Galadria and Virulina made their own ways to the coastline where Dagger Point was to be found, taking a wide route around Iron Mountain to avoid one another's unpleasant company and stop by their respective factions with the news of their task. Or at least, Galadria did. She made a point to fill in Leoric about her situation, and he allowed Feryl and the Capture Chariot to drive her to Dagger Point. It saved time, and she was grateful, because she was positive she was going to need all her strength for the mission ahead.
Waving farewell as Feryl and his vehicle departed, Galadria took a moment to divest her armor and hide it somewhere secure before Virulina could arrive. Though the Age of Science was over and modern technology was of a limited and primitive sort, with the re-awakening of magic and countless possibilities associated with it, civilization was again striving for improvement in their everyday lives. In her own case, Galadria had been working closely with textile workers to create a new sort of swim garment. Since her totem was associated with water, it behooved her to be well situated in it whether she was in her dolphin form or her human one.
The end result was a black suit of a material that was like spandex, yet dissimilar. Primarily black in color, it bore light and dark blue patches that would allow her to be easily seen and identified by others while swimming, whilst not unduly frightening away animals with her coloration. It sheathed her body from neck down to her thighs, a little snug around her bosom and the curve of her hips, she made a mental note to request it be loosened a little. An added strap on her right leg gave her somewhere to hook her sword, though she hoped she would not need it. And a pouch rested against her back for carrying the kelp back.
By the time she'd done changing Virulina had arrived. She had somehow managed to secure transportation from Mortredd and the Sky Claw, though it didn't seem they were parting on the best of terms, to judge by the crude words they exchanged before Virulina hopped out onto the coastline. Mortredd left in quite a huff as Galadria made her way closer, blonde eyebrow raised at what she saw.
Virulina was wearing an almost identical wetsuit, though hers was lined with dark purple stripes instead of a light blue, and extended all the way down her legs to her ankles. Her bronze axe was strapped to her back on a thin strap. Galadria frowned, positive the Darkling Lady hadn't paid for its creation the way she had. More likely, the design had been copied or stolen. But she wasn't interested in starting a fight so soon over something so petty, and so the two women simply shared a guarded nod before venturing into the water.
Virulina waded in as if daring the water to stand in her way, smashing right through it. Galadria climbed atop of a nearby rock outcropping, raised up her hands, and dove into the water hands first, slicing through it with the ease of a fish.
Once fully submerged, both began to kick their legs and descend deeper, following the directions they'd been given by Merklynn. While both could hold their breath for an impressive period of time, it did not take long for their lungs to start to burn from lack of oxygen. Thus, transformation into their totems was necessary.
Galadria morphed into a dolphin of blue light, while Virulina manifested as a green shark.
Transformations complete, the two continued downwards, resisting their natural instinct to fight each other, made doubly strong by their new forms. But they had a task to complete and they had better odds doing it together, so they dove downwards, Galadria's tail slapping downwards while Virulina's swung sideways.
It was absolutely breath-taking underneath the surface. The deeper down they dove, the more the wonders of the ocean opened up for the two of them. Galadria could see with perfect clarity for miles in every direction, as if she stood upon the surface, and imagined that this was more of Merklynn's magic inherent in their animal forms. And what she saw was beyond compare.
Schools of brightly colored fish flitted past the two Visionaries, as well as the odd jellyfish floating lazily on the currents of the water. Some big, some small, some with tentacles almost two meters long, some with bright flashing colors and others almost invisible against the backdrop of the ocean. A gray whale with a mottled hide almost as big as the Sky Claw went floating past underneath the two of them. It seemed like a peaceful creature but they none-the-less gave it a wide berth. Galadria spotted the occasional shark, but unlike Virulina these were not malicious monsters, just hungry predators. They seemed, however, to have no appetite at the moment, for they largely ignored the magical animals in their company.
Species they'd never heard of, creatures they'd never dreamed of. They and countless more drifted past through the ocean waters as the two of them steadily dove deeper to follow the sloping curve of the ocean floor. Underwater flora was also coming into view. Though they did not find any fire coral, they passed by reefs of brown and green kelp and discovered a bed of floating flowers a little further down.
