“How do we deal with these things?” Ob asked.


    “They are quick and smart. Smart species if the Cerberus spawn.” Vincent answered, “Fire won’t work; light might be the best bet. I’m not sure about ice.”


    “I fear it will be ineffective,” Zephyrus said.


    “Yeah, same.” Vincent responded, “Bad news is we don’t really have an advantage in terms of damage dealing. The good news is we have Ob with his soul link of doom.”


    “Why am I the solution?” Ob asked.


    “Sir, we saw you pull your scythe through the head of the dark Kraken we just killed. Not slash. Pull!” Vincent exclaimed. “That damage dealing is unmatched by anything we have.” Ob shrugged and nodded. Vincent was right; what Ob had done to that Kraken’s face was not an easy accomplishment.


    “Hades will be a big ally, especially in your hands,” Abigail spoke up. “Aquahounds are difficult to kill because they have a lot of fat. This fat can be broken down into water molecules to slow any attack coming close to vital organs. They can stop arrows from point blank from reaching their heart.”


    “Well, that seems like a huge advantage. What’s the catch?” Ob said.


    “They can only do so many attacks at once. The more they are focused on two or three attacks, the worse their defense gets.” Abigail responded. “This is why they hunt in packs. And since we are on the coast, there''ll be a lot. This is going to be hard. Near impossible.”


    “Divide and conquer,” Ob said.


    “Pardon?” Abigail ask.


    “How many do y’all think we can corale and take out in one go? I’d say 3 or 4. So we trap 3 or 4 at a time. Only attack in smaller groups but as our full party. More harmonized on our end and more chaos for them.”


    “That sounds good in theory,” Abigail said, “I think isolation would be complicated. They aren’t Pegasus that can be lured with a mushroom and a lasso.”


    “Then we work as a party and not get surrounded. Pull our focus on a small couple at a time.” Ob said, taking the lead of the strategy. “Vincent, can they be poisoned?”


    “Yes, they can.” He responded.


    “Okay, Abigail, are you comfortable being on Eclipse’s back?” Ob asked the elf.


    Steeling her nerves, Abigail said, “Yes. What is your plan?”


    Ob pauses and nods at her; he knew this would be a big ask but was grateful that Abigail was willing to do this. “We’ll have you and Eclipse deal damage from the air. It will be where you can use Toxic Curse from over the top of them, call out which group we should go after, and be protected from the air. Eclipse, you can use your solar eclipse ability to blind them every now and again.  Z, you and I will hop in n out of the shadows, doing as much damage together; Maeva and Vincent do what y’all do best. Attack quickly and do as many flesh wounds as possible so the toxic curse enters them directly, not just through their breath. Any questions?”


    “You shortened my name,” Zephyrus said. “I am unsure how I feel about it.”


    “Fair, I was testing it out,” Ob said with a chuckle. “We’ll decide later. Any questions on the strategy?”


    “Not from me, love. You and Abigail make a great leadership team. Let’s go kick some aquahound booty!” Maeva said with excitement.


    The group agreed with the plan that Ob made and set off. They followed Vincent as he led the party to where he spotted the tracks. There was tension amongst the group. They were walking with steady, quick steps, wanting to avoid being ambushed. The threat was growing, and they couldn’t be too slow. Ob had Hades in hand, ready for the battle, and would not take any risks.


    “Hey Maeva,” Ob asked the short woman beside him.


    “Mmm,” she said, looking up to him.


    “Would these tentacle whips be a good weapon for you? I have several; I am pretty sure we can change the length.” He asked. He pulled out a dark tentacle from his inventory. In his hand was a glowing purple whip. The whip had spikes all along its outside. On the inside of the whip were suction cups like an octopus tentacle.


    <i>Item: Tentacle of the Dark</i>


    <i>Weapon</i>


    <i>Rare</i>


    <i>A whip from a hell-bound kraken. The tentacle possesses magical potential along with long toxic spikes. It can be used as a conduit or as a weapon.</i>


    Maeva grabbed the leather handle from Ob and began examining it. She pushed her manna into the whip. The whip reacted to the manna by going stiff and then back to a curled resting position. “Ooh, I like this. Thanks Ob.” She said, grinning, “I think this could be quite useful.”


    Ob pulled out another tentacle and handed it to Maeva; Ob said nothing. Handing her the whip with a nod and watched as her eyes grew wide. “Thank you, Ob,” she hugged him. “I think that’ll help me a lot with attacking. I’m ready.” The look on her face was one of those who would never let anything stop her from her goals and determination.


