They had yet to step through the doorway in the bare wall, the ceiling lights had shown row after row of cells and walkways but there had been no klaxons or warnings of the code zeta being enabled.
The initial round of screams from unknown voices hadn’t sounded out again. Perhaps it was only a joke on the part of the Ocean Gods or part of the scenario designed to unsettle those weak of mind and heart.
That Golden dust from Oannes.
A blessing from an Ocean God?
Carissa had watched as any traces of damage, even blood, flesh or specks or dust had simply faded away from her entire body as the dust had settled and simply sunk into both her suit and bare skin.
Matthias had been the same and she had asked him a few personal questions as he had with her to make sure that neither of them had been possessed. The fact that the deity called Oannes hadn’t appeared directly in front of them, even as an avatar gave Carissa the idea that perhaps he was either weaker than the other gods or restrained in some way.
She had no clue what old friends he was talking about or even a submarine construct but given the attempted indoctrination inside the Deep Temple there was going to be the same basic theme about the evils and dangers of technology or scientific progress gone wrong.
‘Matthias, your first near-death inside the dungeon. You told me it was an... acid troll. Right or wrong?’ said Carissa as she watched for the reaction from Matthias.
He gave her a thumbs down as he had sat cross-legged on the floor with hands on his knees his eyes closed and a straight back as he took in several breaths. She was sitting a way away on the other side of the small research room with her legs in a similar position but with a clear view of him as he had of her.
Matthias had shown no reaction to the golden dust but Carissa had learnt that nothing was free inside this game. Still, they were choosing to show a degree of caution in case the Ocean God decided to return.
The motives of the deity were hard to discern exactly but all she knew was that he wanted her to move forward, become stronger and eventually kill the other gods. Perhaps if she had tried to contact the other gods, despite not knowing their names, they would ask her to kill Oannes in turn.
All that mattered in the immediate situation was that that they were both fully prepared to enter the main part of this scenario in the Deep-Water Purification Facility.
Matthias opened his eyes, stretched his arms and stood up as he rolled his shoulders and his neck to loosen up. His eyes did a quick scan off the room as he turned his attention and pointed towards the doorway which had opened towards the larger parts of the scientific facility.
‘Carissa, this dungeon offers more opportunity and danger than either of us realise. I would suggest we disguise ourselves. Clearly you are the favoured one of one of the Ocean Gods. As you are the leader of our newly established player group you have the right to keep secrets and your powers hidden from me but I would like to ask, leader, if you have gained a unique class?’ said Matthias as he was poking at one of the folded laboratory coats encased in plastic.
He had become more submissive towards her, willing to follow her lead and instructions more than before. Either as an effect of the group forming mechanism, his decision or her own presence.
‘Good. I’m sure that you feel as refreshed as I am but I don’t know if the effects are going to be temporary or lasting. The fact that neither of us feel a sudden boost or a sense of well-being is a positive result. He didn’t directly give us a treatment which affected our dopamine receptors. I feel refreshed but more of a reduction in fatigue and a sense that killing that scientist when he had transformed was an old memory. At the least we don’t have to worry about going mad and killing each other yet.’ said Carissa with a smile on her face.
Matthias had remained in his cross-legged position and flipped his thumb to the side showing her that he had simply listened but had no opinion about her words.
‘Good enough. You should keep your own weapon handy. I’ll keep my own reduced sufficiently. When ready, we need to move on.’ said Carissa.
The pair of them remained inside the entrance to the newly opened space inside the basic research laboratory. Any rubbish on the floor they had pushed to one corner or inside one of the empty cupboards, including the soaked lab coats and emptied plastic bottles of water.
The rest of their items had been tidied away and put into their respective personal storage bags.
Carissa had been able to gain further control over her weapon and it compacted itself through her will into the size and shape of a small cudgel as well as form a small loop of bone which hung loosely from her hand.
