Chapter 32

Odin’s face appeared on the shimmering display, “A valiant effort by the Set Pact House, but alas they were unable to complete their challenge. Perhaps the next Pact House will have better luck.”

The view changed and showed a small metal mesh cylinder that was reminiscent of ones used in bingo. There was a handle that rotated it and there were various colored balls inside of it. The new Oracle was slowly rotating the object while smiling ahead.

“Inside this container are balls that are five different colors,” he explained, gesturing to the rotating container. “Each one represents one of the five remaining Pact Houses. Those Pact Houses have been assigned a color, so let’s see which it will be.”

It rotated a few more times before Odin pressed something and a yellow ball was released into the collection tray below.

Odin grasped the ball and held it up exclaiming, “People of Eden, your next house to take the challenge is Quetzalcoatl! In two hours they will be given their challenge and we will see how they do. For now, go and enjoy a good meal and return for the next challenge!”

With the announcement concluded, we left the viewing box and made our way to our assigned dining room. When we arrived, there were a variety of foods already waiting for us. We wasted no time digging into the bounty before us as my mind went over what had happened with the challenge the Set Pact House was given. There were various aspects that were covered. Traps, monsters, and humanoid enemies were the basis for theirs. All but the final test of that challenge were surprises to the group, though the total enemies had been hidden from them. Still, it was an illuminating experience to watch unfold and made me wonder what would happen next.

We made some idle chit chat as we ate and discussed what we saw and ideas of how we would have handled the same situation. It was easy to know how to deal with something after you had seen it play out, but when you are in the middle of that encounter, it is more difficult. I was confident in all of our abilities, and we had worked hard to be able to work as a cohesive, but versatile group.

When our food was done, we continued to chat until we heard the announcement for us to return to the boxes for the next challenge. As we sat down, we wondered what would be revealed. The shimmering display appeared and showed the Council on their balcony within the amphitheater.

“Welcome everyone, “Odin announced loudly. “The final challenge of the day is a simple one for much higher leveled adventurers, but perhaps these six will be able to overcome the target and prove themselves worthy to pass on to the next round.”

A flash of light from his eyes and the view changed to that of the dome as it began to disappear. My eyes widened in shock as a two hundred- and fifty-meter-deep tank of water was revealed. There were small islands and rock masses as well as sand, coral, and all manners of sea life. It was as if they had picked up a chunk out of the ocean and placed it in a tank. Though it was large, the water was murky and hard to see in.

“As you can see their challenge will be simple,” Odin commented, gesturing to the tank. “We have supplied them with collars that will allow them to breathe underwater without there being any need of magic to be used by the group to allow them to survive. Their task is simple, they have to locate a buried relic that is located at the ‘ocean’s’ floor. It is a statue of their patron god from long ago. They will need to locate the item and subdue the warden that is protecting it. Failure to do both tasks will result in the challenge being forfeited as would their position moving forward. They have four hours to complete the challenge, so wish them luck and may fortune be with them!”

A crackle of energy left his hand and the view changed on our display. It reminded me of the underwater documentaries I would see on television every now and then. It seemed that we were seeing through the eyes of the various marine life that was inside of the tank, though it seemed that they had adjusted for the unique way in which fisheyes see. Instead of the panoramic view, it was adjusted for what humanoid eyes would see. A secondary view appeared as another crackle of energy filled the air and the six members of the Quetzalcoatl Pact House appeared on one of the islands. They were dressed in their armor, which I realized would cause them some trouble in the water, but we would have to see. I could see that two of their members, a young human woman and young elvish man, tossed their quivers and bows to the ground. The arrows would be useless underwater, and I wasn’t sure Katie’s crossbow would work within the water either. They both seemed to be armed with other weapons, allowing them some versatility to ensure they could contribute to the challenge. Both seemed to be garbed in leather armor, which would be a bit cumbersome, but not too much so in the water. The young woman drew two scimitars, while the man drew a hand and a half longsword. They looked to have two spell casters in the group, both male from what I could tell. One was a dwarf, while the other looked to be a lizard person, or possibly dragonkin. They pulled off their long robes, tossing them with the bows on the shore of the island. They were wearing simple cloth armor, though I thought I noticed the movement of metal beneath one of their shirts.

One of them would have serious issues as he was armed in full plate armor, which would slow his movements in the water extensively. We could see the anger and frustration in his face as he began to remove the extensive armor, leaving on the chain mail that had been worn underneath. It wouldn’t slow him down as much and would still offer him some sort of protection. The other was a woman who looked middle aged, with grey peppering her dark hair. She had a few scars on her face and was garbed in a metal breastplate. She removed the breastplate and pauldrons that she had on but kept some of the metal bands she had on her arms and forearms. The man was armed with a maul like Darius used, while she was equipped with a war hammer and shield. We could see them chatting between each other, though we couldn’t hear what they were saying and then watched as they began to walk onto the shore. The two spell slingers didn’t hesitate to wade completely into the water and take a deep breath as they began to swim further down. The rest hesitated for a few moments before they joined their comrades to sink into the water. They made their way to the bottom of the tank and began to look around for a few minutes.

