Dungeon of Doors

~ Billy, Farumi ~

My left hand grips the railing of the boat to keep myself steady whilst my right maintains a death grip on the staff of water's handle. Water stains the deck of the ship as it starts to tilt upwards. The waves are akin to mountain slopes—great walls of water which tip the vessel dangerously as it ascends them. Captain Buruk barks out orders to his men. The crew of tengku scrambles to keep up with the chaos of the situation.

"Keep her steady, boys! Watch where you're standing!"

The angle of the deck is only growing more extreme. The tengku attempt to keep the vessel steady by congregating on a particular side of the deck. I do my best to help by shuffling awkwardly toward the far side of the boat. Leah and Miss Hawthorne are already amongst the tengku gathered. Drist is eyeing up Levithan like he's trying to decide if he can take it.

The wood of the ship groans as we ride a wave at a dangerous angle. I concentrate not on the danger around us, but on the water mana I can see flowing through everything. My mind strains as I desperately pull at the glimmering sea to keep it from capsizing the boat. It feels like trying to untie a knot with my mind—a headache inducing affair.

It is as we ride up and crest the monumental wave that I catch sight of the sea dragon, Levithan. It's dipped back beneath the sea and is circling the boat like a mountain lion would an injured deer. The water swells above it as it moves, distending the ocean. Fear surges in me as I see it staring not at the boat, but at me specifically.

Water splashes up in a great spout as Levithan bursts from the water. Water droplets rain down, cascading over the deck of the boat. The color drains from my face as the sea dragon's maw opens. It's aiming right for the boat, clearly intent on killing us with one massive bite.

"Billy! Get me closer!" Drist shouts over the chaos.

I glance to him with a look of astonishment. He wants me to get him close to the sea dragon? That monstrosity?! Gritting my teeth, I nod and use what little focus I can spare to push the water up a wave faster. Levithan is headed toward us with unerring accuracy. His massive teeth look bigger than my body. I shudder fearfully, forcing myself to concentrate on doing as Drist says.

"Goodbye, little snake."

Levithan's booming voice rings in my ears as he bears down upon Buruk's boat. Drist climbs to the front of the boat with his daggers in each hand. How he manages to keep steady despite not holding onto anything I cannot fathom.

My focus strains as I push the wave up further, bringing the front of the boat closer. Levithan's maw hovers dangerously close to the boat, water dripping from his teeth and hitting the boat like rain. Fear and desperation surge through me as I force the water to launch the ship upwards violently.

Drist leaps off the boat as it soars upwards. I don't have time to watch him as I focus on a section of the boat which is bitten off in one big chomp. The shattering of wood is accompanied by the splash of the ship hitting the water.

"Teacher!" Miss Hawthorne shrieks.

Drist clings to Levithan's scaled head. He's got ahold of the monster's cheek, his daggers digging into a gap between its scales. Unfortunately for Drist he's pulled along beneath the waves as Levithan dips back under the water.

Luckily Drist is wearing the belt of swimming, so he should be able to keep a hold on the beast with his weapons. The sound of a glass bottle rolling across the deck catches my eye, relieving me of my worries as I connect the dots: Drist drank a water breathing potion before he leapt upon the beast. Miss Hawthorne doesn't appear to care that he's prepared for his daring move on the sea dragon. She's shaking, pale, and clinging to the railing for her life.

"We need to leave, now! The boat will sink if we're hit again!" Captain Buruk squawks urgently.

Right. We have to be quick, or we'll all die here. Captain Buruk already brought us to where he lost it—the hard part is finding it. I can't see through the foamy waters from my poor vantage point atop the boat. What I can see is the water mana, the blue sparks swirling beneath us. They're too dense to make out anything useful like the location of the tiny fragment.

I reach into my pouch and pull out my water breathing potion. I'm careful, uncorking the thing with my teeth before gulping down the bubbling tonic. The strange rippling sensation of my lungs being changed by the potion forces me to cough as I inch my way over the railing.

"What in the blazes are you doing?!" Captain Buruk shouts.

"Finding the fragment! We can't leave without it!"

There's a crash as the crest of a wave hits the deck hard. The frothing water hits my in the waist and legs, sending me tumbling back into the sea. I keep my grip on the staff, but not the railing. Captain Buruk shouts something to me as I fall back into the drink.

My eyes widen as I watch the dark form of the boat float up over the wave I'm inside. The rough surface of the water is a mesmerizing sight from underneath. Light refracts brilliantly down into the water, illuminating floating clumps of strange kelp. There isn't much else in this part of the sea.

My stomach drops out from under me as I look down into the black inky abyss. It reminds me of the water in the fog we sailed through, dark and unfathomable.

The rush of water moving past me and a distant shadow writhing in the darkness is enough to snap me out of it. I spot Drist's murky figure clinging to the side of Levithan's head as the huge sea dragon takes him for what looks like quite the wild ride. I can tell by the sea dragon's movements he is toying with Drist. This isn't a fight, but a game to the massive creature.

