legend has it [thoth]

@"Thoth"

Fair enough question. He could appreciate a certain dose of curiousity, though this man seemed more jaded and bitter than actually curious. No matter, he'd answer his questions just as he would anybody else. In fact, he'd be a little more lenient. He wanted this man to work for him, after all.

"The Germanic languages are the closest to our own." Very gravelly, filled with sounds that came from the chest and throat... Generally speaking, people mistook his Panthalassian accent for German all the time. If he said his real name, it would sound more like deep sea rumbling, a mix between something echoing and perhaps a whale's song.

"It also lends well to blending in." Which he needed on very rare occasions, and he supposed this would soon be one of them.

@"Thoth"

His human form was an odd mix of being somewhat convincing and not much at all. If anybody ever saw his true form and compared it to his human body, there would no doubt be some decent correlation. Taken out of context, there were too many differences, size being the most prominent one. Besides, nobody looked at his true form for long enough to get a clear picture, anyways.

"We will be there soon." Yes, there were many islands to cruise by and if he really wanted to, he could sail until they reached Manta Carlos. He doubted Nicolas would arrive alive if he did so, however. Humans were awfully squishy, vulnerable to cold and heat in the smallest degrees.

He was an honest king, at least. It didn't take long for a small bit of land to come into view; the island was barely more than a rock floating in the ocean. As far as the eye could see there was just water, and a person can throw a pebble from one end to the other. A smattering of grass and a rocky outcrop was all there was on the lonely place, with nowhere to run or hide.

@"Thoth"

The island was anything but inhabitable. The only shelter provided was the rocky outcrop, the only vegitation the thin smattering of grass that sat long and overgrown. Ulrich could've swallowed the island if he opened his mouth wide enough, wiping it off the map with a gulp. Puny, but seeing its purpose for the night.

"Not here. It will have to do for the night, however." He nodded at the rocks. "Lay your clothes out to dry. We will start to leave for the place in the morning." Manta Carlos was quite a sail away and though Ulrich was capable of going faster, there would be little point to it. Might as well go a little slower and get to know Nicolas.

He allowed him off onto the rock, the head he was riding on disappearing underneath the surface with barely a ripple. The sack was tipped onto the rock as well and in the end, the ocean could have even passed as normal. Nobody would suspect the creature lurking just underneath.

"Would there be anything else you need?"

@"Thoth"

To be honest, he really didn't know. To him, the cold wasn't a problem. His body resided so deep in the ocean that it was constantly freezing, and thermal pockets made it entirely too hot for many things to live at all. He'd gotten used to both variances, and his scales and sheer size made temperatures during his small excursions up to the surface negligible. So when Nicolas told him that he'd freeze to death, it was a small amount of genuine surprise.

Fire, hm? Well, fire was the exact opposite of what he was all about.

He turned one of his heads slightly, making a low rumbling noise seemingly at the open water. Nothing changed, nothing moved. The waves continued to lap at the little rock as they always did and the water rippled as if there was something just underneath.

"They will get something for you." 'They' were his guards, and he had plenty in the sea. Land was a different matter; the treaty dictated that neither faction's guards would set foot or fin on the island unless certain conditions were met.

They retrieved some blankets, a few branches and what looked like a lighter for a barbeque. It didn't take long until the items came floating in on tendrils sticking out of the water to keep it all dry, likely dragged off some ship. There weren't too many inhabited landmasses nearby, and some sailors probably had quite a fright seeing tentacles snake out of the water, grab nothing but blankets and disappear into the night.

@"Thoth"

The sea monster watched with no small amount of curiosity. Humans were quite fascinating to watch, with their small hands and deft fingers. They were capable of such detail, like the tiny mechanisms in the old guns they used to carry and the ships they sailed.

The fire soon coughed to life, tiny but meeting the ends it needed to meet. The whisper of flame cast a small circle of warmth, and Ulrich leaned in until he was practically sniffing Nicolas' hair to take a better look. His head overshadowed the island of rock handily, blotting out the moon. How pretty.

"They are my loyal guards." In the ocean, they would defend him to the death. On land, they were more like beached fish. Perhaps they were a bit mindless on command, but otherwise made a trustworthy group. "But they are unable to help me on land."

His neck encircled the island, head resting just on the surface. "You may rest."