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Predator in the Deep (open)

Started by KingTyrant, February 25, 2016, 01:44:27 PM

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KingTyrant

Neyan frowned, thinking for a moment and looking towards her feet as she considered his words. Fluvial was right... The rest of the people traveling on the ship were foolish, and would most likely waste no time in attacking fluvial on sight. Or, running away and screaming. Even if he did nothing to them, really. She grinned as she got an idea...

In Connlaoth, where she first learned of her gift, she had just barely experimented in her spare time with beginner spells. One of those spells was for invisibility. Perhaps it could work on humans as well as other beings? Still... It had been a long time since she had dabbled with anything other than healing spells. She just had to pray that it would work, if they would ever need it.

She looked back at her friend, smiling and shaking her head. "I've got it covered!" She somewhat lied. She had no idea how safe her friend would be out there... And there was a good chance that she didn't have it covered. But she would do whatever she could to fix the situation if something went wrong. Was this a bad idea? Maybe. But as usual, Neyan didn't consider the consequences of her actions.

Kalak8538

Fluvial's attention fell downwards, focusing on his own twiddling fingers. He really was not sure this was a good idea, and was reluctant to go through with this. It did not matter what the human planned to cover... whatever it was she was covering... with. He did not want to cause trouble for anyone, or put anyone in such a situation.

The elemental was not willing give any input, even if he had the chance. Just then, there was a loud bang on one side of the boat. Something very large had struck, and the entire boat somewhat listed from the force of the impact. Fortunately, this tilt was quickly corrected. Down in the bilge, the sound and forces were more intense. Still, the sturdy wooden hull was intact.

Fluvial, his body being comprised completely of water, was unaffected by the force. The shock waves passed harmlessly through the elemental, making the water jiggle. The listing also failed to affect him. His body worked like a gyroscope, and he stayed standing straight up as the floor tilted the way it did.

KingTyrant

Neyan found herself stumbling as the boat was slammed against by something... Big. She waited for the boat to straighten itself out before standing slowly, looking towards the stairs leading out of the bilge with a concerned look. The sound was probably nothing... A sandbar, perhaps. A big wave. Probably nothing to get too excited about. She looked at fluvial, her eyes training on his. "Hey... You can trust me."

Her words were accompanied by a big, confident smile, her innocent eyes blinking as she looked at him for confirmation. "You know you can trust me, right? I won't let them hurt you!" She promised, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes, still smiling. "Now, get that worried look off your face, sailor! We've got work to do!" She playfully marched up the stairs, hoping he'd follow her.

As she reached the hallway with cabins on either side, that's when the rain and thunder became even more apparent, as well as the crew on topside's panicked voices. "I'm telling you! I saw a creature out there! It couldn't have been a whale!" The man who had spotted the creature yelled to his captain. "And you lost sight of it!? You let it go right up under us and scrape the hull!?" The captain yelled. "M-Maybe it didn't!" Another crew member claimed. Neyan bit her lip. If the impact didn't wake the people, then the crew's screaming would.

Her theories were correct. In minutes, couples, children, old men and women, and even important diplomats were leaving their cabins, moving down an opposite hallway towards the port-side balcony, all murmuring amongst each other as they tried to find out what the issue was. A perfect opportunity for Fluvial and her to slip by, but even then... Did she really want to? With all this talk of creatures beneath the waves? She gulped, looking back at the bilge, where her friend stood silently.

Kalak8538

Fluvial watched as the human recovered herself, and eventually walked up to the next deck. He advanced only to stop before the first stair. The timid elemental only stared at the wooden steps, pondering if he should really continue.

The sounds of people above did much to discourage Fluvial, almost making him turn back. However, he did trust this human. She seemed confident in the way that she knew what she was doing. One step was all it took, and Fluvial did just that. A few moments passed before he ascended to the second stair. One by one he continued, eventually climbing at slow walking pace. At the top, his sad and watery eyes focused on Neyan.

