[Do you wish to accept the quest 'Harry's calling'?]
[Yes]
[No]
"Of course, you can count on us!"
As soon as the prompt appeared, Liam accepted, and the group received a new quest. Since it was neither a unique nor a story quest, no one expected much of it, simply going through the motions.
Harry looked kindly at the players, his face showing that he never had any doubts that his quest would be accepted.
"Thank you, adventures."
"Don't mention it. Should we set off?"
"One second. I need to fetch something."
Harry gestured for the players to wait as he approached a hut at the edge of the village. It was made from stone and wood, probably hauled by Harry himself, yet the workmanship showed obvious flaws.
Fortune sighed faintly lamenting that such a kind soul had a difficult life. Yet Harry didn't seem to mind it as he returned to the group with a bright smile, a few scrolls in his hands.
"Here, take this. These are scrolls of underwater breathing. They were quite expensive! With those we can remain underwater for two hours."
Handing over the scrolls Harry had completed all his preparations. Finally, the group felt the village, returning to the beach where they parked their boats. Together they pushed the boats back into the water. But then they faced a problem.
Melodious Edelweiss looked between her friends and the huge Harry, asking carefully:
"Eh... do we fit into the two boats?"
"It should be alright."
"We may need to distribute the weight carefully."
After a minute of discussion, the boats were assigned. Liam, Lenn, and Quickstep, wearing the heavier armor, shared one boat while the rest had to make due with the other.
Fortune smiled at Harry, asking the tall man to get in fist. With a simple 'ok' Harry approached the water and hopped into the boat. His movements looked effortless but when his heavy frame entered the boat, it rocked heavily and made the sound of an old man struggling to stand up.
Fortune, Braag, and Melodious Edelweiss looked at each other, afraid that the boat might capsize with their addition. Unfortunately, there was no other option, and they carefully got in. The boat barely held on.
The others had to suppress their laughter as they boarded their own vessel. They watched as Harry sat in the middle of the boat happily admiring the scenery while Braag and Fortune were forced to row.
In this configuration they were slower than during their first crossing but luckily the two island weren't far apart and they soon got close to the main island. Securing their boats at a place without the presence of cultists, the group stood on a large rock, listening to Liam's instructions.
"I hope all of you know how to swim. With the underwater breathing scroll there is no need to be afraid. Just enjoy the scenery and follow me. When we get close to the chain, Harry will lose his strength, and we need to pull him. Fortune, Quickstep, can you do that?"
"Sure."
"Got it."
The others nodded, showing some anticipation and curiosity about the underwater world. The sea at the coast wore a beautiful blue colour but it didn't allow one to see much below the surface.
Only Melodious Edelweiss appeared apprehensive. Thinking about diving made her stomach queasy. Yet she had joined the game to grow and was determined to face every challenge bravely!
Quickstep noticed Melodious Edelweiss's emotions, putting a hand on her back and encouraging her with her eyes. Noticing this scene, everyone revealed faint smiles.
A moment later Liam took the lead activating the underwater breathing scroll and diving head-first into the water. Moving smoothly like an Olympic swimmer he quickly pulled some distance before the others followed.
Harry jumped curled up, splashing water in all directions like a cannonball. The three women complained. But when they entered the water as well, it naturally didn't matter anymore. The only one to hesitate was Lenn as a thought suddenly came to his mind. With his heavy armor, wouldn't he drown like a rock?
Noticing that his friend was not moving, Braag wouldn't miss the chance for a jab:
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you suddenly afraid?"
"Who is afraid?"
Lenn glared at Braag. He decided to put safety first and took off his armor, revealing his muscular dwarven body.
"What now? Are you trying to impress the girls? That's weird, Lenn. They are like, what, 15 years younger than you? I didn't think you were such a pervert."
"F*ck! Don't spout such nonsense! You can be glad it's only us two around!"
Braag laughed but realizing that Lenn was on the verge of genuinely getting angry he didn't say more. However, his comments also reminded Lenn. He looked down on himself, seeing a bare body with only some grey underpants covering his loin and tights.
Lenn wasn't keen on being perceived as the weird uncle by the guild he just joined. He looked into his inventory and luckily found some common light armor to wear for now.
Finally, the two dwarves were done and also jumped into the water. Quickly their vision cleared up, which was also an effect of the underwater breathing scroll. They noticed that the rest of the group hadn't swum far yet. Everyone was stunned on the spot, turning in circles and marvelling at the breathtaking scenery.
Fish both small and big swam around the group, observing the strange people curiously. There were no monsters in the waters around Six Demon Islands. Thus, the fish were playful without a sense of danger.
The players couldn't see the bottom of the ocean, but they saw the undersides of the islands swimming in the water like six enormous rocks. Colourful coral grew along the islands doused in light by the rays of sunlight breaking through the surface, creating a fascinating sight.
Even the gigantic chains coming from the outer islands and entering the main island from below didn't appear out of place thanks to the algae which had settled on them over a long time.
[Melodious Edelweiss: Amazing!]
[Fortune: It truly is. Bleary Mirage, do we have time for me to make some shots?]
[Bleary Mirage: Sure.]
Fortune naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to present such a gorgeous scene to her viewers. She swam around for a while, recording the lively fish and colourful corals. She was only satisfied after more than twenty minutes but no one grew impatient as they relaxed their souls amidst this marvel of nature.
However, eventually it was time to go on. Liam led the group forward, keeping close to the underside of the main island. Soon everyone could see that Harry began to struggle. His movements slowed down, and he lagged behind the group. It got worse and worse until Fortune and Quickstep grabbed his hands, pulling him along.
At that point the group advanced slowly but it wasn't bad as the target was already in sight. Some distance ahead there was a large well in the island, piercing form somewhere within the mountain all the way towards the bottom of the rocks.
And one of the thick chains entered through the well. As the group came closer and looked up, they only saw a large, dark tunnel. A few specks of light could be made out, but they weren't enough to illuminate everything, making the already thick chain appear even more solid.
[Fortune: I can't imagine what's imprisoned here...]
[Melodious Edelweiss: Also, who could imprison a monster needing such chains?]
[Braag: My bets are on dragon, and cultists.]
[Quickstep: Nah. Did you already forget the dragon that killed Mehphre, the last world boss? Those chains could barely hold a dragon's arm.]
The friends speculated while they swam upwards along the tunnel. At this point Harry was out of power, not much different from a bag of potatoes which Quickstep and Fortune laboriously pulled upwards. Noticing that Fortune was also finding it increasingly difficult Liam soon took over.
At this point there was no need to lead the way. The group ascended until they finally broke through the water surface. Subconsciously taking a few deep breaths, they studied their surroundings.
They found themselves in a small chamber with stairs leading into the water. It was empty save for a few crystals spending some dim light and a large door.
Above the water, the chain continued upwards along the dark tunnel.
"So, what are we doing now? Do we have to climb the chains?", asked Lenn while studying the black metal, noticing various engraved magical patterns on it. But Liam shook his head.
"This would take way too much effort. Especially with Harry in tow. We will take the easy way through the door here."
"I'm sorry.", said Harry between heavy breaths. "I'm dragging you down."
"Don't say that. You told us what to expect as we accepted the quest. No need to worry."
Harry nodded thankfully as Liam and Quickstep pulled the tall man out of the water. Even with solid ground under his feet Harry was just barely able to stand.