Ship in the Fog (part 1)

I was never one for sea faring, nor being a passenger to a vessal, I would much rather have ridden one of the larger sea beasts I was once an aquiantance of, but here I am...
our destination was a large island far from the main continents, to exchange some cargo and see how things were doing with the inhabitants.
you see, this section of the ocean was never fully domesticated, the demons and animals in the water never quite made sentience, and the few locals were either researchers or hermits.
to make matters worse, there are a lot of reports of some strong magic felt in the area, as well as a few _organized_ attacks from the local feral sea demons.
few survived. this wasn't normal even for an unclaimed sea.
so, putting all this discomfort on an even greater edge, the ship entered a thick fog that smelled of old rotting flesh, and musk.
the usual shifts that were planned out to keep watch on these stray waters were pointless,
you couldn't see further than 15 feet, the fog just reflected the light back at you,
you couldn't sniff anything out without gagging at the stench of flesh,
those with the ability to see heat were surrounded by the fogs damp chill,
there were no senses or spells that would help here.

the current shipsteer was ordered to focus on keeping the ship in stasis until the fog cleared.
nothing has changed for several hours.

I leaned forward and readjusted my facemask, moved my platter of food onto the table next to me and kicked off large cushion I had been laying on.
there was no point in trying to eat or rest when tension was this high, and after sitting for several hours trying, I became frustrated and gave up.
the three dragons and the gryphon on posts nearby were roused from their watch when I moved, and eventually went back to keeping a nervous look, not like it did them any good.
I ran the landing balcony, most ships have them and a small den for larger flying creatures, and I tended to stay in the area unless someone else needed me.

it was still an hour or so before my watch shift began,
there was a nervous, almost panicked air on the ship, everyone was doing their best to keep themselves together.
grabbing my equipment off the wall, I deactivated the seal on the den door with a swipe of my hand, and made my way downtown down the stairs to the main deck.
the other demons in the area were pacing and looking over their shoulders, or in huddled groups muttering together, we all knew what was coming.
less of what, more of that it will, I suppose.

I opened the lower deck doors and quickly sealed them shut again.
a tall reptilian demon in plain bodyfitted armor, not quite from draconic origin, but close, placed his shortsword back in his scabbard.
still glaring at me, until he sighed and moved back against the wall to let me pass.
it seems the cabin isn't infected with that stench.. I could have eaten down here .
I decided that doing a quick sweep would help out the security detail, and so I began.
the upper floors were all ok, mostly bedrooms, and the dining hall that took up two floors in one larger room.
moving lower down to the large storage deck, floor three, everything seemed to be alright, but it was still very cramped down here.
it was only a matter of time before someone broke down, even if we weren't attacked. it was all a matter of waiting.
the lowest deck, floor four, was security locked. the guard stationed there let me down through a rather complex seal without issue.

pause.
there was no light down here.
why was there no light down here?
also why did I think it would be a good idea to go down here alone?
wiping this quick panic out of my head, I cast a simple light.
and now the room is... white? not quite... I cant see the room...
I can barely see myself...
which means it must be the fog.
alright, so then why doesn't it smell like- I had to open my mouth didn't I?

I quickly spun around, trying to get at the door, and managed a bang before being dragged down the bay ramp.
decks one and two were both about one and a half stories, 12 feet if you will, to accomadate larger creatures,
decks three and four took double that height.
halfway down the ramp, my legs finally found purchase, claws digging into the rubber coated stone.
today was a good day to be in my demon form I suppose.
moving into a half crouch to keep my footing, I fumbled the clasp on my swords sheath, drew it, and readied my shield.
where was the light?
I must have lost concentration on the spell when I fell, I ashamed to be so out of practice.
re-igniting the spell, the ghostly light made everything refract off of it once more.
that must be it, the fog repels all light. I wont have any luck this way.
letting the spell dwindle away, I am left with the reflection of the faint glow casted by the blue chain of seals on the door I had come through.
I fell pretty far down the loading ramp... I was almost at the bottom of the deck.
there was no way I could re-open the seal on the bay door... not without being attacked.
my sword was pretty good at reflecting the doors light around, allowing me to atleast try to see my surroundings...

