Ocean Dungeon

Second Floor

Owin emerged in a dense forest of seaweed. For a moment, he forgot he was even under the water. The seaweed was thin at the bottom and blossomed to thicker and thicker yellow-green leaves nearer the top. The surface of the ocean looked close like they hadn’t actually gone any deeper despite having gone down a set of stairs.

Other plants and stones covered every bit of the ground, making walking more difficult than it had been on the first floor. Sun beams passed through small openings in the seaweed like little spotlights throughout the forest.

“Now, this is where I have no idea about the mobs,” Ernie said.

Without the shimmering boundary wall to his left, Owin would have no idea where to even start heading. The boundary wall extended around the stairs and off to the side. They could probably try to follow the boundary wall, but Ernie didn’t seem to like the idea.

“There’s a girhuma village somewhere nearby. Our best option is to pass through. The area outside the village has a few crab mobs that can be tough to fight.” Ernie’s index was in front of his eyes.

Owin opened his own, changing to the map tab. It didn’t help. It looked like a forest.

“What about the Baby Head?” Katalin asked.

Ernie set off into the forest with his index still open. “I think Owin can handle Baby Head. It’s difficult to avoid it.”

“Hold on,” Owin said. He grabbed onto the tall pieces of seaweed to propel himself. “Baby Head?”

Ernie’s index finally dropped. “It’s not the mob’s official name. I don’t remember what it is. It’s the chest guardian on this floor. It’s directly beside the stairs, so the guardian usually tries to attack.”

“It’s a horror,” Katalin said. She picked a few leaves off the seaweed and stuffed them into her pockets. “Have you heard of the prazene?”

“No.”

“Ernie, are there any prazene in the Great Forest?”

Ernie opened his map again and turned around a clump of seaweed. “Probably. Not that I've seen.”

“Last time we were here, the hero with us almost screamed upon seeing Baby Head.” Katalin chuckled. “He acted so tough until Baby Head crawled at him.”

Owin couldn’t imagine what a creature called Baby Head would even look like. All three of them pulled themselves, using the seaweed to move, rather than walk over the rough, uneven ground.

“Is Baby Head scarier than a lich?” Owin asked.

“No. I assume not. I’ve never seen a lich.” Ernie looked back. “Have you?”

Owin nodded. “Two of them.”

“With Artivan?”

Owin nodded again.

“Wow. You beat them?”

“Yes.” Owin rubbed his fingertips over his burned face. “That’s what these scars are from. A lich’s gray mist, whatever it’s called.”

“Respect,” Katalin said.

Colorful fish darted through the seaweed, disappearing just as fast as they had appeared. Ernie checked his map again, turning them slightly. Before long, the seaweed thinned out, revealing the small village. Six little hovels made of stone formed an oval. The seaweed was dense in every direction surrounding the village, with only a few tall pieces in the center. A girhuma that looked similar to Amkati leaned against the wall of the farthest hovel with a glowing light above his head.

“That’s a quest,” Owin said.

“Right. We don’t have time for it,” Ernie said.

“What is the quest?”

“Not a single idea.” Ernie pointed past the far girhuma. “If we go straight in that direction, we should hit the stairs or the far boundary within twenty or thirty minutes. It’ll be easy to get to the stairs from the boundary.”

Owin looked around the village. He spotted some other girhuma through the windows of the hovel and one deeper into the seaweed off to the side, picking some type of stringy plant from the ground.

“Are there any mobs to fight on this floor?” Owin asked.

“Other than Baby Head?” Katalin asked, mostly sarcastic. She made a weird shape with her hands. “There are these crabs.” She wobbled her hands, using her fingers to imitate the legs. “Might be good for your hammer if you can manage to swing it fast enough in the water.”

“Everything wanders on this floor, so there is a chance we don’t run into any mobs,” Ernie said. “Third and fourth floor are where you’ll really be working.”

“So, I’m not working right now?”

Ernie and Katalin both stopped. Owin was getting used to people looking at him like he was an idiot. Ernie’s face contorted in thought.

Katalin raised her eyebrows. “You’re still working. It was a saying. Or . . . something. You can’t really be doing anything but working while we’re inside the dungeon.”

