Everybody Loves Large Chests What Lies Below 3

What Lies Below 3

Boxxys lid opened slowly as it let out a satisfied yawn. Having woken up from its afternoon nap, it willed a set of arachnid appendages to erge from its chesty self and propped itself up. It took stock of its surroundings, noting that very little had changed since it had fallen asleep. It was still on the deck of the Pale Pearl, Jen was still circling it from above, and Snack was still lounging around the front of the ship with a thoroughly bored expression on her face. Fizzy was stretched out next to the succubus and staring up at the sky, likely conversing with her inner selves to pass the ti. The only thing that suggested anything had happened at all was that the mainland had disappeared sowhere over the horizon.

The shapeshifter checked its internal clock, courtesy of Tick Counter, and determined that only three and a half hours had passed. This ant that, given the ships average speed, there were still about twenty hours of sailing to go before the Pale Pearl reached its destination. It was going to be a painfully slow trek compared to what Boxxy was used to, but it was a necessity. Even though the shapeshifter could theoretically travel those three hundred and fifty kiloters in but a few hours through a combination of flight and teleportation, it lacked the ability to accurately navigate at sea. It could use a compass to tell which direction it was headed in, but the total lack of landmarks made it nigh-impossible to determine how much distance it had actually covered.

The Pale Pearl, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of navigating by itself. It being a magical construct of several elents allowed it to ignore things that would normally throw a ship off-course, such as currents or winds. The way it barely even rocked and swayed as it cut through the waves made it abundantly clear this would be as smooth-sailing as it could get. Provided, of course, that its passengers could keep the fragile thing safe. If the thing was destroyed in the middle of the trip, then Boxxy wouldnt know exactly how much distance it had travelled, potentially forcing it to start the whole thing over from scratch.

It had therefore been a good thing that the shapeshifter had ordered its minions to protect the Pale Pearl before it took that nap, because at present it had entirely forgotten about that potential annoyance. Though the encounter with Arisha had helped the monster burn off much of the incessant giddiness it had carried until then, its mood had shot right back up after that panacea had taken effect. And who could bla it, considering the two superbly tasty things it had gained as a result.

Legendary ntality

Description: A being whose power of will is the stuff of legends.

Requirents: Reach 750 ntal Fortitude (MNT).

Effects: Spells and Skills that affect the mind can be used on Golems, Demons and Undead at 30% effectiveness.

Reduces the duration of hostile mind control effects by 80%.

Nectar-Adapted

Description: Breaking free of a dryads enthrallnt requires a strength of character that goes beyond re Attributes.

Requirents: Survive a strong addiction to Hylt Nectar.

Effects: Prevents addiction to Hylt Nectar.

Provides a permanent boost of 5 MNT and 5 AFF.

The first had been an important and long-awaited achievent that was certainly worthy of celebration, but it was that second one that really made Boxxys spirit soar. It had given up all hope of ever indulging in one of the most delicious things it had ever tasted for fear of what it might do to its free will. But with this Nectar-Adapted thing, that was no longer a concern. It could now enjoy all of the benefits of Ambrosias overflowing bosoms without any of the drawbacks. And even if it sohow developed the habit again, it could probably have Arisha mix up another dose of panacea.

The monster then wondered if the so-called Bloody Baroness would be willing to teach it that secret formula. It then imdiately decided that it shouldnt say anything that might upset a being with nearly fifteen thousand HP. It was a ridiculous number that suggested Arisha had more than just two Level 100 Jobs at her disposal. The thought of studying a dose of the stuff without her knowledge also crossed its mind, but it seriously doubted that panacea was the sort of thing a rookie potion-brewer like itself could actually analyze. Not to ntion that synthesizing it was most probably impossible without high-Level Alchemist Skills and a bunch of impossibly rare materials even if it sohow discovered the recipe for it.

In short, if Boxxy wanted another dose of the ultimate cure-all, then it would need to ask nicely. To that end, there was no telling what other interesting goodies Arisha had gathered over the years. Befriending her seed like a solid investnt, and the best way to do that appeared to be by appeasing her boredom. It imagined that the ancient noblewoman would be overjoyed if it introduced her to so of the interesting characters and curious creatures it had t over the years.

Actually, Stain seed like a really good candidate off the top of its lid. The two of them could probably bond over their respective experiences with ntal domination in a way that Boxxy genuinely couldnt. Not to ntion that the warden of bitterhold had a taste for good liquor, and the shapeshifter would earn a lot of points with her if it arranged for her to experience that Ethereal Vintage.

