Cold black water filled his mouth as he screamed. It all happened in an instant; one minute he was standing on the shore, the next a black tentacle was wrapped around him, dragging him below the surface. His scream hit the water around him and died in a profusion of bubbles.

The tentacle seemed to bite into his flesh, like the suckers were cutting into him, draining his blood even through the scale mail. The pain and the cold were only things he could feel, and blackness was all he could see. He struggled against the grip of the tentacle, but sat like iron around his waist, pure muscle that threatened to crack his spine. He thrashed in the dark, struggling not to breathe in water, terrified of what might lay around him.

He pushed mana into his staff in a panic, and a light flared from it, illuminating the obsidian depths around him.

The scene flashed: The tentacle that held him led back to a black mass in the depths of the water, the head of a huge diamond-shaped squid. A single cruel eye stared back from the black water, reflecting the green light of his staff. To his right, three other forms thrashed against tentacles: Blake, Alice, and Tiberius.

Tiberius had his teeth sunk into the flesh of the tentacle, and was gnawing his way through the rubbery mass. Green blood flooded the water around him, pouring from the creature’s open wound. Theo raised his staff to cast a spell, eviscerate the tentacle trapping his companion, but stopped. Another tentacle was wrapped around Alice, and dragged her through the water towards the creature’s waiting beak. Theo saw it open, ready to swallow her whole.

Alice produced a dagger and stabbed furiously at the tentacle around her. Again, green blood clouded the black water, making her temporarily vanish as though in a cloud of smoke. But despite her attacks, the tentacle continued its slow pull, and the squid snapped its beak. Bits of old flesh caked the ridges of it, remnants of past meals.

Then, a flash of blue light. Beside Theo, Blake had summoned electricity to his hands, pressing them against the tentacle that held him. Theo could feel the remnants of the shock moving through the water, running across his skin. But the tentacle holding Blake shivered, releasing him, then froze as lightning danced around it. The squid let out a piercing scream that echoed underwater, making Theo’s ears feel like they were bleeding.

Theo took the opening. He raised his staff, then summoned mana into it. Thorns erupted from the staff’s tip, shooting forward in the water…

And stopped. The thorns spread wildly, their movement interrupted by the current, slowing to flotsam. Won’t work underwater, Theo realized. Already, his lungs screamed for air. He kicked and thrashed against the tentacle, his movements become more desperate.

Then, another scream from the creature. Alice had hacked her way through the tentacle, and was swimming back towards them. The severed tip of the tentacle floated in the dark, leaving a cloud of green blood behind it. She kicked clumsily through the water, clawing her way to the surface.

Another flash of blue light, and again the feeling of electricity buzzing through the water. Beside Theo, Blake had freed Tiberius with another shocking spell. Tiberius doggy paddled furiously towards the ledge, then disappeared in a scramble back to land. Theo watched his wet tail vanish above the surface. Alice quickly followed him, pulling herself over the ledge.

Theo summoned mana to his staff. The only other offensive ability he had — besides turning into a bear, which he didn’t think would help if he didn’t have any air for said bear — was Staff of Nature’s Power.

He raised his staff high, charging it with mana, and brought it smashing down on the tentacle. Sparks flew from where he connected with the creature’s rubbery skin, and he felt the grip loosen — and then tighten again. It forced all the air out of him, and his last breath bubbled up from his mouth and escaped to the surface. Distantly, he felt a rib crack and pain swell in his side.

Then, another flash of blue light, this one much closer. Theo felt more pain as electricity crackled across his skin, making his muscles buckle and his teeth clench. Then, relief. The tentacle released him, suckers unfurling from his skin, leaving bloody pucker-marks wherever his armor didn’t cover. Theo put more mana into his staff, and spreading light around him, and saw Blake’s face hovering nearby, his hands still crackling with sparks. He pointed upwards and grabbed Theo’s arm, pulling him towards the surface.

Theo’s advanced swimming skill kicked in. He kicked his feet once, like a dolphin, and shot upwards, dragging Blake behind him. They reached the wall and dragged themselves onto the stone platform, gasping for air. Theo heaved, his lungs burning, the cold water still dripping from his skin.

“Watch out!” Alice screamed from across the pool. In his periphery, something shadowy flashed towards them. Theo rolled just in time for a slender tentacle to smack the stone between him and Blake, trying to latch onto their torsos.

The tentacle rose again, peeling upwards like a cobra, searching. Then, from the other side of the room, a burst of light — a flaming arrow collided with the the tentacle, pinning it to the wall. Fire raced and spread across it, drying the tentacle out until its squirming ceased. Theo blinked his eyes free of water and looked at Alice, who knocked another arrow. She concentrated, and the tip burst into flame.

New skill. And it’s effective against the squid.

“Blake! Use fireball!” Theo yelled.

Blake was still laying next to him, panting. Two more tentacles rose above them, reading to strike. Blake pulled his hands together, and a spark flared between them, eventually growing into a flame the size of an apple. He pushed his hands outward, and the ball of flame erupted at the tentacle, striking its soft underbelly. The flame spouted across it, burning the rubbery flesh, until it turned ashen gray and fell to the ground. The creature beneath the waves slowly pulled back the maimed tentacle, dragging it across the stone until it vanished over the edge.

“Theo, watch out!” Blake screamed. The other tentacle raced towards Theo, about to smash into his face. Theo raised his staff to block, charing it with Nature’s Power. But the blow never came. Instead, something huge and silverly leapt over Theo, taking the tentacle with it.

He turned to see Tiberius next to him, the tentacle between his jaws. He thrashed, his steel-sharp teeth biting through the flesh and severing the smaller tentacle. He spat out the still-writhing tentacle on the ground, then snarled, his mouth coated in green blood. The stump of the severed tentacle whipped like a loose firehose, spouting blood, then vanished between the water.

