The pursuit of potion components was not always so peaceful.

Morrigan had cheated and scammed their way through their fair share of heists in the past in the pursuit of ingredients for the Consortium - including but not limited to vandalizing a warehouse, blowing up a matchmaker’s illegal love bomb ring, and breaking in a monastery to get their hands on holy water. But rarely had that resulted in them having to throw themselves into dangerous situations against rare beasts, a fact that they’d always been grateful for. They quite liked having to do the bare minimum for the other alchemists, and they sure as hell weren’t going to lose their head over some rare plant or monster part.

Until now, at least.

After the resurgence of crustaceans in Sol City, there had been reports of giant crabs lurking under the depths of the Luna Sea. They were peaceful so far, but what did peaceful matter when they had ultra-hard shells that could be harvested and turned into defensive potions? And what better lackey to send after them than the illustrious Morrigan Moonweaver, alchemist and false wizard? Never mind that they were from the desert and had little experience swimming. The Consortium wanted something rare and shiny, so they sent their lackeys after it.

Not for the first time that day, Morrigan huffed, lamenting their poor fortune getting picked for this mission. They waited along the Sol city docks, kicking at a shell at their feet. Hopefully whoever their partner was would show up soon so they could find one of these stupid crabs and call it a day.

---

Quest Name: Protect and Defend
Chapter: One
Description: You have been sent out to locate a creature or monster that we can use to harvest defensive material from. This quest can vary each time you go on it, sending you deep into caves, high up into mountains or across various other regions. How you complete this and how you obtain the material is completely up to you. You can fight off the creature, uncover a corpse being eaten by other things, carted off by hunters or recover material from the creatures resting place. Be creative!
Requirements:
- Requires at least two people (you and one other, the other does not need to be interested in the guild)
- You must make at least 5 post with each post being 150 words to complete the mission.
- You must locate and obtain defensive material from a creature listed in the bestiary
- Once completed guild members will receive one defensive material from the creature
- Non guild members can go on this quest and pay 50 Solars to purchase one single use potion using this defensive material
- This quest can be completed multiple times.

Beist had been wondering who the Consortium might have paired him with for this mission, but he didn't believe it when he saw the purple Fellblood waiting on the docks where they'd been told to meet. No. He'd suspected Morrigan of lying when they'd told him they were a member of the Consortium! But, if they were really his partner for this mission, it must have been the truth. It wasn't just a coincidence they were here, was it?

He walked up behind Morrigan, his enormous shadow looming over the Fellblood. For someone so large, he had surprisingly quiet steps. Maybe that was owed to the sand of the beach absorbing most of the impact, or the padding he'd grown on the bottoms of his feet that had changed to resemble a bear's much more than a human's.

"I don't suppose you're the other member here on behalf of the Golden Consortium, are you?" He asked, two hands both folded in front of his chest and two on his hips.

Beist's feet weren't the only thing different about him since the last time the two had met though. He hoped Morrigan wouldn't comment on his additional three feet of height of the large spikes growing along his spine and top of his tail. Features he'd gained due to an unfortunate mistake with a potion in the desert. Admitting to a mistake involving one of your potions was embarrassing, especially when you had to admit it to another alchemist, and even more so when that alchemist was at least partially a fraud.

He wouldn't mind them mentioning his clothing though. That, he felt, was much nicer than it had been the last time they'd met. At least it wasn't just makeshift robes anymore, but a green vest over a white buttoned shirt and brown pants.

Morrigan was in the middle of an intense debate with themselves about whether or not they should just leave and return to their wagon to sunbathe when a shadow passed over them. Morrigan yelped, whirling around with their arms raised defensively over their face, when they spotted a familiar fuzzy visage… one that they hadn’t seen for some months now. And was it their imagination or did Morrigan have to crane their neck even more to look up at Sir Beistmild? Had Morrigan gotten shorter or had the behemoth of a gentle giant somehow gotten even bigger since last they met?

Morrigan’s eyes lit up at the sign of the familiar gentleman, lifting their hand to shake his own. “Ah, Sir Beist! It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen one another, has it not? Allow me to congratulate you on your entry to the Consortium!”

They waved their hand in a flourish of glitter that came nowhere close to pelting the elderly man in the face. “And my, looking so spiffy too, in that getup!” They flattered, reaching over to run their fingers along the fine fabric of the cloak. “You’re correct in that I have been sent here on guild matters. Are you the one they sent to collect materials with me?”

