The Silver Sphinx

 

"Just look at the world around you

Right here on the ocean floor

Such wonderful things surround you

What more is you looking for?”

from the song “Under the Sea”, popular on the Plane of Water

 

 

Third Market Day of Decadre, 126 HR

The next morning, the sky was still overcast, but at least it had stopped raining. When Morânia and Naghûl woke up and went into the parlor with the fireplace, Flip was already busy there, putting water on to brew some tea and once again offering bread, cheese and a bowl of small, smoked fish. They tried to politely decline, as did Kiyoshi, who was already there. The area was barren and desolate enough, so Flip probably didn’t have a pantry overflowing with food. But the old man insisted on hosting them, and of course they didn’t want to rudely refuse his warm hospitality. So they decided to leave a part of their travel provisions in the kitchen later as a thank-you. Shortly afterwards, Sgillin and Jana came in as well, and a while later Lereia followed – the weretigress always slept a lot. During breakfast, they took another look at Divicarus Laeryn’s map and discussed a few possible routes to the Spire.

Afterwards, they packed up and grabbed their coats, which had dried thanks to the warmth of Flip’s fireplace. They had also put together a small package of surprises for the old man, just as he had requested the night before. First, they had wrapped some non-perishable food from their supplies in a clean cloth: dark hardtack from Bytopia that tasted of herbs and nuts; dried figs from Arborea; strips of smoked tricha meat, treated with pepper berries to make them last even longer; a small bag of salt from the Plane of Salt and a bottle of gold wine from Celestia. They also added a few medicinal herbs and healing potions, and finally, each one gave a personal present: Kiyoshi left the rest of the kabusecha tea, Morânia a feather from one of her wings, to which she tied a small sun amulet and Lereia chose a smooth lucky stone engraved with the symbol of her goddess Eldath, which she had kept from her time in the monastery. What Jana did surprised and moved Morânia: The sorceress took a sheet of paper and a charcoal pencil from her backpack and began to sketch. As the drawing took shape, the six Chosen could be seen sitting by the fireplace together with Flip, singing. Morânia gave Jana a sincere, warm smile in response to the gift. As brusque and eccentric as the sorceress sometimes was, her caring side always came to the fore when dealing with the poor, the sick, the elderly or orphans. Naghûl also nodded with a smile, then flipped the drawing and wrote the lyrics to the two songs from the previous evening on the back, along with the notes. They didn’t know if Flip could read them, but just in case he could, he now had the melody in addition to the lyrics. Last but not least, Sgillin added his panpipes. At the very bottom of the picture’s margin, after a moment’s thought, Morânia wrote: Thank you for having been part of our journey for one evening, Flip. Unnoticed, Sgillin slipped into the kitchen and left the package there for the old man before they left the little house. 

 

Outside, Kiyoshi and Morânia repaired the broken shutter, and Flip thanked them effusively. It wasn’t really a big deal, but doing the repair on his own would likely have been exhausting and difficult for the old man.

When they were finished, Flip ran his hand through his gray hair. “Well then, shall I show you the shore? You said you wanted to go there, didn’t you?”

“Only if it’s not too much trouble for you,” Naghûl replied. “I think we’d be able to find it on our own.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Flip assured him. “Well then, come along.”

He shuffled along a narrow path that wound around his house and led to another, larger building. Behind the cottage was a small, fenced-in garden with an apple tree, several vegetable beds and two goats grazing. They were apparently the source of the cheese Flip had offered them.

“Do you own any boats?” Jana asked. “I’m sure people used to fish around here, right?”

“Not anymore,” the old man replied. “I used to have a small rowboat, but one of the recent storms tore it loose and swept it away. I don’t know yet whether I’ll build another one or just fish from the shore. I’m not getting any younger, you understand.” Then he pointed to the larger house they were now passing. “There, that was the Black Fish.”

The wooden building was two stories tall, about three times the size of Flip’s house and somewhat sturdier. Some of the windowpanes were broken, and in one spot there was a large hole in the roof. A sign was indeed still dangling above the door, but the name of the former inn had become almost illegible from wind and weather.

“Does the name have a special meaning?” Naghûl asked with interest.

Flip nodded. “There used to be a very dark stone fossil of an ancient fish up on the roof. But the innkeeper took it with him.”

Behind the inn, a handful of other buildings could still be seen, all in a similarly dilapidated state as the tavern.

“There must have been quite a few travelers here in the past,” Jana remarked in surprise as she let her gaze wander over the remains of the small settlement.

Flip paused briefly and followed the sorceress’ gaze. “Yeah, I’ve heard it all started about a hundred years ago. There was always something going on here back then: explorers, adventurers, fortune hunters ... But about thirty years ago, things started to die down, and eventually, almost no one came anymore.”

Jana furrowed her brow thoughtfully. “What were they all looking for here? Do you know that? And why do they stay away now?”

