Ocean Mob

Teduin

Phyraena Assassin

Level 23

Owin shifted his feet, preparing to throw the trident. With the cetanthro fully surrounding them, Owin would need to distract Teduin long enough to draw his knives and quickly kill the itajara.

“Are you the wandering boss?” Ernie asked.

“‘Boss’ is a casual title that I do not associate with myself. I am the mayor of Estanormina.” Teduin bowed his head. “Servant of Elysium.”

“The city is a servant of Elysium or you are?” Ernie asked. “It’s great to be clear.”

Teduin lifted his overly long neck. His wide mouth opened in a smile, revealing all of his small, sharp teeth. “We all serve Elysium.”

“I serve Althowin Alegarra because she’d kill me if I didn’t,” Ernie said.

“I’m not a big fan of fish, honestly,” Katalin said without ever looking at Teduin.

“I thought we were avoiding aggression,” Owin said, still ready to throw the trident.

“Look at this fucking guy,” Ernie said, gesturing to Teduin. “He thinks he’s better than us and he’s only level 23.”

“I know you said there was something else causing aggression, but killing the mayor will probably make them want to kill us,” Owin said. “Right? I don’t feel like I’m wrong.”

“You speak as if I’m not here,” Teduin said.

“I know how that feels,” Owin muttered.

“Oh. Fuck yes.” Katalin held her bottle up in front of Ernie’s eyes. “Perfectly done. Now for a little more destabilizing and output and it’ll be one of my best yet.”

“Are you close to a level?”

Katalin’s index flashed in front of her eyes. “A few attribute points off, but I’ll probably hit it when I knock a fish head off with this.”

“Your strength isn’t nearly high enough to throw that hard. Let Owin throw it if you want to take a head off. It just won’t be the one he’s aiming for.”

“Hey.”

“You have done little to dissuade me,” Teduin said. “Spies for the girhuma.”

Ernie took a deep breath and stepped close to Teduin. He was significantly shorter, making his approach less intimidating than it otherwise might’ve been. “We are humans who couldn’t care less about the water elves or any of the cetanthro. We are passing through without issue.”

Teduin leaned down as his gills flared open. “You reek of lies.”

“I’m nearly certain a fish can’t smell lies,” Ernie said. “I want nothing more than to walk through your city—”

“Estanormina.”

“Your fish city without issue,” Ernie continued. “But my friend there,” he said, pointing to Owin. “He wants to eat you. He wants to eat everything.”

Owin fought to keep his face neutral. He wanted to scowl or ask what Ernie’s goals were, but he didn’t want to ruin whatever plan the alchemist had, assuming he had one at all. Owin kept the spear ready to throw, but his arm started to ache.

“Eat us? To worship the Abyss?” Teduin asked. At the mention of the Abyss, every itajara tensed like they were ready to pounce.

“Ah, I shouldn’t have mentioned that. No, nothing with the Abyss. He thinks it makes him stronger,” Ernie said.

Owin wanted to correct Ernie and that eating most things has made him stronger, but it didn't seem like the right time.

“How can I be certain three outsiders that act so suspiciously aren’t working with the blue bastards?” Teduin tilted his long face. “How can I be certain such an odd looking creature isn’t a girhuma in disguise?”

Ernie looked around until he realized the fish was talking about him. “Me? I’m a normal looking human!”

“I have not seen a human with such a hairy lip,” Teduin said.

“How many humans have you seen?”

Teduin pulled his face back. “Hm.”

“What are we doing?” Owin asked.

“Continuing on,” Ernie said. “Right, Mayor? We respect the cetanthro and wish no harm upon you. I apologize for my rude behavior before. I have had a long couple of days and am one to lash out when I’m tired.”

Teduin gestured to the itajara behind Owin. The huge fish silently moved aside just enough to allow Owin to pass. Owin finally let his spear arm drop and heaved the hammer back off the ground, letting it rest on his shoulder. He stared into the itajara’s tiny, beady eye that never seemed to blink as he walked past.

A wave of relief washed over Owin as he left the cetanthro circle. With the levels of the mobs being low enough, he was sure he could’ve handled the fight just fine on his own, but fighting while protecting Ernie and Katalin would have been too much of a challenge.

Relying on Artivan and his shield had been easy. Until Owin had a weapon or some ability that helped him protect others, the only way he could fight was by being aggressive and fast.