I began moving down the loading ramp, knowing that my end may be near.
I couldn't do anything fun like lighting my sword on fire due to the light issue..
nor could I use any wards that would produce light...
I still barely remembered a few wards that didn't.
letting the spell start to sap my strength as I made my way deeper down,
I took the time to move the power binding seals on my arms.

and then I felt something wet and mushy beneath my paws.
the floor was glowing.... no it was reflecting the light from above.
it should not be this wet down here.
it wasn't wet anyway, as I began to see that it was a mush, not a splat, beneath my paw.
and it was moving upwards.
and it was warm.

avoiding the thoughts of previous stereotypes of this situation, I try to move back up the loading ramp.
nope. every step I take already is full of this thick slime, engulfing more of my leg with each step.
by the time I am halfway up the ramp, it is already up to my knees.

the slime continues climbing, with loud churning gurgles, even after I am unable to continue moving.
it fills up the room, until covering my head and face.

I am happy to have the facemask covering my mouth and nostrils, my eyes aren't so lucky as they are forced open and moved across, along with a few other exposed areas of my body,
until my body is forced up from the density pressure of the slime, allowing my head to be free.

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the guard on the other side of the sealed door faintly heard the noises coming from below.
banging, crashing, and then silence.
he didn't want to open the bay door.

a minute or so passed.

but he knew he had to.
this whole scenario wasn't going to end well.
I would end with his death whether he opened the door or not.
with trembling hands he traced and undid the five interlocking seals that held the door, and the 4th deck as a whole, closed.
and stopped.
the sixth seal that SHOULD be there underneath the interlocking five..
was already opened.
WHY WAS IT STILL OPEN?
I JUST CLOSED IT.
panting heavily and unable to contain his stress, he threw open deaths figurative door.
first, the mist rushed into the third deck, blinding him until he rubbed his eyes.
then the overpowering stench came with it.
baring his teeth, he stared with mad, wide eyes into the darkness until his eyes adjusted.
there, he saw the majority of the bay filled with some sort of fluid....
and then there was that man from earlier... his head sticking out of it, his metallic facemask glittering in the fog.
he had seen enough, and slammed the door.

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so. this is me. living the life. being crushed by a god damn fluid.
I heard a loud slam, but it doesn't do me much good with the slime still covering my eyes.
so... do I still remember any spells that would be usefull right now?
the slime has been pushing around my hands trying to take my sword and shield, which is certainly not happening right now.
its not like they are only one of twenty four sets of dragonpriest weapons or anything.
hm....
you know considering my earlier rush of fear this is honestly very boring, even if it will kill me. currently the only pain is from falling earlier.
its kind of comfortable really... ANYWAY snap back to reality
I could use a stronger version of the spell I use to clean myself...
it normally detailed warding myself to heat and then lighting myself on fire, killing off all foreign material.
but wouldn't I just boil through this garbage? there is so much....
or I could just wait.

and with waiting I was met with the door. followed by the ceiling.
there goes my air... its going to bust the door down. and my ribcage first if I don't counter the pressure.
the bull demon didn't even re latch the seals. I could just open this door and avoid a painful fate.

the third deck was a madhouse.
the bull had gone on a rampage up the stairs, and everyone began following his lead.
moments later the third deck began filling with the slime.
the whole ship began groaning and sinking.

I wrenched myself free from the slime, and made my way up the stairs as fast as I could, leaving most of it off my body.
arriving at the bottom floor of the dining hall, I directed everyone to the surface deck with a barked order.
jumping up onto the balcony that was the 1st deck, I found the stairs and made my way to the surface.
the whole place was blindingly bright with the fog once more, and I called out for the captain and the expedition leader.

a loud shocking noise sounded the stopping of all the ships active spells.
we were no longer in stasis. the entire ship, save 4 feet from the surface, was sunk into the slime that now expanded somewhere out in the sea.
that's a lot.
finding the captain, I felt the need to warn him of what I knew.

the fog just reflects and distorts light. there is no way to see with all the shiplights on.
he understood and ordered everyone to drop whatever lights they had from existence.
the flying creatures posted at the top balcony were heard over the commotion of the ship.
everyone around had a weapon (or several) at their side, or had several seals or spells at the ready.
this was the definition of tension.
there was only silence, and eyes adjusting to the darkness.
and then the moaning song began.

sirens wouldn't cause this madness.
it didn't make sense.

soon, everyone could make out large red lights around them.
there was gasping... someone... several demons were drowning in the water.
all carried off into the ocean by the slime, their heads remaining above the water, still writhing, not truly drowning.
everyone that hadn't been simply swept away moved up to the aviary, which was the highest point on the ship.

the dragons and single gryphon actually came down from their posts...
why? wouldn't it make sense to stay higher up the ship, further away from the slime?
which, now was only a few feet from the aviary floor.
the crew here was only about a quarter of its original number....
the stench grew more acrid, anyone without facial covering was now gagging,
the song was now vibrating the ship and all the slime around, not content to merely rattle spines.
but the air was clearer to see through.

this ship was comprised mainly of skilled demons? is there really no way of fighting this?
can we burn it?

lighting a fire in my hand, I splay it out towards the encroaching sea,
lighting the entire surface on fire.

