by C. M. Carney
You have cast the Air Magic spell Halo of Air.
As the leader of an Adventure Party you can provide Halo of Air to the those under your command for an additional mana cost of 1.25 spell cost per person.
Total Mana Cost: 144 (30 + (4 x 37.5)) (.80)
Duration: 18 minutes (5+ 1 per level of Air Magic Mastery.)
Do you wish to cast? YES?/NO?
Gryph hit YES, and he felt mana pour into the spell. A globe of solid air formed around all five of the fellowship’s heads. The mana cost had been high, but none of them would drown, at least not for the next 18 minutes.
Another, more forceful blow, hit the boat. “We need to jump from the boat in opposite directions. Then we can encircle this beast and come at it from all sides,” Myrthendir yelled.
“You want us to go into the water?” Wick exclaimed incredulously.
“He’s right. This thing will topple the boat any moment and we'll all be concentrated in one place. Easy pickings for this water devil.” Ovyrm said.
“Ahhhhggghh! I hate all of you,” Wick said and grabbed his mop of blue hair and tugged in frustration.
A moment later a large beak bit into the enchanted wood of the boat and the serrated chiton of the creature’s main mouth tore at it. Wick’s eyes went wide and then he looked at Gryph and nodded. As one the entire group jumped from the boat and swam.
Gryph dove as a tentacle snapped at him. Halo of Air had saved his bacon more than once in the Barrow, and an unpleasant flash of déjà vu punched him in the brain as he swam down. He spun, his eyes adjusting to the dark water. He could see Wick and Tifala to his left and Myrthendir to his right. Ovyrm was nowhere to be seen, but he suspected the giant sea monster was shielding the able warrior monk from his view.
The creature looked like a bus sized starfish with dozens of thin tentacles protruding from each of five short stumps connected to the beast’s body. The creature’s central core was a pentagonal shape that reminded Gryph of the natural sponges that grew on reefs in the Caribbean. Five large eyes surrounded a beak like maw and the whole body was ensconced in a giant conch shell. He used Analyze.
Denizen of the Deep Level 43 - H: 2211/S:2234/M:876/SP:0
Denizens of the Deep are among the most ancient and deadly water monsters to lie in the deep watery places of Korynn. They are believed to be remnants of ancient experiments merging spirits from the Realm of Water with native crustaceans. They grow throughout their lives and a careful observer can use the layers of growth on their main shell to determine their age. That is, of course, if one can get close enough to inspect it without getting eaten. They are simple minded omnivores prone to fits of uncontrolled rage, a product of once intelligent water spirits being bonded with animals with very low cranial capacity. Due to their ancient bond with these water elementals they can instinctively cast simple water based magical attacks.
Strengths: Unknown. Immunities: Unknown. Weaknesses: Unknown.
Great, another water death monster, Gryph thought. He sent a burst of mana into his bracers. They bore intricate scrollwork of the rare metal yellow elementum that gave Gryph a modicum of magnetic control over anything made of ferrous metal.
He gripped his spear in a light, but firm, grasp and tapped into the item’s mana reserve. He’d learned the hard way to always power up the staff’s reserves when he was not in a battle situation. Essentially it acted like a battery that allowed him to store 200 points of mana. With his native pool, the artifact’s power gave him over 500 points of spell casting or weapon powering might.
While he was dying to try out Yrriel’s Icon, he suspected that sending massive amounts of electrical energy surging through water was probably not the best option. However, the war staff’s Penetrating Damage power was a perfect option.
To his left a scorching beam of crimson light rumbled through the water and punched into the denizen where one of the thick masses of tentacles met the body. Several of the tentacles sheared off, and the beast shuddered in pained fury. Nice job Wick, Gryph thought.
Myrthendir thrust forward with his staff and a lance of blue white light shot towards the creature. It zipped through the water dragging a shining chain of icy links behind it. It impacted the denizen right below the snapping beak and sunk home. The barbs on the lance held fast and Gryph grinned as he realized what the Prince Regent had done. He harpooned the bastard.
Myrthendir pulled back hard on the chain of ice, but the beast was in its element and the elf could not get any purchase. The denizen wrapped several tentacles around the elf lord’s waist and dragged him towards its mouth. Myrthendir let one hand slip from his staff and he cast again. Damn he is strong, Gryph thought.
Magical light flowed around the elf and the lower half of his body transmogrified from legs into a mass of fin laden tentacles. The appendages gyrated and Myrthendir not only arrested his motion but managed to pull back against the denizen’s strength.
Tifala finished her intricate casting and a small fissure in reality opened between the gnome life master and the denizen. Emerald light poured from the fissure and then a mass of vines pushed their way from the slit, like a mass of green spaghetti being birthed. The vines wrapped themselves around the denizen. Not only did they tangle dozens of the beast’s tentacles, they also worked in concert with Myrthendir’s attack to partially immobilize the monster. They tugged the creature in both directions and it slowly turned its hard-shelled back to Gryph.
