Ocean Mob

Baskir the Hunter

Level 20

“A shark,” Myrsvai said as if anybody else in their party had ever heard of something called a ‘shark.’

Owin certainly hadn’t. Bakir looked like a fish with an abnormally huge mouth, and apart from that . . . he didn’t see any difference. It wasn’t a cetanthro as far as he could tell. It would probably have arms and legs.

The Withered Shade hadn’t let go of Owin’s shoulders. The skeleton hid behind, shaking in fear as the shark charged.

Baskir barreled in, passing right over the head of Myrsvai, who only watched with interest. Owin stepped to the side as the massive shark mouth neared, yanking the Shade aside at the same time. Owin caught the corner of Baskir’s mouth with the lich bone and tore through the entire creature, finally ripping the knife out of the tail. Baskir lost its speed and drifted just above the shipwreck, leaving a cloud of blood in its wake.

“I know I shouldn’t complain, but this floor is too easy,” Owin said.

Overconfidence could be deadly in a dungeon. It was a thought he once had upon seeing heroes who had nearly died. Overconfidence got people killed.

“We should find a challenge before long. I expect it won’t be until the fifth floor,” Myrsvai said.

Owin felt the oddly heavy bones of the Withered Shade drape over his shoulders.

“I owe you my life,” the skeleton said uncomfortably close to Owin’s ear.

“Can you even die?”

“Who? Me?” The skeleton removed his arm and did a pirouette into a hop that landed him right in front of Owin. “No. Uh, probably not. That’s kind of the whole Cursed thing. Fated to haunt the dungeons for eternity. That sort of thing. I’m not sure I’m haunting as much as I’m charming the likes of you heroes.”

Suta shook the shark corpse until a red boot fell out. He immediately jumped back with his hands raised.

“It truly is impossible,” Myrsvai said. “Has Sloswen blessed you?”

Owin ran over and grabbed the boot.

Crab Chitin Boot - Left

Journeyman Magical Item

The Crab Chitin armor set is formed of broken pieces of chitin from crab mobs throughout the Ocean Dungeon. Only 1 of each piece can be worn. Acts as normal armor unless the hero has acquired the complete set.

Note: Armor piece binds upon first touch. Cannot be unbound.

Note: Current Crab Chitin set - 5/8

As soon as the red boot formed over Owin’s left foot, he hated it. He had never worn anything over his feet. No boots, no armor of any kind. This was a different kind of torment. His toes could barely wiggle without pressing into the hard chitin.

“I hate this,” he said. “How am I going to walk?”

Suta looked at his own feet, which were bare. Even if he had boots, Owin doubted Suta would be able to fit his feet inside. The claws alone were big enough to poke out the front of any boot.

“The same as before. It may take practice.” Myrsvai poked at Baskir’s dead body with his staff. “An efficient kill.”

The Withered Shade tapped a finger on the boot. When Owin didn’t move, he instead scraped the pointed end of his finger along the chitin.

“What are you doing?” Owin fought the urge to kick the skeleton. All that would do is send the Shade tumbling off the side of the ship.

“Testing the finish.”

“The what?”

“Is it real chitin?” He knocked his knuckles against the top of the boot. “Not chitin plated?”

“It is one of the rare dungeon sets,” Myrsvai said. “I assume you know about those.”

“I know a thing or two.” The Shade popped back to his feet. “This isn’t one of those two. I understand the concept of armor. It is an extra skin, which means my master now has two layers of skin while I have—” The Withered Shade gestured at his body. “None.”

Myrsvai walked over to the Shade. His staff and metal foot tapped rhythmically on the wood as he approached. “Actually, humans have three layers of skin. I assume Owin does as well.”

“So he has five layers? Are we bragging? Is it funny to have so many more? Look at me, all exposed to the world!” The skeleton hurried back behind Owin and crouched as low as he could. “Hide me from their prying eyes.”

