Welcome to Gaia! ::

Roydon chuckled. "So there we are. We're almost - almost - guaranteed safety and arrival at one destination or another. It may take a while but we will do it ... so no worries, all right?"

He smiled at Lin. "At any rate, you should get some dinner and then rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

According to Earendil's readings, and Roydon's knowledge of the currents, the nearest land was almost due south of where they were presently, though neither one of them could say exactly how far away it might be. Earendil guessed a voyage of at least a month, while Roydon guessed almost two.

in the end, Earendil was closer, and after ten weeks - a month and one week - land once more came into sight.

"Land ho!" the call came again, and this time it came with a tone of joy. Once more there was a rush for the deck as everyone came to see what land they were coming up on.

"It's green!" the word quickly spread, and hopes began to rise. They would almost certainly be able to land here, and see the island, and spend some time - surely!

Earendil laughed at Senka. "One would think she got enough of that on board," he grinned. "Ah well. Soon enough we'll be on solid land, and then we'll feast!"

He turned to look for the captain. "Roydon!" he hollered once he spotted him. "How long before we arrive?"

Roydon grinned. "By nightfall!" he called back. "Though we'll stay on board for the night yet, and go ashore tomorrow!"

"And when we go ashore," Earendil added, "be sure to bring some weapons. Just in case. You never know what we might find."

He looked at Lin, his expression just about unreadable. Still, there was excitement growing in him - this was what they had been so eager for: not only the journey itself, but also - and perhaps more so - the possibility of meeting other races, or perhaps more of the elven race!

By the time they dropped anchor for the night, the island was clearly visible to all of them. None of the elves could identify the type of island that it was, or the type of plants, and Shiro smiled at Lin and told her she had been right - it was indeed a tropical island.

"It looks like a jungle," he told Kaito thoughtfully. "Like the ones in movies."

"Thicker," was Kaito's only comment.

Earendil looked down at Lin. "Have you seen a place like this before?" he asked her quietly.

It seemed a peaceful place, but it was so different from anything he had ever seen before - though to be fair, he had also never seen a forest.

"Fruit?" Earendil asked. "What kinds of fruit do you think we'll find here?"

He turned and leaned back against the rail, watching Lin curiously. It never ceased to amaze him, how much she knew about his world that most others had never heard of or even imagined. He knew it was because there were similarities between her world and his, but even so.

"Hmm." Earendil nodded and looked off into the distance again. "I see." He was silent, thoughtful, for a while, and then he sighed and smiled at Lin. "Well. I suppose we ought to get some rest, then. Tomorrow's going to be busy, after all."

He ruffled Lin's hair affectionately. "Come on, let's go below."

When morning came, Roydon organized two longboats with people to go ashore: the first was filled with crewmen who were able-bodied fighters, and the second had Leyenda, Roydon, Lin, Earendil, Shiro, Kaito, Arwen, Rhea, a few other crewmen, and several crates of supplies. They were planning on staying on the shore overnight, if they weren't threatened during the day.

They brought the boats up onto the white sandy beach, pulling them away from the water so that they couldn't be dragged out at night, and then set about setting up camp.

"Stay close," Roydon called to everyone. "We don't know anything about this land yet."

Earendil was standing in one place, staring at the ground. "Is it strange that land feels strange beneath my feet now?" he asked Lin with a half smile. "The boat felt so smooth by the end ... now the land feels as if it's moving."