The size of the tunnels doesn't immediately register as odd to Fish. They are small so everything seems proportionally bigger than it actually is. Blue's strange mannerisms also didn't register to Fish, they didn't have the most social grace either. It is ironic it would be much easier for Blue to say they are an ooze and Fish wouldn't care, but they were still getting to know each other.

Fish does not seem all that thrown off by slime magic. Magic is inherently strange, so of course there will be strange kinds of magic practiced. They look around the tunnel they are in as they keep moving.

"Shoot things." This was when Fish felt bad about the communication issues. It would actually be really useful to know what each other can do. Would showing them their equipment help?

Fish reaches out to gently pull on Blue's hand to get them to stop a moment. They take out their crossbow and then gun mimicking taking shots with each one. Fish then takes out a few of their different bottles to show off different mixtures. At the very least the hope was that Blue would understand Fish is more of a back of the room kind of fighter.

Before Fish can confirm that, something snaps their attention ahead. Strange and wet slapping noises can be heard, suction cups hitting the ground as something big pulls itself out of a water pool ahead. Something was in front of them, was it their quarry or a very lost squid?

Blue turned their attention from Fish's demonstrations of their abilities to the sound coming from further up the tunnel. Barely illuminated by the light of the crystals embedded in the walls, a huge, bright, almost glowing yellow eye with a pupil that looked akin to a sideways hourglass rose from the pool of water. The massive eye was in the center of what looked like an octopus head. Red skin that shifted in saturation and texture with each moment, from bright red and perfectly smooth to a brick red with a rough, stony texture and back.

The tentacles curled along the ground, spreading out and suctioning to the walls with wet pops. Though they moved as if they were pulling it along, it was easy to see the creature wasn't in need of such a form of movement. Its body stayed unnaturally still in its position, moving forward with a slow and measured speed, levitating freely.

The massive eye locked onto the knight and bird in front of it, and a smooth and deep voice that didn't fit the freakish form in front of them spoke.

"Oh, I thought I sensed some intruders in my abode. To think it would be a knight and a bird, so out of place beneath the sea." It said with an amused tone as the tentacles lifted to point at the two. At the tip of each tentacle, another eyeball, much smaller but very similar in appearance to the central one, opened up.

"Actually, they're a fish!" Blue corrected as they placed their hands on the ground and a mass of blue ooze spread from their palms, growing up into a wall in front of them just in time to block two beams that shot out of two of the tentacle eyes.

A chunk of the wall of ooze turned to stone while another chunk boiled and started to melt into a hole in the wall.

---

Wall of Ooze

Once the eyes turn towards the pair, Fish disappears into the shadows.[1] They are not interested in any semantics of their name or whatever other conversation it might want to have. The ooze wall provides a nice cover for Fish to disappear. Fish would try to remember to thank Blue later when the time came.

Fish moves to the shadow of another tunnel across the way.[2] The hope is if they split its attention, then it won't be able to attack as effectively. From the shadows, Fish focuses their gaze on the cephaloclops. For a moment it seems like nothing is happening, but the many eyed monster starts to dart its eyes around.[3]

"Who are you to enter my domain? I am the master here!" The monster grimaces and two of its stalk shoot out fiery rays around the room. They sizzle and burn in every direction. A ray moves across the ooze wall, but isn't enough to pierce it, just enough to make it boil a little bit.

A terrifying, but important lesson. This thing seems to have no blind spots from what Fish can spot. It can also attack from nearly anywhere which meant splitting up would not be as effective as Fish had hoped. Still, if Blue came out to attack then Fish could support from the side. They took out their musket and set up in their shadowed spot, ready for Blue to do his thing.

---

1. Pass Without Trace
2. Shadow Walk
3. Foreboding Presence.

The Cephaloclops turned around in the tight tunnel, its whole body squeezing in an unnatural way. It also made Blue think it was an ooze, the way it seemed to have no bones. Even its huge central eye was unbothered being squashed and stretched while it cast its gaze toward the bird it could sense behind it, but couldn't directly see thanks to some kind of magic.

It kept several tentacles aimed in Blue's direction, believing the knight to be of no threat hiding behind a wall and unable to approach while preoccupied with defending against the various beams burning holes through the wall of ooze, petrifying chunks of it, and boiling sections of it away.

Truly, Blue was at a bit of a disadvantage in this area. The tight tunnels prevented them from using the bulk of their abilities. They were surprising maneuverable for someone in heavy armor, but that didn't help when the enemy filled almost the entirety of the tunnel in front of them. There was no way to move around it, and nowhere its eyes couldn't see. On top of that, their ability to grow and become a monstrous amalgamation of creatures was off the table in the tight confines.

