I awoke to knocking on the door. I sat up quickly rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I got out of bed. Iagan’s sheets were a mess but he was nowhere to be found. I opened the door to find the same bellhop from yesterday standing holding another tray of
My watch read eight fifteen. Still entirely too early for anything to happen but free breakfast did more than make up for the experience. That and the now quieted streets below my room gave me a chance to enjoy the view, the festivities succinctly over with now that the sun was up. The docks were nearly empty, most of their local having drifted out with the tide. I took a sip of my coffee, letting it warm me along with the rays of sunlight that spilled across the bay as it climbed higher into the sky.
“Mica!” a voice shouted up at me from below. I looked down to find Iagan, up, dressed and heading away from where we dropped Toothpick off the day before. I gave a lazy wave.
“Breakfast is ready.” I called down to him lifting my cup of coffee. Iagan ducked into the building and it wasn’t long before he came in through the door.
“Welcome back.” I said as Iagan started in on his meal. “How’d it go?”
“Long ass walk but an easy ride back so I can’t complain.” He said eating the bacon in one bite. “Gold is gold and repeatable daily quests are worth the trouble.”
I looked back out to the ocean where we were going to be spending the better part of our morning. As Iagan finished his food I got dressed into the clothes I’d be using as my swim suit today: a dark gray tank top and a pair of the dark gray shorts. I applied sunscreen generously upon returning.
“Do you think they have a laundry service?” I asked as we headed down toward the lobby. Iagan shrugged and I took a pit stop at the front desk where the same woman from our first day in the city was back attending. Her impossibly tight bun not a hair out of place from the last time we saw her.
“Good morning again Mr.BigwIggy and MykaReviews.” She said as I approached. “I trust your stay has been to your liking?”
“Morning, and yes it has, thank you.” I said. “Question: do you guys have a laundry service available?”
“We do for an extra five gold.” She responded.
“Oh easy.” I said pulling out the five gold and handing it over. She took it without complaint and handed me a mesh woven bag.
“Also if you’d like to keep your room you will need to pay again tomorrow.” She added as I began stuffing it with all my extra items, leaving Beach Bum in my inventory.
“How much for two more nights, the extra mattress and laundry?” Iagan asked.
“15 gold for the room for two nights, 5 for the mattress and 5 for laundry. 25 total.” She said. Iagan paid for the rest of it and shoveled his things into his own mesh bag that she provided. Lodgings secured we left out onto the street heading across to the other side of the bay.
I found another dog laying happily in the sun next to the stoop of one of the open walled shops. The familiar weight of my camera rested perfectly in my hand in an instant.
Ker-chunk
Another picture and another pat added to my counter as my compendium updated.
[Floor 1 Animals 11/25]
We made it to Clearwater Tours in no time where Maggie Clearwater sat in front of her shop waiting for us. My jaw fell slack in astonishment as I realized now suddenly why I’d never seen her stand up from behind her desk: she had a brown and cream colored seal tail complete with front flippers instead of legs. Maggie didn’t seem to mind my staring as she waved as we arrived.
“Good morning MykaReviews and Mr.BigwIggy!” She smiled. “Ready for your [::Seabed Stroll::]?”
“Maggie you’re a mermaid?” I asked finding myself as I continued to stare. Maggie laughed heartily her wild hair barely tamed under her bandana.
“My people are called the Narwhals but yes, we are kin to the merfolk.” She explained. “So the Narwhal Bubble option we offer would have been made by yours truly.”
My mind raced with a thousand different questions, but the Narwhal wasted no time. She hopped from her lounge on the bench down to the ground and scooted herself to the edge of the docks in true seal like fashion. She dove into the water her tail flopping in with a splash, popping up a moment later.
“Alright you guys are going to sit here while I call Peaches. Don’t take your potions yet.” Maggie said ducking back under the water as Iagan and I pulled up some dock and sat down.
“She’s a mermaid!” I whispered excitedly.
“Narwhal.” Iagan corrected.
“Yes that, but she IS ONE.” Noodles how cool was that, first elves and now Narwhals. Maggie popped back up a few moments later.