“I was confused,” Owin said.

“Yeah.” Ernie started into the village. “Let’s just keep moving.”

“Can I see what the quest is? I don’t have to actually complete it to move on, right?” Owin asked. He planned to go back through the dungeon at some point, so any knowledge he could gain now would be something he didn’t need to learn the next time around.

Most career heroes seemed to have gone through the first few floors so many times they had just about everything memorized. It seemed like Artivan knew where every blade of grass was in the Great Forest.

When Owin was ready to get his first Shard, he wanted to stride confidently into the Ocean Dungeon, knowing exactly where to find Amkati, how to handle Baby Head, and any other hints he could learn. He still continued thinking about the snail they had skipped on the first floor.

“Fine, but do it quickly.”

Owin moved as fast as he could toward the village. No matter how fast he tried to move, it still felt sluggish. Walking through water would always feel unnatural. If he thought too much about how deep underwater he was, Owin figured he would have a full panic attack. It was better not to think about it, and to just accept the Ocean Dungeon as the weird place it was.

The first hovel at the edge of the village was slightly smaller than the rest. Weighted strings hung in the doorway, rather than a door, which Owin imagined would be difficult to use under water.

“What are you doing?”

Owin stopped mid step and slowly looked to his right. A girhuma leaned on an open windowsill. Their smile was uncomfortably wide as they watched Owin.

“Walking?”

“Why?”

Owin checked for Ernie and Katalin. They had taken a wider path, circling the outside of the village. He barely spotted them as they moved through the dense seaweed.

“To get to the other side.”

The girhuma tapped its fingers on the windowsill. “Are you a cetanthro?”

“I have no idea what that is.”

Its massive eyes suddenly narrowed. “Liar.”

Owin took a step away without breaking eye contact. If Amkati was strong, the girhuma of the second floor had to be stronger. Fighting a whole village wasn’t going to accomplish anything. Nothing great, at least. Ernie would complain and Katalin would probably have some sort of comment to make.

The girhuma burst out of the string-covered door, sending a stream of bubbles toward the surface. It pointed a stubby finger at Owin. “I found the cetanthro trying to spy on us!”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Ocean Mob

Girhuma Hunter

Level 8

Owin tilted his head. Only level 8?

The girhuma reached back into the hovel and grabbed a bow and quiver. It nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring back.

Owin stared straight at the mob. How would an arrow possibly work underwater? Perhaps if they were significantly stronger, they could shoot it fast enough to do some damage. But at level 8?

The arrowhead floated slightly off the girhuma’s finger.

Owin stuck out his arms. “Stop me from spying.”

A grin spread over the girhuma’s wide face before it finally let the arrow fly . . . a few inches. The water quickly grabbed the arrow, causing it to float harmlessly in the water.

“A fish witch!”

Owin walked forward, looked up at the girhuma, and stabbed it in the heart with his stone knife. Blood spilled into the water as the girhuma immediately dropped to its knees, gasping in air through its gills.

“Okay,” Owin said. He pushed the dead mob aside and walked into its house. It was decorated with a wooden table, chair, and a knit rug that all somehow stayed on the ground without any disturbance from the water. There was little else in the hovel. Owin opened a few boxes and drawers that all managed to be empty.

“What was that about?” He walked around the floating cloud of blood that hovered in the water. One final look at the dead girhuma did nothing to answer the question. It had been a sudden and very confusing accusation.

“What did you do?” Ernie asked, shouting from outside the village.

Owin crouched slightly to look at Ernie underneath the hazy blood. “He called me a cetanthro and attacked me.”

Katalin chuckled as she led the way over, pressing herself against the next hovel to avoid the spreading blood. “Did the bastard try to shoot an arrow?”

“It didn’t work. What’s a cetanthro?” Owin asked.

Ernie crouched beside the body and shook it. Nothing fell out. “A fish person. More fishy than this. They’re the sworn enemies of the girhuma.”

“You look more like a water elf than a fish man,” Katalin said. She poked the tip of Owin’s ear. “Cetanthro don’t have ears or hair.”

