He didn't know whether it was the name-dropping, the politeness (though he sincerely doubted that), or whatever "gifts" that the Guardian believed that one dragon had, but somehow they'd managed to avoid any bloodshed. Considering the abominable creature that'd emerged from the shadows, the result had been the best possible—with such gigantic proportions, a concerted attack would have ended in more scratches on their side than their opponent's, and Fahl predicted that his last seconds of life would have been as a slim pick for many rows of teeth. The ugliness mentioned far from an understatement, it had taken a mighty amount of willpower on his part to force his mind to quiet, to stay watchful throughout the proceedings. Now, though, with the Guardian having gone up and away from sight, he released the tension he'd been holding. Limbs unlocked as he made to follow after their conflicting guide, his movements at first were wobbly, readjusting to swimming in a manner free of spiking adrenaline.

Separated from immediate threat, his heartbeat slowed as well; however, it never truly stabilized, a moment away from resuming a rapid flutter. Despite their direction too being one upward, a fight's possibility kept him teetering on edge.

Even uneasy, the mention of Nemean did not go without a scoff. 'If by present, you mean mutilation? Then, yes, absolutely thrilling.'

For preparations, not much could be done. Fire, which seemed rather ineffective in the current situation, was an impatient element and likely would not linger long enough to preemptively counter danger. His claws could only strike well if he was certain where to do so. Those pouches—

'Dark for offense. Light for us.'

They might prove their usefulness, but stored beneath his armband, it'd depend on whether he was able to reach for them in time.

Not in the midst of a battle yet and lacking options due to this, Fahl fell back on the best tactic available: to listen for the enemy and see if it paid off.

Surprisingly, no fight developed. For now. But it still looked on, half-tense with unease like it had been for nearly the entire trip. The guide's words only served to back this up- there was no fight NOW, but there would be one LATER. Simply postponing the inevitable.

Khavur's sudden.. protectiveness over the little greenish creature was noted- with a raised eyebrow, if the Labradorite had bore eyebrows. Was the Gembound important? Hurt? Powerful (likely magically if at all... the creature itself didn't look very formidable) or had Khavur just... decided on a whim? Labradorite edged closer, side-eyeing the two as the group began the journey back up the the surface.

It'd try to keep it's focus on it's magic, using the chorus of heartbeats as a guide to help locate anything that may be a threat to the group. The guardian seemed to be okay (for the moment, anyways) but there wasn't telling what other number of creatures may be lurking in the depths.

Labradorite is attempting to look for potential threats using red sense

Dragon simply remained close to his children, watching the exchange with greedy silence. His greed, though, was not for shiny objects, but for knowledge: each savory mention of a Master or other name had him paying close attention.

He wondered what had happened to Blight, but bar that, any wariness mostly faded as the eel-beast swept upward and away. Fight: averted, apparently, though its nonsensical mentions of cowardice in the same breath as courage left him wondering if perhaps Patrick truly were quite mad.

The alligator yawned opened his jaws, flexing them; he couldn't feel any venom lacing his teeth. Hm, that did nothing, he thought to himself, managing to avoid accidentally broadcasting the thought halfway through the caves. Instead he focused again, and this time it did come: a pleasant flood of sour taste in his mouth, a sign that he was ready to paralyze someone.

Blight recoiled a little, ghost-green eyes widening, at the sudden strike against his body. He felt it--a horrific surge of magic, a near-instant decay beginning to take hold. He was too busy frantically trying to clear it to listen to the Guardian's words, past a vague inkling that it put far too much stock in sickness. He also completely missed most of Patrick's strange tirade-slash-praise.

A quick blast of his own magic boiled through his body, churning away the strange sickness that had flooded him. Relief swept through him, almost dizzying in its intensity, and once he'd confirmed he was clear of it, he struggled to turn his attention back to those who were speaking to him.

