Each building in the cetanthro city was squat and square. Planks from the ship had been used to frame windows or patch holes in the bricks. No two buildings looked the same, as if each had been built in an isolated environment. Some were red brick, some were white, others were made of quarried stone, and others were made of mismatched bricks and stones. There was no pattern to the use of planks harvested from the wreck. They were stuck with mortar in some places and nailed in others.

A monstrous fish leaned on the outside of a building, right at the edge of town. Owin hardly noticed the mob in the dark shadows until it turned its head and a tiny bit of light reflected off a scale.

Ocean Mob

Itajara

Level 18

The itajara was at least the same size as Chorsay, though the fish wasn’t standing upright. It wore a sleeveless tunic of braided plants and had muscular scaled arms crossed over its chest. They had hands, just like the other cetanthro Owin had seen, with webbing connecting the fingers. A few smaller cetanthro walked between buildings in the city, looking more human than the huge itajara right on the city’s edge.

“Itajara,” Ernie said.

“I know. I used Examine.”

“Have you fought an ogre before?” Ernie asked.

“In the Great Forest.”

Ernie put his arm over Owin’s shoulder and pointed at the itajara, who just stared off at the wreckage surrounding them. “That is a fish ogre. The itajara follow the phyraena and will swarm. That’s how our last escort died. A level 18 might look easy, but the itajara rarely go down in one or two hits, and the phyraena will direct the swarm and crush you.”

That wasn’t reassuring. “Okay.” Owin caught the itajara’s eye, but the fish didn’t move. “Are they intelligent?”

“Mildly. Not like other mobs. They follow instructions but they aren’t going to have a discussion with you.”

Katalin walked to the side quietly with her index in front of her eyes. Whatever she was looking at took most of her attention.

Ernie glanced at her before shaking Owin gently. “The smaller ones are mostly phyraena who have classes just like humans.” He paused and grunted quietly. “And you.”

“Deficient?”

Ernie laughed. “No. Berserker, soldier, and so on. There aren’t any magic fish on this floor other than the floor boss. At least, none that I’ve seen. We shouldn’t see a cetanthro magus, wizard, mender, or umbra, but it could happen if we stumble across a quest or one of those secrets you’re always mentioning.”

“They have good loot,” Owin said.

“The magic users?”

Owin ducked under Ernie’s arm. “No, the secrets. We should actually go in one if we find it.”

Ernie sighed. “Definitely no time.”

“I knew you would say that.”

“If we find something that helps you next time, we can take a quick detour to learn, but no full quests or anything. Those take too long.”

“Killing Graliel didn’t take that long,” Owin said.

“We failed that quest and Katalin almost died. Did you forget about that part?”

Owin scratched his head. “Okay. No quests.”

Ernie grabbed Owin’s arm and turned him around. Katalin, still focused, continued walking on. Owin looked at the alchemist’s hand. Ernie had a tight grip on Owin’s sleeve.

“We joke, but I need you going in with your head straight,” Ernie said.

“I don’t know what that means.”

Ernie tapped on Owin’s forehead. “Think before everything you do. Going through the city is faster but incredibly dangerous. I almost lost Katalin, and you almost died. I’d prefer it not to be my turn, and I already saved both of you.”

Owin nodded.

“You have already proven that you’re capable, and plenty strong. Few heroes I know could get that close to death and just continue on like nothing happened.”

“It still hurts,” Owin said. His health was still climbing, and he could still feel the slugs in his stomach, which was a horrible feeling.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re here and ready to fight if needed. But I don’t want a fight. I want us to get through here without issue. We’re out of health potions, and we’re out of grenades. You are our only shield now, and you’re barely healthy enough to kick a rock.”

“I will do my job,” Owin said. “I promise.”

Ernie nodded. “Use your brain and we’ll be fine.”

Katalin stopped a few feet in front of the itajara and pivoted. “Did you know I could get Greater Volatility at 55?”

“Yes, Kat. We get two abilities at 55. I assume you’re taking that and Reactive Armor, but I need to take the crafting ones.”

The itajara turned its head and watched them. Gills on its neck flared.

