Chapter 14

==========

[Sigurd]

The first thing I noticed was the racket. Its ambience was several more times as intense in the swamp than it had been in the eerie woods where silence was prevalent. Here noise was ubiquitous; a symphony.

Insects buzzed and flitted around me, filling my vision at all times. The midges swarmed us, the tiny hate filled specs clouding up and biting at us. Swatting at them had no effect to our endless irritation. Lorelei had tried to burn them to cinders but it was an endless task that would just drain her mana. The blighted creatures had no end to their numbers, so we just dealt with it. Swamps sucked!

On a patch of hard, dry ground, we stripped and had Lorelei dry our clothes for us. Slipping back into a nice dry shirt was heavenly and I savoured it. We took stock of our situation.

25m from the waterfall, we had waded through the thigh high waters to stumble upon this solid refuge. Like a sandbar in the ocean, it seemed to extend away, blocking off the rest of the floor from the entrance area, protecting us and giving us a chance to prepare. Water lapped over the raised ground, but it effectively separated the two areas.

As I slipped on my gloves, Kael returned from a scouting mission and we gathered around to listen to what he was saying.

“Ok so, the cave end is too far away to see from here. As you suspected the embankment arcs around the waterfall and provides a barrier to the wildlife out there, I’m certain it is intentional, and we should be careful out there. If the dungeon is giving us a chance to prepare, then this is most likely much more dangerous than before.” He said, gesturing off into the depths of the swamp. A splash could be heard off in the distance. It’s subdued sound echoing around.

“Underneath us there are channels that let the water and small life flow between the main swamp and the waterfall. They are gated though, presumably against the predators that infest the waterways. There are definitely some vicious scavengers and hunters that won’t be afraid of taking a bite.” He motioned for us to follow him.

About 20m around the embankment, he stopped and pointed to something in the murky water.

“Where?” I asked, confused. As far as I could tell the man was pointing to the swamp in general

“You see the mangrove?” he said, I nodded my affirmation. “Ok come back five metres and off to the left by one. There’s a clump of algae, see it?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, do you see how under it is a white shimmer, yes? There, that’s it, it looks like a skeletonised creature and judging by the mass it was a large creature.”

“Ah, yes. I see.” I responded not seeing at all. He seemed to notice that.

He sighed. “Look, give me your rope.” When I did, he took a broadhead bolt, tied the rope to it and fired at the water. With a soft splosh and dulled thud, it impacted the clump, kicking up a small spray of water. Carefully, he pulled back the thing stuck to the end.

As it got nearer to shore, the water began to roil. Faster and faster it went, bubbling away with the occasional flash of pink or green.

Dragging what I could now see was a carcass to the shore, we gathered around it with morbid intrigue, who knew such a graphic gore could be so fascinating?

It appeared to be a large water fowl of some sort. About the same size as the flightless dodo. Scraps of flesh like pretty pink ribbons - perhaps ones you might find on a child’s gift – clung to the emaciated bones with thin silvery tendrils. Like little strings, they pulled taut as the lumps of meat were slowly lifted from the water and gravity took its hold.

The carcass, now haemorrhaging blood and flesh started to tear and disintegrate as he flipped it over, exposing the damage. It was empty, not in a sterile butchery way though. The carcass had been eaten, picked clean and devoured leaving barely a scrap clinging to it. Even the bones held little pick like marks.

Kael dragged the bird further ashore and shook off the carcass, letting it split down the middle to get to his bolt. It fell to the floor with a gentle squelch, looking like a marionette under construction.

Impaled on the broadhead of the bolt, right through the belly, was a short, stocky fish. About the size of large mango, but significantly flatter it flapped around in desperation, the gut shot was a mortal wound though and there was no hope. It had a reddish, pink belly and a permanent frown looking face etched into the bull like head that sat at the fore. Its mouth opened and closed with a gulping as it breathed in the air in its struggle.

