Dungeon Master 2

by Eric Vall

  “Yikes!” Carmedy squealed as she reeled back to avoid the fish’s prickly points.

  “Carmedy, stop bothering the fish,” Annalíse said as she shook her head in the way that mothers often did.

  “I just wanted to look at it,” Carmedy said with a slight pout “I wasn’t… hey, look at that!” The cat pointed to something over our shoulders. A few leagues away from us, an enormous underwater cliff rose up, andon top of this cliff was a city covered by a translucent dome.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Annalíse said breathlessly.

  “Nor have I,” Morrigan whispered. “I expected an underwater cave of some sort, not an entire civilization.”

  “Let us take a closer look,” I said as I swam toward the underwater city. As we drew closer, I was able to see how truly spectacular it was. The clear dome that protected the city was flawless, and toward the bottom of the dome were four large turquoise stones placed equidistant from each other around its outside perimeter. They appeared to be jewels of some sort that glowed and pulsated in a rhythm that reminded me of a heartbeat.

  The buildings inside the dome were unlike anything I had ever seen before. The narrow structures appeared to be made of gold or at least something that resembled it. They each looked to be almost one thousand feet tall, gathered around the city in clusters. Fixed to the top of each building was a large sphere etched with intricate markings. I noticed that mazelike lines ran down the length of each building and pulsated with the same turquoise light as the jewels that were fixed to the dome.

  “This place is beautiful,” Carmedy said with wide eyes as she marveled at the towering structures.

  “Yes, I must admit, this architecture is quite extraordinary,” Morrigan said quietly as we continued to swim toward the city. “I wonder what the purpose of those large stones are?” As she spoke, the elf pointed to the turquoise gems that were fixed to the edges of the dome.

  “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” I said as I glanced around. Where were the water demons? I found it very odd that we had traveled this far and hadn’t yet come across any of the pale creatures.

  We had seen two emerge from the water earlier, and there were assuredly more than just two of them, yet the surrounding area was free of the creatures. Not only that, but as we swam closer to the city within the great dome, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be anyone in there either. It was strange. Had the city been abandoned? If so, what had become of the water demons that we had seen earlier?

  “Does anyone see a door or something?” Carmedy asked once we arrived at the base of the dome. We all looked around in search of a way to get inside.

  After that brief search, Annalíse shook her head. “Not from what I can see.”

  “There has to be a way inside.” Carmedy pressed her hands against the dome and squished her nose against it as she peered inside. “Hello, anyone home?”

  I chuckled at the small cat. “If anyone is at home, I doubt that they’d heard you from out here.”

  “Looks like there isn’t anyone there anyway,” Carmedy said as she turned to me.

  “I wonder where everyone is,” Annalíse said suspiciously as she scanned the city that lay before us then let out a dry chuckle. “Was there a party somewhere, and we missed it?”

  “Why don’t you ask them?” Carmedy said, and the rest of us quickly turned around to see who she was referring to. It seemed that our presence in the underwater domain had finally been acknowledged, someone was coming to greet us though I was unsure of how friendly the greeting would be.

  A group of ten water demons sped toward us through the water with inconceivable swiftness. As the creatures kicked their feet, a torrent of bubbles trailed behind them. Within seconds, they had us surrounded. My minions gaped at the beasts that circled around us.

  Each of them had pale skin that resembled fish scales which shimmered as the beasts encircled us. Jagged pale blue markings on their arms and legs reminded me of veins. Their large dark eyes blinked slowly as they began to swim around us in a circle and resembled Morrigan’s when she used dark magic, only much bigger and almond shaped.

  In fact, each of the water demons looked identical down to the fitted black pants that came to the tops of their ankles. All appeared to be male, and their bare muscular chests bore more of the pale blue markings.

  “Come with us,” one of the water demons said in a slow and lyrical tone. As he spoke, the small pale blue fins on either side of his neck, ankles, and forearms lazily flapped back and forth. The demon then pressed a webbed hand onto the dome.

  As he did so, the large turquoise gems around it began to pulse rapidly. A hissing sound came to my ears, and to my surprise, a small doorway began to slide open at the base of the dome.

  Water began to rush into the opening as the water demons quickly herded us through the entrance. Carmedy gasped as we passed through, and Morrigan and Annalíse’s eyes widened in shock. Quite unexpectedly, the inside of the dome wasn’t filled with water, and our feet quickly touched down on solid ground.

  “How strange,” I breathed. I had already been curious about the dome when I had first laid eyes on it. I figured that it was merely some sort of defense, but now that we were inside, the lack of water made the dome all the more intriguing.

  Equally fascinating were these scaled men that had escorted us, not only because of what they were, but because they hadn’t attacked us, at least not yet. While I could have dealt with them easily, I wanted to know more about them and this strange underwater home of theirs.

  And of course, once I learned of their ways, I could use the knowledge to take their magic and increase my own power.

  “I am not sure that it was wise to follow these creatures,” Morrigan whispered once we and the water demons were all inside.

  “We didn’t really have much choice,” Annalíse replied. “Besides, we have to find out what’s going on here.”

