Surprisingly enough, all dungeons had a similar entrance. It didn’t matter that this one was filled with water as soon as the doors opened, you were still descending down steps into dark waters. Similar to the stairs down into the undead dungeon, and Cass assumed, all dungeons they had cleared with Cassian as well.
Edgar took the lead on the magic here, casting the light magic so that Cass could focus on everything else.
It was a set it and forget it kind of magic. Easy magic that most kids learned to cast as young as possible. An easy drain on their magic that taught them control. Cass remembered reading about it in one of his magic books, and strangely, the demonology book as well.
Some magic training was the same, across the board. It even came up in some of his romance novels. God, Cass really wanted to finish reading the one he started in the carriage. He’d really wasted his time last night by just watching the other men move around camp like a damn puppy.
Cass pushed the thought to the back of his mind as Edgar and Lucian slowly began their descent into the dark water. Cass swallowed as Gideon stood at his side, his free hand hovering near Cass’ hip as his other held his sword in his hand. Cass was once again glad that he’d asked Byron to make sure it was a great sword.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to handle all this salt water so easily. Magic enchantments for the win.
Cass took a deep breath as he watched the other two dip further into the water as Cass himself stepped into the dark waters. The steps were slimy, unsafe, and Cass frowned deeply. He knew he would be able to breathe. Hell, the moment he stepped through the damn stone doors Cass had been able to feel the magic in the air, in his lungs.
He felt like a damn battery recharging.
It was annoying, and relieving all at the same time since it meant he wasn’t as useless as he could have been. He was going to be of help in the dungeon while also keeping everyone alive. No one else would be able to do what he was doing.
The water lapped at Cass’ boots, his nerves wavering as he felt just how cold this water was compared to the ocean water they had just been in.
"You okay, Cass?" Gideon asked softly, Lucian and Edgar pausing on the steps, the water up to their hips at Gideon’s question. Cass nodded, his hands clenched at his side stiffly.
"I’m fine." Cass muttered, but he knew he was lying to them. He would be fine, he was just having a hard time actively choosing to go into the dark water. It wasn’t fully dark, Edgar was lighting the way, but that didn’t mean that Cass was happy doing this.
"You’re as white as a ghost. Are you sure?" Gideon asked and Cass gave him an annoyed look.
"What am I supposed to say right now, Gideon? Even if I’m not fine it’s not like I have another choice." Cass snapped, then winced. "Shit. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t snap at you about-" Gideon reached out, touching Cass’ hip briefly, but with enough force that Cass felt it. He gave Cass a soft smile, shaking his head slightly.
"It’s okay, Cass. You have every right to snap at me. It’s also okay to be scared. This is...not a great first look of a dungeon." Gideon admitted. Lucian huffed.
"Water dungeons are cold and miserable. Really, even the undead dungeon we came from before this was better. Hell, I’d take the forest dungeon over this one." Lucian muttered and Gideon chuckled.
"That one was terrible. So hot I thought I was going to slip out of my armor." Gideon commented. Cass felt his shoulders relax, Gideon’s hand on Cass’ hip just enough to help him relax. He was offering comfort without being forceful, and damnit, it was working.
Embarrassed, Cass let out a slow breath, stealing a glance at Gideon who mercifully, wasn’t staring at Cass.
"Thank you." Cass muttered. "I’m feeling...better. We can continue." Cass told them. Lucian chuckled, reaching out and grabbing one of Cass’ fisted hands, giving it a squeeze in his bigger one.
"You’ll be safe, Cass. Don’t worry. How is your focus doing? Are you okay to continue?" Lucian asked and Cass nodded.
"My magic is fine now. As soon as we stepped into the dungeon it got better." Cass admitted. Lucian nodded.
"Perfect. Let us know if that changes." Lucian told him before releasing Cass’ hand and glancing at Edgar. Edgar nodded, and the two continued further into the water. Gideon and Cass continued as well, Gideon’s hand not hovering at Cass’ back and instead staying on Cass’ hip as they continued down the steps. They got to their chest height, the water making a sick lapping sound.
Cass shivered. He didn’t like that sound. It felt...sick. Disgusting. He couldn’t quite put a finger on why he didn’t like the sound at all. He took a deep breath before dunking his head underwater, Gideon following him. Thankfully, it was just the four of them in the water, the dim glow of Edgar’s lights brightening the dark waters around them. The stairs continued down, sinking deeper into the ground and Cass wondered how anyone else without their magical capabilities would be able to clear this dungeon?