Gryph had no idea how they’d coordinated their attack, or if they even had, but it gave Gryph an idea. He unfurled the length of spider silk rope from his waist and cast Animate Rope. One end of the rope tied itself around his waist and the other hung like a water snake ready to strike. He tapped the stored mana and pumped it into Penetrating Strike. He then activated his bracers.
Every other time he’d used the magnetic power of his bracers it had been to add further power to a strike or to retrieve his weapon from a safe distance. This time he had a new idea. He forced a magnetic charge though the bracers and into the spear, but this time he did not let go. The spear surged forward, and it pulled Gryph along like a man on water skis. An unexpected war cry erupted from him as he surged towards the creature’s back
He aimed the adamantine tip at one of the striated lines that curved along the creature’s shell. If it was like a conch shell, he hoped that spot was thinner and weaker. He activated his Impale perk a second before impact. The spear punched through the denizen’s shell with a crunching snap and the tip broke through the shell. Gryph heaved with all his might, twisting and digging the spear deeper into the denizen’s body. Even muted by the water it sounded like a titan cracking a giant lobster shell for dinner.
The denizen bucked in shock and agony and Gryph barely held on. He ordered the rope to twine itself around the beast, wrapping around two of the tentacles and the shell. The beast whipped one of its multi-pronged arms back towards Gryph as he rode the beast like a champion rodeo rider.
Ahead Ovyrm flailed wildly, his saber spinning in arcs of calculated death. Gryph saw the fear in his friend’s eyes and suspected it was as much a fear of drowning as of the beast he faced. Despite this, the xydai’s aim was true and a dozen tentacles floated around him leaking brackish ichor into the water. The xydai slashed again, but the water slowed his movements and this time a tentacle slipped by Ovyrm’s defenses and wrapped about his ankle. Gryph saw the xydai’s eyes go wide in fear.
Then the denizen spasmed and whipped the xydai end over end at Gryph. He tried to move out of the path of the man sized missile, but moving in water was not like moving on land and Gryph’s reaction was slow and ponderous. Ovyrm smashed into Gryph’s side and the sound of several ribs cracking came to both men’s ears. Gryph felt a spike of pain and his spear slipped from his grasp. The two men flew end over end away from the denizen. Gryph’s health dipped by 5%.
Gryph grabbed onto Ovyrm’s forearm just as they reached the limit of Gryph’s rope. Their motion came to a jarring stop, and bo
th men grunted as the strain threatened to rip arms from their sockets. Ovyrm’s eyes edged on terror and Gryph knew he had to help his friend. He cast Mind Shield, a spell ironically taught to him by Ovyrm, and he saw the adjudicator’s yellow eyes calm.
Gryph tried to ask the man if he was okay, but the sound that pulsed through the Halo of Air became a jumbled mess. On a whim Gryph moved his head closer to Ovyrm’s and when the two spheres of air met, Gryph could hear the man’s ragged breathing. “Easy man,” Gryph said and reached a hand up to grip the xydai by the back of the neck. Gryph saw control and calm come to Ovyrm.
“Thank you,” he said. “What now?”
“I have a plan,” Gryph said, his lips curling into a grin.
“Why do I think I will hate your plan?”
“Because you’ve spent too much time with Wick.”
Gryph explained his idea and Ovyrm grumbled but nodded. They pulled away from each other separating their halos. Ovyrm positioned himself behind Gryph and grabbed his belt and the back of his breastplate. Gryph then ordered the rope around his waist to pull them forwards and they hurtled through the water back towards the denizen. As the water rushed by them Gryph checked on the others.
Myrthendir was a blur. His tentacle laden lower half gave him much greater maneuverability than any of his fellows. Why didn’t he make that his Boon? The tall elf still clutched his ice harpoon and zipped just out of the denizen’s reach, casting wave after wave of icy spikes. They seemed to do little or no damage to the creature, but at least they were keeping its attention.
Tifala was sending a stream of green light into her summoned vines. Each time the denizen snapped or severed a root, another burst from the throbbing mass to latch onto the beast. Gryph knew that the gnome’s mana had to be close to bottoming out and when that happened her vines would disappear. Wick’s chthonic bolts seemed much more effective. Did the creature have a weakness to chthonic magic?
We’re running out of time, Gryph thought.
They were halfway to their target when a pulse of light flashed from the denizen’s body and down all five tentacle arms. The arms began to spasm and shake and the rope Gryph had used to immobilize several of the tentacles snapped. Gryph had no time to mourn the loss as waves of high speed water pummeled into Gryph. He felt like he’d run full force into a brick wall and his health bar dipped.
Gryph saw a flash of motion in front of him and barely dodged a large chunk of the beast’s shell. Whatever magical attack it had just unleashed had dislodged part of the beast's chitinous armor damaged by Gryph's spear. The chunk of shell scraped his neck as it moved past and Gryph heard a muffled grunt of pain as it hit Ovyrm in the face. The xydai lost his grip on Gryph’s back and was flung backwards head over heels, his dead weight dragging him deeper into the black deep.
