Dungeon Champions

With combat over, we focused on cleanup. Nym’s magic brooms came in handy for cleaning up gallons of Old Man tentacle blood, but there was still a lot of work needed. Cargo had shifted, and one of the masts had to be taken down and replaced. That meant a lot of heavy work.

There still wasn’t any reason I could find for the monsters to have attacked us, and that thought weighed heavily on my mind.

“I’m going to have a private talk with Skullie,” I said to Zuri. “Can you handle it up here?”

She nodded, waving me off. “You do what you need to.”

During the fight, Skullie had revealed that he was considered part of the party - and thus could communicate telepathically. It just felt better to move out of the bustle of repairs and recovery to speak with him out loud, in privacy.

Once we arrived in our cramped quarters, the lich floated around and landed atop a bunk, at roughly eye level.

“You were borderline heroic up there.”

“Just doing my part. Contributing. Earning my way.” He flashed a broken-toothed grin at me. “Gonna need a few days to be back to my old, er, normal self.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure you get some downtime.” He’d earned it. No doubt the rest of the team would see him in a new light now, too, once I told them what he’d done.

Leaning next to him, I exhaled. “We nearly lost the ship. And some of those creatures… They weren’t just sirens, Skullie. I don’t suppose you know what an Old Man of the Sea is, do you?”

His jaw creaked. “No. I am familiar with many aquatic monsters, but that’s not one of them.”

“Understood. None of my skills are popping up insights either.” I checked my Tablet. It appeared, but it seemed the monster was beyond even my skills to identify easily. That said a lot about what level it had been. “Do you think that might have been the last of them? Did we stop the ambushes?”

The skull was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. “Maybe. Just because I’m a lich doesn’t mean I know everything about monster behavior.”

“You’re a very old wizard, who also happened to live with monsters,” I pointed out.

“Fair point.” He made a whistling sound through his teeth. “It’s possible. Maybe. If the thing has a name like that, it’s probably on the epic-to-legendary scale of things. From a dungeon perspective, we’re talking about a floor boss, or maybe even a proper dungeon boss. Just, you know, scaled to ocean size. Boss creatures in dungeons don’t usually coordinate. But they can.”

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling exhaustion settling in. “Great. Anything else I should know about?”

Skullie chuckled darkly. “Oh, there’s always more to worry about in the Fae Wilds, my friend. But let’s focus on the immediate threat, shall we? Did you notice anything unusual before the attack?”

I shook my head. “Merielle and I were just standing around talking. Although…”

Skullie leaned forward. “Yes?”

“I sort of…skipped time for a moment there. My mind was elsewhere and when I realized it, that’s when we saw the lights.”

Skullie’s skull bounced on his spine. “I wondered. Hm. Yes, I bet…” I wasn’t sure how he did it, but his eye sockets seemed to squeeze, narrowing in a squint. It took every iota of my Discipline skill not to interrupt and ask how he’d done that.

He said, “There was a bit of magic in the air moments before the attack. Too small to affect the whole ship—we’d be dealing with an arch mage if they could do something like that—but they didn’t need the whole ship to lose a few minutes, did they? Just you two…and likely a handful of others.”

“You think someone deliberately targeted us? Made us lose time so the attack could begin?”

Skullie’s jaw clacked. “It’s a possibility we can’t ignore. The timing is too convenient.”

I paced the small cabin. “But who? And why? What’s so important that someone would go to such lengths?”

“Perhaps it’s not the cargo they’re after,” Skullie mused. “Perhaps it’s us.”

I stopped pacing and stared at him. “Us? Why would anyone be after us?”

Skullie’s spine shivered like he was trying to shrug.

I sank onto one of the bunks. “So what do we do?”

“We stay vigilant,” Skullie said firmly. “And we need to figure out what’s really going on here. I suggest you talk to the captain again. See if he knows more than he’s letting on.”

I nodded, standing up. “You’re right. I’ll go find Drake now.”

“Be careful. If someone is targeting us, they might try again.”

“Do you want to rest and recover, or come with me? It’s not like half the crew hasn’t seen you now.”

“I’d be delighted to accompany you,” Skullie said, his jaw creaking in a gap-toothed smile.

I scooped up Skullie and headed back to the deck. The cleanup was still underway, with crew members and my companions working together to clear away the remnants of the battle. Zuri caught my eye as I emerged, raising an eyebrow in question. I gave her a quick nod, silently communicating that I’d fill her in later.

Captain Drake was at the helm, his weathered hands gripping the wheel tightly as he barked orders to his crew. His face was drawn, with worry lines etched deeply around his eyes.

“Captain,” I called out as I approached. “We need to talk.”

Drake’s eyes flicked to me, then to Skullie in my hands. He grunted. “I suppose we do. Come to my cabin.”

I followed Drake to his quarters, a small but well-appointed room just off the main deck. Maps and charts covered most of the available wall space, and a sturdy desk dominated the center of the room. The Captain settled into the chair behind the desk, gesturing at two chairs across from him.

