Zane may wish to visit the Curranti for entirely different reasons than having his future dubiously predicted, but any excuse to hang out in a wizard academy (because, name or not, that's what it was) would be fine in his book.

The trip was much less eventful than their flight from the shrine atop the volcano, leaving Zane plenty of time to fully immerse himself in his new body and movement, beginning to pick up on subtleties in swimming in his new form that he'd not noticed until now.

The way he could intentionally pull in or push out water through gills on his neck, arms, or legs made for a tiny but valuable additional control mechanism for adjustments.

He could push just a little faster when kicking, turn just a little more smoothly. Or, not, and throw off his rhythm by that little amount. Figuring out how and when to apply that became a whole new challenge. Frustrating at times, but one he was absolutely determined to overcome.

He would seize every advantage possible here. He was sick and tired of being stuck in a place where he couldn't make his own decisions, where he couldn't do anything to improve his life or change his fate. Reality back on Earth had been a nightmare of slow suppression, of feeling himself gradually lose heart and hope and fire, until he'd be as empty and bitter as those people he'd most despised.

No, he would not allow anything to stop him here.

He had a clean slate. A fresh start. A chance to work hard and build his own future however he wanted. He could be a hero, be a protector, and he would do that duty gladly in gratitude for being given this new chance to live a better life.

But once his obligations were fulfilled, he would do what he'd always wanted to - travel. Explore. He'd seek out the limits of his new magic, the limits of his new body, the limits of his new world, and then he'd search further still.

He'd already broken the system once. No reason to assume he couldn't do it again. He had every reason to try.

So with each tiny mounting frustration as he struggled to fully internalize the movements of his fins, the weight of water around him, and the flow of air and recycled water, he shored up his weary determination and refused to give ground. The only way forward was to become the kind of person he wanted to be, not the one uncaring forces had slowly pressed him into.

The high expectations of the people who'd summoned him, asking even more of him than he would have asked of himself, wasn't a burden but rather a challenge. One to which he would rise and conquer.

What better way to start off his life in a new world than by saving a prince from an evil tyrant? Even if it took everything he had, he was going to do it.

So his thoughts ran as they traveled across fertilized lands and barren, through forests of coral and valleys of crystal, across busy rushing currents and through peaceful calms, and finally to the academy of the Curranti itself.

Currantine stood unobtrusively in a flat plain between low hills, surrounded by a veritable desert of silt. The mucky monotony was broken only by a single stone pillar, rising up just beyond the low structure that seemed far too mundane to house anything so powerful as the Curranti.

However, before the group could more than glimpse it, a flash of movement caught Zane's eye and next thing he knew Duon had knocked Leor to the side, pushing him down even as a heavyset mer with green scales and long, thin jagged fins burst out at them from behind the curve of the hill.

Zane readied himself for battle, but the mer didn't draw his weapon.

Instead, the green-finned mer turned to Leor and hissed, "Stay down, it isn't safe."

Duon kept himself between the newcomer and the prince, but relaxed his aggressive posture. Slightly. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Did they send anything for me?" Leor asked, leaning around Duon to look up at the green mer eagerly. "A message? A warning?"

"Yeah. They said the standard entrances are watched. Any attempt at a frontal approach has been turned into a trap. You're lucky I was able to catch you first. If you go out into the valley you'd be seen."

Leor blinked, fins drooping slightly, his purple-glowing hair drifting morosely behind him. "But... the secret entrance is in the valley."

"Like I said, it's being watched. But there's another way in. I can show you. I've seen every path there is around Currantine, I can get you inside without anyone seeing."

The green mer casually started towards Leor again. Duon swam sideways to continue blocking his way.

Something about his eagerness felt off to Zane. He couldn't put his finger quite on it, but the other mer's presence just rubbed him the wrong way.

Zane eased himself up beside Duon, holding out a hand to keep Leor behind them. "And who are you?" He demanded of the messenger. Then turned to the prince. "Do you know this mer?"

Leor tilted his head to one side. "I have not met everyone who lives and works in Currantine."

That set off even more alarm bells for Zane. If Leor could personally vouch for the guy, he'd have been willing to ignore his gut, but this was smelling fishier by the minute.

The messenger tensed, seeming to intuit that he was under scrutiny and not coming out favorably. "I have been working here for twelve years, I'll have you know. I know where I'm going."

Zane might be mistaken. Maybe he was just bad at reading merman physiology. Maybe what he interpreted as suspicious was ordinary nerves at speaking to someone so far above his station. But... luring the prince away from the known entrances to an unknown back way was way too suspicious. One secret entrance was one thing, two different secret entrances, one of which was conveniently only known by this stranger?

If they went along with it and walked into a trap, he'd never forgive himself.

"Show me," Zane decided, impulsively. "The rest of you, stay with Leor. I'll be back once I'm sure it's safe."