Would anyone else be able to do it?
It was a grim thought, one that Cass was sure Fiona had had several times during her time as an active hero. Cass shook that thought away as he let Gideon tug him down into the depths, Lucian doing the same to Edgar. It was Edgar and Cass’ time to be on high alert while the others protected them.
~
They kept going down. Down and down and down into the depths of this still water grave. The cold was what would have gotten to Cass if Lucian hadn’t been around. Cass wasn’t sure how, but he made sure that the water around him was warmer, palatable, and it made the air around them easier to breathe as well. Cass was grateful for it, and so was Edgar.
Gideon was...indifferent. Well, that wasn’t exactly correct. The man was just focused on keeping everyone safe. So far nothing had come down the stairs after them, but they had been descending downwards for a long time. Long enough that Edgar could tell them that the sun had fully set and it was probably midnight.
Finally they had reached the bottom and a long, dark hallway stretched in front of them. Lucian turned and gave them all a grin.
"Ya ready, boys? This is where it actually begins." He said. Cass could only agree, nodding slowly as he felt the magic around them shift and sway, almost like the waves he had seen up above.
"We should keep moving." Gideon muttered, and Cass couldn’t help but agree.
"I don’t like it here." Cass muttered. The place was even creepier than the damn undead dungeon to him. Edgar chuckled.
"If you get scared, you can hug any one of us." He said, giving Cass a teasing wink. Cass scowled.
"Ha ha." Cass replied tartly, and Lucian laughed.
"Follow me, boys." Lucian said, and thus they began their true descent into the dungeon.
Gideon was right to guess that the mermen were the grunts. With their weird, leathery lower bodies, their speckled upper bodies and fish-like heads, they were freaky in every way. Cass was sure he would have nightmares about their big, black eyes staring at him lifelessly after Lucian and Gideon had sliced them up.
Thankfully, Gideon had enough control over his powers that he was able to detect what were the right directions to go when they got to forks in the road. Same with Lucian. Lucian’s was based on ’the biggest threat’ that he could feel, while Gideon’s were more based on ’the highest concentration of demonic energy’. It was fascinating to see how those two things interacted and how they diverged.
Sometimes, Cass got in the way of Gideon’s readings. That wasn’t intentional on Cass’ part. His constant use of his magic appeared to be something that interfered and was an interesting tidbit to learn.
They continued going through the dungeon, the dawn creeping closer as per Edgar’s built in alarm clock. It had been hours since they had descended into the dark, waterfilled hallways until finally, Gideon and Lucian felt a significant tug.
"It seems like we’re coming up to a giant chamber of sorts. Maybe a mini boss." Lucian whispered as they were caught in a small fork. Unlike the usual four way split, this one was a three way split, with the path that they came through making it really a two way.
"We could avoid it, but I think it’s the right way to go." Gideon muttered quietly. Cass glanced around them then turned his gaze to Edgar.
"What do you think? I think it’s a good idea. We could potentially use the large area as a rest area. I can make some artificial ground, maybe make an air pocket somehow. We could rest after." Cass suggested. Edgar nodded slowly.
"I have enough juice to help fight if we need it." Edgar added and Cass turned to look at the other men. Gideon and Lucian shared a look before they nodded.
"We might need a finishing blow from you, Cass, but we’ll worry about that when we get there." Lucian suggested and Cass felt his spine stiffen. A finishing blow? From him?
Lucian caught the look on Cass’ face and chuckled.
"Sometimes you need the hero’s touch to finish off these guys. It’s not a big deal. We’ll make it easy for you." Lucian told him and Cass, for his part, just nodded. A hero’s touch, huh? That was something that Fiona was used to doing, and damn it, Cass was going to have to get used to it too.
"So we’re going to do it?" Cass asked and the three men nodded. "Does anyone need a break right now? Now’s the time to do it." Cass suggested and Lucian nodded, scanning the others. Edgar gulped, then nodded. Cass helped the man get some of his bottled blood out, have a few sips and compose himself.
After Edgar had rested, everything was tucked away again, they moved towards the mini boss. Cass was interested to see what this place decided was a suitable mini boss, and if it was related to anyone around them. After all, they had to encounter him as one of their previous mini bosses.
Who would be targeted this time?