    <hr>


    “I count 30 Aquahounds,” a raspy voice said. It sounded like they constantly drank rocks to calm a sore throat. The voice was not smooth to hear. “I can’t take them all by myself.”


    “Well, you’re the only guardian this town has,” a panicked voice said. “What do you mean you can’t take them?!”


    “I am one Aquine. I can only do so much. It will be best to get your people together and prepare to evacuate.” The Aquine said.


    “Balx, you have to have a different suggestion?! Please!” the man responded.


    “I’m sorry, Mr. Mayor Felting, rather than groveling to me, get your affairs in order,” the Aquine named Balx said. The mayor bowed sadly and began running off into the distance. Balx walked to the edge of the small village. He had grown fond of this village. They were kind to him; most people were scared of Balx. Aquines are beings born of the sea; their species are spread out in different races, from squid-folk to mermaids, sirens, Kraken, kaiju, etc. Balx was a squid-folk; they appeared as half humanoid and half squid. Balx had the head of an octopus. Rather than having a beard, he had eight small tentacles that formed on his face like a beard. His skin was purple, like an octopus, the top of his head was purple, and the bottom of his tentacle beard was tan. He was a massive squid-folk defined with muscles. He stood 8 feet tall, and his forearms and calves had fins that allowed him to swim in water. His hands and feet were webbed.


    Balx wishes he had a soul-link of any kind. He had always been on his own but was growing tired of this type of work. He wanted nothing more than to be a part of something where he could save these small villages, not alone. The village people were all grateful to have a protector to come and take care of their problems. Balx made it a point to constantly swing by and help the village with the quests they put out. He was always welcomed with warm greetings and a meal. This time, he was met with panic; they had had people gone missing and had found some return with slashes. That is when they contacted Balx to help them.


    When Balx came, they informed him of what was going on. Balx had been staying in the village for the past couple of weeks and attacking the random creatures. Balx initially thought that the townsfolk were lying to him, but he found no traces of a monster. Then, when he was on his morning patrol, he found a dead seal tiger with gash marks along its neck. That is when he decided to hunt for more traces of the aquahounds. He found a pack of them a long distance out, but they were moving closer to the shore. They were going after the village. Balx hurried back and warned the mayor.


    A shriek in the distance shook the massive aquine from his memories. The battle had begun. Rushing towards the sound of the shriek, he began to conjure his weapons. Two swords appear in his hands. The swords are twin swords, and the blades are slightly curved upwards. When put together, they form one complete sword. When separated, they are two individual swords. The swords were beautiful, and the blades were blue like the deep sea. The handle and grip were made from the scales of a seadragon. The pommel was a sharp shark’s tooth-shaped sea glass.


    Racing toward the sound, he saw a small hound lunging at a group of non-magical warriors of the small village. With a small chant, a wall of water appeared between the warriors and the hound. He lunged toward the hound. The Aquahound turned with its hideous teeth. The beast had fins for ears and large, yellow, sharp teeth. It had the snout of a wolf covered in blue scales. All its paws were webbed. It had a thick tail, with ship edges on the top and a sharp fin for cutting through water and opponents.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Balx attacked first, swinging the sword with two hands toward the beast''s tail. He missed. The hound jumped right to avoid the attack. The beast shot water out of its mouth at Balx. It was boiling hot water, causing 2nd degree burns on impact. Balx created an “X” with his two swords to protect himself. The water bounced off a manna shield produced. He spat in anger. Balx then began running to the left of the hound; he chanted another spell, and a wave appeared in front of him. Jumping onto the wave, he started circling the hound on the wave. Chanting various spells, he began blasting the aquahound with water from the wave. Knowing it would do minor damage, Balx kept it coming. Distraction was a valuable weapon.


    The Aquahound would stumble slightly with every blow. It roared, then dug its paws into the ground. The hound was no longer stumbling. Splash after splash, it shook its head to clear the white water rushing through its face.


    Balx saw the moment he had been waiting for. With one more summon of a water geyser, he followed it immediately. As soon as it was done making impact with the aquahound, he swung his swords. Cutting the beast''s head clean off.


    “You all okay?” He said, turning to the group of warriors. They nodded, “Good, now go find a group to protect; that was just the beginning.” As soon as he said that, he turned to the shoreline to sea, and 15 more appeared out of the water. He swore. <i>How in Aqulias am I going to do this?</i> He thought to himself. <i>Aqulias, the lord of the seas, helped me in my time of need to protect these people. </i>He said that short prayer.


    <hr>


    “Looks like the battle has started, Ob,” Eclipse said. “Good luck, everyone. Fight hard.”


