What else did it ask?"

Noor stared at him, her left eye twitching. She face-palmed, grumbled and sighed, and shoved the necklaced into his hand. "Screw it, take the damn necklace. It's not just one question, the thing asks three." 

Kazi noticed her wince. Losing the necklace affected her more than she let on. "I'll do my best."

"Please do," Noor said sarcastically, brushing past him to get to the ship. "I heard you can walk on water. We'll wait for you a little ways away."

The remaining mages joined her, as did Lala who nodded at Kazi and said, "Good luck."

"Thank you."

The longship undocked as Kazi headed to the centre of the island, the silver necklace hanging from his neck. He felt its protective aura and breathed peacefully. Soon, the well came into view. Made of gray stone and filled to the brim with a red liquid, its pungent smell caught him off-guard. The smell wasn't here before. Kazi was slow in his steps, leaned over, and stared into the red surface.

Kazi saw himself. Without touching, ripples spread through the water and his face slowly disappeared, replaced by words.

"The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?"

An easy one. "Footsteps."

There was a small tremor and the words on the red surface changed.

"I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water. What am I?"

"A map."

Three questions, right? The words changed again, hopefully for the last time. "I have one eye, but cannot see. Yet every morning, I know someone drinks. What am I?"

Kazi blinked. 'This isn't a riddle…'

"Mímisbrunnr, the well of Mímir." The left eye of Odin, the All-Father of the Aesir, was sacrificed to the well to gain wisdom, and in the poem Völuspá, it was said that Mimir would go to the well every morning to drink from it.

The written words split apart and the blood-red water suddenly shifted into a healthy blue colour. Three words remained before disappearing: "Enter the waters."

'Enter the water? Like…literally?' Kazi looked at his surroundings. There didn't seem to be anything else to enter. Cautiously, he put his hands on the well and brought his head close to the surface of the water. He dipped a finger in. It felt normal, if a little heavy. He took a deep breath and shoved his head inside.

He saw red.

It wasn't only his eyes, his very senses were enveloped in a swirling sea of blood. The crimson hue surrounded him, disorienting his tongue and nose. He felt himself submerging deeper into the water, unable to stop himself.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. He couldn't smell. He couldn't taste. He couldn't feel. Kazi stayed very, very still.

Suddenly, the redness began to recede, replaced by a brilliant azure glow.

He opened his eyes to a dark room. A candle was lit and the scene of night weaved through. He knew this place. He had been here long ago.

His eyes went wide and he took a step back. Outside, he heard hammers and nails and grunts. He heard whispers of water and wind. Efforts of renovation, of meaningless work. Ahead, sitting against the thin wall of the house was a young woman with strays of black hair over her forehead and a pronounced stomach. Her breathing heavy, she rubbed her swollen belly and smiled tenderly.

"Maa…?"