Chapter 20
"Father!"
The door to the bedroom burst open and Doris swam over to the king's side. He looked like he had seen better days. His white beard reached all the way down the bed. His healthy skin, which used to be similar to the mermaid's, had turned dark blue.
"Princess, please. Your father needs rest," admonished the royal advisor, a light grey triton with a yellow band running down both sides of his head all the way to his arms.
"What's wrong with him?" asked the princess as she gingerly grasped her father's hand.
He sighed and said, "Honestly, I do not know. He seemed very healthy. A week ago, he started coughing a lot. And then, he began to show visible tiredness when he suddenly fell asleep on the throne. The doctor has detected poison but no matter what happened, he was unable to remove it. Then, your brother-"
"Dramos! Where has he been?" she immediately interrupted.
"He has been out of the city, seeking a cure for this mystery poison," he informed her with a dejected tone, "So far, there has been little success. At times, what remedy he finds will take hold but the poison seems to flare up, more potent than ever. It is truly perplexing."
"And where has he gone today?" she pressed on.
"...He is searching in the sahuagin territories today," he explained after a sigh.
"What!? B-b-but... the danger he is in-"
"I know, princess, I know..." he muttered as he closed his eyes forlornly, "Unfortunately, you know how your brother is. Determined to the last. Still, if anyone could find it, it would be your brother."
Doris stared at her sleeping father for a moment… and asked, "I need to speak with Commander Pothas. Where is he?"
"Guard headquarters. Why?"
"I brought some friends with me… I had hoped to show them the wonders of our city, but it seems I will have to ask them for assistance."
"I… am sorry to hear this," said Lamy.
Doris had met up with them at the palace gates, and then took them to the guard headquarters to meet up with Commander Pothas. He was a lobster triton; his blue-green armor was naturally formed all over his body save his hands, feet, and face. Long lobster antennae curved out of the top of his head. His extremities were wearing woven kelp shoes and gloves.
"Thank you… I have gathered everyone here to send aid to my brother," said the mermaid princess. She then said something in a strange language to the commander, who nodded.
She then turned to speak to them, "Sorry. I am explaining my plan to him as his Common is limited. I wish to send you into sahuagin territory to find and aid my brother. I will get my commander to get a tracker to aid you." She then told the commander her plan in her language.
"We will definitely help you, Doris," said Nene quickly after she spoke with the lobster triton.
"Thank you, my friends," replied the princess as the commander left the room.
A few seconds later, a young shark triton swam into the room. She was shorter than everyone in the party. It took them by surprise when she said, "Ah… hello? That's your greeting, yes?"
"Erm, she looks too young for this, I think?" spoke up Aloe with a frown, unable to fathom how old the shark triton was.
The princess then went to the doorway to talk with the commander. A moment later, she told them, "Apparently, Gura here is their best tracker. You will go with her to the sahuagin territories to find and aid my brother."
"She looks cute," said Polka as she suddenly rubbed the shark's head.
"Ah… nice feels," she quipped as she closed her eyes and swayed her head.
Then, Doris spoke with the tracker, who then took on a serious face and saluted when the explanation was done. She then faced the party and said, "Ah, follow. We sneak in, find prince Dramos, sneak out, yeah?"
"Umm, what about this?" asked Botan as she held up the mermaid's trident.
"...Right. That would be our next stop," the princess announced.
She then led them out and headed to what she called the magic institute. There she met up with what they presumed to be one of the heads there. She took out a small chest and placed it on her desk.
"Now, these should help you," she told them as she opened the chest. Inside were several rings. She picked up one and handed one each to the party while explaining, "These were intended to help those who wish to visit our fair city. This will be the first time any land-dweller wears this."
"Ah, so we're guinea pigs," snarked the succubus as she put the ring on.
"Maybe," she replied mysteriously, "But, I believe they work." She then tapped the butt of her trident on the floor.
The party could feel something being retracted from them, and yet they could still breathe underwater. Their ethereal fishtails still remain but they also get some ethereal fins on their legs and arms.
"The rings should help you breathe water right now," she informed the amazed party, "And have some manner of swimming capability. Are there any other questions?"
They looked to each other and Nene said, "No... I don't think we have any other questions."
Doris then clapped her hands and said, "Very well. The rings have to be returned after we are done. Gura, please lead them and help find my brother, please."
The shark tracker gave her a salute and said, "Yes, princess!"
