Peek: Darkwater

Whew, we got the tents up just in time. These spring rains always remind me of a story Johul used to tell. Help me tend the fire, and I'll share.

Usually, it's bad form for a bard to tell someone else's story, but Johul isn't around anymore to tell it himself, and I'd hate to have this particular story die with him. Johul was even more well-traveled than me, which is saying something! Now, ports were a lot more open back then, but every time I say that, it feels more and more like an excuse. Maybe I'll get to tell my own version of this story, some day.

Anyway, he had been hopping from ship to ship, trading stories and songs for passage, and what kind of a ship would turn an offer like that down? He had mostly been joining merchants, but he also managed to board a military ship, and even pirates once, too! But those aren't what this story is about.

No, this is about the time he got onto a ship full of adventurers! They had their own stories to share, and this is where he learned what the destination of the ship was: The Deep Sea Dungeon. Well bellow the waves, there are many different seafolk, and as you'd know if you've been paying attention: where's there's folk, there's dungeons. This particular dungeon, the locals liked to call Darkwater.

You see, that far down, people like us would say it's all dark water, but the people of the deep ocean have their own lights to navigate by. But Darkwater was a shadow affinity dungeon, so light didn't behave quite how we might expect.

It was a belligerent dungeon by Dungeoneer standards, but only by technicality. While it had a Voice, it didn't seem to care much about delvers, one way or the other. Its nodes weren't especially rich, and its denizens weren't particularly interesting to fight.

But they were fascinating to watch. The lights the deep sea folk use simply don't work, but the lights of the denizens do. Strange creatures of the deep called Darkwater home, and each of them had their own twinkling lights, like the constellations in the sky decided to come down and swim about. Even the seaweed and other plant and coral nodes had these little points of illumination around them, giving a stark and beautiful contrast to the pitch black around them.

Johul, upon hearing this from the adventurers, just had to see for himself, and so he was able to join one of the parties for a delve. Once close to Darkwater, the locals guided them to a good place to anchor, and sold them aqua affinity potions for the trip down, and the adventurers were more than happy to make use of these services.

So down they went, and even the hardened adventurers were more inclined to simply observe than fight. Things they never imagined slowly swam by, not paying the delvers a second glance as they went about their lives, shapes and sizes that defied description, gigantic and tiny and more.

Ah, I wish I had illusion affinity like Johul did. I have to make do with the floating embers of the fire, and my imagination. I hear the ports are opening back up, though. Maybe I'll get to see Darkwater for myself someday after all.

~Onthar, Orc Bard Historian

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Inspired by PickledTink, who wanted to see a deep sea dungeon.