  “She’s right, we must locate the deity who lives here and figure out how to conquer the dungeon,” I replied as I glanced at the pale dark-eyed men. They seemed completely unbothered by the conversation that we were having, in fact they hardly even made eye contact with us.

  I glanced at the door as it began to close, and once it had, it was as though the door hadn’t appeared at all. The water demons walked around us and formed a tight circle once more.

  “What are they doing?” Carmedy said in a hushed tone, and her eyes darted back and forth between the scaled men. The water demons stood at attention as though they were soldiers in an army and offered no explanation. They stared straight ahead without so much as a glance at any of us.

  Before I could respond to Carmedy’s question, the blue-finned creatures knelt down on one knee and raised a fist to their chests as they bowed their heads. I raised an eyebrow as I looked down at the water demons. It was an unexpected gesture though not undeserving being that I was god. I was sure however, that these creatures couldn’t have known what I was just by looking at me, it was curious.

  “Oh, well this is nice of you all, but you don’t have to bow to us. We’re not royalty,” Carmedy said hurriedly. “Well, actually, Annalíse is, but I’m not sure if you’re supposed to bow to princesses. Do you only bow to kings? Or do you bow to all the--”

  Annalíse elbowed the rambling feline and nodded ahead of us. “They’re not bowing to us, they’re bowing to him.” I turned my head to see who Annalíse was referring to.

  The large door of the nearest building had opened wide, and a water demon with a crown atop his head strolled out. He looked quite similar to his brethren, but he was much taller with a long white beard sprouting from his chin to match the wrinkles around his dark eyes. More importantly, the aura that emanated off the crowned demon told me that this was the deity of this underwater domain.

  This fallen god not only had a dungeon, but a city and subjects to preside over. It was an attractive concept, and one that I soon hoped to employ.

  The deit
y held his head high as he approached us with two rows of water demons that trailed behind him carrying spears that looked to be crafted from silver. Once he was but ten feet from us, he stopped, andhis followers followed suit. The old deity’s eyes roamed over each of us curiously and silently for several moments.

  “I see that we have unexpected guests, Miren,” the god said in a deep rumbling voice and nodded to the water demon who had spoken to us before.

  “Yes, my lord,” Miren replied with his head still bowed.

  “Quite peculiar,” the deity mumbled. “I see before me an elf, a cat, a human, and you…” He paused as he looked at me. “I know what manner of creature you are. Explain to me, Miren, how these people came to be here. Particularly this human woman, why was she not captured?” As the old god spoke he absently nodded to Annalíse without breaking his eye contact with Miren.

  Annalíse narrowed her eyes at the deity but held her tongue for the moment, as did I. How these water creatures acted, how this god treated us, it still had my curiosity primed to hear more.

  “I-I am unsure as to exactly how they ventured down here, though I believe that those strange bubbles on their heads may have something to do with it,” Miren said.

  “Oops, I forgot we were still wearing these,” Carmedy mumbled as she removed her helmet, and the rest of us followed suit.

  “As for the human woman, somehow she was immune to our calls,” Miren continued to explain.

  “Immune? Impossible.” The water god squinted at Annalíse. “She is only a human. There is precious little that humans are immune to. This has never happened before.”

  “Only a human?” Annalíse said bitterly. She opened her mouth to speak again, but I raised my hand to signal her to stay silent.

  “You are surprised that we’re here,” I addressed the deity directly. It grew to annoy me that he had barely acknowledged us and had more or less spoken to Miren as if we weren’t at all present.

  “I am indeed,” the god said slowly, and he eyed me as though he were sizing me up. “No outsider has ever ventured into our waters on their own accord. When one of my subjects detect nearby humans on the surface, they call out to the humans, lure them to the water’s edge, and then drag them down.”

  “Yes, we heard about your… songs.” Annalíse glowered at the king. “Why do you do this?”

  “We require humans to live,” the old deity said in his deep voice.

  Carmedy cocked her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

  “We water demons feed on human life energy,” the bearded water demon said unapologetically. “For centuries, our people have had a cycle so to speak. We lured humans into the water and captured them alive. Then we breed them for continuous energy sources. We only need to feed once a year, but naturally, it’s necessary to keep a steady supply. There are many citizens who reside here after all. When the humans are ripe, which is at roughly twenty years of age, we consume their energy. We capture them, breed them, and drain them. The cycle has served us well.”

  “That’s disgusting,” Annalíse said furiously. “It’s despicable, it’s--”

  “Our way of life,” the old god finished for her with a shrug. “We do what we must in order to survive, as does any other species.

  “You said that we’re the only ones who have ever made it down here?” I questioned.

  “Yes, that is correct.” The tall water god nodded. “Over the years, many groups of travelers have come to the oasis. There was always at least one human in the party, and one is often enough. They’d quickly become entranced by our calls, andsometimes, their non-human companions would attempt to save them. Admirable but still quite foolish. Upon diving into the water after their human companion, they would soon give up the chase because, of course, they could not breathe underwater, nor could they swim fast enough to catch up to my subjects. Those that did attempt to pursue their captured friend would drown within minutes. Of course, other beings are of no use to us, so we’d dispose of them.”

