Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 227: Naga

"Sieph do you have something you can create to allow us to breathe underwater?" I asked. Bob would be fine, his species were well adapted to survive in all three mediums; water, air, and land. And although I wouldn't die if I attempted the dungeon without a way to breathe, it would be painful. Trying to fight off attacks and explore while your body was screaming at you that you were drowning was not something I wanted to experience.

I planned to contact Grandfather if Sieph couldn't cobble something together. There were potions and enchanted items that he could gather for us. The [Ring of Hidden Depths] almost allowed us to cheat, ferrying in items and gear that we hadn't planned for.

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I did wonder at the state of our planning. We had been informed how much of the world was covered in water but had taken no precautions or carried any equipment that might have made navigating those waters easier.

We should have realized that at some point we would have to explore beneath the water's waves. For those Sidhe that had Ascended, simple spells that allowed them to breathe were available and easily learned. I sent a chat message to King Teigh asking him to include some of those utility spells. I didn't know if we could learn them, but we did have full System functionality, so I thought it likely.

Our short-sightedness made me wonder what else we should have brought and hadn't. We had been confined to Talahm for too long, our mindset still hadn't shifted to the realities of living on another planet, and how that might differ.

We were planning and making decisions based on facts and history for Talahm. I doubted we could ever adjust our thinking process to reflect this world and the shift in reality until we actually began living here. Until then, we were trying, even this issue forced us to learn and adapt. We would need to process and internalize the evolution and upgrade that System was experiencing.

"There are a couple of devices I can create," Sieph assured me. "The Knockers have a device, the Triton, that uses fine mesh sieves to filter oxygen from water. A stacked mesh filter with a metal weave that gets progressively smaller works on the same principle as gills. Water that passes over the progressively finer wire mesh reaches a point where the oxygen molecules are separated.

"This device will allow us to breathe underwater indefinitely. I can also create a submersible bell. It has the same Triton technology used in the individual breathing apparatus but on a larger scale. The bell can be stored in one of our spatial devices, and we can retrieve it, using it as a place to camp so we can sleep without worrying.

"We'd have to sleep sitting up," she cautioned, "the device is unwieldy, and if I were to create something too large, it becomes hard to keep level and anchored."

"Are there any drawbacks to the Triton?" I asked.

"I don't have the materials to create a charcoal filter, so I will have to replace each of our masks daily to keep them clean and free of obstruction. That isn't really a problem, I'll just breakdown and reform the metal, using the same material over and over" Sieph assured me.

"How hard are they to keep in place?" I wondered, my main concern would be how difficult they would be to keep from being dislodged while fighting, and if they might become a point of weakness.

It would be troublesome enough to battle against unknown creatures in a water medium, to have the breathing device ripped off our faces while fighting could lead to panic as our bodies were faced with the very real feelings of drowning. It would not only be difficult to manage while fighting, the distraction might be deadly as we lost concentration.

"I think with Bob's help, I can devise an enchantment that will keep them in place," Sieph theorized.

"Will they work for Thutmose's physiology?" I asked.

"I don't see why not," Sieph said giving the matter real thought.

"As long as you can breathe through your mouth?" She asked addressing Thutmose directly.

"I can," he assured her, "but I won't need one of these devices. I have a full set of support tattoos, one of the gifts Isis gave me when I agreed to join you to claim Ijal. The hieroglyphics contained in the tattoo allow me to breathe underwater, ignore extreme temperatures of heat and cold, and boost my healing abilities.

"Fascinating," Sieph remarked, "I don't suppose you would show me those hieroglyphics and explain their purpose?"

"Remind me the next time we make camp," he agreed. "The hieroglyphs themselves are common knowledge, it is some of the ingredients used to devise the ink that is jealously guarded. And I am not of the Scribe class, so I have no idea what those ingredients might be."

Sieph's ability to craft items that we needed had become a giant boon to our party. If I could only learn to harness and direct her curiosity, we might actually finish this dungeon run within the time allotted.

Under normal circumstances, her curiosity would be a good thing, and I hoped she would be given the chance to remain on Ijal. She deserved the chance to really explore the world, free of the fetters of deadlines and world claiming events.

Bob was almost as curious and driven to explore as she was, but his personality was shaped as part of a collective, so he was more easily controlled. He was gentle, unassuming, and willing to concede to others if it maintained the peace. This characteristic, his willingness to conform and subsume his ego to others was in direct contradiction to the lethal tentacles and buzz-saw teeth that was always on full display.

As Sieph got to work creating the items we would need, I dove below the water to examine the dungeon entrance that the System had created. The fallen columns were easily identified, even before I got near enough to trigger a System message asking if I wanted to enter the dungeon.

It wasn't unusual for bits of debris or broken items to be found outside of the actual dungeon. System liked setting the scene, giving hints to those adventurers that would risk a dungeon dive to what they might encounter.

There were hints of what we might find. Spider web formed to collect and hold air, a useful trick for bell spiders. The broken crockery contained pictures of strange creatures. People had bodies that were part fish or part frog.

Bell Spiders were an interesting species of arachnids. They were the only spider that could live exclusively underwater if needed. They had learned to use their silk to weave homes that could store oxygen. Once the small bundles of silk were formed, they used their front legs, rubbing them together quickly to churn the water and create bubbles. The bubbles would break within the confines of their homes, and the released oxygen would be collected and stored.

The spider created dozens, even hundreds of these oxygen storage devices, and would place them strategically so they could reach a fresh source of oxygen whenever they were required. A quick rip in webbing allowed the carbon dioxide that had been exchanged to be released. Once this simple expenditure of gases was completed, the spider would spin a patch and repair the rip, making the silk sack once more capable of holding oxygen.

There was little to the scene that framed the dungeon entrance other than bits of rotted timber and fallen buildings. If Bob hadn't mentioned the pieces of broken vases or crockery, I would have missed them. The pieces were nothing more than fired clay, that the few pieces that remained hadn't been claimed by the water completely gave testament to the endurance of pottery.

I was about to give up and head back to the surface, my body's need for oxygen making itself felt, any form of real exploration was limited until Sieph was finished creating those devices. As I was about to ascend, I noticed something that was out of place. Swimming towards a piece of broken bric--brac that was different, I cleared the sand away enough to recognize a small carving.

The small statuette remained intact, a Naga wielding a trident. The Sidhe had encountered this race before, one of the larger Dungeons we harvested was populated by these creatures. We had tried establishing diplomatic ties, but they were too warlike. Every encounter between our two people had resulted in combat.

Was this shrine once the place of worship for the Naga, or was this carving a warning that the Naga maintained a presence within Sunken Shrine?