Fantasy Are you tired of sipping Crab Coladas? (Pirate RP) (Always Open)

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fergie was following close behind, squinting past where the light spell's range dissipated into blackness. "Aye. Got too dark too fast." Her past expedition into the depths-- the true depths-- took many hours before they were past the sun's reach. There, it was a gradual decrease, but here, it was almost as if the light was being sucked out of the water. It was an unnatural sight, one that tempted her to equip her harpoon from her belt in growing unease. "Keep an eye out. Ambush creatures like these sorts of places." Instead of reaching for her gun, she took her flashlight and swept it over the area, checking for any oddly shaped rocks or fish using the darkness to conceal itself.

With the tunnel fully lit from this end, Fergie took it upon herself to peer in. Her vision was obscured not by darkness, but by the turn the tunnel took as it dug into the rock formation. If she wanted to investigate further, she'd have to go in. "I'll take point," she offered, but wouldn't stop Sebas if he decided to cut past her.

It wouldn't be long before they encountered the first peculiarity in the tunnel.

"What the hell?" Spheres of light already kept the place well lit, but she still hovered her flashlight over it, skeptical of what she was seeing. "Freaky lookin' thing." The "thing" was a viperfish, its black body glistening in the light with a thick coat of slime. Glass-like fangs protruded from its jaw, but she had no fear of them. She'd seen these fish before, but learned that they only had interest in tiny fry and crustaceans. Weak, small, and slow, they posed no threat to her or her squad of divers. Most fish in the deep sea were similar.

But this wasn't the deep sea. "It shouldn't be here."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Dysphotic Zone (200+ Meters)- Aphotic Tunnel​

Sebas let her go first. He took up the caboose, harpoon gun at the ready to shoot anything that came from the sides.

"Something's influence is making this area of the sea darker than it should be," Sebas said, "I'd reckon that it's either that being or something working in conjunction with it making those whirlpools." Sebas would be willing to bet that those whirlpools served to drag victims into the darkness, where they would be attacked with nary a sense about them. "Or.......maybe it feeds a bit on fear alongside the body........" he muttered. If a whirlpool dragged them under, the only people that would survive to these depths are those with gear (unlikely if they didn't plan to dive there) or water magic (which took more mana the deeper underwater one went).


When it came to the viperfish, Sebas had the idea to just let it live. "If it attacks, kill it. Let's let it live otherwise because the blood might attract unwanted attention." The last thing they needed was to attract something unwelcoming when they couldn't see under normal circumstances. "Let's keep moving. This tunnel has to go somewhere. I got our backs." he said. Let's hope these viperfish didn't give way to underwater eldritch horrors, though Sebas's hopes weren't high.

"Be advised. Big Daddy isn't seeing those whirlpools anymore. Shall we give the green?"
"No. Call it a false positive." There's no way there WASN'T something in these waters. It was most definitely a trap to greenlight the ship to enter where those whirlpools were

"Whatever it is, it might be moving if the whirlpools have ceased for now." Sebas was beginning to feel that unease now, especially since upon looking back, he saw 2 more viperfish swimming around nearing the tunnel entrance.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"So maybe somethin' does want folks like us here." It just occurred to her now that neither of them had seen any shipwrecks, not even any debris of them. Of course, that was probably the whirlpools having dragged them into a depth beyond what they've reached, but the fact that she hadn't seen a single scrap of wood or a hint of landfolk activity among the rocks they've passed rested in the back of her mind. It was strange.

Fergie watched the viperfish and its slow undulations for a few more moments. A large, rolling eye stared right back in what she interpreted as shared wariness. When it decided it had enough of the divers and swam opposite of them, she answered Sebas, "Understood." She wondered if the creatures here had to be enchanted as well, since they weren't dying of decompression damage in these relative shallows, but she didn't notice anything odd about its aura. Aside from some bioluminescent spots on its belly, it wasn't glowing with some magical energy. Perhaps there were other tells she hadn't noticed.

That brief exchange between Sebas and the pilot brought a noise of discontentment from her. Maybe it was a fluke, but, "What if we're dealin' with some ship-eaten' sea beast?" The lack of residue from drowned ships might have been explained by that. Honestly, she hoped not. Where she was from, it was bad luck to even mention such a creature's name, let alone stumble upon its hunting grounds.

As they continued through the tunnel, which was beginning to dim as fewer and fewer light orbs clung to the walls, more creatures passed them by. Some viperfish, some squid, one anglerfish, and a few other discolored fish she couldn't recall the names of. But one thing was consistent among them: the further they dove, the bigger they got. She might have been inclined to draw out her harpoon gun had she not known these fish were mostly docile. But who was to say that the bigger they were, the less reason they'd have to fear them? It wasn't as though any of them could fit the two in their mouths, but...

Fergie mumbled a swear to herself. She was relying on her flashlight at this point, the light orbs at a minimum and the widening cave walls stretching out their reach even further. "We should stick to the walls. An' if ye see anythin' glowin' in open waters, keep away."

That turned out to be a bad idea. When Fergie swam closer to the right-hand wall, a large mass shot forward, and in the blink of an eye, both she and it were gone. Only a narrow tunnel in that wall was left.

Tense seconds of silence passed by until Sebas's crystal began to light up. "On second thought, don't listen to me! I'm an idiot."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Dysphotic Zone (200+ Meters)- Aphotic Tunnel ​

Sebas was completely startled by what happened with Ferg, her realizing instantly that sticking to the wall was a bad idea. While it didn't SCARE him, it did only make his unease grow alongside it growing anyway as the light dimmed.

