10 - Mutated

by SilkyNoire

The ride on the back of the serpent hadn't been long before Sariel spotted a huge cave. It wasn't too deep, as the seafloor came up in a sort of undersea mountain here. There were no markings that indicated anything artificial around, but years of adventuring and treasure hunting experience told her it was the right place. She released her grip in the serpent's fin, swam to the surface for some air, then dived back down into the cave.

It was big - about fifty feet across, and a little less than that tall. It was also completely lightless, but with her fey magic, Sariel could see relatively clearly. Oddly, there weren't any fish in the cave. She hoped that wasn't a sign of some larger predator lairing in there.

As she continued through, the plant life started to change. She wasn't an expert on marine life at all, but she'd done her fair share of diving in her life. These plants didn't look right. They looked... sickly, yet somehow alive.

Sariel caught a glimpse of something in the murk before her, and quickly hid behind a rise in the seafloor. Peering over for a better look, what she saw stunned her. A massive, grotesque fish with bulging eyes and dangling tentacles lazily swam about a larger cavern. She wasn't sure if it would eat her, given the chance, and wasn't interested in finding out. When it turned away from her, she quickly propelled herself off the seafloor, swimming as hard as she could to the next passage.