I quickly find this a mistake as it is extinguished with a more powerful burst of fog.
the slime had not receded.

walking over to the elder dragon to my left,
why did you come down? is it pride or something?
you will find out soon, was all he said before the song became too great to hear.
vibrating silence, the song went beyond my ability to hear, my ears felt on the verge of bursting.

clearing my now tear filled eyes... it stopped.

the red lights in the sky... are eyes.
BIG eyes.

following the light from the eyes, I began to make out white tubes, until I had a basic idea of what the creature- creatures looked like.
large, tentacle spires, of a pale fleshy color, and extremely tall....

and I watched as one waded over to the tops of the crew in the water....
they didn't appear to be dead, just incapacitated.
whether that was the fire or the stench...

it lowered itself down onto the head of one of the few humans that were part of the crew...
there was a loud sucking and cracking noise.
the creature shot into the air, with the... insides of the human attached to both creatures still, until his entire body was turned insde out and snapped from his skull,
and was slurped upwards in lurches, followed by crunching.

nope.
nope.
im done. that's enough. not happening.
not doing it.

shit. im here.
ok, so lets sort this out then. what can I do to avoid becoming.... that?
this is new. a fatal situation I don't have an answer to.

during all of this frantic thinking, the other tentacle creatures, 7, I believe I counted...
all started on their own body.
crunches, snapping, and all other manner of sadistic orchestra continued from all directions.
the remaining crew on the aviary was silent.

it was the gryphon that brok the silence,
quckly beating its large wings upwards,
until it was ripped apart by tentacles from each of the 7 creatures,
giblets landing on top of the slime, which slowly moved towards the existing body piles.

several of the demons behind me took their own lives in various ways.

ah, fresh meat in the air, that's a better scent for a change.

well... ranged magic might work out, but these things are MASSIVE.....
there were crunches as the decks below started breaking under the pressure.
the creatures were messy eaters.. entrails spewing back into the slime.
the giblets were passed back up, but it seemed that the blood was consumed by the slime.

so guys.... crap shouldn't have opened my mouth. the stench is still strong.

I try again, trying to not let any air in,
SO YOU GUYS WANT TO JUST BLOW ONE UP FROM THE INSIDE?
I point and make an explosive gesture with my hands

that seemed to break everyone from their dumbfounded state.
I was met with eyebrows narrowing and nods.
they stared at the creature I pointed to, and began to take various stances.

feeling they had enough time to get ready,
I ready my strongest flame seal in my mind, and shout,
THREE, TWO, ONE, RHAAAAA!

and it was in that instant that we were all covered in the dark blue blood of the spire that once stood in front of us.
the others immediately rose from their individual feasts,
and began to screech.
using their combined tentacles as a wall, they squeezed in tighter around the vessal,

the air began to clear at a noticeable scream, and the next minute was filled with deadly magic, large pieces of steel being whipped around, and blood and bodyparts bouncing off the ward that someone was intelligent to put up.
after that period, we were left with an open sea, the moon peeking from the clouds, and a floating aviary... and slime.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
-sam clarke

I just want to ride on the boat for fun. And hopefully not die.

Also, here is a pretty cool pirate song to sing on the voyage.

OK, Mikey. Here's my go at it...!

Log Entry #7
Ship Captain: Lorrenzo Roanoke


"They were...everywhere...

The Monsters...the blackness...the mist...

As far as the eye could see."

But where had they come from? Lorrenzo thought to himself. Surely his mid-afternoon nap hadn't incurred him to miss out on so much of the day...? Earlier that morning, the skies had been sunny, the wind a refreshing, yet salty tang on his cheek. Nothing had seemed to be out of place.

-Character Events Recollection/Introduction Thesis-
Memory 42

Garet Heimskr, a close friend of Lorrenzo's, had been busy practicing his Bushido techniques on wooden dummies... (He was a war veteran who had served in the 97th Monster war, and met Lorenzo through his father, Xavier Roanoke. The two had quickly grown close, as they both shared a love for the nature of monsters, and their erratic behaviours. Their love branched off when Garet went off to learn techniques for slaying and taming monsters, while the much younger Lorrenzo, learned the fiends' way of fighting.)