“He called me a spy.” Owin shrugged. He adjusted the Thunderstrike Maul and took off toward the quest. Ernie and Katalin fell in behind him, apparently not too bothered about the dead mob. Owin had expected a lecture, or something more.

Owin focused on the glowing sphere above the far girhuma. As he neared, he used Examine and was immediately greeted by the huge, bold words.

New Quest

Imposter of the Sea

Reward: A deal from Arimeda

Note: Check the Journal for more information

“What’s the quest?” Katalin asked.

Owin opened his index and opened the Quest tab. He read it over twice. “It says there is an imposter inside the village and the girhuma are in danger.”

“It’s true,” the quest giving girhuma suddenly said. It moved as if it had suddenly come alive. “Something has been haunting us!”

“Haunting? That’s a specter thing, not a cetanthro,” Ernie said.

“It’s a fish! I know it!”

“It might just be racist, actually,” Katalin said.

The water elf shook its head. “It’s an algae sucker. I know it!”

“Whoa,” Katalin said. “Looks like I was right.”

Owin walked past the girhuma, apparently short enough that it didn’t even notice. The commotion had brought the other girhuma within the village to their windows. There had been at least one outside the village that Owin had seen on his way in, but from the look of it, that had been a perfectly normal girhuma.

Overall, the quest seemed a lot easier than the Great Forest’s on the second floor. Resurrecting the Malignant Spirit, even partially, was far more dangerous than a fish person hiding in a village of water elves. Unless the cetanthro were actually from the Abyss . . .

“Are cetanthro demons?” Owin asked.

“Yes!” screamed the girhuma.

“No,” Ernie said. “Literally just fish people mobs.”

Owin made eye contact with a girhuma in the window directly beside him. Owin scowled. Between Naxile, the satyrs, and the actual demon, the Great Forest’s second floor was incredibly dangerous and terrifying.

Was the Ocean just a joke? Was the Great Forest actually more difficult despite what Owin kept hearing?

“What are you doing?” Owin asked.

The “girhuma” in the window was obviously wearing a mask that was meant to look like a water elf. It had hair made of seaweed and pointed ears made from rocks. The eyes didn’t line up correctly at all, showing the creature’s real fish eyes through the side of the mask near the ears. The mask’s fake eyes were dull and lifeless. And smeared.

“My job,” the imposter said.

“He’s right here,” Owin said, pointing.

“What?” The water elf spun around fast enough to throw a small current at Ernie. The alchemist didn’t move at all. He looked utterly bored.

Before Owin could react, the imposter dove away, dashing through the hovel and out the opposite window. Owin dropped his hammer and grabbed the windowsill. He pulled himself up, pushed off with his feet, accidentally breaking part of the windowsill off. Water rushed past as he flew through the hovel and out the opposite window.

“I thought you were just checking the quest!” Ernie’s voice was faint through the water.

“I didn’t think the imposter would be right next to me!” Owin was certain his voice didn’t carry. It didn’t matter. The alchemists weren’t going to go anywhere without him.

Weighted strings in the door of the next hovel wobbled. Owin dove right through, drawing both knives.

A normal girhuma sat at a table in the center of the room. It sipped from a mug, which struck Owin as odd. How did liquid stay in the mug? Was there anything other than sea water in the mug?

“You’re trespassing,” the girhuma said.

“Yeah. Where’s the imposter?”

The girhuma raised what passed as its eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It sipped from the mug.

“Owin, let’s go,” Ernie said.

“You find the imposter?” Katalin asked. She somewhat roughly shoved Owin aside as she stepped into the hovel. “That looks like a normal water elf.”

“I am.” It sipped from the mug again.

“Wait, Ernie, you need to see this.”

Owin walked in, searching behind a bookshelf, which was empty. There wasn’t even a single book, which probably made sense underwater. But why would the girhuma have a bookshelf if it didn’t own any books?

“What am I looking at?” Ernie entered the hovel as little as possible to see the girhuma sitting at the table. “Why does it have a mug?”

“Exactly! Hilarious!” Katalin slapped the bookshelf in her laughing fit.

Owin took the opportunity to continue searching, rounding the back end of the hovel. He gave Katalin one quick glance. Her smile was huge as she laughed, which was a new sight to Owin.

