He pauses, cast a quick glance over his shoulder to the impossibly tall spires, their tops hidden in a cloudline that had never been present in the cave before. He thinks about how much of this hallucination is real, and what may be lurking in the water. His mind may be off his missing friends, but it will simply be on other things.

"I- I believe I will stick to the shallows for now, if that's all right," he says finally. He doesn't want to be a complete disappointment though, so he does get to his feet to at least wade in. He slides out of his sandals, but finds he doesn't like he feeling of bare sand against his feet any better, so back on they go.