They'd just have to think more creatively.

Through one of the holes burnt in their wall of ooze, Blue poked a fist through. The plates of their metal gauntlet separated slightly as blue, crystalline-looking spikes of solidified ooze grew out before shooting forward at the Cephaloclops.

It let out a shout of pain and annoyance as the ooze spikes pierced into its back, the knight unexpectedly having a ranged attack at his disposal. One tentacle took a shot at the exposed arm just before Blue drew it back in. Even just a glancing blow caused the plates of their gauntlet to crack and fly off from the force, some pieces disintegrating into dust.

"Woah!" Blue called out in surprise, seeing the damage to their armor.

Blue shored up their defenses with a new layer of ooze, now knowing these beams needed to be taken very seriously.

---

Quill Spikes
Gauntlets hit prevention
Wall of Ooze

Well....the cephaloclops deciding to pack itself into a tight space actually helps Fish in a sense. The aviankin doesn’t need to really aim, but it does also prevent them from really being precise as the thing sort of plug the tubes. Fish cannot pick out any vital spots.

Still, damage is damage. They find a spot in the tunnel to brace themselves and take aim. The loud BANG from the musket echoes through the space as a bullet rips into the cephaloclops. The bullet embeds itself into the back as the creature ripples in pain.[1] As Fish worried they don’t hit a vital spot.

Before the bird can reset and get ready for a second shot an eye stalk is already facing their direction. If Blue was to hole up behind a wall, perhaps it could get the other intruder. It slithers out of the tunnel to focus its gaze on the bird. Fish is unable to get into a new shadow before they feel a pull on their body. Try as they might, they are unable to resist it.

Fish is yanked from the tunnel and into a wall. There is a short squawk they can’t hold back before hitting the wall. The musket clatters out of their hands as they lay on the floor. Being such a tiny bird, knocking them out is not hard to do. The cephaloclops starts to hover towards the bird. It wonders how this new snack from the surface might taste.

1.Piercing Wound

Blue couldn't see past the mass of eyes and red blocking the tunnel, but they heard a squawk echo through the tunnel, the sound slightly distorted by the ripples of the water pool, and the clatter of something sliding across the stone. Things didn't sound good on that side at all.

Even as they thought about how Fish was doing over there, more beams were firing into their new wall of slime. This time, a new beam hit the wall. Where the beam hit, a chunk of ooze suddenly pulled away from the rest of the wall and was sent flying back down the tunnel, splatting on the wall. A round hole was left in the wall. Other sections melted away and disintegrated. The walls seemed to last less and less time as the Cephaloclops was devoting more eyes to gaze in Blue's direction.

Well, they didn't have to worry about the wall. Fish was in trouble, and they needed to go help! With the magic in the displacer beast hides that adorned their armor, the knight suddenly vanished from where they stood and reappeared between Fish and the Cephaloclops, swinging a hand that transformed into a sharp, wolf-like claw as it slashed toward the giant central eye.

The Cephaloclops let out a roar and clutched its bleeding eye tightly, a sizzle audible as acid dripped from the claws that had just gauged through its pupil. The eyes on the ends of its tentacles flailed, firing wildly with reckless abandon. Chunks of wall disintegrated, lines of scorched stone were left, and cracks formed.

One beam aimed toward Blue and fired. Blue let out a gasp of surprise as they flew back, into a wall, their armor breaking and pieces falling off to reveal a blue figure beneath.

---

Blink Faulds
Eldritch Claws
Flesh Rend

It is rare for Fish to have a regret in their life, but in this moment they think they may have gotten a little ahead of themselves. In the frustration of being unable to communicate and the arrival of the monster Fish just decided to act on their own. This was the result. They easily could have waited a moment behind the ooze wall with Blue and thought.

Instead they are now unconcious on the ground. A little bit of a humbling wouldn't be bad for the bird in the long run, but that would only turn into a good if they survived. Right now Fish is just summoning every bit of willpower they have to wake up and move their body. Breathe in....breathe out. Calm down...focus on yourself. Focus on your energy.

As Blue crashes into a wall, Fish finds just enough strength to open an eye. Seeing their new ally, more importantly Astrid's friend, they begin to will their arms to move. Fish didn't care if they never got along with Blue but something in them drove them to want to help Blue if only for Astrid's sake. The bird struggles to get a silver coin out of their bag as they flick up their wrist launcher with their beak.

