Leaving the Two Fin Inn Iagan and I ventured onto the wide cobbled stone roads of the city of Seamyst. Now lit by poles with balls of light at the top the small colorful flags flapped wildly in the wind that gusted through the bay rushing to make landfall. Food stalls lined the edge of the street, actively advertising to the now off work sailors who were hungry to spend their coin on life’s little pleasures.
Crowds of people ambled down the street in loose casual clothes. The men favored shirts with low plunging open necklines and light weight billowing sleeves. The women wrapped themselves in light colorful shawls that trailed out behind them like capes, their dresses all with a slit up the side exposing their mid thighs.
“Keep an eye on your coin purse.” Iagan said as a rowdy group of young children played in the colorfully lit streets ahead of us. I took off my fanny pack, sending it into my inventory with a pat. An icon of the fanny pack arrived in my inventory with a red border signifying it could be taken, but everything that was classified as inside the fanny pack was outlined with black. I made a quick note on my notepad.
Meta Nonsense:
-Bag in a bag= Unstealable???
Something to test later. For now I was on a mission of my own undertaking: Find the giant crab. I pulled the pamphlet out and flipped it open to the side that spoke of the [::Seabed Stroll::] There was no further information beyond the address and hint on how to find them. I tried the other pages looking for more clues on the other pages. Sure enough there was another part that had descriptions of the landscapes around Floor 1. [Viewpoint] hints! Both the mountain viewpoint AND the lagoon were mentioned as well as revealing a shipwreck in the reefs and the magnificent palace in Dawnrise.
The shipwreck in the tank at Sharkie’s came to mind instantly along with the single pink tentacle that wrapped around it. A sinking feeling filled my gut, was that a clue? A warning perhaps, to those who’s [Investigation] managed to catch the tiny but unnecessarily added detail to the design?
“What?” Iagan interrupted my train of thought snapping me up from my pamphlet.
“What?” I parroted back.
“You’re holding onto that thing with a death grip, Mica.” Iagan nodded down to it. I looked down. So I was.
“The tank at Sharkie’s had a mini reef with a sunken ship in it right?” I smoothed the pamphlet and pointed to the paragraph of [Viewpoint] hints. “There was a little tentacle wrapped around it, do you think that could be a clue that there’s a kraken down there?”
Iagan’s brows shot up his forehead, looking away from the pamphlet. “A kraken?”
“Or something at the very least.” A strand of hair found it’s way to between my fingers as I twisted it, anxiety rising into my neck and throat. “I don’t know, but I’m feeling uneasy about it.”
“We still have time to prepare for it if it is there and we can make a better plan once we find the quest starting location.” Iagan said. “If it helps you feel better, we can ask around for any rumors of what might have caused the ship to sink in the first place.”
I nodded, the anxiety dissipating away. I didn’t often have others to play games with so I tended to stick to single player experiences. Being able to bounce ideas off Iagan would take some getting used to. He was right though, even thinking that there could be something out there meant that I had lots of time to prepare just in case.
I pulled off and asked one of the locals for directions to Clearwater Tours and they waved us all the way to the complete opposite side of the bay from where we were staying. Resigning to a walk we made it and there it was: A giant fake crab stood tall and proud as a crab could at the top of the building. The sun faded letters of the once brightly painted sign were barely lit from the interior glow of the building as we pushed in through a swinging door.
A bell chimed upon our arrival and the small building didn’t get any less cramped. Every wall covered in nautical themed decoration, draped fishing nets with small shells and fake fish tacked in places to help hold it up. Anything not covered with nautical things was blue except for the white desk that was squatly in the center of the room. A middle aged woman with graying coiled black hair tucked into a bandana sat behind it perking up as we walked through, a big smile crossing her freckled face.
“Couple of late night strollers comin’ in! Welcome to Clearwater Tours, my name is Maggie Clearwater! How can I help you folks tonight?” She said the dimples at the end of her bright smile leaving deep divots in her sienna cheeks. I summoned the pamphlet and pointed to the [::Seabed Stroll::] indicated in the pages.
“We were looking to do the [::Seabed Stroll::].”
The woman’s amber eyes twinkled as she gave me and Iagan a once over. “Oh! Haven’t done a stroll in a while! This’ll be fun.”
She reached into a drawer on the other side and pulled out two large packets of paperwork. With nimble fingers she twisted them around and slid them across the table with precision, one landing in front of each of the two chairs seated before the desk. She gestured for us to sit and Iagan plopped in his chair and picked up the packet eyeing it warily.