Class: Beast Ronin
Skill: Bushido

 Saviour Anowakee, A past guild mate whom Lorenzo had become quite close with, was practicing her healing arts on a wounded sea goblin that had washed up on hull... (Saviour and Lorrenzo had first met in Trilogy High, an adventurer's school, and became acquaintances after a forced group project that was in their Monster Behaviours class. The two passed with flying colours when Saviour demonstrated the ability to re-create an injured Imp's left wing, thus showcasing her knowledge of monster anatomy and control over healing agents, while Lorrenzo demonstrated alike thinking when demonstrating the Crimson Vines Soul Magic, an ability learned only by Imps and their kin.)

Class: Saint
Skill: Re-Creation, Combat Medicine

Chancer LeCrowe, a detective from their home city Techtronic, and also Lorenzo's current love interest, was throwing darts, role-playing cards, and sets of dice at a yonder dartboard... (Chancer, a justice crazed, yet also slightly naïve youth, had met Lorrenzo in a club in the big city. Known for his boyish charms, yet irresistible honesty and candor, the young Chancer took up the detective life, after solving a 3 year long murder mystery, in where  many teenage girls had gone missing, only to be found 4 days later, with their heads scalped, and fingers tied behind their back in awkward, fanatical positions, the letter 'M' stitched across their torso's. Labeled, the Bachelor's Frustration case.)

Class: Detective
Skill: Analytic Insight, Gamble

And of course, the young Lorrenzo Roanoke, had been snoozing the hours away, after getting frustrated over not having correctly read the map's coordinates... (Our story's main protagonist, and the leader of the group.)

Class: Roanoke Tribal
Skill: Soul Magic

-Re-introduction into the story-

"Lorrenzo! Are you doing OK?!!" Lorrenzo heard from behind his back. He whipped around to see Garet atop one of the shadowy creatures, having tamed it, and slicing his way through hoards of them, like a knife through butter. He quickly leapt to Lorrenzo's side and struck down a colossal squid-like creature that had just about gotten its tentacle around the young mage.

"Yeah, I'm doing OK, thanks for the assist. I appreciate it...!" Lorrenzo called back to the veteran swordsman. "You go on ahead and help out Chancer and Saviour! They can help each other out, but I don't know how long they'll last, when neither of them have much combat experience...!"

"Sounds good, Lars. (Short for 'Lorrenzo') Just don't die out there, OK? Though the creatures seem less around here...hmmm." Garet thoughtfully pondered for only seconds before racing off on his shadowy steed to assist Saviour and Chancer. Just as Garet was leaving however, another beast pounced on the area in front of Lars. It was an Urchin creature of some sort, one the likes of which he had never seen before. The creature had billowy spirit ribbons spiral around its body, (a sure sign of a living creature incanting a spell) just before a volley of blood-red bubbles materialized and hurled themselves at young Lars. Taken aback by the scene, the bubbles hit Lars squarely in his torso, leaving bloody lacerations all over him. Doubling back, the boy took out a potion, drank it, and sighed a breathe of relief when he saw the cuts start to seal themselves up.

"But was that...?" Yes, he thought, definitely. He materialized his sturdy Monster Compendium, (his notebook of monster behaviours, and also weapon of choice), sat down, and began to study the monster before him. The urchin's body was of an aquatic blue in colour, whilst it had flecks of seaweed and bits of corral strewn about its spikes, rainbow in colour. Had the creature not been trying to kill him, he would have thought it quite pretty. His thoughts were interrupted however when the creature's spirit ribbons began swirling again.

"Yes, that's it...cognitive thought...definitely conscientious of  itself and other life forms...struggle to control magic...possible signs of low mana, or low magic ability in general...but the pain I experienced before was...intense...perhaps spell meant to lower one's life force in...%'s...? yeah, definitely possible...here they come again...the bubbles...crimson in colour...like the oxygen of blood...here it comes...!"

Just as Lars was finishing his train of thought, they came again, those painful scarlet bubbles. Though this time, Lars was ready for them. He studied them, everything about them. Their pace, their size, colour, trajectory. He quickly dodged them, and then thought to himself: "Yes...yes I think...I think I might be able to...OK...!

Just then, the Compendium's pages began lighting up with strange runes that only a Tribal could understand; and the spell was cast.

"CRIMSON BUBBLES!"
The boy screamed at the top of his lungs, as bubbles materialized from his own side of the field, to seek out, and strike the urchin creature. Though they were slightly different than the last time, the bubbles, while normally the colour of blood, were instead the colour of the setting sun, a dusk orange. And the bubbles seemed much less malicious in nature, then the previous installment. Perhaps they were reflecting Lars' own soul through the binds of magic. No matter, the spell struck through and true; the monster fell dead at the boy's feet. Lars sighed out a sigh of relief, and quickly ran over to join his other companions.