“I guess this is what strips the dead to the bone then.” Jackson said with an uneasy laugh.

“Let’s get a look at his weaponry then.” Kael asserted. Gripping the fish firmly with one hand, he took a finger and peeled back its lips exposing the teeth that had caused such destruction. A series of interlocking teeth that, like scissors, fit together perfectly filled its maw.

“Get me a stick.”

I looked around absently, nothing within sight though. Somehow, he managed to source one, though I hadn’t seen how. Prising open its jaws he slid the stick in and waited. The fish clamped down, slicing through the stick as if it wasn’t there. Whew! Glad I wasn’t holding it!

With a high pitch yawl, Kael jumped back. Dropping the fish back into the sea as he went. It was promptly devoured by others of its kind. My eyes returned to Kael, he was missing the tip of his forefinger. The fish had somehow got him, but I wasn’t sure how.

Regaining his composure, he spoke. “You know it doesn’t actually hurt. I think the real danger lies in not noticing you’re being eaten.” He said staring at the missing tip of his finger.

“You know you deserve this you fool.” Jenna said, fondness clouding her stern tone. “Come here” she beckoned. She examined the wound and shook her head wistfully.

“I think the teeth are so sharp that they just sheared straight through and that’s why you felt no pain. Since we don’t have the tip, I can’t fix this. You’ll have to wait for a flesh mage to fix this. I’ll stop the bleeding though.” She muttered to herself before letting the magic flow.

“At least it was the forefinger, you should still have full mobility.”

“How so?” I asked. “I would have thought it was the most important one”

“A common mistake, but wrong nonetheless. It’s the pinkie finger that is most important, it is essential for the precision grip and without it I think you’d find life getting much harder. If you think about it, you can write without the first finger, it’s not so hard to compensate.” She began, waiting for us to listen before she continued.

“The index and middle finger and the thumb all contribute to pinching motions and so if you lose one it can be replaced by the other fairly easily. Whereas if you lose the pinkie finger, your hand strength is cut in half. Try making a fist without clenching the little one. You can feel the difference when you activate it. The fist is powerful now, and you can grip properly. Without it you would really struggle”

“How do you know all this?” I asked, flexing my hand as she had indicated. It was remarkable how important it seemed to be.

“Oh, I worked with the Scilliat doctors in Scellia for a stint after finishing my prana with the goddess. They are amazing with or without magic and the small injuries such as fracturing or breaking the little finger are a common occurrence. I saw hundreds of them and the therapy to fix them is fascinating. Of course, it isn’t necessary with magic to help them along, but it was interesting nonetheless.”

Kael ran a series of tests to confirm if he could still use his daggers as Jenna had said. He could, and quite impressively too.

“Uhh, where was I? Oh right, the swamp. Well, I guess we found the fish responsible for the clean-up, but I think that may be the least of our problems. Judging from the sounds we’ve been hearing and the glimpses I got. I’d take a gamble that there are bigger predators in these waters, far bigger.”

As if to illustrate the point, a giant splash sounded behind us. I whirled and saw a flash of gold slip below the surface and the water darken - as though a cloud had risen to the surface – obscuring whatever it was

“Well that’s ominous” Lorelei snorted, amused.

==========

[Dungeon]

As it turned out, they were correct about the piranhas being the least of their problems. They set off from the firmer ground at an easy pace not long after Kael had had his finger fixed. Comfortable, yet wary, they walked through the pools, trees and grasses. The swamp had that unnerving quality to it. The noise, the humidity, the general ambiance was enough to unsettle the stomach and they seemed to be feeling it.

Veteran adventurers they may be, but it seemed to me that they were just as prone to emotions and weakness as the rest of the race.

The guide I had got at the beginning had explained the sentients strengths and weaknesses well, and the emotional variance of their nature was one of humanities biggest flaws. It led to the impetuousness their race was so known for. These members still seemed susceptible to it. A shame.