“Peaches will be here soon so I’ll go over things with you. Where we are going today is to explore the sunken ship over in Seamyst Depths. The Depths are not to be trifled with and are home to a variety of things and critters that are very poisonous if touched. So avoid touching things if you don’t know what they are. There will be sharks around. Stay close to me and Peaches and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Keep a STRICT eye on your potion status, I will do my best to remind you but that much is on you to keep track of.”
“Question,” Iagan asked, “do we have to spend the whole tour out at the depths?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“No, we can come back to the harbor at any time and swim around the bay.” Maggie said. Iagan looked over to me.
“How about two potions for the stroll and then we use the last one here in the bay to gather those ingredients and to find that necklace?” He offered. That’s right we had a quest to find a necklace that was lost somewhere in the bay. It would have to do if we were going to not have to pay the rest of the potion costs out of pocket.
“Yeah.” I said, looking down into the water underneath our feet as the waves vanished under the pier.“Sounds fine.”
“Alrighty then so we’ll come back up after you’ve had two potions and come back to the bay then.” Maggie smiled. The water next to her shifted as a big gray form broke through the surface. With a squeak and a squeal came the pointed beak like snout of a gray and white colored dolphin as it rested it’s face on Maggie’s shoulder. My compendium boxed an unidentified icon around her.“This here is Peaches, say hello Peaches.”
Peaches the dolphin gave a big toothy smile and let out a set of chirps. It dipped below the surface of the water and popped up right beneath us showing off as she jumped high in the air into a backflip.
“Now I’m not going to have you take the potions until we are a little further out in the bay. So if you’re ready hop on in the water and hold onto Peaches and we’ll start the stroll.”
Iagan took off his shirt, stowing it away in his inventory as he hopped in with a splash. He popped back up with a rattled gasp.
“Fuck that’s cold!” He chattered through his teeth as he tread the water. “You comin’?”
“Easier said than done.” I grumbled. “I don’t exactly like the ocean.” Thalassaphobia or not I had to do this if I was going to complete my compendium. I took out my camera and triple checked it’s properties one last time.
[MykaReviews’s Water Proof Camera] -For the Photo Compendium! |Floor 1 Memory card| |Flash ?/NA|
Properties-Flash has a chance to stun target on first picture taken. Chance to activate raises after multiple attempts versus same target.
Upgrades active 1/2: [Water Proof]]
I let out a sigh of relief and slipped the unbreakable strap around my neck. My camera would survive, so I had no further excuses to not face my fear. My knees quaked and before I could stop myself I leaped off and canon balled into the ocean.
Cold wrapped around me instantly filling my lungs with ice liquid. Salt filled every bud on my tongue, choking me as no soy sauce would ever dare attempt to do. The flutter of bubbles from my splash wrapped around me skittering down my legs to my ankles. I kicked fighting to find the surface as a warm hand wrapped around my arm dragging me in a strange direction. I broke the surface with a sputtering gasp to find Iagan bobbing right next to me.
“At this point I’m wondering if you can even swim, Mica.” Iagan panted beside me.
“I can swim and I don’t need rescuing.” I protested through my shivers. Something smooth and wet nudged into my side scooping under my arm as Peaches popped her head between us with a squeak.
“Grab onto Peaches and we can start our swim out to the location.” Maggie instructed. A text box popped up in my HUD with a ping.
[Merge Parties with Maggie Clearwater’s Party]
[Y/N?]
Click.
Upon accepting the invitation, the text box vanished and up came two more names across the top of my HUD for Maggie and Peaches. No health bars but it also had a little crown icon over Maggie’s name indicating that she was the party leader.
[Your Party Leader bonuses are no longer active.]
[New Party Leader Bonus active: Swift Swimming- Narwhal racial bonus: Increase Athletics skill by +1 when in the water.]
Iagan helped me get situated as I realized Peaches was wearing a simple rope harness around her blubbery body. I wrapped my hand in the rope making sure I wouldn’t fall away when Peaches finally took off, Iagan situated himself on the other side.
