I circled high above, watching the streets fill with thousands of Dawnstar soldiers. Time was of the essence, so I hadn’t bothered to wait around and see if the marshal would comply with my request before transforming. Satisfied that he and Trystan had heeded my call, I caught a stiff westerly breeze and rose higher on the currents of air. Gliding over the port, then the cove, and finally the cliffs, I felt the same urge to remain free, to leave the ground prison behind. Thankfully, the siren song wasn’t as powerful as before, and the image of a reunited Wolfkin family shattered the allure completely.

Lacking a degree in advanced ballistics, I remained up in the clouds while I checked out the ships below. The barbarians had bows, I’d seen them. If the ogres did too, their arrows would likely reach a bloody sight higher than their overlords could. And that would mean one very dead Mark in eagle form. I needed to descend if our ruse was to work though, so I folded my wings and allowed my weight to circle me ever lower. I levelled out at what I guessed to be a mile or so and studied the deck of the ogre abominations as thoroughly as I could. Unwieldly weapons and bodily leavings were strewn everywhere. I couldn’t imagine how they remained upright when every third step would put their foot in a pile of ogre shit. Below decks was off limits to my view, but I was somewhat heartened to see nothing on the deck itself. If anything should be pulled out, I’d have a few moments to try and gain some height.

Dropping another few hundred metres, I began to whistle and trill, trying to get their attention. Having been primed by the fearful warning of Sigeræd and the others, I eagle laughed when I saw the panic break out. The chittering shrill of my mirth sent them over the edge and they started to run around on their vessels, not knowing what to do. I found Dhaulf’s flagship and performed a series of loops, hoping to send the signal that it was marked. Fifty bows or more were drawn, their strings quivering under the strain. I cawed in terror, preparing to fight my way higher against the winds. The bows thrummed as arrows flew, stopping far short of ever getting near me. Most plinked into the ocean. A handful of strays landed on the other ships, skewering the men and driving them to even greater bouts of fear.

With the next seed planted, I shrieked once more and headed back to the cliffs. The next part of the plan was the most dangerous. One mistake and I would be respawning somewhere, somehow, having failed Sun and her parents. I couldn’t let that happen. Landing on a ledge twenty or so feet above the crashing waves, I transformed back into my human form and let the spray wash over me for a minute while I summoned my courage. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the aliens, it was just… well, you know the rest. I found the potion hiding in my pack and slipped it into the quickslot bar.

“Potion of water breathing, huh?”

I activated it and waited for the gills to sprout down my side or on my neck. Would I develop an abiding fondness for sexual encounters with molluscs like a recent superhero I’d watched? When nothing untoward appeared on my body, I scrabbled down the rocks to an overhang that would allow me to hit the water and avoid being smashed to pieces against the rocks. I dived in, slipping easily beneath the waves and kicking for a few seconds before surfacing. I bobbed on the water for a while, knowing that the next seconds would either see me heading for the anchored ships or settling into the dark murk below where I would be food for crabs.

“You can do it,” I said, spitting out briny water that splashed into my open mouth.

I stopped kicking and sunk beneath the surface. The susurration of the waves and shrill cries of the gulls became a muffled trickle and then near total silence as my ear drums filled. The sun refracted through the layer of water above, a shimmering world of blue and gold.

This was it.

Now or never.

I let go of my fear and took a breath. I’d been expecting the full density of water to fill my lungs, brimming like a pair of full bottles. Instead, the sensation was exactly the same as breathing normally. Whether it was a magical filtration system that took only the oxygen, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I was a few feet down, existing in yet another world that wasn’t my own.

Coupled with my night eyes, the gloom of the ocean was pared back a little. Fishes darted around me, sensing my trespass in their underwater kingdom. Out of nowhere, my mind started to play the Jaws theme tune. I’d found a major flaw in my plan. A plan that was already in motion and couldn’t be stopped. It reminded me of a time I’d cycled to the top of some hillocks we called the Switchbacks. As soon as my wheels had started to roll, I knew the gradient was too steep. Add in the youthful knack of ignoring standard vehicular maintenance, and you had a screaming teenage Mark hurtling down the hill on a bike with no brakes. Or at least brakes that had quickly given up the ghost, snapping off, and bouncing away in the compacted dirt. What had surprised me was that as I moved at breakneck speed towards the bottom, I grew remarkably calm. My brain seemed to slow time and laid out two options to consider. Try and ride it out, likely reaching a speed which could prove fatal if I hit any of the trees waiting at the bend, or jump. I’d steered towards the grassy hedgerow and jumped. The pain was terrible, but survivable.

The hill I was now racing down had no diversion to offer. Realising that the limited time was ticking away, I stayed beneath the surface and kicked towards the red dots on my minimap. I’d used one of the linked abilities to mark Dhaulf’s ship, but headed for those surrounding it instead.