A ship-eating sea beast? What beasts could do something like eat a ship? One with dark magic that could decay the wood, that's for sure. Well.........there were also Leviathans, Water Dragons, Sea Hydras, Krakens, Loch Ness Beasts, Sea Basilisks, Whalacondas (Whale + Anaconda), Omnifish. However, none of those things (except the Omnifish) would actively seek out a ship to eat, as much as they had no problems crunching wood if it meant crunching bone. The Omnifish could (and would) eat anything that wasn't a literal rock

Sebas took into the Tunnel, deciding to fire his flare gun. It functioned just like the Sub's Illumination round, albeit with a smaller projectile for obvious reasons. He grabbed a rock that one of the small flares resided on to use as an underwater torch. Since Viperfish weren't fond of the light, they actively swam away from it and Sebas notices that there were a LOT of them in these tunnels, a HELL of a lot more than they could see without a significant amount of light. "Talk to me, Ferg. Where'd the bastard lead ye?" He was hoping for something like an underwater grotto, or some area where the water was mostly held back with magic so he could get his foot back on the ground. That would in itself be telling as it meant the source had to be lurking there and it wouldn't be a fish.

Could be something that attracted and consumed Viperfish..........or summoned them. Maybe this fight would be completely underwater? Maybe it was leading Ferg to a feeding lair or a hoarding lair? He needed to get out of his own head before he thought himself into fear. Self-Preservation was smart, but self-preservation wouldn't complete this mission nor get this gold.

The maze kept twisting and turning, with only a few divergences, but Sebas felt himself going deeper. Deeper into the tunnel........and into the sea itself as it began to gradually descend. The fish that caught Ferg had to move as if it were part of the darkness because within these seconds, Ferg was nowhere near him

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

It was hard to answer, when she couldn't see a thing. Her light wasn't working; shaking it and beating it with her hand only produced clacking sounds. But she didn't need light to know that she was trapped in the mouth of whatever had made off with her-- forcing her in a very uncomfortable crouching position, at that. Gloved hands patted around until soft flesh gave way to hard teeth, and when they traced up and down, found that they were very long teeth, imprisoning her in like a set of bone bars. Now she felt the part of an unfortunate copepod.

"It's one of thems viperfish. Huge." These things were only supposed to get to two feet, so they had to be enchanted in some way. "Can't see a damned thing, an'--" And that was it. The creature wasn't jerking its head to shake her to the back of its throat, and its muscles weren't contracting to pull her into its gullet. "It's not tryin' to swallow me yet. Headin' to its hideout, likely." She couldn't read the beast's mind, as handy as that would have been. But whatever reason for it delaying its meal, she'd also be giving it a hearty helping of harpoon to the gut if it tried anything.

Deeper still, the tunnel went. There was little difference in sight, as pitch darkness couldn't exactly get darker. But it certainly felt like it was getting darker, the surrounding water dense with a suffocating blackness, and it kept getting denser the deeper one went. It could have been purely psychological, but it may also be a sign that they were getting close to the source.

The walls cut off abruptly into what must have been a far more massive cave, as there was nothing to be seen in the distance past this tunnel's exit. But there was something to be heard, and even felt; something was swimming along the exit, displacing the water around it. That "something" was made clear when Fergie's voice could be heard from the crystal and from somewhere in the darkness. "I think it's just goin' in circles, but I can't see a bloody thing! Damn light gave out." She could feel that there were slivers of gaps between the fish's teeth, but she couldn't see any light pour through them, even when Sebas's makeshift torch was shining on it. Likewise, Sebas wouldn't be seeing any luminescent spots along its belly, or light from his torch shimmering against its slime coat. It was there, but it was absorbing all light that touched it, like an undulating black hole rendered invisible in this lightless place.

Fergie wasn't even aware that Sebas was right there, but the fish certainly was, idling by the tunnel's exit as if waiting for him to venture out.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Dysphotic Zone- Aphotic Tunnel- Viperfish Domain​

Normal pitch black darkness couldn't get any darker. Dark Magic COULD though. As Sebas swam with his torch-rock, he noticed that the darkness was still closing in on him, it getting harder to see even though the torch wasn't exactly giving out or weakening in any regard. He felt himself breathing harder, despite having no problems breathing from the oxygen tank. This was claustrophobic and fast becoming scotophobic (or nyctophobic)

Sebas managed to notice the tunnel clearance, or at least the exit into it. He hovered there without entering yet. "So we're dealing with a Glowie Viperfish then........" he responded to Ferg's words. What a pain. All Sebas knew was that he really didn't want to get bitten or have his gear torn by it. "I'm not idiotic enough to move into an open area like this with a Dark Magic Glowie." Well.......a Glowie in a sense. If they were in a lit area, it would be glowing a dark purple. However, Dark Magic beings were known to be completely invisible in darkness.


He had an idea.

"Sub, I need you to fire a Holy Round into the tunnel."
"You asked me specifically to NOT do that."
"Which is why I need you to do it without question if I actually ask you to do it." The obvious implication is that, if he gave the order, he wouldn't request breaking that order without a damn good reason. "Ferg is compromised and I will be too if we can't flush out these viperfish. Fire and then shoot flachette rounds at the emerging viperfish. Absolutely no more explosives than that holy one."
"Firing........."


The tunnel was rocked with explosions and Sebas felt himself being pushed aside, feeling horrified as it was what looked to be a bee's nest amount of viperfish swarming out towards the entrance to the tunnel to fruitlessly attack the sub, even moreso as it completely ignored him. They went from docile to ravenous. With them still going, Sebas didn't know if Ferg was being dragged back out to the sub, or it got agitated by the presence of holy magic within its Dark Magic realm.......or if it was coolheaded and still waiting.

Regardless, Sebas pushed out into the clearing, harpoon gun at the ready. Screw it! If he couldn't shoot it at the risk of killing Ferg, he'd stab the bastard!
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"Aye, don't," Fergie affirmed. "Probably leadin' ye into a trap." Why else would it be idling there, letting its meal sit in its mouth? It wasn't typical viperfish behavior to cooperate like this, but glowies were on a different level of intelligence.