I must hurry, for everyone's sake.

My eyes frantically scan the sea. If I tune out the blue sparkling water mana surrounding me I can see only a few points of interest. The kelp, the abyss, and the waves above. If the fragment were to fall down here it would either be in the darkness below or caught in the floating kelp.

I gamble on the kelp, and push myself with the help of the water around me. My mind and the power of the staff drive me forward as if I were born in the water. My speed astonishes me, and moments later I have to struggle to stop myself so I can search the kelp for any sign of a fragment of the key.

This clump of the greenish stuff is completely useless. No sign of any fragment, nothing but the strange plant a bunch of bubbles. I let out a sigh into the water as I release the kelp from my grasp. Right then a huge current hits me, and I go tumbling backwards and get tangled in the kelp. The slippery green strands encumber both me and my staff. The sparks all around me go out as I lose contact with my staff!

"Damn it, stupid sea weeds-"

My bubbling words are cut short as I see Levithan's scaly body pass dangerously close to where I was sitting earlier. His glimmering blue-green figure passes by at a frightening speed. How Drist is still alive and clinging to him I cannot fathom.

I quickly begin untangling myself. Pull this, tear that, eventually I free myself and reach toward the glimmer of my kelp wrapped staff. What I grab instead is a strange triangular piece of metal. It was stuck in a knot of kelp, and it looks remarkably similar to the first key fragment we were given by Mayor Tekel.

I've found it!

The key fragment only takes a few moments to tear free. I tuck it into my pouch before securing the bag with a tight knot. I glance around before spotting my staff. It's drifted deeper into the water, and the kelp isn't keeping it afloat. It's sinking toward the empty blackness below.

I kick my feet, diving for it with as much speed as I can muster. The pressure bears down as me as I follow my staff down into the sea. It's within arms reach now.

My hand stretches out and grabs ahold of the handle. In the next moment pain blooms in me as I feel my body pulls along in a current so strong it feels as though I've been hit by a carriage. Stars dance in my vision alongside the blue sparks of water mana. My ears are filled with the rush of water moving past.

The sound of the water fades just as fast as it started. I'm floating in the air, something massive pressed against my back, my staff in one hand while my other arm sits bent at an awkward angle. It looks broken. Looking around reveals I'm actually sliding along the scaled length of Levithan.

The massive sea dragon's body has dragged me along with it. Whether he's done this intentionally or not, I cannot say. I spot the head of the monster nearing what's left of the boat. There are fewer tengku aboard it than I remember. I see Captain Buruk, Leah, and Miss Hawthorne are all still aboard the mostly destroyed vessel. The cabin is missing its roof. The deck is in pieces, with the front smashed apart along with the railings on either side.

Drist is a shadow of his former self. I can see him at the side of the beast's head as it opens its jaws with the intent to finish off the boat and those aboard. Drist's tattered clothes flap in the wind, and I watch in horror as he climbs toward the beast's mouth. He attempts to stab at its gums, but in the process loses his grip and winds up helplessly falling in front of Levithan's gaping maw.

My own state of being becomes a concern as I start to slip. This whole time I've been sliding along the scaled length of the serpent, and if I don't do something I'll fall back into the waves.

I tighten my good hand's grip on the staff and urge the water to meet me faster. It flows to my will, and I sputter as the water shoots up to hit my body. I'm engulfed in the geyser of my own creation. It launches me through the air toward the broken boat at speeds that make my eyes moisten with tears.

There's nothing heroic to say, nor any impressive killing blow I can deliver. The best I can do is to urge the water beneath the boat to push it just slightly away from Levithan's attack. I try with all my might, and the boat lurches harder than I ever expected it to.

Captain Buruk and one other Tengku fall overboard as the ship moves so suddenly. Time seems to slow down as I watch things unfold, powerless to stop them. Levithan's mouth descends, and my gut clenches as I see Drist, Captain Buruk, and one of his crew members disappear into the beast's mouth.

I hit the deck of the boat with a crunch of wood beneath me. Pain throbs all over my body as I feel someone grab me. I blink away water to find Leah pulling me against the wall of the partially destroyed cabin of the ship. Miss Hawthorne and three of the tengku crewmen are present. They've got a few oars and are making a pitiful attempt to row toward the fog.

"I'll get us out, take the time to rest."

My words are spoken between gasps, yet the tengku listen. They watch with curious and hopeful gazes as I sit up before focusing what's left of my fear addled mind on pushing the boat to the fog. The water mana flows according to my will, and I breath a sigh of relief as we glide smoothly into the ominous wall of mist. My body is battered and my entire being exhausted. I lie down on my back, clutching my staff to my chest for fear of losing it to the abyss.

No one is talking. There's no celebrating our retrieval of the key fragment nor our escape from the sea dragon. We lost so many in that horrible mess of a struggle. The boat is destroyed, and the captain with it.

If this is how the other key fragments are, then perhaps this is where our delve ends.