2 comments/ 6631 views/ 23 favorites The World Beneath The Waves Ch. 01 By: Venificus Author's Note: To all my beloved readers, First of all, thank you for taking interest and I hope you enjoy what I have put together. Secondly, being a very new writer here at Literotica, any constructive criticism and/or feedback that you would like to leave would be very much appreciated, preferably in the form of a PM, though I would ask you to leave your username in any PMs you send me, else I'll be very unlikely to be able to reply to them. Third and finally, as much as I try to look after my spelling and punctuation, unfortunately mistakes are bound to occur at some point, so if anybody would like to volunteer as an editor then I would very much appreciate it! (I will also, in return, happily run as editor for any of your own submissions you would like me to!). Thank you, welcome to my world. ~ V ***** Discovery "Richard, my boy... there is something that I wish to pass onto you, since I don't know when I'll see you next... " "What is it, grandad?" "It is what will guide you to your dreams, should you choose to pursue them, as I know you will, in time, when you're old enough... " "A pretty drawing?" "Haha, yes, you may see it as just that now, but as you get older, I don't doubt you'll understand, you remember the stories I told you, don't you? " "Yes, grandad... are they real?" "Well, my boy... I'm sure you'll find out for yourself. I have to go now, I'll see you, when I see you, hmm?" "Bye grandad, love you... " "I love you too Richard." - The midday sun beat down upon the world below, casting the ocean around the small, white ship that sailed atop it a deep azure. Richard stood upon the deck, looking overboard at the water below as he made the final few adjustments to his wet suit and diving gear. This was it, if what his grandparents told him were true, if what the map told him was true anyway, this was the place he would find it, the discovery of a lifetime, if not living proof then at least evidence of the existence of something that had been nothing but myth and folklore for centuries, if not millennia! He found himself broken from his reverie by the gruff, familiar voice of his life long friend, hearing his heavy footsteps thump down the steps from the bridge. "Almost looks inviting doesn't it, lad?" The noonday light casting the man's hardened features into focus from the shade in which he had stepped out of, he looked to be roughly in his mid forties and the journey of a life lives such as his had done wonders at carving it's mark into his skin, wrinkles and scars marred what was not hidden by shoulder length hair and thick beard. He wore a plain black vest and baggy jeans, various tattoos adorning his arms, the origin of most of them being but a mystery to Richard. He held something in his hand, a small, weathered paper that he placed carefully on the table beside him. "A napkin-sized old map left by yer grandad and yer think yer onto winnin' the bloody nobel prize." "I forget you were never into these adventures, Jase... " Richard retorted humourously, since his parents' disappearance twenty years ago, Jason all but raised him as his own, a close and trusted friend of the family from Scotland, was all he was ever told about Jason, it was, then, only fitting that he at least be let in on what he was planning with this expedition. "It's not the adventure I mind, lad, it's the bloody environment you insist on taking it in. Man's not meant 'fer the waves, helpless as a baby yer'll find yerself." Though there was indeed humour in his voice, his eyes held that look that had become all to familiar to Richard that there was a hint of genuine concern. Richard looked to the mirror beside him as he tested the airflow of his tank, his short, spiked hair was soon covered by the hood of his wetsuit, the suit itself hugging his body tightly, showing some semblance of the flesh beneath. He was by no means bulky, but taking great pains to work on his cardio, mainly through swimming, had gifted his efforts with a significant amount of tone and conditioning. "Well... " he replied, upon finding satisfaction that his equipment was in fact, worthy for the expedition, "In that case, allow the last Renfield to offer a fond farewell, lest this one too, find peace and oblivion, beneath the waves!" He stepped forward in a very exaggerated fashion, taking a deep bow and offering a hand to his old friend, who scoffed and shook his head. "Just grab yer harpoons and get this bloody thing over with, lad... I tell ye, for a lad o' twenty bloody four, I would'a thought yer'd be a bit more mature about this whole thing, but 'ah s'pose yer a lot like yer 'da." he replied, clapping him about the head. Richard nodded, stepping back over to the side of the deck, attaching the harpoon quiver to his toolbelt and loading one of them into the gun, a quick check of the pressure and all was well. His deep blue eyes caught one final ray of sun before he slipped his visor down over his head and attached the oxygen supply to his mask. He made quick work of fitting his flippers when Jason came over and helped hoist the oxygen tank onto his harness. "Best of luck down there, lad." Jason said, slipping a keen edged diving knife from his belt and slipping it into the sheath at Richard's boot, "Fer more personal encounters." he added with a wink. "Now, you should have two days supplies stocked up in the submersible, I'll be here at noon come friday to pick you up again." He stepped back and to the side to a small control panel, hitting a button and pulling a lever, resulting in a mechanical whirring as an overheard crane lifted the small bright yellow vessel into the water beside the ship. It took some effort, but eventually, Richard found himself able