“Good morning,” Ernie said, nodding to the cetanthro.

“Is it morning?” Owin asked quietly.

“Who cares?” Katalin strode past the fish.

The cetanthro city had a single main road running through, weaving back and forth like a snake. The rest of the city was criss-crossed with alleys, most narrow enough to barely fit Owin. He was certain the secret was in a building or hidden within an alley, but as much as his curiosity clawed at his mind, he wanted to respect Ernie’s wish to get through quickly. If it was as dangerous as Ernie made it sound, Owin needed to watch for anything that might trigger aggression.

“How far did you make it before they became hostile last time?” Owin asked.

“About halfway into the city,” Katalin said over her shoulder. “The soldier had to clear the way out, then decided to hang around to hold them back at the chokepoint.”

“Focus on getting through,” Ernie said.

The buildings continued their odd construction patterns as they entered the city. Some of the buildings inside the city were longer or interconnected with additions that were made from bricks or stones different from the buildings they connected.

Cetanthro of all kinds talked and roamed. It felt like a real city except the random itajara leaning against a wall watching in silence. The phyraena Ernie had mentioned were everywhere. From what Owin could see, there were more phyraena than any other cetanthro variation.

The phyraena were all taller than Owin or the alchemists, but they were a foot or two shorter than the itajara. Long fangs protruded from their lips and they had long, thin heads and necks. Overall, they were thinner than any other mob Owin had seen.

“They’re ugly,” Owin said.

“Says the goblin.” Katalin laughed and patted Owin on the head. “At least you’re not a fish.”

“Girhuma are considerably less ugly,” Ernie said. “That being said, I’ve heard some cetanthro on the lower levels are beyond hideous. I’ve never seen those fish, but Althowin once rambled on about something called a lophiforma and its single light in a pitch black floor of the dungeon. These are apparently beautiful in comparison to whatever hides in the bottom floors.”

“There’s a floor with no light?”

Ernie only gestured at the wreck above them. “Deeper we go, darker it gets. The fourth floor still has some light. I assume the fifth is almost already pitch black, but I don’t know. I’ve never been there.”

A little cetanthro darted right in front of Owin. He watched it swim across the street and vanish into an alley. Miya from the Nimble Hogs had butchered and burned a dead corpse that had looked just like that.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Katalin was also watching the small fish disappear. “What are the chances of ruining our trip if I catch a herengo?”

“Almost guaranteed, Kat. Remember, nothing that might even almost trigger aggression. The less we do, the better.”

Owin watched everything happening in the city. Cetanthro traded dungeon gold for bundles of seaweed, which Owin didn’t even see on this floor. Phyraena greeted each other and talked happily like people who had known each other their whole lives.

“This seems like a normal city,” Owin said. “The third floor of the Great Forest was just the scaltari in different separate camps. Even the fourth floor hobgoblins barely had an actual city. It was just dog kennels and ruins.”

“Just because something looks real doesn’t make it real. If you look close enough, I’m certain you could find flaws. Things that aren’t right, but they look right on the surface.” Ernie shrugged. “It’s a thing some have studied for decades. Why did the gods create cities and villages inside the dungeons? Why not have everything like the coral reef or the goblin caves? Or even the flooded scaltari forest?”

“Maybe the gods are lonely in the dungeons,” Owin said.

Katalin chuckled. “Doubt it. I can’t imagine the gods spend any time thinking about us, and they certainly don’t share our emotions.”

“That’s the general feeling outside the dungeons. There are the cults, but, uh . . .” Ernie shook his head. “Better to stay away from those freaks.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Owin said.

“Should’ve guessed,” Katalin said. She put her elbow on Ernie’s shoulder. “I have an idea with the vulgaris.”

Ernie rolled his eyes and handed her the bottle of gray powder.

“Actually, I’ll need your help.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. Owin followed, keeping an eye out for any cetanthro that were giving them too much attention. Few, if any, of the fish paid them any attention.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I have a grenade idea. It’s simple, but with the right alchemists making it . . .” She paused to nudge Ernie. “It can be powerful.” She dug into his bag and pulled out one of the green death mushrooms.