“Everybody on?” Maggie asked as she bobbed closer. “Alright let’s head out.”
Maggie dove back under the water and like an overly excited great dane on a leash upon seeing a squirrel, Peaches took off with a lurch. The dolphin zipped through the water, staying just at the surface, the wake of our drag kicking up white foaming ripples behind us. Crashing headlong into the waves I sputtered out as much of the salt water as I could while trying not to take on more. I glanced to see how Iagan was fairing to find a big childish grin of excitement overcome him, the spray of the water of no concern to him.
The docks along the shore retreated as we were pulled along to the mouth of the rounded bay. It was around this time that Peaches finally slowed down and Maggie popped back up.
“Now’s the time to take your first potion.” Maggie instructed. I tapped through my HUD and summoned my first of three underwater breathing potions and knocked it back. It was slimy, like I was swallowing raw unprocessed seaweed and just as salty as the ocean. I forced it down as the potion bottle evaporated and a new icon popped up on my HUD.
[Potion of underwater breathing: 59:52]
The timer worked just fine. Iagan finished his off as well as Maggie beamed at us.
“Great. Now stick your face under the water and take a deep breath.”
Oh noodles. I laid my face down in the ocean and against my better judgement inhaled. Salt filled my taste buds, but air came into my lungs. The chill of the water ringed around my face the only distinction between sea and sky. Before I could say anything Peaches lurched again, I gripped my section of the rope harness tighter with a gasping gulp of salty air as we sank fully beneath the water.
Corals of every color and variety decorated the orange sandy floor deep below us. Schools of silvery fish glinted in the choppy rays of sunlight that filtered in from overhead. Maggie’s half seal body glided effortlessly, swaying back and forth as she continued swimming. I pulled up my camera and could faintly see a light blue film like bubble surrounding it which my HUD identified as the [Water Proof] enchantment. Holding on with one hand I started snapping pictures as we passed by.
Ker-chunk
Ker-chunk
Ker-chunk
Ker-chunk
My compendium updated a few times as I snagged a few pictures of the schools of fish and the tiger shark that was hunting them in the distance.
[Floor 1 Animals 12/25]
[Floor 1 Animals 13/25]
The orange sandy floor gave way to the deep blue gray rocks of the bed as we approached a drop off. The rocks broke off at a complete 90 degree angle heading further down into the darkened blue waters. Maggie saddled up to a stop near the edge and Peaches nuzzled up next to her.
“Alright.” She said with a warble to her voice as it carried through the water without issue. “This is Seamyst Depths. You’re free to explore wherever you want to from here on out. Just stay close by.”
I let go of the rope and took another deep breath of salt air. A few more curious fish eyed me as they slowly swam by, keeping a wary watch to see if I was a strange new predator. I held up my camera and got a much better closer shot of them adding them to my compendium.
Ker-chunk
The sound of the shutter continued as though nothing was wrong with it being fully submerged. A large shape moved by me as Iagan swam into the viewfinder, the fish darted off in a hurry, their scales catching in the light.
“Hey—” he bubbled as he pointed down to something. I followed as my HUD locked onto a small shape nestled in the sand. A jet black shimmering rock caught my attention as the HUD failed to identify it. I swam closer, getting the lens up close.
Ker-chunk
[Floor 1 Animals 14/25]
[Skill Increase: Athletics level 2]
The oyster filed itself away appropriately and my eyes flicked back to the time remaining on my potion.
[49:37]
Plenty of time. I turned back and found Maggie tending to Peaches giving her a kiss on the snout.
Ker-chunk
[Floor 1 Animals 15/25]
[Fish (Salt Water)], [Sharks], [Oysters], and [Dolphins] all had new star icons on their entries in my journal and I’d barely been here for ten minutes. Combined with the new entry for [Dog] today had already been well worth the gold spent to get all these shots. I gave a silent thankful prayer to Plyne and the pamphlet for the hints they provided pointing me to this quest. I let out a stream of bubbles, eager to find what else I had left to look for.