"Huh? It made me sick--I'm fine, sorry-" he managed, trying to split his attention between both Carja and Electrum. He studied Electrum for a moment, quizzically--though he lived in Leo, he had no idea that Electrum also called it his home. It might've been down to Blight's more nocturnal fishing habits, but he'd never had a chance to study this strange creature with its fins and gilded scales. That said, there wasn't really enough light to see anything but a murky sort of hint of Electrum's physique, in any case; there was enough, at least, to see that he was dragon, and just as adapted--if not moreso--to water than Blight was. "No worries, uh, about manners-?" he tried, still struggling to catch up to the conversation past his own fearful magic-use. "Everything's kind've busy--there's a lot of us here. My name's Blight, it's good to meet you," he added. It was a lot--all the speech from everyone close by ricocheting through his mind--but not much worse than really hearing voices all around him. It was just a little disorienting not being able to place all the thoughts with their originators, straightaway.

And then, realizing that what he was about to say next should probably be common knowledge, he spoke as best he could through the shared link: "Blight, here--the greenish... uh, green-eyed dragon--my magic is sickness. I think this Guardian thing was suggesting... that's their magic, too. If we run into trouble, if he--comes back, I should be able to clear anything he does. Just let me know--come to me--if you start to feel ill." He could keep an eye on them all, he supposed--that sort of magic eye to warn him if they were growing sick--but that would take a great deal of effort to constantly maintain. Best to let them report it, he figured, and check them all at once before they left this place.

Assuming they got out at all.

THE BLACK CITY

To the varied gentle correction and protest, Patrick only cackled. "IDIOTS! HEROIC FOOLS! FOOLISH HEROES! ALSO, IDIOTS!" and swam faster, higher.

Anyone seeking items along the sea floor would find that there was no time to search; their guide had already swept upward, away into the dark, and to delay following would leave them lost down there. They could always, perhaps, return--assuming the situation allowed it, one day.

Up.

Up.

Up.

The massive glyphs and obelisks grew more frequent, thickly-clustered, emerging unexpected from the darkness through which they swam or jutting down from the ceiling up above. Wherever the door in that roof was--the one that led back to Fornax--it wasn't visible, now; they were virtually trapped down here, beneath this ceiling, weaving now through broad paths and narrow turns among the obelisks.

At last, Patrick slowed.

He curved through a pair of purple glyphs, and upward; he led them along a lane of pink and pulsing ones, and turned at one that shone green. Now, there began to be large black slabs among them without markings--with, instead, large holes that led within. Dwellings, perhaps--and here and there, glowing eyes gleamed at them from within, Lessers or perhaps even long-abandoned Valkhounds observing the Gembounds from the darkness as they passed. And now there was a floor: at some point they had entered into a massive tunnel, of sorts, and far below was a jutting slab of the same black stone, with more of these dwellings and glyphed stones spaced along its bottom. The colors combined to shine a sickly, Oil-hued gleam across the whole of the black rock.

"Welcome," Patty exclaimed, weaving upward ever-higher, "to the Black City."

At last, at the end of a long, open avenue, they came to a final set of massive stone doors, taking up the full height of the Black City's rear wall. A faintly green-yellow, glowing gap in one door, and a pink-pulsing hole in the other, were clearly slots for the two Keys--one of which Patrick held, the other still held by the now-missing Guardian.

But... one of the immense doors was hanging open. Crooked, damaged, at an angle, the gap couldn't have been more than a few yards wide--but it was there, gaping black and ominous against the Oily light. "Ooooh... That's not good," Patty breathed, along their link--and his worried thoughts came flooding through. What would be big enough to do that?! Not even one of the--but could it be--oh NO. Oh no, oh no, ohWHAT'S THAT-

There was a series of pulsing flashes--yellow and covering a broad swathe of space--within... and then, slowly, a head emerged.

______________

Please allow Deep Dark to post next. Quest participants will be tagged after this character has been posted.

This quest is closed to new entrants. As a reminder, characters will need a minimum of three posts in this thread to claim its rewards.

@Deep Dark

How many years had it remained within these halls? How many cycles had it persisted, been torn apart and rebuilt, time and time again?