The party and the tracker quickly made their way out of the city, moving east of the city. It was open flat land with patches of kelp forest and coral reefs scattered all around.
"This is a really big place," said Nene, "How are we going to find anyone here?"
"Maybe our friend here can-" started Aloe when their tracker started pulling them into a nearby forest.
"Hide! Hide!" Gura urged them as she shoved them inside. After getting everyone hidden, she dove in after them. Seconds went by as she peeked to look around. Then, she dipped back in and said, "Quiet. Patrols become a lot now."
"Increasing patrols. So we are in sahuagin territory now," summed up Lamy.
"Yes, yes. Move quiet," she confirmed as she motioned them to follow.
They continued swimming forward. After a while, they found a shark circling a small coral reef. She motioned them to hide in the reef. She then waved the shark down and muttered something to it. The shark followed her overhead as she went further into the reef, swimming in a smaller circle. After drawing a circle in the sand and scratching in some sigils with her trident, she then started a melodic chant as she held her trident to her forehead and stretched out her other arm upward. Ten minutes went by as she chanted. This fascinated the others as at times, they could almost see an ethereal shark swimming around the short triton, dipping in and out of the reef intermittently as it moved. After she was done, she swam up and continued to talk to the shark… as she swam with the shark in circles. It was a mystical and amazing experience to witness.
She then swam back to them and said, "He saw a triton going south and east from here. Prince Dramos I think. No other body would come here."
"...Okay… looks like we're going southeast then," summed up the lore bard.
They made their way southeast, past more forests of kelp and coral. The plain slowly became more dotted with lone random corals and humped sand embankments. The amount of schooling fish also seemed to increase. Suddenly, Gura motioned for them to stop.
"I hear conch," she warned them, "Hunting conch. Careful."
Soon, several dots appeared far off in the distance. They stooped down to the ground and kept quiet. The shark triton then started growling when her sharp eyes saw what was happening.
"They are chasing a triton. Is he holding something?" muttered Lamy.
"Is that Prince Dramos? Looks like a large pearl," added Nene.
"Come! Protect Prince Dramos!" shouted their tracker as she shot forward in the water.
"Let's go help her!" urged on Botan. Everyone was in agreement and swam after her.
The prince was ahead of the hunter pack but they were slowly gaining ground on him. So, he was very surprised when the party appeared and engaged them.
"Your majesty, are you alright?" asked Lamy as the bard and the tracker surged on ahead.
"What? Who are you all?" he asked in harried breath while the bard insulted the lead sahuagin and the tracker roared angrily and slammed her trident into its gut.
The four-armed baron roared and struck back. She swam around its bite but the second swing of its trident cut her arm with its prongs. An arrow glanced off its breastplate of woven shells as it ordered the rest of its followers to attack. They swarmed around her, trying to get her with their spears. Aloe and Polka tried distracting them but to no avail. Soon, their pet sharks caught up and they bit down on the raging tracker, prompting cries of pain. They only backed off when a spectral spear manifested and tried to attack one of the sahuagin. The same target roared as Lamy's frost ray chilled its leg.
Unable to play anything, Nene had to make do with just singing, her voice directed at the sharks. At the same time, Gura seemed to shout something at the baron and shot out of the melee, back to the party. Enraged, it swam after her, gouging out her back with its trident. As it shouted for its followers, an arrow streamed past it and struck the group and a muffled boom echoed through the water as the arrow burst with power, churning the water. As the bubbles cleared, one of the sahuagin floated lifelessly while the rest of the pack shook their heads and swam towards the shark triton on the attack.
The succubus and the monk moved in to help, double-teaming and killing another sahuagin while a flurry of blows missed the baron. One of the sharks got impaled by a ghostly spear while the cleric sent a flash of bright light at the larger one, causing it to shimmer in the water.
"Gura! Get back! You need healing!" shouted Nene as she moved in to engage one of the sharks. The tracker didn't listen as she clashed with the sahuagin baron again. After their tridents crashed several times, both of them impaled each other. The tridents slid out of each body and the tracker fell to her knees, bleeding heavily from many wounds.
"Someone, get her out of there!" yelled the prince as another burst arrow exploded in the middle of the enemy. Swimming to another position, Botan then shot another arrow, killing another sahuagin. The remaining one was disoriented by the boom and missed the shark triton, but the other sharks went for blood and started carving her out. So focused were the sharks, the cleric and the bard were able to take the smaller sharks out while healing the tracker.