“Some were looking for these ruins,” Flip explained. “Others were after treasures or artifacts. Those who wanted more here than just to chase wild rumors, those who had a real mission, didn’t talk much about it, of course. I can’t say why fewer and fewer people were coming here. Maybe word got around that it’s too dangerous to look for anything near the Spire. Or that it's just rumors after all.” He shrugged his bony shoulders to indicate that he didn’t know any more about it either.

Meanwhile, Sgillin had stepped a little closer to the abandoned tavern and was examining the door, which was obviously ajar and hanging slightly crooked on its hinges. “I’d like to take a look inside,” he said. “If there were so many travelers passing through, maybe one of them left something behind.”

“Go ahead and take a look,” said Flip. “But I don’t think there’s much left to find.”

Sgillin nodded gratefully, opened the weathered door and disappeared inside the inn. While they waited, Morânia let her gaze wander once more over the now nearly deserted settlement. It was strange to find this little village here so close to the foot of the Spire, even though no one but Flip lived here anymore. But it was even stranger that, about a century ago, so many explorers and treasure hunters had come here searching for the ruins that had apparently once been Arendur. How had they known about it? Had a planewalker simply stumbled upon it by chance and then spread the story? Or was there more to it than that?

“Has anyone else been here lately besides us?” Morânia asked. “Another group, or maybe even several?”

Flip shook his head. “No, besides you, no one’s been here for months. Or rather, for … well, definitely over a year.”

“That must be very lonely,” Lereia said sympathetically.

“Yeah, sometimes it is,” Flip replied. “I’ve even thought about leaving. I know of a portal to Sigil nearby. The Sensate you were talking about showed it to me, and the key, too. But somehow … I don’t know. It’s lonely here, a little dreary, and definitely impractical with the Spire so close. Because not even a simple light spell works. But it’s my home, and somehow I think I’m too old to settle into a new place again.”

Morânia nodded softly. She herself was already over one hundred years old, though she didn’t age, so she couldn’t really imagine what it was like to be old. But she assumed that, at a certain point, it might actually be easier to stay than to leave.

Then Sgillin returned from the abandoned tavern. “Everything inside is very dusty,” he explained. “Just like in a building that’s been empty for decades. But a lot of it is still intact: there’s still tableware covered in cobwebs on the shelves and stuff. I only found this.” He held up a small bronze mermaid figurine and looked at Flip. “Can I keep this as a souvenir?”

“Sure, go ahead and take it,” the old man replied kindly. “I’d be happy if you think of this little place here every now and then.”

Sgillin nodded gratefully and glanced once more at the abandoned building as he tucked the small statuette into his pocket. “What a shame … it must have been a nice tavern once.”

“Yeah, it was a fun place,” said Flip. “A little licentious, but not bad overall. ”

“Well, licentious isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” the half-elf replied with a wink.

“Surely not for you,” Morânia retorted with a grin.

They continued on their way, and after just a few minutes they climbed a small hill that marked the spireward fringe of the tiny settlement. And sure enough, just as it was marked on the map and just as Flip had said, a vast expanse of water now stretched out before them in every direction. A light, cool breeze rippled the surface, and here, too, some flying lizards were circling. They seemed to be quite common in the area. This was clearly not a large lake, but in fact an ocean, for they could hear the gentle surf lapping against the shore and taste salt in the air. And in the midst of this ocean rose the Spire, now a little closer than it had been the day before. It was so close that it seemed almost menacing, and yet one could see all the way to the top, see the Ring, see Sigil …

“Somehow frightening and yet fascinating,” murmured Naghûl, reverently gazing upwards.

“Yes,” Morânia agreed. “An incredible sight. There’s something … something sacred about it, somehow, even though the gods don't have any power here.”

Lereia and Sgillin simply nodded silently, thoughtfully admiring the view, while Kiyoshi clasped his hands in front of his chest and bowed briefly, perhaps to honor any possible kami of the Spire.

“It makes you feel so small,” Jana whispered. “When I think that I live somewhere up there. My goodness …”

Flip followed their gaze and sighed slightly. “Many have set out from this spot. I hope you’ll be luckier than most of them. But without a boat or an airship, I think it’ll be difficult. You’ll probably have to follow the shore.”

“We have a way to move around underwater,” Lereia explained.

“Ah, of course. You’re prepared for your mission.” The old man smiled wistfully. “Then good luck, and take good care of yourselves.”

“We will,” Lereia promised. “Thank you very much, Flip. For everything.”

“I wish you the best,” the old man replied. “If you happen to pass by here again on your way back, don’t forget to knock so I know you’re all right.”

Naghûl nodded. “Definitely. And when we come back, we’ll bring you something, some curiosity from the ruins.”

Flip smiled, waved goodbye once more and then shuffled away with a slight sigh. Apparently, he didn’t want to stay and watch yet another group head towards their doom on the way to the Spire. Even though he hadn’t said it so directly, it had been clear that this was exactly what he feared. The Chosen watched him for a while, until he disappeared around the next corner, then they turned their gaze back to the sea.