“If you’ll take a seat we can begin. I have some preliminary paperwork I’ll need you to fill out before we get going. The usual wavers, agreements, rules and such.” The woman waved her hand dismissively. “Now may I have the pleasure of knowing who I’ll be accompanying for a stroll tomorrow?”
“Mr.BigwIggy.” Iagan murmured flipping through it, using his username instead of his real name. Now was my chance to impress and maybe even make a sale. A little charm in the right spot couldn’t hurt either.
With a flourish of my hand I summoned a single hand carved Dapper Crate key chain that bore my username and slid it across the table to her. “MykaReviews, it’s a pleasure to meet you Maggie. I’ve really been looking forward to this since I heard about it from Plyne at the Dapper Crate.”
Most of the statement was true, I just managed to leave out the details that Seamyst was the only other place I knew to ask Plyne for hints about. I was also lying though, I was not looking forward to it: thalassophobia, the fear of open oceans, was a bitch. I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise and lounge about on the deck all day sipping cocktails but could never get past my fear of it. I’d gotten caught in a riptide when I was younger, the currents dragging me deep out into the ocean. Ever since I’ve been real careful to give the ocean the respect it deserves by staying the hell away.
Brave face Walters: sell it. “It was the first thing he’d mentioned to me as something fun to do when I got here to Seamyst!”
She pulled back, her lips curling into a bashful smirk as she cupped her face in her hands. “Plyne recommended me to you first? That was so sweet of him! Anyways, welcome MykaReviews and Mr.BigwIggy I am so glad that you are interested in a tour! To begin are either of you a [Tourist] class?”
I nodded and Iagan thumbed over to me, flipping another page. She picked up the key chain eyeing it with a smile. “As the [Tourist] I must warn you: your camera will break if it comes into contact with water.”
The words I didn’t want to hear. I thought back to the MANY close calls I’d had with it back in Green’s Peak. Stupidly leaving it on UNDER my poncho UNDER a damn waterfall. I sat in my good fortune, GRATEFUL that nothing had gone awry. But that presented a new problem that she probably had an expensive answer for. I readied myself for the next [Haggle] sure to come.
“Ah yes, how would I go about water-proofing it?” I asked, this quest would take out seven of the twenty-five total animals I’d have to log and document for the floor. Breaking my camera was NOT an option.
“There’s two ways: Pay for a Narwhal Bubble or get it enchanted to be water proof and use an underwater breathing potion.” Maggie provided, counting them off on her fingers. My HUD caught a glimpse of shine between her finger for just a brief moment. I blinked and nothing was there.
“What’s a Narwhal Bubble?” Iagan asked.
“I am so glad you asked, Mr.BigwIggy. A Narwhal Bubble is exactly as it sounds! A bubble from a Narwhal! It’s a pocket of air that you can use to explore the reefs around Clearwater Bay. We use them for our tours for those who are less comfortable being in the water but still wish to explore and experience the wonders of the bay. The bubble is made of an unpoppable film that can hold over one hour’s worth of air. Personally I don’t like the bubble. Doesn’t let you feel the water, you know? But if you’re thinkin’ about taking pictures of the critters down there, I suggest the water proofing and the underwater breathing way. I can even send you to a decently priced alchemist and enchanter who’ll be able to set you up.” Maggie said with a still perky smile, addressing me with the latter half of her statement.
“Sounds like that one’s the better option.” I said leafing through my packet of waivers filled with legalese that I didn’t want to waste time on. I’d be in charge of my own safety around marine life, my own oxygen and time limit for how long I wanted to be down there, yadda yadda yadda. I’ve never been scuba diving but they couldn’t be all that different could they?
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“What all can you tell me about the bay?” Iagan asked finishing the last pages. “Is it true there’s a sunken ship?”
The tour guide nodded. “That is most certainly true and is the highlight feature of the stroll at the very end!”
Turning around to the half bookshelf behind her she reached back and produced a miniature ship in a bottle and set it out on the desk in front of us. Similar to the one from Sharkie’s this one was whole and unbroken. A grand little thing sporting three masts with tiny threads that ran between them to simulate the rigging of the cheese cloth sails. The miniature figure head depicted a mermaid with a unicorn horn and her hands cupped outward like she was reaching for something which turned into the pointed bowsprit.
“This ship is featured just outside the bay in our local coral grove called the Seamyst Depths.” Maggie continued also bringing out a map of the area and laying it on the table. Whereas the one I got from Plyne was an overfloor view, this was a city map of only Seamyst. The tiny roads and quadrants of the city were labeled in tiny script but the most impressive part of the map was the detail included in the marine topography of the depiction of the bay. “You’ll have as long as you have to breathe via either a Narwhal Bubble or potion you provide yourself, to explore the area.”