KingTyrant

Neyan looked at her friend, playfully rolling her eyes. She lifted her hands to the sides of his mouth, attempting to change his frown to a smile and failing miserably as her fingers went straight through his watery form. Well... That was awkward. Taking her hands away, she looked towards, the hallway, which was clear of crew members or passengers. "C'mon!" She urged, sprinting down the hallway and making a sharp left instead of right. This wasn't the way to topside...

Heading down a staircase that spiraled slightly, expecting Fluvial to keep up with her, she headed down to the bowels of the ship, where a ballroom rested. Many people sat at tables around it, listening to a band play their lutes, flutes, and other instruments on a grand stage with a dragon insignia above it. Neyan walked up to the dancefloor without care, instructing her friend to do the same. She gazed at the men and women dancing to the slow and delightful music, her eyes shining with amazement. "See? This isn't scary..." She whispered to him, giggling. "People can be nice and calm..."

She was interrupted by the sound of a hideous roar from outside, the dancers and band looking around in utter confusion and even slight fear. Neyan winced again. What was that noise? Seriously... Something much worse than a storm was happening here... It was scary for her, so it must've been horrifying for Fluvial.

Up at topside, the crew was fast at work pulling ropes to maneuver the sails and shoveling water out of the deck with buckets as the captain desperately tried to keep them on course. The storm had only gotten worse, and the creature hadn't been seen for awhile. That was, until the loud roar echoed across the cloudy night sky. It was guttural, low-pitched, and the type of sound that could make the most skilled warrior terrified for his life. As the crew members began to ramble amongst one-another out of fear, the captain remained focused, fighting off his instinct to abandon ship as he gulped nervously.

Looking off to the side, his eyes widened as a towering, spiny dorsal fin pierced up through the choppy waters. He finally let go of the wheel, unmanly whimpers escaping his mouth as a long, scale-covered tendril shot up from the water, curling back before colliding down onto the rear of the ship, taking out both the cabin and the passenger bunks. The entire front end of the ship raised up from the water, everything trembling from the power of the attack. Neyan, still in the ballroom with her friend, only had a moment to react as a crew member raced in as soon as he spotted the fin on topside.

"EVERYONE BRACE YOURSELV-" He never had time to finish before the loud crash sounded, causing the floor to split and tilt, water flooding in through the main entrance. Neyan's surprised scream was silenced as she was hit by the wall of water, sending her spiraling and soon drowning as she was unable to swim back to the surface of the lake now forming in what used to be the ballroom..

Kalak8538

Fluvial followed at his own, slow pace as his human friend whipped around the hallways. It was difficult, but he was eventually able to catch up with her. The elemental stopped in his watery tracks once he reached the big room full of people. He stood in the doorway, unwilling to walk any further. The humans here acted very odd, pairing up and moving in a strange way together. The most unnerving part was how they all seemed to be doing the exact same motions without telling each other what to do. Well, at least they were too busy to notice him.

The loud roar of the same giant sea creature interrupted everyone, and Fluvial retreated back into the hall to avoid detection. Another human was running quickly towards him now, and the nervous elemental fell back into the form of a puddle out of fear. The frightened man ran right past, before bolting into the room. There was an enormous and horrifying crash before a torrent of water swept him up and into the room.

Camouflaged by more water, Fluvial scanned around for his friend. Humans were not like him, and could not last underwater. Once he saw Neyan struggling to get her bearings in the chaotic pool, and failing. He could not let this human die, not when she had been so nice to him. The elemental was unable to help before, but this was his element now. Here, he was not so useless.

Fluvial, still blended into the rushing seawater, cleared all water away from Neyan to create a cylindrical dry spot for her to catch her breath in. His "face" appeared on the wall of the vertical tube of water. He still bore his usual worried expression, hoping he had not messed up somehow.

KingTyrant

Neyan paddled for dear life, holding what little breath she had as she tried desperately to get to the surface. But as the ballroom filled with water, there was no surface to be found. She panicked, air escaping her lungs in clouds of little bubbles as she began to lose strength, her paddling slowing to a pathetic halt as she began to sink. Suddenly, the water around her was pulled away by an unseen force, leaving her in a huge cylindrical tube of oxygen. Still laying on her side, almost no energy to spare, she coughed out over and over, seawater pouring from her mouth as she tried to regain composure. She was alive... And that sad face on the side of the cylinder was to thank.