“Water everywhere,” Morânia observed. “Just as it’s marked on the map.”

Sgillin nodded to Kiyoshi. “Well then, go ahead and get the crab out.”

While the young soldier set down his backpack and unpacked the rectangular box that Lereia had received from Ambar, Jana shifted restlessly from one foot to the other.

“But if magic doesn’t work at the Spire … ” The sorceress eyed Lereia uneasily. “Didn’t you say the device was arcano-mechanical?”

“That’s right,” the young woman confirmed. “Magic was needed to build it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to design the device to fit inside the box. But the construction itself is purely mechanical.”

“And what do we do if everything really is underwater?” Jana asked. “The entire ruins? I mean, we can only get out of the crab once we’re back on land.”

“We can figure that out when the time comes,” Sgillin said in his carefree manner.

Lereia took the box from Kiyoshi but looked around questioningly once more. “So, are we going to try it with the apparatus? I get the impression not everyone’s convinced.”

“The ruins seem to be underwater,” Naghûl said, shrugging. “So, like it or not, we’ll have to go through the water to get there.”

Sgillin nodded. “And if we don’t want to swim, the crab is our only option.”

“Yes, I know, there’s no helping it.” Jana sighed deeply. “I guess there’s no other way for us to get there.”

“I’m also in favor of it,” Morânia said. “I don’t think we have any other choice.”

Lereia set the box down on the ground in front of her. “If it’s any comfort to you, Jana: I trust the apparatus my faction made. Ambar certainly wouldn’t have given it to us if it didn’t work perfectly.”

“I think so too,” Morânia agreed, stepping back a bit to leave enough room for the apparatus to unfold. The others followed her example.

“Sure, bring out the crab,” said Naghûl, clearly full of anticipation for this experience, which his collection was still lacking.

Morânia smiled, as she so often did, at her husband’s almost childlike enthusiasm. But she had to admit that she, too, was curious. A journey across the ocean floor in a giant mechanical crab was as unusual as it was exciting. She felt the thrill of that spirit of adventure that had so often led her out onto the planes in the past, along with Naghûl, her sister Raralia and her old friends. Lereia now opened the box standing on the floor and then also took a few steps back. As soon as the lid was lifted, the container began to shake violently and even gave a little hop. Then levers, pincers, legs, and gears unfolded, all so artfully constructed that they fit together in unimaginably intricate ways. The structure consisted of the thinnest metal plates, which joined and interlocked as they unfolded, forming a large structure. It was hard to believe that all of this had fit into the small box. After about a minute, it stood there, complete: a giant metal crab, with legs, pincers and an access hatch on its back shell. While Lereia clearly wasn’t witnessing the unfolding for the first time, everyone else’s eyes widened as they looked in awe at the crab-like apparatus now standing on the shore.

“Not bad,” Morânia finally said approvingly. “And you know how this thing works?”

Lereia nodded. “Ambar showed me. I didn’t have time to practice much, though.”

“You’ll manage just fine,” Naghûl said confidently.

While Kiyoshi climbed onto the crab’s shell to open the hatch, Sgillin ran to the shore, cut a few hollow reeds and stowed them in one of his pockets.

“Ah, I see where this is going,” Morânia said. “In case we have to swim unseen beneath the water surface. Good idea.”

Then they all climbed onto the crab’s shell, using its pincers and legs as footholds. Although the metal plates were incredibly thin so that everything would fit inside the box, the structure seemed surprisingly sturdy. Morânia nodded in admiration and saw that Kiyoshi, who was scrutinizing the apparatus with the critical eye of a blacksmith, also approved. One had to pay high respect to the craftsmanship of the Godsmen. It was quite cramped inside the crab, but all six of them, along with their backpacks, fit inside, two by two. Morânia recognized several control levers, a depth finder in the form of a cork in a glass tube and some gear wheels. At the front and on the sides, they could look out through small windows, each no larger than the original box. Lereia had taken a seat right at the front behind some levers, and Naghûl sat next to her. Morânia and Jana were in the middle, while Kiyoshi and Sgillin sat in the back. The young soldier closed the hatch after the half-elf was the last to climb inside.

“I control the descent and the surfacing using the diving and buoyancy propeller,” Lereia explained. “I also move the left front legs. Naghûl, you’ll use these levers here to control the right front legs.”

“Oh, really?” Morânia saw her husband’s eyes sparkle like those of a child on the Day of Grace. “Great! I’m sure I can handle that!”

“But not just yet,” Lereia said with a smile. “First we have to fill the tanks with air through this vent pipe here; that will take a few moments. Our breathing air will then last for about five hours.” She operated a valve on a longer pipe, and immediately a soft hissing sound could be heard as fresh air from outside flowed into the designated tanks.

