Race outside to see what's happening

{if@ fight_option > 0}You and Lia burst out into the hallway from your separate rooms and make your way up the stairs together. Out on the main deck, you’re immediately hit with the sweltering heat of the sun in an endless blue sky, but that’s likely to be the least of your worries. The deck is a mess of bodies moving about in a panic, and the bell continues to be rung like some imminent doom is approaching. The two of you make your way over to Blythe after you spot her directing sailors and occasionally peering over the starboard railing at the strangely tranquil waters below.

“What’s happening?” you ask the elf, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“There is something in the water,” she says. “Some kind of enormous serpent. There!” She points to a section of the sea, and your eyes follow in time to catch the shimmering scales of something swimming just below the surface. It quickly disappears, only to skim the surface again somewhere else. The second viewing gives you an idea of the scale of this serpent: in terms of girth, it’s body is about as thick as you are tall, and as for the length, it’s definitely longer than the ship. Blythe wasn’t kidding when she called this thing enormous, you think. As it disappears again, Blythe grips your arm to pull your eyes away from the sea. “I must report to Captain Witterel. He may know of a way to appease the creature. The two of you should see if you can calm everyone dow—”

She starts walking away, but you grab her by the arm.

“Wait, Blythe,” you say. From the moment you saw the serpent, there’s been something on your mind. It’s only a possibility, but if it’s true it could drastically change how you handle this situation. “Think. When was the last time we fought a giant monster?”

Blythe’s eyes search desperately for your meaning. It takes her a few seconds to land on an epiphany. “You believe this could be the Elemental?”

“I hope not,” says Lia, placing herself beside you and Blythe. “How the hell would we fight that thing?”

That’s a fair question, you think. If it stays underwater, we can’t use the cannons on it. Fireballs would be useless, too.

As if on cue, waves rock the ship and an ear-splitting screech assaults your ears. About a ship’s length out to sea, the serpent rises from the waves until it stands taller than a two-story house. The head of the creature, snake-like in appearance, arcs down to gaze upon the ship and its noisy crew. You barely have time to register the black, blue, and green color pattern of its scales before the sea serpent rears back and opens its mouth.

If I know anything about giant sea serpents, you think, it’s either going to bite a hole in the ship or spew water to knock us overboard. I don’t like either of those options.

“Roar, searing blaze! Ignition!” You conjure a fireball with a diameter of about the length of your arm; thanks to your afternoon xp grinding sessions, you’ve discovered that this is as big as your shortened incantation can make them. The fire leaves your palm just as a torrent of serpent spit launches out of the beast’s mouth. Both attacks meet somewhere in the middle and explode into a giant steam cloud, which generates a mixed response from the crew between cheering and screaming for their lives. “Blythe!” you say, turning back to the girls for a moment. “If that thing is the Elemental, then we can’t leave without defeating it. I want you to go to the captain and make sure he doesn’t try to sail us out of here before we kill that thing. Do whatever you have to do to convince him not to run, got it?” Blythe nods and books it through the crowd of sailors towards the Captain’s Quarters. “Lia!” you say, turning to the catkin at your side. “I’m going to throw as much fire as I can at it. While I’m keeping it busy, I need you to find a way to land a decisive, killing blow.” Turning around, you launch another fireball through the half-dissipated steam cloud. The serpent ducks under the projectile and screeches in retaliation. It then whips its tail up from much closer to the ship and sends saltwater splashing up onto the deck. All you can do is keep firing, making it dodge your attacks while keeping it angry enough to stick around.

“You want me to figure out how to kill that thing!?” Lia shouts over the din of panicking sailors. You spare her a glance in between shots, and immediately notice how worried she looks. That won’t do: if she freezes up now, you’ll all be in serious trouble. Once you land a solid shot to the body of the serpent, you take advantage of the time you have while it’s stunned to turn around and grip Lia tightly by her shoulders. She feels rigid in your grasp, her eyes wide and teary.

“The Lia I know grew up on the streets. She’s a crafty bitch, who’s been in more tight spots than anyone and always found a way out.” Without thinking, you lean in and land a quick kiss on her cheek. Her face explodes with color as you pull away, but at least she focuses clearly on your next words: “We’re in a tight spot now. There’s no one I trust more than you to get us out of it. Okay?”

Still dazed from the kiss, Lia manages to mumble, “Okay…” Then, after another couple of seconds in your grip sobering up, she offers a more confident nod. You release her and watch as she, too, disappears in the crowd of terrified sailors. Once she’s gone, you return to your efforts keeping the sea serpent distracted with your not-unlimited supply of fireballs.