The cephaloclops aims another beam at Blue and fires the magical energy. Just a split second before Fish manages to pull the bands back and fire the coin, as it impacts into Blue's torso a faint silver barrier bubbles outward. The magical beam dissipates around the barrier leaving Blue unharmed.[1]

Fish struggled to push themselves back to their feet. They really need to invest in some healing potions. The bird wobbles a moment as they stand before bending down to pick their revolver back up. Time to reassess and come up with a new plan.

---

1. Silver Barrier

"Ow." Blue grunted as they stood back up. They'd taken a heavy hit, but they were alright. Their armor had taken the majority of the impact and what little damage the ooze had taken was already healed. They were less upset about their own injury and more upset about just how much repairing their armor was going to need.

Thanks to the silver barrier, Blue was protected for a moment from another beam. In the time it granted, they placed a hand on the ground and formed another wall of ooze, giving them some shelter while they reassessed the situation.

This thing was really dangerous, and now it was also really angry. Its huge central eye was still closed, blood seeping out of the gap in the eye lids. It had been effectively disabled, but the Cephaclops had plenty more eyes to see out of, and now they were glaring with rage. More beams hammered the wall of ooze as the creature floated closer, like a wall slowly closing in on them. The wall wouldn't last very long.

Behind them was the pool of water it had emerged from. Blue would be able to flee through there if they had to, but Fish, despite their name, couldn't breathe underwater or swim. Fleeing wasn't a good option. They needed to defeat it. It was time to go all out.

"Stay behind me." Blue said to Fish as the knight began to grow, their form bulking up and changing, their armor plates disconnecting and moving to fit their new form. Their legs bent and stretched, their feet forming into clawed wolf paws to match their already clawed hands. Three tails emerged from their lower back, the two on the sides ending with spiked pads like those of a displacer beast. A second pair and then a third pair of arms grew from the sides of their torso, electricity sparking between their fingers. They held their arms out, filling the tunnel as much as possible to provide as much cover behind them as they could.

"Bring it!" Blue called out to the Cephaloclops, all six of their hands motioning for it to come at them. At the same time, a ring on one of their fingers began to glow, their entire body being coated in a thin layer of energy.

---

Eldritch Claws
Prehensile Tail
Displacer Tails
Extra Arms x2 (Drake Hussar)
Lightning Armor
Challenging Mark
Gwen's Eternity Ring- Divinities Blessing

Even hurt, Fish was not content to sit on the sidelines. Blue could take more hits than Fish it seemed and so Fish could take the time to think a moment. If they wanted to close out this fight, they needed a decisive blow. Blue was a heavy hitter, but he needed to be able to land a solid hit.

Thinking the tenderized bird could be a meal for later and being really, really pissed off at its injured eye, the remaining stalks focused their attention on Blue. Eye beams flared out trying to impact the ooze knight with concussive force. Blasts of magical energy clashed with the stone.

Several of the eyes tried to corner Blue on the ground while others carved holes in the ceiling to rain rocks down on the knight. Water started to seep in as it took more and more from the ceiling. The monster was certain it could survive this place if it flooded, but where the adventurers?

Fish had no intention of finding out. Behind the wall they had devised a plan. One bullet was soaked in their special poison and loaded into the barrel. Fish started to climb the chamber they were in to get above the wall.[1]

Dark feathers and stealth kept them hidden in the shadows until the right moment. Fish slowly breathes in then exhales as they pull the trigger. The bullet impacts deep into the cephaloclops and it roars out.[2]

As it does, the poison floods its blood and the creature drops to the ground.[3] For the moment it is motionless and vulnerable. This was Fish going all out. If this didn't work, things were going to get explosive.

---

1. Surface Scaling
2. Deep Impact
3. Fish's God-Killer poison

Blue absorbed all of the beams firing from the eyes, acting as a living shield. Strangely, they didn't feel any of the beams hitting them. Blue had had this ring for a while, ever since they'd met Gwen and she had given it to them, but they'd never actually used it before. The spell channeled through the ring was one they'd never seen before. The one time Gwen had used it while they were nearby, she was inside a dragon god's mouth where they couldn't see her.

Blue charged forward, invulnerable to the barrage hitting them, and kept slashing at the Cephaloclops. The massive closed eyelid, the writhing tentacles, the smaller eyes on the ends. Sizzling gashes appeared all over, acid burning the wounds and making them hurt all the more when Blue's claws met the same spot a second time or a third.