Smiling at Fluvial, she stood shakily. He had actually saved her life. She could hug him, she was so happy. Except... Him being water and all, that would only serve to get her even more soaked than she already was. Looking around, she finally caught sight of the stairs, which were a ruined mess from the huge crack that split the ballroom in half. Through the wall of water, multiple loud, muffled roars could be heard, as well as the screams of civilians and crew members alike. "C'mon!" She looked back at Fluvial, now worried herself as she could only imagine what was happening to the others on topside.

She ran off, trusting her friend to remain following her with the huge tube of air. As they reached the top of the stairs, the water began to shallow-out until it was only knee-deep, but even then, the floor was tilted so badly that balance was the real issue. Even here, on the side of the ship in the empty hallway, she could tell the amount of mayhem that had been occurring while she nearly drowned. Some huge creature had struck the ship very hard, and now they were sinking. Fast.

Her attention shot out to the sea, where a huge tendril pierced the surface of the water, snatching a seaman off the main deck and dragging him back in, his screams echoing all around. The same tendril came back up, ripping through the side of the ship and creating yet another huge breach. The floor shook as the monster ripped the hull to pieces, Neyan deciding to keep moving. As she came closer to topside, the water got deeper, the civilian bunks in shambles with wood boards and cluttered, destroyed furniture laying in massive piles, water shooting in from multiple holes and filling the area around her up to her waist. She looked beneath the water, noticing a huge hole that went all the way to the ocean. Looking up, she noticed the stairs just above, broken apart from the main impact, like everything else. As she prepared to jump up, however, a loud groan of pain stopped her.

Neyan turned, her expression filling with sorrow as she noticed an old man trapped under tons of debris, struggling to keep his head above water. Walking up to him, she quickly lifted a few boards off, enough to free him from his confines. Upon closer inspection, his legs were shattered, and he had a huge cut in his side. Dragging him to a floating bed, she laid him down, waving her hands over his open wound. "Stay still... Do not move." She ordered, the man looking at her through squinted eyes. "Thank you, miss... Thank you..." He repeated, placing a hand on her cheek. Smiling, her hands glowed as she slowly closed his wound.

Looking out through the tiny peephole she had to topside, two tendrils waged war on the men fighting them off with harpoons, bows, and other useless weapons. Left and right, they were grabbed, thrown, and even torn apart by the monstrosities. "What... What god is punishing us with a beast so foul...?" The old man asked. Neyan frowned, pulling a bone-mending potion from her robe and forcing him to drink. "I don't know... I wish I did, but I really don't." Neyan could cry from how scary of a scenario this was... Never in her life had she been so close with death.

Kalak8538

The column followed Neyan around, at least until the water was low enough for her to breathe. The water elemental followed cautiously yet quickly, wishing that the human would slow her pace a bit.

The chaos ensuing all around was very unnerving for Fluvial, making him much more frightened than he usually was. He had hoped to join the seawater and drift away from all this. Deep down he wondered why he had not done so already. Then it occurred to him, he was here for the human. For his... friend. He was compelled to make sure the delicate human remained safe.

Fluvial looked on with wonder as Neyan healed the other human. He wished he knew more skills like she possessed. Maybe then, he could be more useful in this situation. The elemental watched on as the sea creature assaulted the ship itself. He slowly recoiled backwards from the horrific sight, putting some distance between him and the two humans. He could not look away from the carnage, and this fixation prevented the realization that a third smaller tendril had risen from the deep.

It fell, smashing clean through the hull right on top of Fluvial's "head". There was nothing in its wake. Even the elemental could not be found anymore. He had simply disappeared.

KingTyrant

As Neyan conducted her spells, effectively healing the old man, who stood and hobbled off with Neyan towards a small gap in the debris. Hearing the sound of water splashing up behind her, Neyan instinctively turned towards the sound of the smaller tendril rising from the water, her eyes wide as it coiled back to slap the deck of the ship. "FLUVIAL!" She shouted, her efforts in vain as the scaly, monstrous tendril crshed down atop her friend and the already smashed-up stern.