Meanwhile, Lereia turned to Morânia. “You could take over the ink lever. If something big approaches us, we can use it to release a cloud of ink and escape. But since we’ll only need this lever in a case of emergency, you could also control the crab’s right pincer to clear any obstacles out of the way. You operate it with this lever here.”

“Got it.” Morânia memorized which was the ink lever and then placed both hands on the controls for the pincer. “That sounds exciting.”

“What should I do?” asked Jana, visibly struggling to keep her unease in check.

“You will control the left pincer. Also, keep an eye on the air tank.” Lereia pointed to a glass tube gauge. “So we don’t forget when it’s time to surface and refill the tanks.” Then she turned to Sgillin and Kiyoshi. “There are also control levers for the hind legs. You two could take care of those.”

“If you deem it wise, honorable Lady Lereia-hiheika,” Kiyoshi replied with an impassive expression.

“Oh, of course it’s wise,” Sgillin said cheerfully. “I’ll take the left legs.”

Morânia looked over her shoulder at Kiyoshi, who was sitting next to the lever for the right rear legs. “Since we’re moving underwater, the Spire compass will come in handy now.”

The young man nodded and passed the compass forward. “Here it is.”

“Oh, very good. Here’s a socket for it.” Lereia took the compass and placed it in the round indentation next to the wheel for the buoyancy propeller. “Jana, are the air tanks full?”

The sorceress nodded. “Yes, they’re full.”

“Then things are about to get exciting.” Lereia took a deep breath. “Naghûl, Kiyoshi, Sgillin … we will now activate the legs and steer the crab towards the ocean. I will use the propeller to dive as soon as we’re far enough in the water.”

“Aye, aye!” Naghûl called out enthusiastically. “Hold on tight! Here we go!”

He operated the levers for the right front legs, but despite his enthusiasm, he was relatively cautious to get a feel for the apparatus. Lereia moved the left front legs, Kiyoshi and Sgillin the hind legs, and sure enough: with a jolt, the crab began to move. The first few steps were still clumsy and awkward, causing the passengers to be jolted around a bit. But then Lereia, Naghûl, Kiyoshi and Sgillin coordinated the front and rear legs surprisingly well, so that the crab-like apparatus waded into the water relatively safely and steadily. Morânia felt the metal of the hull grow cooler as soon as it submerged beneath the surface. Through the small windows at the front and on the sides, they soon saw the water rise and the sky disappear. As soon as the entire crab was submerged, they could see that the apparatus was wading through soft, almost white sand. The water wasn’t too deep yet, perhaps three or four paces, but straight ahead, the slope gradually descended. Outside, Morânia now saw an underwater world straight out of books or sensory stones or just as she knew it from the Plane of Water: colorful schools of fish swam past the large apparatus, along with seahorses and jellyfish. In the distance, they could make out a large barracuda, and everywhere, seaweed and other aquatic plants swayed gently back and forth.

 

 

Lereia peered out through one of the front windows, fascinated. “How beautiful it is here beneath the water’s surface.”

Morânia smiled. “Yes, it really is.”

Even at this depth, the first coral formations were already growing among the water plants, some of warm colors like those found in tropical seas, others of pale silver, deep blue and flat violet. Some resembled branched antlers, others spiral-shaped turrets. Schools of small fish glided silently through them, their bodies shimmering from within as if they carried tiny stars inside them.

After taking a few minutes to get used to the strange yet fairy-tale-like surroundings outside, Morânia turned to her husband. “Naghûl, is there anything marked on the map for this area?”

“Um … hold on.” Naghûl rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the map. Because of the cramped space inside the crab, it wasn’t easy to unfold it. Then Naghûl studied it for a while until he finally nodded. “Yes, it’s marked. It’s labeled here as the Inner Ring Base.”

Lereia glanced briefly at the map. “What does that mean?”

“No idea what it means. It's just a name.” Naghûl shrugged, looking rather at a loss. “The area behind it is called the Inner Ring Basin.”

“That probably means it goes deeper down there,” Morânia surmised.

Sgillin tapped lightly on the inside of the crab’s shell. “How deep is this thing waterproof?”

“Up to a thousand paces,” Lereia explained with a smile.

“A thousand paces?” The half-elf whistled softly through his teeth. “Impressive.”

“Why?” Jana asked, frowning. “What does depth have to do with whether this thing is watertight or not?”

“Because of water pressure, sweetheart,” Sgillin explained. “Eventually, you’ll get crushed if you’re too deep underwater.”

While Jana nodded with obvious unease, Naghûl passed the map to Morânia in the back. “Can you read the map? I have to steer, after all.”

She took it and nodded. “Sure.” Then she studied the marked areas, which were colored in various shades of blue. “I’d say, judging by the Spire compass … that we have to go down from the Inner Ring Base into the Inner Ring Basin.”