The beams began to slow as tentacles were severed from it, dropping to the ground and thrashing, no longer able to fire from the eyeballs on the tip. The poison from Fish's bullet and the sheer amount of wounds it was receiving made it realize this situation was dire for it. It started to attempt to flee down the tunnel, away from the two intruders who were overpowering it.

The aura of energy around Blue had been steadily growing stronger as it absorbed more beams, until, as the Cephaclops tried to flee, it finally glowed brightly and exploded outward in a wave of white energy. The Cephaloclops let out one final shriek as it was blasted away, the tightness of the tunnel not hindering it at all as it was sent shooting down like a bullet down the barrel of a gun. The wave also hit Fish, but instead of blasting them away, it felt warm and soothing as it healed their injuries.

The defeat of the Cephaclops wasn't the end though. The tunnel was falling apart, caving in around them. Some water began to trickle in through one of the cracks and then another, the tunnel system beginning to flood, no longer able to keep out the crushing pressure of the ocean depths.

"We gotta go!" Blue shouted to Fish as they ran back over to the bird. As much as Fish was going to hate it, they didn't have much choice. Blue wasn't a particularly big fan of this idea either, but they weren't going to let one of Astrid's friends die even if they didn't get along very well. "Stay still!"

Blue absorbed their armor into them as they shifted into a blue blob of goo that enveloped Fish completely. Forming a blue, rubbery sphere with a hollow inside carrying the bird inside it, Blue began to roll down the tunnel they'd come in through. At the end, the barrier that kept the water out was still holding, but looked like it was about to give, a spiderweb of cracks across its surface. The corpse of the Cephaloclops they'd come here for laid on the stone, a splat of blood on the barrier behind it and more pooling on the stone below it.

Blue barreled ahead, running right over the Cephaclops corpse and pulling it into the hollow inside them with Fish as they rammed into the barrier. With a sound like shattering glass, the barrier failed and Blue cannonballed though it into the open water as the tunnels collapsed behind them. They immediately rocketed upward toward the surface.

Breaching the surface, Blue transformed back into a humanoid shape, releasing Fish and the corpse onto the waves. The cephaloclops corpse was surprisingly buoyant as it bobbed on the water like a giant red buoy as Blue and Fish landed on top of it. Blue let out a groan as they felt themself passing out. Ramming through that barrier, even when it was already so damaged, had hurt a lot more than they expected. The fight had also been incredibly draining.

Blue fell asleep, gooey arms and legs sprawled out across their makeshift raft. They didn't even think about how their human disguise was completely ruined as they fully outed their identity as an ooze right in front of Fish.

---

Divinities Blessing
Breathe In, Breath Out
Mimic Markings

When everything crashed in, Fish didn't really have much choice in what was about to happen. They did not have the time or skills to protest. On top of that, they were still working on regaining their full function after being knocked out and nearly kill.

Surprisingly though....Fish does not think of murdering Blue once they got to the surface. They sat on the corpse for a moment just to think and reorient themselves......Looks like they aren't too far from shore. Unfortunately, they were too far out to just hope the tide would bring them in. The cephaloclops was also bleeding which would attract sharks.

Fish had other concerns than Blue's form at the moment. It was irrelevant if they were dead. Fish stands and fluffs out their feathers to send off as much water as possible. They hold out a hand and make a finger gun. Fish mimics a click and something fires out, a gust of wind spiraling out onto the water.[1] The tornado gives them just enough momentum to eventually slide towards shore and get deposited into the sand.

The bird hops down once there is dry land, looking up to Blue. They couldn't exactly wait for them to just wake up, they still had to move this thing and start to harvest what they can. The knight did just save their life though and might be deserving of a little nap. Looking around again the beach was abandoned save for the gulls and crabs. Fish wasn't going to share the secret of the ooze and they were thankful they didn't have to protect it.

"Urrrrrgggh" Blue groaned, their voice almost more of a gurgle than a groan as they came back to consciousness atop the corpse of the Cephaloclops. The blue ooze slid forward, falling off the dead monster and landing head first into the sand before flopping onto their back. Such a fall might normally cause a headache even on the fairly soft sand, but the ooze was perfectly fine. The pain they felt was only the residual effects of their fight with the Cephaloclops and smashing the magic barrier.

They sat up and looked around, seeing that they'd been brought back to the beach. Fish was nearby, scanning the beach. Blue was relieved that they'd both made it out of the collapse without serious injury. Just some soreness was nothing that wouldn't heal after a good snack and taking a moment to regenerate. Fish looked fine too. Now they just needed to get those eyes from the corpse and bring them back to Astrid.