When he arrived at the battle scene, he found that a majority of the monsters had been defeated, though there was an ever fresh supply arriving right when he got there. He looked around to see Chancer and Saviour, back to back, Chancer deducing weak points in the enemie's scaly armour, and throwing accurately with his supply of darts, dice, and  cards at them accordingly. Saviour was quietly mending the wounds of Chancer and Garet, whilst occasionally tending to herself, as she was unable to successfully dodge all of the attacks that the creatures made, without losing just a bit of her concentration. Garet however was far from them, still riding the shadowy sea-horse creature that he had tamed, and striking down wave upon wave of the dusk creatures. Though, was to be expected of the veteran Ronin.

" 'Bout time you got here, Lars." Chancer said with a grin, as he swiveled just out of a  's reach. "We were worried about'cha!"

"Yeah, sorry. I was...on a date...so to speak." The young boy joked before resuming the battle. He stood stalwartly before a shriveled mollusk monster, before beginning to chant a spell to bind it's movement:

"Tides of Fate...!"

The spell was cast, just as aquatic chains burst from the seas to entangle the snail-like creature. After witnessing this, Garet saw his chance, and took out his double-edged sword, Kikuichimonji, and thrust it into the mollusk's sturdy shell, shattering it, and killing the host.

After un-plunging his sword from the creature, the two shared satisfied looks, before a large squid monster fell, dead, next to the two, a Queen of Hearts, a Two of Spades, and a Jack of Diamonds, plunged in its back. They turned around to see Chancer and Saviour looking irritated.

"Ummm...can you two...maybe...pay attention, please...?" Saviour said calmly. However Lars wasn't fooled, he could hear the scorn in her voice, and knew better than to blatantly show off at a time like that, as this wasn't the time for that.

"Sorry, Save. Was just trying to keep things interesting, like I always do...!" Lars joked, before resuming the battle. Garet however was two steps ahead of him. He was back in the fray, Kikuichimonji lighting up, before unleashing a Bushido:

"Diamond Dust...!"

Garet cried out, as his sword shattered into a million fragments, which all flew out and struck several monsters, down, beaten. The all had wounds, frozen over from the sub-zero temperature that the blade had taken on, with the cosmic speed of the shattered fragments impaling several beasties. They all returned to re-animate his sword, before once more being plunged the heart of another monster, the blade whole. After the enemy fell, dead in front of him, he returned his blade to its holster, surveying the battlefield, their ship, once more. What he saw...made him gasp.

As his other 3 comrades were still doing battle, a large, amorphous blob-like enemy had slowly crept on board. The Miasma of a monster, had no description...no shape...no smell, made no sounds...nothing. It was almost as thick and black and shadowy as the mist itself. He tried to gauge how strong the beast was from afar, but it was to no avail; the beast simply was too simple, yet too powerful to guess from that distance. "How had this beast gotten on board, without alearting anyone...?" He wondered.  His thoughts were interrupted however when Saviour let out a scream.

In his haste he had failed to re-evaluate his teammates, and failed to realize that Saviour had somehow gotten separated from the group, and was now surrounded by the beasties. Not only were the monsters binding her movements with their claws and tentacles, but the Miasma beastie had gotten on ship...

...and it was heading right for Saviour...

TO BE CONTINUED...

...and that's my story! Hope you liked it, and if enough people like it, I may consider doing a part 2! Thanks for reading, and the awesome contest, XombieMike .

Sacrifice all of the none worthy background characters in order to please the monster
Then the captain realize it's only a giant slime monster that is scared from those tentacles
The crew and passengers agree to kill off the giant monster with the tentacles
But we are all only normal humans, most of us are too scared to do anything
Slime monster realized that the ship now are covered in blood, Slime monster get angry and jumped right into the monster's mouth and killing it from the inside
there are 3 survivors of the ship, including the captain

Vepar
How dare you show up right after my comment box
I'm gonna kill you

A selfie can hurt vepar? damn she must be so anxious

XombieMike So I take it that the "Retreat" option still allows you to post?

...But you still took damage.

yawns as the ship is rocked violently, scratching a horn as she flops out of the bunk, sleepily heading toward deck in her pjs, looking around at all the chaos and waving at vepar as she yawns, an inky blob hitting her in the face as it leaps from the broken rigging, her tails smacking the deck and leaving 2 deep gouges as she grabs the blob and flings it into the ocean, fully awake now and covered in ink "vepar, for the last time i dont wanna join your silly knockoff boy band! STOP ASKING!" she grabs a nearby plank and spears a crate with it, creating a makeshit hammer as she punts a blob into vepars face...