Now that I think about it, I havent checked with her in a long ti, Boxxy realized. I should see how things are going on her end.

Boxxy: Stain, how are things?

Hookenstein: Oh? Finally rembered I exist, hmm?

Boxxy: Yes.

Hookenstein: Heh, not surprised you forgot about since nothings been going on.

Boxxy: Nothing? What about the dungeon youre in, werent you going to excavate it?

Hookenstein: I tried, but cant find anything of value. Theres just common stuff like iron, coal, and copper.

Well, it wasnt as if every mountain was a mithril repository, but the chest-shaped monster still felt a bit disappointed.

Boxxy: I see. And how are things at Bitterhold? Has the Republic made any moves to dislodge you?

Hookenstein: None at all. Its been business as usual, actually. Best as I can tell, whatevers left of the Foundation is doing their best to keep the place running.

Boxxy: Ah. So then, this Hookenstein thing isnt much use to you on Velos, is it?

Hookenstein: Not at the mont, no.

Not one to let important assets go to waste, Boxxy imdiately gave its business partner a suggestion it had been idly mulling over for a while now.

Boxxy: How do you feel about bringing it with to the Dragon Festival, then?

Hookenstein: Ill pass.

Boxxy: You sure? Theres bound to be lots of tasty subordinates there for you to acquire.

Hookenstein: Dont care. I am not setting one drop anywhere near that place.

Boxxy got the distinct impression it had hit a nerve, so it decided to let the queen sli be for the mont and focused on figuring out how to kill so ti. This proved to be more difficult than initially anticipated. Idiot Toss was out of the question, and the salty air made it unsuitable for any aningful alchemy or tinkering practice. Diving for so seafood wasnt an option either since it had to remain aboard the Pale Pearl in order to maintain its existence. It was ultimately forced to accept there was nothing to do but wait and assud its earlier napping position.

The voyage proceeded in a largely uneventful manner from then on. Drea and Kora were doing an excellent job of keeping sea monsters from even getting close to the ship, with the occasional hand from Xera, Fizzy, and Jen. Nothing major really approached the ship, mostly because it was still relatively near the coast. The only thing of note that happened for the rest of the evening was the appearance of so glowing jellyfish that passed under the ship shortly after sunset. They were not tasty.

It wasnt until morning of the next day when sothing truly exciting happened. Drea had spotted what looked to be a galleon ship on an intercept course with the Pale Pearl, most likely a bunch of pirates chasing what looked to be an easy prize. She was the only one who noticed it, as the larger vessel was apparently using so kind of large-scale illusory mirage to hide itself from sight. A webstalkers eyes could clearly see the magical aura surrounding it though, allowing her master to prepare a counter-ambush.

Though perhaps counter-ambush was too fancy a term for what happened next. Once the enemy ship was within three hundred ters of the Pale Pearl, Boxxy launched Kora at it with a well-aid Idiot Toss with so guidance from Drea. The hoarder seed to disappear in thin air, but the loud crash that followed shortly afterwards proved it was a direct hit. She mustve broken sothing important upon impact, seeing as the magic obscuring the ship dispersed within seconds. Jen, who was still circling overhead and had been warned of the enemys presence via Boxxys Whisper Wind, dive-bombed the galleon the instant it appeared. She smashed into its deck with such force that the entire ship seed to tilt dangerously to one side.

Once aboard, the two battle junkies proceeded to tear through the flabbergasted pirates. They sohow managed to fire upon the smaller ship, but Fizzy used her magnetic abilities to intercept their cannonballs and sent them flying right back with even greater speed. The golem remained, but Xera eventually flew over and started setting fire to everything in sight, figuring it was a good chance to alleviate her boredom. Drea insisted that the battle was too loud for her liking and kept diligently doing her thing beneath the waves. Boxxy, on the other hand, wanted to join in on the festivities but couldnt since it had to remain aboard the Pale Pearl in order to maintain its ongoing existence. It was a bit regrettable, but listening to the screams and various explosions its minions caused was fun in its own way.

By the ti the group was done with the pirates, their ship had been so thoroughly wrecked that it looked like an elder dragon had stepped on it, and was slowly sinking beneath the waves. With everyone dead, Kora took this opportunity to stuff all the treasure they were carrying into her extra-dinsional Vault. Xera, on the other hand, rely giggled to herself as she reveled in the nostalgic feeling of setting things on fire. anwhile, Jen delivered the mangled body of the pirate captain to Boxxy as a sort of gift.