to climb over the edge of the ship and onto the top of the small vessel, giving his friend a final thumbs up before dropping beneath the hatch and sealing it behind him. Thanks to Jason's lessons, he found operating the submersible to be practically second nature by now, and in no time he had the engines started, the lights active and his descent, his expedition underway. The journey downward into the abyss seeemed to go on for an eternity, then again, he had always been made well aware that the place he was looking would be most difficult to find at best, such was the secretive nature of the creature, or creatures he searched for and so longed to find. Half an hour of nigh vertical diving went by, and the light had all but dimmed to darkness, save for the front lights of the submersible, excitement laced with apprehension slithered through his veins as he descended further into the endless blue. Forty five minutes went by, with Richard now travelling in nigh complete darkness, the only sounds being the steady humming of the submersible's engines and his own ragged breathing as he felt the end of his descent nearing. Something whipped by the porthole of the submersible, causing him to jump and instinctively reach for the harpoon gun he had stashed down by his side, releasing it again upon realising the foolishness of what he was doing... what was he going to do with it from inside? He shook his head and wiped the sweat from his brow and proceeded onward, until finally, at long last, something appeared before him, an opening, though not a natural cavern, something carved out of the solid bedrock of the ocean, a large stone tunnel, easily thirty feet across, the interior inscribed with murals and insignias depicting what appeared to be... Merpeople! There was nothing else that it could be! There appeared to be a variety of them but all showed the same constant, a creature sporting both the upper body of a human with the lower body melding into that of an elongated fish tail, an elaborate cordal fin adorning the end as they beheld themselves proudly in whatever gesture they were presenting themselves. Richard almost found himself jumping with victory at the discovery! The stories were not mere fairy tales! By god, this changed everything! He flicked a small switch upon the control panel and a small camera extended from just beneath the viewing port at the front of the submersible, it's feed projected onto the screen in front of him. He took hold of the little control stick and switched the camera to active recording, panning it all around as he directed the light over as much of the mural as possible, the submersible pressing onward the whole while. Time must have gone by quicker than he realised, for now he found himself not within a tunnel, but a gargantuan open chamber, illuminated in a deep sickly green light by an innumerable amount of what appeared to be small jellyfish, casually bouncing through the water, giving the entire place a somewhat gentle atmosphere despite it's most certainly intimidating size, hell, it must have been at least half a mile in width alone! Richard's heart caught in his throat as he beheld the spectacle that lay before him, it was beyond belief, part of him wondered even if he was actually dreaming this whole thing altogether... he pinched himself, nope, he definitely wasn't dreaming... At the other end of the chamber, his attention was drawn to what appeared to be an ornate stone disk that lay propped up against the opposing wall at something of a forty five degree angle. Though the centre of the disk itself was flat, featureless rock, the outer perimeter of it was very ornately carved and decorated with all manner of undoubtedly precious stones, though he could not tell from this distance, even with the camera's zoom function, he had to draw close to inspect it further... "This is incredible... just wait 'til Jason sees this... just wait til the world sees this!" he was overcome with he knowledge that he now found within his possession, fame and fortune concerned him not, for the greatest prize he could ever dream of winning was the discovery of such an intricate, architectural marvel and the knowledge that it was built by creatures of, up until this moment, pure fiction, and he was the one to discover it! He brought the submersible to the centre of the room, estimating the distance to the disk at a few hundred feet, good enough distance for him to get out and explore without fear of it getting in the way. He slipped his mask over his face and stepped into the aquatic equivalent of an airlock at the back of the submersible, hitting a button at the side to seal the door behind him and to begin flooding the chamber for exit. The water flooded the chamber quickly. He clicked on his air supply as it reached his chest and felt a slight jarring force as the hatch in front of him opened, allowing him to take his first tentative strokes into the chamber beyond. If the place felt gargantuan from inside the submersible, it seemed to magnify ten fold now that he was outside of it, in fact, a mouse inside of a mansion would have perhaps not have been an entirely inapt analogy as he brought himself over to the top of the submersible and gazed upward at the ceiling, which he could not see, apparently the bioluminescent jellyfish deemed not to travel that high up for whatever reason... he shrugged and pushed forward, his attention fixed upon the disk. The silence as he silently kicked his way through the water verged on deafening, though he didn't expect to hear much this deep below the surface anyway, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something amiss, was he really the only one here? He should have been... there was certainly nothing he could see to indicate that he was