“Ovyrm,” Gryph yelled and knew even if the xydai was still conscious he could not hear him. Without hesitation Gryph ordered the remaining rope to unfurl from his waist and rush after the warrior monk. Bring him to the surface, Gryph thought at the rope, hoping the length of animated spider silk was aware enough to understand.
He watched the rope zip after the adjudicator, looking for all the world like a silver scaled water snake. Sending a silent plea to the universe to protect his friend, Gryph turned back towards the battle.
Wick and Tifala had stopped casting and clumsily swum backwards to get away from the denizen’s much more agile attacks. Myrthendir was still on the attack, but he may as well have been a swarm of gnats for all the damage he was doing. Things were not looking good.
Then they got worse.
A crimson flash pulsed into Gryph’s vision. A one-minute countdown before Halo of Air failed, and they all started drowning. Gryph tried to cast the spell again, but got a flared warning telling him he was too far from the members of the Adventure Party.
“Shit!” Gryph raged and watched as his outburst passed through the sphere of air to become useless bubbles.
The same panic seemed to grip his friends and both Wick and Tifala’s distraction allowed several of the denizen’s tentacles to wrap themselves around the two gnomes. Gryph saw their screams, made all the more eerie for not being able to hear them and then he saw rivulets of blood leak into the water.
Another tentacle arm slashed towards Myrthendir and a dozen tooth edged filaments wrapped around the Prince Regent. He drew his sword and hacked several in half before another half dozen of the appendages slithered up and around his arm. They squeezed, and the elf lost his grip on his sword, which disappeared into the dark depths.
The denizen pulled all three of his friends towards it and Gryph knew he had mere moments before one of them became fish food. He was the only one left free, and he had no rope and no weapon.
His eyes flashed to his spear, still protruding from the beast’s shell like a flag staff claiming dominion of a new continent for a great empire. Gryph grinned and pumped mana into his bracers. He reached out, felt the tug of metal from his spear and gently pulled. The pace was agonizing, but Gryph dared not put more force into the spear for fear that he’d rip his anchor free.
The denizen dragged Tifala towards the front of its body and Gryph lost sight of her. From Wick’s terrified reaction he could see everything that was about to befall her. The gnome flailed desperately and slashed the tentacle with his dagger, nicking himself as often as he cut the tentacle.
Gryph pushed more of his will into the bracers and tugged harder. He had no choice. Tifala was just about out of time. He saw the shaft of his spear shake. He was dislodging it much faster than he’d hoped.
Gryph turned his body into a missile, hoping to reduce the drag of the water. His speed increased, and he stretched his hand out grasping towards the shaft of his weapon. He felt the shaft and grabbed hard, but could not entirely arrest his motion and impacted the shell with terrific force, knocking the air from his lungs.
Gryph lost consciousness.
16
Gryph floated peacefully, detached and at ease. A part of his mind demanded his attention. It was a distant call through a haze of fog and static, and Gryph pushed it away like an overtired child ignoring a parent’s call to wake for school.
A whip like snap to his face brought him to full consciousness. The pain was severe and he opened his eyes. Another snap hit him on the cheek and he grasped up with his hand and stopped the attack. The denizen of the deep? It was not the denizen attacking him, but the other half of his own spider silk rope, still animated by the spell. He grabbed the rope, stopping it from slapping him again.
“I’m awake. I’m awake,” he grumbled and his eyes focused. His hand held the other end of his torn rope and the silver filament was arching again, like a cobra ready to strike. Reality came rushing back to him, and he realized his Halo of Air spell was down to ten-seconds and blinking furiously.
He was still on the denizen’s back, held tight by the torn length of empyrean spider silk. His brain spent a precious second thanking the oddly intelligent length of twine and then his mind rushed back to its purpose. Gryph grabbed the shaft of his spear and pulled himself up. He peered over the edge of the shell and saw Tifala being dragged closer and closer to the beast’s beak of a mouth. She was screaming in silent horror.
Gryph placed both hands firmly on the shaft of his spear and pushed with all his might. It slid deeper into the shell and Gryph could feel it scraping against the jagged edges. The denizen began to spasm and flail and it flung Tifala from its grasp. She flew head over heels past Wick and disappeared in the murk.
Gryph pushed harder and felt the tip of the spear snap through some kind of membrane deep inside the beast’s body. The creature’s flailing became much more intense as it let go of Wick and Myrthendir. Wick swam limply after Tifala and Myrthendir shook his head trying to regain focus. Gryph grinned at the small victory but it was short lived.
Desperate, the beast slammed all five of its tentacle arms back at Gryph. He avoided several blows, but others pummeled
him with incredible strength. Each blow stole nearly 10% of his health and he’d taken at least five.
Gryph pushed with the last of his strength and the spear tip punctured something dense yet squishy. He activated the spear’s new power Lightning Storm. As he felt the charge pulsing from the spear a part of his mind wondered whether sending millions of volts of electricity into a giant pool of water while he swam in it was the best of ideas. He knew the power would seek enemies and not friends, but that was on the surface where there was air. And air was not the best conductor.