Roaring as she was revived, Gura darted to the side and gouged out the last sahuagin's throat, leaving only the baron jabbing her in the side.
"Hey! Look!" Nene shouted, trying to distract the hunter shark while the other was gutted and battered by Botan, Aloe, and Polka. Gura was adding to that and confusing the shark was quite effective, leading the others to take it down as well.
With all its followers and pets dying all around it, it roared angrily and attacked its primary target, the shark triton. They roared at each other as they continued to strike and parry each other. Lamy's spirit spear struck him from the side. Its leg got frosted over. It roared again and swept its trident around and fending off the bard and the monk. The tracker then jumped up with another roar and landed on the sahuagin baron's head, slamming her trident in its face.
"Thank you, everyone, for helping me," said Prince Dramos gratefully as Gura pulled her weapon out, snarling at the dead sahuagin as she did so, "Come, let us leave quickly before any more find us."
"I suppose my sister has returned to Leviathis," he started as they quickly swam westward, "I was sent into the sahuagin territory to retrieve a pearl."
"Did you steal it?" asked Polka.
"Admittedly, not the best decision but I am pressed for time," he replied.
"Yeah, we heard. What do you need the pearl for?" asked Nene.
"I… needed it to pay someone for a mystic medicine that would help heal my father," he told them, "Every single time it runs out just as my father seemed to get better. I just need to get enough to treat my father fully."
"Who is making it for you?" asked Lamy curiously, "It must be someone talented or wise."
"...I suppose it is… he is very powerful," he stated, "You will see."
Gura suddenly turned and asked him something in their language. He replied with, "No, I did not go to the witch. Not even I would do such a thing… although I wouldn't put it past her to pass on a cursed item or disease to him… we will have to do something about her later on."
This seemed to appease the shark triton and they continued on their way. Eventually, they got out of sahuagin territory and then the prince led them southwards. The amount of coral reef began to increase, making the place become even more beautiful. Soon, they came to a grandiose villa made of white marble.
Stopping right outside, Prince Dramos shouted, "O' Great and Powerful Gozzah'ram, I seek the audience of the Endless Wave on the Sea of Fate."
The villa rumbled a moment before a wave of bubbles swirled out and reformed into a large, blue-skinned man with his black hair in a topknot. He was large and towered over them. His upper body was thread-bare and seemed to be sculpted out of stone while he had no legs, only a swirling whirlpool that didn't seem to affect its surroundings at all.
"So! You have returned, Dramos of Leviathis," the marid said imperiously, "Do you have what I requested?"
"Yes, O' Wise and Grand Vizier of the Deeps. This is what I have acquired," he stated as he presented the large pearl.
The elemental genie nodded and stated, "Good, good. That… is acceptable." He plucked the pearl out of the prince's hands and with a wave of his other hand, a large transparent bottle appeared with a viscous purple liquid inside.
"This is different from the others," he explained, "Taking one cup twice a day until it is finished will be enough to cure your father."
"Thank you, Great One of Endless Generosity!" exclaimed the prince as he bowed to the marid, hugging the bottle tightly to his chest.
"Do you know who poisoned the king?" asked Polka suddenly.
The pompous genie blinked. He frowned at the fennec fox girl for a moment and told the prince, "Your companions are quite rude. But, I am magnanimous and shall forgive this foolishness."
"A thousand apologies, O' Caliph of the Seas. I shall endeavor to correct this," replied Prince Dramos.
One 'hmph' later, the marid went back into the villa. He sighed with relief and turned to the others. "Please do not insult the marid. Nobody would survive if he wasn't already in a good mood," he scolded. Then, he stated, "Regardless, thank you, everyone, for your help. Now, let us return to Leviathis and cure my father."
AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. And now, we truly find out why Doris was summoned back home. Grave news indeed.
Gura Gawr
Triton Shark
Totem Warrior Barbarian/Lore Bard
In here, our little shark is the tracker. Her totem is the shark, another homebrew thing. The 3rd level effect of the shark is when attacking a creature that is already damaged, deal an extra 1d6 on a successful hit. Much like the shark goes in for the kill with blood in the water, Gura can do the same.
And after we save the prince, we meet up with a marid, a huge water genie, at his holiday home. You must employ all your flattery skills to get what you want, or he will be pissed.
Medicine at hand, it is time to cure the king. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.