Dungeon of Doors

~ Billy, Aquartis ~

The boat is alive with preparation for the trip through the fog. Long oars are being prepared, rations are being counted, lanterns are being hung from the railing around the boat's edges. Captain Buruk barks orders to his men as the light begins to fade from over the basin.

Miss Hawthorne is seated beside Drist, keeping a hand on his as she does her best to ensure he doesn't continue to make a fool of himself. His penchant for killing everything in the dungeon has become a glaring liability for this level. Fortunately he's only cost us a couple healing potions thus far.

Leah is saying her goodbyes to Ruke and her two friends. The three tengku aren't coming along for this boat ride, as they're unwelcome on the boat. Whatever happened to put a rift between her and Captain Buruk is a mystery to me—as well as why he owed her a favor.

"We're departing! Raise your oars, boys!" Captain Buruk squawks.

Ruke and Leah finish their goodbyes. I watch Leah step back from the edge of the deck as two crewmen pull back the gangplank. Ruke and her friends wave farewell as the boat lurches forward. Four tengku positioned on each side of the boat row long oars in an effort to drive the boat. Interestingly enough they aren't gripping the oars with just their talons, but also their beaks.

The boat slides across the water in sudden bursts at first. Each push and pull of the oars in the water increases the speed of the vessel by a step, until the boat is gliding across the surface of the basin at a steady clip. Captain Buruk stands atop the ship's cabin with a wooden steering mechanism in talon.

Once we're out on the water he starts to turn the steering lever to turn the ship. He barks out orders, ensuring the boat turns faster by having one set of his men push their oars flat into the water while the other continue to row.

The floating city gradually shrinks behind us as we near the edge of the basin. Ahead of us a gaping hole breaks the monotony of the stone boundaries of the basin. Fog pours from within, obscuring sight completely after a few meters in. Captain Buruk shouts as we near the fog.

"Hold steady! Keep away from the water!"

Cold sweat beads upon my skin as the boat slips into the fog. The air feels strangely cold, and the only sound I can hear is the shuffle of those on deck as well as the oars hitting the water. A strange uneasiness settles in my gut as I watch the mist pass over and around us. Shapes seem to shift and move in the fog, but nothing concrete.

Curiosity wars with caution, but the decision is made for me when I see Leah peering dangerously over the railing to look into the water below. She's leaning far too unsteadily. I walk toward her with hurried steps as the overeager girl leans forward even further. I reach her just as she looks to be tipping forward and place a gently hand on her shoulder.

"Careful, Leah."

"Sorry, Teacher! I just thought I saw something below us…"

I turn to give a look at what she's talking about. The water below us is indeed strange. Much like the murky white fog, this water is difficult to see through and feels strangely alien. The water reflects our faces but beyond that I see only murky empty black.

There are strange ripples beneath the surface I can't quite make sense of. Like fish moving just beyond the veil. I find myself leaning forward to take a closer look when I hear a shuffling to my right. My eyes widen as I see Leah start to slide over the railing and toward the water below. She has this vacant look in her eyes that I don't recognize.

"Leah!" I shout, desperately.

My hands move before my mouth. I reach back and pull the staff of water from my back hard enough it rips the canvas wrap I had it contained in. The staff glimmers brilliantly despite the somber foggy surroundings. I grip it with my off hand as I reach out to grab ahold of Leah's leg as she falls overboard.

The blue motes of light swirling around the boat are strange. They move in erratic circles around the edges of the fog whilst the flow of brackish water beneath us is thick with densely packed blue sparks. A strong intent to move the water and Leah up away from the danger manifests as the black murky flow moving up to push her back like a hand. There's a great crash and a splash as water hits the deck, sending Leah sprawling like a beached fish across the deck.

"What did I tell you? Stay away from the water!" Captain Buruk snaps.

I move quickly to Leah's side. She's flat on her back, her limbs spread wide. I move quickly to her side and find her breathing steadily. Her hair and clothing are both soaked, but she didn't inhale any water. Relief washes over me as she blinks away the shock of the situation.

"Leah, what were you thinking?"

"I don't know. It was like the water was trying to tell me something."

The slap of wet feet on the surface of the ship's deck precede the arrival of Captain Buruk. He glares down at the two of us before shaking his beak. His voice is harsh as he explains Leah's condition.

"Mist madness. Can affect anyone as far as I know, and it ain't natural."

"Is it a disease or something?" I inquire, brow furrowed.

"More of a passing affliction. She'll be fine once we're out of the fog."