“Then let’s hope this basin isn’t deeper than a thousand paces,” said Lereia. “By the way, we can only resurface under our own power if we’re no deeper than five hundred paces. ”

Morânia looked up from the map. “We have a depth finder, don’t we?”

“Yes, here.” Lereia pointed to the glass tube with the cork right next to the wheel for the buoyancy propeller.

“All right, then.” Morânia peered over Naghûl’s shoulder through the front window. “Then just steer straight ahead.”

Her husband nodded, bright-eyed, and operated the levers for the crab’s right front legs. Lereia, Sgillin and Kiyoshi did the same with the other legs, making every effort to coordinate their movements as well as possible. Having already successfully maneuvered the apparatus from the shore into the water in this manner, they now steered it with surprising confidence through the soft sand. In some places, dense schools of tiny fish drifted by, and when the crab approached, they scattered like glittering dust, forming swirling patterns that seemed almost intentional. Once, a creature nearly two paces long glided past them, slowly and majestically. Its body vaguely resembled a ray, yet it trailed countless glowing threads behind it that shimmered like constellations in the water. For a moment, the creature bathed the entire surroundings in a soft bluish light.

After sitting silently in the crab for a while and looking out the windows, Jana started fidgeting around restlessly. “I find it a little incommodious. How long do you think we’ll have to stay in here?”

Sgillin shrugged. “Until we get there. Wherever that may be.”

“I hope not too long,” Lereia added reassuringly. “I trust the apparatus, but I feel more comfortable out in the open, too, Jana.”

“Oh, come on, this is great!” Naghûl seemed more and more enthusiastic.

Morânia smiled at his euphoria, but she could well understand Jana. The interior of the crab was very cramped for six people with luggage, and the knowledge that they were completely underwater naturally intensified the feeling of being confined. Despite the fairy-tale-like underwater world outside, it was understandable that the situation could cause an uneasy feeling.

Morânia glanced back and forth between the map and the compass. “I think we should be reaching that basin soon.”

“We can still turn back,” said Lereia, looking at Jana. “I’m not making this decision all alone.”

“No way!” Sgillin said emphatically. “Let’s keep going.”

Naghûl nodded enthusiastically. “For the experience! Let’s go!”

Jana peered out somewhat uneasily. “I just mean … surely you can all imagine what it’s like to be sitting down there in the dark and not be able to surface? Ever again?”

“At least it’s not a dishonorable death,” Kiyoshi stated matter-of-factly.

Naghûl nodded. “Yes, that’s the spirit!” His tone sounded entirely serious and sincere.

“Let’s think of it as a trial.” Lereia was clearly trying hard to sound calm, but there was still a certain tension in her voice. “As long as we don’t go deeper than five hundred paces, we can surface at any time.”

“Don’t think about it too long,” Morânia said resolutely. “Let’s do it!”

Jana closed her eyes briefly. “I’ll just put my trust in the Great Unknown. Alright, let’s go before I change my mind!”

Sgillin grinned. “What are you going to do if you change your mind? Get out?”

Morânia gave him a reproachful nudge, and the half-elf fell silent, though he still seemed more amused than concerned. So they continued steering the crab across the seafloor, now at a depth of about twenty paces, according to the depth finder. It was still relatively bright here, so they could make out their surroundings clearly. Then they saw a darker streak ahead of them. As they drew closer, they realized this had to be the transition from the Inner Ring Base to the Inner Ring Basin: there, it seemed to deepen rather suddenly and abruptly.

“All right.” Lereia took a deep breath. “Down?”

“According to the map and compass, that’s the way to the Spire,” Morânia confirmed.

“Let’s go, then,” said Sgillin. “There’s no point in hesitating.”

Naghûl nodded enthusiastically, Kiyoshi matter-of-factly and Jana reluctantly, but no one raised any objections. So they steered the crab resolutely towards the underwater chasm. Slowly but persistently, it clambered over the edge and then sank like a giant boulder. It quickly grew noticeably darker and cooler. In contrast to the colorful surroundings of the Ring Base, where the water’s surface had still been a reassuringly close distance away, they were now enveloped by the true depths of the ocean. Now even Morânia began to feel a little uneasy as they sank deeper and deeper. To make matters worse, the weight inside the crab wasn’t evenly distributed, and so the crab slowly but surely began to tilt to the right. Kiyoshi, who noticed this and was sitting on the right side, immediately leaned as far to the left as possible, towards Sgillin. Morânia followed his lead and nudged Naghûl sitting in front of her, signaling him to lean towards Lereia. This actually stabilized the apparatus, and it continued to sink belly-first. Morânia glanced at the depth finder: one hundred and seventy paces.

Fascinated, Naghûl stared through the small window on Lereia’s side as he leaned over. “It’s as if we’re literally plunging into the night.”

The crab sank and sank; by now it was completely dark, and it had grown noticeably cooler. Even with darkvision, it was no longer possible to make out what the depth finder was showing.

“Should we maybe turn on the light?” Sgillin asked.