“They’re only good for poison,” Ernie said.

“Right.” Katalin grinned and grabbed an empty bottle from Ernie’s bag. She shoved two mushrooms into the bottle, capped it, and started to use Mix. “Frenzy poison. In a swarm, if a bunch went mad and started to die of painful poison, they may attack each other.”

“Frenzy numbs pain.”

“Not when it’s from mycena glorophosa. It attacks the nerves themselves. It’s a pain you can’t ignore.”

Owin couldn’t help but watch. He quickly scanned the area every few seconds, but also watched as the alchemists dropped to their knees and started working on their new creation. Apparently whatever Katalin had said had been enough to catch Ernie’s curiosity.

“How are you going to get the explosive reaction?” Ernie asked as she handed him the green death powder.

“Crystallize the green death, then destabilize and catalyze. If I up the output, I think I can get it to explode on contact.”

“I didn’t understand anything you said.” Owin watched their hands glow, causing different reactions to the two ingredients inside the bottles. “What are you doing?”

“We need to separate the ocean water from the objects so it doesn’t dull a reaction, and Kat and I have different abilities and spells, so we sometimes have to rely on each other to complete steps. Unlike other magic classes, alchemist spells can be used frequently, but we’re limited by mana and materials.”

The green powder in the bottle collected together, forming a little bright green bead. He handed it to Katalin, who brought it close to her face, then activated some spell that caused the bead to quiver before exploding out, forming a huge green crystal lattice through the bottle.

“Well done,” Ernie said.

Katalin grinned. “Thank you. Vulgaris?”

Ernie opened the bottle of the compressed oxidized charcoal vulgaris. Katalin took the bottle and put the two mouths together. Her hand holding the vulgaris glowed and caused the bead to shake. It bounced around the bottle, but remained a bead.

“Dammit,” she said. “This might not work.”

Owin took another scan of the city. A few itajara had gathered near an alleyway about a hundred feet away, but they weren’t specifically looking at Owin or the alchemists. He gave them a few seconds before turning his attention back to the alchemy.

“What if you used Transmute? It’ll take longer, but when it reverts, it will already be covering the crystals, especially if you can time it correctly,” Ernie said.

“A liquid vulgaris?” She clicked her tongue and nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay. It will only last for a few minutes. In the meantime, I could start to increase the volatility and output.”

“Condense it first before you use Transmute.”

Katalin capped both bottles and handed the green crystals to Ernie. “I can do this as we walk. When it’s ready, I’ll let you both know.”

“Got it. Anything happening, Owin?” Ernie asked.

The itajara down the road had spread out a bit. They weren’t specifically watching Owin, but he would need to get through them to continue into the city.

“There are some of the big ones down the road.”

“They don’t look specifically hostile,” Ernie said. “Lead a little ahead of us just in case.”

Owin did as he was told, getting a dozen feet ahead of the alchemists. They continued talking and working on their frenzy poison. Owin didn’t quite get the reason for making the potion, though Katalin seemed really focused on making it.

She held the trident in one hand and the bottle in the other. The contents of the bottle rumbled as she used various spells and abilities, changing the properties and power of the material inside. Owin had seen the two alchemists work a few times now, and he had heard Ernie talk himself through the horror blood antidote, but none of their abilities made much sense to him.

There was so much going on between mana, abilities, and materials while Owin only ever really worried about whatever weapon he was holding. Sometimes his spells were useful, and he had to keep track of charges on a wand, but that had always been simple enough.

“How difficult is it to make buff potions?” Owin asked.

“It’s not simple to make any rarity, but I can consistently make journeyman or apprentice ones without any errors. Generally, artisan ones have turned out when I’ve made them. Adept becomes tricky, and without discern, master potions are out of reach. Power 5 difficulty potions normally rely on many different factors, and the slightest error can cause failure.” Ernie held up the green crystals. “I’m not sure what this would be considered.”

“Artisan,” Katalin said without looking. All of her attention had remained on the bottle in her hand. “Explosive ratings work differently. A master level grenade would decimate this entire city.”