I stay by Leah's side for the rest of our passage through the mist. No matter what I ask he cannot give me an answer, as if somehow this fog is a complete mystery to those who use it to get around. Apparently the fog can be used to travel to any part of the dungeon with water—which is everywhere.

The sounds around us start to undergo an indescribable change. The muted quiet of the fog fades as the boat slides out of the mist and into a familiar looking sea. Relatively calm water stretched out before us with a single stone structure floating at the center. Fog not unlike that which we just traversed surrounds the sea.

"Farumi…" I murmur absentmindedly.

Captain Buruk and his crew are oddly quiet as we drift into the open sea. They hold their breath, the oars kept out of the water as the boat calmly drifts forward. I turn to give Captain Buruk a perplexed look. I open my mouth to ask him a question but he shakes his beak dismissively.

The quiet sound of the boat sliding through the water is somehow more unnerving here than it was in the fog. Instead of a paranormal quiet this is one of pure tension. What causes this fear reflected on all the tengku's faces I don't know.

Drist scoffs, the noise breaking the silence like a hammer hitting a glass pane.

"What are you chickens doing standing around? Aren't we here for that fragment you all promised?"

There's a long stretch of silence where no one moves. Drist looks almost uncertain before starting to laugh. He struts along the deck of the boat past several uncomfortable looking tengku crewmen. Each of his steps make a distinct thump that continues to keep the silence at bay.

"Are you seriously afraid of your little sea dragon? Too scared to fight?"

Drist spits on the deck between him and Captain Buruk. The battle hardened men stare at one another. One with mocking disdain and the other with mortification. Drist opens his mouth to say something else snide only for me to tune it out as I notice something strange happening.

I've still got ahold of my staff of water. The canvas tore so I have to keep in in hand, and now the blue sparks that dance in my vision are moving. Not the normal amount, but in a unified motion. Countless motes of light are being sucked in a particular direction to the side of the vessel we're standing on.

I squint down beneath the deck—the sparks visible through the wood—and the sea's dense blue particles aren't moving naturally. There's a massive stream of them moving like some kind of living current. It slithers back and forth in the distance beneath us, like a giant snake slithering-

"Fuck! Drist, shut up!" I snap.

The man turn to glare at me with a look that I'd normally shrink back from. Unfortunately there is something far more dangerous swimming beneath the ship. It is moving toward the surface.

"Don't make me cut your tongue out you one eyed cripple."

Drist's words flow off me like water as I step back from the edge of the boat. The blue lights, the energy, the mana? Whatever the stuff is, it is moving faster. I watch in shock as the water starts to flow up into a wave. The normally calm waters of Farumi are moving at the whims of some unseen monster.

The tengku all spring into action as soon as they notice the water is moving. The silence of earlier is forgotten as Captain Buruk starts shouting orders. Drist is caught in a whirlwind as he turns to watch the previously motionless tengku work to get the boat ready for what's coming. Anything not already tied down is being fastened to the boat.

"Everyone hold onto something! Levithan comes!"

There's a crashing sound as the water splits like the bark of a tree. White foam sprays upwards as the water moves as if alive. I watch in shock as the water forms a huge slope, like the side of a mountain, pushing the boat up and back. The peak of the unnatural swell breaks as a huge scaled blue tinged head bursts free. Familiar eyes glare down at me as I recall this same species in the unnerving mirrored sea.

The color drains from my face as I watch the thing's jaw open to reveal teeth big enough to crush the boat in one fell swoop. Levithan doesn't immediately attack. It instead sails over us into the air with powers I fail to comprehend. The boat spins as the water crashes down once not held up by the sea dragon's water mana. I grip my staff tighter as I struggle to parse such a display of water magic.

"You should not have returned, Buruk!" The sea dragon's voice booms.

Pain throbs in my head as the sound of its voice mixes with the crash of waves. The sea has gone from calm to choppy, like water in a bucket being carried far too recklessly. The boat has become nothing more than a stray grasshopper caught in the flow of a river.

I can't make out Captain Buruk's orders as water splashes onto the deck. My eyes are locked onto Levithan as I struggle to keep ahold of the boat's railing. The boat groans, threatening to tip over as the length of the sea dragon continues to slip from the sea.

One hand holds the railing as my other hand keeps a white knuckled grip on the staff of water. I push with my mind, willing the water mana to shift in a different direction. The boat stabilizes before floating up an incoming wave.

A shiver goes down my spine as I glance up to see Levithan staring down at the boat with a look of outrage. It seems he noticed the shift in mana, but not the cause.

"Which one of you worms is a snake in disguise?"

For the first time I feel a dungeon monster is truly unkillable.