If they were offended by Beistmild’s skepticism, Morrigan didn’t show it. They’d gone through their own changes since last they saw the animal-loving alchemist, though theirs were less physical and more on the emotional side. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly what was different. Maybe it was the fact Morrigan had called them Beist rather than Beistmild. Or the way they weren’t singing their own false praises from the rooftop, and had yet to peddle snake oil. Time would tell if they’d try again - but the charlatan, oddly enough, seemed to be on their best behavior, if not as obnoxiously grandiose as ever.

Was it just Beist's imagination, or did Morrigan seem different? He remembered the Fellblood being a lot less... mature? Was that the proper word? Maybe they'd had a little time to grow since the last time they'd met. They weren't as arrogant as they'd been. They even called him Beist instead of Beistmild. They still added 'sir', but it was a start. Beist also still remembered them introducing themself as a godslayer and miracle maker, and them being flashy enough to throw glitter around- Ah, well it seemed that part was still the same.

Beist looked down at his now glittery stomach, as that was as high as Morrigan had been able to throw the glitter onto him. That was going to be a pain to get out of his clothing, but at least it wasn't in his fur, making him itchy. He just decided to ignore it and move on with the conversation. He smiled happily at Morrigan's congratulations. It was an achievement he was proud of, so he was happy to receive them.

"Well, thank you. I'm happy to have been accepted. My potion selling has been far more successful with their help. I don't know if you've heard of my Transmutation Tonic. I even have a few repeat customers for it!" Beist said happily as he idly brushed glitter off his vest with his hand.

"Yes, with the increased coin from my potions thanks to the Consortium's help, I was able to afford to improve my wardrobe a tad. Speaking of spiffy clothing, your outfit looks a bit different from the last time we'd met as well. It looks very nice." Beist complimented, truly thinking Morrigan's outfit was an improvement. It was a lot less hard to look at now. Less garish. An improvement in the eyes of the Beastman with simple tastes.

"Indeed, I was also sent here to collect materials. We'll be diving to get some shell pieces from the giant crabs that recently showed up around the area, but I'm sure you already know that. Well then, are you ready?" Beist said, nodding.

Beist had made sure to not bring anything that he'd rather not get wet. His usual notebooks and writing implements were left in the wagon. He also, sadly, couldn't bring along any of his animal companions. None of them could breath underwater, and he didn't want to make them drink his Transmutation Tonic. He wasn't sure it would work on a nonhumanoid creature and he wasn't going to test that on them. He'd have to do this mission in just the company of Morrigan.

“Ah, the transmutation tonic! A useful invention. I always make sure to keep an extra bottle of it tucked in my bag for an emergency.” Which was roughly Morrigan code for, ‘this potion is incredibly useful and it has saved my life on multiple occasions’.

Morrigan couldn’t help but smirk at the mention of Beist’s potion products helping fund his new wardrobe. They were much in the same position, though for all the wrong reasons - their current attire had been funded by snake oil sold to suckers who blindly believed the Golden Consortium brand. Not that they were doing that right now! Ever since their trip to the Yudraehati temple to free the phoenix locked inside in an attempt to use her power-turned into an impromptu and rather unwelcome journey of self discovery, Morrigan had put their usual schemes on pause while they figured out what the future held for them.

Well, most schemes, They still didn’t mind scamming other criminals and the like. But thankfully, Beist would be spared Morrigan’s hackneyed attempts to sell him snake oil. They blinked as Beist brought up their own clothes, looking down at themselves as if they’d forgotten what they’re wearing.

“Oh, these things?” They tugged at the sash around their waist, “In the last few months I’ve taken to training with the blade, as a hobby, you know.” Definitely not because they were most certainly not a wizard, and would prefer not to get turned into paste the moment they ran into danger. “Even a great wizard must learn to dress with the practicality of a bladesman!” They added with a wink.

And it would come in handy when fighting crabs, too. Morrigan’s tail swished behind them as they pulled out the very tonic that Beist had been referencing, downing it like a shot.^[1] They weren’t sure if Beist was capable of drinking underwater, but the man seemed to have grown a little more animalistic since last they met. Perhaps he had sprouted a pair of gills somewhere in that fuzz of his. But Morrigan had no such capabilities, unfortunately. They had to make do with growing gills the old fashioned way.

“I am more than ready to turn these crabs into mincemeat, my friend.” They said with a smirk before turning and diving into the water with another flourish of glitter.