As they traversed the swamp, they stumbled in hollows, tripped over branches, got bitten by the piranhas and bugs and had the calamitous luck to run into a goliath tiger fish as they were crossing one of the deeper pools.

They had stumbled through the last marshy area, tiredness creeping in as the swamp fought to slow them down. The mud, grasses and water clinging to them and dragging them down with each step. Not literally of course, that would have taken a far larger investment of mana. Not something I could spend so frivolously.

They paused before the pool. Caution, a wise trait. Though they may be ruled by emotion, they were at least in control.

At some unspoken signal, Jackson entered the water. Being the tank, he led these situations, going headfirst into the unknown.

As the water rose to chest level Jackson panicked. I had no idea why the rising water level had incited such panic, but it wasn’t good for him. Seconds after his flailing, the fish struck. A darting bite, wrapping its maw around his side. The five-foot-long fish, weighing nearly sixty-five kilos struggled to fit the inch-long teeth around his waist, but it managed. As easily as a carpenter hits nails into wood, the teeth sunk through the armour and pierced his flesh, crushing down with bone grinding strength.

Jackson yelled out profanities, screaming in pain as the goliath thrashed, trying to rip out the chunk of flesh it had claimed.

In but a few moments more, it had given up and abandoned its prey, backing off into the deeper, murky hidey holes of the swamp. It would wait until the meal lost its strength before coming after it again.

Sebastien, Kael and Sigurd charged forwards, determined to save their tank from the attack. Though it was over long before they got there. They dragged him forwards though, ignoring the whimpers and swearing. Getting him out of the danger, to the higher ground on which the mages were standing was most important.

With Jackson being clad in plate armour, the fish couldn’t rip out a chunk of his side, but it had punctured the plate in several spots, cutting him badly and perforating the flesh. Getting the plate off took them a few minutes, but it was necessary to help him. They wouldn’t be able to see the damage under the plate.

The vicious fish’s dagger like teeth had sliced him open good before it had disappeared into the murky depths, leaving them questioning its existence.

Were it not for the badly wounded Jackson and the commotion in the water, they could have just dismissed it as fiction. But alas they could not.

It took a high-level healing potion and a spell from Jenna to get him properly healed. A serious injury but nothing that was really life threatening.

They peered into the water, suspicious and cautious. I doubted they would brave this pool again. I know I wouldn’t be eager to test it and I doubted they had the nerve.

Sure enough, they skirted the pool and took the long way around. An unnecessary excursion as it was doubtful the fish would attack them again.

Goliath tiger fish generally preferred fast moving waters in which to ambush prey. With the power they possessed, they would wait in the calmer pockets of the turbulence for wounded prey to tire from the forces that bashed them around before they struck. The ambush tendency they had was perfect for the dungeon and getting them to accept the slow-moving nature hadn’t taken much work. So, since they knew and would guard against it, stopping the flailing which had triggered the fish, I doubted it would strike again.

It had got in and out, striking hard and leaving in perfect health. I was pleased at this. A very good monster for the dungeon and if it had struck at someone not wearing plate it might have been a different story.

Once Jackson was up and calmed down they pressed on and soon they had found the end of the level. Unlike before they had not spent much time cataloguing the ingredients that could be found, I think they felt rather uncomfortable with the level and wanted to move on.

They collected some prizes for killing the caiman, but generally they left it at that. The caiman were basking on the dryer ground and though they were often ambush predators, the glint from their eyes had a far greater effect than I had originally intended. Once startled by the adventurers they had descended into the water ways and moved towards them.

It seemed that they were easy to spot with the glinting eyes and as such it wasn’t too long before they had been killed.

On balance I thought it was ok to leave them like that. They were still dangerous predators and without an axe man dealing major damage, I thought it would be much more difficult to deal with them.

They soon exited the swamp, descended the stairs with a glee that seemed to exude out of them. We’d see how much longer that lasted.