in the presence of anything other than the jellyfish... He pressed onward, keeping the harpoon gun tight in his grip as he finally came upon the disk. He fumbled a little with the torch attached to his mask, the deep click of the button bringing a new beam of light upon the disk. As he first surmised, the centre of the disk appeared to be comprised of nothing less than ordinary stone, granite most likely, though what was of note was that it had been smoothed out, to almost a perfectly level finish with virtually no signs of even having been there for any significant amount of time... He looked to the perimeter of the disk itself, closer inspection seemed to indicate it to be crafted from turqoise, a most fitting mineral of decoration for the ocean, of course. What interested him more though was the intricate designs that had only presented themselves now he was finally close enough to be able to touch them. They bore heavy resemblance to the murals he had seen etched into the walls of the tunnel only these ones were different. Thanks to the light, Richard found himself able to see a network of hairline fractures worked into the mural itself, almost like one might expect of the tile puzzles children found themselves losing many an hour trying to solve... He put his theory to the test, reaching out, he tapped one of the pieces of the mural, a satisfied feeling of confirmation taking over as he saw it hinge down with a small click and springing back into place again. What he did not expect however, was the blinding glare of the turquoise disk as it suddenly took light, sending him hurtling back, arms folded over his eyes until they were able to adjust. A deep rumbling resounded through the water in shockwaves as, despite his disbelief, the perimeter of the disk began to rotate, slowly and very gradually, but unmistakably gaining speed. It was then, in the elevated light of the chamber that he saw it, one of the dormant murals appeared to be sticking out a little further than it should have been... almost like someone tried to craft it in an expressing three dimensional model, however, his eyes went wide with trepidation as he saw the face undulate slowly, before changing colour to a featureless deep red, the thing slithered upward, eventually ending in a point and leaving the true image in it's wake. "Oh no... " A deafening cry echoed throughout the chamber as he, much against his better judgement, looked to the ceiling, a cardiac arrest threatening to claim him as he looked upon the eight-tentacled monstrosity above. The fact that it fit the chamber from wall to wall was all it could do to give testament to the sheer size of it as it's tendrils snaked around the supporting pillars of the chamber, using the leverage to pull itself downward. Richard instinctively looked to his speargun, but almost laughed inside his mask at the idiocy of such a weapon in the face of something so huge. Instead he faced forward and dived downward as quick as he was able, narrowly doding one of the tentacles as it made to take a swipe for him. He reached the pillar nearest the disk and used it as leverage to propel himself further downward as fate offered him another boon as another tentacle came crashing into and through it, a deep rumble resounding from above, followed by another cry as he looked up to see several large chunks of debris landing upon the head of the beast, which had now been able to land itself upon the centre floor of the chamber, the submersible lost beneath. It was here that he turned around and looked into it's eyes for the first time, eyes that bore into him and held beind them an anger of ages. Though sheer terror threatened to freeze him in place until the Reaper saw fit to claim him, he found his mind acting seemingly of it's own accod as he assessed his position. It was immensely large, granted, but that may also prove to be it's downfall... it would not be able to move very quickly and the place upon which it perched itself offered very little room for maneuverability, not to mention that it had now revealed two, staring, fearsome, targets. He felt a renewed vigor at the revelation that he might just be able to defeat it as long as he used his head, and just aswell he did for another tentacle came crashing through the water to meet him. He kicked to the side, feeling the rush of the water left in the wake of the beast's attack behind him as he continued on his course to the left. The disk continued to pick up it's pace, unbeknownst to him as the centre of it finally began to radiate a faint glow. He darted forward, the hissing of the harpoon gun urging him to fight onward as the first few projectiles fell short or wide of their mark. The disc reached an almost blinding speed, as did the light that had now begun to radiate and envelop the room, casting a powerful glare from behind him as he fired yet another harpoon that finally hit home in the centre of the beasts left eye. A blood curdling howl permeated the room that drowned out even the whirring of the disk which had now only just been able to grab Richard's attention as he turned to almost be blinded by the light. So preoccupied was he that he was completely unaware of the thrashing tentacle that smacked square into the back of him, sending his head spinning as he fell through the water and right through the centre of the disk when piercing light was met with a sudden curtain of darkness. He did not know how long he had been out, but he awoke slowly, his head swimming and his mind attempting to regain control of it's senses as he opened his eyes carefully, only to find that the light that had once dazzled him has apparently long since dissipated. He was still underwater, however, and a quick check of his pressure gauge showed that he had little