Theo sprang to his feet, brandishing his staff. Tiberius crouched beside him, maw still dripping.

The water of the black pool began to bubble. From the depths, a black shape emerged, writhing and crawling towards the surface. Tentacles searched from the water, latching onto the stone walls, pulling the giant squid upwards. Its lone eye appeared, green and menacing, the pupil flicking and searching in the light of Theo’s staff.

All around it, tentacles seemed to multiply. Countless black limbs slid from the water, over the pathway in front of them, through the air above them.

“Theo! We need a plan!” Alice said, her voice urgent.

Theo raised a hand, casting Identify on the creature.

Species: One-eyed Giant Squid

Level: ???

Species Info: Native to the depths of the Underdeep Dimension, the One-eyed Giant Squid is a fierce hunter and stealthy assassin. From its sharp beak to its regenerating fanged tentacles, few escape its many-armed grasp. While massive in size, the One-eyed Giant Squid is difficult to spot in dark water, and has surprised many an unaware diver. The One-eyed Giant Squid’s single massive eye allows it to see in near perfect darkness, but is sensitive to light.

“My Druidic Knowledge says they don’t like light,” Theo said. He turned to Blake. “Any ideas?”

“Make some fried calamari?” Blake said. His hands burst into flames again, and he held them at his side. The orange light reflected against the oily skin of the creature, and the tentacles shied away from it like serpents.

Theo nodded. “Aim for the eye.”

He turned to Tiberius. “Tiberius, run interference on Blake. Make sure no tentacles get to him while he casts fireball. Go!”

Tiberius huffed and then raced to Blake, snarling at any tentacles that reached towards him.

“Alice! Aim for the eye! Burn as much as you can!” Theo yelled.

Alice nodded, drawing back her flaming arrow. “That I can do,” she said.

She released an arrow, which soared across the room in a flash, directly towards the creature’s singular eye. Just as quickly, a slender tentacle snatched the arrow out of the air, twisting around it. Theo watched as the tentacle snapped the arrow in half, the burning tip plummeting to the dark water.

Theo hoped the creature was distracted. He raised his staff, summoned mana to the tip, and fired Thorn Spray. This time, the thorns burst from the tip of his staff at full speed, slamming into the tangle of tentacles. They ripped through flesh and embedded themselves in the tentacles, sending blood spraying across the room. A few spare thorns passed through the defensive tentacles, striking the squid’s eye. They stuck there, and the creature screamed, the sound reverberating off the stone walls.

Theo didn’t have time to process what happened next. One of the larger tentacles, as thick as a man’s waist, crashed out of the water and slammed into Theo’s side. He slammed into the wall, hitting the rib he’d broken earlier. Pain screamed in his chest, and the air left his lungs in a gasp.

He pushed himself up, drawing on his Durability. He found that if he pushed a little mana into his body, he sprung back up rather quickly. He wondered briefly if Durability was only toughness, or if it related to healing factor as well. Now that he had the skill Nature’s Healing, he could feel it working in his body. His broken rib and starved lungs weren’t totally healed, but they didn’t bother him as much as they should.

Tiberius leapt and snapped another tentacle in two, this one reaching for Blake as he summoned flame to his hands. The fireball between his palms swelled to the size of a grapefruit, then shot forward like an arcing meteor. It smashed and seared the tentacles in its path, creating a tunnel of burnt flesh. The fireball collided with the squid’s eye, spreading ash across the green sclera. The creature screamed and thrashed another tentacle out, towards Blake.

Theo dove. He put himself between the tentacle and Blake, smashing into it with his staff. His feet slid across the floor as the tentacle pushed him across the stone, forcing itself into his parry.

“Hit it again!” Theo said, grunting. Behind him, Blake’s fire magic swelled in his hands, charging another spell.

“Alice, some help!” Theo screamed. Across the pool, Alice nocked another arrow.

“I’m busy over here!” she screamed back. Three tentacles were closing in on her, and she fired arrows at each of them in a flash. Three burning arrows collided with each tentacle, causing them to wither and drop to the ground. Alice turned and fired two more burning arrows in quick succession, which smashed into the tentacle currently attacking Theo. It writhed, flame spreading across its back, then slithered into the water.

Theo didn’t even have time to thank Alice before three more tentacles rose before her. She reached to her quiver, only to find it empty. Theo watched her reach for her throwing knives and begin sending them at the encroaching tentacles. They stuck into the flesh, but barely slowed them down.

Then, from behind him, a huge explosion sounded. Blake’s fireball exploded against the squid’s mantle, blowing out a chunk of rubbery flesh. Blood sprayed the domed ceiling of the room, and the squid’s scream shook the stone of the walls.

“Oh hell ye—“ Theo started, but the words died in his mouth. A tentacle flashed towards him, wrapping around his legs in an instant. He fell, skull slamming against the ledge of the pool. The world went briefly black, and when his vision returned, he realized he was upside down.

Blake and Alice were screaming, but what he could say. He could see Blake charging another fireball, and Alice slashing at tentacles with his knives, and Tiberius gnawing at a tentacle that wrapped around his forepaw. All of it was upside down. When he looked up, he saw the tentacle wrapped around his ankle, dangling him in the air. When he looked down, he saw only blackness.

He blinked, unsure of what he was seeing. Then the squid snapped its beak, and Theo realized.

He was staring into the creature’s open mouth.

The tentacle around his ankle began to loosen.

“Nonononono!” Theo stuttered, trying to grasp for the tentacle that was about to release him. But it was too late. The tentacle slithered away, and he dropped into the squid’s open mouth.