Chapter 25: Isekai Life & Solo Mission

I slipped, as quietly as I could, down the shoreline, heading towards the ruined tower. I didn’t try hiding much- I was unskilled at at it, and there wasn’t a lot of cover along the beach anyway. Goblins and bugbears both weren’t exact renowned for their discipline, so while I had no doubt that there were guards of some sort, I had hoped they wouldn’t be standing there overlooking the (usually) empty beach like an elite soldier. I did try to make sure I didn’t make any noise that could be heard over the sounds of the surf, and was walking with the water around my ankles, in hopes that would confound as scent trail I was leaving for the worgs.

I managed to make it to the foot of the tower unmolested. Which was a good sign- I doubt that any self-respecting bored goblinoid on guard duty would pass up the chance to pass the time by bullying a half-naked stranger with a knife.

The stones of the tower near the ocean were beaten smooth by the waves, and green algae marked low tide. I stopped long enough to strain for the sounds from within the tower, but I only heard a dim cracking sound- a whip, maybe? Otherwise, it seemed silent.

So, I bit down on the blade of Calliope’s dagger, gave a half-hearted wave towards the tree line, and prayed that Voss wasn’t right about how crazy this was. Then, I turned towards the sea.

The water was chill, and my feet slid over slippery rocks hidden just beneath the water line as I waded into the ocean, circling around the tower, trying not to think about what might be hidden in the slimy kelp that clung around my ankles. I knew that, with my Constitution and AD&D’s ridiculous “round” length of one minute, I should be able to hold my breath for about three minutes- one third my ability score, rounded up. My loose plan was to do a couple trips to scout things out, then make my infiltration attempt once I’ve determined whether the doorway was clear enough to enter.

As soon as the water was just above my waist, I knew it was now or never- I took a few quick pants and then took one final, deep breath with my lungs above water, without any pressure from the ocean squeezing my chest, and dove.

The first thing I noticed was how much my eyes didn’t sting. I had expected some level of pain from the salt water, but then remembered that the city I- that is, Theodore-me- grew up it was built around a lagoon, and that he learned how to swim in ocean waters. One less annoyance, I suppose.

The second thing I noticed was the bones.

Surrounding the tower in all directions, under the water, were the whitish-grey remains of humanoids- skulls, rib cages, bones of every size and type arrayed around the base of the tower, each one picked perfectly clean. Obviously the goblins were just dumping the bodies of whoever they happened to kill into the sea, but if that was the case why weren’t the bodies washing up on shore?

That’s when I noticed, to my horror, a mottled grey humanoid ... thing slip out of a natural cleft in the sea bed and pull it’s way over to one of the bone piles and start picking through. And once I identified what it was, I could see more, huddled here and there where their grey, rotting flesh was blending in with the rocks that made up the sea bed. Lacedons- aquatic ghouls, possessed of the same paralytic touch of their land-borne cousins.

For now the lacedons didn’t notice me- if the goblins were just casting bodies off the top of the tower, it made sense that the lacedons’ attention wouldn’t be right at the base- so, instead of properly swimming, I slowly pulled myself along the bottom of the algae-slick stones. Already I could feel my heart thudding in my ears- I wouldn’t have long.

When I pulled myself around the corner of the tower, I could see the main entrance to the tower, outlined by a decorative archway now slimed over with algae. It was easy to imagine an elaborate walkway or some other kind of device used to defend the tower, perhaps a wooden boardwalk that could be retracted or dunked into the water when enemies approached, that would have protected this tower before it started to fall into the sea.

Suddenly, I spotted movement. Glancing over, I could see a pair of the lacedons heading my way, loping across the sea floor in a way that reminded me of astronauts skipping along the moon.

I briefly wondered if I would drown from being paralyzed under water before I really felt them eating me, then shook my head to dismiss the thought. I couldn’t defend myself- not with a dagger I was not proficient with, fighting off a pair of 2 hit die monsters- and all my spells had verbal components, but I had one major advantage- a movement speed of 12 to their 9.

I kicked forward, going “loud”, so to speak, in a desperate dash to reach the entrance before any of the lacedons managed to catch up with me. With my belly facing the wall, the better to stay out of reach of my would-be predators, I could see along the top edge of my vision pale heads turn my way and start heading towards me with that ridiculous looking lope. I wiggled around the archway and finally laid eyes on the door.

One of the great, ten-foot tall doors was still perfectly in place, corroded with a green patina, but no algae. The other door was broken, free of it’s top hinge and slanted inward at the top. Just barely enough room for a human man to slip through into the bottom floor of the tower ... or a ghoul.

My only hope was to get out of the water before they caught me. I kicked and shot over the doorway, my back sliding along the slick surface of the archway while the door scraped my chest, and and into the murk of the tower. From what little I could see with the light available, the floor was littered with fallen stone, but sloped up and out of the water. I began to kick forward, when I was distracted from a bright flash behind me. I spun the water, my body taking a moment to catch up to my head, just it time to see one of the lacedons falling away, arm blackened bubbling in the water. None of them had followed me into the tower.

I kicked and broke the surface, gasping for air as quietly as I could. It was dark, although I could see a tiny bit of light filtering down from a rubbled-strewn staircase at the far end of the room. I strained to hear, trying to will my breath and my thundering heartbeat to quiet, but couldn’t sense anything, except faint movement on the floor above.

I had made it, into the tower, at least.

But first, my curiosity demanded to be satisfied. I took as deep a breath as I dared, then turned and slipped back under, carefully picking my way over to the massive gates. One of the lacedons was swim-walking just outside the doors, waiting for his meal to return. When he saw me in the water against, he pushed forward, reaching ... and the second his chest touched the giant metal door, he flailed, a black, bubbling mark striped across his body.

Ignoring the ghoul I did my best to scrutinize the doors from a safe distance. It was difficult to tell in the gloom, but there might have been faint runes etched into the door, buried beneath the layers of verdigris. Those hill dwarves were evidently serious about protecting their tower, having enchanted the main entrance with some variant of Protection from Evil. It seemed appropriate in a Dwarf Fortress kind of way.

Not exactly the most convenient form of magic item, but I wasn’t about to look the loot horse in the mouth. There was a lot of potential in giant, enchanted doors, particularly bronze ones large and heavy and consecrated enough to make for improvised siege weapons if I was ever up against a race of undead giants or something.

I surfaced once more, being careful not to gasp for air, and slowly crawled out of the water onto the rough surface of the stone floor, careful not to splash. The room was dark enough that I could barely make out the shapes of the rubble surrounding me, but it seemed like some kind of large receiving or assembly hall. The rubble was concentrated around the walls of the room, which lead me to believe that the ramp outside was made out of the stone and detritus that used to fill this room. Seemed likely, anyway.