In all that time, there had been nothing but instinct. It had been carried through life like a tidal wave, and it had accepted the lot it was given. But… Something, approaching the palace? Lessers may come and go when they were too foolish enough to avoid what was within, but the link faltering into existence had clenched its mind and began to shave off centuries' worth of rust within.

Faint, milky- white eyes regarded the group. Its bobber flipped forward and shone on them, giving off a sickly yellow light as it cast its hooked head about. 'Not... Hounds...' was its first proper thought given to others in millennia- it had no safeguard against Patty's link, and had no interest in shielding those, anyways.

Mental static arose as its hooked talons- nearly a foot in length on their own- gripped the broken door. A brief flash of its glow brightened green spots across its body into yellow, its own scars lighting up faintly green and visible. It had been damaged- bite marks, torn fins, a missing toe or two. Around its neck held the mark of a wicked tentacle, and it was this that it bent its long neck down to look at.

'Big… It is... Too big,' came its second thought. It was slow, like a creaking door in the others' brains, and it hissed out in the water as its gills flared. But with 33 beings (were they all Great?)... Was it possible?

'Yes,' it imagined, with its teeth bared in a monstrous grin. 'Death… Of the Kraken.'

Its grin widened and it laughed like it coughed, its lights faltering. In a flourish, it shoved back into the space behind the door, twisting with the elegance of a being much less beastly. 'Death… of Challengers?' Its humor- if it could be called that- was laced into the projected thought, and it flicked back its bauble as it lit up the surrounding area. 'Yes… To bring Her... back.'

'Great Challenge… Awaits, all.' Its milky eyes looked back to the party and it turned to face them. 'Challenge unbeatable alone. Unbeatable… Together?' The question was more of a test, as it watched them, wings alternating in a pattern to keep it hovering. 'We… See, soon.'

And the dragon flipped back around, waving through the water like a snake and using its long wings to surge on ahead. They would see, indeed...

THE BLACK CITY

Patrick screamed at first, along the link--a high-pitched thought of a shriek--when Deep Dark appeared. He quickly silenced, however. And when the thing spoke, Patrick--to his credit--listened.

He swept forward to slot in his key. It lodged there; glowing lines of sickly, Oily light rapidly traversed that door. The other gap, however, remained empty: awaiting the arrival of the Guardian.

That didn't matter; the gap was wide enough for any of those present to fit through. "A KRAKEN, HUH?" this will be hilarious "That'll be tough. They can get pretty big. Best get on in there! ...Go on! Get started!" Patrick encouraged them.

He moved aside.

The black gap in the door, through which Deep Dark had again vanished, was... open.

Fahl, listening closely, might notice a faint gurgling sound from far within--but nothing particularly definite; only the churn of water, and... possibly... something very large far within.

______________

Gembounds may take one final turn to make any preparations or any searches they wish, here at the gates of the Black City's final chamber. Alternatively, they may follow Deep Dark inside, and attempt to locate or illuminate what may or may not be a Kraken within--or even attack it blindly.

This quest is closed to new entrants. As a reminder, characters will need a minimum of three posts in this thread to claim rewards.

Code:

<SPAN STYLE="text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #ef78ff;color:#deb8ff;"><b>accidental thoughts font code</b></SPAN>

@Forgraves @Electrum (Garnet-Episilon) @Attikias (Cerilaine) @Hunter (The Orarian) @Khavur (Madhukar, Kaimana) @Bedlam (Ascent, Pelt) @Haven (Carja) @Indigo @Hestia @Fahl @Whale @Galleon (Skein) @Beast (Friend) @Telesto (Brandle, V-Labradorite-One) @Esther @Dragon (Blight) @Terror (Astéri)

Haven swam upwards before the others left, panicking a little as she dragged Electrum along beside her. She didn't want to be left behind. She didn't want to be stuck down here, waiting for something to break the enchantment on her necklace or be eaten. Whichever came first.

She stopped with the others and listened to Deep Dark's broken speech, thoroughly terrified. She had to keep telling herself she loved her family more than she feared... whatever was out there. A kraken? She didn't know what that was, but either way she was seriously regretting not grabbing her two loved ones and getting the hell off that beach.

