ONCE I returned to the surface I went into my shed and picked up my wooden sword and began my journey, to where I didn’t know where I was going. About halfway down the road I noticed my pack was getting heavy so I checked, the tadpole had now grown larger and had little nubs on its side. I thought to myself I guess this is what they do, and continued my journey with my head held high.

I continued my journey at a rapid pace not looking at the map very much and I never pulled out the book. Soon after I began I met a fork in the road and I instinctively decided to go right, little did i know there was an orc encampment shortly down the road. “

“Hello good fellows, how are ye in this lovely encampment?” I declared as I arrived at the camp with a friendly wave, the orcs noticing the small human entering their camp jumped up and I was then immediately met with glistening battle axes and sharp daggers and dragged off into the dungeon. 

The dungeon smelled of century-old eggs and was a nesting ground for death and despair. 

“Let me out!” I yelled as I fought the stone-cold bars. Eventually, the orcs grew weary and they placed me on a raft that could have fallen apart any second and sent me down the river. As soon as I was out of sight of the camp I leaped off the raft, exactly at the fork I had passed earlier. I then chose the left, inland leading path and continued on my way. When I entered Dirkenburg I was so tired I could have passed out after another step, so I went down and sat in the town square and listened to the town elder.

“Deep within the depths, a dangerous creature emerges. Why have I been awakened? It questions every stroke of a gargantuan fin. ‘Death’ it roared after leaping from the water to some unkindly fisherman’s demise, this beast is the drifter of the depths, the terror of the ocean waves, The Aqeris!'' The elder spoke with power and mysticism and it made me wonder: Was this the evil I was supposed to slay, how? I got up with the picture of this fantastic beast plated forever in my memory and spoke to the elder “When this beast awoke, how was it sent back into slumber?” 

“The ancient smiths created a weapon of sapphire that had magical abilities”

“And where would I be able to find this super weapon?”

“Deep under the sea”

“OK” I responded and rushed out of the room.

I found the nearest port and bored the quickest ship out. The smell of salt filled my nose. I live close to the sea but I had never voyaged or even boarded a ship other than my own so with a long journey ahead we boarded the large wooden boat that ventured off into the trillions of miles of ocean. By day 10 I had lost all confidence in the venture and with lowered shoulders walked back to my cabin. After the next few days, the crew had begun to become anxious and plotted to throw me out, and they did, on day 68 I was carried to the sea in my bed and placed in a raft to eventually be overcome by waves as i floated out to sea.

I awoke to the sounds of soft sloshing waves and a shining blue sky. I began to panic “they’ll never find me in a billion years!” and then I saw it, not far in the distance, a black shape was ominously skimming the water with a large wake that rolled with anger. I also spotted something below me, a hut-like structure with the same blue hue as before. My backpack had been removed when I was set off so I had nothing to lose. I dove down and found an air pocket inside, with an hourglass and an iris-shaped wall. I tried multiple times to pry the door open but was overall unsuccessful, however, I did notice after a little while one section disappeared into the wall so I decided to wait. And after many hours of the sound of sand falling, and the occasional click finally, Clang! The door was all open and a blue stone that smelled like it was very old was sitting inside, when I picked it up it hummed with anticipation it then transformed into a long trident. I had obviously completed my first objective so I swam out of the temple finding that I could swim with new energy and breathe underwater! I began searching for my mouse. 

When I saw it I began to grow afraid as it carried itself hauntingly through the water. And when it approached i felt it speak to me but it’s mouth was not moving, it was almost as if my thoughts were his thoughts, You have the stupidity to challenge me? I thought as it began to speed up and spin around me, I pulled out a relic and just the sight of the rock made the monster shrink away, it thought to me even with the relic you are still weak. And the attack began. We swam around for a little while preparing and sizing each other up. I will be the first to attack, Shing! The trident slid into its upper belly, the creature reeled in pain then quickly lashed out with its tail as it screamed “die you merely human!”. I blocked the attack but was injured in my leg, and then counter strike with a swift stab in the face, but it was enough to feel the creature. As it fell I heard “Why!” mixed in with many bubbles being popped as the creature emptied its stomach. Swimming to the surface was a breeze however when I exited onto the beach it felt like I had gained a Million pounds. I was found by a group from the nearby village and brought to their houses.

When I had recovered fully I stayed in the village for a while, making friends. I eventually showed them my stone and told them the story of the beast. The villagers soaked it up like a sponge and I was hailed as a hero. However I eventually said goodbye to them and packed up to go home. I returned home to my flowing field of fleas and my one lowley cur. I felt sad, the adventure was over, everything was back to normal. The world needed no saving. I went over to the hole that once housed the book and the ladder and threw the book in. I walked back to my house and when I was back inside I saw the hole close up and return to the ground. A few weeks later I noticed something strange, some of the fleas were blowing the opposite direction of the wind. I decided to look at it and stood in awe at what I saw.