“Who?” Owin looked around, confirming nobody had snuck up on them.

“Anybody! Everybody! Somebody!” He peeked over Owin’s shoulder and somehow managed to lower his brow enough to glare at Suta. “The familiar is eyeing me up.”

“He’s doing what?”

Suta pointed at his own eyes. “Eye?”

“Ah, forget about it.” The Shade stood and rested his hand on Owin’s head. He leaned with all his weight, which wasn’t enough to shift Owin’s stance. “What good are you all?”

“I just protected you from a fish,” Owin said.

“Shark.” Myrsvai gestured to the corpse with his staff. “Baskir was a shark.”

Owin visualized Baskir in his mind, trying to see what the differences were. Other than the size, the boss and other fish had many of the same features. “Sharks aren’t fish?”

“Well, they are . . .” Myrsvai looked to Suta for help, but the familiar only shrugged. “I’m not an expert in biological studies. I have to assume Potilia knows the answer, so it may have to wait until we return home.”

Home. Owin smiled.

The Withered Shade’s skull appeared right in front of Owin’s face. “What are you happy about? Is it this Potilia? Is this a significant other? A wife? A husband? A fiance? A . . . What's the word?”

“Crush,” Suta said.

The Withered Shade excitedly pointed at Suta. “A crush! Wonderful. Is it a crush?”

Myrsvai put his staff on his back and used his arm to guide the Withered Shade away from Owin, heading toward the rest of the shipwreck. “I don’t believe Owin knows all of these words. Even if he does, concepts have to be learned. I am sure you can understand this.”

“Understanding is different than comprehending.” The skeleton patted Myrsvai on the shoulder and slipped out of his grip. “Have you thought of a name? My title from the accursed gods won’t do. Think of something better in that green brain of yours.”

“Is my brain green?” Owin asked.

Suta stuck his face close to Owin’s ear. “Can’t see.”

“No, it’s not,” Myrsvai said.

Owin adjusted his belt, checking the wands and the lich bone knife. Everything was set. A few more pipefish swam above the wreckage, but most of the area in front of them was clear. The only real fight left would be against Barracuda at the end, and he didn’t expect that to be anything difficult.

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So far, the floor had been much different than the last time he had passed through. Ernie had been right about going above. Owin could see how Ernie and Katalin could have easily survived using the path above the wreck.

“Hello?” The Shade waved a hand in front of Owin’s face. “Did your brain melt? Is it oozing out of your nose?” He leaned a bit closer. “No, that’s just more ocean water. It’s everywhere, isn’t it? Ah, what was Sloswen thinking? Who likes water? It’s in every crack.”

“You don’t have cracks,” Myrsvai said as he tried to guide the skeleton away again.

“Oh, not like that, you dirty little magus. I was talking about my bone cracks. Fractures and the like. I am not invincible. Well, I am. But also not. It’s complicated.”

“Sorry,” Owin said.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Ah, fine. I get it.” The skeleton crumpled into gray dust that was quickly washed away.

Myrsvai stood beside Owin and looked out toward the rest of the wreck. “It feels oddly quiet without him.”

“It’s good,” Owin said.

“Hm. He’s a lot to handle, but he will be good company on the isolated floors. I’ll have Suta and you’ll have the Shade.” Myrsvai set off.

Owin walked with the magus but let his mind wander. Suta walked quietly behind, getting randomly distracted by distant fish.

The Withered Shade was set on getting a new name. One Owin provided. But what kind of name fit the skeleton? Owin had never named anything. Naming a living creature was a little overwhelming. Well, an undead creature. Owin scratched his head. He had met people with all kinds of names. There wasn’t a specific thing he knew to follow, but it seemed important to the skeleton.

The Withered Shade, a Cursed, a skeleton, a person who didn’t know their own history wanted Owin to name them.

“Naming things is difficult,” Owin said.

“It certainly is. You could just continue to refer to him as the Withered Shade.”

