While it might have come as something of a surprise to the Kappa, Solmar did in fact return a day later. Having gone about his business by letting the village of Cedar know that they no longer had to worry about anything snatching fish from their lines, destroying their nets and fishing poles or outright pulling in their fishermen and beating them up and nearly drowning them to death. This undoubtedly did not go without being rewarded, though there was more to the whole situation that he did not wish to tell the villagers. Knowing that it would get a whole lot worse between Cedar and the small population of Kappa living quite near the fishing cove, he left out that it was due to the Kappa that things were going badly for the fishermen so as to not provoke any skirmishes or attacks of any kind. This however also meant that he could not just go to the village in order to ask for their help with the troubles the Kappa faced because of their overfishing.
So when Solmar made his way back down into the subterranean village through the caverns located inside of Sakuramori, he did so without really knowing what to do about their predicament. All he really knew was that he could not just leave them to their fate after promising that he would help them out if they promised not to attack the local fishers anymore. So with every step he took, the weight of his promise being worth nothing in the end became more likely, weighing increasingly more heavy upon his shoulders as time progressed. What with his trusted feline companion Fellis still not being back either, there were quite a lot of doubts roaming about in his head, and none of them were actually helping him figure out what it was that he needed to do to help them. Still, he believed that at the very least showing his face would bring some honor with it as opposed to just staying away and wishing things would come to an end on their own.
Knowing full well that the world was not as kind and forgiving as he had once hoped it would be, something that proved itself true when he was but a boy that ended up murdering his own parents, he knew better than to place any hope or trust in external forces. At the end of the day, one could really only trust themselves and the work they put into things with their own two hands. As such, he kept marching on to find the Kappa that he had spoken to before, the one that seemingly acted as the sole protector of the tribe when he first came to the place. Unlike the first time, he saw a lot of expressions that seemed to show some trust in what Solmar had promised to deliver them as opposed to the distrustful and even disgusted expressions they wore at first. This only made things that much harder for the young magus, knowing that telling them the truth in that he had no plan at all might end up being the straw that broke the camel's back.
This obviously meant that if he failed them now, the entire tribe would likely never trust a single human being ever again. While he could quite honestly care less about what other humans would get out of this deal, he cared most about how this might mean the extinction of these Kappa, and that was not something he wanted weighing him down for the rest of his life. When he made it through the small crowd that had gathered, he entered the tent owned by the likely leader of the Kappa in order to have a conversation with him. But when he entered, there seemed to be an altogether different problem that had arisen during the short amount of time he had spent away from this place. As it turned out, some kind of predator now inhabited the watery cavern passage leading from the Kappa village and out into the open ocean, snatching up whatever attempted to pass through them to then never be seen ever again.
Feeling that this might very well be part of his redemption for promising something he could not deliver, Solmar asked that he be shown to exactly where this creature could be found. Feeling that it might not be a good idea, the Kappa told Solmar that the two of them would go together for the most part, but that he would be on his own after they got there. Claiming that he was the only thing protecting his people now, and that if they were to both die that it would be the end of the others, Solmar reluctantly agreed to the deal. He could understand how the Kappa felt quite well, especially now that he had inadvertently caused his only friend in the world to get lost somewhere. While the thought of the both of them apparently running the risk of being killed by this creature that was lurking nearby was not exactly promoting his sense of confidence, he knew that the Kappa had never seen Solmar use any magic, and would therefore have no idea that he was even capable of using it. Firmly believing the Kappa incapable of doing so, it meant that Solmar had one Ace left to play if things turned sour.
By the time the two reached about as far as the Kappa was willing to go, they hadn't spoken a single word along the way. Whether it be because they did not want to alert the beast to the fact that they were coming or because they were still somewhat at odds and had nothing to talk about was uncertain. All Solmar knew at this point was that he was fighting some unknown threat, and he was doing it on his own. While he had gotten used to fighting on his own, he had never really had to do so completely alone because Fellis was always there providing some support. When the Kappa bode him farewell, Solmar started breathing more heavily than before, picking up a relatively large stone and tossing it against the ceiling to make as much noise as possible. Since this wasn't going to be a hunt as much as it would be a fight for survival, he needed to at the very least see the beast, which would not happen if it did not know about Solmar even being there.