My camera fell into my hand in an instant.
“Can I snag a quick picture of all this?” I asked pointing to the map and the bottle. Maggie smiled in understanding.
“Certainly MykaReviews.”
Ker-chunk
Ker-chunk
A new map added to my Floor 1 tab, and the bottled ship filed itself away. I dismissed my camera and read through the rest of my packet signing where applicable.
“Are there any dangers we should be worried about while on the stroll?” Iagan asked.
“There are the usual dangers one would think of happening in the ocean: drowning, shark attack and the like. I take pride that no one has done either of those things on my tours as I take safety of my guests very seriously.”
“What about krakens?” I asked.
“Krakens?” Maggie asked, arching a brow as she shook her head. “No, we don’t have krakens on this floor of the Tower.”
How she worded that made me wary that there WERE krakens somewhere in the tower. There were none on this floor so that granted me a small semblance of relief in the ocean of problems on my mind. I finishing signing and returning my paperwork and Maggie took both packets and stamped them with a round seal of a clamshell with waves etched into it.
“How much do we owe for this?”
“That depends on if you want the bubble or not. The bubble package is 15 gold more expensive than the non bubble package seein’ as you’d be fronting the cost for your duration underwater yourselves. Non bubble package runs you 25 gold per person.”
“Yeah two non bubble packages please.” I said calling forth the coin to pay for mine. We both paid and Maggie swept the coin off the table into a small bag and labeled it accordingly in a ledger book.
“Is there a specific day you’d want to schedule the stroll?” She asked pausing in her writing. “I’m free any day this week.”
I looked to Iagan as a pink box popped up on my HUD:
Mr.BigwIggy whispered to [The Group]:
“Can we check with the enchanter and alchemist first to see how long the enchanting will take on my camera?” I asked and Maggie nodded and pointed to the map.
“The shop is called Enchantment Emporium, you’ll find them here in old town’s square. Potions shop is next door. They know me and usually run a pretty good deal for my strolls. If you walk quickly they might still be open tonight.”
“We should hurry then.” Iagan said standing up.
“I look forward to hearing back from you on when you’d like to go out!” Maggie said with a wave still remaining seated. The bell chimed at our departure and the air welcomed us whipping around in a whirling frenzy as it rushed along the roads.
“There have to be some money making quests that we can do.” Iagan muttered as we wound our way up the streets away from the bay further inland. “Fetch quests, escorts, find the mcguffin, something!”
“We’ll find some.” I told him. “There’s got to be a quest board or a help wanted place to receive assignments somewhere around here.” Aside from the bear we hadn’t found any quests for Iagan’s [Adventurer] class. My quests were nice in that they gave titles but his were how he would sustain himself and his funds. I forgot that not every class started with the same amount of money, I got VERY used to my credit card.
We arrived in the quieter section of the town, where there were still people about although not nearly as loud or rowdy as the ones along the waterline. Several shops had darkened windows already calling it a day. Two shops with lights still on sat next to each other, their simple wooden frames almost leaning onto one another.
A large sign on the taller of the two buildings read ‘Enchantment Emporium’ and the rounded potion bottle sign on the other building read ‘Potent Potions’. I pushed into the Enchantment Emporium, a deep voice from nowhere spoke.
“Welcome to Enchantment Emporium.”
A man with pointed ears and short cropped brown hair poked his head out from the backroom in surprise. Unlike the woman at Sharkie’s this man’s ears stuck straight out the side of his head prominently. An elf. Attached to his waist was a tool belt where several wands of different color woods sat in thin holsters on one side, the other held pouches
“Customers at this hour!” He exclaimed coming around the corner drying his hands on a towel. “Welcome welcome! You can call me Tel, how may I assist you tonight?”
“I need to enchant my camera with [Water Proof].” I said summoning it to my hand. “Maggie Clearwater said you might be the one to help us.”
“Maggie sent you, huh? I suppose you’re taking one of her strolls?” Tel said taking the camera and inspecting it. “Says here you’ve got room for two upgrades for this camera and [Water Proof] will take up one of them. I do offer Enchantment Removal services for a fee as well if you change your mind at a later date.”
That would be helpful to remember. I jotted it down on my watch. “How much is it going to cost me for the first enchantment?” I had to pace myself and not overspend.
“[Water Proof] will run you 120 gold and I’ll need your camera overnight for it to set.”