“That’s too long. How did you think of Suta’s name?”

Suta, who was now walking directly beside Owin, leaned forward. “Suta picked.”

“No. I picked your name before I summoned you. You wouldn’t remember. It was so long ago. I simply put letters together. Which, now that I’m saying it, will be difficult if you can’t read or write.” Myrsvai ran his fingers over his mustache. “I don’t have any good advice for you.”

“I’ll think of something before I summon him again.” He had a few floors before anything was isolated. Like Myrsvai said, company would be important when he was alone on the floor. He hadn’t been on an isolated floor since he was in the Great Forest.

A thump and a loud smack grabbed Owin’s attention. He turned back to see Suta lying face first on the shipwreck.

“Did you trip?” Myrsvai asked.

“Door?” Suta asked. He stood and kicked something invisible. It thumped as his claw struck it.

“Suta, that’s just part of the ship,” Owin said.

“No,” Myrsvai said. His eyes were distant like he was talking in his head again. “Suta found something.”

Suta didn’t budge. He leaned over, grabbed a hidden handle and pulled a section of the wreckage up. It opened like a door even though some boards were simply bending in half. It looked unnatural.

“The secret?” Owin ran over and gazed inside. It led to a dark passage, hidden from the faint sunlight above the water’s surface.

Suta grunted with effort.

Owin jumped inside. Before long, Myrsvai followed. Suta slipped in as the door slammed back shut.

“Was this the best idea?” Myrsvai asked.

“It’s not my worst one. How did you find it, Suta?”

“Stubbed my toe.” The familiar pointed at a claw, which looked entirely undamaged.

“Abyssal Armor,” Myrsvai said, casting the spell over himself. The magenta armor formed and glowed brightly, illuminating the narrow passage. Warped wooden boards surrounded them, leading to a hallway with a small pedestal at the end. A broken door on the right led deeper inside.

“Traps,” Suta said.

“He’s right. Be cautious.”

Owin stepped in front and held his arms out. “Let me lead. I’m the fastest.” While he hadn’t been positive before, their race back to the ladder in Ligala Lepis had proved that Owin really was the fastest of the three. If a trap appeared, he hoped he could dodge out of the way before it did damage.

“Be careful. I’ll be ready to counter anything I am able,” Myrsvai said.

Owin nodded and crept forward. The floor creaked with every step, and even his light weight caused everything to shudder. With Myrsvai’s heavy metal leg, it felt like the entire shipwreck wobbled.

About halfway down the hall, Owin stepped and felt everything drop from beneath him. No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t jump off of nothing. His eyes looked below at the cetanthro village, so far down that it looked tiny. Even in the water, a fall that far would kill him. The boards he had just stepped on plummeted through the water.

Suta’s hand clamped around Owin’s ear before he could fall far. He swung underneath fully under the shipwreck, hanging in open water with piercing pain shooting through his ear.

“Friend,” Suta muttered as he yanked on Owin’s ear.

“Hold on!” Myrsvai’s footsteps echoed all around Owin as he continued staring at the city far below. He dipped a little lower as Suta slipped.

Myrsvai’s staff smacked against Owin’s face. “Grab it!”

Owin clenched his jaw and wrapped his hands around the staff. Between Myrsvai pulling and Suta nearly ripping Owin’s ear off, they hauled him back inside. After a moment of feeling the ground beneath him, Owin crawled to the edge of the broken boards, looking back down at the city.

“Thank you,” he said.

Suta held onto Owin’s arm in a tight, almost painful grip.

“Let’s approach the rest of this slowly. We have no reason to rush. Do you see the pedestal ahead?”

Owin looked away from the city and stepped back from the hole. Suta let go of his arm.

“The heart on top is rotting.” Myrsvai tapped the boards with his staff before walking past the hole. It all held as he approached the pedestal.

“Does that mean something? Or is it just old?”

“Things don’t grow old in the dungeon. This is intentionally rotting.” He crouched and held his staff out. Without a word, Suta took it and stood to the side.

