Chapter 133 - Tentacles Are Not My Friend

I thrashed at the monstrosity's grip, trying my damnedest best to wrench my leg free of it, but its hold on me was firm. It felt like it had come kind of claws in me, but I ignored the pain the best I could. I could live with pain. I could not live with dying.

A thought flashed through my brain about how I should be too greasy for this nonsense, but the danger of the situation pushed that thought immediately out. I had better things to worry about than how slippery I should be.

I reached for the dagger I had kept strapped to me, and tried hacking at it. Hacking at things underwater is decidedly trickier than one would expect. So I had to do the next best thing and stab, and hope beyond hope that I didn't catch my own leg in the process. I didn't want to lose a limb, but if it was that or death, I'd learn to dungeon crawl with a peg leg.

I was doing my best, but I was struggling. I was running out of energy quickly, and even the surge of strength that panic brings wasn't going to cut it. As soon as I stabbed one limb enough for it to release me, another took its place. How in all the hells did this thing have so many blasted limbs?!

It was pulling me back down towards the abyss, and I felt all sense of hope start to fade into that same darkness. I wasn't about to give up, and I was going to make this thrice-damned horror work for its meal, but I wouldn't take a bet on my chances.

I saw the flash of steel as Eira joined my struggle, fighting desperately to free me. Her stabs and cuts were things of wonder, deft and precise. Or at the very least, she was having better luck than I had. I got my second wind, or maybe even my third wind at this point, and redoubled my efforts to defeat this wiggly beast.

Finally, the creature seemed to find us too much effort to continue with, and it felt it let us go, but there was a sharp pain in my body as it did so. A parting jab of something, I guess. What a sore loser of a tentacled bastard.

If I hadn't been several feet underwater, I would have let out a sigh of relief that would have quickly been interrupted by the cloud of shadowy ink the creature had expelled.

I had eaten squid ink pasta before during a formal event, and rather enjoyed it, but I was likely to never do so again after this. It's one thing to use it in cooking; it's another to be submerged in it after nearly being killed by its origin. I would not recommend it at all. Ruins the appetite.

Soon my vision was completely obscured, goggles or no, but before I had completely lost my ability to navigate, I grabbed on to Eira's hand, and I made my way desperately towards the surface.

We both surfaced with a gasp and wiped the ink off our goggles. We were covered in the stuff, and the sight would have been amusing if it hadn't been for the danger of our situation.

"Do you think we're safe? Did it leave?" I asked, spitting salty water out of my mouth.

"Let's not bet on it. I've never seen a squid that big in these waters, which means it might not be natural. Let's hurry and get back to shore. This whole thing is insane!" She sputtered as she tread water.

I started to say something as I saw tentacles rise from the water from both sides of us. There were too many to have been from one of these squid beasts, and I had the horrifying feeling that we were surrounded. Which meant that it wasn't random chance that attracted these things to us.

This was planned. And planning meant we were in deep shit.

My heart sank as the beasts started to rear up in the water, my mind completely blank save for the certainty of mine and Eira's doom.

Said doom-related thoughts were dashed in an explosion of light striking the horror before us. Followed by several more in rapid succession.

I looked up and saw what I thought were large seabirds for a moment, until I realized it was harpies. At least four or five of them. They swooped at the monsters, stabbing them with some kind of bladed weapons, and in between the strikes came bolts of magical energy that slammed into the soft flesh of the sea beasts like a hammer of pure light.

One of the harpies flapped down in front of us. It reminded me a lot of Nene, but more masculine. To an extent.

"Get going! We'll drive it back!" The bird person shouted at us, voice deeper than I expected. I realized this was the first male harpy I had ever seen, but now was not the time for curiosity.

I decided not to wait to see what was happening, and I began swimming, Eira following close behind.

Soon enough, we found ourselves striding up to the beach and collapsing onto the sand in exhaustion. As she did, we saw people wearing the pirate sigil on vests or tattooed on arms, loading up boats with weapons and some kind of contraptions and setting out into the water. If it had been any other day, I would have loved to see them in action. But for today, I was just simply and purely done.

I rolled over and held Eira's hand as we caught our breath under the hot sun. We lay there in silence, the sounds of battle in the distance mixing with the wind and waves.

"This is nice. Cozy, lovely ambience, great company. That cloud looks like a sheep." I said dreamily, not moving an inch as my poor muscles were screaming at me. There were other pains, but I decided to ignore them for now.