They weren’t wrong - with how many sparkles they threw around gratuitously, Morrigan probably could have killed any crustacean hiding in the water with how much glittery substance they choked the water with just by being in it.

---

1. Beist's Transmutation Tonic - Gills, Webbed Digits

So, Morrigan was indeed one of those repeat customers he'd heard of. He was glad it had been helpful to them, though he didn't know what emergencies they might be talking about. The only emergency Beist had ever used the tonic for was to make himself smaller so he could fly away from a giant flaming snake on Dora's back. Incidentally, that bottle of tonic also made him grow his own pair of wings, but having never had wings before, he felt a lot more confident in Dora's ability to not die by falling out of the air. Maybe Morrigan had used the potion to grow wings.

"The blade? Hm. You'd better not tell a real warrior you practice the blade as a mere hobby. They might get upset with you." Beist said offhandedly. He himself wasn't offended. He wasn't a warrior and hadn't used a blade in combat once in his life, but he was sure there were some master swordsmen and rogues who bet their lives on their skill with the blade that wouldn't take kindly to someone referring to the art of the blade as a hobby. He'd never heard anyone call it a hobby before either. Knitting or painting, sure, but using a weapon in combat? Never.

"Wha- Mincemeat?" Beist started in surprise, but Morrigan was already pounding back a very recognizable potion and disappearing beneath the waves. He shook his head and sighed. Making mincemeat of the crabs wasn't what he'd signed up to do. Beist wasn't a fan of undue animal cruelty, but he understood these giant crabs being so close to the city was a problem that needed taking care of. Gaining the potion ingredients was more like a bonus. Well, he'd have to discuss the finer details of the mission with Morrigan under the water.

Also, just where was Morrigan even getting all that glitter!? The Fellblood was a walking environmental disaster and probably singlehandedly funding the entire glitter industry. 

With an exasperated sigh and shake of his head, Beist took out his own bottle of transmutation tonic and started wading into the water. His clothing transformed as he walked, the slacks retreating up his legs and changing color until he was wearing a knee-length pair of green swimming trunks. He vest and button shirt disappeared, merging with the swimming trunks. He had to wade out pretty far before the water reached his waist and he felt it was deep enough for his massive body to be able to fit under the waves, but once he had he drank the potion and waited for the transformation to begin.

---

Morph Suit
Beist's Transmutation Tonic
-Webbed Digits
-Gills

“A real warrior?” Morrigan repeated in mock offense - or perhaps real offense, it was difficult to tell - as Beistmild insulted their blade skills. They didn’t get stabbed repeatedly by Fish with all manner of knives for their skills to be called fake! “Well, Sir Beist, you may doubt my skills, but I’ll show you how adept I am with the blade as we descend further into the depths!”

… Only, there was a slight miscalculation in Morrigan’s plans.

The charlatan, whose specialty lay in explosives, forgot that alchemical powder didn’t really work when underneath the depths. The bombs and other miniature explosives they’d collected in their bag for this very occasion were rendered useless the moment that Morrigan, now under the effects of the tonic, jumped off the pier.

Well, shit.

They waded around for a moment as they waited for Beist to follow them, debating whether they should tell the gentle giant that most of their potions, including the rather large bomb they’d taken to blow the crustaceans to kingdom come, had just been ruined. But after a moment of thought they decided against it. They had this under control… most likely.

Maybe.

Morrigan wasn’t sure if Beist understood sign language, but they raised their hands into the air, forming out the bare bones of their plan. ‘I’ve a poison that should make it fairly easy to incapacitate the beast long enough for us to drag it to the surface where we have the home turf advantage. We just need to elucidate the weak point in its shell so that I may administer the toxin.’

Beist chose not to reply to Morrigan's protests. He didn't actually intend to, but he may have come off as implying that Morrigan wasn't a real warrior. But, hadn't Morrigan just literally said they only practiced the blade as a hobby? Wouldn't that imply more than what Beist had said that Morrigan wasn't a real warrior? There was no point in arguing the matter, so he just let it go.

But he couldn't let go what Morrigan said next.

"What, no! We can't bring a giant crab up onto the docks! We're supposed to be driving them away from the city, not into it!" Beist protested. "And don't you dare try to use whatever toxin you're referring to while underwater. If it leaks into the water, it could damage the ecosystem, not to mention affect us!" He scolded as he started to make his way deeper into the water more quickly to get to Morrigan, but he had to dive into the water after a moment as he lost balance.

