Akira was in no hurry to exit the pool and decided to test out the old looking bracelet. He reverted back into his human form after checking his surroundings for enemies and then put the bracelet on his left hand.
Nothing happened.
The bracelet had three empty sockets each with a different color, one blue, one red, and one green.
He pulled out several of the magic stones that he had collected over the past few months from various monsters in order to see if they would fit every one of them was rejected.
Ding!
Special ordinary gems are needed for the bracelet no random gems will be able to be used.
Akira had no special gems so he decided to swim to the surface and exit the water.
“What took you so long I thought you had died,” said Mileena as she stopped pacing back and forth.
“Sorry, I found something interesting while I was down there and was checking it out,” said Akira as he pulled himself out of the water.
His legs were still a little shaky from the aftereffects of the paralyzing toxin and he stumbles a few steps before Varbu caught him with one arm and helped him stay on his feet.
“What was it that you found?” asked Mileena.
“This,” said Akira showing them the bracelet.
“Looks like an old piece of junk,” said Maya.
“Well, I think it's from ancient times, so-...If I clean it up a bit it should look better,” said Akira.
“Never mind that piece of junk. What happened to your shield? Was it really that strong to be able to make it look like cheese?” asked Mileena looking at the ruined shield.
“Those tentacles were no joke. If it weren't for my shield and armor, I'm not sure how much of a worse state I would be in. I'll have to figure out something later to replace it,” said Akira putting the shield into his bag.
“We shouldn't keep the mermaids waiting. Let's head back now that everything here is dead,” said Varbu.
On their way back to the tunnel they made sure to search again for anything or anyone they might have missed and found nothing new.
When they met back up with the mermaids there were only ten of them waiting for them.
“Were you successful in clearing everything out?” asked Kaerio.
“Yes, we were able to kill the siren and her minions,” said Akira.
“Where'd everyone go?” asked Mileena.
“The siren from before came back with a large number of minions so Orman and the rest of the warriors had to go defend the entrance,” said Kaerio.
“Alright, let's hurry back so we can help them put an end to this if they are still fighting,” said Akira.
When they reached the entrance of the dungeon the fighting was already over and the mermaid warriors were treating the wounded.
Orman swam over to them with a smile after seeing them return.
“Looks like you were able to complete the task. That's great,” said Orman.
“I see you guys didn't have a peaceful time waiting for us,” said Varbu.
“Nearly 250 of the Sirens minions tried to enter the dungeon to stop us. I don't know where they find them all. We lost several seahorse mounts and warriors trying to hold them off. Luckily the fight was not on an open battlefield and we only had to defend the entrance, otherwise, I doubt we could have held off that many. Near the end of the fight, they seemed to have all stop fighting for a few seconds before most of them ran away.”
“What do we do now?” asked Akira.
“I'll be leaving some soldiers here to make sure that the sirens don't try anything again. Everyone else will head back to Reed City to drop off the wounded. After that we need to head back to the capital to report to the Queen to let her know everything that has happened,” said Orman.
It took them several more minutes to get all the wounded warriors onto stretchers behind the seahorse mounts that were still alive.
The Seahorses were truly the strong workhorses of the underwater world most were carrying two people as well as a stretcher with a wounded warrior.
The trip back to Reed city took longer than it had taken to get to Kapoom due to not wanting to exhaust the mounts as well as to make sure the wounded were not hurt any further.
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They only rested in Reed city for a short time only enough for a quick bite to eat.
While they ate the commander of the city prepared fresh mounts for them so that they could return to the capital quickly.
Everyone that was not wounded was ordered to return to the capital since some of the reinforcements that came to help were part of the city guard and needed to go back or the city's defenses would be dangerously weak.
***
“Big brother you're back!” said Cora happily swimming up to Akira and giving him a hug as they walked through the castle gates.
“Nice to see you again as well,” said Akira with a smile.
Mileena who was standing next to Akira had a grumpy look on her face.
“Look at that a little kid is making Mileena jealous,” said Maya teasing her sister while laughing.
“Why would I be jealous of a kid and for what? It's just that she doesn't act like a princess and she's just a little too clingy,” said Mileena as she brushed off her sister's words.
Cora stuck her tongue out at the two sisters and said, “Big brother is mine you can't have him.”
“Little brat...” mumbled Mileena.
“Princess, please let us pass we have to report to the Queen immediately,” said Orman.
“I'll go with you. I want to hear all about your adventures in the dungeons!” said Cora.
