The Ascension

Capture

 "There'll always be another chance to escape. And it doesn't have to take months, or involve killing, or even involve dying. Or even escaping. We'll get out." Aster said, speaking like she was trying to inspire morale.

"I know." Senya said. "It just seemed like, at the time, it might be worth a shot."

"It was a bad idea." Wren said.

"We should move past an idea that never happened. Bother to forget it, maybe."

It was one sentence half an hour ago. Why did Aster get the feeling it had been even the slightest bit important? The moment she started climbing the ladder up the side of the ship she knew she wasn't actually going to kill everyone. She hadn't actually thought it even when she gave a solemn nod to Senya and Wren before leaving.

But the feeling that it had meant something persisted.

She blamed, rightfully, the gods.

"Let's leave now." Wren helpfully suggested.

They were in a dark room with a barred window. They weren't tied up, but were in handcuffs. The guards had been fairly polite, actually, about having to take them to Aeis for questioning.

"Great idea." Senya said sarcastically. "Let's just get up and go! We'll just swim back to our boat and be at Mount Ae-ah by lunch."

"Aster can do it." Wren said, frowning from Senya's taunts.

"He's got a point. I can probably do anything." She was not happy to admit this.

"Do something then." Senya said.

"Uh." Aster was sitting on the floor. To feel more formal, she stood up. Thought a little bit. "Any suggestions?"

"We could convince them we were sent here by the gods. Have them take us to Ae-ah."

"That's not a plan, Wren, just a happy thought." Senya said.

"Are any of the gods here? Do the thing where you make them visible."

"The guards wouldn't let me touch them."

"You're like, a minor god right now, correct? Something like one at least. Can you... create fire?"

Aster gritted her teeth. "No."

"I'm out of ideas."

Aster sighed and sat back down again. "It'll work itself out."

It did the very next day as they came to the shore, as even if the group was out of ideas, ideas, so to speak, came to the group.

And that was a rather drawn out way to say that, the next day, Eii solved a number of problems.

Gods, it might be noted, are rather prone to pulling dues ex machinae.