“Alright, Cash,” he said gruffly. “What’s on your mind?”

I set Skullie down on a chair and took a seat on the other. “This is Skullie. He’s my familiar and is a very powerful…mage,” I said, skimming over the details.

Drake eyed Skullie skeptically but said nothing.

I leaned forward, fixing the captain with a hard stare. “I need you to level with me. What’s really going on here? That wasn’t just a random attack.”

Drake’s jaw clenched. He was silent for a long moment, his eyes darting between me and Skullie. Finally, he sighed heavily.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “It wasn’t random. Truth is, I’ve been expecting something like this.”

“Go on,” I prompted.

Drake ran a hand over his face. “This cargo…it’s not just ordinary goods. There’s something valuable hidden among the crates. Something a lot of people would kill to get their hands on.”

“And what exactly is this ’something’?” I asked, my voice hard.

Drake shook his head. “I don’t know the details. Giles just told me it was important, and that I needed to get it to Lans at all costs. Said there’d be trouble, but I didn’t expect…” He trailed off, looking haunted.

“You didn’t expect sirens and sea monsters,” I finished for him.

“Aye,” Drake looked away, a hint of dread in his eyes. “I’ve sailed these waters for years. Never seen anything like that before.”

I exchanged a glance with Skullie. “Since you’ve been level with us, we’ll be level with you. We think someone may have used magic to facilitate that attack. To make us lose time so they could sabotage the boat.”

Drake’s eyes narrowed. “You think someone on my crew…?”

“Not necessarily,” I said quickly. “It could have been done from a distance. But we can’t rule out the possibility of a saboteur on board.”

The captain leaned back in his chair, looking troubled. “I trust my crew with my life. But I suppose in times like these, you can never be too careful. Times have been tough, and someone might have taken a side job to fill their kid’s belly.”

Skullie’s jaw clacked as he mulled over the idea. “And given the nature of the attack, I’d wager whoever is behind this has significant resources at their disposal. Sirens and sea monsters don’t come cheap, so to speak.”

Drake nodded slowly. “Makes sense. But who could be behind something like this? And what in the hells is in those crates that’s worth all this trouble?”

I stood up, pacing the small cabin. “That’s what we need to find out. Captain, I think it’s time we took a look at that cargo.”

Drake hesitated. “Giles was very clear that it wasn’t to be disturbed…”

“With all due respect,” I interrupted, summoning my Legendary Tablet into view to give my words weight. “Giles isn’t here. And if we don’t figure out what we’re dealing with, there’s a good chance none of us will make it to Lans.”

The captain’s eyes went to my Tablet, both respect and fear flashing on his face. Then he sighed, “You may have a point. Follow me.”

We made our way down to the cargo hold, Drake leading the way with a lantern. The hold was packed with crates and barrels, stacked neatly and secured with ropes. He led us to a section near the back, where a group of identical crates were lashed together.

“These are the ones Giles was most concerned about,” Drake said, setting down his lantern. “Said they were to be handled with extreme care.”

I examined the cargo closely. They seemed ordinary enough—wooden boxes about three feet on each side, sealed tightly with no markings. But as I ran my hand over one, I felt a faint vibration, almost like a hum.

“Skullie, are you picking up on anything?” I asked.

The skull’s eye sockets glowed faintly as he focused on the crates. “There’s definitely magic here. Powerful magic, but…muted somehow. Like it’s being contained or suppressed.”

I nodded, then turned to Drake. “We need to open one of these.”

The captain hesitated, then sighed. “I suppose we’ve come this far.” He produced a metal bar from a nearby pile of tools and handed it to me.

With some effort, I pried open the lid of the nearest crate. Inside, nestled in a bed of straw, was a spherical object about the size of a basketball. It was made of some dark, glossy material that seemed to absorb the lantern light rather than reflect it.

“What in the world…?” Drake muttered.

I reached out to touch the sphere, but Skullie’s voice stopped me.

“Wait!” he hissed. “Don’t touch it directly. The magical energy coming off that thing is immense.”

I pulled my hand back quickly. “What is it?”

Skullie’s eye sockets narrowed as he studied the sphere. “I’m not entirely sure, but if I had to guess... it’s some kind of containment device. A magical prison, perhaps.”

Drake leaned in for a closer look, his brow furrowed. “A prison? For what?”

“That,” Skullie said grimly, “is the million-gold question. I bet it’s acting as a lure. Drawing monsters to us. That much power in such a small space…” He paused. “I wonder why I didn’t feel it when we got on the boat.”

His words gave me pause and I frowned, studying the sphere. Now that I was looking more closely, I could see faint patterns swirling just beneath its dark surface. “Whatever it is, it must be incredibly powerful or dangerous for someone to go to such lengths to intercept it.”

Drake ran a hand through his beard. “Aye, and now we’ve got a hold full of the damn things.”

I carefully replaced the lid on the crate. “We need to keep this quiet for now. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”

Drake nodded in agreement. “What’s our next move?”