They were wondering where to start, as there was no real sign of any statue, and a simple rock could be the top of something buried. I wasn’t aware of any spells that could locate things since I needed to use a vial of the tracking liquid to do the same trick. Still it was doable, given the time frame. Most of the tank was vertical space, but it was so murky it was hard to see more than a meter or two ahead of you. They fanned out and began to search along the floor of the tank and not much happened for a few minutes. But I noticed some movement out in the distance, though it was faint.

With each change in focus, from the various fish swimming about, there were subtle signs of movement that seemed like tricks of the eye but were happening too frequently to be something benign. They continued their search, though it seemed that most of them were focusing on the ground and not around them. We didn’t have to wait long for things to get intense as we saw ripples of movement in the water that seemed to be unnatural. As I leaned forward to look closer, I felt my blood run cold as two barely noticeable eyes appeared in the water.

“Oh shit,” I muttered, causing the others around me to pull their focus away from the display.

Katie cocked her head and asked, “What’s wrong, Pathios? You look pretty worried all of a sudden.”

I nodded, “That’s because they are about to be attacked and have no idea that it’s coming!”

“What are you talking about?” Darius asked, turning his focus back to the display. “I don’t see anything near them.”

Tyr had a slight smile on his face, as I was sure he knew exactly what was about to befall them and was impressed I noticed it.

“Did any of you notice that some of the water was moving unlike it should be in a tank?” I asked, gesturing to the view in front of us. “There is no current or movement of water that should be occurring naturally, not to that degree. That means something is disturbing the water as it is moving, but if it was something that was visible, then we would be able to see the total form moving through the water.”

Darius nodded, “Okay, that makes sense I guess, so why do you think that there is a serious threat.”

I turned my eyes to him and replied, “Because water elementals can’t be seen very well in deep water like this.”

His eyes widened and I could see the understanding of what I said. He turned his eyes back to the display, as did everyone else and they all struggled to see what I did. Slowly I could see that they are noticing the movement and each one began to pale a bit. Based on the movement, there seemed to be at least two, maybe three elementals slowly approaching. The male spell caster seemed to be getting frustrated and began waving his arms through the water as a small glow began to emanate from them. He slammed his hands together, causing the energy to pulse away from him in an ever-widening ring of energy. It passed by through the elementals and the eyes of the caster widened in shock. He began yelling at the others who began looking around them, their weapons raised in readiness. He jerked his head towards the approaching enemies, while his hands stayed clasped together before him.

The female spell caster began to weave her hands and gestured towards where her teammate had gestured. A blast of blue energy escaped her hands and soared towards the first elemental. When it reached its target, the ball erupted, and we watched as ice began to form along the impact point. It seemed to be slowing the creature, though I found it strange that there was no ice buildup on her arms and that the spell was even able to be cast. I asked Tyr about it which caused him to smile and nod before replying.

“While the effect of the magic is ice, until it impacts it is simply a ball of arcane energy. It is the same way fire spells don’t cause flash fires when they travel through forests and grassy areas. There is also limited splash damage that is generated from the impact. We learned early on that those effects led to a lot of mishaps with adventurers, and they got injured far too often.”

I nodded, “That makes sense and that is something to keep in mind should we end up in the same such environment in our own challenge.”

I returned my focus towards the display and watched as the melee fighters attempted to attack the elementals. The two men, the maul wielder, and the elf with the long sword, attacked one target that was closest to them. The two women, wielding dual scimitars and the Warhammer/shield combo, attacked the other. I was doubtful that they would be able to reach the creatures with their attacks but was surprised when they recoiled in pain at the attacks.

“Ahh, you didn’t expect that, did you, Pathios?” Tyr said with a sly grin. “The metal and wood that is used to craft all weapons in our world has a slight magical essence. It is a means to ensure that even basic weapons, like daggers or quarterstaffs, are able to strike and damage all enemies. That way, there is always a chance of victory for our adventurers.”

I smiled and had to admit it was smart. I was sure that the magical essence was minute enough that it wouldn’t show up in attempts to detect if something is magical. I watched as they fought to hold back the three elementals while the spell completed. A few minutes later, the mages arms separated, and he gestured towards an area to the north of them. He then joined the other mage to work at dispatching the elementals. It was hard at times to gauge where the creatures were, but the six members of Quetzalcoatl’s made quick work of the elementals once they all combined their might. The three elementals dispersed into the water, their forms turning a deep green and mixing with the brine of the water. With their current enemies vanquished, they began to swim off, following the male spell caster. As they moved deeper into the tank, they found it was becoming more difficult to move through. There were thick areas of kelp that slowed them down as well as coral formations that barred their way. They were still making good time, as there was less than an hour gone out of their four-hour timetable. The problem was, they still were moving and there was no telling where they still needed to go.

“Tyr, how long does that spell last that the mage cast?” I asked as I leaned over towards him. “It seems like some sort of locate spell, but since I have never used or worked with someone who used such a spell, I am uncertain as to how that would work.”

Tyr nodded, “Good deducing the spell’s nature. It does look to have been a locate object spell, which would allow him to learn the direction and distance of the object. It isn’t able to pinpoint the object exactly because there has to be some sort of limitation to such a low-level spell. They will still need to find the object itself, but it allows their search area to be drastically lessened.”

“If he had that spell, why didn’t he use it immediately before he even entered the water?”