Normal viperfish wouldn't be swimming out in droves where they sensed opposing magic, either. But in some semblance of normalcy, Fergie's captor deemed it more in its favor to dart into the darkness in the hive, so it could subdue its prey in peace.

"Ack! No!" With a jerk of its head, it threw Fergie into its gullet. Her first impulse was to claw her way back into the relative safety of its mouth, until she remembered her hesitance to shoot was a fear of causing another feeding frenzy. With a greater threat outside the caverns, a little bit of blood in the water wouldn't send the whole hive after them. Wrestling against squeezing muscles to get to her harpoon gun, she pressed the point against its flesh and fired. She didn't know what she hit, but it was something good enough to get it thrashing violently.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Dysphotic Zone- Aphotic Tunnel- Viperfish Domain​

He heard the harpoon bolt hit rock and swam towards it, being guided by the thrashing of that fish. He fired his flare gun towards it, lighting the lair up and while he didn't see the fish due to its magic, he DID notice the blood and the harpoon chain. Sebas unloaded the bolt from the gun and stabbed into the fish. It began to thrash and lunge at him, but he held the chain from the unloaded bolt to keep the fish's razor sharp maw from crunching on his bones, it instead biting chain. With Ferg about to rip her way out of that fish, it most definitely wasn't winning this battle.

"A resilient bastard, this one is," Sebas said. He could enchant his harpoon bolt with Holy Magic, but then they would be flooded with the other Viperfish. "You're not becoming this thing's dinner, Ferg. Fire the other bolt!" With the connected harpoon lodged in the rock, the fish was essentially on a leash passed through its body. If the bolt was fired in the other direction, not only was there a possibility to instantly kill the fish (depending on where it hit), but even if it didn't, it wouldn't be able to move while Sebas killed it.

The fish charged up a dark purple glowing ball in its mouth and fired, hitting Sebas and knocking him back filling his body with a faux shocking feeling, completely numbing his body and shutting off his hearing. "I'm deaf, Ferg. Kill the bastard!" Sebas said, a little too loudly through her crystal.

(Sorry for the super late post)
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"Aye, aye, I know!" It wasn't her first time finding herself stuck in a fish's gut, either. She was still here, so she had no reason to believe she'd become dinner now. Though usually she had a sword to cut her way out of its belly, and maneuvering this gun against the stomach walls was proving frustrating.

Worse still, this fish had more in its arsenal to fight them with. She didn't bother answering Sebas's shout, bolting her gun and feeling the chain rip through flesh as the harpoon came rushing back-- and got lodged in bone on the way inside. "Honest to gods?!" She pulled and tugged, but there was no give. Whatever the barbs had stuck into were catching it good.

And the viperfish wasn't ready to go down without bringing something down with it. But in its blood-deprived state, its movements were becoming erratic. It was wrestling with the chain for far too long before it could get to the source, even if it had managed a lucky shot on Sebas.

"Fuck this!" Had the glowie's magic not snuffed out all light that touched it, she would have seen a green glow creep up the chain. Dark-aligned fish shouldn't have been particularly weak or attracted to Earth magic, but whatever the risk, she had to do something. The gun felt heavier in her hands; she gave a mighty pull back, and finally, with an audible snap, the obstacle gave way and freed her harpoon.

The obstacle in question was the creature's spine. Paralyzed from the dorsal fin down, it wouldn't be lunging at Sebas any time soon.


(No worries, life happens)
Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Viperfish Den​

Sebas knew it was over. With it paralyzed, it was as good as dead. He swam to the fish and unceremoniously stabbed it in the gullet. It trashed for only a couple of seconds before it finally sat still. He grabbed the fish's body and stabbed into it, opening up its guts and freeing Ferg. "How you can sit inside that thing for that long is beyond me, because you're slimier than Brutus was to Julius." He could see the slime all over Ferg. It looked like she came out of a purple tar pit.

The oppressive darkness began to recede. While it was still dark, it was now illuminated a bit by plants. Perhaps they reacted to Ferg's Earth Magic to glow, or perhaps they were just being suppressed by the dark magic. "I already know I would've been fish food had you not shot that harpoon and had I not ordered the sub to shoot," Sebas admitted with an air of gratitude.

"Sebas, the fish that were attacking the sub just suddenly disappeared along with all of the unnatural darkness. Dark Magic readings have hit 0. Shall I give Big Daddy the green?"
"Standby." Sebas responded.

With the oppressive darkness rescinded, they were able to see the area when Sebas fired his flare gun and lit up the area. "Is that it? Was that fish the cause of the whirlpools?" Unless the next area was hidden, this den was a dead-end and they cleared the threat.


WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"Not like I'd a choice in the matter," she hissed mostly to herself, flinging the stuff off her long arms in arcs of grease that dissipated in the water. As disgusted as she was by yet another deep dive into digestive fluids, her wandering gaze suggested that she had other concerns on her mind. After watching the viperfish's corpse cascade in a slow fall to the bottom-- either mistrusting or contemplative, given the scowl on her face-- the glow from the plants drew her attention. The unnatural darkness was lifting, and it was soon apparent how.

Fergie had been more responsive to the praise before, but now, she shrugged it off and grunted. "If I 'adn't been careless, ye wouldn't've needed to chase after 'im," she told Sebas, gesturing down at the remains of their attacker. And yet, if the fish hadn't lured him into the den, perhaps they wouldn't have known that this was the source. It worked out in the end either way, so she wouldn't protest his appreciation too vehemently.

So they knew the how behind the dark magic reseeding. But Fergie was still caught up on the why. "Nay. Can't be that easy." Her keen eyes narrowed at each nook and cranny Sebas's flare gun was uncovering. "Thems fish only bothered us when we went an' trespassed. Why would they be sinkin' ships?" It just didn't add up. Dark-aligned creatures causing whirlpools? That seemed more in the domain of water magic. The involvement of dark magic at all only made her to wonder...