Blue stood up and put their hands on their hips before looking down and realizing they were completely naked, their slimy form utterly exposed to Fish. Thankfully, no one else was on the beach to see them, but they let out a gasp and held their hands over their definitionless chest and smooth, featureless crotch in embarrassment.

"Uh. This is... UHHHHH...." Blue tried to think of a reasonable explanation for their current appearance, but nothing was coming to mind. "You're not going to tell anyone I'm an ooze, right? It's a secret! And Astrid already knows."

While Blue was coming back to conciousness, Fish was chasing away any living thing that might come close to the ooze. Kicking sand at seagulls or throwing things at crabs, whatever was needed to shoo things away. Communication issues aside, Fish could respect Blue's talents as a knight and not abandoning them in the cave.

Now that Blue is awake, Fish reaches into their bag and pulls out a camo patterned cloth. They unfold it more and more until is roughly the size of the average blanket and hand it over to Blue. It wouldn't cover all of him, but it could at least cover his midsection enough to shield himself. Fish couldn't exactly just fix the armor nor did they have Blue sized clothes.

"Appearance does not matter to Fish, no reason to share it." Fish was surprised, but at the same time they had seen so much in their career as a thief this was actually kind of normal. Keeping Blue's secret was also relatively easy for someone who cannot talk in a normal capacity.

They motion for Blue to help pop out the eyes so they could get what they came for. The pair had gone through enough, it was time to collect their prize. What exactly they would do with it was yet to be seen, but Fish had some ideas.

"Thanks?"

Blue took the camo cloth, not really understanding why Fish was giving it to them. The ooze didn't actually feel the need to wear clothes except when they were trying to hide that they were an ooze, and that wasn't really necessary anymore. Fish's answer about not telling anyone was... noncommittal at best, but it was good enough for Blue. Now, they just didn't want anyone else to see them like this.

The blue ooze shifted into a tan skin tone, the smooth surface gaining definition and mimicked musculature. Hair and a beard grew on their head and face, and they formed a mouth, eyes, and nose. Some clothes emerged, a pair of swimming trunks and a blue tank top that fit a trip to the beach. Real clothing that Blue had stored inside themself.

Blue still held the camo cloth in one now humanoid-appearing hand. With a shrug, they lifted it to their mouth and started eating it, slurping it up like a mouthful of noodles. It vanished into their mouth like a magic trick, with no sign of actually being swallowed or chewed. With their gift put away, Blue turned to the Cephaloclops corpse they still needed to take care of.

Taking the eyes was easy. A swipe of a claw removed the tentacle tips from the rest of the corpse, making the eyeballs easier to pop out of their holes. The larger central eye was different. From the slash and acid, it was mostly ruined. It probably wouldn't be usable for anything sadly, but the smaller eyes were fine, and most of them were recoverable. A few had been lost in the cave collapse after being severed during the fight, but they still managed to come away from this ordeal with plenty of usable materials for Astrid.

Once all the eyes that they could still use had been removed, Blue just devoured the rest of the corpse. With Fish already knowing they were an ooze, they might as well enjoy a meal. Doing so also helped them recover from their fatigue from the battle and replenish some of the mass they'd used up making so many walls of slime.

---

One With the Cosmos
Space Pocket
Eldritch Claws
Flask of Feijoada

Fish just stares as Blue consumes the cloth, making a mental note to put him at the bottom of the list of 'People to Work With Again." Morrigan Moonweaver has accidentally escaped last place on that list. It is also the last time Fish is going to be concerned about a person's decency. He could have just said that he didn't need coverings, those cloths are expensive.

The entire tirade happens in the bird's mind as they shift their focus to harvesting out eyeballs. It's not exactly even, but Fish splits the number of them into two jars. They quickly label one 'DO NOT EAT' and hand it to Blue, better safe than sorry.

Honestly, for Fish, Blue eating the corpse was the least weird thing about this. Nothing would surprise them ever again and they were only 8 years old. They take one last moment to look over the beach to make sure no evidence of Blue's true identity is left behind. The tide should take away and residual ooze and with the corpse gone no one could come investigate it.

Fish gives Blue a final nod and thumbs up before turning to leave. They are still feeling a little bruised and battered so the strain of mimicking a good bye would have been too much. Though they had come to respect the knight somewhat, despite his oddities, so Fish didn't want to just leave unannounced. Fish heads in the direction of the closest town and would not protest if Blue followed.