As soon as Gin dived, darkness cast over his vision. It took a moment before the mushrooms at his neck and wrists glowed. He glanced up to see Ria's steady luminous light before continuing to swim down.

He knew how to dive in dark waters with very little light. He'd done it several times--coin diving. His recent was that night in Sivona when they won this job against the Granacians. In the ocean, it was simple; he only had to know which way was up and which way was down. The current told him where to go. But in underwater caves like this, he had to follow the walls of the tunnel, grabbing onto them and pushing himself to propel downward.

When he sped up, the rope tied around his waist tugged with tension, and he slowed to give Ria time to catch up. But he didn't need to slow down often, for Ria was a great swimmer and an even better diver. She always caught up.

The water was cold and fresh--less sea and more stream. As they went further, the pool became freezing, and the pressure tightened around Gin's chest.

He wanted to look back at Ria to ensure she was alright, but all he would see was her glow, and he couldn't delay. They needed to get to an air pocket soon, or they would drown. They were likely past halfway if he could guess how deep they were in. Turning back now would only take them longer to get to the surface--the time they couldn't hold their breaths for.

Gin's throat began to hurt, and little by little, he released the air from his lungs. He desperately wanted to intake air.

The rope kept tugging, but he didn't slow down. Ria would likely be feeling the same, so they needed to swim faster.

Fear settled in, but Gin was never frightened of drowning. He feared for Ria. If something would happen to her here, it would be all his fault for allowing her to dive. He had let her win when he shouldn't have.

Gin remembered the first time he spoke to Ria alone on the Opal. He had asked her then what would be the best way to die, and she had answered, "Drowning."

The tunnel then curved, and Gin's fear was quenched with hope. For a while, they swam horizontally, no longer going downward. The tunnel curved again, upward this time.

Gin swam faster, and when he saw the glow of light above the surface, he reached his face up, coming out of the water and breathing air. He controlled his exhale, trying to stay quiet.

Ria burst out of the water behind him, and she was gasping loudly.

Gin quickly swam to her and pressed a hand over her mouth.

He gently shushed her, pushing her back to the edge of the pool and pinning her there. They were so close--eye to eye.

When Ria settled into a normal breathing rhythm, he released her lips but didn't swim away right then.

Gin took her face in, making sure that she was alright. Pressing a finger to his lips, he told her to be quiet.

He looked around the pool and took another breath. The air here was fresh and not stale, which meant that there were either cracks on the ceiling of the cave that allowed the air to flow from the surface above ground or the Mistress' hydrosi was constantly cycling the water in the tunnel to get fresh air into the air pocket.

Gin pushed out of the water, and pain shot through his side. He clutched at his ribs, and he nearly stumbled.

"Are you alright?" Ria's voice coiled with worry as she climbed out of the water and hurried beside Gin, pressing a hand to his shoulder.

Gin turned to her. "I'm fine. Stay quiet." He ignored the pain on his side and untied the rope around his waist.

Ria undid the knot on her end too, letting the rope drop to the ground.

Light came from gas lamps that hung on the wall of the cavernous air pocket. They burned with oil, which meant that someone had been here to fill them up and light them.

There were boxes, crates, and chests around the pool, neatly stacked and lined in a manner that created a path among them.

"How are we going to find the document?" Ria asked.

Gin pressed his hand to one of the crates. "Just be quiet," he said. Then he moved to another stack and did the same. His concretostringere flowed from his hand and into the boxes, sensing their content. Most were filled with treasures. Some held artifacts. A few contained clothes, which were likely very expensive ones.

"Why don't you just feel all the boxes from the ground?" Ria, who followed him from behind, asked.

"Concretostringere works only on non-living," Gin answered, whispering. "I can't explain it, but for some reason, the ground is alive, like it's part of a living organism, and I can't sense it with my stringere."

He stepped up to another crate and pressed a hand to it. He did this several times until they found a small chest at the center of the cave. It was the smallest chest in the air pocket so far. When Gin pressed a hand to it, he sensed paper.