"Somethin' really don't want us bein' in 'ere." Because what better way to hide a secret than shrouding it in darkness and guarding it with man-eating predators? Then she saw it; wordlessly, she whipped out a hand towards a tunnel in the cave, one covered by plant life that illuminated its walls.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Viperfish Cave​

Ferg had a point. Why would they sink ships if they didn't attack until they entered the den? If the glowy had access to the Water Magic needed to make Whirlpools, the fight certainly would've gone a bit differently. There were unwelcome indeed. "Time to purify these waters then. Feels like I need to bathe in Holy Water as it is." Maybe with some nice angel tail joining me, he thought

He had his answer to the sub. "Negative. We're not clear yet," Sebas said in response to the sub. Though that glowy viperfish did use dark magic, it didn't use water magic. It wasn't the source of the whirlpools. "I want you scanning for magic."
"Acknowledged."
He grabbed another rock with a flare on it to use as a torch. He mentally steeled himself as he was going into another dark tunnel. At least there wasn't oppressive darkness suppressing their light this time. "Guess we're going deeper........" he said. The interior of the tunnel was noticeably bigger than the one they emerged from to end up in the den, big enough to fit them both. The rocks that made up the tunnel was smooth. Smooth? "Something cut these rocks," Sebas observed. He touched the walls and it was like smooth stone. "Hands did this." Merfolk? Fishfolk? Water cultists? This didn't look to be a structure, but there were foreign writings that he recognized. "Runes........" he suddenly removed his hands from the walls, glad he didn't actually touch the writings. "I'm not familiar with how to read all of them, but they're commonly used for traps." He shot his harpoon to one of the traps a bit ways forward. Upon hitting, it unleashed an explosion. Out of the smoke came a swarm of ravenous Viperfish. "Tch!" Sebas swam forward and crossed his arms in an X, projecting a shield that covered ceiling to floor. The viperfish slammed and bit into the shield to no avail. Soon, the viperfish swarm disappeared on its own after about 7 seconds.

"Be advised, there was just a spike in Dark Magic."
"Aye, there are dark magic traps here. Is there any Water Magic?"
"Negative, though I'll alert you at the first possible time. Also, I received a report from Big Daddy that the whirlpools are back, but bigger this time."
"We're on it," Sebas said. "Ask Big Daddy for information about Viperfish Summoning Runes." Runes were one thing. A rune that summoned another sentient entity entirely was some high level stuff, let alone on a rune. Too much for even most glowies. Runic magic was the weakest form of magic, with the advantage of even the magic-less able to use if they learned to create it. They were commonly used for traps, inscribed on rocks and other items, allowing someone to carry a bag of potentially hundreds of different spells, albeit in significantly weaker form and never stronger than a mage at the same level using the same spell. Sebas was feeling more uneasy now. If they triggered a trap like that, there was no time to defend as the rune was summoning a swarm directly in front of them.

Sebas faltered. They were at risk if they swam side by side, due to the walls. Too risky "Ferg, the plants here react to your Earth Magic. You take point again." With Ferg at the helm, the plants could illuminate not only the traps, but any branching paths that may be hidden. "Goes without saying, but keep off the walls."

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Sebas's comment about Holy Water brought out a chuckle from her. "Heh. Just from lookin' at me?" And he wasn't even the one coated in dark glowie slime.

As they descended deeper still, Fergie might have been inclined to investigate the rocks herself, to feel their smooth texture under her palms. But with her poor decision from earlier still weighing on her mind, she was reluctant to approach any of the walls, even before it turned out she had every good reason not to. "So we got a bunch of someones not wantin' us 'ere." Give or take on the sea monster idea. With the involvement of man-made structures, it seemed more plausible that the bay was once populated with folk wary of outsiders. Or still was...

"Shit. Imagine gettin' a face-full of that." She didn't want to, but it couldn't be helped. The harpoon gun was still being clutched tightly and held at-ready, despite the fish disappearing as quickly as they appeared. But apprehension wasn't enough to deter her from taking point. She nodded and snaked around Sebas so she'd be in the lead, plants weaving along the tunnel's contours glowing an unnatural green in her vicinity. "Aye, don't need to tell me twice."

The walls started to narrow, the archaic writings scrawled on their surfaces more defined in the closer proximity, though it wasn't a language she was familiar with. She never got into rune-writing. "Startin' to feel a wee bit boxed in," she admitted, just before the universe decided to tease her by presenting the next obstacle. The plants would indeed illuminate branching paths, and this tunnel ended in five of them, each barely wide enough for a single person, and none with any indication that it was the right path to take. "Wish I'd some wood to knock on."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Trap-Tunnel -----------> Diverging paths​

"Hot damn," Sebas scoffed. From the fact that the corridors narrowed, there wasn't enough space to turn back unless they stopped and used pushing off the wall to inch themselves backwards. Whatever the direction they faced when they entered was the direction they would exit. "Guess we split here. You choose your path. I take the other." Sebas wasn't about to rack his brain for which path could be the right path. He believed they are both correct and that they would just lead them to 2 different place........but also would connect at some sort of lair or den.

"No reinforcements and no knowing what's on the other side. These are my favorite," Sebas said sarcastically. He held his torch rock in one hand and harpoon gun in the other.
"Be advised, there is a spike in Water Magic."
"Acknowledged. We must be getting closer to the source.........." he cut the comm and turned to his partner. ".....or they know we're here now before we know who or what the source is." Up to this point, there is only been reaction. The viperfish didn't bother them until they entered the tunnel, the traps on the wall were. With a spike in water magic, this reaction may turn into proaction. "It's looking like I'll be shooting anything that moves henceforth." A big part of Sebas wanted one path to be a dead end. However, with this being made by hands, that wasn't likely. Both of those paths led somewhere.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"Likewise." In defiance of her nerves, screaming as they were about the untold dangers that likely laid on the other side, Fergie chose a path and began the tedious journey through its length. Any "untold danger" that decided to veer around the corner would be getting a face-full of harpoon. She'd be twisting along many corners and turns, hands tightening on her gun in expectation of any such attack. But thankfully, not for long.