“Maybe not a bad idea,” said Morânia. “I really can’t see anything out there anymore. Like this, we have no sense of direction at all.”

“But what if that draws attention to us?” Jana pointed out.

Kiyoshi nodded solemnly. “For once, I have to agree with Jana. If we turn on the light, won’t we catch the attention of every creature down here? Like giant octopuses with beaks sharp enough to cut through metal.”

“Hmm …” Lereia tilted her head thoughtfully.

As they pondered this question, an ugly sound suddenly pierced the silence, sending a chill down their spines. There was a crunching noise on the left side of the apparatus, as if the crab were scraping against something …

“Oh, damn,” Lereia blurted out. “I think we need the light if we want to see what the crab is bumping into right now.”

Morânia nodded. “I’m all for turning it on, too.”

Lereia turned a toggle switch that slid a cover panel off a small pod. Inside was a glowing crystal that now cast a cone of light outwards and bathed the interior of the crab in a dim, yellow glow. It wasn’t a light spell, but a naturally glowing sun crystal from the Plane of Radiance. Immediately, Lereia, Jana and Sgillin, who were seated on the left, peered out of the windows to see what the crab was scraping against.

“There seems to be some kind of large rock or reef,” the half-elf explained. “It has some pretty sharp spikes. That looks … dangerous, to put it mildly.”

Lereia seemed to be thinking feverishly. “Maybe we can try using the left pincer and the left legs to push ourselves away from the rock.”

“Let’s try it,” said Sgillin, using his lever to move the left hind legs into position.

Jana tried to align the left pincer accordingly, and Lereia did the same with the left front legs. They actually managed to push the apparatus off the first two spikes. But then they could no longer coordinate the legs and pincer well enough. The crab slammed hard into a rocky ledge and began to spin. It rolled once around its own axis, yawing and staggering wildly through the water.

“Maybe … we should have … practiced with this thing beforehand …” Sgillin gasped.

Morânia clung tightly to her seat, trying to make out something on the depth finder. But due to the uncontrolled lurch, it displayed only wild, random numbers: ten paces … four hundred paces … one hundred forty … thirty …

“That … that’s really bad!” Jana cried out. “I can’t control the pincer anymore …”

“So this is how it ends,” Kiyoshi remarked calmly.

“Nothing is ending!” Lereia protested vigorously. She heroically tried to keep her cool and achieve something by operating the left front legs.

But in vain … the crab rolled onto its back and continued to sink, deeper and deeper. While Morânia, Sgillin, Lereia and Kiyoshi managed to hold on to their seats, Jana and Naghûl slammed roughly against the ceiling of the cabin. The legs and pincers moved in an uncoordinated way, twitching, flailing … Then the crab seemed to turn again, but before it could, there was a violent thud. Apparently they had hit the bottom, and the crab remained lying on its back.

Morânia took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “By Lathander,” she whispered. Then she wrapped her legs around the seat and braced herself with her arms against the cabin ceiling to keep from falling as she hung upside down inside the crab. “Is anyone hurt?” she asked into the silence.

“I’m still in one piece,” replied Sgillin, who was also hanging upside down from his seat.

Naghûl sat next to Jana on the roof of the crab, which now served as the floor. He felt for his left hand with the right one. “I might have sprained my wrist. But I won’t know for sure until I have to steer again.”

Since everyone else seemed to be all right, they began looking around inside the crab.

“We need to figure out a way to flip the apparatus back over,” said Lereia. “But how?”

“Maybe we can tip it over like a seesaw?” Naghûl suggested.

Morânia unhooked her legs from the seat and lowered herself slowly and carefully so that she was kneeling on the crab’s inner back shell as well. “If we all move really close to one of the sides, with a lot of momentum? Is that what you mean?”

“Exactly!” Naghûl nodded eagerly. “If we all move to one side and the crab tips over to that side, and then we climb even further, it might roll back onto its belly.”

“That sounds feasible,” said Lereia. “Let’s try it.”

She, Sgillin and Kiyoshi now also slid from their seats onto the roof of the apparatus, the young woman and the half-elf a bit more gracefully than the dragon-blooded soldier, who landed next to Jana with a clang. Now that no one was hanging upside down from their seat anymore, they could move with some degree of coordination. Due to the cramped space in the cabin, it was still somewhat of a challenge to move to one side of the crab. But when Kiyoshi and Morânia, who carried quite a bit of weight with their armors, were the last to climb to the right edge, the crab actually tilted to the side. It wobbled and jerked, then finally tipped over and rolled onto its legs. This time prepared for the rotation, they moved on all fours with the motion, a bit like hamsters in a wheel. The metallic clatter as the apparatus came to a stop was uncomfortably loud inside the cabin.

“We did it!”, Sgillin called out. “There we go!”