"I think I found it." He grinned, pulling out a knife from his belt where he left the last two of his blades. He picked at the lock with the tip of the knife to try to open it, but something made him pause.

Footsteps came from behind them.

Without looking, Gin whirled, catching Ria's waist and pushing her down to the ground.

Water slammed hard on the small chest knocking it a few paces away from them.

When Gin looked up, a shirtless man charged at them. Water from the tunnel floated around his arms.

"The hydrosi," he said loudly as the man threw another punch of water in their direction.

Gin pulled Ria to roll, dodging. Water slammed and dented the ground, which could have knocked them unconscious if they were hit.

He heard Ria scream, but there was no time to look at her.

He ran to the hydrosi. He'd never seen one in action before. Though the captain and his brother were hydrosis, they hid their powers well.

Gin charged, but the hydrosi gathered water at his arms again and threw it like a punch. Gin skidded and threw himself behind a stack of crates. The punch hit wooden boxes--wooden surfaces cracked.

Gin peeped out from behind the crates and saw water pooling around the man's bare feet, flowing from the tunnel. Flipping his knife between his fingers, he jumped out and threw the blade at the hydrosi.

The man raised his arms like he was holding a ball and gathered water, catching the knife in a bubble.

Gin cursed at the miss and at the throbbing pain of his side.

He had two knives left and needed to be smart about his next attack.

Pulling out his blades, he continued to charge. He ducked as the hydrosi threw another water punch, almost hitting him.

Gin came ten paces away from the man when he threw his knife, but the hydrosi caught it again in another ball of water.

The large bubble rounded in front of the man, covering his view and giving Gin the opportunity to sidestep.

When the water burst, Gin saw the hydrosi's eyes widen, seeing that he was no longer in front of him.

Gin was at the man's side in only moments, and he was about to shove the blade into his ribs when Ria screamed.

"No!" Ria collided with Gin and he fell to the ground, blade falling from his grasp and cluttering to the floor.

"What the--!" Gin cursed and looked up.

Ria had her hands raised.

The hydrosi suddenly calmed, dropping his arms to his sides.

"It's alright," Ria said to the man. "Look at me. You're going to be alright."

"What are you doing?" Gin asked.

Ria didn't answer his question and kept her eyes on the hydrosi. "Gin, get the document," she ordered.

"But--"

"Please!"

Gin stepped back. He was surprised and confused at what Ria was doing, but he obeyed her and ran back to where the small chest had been thrown.

When he found it, the lock had been broken by the impact. He opened it and found two scrolls inside with the royal seal, already broken from the initial reading.

He unrolled the top of one of the scrolls to make sure it was the document they were looking for, and when he saw the word Adoption, he rolled it back and picked up the other scroll, not bothering to check anymore.

He ran back to Ria and found her where he'd left her--staring at the hydrosi who stood still in front of her. He stepped to her, and without permission, he shoved the scrolls into the chest at her hip that hung across her body. "I've got them," he told her.

"We need to make him sleep or unconscious," Ria said without looking at Gin.

"I can knock him out." Gin said, turning to find something to hit the man with. The poison from his blade would have been washed off in the tunnel so he couldn't use that.

There was nothing around but large boxes and crates and he had the mind to use Ria's chest, but then he remembered the gun in his holster, and he almost laughed. He pulled it out and shot the man's bare chest.

"What in the sea mother!" Ria raised her hands to protect herself and whirled at Gin. "You have a gun!"

Gin grinned. "I forgot."

The hydrosi fell to the ground--asleep.

"We can't leave him here. No one would be able to find him," Ria begged, finally able to look at Gin.

"He'll be fine," Gin said, placing the gun back into the holster. "He'll wake up after a few hours and he can get himself out of here.

Ria looked at the man lying on his front for a moment. Then she nodded and said, "alright."

"We have to get out of here." Gin reached for her elbow and guided her back to the tunnel. He grabbed the rope and tied it to his waist, Ria did the same with the other end.

Gin guided her and eased themselves into the water. "Swim faster," he told her.

She nodded--eyes determined.