"Oh no, it's not!"
Himora says, suddenly jumping to the offensive.
"That manta ray is mine since I AM the only water-type here, and besides that, only I can breathe underwater!"
He had a point, but Athena spoke up and drained the air from his sails.
"Not so fast, big boy! First of all, I open the doors. Second, I blinded the giant, and thirdly, I have THESE for Bastion and me."
She digs in her pocket and pulls out a pair of shell-like orbs that are about the size of the average arrowhead.
"Take this and swallow it."
She says as she turns to me, a confident smile on her face.
"It will allow you to breathe underwater for a year... You should be thanking me! These are extremely rare!"
The gift was almost beyond anything that I had ever received, and I was more grateful than she would ever know.
"Oh, my god! Shellinac Spheres!? heard that the Ataleatians and Cortizions were born with these in their lungs. How the hell did you get these!? Let alone TWO!?"
I said, turning the small shell-like item over in my palm, and eyeing it in awe and respect.
She answered with a confident smirk.
"My people are a race of collectors. We collect things from dozens of different races from around the world... We got these as a gift from the Ataleatians some time ago.
Hearing this, Himora's attention was caught, and he stepped back into the conversation.
"So your people do have a past with them?"
He asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
Athena answered with far less confidence than she had addressed me with.
"Yes. We used to be great companions, and we would protect one another in times of need... A few years ago, we had formed an alliance due to constant attacks from both the Black Sea Manta ray and the great leviathan. The monsters were targeting our dock and their cities far below. It took two months for my best seamen and their best warriors to defeat the great leviathan, causing it to retreat, and the Black Sea Manta ray was eventually captured and kept alive in a huge cage down in the depths below. The problem with this was that the monster was made constantly stronger by the water around it, and it kept escaping, causing massive amounts of damage and unrest to the many water villages..."
Athena paused, and her gaze fell to the floor.
I took the opportunity.
"So how did it get to be here, locked in this giant room within your third story?"
I asked, not really seeing where this all would come to a point.
"Both of our peoples came together and decided that it would be best to keep the beast above the crests of the water, and the safest places to do so would obviously be Castle Parugia. So we keep it here, and use its great power as a guard for our castle's third level.
From behind me, Himora clears his throat, a move to grab our combined attention.
"Nice... Well, I'd love to stay and swap more stories, but we have to move on..."
He said, growing impatient. He turns from the group and walks toward the stairs that lead up to the next door.
"If you please... I would like to meet this "beast" you speak of, so how about we open this door?"
Athena rolls her eyes and pushes past the sarcastic swordsman.
"Well, you don't have to be rude."
She says as she walks up the stairs and stops just long enough to open the lock with ease.
As the door slowly opens, I stop and stare in awe as a giant wall of water flows endlessly in front of us. The strangest and most startling thing about it was that not a single droplet of that water was coming towards us or anywhere near the door frame.
I reflexively took a half-step backward.
"Wha-what the hell? Is that water?"
I thought aloud, suddenly very willing to let Himora head into the room first.
"Nope."
Athena cheerfully answered my rhetorical question.
"It's an imitational fluid that we invented to trick the Manta into thinking that it was underwater."
That didn't bring me any more comfort knowing that the whole room was filled with this crap, and there was a monstrous sea creature swimming about somewhere in its darkened depths.
"So, we can breathe in there?"
I say, hoping against all odds that there would be a reason to stay out here, or a way for me to sit this one out.
"Nope. Well... not exactly. This fluid holds and behaves like gelatin, so there is very little air in there. That is why we have to ingest these Shellinac Spheres and take them into our lungs."
As grateful as I am for the ability to breathe underwater, for this once, I sort of wished that I would wait on the side. I was not a fan of deep, dark bodies of water, and although this one was magically confined to a room, that is exactly what it was.
"Good thing for me, I don't need one."
Himora pipes up with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice.
"Now, let's go... I really am ever so interested in your stories, but I grow bored... Now, can we move on!?"
Athena had rolled her eyes so many times that day that she had lost count.
"Man, you are rude as shit... But I will concede your point. Let's go."
We all check our armor and gear once more, making sure that everything is intact.
I look to Himora and Athena in turn, and we all nod in agreement.
"Time to move!"
I command.
We step back as a group, and one by one, we dive headfirst into the room.
Himora -having to be first, of course- swims full-speed into the darkness, and for a moment he can't be seen.
"I can't see a thing! How the hell are we supposed to fight?"
I think in frustration as the liquid shifts around us.
"Don't try to speak or open your mouth! It will do you no good!"
At this, I freak out for a split second.
As I float in place next to Athena, I suddenly realize that her voice is faintly echoing in my head.
She speaks again, addressing my thoughts directly.
"Don't be freaked, man! I forgot to tell you that with the shells, we can speak telepathically."
I was literally beyond words.
"COOL!"
I yell in my mind.
"AAH! Not so loud! You'll give me a headache!"
Athena swims out a few feet ahead of me, then stretches her hands out to the sides.
"Close your eyes!"
She thinks to me, as weird as that sounds.
I listen and close my eyes just as her fingertips begin to glow.
After a few seconds, I open them, and the sight in front of me is horrifying.
The giant aquatic beast is swimming at us full speed with Himora on its tail.
It's great and horrific mouth is open, and its teeth gleam a startling pearlescent white.