  “That’s horrible,” Carmedy breathed.

  The bearded god raised an eyebrow. “Is our entire race meant to die out so that a measly handful of passing humans may live?”

  “Well… I, uh…” Carmedy scratched at her head awkwardly. “I didn’t mean quite like that, but can’t you, I don’t know, consume something else?”

  “This is how my people were designed.” The deity gestured to the men around him. “This is how things are and how they always will be. Speaking of which, are you sure you can’t be persuaded to hand over that human you have there?” The bearded god stroked his beard, and he nodded casually to Annalíse who scowled in response. “We have no use for the rest of you, so I can assure you that we won’t harm you. It’s far too much trouble to dispose of unnecessary bodies.”

  “She is mine, so you won’t lay a hand on her,” I said firmly, and I allowed my dark power to flicker in my eyes for a moment to emphasize my point. While our conversation had been civil so far, I wasn’t going to allow the pale god to mistake my patience for weakness.

  The deity raised an eyebrow in surprise, then he sighed. “Very well then.”

  “Now that we’ve discussed your eating habits,” I said impatiently, “I will explain that my minions will now conquer your dungeon. Then I will take your power as my own. Minions, prepare to battle these--”

  “Wait,” the water god said as he held up his hand to interrupt me. Then he stroked his long white beard as though he were deep in thought.

  “I sense your power,” he finally said. “I do not know how you escaped your own prison, but a battle between us would probably destroy this beautiful city and kill my followers. I care for them much like you care for yours.”

  “I’m assuming you have a point?” I asked.

  “If you complete another task, I will hand over my power to you,” he said after a few more moments of thought.

  “Perhaps a suitable task would be to slay the sea titan, my lord,” Miren spoke up.

  “Excellent notion, Miren,” the pale scaled god said in his low timbre voice. “Bring me the head of the sea titan, and my dungeon shall be conquered.”

  “Where is this sea titan?” I narrowed my eyes.

  “There is a large cliff much like the one our fair city rests upon several leagues away in that direction.” The god pointed to his left, off into the distant blue waters. “There you will find what you would more properly consider a dungeon and within it, the sea titan. Miren and his men will take you part of the way. I must warn you, this is no easy task.”

  “Nonetheless, we will accomplish it,” I said determinedly, “and once we do, your city’s riches, as well as your power, will belong to me.”

  “Yes, yes, I am aware of how this works.” The water god said, and his eyes met mine. “When did you fall? What is your name? I once believed that I was the most powerful, but there is something about you that is--”

  “It is none of your concern,” I interrupted, and then I gestured for my minions to leave.

  “Hold on,” Annalíse said as she stepped forward. “There’s something else that I’d like in addition.”

  “And what, pray tell, is that human?” the deity asked slowly.

  “I want you to release the people that you keep prisoner here for your… meals,” Annalíse said unflinchingly. While I didn’t share the swordswoman’s strong desire to save lives of the human prisoners, it was admirable nonetheless, as was her courage to address a deity in such a manner.

  The great water demon stared at her for a moment and then threw his head back and laughed. “If that is what you wish, little human, it makes no difference to me. Should you succeed in killing the sea titan and conquer my dungeon, my people shall be freed from this place. Then they will be able to return to the oceans where we truly belong. If you fail, we will continue to ensnare humans such as yourself with our melodies. Either way, we shall thrive.”

  “Then it’s settled.” Annalíse glared at the god. “We’ll kil
l the sea titan.”

  Chapter 16

  “How much further is it?” Carmedy moaned. “I’m getting hungry.”

  She, Morrigan, Annalíse and I had left the dome city and were now on our way to the dungeon in a cart pulled by two seahorses that rivaled the size of land horses. The two creatures navigated through the water swiftly as Miren and a handful of his men swam beside us.

  Miren sighed and rolled his eyes. “It won’t be much longer.” Annalíse and I exchanged amused glances and tried to hold back our smiles. This had been the fourth time Carmedy had asked this, and it was clearly starting to annoy the water demon.

  “That’s what you said last time,” the feline said suspiciously, her voice muffled by her bubble helmet. The cat and I had made new ones for each of us before we left the underwater city just to be on the safe side.

  “Well, perhaps if you didn’t ask me every few seconds…” Miren said with irritation as his voice trailed off.

  “What did you say?” Carmedy cocked her head to one side.

  “I just said that we’d be there soon,” the scaled man replied.

  “Oh, alright,” the petite alchemist said, and she leaned an elbow on the side of the cart as she looked around at the surrounding waters.

  “I must ask,” Morrigan said blankly, “if your people are able to breathe underwater, why is your city contained within that dome?”

  “We are not able to remain underwater constantly,” Miren explained. “Our species must inhale air for at least eight hours per day. Once we have, our lungs are refilled, and we are able to roam the water again.”

  “Couldn’t you just come up to the surface for air when you need it?” Annalíse pointed out.

  The water demon shook his bald head. “No, we cannot. We can only be exposed to the sun and heat for short periods of time, both of which are quite harsh on the surface of the oasis. We wouldn’t be able to stand it for eight hours. Being exposed for even a few minutes is pure agony.”