Outside Influences

Orseis waved her tentacles dismissively at the thought that Flann would need help. “Flann’ll be fine. Right, old fox?”

Flann’s ears twitched with irritation. “Ya don’t hafta go ‘round callin’ me old. I’m in great shape for my age.”

“Yeah, but I’m guessing you don’t want to go swimming with us.”

“Yer damn right! I’d rather leave being reckless up to you young’uns, but Jan won’t let me hear the end of it if I let you two get eaten right before my eyes.”

Bel rolled her eyes. “We won’t get eaten. We’ll–I don’t, know, jump under that fire-breathing lizard?”

Orseis nodded. “Yeah, that would work. We’d have a head start.”

She looked Bel up and down. “And I can tow Bel along with me. No offense, but human legs are rubbish for swimming.” She prodded her chin, deep in thought. “But how are you gonna breathe?”

Bel tapped her chest. “I’ve got an ability that improves my breathing. I think I can hold my breath for a few minutes if I use it actively.”

Orseis clapped her tentacles together. “Excellent. Sounds like we’re all set.”

Flann tapped her on the head with his staff. “All set my fuzzy, red tail. That’s about the worst plan I’ve ever heard.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Orseis challenged him.

“The water’s so hot it’s explodin’!”

“I got an ability from the crayfish to deal with the heat,” Orseis replied with satisfaction. “I figured that I’d want to catch some fish later.”

Flann threw his arms up to the heavens with frustration.

“Are you sure you want to come along though, Orseis?” Bel asked. “I kind of have a responsibility to appease my mother, but you could just wait for the second group. And I really think you’re too human-obsessed, meeting someone isn't a good reason to rush into danger.”

Orseis shrugged. “A girl has to have goals, right? Anyway, my time’s wasting, I’ve got to get a move on too.”

Bel looked her up and down. “I’m pretty sure you’re completely wrong you know. I don’t even think you’ve passed puberty.”

Orseis waggled her tentacles in the air. “Yeah, but who knows? It’s not like I had any parents who stuck around to answer this stuff. But there are plenty of hybrids who barely live past ten.”

Bel glanced at Flann and lifted her brow.

He shrugged. “I mean, it’s possible. The chipmunks are like that, but they're pretty insular and badly inbred. Most people stick with known pairings that're known to work out well.”

“See? I’m doomed. Let’s get a move on.”

Bel huffed. I can’t say that she’s definitely wrong, but I have a feeling that she’s not right.

Bel wanted to object to Orseis going with her, but if Kjar was right and Lempo was really going to get impatient and drop a mountain on Satrap then turning help away would be stupid.

“So is racing it through the water the best plan?” Bel finally asked.

“The path leads to that pool, right? If that Dark Ravager’s people could figure it out then I’m sure it won’t be too hard.”

Flann shook his head. “Yer darn confident for someone who has no idea what she’s doing.”

“She who bites first eats first,” Orseis quipped.

Bel shucked off her pack. “Well, if we’re going to do this we’ve got to redistribute our supplies. Let’s figure out what Flann needs to get back to the surface, and we’ll figure out what we need to keep going.”

“Oh, I’m just gonna balloon my way outta this madness,” Flann replied. “I’m tired of all this walkin’.”

It still took a while to unpack and repack everything, mostly because Bel and Orseis made an attempt to squeeze their dry rations into a few small, waterproof bags that they’d brought. Orseis ate whatever wouldn't fit on the spot.

Flann shook his head at the result. “I think you’re gonna lose it all.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to hunt.”

Flann left his on bag on the floor. “I’ll just be comin’ back for it anyway,” he explained, “and I don’t want it slowin' me down once you piss off that lizard.”

Bel nodded, and leaned down to give the fox a quick hug. “Thanks for coming with me, Flann. Stay safe, and say hi to Jan for me.”

“Of course. He’s gonna be so jealous when he hears about the fishin’ down here. Maybe I’ll even be able to convince him to make a quick trip.”

Orseis awkwardly waved from a few strides away. “It’s been good, I guess. If I don’t make it back, leave out a few fish for my lost spirit.”

He snorted. “I could leave out all the fish in the sea and it wouldn’t satisfy your vengeful ghost. You’d better stay safe.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re not a good enough fisherfox anyway.”

Orseis pranced away from the flailing swings of Flann’s staff.

Bel expression was tight as the watched the two of them. I hope this isn’t a dumb idea.

“Well, are we ready to go?” she asked aloud.

Her companions nodded, and they made their was back to the lizard’s pool.

As they approached, Bel channelled more mana through improved lung capacity. Her breathing became more even and her heart rate slowed, and Orseis and she started running towards the pool. It burst upwards as they approached, spraying hot water and steam. Bel hoped that the chaos would keep them hidden.

The scaled serpent rose into the air on the plume of water, and Bel could swear she saw it doing a double-take as it went past. Before it could react though, she took a deep breath and dove into the water.

Bel tried to orient herself downwards, but was slow and awkward with her clothes and the bag on her back. She felt a little bit of fear in the back of her mind: was she moving too slowly?

Then the water came rushing back into the hole, and Bel suddenly found herself being pulled along with a powerful current. The serpent flashed past her and swiped with its claws, drawing a shallow cut along her leg, but then Orseis grabbed onto her arm and yanked her away.