    The team of Maeva, Vincent, Zephyrus, and Ob all sprinted off towards the coastal area of the small village. That is where they sensed the presence of most of the Aquahounds. As they arrived in the area, Ob spotted a large beast attacking the Aquahounds. It was four hounds to the one creature. Ob had never seen a creature like that, but it was tall and quick. It was attacking and protecting with every second.


    Ob didn’t hesitate. He rushed in to help the creature with the swords. Disappearing into the shadows, he appeared behind one of the aquahounds and slashed. The hound was cut in half instantly. It was dead before it could even sense that another being was in its presence. Balx looked at Ob, surprised. “Thanks, stranger.” Balx looked the Celestine up and down. He looked at the man’s armor and couldn’t determine what class he was. The Celestine didn’t say anything, just nodded and kept the assault. Balx watched as this one Celestine was fighting with such vigor. Every slash of the scythe was vicious; he was quick, he was strong, he was smart. This Celestine man was dangerous. Putting that feeling of danger aside, Balx was grateful to have someone fighting with him.


    Ob was shocked at how easily Hades cut through the aquahound. <i>1</i> Ob said in his head. Ob grinned a sinister grin. He was going to enjoy this. Ob looked at the big creature in front of him and heard him say thanks. His voice was very deep and raspy, but Ob had to put that aside for the moment. He had some hounds to slay. Ob started swinging his weapon in a whirlwind of blades and slashes.


    Watching Ob use Hades was like watching a master''s work. In the short time that Ob has been in this world, he has developed a deep understanding of how to use this weapon. It was clear that Ob was practicing with his weapon. Ob felt like a lightsaber master every time he used his scythe.


    Ob jumped back into a shadow in the fight and reappeared behind another hound. The hounds, aware of his tricks, worked in tandem to prevent Ob from attacking. An Aquahound blasts Ob with the boiling water with a perfectly timed attack. Ob had no time to protect himself and took the blast full force.


    Balx swore and started to attack the hound that attacked Ob. Balx should have cast a spell to protect that Celestine. Balx knew that the water from the hounds was boiling hot and could do severe damage. Seeing that this Celestine took that hit without any protection, he was not hopeful the man survived. With a slash of his sword, he cut the head off of the beasty who just attacked.


    There were now two Aquahounds left and just Balx. He roared at the two hounds staring back at him. As he did, three arrows landed on the head of one of the hounds. As that hound fell dead, the other hound was cut in half. Balx looked at Ob standing over the dead hound with a pissed-off look. “How the hell did you survive that?” Balx asked. “That is water hot as the depths of an underwater volcano.”


    Ob smirked at the man, “I got my secrets. What’s your name, big guy?”


    “Balx Trix,” he said. “What’s yours, Celestine?”


    “Ob Jones,” Ob responded, “Nice to meet ya. No offense, but what are you?”


    “Excuse me, we do have a battle to attend to,” Abigail said from above.


    “Right, my bad. Introductions after we kill these creatures. So Balx, you in this fight with us?”


    Balx looked around to see who Ob was talking to at first. Then he nodded. Celestines were weird creatures; he figured that Ob was probably using one of those powers exclusive to Celestines. As he nodded, a small human woman and a skinny human man walked up to the two, and then a griffin landed beside Ob. “This is Maeva and Vincent. The griffin is Zephyrus,” Ob told Balx. “Our plan is to attack as a group. We think this could provide the best victory over these hounds.”


    “That works for me,” Balx said. “Let’s go!” The group shot off toward the next pack of Aquahounds they could find. This time, they found 6; Maeva captured two hounds in her whips, holding them still for Ob to come and slash them in pieces. At the same time, Vincent shot a few arrows into one of the hounds. Balx was running alongside Zephyrus, and the two of them cornered one; Zephyrus jumped onto its back, and Balx cut the head off. Just like that, the pack of 6 Aquahounds was reduced to two. Vincent shot one of them dead with a precise arrow to the temple, and Zephyrus killed the other one with slashes with his claws to the hound’s throat.


    Vincent turned to the beach to see 10 more hounds sitting, watching, and waiting. He readied his bow. Knock an arrow and chanted a spell as he released. The onslaught of arrows flew and covered the Aquahounds; as the arrows fell, the hounds shot their water geyser attack to intercept them. Most of the arrows didn’t make it. A few strays landed but missed the targets. It was not going to be that easy.


    “Close your eyes, Balx,” Ob told him. Balx did as he was told; he felt the warmth of a sun pour over him. The darkness he felt with his eyes closed turned to bright white; even with his eyes closed, it was disorientating. “You can open them now.” Balx listened to Ob and saw that the hounds were all covered in a sickly purple haze. Each hound was coughing slowly. He then saw a small human woman with two whips whipping the hounds from all around. Balx turned to where he thought the woman was, but she was not there.