When the water started to twist and the ground rumbled in response, large tentacles came above the water, followed by a massive bulbous head. Complete with eyes on either side of the head, Solmar could tell that it was in fact a rather massive octopus that had undoubtedly already eaten the other Kappa that had been taken by it. Focusing as much of his attention towards his hands, he caused a white fiery glow to wrap around them as he bent his fingers into a fist. Waiting for it to strike first, a large tentacle came swinging at him as he ducked underneath it. Punching into it, he slammed off a piece of rubbery flesh as the area around it caught fire. However, as he did, another tentacle had already wrapped itself around his foot as it tugged at him so hard that it took away his footing and dropped him to the floor. This was only momentary, for at it withdrew the burning tentacle into the water, it slammed Solmar into a pair of jagged rocks by the edge of the water with a loud thud.
Feeling as if every bone in his torso just got smashed on impact, the sheer pain that rushed through his body was like a reviving jolt that kept him awake. When the tentacle started pulling him towards the water, he reached for the odd-shaped Gladius hanging from his waist before using the strength in his other arm to push him off-shore and towards the large octopus. In that same motion, he swung his blade with his other arm, severing the tentacle that was grabbing him as he got flung towards its large head. Already preparing to bury his blade right into it, several other tentacles came up from the water beneath him and picked him out of the air. Wrapped around his chest, his sword-bearing arm and born of his legs, it started applying more and more pressure, which truly hurt him the most in his torso as the air got crushed out of his lungs. Dropping his sword into the water, Solmar got taken down under the surface, completely disappearing from view.
When the salt started stinging him in the eyes, he could barely make out the large beak underneath the octopus that would soon start chomping down on his flesh, cutting straight through his bone and marrow. Without a sword to really aid him and his fist being unable to reach the creature due to the fact that it seemed to want to start eating his legs first, thoughts started rushing through his head about how his life was ending, how he had failed at saving the Kappa and how he hadn't even managed to find Fellis because of all of this. Shaking with anger and a modest amount of fear, he opened his eyes as an idea came to mind about something he had been saving away for a last resort. Allowing the creature to pull him all the way to his mouth, he channeled as much of the burning white magic into his free fist as he could before punching at the octopus. While his fist would not connect by about thirty meters, the three meter long blade of fire that penetrated the beast from below and shot up all the way up through one of its eyes did.
So as the creature died shortly after being punctured and cauterized in the same blow, the grasping tentacles stopped applying pressure to him. This however did very little as the large body was sinking down on top of him and the lack of oxygen and intense pain in his body kept him from gathering up the strength he needed in order to get back up to the surface. It was in that moment that many things rushed before his eyes such as the death of his parents, the first time he met Fellis, the time the two had spent together and the things they had done since back then. As he closed his eyes, all he saw were the sinking tentacles and a relatively small black figure sinking along with it. All the while, he could only think about how this act had at the very least postponed the extinction of the Kappa, and how he would never get to see his furry little friend again. And with that, everything went dark.
-End-
(WC: 1862)
So when Solmar made his way back down into the subterranean village through the caverns located inside of Sakuramori, he did so without really knowing what to do about their predicament. All he really knew was that he could not just leave them to their fate after promising that he would help them out if they promised not to attack the local fishers anymore. So with every step he took, the weight of his promise being worth nothing in the end became more likely, weighing increasingly more heavy upon his shoulders as time progressed. What with his trusted feline companion Fellis still not being back either, there were quite a lot of doubts roaming about in his head, and none of them were actually helping him figure out what it was that he needed to do to help them. Still, he believed that at the very least showing his face would bring some honor with it as opposed to just staying away and wishing things would come to an end on their own.
Knowing full well that the world was not as kind and forgiving as he had once hoped it would be, something that proved itself true when he was but a boy that ended up murdering his own parents, he knew better than to place any hope or trust in external forces. At the end of the day, one could really only trust themselves and the work they put into things with their own two hands. As such, he kept marching on to find the Kappa that he had spoken to before, the one that seemingly acted as the sole protector of the tribe when he first came to the place. Unlike the first time, he saw a lot of expressions that seemed to show some trust in what Solmar had promised to deliver them as opposed to the distrustful and even disgusted expressions they wore at first. This only made things that much harder for the young magus, knowing that telling them the truth in that he had no plan at all might end up being the straw that broke the camel's back.
This obviously meant that if he failed them now, the entire tribe would likely never trust a single human being ever again. While he could quite honestly care less about what other humans would get out of this deal, he cared most about how this might mean the extinction of these Kappa, and that was not something he wanted weighing him down for the rest of his life. When he made it through the small crowd that had gathered, he entered the tent owned by the likely leader of the Kappa in order to have a conversation with him. But when he entered, there seemed to be an altogether different problem that had arisen during the short amount of time he had spent away from this place. As it turned out, some kind of predator now inhabited the watery cavern passage leading from the Kappa village and out into the open ocean, snatching up whatever attempted to pass through them to then never be seen ever again.