more than fifteen minutes of air remaining. Panic began to set in. He had no idea where he was, or even how deep he was anymore, this was most certainly not the place in which he last remembered being, though the architecture was similar, there were no intricate murals decorating the walls, nor was the place as large as wherever it was he had come from. This place was small, almost a regular size as one might compare to the traditional standards of the common man. He had no time to contemplate his predicament further however, as he once again saw several figures dart in and out of sight among and between the supporting pillars of the structure. They moved fast, inhumanly fast, which likely meant that whatever it was they were, were almost certainly not here to play nice. Miraculously, he found his harpoon gun floating not too far above him and he kicked up a few paces to grab it, yanking one of the few remaining spears from his quiver and slotting it into the chamber. "Come on, Richard... " the voice in his mind edged to him... "You didn't come as far as this only to wind up as fish food... " He felt the harpoon click into place as be brought the weapon to bear, though what met his eyes almost had him drop it again in sheer disbelief... There, merely thirty or so feet in front of him, held a line of aquatic creatures that could only be described as one thing in his mind... yes... YES! There they were! They, all six of them held firm, their tails lashing casually to keep them level in the water, the light reflecting upon them in all manner of colours, from iridescent scarlet to a deep shimmering purple to a captivating baby pink... their upper bodywear gave away the gender of each, with each of the four males forgoing hardly any upper body clothing at all but for a glittering scaled copper coloured pauldron, whilst the females appeared to be wearing similar but with the addition of a breastplate that covered their womanly endowments in the most modest sense, though their volume was still very much made evident to the eye. Their skin was of a similar tone to the turqoise that made up the outer rim of the disk and their hair trailed languidly through the water, the colour of each mimicking that of their lower bodies. He could do little to make out their facial features for they all wore a helmet of a draconian-looking design and of a similar material to the rest of their armour, though their eyes shone brightly, meanacingly with each of their unique colours. The World Beneath The Waves Ch. 01 Finally, they all raised their spears in unison and, though he could not see it properly, he imagined that their expressions would be nothing less than cold and calculating, and then one spoke, the male in the middle. "F'gnyar shrask gh'etar s'a?" his voice was deep and seemed to echo around the chamber. Richard looked to the others... nothing. Slowly he raised his free hand, taking care to point his weapon away. "Uh... look... I don't know what's going on here but I mean you no harm... ", elocution and diplomacy was never his strong point... They all seemed to stop and look to each other slightly, as if somewhat confused, then he spoke the alien phrase again this time much louder. "Um... listen," he stammered, unease gripping tigher with each passing second, "I'm uh... really sorry if I'm tresspassing in your home or anything but... I... I'm afraid I don't quite know how I got here and... I'd really like to get home so... if you like, I'll just be on my way and... " His rambling was stopped dead by a loud bellow from the leading male that made his blood run cold, he looked to the others and nodded, they raised their spears once again and began a slow advance. Fight of flight suddenly took a rush within him, a combination of natural instinct and his brief three years army training took hold as he instinctively raised his weapon, sights trained for the middle target. It seemed to work, they stopped a moment, as if assessing the weapon he was wielding, not out of nervousness, more of caution. He was almost ended as he noticed, just in time, the leading Mer's ceasing his flash assessment of his opponent and lunging forward, spear poised to strike. His finger reflexively squeezed the trigger, his own cry of both fear and instinct. The spear slid wide of it's mark as the Mer holding it recoiled as the harpoon skewered through his shoulder, a thick, purple wisp of blood staining the water around it. The others seemed taken aback by the sudden display that played out before them, nevertheless, they all to quickly regained their composure and pressed onward. One of the female came to his right and attempted an overhead blow, that he found himself able to parry with the harpoon gun, though she quickly rebounded and took another strike to his flank which he was barely able to guard, the blade catching and nicking the side of his suit. Though wound appeared superficial, it had nevertheless drawn blood, the red now mixing with the thin cloud of purple as he moved to take his opportunity. He spun around and grabbed the haft of her spear, pulling her towards him and landing a solid blow to her navel which caused her to double up and sink toward the floor as she attempted to recover. Sensing the impending attack of the other four spears he instinctively kicked upwards as he attempted to gain some distance in order to reload his weapon. Such a notion was cut short however, as one of the males and the other female appeared to have wisened up to the fact that he would not lay down willingly and accept his dispatchment. He saw one nod to the other and reached for his bootknife as he sensed the impending pincer attack. "Jason, you're a fucking diamond... " he kicked backward as they attacked, the male's spear coming into contact with the