The Bees were silent to my chagrin, I was hoping for a better deal than that. I handed over my credit card and Tel took it, charging for the transaction. With all these important costs right out of the gate I decided that this must be why [Tourists] started with a credit card. A second enchantment on the camera could wait until I’d gotten more money. The water proofing was more important in the immediate short term.
“Oi Tel? Did you get customers?” Another voice asked from another door frame across the room, another man who looked exactly alike to the man behind the counter looked over to us. Same pointed ears only his brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail that sat at the nape of his neck. Even a similar style of clothing, except instead of wands at his waist his belt held vials, a large round flask of swirling purple liquid hung at his hip.
“My brother Velimnicus,” Tel gestured as Velimnicus strode through. “And yes I did, Maggie sent them.”
“Maggie!” The brother said trotting up as an excited smile popped up on his face. “Are you going on the stroll? I sell great quality potions at an affordable price in the shop next door.”
“We were headed there next.” Iagan said. “How much for the underwater breathing potions?”
“Potions are 20 gold a pop, each lasts an hour.”
The Bees didn’t like that. The stipulation of the stroll was that we could stay as long as we wanted as long as we paid for the air to do so. I wanted at least two hours worth of air which would stick me at four potions straight out of the gate not including extra time if we found anything exceptionally noteworthy. Those AND the water proof enchantment at the same time would be a big chunk of change. Including the money I had on that I had enough to cover for both me and Iagan’s shares.
“We’ll take four and I don’t suppose you can do a discount since I’m buying in bulk and paying in coin?” I asked, hoping my [Haggle] would come through. Velimnicus thought about it for a moment and gave a shrug.
“Sure, Maggie’s always sending people our way, I can do 75 gold for all four.” He said offering a hand out to shake on it. The bees thrummed, not good but not too unfair. I shouldn’t push too hard with this next ask.
“Could you go for 70?”
The potion brother studied me. “70 is a bit too low considering the cost of materials that go into each potion. These are not cheap ingredients.”
“Are there any materials in the bay that you need?” Iagan piped up from beside me interjecting into the conversation. “I’d happily bring you some back as repayment.”
Iagan was offering to turn this into a fetch quest as leverage for a cheaper price. The bees in my chest grew excited, I could build off of this.
“Really? Some of them are a little obscure and even I have trouble finding them on my trips out there.”
“Yeah! If we could even get a third potion each thrown in you can have the ingredients we bring back and whatever doesn’t cover the cost of the third potion we’ll pay you back for.” I offered. A third hour underwater would gain us a lot more time to gather things up and gathering was something I was very VERY good at. Velimnicus gave Tel a look, who nodded in our favor.
“Sounds reasonable provided you have assurance they’ll come back at the end of it all.” Tel told him.
“Sure, give me something to hold onto and I’ll give it back once you return with the ingredients.” Velimnicus said holding out his hand once more. “Six underwater breathing potions for 75 gold and ingredient gathering as a combined payment for the rest until paid for. Deal?”
I gave a shake and summoned the coin necessary to pay, the purse icon in my HUD showed it drooping over lethargically now that it wasn’t stuffed. As for the object to hand over I turned to Iagan after exchanging the coin, we only had one that would be worth reassuring them with.
“Give them the pelt.”
Iagan summoned it forth from his inventory dropping into his arms with a heft to it to the surprise of both of the elven brothers whose eyes went wide. Velimnicus accepted the pelt and handed over six vials of a sky blue liquid that fizzed with tiny bubbles like champagne. I divvied them up giving three to Iagan.
“Floors below, where did you find this beast!” Velimnicus said rolling it out to get a look at it. With a flap the thick paws with still attached claws clattered as they met the wooden floors. The bear was long enough for Iagan to lay on fully and still have space before his feet reached the edge. It wasn’t as grizzled looking but a bit softer, the light had definitely left it’s glass eye replacements. The two long canine teeth that poked out from under it’s lip looked cute rather than intimidating now.
Iagan answered, “Near Green’s Peak.”
“Will this do as compensation until we return?” I asked. Velimnicus nodded fervently and quickly set off to make a list of what all we’d need.
[Skill Increase: Haggle level 4]
He returned in no time handing it over to me and I looked over what I’d need to be keeping an eye out for:
-Pufferfin Spines
-SeaGrapes
-Angel’s Halo
-Oceangrass
-Ghost Coral
I had no idea what any of those items were or looked like but a list was enough to get started at the very least.
“Alright then, we’ll see you tomorrow to pick up my camera.” I said giving Tel a thumbs up.
“Yup! See you then!” Tel smiled as he and Velimnicus entered a synchronized wave and we set off into the night.