Even as Beist started scolding Morrigan, his body was changing thanks to the tonic. His fur was flattening down into what looked like smooth skin, but was actually as rough as sandpaper to the touch thanks to the tiny scales all over it. On his arms and back, it was similar in color to the scale he already had, a bluish green, but it began to have a pattern of white spots arranged in line-like patterns a cross it while his front side was white like that of a whale shark. At the end of his tail, which was thickening even more as his legs merged with it, the tuft of fur was being replaced with a vertical fin. Webbing formed between his fingers and another fin sprouted in the middle of his back between his shoulder blades. Gills sprouted on his neck which was now exposed, all of the fur gone.

Without all of the fluff and fur to hide it, it suddenly became incredibly apparent just how muscular Beist was. His neck that was always hidden beneath a thick coat was thick and his shoulder and chest were broad and powerful. His face looked more human, with his beastly mouth and nose replaced with more normal ones except for a couple of bumps on his upper lip that, like his new scales, resembled those of a whale shark. His eyes looked the same, green with bags around them. The only fur remaining on Beist was a head of hair that still had his horns poking out of it and a beard.

The transformation complete, Beist had become a whale shark-like merman with a couple pairs of horns and an extra pair of arms.

He swam up to Morrigan and crossed one pair of arms in front of him, the other resting on his hips.

"And also, how do you expect us to lure the crab onto land when we don't have legs?" He asked, one hand gesturing to his fish tail that had absorbed his legs.

It was a brilliant plan. It was a foolproof one. Except for, as Beist immediately pointed out, all of it.

Morrigan crossed their arms over their chest, flicking the glimmering fuschia tail that had sprouted in place of their legs from Beist’s tonic. “The crab would be unconscious, obviously!” They protested, revealing that, yes - they were apparently willing to die on this hill. “And the toxin wouldn’t be leaking into the water. It would be injected from my blade into the crab meat!” The physics of how the potion might behave underwater was lost on them, but what else were they supposed to do? Their face turned pink when Beistmild reminded them that they couldn’t exactly walk on water with their current physiology, which was adapted for sea rather than land.

… Okay, that one was a valid point.

“Well, then what do you suggest we do?” Morrigan, whose tail and the long, elegant fins resembled that of a betta fish, or something long and elegant and tropical but ultimately useless, dove further into the water, scanning the depths for the signs of movement. Smaller fish have the charlatan and healer a wide berth, darting away from the bigger creatures. A few curious ones inched close before those animals, too, darted away at the fellblood-turned-aquatic creature’s movement. But no sign of the big crustacean. Morrigan wondered if it was deeper in the ocean, close to the bottom of the sea floor. The big beast probably lurked where it was darker and easier to grab unsuspecting fish.

Morrigan narrowed their eyes, deep in thought. If alchemy wouldn’t work, how could they handle this? Contrary to what they’d told Beistmild, Morrigan didn’t actually have any magic aside from what was contained in Kvasir’s ring.

They held up their hand, the enchanted tattoo of the sun on the back of their palm lighting up as it began to glow with the warmth of the Lantern Light Woods.^[1] The light was dim, but enough to guide them as they swam into the dark water. With their other hand they pulled out a long blade that looked like it was made of stained glass.^[2]

“I suppose I could hold its attention to give you the opportunity to incapacitate it.” They mused. Beist could hardly be described as stealthy, but Morrigan was big and colorful and could probably distract it with a dance or whatever the hell fish did.

---

1. Lantern Light Tattoo
2. Scorpion Blade

"You planned on coating your blade with poison. Underwater." Beist stated simply with an unimpressed tone, hoping Morrigan could see the flaw in their logic. How in the world had they though of such a plan? It was even worse than he could have imagined. It was like a mental exercise in trying to come up with the most flawed plan possible.

But, to be fair, it didn't sound much more ridiculous than Beist's plan which was to just talk to them. It made sense to Beist, who could speak to animals, but would probably sound absurd to Morrigan or anyone else who didn't know that about the old Beastman. Of course, in Beist's experience, speaking to sea creatures was much more difficult than speaking to anything on land, and speaking to giant creatures was also more challenging. He wondered if these giant crabs were more animal or monster. Monsters didn't listen to him at all. In that case, he assumed whoever his partner was would have been a capable fighter.