Owin followed their path around the hole and stood just beside the pedestal. It was low, allowing him to stare almost directly at the heart. It was a brown, shriveled lump that continued to beat. “Does it mean anything?”

He tried to use Examine but nothing appeared. Whenever that had happened in the past, it wasn’t good. The gods were hiding something.

“As a symbol, it has connections to Diphinadra and the Fortress Dungeon, but I cannot figure out what that connection might be.” Myrsvai leaned in closer than Owin was willing to, getting his face uncomfortably close to the beating heart. “Whoever owns this heart may yet live.”

“How? Their heart is rotting.” Owin wanted to smash it. If he had his Thunderstrike Maul, he would have smashed the whole thing, pedestal included.

“I suppose it could be an undead creature, though I’m unsure why they would even have a heart. Usually it would simply be a skeleton, decayed, lich, or otherwise. I am eager to destroy it, though what may come of it? Another trap?”

“Drop down hole?” Suta pointed back to the hole Owin had almost fallen through.

“If we need to destroy it, that would make it more difficult. There is no guarantee that the fall would harm it. Better to bring it with us and destroy it if needed. Who is willing to grab the heart?”

Suta took a step back and stood beside Owin.

“I could command you to grab it,” Myrsvai said with a faint smile. “I am willing to be the one, but I cannot cast spells without the staff. Carrying two things at once—”

Suta thumped the staff on the ground, causing the wooden boards to wobble. Owin tensed, but nothing fell or broke.

“Fine. You manage the staff. If it is necessary—”

“I will protect,” Suta said.

“Yes.” Myrsvai took a deep breath. He was still close enough to the rotting heart that Owin shivered upon seeing him breath in the same air, or water, surrounding it. Myrsvai reached out his one arm and snatched the heart from the pedestal. Everyone froze, waiting.

Myrsvai Ryllsion’s position updated.

Bounty - 800 Dungeon Gold

“Uh.” Owin pointed at his face, at the message in his eyes. “There’s, uh.”

“What?”

“Your position was pinged on the map and it gave you a bounty. A big bounty.”

“How much?”

“800.”

Myrsvai cocked his head. “It could’ve been higher. So, the heart is a trap to lure other heroes. What then lies beyond?”

“This is how Artivan died,” Owin said quickly.

“What is?”

“I drank something that gave my location,” Owin said quietly.

Myrsvai crouched in front of him. Suta was already very close with an arm over Owin’s shoulders.

“You had heroes hunting you before your location was given. Artivan protected you. Nothing about it is your fault.”

Owin stared hard at Myrsvai.

“Void Nexus,” Suta said.

“It’s their fault and they're here with us. I suspect ahead of us after our detours. I know you have a plan to sabotage them. Think of that moment. The moment your location was pinged. How did you feel?”

“Confident. Then scared.” Owin frowned. “I don’t know.”

“I’m not afraid of anyone in here with us. If anyone is even on this floor right now, they are likely below us. We are safe, and if we’re not, do you know what will happen?”

Owin shook his head slowly.

“We have Suta to protect us.”

Suta nodded vigorously. “Fight.”

“See?”

Owin couldn’t help but smile. Suta formed a fist on the hand that dangled by Owin’s face. The familiar’s other hand still held the staff.

“Okay.”

Myrsvai looked at the heart. His index appeared, but vanished quickly as Examine likely failed for him too. “Owin, are you willing to lead again?” Myrsvai asked, nodding to the broken door.

“I can. I’ll be careful of the floor.” He pulled his lich bone from his belt. Something was going to be around the corner. Each dungeon had its own quirks, but he was starting to see patterns. Secrets weren’t meant to be easy, and they didn’t give treasure for free.

Giving Myrsvai’s location was dangerous, but being so far above the main part of the floor made it less dangerous than it had been at the castle in the Great Forest. Was there another step to the trap?