“That went better than I expected,” Owin said. He turned, expecting to see Katalin staring at the new grenade she made. Instead, he saw the back of the itajara who had just moved back into position, fully blocking Ernie and Katalin from passing.

“Foolish to assume I would let pawns of the Abyss slip through my city,” Teduin said. He cackled, which sounded like someone gurgling.

“This is a mistake,” Ernie said. “We aren’t lying to you.”

“We don’t like you, but we also weren’t causing problems,” Katalin said. “I’m really not a fan of fish fucks like you, but that doesn’t mean I want to kill you. That’s the difference between us, I suppose.”

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“The Lords will send their spies from the Abyss to corrupt the children of Elysium.” Teduin grabbed the knives from his belt. “I will not stand for the corruption of my people.”

Owin dropped the hammer and jumped. He floated through the water, carrying him slowly until he landed on the itajara’s shoulders. The golden trident prongs easily punctured the scaled skin and ripped through the cetanthro’s head.

0 Experience

Owin leapt from the cetanthro’s shoulders as it collapsed and drove the trident through another’s head before it even realized its friend had died.

“Kill them!” Teduin dove at Ernie, sliding through the water effortlessly. The alchemist reacted slowly, taking a knife to the gut as Teduin tackled him.

“Owin!” Katalin reached for Teduin and Ernie but missed as the cetanthro boss swam away, trailing Ernie’s blood.

Owin landed on the road as another itajara collapsed beside him. He clenched his jaw and let his eyes scan over the scene before him. People relied on him, just as he had relied on others. Artivan had said the Nimble Hogs would take care of him, and now he acted as a Nimble Hog, putting their name to the test to care for others. Others who were dying.

Show the world how strong you are.

Artivan’s words echoed in his mind.

Owin planted his foot and launched the trident. It disappeared from his fingers and cut straight through the water. Even with a low dexterity score, the trident flew true. It felt as if it hit its target as soon as it left Owin’s fingers.

Ernie dropped to the ground, gripping the knife in his stomach as the trident embedded itself deep into the brick wall. Teduin’s body floated in the water, suspended on a cloud of blood as his guts drifted from the two halves of his body.

Owin didn’t wait to see his kill. He grabbed the lich bone knife and the journeyman wand from his belt and jumped at another itajara. The huge cetanthro threw his fist and caught Owin in the chitin pauldron, throwing him right back at the ground.

Owin smashed into the road and watched the small amount of health he had drop in half. It would have been worse if he hadn’t caught the blow on his shoulder. He immediately rolled away, fighting to ignore the pain, and pointed the wand.

“Arcane Blast,” Owin said. Purple light appeared at the end of the wand, spinning as it formed. The spell burst off the end of the wand, recoiling Owin’s hand as it flew, unimpeded by the water.

The itajara stepped toward Owin as the spell smashed into its gills, ripping them apart. It stumbled and was not prepared for Owin or his lich bone knife. The undead weapon easily punctured the cetanthro’s eye. Owin used the knife as a handle as he planted his feet on the stumbling itajara and tore through its skull, spilling fish brains into the water.

Katalin took a itajara punch to the face, launching her into a building. She crumpled and fell to the street with the grenade still clutched tightly in her hand.

Owin crouched beneath a cloud of blood, spotting the last four itajara advancing on Katalin. Ernie was conscious and crawled to the side. When he caught Owin’s eyes, he just pressed his lips together and nodded.

The rest of the cetanthro around Estanormina were heading toward the fight, swarming like Ernie had said. There were more itajara, other phyraena, and more cetanthro Owin hadn’t seen before.

He needed to get the alchemists away.

“Arcane Blast,” Owin said, pointing at another itajara. The spell smashed into its face, halting its advance.

Owin aimed the wand just behind the cetanthro and cast Magma Mine. A pulsing red circle appeared on the street.

He slipped the wand back into his belt before he could use it anymore. With all four uses of the day gone, anymore would sap his health, which he didn’t have to spare. One knife was all he needed. The white knife felt like it glowed in his hand, reflecting what faint light there was.

One itajara approached Katalin, fist ready to smash. Owin launched himself with everything he had. He still felt like he moved slowly in the water, but his speed carried him into the itajara’s waist where Owin made sure to drive the knife as deep as possible. He slashed upward as he jumped off, ripping through the fish. The itajara fell into the wall, still alive and reached for the wound, trying to stop the blood rushing into the water.