But, here they were. Morrigan's new plan was at least a lot less flawed, though Beist wasn't a big fan of being the muscle of the group despite being a mountain of it. He preferred doing the thinking. Seemed like he'd have to do both in this case. In any case, they were going to have to take down one crab so they could harvest the parts. That was the whole mission given to them by the Consortium and they needed to do at least that.

He slipped the now empty bottle from his tonic into the leather pouch strapped around his waist and pulled out another bottle of dark purple liquid. Also on his waist was a green sash. His swim trunks had adapted into a sash around his waist as his legs and tail had fused together. Beist wasn't exactly a big fan of being so barely clothed, but some Merfolk swam around wearing nothing on their lower halves at all. Welp, when in the Luna Sea...

"I suppose we'll have to just go with that plan. Poisons won't work and none of my companions could breathe underwater, so I couldn't bring them. We'll have to do this with just the two of us. I'll hide and you lure that one over there here." Beist said, pointing to what looked like a huge boulder on the seafloor. While he pointed, he put the bottle in his mouth, still corked, and pulled the cork out with his teeth. It took him a moment and looked a little strange, but it eventually worked perfectly for drinking the potion without it all dispersing into the water around them. He spit out the cork and put it back into his bag along with the second empty bottle. Didn't want to litter in the ocean.

After drinking the potion, Beist's movements were completely silent. Not even the water made a sound as he moved through it to hide behind another boulder in the sand. It was a tight squeeze for the giant, but he managed to be at least mostly hidden. It would have to do. Hopefully the crab wouldn't see him there, being too distracted by the bright, sparkly meal in front of it.

---

Potion of Shadows

Morrigan smirked.

“Oh, I didn’t just plan on costing my blade with poison. It’s already coated with venom.” They tapped at their golden arm bracer, the one where a hidden blade was concealed within the metallic mechanism. For a moment, it might have seemed to Beist like they were joking. There was no way someone was that stupid, after all. Unfortunately, the answer was yes. Yes, they were that stupid, and seemed to give little forethought to what they were doing. Thankfully, the airtight mechanism seemed to keep the blade from leaking any poison into the water they were breathing with their gills.

But Beist didn’t seem so keen on offering whatever plan he had in mind, so… contingency C it was. Morrigan would act as the incredibly beautiful and tasty looking bait while Beistmild waited in the shadows to ambush the elusive creature. Wait, was Beist pointing towards a crab? How in the world had he spotted them so easily?

Morrigan shook their head, not wanting to be stood up by the gentle giant. They had to prove their worth! And they had to prove that they were every bit as great as they boasted… even without the help of most of their potions! As Beist made his way behind another rocky outcropping, Morrigan brandished their brightly colored blade, grabbing a couple of flowers from their bag that they tucked in their hair for good measure and extra pretty colors. Well, no time like the present when it came to provoking a giant crab monster.

They swam closer to the boulder that Morrigan still wasn’t entirely certain was a crab as Beist seemed to think. Still, they called out in the most casual tone they could imagine, “Oh, what a lovely day to be a tasty fish! I sure hope some man-eating crab doesn’t come try to eat me-“

SNIP

For a moment, Morrigan wasn’t sure anything had happened. But the tang of wine-red blood drifting through the water and the stinging pain in part of their sparkly tail forced them to pause. Something wasn’t quite right. They turned, shifting their torso to get a better look at the small fin that had been partially snipped off by a claw that hadn’t been there a second ago.

Morrigan blinked.

“Oh, fuck-“

The sandy sea bottom shifted around them as the crab picked itself up, shaking off the sands that had covered it. Their eyes bulged out of their sockets, realizing that they might have made a slight miscalculation. The miscalculation being that by offering to be the bait, they’d put themselves in danger. Morrigan shrieked, darting as fast as they could through the water back towards where Beist was waiting. The crab, sensing the blood in the air, followed suit, scuttling towards the colorful, tasty treat.

Beist narrowed his eyes but otherwise chose to ignore the fact that Morrigan really thought they could use a poison-coated blade underwater. At least it looked like none of it was leaking off of the weapon, so it should be fine as long as they don't use it. He'd have to have a serious talk with them once this was over though.

Peaking out from behind the rock, Beist watched as Morrigan completely botched their job of being bait. They'd been at it for a few seconds and they were already injured, leaving a trail of red behind as they fled back toward him. At least they were going the right direction and the crab was following them. But, the crab was following them much faster than Beist had expected! At this pace, it would catch up to Morrigan before they reached Beist's hiding spot. Was it excited by the smell of blood? No, Morrigan's fin was injured and slowing them down! As much as Morrigan and Beist couldn't see eye to eye, quite literally and figuratively, he didn't want to let them get caught and eaten by a giant crab!

