The distinctive flaming red light of the setting sun grew larger as I—Capitan—ascended toward the water’s surface. It wasn’t glaringly bright, given the time of day, but it was a stark contrast to the dark abyss below me.
Not that it was impossible to see anything at all—by straining your eyes, it was just possible to make out an oddly shaped structure in the water: the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters. Among all the dungeons around Lucaris, its depths were said to be the most difficult to brave.
It was also where I’d just spent my afternoon exploring, to no avail. Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration—I’d made some progress. Still, I hadn’t found what I’d come for.
I wasn’t going to give up anytime soon, of course, but my search today had made it obvious that my future prospects weren’t looking good. After multiple visits, I’d essentially scoured every nook and cranny of the shallower levels, so starting tomorrow, I’d have to go deeper.
The water’s surface was just above me now. The moment I broke through it, sticking my head into the evening air, I found myself unable to breathe. Knowing that I was in for a swift death by suffocation if I let things be, I quickly—but calmly—removed the cursed tool that the people of Lucaris called an air tube from my mouth.
Since it was a cursed tool, it took some time for the effects to recede, which did no favors for my unease. Nevertheless, after ten seconds or so, my lungs regained their usual function, allowing me to breathe in the seemingly infinite expanse of fresh air around me.
I exhaled, relaxing. “Sunset already, huh? Where’s that boat...”
As I trod the ocean water, I took a moment to look around. To get to the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters, one needed a boat and a sailor to navigate it. Since I was no exception to this rule, I’d hired a skilled seaman and his decently sized vessel. Small boats could make the journey just fine, but were harder to spot after one surfaced. For real peace of mind, bigger was better.
Perhaps I was being overly cautious, since my proficiency with spirit let me detect life within a roughly one-kilometer radius, but given how much spirit I used within the dungeon, it was possible that I could finish a day’s search completely drained. If that ever happened, I didn’t want to stake my life on whether I could spot a tiny boat among the waves with my naked eye.
After some time, I caught sight of my ride. “There you are. Hey! Over here!” Using a hand mirror, I signaled the boat with the reflection of the setting sun. Soon enough, it began to approach.
I’d actually spotted the official dungeon ferry too, but I wouldn’t be using it. Its cheaper price and regular schedule made it a good choice for those seeking to brave the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters, but it also came with the possibility of being left behind if one was late to surface—something I’d corroborated by asking people around the port.
The adventurer’s guild itself recommended the ferry, but I’d decided to contract a personal craft of my own in order to fulfill my needs. The high cost had been a sore point, but the flexibility made it more than worthwhile. With the ferry, one had to swim to it no matter how far away you ended up resurfacing, but since I was the only passenger on my hired boat apart from the man sailing, the vessel could make its way to me.
When the boat reached my location, the sailor tossed me a rope, which I used to haul myself aboard.
“Unscathed again, huh?” said the sailor, a man by the name of Mazlak. “That’s good. You don’t look too happy, though.”
“Not much reason to be—didn’t find what I’m looking for. Again. Don’t blame me for the long face.”
“You don’t look empty-handed, though...”
“Mmm. Magic crystals from monsters, magical trinkets, cursed items—found plenty of those. I’d better head to the guild and sell these off. Should give me enough to cover your pay, at least.”
He gave me a strange look. “My hiring fee isn’t that high.”
“We’ll spend the rest at the tavern. You’re coming, right?”
“You sure?”
“’Course. Drink your fill—so long as you’re not too hungover to work tomorrow. You’re the only vessel aside from the ferry who’ll hire out to me, and I heard something about the ferry not running tomorrow.”
“Hey, it’s what you’re paying me for. I’m happy to take your coin, but don’t feel like you need to sweeten the deal by—” Mazlak suddenly cut himself off, his expression becoming panicked.
I turned to follow his gaze and saw a number of silhouettes under the water, gliding toward us.
“Kelpie riders!” Mazlak shouted. “We’re getting out of here!” He seized the reins—which were connected to something below the water—and jerked us into motion. The boat quickly began to skim across the water’s surface, headed for Lucaris...and in the opposite direction that the wind was currently blowing.
This was what had surprised me the most when I’d first encountered Lucaris’s vessels. The city’s boats—especially the smaller ones—didn’t move using the power of wind or magic, but were pulled by living creatures, much like carriages. It was why vessels as large as Mazlak’s often only had a single sailor to crew them—and depending on that sailor’s skill, this type of ship could go anywhere one wished.
Even in Lucaris, Mazlak had made a name for himself as one of the best sailors around, and he’d proven his skill by getting us out of situations like this more times than I could count.
“Kelpie riders...” I mused. “Do you think they’re...”
Kelpie riders, as the name suggested, was the general term for monsters that rode upon monsters that resembled horses, albeit ones that could breathe underwater. I couldn’t make them out clearly from this distance, but I was fairly sure the riders in this instance were sea knights. Although they resembled humans, their silhouettes made clear that they had distinctive tapered heads, much like a squid’s.
Mazlak nodded. “Yeah. Lackeys of the demon lord. Don’t know what someone so high up the food chain wants with Lucaris, especially since we’ve never had trouble before. I hear that demon lords everywhere are starting to kick up a fuss, though, so maybe this is just a part of it.”
“Seems pretty small scale, in light of that,” I remarked. “I’m no expert, but aren’t demon lords supposed to have armies large enough to ravage entire countries?”
“I guess you’re right. Maybe this is just a show of strength or something? A mere seaman like me couldn’t hope to understand a demon lord’s mind. What I do know, though...”
“Yeah?”
“I know for sure I never want to be caught by one.”
“I can toast to that. Let’s get back to Lucaris, and we’ll share a drink.”
Mazlak nodded and increased our speed. Before long, we reached the port none the worse for wear. We had Mazlak’s skill to thank for that, of course, but it was also because the sea knights had given up on the chase halfway. It made me wonder what their true objective had been, but I had no way of finding out. I’d just have to avoid that particular patch of ocean from now on.
One couldn’t be too careful, after all.