"Anyone tell you that you have a sarcastic streak a mile and a half wide?" Eira snorted and rolled towards me.

"Frequently. It's one of my greatest charm points." I said with mock pride.

"This is, in fact, quite true. That said, let's not do that again any time soon, beloved." Eira groaned and stretched.

"Yeah. Ocean swimming is not quite as stress-free as skinny dipping in a pond." I rolled over to look at Eira.

"Yeah, I heard lakes and ponds are much calmer." Eira likewise rolled towards me. She reached out and brushed a lock of hair from my face. She had an odd look on her face when she looked at my hair, but I decided to worry about that later. I heard the ocean can affect your hair sometimes, so it was probably that.

"You'd think, but the fish can get a little aggressive sometimes. Not, you know, as aggressive as the giant squid demon, but you know, they nibble toes and stuff." I giggled.

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"I could live with that." She sighed. "We probably should get up and get checked out, huh? I have no idea if we got injured or not. Oh, and let someone know about what we found."

"And what exactly did you two find that led to this level of shenanigans?" A stern voice said.

I looked up to see a man staring down at us. I didn't quite recognize them at first, and then I realized it had been the elven man with the pirate queen last night. What was his name again?

"Hello, Papa Gerno. We were just coming to see you." Eira said, looking up.

"I should hope so. Now get up, and follow me. I will look you over for injuries while I interrogate you two. About many things." He narrowed his eyes at me, an all-too-familiar expression I seemed to be receiving from her family the last few days.

I swear, I don't look suspicious. Probably. Maybe? Who can say, really?

Eira hopped up first and helped me to my feet. I swear, my muscles were going to be impressive if I survived this thrice-damned 'vacation.' I started to wonder if lying around in my bed back at Manya's inn would have been a better choice. At the very least I'd be less damp. Probably.

Ah well, I would likely look back on this trip and laugh in a decade or two. Or I'd need to seek professional help. Eh, that is a problem for the future. My future self was doubtless going to be exceptionally irritated with me.

I realized I was limping a bit, looked down, and my leg looked like an absolute mess of little red circles and tiny bits of blood dribbling out. I feel fortunate that there hadn't been any sharks nearby. I mean, there were lots of shark-people, but that's not the same thing.

Probably. Maybe. I needed to read up more on races outside the Mortal Kingdoms proper. I cursed my social tunnel vision. Damn you, Alta of the past.

Gods above and below that hurt like all the hells had a vendetta against my legs. Eira saw my limp, and propped me up on my shoulder to help me along. It was a little embarrassing, but I'm not so prideful as to turn down help from her.

Eventually we came to a small hut a short distance up the beach, and Gerno held the door open for us.

Eira helped me to a seat, which I was grateful for. After that short distance, my legs were in so much pain. I realized that the dampness on my body was just as much a cold sweat as seawater. What the hells below was happening to me?

"Now, get her on the table there and lay her down. I need to get a better look at that leg, and figure out exactly what I'm dealing with." Gerno said as he pulled some kind of stretchy glove on. It reminded me of some of the stuff Danica and Calderon wore during the tests in the underground research area. I wasn't keen on seeing anything like that again, but I decided to trust that he knew what he was doing. Eira seemed to trust him, and that was good enough for me.

Eira helped me up, and I did as I was told. I was feeling odd for some reason, and I was starting to suspect it wasn't just pain.

He looked me up and down for a moment before touching my forehead with his wrist. He clicked his tongue in a way that felt distantly familiar for some reason.

"Describe the creature." He said sternly.

"Big. Red. Tentacles. It spat ink everywhere when we stabbed it a bunch." I said, wincing as he touched my leg.

"You be quiet while I treat you, if you please. You answer for her, Eira. You were a witness, yes?" He said shortly. My instinct was to snap at him, but a wave of nauseating pain hit me.

"She's got the right of it. It was big and red with a lot of tentacles. Biggest damn squid I have ever seen in these waters. Looked like one of the deep water types you see on the edges of the Free Waters as you get into the Vast." She said quickly.

"Where in the local waters were you?" He continued, cocking an eyebrow at Eira.

"We were in the ruins. Visiting the Temple there. We wanted to go treasure hunting a bit." Eira said, her tone getting increasingly concerned.