‘I need more time to check my own body Matthias. Tell me immediately if you feel any side effects from that golden dust. I don’t trust any of these Ocean Gods, not even one who appears to favour me. I want to make sure he didn’t just poison us and then watch her die as we can’t breathe the air once we step into this new room. And no, I don’t have a class. I was never given one by the Ocean Gateway System, just a whole load of angry messages, restrictions and limits. Imagine if your dominant arm for wielding your sword had tendons and muscles disabled so you could no longer even hold a sword? No, I’m the leader of our group and while I appreciate your trust, we need to play this carefully. Give it a few minutes and then we can head through to the next stage. We need to know what this Code Zeta stands for. A biological contaminant escaped? Test subject out of control? You remember that scientist and what he became. In your words, we need to beware dungeon monsters. Caution is our friend here for now.’ said Carissa.
Likely, it already had and they would need to experience directly. Given the nature of this place, the transformation the scientist called Huang had undergone and how she had killed him along with the detailed description of mad science and military control gone bad there would be worse to deal with.
One step at a time Carissa. Why did Oannes appear with a Goldfish mask, and a cheap one at that?
The Ocean God had appeared to be prop or a dressed-up character from a low-budget film. Carissa hadn’t had the opportunity to see many during growing up with her parents being mostly on the oceans of her home world but she had caught snatched of them.
One of their colleagues, whom she had called Auntie had a fondness for that style of old film and had shared a few films with Carissa when she had been eleven. In her eyes they were ridiculous plots about random sea creatures wanting to take over the cities by flooding them and turning the human race into slaves.
Given the context of this new reality, it hadn’t been such a funny or silly idea after all. Still, the idea of an army of cheap Goldfish Masked creatures in cheap costumes wouldn’t surprise her.
Turning her attention to her own body she experienced a tingle, her body and mind felt clearer and whatever the grey liquid had done to her body the after effect of the spinning fake Goldfish Head Mask and the golden dust had done wonders for her.
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In short, she was as refreshed as though she had taken a few days to sleep, gently exercise and recover her body. It didn’t ‘mean though that any of her genetic enhancements or the technological mount inside her were suddenly active one more.
‘Carissa? We need to move. Dungeons offer reward but also danger, not all the Drowned Ones will look kindly on us trying to stay inside one of their safe zones. But you are the leader and I will listen to your orders.’ said Matthias.
He had opened one of the plastic packets and was clearly examining it as a system message had taken his attention.
Through his short bout of training with Carissa, he was better able to physically move and take in the information provided by the Ocean Gateway System than stare blankly and remain still. His body remained wet though from the experience but granted that his grey suit covered most of his body except for his head he ignored it as it dried.
‘What? Camouflage? No, a disguise of sorts and a blessing for us. Temporary access granted? Interesting, we can use these like a limited item. Lady Carissa, these appear as most useful instruments. Tools I mean. Would you let me share with you the description I have received? As the leader of our group, you have a greater degree of control over how we can communicate than I. I believe you have something called administrator privilege. A common factor for all groups, but you remain to bear a heavy responsibility for both of our lives. I believe that we should remain armed at all times. Why, we could even fit our own weapons underneath these coats an-’ said Matthias before a hand gesture from Carissa cut him off with her own thumb raised sideways.
They’d need to work on their non-verbal communication abilities. From her own experience diving beneath the waves, Carissa had her own understanding of hand gestures used by divers.
Perhaps she’d give him a quick rundown later, being able to communicate when they couldn’t talk would come in handy. Although anyone sufficiently trained would be able to pick up hand signals, given the fact that most of the other player-candidates or other humans all had a connection to the oceans of their own respective worlds it would be more than likely they would have their own.
Another issue for another time.
‘Share it with me Matthias. Remember the name of our group is Thalassophobia. The Oceans will learn to fear us in turn. Or at least the Dish Water Gods will. Heh. I get the feeling that our own benefactor with the golden dust has blocked their messages for a time. I won’t be missing them. Even if they are watching us there must be hundreds of other player-candidates as least to garner their attention. Matthias? You can share the description with me. I’m prepared.’ said Carissa.
Nodding to show his agreement, Matthias held up one of the plastic wrapped items of clothing to reveal a long pristine white coat with several pockets. A standard lab coat with one key difference, on the front of it was a printed-on badge with the letters DWPF and the image of a crossed helix with a pair of guns above it.
