When Rukar returned, he gave his new report, and this ti he didn’t move far away from Galthor. He seed to have already accepted his lot.
"The thing I saw earlier is already much closer than it was a mont ago!" Rukar reported.
"What is the thing exactly?" Galthor asked.
"It’s a turtle shell, a very big one at that, and it’s floating toward us at an incredible speed. What are we to do?"
"Do you see the monster in the shell?" Karathra asked.
Rukar shook his head. "No. It appears empty, but who knows? I don’t see anything attached to it."
Galthor frowned. What he thought would be attacking them were those jellyfish-swordfish combinations. But a turtle shell? And it was moving at an incredible speed. "Then the monster must be hiding in the shell. Alright, all of you should prepare for an attack."
"From your estimation, Rukar, how long before the monster reaches us?"
"I’ll say fifteen minutes. It’s that fast."
The others looked at each other and then at their chief.
"How should we prepare? How are we to even fight in this water?" Drakira asked.
Galthor looked at them calmly. "You’re all masters. You should figure it out."
He was also thinking of how he would fight with no solid ground beneath him.
They all turned toward the direction Rukar indicated, with worried looks on their faces, waiting for the monster to show itself. Apart from the monster itself, what they were worried about was its rank.
For starters, anything that could pull them into a pocket world would be at the rank of a cursed monster. But what if the monster’s rank was higher than that? What then?
They were all thinking this, but none of them put it into words. They just floated and waited. And soon, they felt the monster’s presence.
No, it made itself known. The first thing they all felt was the chill. The water around them noticeably turned colder, and it was dropping even faster.
"T... this is bad. I’m s... shiverin... g!" Rukar complained as he shuddered. He felt as if he was getting dipped in ice. His whole body was covered in goosebumps as hard as stones. His limbs had even beco stiff, and he couldn’t move his legs as fluidly as before, making it nearly impossible to stay afloat.
And he wasn’t the only one. The others were in the sa state, the water cold enough to start freezing even masters. But the curious thing about it was the fact that ice wasn’t forming, even though the water had obviously reached the freezing point.
Only Galthor himself seed fine. The divine energy covering him was like a warm balm coating his skin. He frowned. "Is this the monster’s strategy? Freeze us before even fighting us? I must admit, this is sensible."
He couldn’t help but praise such logic. Ho and environntal advantages were things that could tip the balance in any fight. The toad monster they fought earlier in the day lost that when it jumped out of its swamp.
"Chief, we have to do sothing fast, or we’ll die even before the monster appears!" Karathra said.
Galthor looked at them without worry. "Fools. Why are you crying to ? You have a god, pray to him!"
They looked at him in surprise. Zargoth, the chain-using master, asked hesitantly, "We can do sothing like that? Will the god answer?"
Can they do sothing like that? Galthor himself did not know. How frequently does one pray to their god, and how frequently does he answer? He did not know. He did not know how these things were done.
But if his worshippers prayed to him, would he answer? Yes, Galthor would. Why wouldn’t he? If he had the power, he would help them.
He was their god.
"Why not? Pray to him. He might be able to do sothing. Don’t forget, Unchanging Warth might be weak, but he’s still our god!"
Galthor’s voice was filled with so much conviction that they stopped hesitating and started praying. Their voices filled the air, shivering and packed with desperation.
It echoed in his mind like warm showers.
And Galthor...
He answered.
Instantly, a blinding warm light appeared around each of the masters, enveloping them like a cocoon and washing away their cold, replacing it with warmth.
And the warmth did not go; it stayed with them, making the water around them ripple with a golden glow.
The masters changed tone and began to pray in appreciation, their prayers mixing with others to create more lesser miracles.
Galthor looked at them in satisfaction. Maybe it was because he was a god, but he felt really satisfied with the way they looked so happy after seeing their prayers answered.
"It’s almost as if I’m standing near a fire! Chief, thank you!" Rukar shouted, his eyes alight.
The others echoed their thanks as well, adding Unchanging Warth to it.
Now that the cold had been taken away, they all prepared to et the monster that was heading their way. And it didn’t take long for them to sight it.
The turtle shell was easily thirty ters wide, bright green, with hard black lines forming block shapes on its body. Where the head and limbs should be were empty, but the holes were filled with a living presence, as if sothing was looking out from within.
And it was speeding toward them like a bus with failed brakes.
"Chief, what are we going to do?" Karathra asked, holding her sword high above her head while she struggled not to be drowned by the sea.
He could already guess that the shell was ant to mow them down, crushing them with its speed and weight. Galthor would survive it, but what of the others? He needed to stop that thing.
And the shell was so close now that its shadow was looming over them.
"Hrothgar! Prepare yourself!"
The big barbarian blinked. "What? Wait, what!"
But Galthor was already moving. His hands snapped forward, and he grabbed Karathra and Brakthar, using their heads as a post, he lifted himself off the water and then threw himself at Hrothgar.
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