“I now have three trespassers. Am I expected to just let any algae eating scum in off the road?” the girhuma asked.

“What road do you think we came from? Tell me where there is a single damn road in this dungeon,” Ernie said.

Katalin laughed again. She slapped Ernie’s shoulder, which earned her a sharp grunt. “There is a road through the wreckage,” she said, fighting the laughter.

“I would hardly consider that a road,” Ernie said.

The girhuma loudly sipped its mug, which earned a bigger fit of laughter. Ernie awkwardly jogged away from Katalin, causing her to slap the bookshelf again instead.

“Can we get moving?” Ernie asked.

“I was just going to check the quest, but the imposter was right there.” Owin lifted a bag, which kept going up when he let it go, only stopping when it bumped into the ceiling. “He was right here. I didn’t see him leave this hovel.”

“Nothing here,” the girhuma said.

“I do have to say this is the most suspicious shit I’ve ever seen.” Ernie bent down, checking under the table. “Looks normal over here.”

“Wait,” Katalin said. She walked up and loudly slapped the table. “Is that a fucking fireplace?”

“Have neither of you been inside the houses before?” Owin asked as he picked up a few more bags.

“No reason to. The only helpful thing on this floor are crab shells and horror blood from Baby Head, neither of which are in the village. Althowin liked to tell us how to avoid wasting time.” Ernie gestured to the girhuma. “Like with quests.”

“Wait.” Owin jumped onto the table, accidentally cracking a ceramic plate. “Is there anything in the fireplace?”

Katalin covered her stomach with her hand. “There’s a chunk of seaweed stem.” She broke into another fit.

“Oh.” Ernie knocked on a box. “This is hollow.” A whole stack of boxes covered the area beside the fireplace. Ernie ran his finger along the ground, over a small line. “There’s a hatch here. I think you might be right, Owin. The imposter slipped under here.”

There had been many times that Owin was thankful for his Goblin Cunning racial feature. Heightened agility was helpful when moving around, even if his balance wasn’t always great. What was even more helpful was the reaction time that came with it.

The girhuma sitting at the table had a knife in his hand, stabbing at Owin. He only saw the glint of the knife out of the corner of his eye.

Owin’s foot shot up, catching the water elf in the jaw. His head snapped back with an audible crack.

0 Experience

“Oh, what the fuck!” Katalin burst out in laughter even louder. “You broke his neck!”

“What level was he?” Owin hopped off the table. It was a little horrifying to see a mob die so horribly, so quickly. He knew he was strong, but that was a little too easy of a kill. The other girhuma had only been level 8, which still felt too low compared to the Great Forest.

Ernie mixed up each box and tossed them to the side, letting them slowly drift to the ground. It only took a moment to reveal the hidden hatch. “Could the imposter have gotten in here, moved the boxes, and gotten down here that quickly?”

“I don’t think so.” Owin pulled the hatch open. A long ladder led below, disappearing into a dark pit that reminded him of the black doorways between floors. “I wonder if this is the secret for the second floor.”

“Do secrets usually hide the quest objective?” Ernie peered inside. “Looks deep.”

“Not that I’ve seen. The first secret I went into was a labyrinth that had my hammer.” Owin stopped and tried to look out a window. “The mobs won’t steal my hammer, right?”

“Not if they see what happens when you kick one of them!”

“Ignore her.” Ernie smiled softly. “I haven’t actually seen her like this in a while. What about the other secrets?”

“The fourth floor was the castle, and that had a weird bone in it, but nothing to do with the quest. We had already finished the quest by then.”

As far as Owin knew, there hadn’t been a quest on the first floor, and the second floor’s quest obviously hadn’t brought him near the secret or he may have actually found it.

“What do you think, Kat?”

Katalin took a deep breath and calmed herself, if only slightly. “What’s the question?”

“Do we have time to jump down?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’ll do whatever. What’s the worst Althowin could do? Flay us and use our skin as a rug?”

“Well.” Ernie nodded vigorously. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “Go get your hammer. I want to see what other bullshit is down there. I’m having fun.”