The impact shook the half-sunken ship more than the terrified crew realized, the men manning the harpoons being tossed from their stations as other crew members with spears and bows stumbled against the massive surge of power. Almost the entire stern fell beneath the crashing waves, the deck splitting down the middle as water shot up through the slice in the wood, knocking every man off their feet, some falling off and into the water. Neyan and the old man were shoved through the gap by the wall of water, both of them clinging onto a broken beam as the white, foamy waves shot past them, Neyan accidentally gulping down a lot.

Coughing, she stood once the force of the impact ceased, looking around the wreckage frantically for her watery friend. Alas, he was MIA. Forcing back tears, she grabbed the old man by the wrist, shooting down a mostly intact hallway as she did her very best to find a way to safety. Many negative thoughts crossed her mind, however... She was on a massive, sinking vessel in the middle of nowhere, with a raging beast ruling the seas below her. There was no way to safety, and she knew it. Her fate was here, on this ship. Starting to panic, she did something that she very rarely ever did. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" The curses shot from her lips in quiet whispers, her chest heaving as she clearly had no idea what to do.

She stopped, leaving the old man outside as she took a right into a cabin that was missing a good portion of its wall. Looking over the edge at the choppy waves, she had the impression from the odd silence that the barrage of tendrils was done. Her estimations were proven wrong as something new popped up from the surface. In loud, massive watery explosions, three eel heads shot from the water all around the ship, even more tendrils shooting up with them. The snaky appendages coiled themselves around the masts on the main deck, snapping them loose from the already weakened woodand letting them crash through the deck, sending all the crew members falling to the floors below as the deck gave away from the immense weight. The eel heads proceeded to thrust themselves through the hull, emerging again with mouths full of passengers and crew alike. One tossed a catch of at least 9 people into the air, catching them as they flew above its head and swallowing them whole.

Frozen with fear, the eel that stared at neyan opened its jaws, jagged, ugly fangs glistening as it suddenly propelled forward, hissing loudly. Neyan gave a scream, placing a magic barrier over the door just as the eel crashed through the gaping hole in the cabin wall, making it even larger. Its nose smashed against the barrier, the creature reeling back and roaring in both anger and slight pain as it dove back beneath the waves. Dropping her shield, a sigh of relief escaped her lips, but was short-ived. The tendrils grabbed either edge of the main deck, pulling apart with all their might as the huge ship creaked and cracked under the strain. Soon enough, the vessel split apart unevenly into three or four different pieces, which sank quickly.

From where Neyan and the old man were, the walls collapsed in on themselves, the floor cracking apart and giving away as it began to tilt inwards towards the heart of the ship. Neyan clawed for dear life, her efforts in vain as she fell to the water below...

Kalak8538

Fluvial recovered his watery form, taking in a bit more water than he needed to. The monster's swipe was startling and terrifying, but it did not hurt him. It could not hurt him.

The elemental looked around, but did not see his friend. He had never been this worried about a human's safety before, and he blamed himself for losing her. He darted around quickly, gliding effortlessly through the water that surrounded him. The creature reared its ugly head, or rather, heads. This only added to the fear that the elemental felt.

He continued his search, doing what he could to ignore the scene of horror. There was nothing that could be done for the rest of the humans. The only one he needed to protect was Neyan. Fluvial would be unable to forgive himself should she perish.

There was a terrified scream, followed by a strike by the monster. Was it her? The head was sent reeling back by some unseen force. If it was her, perhaps she had survived that savage strike. The elemental was making his way towards the opening when the boat was split apart. Although brief, but Fluvial caught sight of Neyan through wreckage. She was alive, but had fallen into the water below.

As quick as a raindrop, Fluvial dropped himself downwards into the water. Once he was united with the ocean, he swiftly made his way to the girl. He formed an orb of air around his friend, and followed her as she fell downwards. To cushion the human's fall, he stopped the orb just before she reached the seafloor. The water was shallow for her, with the entire weight of the ocean held back on all sides.