"... E-Electrum?", she asked, "Make sure Telesto's okay. Please."

She sniffled and readied herself, her venom still flowing. On top of that, she hid herself, scales darkening and turning a dark grey to match her surroundings much like a cuttlefish would. Even blind she managed to hide. Hopefully it would give her a chance against this Kraken.

@Electrum

With her ice armor still clinging to her scales, Carja swam forward, eyes wide. The further they went, the more her heart pounded, barely able to focus on keeping Blight and Attikias swimming with her.

"... A kraken?", she asked with terror in her voice, remembering the massive creature that had eaten the already giant monster that had nearly killed her.

Suddenly the water felt heavier than before, like she was being crushed.

'I'm going to die,' she thought suddenly, 'But Ascent is here!'
Despite her fear she pressed forward, taking a moment to prepare herself mentally one last time. With that she added more onto her armor, putting another layer atop her arms, neck, and along her belly and chest. You have to cover the vulnerable bits, and it isn't like anyone will be very agile in water anyway.

Hestia continued to follow the group, maintaining a pleasant speed just like the others as to not be left behind. Looking back along her shell to ensure that her companion on this quest was still alright. They seemed fine, holding an air of 'everything is fine' about them. She was glad to see that. At one point they had attempted to make...Oranges? Well- nothing happened but it's the thought that counts! Right?

Up and up they continued to swim, the obelisks growing more and more clustered throughout the expanse around them. Darkness and mystery. Their guide slowed, so did she; keeping the pace and keeping an eye out to ensure everybody within the group was alright still. Still they continues to swim, being led down a lane with pink and pulsing glyphs- it was beautiful! Or well- she thought so, it definitely was different compared to the caves she roamed above.

Gaze flickering along the path they took it was evident there was large holes...glowing eyes staring and gleaming back at them... whether they were other gembounds or lessers well...that remained to be seen. She kept up the pace, not wanting to stick around and find out all on her lonesome. But she couldn't help but wonder who they were- or rather...what.

Hestia was soon pulled from her train of thoughts, the guide explaining a welcome to the Black City. Before them was a set of massive doors- they were absolutely enormous! She swam a bit closer in awe, eyes flickering over the expanse of their stone exterior. There was two clear slots for keys, one she knew Patrick held but- the other key was still with the missing Guardian...Well suppose they were to wait?...Well- maybe...one of the door looked to be...damaged- busted open?

She blinked, only to focus on the guide now as Patrick seemed...nervous?...or well- something was happening- something else was with the group among the dark. Yellow, glowing and flashing- another...gembound? Like them?...a voice through the link- unknown and new...was this them? They spoke of hounds? Well- maybe there was a dog or two in the ground...honestly she wasn't sure...there was quite a large number of them on this quest so-...but she certainly wasn't a canine... no hound- despite the care and love given to her by a canine when she was just a babe.

The entity was large- scarred and glowing. She could only listen to them; they weren't attacking so perhaps- they would be a friend? An ally on this quest? They spoke of- something too big... a Kracken? Death of the Kracken- she watched them grin, teeth bared in a manner she couldn't quite read. They laughed and coughed- and Hestia watched their lights falter till they shoved themselves back into the space behind one of the great doors.

So...they were supposed to be challengers? There was going to be a fight then?...those scars-were they from the Kracken too? Thoughts raced- there was much she wanted to ask them but-there was no time or even a chance as the new entity surged onward and ahead of the group. Still though she could talk with the others.

I suppose-there will be a fight after all...We can do it!- just-nobody attack immediately incase there's a chance they...MIGHT be friendly?

It sounded more like a question than a request. She looked around, waiting for an answer; but in the meantime she would attempt to ready herself.

-but wait- aren't we...going to wait for the Guardian? For the other Key?

She wouldn't go in first- but rather follow behind the first few gembounds. She would try to be as useful as she could be here in the deep dark water below Fornax.