It was utterly beautiful. Galadria resolved to return here more often in the future, perhaps even start a catalogue of the various species. She was positive not all of them had been present during the Age of Science, so in a way it was a whole new world to be found down here. The Seas of Prysmos.
A tail smacked against her side, and Galadria glanced up sharply in alarm, only to find Virulina glaring at her. At least, she assumed such was the case, given her shark form looked perpetually angry. She appeared to be waiting for something. A response maybe. But the two of them could not communicate under the ocean like this. At least, not very well.
Greatly hoping Virulina did not attack when she was vulnerable, Galadria decided to make the first move so they could continue on. Holding her breath, she allowed herself to resume her natural form, the long-legged and blonde Spectral Dame. She pointed between the two of them, then down in two separate ways, using her fingers to more artfully articulate herself. The green shark nodded, and Galadria resumed her blue dolphin form as they dove downwards. They would split up and search for Red Coral Reef separately, then find one another before venturing in for the pearl.
At least, Galadria would. She wouldn't put it past Virulina to simply go on without her.
Redoubling her efforts, the blue dolphin dove lower, into the darker waters as the light of the three suns grew dimmer and dimmer far above at the surface of the ocean. Here there were more exotic creatures to be found, drifting jellyfish of bright gold, and even spotting a mighty hump-backed whale rising out of the depths, drifting past Galadria as she watched in undisguised awe at its majestic beauty.
Catching sight of some sort of rock formation further down, Galadria swam closer, curious to know what it was. She was fairly sure it wasn't fire coral, it was a glossy black in color, but none the less, it may provide a clue.
It did, but not quite the clue she was looking for.
For when Galadria approached the structure, it moved.
Jerking back in astonishment, the blue dolphin watched as the glossy black structure shifted and slithered like a great long tentacle. Only belatedly did she realize that the front and back ends were the head and tail, respectively. Fins previously tucked tight at its side unfurled to reveal themselves, allowing the creature to slither through the water with frightening speed. And it was already the size of a building, making it doubly frightening as it reared back to regard her. Its face was particularly gruesome, all mottled and disfigured like a clay sculpture left too close to a fire, half-melted and twisted. Its maw was full of mismatched but none the less sharp teeth as it bore down on Galadria with intent to use them.
She rolled out of the way, resuming her humanoid form and drawing her short sword. She couldn't possibly hope to outrun something so fast, so her only option was to fight. She jabbed her blade into the beast's hide, but it was like striking granite, she didn't leave a single mark.
All she'd managed to accomplish was making herself more vulnerable as the dragon's tail snapped out and curled around her chest and torso, pinning her arms at her sides and leaving her vulnerable as it pulled her towards its waiting maw, giving a throaty roar as it prepared to devour her whole.
Galadria thrashed and kicked her tail, slapping at the monster's face, but it did little to dissuade it from its intent to make a meal of her. She was about to make peace with her existence when something bright green shot out of the darkness to her aid. It was Virulina. There could be no two such sharks anywhere in all of Prysmos.
The Darkling Lady swam low, ducking under the sea dragon's winding coils and opening its toothy maw, taking an enormous bite out of its tail, near where it held Galadria. Unlike before, this attack seemed to penetrate its hide. Perhaps Virulina's jaw was stronger than it appeared. Or perhaps the magic of her totemic form allowed her to do more damage. Either way, the sea dragon gave a mighty roar, thrashing. Its tail released Galadria, who wasted no time in swimming to safety, and Virulina followed suit. The dragon, evidently used to less dangerous meals, slithered back into the darkness of the ocean depths to await easier prey.
Dolphin and shark sped towards the surface, as both Visionaries felt their magical power begin to wane and their aquatic forms begin to weaken. They lost their animal forms seconds before the two of them burst onto the surface, gasping for air. Galadria sucked it greedily into her burning lungs, floating on her back as she tried to calm her racing heart. After a few moments, she finally managed to relax her breathing down to a more manageable pace, and lifted her head. Virulina had evidently been doing much the same thing, though she looked a little less worse for wear from the whole experience. Indeed, to judge by her expression, she was regretting getting involved in the first place.
