BECMI Chapter 389 – Challenges Really Aren’t
The wind stilled as we hit the central portion of the sea, stopped by collective spellcasting. As the area was becalmed, it was easy to see the sea start to boil, and music slowly begin to escape the bubbling coming up from below.
Nobody was stupid enough to dive into the waters below… except me. I simply hopped overboard Duum, Primus brought up Airy Water, and I plunged into the ocean, Mask up and looking through the churning, bubbling salt waters as if they were open air.
Yeah, lots of sirens down there. Nominally like merfolk, sharklike teeth, bewitching beauty, uncaring and sinister glints to their eyes…
At least three score of them. They had problems seeing my Bubble coming down through all the foam rising up and conveying their songs to the open air while they sang down here in safety, Hazesight taking care of that particular problem for me.
There were scores, if not hundreds, of downed ships in this area. The implications of what had happened to the crews stranded here by becalmed weather were not hard to understand, and thus why traveling across this sea was loathed.
Do you know that sonar pings from submarines can kill whales?, I thought in their general direction, my face an utter cold mask as I descended to the ocean floor, bright red in the silver of the bubbles and the blues of the shallow sea.
They had just enough time to register there was an outsider here protected from the waters and ignoring their Song as I Cast my special surprise for them.
Pyroclasm was a massive Area of Effect spell designed to deliver light damage across an immense area. Unlike most such spells, its damage never increased. Instead, if Upcast to higher Valences, the area affected grew ever further, covering a greater and greater volume of space.
I downshifted the damage to exactly 2 points, 1 on a save, all damage to come from Kickers… of which I had a rather large number to ladle onto this. Like, +10d6 worth, by itself enough to kill a normal siren.
But then I dumped Thunder Reserve at IX+1, working off Banshee Wail and ocean contact subbed for Earth Contact here, and I blew the Sublime Chord all the way up with Heaven’s Thunder.
Water conveys sound FAR more efficiently than air.
A great Bell woven of all the glorious anthems and choruses of Heaven materialized around me before the sirens could react to my presence. I drew back Dread, and I SilverSmote that Bell.
DOOOOOOONG! DOOOOOOONG!
Sound travels four times faster and further in water than in Air. A Triple-Widened Pyroclasm Admixtured to Thunder boomed out twice.
The rising bubbles were blasted away in a foaming wake with the Thunderclasm sweeping by. There was no avoiding it, no dodging it, and Heaven had a dim opinion of the singers.
The first peal blew out the ears of the weak, and sent the stronger ones into convulsions as they clapped at their ears and their blood literally curdled. On pure instinct alone, they shot desperately for the surface to get out of range of the sound which was rattling their bones and blowing out their ears with 10d6 of Sublime Chord Thunder Reserve damage riding it. They didn’t make it before the second peal blew past them, and their brains blasted out every orifice in their heads as their bones liquefied and blood gelled under the impact.
I was perfectly fine, of course. It was a Holy spell and would do absolutely no damage to Good souls. Actually, I’d doubled down on that, and even Neutral souls, like most animals, were perfectly safe from it, hearing only a splendid, ringing note that shuddered in the soul with overwhelming power, and prompted them to quit the area.
Not a single siren made it to the surface. Dark stuff leaked out their faces as their slender bodies and long seaweed-like hair slowly fell to the bottom of the Ocean, and began to Burn.
I lifted my hand and said a few Names to power up my Elemental Swarm.
The Portal to Water not far away helped convey the magic and bypass the normal inhibitions on such magic from the Plane. The waters swirled around me as some absolutely massive Water Elementals and their entourages were brought from their Home Plane to here through the existing Portal there.
“The Lady Edge!” the greatest of them bubbled in recognition and greeting, and all the Elementals around, although more like spheres, teardrops, or fish than anything else, ‘bowed’ to me, such as they could. “An honor to be called upon by the sister of Hydrosa, great Liberator!” the eldest burbled to me in Aquan.
“Thank you for remembering me, Elder,” I responded politely, and they all puffed up in bubbling currents at the praise, as if they would ever dare to forget me. “I have a small task or two I would have you help me with, if you’ve the time. No combat should be involved.”
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“It would be our great pleasure!” the mighty Monolith Lord assured me gravely. “What need have you of us?”
I turned and pointed in all directions. “Let the dead sirens Burn en vivus, then recover any valuables they might have and bring them to me. I will have conjoined Disks on the surface to deposit them in.
“The sunken ships likewise are Burning. They should have crystals or metals of Earth that are of some value and not eaten away by the waters, and possibly minor items of magic. Retrieve those for me as well.
“If any of the hulks resting on the bottom are not Burning en vivus, kindly drag them closer to and heap them on top of the ones that are, that they might be rendered down. The corals growing quickly atop them should replace the shelter they give the fish.
“Lastly, the mortal fleet of wooden vessels sailing atop these waters is going to be passing through the channel to the east and the Portal draining this sea. If you could ensure that none of the vessels are drawn into the maelstrom there and pass it safely by, that would be appreciated.”