As I neared the markers, I dived lower to ensure the men on board didn’t take pot-shots at the shadow believing it might be an easy meal. Out of nowhere I felt something bulky brush past my leg, knocking me askew. My balls crawled right up into my throat in terror. I was twenty feet or more down in the pitch darkness. My eyesight only revealed as far as my arm could reach. Whatever had nudged me was big. Very big. I know that not all behemoths in the deeps are a threat to humans, but I also knew that a lot of them were. In a bit of a panic I swam higher, feeling my way towards the hull of the ogre vessel above. The sharp barnacles cut into my searching palms.

Here goes nothing.

I popped my Holy Shield and conjured a jar of the goblin explosives just outside the skin of my protective shell. The volatile mix detonated the second it hit the ocean. Knocked back briefly by the concussive wave that tore through the water, I screamed in my cocoon as the massive rent in the ship suck me inside with the flooding water. In the churning tumult, I crashed against thick timbers and barrels that were roiling in the mix with me. I saw one of the containers spilt, the preserved food joining the maelstrom. If I’d been panicked by the unseen creature outside, the feeling I got when my shell wore off and I was battered senseless in the bilge was a hundred times more acute. I screamed in the darkness, bubbles streaming from my mouth instead of noise as I swirled. No matter how much I kicked, the power of the sea wasn’t to be ignored. I was a lump of flotsam, taken where the water decided. My health dropped with each impact, requiring me to waste a potion for my stupidity.

In that moment of healing, I feared I had doomed myself. I couldn’t see anything long enough to get a bearing. As soon as I clutched onto one of the braces or whatever they were called, I was yanked free by the force of the water. I heard a mournful groaning as the vessel began to list, then the muffled cracks of wood breaking under the strain. With the ship torn in two, the vast compartment I was trapped in finally filled with enough liquid to reduce the turbulence within.

Daylight pierced through from above, highlighting the thrashing and sinking figures all around me. I felt the hands of a drowning ogre latch onto my ankle and I turned to stare down at the pitiful face. His mouth was wide open, a froth of bubbles rising as mine had moments ago. Whereas I drew a breath and received new air, the monster only filled his lungs with brine. The strength left the grip and I kicked his hand loose, giving him over to the deeps, but not before looting his body.

A heavy iron boot smashed into my face as its owner tried to kick and stay afloat. With the sheer weight of armour burdening the massive body, it was a doomed effort from the beginning. As if I was a long lost friend, the ogre wrapped its massive arms around me and squeezed. I’m not sure what he was hoping to achieve, but when the water closes over your head and there’s only one way to go, I guess it was a misplaced survival instinct. Instead of fighting the embrace, I allowed myself to be drawn downwards, the faint light darkening by shades until all was black again. My huge companion died, releasing my body, and I kicked gently towards the surface once more, taking his belongings with me.

Bobbing amidst the waves were the fortunate ones who had been topside. They’d either shucked off enough armour to stay afloat, or hadn’t been wearing it in the first place. I followed their path towards the nearest ship from a depth of ten feet, watching the cooldown on my skill carefully. My heart nearly stopped entirely when a shape darted past me towards the churning froth of kicking legs. The ocean turned a dark crimson as the top half of the bitten ogre sank, its entrails spooling out like the tentacles of an octopus. My attack had caught them unawares, devastating in its effectiveness. But even my exploits paled in comparison to the frenzy caused by the unseen predators.

I stopped kicking entirely, just making gentle figure-of-eights with my open hands to maintain my depth. I wasn’t an expert by any means, but I knew two things; sharks, if that’s what they were, went for blood and movement. Or was it killer whales? I wasn’t entirely certain. All I did know is that the ogres desperate attempts to reach the other ships was like ringing the dinner bell to the denizens of Poseidon’s dark realm. They looked like huge baby seals, ready for eating.

I changed my route entirely, beelining for one of the barbarian vessels as more shadows zipped around and past me to feed. This time, I was more cautious and maintained a healthy distance from the barnacle coated hull before summoning my shield and bomb. The shockwave smacked into me, but I kicked away with everything I had and broke from the powerful suction. Remaining in one piece, the ship went down by the nose, plunging a hundred warriors into the water above.

Repeating the trick for a third time on another ogre barge, I struggled to see through the increasing debris and blood that was swirling in the sea around me. I was unsure if three boats would prove enough, but my soul was slowly crushed as each unmoving, serene face floated past me. Or worse, the parts that hadn’t yet been devoured. There was no way I could kill any more, so I started to swim slowly back to the shore. With luck, my words and the prophetic sinkings would be proof enough that the two clans floating outside Ishalon would offer up Dhaulf on a platter. If not? Then we would put up the best fight we could on the docks. All of the seeds had been planted, watered, and all that remained was to see the result.

Something bit down on my legs.

Before I could even scream, it dragged me downward.