Beist swam out from behind the rock and headed toward them as fast as he could. With him out in the open, the crab easily noticed him coming. It slowed down and started to scuttle backwards, away from the larger creature approaching it. With Beist's size and general inexperience with being a merman, the crab was much faster than him. When Beist reached Morrigan, he stopped and sighed, watching the crab get away.

"Well, that didn't go well." He said, looking to Morrigan and pulling out a small bottle of red liquid. "Here, drink this. Be careful not to let it all disperse into the water."

---

Minor Health Potion

The creature was gaining on them.

Morrigan pushed through the water, but with their injured tail, there was no way that they were going to make it to Beist before the crab turned them into mincemeat instead. Before they could be snipped up and devoured, though, Beist jumped out from his hiding place and scared the crab off. Morrigan opened their mouth to protest, to point out that they’d almost had it in their grasp, but before they could offer some petulant argument, Beist was already offering them a potion.

Morrigan downed the bottle like a shot before it could escape into the surrounding water. Once their tail had stitched itself back together, Morrigan finally huffed and crossed their arms. “Well, there goes our crab.” They grumbled, rather put out from the botched attempt. But what could they do now? They didn’t have any of their pets with them, and Beist didn’t either. They were both limited in what they could do on the ocean floor. At this point, they needed a miracle.

Perhaps Morrigan could create one.

They didn’t have most of their potions, but Morrigan still had the bag of wonders. While Beist lamented that the crab got away from them this time, Morrigan reached into their bag and hoped that whatever they got could still be used under the ocean.^[1]

---

1. Yasaka’s Summer Beach Bag
gKHwiIhe

Beist raised an eyebrow skeptically as Morrigan pulled a bottle of sand from their bag with a dramatic flourish. What were they going to do with that? They were an alchemist though, so there may be something to it. Some magic or enchantment on it that would assist them in their efforts to catch the fleeing crab.

Or it was just a bottle of sand.

Beist looked back to the crab that had gained a good bit of distance from them now. At least it was fleeing deeper into the sea and not onto land. That would have been a disaster. Maybe they could just let this one go and find another one. Just both go at it instead of trying to lure it with Morrigan. The simplest solution was sometimes the best.

He looked around for another crab hidden somewhere and noticed his movements were no longer silent as his finned tail and arms moved around, swishing through the water. That was too bad. He'd only brought the one bottle of that potion, but it should be fine if they were giving up the idea of stealth anyways.

"We'll come up with a new plan. In the meantime, let's find another crab that isn't already running away from us. There should be more of them around here. Just look for the slightly reddish tinged rock with no coral growing on it." Beist said, looking to Morrigan.

Beist did not look as… enthused about the bottle of sand as Morrigan was. Morrigan, on the other hand, looked positively elated about the item that they’d pulled from the bag of wonders. This was actually something that they’d be able to use!

“Oh, Beist…” Morrigan clicked their tongue and tapped at their temple, suddenly acting very cocky now that they actually had something they could contribute to this endeavor. “Little did you know that this is no ordinary bottle of sand! Why, I dare say I’ve given us the upper hand in this battle.”

They paused for dramatic effect, though when Beist didn’t respond with the appropriate confusion and excitement they’d hoped for, Morrigan huffed and continued. “You see, this enchanted sand will summon a sand golem capable of shaking the very earth underneath our feet! Once we find another crab, it will be child’s play to incapacitate it by triggering an earthquake!” And since they were swimming rather than tethered to the ground, it wouldn’t affect them at all!

Yes, they looked quite pleased with themselves at this development.

“Of course. Red rocks.” They flushed, put out that they had to be told what to look for. But a red rock was simple. Even a child could manage to spot one of those against the sea of dull grey stones. It was just beginner’s luck that Beist found the first one!

Thankfully they didn’t have to search for long. It seemed like at this point of the depths close to the pier, there was no shortage of giant crustaceans who waited for an unfortunate swimmer or victim to stray a little too far from the surface. Morrigan stopped a little distance away from one, gesturing towards it silently so Beist knew where it was.

“This is the one, I feel it.” They asserted. “I’ll summon the golem and knock it over and… we tag team it or something.”