KingTyrant

Neyan hit the water harder than she could possibly imagine. It hurt badly. If she wasn't wearing the robe, it most likely would've taken skin off. Luckily, it did not. Instead, she sank at a rapid pace, nearly unconscious as she wasn't able to muster the strength to paddle her way back to the surface. Like a guardian angel, Fluvial surrounded her in a thick bubble of air to protect her from the drowning effects of the ocean. She was still fairly out of it, suspended as she floated on the thick air limply.

All around her, debris, furniture, and human bodies splashed down, sinking past her until they reached the sea bottom. In no time, that's where Fluvial and her landed. Just above, where a small ray of moonlight splashed across the water's surface, the remnants of the mighty ship came down, in at least four separate pieces. The masts came down like spears, hitting the seafloor with loud crashes. Following them, the hull of the ship landed, torn apart and not at all resembling much of a ship anymore.

Luckily, nothing hit them, but just somewhat concealed them in a fort of debris and ruin. At this point, Neyan had regained consciousness, looking around at everything with wide eyes. She said nothing, unable to put any words to the chaos that surrounded them. It wasn't the wreckage of the ship that kept her silent, rather, it was the dead that surrounded her. To speak would mean to disrespect them and their lives. She couldn't bear to do that. Looking above, her eyes widened even more at the silhouette of the beast that caused the tragedy.

She could see the thousands of tentacles that assaulted the ship before, as well as the four ugly eel heads, but something was there that had managed to stay hidden the entire time. A gelatinous hood, similar to that of a jellyfish, but with curved tusks protruding from its underside, where the eel heads and tenticles protruded from. As quickly as she could inspect this monster, however, it was gone. She slowly turned to Fluvial, placing her hand on the watery bubble that surrounded her.

With tears in her eyes, she gave a weak, yet thankful nod. "Thank you..." Her voice quivered.

Kalak8538

Fluvial's watery form rose from the waist deep water. He looked around, still appearing worried.

"What do we do now?" he asked, preoccupied with the sight of falling debris.

The human may have been safe now, but there was a danger that the elemental did not know about, let alone consider. No fresh air was making it down from the surface. It would take some time, but eventually the bubble would be filled with carbon dioxide.

The elemental did not need to breathe oxygen. This was not a danger to him.

KingTyrant

(After your next post, I want the thread to end there. Sorry for not posting for a long time, I've been thinking of what to do with this for awhile. I've come to the decision that I want to turn this into a larger event with more people. I'll PM you with more information soon.)

"Swim up... As fast as you can." She told him, gulping. She already felt the air around her getting thinner with every breath, letting her know that it wouldn't be long before she suffocated. She looked up towards the surface, seeing just how far away it was. Depressurizing would be an issue, one that could leave her seriously injured, but she would never survive if she didn't have access to more air.

She looked back at her friend, giving a series of quick nods. "Now. I'm not gonna last much longer if you don't. Besides, we need to keep moving. That monster could come back to search the wreckage at any time." She warned. Perhaps it was paranoia, but Neyan could've sworn she saw a tendril in the distance of the deep blue. Even if it was paranoia, it was nothing to scoff at. Seabeasts love rummaging through sunken vessels. That was always what sailors had told her.

"Once we get to the top... Swim back the way we came. We need to alert those people on the docks."

Kalak8538

"Umm... Okay." replied the elemental.

It was no question that he would obey. The human knew what to do, and Fluvial would do all in his power to help his new friend.

Water wrapped around her body, but the bubble remained around her. The least he could do was keep the pressure of the seawater off her as he lifted her off the seabed and up towards the surface. He went as quick as he could, just as he was ordered. The pocket of air rose through the sea as a balloon  does through the sky. After only a minute or two, they had surfaced.

The bubble was no longer needed, but the water that was Fluvial still gripped her to make sure she would not go back under. The next part of the order was to head in the direction from whence they came, but he did not know which direction that was. He had not seen it when he was on board, and the monster attack had turned everything around.

He said nothing about this, not wanting to disappoint or anger his new friend. The elemental knew the general direction of "land". That would have to be enough. He began moving her towards it, taking her past the floating bits of wreckage and debris.

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