harpoon gun with a great force, bringing a groan of exasperation from Richard as he felt it damage the firing mechanism, it would no longer be of any use now except as perhaps a rudimentary club... He had no time to lament his loss as he felt the oncoming blow from the female as she surged forward. He brought the sizeable knife to bear, the blade scaping against the spearhead with a shrill metallic squeal as blade passed blade. He sprang forward in a counter attack as he brought his blade to bear, aiming to score a good hit upon her body. She appeared to anticipate such a move however, leaning backwards just out of reach of the blade, but not quite enough for him to score a clancing blow upon her upper arm, causing another wisp of purple to seep from the wound and into the water, a saddening cry of pain accompanying it. He made to double back as the male made to strike again, kicking back much harder than he meant to. The male seemed to notice his mistake and drove his spear round to bring the haft to a might collision with his torso, sending him flying back into the wall, a metallic clang and hissing suddenly permeating the air as fatal realization struck him harder than any blow could have. He looked at his gauge, to find that it was all but completely empty as the last few bubbles of precious oxygen seemed around him in the water. He attempted to hold his breath, but it would do him no good as he soon found himself sinking to the floor, unable to breathe through the mask that was now all but useless to him. There he sat, conciousness slipping away from him as the burning in his lungs intensified. This was it, all this way, only to have his discovery, his dream taken from him, though at least there was some pride in the fact that he had put up a fight... couldn't really ask any more than that. He looked up as his vision grew foggy, barely able to make out the vague shapes of his opponents now looming over him. One of them, knelt before him upon her tail, her hands glowing a faint pink as he felt her lift his mask upon him, placing both of her hands upon his cheeks. The last thing he would feel before darkness claimed him once again would be the soft pressure of a pair of lips upon his forehead. ~ To be continued. The World Beneath The Waves Ch. 02 Author's Note: My dearest readers, Thank you for your patience during the time it took for me to release this, I'd love nothing more right now than to spend more time working on it, however, sadly, life gets in the way sometimes as it has a tendency of doing, I was aiming for last weekend but, of course, I was sick as a dog. For any who might be wondering, I do indeed have a direction in which I'm aiming the story to go, I'm currently a couple of chapters ahead of this one, however, due to my wanting to ensure that each chapter is properly written and as free of grammatical errors and plot holes as possible, I'm going to be aiming at getting a chapter out around once per week, though the exact day may vary to account for the time it takes to get approved and posted up. Finally, my sincerest thanks for your votes, it really gives both inspiration and insight as to how good of a job I am doing so please don't let up! If you like it, please feel free to comment, if you don't then by all means let me know where I may be going wrong or how I might improve, either in comments or PM. Well, I think I've rambled on enough for now, so please, enjoy! Love and hugs, ~ V - "Richard, it's the middle of summer! There's not a cloud in the sky, what in the blazes are you doing moping around here in the library for?" "The light keeps hurting my eyes, grandad, I can't read when it shines through the windows." "Read? What the devil is a boy your age doing being stuck inside reading at this time of year?" "I found a book in the back, it's brill! It reminds me of all the stories you told me when I was a baby." "You're ten years old, lad, not exactly much more than a baby as you are now, haha.." "If you say so grandad, I'm more grown up than the other kids at school at least!" "Well, I suppose being able to tie your own shoes at least puts you upon something of a pedestal eh?" "I can skim stones the furthest too!" "Hahaha, I'm sure you can, my boy. So what is it that's got you so enthralled?" "Entalled? Um, it's a book about people who live under the sea, they look like people but they have this big tail instead of legs!" "Sounds like Merpeople to me." "Yeah, them!" "Always the inquisitive one eh? You're more like your father than you'll ever know, my boy. Come now, tea's ready, your grandma has it waiting for us outside on the porch, and she'll have my hide if I don't get back without you with me." "Can I bring the book?" "Heh, if you must, my boy." - Chapter 2 - Comprehension Richard slowly found his conciousness once again gracing him with it's presence as he finally started to become aware of himself once more, he had not opened his eyes yet, though he was at least partly sure that he wasn't dead, not yet anyway, though something was different. He felt..lighter, weightless almost, was the whole thing a dream? Was he dreaming now? Where was he, anyway? If he was at home, wouldn't he be able to feel the pliable embrace of his bed around him? Come to think of it, why did every breath feel like he was inhaling liquid air? Wait..the expedition! The disc! The kraken beast! The Merpeople! His eyes bolted open, partly in hope, part in disbelief as he darted his gaze around the small room he now found himself in. It could not have been more than perhaps eight square feet and sealed by a barred bronze gate. He went to move toward it but found his wrists clapped in irons that suspended from chains that appeared to be built into the wall through a small iron socket upon each side of the