You can manage about four more shots at max size, and a dozen or so smaller ones after that if you push it. Lia needs to work fast.{elseif fight_option < 0}You and Lia burst out into the hallway from your separate rooms and make your way up the stairs together. Out on the main deck, you’re immediately hit by the freezing winds and the gloom of overcast skies, but that’s likely to be the least of your worries. The deck is a mess of bodies moving about in a panic, and the bell continues to be rung like some imminent doom is approaching. The two of you make your way over to Blythe after you spot her directing sailors and occasionally peering over the starboard railing at the strangely tranquil waters below.

“What’s happening?” you ask the elf, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“There are strange creatures in the water,” she says. “Enormous snake-like things with growths on one side. There!” She points to a section of the sea, and your eyes follow in time to catch the grim visage of something moving just below the surface. It quickly disappears, only to skim the surface again somewhere else. The second viewing gives you an idea of what you’re dealing with: those are undoubtedly the tentacles of a giant squid. Fuck me. First it’s ghost pirates, and now the kraken. As it disappears again, Blythe grips your arm to pull your eyes away from the sea. “I must report to Captain Witterel. He may know of a way to appease the creatures. The two of you should see if you can calm everyone dow—”

She starts walking away, but you grab her by the arm.

“Wait, Blythe,” you say. From the moment you saw the tentacles, there’s been something on your mind. It’s only a possibility, but if it’s true it could drastically change how you handle this situation. “Those things are all one giant monster. Look at how the tentacles move, like they’re totally in sync with each other.” Blythe looks back out to sea.

“You are right,” she says after watching the movement of the tentacles more closely.

“Now, think,” you say. “When was the last time we fought a giant monster?”

Blythe’s eyes watch the icy water, searching desperately for your meaning. It takes her a few seconds to land on an epiphany. “You believe this could be the Elemental?”

“I hope not,” says Lia, placing herself beside you and Blythe. “How the hell would we fight that thing? If it even is one thing, like Evan says.”

That’s a fair question, you think. If it stays underwater, we can’t use the cannons on it. Fireballs would be useless, too. But… krakens aren’t exactly known for staying underwater, are they?

As if on cue, waves rock the ship and the renewed screams of terror from the crew **** your ears. About a ship’s length out to sea in every direction, six tentacles thicker than you are tall rise from the waves until they stand higher than a two-story house. They’re constantly shifting this way and that, making it dizzying to try and keep track of them all. Luckily, you do catch one rearing back, as if preparing to strike the ship.

“Roar, searing blaze! Ignition!” You conjure a fireball with a diameter of about the length of your arm; thanks to your afternoon xp grinding sessions, you’ve discovered that this is as big as your shortened incantation can make them. The fire leaves your palm just as the tentacle lunges towards the ship. Your attack meets the tentacle in the middle and explodes, which generates a mixed response from the crew between cheering and screaming for their lives. That tentacle then immediately dives back below the water to douse the flames before rising up again. “Blythe!” you say, turning back to the girls for a moment. “If that thing is the Elemental, then we can’t leave without defeating it. I want you to go to the captain and make sure he doesn’t try to sail us out of here before we kill that thing. Do whatever you have to do to convince him not to run, got it?” Blythe nods and books it through the crowd of sailors towards the Captain’s Quarters. “Lia!” you say, turning to the catkin at your side. “I’m going to throw as much fire as I can at it. While I’m keeping it busy, I need you to find a way to land a decisive, killing blow.” Turning around, you launch another fireball at the already injured tentacle. The shot lands, once again causing the tentacle to splash down below the sea. Unfortunately, the other tentacles seem to be getting interested now.

“You want me to figure out how to kill that thing!?” Lia shouts over the din of panicking sailors. You spare her a glance in between shots, and immediately notice how worried she looks. That won’t do: if she freezes up now, you’ll all be in serious trouble. Once you land a solid shot to the most active tentacle, you take advantage of the time you have while it’s stunned to turn around and grip Lia tightly by her shoulders. She feels rigid in your grasp, her eyes wide and teary.

“The Lia I know grew up on the streets. She’s a crafty bitch, who’s been in more tight spots than anyone and always found a way out.” Without thinking, you lean in and land a quick kiss on her cheek. Her face explodes with color as you pull away, but at least she focuses clearly on your next words: “We’re in a tight spot now. There’s no one I trust more than you to get us out of it. Okay?”

Still dazed from the kiss, Lia manages to mumble, “Okay…” Then, after another couple of seconds in your grip sobering up, she offers a more confident nod. You release her and watch as she, too, disappears in the crowd of terrified sailors. Once she’s gone, you return to your efforts keeping the kraken distracted with your not-unlimited supply of fireballs.

You can manage about four more shots at max size, and a dozen or so smaller ones after that if you push it. Lia needs to work fast.{endif}