The shapeshifter was pleasantly surprised to find out that, based on the seven mithril teeth inside the dead mans mouth, the harpy had killed none other than Eobard Whitetooth Quincy. Boxxy had never t the guy, but it knew he was a wanted criminal with an outstanding bounty of 80,000 GP on his head, which it had every intention of collecting on. It praised the harpy for her contribution to its hoard and requested she bring over a few relatively intact human corpses for it to snack on. Jen happily did so while sporting a slight blush of embarrassnt on her cheeks.

Overall, the pirate attack had served to bolster everyones mood. Even Drea felt great after being allowed to gorge herself on all the leftover dead pirates. The monstrous troupe were still in high spirits several hours later when the Pale Pearl stopped, furled up its entirely decorative sails and dropped its nonexistent anchor. Everyone already had their diving gear ready and were more or less ready to descend to the bottom to start searching for this secret weapon ntioned in Tol-Saroths journal.

Well, almost everyone. Since being a harpy-griffin hybrid made it difficult for Jen to move freely underwater even with the standard issue diving gear, Boxxy had prepared a special Artifact just for her. It hadnt actually shown it to her yet, though, nor had it even ntioned anything about it other than its na. The winged Monk was therefore both skeptical and excited when the shapeshifter finally handed her the promised Hide of the Great Yellow Beast.

This is it? she asked warily.

Thats it, the Sandman nodded.

It doesnt look like much.

It would be difficult to call the item in her hands the hide of anything, let alone a great beast. It looked more like a circular poofy hat that was much too big for a regular person. It was most definitely yellow, though. Aggressively so, actually. It was a bright and vibrant color one would expect from a ripe lemon, not so fearso aquatic creature. It had an equally eye-catching orange brim jutting out of one side of it, seemingly so kind of visor to shield ones eyes from the sun.

Just put it on, Boxxy insisted.

Jen made the worlds tiniest shrug, figuring it was silly of her to judge an Artifact by its appearance, especially considering the nature of the fake ghost ship she was standing on. She placed the weird-looking headwear upon her noggin, making sure the orange part was over her face. Nothing seed to happen though, so she looked questioningly at the shapeshifter.

Oh, right, it suddenly rembered. You need to speak the code word to activate or deactivate it. Just rember to stand still until its done doing its thing.

Understood, she nodded. Whats the code word?

Aflac.

Aflac?

Jen felt so of her Ki being drained away, followed shortly by her being coated head-to-toe in so weird yellow goo. It felt smooth and cool to the touch while remaining strangely semi-solid, almost like so kind of liquified rubber. She remained perfectly still as instructed for several seconds as it hardened around her, sealing her body in a brightly colored yellow suit with orange feet. It was extrely roomy on the inside, and only left her face and wings exposed.

How do you like it? Boxxy asked jovially.

The harpy looked down at herself curiously and took a few exploratory steps, noting that it didnt impede her movent in any way. She questioned how she was supposed to hold anything with these clumsy-looking mitten-things on her hands, but she could still make a fist and hit with it, so she figured it wasnt an issue. Jen then realized that all of the other girls were falling over themselves, laughing at her. The harpy blinked a few tis at them, then once more looked down at her outfit, then finally checked her reflection in a nearby window. Having confird her suspicions, she turned back towards Boxxy.

Its a ducky suit, she stated bluntly. Why is it a ducky suit?

Indeed, though the harpy herself couldnt see it at first, it would be obvious to any bystander that she looked like a giant stuffed duckling. It even had a pair of adorably beady eyes, a pointy little tail, thoroughly rounded features, and a pudgy pear-shaped silhouette. It looked so goofy that it was no wonder why the others were having trouble keeping a straight face.

Ducky suit Jen, by dmaxcustom

What do you wanna do, boss? Kora asked telepathically. Wanna smash them now, or later?

Neither, her master shot her down. They might have information on the secret weapon cache were looking for, so play nice until I say otherwise.

The shapeshifter had Xera whisper its orders to both Jen and Fizzy, who already looked ready to rumble. Boxxy wouldve told them directly, but Whisper Wind wasnt usable in an environnt without air. After confirming that both the harpy and the golem had relaxed from a combat stance into a neutral one, it turned to greet the kryr welcoming party. It also silently praised itself for having the foresight to shift into its Sandman disguise on the way here, as it imagined they wouldnt be willing to talk to a monstrous eel-thing in a cloak.

