Drowning in the Deep [Laven & Menel]

It had seemed at the time like a reasonable request from a wizard, which should have told Menel from the beginning to be uneasy. However it was only now that it was too late that he felt the swell of uncertainty rising in his chest. After all the wizard had seemed at the time like a guy on the up-and-up in person. Now though he stared at the potion in his hand doubtfully on the little island they'd made their way to as their starting point and glanced over at Laven.

"I gotta admit, the idea of some potion being the only thing between me and drowning is starting to sound like a worse and worse idea." Menel murmured the words quietly, almost enough that they could have gone unnoticed. It wasn't really that Menel didn't trust the wizard so much, he could admit that to himself. It was the magic that Menel didn't really trust.

Not that he could really explain the distrust towards magic, but he was perhaps just a little too firmly rooted in the physical to understand how something so ethereal worked. After all, how were a few herbs ground up with stars knew what else supposed to stop him from drowning? Menel drew himself up though, gamely swishing the little bottle of blue liquid and shrugging.

"We'll want to stay close together once we get down there, it's sure to be dark and I'm not sure how far these little rocks he gave us will work." Menel downed the little bottle of liquid and shuddered at the horrible taste only to shudder again at the sincerely odd sensation that rolled over his body. It was as if he'd suddenly been dipped in warm plastic and the feeling clung to his skin refusing to fade entirely.

Carefully Menel worked the rock into the laces of his bracer where it could be held by the leather rather than taking up one of his hands. Thankfully it was a large enough piece of stone that it wouldn't easily fall out, and he was fairly certain he'd still be able to fight with it there. If worse came to worse he'd end up dropping it and having to pick it up again.

With more confidence than he felt Menel moved toward the waves coming up to the beach and allowed the surprisingly warm ocean to lap up over his boots. He grinned and with a little more confidence moved deeper into the water. "Okay, this is pretty cool. I don't think the water is getting in my armor at all." Indeed he wasn't getting that deeply uncomfortable feeling of water leaking into his boots and getting his socks wet. With that he ducked his head under the water forcing himself to try and breathe.

All his instincts tried to warn him not to do it for a second, but it was actually easy to do than he'd thought it would be and he took a little breath of water just as simply as he could breath air. Which... was not normal, but was very cool. He let out a laugh and was somewhat startled by the sound of his amusement echoing underwater. Water carried sound oddly but very well he noted, though not for the first time.

The swordsman quickly found Laven and pointed downwards. His little rock had started glowing on contact with the water, and he noticed that it was giving off about as much light as a torch might, though much of that was dispersed this close to the surface of the water. Their mission however was on the ocean floor and for now all there was to do was swim down into the deep.

Laven had been all for the wizard’s request, itching for an adventure that he and Menel could both enjoy and fight through. While they differed greatly in their classes of melee combat, they both agreed that there was nothing quite as fun as testing their skills and limits. When the potions and the rocks had been offered the assassin had been gleeful. “If it doesn’t work we will simply swim back up and go about our business.” He’d suggested when Menel was concerned. Nothing was going to actually harm them after all. Especially if they were cautious.

While Menel was apprehensive Laven simply tossed back the potion and secured his weapons one last time. The magic rock was tucked into one of the many pouches on his person and promptly ignored in favor of running into the water. His cloak flowing like silk in a breeze once he was completely submerged. All of him felt a bit like silk, now that the potion had gone into effect. The feathers that dotted his clothing flared but resisting the water that surely would have damaged them otherwise.

“Come on, my love. Let’s have a little fun.” Menel turned and looked at him, pointing into the deeper, darker water where their quest lay. As he swam down Laven followed, fascinated by the scenery and the sensation of being suspended and yet able to move in any direction. He laughed softly, the sound a muted warble that distorted his voice into something deeper than it usually was.

Around them their enchanted rocks illuminated the way, once they reached a sandy floor and were able to walk lighting up the massive rock and coral formations that dotted their way. Now and again a school of fish would scatter at their approach, and the eddying currents would make sea plants dance and float much like Laven’s cloak and silvery hair.

“Lead on, you know the way better than I.” He smiled at Menel, hand resting comfortably on Remembrance’s hilt as his bare feet scuffed up a miniature storm of sand.

Laven of course, was right, and more so his enthusiasm was contagious. It was easy, particularly once Menel ascertained that the potion was doing its job, to relax and enjoy the ability to be underwater without drowning.

Beneath the water the potion surrounded Menel in a warm pocket that would he suspected protect them from the colder environment far beneath the waves. Indeed he noticed that the warmth lingered even as they headed further underwater towards their destination. The little light was useful as well, for though it grew no brighter the lack of light as they headed deeper meant that it seemed as though it did.

“Lead on, you know the way better than I.” Menel grinned back at Laven, and took a look around a little bit to get his bearings.

"We're not that far." He held his hand up to let the light shine out. It was an oddly beautiful area. There was coral all around them, growing up in odd formations that made little sense to the human mind, but were beautiful nonetheless. Fish of many variations swam in clouds of color or individually as suited them. He could even make out a few of the smaller species of shark which were unlikely to bother them.