Relieved to have gotten the crab back on its legs, they all climbed into their seats and looked out through the small windows. The cover panel in front of the light crystal was still pushed back, so they could now discover a much more primeval underwater landscape than on the Ring Base. Here, the aquatic plants, water snails and clams were larger but more alien, and even the fish looked different - a bit fiendish, with long, needle-sharp teeth and spiny fins. Many were armored, and Morânia also saw some large trilobites swimming by. Here and there, sharp rock needles pierced through the seabed.

“Fascinating,” whispered Naghûl.

The others nodded silently, and for a while they gazed out of the small windows in awe. Some of the sea lilies here towered several paces high and slowly opened their feather-like arms in the slow current, as if reaching for something invisible. Their colors ranged from dull ivory to deep blue-green, and perched on their stems were tiny, glass-like creatures that glowed faintly with every movement. Only when Morânia finally managed to tear her gaze away from the partly oppressive, partly fascinating sight, she realized just how far they had sunk. They had to be really deep down.

“How far below sea level are we now?” she asked.

Lereia glanced at the depth finder. “Whoa … 620 paces, according to the display.”

“Well, that’s deep,” Sgillin remarked, impressed.

“We should … try to keep moving,” Jana said quietly. “Please.”

It was obvious that the sorceress was having the hardest time with this underwater journey. But Morânia had to admit that she, too, felt significantly more uneasy since they’d dived down from the Ring Base into the Ring Basin. After all, up there, they could have surfaced at any time without any trouble. But at a depth of over six hundred paces, that was no longer possible …

To distract herself from this oppressive thought, Morânia searched for the map that had fallen from her lap during the wild descent, unfolded it again, and studied it. “So, we’re now in the Inner Ring Basin … I assume. We should be in a kind of undersea landscape known as the Devonian Gardens. If the map and compass are correct, then to our right is a reef area labeled here as the Great Talanga Fan.”

Lereia turned to the sorceress. “Jana, how much air do we have left?”

“We have enough breathing air for four and a half hours,” Jana replied, glancing at the display.

“Then let’s keep moving,” Sgillin said, regaining control of the left hind legs. “Do we have to go straight ahead again?”

Morânia nodded. “Yes, it looks like we’ll have to cross these Devonian Gardens.”

“I wonder what a Devonian garden could be?” Jana asked herself, peering outside again.

“Some kind of underwater garden?” Morânia suggested, shrugging. “With lots of aquatic plants and primeval sea creatures?”

“Inhabited by Devonians,” Naghûl added with a grin.

Jana raised her eyebrows skeptically. “Let’s hope the gardener doesn’t notice us …”

They set the crab in motion again, and Lereia, Naghûl, Sgillin and Kiyoshi steered it straight ahead, just as Morânia had said. She herself kept glancing back and forth between the map and the compass, calling out minor course corrections. It turned out that Naghûl's left wrist was indeed aching and had probably been sprained, but fortunately he was right-handed and thus able to continue operating the legs control lever. Outside, it was very dark, and they could only see as far as the cone of light from the crystal reached. But in its glow, they could make out a seabed outside that resembled an enchanted garden. Snail-shaped and elongated nautili as well as segmented trilobites drifted idly among large fields of sea lilies. The ocean floor here consisted of fine, black sediment that rose in sluggish clouds with every step of the apparatus and looked like dark smoke in the light of the crystal. Scattered on the ground were enormous sea shells, some broken, some still closed, large enough for a human to lie inside. Every now and then, something larger moved through the darkness beyond the glow of the light cone, but it was never visible long enough to make out clearly. Only slow shadows that glided silently among the sea lilies and vanished just as quickly back into the darkness.

After a while, Naghûl pointed excitedly towards the right side window. “Are those carved stones over there?”

Morânia looked in the direction her husband was pointing. Between the coral fields, a long row of black stone pillars rose from the seabed, as if an ancient structure had once stood there, long since swallowed up by the water. The stones looked as smooth as obsidian, but were crisscrossed by fine cracks from which seeped a faint phosphorescent light. Thin veils of silvery seaweed had wrapped themselves around the columns and moved slowly in the current like sleeping ghosts.

Lereia followed Naghûl’s gaze and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Those could be parts of a ruin, right?”

“Maybe we’re getting closer to our destination,” Morânia said hopefully.

Jana also peered out through the front window, but then flinched back a little. “Yikes! That’s a heck of a big fish out there!”

“Huge,” Naghûl confirmed in amazement. “It’s at least two paces long …”

“And it’s coming towards us,” Lereia noted with concern.

Morânia lowered the map and peered over Naghûl’s shoulder to get a better look at the fish. “I don’t think it’s big enough to …” She fell silent.

Suddenly, something even more massive emerged from the dark depths. It was a primeval fish, significantly larger than the first one, certainly as long as the crab itself. A massive shell protected its head and back, and instead of teeth, it had sharp bony plates in its upper and lower jaws. It had likely been hunting the smaller fish, but to the horror of the expedition members, it was now clearly turning its attention to the crab apparatus.