"Found an openin'." She slowed her swimming before she could pass the exit. It was smooth and round, too much so to be a natural formation. Plants were sparse here, and while she could see with decent clarity for several feet, wherever the path led to was pitch black. Where she was, was no indication of the size of this area, how far the walls drew away from the tunnel; she wasn't keen on rushing out to find the answer, and for good reason. "Perfect fer an ambush," she whispered into the comm, her imagination running wild with the possibilities of what was lying in wait just outside. "Prolly all leads to the same place. I'll wait fer ye 'fore I go an'-- AAGH!"

It wouldn't let her wait; she found herself flailing in a sudden current, flushing her out into the open with a pull her land limbs couldn't fight against. And with a pull that couldn't have been any more natural than the walls themselves. "Ey! Bastard!" She tried to right herself, but a push from all directions kept her locked in place, turning her around until she was facing the perpetrator. A merman-- no, a fishman, his scaled face lightly illuminated in a cool blue by the light of his staff. "-- Ah! Youuu!" Her hands couldn't point-- she refused to relinquish hold of her harpoon gun-- so her gaze flicked between the fishfolk and the glowing stone atop the staff. "Yer the one causin' the whirlpools!"

He tutted at her, barbels swaying lightly as he shook his head. "I wouldn't be so quick to assume, little creature."

"Little" creature... he wasn't wrong. This man was nearly twice her height, by the looks of it, bulky with more muscle than she'd expect on a mage. It would be a pain in the ass trying to pierce all that with her harpoon, assuming she could even land a shot. He could easily slip out of the way from here, not that he would even need to, with water manipulation at his disposal.

"And I needn't assume that you're the one who frightened our watch-beasts from their den." The current flipped her around again, giving him a better view of that purple sheen on her outfit. "Their odor follows you."

"Agh, stop that! Stoppit! I'm not some bloody puppet fer ye to--" Wait. "Our"? "How many of ye are there?!"

He said nothing, continuing his analytical study of his captive.

"This a camp? A settlement?" Arms flailing against the current, she struggled to right herself again, looking to him. "Shit-- Listen! We don't want no trouble with yer kind! Just a recovery mission, somethin' lost in a shipwreck! That's all we's 'ere for!"

He had the audacity to laugh at her. "You'll be recovering nothing. Anything that falls to these depths are ours to make with as we please." A finned hand traced the smooth surface of his staff. The affectionate gaze he gave it twisted into something darker as he looked to Fergie. "Now, what will we make with you?" The staff brandished, and her harpoon gun was wrenched clean out of her grasp.

"Ack! No!" Hands reached down helplessly for her only weapon as it cascaded into the darkness below. "Motherfucker!"

"You should watch that tongue of yours," he warned, tail propelling himself a few feet closer. "Normally I'd take trespassers like you to be studied alive." There was a light tug at her mask. Her face blanched underneath. "Or I could spare my ears. I've found that landfolk are less inclined to spew obscenities when their lungs are full of water."

She promptly swallowed her protests. Dammit, what could she do? Every fiber of her body wanted to throw herself on this asshole, to tear at his eyes and gills with unrestrained teeth and claws, but what good would that do? With that staff, he could throw her as far away as he wanted. He could rip her air tank right off from her and let her drown. But that also meant his full attention was on her. Did he even know there was a second? Sebas must have heard her side of the conversation; if he got the jump on this fishman, they'd have a chance of turning the tides.



(Hope I'm not taking too many liberties, give me a knock on the head if I am)
Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

(Excellently written)

Sebas Deadeye
Diverging Path -----------> Fishfolk Lair​

Sebas had indeed heard everything from Ferg's side as she was compromised again. He didn't speak. He just kept on moving much faster starting from when she yelled out. At the opening, Sebas decided it was time to act and act soon. He pulled out a vial and, using magic, projected a syringe needle. He stuck it into his arm. This was an underwater breathing potion. These things were made for emergency use if a mask or tank was broken and everybody had one for a diving mission. They weren't designed to last long though, as they were made to make an escape from under water, not carry through the entire mission. Obviously they couldn't drink them underwater, so they had to inject them.

What this meant for Sebas, was that he was essentially immune to water magic underwater as they couldn't drown him. When completely underwater, most water spells that involved launching a projectile at them was rendered useless, at the expense of water manipulation spells (spells that involved taking advantage of the water as an ENVIRONMENT) being almost completely undodgable.

At this point, he was at an opening. He fired his flare gun and when it exploded into torch clusters, it illuminated a group of like 6 or so. This one here with the staff and then 5 others, only one more actually holding a staff. There was no turning back now! he brandished his Harpoon Gun and fired at the fishman center mass. "Nah, we're here for trouble," Sebas said. The harpoon pierced the fishman's shoulder, releasing Ferg's harpoon gun. With the chain firmly lodged in his shoulder, instead of firing a second with a low chance of missing, he pushed the retraction button, ripping the fish's shoulder to shreds and effectively making one of his arms completely useless, probably permanently as there were definitely bones shredded. "You have something we want and you're doing something we don't like."