    “Damn,” he said. “That little one is fast.”


    Ob laughed, “That she is! Good work, Balx. I think we have some to deal with in the village.”


    Balx nodded to Ob and then took the lead into the small village. He heard the snarls of several hounds but didn’t hear any people. He hoped he had given them enough time to get to safety. “Likely that they will be hunting in duos; I think we should split up.” Ob nodded. Ob wanted to watch Balx fight; he was sure that Balx was a great fighter. After Balx gave the command, Ob ran on air to get on top of a building. He spotted an Aquahound shooting water at a window to a small shack. Ob held up Hades and shot a light blast towards the hound. It impacted the hound directly; the hound did not fall but adverted its attention to where the blast came from. As it looked to see, that was the last thing it saw as its head was cut off from behind.


    Ob stood over the dead Aquahound, watching it turn to blue ash. Ob knocked on the door, “anyone in here?” no one answered, but Ob heard a couple of whimpers. Ob calmed his nerves and pushed out his aura to try to calm the people in the house. When he did that, he sensed 2 children and 5 adults. Ob didn’t enter the building. He told them they were safe and moved on.


    He ran up to another roof. This time, he saw Balx attacking two of the hounds at once. The hounds both shot water at Balx. Balx made an “x” with his swords, and the water bounced off a wall. Ob made note of that encounter. Next, he saw Balx conjure obsidian-looking throwing knives and throw them at the hounds. It cut their scales, and blue blood started to seep out of the wounds. Balx started to push the hounds. He punched one in the head with a punch, sending it flying to his left 10 feet. The other hound lunged at him, teeth barred. Balx grabbed the top and bottom jaw of the beast and pulled. Balx ripped the creature''s head in two. Holding the top and bottom jaws of the Aquahound in hand, he threw it down and looked at the other one.


    Ob wanted to puke. That was the most violent way he could think of killing something. Ob was also quite impressed that it had to take considerable strength to rip something’s head in two. Not waiting to see how Balx dispatched the other hound, he returned his attention to the village. He saw only a couple more Aquahounds. They were chasing after a small group of warriors. Ob estimated the warriors had a few seconds before being caught and mauled. Seeing the shadows, he jumped into the shadow world and reappeared next to the running men. He did a roundhouse kick and kicked one Aquahound into the other. They went about 20 feet.


    Landing gracefully, Ob walked over to the two Aquahounds. Feeling energy inside his belly, he forced it out his palms; a massive blast of energy came shooting out of Ob’s hands in two beams. The blast was black with some red and orange. There was a small explosion after impacting the Aquahounds. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing but ashes.


    <i>Quest: Mini-Expedition Part 1 Complete</i>


    <i>Protect the small village town from the threats of the underwater cavern.</i>


    <i>Reward: Luxury Rune</i>


    <i>Small reward,</i> Ob thought to himself.


    The party reconvened in the center of the town. There, they met the Mayor. The Mayor thanked them and asked if they could repay them. Ob asked if they could borrow a boat, as they had to clear the cavern so no more monsters would appear. The townsfolk were happy to oblige by providing a small boat that could fit the four of them. Before meeting with the Mayor, Ob had told Eclipse to enter her soul home. He didn’t want to run the risk of them hating dragons.


    They were offered a place to stay. The group accepted, at least for the night. Balx joined them to rest for a bit. Ob started making them a small dinner to help with recovery. At the same time, Abigail was healing all the wounds obtained in battle. The party all laughed and joked amongst each other after the battle. Balx sat around watching this group interact; they were a good party. Their tactics were sound, and they fought well. It seems they all trusted each other fully.


    “Were you on a quest, too?” Ob asked Balx.


    “I was. The mayor will contact me every now and then with quests if they are in danger,” Balx replied, looking at Ob.


    “Are you from here?”


    Balx chuckled, “No, I am from Palaeria City—the largest Aquine city in all the 5 seas.” Balx said with pride.


    “I see. Going back to the battle, what are you?” Ob asked.


    Abigail sighed, hearing the question, “What my friend means to ask is, what race of Aquine are you?”


    Balx laughed hysterically, “I love the directness! I am what is known as squidfolk, although I am quite big for my race. Most are about a foot or so shorter on average. You all are great allies. Thank you for helping me defend these innocent people. Thank you for the meal.” Getting up to head out the door. “I must return home now. It is a long swim to Palaeria, and my family doesn’t like to wait for family time.” With that, the sizeable squidfolk man walked out the door.