Orseis pulled them both into a powerful current, and moments later they were sucked down narrow tunnel where her bag repeatedly caught on the twists and turns.

Bel was helpless to resist. The best she could do was to raise her arms over her face to prevent any more injuries to her sensitive sensory organs. She pulled upon her body modification ability to create thin scales over her skin and reduce some of the scraping, but the experience was still painful.

Soon she forgot all about her arms as her lungs began to burn from lack of breath. Thermal regulation protected her from most of the heat, but her eye stung painfully whenever she cracked her eyelid and she couldn’t see any details in the dark, increasingly terrifying underwater tunnel.

Bel was beginning to panic when the flow of water abruptly smashed her into a rocky wall and then receded back the way it had come, leaving her on a shelf of stone. Bel gasped for breath and coughed. She had made it, somehow, but she couldn’t tell where she’d made it to.

She looked around. Everything was glowing an intense orange and red…

Oh, I’m on top of some almost molten rocks.

“Ah, it’s fricking hot!”

Bel looked to the side to see Orseis leaping back into the water.

She stood up, but looked down in surprise as her boots melted to the floor.

“Wow, thermal regulation is working really well, isn’t it?”

“Good for you! My ability only works in the water!”

Bel inspected the rest of her stuff, and…

Well, damn. It looks like Kjar’s armor is the only thing that isn’t ruined.

Somewhere along the way her bag he been ripped off of her body as well, leaving Bel with just the jewelry on her ears and the necklace with Ventas’ memento. She clutched at it briefly as she looked around, glad that she hadn’t lost the only thing she had from the kindly old man.

A quick search revealed a small alcove above her current position, reachable from a gradual ramp that someone had carved into the stone. The water was spraying in regular surges, making her footing tricky, but Bel went back to the water’s edge and offered an arm to Orseis.

“Climb on my back and I’ll carry you over the stones,” she offered.

“You know that the air is hot too, right? Also, I don’t want to sound like a weakling, but you know that your new snake is glowing, right? It looks super hot.”

Bel glanced at her little magma snake. She does look pretty hot.

“Her heat is self-contained, I think. Spirits don’t really follow normal rules, you know.”

“Yeah, great for you and your snakes.”

Bel waggled her fingers at Orseis. “C’mon, we’ve got to get out of here. For all I know my little snake can only absorb so much heat before it needs to go somewhere, and then we really will be in trouble.”

Orseis dove under the water again, dunking herself thoroughly before grabbing onto Bel’s arm.

Bel pulled her out of the water and Orseis clung awkwardly to her shoulders while leaning away from the glowing snake. The rest of Bel’s snakes began a chorus of hissing, clearly not thrilled with the situation. Bel staggered up the ramp under the continual aural assault of her companion and her snakes arguing behind her head.

This is the last time I carry someone like this, she promised herself.

She finally made it up the ramp, through a small opening, and then nearly fell straight over a cliff. Her eyes widened with surprise. She was at the top of a mountain, with a sheer drop over a few thousand strides below her, leading directly from the top of the third layer to the bottom.

The ceiling of the massive cavern glowed from its heat, illuminating a world of dark, rocky hills and shifting shadows.

In the distance she could just make out the blue glow of the Barrier, peeking out from behind the massive pillar that she knew was under the Dark Ravager’s pyramid.

Her risks had worked out, and her little magma spirit had come through for her. She gave the small snake a quick pat on the head.

She’d lost her shoes, her short sword, and all of her stuff, but she had her snakes, her abilities, and one really annoying companion.

“Orseis, you can get off my back now.”

“Oh, sorry, I was just admiring the view. Did you see the castle?”

Orseis dropped to the ground and pointed with her tentacles. “Over there.”

Bel stared, fascinated by the citadel of dark stone that seemed to rise directly from the stone itself.

For a while, she and Orseis were overcome with the sight and silently observed the third layer from their relatively safe perch.

It was apparently a land of darkness, fire, and conflict. The floor supported soaring mountains of dark stone, the tallest of which rose to the ceiling. Between the peaks were valleys of crumbling boulders, shot through with glowing veins of magma. Most mountaintops supported a squat, foreboding fortress.

They didn’t have to wait long to see one of fortresses in action. Eyes of the huntress allowed Bel to pick out some of the details, even through the hazy air, revealing that a bunch of small people were attempting an assault on one of the peaks. She couldn’t see much more than some shifting colors and the bright arcs of spells slicing through the air, but it was enough for her to learn that the layer wasn’t peaceful.

Not that she had expected anything different.

Bel heaved a sigh and started looking over Orseis. The cuttlefish-girl looked mostly fine, although she’d gotten some nasty scrapes and was forming a few bruises. Her clothes were also ruined, hanging to her in tatters.

“You know, you look more impressive with your tentacles exposed rather than hidden under your cloak.”

Orseis hugged her limbs to her body, embarrassed. “It makes me look unhuman though. I don’t like it. Plus, everyone can see that I’m bald.”

Bel patted her on the head. “I don’t think you’ll be finding any good dating material down here, Orseis. Just more fighting.”

Orseis grinned. “Well, at least I’m good at that.” She proudly lifted her chin in to the air. “You should feel lucky that I decided to come along.”

Bel clapped her hands together. “I do! And you managed to hold on to your bag, too! I’m sure we’ll get through this layer without a problem.”