A watery message appeared in her mind’s eye as Carissa took in the item description of the clothing from the Ocean Gateway System.
[Player-Candidate Group Designate: Thalassophobia.
Intermediate Level Reward:
This outfit provides little physical security in the Deep-Water Purification Facility but those staff, prisoners and test subjects who are not directly hostile to you will identify you as a Level 2 Research Scientist.
-Additional Benefits: Security Avoidance x3.
-When wearing the coat, as long as it maintains 80% of physical integrity you can avoid direct security checkpoints or random security checks from both civilian and military staff.
-Warning: When all usages are finished, you will be identified as an intruder unless you are in possession of a valid security pass.
-Warning: This item only offers access to Level 2 facilities, including prison cells, recycling, research rooms, body and waste disposal zones, animal testing, recreation and rest quarters and general staff sleep quarters. All military controlled facilities are inaccessible with this item of clothing.
-Warning: This item cannot be removed from this testing scenario.]
Carissa smiled. She’d get to play a little role-play as a scientist once more, although it had been a long time since she had played nicely with others.
Still, she’d enjoy pretending and she knew enough to pass herself off as one while collecting clues, information and equipment needed to fulfil their mission inside this place. Life was simpler than when she could control her experiments on both herself and cloned flesh in her home of Last Refuge.
She should have rigged the whole building to implode and fall into the oceans edge, except for the fact that Liam would have searched her final home thoroughly for any trace of her.
He might even have discovered the finances that had purchased it and moved in himself, a museum to the woman he once loved and tricked for the sake of money and fame for both of them.
‘Carissa, I believe this item can be useful but I need to expressly tell you that you cannot trust items that come from a dungeon. A gift isn’t a gift when it’s poison.’ said Matthias as he began to put on the coat as Carissa reread over the Ocean Gateway description to make sure that there were no hidden tricks.
They still had yet to inspect the vial and the binder which the Ocean God Oannes had expressly told them to view as vital clues for passing this stage.
When Matthias had finished wearing the scientific coat additional material flowed down and covered his arms, legs, feet and neck.
All traces of the grey suit were replaced with a standard blue shirt, trousers and plain office shoes. A pair of glasses appeared over his eyes and his hair straightened a little.
‘You look like a scientist, or at least a stereotype of one. Trust me on that, I met a lot of researchers who liked to either wear bikinis, swimming shorts or just clothing more suited for lounging around at a beach party.’ said Carissa as she experienced a genuine sensation of amusement rise inside her.
She allowed herself to smile as Matthias raised his arms and gave her a twirl. His appearance had changed sufficiently but the fact that his body was tensed up didn’t help nor did the look of suspicion on his face.
Matthias on the other hand, unless the outfit came with an audio filter or screened out his terminology and mannerisms, would stand out.
She’d need to work with him on a rough cover story but he had told her that his home world, although focusing more on magic still retained a degree of technology.
‘Matthias?’ said Carissa as she tore open the second wrapped clothing package. A quick verification which she ran through but gave her exactly the same description.
She ignored the same text and began to dress herself as it fitted and adjusted itself to her body shape and covered over the grey suit. She didn’t receive a pair of glasses though to her surprise she did receive a name badge calling her a senior researcher.
It would have been better to equip him with a military style outfit as it likely had similar effects but on security and military personnel.
‘Interesting. Not totally foolproof, but a decent start at least. I’m not sure about the bit when it talks about those who are hostile to us though. Any thoughts of your own Matthias?’ said Carissa.
His appearance and facial features were tense but to someone viewing him for the first time he appeared as a junior researcher.
‘The Ocean God called Oannes told us to examine the rewards given from your first kill.’ said Matthias as he looked at Carissa strangely, his eyes lingered on her compacted bone tooth club.
Carissa simply smiled as she opened her own storage bag and took out the and vial and black binder for both of them to examine.
The after emotion of her killing the scientist was hazy at best. An old memory which upset her mildly but didn’t make her worse.
She put the sensation aside as she accepted the item descriptions from the Ocean Gateway System.
Carissa hadn’t realised it was a personal diary and research notes. From the man she had killed. The one who had only wanted to see his family.