"Thank you, Virulina," Galadria said, feeling the words foul on her tongue as she spoke them. "But... why didn't you just leave me to die?"
"Well, I guess I might still need you around," Virulina declared. "Never know what else is down there."
She spoke the words in disgust, eyeing the ocean beneath her with contempt. Galadria felt pity for her, unable to appreciate the beauty and seeing only the dangers of the watery depths. Still, she had something of a point. They needed to stick together. There was much danger below the surface. And doubtlessly there would be more challenges ahead before they'd retrieved the kelp for Merklynn and could return home.
With the sea dragon encounter behind them, Virulina and Galadria continued their search. Mindful of the dangers of touching fire coral, even in their totemic forms, the two ladies searched cautiously the outermost layer of the reef. The pearl and kelp they sought would have been instantly identifiable, yet there was no sign of it along the outer edges of Red Coral Reef.
Forcing them to explore more closely.
The interlocking clusters of red coral acted almost like a maze as they swam more slowly amidst them, ducking, dodging, bobbing and weaving along the currents of the ocean, moving deeper within the reef. Various fish continued to flit past their view as Galadria and Virulina reached the very heart of the reef. The coral was thin here, coming to an abrupt stop in a circular sphere surrounding an underwater rise. Atop of which rested the oyster they'd seen in Merklynn's pool. There could be no other like it. Green kelp with silver lining floated in the water beside it, the object of their quest.
Suddenly, Virulina could not breathe.
Her green body shuddered as she thrashed in the water, seeking air, but miles away from the surface. Galadria, unable to understand her sudden pain, swam closer to try and aid her. Abruptly, the green shark burst apart in a flash of light, and in its place was Virulina, floating in the water. Unable to stop herself, she took in a deep lungful of water, fully expecting to drown...!
... and could not have been more surprised when she didn't.
Breathing slowly, heavily, Virulina floated down onto her knees on the bottom of the ocean floor, feeling the water enter and leave her lungs no differently than air did on the surface.
"What is this...?" she said, bubbles drifting from her mouth as they floated to the surface. "Some horrible new magic?"
A flash of light, and the blue dolphin at her side was Galadria's blonde natural form. She fought against the natural instinct to breath in the water as well, but her discipline was strong, and ultimately she managed to do so anyway, collapsing on her knees moments afterwards. But she too found she could breathe the water just as easily as the air, albeit it felt much... heavier somehow.
"The magic of the pearl," Galadria guessed. "It makes the water here like air."
Looking all around, they saw not a single fish approaching the empty space between the coral reef. "That must be why no fish come near."
Galadria drifted closer to the open oyster, examining the Pearl of Nyseis within. It was larger than any gemstone she'd ever seen, and seemed to shine with a luster that made it positively gleam in the dim light. Even an untrained magical knight like herself could feel the mystical energy surrounding it. But, tempting at I might have been to take, she recalled well enough the warnings of the wizard Merklynn. His instructions had been quite specific. Plus, it felt wrong somehow to defile the natural beauty of the area simply out of personal greed. Galadria kept to the task at hand, drawing her sword and running her fingers along the magical kelp growing beside the oyster. A few deft cuts and she had gathered more than enough, stuffing it into the pack at her side.
She was just sheathing her sword at her side when she spotted a flash of purple and black moving in on the open oyster and the Pearl of Nyseis.
"Virulina, what are you doing?" she demanded.
"Claiming my prize," Virulina retorted. Then, with a deft motion, snatched up the pearl. It fell into her greedily little hands in mere moments as she grinned like a shark.
Authors Notes:
Avoided using specific animals in the story because Prysmos is an alien world to begin with, and I like to think the Age of Magic ramped that up to eleven, so I've included a lot of odd creatures to emphasize that fact.