The Wreck of the Onphanion

The Wreck of the Onphanion Part 5

                  Part 5:  The Wreck of the Onphanion

     Hank and Merlisa were now back in the water, Hank was staring at the wall while Merlisa was getting ready. "You don't have to look away you know?" Merlisa said adjusting the straps on her armor. "Or is this a cultural thing? I heard the surface world had some strange customs, can you not watch a woman get dressed?"
     "Oh nothing like that," Hank said. "I'm formulating a strategy."
     "I'm ninety nine percent certain I can find the shipwreck with proper lighting." Merlisa said freeing her pack from the mostly unused bed Hank had prepared for her. "It may take us all day but we'll find it."
     "Oh no not that," Hank said. "I was trying to figure out a strategy for the Sahuagin that found us in the night."
     "What?" Merlisa asked panicking. "How many?"
     "Quite a few," Hank said.
     "How many is quite a few? What are we going to do?"
     "Well the first thing I'm going to do is to cast a protection spell on you," Hank said turning around and putting his hands on her shoulders. A pale blue light enveloped Merlisa, she didn't feel any different though. "The second thing I'm going to do is dismiss the shelter."
     "What? You idiot!" Merlisa quickly drew her sword from it's scabbard and prepared to fight. All thoughts of hope vanished from her mind as the walls of the shelter disappeared. There were not dozens, nor even hundreds of Sahuagin surrounding them, there were were easily a thousand possibly even two thousand. She could barely see anything except Sahuagin. "You've gotten us both killed."
     "I haven't gotten anybody killed yet," Hank said turning to what was clearly the leader of the Sahuagin. The leader was twice the size of any of the other Sahuagin, wearing armor made of forged metal plates and magically enchanted. He wielded two vicious looking scimitars and was flanked by no less than two dozen honor guards. "Any chance you'll just let us be on our way?"
     The leader of the Sahuagin started laughing, and the rest of the Sahuagin soon followed suit. "Your carcasses will serve as an example to those that defile our waters. Our glorious..." The Sahuagin leader had started saying something else but was interrupted by Hank firing a lightning bolt at him. The lightning channeled out of Hanks hands, one aimed at the leader another aimed at the Sahuagin directly above Hank. The lightning started slowly spreading to nearby Sahuagin but quickly picked up its pace as more and more Sahuagin were enveloped with lightning. Screams of agony echoed through the waters and Sahuagin started dying from Hanks attack, hearts stopping, heads exploding. By the time that Hank had canceled his spell the surrounding ocean was so filled with blood and gore you couldn't see more than a foot or so.
Hank confidant that all the Sahuagin were dead turned to Merlisa. She was huddled in a ball, hands covering her ears, and eyes closed tight. "Are you OK?" Hank asked knowing full well she couldn't hear him. After a moment of her not responding Hank reached down for her and as soon as he touched her, her breakfast joined the blood and gore floating around them.

     He had taken Merlisa and had gotten away from the aftermath of the massacre he had inflicted upon the Sahuagin, she was now sitting on a rock recovering and he was just floating in place nearby.
     "What are you?" Merlisa asked not looking at him.
     "A very powerful wizard, I told you as much when we met."
     "You are way beyond a mere wizard."
     "Correct, I'm a very powerful wizard."
     "What are you looking for on that shipwreck?"
     "Does it matter?"
     "Yes it does matter. I'm not leading you to some dark artifact that will let you do all kinds of horrible stuff."
     "What part of anything you've seen me do leads you to believe I need a dark artifact to do horrible stuff? Also if it was an artifact of any kind it would be giving off enough magical energy so that I wouldn't need you to lead me to it."
     "You just," Merlisa said trying to find a word. "Exploded a thousand plus Sahuagin. How is that not horrible?"
     "They were going to kill us."
     "You could have just killed their leader to scare them away."
     "Ninety nine times out of a hundred, with groups that big when you kill the leader all you get is a bunch of goons that think if they kill the guy that killed the old leader they get to be the new leader."
     "Tell me what you're looking for on that shipwreck or I'll try my luck getting home from here on my own," Merlisa said staring right at him, trying to hide her fear.
     "A music box."
     "A music box? All this trouble for a music box? I don't believe you."
     "It's what my teacher sent me to retrieve, it fell behind the desk in the captains quarters where it still lays."
     "So let me see if I understand this. Your teacher, presumably somebody with more powerful magic than you, sent you to retrieve an item, that he apparently knows exactly where it is, without telling you where the shipwreck was?"
     "That's about the sum of it yes."
     "So why couldn't your teacher just summon the music box to his hands if he knows right where it is? Or, here's a crazy idea, buy a new one?"
     "Going theory on that is that she secretly hates me. Now, are you going to help me find the shipwreck or swim back through Sahuagin waters alone?"
     "You said you'd guarantee my safety, what happened to that?"
     "Me guaranteeing your safety was part of the deal, but if you go back on your end I am under no obligation to uphold mine."
      Merlisa paused briefly to consider her options. "The shipwreck is in a trench. If we follow that one in the distance that way we should find it eventually."
     "Excellent," he said offering a hand to Merlisa. "Are you good to keep going?"
Merlisa got up without even looking at his hand and took off towards the trench without a word.