wall. Thankfully they appeared slack enough to allow him some relative free movement about his body, though no more than that. He berated himself mentally for the thought only just coming to him, but how in the hell was he able to breathe in this place, he most definetly felt the mercurial sensation of water about him, yet somehow his lungs took to it as they would the crip air of an autumn morning. "Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?" A few seconds passed, nothing. He called out again, nothing. Then he heard something, a subtle swishing noise as one might expect of something propelling itself through the water, apparently his hearing had adapted as well beneath the waves as his breathing. A figure edged from the obscured right side of the gate, a pair of brilliant green eyes that matched his tail burning into him as he cocked his head to the side and spoke something in what he could only self-designate as "Merish". "Lia'sk vel'thra?" The guard paused a moment, clearly expecting a response. "Look.." he said, might aswell try, right? "I don't know what this place is, or where I am, but I swear, there's been some kind of huge mix-up here.." The guard said nothing, remaining still, his eyes casting off a little to the side before darting back to him, perhaps as if realization had struck. A few seconds went by before the guard finally set his spear to rest upon the wall next to the cell, his hands coming to his helmet to remove it in a smooth motion, holding it in rest underneath his arm. This was the first opportunity Richard had to properly get a look at the fascinating, if apparently, greatly unwelcoming species that he had so inadvertently chanced upon. Their skin, aside from the colour, did not appear, from this distance at least, to look much different in terms of texture than his own. The next words from the guard bolstered his hope like nothing he ever though would. "Yeu..hoo..man?" the words were slow and clumsy, as if he was trying to remember a phrase of a long dead language. He nodded with renewed enthusiasm. "My name.." he said, attempting to match the guard's tone, "Is Richard, Richard Renfield, I am human.." "Heuman.." the guard's pronunciation improved slightly, though his expression darkened. "Heuman..no want, no summoon, heuman atak Me'lae.." his voice took on a one to match his expression as he took up his spear again, clanging it against the gate with each pause. Hope ebbed away from Richard faster than he would have thought possible as he pulled with futile efforts against his bonds. "No, you have it wrong, I did not come here looking for a fight, I didn't even mean to land myself here at all!" he protested, though his words appeared to fall upon ears unwilling to listen as the guard let out a dismissive snort before replacing his helmet back upon his head and veering off away from the cell. "Hey, where are you going?!" he called after him. The guard stopped, looking over his shoulder "Y'elaigh phn'yae drask de Shas'kia.." he said simply as he disappeared through the archway opposing the cell. Alone again, he took a moment to examine himself, since his surroundings had made it quite clear that he would be leaving nowhere in any hurry. He found himself still in his diving suit, for the most part at least, his flippers had been detached from his boots and his upper suit appeared to have been cut open from the middle of the collar down to his navel, exposing his toned chest beneath. It looked as though they attempted to remove it completely, deciding against it however, for whatever reason. He heard a faint garbled speech coming from the archway which brought him from his thoughts as he saw through the azure blue of the water, several more of the merpeople, most of them dressed as the rest of the guards he had thus far encountered, all save but the one in the middle whom appeared to be their charge. And such a charge was she. The armour of the guards was forgone in favour of a dark orange coloured blouse that subtly caught the rays of light around it through a very subtle weave of what appeared to be fish scales and bound itself at the front with simple green ties. The garment came down to just past her midriff, where her humanoid anatomy melded with her tail and Richard could not help but notice that it did less than he would have liked, given the situation, to shroud her womanly endowments with any modesty, his heart quickened simply looking at her. Her delicately braided hair, luminescent eyes and substantial tail were coloured of a deep scarlet and she wore around her forehead a simple headband, carefully constructed from seaweed and decorated with a variety of small delicate seashells and upon her beautiful face was the gift of the most beautiful smile he was sure any mortal man would die just to gaze upon for a second longer. He found himself quite unable to take his eyes from hers, his body all but frozen in captivation at the sight he beheld. She shifted forwards with a flick of her cordal fin and brought herself up to the gate, her guards following suit in good measure. She then began to speak, and her voice, much as her gaze, sought to send nirvana to his heart with it's angelic melody. "Vea'le le J'aska" she said with a small bow of her head. Richard imagined he must have had the most dumbfounded look on his face as he came to his senses, he bowed his head in return, daring not for a second to risk upsetting this angel of the seas. Upon looking back up again he also came to notice that she possessed a pair of both keen and prominent fangs that shimmered of pearl as the rest of her teeth. