Hullbreak

Getting used to lubbers… delvers again has been difficult, but Hullbreak can’t act like it hasn’t been better for his dwellers. Having his own mana to expand and work with has been a warm current to his mood, too. Despite his fears, his dwellers were not immediately gobbled up by some monstrosities from the deeps, nor fished up and smoked by the lubbers as a snack.

Some of his denizens have been, but that’s their purpose, and it’s been earning him some good mana. The gains have slowed with the cold of winter, but many lubbers still come to fish, at least. The underwater corals and clambeds don’t see as much attention, but he gathers it’s partially because of a shortage of potions. He’s not quite certain what that has to do with it, but a lot of delvers complain about not getting to actually dive in without them.

Right, they need to breathe. And they don’t move as well in the water as out. At least he can get some extra mana from the lighthouse construction. Not only does he gain a lot from the lubber masons following the directions of the Civil Artificer, but he gains a bit more with his crabs fighting what lubbers wander the island looking for fights.

He’s pretty sure this is one of those mutually beneficial things Thedeim has talked about. The masons learn, he gets mana, the guards fight, he also gets mana, and he gets a lighthouse for better surface encounters. The only one who loses out is his Quartermaster, and even that is temporary. Once the lighthouse is complete, the Quartermaster can rebuild his nest at the top and maybe be a lookout, like how the Marshal watches over much of Admiral Thedeim’s territory.

Speaking of the Admiral, Hullbreak can feel his attention on a dinghy just inside his borders. He follows, and curiously observes the three young lubbers. One is green and large, while another is green and small. The third is rather tan, and seems to be dressed for delving. The other two don’t seem quite as prepared, with the large green one looking uncomfortable in leathers that seem slightly too small. The small green one looks ready to take a relaxing swim. There are also… what are the land not-crabs that make their own rigging?

Spiders! Yes, those. He watches and listens as the large green one rows, and learns they intend to gather abundantly from his various kelp fields. He inclined to simply let them, especially with the warm feelings he can feel from The Admiral about the group. Confusion seeps through the bond when Hullbreak turns his attention elsewhere, and he can only send confusion right back. After a few more volleys of mutual befuddlement, a question seeps through to Hullbreak.

Attack?

Friend? is his reply, and understanding seems to bloom in The Admiral, though Hullbreak still feels lost at sea.

Fight! Challenge! Fun!

The watery dungeon is slow to embrace the suggestion, but it makes more and more sense as the group continues to row deeper into his waters. Other delvers are expected to fight at least some. Hullbreak is still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of a fight being fun, even fights that cause injury, but the interactions with other lubbers only reinforces that concept, strange as it is.

He also gets suggestions for how to challenge this particular group. The Admiral points out many details, like how the large green one’s size implies heavier armor, and the poor fit implies he’s not at his best. The small green one is identified as primarily a mage, so armor isn’t a priority for her in the first place. Their stated goal also helps define how to challenge them: mostly harrying and harassing encounters on the surface, with a few stronger encounters to guard each dense patch of kelp. They’re a bit more than what would ordinarily be sent against gatherers, but the Admiral assures Hullbreak they can handle a good encounter. Just not too good. As always, test the limits and slowly ramp up.

He starts with a handful of his weakest gulls, and watches as the small green one and the tan one prepare for them. The large green one continues to row, though he also seems to be keeping his eyes on the seas and the skies, with the help of the spiders. The tan one takes some of the water and lifts it, shaping it into several thin swords, mimicking the one in his hand, and the small one creates a few small orbs of fire and lengths of ice.

“Swordfish lunge!”

“Firebolt! Icicle!”

The water swords launch and devastate any birds they hit, and the fire and ice work to remove what gulls remain. He may need to try an actual swarm later, if they’re that good at dealing with the gulls. Still, it earns him mana, so he’s content to keep the encounters fairly mild as a bit of a warm-up.