Feeling that this might very well be part of his redemption for promising something he could not deliver, Solmar asked that he be shown to exactly where this creature could be found. Feeling that it might not be a good idea, the Kappa told Solmar that the two of them would go together for the most part, but that he would be on his own after they got there. Claiming that he was the only thing protecting his people now, and that if they were to both die that it would be the end of the others, Solmar reluctantly agreed to the deal. He could understand how the Kappa felt quite well, especially now that he had inadvertently caused his only friend in the world to get lost somewhere. While the thought of the both of them apparently running the risk of being killed by this creature that was lurking nearby was not exactly promoting his sense of confidence, he knew that the Kappa had never seen Solmar use any magic, and would therefore have no idea that he was even capable of using it. Firmly believing the Kappa incapable of doing so, it meant that Solmar had one Ace left to play if things turned sour.
By the time the two reached about as far as the Kappa was willing to go, they hadn't spoken a single word along the way. Whether it be because they did not want to alert the beast to the fact that they were coming or because they were still somewhat at odds and had nothing to talk about was uncertain. All Solmar knew at this point was that he was fighting some unknown threat, and he was doing it on his own. While he had gotten used to fighting on his own, he had never really had to do so completely alone because Fellis was always there providing some support. When the Kappa bode him farewell, Solmar started breathing more heavily than before, picking up a relatively large stone and tossing it against the ceiling to make as much noise as possible. Since this wasn't going to be a hunt as much as it would be a fight for survival, he needed to at the very least see the beast, which would not happen if it did not know about Solmar even being there.
When the water started to twist and the ground rumbled in response, large tentacles came above the water, followed by a massive bulbous head. Complete with eyes on either side of the head, Solmar could tell that it was in fact a rather massive octopus that had undoubtedly already eaten the other Kappa that had been taken by it. Focusing as much of his attention towards his hands, he caused a white fiery glow to wrap around them as he bent his fingers into a fist. Waiting for it to strike first, a large tentacle came swinging at him as he ducked underneath it. Punching into it, he slammed off a piece of rubbery flesh as the area around it caught fire. However, as he did, another tentacle had already wrapped itself around his foot as it tugged at him so hard that it took away his footing and dropped him to the floor. This was only momentary, for at it withdrew the burning tentacle into the water, it slammed Solmar into a pair of jagged rocks by the edge of the water with a loud thud.
Feeling as if every bone in his torso just got smashed on impact, the sheer pain that rushed through his body was like a reviving jolt that kept him awake. When the tentacle started pulling him towards the water, he reached for the odd-shaped Gladius hanging from his waist before using the strength in his other arm to push him off-shore and towards the large octopus. In that same motion, he swung his blade with his other arm, severing the tentacle that was grabbing him as he got flung towards its large head. Already preparing to bury his blade right into it, several other tentacles came up from the water beneath him and picked him out of the air. Wrapped around his chest, his sword-bearing arm and born of his legs, it started applying more and more pressure, which truly hurt him the most in his torso as the air got crushed out of his lungs. Dropping his sword into the water, Solmar got taken down under the surface, completely disappearing from view.
When the salt started stinging him in the eyes, he could barely make out the large beak underneath the octopus that would soon start chomping down on his flesh, cutting straight through his bone and marrow. Without a sword to really aid him and his fist being unable to reach the creature due to the fact that it seemed to want to start eating his legs first, thoughts started rushing through his head about how his life was ending, how he had failed at saving the Kappa and how he hadn't even managed to find Fellis because of all of this. Shaking with anger and a modest amount of fear, he opened his eyes as an idea came to mind about something he had been saving away for a last resort. Allowing the creature to pull him all the way to his mouth, he channeled as much of the burning white magic into his free fist as he could before punching at the octopus. While his fist would not connect by about thirty meters, the three meter long blade of fire that penetrated the beast from below and shot up all the way up through one of its eyes did.
So as the creature died shortly after being punctured and cauterized in the same blow, the grasping tentacles stopped applying pressure to him. This however did very little as the large body was sinking down on top of him and the lack of oxygen and intense pain in his body kept him from gathering up the strength he needed in order to get back up to the surface. It was in that moment that many things rushed before his eyes such as the death of his parents, the first time he met Fellis, the time the two had spent together and the things they had done since back then. As he closed his eyes, all he saw were the sinking tentacles and a relatively small black figure sinking along with it. All the while, he could only think about how this act had at the very least postponed the extinction of the Kappa, and how he would never get to see his furry little friend again. And with that, everything went dark.
-End-
(WC: 1862)