“Are explosives that big ever needed?” Owin asked. He tried thinking of every floor he had been to. When would something like that be needed? Even Katalin’s pipe bomb explosion hadn't been big enough to cover the whole cetanthro city.

“On upper floors, yeah. Althowin said she’ll teach me a recipe for something she calls the Annihilator when I hit level 60. I don’t think I can build it yet, but she wants me working on early versions,” Katalin said.

“I’ll stick with potions and items,” Ernie said.

“Because you didn’t pick Ward.”

Ernie groaned. “Drop it.”

Owin kept his eyes on the itajara ahead. They had certainly started to pay closer attention to Owin and the alchemists as they got closer. He stopped, waited for the alchemists to catch up, grabbed the trident from Katalin, then rushed to get ahead again. Ernie gave him an odd look while Katalin didn’t even notice. She immediately used her free hand to help cup the bottle and use whatever spell she was putting into the vulgaris.

Ten itajara had gathered, spreading most of the way across the street. They looked nearly identical, only differentiated by small patterns along their scales. They all wore the same sleeveless armor and all were shoeless with massive stump-like feet.

“Owin,” Ernie said.

“I’m watching,” Owin called back. The cetanthro weren’t accidentally standing menacingly, but they hadn’t done anything to trigger aggression. If they had, the other fish would also be trying to kill them.

“What if fighting the itajara is the trigger?” Owin asked.

“It shouldn’t be. We didn’t fight any of them last time,” Ernie said.

“Now, Ern,” Katalin said, shoving the bottle at Ernie.

Owin remained where he was, but glanced back to watch Ernie turn the powder into a liquid. He handed it right back to Katalin, who had magic buzzing around her, which caused the liquid vulgaris to bubble. She combined it with the crystal, capped it, and shook the bottle until the liquid coated every bit of the green crystal.

Ernie took the empty bottle and put it back into his bag. He took a few intentional steps away from Katalin as she continued shaking the bottle as her hand glowed white.

“Is it going to work?” Owin asked.

Katalin grinned. “Absolutely. Once the oxidized vulgaris turns back to a powder, it’ll be ready to go.”

“Stop,” an itajara said. It’s voice sounded like someone gurgling. Its webbed hands were closed in meaty fists as it looked down from high above. “Inspection.”

“What kind of inspection?” Owin asked.

“Looking for water elf.”

Owin stopped a few feet in front of the cetanthro, making sure to stay out of its reach. Ernie stopped and grabbed Katalin’s arm to stop her from walking forward as she watched the bottle.

“Is this the same idea as the quest last floor?” Owin asked.

“I haven’t seen this before,” Ernie said.

“Killers of our Deacon loose in town.”

“Shit,” Ernie said. “This is because of the quest on the last floor.”

“The floors are connected? I thought they were all separate.” Owin watched the other itajara shift, slowly forming a circle.

“Cathkabel and demons don’t play by the same rules as the rest of the dungeon,” Ernie said.

“Cathkabel?” Katalin pulled her attention away, noticing the formation of itajara. “Oh, fuck. Who brought these ugly pieces of shit here?”

“They’re looking for the killer of their Deacon,” Owin said.

“Oh, the guy—” She shut her mouth and scowled. “How can we help you, gentlemen?”

The itajara in front of Owin pointed. “Water elf.”

“Goblin,” Owin said, pointing at himself.

“Water goblin,” the itajara said.

“No. Just goblin.”

“Goblin the whole way down,” Ernie said. “You know, the ugly cave goblins? Like to light things on fire and trash furniture?”

The itajara opened its mouth and looked at the other huge fish in the circle. None of them seemed to know what was going on.

“Is that all we do?” Owin asked.

Ernie shrugged. “Kind of.”

“Outsiders are the primary suspect,” someone said behind.

Owin dropped the hammer and prepared to throw the trident. A smaller cetanthro, about six feet tall, stood in scaled armor with his arms crossed. He was one of the thinner phyraena variations. Knives along his belt glittered in the faint sunbeams.

“And you three are certainly outsiders.”