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, human, I have heard many things of you since you were brought here to the Sanctuary. I am Elliana, envoy to her Majesty, Queen Velunia of the Me'lae, our Shoal." Richard was broken from his entrancement, though only enough to be able to force his mind to put together a coherent sentence at the invigorating relevation that she could actually speak English. "T-the p-pleasure is a-all mine..M-M'lady.." he stammered. One of the guards leaned in and whispered something in the maiden's ear, bringing a somewhat sorrowful crease to her beautiful features, she nodded nonetheless before turning her attention back to Richard. "I'm afraid I must apologize, but I would be closer to you than this, and as I'm sure you understand, given the circumstances, my guards must take precautions.." Richard stood confused for a moment, "I don't quite understand what you me-argh!" his sentence was cut short by the heavy thud of a guard hitting something upon the wall by him, which was quickly followed by a mechanical whirring and jarring force upon his arms as the chains suddenly retracted, holding his arms up in a "Y" position and rendering him quite unable to move, save for kicking, though he doubted that would do him any good anyway.. The maiden nodded and spoke something in her native tongue, having the guard to the opposite side nod in acknowledgement and slide what sounded like a heavy metal bolt away from the door and cast it open, allowing the maiden to flick herself forward some more until she was but a few feet from him. Up this close, Richard noticed that her physical size was not too disproportionate to his own, save for the tail of course, which folded gracefully as she lowered herself a few inches to bring her face level to his, her eyes sparkling and her smile returning which Richard was all too grateful to look upon again. His eyes cast to her fangs again, up this close they appeared much more intimidating in their beauty, though he could not deny that they complimented her smile, as the rest of her features perfectly. He must have visually displayed his slight anxiety at such a sight with her next words, and the look she gave him, that of comfort and consolation. "Do not be afraid, for despite your current..predicament, I assure you that we mean you no harm." Richard let out a deep breath, his mind still battling to comprehend all that was happening to him. "At the moment, m'lady, my predicament is something beyond any comprehension I could hope to piece together. How I got here, where "here" even is, what that bloody giant squid was all in aid of, who you are, and why in the nine hells I can breathe underwater.." He caught himself mid-sentence for fear of rambling and slumped forward in resignation, the chains holding firm about his wrists. "I'd just like to get back home.." he said in a melancholy tone, his eyes casting down to her tail, and then to the floor beneath. To his surprise he felt the cool, soothing touch of a delicate hand upon his cheek that gently lifted his gaze back to her, a pained, merciful expression creasing her beautiful face. "I cannot imagine how hard it must be, and I'm sure there is no end to the questions you have right now, but I would ask you to please give us your patience, all will be explained to you in time." She paused a moment, looking back to the guards who had so far remained stoic throughout and spoke something in her all too foreign tongue. The guards looked to each other in some concern before one replied in what Richard guessed to be a concerned manner. He waved her hand dismissively and spoke something else, eventually one of the guards begrudingly thumped the wall to Richard's left and he immediately felt the chains give way, sending him to his knees upon the floor of his cell as the slack chains gathered about his arms. He looked to Elliana with confusion as she turned back to him, smiling once more. "My bodyguards feel you unfit to be let out of your cell yet, despite my empathic intuition, they still percieve you as too much of a threat." A smile crept to the corner of her lips. "Unfortunately for them, I speak with the word of Her Majesty whilst here and thus, I dub you suitable to be released from this place and given somewhere more befitting a guest of the Me'lae." She waved her hand in front of him, mumbling a sub-vocal phrase and Richard felt a quick but powerful jarring force around his wrists as the very water around them seemed to pull the iron cuffs open. He tentatively got to his feet, the lack of gaseous oxygen in his lungs apparently being enough to keep him planted upon the floor. This was getting to be just too much. In the last, he guessed, twenty four hours he had dove to the bottom of the ocean, fought with one creature of myth, only to be apparently cast into some unknown depth, within which he would find himself beset by another set of creatures of myth and was now speaking to the emissary of their Queen. He could only nod in acknowledgement initially but forced himself to speak. "Thank you, m'lady, I don't really know how the, uh, the Me'lae express gratitude here, but I will do my best to be as little hassle as possible.." She giggled a little, guiding him down a small array of stone corridors, ending in one that sported an ornate brass contraption that revealed it's nature to be that of an elevator. It slowly gained momentum as it began to elevate them from the labyrinthine prison. "Oh you needn't worry about inconvenience here, human, I believe you will come to see all too soon that we will be quite happy to have you here. Your little brawl with the guards has fast travelled the currents of Le'Yiah. Not many could face six of the Coral Guard and live to recount such a thing.." Richard looked to her as they acended further still. "Le'Yiah?" Elliana nodded, placing her hands tenderly upon his shoulders and turning him around to face the opposite direction, to a