MLIII C1, P2- "Stranded Deep"

"Stranded Deep" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia III" 's first Chapter.

It was released on 16.10.2021.

## Plot

Adam and his new allies embark on a new journey- one that will lead them towards the infamous Sucia Island where a mysterious artifact lies undiscovered.

Unfortunately, their visit will not be pleasant like they hoped it would be.

As soon as they get close enough to Sucia Island, a mysterious band of humans attacks and destroys their vessel, Fortunately, the island is not too far away, which gives them the advantage to escape their attackers, but not before a member of their team is lost in the process.

Now nearly alone, Adam has to fight his way past the sizable army of humans who are supposedly trying to stop him from reaching the Geneforge. It will not be an easy task, but he is not the type of person who will just give in to despair and cower in a quiet corner.

## Story

As Adam and his allies get closer and closer to the island, he cannot help but notice that some of the humans are talking to each other.

He stops for a moment and eavesdrops on their conversation.

"This must be the kid that they sent to find this island."- One of them says- "He'll thwart our plan!"

Another human, much more confident than the others, shakes his head.

"Not on my watch."- He says and aims his bow at Adam's boat.

Both Adam's team and the mysterious humans stare at each other suspiciously for a few seconds.

Then, the humans' leader makes a final decision.

"Kill them."

Suddenly, a barrage of arrows flies towards our heroes' boat and completely destroys it, sending Adam and his allies into the water.

Struggling for their lives, the three of them avoid the warriors and attempt to make their way towards the nearby shore.

"This is our chance."- Donovan says- "Come on! Hurry!"

As they get closer to the shore, things start to look pretty bleak for Sharla. She tries to keep the pace of her allies, but gets pretty weak.

Soon, she sinks into the water.

Meanwhile, Adam and Donovan manage to reach the shore.

"We did it!"- Adam says- "We survived!"

Donovan looks around. He seems to be worried.

"Wait. Where's Sharla?"- He says- "Sharla? Sharla?!"

A few moments later, a head emerges from the water nearby.

It is Sharla.

"Please, help me!"- She yells at the top of her lungs- "I can't swim. *I can't swim!*"

Adam looks at Donovan.

"Donovan, we must do something!"- He exclaims- "We can't just stand here and watch her drown!"

Donovan tries to enter the water, but soon realizes that he is too weak to swim.

"Curses!"- He mutters- "So much for an easier way out... "

He looks at Adam.

"I... I'm afraid that we won't be able to do anything. She's too far away and we're too weak to swim all the way over there."- He says with tears in his eyes, completely regretting his incoming decision- "Adam. We... we... we must leave before the humans kill us as well. I don't want her sacrifice to be in vain."

Sharla seems to hear what they are saying to each other. It is clear that she has completely accepted her fate.

"Don't worry about me."- She yells- "Save yourselves! Don't let them get you!"

Adam looks at the water. He quickly counts the distance between them and their friend.

He prepares to jump.

"Adam! Are you mad?!"- Donovan asks him- "You're also very weak! Even if you make it out there, you're condemning yourself as well! Don't do it!"

Adam shakes his head.

"When a friend is in need, it does not matter how tired I am. The situation may be dire, but I am not going to give up just because of this!"- He says- "Stand back and seek shelter. I will be back as soon as possible. I promise."

Donovan seems to trust Adam. He nods.

"Very well, then. You're the leader, so it's your decision."- He responds- "Please be careful. I don't want you to get hurt. Or... or worse."

Adam nods.

"You can count on me."- He says- "I may be young, but this does not mean that I will give up on my friends when they need me."

Donovan nods again and watches Adam for a few seconds as he jumps into the water to save Sharla.

"*Mardek. When we were still a team, you said that there are few people who would be selfless enough to risk their own lives and try to save someone in need.*"- He says to himself- "*Well. Today, I saw a hero who is just like you. And I'm glad that I did. I'm very proud of him.*"

Heeding his friend's advice, he backs away just as the mysterious humans approach the shore and escapes into the nearby woods.

Meanwhile, Adam slowly swims towards Sharla, avoiding the arrows that his enemies are shooting towards him.

"Adam, no!"- Sharla yells- "Don't risk your life! Save yourself while you still can!"

Adam shakes his head. He ignores her warnings and gets even closer.

"I refuse to give up!"- He says- "You are my friend and I will never let you down!"

He finally gets close enough to rescue her.

"Come on!"- He says, reaching for her- "Grab my hand!"

Sharla realizes that Adam is not going to give up. Or at least not until he saves her... or fails to save both her *and* himself.

She grabs his hand.

"Thank you for trusting me."- Adam says- "I promise that I will save you. No matter what it takes."

