The monsters of the Deep; Chapter 8. The Tales of Atoz

Only a few days had passed before Bjorn learned about the “sea creatures”. They were ugly things and as much to fear as the Kensen Pirates. Bjorn had thought he’d seen dangerous creatures in the North Seas which were full of shark and squid. These preyed on fishing vessels and his tribe had learned to deal with them and the deaths they caused. But, the creatures of the southern reaches were something else all together.1

The first of these he encountered was called a Snaus. This was an enormous, translucent sea slug which swam about under the surface of the water, nearly invisible to the eye. Only when it emerged from the water did it take on a pale gray color, and by then it would be too late for some hapless individual who’s last sight would be a ghostlike blob dropping down on them. The Snaus was anywhere from two to twenty feet in length, the smaller, younger creatures being little more than a colossal nuisance. But, as it grew the Snaus became a horror suddenly lunging up from the depths, it’s eel like body with its single eye center most on its back and a gaping mouth directly below that towering over the decks of the vessels.. The slimy skin was speckled with what appeared to be barnacles which, when it threw itself on some unsuspecting seaman, would elongate into goosenecks, waving about and suctioning on like lamprey to the victim. The creature reproduced by division and these tentacles were the spawns which would drop off later. They emitted an acid like saliva which would dissolve their tortured captive in a few minutes of horrible agony. The creature would then absorb the nutrients through the young attached to it. The rest of the body, bones and cartilage would be tossed into the grinder like teeth and crushed into powder. These creatures couldn’t be killed by a normal arrow, but only by an exploding arrow, tipped with the red stone and until they were finally dispatched they would continuously dive and surface tearing men from the decks. Snaus often attacked in packs of six or seven and an entire company of rangers or sailors could be killed if they weren’t cautious. For this reason the rangers on duty were always on watch, weapons at the ready. 2

But, as bad as the Snaus were, far worse was a creature called the Dia. Where a Snaus could kill a single man or, if it had time, a group, the Dia could destroy an entire fishing vessel and everyone on board in less than a minute in a single attack. The Dia was as large as a small sea craft, about thirty feet in width and over fifty feet long, with an oblong shaped body, beautifully pink in color, with long tentacles reaching up from the bottom of the sea. Silently awaiting anything that swam into it’s hunting range, the Dia’s tentacles resembled stands of sea kelp and were unnoticeable when mixed into an island of the same. This was the favorite hiding place of the Dia, who felt the ripples as something approached and attacked only when they were forceful enough to make it worth the while of the monster. The Dia's tentacles not only served as sensitive antennae but also as a conduit for filling its elastic body with air. When the Dia felt the presence of something large entering into its range the creature would suck in enough air to fill air sacs inside its body in seconds and propel itself to the surface with jets of sea water forced from its base. The top of the body was studded with hundreds of spikes up to four feet in length and with them the Dia could crush the hull of a fishing vessel upon striking it. Then, the tentacles served as arms reaching out and ensnare anyone in the water or on the broken ship, carrying them below the surface and hurling them into a gaping maw which was its mouth. The suction of water through this orifice would rake anything caught in it across thousands of razor sharp teeth reducing it to pulp. These creatures saw fishing vessels as only another sea creature to be eaten and had been the greatest fear of fisherman and pirates alike for centuries on the Gulem. 3

It was for this reason that the Navy of Sudren had made it another of their goals to completely rid the sea of the Dia. They were perfect training for the young sailors and rangers preparing for war. Once the creature attacked a naval vessel the rest would close in on it and engage it with harpoons fired from their ballista, attached to thick ropes . Rangers armed with crossbows would continue to shoot round upon round into the body letting the air out of the air sacks until the creature began to sink back. The weight of the Dia would drag the ships towards its center and explosives were fired into the body to blow it to pieces. This attack worked successfully on pirate vessels as well, where the Lancers attacked in groups of three, picking off one vessel of the Kensen while the larger Biathon kept the rest busy. 4

Bjorn had drawn duty on the after deck many times as the ships continuously practiced and drilled for war. He spent most of his time firing off bolts from a mounted crossbow into floating clumps of algae and kelp, drawing the bolt back on the long rope leader. Many times he’d pinpointed and brought down a Snaus with an explosive tip and others he’d participated in the attack on Dia. The most dangerous drills were these. The Dia were incredibly strong and when the first bolts from the ballistae struck the arms of the beast would grab them and begin to drag the lancer in, trying to get it near the spikes where it could rake it to pieces. The naval vessels, since they were made from the amour hard vine skin broke the spikes off and the Dia was trapped under the hull. It would immediately begin to grab and roll and shake this vessel while the others fired into it. The arms were multiple though, often thirty to a body and could reach out as much as thirty feet. When these arms swatted and grabbed at the ships the crew was subject to being torn off the decks and thrown through the air and into the sea. The water boiled up under them and they were sucked in. Others were crushed as the powerful arms pounded anything they could touch. Bolt after bolt crashed into the thick skin of the Dia until it began to sag and even then it would drag ships towards it holding itself up with them as ballast. 5

During one confrontation with the Dia, Bjorn was at the side, firing off rounds, aiming for the creature’s eyes, and had nearly lost his life due to the immense waving arms. . 6

Bjorn had become an expert at striking the eyes, though at times the creature’s thick membrane caused a less than perfect strike to bounce off. Dia had many eyes about their body, in a circle about the creature at water line, another near the crown and another under water. It was these eyes that made it possible for the Dia to see and manipulate the arms. Each arms worked in coordination with an eye. Put out the eye and you put the arm, effectively out of commission. Bjorn had just fired off one round and was fixing another bolt into his crossbow when one of the arms slapped him down. He tried to rise but the arm was suddenly wrapped around his leg and was dragging him from the deck. Desperately he grabbed at the deck boards but could find nothing to hold. The arm, like some monster serpent wriggled back towards the water with him firmly in its grip. 7

Bjorn managed to grab a rail and hold on, but the arm was stronger than he was and he knew he’d be pulled in if something or someone didn’t change matters drastically and immediately. He saw the other men hard at work fighting off the beast while trying to save themselves. Six of the huge ugly arms were slapping and smashing things on the deck trying to grab other crewman. No one could spare a second for him and Bjorn knew he’d either free himself of the tentacle or be lost. He could feel his arms growing weaker by the second, while he flailed about uselessly with his legs. The railing began to crack under the pressure another arm which had hook about it. Bjorn prayed silently for a miracle from Solar. Then, as if his prayer had been answered, he came to an idea that might work. He suddenly flipped his long legs over the edge of the rail and wrenched his war axe free from his back. With one swipe he cut deep into the arm holding him at the waist. Another and the arm began to loosen. The railing was giving way when he swung the axe again and, finally, the tentacle relaxed and he felt it slip away. Just then a hand grabbed him and he looked up to the crewman who was smiling and hauling him aboard. “Thank you he shouted breathlessly, but the crew man only nodded and hurried off. Such was the way of things in battle, he learned, whether against sea monsters or the Kensen. A man did what he could to help his comrades and then returned to the battle to live or die. Bjorn made a vow that day that he would never be careless enough, again, to be caught in such a situation and he doubled his training time never letting himself sleep until he had been on alert from before dawn till it was too dark to see. And, the days inevitably passed.8