sight that left him open mouthed in sheer awe and wonder. It stood there before him, proud and mesmerising in it's entirety, the most magnificent city built into the side of a colossal mountain that itself was perforated with innumerable pins of light across it's face that indicated further habitation within. The buildings themselves, like so much else down here, reflected the rays of light that shone down from the surface that, despite the obvious depth of the place, was still made visible far, far above. Richard could only guess as to the material used to construct them, given the environment he assumed coral, though there was the occasional hint of copper among some of the buildings. The city spanned out for miles in front of them as the elevator came to a gradual halt, connecting with a glass tunnel that led them straight out onto a promenade that overlooked the city proper below. "Come, Her Majesty as ordered a room for you be prepared within the walls of the Aegis, she would have you well rested before your audience." "Audience?" "Oh yes, she, like many others, wishes to know how you came to be here, and what your intentions are." He looked outward to the city as they made their way toward the mountain, a slight tugging at his gut as he finally began to consider his predicament. "I wish I knew myself how I got here..all I remember is that damn disc, not to mention the bloody huge squid that made it's home there.." She looked to him curiously, "Squid?" "Yeah, biggest living thing I ever saw in my entire life, closest thing to a Kraken if I ever saw one, it was supposed to be a creature of legend, then again.." he motioned to her, and then to the city below. "So were your people, and places like this..I was told god knows how many stories in my childhood about your people and places such as this..but I never believed any of it could actually be, well..real." Elliana said no more, simply nodding in understanding as they eventually found their way to a heavy set of jade coloured doors that were promptly opened by the sentries guarding it. From here, the mountain looked infinitely greater in it's scale, almost intimidatingly so as they headed through. She led him through a series of corridors, most of them bearing ornamentaion of some kind, murals within the walls, pictures pieced together in a manner resembling mosaics, he supposed they passed for their version of portraits down here. Their journey eventually ended with her shifting in front of him and stopping before one of the doors, extending a hand towards it. "These shall be your quarters for now." she said simply. Richard nodded, opening the door to be greeted by a generously sized room, sporting an ornamental king sized bed at the centre of the back wall, a finely grafted heart at the other, the fireplace radiating heat from a small pile of blazing white stones that cast the room in a calm white glow. A fine looking table and a couple of chairs were placed just by the hearth, as well as a bookcase containing a number of stone tablets, doubtless written in the Me'lae's language. "It is modest, but functional, and I assure you that your needs will be met as generously as possble during your say." She said, bowing her head solemnly. Richard turned back to her. "Thank you, Elliana, it's far more than is warranted I'm sure, and a damn site better than that cell.." he couldn't help but laugh a little, she seemed to smile at that. "I shall leave you to acclimatise, then. Shall I have some food prepared for you? A maiden for your chamber perhaps?" Richard recoiled a little, "Maiden?" She nodded, "A companion for the evening, it may help put you at ease a little, you seemed to tense on our journey here." "Um.." he wracked his brains, he'd barely even begun to understand his situation and he was being presented with such a thing? "No, it's just an offer, it's not like I have to accept, argh, but refusal might be taken as an insult or something, oh bloody hell, why did this have to happen to me..?!" "Are you alright?" Her voice snapped him back to reality once more as his mouth made his decision before his head did. "Yes, yes that would be, er, most delightful, thank you, Elliana." He hastily bowed his head in return of her previous gesture. "I can just..talk to her, right? Maybe she's right, maybe she could help me understand what's going on here.." the voice in his head spoke one thing, though the familiar tension in his body threatened to challenge it, he could only hope that whatever happened, he would be able to stay out of trouble. The World Beneath The Waves Ch. 02 Elliana made her leave swiftly, the door closing behind her, leaving him to his thoughts at last as he looked out of the window, the view of the city was most spectacular, though part of him still believed that this had to be some sort of hallucination or waking fantasy, the rational part of his brain assured him otherwise. He was here, really here, and only time would tell if he would be able to get home or not. If that was one thing, he now found himself with the additional problem of this maiden that would no doubt soon be sent to him...though he was certain of himself that he would be unable to deny her beauty, could he really find it in himself to indulge in such a thing? So soon, if at all? They were clearly of a different species, would they even be compatible? Had Elliana assumed that he would be anatomically equipped in the same manner as their males? He sat upon the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, almost beginning to ache through the sheer amount of data he was trying to process all at once. Then he heard it, a sound that would herald a night of either bliss, ease of mind, or a most awkward hostility, a knock upon the door of his chamber... ~ To be continued.