I straightened up, my mind racing. “We double our watch rotation. No one goes anywhere alone. And we need to find a way to protect these crates better. Skullie, any ideas?”

My familiar was quiet for a long moment. “We might be able to create a magical barrier around the crates, but it would take a significant amount of energy. And it might actually draw more attention to them.”

He paused, doing that odd eye-flex thing of his, a bit like an old man with an involuntary twitch. “It’s actually a terrible idea. We really shouldn’t do that.”

I nodded, chuckling. “What if we dispersed them throughout the cargo hold? Mix them in with the regular crates so they’re not all concentrated in one spot?”

Drake stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Could work. Make it harder for anyone to target them specifically. But it’ll take some doing to move everything around without the crew getting suspicious.”

“We’ll have to do it gradually,” I said. “A few crates at a time, over the course of the next day or so. Make it look like routine cargo management.”

“Agreed,” Drake said. “I’ll oversee it personally, keep the crew from asking too many questions.”

As we made our way back to the deck, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were missing something crucial. The spheres in the crates were clearly important, but why? And who was so desperate to get their hands on them?

When we emerged onto the deck, I saw Zuri approaching with a frown.

“Jordan,” she said, her voice low and urgent. “Can we talk? In private.”

Now that I was familiar with her, I read the deep concern in her face. “Captain, if you’ll excuse us?”

He waved us off, already barking orders at nearby crew members. I made sure to hand Skullie off to Nym as she passed by, and then I followed Zuri. The half-gorgon led me to a quiet corner of the deck, away from prying ears. Her brow was furrowed with concern.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

She glanced around before speaking. “I overheard some of the crew talking. They’re scared. Not just of the monsters, but of us.”

I frowned. “Us? Why?”

“It doesn’t make sense, but they think we brought this trouble with us,” Zuri explained. “Some of them are saying we’re bad luck. There’s a rumor that we are the reason for the attack. Some are even suggesting we might be working with the creatures.”

I cursed under my breath. This was the last thing we needed—a suspicious and potentially hostile crew. Was the saboteur riling them up?

“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “We fought alongside them and saved at least four of their lives protecting the ship.”

A pair of Zuri’s serpents peeked beneath her hair wrap, their tongues flicking in what I decided was agreement.

Is it me, or is Zuri and her hair synchronizing?

She spoke over my thoughts, “I know, but fear makes people irrational. And after what happened tonight…” She trailed off, her eyes troubled.

I ran a hand through my hair, scraping off clumps of dried blood and viscera. “Okay. We need to address this before it gets out of hand. Have you told the others?”

“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Good thinking. Let’s gather the team and come up with a plan. We need to win over the crew’s trust, and fast.”

As we turned to find the others, I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye. A flicker of movement in the shadows near the cargo hold entrance.

I tensed, grabbing Zuri’s arm to stop her. “Wait,” I whispered. “Did you see that?”

Zuri followed my gaze, her eyes narrowing. “By the cargo hold?”

“I thought I saw something move.”

We stood still, watching intently. For a long moment, there was nothing. Then, a shadow detached itself from the darkness, moving with quick, furtive movements towards the stairs leading below deck.

“That’s not one of ours,” I murmured. “Come on, but quietly.”

We crept after the shadowy figure, careful to stay out of sight. As we neared the stairs, I could make out more details—it was humanoid, dressed in dark clothing that seemed to absorb the dim light.

The figure paused at the top of the stairs, glancing around. I held my breath, pressing myself against the wall. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought we’d been spotted. But then the figure turned and started to descend.

I motioned for Zuri to follow me. We crept after the target, moving down the stairs as quietly as we could, straining our ears for any sound. As we reached the bottom, I heard a faint scratching noise coming from the direction of the cargo hold.

“The crates,” I mouthed to Zuri. She nodded, her face grim.

We inched closer to the cargo hold entrance. The scratching grew louder, accompanied by muffled cursing. I peered around the corner and saw the figure crouched by a crate containing the mysterious spheres. They were attempting to pry open the lid with some kind of tool.

We’d caught our saboteur red-handed. I glanced at Zuri and gave a slight nod. We had to act fast before they could damage or steal the cargo.

In one swift motion, I lunged forward, tackling the figure to the ground. They let out a startled yelp as we crashed into a stack of nearby crates. I grappled with them, trying to pin their arms.

“Zuri, get the others!” I shouted as I struggled to subdue the intruder.

The figure fought back fiercely, landing a solid punch to my jaw that made my head spin. They were stronger than they looked. As we rolled across the floor, I caught glimpses of a face hidden beneath a dark hood—pale skin, glowing eyes that seemed to shift color.

Suddenly, the intruder’s form began to shimmer and blur. I felt my grip loosening as their body seemed to turn insubstantial.

“Oh no you don’t,” I growled, tightening my hold and pinning them against the floor.

But it was too late.

The figure’s body turned misty, slipping through my fingers like smoke. They darted towards the wall, their form becoming more insubstantial by the second. I scrambled to follow, but they phased through the side of the boat, vanishing.