A year after their rebirth found the intrepid duo moving downstream.
In part, they were exploring, satisfying their wanderlust. Though their previous cartographic adventures combined with the [Cleric’s] information had pinpointed where they were, there was plenty to find interesting on the ground (or, well, from the river) as compared to viewing it from on high.
Besides, a few centuries had passed.
The other part was that they were both tired of eating the same thing over and over again. Cora ◐ especially.
As they moved downstream, the stream grew steadily larger, joining with others, until it was a small river. By that point, they had left the heavily forested areas, and were largely moving across plains, with copses of trees dotted about. The occasional village was also to be found, with a few small canoes or other boats, mostly for fishing.
It wasn’t until the small river became a bit heftier that the first substantial town was passed, with a handful of docks filled with merchant ships goods along the aquatic way.
The towns soon came often enough though. And as the river became larger and the habitations of the sapient Races grew larger and larger, the sights grew less notable. They were [Otters], and for all that their previous lives as members of the sapient Races shaped their experiences in bestial forms, they would not have been welcome in civilization except as a pet or—worse—a coat.
Finally, they reached the rocky coast as the river dumped into the Slane Sea and the massive city that hugged both sides of the river there. While the Slane Sea itself was relatively calm, the natural harbor here had been enhanced over centuries, millennia perhaps.
Just past the mouth of the harbor, perhaps a kilometer out to see, a sharp spire of rock rose out of the increasing waves. Perhaps a hundred meters tall, the pair stopped at it to rest for the night, climbing to the top. Affixed atop the landmark, stood a roughly hewn statue of a great [Naga]: Alldir, God of Adventurers and Perilous Travel.
Perilous Travel indeed. In this expression, Alldir was coiled with a fierce trident in hand, a defiant gaze upon his face as he dared the monsters of the deeps to seize those that sought safe travel upon the surfaces.
As they laid down to rest that night, Dips ◮ dreamt of memories almost two millennia old.
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Arial ◮ held on fiercely as another wave crested over Myr ◐’s side. Though being both a [Sylphan Hamadryad] and a [Treant Rider] meant it was almost impossible to fall off, some parts of her really, really didn’t want to test that theory. Or how she would fare within the ocean itself.
They were two weeks away from The Ayres. After gaining the pertinent perks, Myr had just laid down in the water, buoyant, and like a common barge—or rather, a large log—invited Arial to ride atop him. Jetting off, though with poor hydrodynamic shape, the two began the slow chug across the ocean to Slanemore.
Neither had any experience with the ocean or navigation at sea. Their progress was slow. Their direction uncertain and somewhat variable. And then as the ocean floor dove deeper and deeper until it was far out of the range of their perception, the common waves grew higher and higher: five meter waves all day were not rare.
And yet they persevered. They had little of the failings of more fleshy creatures and so could afford less than optimal speed. And whereas such a long journey in the wilderness of the continents would have triggered many challenges from the wild beasts there, none had yet to come.
Suddenly then, a great storm sprung upon them, unnaturally. They had not seen it form in the distance or approach. Rather, in less than an hour, the storm had formed directly on top of them.
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Visibility fell to nothing.
The waves grew and battered them.
The only good news was that falling fresh water drenched them and, unlike a boat, they could not be sunk.
Well, Myr couldn’t. Arial wasn’t keen to test it.
For three hours the storm had already persisted, with no end in sight.
Finally then, a great rumble arose from the ocean beneath them, like a landslide on a distant mountain. The water began to move in strange currents, and rogue waves suddenly crashed into them from an altogether opposite direction.
Lightning flashed and illuminated a great hill upon the sea at the stern, past Myr’s legs.
Visibility was poor.
Another flash and the hill grew greater still.
Though they had seldom spoken as their bond as [Treant] and [Dryad] deepened, they spoke now, expressing their confusion, worries, and fears.
A third flash, and a great semicircle nearly a hundred meters across was nearly upon them. The light reflected off the grey, rubbery mass of flesh, the black, flat eyes, and the pearly whites of hundreds of teeth taller than a full-grown [Elf]. The localized ocean rushed into the gaping maw and darkness of the storm was replaced by the blackness of a gullet.
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Dips ◮ startled awake, reliving his last moments as Arial. His motions stirred Cora ◐, who sent a nonverbal query over [Speak with Elves]. He replied with a few visual snippets of the dream, Cora shuddering briefly, before pulling him back in for warmth and cuddles.
Some things were best left in the past. Or, even better, a past life.
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The next morning, Cora ◐ was exploring the wonders of saltwater bivalves and minor crustaceans. She’d had fresh seafood before, but it was quite the whole other experience to dive down, review a selection, and promptly dig into a meal.
She was playing with her food—fencing off with a crab using a stick she’d found—when Dips ◮ showed up.
“I got my notification to Class,” he spoke aloud.
“[Aquatic Guardian]. (Very Rare).”
“I’m going to take it.”
Cora raised an [Otter] eyebrow at that. A few awkward moments passed.
“I want to kill whatever that monster was. The one that killed Myr and Arial.”
“Really?” Cora finally spoke. “You do know that when we left The Ayres, we were going in the wrong damn direction? That we had set off across the freaking oceans and were more likely to end up at Eurial or one of the islands rather than land on Slanemore like we had been planning. And that safe naval passage between Slanemore and The Ayres has occurred for millennia?”
“I know, I know alright. We’d be better protecting ships in the Breirial Straits. It actually gets deep enough there to attack some serious monsters. But… you’ve made the point before right? We can live however we want. And I want to … protect? Guard? Even if that one monster died millennia ago, we saw when we mapped Ager those terrible things in the far oceans, away from any land. I don’t know if at our strongest we could ever have killed one. But I want to try. That’s what I want this life to be. That is my choice.”
Cora rolled onto her feet, and tottered over to Dips, still standing proud at his speech. She hugged him.
“Alright,” she spoke softly. “Let’s do that. I’ll support you. Let’s go woo some sailors and scare some monsters.”
Relief spread across Dips’ face. “Good. Now, what do you think would be a complementary Class for you? Obviously I’m thinking something ocean-based. Or with a strong anti-sealife capability. Something [Mage]-adjacent obviously.”
“[Gourmand].”
“[Gourmand]?? That’s not a combat Class. Err… is it?”
“No, it’s not. And, no, it’s not complementary. But, I passed on it many lifetimes ago. And, well, I may have already had my Class selection this morning.”
“Bloody hell!” Dips exclaimed, as he turned to march away. “Well that makes this thrice as difficult. Maybe you can just eat it!” he huffed.
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