The two kryr slowed their approach once they were within thirty ters and floated forward for a few more as they straightened themselves out.

Hail, surface dwellers, the woman greeted them with a soft clap of her hands. We have been sent to you as envoys on behalf of the Council of Saphrina. My na is Amona, and this is Wyatt.

The man also clapped his hands. That seed to be a sort of greeting among their kind, so Boxxy decided to mimic it while introducing itself.

Hello. I am Hugh Mungus.

It had also decided against using its Sandman alias, as it was highly unlikely anyone here actually knew of it. One could argue that using the joke na on its fake Status was a bit much, but it didnt have ti to co up with a new identity right now.

These are my companions, Jennifer Jackson and Fizzy Rustblood, and the other three are my demonic familiars, it introduced the others in turn.

Familiars? You are a Warlock? Wyatt said, almost accusingly.

Indeed. Dont worry, I have a tight leash on them.

Hmpf. Well see about that.

May we ask what is your purpose in coming here? Amona inquired politely.

Were adventurers from the Ishigar Republic, it half-lied. Were currently seeking the wreckage of a ship that supposedly sank in this region four centuries ago. We were in the midst of our exploration when we happened upon this place by accident. I apologize for any trespassing, it was not our intention.

That is quite alright, you havent broken any of our laws.

Not yet, anyway, Wyatt chid in.

What my colleague ans to say, Amona shot him a sharp glare, is that our laws and customs likely differ greatly from yours, which can cause undue incidents. We would therefore greatly appreciate if you would allow us to serve as your guides during your stay in Saphrina. Assuming you wish to visit, that is.

We would very much like to, yes.

In that case, Im required to ask what you hope to accomplish during your stay here. Its mostly a formality, but I must insist that you make your intent official.

I see. Hmm

The shapeshifter paused to formulate its words, its billowing cloak spreading out in all directions like ink as it did so.

I imagine your people have lived here for many generations, and would surely have records dating back to the ti period I ntioned. I would therefore like to peruse your libraries and converse with your historians if at all possible. My companions and I would also appreciate the chance to experience kryrian culture and cuisine, in addition to having a place to rest and recuperate. Lastly, I would like to see what sort of adventurer or rcenary work you have available in case there are good opportunities for us to earn a bit of extra coin.

Excellent, the woman smiled brightly. We would be more than happy to accommodate your wishes, but for now I must ask you to follow to the guard post so we can get you checked in. Right this way, please.

Before we go, Id like to ask one question.

Of course. I will do my best to answer.

How co this Council of yours sent two whole envoys for a bunch of random strangers? It seems like a bit much.

Like Amona said, things work differently around here, Wyatt explained. We rarely get visitors, so we try to treat the few that show up with the care and attention they need.

Okay, seriously, whats his problem? Boxxy asked Amona.

Please forgive him, she tilted her head. Wyatt here had a bad experience with the last guests we had. They accidentally sexually harassed him.

The man definitely seed uncomfortable hearing that, but it seed to be the truth.

Uh care to elaborate?

One of them grabbed his fin without permission. Those are very important to our courting rituals, so doing that sort of thing is no different to copping a feel.

I see. Then, is it okay if I complint you on yours? Because they look quite nice.

Oh, thank you, Amona blushed lightly in response. Or at least thats what Boxxy assud had happened when the small fins on either side of her head flared completely red for a few monts. As for Wyatt, he rely rolled his eyes in disapproval.

Co on, he beckoned. Lets get you people through customs, you can flirt all you want afterwards.

Amona shot him another sharp glare, but didnt say anything further. The two kryr turned around and skillfully used their tails to push themselves forward at a leisurely pace while remaining upright. Boxxys troupe all swam after them, except for Fizzy, who seed content to stomp along the ocean floor. It wasnt as if moving around like that was her only option, though. Her Assault Modes back-mounted Jump Jets worked just as well underwater as they did out of it, and would afford her a lot more mobility than this slow trudge she was currently confined to. However, the golem felt there was no need to rush towards that kryr settlent, nor was she all that interested in exploring it.

Mostly because Null had estimated that, based on Boxxys track record and current behavioral patterns, there was a 94% chance that Saphrina City was about to beco a bubbling crater.