"Get it together, Ferg!" Sebas said. 2 Staffs among 6 fishfolk. They weren't strong enough to cause whirlpools strong enough to take down entire ships without those staves. Sebas was expecting something like a hierarchy run by a leader, not what looked to be a small fishman gang who managed to loot 2 staves from unfortunate ship mages. A bit anti-climatic, in his opinion. If they break or take the staves, the mission was essentially accomplished. They'd just need to kill the group to break/loot them

He was blasted against the wall by a ball of Darkness, grimacing painfully as a rock dug into his arm. Ohhhh.........so the second stave was used to cast Dark magic. That's how they summoned Viperfish. He wouldn't underestimate them though because they were surrounded in the fishfolk hometurf and the other 4 who didn't have staves were armed with spears.


(It's not gonna be some big boss fight, as this mission has been going on for quite a while)
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

(Aw, thanks)


The fishman heard the sizzle and saw the light bursting from the flare, but all too late before a barb burrowed into his arm. There was a cry of agony, cracking bone and billowing blood from the point of contact. He spewed out his own obscenities under his breath, ones in a language Fergie didn't recognize, but that look on his face said it all for her.

"Men!" His unharmed arm swung his staff, rallying his group. "Change of plans! We're bringing back corpses!"

The battle commenced; the Dark mage and two spearmen charged for Sebas, while the Water mage sent the other pair down to Fergie as he recovered. But Fergie wasn't one to sit around and idle while unarmed. By the time they were swimming her way, she had already descended to the bottom of the cave, hands snatching up her gun and clutching it to her chest as if it were a precious child. When she kicked herself up, a spear was pointing at her. Her harpoon was faster.

The illuminated water developed a red tint as the first fishman was down. A shot clean through the chest finished him there, spear slipping out of a lifeless hand. His comrade was wiser, skirting just outside the range of her weapon as he looked for an opening. Before action was taken between them, a current whisked her away, gun slipping out of her hands again from the force of it. Had it not still been dug into the fallen fishman, she might have had something to defend herself against the Water mage's next move.

"You're formidable. It's no wonder you and your fellow have gotten this far," he admitted, watching her writhe and flail against the water current with impassivity. His gaze flicked to the tunnel she had emerged from. "But let's see how well you fare unarmed."

"Oh, no ye don't, ye son of a bITCH-- AAACK!!" Screaming that was about all she could do as the current sent her flying back into that narrow tunnel, where multiple traps would be activated from the collision with the inner walls.


(Noted. There's a lot more we could do with this plot)
Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Fishfolk Lair​

His arm in pain from the rock he hit hard, Sebas grunted and pushed down in an effort to get out of the way of an incoming spear. He flipped around and fired his flare gun directly on a fish man. While the scales prevented from scorching, the explosion dazed him and the flare itself blinding him. That left him defenseless from the harpoon that shot through his chin and through his head. When Sebas retracted, it brought back some brain in a move that even Sebas winced at a bit at. While the other spearman grieved, it enraged the dark staff fish. "I promise I will leave NOT AN INCH OF YOUR SKIN!!" he roared. He sparked with dark lightning and began to grow. Teeth began to grow razor sharp, longer, and thinner. His eyes turned pitch black and his scales began to grow. He grow buff and his hands stronger to the point where it looked like he could snap that staff without knowing his new strength. He was embodying some unholy lovechild of a viperfish and an orc

Explosions rocked Sebas's focus. Ferg was nowhere to be found and the smoke was undeniable. "Ferg!" Quickly, he shot at the water staff fish, scoring a hit at the man's thigh and causing him to screech in pain. Sebas began to retract it while whipping to aim at the one transforming. The dark staff fish was now huge, with spikes protruding all over his body across all of his body except his midsection. When Sebas fired the second harpoon, it bounced harmlessly off the big fish's scales.

The big fish's spikes began to glow and detach from his body. With a dim glow, they turned into a ravenous group of Viperfish, which all charged at him. "Shit!" With his other spear finally retracted, he held the water staff fish in front of him as a meat shield. The viperfish weren't discriminating. They tore into the water staff fish, leaving him screaming in pain and flailing as he was being eaten alive. The water staff floated off the fish's hand, which Sebas grabbed and moved towards Ferg before one of them got a taste of HIM........well, moved towards the tunnel Ferg was thrown back into. However, his vision was obscured by smoke.

"Ferg?! Ya'd better be kickin, Ferg!!" Sebas yelled, realizing that either Ferg didn't speak at all since she was thrown in the tunnel or he was just too tied up and focused to hear her. If Ferg was being eaten alive by Viperfish, it would be a severe black mark on him as her mission partner. Plus, while he could take them out as they were before, now he had to deal with the Viperfish summoner and the remaining 2 spearmen. He didn't know if he could do something like that alone.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Sebas would be hearing nothing from Fergie. Her mouth was too preoccupied tearing into the gills of a summoned viperfish to speak, as he would see when she pushed out of the smoke with the thing thrashing and flailing between her maw. The other fish were giving her the same treatment, latching to her suit like finned leeches as their pointed teeth ripped into skin. They were swatted and kicked off with a vehemence that would have been accompanied by much hissing and swearing had she not been in the process of crunching a viperfish's throat. Others emerged from the smoke, drawn to the scent of her blood, but deterred by the display of violence she was giving. It wasn't out of fear-- a frenzied fish had little concern for its own well-being-- rather, deciding which lashing limb to latch onto required tactical thought that their watery minds weren't capable of, magical origins or none.

They lost their opportunity when the spell ran out; the viperfish disappeared in puffs of purple smoke, all save for the one crushed in her jaw. She spat it out in distaste, and promptly put on her mask. "Sebas!" Bubbles rose from the sides of her face as she resumed her breathing. She pointed at the staff in his hands. "Can ye use that thing?" Fergie was bleeding bad, but she didn't care. There wasn't time to inject a healing potion, and the remaining pair of spearmen were coming their way fast. There wasn't time to test Sebas's Water magic aptitude, either. He still had his harpoon gun, while she was unarmed. Trusting he'd make good use of it, a frenzy of its own sort took over as she surged towards the nearest fishman. A spearhead nearly plunged into her, but she slipped easily out of its path, continuing her charge forward until her hands met their mark. Nails ripped into his exposed gills without mercy, blood erupting from the long tears they made. Agonized screams made her clawing all the more relentless, until a hand grabbed her by the scruff of her suit and threw her off.