“If it rams us, we’ll end up on our back again,” Jana cried out with a hint of panic.

“I think this is a job for the pincers,” Kiyoshi stated.

The sorceress nodded and hurriedly reached for the lever controlling the left pincer, opened it and tried to aim it at the approaching armored fish. Morânia did the same with the right pincer. But the fish was more agile than it looked, and the two women were still inexperienced with the pincer controls. They missed the fish, and it rammed the crab with its carapaced head. There was a dull thud, and an unpleasant vibration ran through the mechanical crab’s hull.

Morânia let go of the pincer lever. “Ink?”

“Try it!” Lereia shouted. “Maybe we can escape.”

The bal’aasi pulled the lever for the ink tank, and a thick, dark blue liquid gushed out … unfortunately, on the wrong side.

Morânia cursed in Abyssal. “Damn it! There seem to be multiple tanks.” She frantically began searching for a second lever.

At that very moment, there was another loud thud as the carapaced fish grabbed the right pincer. It clamped its bone-plated jaws tightly around the hinge.

“No!” Lereia cried out in alarm.

Jana tried to fend off the fish with the left pincer, but missed the attacker once again. The carapaced fish bit down harder; there was an alarming crack and crunch.

“Try again!” Sgillin shouted from behind.

Jana desperately tried to jab at the fish with her free pincer. This time, she actually succeeded. The monster jerked away abruptly … and in doing so, tore off the other pincer.

“Oh, damn it!” Naghûl shouted.

Morânia had meanwhile found a second small lever that apparently opened the ink tank on the starboard side. She frantically pulled it, and this time the ink spurted out on the right side. A thick, dark blue cloud enveloped the carapaced fish and the crab apparatus.

“Naghûl, Sgillin, Kiyoshi!”, Lereia called out, quickly moving the left front legs. “Let's get out of here fast!”

“With pleasure!” replied the tiefling, frantically fiddling with the levers for the right front legs.

The giant fish was now barely visible in the thick cloud of ink, and the four steered the crab back a short distance as quickly as possible and then to the side. Then Morânia felt the water … Horrified, her gaze wandered to the spot where her right knee was getting wet. The torn-off pincer had left a hole in the hull - just a small one, but water was seeping in.

Instinctively, Morânia pressed her hands against the leak. “Damn it! Friends … water’s coming in here!”

Jana let out a startled cry and her breathing immediately quickened noticeably. Naghûl noticed this and placed a reassuring hand on her arm, while continuing to operate the right front legs with the other. Kiyoshi emptied his waterproof belt pouch with one hand and handed it to Morânia, while continuing to steer the right hind legs as best he could with his other arm.

“Great idea! Thanks!” The bal’aasi stuffed the pouch into the hole. “That definitely helps. But it’s still dripping through. We need a more permanent solution than my hands and Kiyoshi’s pouch.”

Lereia, Naghûl, Kiyoshi and Sgillin steered the crab swiftly to the side, focused and working in perfect harmony, covering as much ground as possible before the ink cloud dissipated.

Jana slid the cover panel over the light crystal so the carapaced fish wouldn’t be lured back. Only after they had traveled quite a distance through the soft sand did they dare to stop. For a while, they simply held the crab completely still and waited - anxious minutes during which no one spoke a word.

“I think it’s gone,” Lereia whispered finally. “Let’s carefully resume our path towards the Spire. I’m afraid, though, we’ll have to turn the light back on; otherwise, we’ll have no idea where we’re going.”

“Unfortunately, that’s true,” said Sgillin. “Without light, we might end up crashing the crab into a rock.”

Jana nodded, took a deep breath and then very slowly and carefully slid aside the cover panel of the light crystal pod. Without taking her hands off the leak, Morânia glanced at the map lying on her knees. She couldn’t see outside, but she felt Lereia, sitting diagonally in front of her, straighten up.

“Air bubbles are rising …” the young woman managed to say, horrified.

“What?” Morânia immediately looked up. “Where?”

Lereia pointed through the front window, towards the right front legs. “Here, right next to us.”

“I’m afraid the carapaced fish’s attack damaged the air tank,” Kiyoshi said, and even he sounded alarmed.

“Damn it!” Sgillin cursed. “What does the tank gauge say?”

Jana glanced at the tube display showing the remaining breathing air. “We have lost … more than two-thirds of our supply,” she explained quietly and tonelessly. “We only have enough air left for forty-five minutes.”

Morânia felt her heart sink, and Lereia looked at the depth finder. “Six hundred and forty paces …,” she whispered. “We can’t surface … Not until we reach five hundred paces.”

A horrified silence settled over the crab's cabin like a leaden blanket.

“What do we do now?” Jana finally whispered.

“We have to get somewhere we can breathe within forty-five minutes,” Naghûl replied, his face pale. “Otherwise, it’s over …”

 

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played June 21, 2013