The Queen was already waiting for them in the throne room when they entered.
Cora swam away from the group and sat on her mother's lap so that she would be comfortable while listening to the report.
***
“...and so that is what happened. I have no clue why the sirens would do something like this. I don't see how it would benefit them at all,” said Orman finishing his report.
“Hmmm, Akira you said that there were several dwarven runes carved into the ground? Are you sure about that?” asked the Queen.
“Yes, they looked almost exactly like the ones I saw used by the dwarves for enchanting. There were a few that I had not seen before but I think they were dwarven runes or something close to it. The Siren and her minions in the middle of the dungeon were chanting in some language I have never heard of before but they quit when we entered so I'm not sure if they were related.”
“I'm grateful for the help you have given us. With your help, we were able to clear out many of the troubling dungeons and even stop a plot by the ugly sirens.”
Ding!
Spring cleaning completed!
The Queen will give you your reward.
“I was just doing what I promised to do,” said Akira.
“Allow me to show my appreciation for your help. I heard that your shield was ruined while fighting with a monster inside the Kapoom dungeon. Please accept this from me,” said the Queen.
She clapped her hand once and a castle guard swam over to Akira holding a large white glowing shell shield that was like the ones the mermaids used. It was slightly different with the size being bigger.
“There are only two shields like this created every ten years and it is a great honor for those who receive the shield.”
Ding!
King Cockleshell shield (Rare):
Durability: 80/80 | Defense: 50
+Unknown stat unlocked at lvl 40.
“I humbly accept this gift,” said Akira taking the shield and replacing it with his ruined Aorium shield.
The [King Cockleshell shield] was larger and slightly heavier than the Aorium shield and was shaped just like the shell of a Cockle wider at the top and thinner at the bottom.
The Queen's gaze turned to Mileena, Maya, and Varbu.
“I have not forgotten you three. The royal craftsmen have been working hard the last few days to create a suitable reward for you.”
With a motion of her hand, three guards moved forward each carrying a bundle covered by a cloth.
When they took the cover off they found three different sized leather chest armor one for each of them.
“The armor was created out of part of the hide we received from the Octopus that you four helped to kill.”
“I am honored to receive such a gift,” said Varbu lifting up the large leather armor chest piece.
“Thank you,” said both the sisters at the same time.
The Queen nodded acknowledging their thanks and turned back to Akira.
“You have held up your end of the bargain so I will tell you what you wish to know. The last I spoke to one of the werewolf clans was ten years ago after they had taken a heavy blow to their clan's power losing many warriors, elders, and I heard that another clan had even lost their chief. They told me that they planned to retreat to the southern part of the swamp continent. ”
“Thank you!” said Akira happy that they now had a lead on where to look. Their long search would be coming to an end soon.
“I would like for you to send my greetings to the clan chiefs and elders when you get a chance. I would still like to continue our friendship into the future if possible. As well with the rest of your clans Varbu, Mileena, and Maya,” said the Queen.
“I will make sure to inform them of your wish,” said Akira.
“Then please take this letter and give it to the elders when you see them,” said the Queen.
A gray envelope with a golden seal of a trident was handed to Akira.
“I know that you want to get to the swamp continent as fast as you can so I asked a friend of mine to give you a ride there. It shouldn't take too long with his help. If you're ready to go you don't have to wait for long since he should be here soon,” said the Queen.
“Awww, do you really have to go Big brother?” asked Cora as she swam over and hugged Akira with tears in her eyes.
This caused Mileena to mumble a few choice words under her breath.
“Hush Cora. They can not stay here forever they have their own problems they have to take care of. It is surprising and nice that you have taken a liking to him since you normally don't warm up to strangers.”
“Big brother is different from everyone else!” said Cora.
“I may visit later when things settle back down but your mother is right, I have a lot of things I still need to do,” said Akira patting the princesses head to calm her down.
***
The friend that the Queen had mentioned was a large blue whale the size of a mountain.
“My name is Little Blue. But everyone just calls me Blue,” said the large whale in a booming voice.
'Little my ass,' thought Akira.
“Thank you for agreeing to take us to the swamplands,” said Akira.
“No need for thanks I was heading that way anyway and decided to help the little miss. Hop on and we can get going,” said Blue.
They swam up on to the whales head and found a small house that had been built. The door was open so the four entered the house.
“And we're off!” said Blue his voice vibrating floor and walls of the house.