I reached out and took her hand, trying to calm her down, though admittedly it was more for me. I was starting to freak out a bit, and it was getting kind of hard to move.

"Hmm. Flesh is showing signs of a semi paralytic venom, but it seems your elven physiology is helping to fight it off. Better than expected, really. Most people would be completely locked up by now. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be affecting your breathing or heart. If you'll excuse me." He reached out and took some of my hair, and I heard the sound of scissors.

"What are you doing?!" I said, shocked that he would dare cut some of my hair. It was pure vanity on my part, but I was awfully protective of my hair. It was stupid, but a woman is entitled to some vanity!

I hadn't been disrespected like this by a medical professional since I was a child.

He held up the strands, which were a dark purple. "The ink shares properties of the venom. Usually for dealing with their prey, but it can harm a person in a limited way. Your hair is soaked with it, so it's my best source to use to create an antivenom. I apologize for the damage to your aesthetic, but needs must after all."

He turned and began working on something at a little workstation on the other side of the hut. I heard the clinking of glass objects, and could smell something foul. It was just like whatever weird work Myth had been doing at our shared desk. It was a nice bit of familiarity in the midst of all this, stinky as it was.

I looked down at my leg, and it was red, swollen, and turning a little purple in spots. Well, that was concerning, and I was doing my best not to panic. I wasn't doing well. My head felt weird too, which wasn't helping.

"Eira, this trip has been the weirdest vacation I've ever taken. Which doesn't mean much, since I'm pretty sure this has been my only real vacation. Next time, can we just stay in our room, read terrible books, maybe catch a play or something?" I laughed, which surprisingly hurt. Oof, I was not doing well.

"Honestly, my dearest, you seem to be some kind of injury magnet. I'm shocked you've survived as long as you have." Eira ran her thumb along the back of my hand, a soft but clearly strained smile on her face.

"Daughter mine, please hold your paramour down for a moment. This is going to hurt like an entire litter of bitch born bastards." I heard Gerno say.

Before I even registered his words, I felt Eira's hand pressing down on my chest, holding me firmly in place. She put a piece of leather between my teeth suddenly, further confusing me.

"It'll be ok, sweetness! Don't be afraid to shout. It'll make you feel better, trust me." She said quickly as she held me even firmer.

"Wait, what-" I mumbled around the disgusting-tasting strip, and the following words out of my mouth were the longest string of swear words I had ever invoked in my entire life, in which I cursed Gerno, I cursed the entirety of the pantheon of all religions, and proceeded to go down the list of every invective I could think of to insult Gerno's family tree. My mind having run out of curse words, I bit on the disgusting leather and screamed.

I looked down, and he had injected me with a massive syringe, and I could feel whatever it was that he had shoved into me coursing through my blood. It felt like cold pudding pushing through my veins, and all I wanted to do was scream. I could practically feel my mind clear itself violently, like being shaken out of a dream by an angry drunken orc, and I could feel every tiny drop of my blood raging through my system, my mana flaring into overdrive, and I suddenly retched. Eira let me roll over, and I vomited something disgusting, black, and oily into a waiting bucket.

I was about to ask what I was seeing, and I vomited some more. This was worse than the after-party at a tavern with free drinks. Much worse.

"And that is, as they say, that," Gerno said, with a tone of insufferable satisfaction as he tossed the syringe onto a metal tray and peeled his gloves off with a snap.

Eira helped me into a sitting position, and held me close for a moment. I realized I was drenched in sweat, and I felt like I had finished a three-day drinking binge with dwarves and orcs. My mouth tasted like waterlogged socks. Very old waterlogged socks.

I looked down, and the swelling and redness were gone. Most importantly, the purple color was gone. All that was left were a few red marks where the beast's suckers had latched on.

"My brain thanks you, but my body is still undecided." I groaned, leaning on Eira's shoulder, feeling extra pathetic at the moment. I just wanted to curl into a tiny ball and hide.

"Well, since your brain is in a grateful mood, it's time for the second half of this. I need details of what you encountered down there. And then you, Miss Marchesi, will have a long conversation with me." He said, sitting on a stool and glaring at me. What kind of glare? I couldn't accurately say, as the forefront of my thought was how absolutely shit I felt.

"Joy of joys." I sighed deeply, burying my head in my hands.

I just could not catch a break on this trip, could I?