All of this meant that they were in a more tropical zone, but they were headed deeper underwater, and the trek was a little longer than Menel's words indicated that it might be. As they drew away from the coral reef on the edge of the island and into the deeper waters Menel began to keep a firmer eye on their surroundings. This was the home of larger sharks who would be inclined to attack anything that looked like food. Which was practically everything.

Eventually the shelf gave way to a far drop which they swam down, and at the base of the underwater cliff the edge of a massive building was visible. Menel's light barely illuminated it, and so they caught just the barest hint of it as they moved downward. The building was quite large though, made of coral like the reef had been, and faintly illuminated by glowing rocks. The illumination wasn't enough to give more than the faintest hints of how big the building was though, and Menel squinted to try and make out more of what they were looking at.

Which is when the first spear went whizzing by his head to buy itself into the side of the cliff behind him. There was something it seemed, quite alive inside the coral castle; something inside the tower nearest them to be exact. Something that didn't want visitors.

As much as Laven had enjoyed the scenery of the deep ocean that was blooming around them, he was itching to get on with the task Menel had accepted. He had been bored, and had been very interested in going up against something challenging. And with two fighter classes without healing support an instance like what they were heading towards was almost guaranteed to be dangerous.

He reveled in the way they didn’t get cold as they swam down, commenting idly to Menel in passing. Eyeing the sharks that came in and out of their periphery but giving the creatures the benefit of the doubt. If they didn’t attack he wouldn’t either. Larger sharks never made an appearance, much to his disappointment. But he supposed at the time it may have been the light attached to Menel’s bracer that was making them wary.

The castle made Laven pause. “What a pretty thing. Much nicer than what often ends up in fish tanks as decor.” He chuckled, his soft laughter cut short as Menel was almost speared in the head.

“Menel!” He was at the swordsman’s side in the space of a breath, one dagger drawn as he eyed the direction the spear had come from. In the dim light he couldn’t see any better than Menel could, just that the castle loomed before them. And clearly had an occupant that wasn’t happy to see them.

“Menel!”

It was a close call, a few inches to the side and Menel would have been hit with a blow that would have been hard to come back from. The swordsman felt the breath of the spear as it went whizzing by his head and couldn't help but follow its trajectory to where it had fallen. For the space of a heartbeat he stared at the spear, heart beating a little faster than it had before.

"I'm alright!" He flashed a grin at Laven to prove it and shook his head, motioning the other man to follow him. "We need to get closer to the walls, we're sitting ducks this far out."

The swordsman suited words to action, running for the castle wall, but this time tucking his arm in so that the light didn't make a target of them. It was hard to see without his light to see by, but as they drew closer the castle itself became easier to see by its own dim lighting. There were arrow slits on the towers to either side of the main entrance, and through those slits they were being attacked by dark figures that Menel could barely make out.

Sahuagin more than likely if Menel had his guess. They were a species of aggressive fish-men who lived far beneath the surface of the water. The swordsman had heard of them from other adventurers, but hadn't encountered them yet himself as there weren't many body-guarding missions to be found underwater.

They reached the front gate quickly and Menel gave the door an experimental shove to see if he could get it to open. Unsurprisingly it was firmly latched shut. "We could probably go over, but we'll be at the mercy of those archers." Not that they weren't now. There were arrow slits close enough to allow the sahuagin to attack anyone at the gate and they were taking full advantage to do so.

Menel drew his sword and calmly batted an arrow that was coming a bit close for comfort out of the air. Mostly the shots went wide by themselves, but a few were more accurately aimed and those fell to the swordsman's blade. "Can you get it open from here?"

Laven moved with Menel. Slightly behind to cover his back and to give the swordsman room if he needed to swing his swords. When they reached the gate he scanned above and behind them, the distinct thud of the gate resisting Menel’s attempts to force it open noted. Once he withdrew Laven took his place, dagger sheathed and kneeling in the soft sand to look over the locking mechanism.

“Probably... with enough time.” Laven hummed thoughtfully and ran his fingers over the inset where the tumbler was hidden by the coral frame of the door. It was so dimly lit down here that he hesitated before looking over at Menel.

“Do we need to conserve our lights? Did the old wizard tell you if they would last the entire time we were here?” If no, he could pull his stone out and use it while he worked. If yes, well he’d opened trickier things in the dark before.

More arrows were incoming, but Menel was fully focused on batting the little projectiles down. It was his job he knew to keep Laven safe while the elf saw about getting them inside the castle. The gate had already proven too tough for Menel to break down easily - though he suspected that a protracted effort would lead to its destruction - but the swordsman had hope that Laven's skills would enable the elf to do what he had not been able to with brute strength alone.

“Do we need to conserve our lights? Did the old wizard tell you if they would last the entire time we were here?” The question nearly distracted Menel from yet another arrow to be batted down, but he caught the missile just in time to cut it in half. Two pieces floated in the air, slowly drifting on the currents.

"He said they'd last the whole time we were down here. I think they're water-activated or something?" Menel was clearly unsure about that, but then magic wasn't his forte. There was a reason he was a warrior and not a wizard.