Eventually, the anchor is tossed over the side, and the group prepares to dive to the beds of kelp. The spiders appear to be staying on the small boat, and will be hauling up baskets of the gathered plants, using their strong silk. He takes a few minutes to investigate the silk rope, and while he’s not very impressed with the knots, it should be serviceable enough.

Potions are drank and the three dive into the water, and the tan one immediately draws Hullbreak’s attention. He’s a water affinity, and seems to be a pretty strong one. He looks much more at ease in the water than the other two, and Hullbreak can even feel a slight repulsion in the water. It takes him a few moments to realize that, for some reason, he’s holding the water nearest his skin still. He doesn’t think it’s any kind of armor, but it’s not something he’s seen before.

Turning his attention to the other two, he sees why the Admiral suggested slowly ramping up the difficulty, instead of starting with something strong. The green ones move awkwardly, even worse than most lubbers. He can’t imagine they’d be able to handle anything that can actually swim. Still, that’s what his crabs are for.

After a few minutes to get acclimated, they all dive deeper, the green ones bringing the baskets with the silk trailing behind, and they all soon see the single crab fighter standing by the first kelp bed.

Strangely, the large green one takes up position at the front of their small formation, and slowly swims towards the guardian crustacean. The choice proves less strange as shields become visible, like ships from a fog, and move with much more grace than the green one himself has. He tries a few clumsy jabs, and the crab tries to respond, but the floating shields prove an impregnable defense.

Before the crab can think to switch targets, the tan one’s rapier suddenly enters the fray, seeking the joints and other vulnerabilities in the crab’s armor. Hullbreak watches the mage, wondering what she’ll contribute, but she looks frustrated with her few attempts at magic. It’s no concern, though, and soon the crab is felled, and the green one starts inspecting the corpse for anything useful to claim. He gets the two large claws, and seems to want the back carapace, but he cracks it in his inexpertise, which seems to convince him he has enough from that one.

As he works on processing the crab, the smaller green one shows the tan what to gather. It seems they’re after bubblekelp, which Hullbreak has in abundance. He’s more than happy to have them thin it out a bit, so he only sends a few paltry crabs as they work, nothing even as strong as the initial guardian.

When they send the baskets up full of kelp and start looking around, Hullbreak sets a few stronger encounters around the other beds. The Admiral’s methods seem very effective: let them gather, but a more profitable delve should also be more difficult. Two large crabs guard the next bed, so they’ll have to deal with them if they want to continue gathering.

They discuss how to tackle the two crabs as they wait for the baskets, with the small one explaining her frustration at using fire and ice under the waves. Hullbreak isn’t surprised at that. He knows his water is very resistant to both types of magic, though the group seems to have an idea to try to counter it.

Their plan made, they approach the nearest bed and engage the crabs there. Once again, the large one takes the fore, but he’s looking much more focused on attack than defense this time. The tan one is right beside him the whole time, too, and Hullbreak can soon feel the mana flowing around the three start to swirl in tandem.

The water around the spearhead of the large one grows still, even as Hullbreak can feel the small one heating it. The water starts to boil, yet instead of the bubbles rising to the surface, they are captured and kept around the speartip, letting it start to glow with heat. At the same time, the water around the tan one’s rapier grows cold… incredibly cold. It should freeze over, yet it refuses to.

“Creeping Frost!”

“Scalding Thrust!”

The cold water follows the strike of the rapier, and freezes as it washes over the first crab, cracking the carapace and splitting joints. The heated tip of the spear plunges into the other crab, and the boiling temperature quickly finishes it off, too.

The three whoop in victory and the success of an untested plan working, then start to gather more of the kelp. Hullbreak replays the attacks in his mind, trying to figure out how the three managed to do that. While they seem talented for their levels, it should have taken delvers much more powerful to bring that kind of elemental attack to bear beneath his waves.

He even tries to ask the Admiral about it, but all he gets is pride in the three delvers. He probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Admiral’s favored lubbers have a few unique tricks.