Owin turned just as another fist swung at him. His Goblin Cunning helped him step to the side as the itajara fist ripped past. Owin grabbed the cetanthro with his free hand and cast Discharge

Mana Refreshed

Band of Power 1 - 0/1 Charges Remaining

Electricity roared through the itajara, making its body twitch until its eyes popped. The mob went limp and floated partially upright in the water.

Two more.

Owin jumped at the closest itajara, who easily brought his arms up to block. The lich bone knife cut into his forearm, but he didn’t seem bothered as he shoved Owin back. Both itajara came together, standing shoulder to shoulder as they advanced on Owin. The street was filled with clouds of blood and floating guts, making it difficult to see just how close the approaching swarm had gotten.

“Die,” one itajara said.

Owin clenched his jaw. His health was low, and he would die someday, but he had already decided he wasn’t going down without getting revenge for Artivan. Nobody would stop him until Siora and Nikoletta were dead.

They were ready for a head-on attack. It was the way he had handled every one of their comrades. But it wasn’t the only way Owin knew how to fight. Thanks to Sanem, he had practiced a few things.

Owin stepped backward into a cloud of blood. Some random pieces of cetanthro floated nearby, bumping against his shoulders as he disappeared from the itajaras’ sight. This way, he could keep a use of smoke cloud while maintaining the same tactics.

Owin grabbed his old stone knife. If he had to lose any weapon, he would pick the jagged knife he had woken with. It was the weapon of the Goblin Darkblade, not of Owin the Hero.

He threw it forward, roughly in the direction the cetanthro had been. At the same time, he dashed to the side, keeping low. The water was disturbed around him, kicking up all sorts of things into the water, but the cloud of blood was so thick and wide that he remained hidden.

“Water elf gone,” one itajara said.

“Nearby,” the other said.

Owin slipped behind, dashed out of the blood, and sliced one itajara across the back of his knee. Owin immediately jumped and slashed across its head, killing the itajara before the other could fully react. It reached out, but so did Owin, catching its hand as he cast Discharge. Electricity rushed through the cetanthro, causing its eyes to pop as it dropped dead.

Owin’s mana was gone again as he landed roughly on the road. Magma Mine went off, sending a geyser of magma into the air. Cetanthro melted from the first touch, screaming as they collapsed. The magma quickly cooled, solidifying into an obsidian pillar that crashed on the swarm.

“Owin,” Ernie shouted, his voice weak.

Owin slipped the lich bone knife into his belt and ran to Katalin. She was still unconscious, so he picked her up and held her on his shoulder. She was too tall to make it comfortable, but his strength was plenty high to manage. He ran over to Ernie, who had managed to take the knife out and stop the bleeding.

Owin pulled the trident out and handed it to Ernie. “Hold this.”

Ernie only grunted as he took the trident. Owin picked him up and put him on his other shoulder. Running wasn’t easy, but he managed to grab the Thunderstrike Maul and hold it while rushing through the street.

The only problem was how incredibly slow he was moving. The swarm was gaining on them quickly. Ernie grunted with every step as Owin tried to balance both alchemists, the Thunderstrike Maul, his bag, and even the golden trident Ernie was holding.

“Sorry,” Owin said as he turned and dropped both alchemists. Ernie grunted as he bumped into the ground.

“What are you doing?” he asked quietly.

Owin peeled the grenade from Katalin’s firm grip. “Do I need to do anything before I throw this?”

“Here.” Ernie held his hand out. Owin handed him the bottle. It glowed as Ernie cast some spell and slipped it back into Owin’s hand. “Throw it hard.”

Owin waited a second until the front of the swarm was very clear. Itajara were up front, running faster with their long legs. He planted his foot and launched the grenade. It flew, wobbling as it tried to cut through the water.

It struck one of the itajara’s up front, smashing the glass on contact. The green crystals shattered and exploded out, throwing shards in every direction that sliced through cetanthro skin. A trail of gray dust hung in the water anywhere a shard went, leaving a criss-crossed wall of frenzy hanging in the air.

A few cetanthro went down from injuries caused by the crystals. The rest ran ahead, stampeding over their comrades without a second thought. Poison from the green death mushrooms and the frenzy from the frenetic stem quickly rushed into their system.

“Move,” Ernie said through clenched teeth.

Owin picked both alchemists up and found a way to hold the hammer again as he carried them onward.