But instead of flailing about uselessly, she used the speed boost the make a beeline for her lost harpoon gun. The first spear was still lodged in the dead fishman, having sunk to the bottom of the cave, but the second was still locked and loaded. She clung to it and flipped around, just in time for the injured fishman to get a face-full of harpoon barb. Only he wouldn't, his lithe body dodging the shot in the same way Fergie had dodged his spear. There was no dodging it again here. "Shit--" With both of the barbs compromised, her only choice was to use the gun as a shield. She rose it just in time to make contact with the spearhead; a crack resounded against the walls of the cave. Its shattered remains began to sink much like her heart. But the gun wasn't the only thing to have taken critical damage; they both hovered there at the sight of split metal and the snapped spearhead, Fergie blinking, the fishman unblinking but still with a look of shock on his face.

Fergie made to take advantage of his hesitation, but he knew what to expect this time. Sharp teeth clamped onto her arm before she could make another go at his gills. She couldn't bite back a screech of pain as he ripped into muscle, but she could fight the initial reaction to yank away. Instead, now with the perfect opportunity, she raked the claws of her free hand over his eyes. He'd be screeching more than her, all the while retreating and shielding his bleeding face with webbed hands. She wasn't done with him yet; looking back at the remains of their weapons, she retrieved a length of chain that connected to the harpoon that had missed, wincing at the pain in her arm as she hauled the chain until she could grasp the barb itself. It glowed a vivid green in her hand.

"You'll pay for what you've done to us!" the fishman spat at the water, unseeing and unknowing of her whereabouts even as she swam up to him.

"Nah. I'm broke." A hard thrust into his temple, and the fight was over.

The fight with that fishman was, at least. She only seemed to realize just now the monstrous viperfish-man making way for her. "Holy fuck!" She wasn't crazy enough to take THAT head-on; ripping the barb out of the fishman's head and tightening her grip, Fergie swam away to regroup with Sebas, a trail of blood and a length of chain following her.



Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Fishfolk Lair​

"You're a mad-lass, Ferg!" Sebas yelled out. However, Ferg's rage evened out the fight. Sebas couldn't have taken on all of them alone. However, he could certainly take on any one of them as an individual. "Get behind me and inject that potion!" he said, pointing his harpoon gun at the viperfish man

Sebas didn't have much aptitude for Water Magic. However, a stave amplified magic power for that element. He couldn't create a whirlpool, but he COULD manipulate the movement of the water. As the viperfish man charged, he found himself battling a strong current whipped up by Sebas, who fired his harpoon gun. The viperfish man twisted, making the harpoon bounce off his scales. Sebas wanted to use Serrate, but with only one hand available, he couldn't do so. He had to hit the midsection.

The monster's spikes detatched and then formed into a school of Viperfish, which charged. While Sebas normally would've used his Shield like he did in the tunnel, this time he was prepared.........and prepared with the staff. He created a path of air between him and the fish and as soon as they left the water, they disappeared. Since fish couldn't live without water, they dispelled when they hit air. Sebas didn't know this, thinking that it'd just stop them until they disappeared, but this also worked.

The viperfish man was also caught in the air trap. Sebas expanded the bubble path, simulating a fish being dropped out of a barrel of water, effectively making him choke. Sebas smirked. No amount of dark magic would help a fish if you removed it from what it needs to live. This would only buy them time, as when his floundering put him back in the water, he'll get back to swimming.

Sebas passed his harpoon gun to Ferg. "Get ready to take the shot. I can't shoot when controlling this staff." Controlling a current was one thing. Opening up an air bubble and sustaining it while this deep in the ocean was another thing entirely. Sebas was already starting to have labored breathing, a symptom of him running lower and lower on mana.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fergie had a good reason for waiting to take the potion. The pain from her wounds numbed her mind enough as it had, but the initial sear of a working healing potion was harder to contest. She grit her teeth after sticking in the needle, counting down the seconds until the burning in her veins subsided into relief as her wounds were closed. They still hurt like hell, especially the thrashing her arm had taken, but at least she wasn't bleeding out anymore. "Fuckin' hell, they need to put some pain-killers in these damn things."

By the time she was brought back into reality, the viperfish-man was being suspended in a bubble, and the harpoon gun being set in her hands. She didn't need further instruction. Channeling her magic into the barbs, she fired the first shot, a direct hit into his vulnerable underbelly. Blood trickled down to the bottom of the air pocket, more so when the second shot impaled deeply into his gut. "Look away," she warned Sebas, ironically unaware of how he had winced at the sight of grey matter beforehand. If that sight was unpleasant, then the sight of her retracting both spears at once and effectively disemboweling the giant fishman was twicefold that.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Fishfolk Lair​

Sebas didn't look away, as a shifting of his focus would've shifted the position of the air bubble. It didn't really matter though, since their vision was obscured immediately in a cloud of red bloody haze when Ferg retracted the harpoon. Sebas retracted the air bubble and created a current to push the fish's body to the ground as well as clear the blood and guts while pulling the dark staff to his hands.

Static came over in their ears. "Sebas? Sebas! Ferg! Somebody copy!"
"I hear you, sub. What's up?"
"I've been trying to get in contact with you for like 10 minutes!"
"We were both balls deep in fighting fish, sub. We've found the source and neutralized it."
"Shall I send the green light?"
"Go ahead."
"Sending......Come on back. Did you still need that information o-"
Sebas had already cut contact by then. That information was effectively useless now. He found the source.