He pulls Sharla away just as another barrage of arrows is launched at them.

As the two of them get closer to the shore, Adam looks at her and notices that she is not panicking anymore.

"We are almost there."- He says- "Just a little longer and we will be safe."

Sharla nods.

"I'm glad to hear that."- She responds- "But I can't see Donovan anywhere. Where is he?"

Adam shakes his head.

"He fled into the woods, hoping to avoid our enemies and trying to stay safe for the time being."- He says- "But do not worry. I am sure that he is a capable mage, so he will be fine. He certainly will."

Sharla sighs.

"It's just that he... he's one of the few true friends that I've ever had. in my entire life"- She says- "I don't want to lose him."

Adam smiles.

"Do not worry."- He assures her- "Everything will be fine. I promise."

As they finally reach the shore, Adam draws his weapon and runs towards the mysterious humans who attacked them earlier.

Most of them decide that it is not worth fighting him in close combat and decide that they still want to live their lives, no matter how evil or insignificant they may be. They turn around to look at the shore to the left of them and start to run away. Smart of them.

Others are quite foolish and decide to fight him instead, making one last stand against him and Sharla.

Meanwhile, Adam infuses his blade with light magic and easily takes down half of the warriors. Sharla, on the other hand, keeps her distance away from their enemies and smites them with her magic.

A few minutes later, all of the hostile warriors who remained are dead.

Adam sits on the ground and sighs.

"What a mess."- He mutters.

Sharla sits down next to him. Then, she hugs him.

"Thank you, Adam."- He says to him- "You were so heroic. You helped me when I needed you the most and it's more than clear that you proved yourself in my eyes."

Adam smiles.

"It is just a part of my job as a hero. And I am proud of it."- He responds- "You are welcome."

Sharla nods.

"So."- She continues- "What should we do now? We're all alone and Donovan is nowhere to be seen."

Adam sighs.

"Donovan went into the woods. It is obvious that he is no longer there, due to the situation at hand."- He responds- "However, this does not mean that the place will be empty. Even though he may be gone, our enemies are likely going to set up a trap, hoping to catch us by surprise and end what they started. If so, this is going to be very bad for both of us."

He shakes his head.

"I am afraid that we can only escape this place by walking towards the shore to the right of us."- He continues- "It is very dangerous, but we have no other choice."

Sharla nods.

"As you wish."- She says- "If you think that it's the best way to reach Donovan, then I'll trust you. I will come with you and hope that you know what you're doing."

Adam smiles.

"Very well, then."- He says- "Now, let us find a shelter for the night. It is getting dark and I want both of us to be safe tonight."

Sharla looks at the shore to the right and sighs.

"As much as I want to look for him, I agree."- She says- "Let's go."

The two of them get up and leave the area behind them, hoping that they can find Donovan as soon as possible and, whenever that finally happens, to search for the Geneforge and find a way out of this island.

While Adam and Sharla explore the rest of the island, Donovan continues to run away from the mysterious humans who are chasing him.

A few second later, they shout something at him in their foreign language and continue to run after him.

"*What are they trying to say?*"- Donovan wonders to himself as he runs for his life- "*I know a lot of ancient languages, but theirs is too foreign for me*."

He does not have any time to ponder this question further, though. Some of the humans ambush and surround him.

"What do you want from me?"- He asks them as he prepares to defend himself- "Let me return to my friends! Leave me alone!"

The humans look at each other for a few seconds. Then, they turn around and shake their heads.

It seems like his request to leave has just been denied.

As they continue to close in on him, it is clear that he will not survive this battle. Not alone and in a place like this.

Just as Donovan accepts his inevitable fate, he realizes that some of the humans fall dead on the ground next to him.

He looks up and realizes that someone is shooting at them.

The rest of the humans try to defend themselves, but it is too late. They soon fall down as well.

When the last of the human attackers finally dies, another group of humans approaches Donovan.

He prepares to defend himself, but soon realizes that they are not going to attack him.

"*There are other people here?*"- He says to himself- "*How interesting.*"

A tall woman with long, black hair approaches him warily and puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Fear not, foreigner. We are not going to hurt you."- She says to him- "We heard that you're in trouble and we came to assist you. Those vagabonds are our enemies as well and that makes us brothers-in-arms."

Donovan nods.

"I thank you for saving me. It is so kind of you to assist someone who is a complete stranger, especially in a situation like this one."- He responds- "I lost my friends somewhere around here. Can you help me find them?"

The woman nods.

"It will be an honor for us to help you. It's clear that you're an honorable man and we'll be happy to help."- She says- "But first, we want you to come with us. To our camp. We have much to discuss and many more enemies to defeat together and there is so little time."

Donovan nods.

"I agree."- He says- "Let's go."