The Monolith Lord waved to the dozens of lesser Elementals surrounding him, who promptly raced off to begin their tasks. “The guardian of that Portal is a vassal of Lady Hydrosa, who claimed dominion over it long ago, Lady Edge. I will convey your wishes to the Elementals who maintain it, and they will see to it there are no mishaps with the mortals above.”
I nodded gravely to the mighty Elemental. “Thank you, Elder. I will have Sweet Water for yourself and your attendants when your task is done.”
Great silvery bubbles of excitement rippled through the towering spiral of spheres and teardrops that was this great Elemental, 50 Hit Die at least, grown to awesome power and size in Water… and still within my power to Summon here. “A fine delicacy, Lady Edge! It will be savored by all of us!” he assured me, and then water boiled without changing temperature as he raced off in a swirl of mighty currents to circle the area, locate any unaffected wrecks, and be about cleaning up the place.
And getting me my plunder.
I headed back towards the surface, smiling. It turned out having Elemental contacts was very, very useful, even if I wasn’t a true Elementalist… but nothing said an Eternal had to abide by mortal limits on the Secret Schools now, did it?…
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With the Sirens dead, their conjoined Weather Control magic evaporated as well, and I was easily able to whip up a stiff breeze to start the armada on its way again.
At the side of the Scampering Wave, a ‘boat’ of a score of Disks floated just above the waves, silvery force riding along smoothly above the waves of the ship’s wake. From time to time one of those waves would rise up and deposit onto the Disks objects of interest, spilling them across the interconnected circular Force concaves to the great interest and chagrin of the crew.
Weapons, Armor, heaps of coins of precious metal and not a few gemstones and pearls were tossed onto the Disks regularly, along with some bizarre knicknacks or objects the Elementals weren’t sure were valuable, and so added to the lot just in case. I could always clean them off later.
Duum leaned down and asked one of them if they could catch one of the bright red-orange fish populating the sea there to eat. It soon returned with a ten-foot member of the species in its grip, offered it up the Bat, and was rewarded with a tiny Potion of Healing for its trouble, which it clasped to itself with delight.
The easiest way for a Water Elemental to grow was by ingesting magical fluids, and pretty much all Potions served as examples if Consumed for their magical potential instead of for the effects. So, the easiest way to compensate an Elemental for its time was to have some Potions ready to give it.
Holy Water would work in a pinch, too. It was kind of drab and plain compared to Potions, but still better than nothing, and other Energized Waters could work as well, particularly if they were powerful and exotic. Waters Energized to Cold, Fire, and Lightning were particularly popular if they were used, although the amounts required were gallons, not ounces, in quantity.
Sweet Water, the Potion that could purify vast amounts of water and cleanse it of Taint, rot, poison, and other undesired elements, was enjoyed by Elementals the same way humans enjoyed the finest of wines. It was not the most valuable of Potions for its contents, but Water Elementals preferred it over all others if they could get it.
I was naturally aware of this and kept a supply on hand, and Greater Servants making such in my Sanctum. I had a forty-gallon barrel of it on hand in Energized Alabaster just for occasions like this.
It would still take us three days to cross the rest of the Exodus Sea and reach the Emperor’s Flight, the great canyon path itself stretching for many miles, and who knew how many of the Admirers occupying it.
If they included members of the Scylla variant, we could still be in trouble, as Aquatic Gargantuan Hydras could easily chase down and trap any ship here they cared to, up to and including the largest of frigates or galleys.
Well, that just made it more important for me to kill them all. I wasn’t going to send the Elementals up against such things, although I was sure they’d be happy to point them out if I asked…
Eh, that’s what Communes were for. Nature included the oceans, and Gargantua were not part of the natural order at all.
Did all magocracies bend towards trying to make kaiju as battlebeasts or something? Obviously Delpha had the secret to making these things, which meant it was probable ‘Gargantua the Wizard’ was either a follower of a Delphan Immortal, or a Delphan Wizard himself.
Neither of which would surprise me in the slightest, really, and the likelihood was that both were true.
That meant that his most likely lair was inside the hidden city of Delphaxia that had been stupid enough to start acting as a conduit to the Sphere of Death, inside that volcano to the south of Qeogur.
Which might mean he’d run into Sama by now. I had to smile.
It might mean that there were likely a LOT of enslaved Gargantua in that place, which would be released to fight any invasion, including by a nigh-berserk Forsaken who had Windrose and her associates on standby to blow the place to kingdom come.
I smiled even more widely.
The odds she’d not had Briggs Teleport in next to her via Oathring was slim to none. I could picture the havoc the two of them were creating as the Delphan spellcasters were useless against them, and their only decent physical defenders were Gargantua… who might just be Spellcut free of enslaving Charms and the like and turn on their would-be masters.
Sama was probably having so much damn fun right now…