"Good shit, Ferg," Sebas said. He was pretty damn exhausted from all that magic he just expended. "These staffs will be useful. Before we head back though, let's see if there's any loot here." Sebas fired his flare gun to illuminate the area and his eyes were drawn to the bottom where only a couple pieces of gold lie. Hardly worth the effort to even go get it. "Surely they didn't draw pirates down just to eat them." There wasn't a single treasure chest to be found.........at least within view. "Could it be hidden or obscured by magic?" He took back his harpoon gun while giving Ferg the Water staff, as he kept the dark staff. "Let's comb this little lair for places they may have obscured from view with magic."

If nothing was there, it is what it is, but Sebas didn't want to believe they destroyed pirate ships with no intention of getting some of the loot that may be on it

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Though the fight was over, and tensions had lowered, Fergie was silent, wide-eyed. It wasn't from shock; this skirmish paled in comparison to those past, as bloody as it had been. But her mind was racing, thoughts rushing through her head in a cloudy whirlwind. She barely reacted when the harpoon gun was taken and the Water staff set in its place, fingers wrapping around the handle instinctively as she stared off into the distant darkness.

Though she couldn't articulate his words, she knew Sebas was still talking. Pirates... loot... a bay notorious for where many of the former perished, and the latter were lost... or taken? Massive vessels sunk, but no sign of the wrecks. A cave housing a hostile fishfolk gang, but without a hoard of treasure in sight. It seemed so inconsequential, but the details kept nagging at her, as did the words of that Water mage before the fight had broke out. Something wasn't adding up.

Fergie looked down at the staff, eyeing the blue stone set in a wired frame. She couldn't deny its power, but it didn't seem to match the power of those great whirlpools she'd seen prior to the mission. And there had been multiple ones, dispersed across the span of water. How could one man wielding one staff accomplish that?

"Ah-- Crap!" She began scouring the illuminated walls, not just for a hidden compartment holding treasure but for another passageway, one that wasn't lined with summoning runes. "We only took down five of 'em! The sixth must've swam off!" Whether to retreat from his captives-turned-attackers, or to gather reinforcements was the question. And Fergie wasn't one to trust that luck would favor them in any case. "We're not safe in 'ere, Sebas! An' I'll wager the ship won't be either!" Stones tumbled down from where she disturbed a loose cluster, but there was nothing to be found behind them. "That fishman was sayin' vague shit about studyin' us. Like he wanted to make some sorta science project outta me." She grit her teeth and kicked at a rock that became the unfortunate recipient of her growing irritation, as she wasn't finding anything in the way of exits or loot. "Dammit, I'm not getting chewed up by those lil' shits again! Sebas, what are ye findin'?"

Each second that ticked by wore on her, and she was getting paranoid. She couldn't accept that it was over that quick, that the threat had been neutralized that easily. "Sub! Are ye seein' any more magic spikes?"


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

(Holy shit, I actually forgot that there were 6, not 5. Good catch)

Sebas Deadeye
Fishfolk Lair​

"Scanning.........." The sub replied back. "There's a high amount of Dark Magic in the area, as well as a slow and steady increase in Water Magic.........I'm also picking up traces of Earth Magic." With them in the sub's magic exclusion system, magic that they themselves used wasn't picked up by the Sub.

When Sebas heard that, alongside Ferg's assesment of there being 6 fishfolk instead of 5, his heart sank. Looking towards the exit........there were no exits. Not even the way they came in. Holy shit, the 6th fishman was nowhere to be found. The other 5 bodies floated lifelessly at the top of the cave.

"Sub, we've made a miscalculation. Tell Big Daddy that we're not done yet. QUICKLY, before they move!!"
"Sending urgent priority message........What's going on in there?"
"There's at least 1 more threat that I overlooked. Possibly more since it could've gotten reinforcements...........Another question."
"Ready."
"You know the tunnel we swam in? Is it still there?"
"Checking.........." a long silence. "Not a trace of it. Maybe a cave-in. I drifted up and down and not a single tunnel entrance."

But this was no cave-in. They way they came in to this lair was an obviously hand-carved tunnel. For it to not exist on EITHER their end or Sub's end meant that...........

"We've been played, Ferg," Sebas said, "The tunnel was a planned attempt to end us." From the moment they entered that tunnel, they were one step behind. They weren't getting the jump on the enemy. They were fighting up hill.


Sebas found nothing. Notthing stood out in any capacity. Where in the hell was the 6th fishman then!?

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Dark magic... that didn't make sense. The viperfish were gone, and the staff wasn't in use anymore. Why would it still be lingering in such high quantities? And if that wasn't foreboding enough, a steady increase of Water magic could only mean one thing. "They're comin'." It wasn't a question. Forgoing her attempts at finding an exit, she fortified herself, readying the Water staff in her palms. Someone with as low of mana as her wouldn't be using it for long, but if she could catch the oncoming threat before they got the jump on them, that could give them a chance to fight back.

After the realization that not even the tunnels they had come in were visible, and the subsequent conversation it brought, the presence of Dark magic was starting to make more sense. They'd swam right into a magical maze, with no guarantee of escape. "No shit, we've been played! Bloody knew it was too easy!" They were trapped, and they'd just fallen into it like clueless flies in a spiderweb. Dammit, they should have known! But... how could they have? The pieces of the puzzle had been scattered throughout the mission, up until this point. But there was no time to dwell on could'ves and would'ves. A shimmer in the corner of her eye took her attention, where water was distorting in front of the cave walls.

As soon as a hole manifested, she swung the staff and sent a wave of water rushing inside, pushing any enemies away from the exit. "Use that staff! Shoot in the current!" She'll be running out of mana quickly, and Sebas was in no better state, but she'd be damned before they didn't put up a fight, regardless of the odds.


Kylesar1